Daily Current Affairs 13 August 2020 | UPSC Current Affairs 2020

 Current Affairs Of Today Are

1) Abscisic Acid (ABA)

• A team of researchers at the Indian Institute of Science Education and Research (IISER), Bhopal, has conducted a study on seed germination that could have a major impact on agriculture in the long run by helping determine the optimum timing of seed germination and thus ensure high plant yields
• IISER focused on the interplay between plant hormones like abscisic acid (ABA) which inhibit the sprouting of the seed and environmental cues like light (which promotes the sprouting process) and darkness. 
• Although ABA, a ubiquitous plant hormone, was discovered almost 80 years ago and the mechanisms underlying germination inhibition by this protein have been the subject of intensive research, there is scant knowledge about the mechanisms controlled by ABA for arresting the post­germination growth in response to environmental cues. This is the gap that the IISER team has attempted to bridge with its experiments. 
• All plants, depending on their external environment, make the decision to open its embryonic leaves after sprouting or to enforce a growth arrest. Being ‘sessile’ [fixed to a place], plants have an extraordinary sensing mechanism to allow them to assess environmental conditions before a seed decides to open up and establish as a young seedling. Like humans, plants, too, have hormones like ABA that modulate their growth and development. Just like humans were forced to mediate a COVID­19­induced lockdown, plants, too mediate a “developmental lockdown” under stressful conditions to ensure their survival. 
• After sprouting, the young seed must take a crucial decision on whether to go ahead with the ‘seedling establishment’ process (the critical stage of plant growth) or not. The ‘right decision’ taken by the young seed ultimately allows it to secure its independence and take care of itself as it matures into an adult plant. 
• It is analogous to the baby steps in humans before a child can stand on its own feet and walk. Making the right decision in the allocation of resources to growth or stress responses is critical for the successful establishment of seedlings. If seeds germinate in adverse environmental conditions, seedlings ultimately risk expediting precious energy in ‘stress defense’ rather than growth
• Understanding the complex factors that modulate ABA sensitivity is vital to developing economically important plant varieties that have better tolerance to stress conditions. 
• The results of the study, though in its elementary phase, are vital as they come at a time when frustrated farmers across Maharashtra have lodged thousands of complaints against seed companies, alleging them of having provided them with seeds that failed to germinate. 
• Over the past two months, more than one lakh farmers in Maharashtra have lodged complaints against seed companies, prompting the State Agriculture Department to lodge over 75 FIRs against seed companies for giving soybean seeds to farmers which failed to germinate. 
• Explaining the critical role of ABA, the protein acts as a ‘master regulator’ of the seed’s growth by controlling several aspects of plant development, including seed dormancy and germination, as well as controlling growth under adverse conditions such as drought or salinity. 
• Considering that survival in such conditions can be really challenging, the ABA signals the seed not to germinate until there are favorable conditions for growth. If the stress comes after the germination of a
• seed, ABA suppresses further growth of the seedling. This inhibition leads the seedling to invest its energies less in its growth and more in ‘defense mechanisms’ designed to ensure its survival
• Research proved that the inhibition of seedling growth by ABA is much stronger in darkness as compared to light conditions.

Source: The Hindu

2) Deforestation cause of threat to hornbill

• A study based on satellite data has flagged a high rate of deforestation in a major
• hornbill habitat in Arunachal Pradesh.
• Using fine­-scale satellite imagery, a trio of ecologists assessed the changes in forest cover of the 1,064 sq.km. Papum Reserve Forest (RF) adjoining the Pakke Tiger Reserve as well as a part of Assam affected by illegal felling and ethnic conflict.
• Papum RF is a nesting habitat of three species of the large, colorful fruit­eating hornbills: Great, Wreathed, and Oriental Pied. The 862 sq.km. Pakke reserve houses a fourth species, the Rufous­Necked.
• The satellite data pointed to alarming deforestation rates in Papum RF with annual loss rates as high as 8.2 sq.km. as per estimates from 2013-­2017 where forest cover declined to 76% of the total RF area
• Results show the loss and degradation of critical hornbill habitat in the biologically rich forests of the Indian Eastern Himalaya
• The ecologists assessed the habitat loss due to illegal logging within a 1 km radius around 29 hornbill nest trees. From 2011 to 2019, the forest cover was found to have declined from 38.55
• sq.km. to 21.94 sq.km. around these trees.
• Hornbills used to be hunted for their casques — upper beak — and feathers for headgear despite being cultural symbols of some ethnic communities in the northeast, specifically the Nyishi of Arunachal Pradesh. But a 20­ year­old conservation program entailing the use of fibre­glass beaks reduced the threat to the birds to a large extent.
• Illegal logging, however, has however led to fewer tall trees where the bird's nest. While the protected areas such as Pakke are better guarded, the forests are often under pressure due to agricultural expansion, conversion to plantations, or logging. According to the Global Forest Watch 2020 report, the State lost 1,110 sq.km. of the primary forest from 2002­ 2019. 

Great Hornbill (Buceros bicornis)

• Near threatened– IUCN Red List
• State bird of Kerala and Arunachal Pradesh
• Local names —  homrai(Nepal), banrao, Vezhaambal
• Long-lived, living for nearly 50 years in captivity
• Found in the Indian subcontinent and Southeast Asia
• Predominantly frugivorous, but is an opportunist and will prey on small mammals, reptiles, and birds.
• Appendix Iof CITES

Cultural significance

• Its impressive size and color have made it important in many tribal cultures and rituals.
• Beaks and head are used in charms
• The flesh is believed to be medicinal
• Young birds are considered a delicacy
• Tribesmen in parts of northeastern India and Borneo use the feathers for head-dresses, and the skulls are often worn as decorations
• Zomi, a festival without a hornbill feather is incomplete

Threats

• Logging
• Forest clearance for agriculture
• susceptible to hunting pressure
• The casque and tail feathers are targeted in many locations across the range; both are used as adornments by local communities

Source: The Hindu

3) PM SVANidhi scheme

• The number of loan sanctions and the number of applications received under PM Street Vendor’s AtmaNirbhar Nidhi (PM SVANidhi) scheme has crossed the mark of 1 lakh and 5 lakhs respectively within 41 days of commencement of the lending process on July 02, 2020.   The PM SVANidhi scheme has generated considerable enthusiasm among the street vendors, who have been looking for access to affordable working capital credit for re-starting their businesses post COVID-19 lockdown.
• The PM SVANidhi Scheme was launched by Ministry of Housing & Urban Affairs under the ambit of ‘AtmaNirbhar Bharat Abhiyan’. It aims at facilitating collateral-free working capital loans upto Rs 10,000 of 1-year tenure, to about 50 lakh street vendors in the urban areas, including those from the surrounding peri-urban/ rural areas, to resume their businesses post COVID-19 lockdown. Incentives in the form of interest subsidy @ 7% per annum on regular repayment of the loan, cashback upto Rs 1,200 per annum on undertaking prescribed digital transactions, and eligibility for enhanced next tranche of loan have also been provided.
• PM SVANidhi Scheme envisages bringing ‘Banks at the doorsteps’ of these ‘nano-entrepreneurs’ by engaging the Non-Banking Financial Companies (NBFCs) and the Micro-Finance Institutions (MFIs) as lending institutions in addition to Scheduled Commercial Banks - Public & Private, Regional Rural Banks, Cooperative Banks, SHG Banks, etc. The onboarding of the vendors on digital payment platforms is a very important component to build the credit profile of the vendors to help them become part of the formal urban economy.
• Small Industries Development Bank of India (SIDBI) is the implementation partner for the scheme. A graded guarantee cover is provided, on a portfolio basis, to these lending institutions through Credit Guarantee Fund Trust for Micro and Small Enterprises (CGTMSE) to encourage lending to street vendors.
• The street vendors mostly operate their businesses on very thin margins. The micro-credit support under the scheme is expected to provide not only major relief to such vendors but also help them climb the economic ladder. Use of an integrated IT Platform (pmsvanidhi.mohua.org.in), Web Portal and Mobile App has enabled the Scheme to extend its reach and benefits to this segment of society with the objective of minimum government and maximum governance.

Source: PIB

4) Poor access to abortion drugs

• Over­regulation of drugs to curb gender­biased sex selection such as through government programs like ‘Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao’ has hindered access to safe, legal, and cost­-effective abortion, according to to a survey across six States which found an “overwhelming shortage” of abortion pills or medical abortion drugs. 
• A study conducted among 1,500 chemists in six States by the Foundation for Reproductive Health Services India (FRHSI) indicated a severe shortage of medical abortion (MA) drugs in five out of the six states surveyed, with an abysmal stocking in Madhya Pradesh (6.5%), Punjab (1%), Tamil
• Nadu (2%), Haryana (2%) and Delhi (34%). The only State that seemed to be better was Assam (69.6%).
• The findings show that Statewise regulatory and legal barriers are the key reasons why 79% of the chemists surveyed refrained from stocking these drugs. As many as 54.8% of chemists also reported that medical abortion drugs were over­regulated as compared to other prescription drugs. “The regulatory hurdles are due to a misunderstanding that the easy availability of medical abortion drugs will be misused for sex selection. But this drug is approved for use only up to nine weeks, whereas ultrasound can detect a fetus only at around 13­14 weeks. Moreover, these abortions are allowed under the Medical Termination Act. The law on abortions allows termination of pregnancy in the first nine weeks and in some cases even in the second trimester, such as in sexual assault cases as well as due to fetal anomalies
• Abortion pills are different from emergency contraceptive pills. The latter is taken 72 hours after unprotected sex to prevent unintended pregnancy.  Abortion pills or MA drugs are abortifacients that terminate a pregnancy by expelling an embryo or fetus. 
• The regulatory crackdown has resulted in abortion services, on the whole, becoming inaccessible, especially those during the second trimester, but there is little ground for restricting MA drugs.
• The lack of availability of MA drugs forces many women to seek a surgical abortion from a facility, reducing her choice.
• It will also reduce access to safe abortion and force them to seek services from unsafe providers as there are only 16,296 approved abortion facilities in the private sector in the country, whereas MA drugs can be provided by an obstetrician or a gynecologist, who are estimated to number about 60,000­70,000, the study highlights.
• A Lancet study on the incidence of abortion and pregnancy in 2015 estimated that 81% of abortions annually are medical abortions and nearly 90% of abortions are sought in the first trimester.
• Moreover, MA drugs are also cost­effective. The cost of a first-trimester surgical abortion varies from ₹2,000­-5,000 in Tier 2 and Tier 3 towns and smaller nursing homes or clinics. In these towns, the cost of abortion pills plus the consultation fee is in the range of ₹700­-1,000.
• During COVID­19, the lack of access to abortion services is likely to have worsened as not only traveling to a surgical facility is challenging, but the cost of such a procedure may have gone up as clinics charge for PPE (personal protection equipment) and require a mandatory COVID-­19 test. 

Source: The Hindu

5) India-Nepal Talks

• The ambassadors of India and Nepal are likely to meet in Kathmandu (Nepal) to review projects funded by the Indian government.
• The meeting is likely to take place via videoconference in view of the Covid-19 pandemic situation.
• This meeting will be a part of India- Nepal Joint Oversight Mechanism.
• The mechanism was established in 2016 to review ongoing bilateral economic and development projects.
• The government of India has allocated Rs. 800 crore in budget 2020-21 for projects in Nepal.
• These projects include building roads in the Terai region, helping Nepal in its post-earthquake (2015) reconstruction work, building railway lines, a police training academy, a polytechnic college, an oil pipeline, and border check posts.
• Recently, a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was signed between India and Nepal for the construction of a sanitation facility at the Pashupatinath Temple, Kathmandu.
• This meeting is important in light of recent tensions between India and Nepal.
• In 2017, Nepal signed up to China's Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), which sought to create highways, airports, and other infrastructure in the country. BRI was rejected by India and this move of Nepal was seen as an inclination towards China.
• In 2019, a new political map of India, made after the bifurcation of the state of Jammu and Kashmir (J&K) into the Union Territories of J&K and Ladakh, showed Kalapani, Lipulekh, and Limpiyadhura as part of Pithoragarh district in Uttarakhand state.
• India and Nepal have border disputes over Kalapani - Limpiyadhura - Lipulekh trijunction between India-Nepal and China and Susta area (West Champaran district, Bihar).
• Nepal objected strongly against this map and opinionated that the issue should be resolved through negotiations.
• Further, the inauguration of a road up to Lipulekh Pass (for Kailash Mansarovar Yatra) by the Indian government on the border with China sparked more protests from Nepal.
• In retaliation, Nepal released a new map that includes all the disputed territories claimed by India.

Way Forward

• India and Nepal should together strive towards clearing the tensions between the two countries which have historically shared close ties. Nepal’s growing affinity with China can also pose a security concern for India amidst the India-China conflicts.
• As India has adopted a Neighbourhood First Policy, it must work more proactively with Nepal in terms of people to people engagement, bureaucratic engagement as well as political interactions.
• In this context, the Gujral Doctrine which helped in resolving India-Bangladesh dispute can be of much help.

Source: Indian Express

6) Depsang Plains

• Recently, India and China have held talks at the Major General-level to discuss issues concerning the strategic Depsang Plains.
• The talks were held at Daulat Beg Oldie (DBO) and were limited to Depsang to discuss issues of varying claims and also blocking patrols by each other.

About the Meeting:

• This was the first high-level talks post-Galwan clash of 15th June 2020.
• Military talks since then have been limited to the Corps Commander level.
• The meeting only discussed routine patrolling patterns by both sides as part of border management leaving aside disengagement or de-escalation.

Depsang Plains:

• The Depsang Plains along with Pangong Tso are the two major areas of concern in the ongoing standoff along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in eastern Ladakh.
• Despite the strategic importance of the Depsang Plains, the series of military talks held so far have focussed on the standoff areas at Galwan, Gogra Hotsprings, and Finger area of Pangong Tso.
• Depsang is one of the few places on the LAC where tank maneuvers are possible.
• During the 1962 war, Chinese troops occupied the Plains. In 2013, Chinese troops came 19 km inside and pitched tents resulting in a 21-day standoff.

Issues:

• There is a heavy Chinese presence at a crucial area called the Bulge, in the Depsang Plains.
• Chinese troops have blocked the Indian Army patrols from reaching the various patrolling points.
• There has also been a build-up of tanks and armored vehicles on the Chinese side very close to the LAC.

Threats:

• It threatens Indian positions at Burtse and Raki Nala inside Indian territory and further DBO by bringing Chinese troops closer to the 255 km long crucial Darbuk-Shyok-DBO road.
• Depsang is also close to the Karakoram Pass, overlooking the very strategic Saltoro Ridge and Siachen glacier.

Challenges:

• While addressing the India@75 Summit organized by the Confederation of Indian Industries (CII), the External Affairs Minister of India held that reaching an understanding with China is a huge challenge before Sino-Indian relations.
• Both countries are demographically very unique with the billion-plus populations.
• There is a parallel but differential rise happening at a time when both are neighbors as modern states which puts a huge premium on reaching some kind of equilibrium or understanding between the two.

Way Forward

• Finding a balance or equilibrium is very central and crucial for Indian foreign policy calculation.
• At this moment, it is particularly important to revisit the original aspiration of establishing diplomatic relations 70 years ago and carry forward the spirit of good neighborliness and friendship, unity, and cooperation.
• India and China are amongst the largest economies, demography, markets, and militaries of the world. Therefore, it is in the interests of both countries to align their energies for the growth and development of their people, region, and global peace.

Source: The Hindu

7) Russian Covid Vaccine: Sputnik V

• Recently, Russia became the first country to officially register a Covid-19 vaccine and declare it ready for use.
• The vaccine has been called Sputnik V, named after the first artificial Earth satellite, Sputnik-I launched by the Soviet Union.
• It is the first Covid-19 vaccine to be approved.
• However, a Chinese vaccine had been cleared for ‘limited use’ before this. It is an adenovirus vector vaccine approved to be administered only on soldiers of the People’s Liberation Army.
• The Russian vaccine has outrun other Covid-19 vaccines like Oxford-AstraZeneca, Moderna, and Pfizer which are still in trials.
• India’s Covaxin has been approved for human clinical trials. Another Indian vaccine ZyCoV-D has entered phase I/II of clinical trials.
• This vaccine has been developed by Moscow’s Gamaleya Institute in collaboration with Russia’s defense ministry.
• The vaccine is based on the DNA of a SARS-CoV-2 type adenovirus, a common cold virus.
• The vaccine uses the weakened virus to deliver small parts of a pathogen and stimulate an immune response.
• The vaccine is administered in two doses and consists of two types of human adenovirus, each carrying an S-antigen of the new coronavirus, which enter human cells and produce an immune response.
• Russian officials have said that large-scale production of the vaccine will start in September, and mass vaccination may begin as early as October.

Adenovirus Vector Vaccine 

• In this vaccine, adenovirus is used as a tool to deliver genes or vaccine antigens to the target host tissue.
• Adenovirus: Adenoviruses (ADVs) are DNA viruses ranging from 70-90 nanometre in size, which induces many illnesses in humans like cold, respiratory infection, etc.
• Adenoviruses are preferred for vaccines because their DNA is double-stranded which makes them genetically more stable and the chances of them changing after injection are lower.
• The rabies vaccine is an adenovirus vaccine.
• However, there are drawbacks of adenovirus vector vaccines like pre-existing immunity in humans, inflammatory responses, etc.
• Just as human bodies develop immune responses to most real viral infections, they also develop immunity to adenoviral vectors. Since adenoviral vectors are based on natural viruses that some humans might already have been exposed to, these vaccines might not work for everyone.

Concerns Regarding the Vaccine:

• Experts expressed concerns over the safety and efficacy of the vaccine due to its extremely fast production and lack of published data on the vaccine.
• Russia has only made public the results of phase-I of the clinical trials, which it claimed were successful and produced the desired immune response.
• The human trials, which take several years in normal circumstances, have been completed in less than two months for Sputnik V. The late-phase human trials are important because the vaccine’s efficacy can differ in different population groups.
• Russia, however, has claimed that this was made possible due to the fact that its Covid-19 vaccine candidate closely resembled a vaccine for Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) disease, caused by another coronavirus, that had already been tested extensively.

Use in India:

• Russia has claimed that around 20 countries have shown interest in the Sputnik V vaccine, including India.
• India has also partnered with the USA for the development of the Covid-19 vaccine.
• The approval for a vaccine is given by the Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation (CDSCO).
• The Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation (CDSCO), under Directorate General of Health Services, Ministry of Health & Family Welfare, is the National Regulatory Authority (NRA) of India.
• Under the Drugs and Cosmetics Act, 1940, CDSCO is responsible for the approval of Drugs, Conduct of Clinical Trials, laying down the standards for Drugs, control over the quality of imported drugs in the country and coordination of the activities of State Drug Control Organizations by providing expert advice.
• CDSCO can ask Russia to conduct late-phase human trials, usually both phase-2 and phase-3, on an Indian population.
• This is the usual requirement for all vaccines developed outside of India.
• CDSCO can also give emergency authorization without late-phase trials, considering the extraordinary situation.
• The drug remdesivir was recently granted similar emergency approval to be used as a therapeutic on novel coronavirus patients.
• However, this is unlikely as vaccines are given to a large number of people, and the risks involved are much higher.
• There are also issues in manufacturing the vaccine as there is no agreement for its production in India right now.
• Pune-based Serum Institute of India, the world’s largest manufacturer of vaccines by volume, has already entered into tie-ups with developers to mass-produce their vaccines. Other Indian companies have also done similar agreements but there is none with Russia.

Development of a vaccine

• The general stages of the development cycle of a vaccine are:
• Exploratory stage
• Pre-clinical stage
• Clinical development
• Regulatory review and approval
• Manufacturing and
• Quality control.
• Clinical development is a three-phase process:
• Clinical trials in humans are classified into three phases: phase I, phase II, and phase III, and in certain countries formal regulatory approval is required to undertake any of these studies.
• The phase I clinical studies carry out initial testing of a vaccine in small numbers (e.g. 20) of healthy adults, to test the properties of a vaccine, its tolerability, and, if appropriate, clinical laboratory and pharmacological parameters. Phase I studies are primarily concerned with safety.
• Phase II studies involve larger numbers of subjects and are intended to provide preliminary information about a vaccine’s ability to produce its desired effect (usually immunogenicity) in the target population and its general safety.
• Extensive phase III trials are required to fully assess the protective efficacy and safety of a vaccine. The phase III clinical trial is the pivotal study on which the decision on whether to grant the license is based and sufficient data have to be obtained to demonstrate that a new product is safe and effective for the purpose intended.
• Many vaccines undergo Phase IV formal ongoing studies after the vaccine is approved and licensed.

Source: Indian Express

8) Indonesia’s Mt. Sinabung Erupted

• Recently, Mt. Sinabung, an active volcano on Indonesia’s Sumatra island has erupted.
• Mount Sinabung is located in Karo regency, North Sumatra.

Mt. Sinabung:

• It is among more than 130 active volcanoes in Indonesia, which is prone to seismic upheaval due to its location on the Pacific’s Ring of Fire.
• The volcano was dormant for 400 years before exploding in 2010. It exploded again in 2014 and 2016.

Ring of Fire:

• The Ring of Fire also referred to as the Circum-Pacific Belt, is a path along the Pacific Ocean characterized by active volcanoes and frequent earthquakes.
• It traces boundaries between several tectonic plates—including the Pacific, Cocos, Indian-Australian, Nazca, North American, and Philippine Plates.
• 75% of Earth’s volcanoes i.e. more than 450 volcanoes are located along the Ring of Fire. 90% of Earth’s earthquakes occur along its path.
• The abundance of volcanoes and earthquakes along the Ring of Fire is caused by the amount of movement of tectonic plates in the area.
• Along much of the Ring of Fire, plates overlap at convergent boundaries called subduction zones. That is, the plate that is underneath is pushed down, or subducted, by the plate above. As the rock is subducted, it melts and becomes magma. The abundance of magma so near to Earth’s surface gives rise to conditions ripe for volcanic activity.
• A significant exception is a border between the Pacific and North American Plates. This stretch of the Ring of Fire is a transform boundary, where plates move sideways past one another. This type of boundary generates a large number of earthquakes as tension in Earth’s crust builds up and is released.

Source: Indian Express