Daily Current Affairs 8 July 2020 | UPSC Current Affairs 2020

Current Affairs Of Today Are

1) Over 8 lakh Indians may be forced to leave Kuwait as country approves Expat quota bill

• The legal and legislative committee of Kuwait`s national assembly has approved the draft ex-pat quota bill which could result in 8 lakh Indians leaving the country.
• The National Assembly`s legal and legislative committee has determined that the draft ex-pat quota bill is constitutional, Gulf News reported citing local media reports.
• The Bill, according to which Indians should not exceed 15 percent of the population, is to be transferred to the respective committee so that a comprehensive plan is created.
• The outlet reported that `this could result in 800,000 Indians leaving Kuwait, as the Indian community constitutes the largest ex-pat community in Kuwait, totaling 1.45 million`.
• Of the 4.3 million population of Kuwait, ex-pats account for 3 million. The anti-expat rhetoric has spiked since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic with lawmakers and government officials call for reducing the number of foreigners in Kuwait.
• According to the latest data from Johns Hopkins University, more than 49,000 cases of coronavirus have been reported in the country.

Source: The Hindu

2) India may see the first monthly trade surplus in 18 years

• India may register its first monthly trade surplus in over 18 years in June as the pace of contraction of exports is estimated to have slowed down to around 12%, while imports are seen to have fallen almost 49% during the month.
• Initial estimates for June, available with the commerce department, show a trade surplus of around $786 million, with imports pegged at $21.1 billion and exports at $21.9 billion.
• The last time India had a positive balance on the trading account was in January 2002 when it had a surplus of $10 million with exports of $4.3 billion.
• On Friday, commerce and industry minister Piyush Goyal had said that exports in June 2020 had touched 88% of June 2019 level due to unlocking of the economy and resumption of activity.
• Several sectors, including iron ore, which may have gone to China, food products such as rice, other cereals, fruits and vegetables, and oilseeds reported healthy growth, the initial data shared by customs authorities showed.

Source: Times Of India

3) Hundreds of scientists say coronavirus is airborne, ask WHO to revise recommendations

• Hundreds of scientists say there is evidence that novel coronavirus in smaller particles in the air can infect people and are calling for the World Health Organization to revise recommendations, the New York Times reported on Saturday.
• The WHO has said the coronavirus disease spreads primarily from person to person through small droplets from the nose or mouth, which are expelled when a person with COVID-19 coughs, sneezes, or speaks.
• In an open letter to the agency, which the researchers plan to publish in a scientific journal next week, 239 scientists in 32 countries outlined the evidence showing smaller particles can infect people, the NYT said.
• The WHO did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Reuters.
• Whether carried by large droplets that zoom through the air after a sneeze, or by much smaller exhaled droplets that may glide the length of a room.
• The coronavirus is borne through the air and can infect people when inhaled.
• However, the health agency said the evidence for the virus being airborne was not convincing Especially in the last couple of months, we have been stating several times that we consider airborne transmission as possible but certainly not supported by solid or even clear evidence.

Source: The Hindu

4) Chinese city sounds alert for bubonic plague

• A city in northern China on Sunday sounded an alert after a suspected case of bubonic plague was reported, according to official media here.
• Bayannur, Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, announced a level III warning of plague prevention and control, state-run People's Daily Online reported.
• The suspected bubonic plague case was reported on Saturday by a hospital in Bayannur.
• The local health authority announced that the warning period will continue until the end of 2020.
• "At present, there is a risk of a human plague epidemic spreading in this city.
• The public should improve its self-protection awareness and ability, and report abnormal health conditions promptly," the local health authority said.
• On July 1, state-run Xinhua news agency said that two suspected cases of bubonic plague reported in Khovd province in western Mongolia have been confirmed by lab test results.
• The confirmed cases are a 27-year-old resident and his 17-year-old brother-year-old brother, who is being treated at two separate hospitals in their province, it quoted a health official as saying.
• Bubonic plague is a bacterial disease that is spread by fleas living on wild rodents such as marmots.
• It can kill an adult in less than 24 hours if not treated in time, according to the World Health Organization (WHO).
• A couple died of bubonic plague in the western Mongolia province of Bayan-Ulgii last year after eating raw marmot meat.
• Bubonic plague is a bacterial disease that is spread by fleas living on wild rodents such as marmots.
• It can kill an adult in less than 24 hours if not treated in time, according to the World Health Organization (WHO).
• Scientists from China Agricultural University, the Chinese Centre for Disease Control and Prevention and other institutes detected a pig influenza virus bearing genotype 4 (G4), which is contagious among pigs and has the possibility of jumping to humans, as the G4 virus can bind with human cells, state-run Global Times reported last week.

Source: The Hindu

5)  India’s largest butterfly: Golden birdwing

• A Himalayan butterfly named golden birdwing is now India’s largest, a record the southern birdwing held for 88 years.
• With a wingspan of 194 mm, the female of the species is marginally larger than the southern birdwing (190 mm) that Brigadier William Harry Evans, a British military officer, and lepidopterist, recorded in 1932. But the male golden birdwing (Troides Aeacus) is much smaller at 106 mm. 
• The new measurements of this and 24 other species of butterflies were published in the latest issue of Bionotes, a quarterly newsletter for research on life forms.
• The hitherto largest Indian butterfly that Brigadier Evans recorded in 1932 was an individual of the southern birdwing (Troides minos), which was then treated as a subspecies of the common birdwing
• While the female golden birdwing was recorded from Didihat in Uttarakhand, the largest male was from the Wankhar Butterfly Museum in Shillong
• According to the authors, the only measurement used in the study of Lepidoptera is wingspan — a simple concept with various interpretations of the term.
• Some older authors measured a straight line between the foreign apices (pointed ends or tips) of pinned specimens. This was controversial since the same butterfly could have different wingspan, depending on the position of its forewings about each other
• Brigadier Evans followed a more reliable method. He measured a butterfly from the center of the thorax to the tip of the forewing apex and doubled the result. His contribution was to provide the wingspans of all butterfly species then known from the Indian subcontinent and his book is still the standard work on the subject.
• The updated wingspan of three species — all from Uttarakhand — after the golden birdwing is the common windmill (Byasa polyeuctes) at 98 mm, the great windmill (Byasa dasarada) at 96 mm, and the common peacock (Papilio bianor) at 78 mm.
• The smallest is the quaker (Neopithecops zalmora) with a wingspan of 18 mm and a forewing length of a mere 8 mm. 
• The largest female golden birdwing’s forewing length is 90 mm.

Source: The Hindu

6) Countering America's Adversaries Through Sanctions Act

• The U.S’s message to countries, including India, on sanctions for the purchase of Russian arms, has not changed. This message was reiterated in the context of India’s planned jet fighter deal with Russia at an estimated ₹18,148 crores. 
• The US has urged all his allies and partners to forgo transactions with Russia that risk triggering sanctions under the Countering America’s Adversaries Through Sanctions Act (CAATSA)
• Last week, the Defence Acquisition Council approved the procurement of 21 MiG­29 fighter jets for the Indian Air Force (IAF), an upgrade for 59 of these Russian aircraft, and the acquisition of 12 Su­30 MKI aircraft. Defence Minister Rajnath Singh had discussed defense cooperation with Russia while on a visit to Moscow two weeks ago.
• The U.S. President was given the authority in 2018 to waive CAATSA sanctions on a case by case basis for the fiscal year 2019. However, U.S. officials have repeatedly stated that India should not assume it will get a waiver. These remarks were made in the context of India’s planned purchase of the S­-400 Triumf missile defense system from Russia for about $5 billion.

What is CAATSA?

• Enacted in 2017, it is a US federal law that imposed sanctions on Iran, North Korea, and Russia.
• Includes sanctions against countries that engage in significant transactions with Russia’s defense and intelligence sectors.
• The Act empowers the US President to impose at least five of the 12 listed sanctions on persons engaged in a “significant transaction” with Russian defense and intelligence sectors.

Source: The Hindu

7) MoU Signed between National Medicinal Plants Board and ICAR-National Bureau of Plant Genetic Resources

• National Medicinal Plants Board (NMPB) under the Ministry of AYUSH and ICAR-National Bureau of Plant Genetic Resources (NBPGR) under the Department of Agricultural Research and Education have entered into a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on 6th July 2020. The purpose of this MoU to conserve the Medicinal and Aromatic Plants Genetic Resources (MAPGRs) at designated space of ICAR-NBPGR in long-term storage module (as per availability) in the National Gene bank and or at Regional Station for medium-term storage module and acquire hands-on training on plant germplasm conservation techniques to the working group of NMPB.
• Both NMPB and ICAR-NBPGR are committed to serving the National interests through conservation of germplasm on a long-term basis, safely and cost-effectively for present and future generations to ensure social and economic security. The authorized institute NMPB and the ICAR-NBPGR on behalf of the ICAR would develop detailed modalities for seed storage of MAPGRs and submit periodic progress reports to their respective organizations.
• Medicinal Plants are regarded as rich resources of traditional medicines and are being used for thousands of years in the health care system. India has a rich diversity of medicinal Plants (MPs) resources. The natural resources are gradually getting depleted due to various developmental activities in their habitat. There is a need to conserve these natural resources and make sustainable utilization of them. The conservation of plant genetic resources is an integral part of biodiversity conservation. The purpose of conservation is to make sustainable development by protecting and using natural resources in ways that do not diminish the variety of genes and species or destroy important habitats and ecosystems.

Source: PIB

8) Sun-like stars in their later life hold key for Li increase in the Universe – new findings

• In a study recently published in Nature Astronomy (On 6th July 2020)scientists from Indian Institute of Astrophysics (IIA) an autonomous institute of the Department of Science & Technology, Government of India along with their international collaborators have provided robust observational evidence for the first time that Li production is common among low mass Sun-like stars during their He-core burning phase. 
• Light inflammable, metal lithium (Li) has brought about a transformation in modern communication devices and transportation. A great deal of today's technology is powered by lithium in its various shades. But where does the element come from? The origin of much of the Li can be traced to a single event, the Big-Bang that happened about 13.7 Billion years ago, from which the present-day Universe was also born. 
• Over time, Li content in the physical Universe has increased by about a factor of four, which is meager compared to the rest of the elements carbon, nitrogen, oxygen, iron, nickel and so on which grew about a million times over the lifetime of the Universe. Stars are primary contributors to this significant enhancement of heavier elements through mass ejections and stellar explosions. Li, however, understood to be an exemption!
• As per the current understanding based on today’s best models, lithium in stars like our Sun only gets destroyed over their lifetime. 
• As a matter of fact, the composition of all the elements in the Sun and the Earth is similar. But, the measured content of Li in the Sun is a factor of 100 lower than that of the Earth, though both are known to have formed together. 
• Prof. Eswar Reddy, one of the lead authors of the above paper says “this discovery challenges the long-held idea that stars only destroy lithium during their lifetime implying the Sun itself will manufacture lithium in the future, which is not predicted by models, indicating that there is some physical process missing in stellar theory.”
• Authors used spectra of hundreds of thousands of stars collected from large surveys of GALAH (Galactic Archaeology project, Anglo-Australian Telescope, Australia) and distances from European Space mission (Gaia).
• Further, the authors identified “He flashes” (on-set of He-ignition at the star's core via violent eruption), at the end of the star’s core hydrogen-burning phase, as the source of Li production.  Our Sun will reach this phase in about 6-7 billion years.
• The study also suggests new limits (A(Li) > -0.9~dex)  for classifying stars as Li-rich, which is  250 times below the threshold   (A(Li) > 1.5~dex) used till now. 
• Prof. Reddy further added, “The next crucial step for us is to understand the nucleosynthesis of Li during the He-flash and mixing mechanisms, which hitherto remain unknown, and also to find out whether the increase from its creation in Big-bang to the current value is accounted by only stars as the newly created lithium will end up of being blown off stars as stellar winds which replenish next generation of stars with it.”

Source: PIB

9) 15th Finance Commission holds a meeting with the World Bank

• For a better understanding of the contours of India’s Health Sector and given the Union Government’s need and intention for reprioritization of its health spending, the 15th Finance commission held a detailed meeting with representatives of the World Bank, Niti Aayog and member of the Commission’s High-level Group (HLG) on the health sector.

A presentation made by World Bank Highlighted that :

• There is scope for service delivery reforms by using innovation, leveraging technology, institutional strengthening, coordination, and empowering of States.
• The adverse economic impact is likely to be proportionally larger than the direct impact of the coronavirus on morbidity and mortality. For example, as per projections done by IMF, per capita GDP is projected to decline by 6% which is one of the largest contractions the country has ever seen.
• Quality of care has emerged as a key issue in India’s health system. Also, there is huge variability across states and care providers.
• To ensure a better quality of spending, there is a need for PFM reforms to improve budget execution, resource allocation formulas from states to districts should better reflect population need (mortality/morbidity/equity) rather than historical norms, reduce fragmentation of health protection schemes and a gradual shift to demand-side financing modalities.
• There is also a need for a renewed focus on equity and need. For example, NHM should be related to per capita spending on health, similarly, spending per beneficiary must increase in poorer States. Needs-based transfer formulas for health should be carefully designed. Also, a separate health equalization pot is needed. Explicit accountability frameworks including target results need to be explored.
• Greater attention to resource allocation is required within the States.
• Service delivery should rely on a robust public/private mix.
• The government of India can be an enabler of the ‘open source’ approach to promote service delivery reforms. For example, financing via centrally-sponsored schemes that allows flexibility in implementation and course-correction, setting accountability mechanisms with states linked to central schemes, and promoting knowledge transfer platforms may be used.
• Service delivery innovations need to be encouraged like introducing technology solutions, primary health care centers in urban areas may be run by contracted private providers, public-private partnerships may be encouraged in areas of digital technology, data science, the bottom of pyramid models; and multi-sector actions and community mobilization.
• Core public health functions need to be strengthened. Production of global public goods like new vaccines, medicines, and diagnostics to be enhanced. Use of private sector engagement for TB diagnosis and treatment, performance-based incentives to states and districts through TB Performance Index may be taken up.
• Strengthening of surveillance and district level capacity should be done to identify and respond to future epidemics. The following measures may be taken:
• Roll-out targeted investments to enhance integrated public health laboratory infrastructure and functions in states where capacities are weak.
• Develop and deploy district surveillance teams with core competencies in integrated disease surveillance across different states and at the central level to enhance analytical capacity for early and the appropriate response (Epidemic Intelligence Service).
• Develop and roll-out real-time surveillance & reporting system for Human and Animal Health Surveillance as most future outbreaks will be Zoonotic.
• Strengthen national and state institutions to effectively prepare for pandemics (NCDC) and develop ICMR as a global center for excellence in medical research.
• Strengthen inter-agency coordination for disease preparedness and response.
• Institutions like ICMR, NCDC, and NDMA should be strengthened for disease preparedness, diagnostics, investigation, response, and population health. Institutional reforms and innovations should be promoted in vertical disease control programs like TB, HIV, VBD. Local bodies like municipalities should also be strengthened in terms of resources and capacity building so that they can play incremental role in health care delivery.

For the First Time Finance Commission to Devote Entire Chapter on Health Financing

• Chairman stated that the Fifteenth Finance Commission, for the first time, will devote an entire chapter on health financing. He also opined that the High-Level Committee on the Health sector constituted by Fifteenth Finance Commission and the World Bank will dove-tail their study and analysis to come up with suitable recommendations for the health sector. The Government of India’s spending on health through Centrally sponsored schemes will also be studied in detail by the Commission before it gave its recommendations to the Union government.

Source: PIB

10) World Bank provides $400 million to enhance support for rejuvenating the Ganga

• The World Bank and the Government of India today signed a loan agreement to enhance support for the Namami Gange program that seeks to rejuvenate the Ganga river. The Second National Ganga River Basin Project will help stem pollution in the iconic river and strengthen the management of the river basin which is home to more than 500 million people.
• The $400 million operations comprise a loan of $381 million and a proposed Guarantee of up to $19 million.
• Ganga is India’s most important cultural, economic, and environmental resource, and the government’s Namami Gange program seeks to ensure that the river returns to a pollution-free, ecologically healthy state. The new project will extend the Government of India and the World Bank’s engagement in this critical national program to make the Ganga a clean, healthy river.
• Ongoing National Ganga River Basin Project
• Helped set up the National Mission for Clean Ganga 
• Helping build sewage collection and treatment infrastructure in 20 towns along the mainstem of the Ganga
• 1,275 MLD sewage treatment capacity created
• 3,632 km of sewage network built
• Helped foster public mobilization for Ganga rejuvenation
• Over 80 percent of the pollution load in the Ganga comes from untreated domestic wastewater from towns and cities along the river and its tributaries. The SNGRBP will finance sewage networks and treatment plants in select urban areas to help control pollution discharges. These infrastructure investments and the jobs they will generate will also help India’s economic recovery from the COVID-19 (Coronavirus) crisis.
• To ensure that these infrastructure assets function effectively and are well maintained, the Project will build on the innovative Hybrid Annuity Model (HAM) of public-private partnership introduced under the ongoing NGRBP, and which has become the solution of choice for sewage treatment investments in the Ganga Basin. Under this model, the government pays a private operator 40 percent of the capital cost to build a sewage treatment plant during the construction period; the remaining 60 percent is paid as performance-linked payments over 15 years to ensure that the operator runs and maintains the plant efficiently.
• The $400 million operation includes a proposed Guarantee of up to $19 million to backstop the government’s payment obligations for three Hybrid-Annuity-Model Public-Private Partnership (HAM-PPP) investments on the Ganga’s tributaries. “This is the first-ever IBRD Guarantee for wastewater treatment and the first IBRD Guarantee in the water sector in India and is expected to help free up public resources in the current economic situation,” said Shri Satheesh Sundararajan, Senior Infrastructure Financing Specialist and co-TTL for the Guarantee.
• The $381 million variable spread loan has a maturity of 18.5 years including a grace period of 5 years. The $19 million Guarantee Expiry Date will be 18 years from the Guarantee Effectiveness Date.

Source: PIB