Daily Current Affairs 20 June 2020 | UPSC Current Affairs 2020

Current Affairs Of Today Are

1) INDIAN ARMED FORCES CONTINGENT VICTORY DAY PARADE 2020

• A Tri-Service contingent of the Indian Armed Forces comprising 75 all ranks, led by a colonel rank officer will participate in the Military Parade at Red Square, Moscow on 24 June 2020, to commemorate the 75th Anniversary of Victory of the Soviet People in the Great Patriotic War of 1941-1945.
• The British Indian Armed Forces during World War-II were one of the largest Allied Forces contingents which took part in the North and East African Campaign, Western Desert Campaign, and the European Theatre against the Axis powers. These campaigns witnessed sacrifice by over 87 thousand Indian servicemen besides 34,354 being wounded. The Indian Military not only fought on all fronts, but also ensured logistic support along the Southern, Trans-Iranian Lend-Lease route, along which weapons, ammunition, equipment support, and food went to the Soviet Union, Iran and Iraq. The valor of the Indian soldiers was recognized with the award of over four thousand decorations, which also included an award of 18 Victoria and George Cross. Also, the then Soviet Union appreciated the valor of the Indian Armed forces and by the decree of 23 May 1944, the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR signed by Mikhail Kalinin and Alexander Gorkin awarded the prestigious Orders of the Red Star to Subedar Narayan Rao Nikkam and Havildar Gajendra Singh Chand of Royal Indian Army Service Corps.
• The marching contingent taking part in the Victory Day Parade is led by a major rank officer of the gallant SIKH LIGHT INFANTRY Regiment.  The Regiment had fought with valor in the World War-II and has the proud distinction of earning four Battle Honours and two Military Cross amongst other gallantry awards. 
  

Source: PIB

2) Scheme of Special Micro-Credit Facility launched for Street Vendors

• A Memorandum of Understanding has been signed between the Ministry of Housing & Urban Affairs and Small Industries Development Bank of India (SIDBI), here today, to engage SIDBI as the Implementation Agency for PM Street Vendor’s AtmaNirbhar Nidhi (PM SVANidhi) - a Special Micro-Credit Facility for Street Vendors.
•  As per the MoU terms, SIDBI will implement the PM SVANidhi Scheme under the guidance of MoHUA. It will also manage the credit guarantee to the lending institutions through Credit Guarantee Fund Trust for Micro and Small Enterprises (CGTMSE). It will develop and maintain a customized and integrated IT Platform providing end-to-end solutions, including documentation of all the processes and workflows for an end-to-end solution, through a Portal and a Mobile App, to ensure engagement and information flow between Urban Local Bodies (ULBs), Lending Institutions, Digital Payment Aggregators and other stakeholders.
• It will leverage the network of lending Institutions like Scheduled Commercials Banks (SCBs), Non-Bank Finance Companies (NBFCs), Micro Finance Institutions (MFIs), Co-operative Banks, Small Finance Banks (SFBs), Regional Rural Banks (RRBs), etc. for the Scheme implementation.
• To ensure effective implementation, SIDBI shall also provide a Project Management Unit (PMU), comprising of domain experts in training/ capacity building, project and platform management, Information Education and Communication (IEC), banking, NBFC, and MFI sectors, etc., for the period of PM SVANidhi i.e. upto March 2022. 
• It is pertinent to mention that PM SVANidhi was launched by the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs had, on June 01, 2020for providing affordable Working Capital loans to street vendors to resume their livelihoods that have been adversely affected due to Covid-19 lockdown. This scheme targets to benefit over 50 lakh Street Vendors. Under the Scheme, the vendors can avail of a working capital loan of up to Rs. 10,000, which is repayable in monthly installments in the tenure of one year. On timely/ early repayment of the loan, an interest subsidy @ 7% per annum will be credited to the bank accounts of beneficiaries through Direct Benefit Transfer every quarter. There will be no penalty on the early repayment of the loan. The scheme promotes digital transactions through cashback incentives up to an amount of Rs. 100 per month. Moreover, the vendors can achieve their ambition of going up on the economic ladder by availing the facility of escalation of the credit limit on timely/ early repayment of the loan.
• Ministry has already circulated the Guidelines of the Scheme to all stakeholders.g. States and other stakeholders, including Banks, MFIs, NBFCs, SIDBI, and Street Vendors’ Associations to sensitize them about their role and responsibilities. The integrated IT platform for PM SVANidhi is likely to be launched by the fourth week of June 2020. In the first phase, 108 cities have been selected, in consultation with States/Uts, for saturation by September 2020. Disbursement of loan is planned to commence in July 2020.

Source: PIB

3) Need to create more awareness in rural/ tribal areas about Sickle Cell disease and its management

• The Minister for Tribal Affairs, Shri Arjun Munda emphasized the need to create more awareness about Sickle Cell disease in the county.
• To collect real-time data and provide relevant information related to Sickle Cell, the government has launched a new portal that will act as a catalyst in creating awareness. “The portal will have real-time data through a dashboard along with a registration facility, information about the disease, and various government initiatives were undertaken.”
• The aim of the webinar is to increase awareness in the community, the global burden of the Sickle Cell Disease (SCD) disorder, and its prevalence in India. Sickle cell disease (SCD) which is the most prevalent inherited blood disorder, is widespread amongst many tribal population groups in India, posing a considerable health burden in several states. While several cost-effective interventions have dramatically reduced morbidity and mortality from SCD in developed countries, access to care for SCD in the tribal regions of India is limited.

About Sickle Cell Disease

• Sickle cell disease is a group of disorders that affects hemoglobin, the molecule in red blood cells that delivers oxygen to cells throughout the body. People with this disorder have atypical hemoglobin molecules called hemoglobin S, which can distort red blood cells into a sickle, or crescent, shape.
• Signs and symptoms of sickle cell disease usually begin in early childhood. Characteristic features of this disorder include a low number of red blood cells (anemia), repeated infections, and periodic episodes of pain. The severity of symptoms varies from person to person. Some people have mild symptoms, while others are frequently hospitalized for more serious complications.
• The signs and symptoms of sickle cell disease are caused by the sickling of red blood cells. When red blood cells sickle, they break down prematurely, which can lead to anemia. Anemia can cause shortness of breath, fatigue, and delayed growth and development in children. The rapid breakdown of red blood cells may also cause yellowing of the eyes and skin, which are signs of jaundice. Painful episodes can occur when sickled red blood cells, which are stiff and inflexible, get stuck in small blood vessels. These episodes deprive tissues and organs of oxygen-rich blood and can lead to organ damage, especially in the lungs, kidneys, spleen, and brain. A particularly serious complication of sickle cell disease is high blood pressure in the blood vessels that supply the lungs (pulmonary hypertension). Pulmonary hypertension occurs in about one-third of adults with sickle cell disease and can lead to heart failure.

Source: PIB

4) Delhi-NCR tremors

• In the wake of the recent series of tremors in Delhi-NCR, Wadia Institute of Himalayan Geology, an autonomous institute of the Department of Science and Technology, has said that such tremors are not unusual in the Delhi-NCR region, but indicate that strain energy is built up in the region.
• They have said that since the seismic network is quite good, present micro to minor earthquakes in and around Delhi-NCR could be recorded.
• Though our understanding, in terms of when, where and with how much energy (or magnitude) an earthquake can occur, is not clear, but the vulnerability of a region can be understood from the past seismicity, calculation of strain budget, mapping of active faults, etc. The Delhi-NCR has been identified as the second highest seismic hazard zone (Zone IV). Sometimes, a vulnerable zone remains quiet, experiences small magnitude earthquakes that do not indicate any bigger earthquake or receive a sudden jolt by a big earthquake without any call. Out of 14 small magnitude earthquakes in the Delhi-NCR, the 29th May Rohtak earthquake had a magnitude of 4.6.
• The recent events cannot be defined as the ‘foreshocks’. If a big earthquake takes place in a region, all smaller events that occurred in the immediate past in that region are categorized as the foreshocks. Therefore, scientifically all these tremors in the Delhi-NCR can be demarcated as the foreshocks only after a big earthquake takes place immediately. Though it cannot be predicted, a stronger earthquake posing a threat to people and properties cannot be ruled out. Since an earthquake cannot be predicted by any mechanism, the tremors cannot be described as the signal of a big event. 

Past earthquakes scenario In Delhi-NCR:

• The historical earthquake catalog shows that there were strong earthquakes of ~ 6.5 magnitude at Delhi in 1720; 6.8 at Mathura in 1803; 5.5 near Mathura in 1842; 6.7 near Bulandshahar in 1956; 6.0 near Faridabad in 1960; 5.8 near Moradabad in 1966 in the Delhi-NCR.

Why earthquakes happen in Delhi-NCR?

• All the earthquakes in Delhi-NCR are due to the release of strain energy, which has been accumulated as a result of northward movement of the Indian plate and its collision with the Eurasian plate, through the fault or weak zones. There are so many weak zones and faults in the Delhi-NCR: Delhi-Haridwar ridge, Mahendragarh-Dehradun subsurface fault, Moradabad fault, Sohna fault, Great boundary fault, Delhi-Sargodha ridge, Yamuna river lineament, Ganga river lineament, etc. We must understand that the Himalayan seismic belt, where the Indian plate collided with the Eurasian plate and underthrusted beneath the Himalayan wedge, accumulates strain energy at the plate boundary due to relative movement of plates against each other causing crustal shortening and deformation of rocks. This energy can be released through the weak zones and faults in the form of earthquakes ranging from micro (<3.0), minor (3.0-3.9), light (4.0-4.9), moderate (5.0-5.9), strong (6.0-6.9), major (7.0-7.9) or great (>8.0) earthquake, defined as per the amount of energy released. The small magnitude earthquakes are frequent, but large magnitude earthquakes are rare to very rare. It is the large earthquakes that cause severe damages both to structures and properties.

Impact of Earthquakes in the Himalaya to Delhi-NCR:

• The Isoseismals of the 1905 Kangra (7.8), 1934 Bihar-Nepal (8.0), 1950 Assam (8.6), 2005 Muzaffarabad (6.7) and 2015 Nepal (7.8) earthquakes in the Himalayan arc are bounded by the Main Central Thrust (MCT) to the north and the Himalayan Frontal Thrust (HFT) to the south. These earthquakes are the result of slip on a décollement surface i.e. the contact between the underthrusting Indian plate and overlying Himalayan wedge, which extends southward from 16-27 km depth beneath the MCT to its surficial expression as the HFT at a distance of 50-100 km from MCT.
• The rupture areas due to large earthquakes show gaps along the Himalayan arc, which have not experienced great earthquakes for a long time and are identified as the future potential zones for great earthquakes. Three main seismic gaps have been identified in the Himalaya: the Assam Gap between the 1950 Assam earthquake and the 1934 Bihar-Nepal earthquake; the Kashmir Gap between the 1905 Kangra earthquake and the 1975 Kinnaur earthquake; and the ~700 km long Central Gap between the 1905 Kangra earthquake and the 1934 Bihar-Nepal earthquake. The entire NW-NE Himalayan belt lies in the highest seismic potential zone V and IV, where major to great earthquakes can take place.

Neighboring faults and ridges

• There are so many faults, ridges, and lineaments transverse to the Himalayan arc, large sediment thickness in the Ganga Alluvium Plains to the north of Delhi-NCR. Again, the Delhi-NCR is ~200 km away from the Himalayan arc. Therefore, a major earthquake in the Himalayan seismic belt may also be a threat to Delhi-NCR. The Garhwal Himalaya, lying in the Central Seismic Gap and north of Delhi-NCR, has experienced the 1991 Uttarkashi earthquake (6.8), 1999 Chamoli earthquake (6.6) and 2017 Rudraprayag earthquake (5.7), and is due for a major to a great earthquake. Such a scenario can make a pronounced impact on north India and Delhi-NCR.

Precautions:

• The subsurface structures, geometry, and disposition of faults and ridges are to be investigated thoroughly using Geoscientific studies in and around Delhi and NCR. Since the soft soils do not support the structures’ foundations, structures anchored to bedrock or stiff soils in earthquake-prone areas suffer less damage. Thus, soil liquefaction studies are to be carried out to know the thickness of soft soils. Active faults are to be delineated, and lifeline structures or other infrastructures are to be avoided from nearby active faults and to be constructed as per the guiding principles of the Bureau of Indian Standard (BIS). The outcome of recent micro zonation studies for Delhi-NCR by IMD should be considered for important construction.

Message to Common People and Earthquake Disaster Management:

• Earthquakes are not predictable but there lies a probability of a large to a great earthquake with magnitude 6 and more in the highest seismic potential zone V and IV, which fall in the entire Himalaya and Delhi-NCR. The only solution to minimize the loss of lives and properties is the effective preparedness against the earthquake. Countries like Japan have proved this; where earthquakes are a common phenomenon, yet the losses are negligible. Annual mock-drill is a regular feature there. People’s participation, cooperation, and awareness are the key to the success of this. Some of the precautions and preparedness are enumerated as:
• Before an earthquake.
• Earthquake mock drill/Construction of buildings/Houses
• Perform earthquake mock-drill annually
• Incorporate earthquake-resilient construction to new buildings and retrofitting existing structures
• Preparation as an individual (in a family or society)
• Sit together and chalk out mobile numbers for neighbors, society/colony, nears & dears, emergencies, etc.
• Prepare a backup supply kit that includes food (biscuit packets etc.), water, medications, and first aid supplies, flashlight, essential clothing, and personal toiletries.
• Update the first-aid kit regularly.
• Choose at least two family meeting places: easy to identify, open, and accessible places that are approachable.
• Identify a commonplace in society/colony/street to assemble for shelter, kitchen and first-aid
• During an earthquake
• Remain calm, as the ground shaking lasts for less than a minute.
• Indoor: Stay inside-“DUCK, COVER and HOLD”. Place yourself under sturdy furniture, cover as much of your head and upper body as you can. Hold onto the furniture. If you cannot get under sturdy furniture, move to an inside wall or archway and sit with your back to the wall, bring your knees to your chest and cover your head.
• Keep yourself away from mirrors and windows.
• Do not come out from the building during the shaking.
• Outdoor: Rush to an open area away from all structures, especially buildings, bridges, and overhead power lines.
• Driving: Stop immediately at the road-side preferably in an open area away from any structure especially the bridge, overpass, tunnel, and overhead power line. Stay as low as possible inside the vehicle.
• If trapped in debris:
• Do not light matchbox/lighter
• Do not shake the body unnecessary and do not remove dust, it can create a problem for breathing.
• Cover your face, if possible, with handkerchief/cloth.
• Hit something on pipe/wall etc. so that the rescue team can find you.
• Do not shout unnecessary because it will tire you and dust/gases can go inside the body with breathing by this action
• After the Earthquakes:
• Remain calm
• Move cautiously and check for unstable objects and other hazards above and around you.
• Check your body for injuries.
• Help those around you and provide first aid.
• Inspect gas, water, and electric lines. If there are leaks or if there is any doubt about leaks shut of mains: evacuate immediately if you hear or smell gas and cannot shut it off. Reports leaks to the authorities.
• Stay out from damaged buildings.
• Listen to the radio/TV for emergency information and additional safety instructions.
• Ready Stocks:
• Keep enough stocks at home to meet the needs for at least seven days.
• Assemble a Disaster Supplies Kit with items during evacuations. Store these stocks in a sturdy, easy to carry containers such as backpacks, duffle bags, or covered trash containers.

Other utilities and Note Points:

• A seven day supply of water and food that would not spoil.
• One change of clothing and footwear per person, and one blanket or sleeping bag per person.
• A first aid kit that includes your family’s prescription medications.
• Emergency tools including a battery-powered radio, flashlight,, and plenty of extra batteries.
• Special items for infant, elderly or disabled family members and sanitation supplies
• Do not keep any heavy material above the door height
• Do not sleep with your head below bulb/light/lamp.

Source: PIB

5) R&D Portal for AatmaNirbhar Bharat in Mining Advancement

• Shri Pralhad Joshi, Union Minister for Coal, Mines and Parliamentary Affairs launched SATYABHAMA (Science and Technology Yojana for Aatmanirbhar Bharat in Mining Advancement) Portal for Science and Technology Programme Scheme of Ministry of Mines on 15th June 2020. The portal has been designed, developed, and implemented by National Informatics Centre (NIC), Mines Informatics Division.
• In contrast to the present system where research proposals are submitted physically by the Scientists / Researchers, SATYABHAMA Portal allows online submission of project proposals along with monitoring of the projects and utilization of funds/grants. The researchers can also submit progress reports and Final Technical Reports of the projects in the electronic format in the portal. A User Manual is also available on the Portal where the stepwise procedures for submission of project proposals have been highlighted. The Portal is integrated with the NGO Darpan Portal of NITI Aayog.
• Ministry of Mines, Govt. of India provides funds to Academic institutions, universities, national institutes, and R&D institutions recognized with the Department of Scientific and Industrial Research, Government of India for implementing R&D projects under Science and Technology Programme Scheme of Ministry of Mines with the vision to promote research in applied geosciences, mineral exploration, mining and allied areas, mineral processing, optimum utilization and conservation of the mineral resources of the country, for the benefit of the nation and its people. The Portal will increase efficiency and effectiveness in the implementation of the Scheme.
• The major Institutes where research projects have been funded include Indian Institute of Science, Bengaluru; Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Kharagpur; IIT-Indian School of Mines, Dhanbad; IIT, Roorkee; IIT, Bombay; IIT Delhi; IIT, Bhubaneswar; IIT, Madras Chennai; CSIR - Institute of Minerals & Materials Technology, Bhubaneswar; CSIR- National Institute for Interdisciplinary Science and Technology; ICAR- Central Arid Zone Research Institute; CSIR- National Geophysical Research Institute; CSIR-NML; National Institute of Technology, Rourkela; Jawaharlal Nehru Aluminium Research Development and Design Centre, Nagpur, National Institute of Rock Mechanics, Bengaluru; Nonferrous Materials Technology Development Centre, Hyderabad, etc.

Source: PIB

6) IIT Guwahati develops affordable diagnostic kits for COVID-19

• Accurate testing is important to get out of the clutches of the novel coronavirus. Stepping up efforts in this regard, the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Guwahati, in association with RR Animal Healthcare Ltd and Guwahati Medical College and Hospital (GMCH), has developed low-cost diagnostic kits. These are Viral Transport Media (VTM) kits, RT-PCR kits, and RNA isolation kits.
• The VTM kits are the first-stop source used to collect nasal and oral swab specimens from an individual source to a laboratory safely for culture and testing. During this period, the virus, if present, in the sample specimens should remain intact until the testing procedure is completed. The kit consists of a comprehensive solution specially formulated for the collection and transport of SARS-CoV-2.
• “To bring down the cost of kits, we have used material that is available in the local market and they are as per the World Health Organisation (WHO) recommendation. We have handed over two batches of these kits to the National Health Mission, Assam, and GMCH. We are making them in bulk to make it available to a larger population,” said Prof. Parameswar Krishnan Iyer, lead researcher, IIT Guwahati.
• These kits comprise two transport media, one for nasopharyngeal and the other for oropharyngeal specimen collection swabs. Both of these are safe to use as they are recommended and validated by the Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) as well. The complete package is suitable for the collection, transport, maintenance, and long-term freezer storage of viral specimens. The unique formulation of the transport medium helps in preserving the viability of viruses for up to 72 hours (at refrigerated temperatures).
• The swabs have been designed ergonomically with a pre-molded breakpoint on their shaft for enabling secure sampling. These sterile VTM kits comply with the CDC-recommended configurations for viral specimen collection for COVID-19 and are packed in user-friendly individual packs. “These kits will spur the development of affordable and high-quality healthcare products in Assam and provide access to world-class kits and career opportunities to healthcare professionals and students,” said Prof Iyer.
• In addition to the sterile VTM kits, the Institute has also developed RNA isolation kits and RT-PCR kits jointly with RR Animal Healthcare Ltd. The isolated and purified RNA is then converted to DNA by an enzyme Reverse Transcriptase (RT), which is used to confirm the presence or absence of COVID-19. The large-scale production of all these kits has commenced meeting the requirement of Assam and will be made available across the country soon.

Source: PIB

7) 4% Contraction in Growth: ADB

• According to the Asian Development Outlook (ADO) released by the Asian Development Bank (ADB), the Indian economy is expected to contract by 4% during the current financial year (2020-21).
• Earlier, in April 2020, ADB had projected India’s economy to grow at 4% in 2020-21.
• The ADO analyzes economic and development issues in developing countries in Asia. This includes forecasting the inflation and growth rates of countries throughout the region, including China and India.

Key Points

• Reasons for Contraction:
• Global health emergency created by the Covid-19 pandemic.
• After the introduction of lockdowns in late March 2020, economic activity in South Asia came to standstill.
• The lockdown also disrupted the supply chain.
• The Gross Domestic Product (GDP) slowed to 3.1% in the last quarter (Jan-March) of the financial year 2019-20. It is the slowest since early 2003.
• The overall economic growth slowed to 4.2% in 2019-20 as both exports and investment started to contract.
• The Purchasing Managers’ Index fell to all-time lows in April 2020.
• Migrant workers have gone home to their villages after losing their jobs in the cities and will be slow to return to cities to work again.
• Growth Projections for Developing Asia:
• Developing Asia refers to a group of over 40 countries, including India, that are members of the ADB. A growth of 0.1% is expected.
• This is down from the 2.2% forecast in April 2020 and would be the slowest growth for the region since 1961.
• However, China is expected to record positive growth of 1.8% in 2020-21.
• No V-shaped Recovery:
• Even as lockdowns are slowly eased and select economic activities restart, economies in Asia and the Pacific will continue to feel the blow of the Covid-19 pandemic this year.
• Despite a higher growth outlook for the region in 2020-21, there will not be a V-shaped recovery.
• Issues Involved:
• The Covid-19 pandemic may see multiple waves of outbreaks in the coming period. This may lead to an increase in sovereign debt and worse to a financial crisis.
• There is also the risk of renewed escalation in trade tensions between the United States and China.

Asian Development Bank

• ADB is a regional development bank established on 19th December 1966.
• It has 68 members. India is a founding member.
• Japan and USA BOTH have the largest share of ADB at 15.6% each. As of Dec-2019 Japan & The USA has 15.6% China 6.4% India 6.3% and Australia 5.8%
• It aims to promote social and economic development in Asia and the Pacific.
• It is headquartered in Manila, Philippines.

Way Forward

• India should undertake policy measures to reduce the negative impact of Covid-19 and ensure that no further waves of the outbreak occur.
• As India has opened its economy, it needs to improve the supply chain which was disrupted due to lockdown.
• A labor market recovery will be key to the economy running again.

Source: The Hindu

8) Russia-India-China Grouping: RIC

• Recently, the Ministry of External Affairs has announced that it will participate in the virtual meeting of the Russia-India-China (RIC) grouping scheduled to be held on 23rd June 2020.
• It can be noted that the RIC was also a platform for the first meeting between India and China in New Delhi after the end of the Doklam standoff.

Key Points

• Special Session: This special session of the RIC has been called by the current Chair- Russia to commemorate the 75th anniversary of the victory in the second world war over Nazism and the creation of the United Nations (24th October 2020).
• It will also discuss the current situation of the global pandemic and the challenges of global security, financial stability, and RIC cooperation in that context.
• India’s Stand: The Indian decision to go ahead with the ministerial level exchange has created an opening for de-escalation of tension along the Line of Actual Control.
• China’s Stand: While confirming the participation in the meeting, China has also agreed to control the situation in the border areas.
• Russia’s Stand: Russia indicated that it would support “constructive dialogue” over the tension in eastern Ladakh as Russia is trusted by both India and China
• Regional Connectivity:
• Regional connectivity projects such as the International North-South Transport Corridor involving India, Russia, and Iran are expected to figure in the agenda.
• International North-South Transport Corridor (INSTC), is multi-modal transportation established in 2000 in St. Petersburg, by Iran, Russia, and India to promote transportation cooperation among the Member States.
• This corridor connects the India Ocean and the Persian Gulf to the Caspian Sea via the Islamic Republic of Iran and then is connected to St. Petersburg and North Europe via the Russian Federation.
• No Bilateral Issues: However, the focus of the meeting will be on global coronavirus pandemic and no bilateral issues will be discussed.

RIC

• RIC is a strategic grouping that first took shape in the late 1990s under the leadership of Yevgeny Primakov, a Russian politician as “a counterbalance to the Western alliance.”
• The group was founded based on ending its subservient foreign policy guided by the USA and renewing old ties with India and fostering the newly discovered friendship with China.
• Together, the RIC countries occupy over 19% of the global landmass and contribute to over 33% of global GDP.

The relevance of RIC for India

• Strategic Balance: Along with JAI, India would do well to give RIC the same importance. The groupings like the Quad and the JAI essentially revolve around the Indo Pacific and will confine India to being only a maritime power when it is actually both a maritime and continental power.
• Forum for Cooperation: Even though India, China, and Russia may disagree on several security issues in Eurasia, there are areas where their interests converge, like, for instance, on Afghanistan. RIC can ensure stable peace in Afghanistan and by extension, in Central Asia.
• Regular RIC interactions could also help the three countries identify other issues where they have congruent views like the volatile situation in West Asia.
• Creation of New Order: Contribute to creating a new economic structure for the world. The US apparently wants to break down the current economic and political order. While the existing structure is not satisfactory, the RIC could offer some suggestions which could be acceptable to the US.
• Governance over the Arctic: With the Northern Sea Route opening up due to climate change, the RIC has a common interest in ensuring that it is not left to the West and Russia alone and that India and China also have major say in rules governing the Arctic route.
• Other Aspects: They could work together on disaster relief and humanitarian assistance.

Concerns

• India has traditionally avoided taking sides in international politics, especially between the great powers, preferring its traditional nonalignment. However, China’s hostile attitude towards India in recent years is increasingly forcing India to confront it.
• This makes it difficult to see how engagements through platforms such as RIC, are going to alter the basic conflictual nature of relations between India and China.
• Even though Russia has remained an old friend for India, it is increasingly under stress to follow China’s dictates. E.g. earlier, it openly opposed the Indo-Pacific concept at the Raisina Dialogue.
• On issues such as Jammu and Kashmir, which China raised at the UN Security Council, Russia preferred taking a middle position, not supporting India’s stand entirely.

Way Forward

• India is committed to protecting its sovereignty and territorial integrity in the border areas and RIC would give the platform for resolution of differences (along the Indo-China Border) through dialogue.
• Moreover, the RIC forms the core of both the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) and the BRICS as greater cooperation between China, India, and Russia would lead to the strengthening of both SCO and BRICS.
• The RIC is a significant multilateral grouping because it brings together the three largest Eurasian countries which are also incidentally geographically contiguous. RIC hence provides a worthwhile platform to discuss issues like West Asia, Afghanistan, climate change, terrorism, regional connectivity, tensions on the Korean Peninsula, etc.

Source: The Hindu

9) Micius: A Quantum-Enabled Satellite

• Recently, satellite Micius has sent light particles to Earth to establish the world’s most secure communication link.

Key Points

• Micius:
• It is the world’s first quantum communications satellite, launched by China in 2016.
• The satellite serves as the source of pairs of entangled photons.
• Entangled photons are twinned light particles whose properties remain intertwined no matter how far apart they are.
• If one of the photons is manipulated, the other will be similarly affected at the very same moment.
• It is this property that lies in the heart of the most secure forms of quantum cryptography (the study of concepts like encryption and decryption).
• If one of the entangled particles is used to create a key for encoding messages, only the person with the other particle can decode them.
• Recent Developments:
• Micius has successfully brought entanglement-based quantum cryptography to its original ground stations 1,200 km apart by sending simultaneous streams of entangled photons to the ground stations to establish a direct link between the two of them.
• The satellite provided entangled photons as a convenient resource for the quantum cryptography and the two ground stations then used them according to their agreed protocol.
• None of the communication went through Micius (i.e behaved like a blind transmitter) providing the ground stations a robust and unbreakable cryptographic protection without the need to trust the satellite.
• Until now, this had never been done via satellite or at such great distances.
• It has not been specified how the messages were transmitted in this instance but in theory, it could be done by optical fiber, another communications satellite, radio, or any other agreed method.
• Scientists have started using quantum encryption for securing long-range communication and Micius has been at the forefront of quantum encryption for several years.
• Quantum Race:
• The disclosure of internet surveillance by western governments prompted China to boost quantum cryptography research to create more secure means of communication.
• The launch of Micius and quantum communication systems with its help have been compared to the effect Sputnik had on the space race in the 20th century.
• Sputnik was the first artificial Earth satellite launched by the Soviet Union into an elliptical low Earth orbit on 4th October 1957.
• Any country could theoretically trust Micius to provide entangled photons to secure its communications but the satellite is a strategic resource that other countries would want to replicate giving a further boost to the quantum race which has political and military implications that are hard to ignore.

Source: Down To Earth

10) Antiviral Drug Umifenovir

• The Central Drug Research Institute (CDRI), Lucknow, a constituent lab of the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), has received permission for carrying out Phase III trials for the use of Umifenovir against Covid-19.
• These trials will be randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled that will test the efficacy, safety, and tolerability of the drug.

Key Points

• Safe: Umifenovir has already been used for the treatment of influenza in China and Russia and therefore is safe. It recently came into prominence due to its potential use for Covid-19 patients. The clinical trial is to evaluate its efficacy in Indian patients.
• Strengthens Immune System: It acts by preventing entry of the virus into human cells and also by priming the immune system.
• Indigenously Developed: All the raw materials for the drug are indigenously available and if the clinical trial is successful, Umifenovir can be a safe, efficacious, affordable drug against Covid-19.
• Potential Prophylactic Use: It has the potential for prophylactic use. A prophylactic is a medication or a treatment designed and used to prevent a disease from occurring.
• CSIR’s Efforts Against Covid-19:
• The CSIR is evaluating Mycobacterium W (Mw) for faster recovery of hospitalized Covid-19 infected patients.
• The clinical trial of the Favipiravir drug has also been allowed by the Drug Controller General of India (DCGI).

Randomized, Double-blind, Placebo-controlled Trials

• Randomized trials mean that subjects are randomly assigned to placebo and intervention groups. Placebo is anything that looks like a real treatment but it is actually not. For example- sugar pills and saline injections.
• Double-blind means that neither the patients nor the researchers know who is getting a placebo and who is getting the treatment. This ensures that the result of trials is not affected by the biases of researchers and patients.
• Placebo-controlled refers to a control group receiving a placebo. This sets it apart from studies that simply give participants treatment and record the results.
• Here, a control group is given a placebo while another group is given the drug (or other treatment) being studied. That way, researchers can compare the drug's effectiveness against the placebo's effectiveness.

Source: The Hindu