Daily Current Affairs 6 August 2020 | UPSC Current Affairs 2020

Current Affairs Of Today 

1) Shadesmart & Radiant Cooling technologies promote energy-efficient cooling in buildings

• The Indian building sector has realized the importance of energy efficiency but it is yet to be effectively integrated into the construction industry. Smart, dynamic shading devices to keep rooms cool in climate zones and latitudes of India and low energy technologies for air-conditioning can help progress towards energy efficiency in the country, a large part of which experiences high-temperature conditions.
• The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI) in partnership with the Department of Science & Technology, Government of India has developed novel external shading solution for windows in residential and commercial buildings under the project Habitat Model for Efficiency and Comfort. The shading system named as “ShadeSmart” has been developed as an innovative and cost-effective solution for achieving indoor comfort with reduced electricity consumption in air conditioning and lighting.
• External shading devices are not common in modern buildings, which are mostly glazed or buildings with curtain walls. They are usually permanent structures, posing challenges such as maintenance, obstruction of views, architecturally not meeting the aspirations of the client, and so on. In contrast, ShadeSmart changes its configuration depending upon the Sun’s position. For example, when the Sun is in the East direction, East façade windows will be shaded, once the Sun is in South orientation during noon ShadeSmart configuration on East changes to provide unobstructed external views and glare-free daylight.
• The criterion of design for residential and commercial buildings substantially differs due to differences in activity and occupancy patterns, each design derived through a unique methodology ensuring the highest benchmarks of comfort and energy efficiency. The performance of each of these designs has been tested through software simulation as well as real-time field measurements at testbeds.
• ShadeSmart is being commercialized, and efforts are being made to make ShadeSmart more affordable than air conditioning in small thermal zones next to external windows, especially in the residential sector. This technology will help to bring inside the buildings more daylight with less heat, thus making occupants comfortable and also more productive and healthy.
• In the international market, many movable shading devices are available, however, since ShadeSmart is locally produced in India, it becomes an economically viable energy-efficient solution which every building may integrate to achieve energy efficiency.

Radiant cooling perceived COVID safe

• The second technology, Radiant Cooling, where cooling is achieved through radiant heat transfer, as against regular convective air conditioning is efficient and gives better quality of thermal comfort. At present, energy and comfort audits of existing radiant cooled buildings, energy simulations, and finally, construction of a Demonstration Habitat is being undertaken. Besides, the process to integrate radiant cooling in the National Building Code is being undertaken.
• Radiant cooled buildings have an extremely high potential of energy-saving (60-70%). Standard protocols for the operation of radiant cooled buildings and adaptive thermal comfort standards for radiant cooled buildings in India will make it convenient for the masses to adopt radiant cooling technology.
• Low energy hybrid cooling technologies and control mechanisms in radiant cooled buildings are being demonstrated along with the industry partners. The availability of such technology at an affordable cost will help reduce our dependency on imported products.
• Due to the COVID 2019 Pandemic, conventional air cooling, which involves re-circulation on return air, is being perceived as harmful to the health of occupants. In this scenario, Radiant Cooling, which employs 100% fresh air supply, is expected to gain popularity and higher acceptance rates in the air-conditioning industry. Hence establishing adaptive comfort bands and operating protocols of radiant cooled buildings can help the buildings sector adopt this low energy cooling technology. Work on Patentability Report has been initiated, and the patent is being filed for ShadeSmart.

Source: PIB

2) Equipment-free, a simple paper-strip based naked-eye fluoride ion detection and quantification kit in drinking water to evade Fluorosis-based disorders

• Fluorosis is a crippling disease resulting from the deposition of fluorides in the hard and soft tissues of the body due to excess intake of fluoride through drinking water/food products/industrial pollutants over a long period. It results in dental fluorosis, skeletal fluorosis, and non-skeletal fluorosis. Easy detection of fluorides in water can help to prevent public health hazards.
• Scientists from the Institute of Nano Science and Technology (INST), an autonomous institute of the Department of Science and Technology, Government of India, have developed an equipment-free fluoride ion detection and quantification in drinking water with the naked-eye. It can be operated by non-experts for household use to evade Fluorosis-based disorders.
• The technology developed involves a push-pull chromophore based on 2,3-disubstituted 1,1,4,4-tetracyano-1,3-butadienes (TCBDs) that changes color upon exposure to fluoride ion.
• The results were recently published in the Journal of Organic Chemistry. The researchers designed urea as an unusual donating moiety instead of traditional donor moieties, such as amines, to obtain better optoelectronic properties. The charge-transfer (CT) property that arises through-bond in aniline donor is usually quenched due to a photoinduced electron transfer (PET) mechanism. Whereas upon introducing urea as an electron donor, the CT exhibited both spaces as well as through bond due to “Field-effect”. Thus partial overcoming of the PET process, which led to white light emission.
• Later, they extended its applicability in sensing of biologically relevant fluoride, as it is well known that fluoride can bind with urea via H-bonding interaction. Thus the combination of the push-pull chromophore with urea turned out to be an ideal system for the same. The INST scientists have optimized the synthesis of this chromophore in the laboratory scale
• Furthermore, the design and synthesis can be slightly modulated to increase the sensitivity from 3 ppm to less than 1 ppm. Currently, the INST team is working in this direction. The major cost involves only the synthesis of the chromophore, making it affordable and accessible.
• Currently available, commercial kits for F– detection need analytical methods, mainly spectrometers (mobile or static). Some colorimetric detection kits are available, but they have some handling issues like work only with pH<1 (use of HCl), etc. The kit developed by the INST scientists’ scores above these in its ease of usage.
• Although a vast number of reports are available for chromogenic and chromo-fluorogenic receptors in solution, only a limited number of reports which studied solid-phase detection. However, all those receptors suffer some drawbacks such as they generally exhibit color change only in organic medium and inorganic fluoride source, competing for affinity towards other anions such as acetate and phosphate, with a relatively high minimum detection limit of 10–30 ppm, work only with concentrated HCl, use of metals, delayed response, etc. while some works only with UV-lamp and chemically treated paper.
• The non-planar push-pull chromophores sense fluoride ion with the naked eye in both solutions- as well as solid-phases.
• Several companies sell solution-based photometric as well as colorimetric sensor kit, including few Indian companies. However, there is no single product based on low-cost paper-strip available to bring down the cost of the kit as well as easy handling by a layman.
• Currently, one German company sells a paper-strip test kit for the detection of HF with a sensitivity of upto 20 ppm that too works only with hydrochloric acid (pH<1). This kit developed by INST can be used by a non-expert, with high sensitivity up to 3 ppm in aqueous/DMSO 1:1 condition and with only DMSO upto 1 ppm and free of dangerous chemicals and types of equipment.

Source: PIB

3) Pokkali rice seedlings

• Farmers in South 24 Parganas district in West Bengal are betting on the pokkali variety of rice from Kerala to tide over a crisis­like situation created by severe seawater incursion into paddy fields in vast areas of the Sundarbans after cyclone Amphan hit West Bengal
• The pokkali variety, known for its saltwater resistance, flourishes in the paddy fields of coastal Alappuzha, Ernakulam and Thrissur districts. The uniqueness of the rice has brought it the Geographical Indication (GI) tag and is the subject of continuing research.
• Pokkali rice had been in the news because of its uniqueness and also because a group of people in Kerala have been trying to revive the cultivation of that variety in the State
• The science society was aware of the problem facing the Sundarbans farmers and it was decided that pokkali seeds could be tried out as saltwater incursion had been quite serious in vast areas of the Sundarbans.
• About 80% of the rice paddies in the Sundarbans faced the problem of saltwater incursion and if the pokkali experiment succeeded, it would be a good step to turn around the fortunes of the farmers
• Five kilos of Vyttila­11 variety of pokkali seedlings were sent by post by Francis Kalathungal, who is part of the Pokkali Samrakshana Samithi, which has been at the vanguard of a movement to revive pokkali cultivation and prevent it from dying out. 
• The success of the experiment in the Sunderbans will be a big boost to pokkali cultivation even in Kerala.
• Vyttila­11 is the latest variety to come out of Kerala Agricultural University’s field station in Vyttila
• Vyttila­11 promises a better yield of about 5 tonnes per hectare than the previous varieties and is crossed with the Jyoti variety of rice popular in Kerala. The crop duration is about 110 days.

Source: The Hindu

4) New R&D Policy to boost drug discovery

• The Centre will soon unveil a new Research & Development (R&D) policy to boost drug discovery and the manufacture of medical devices in the country. 
• Alongside, numerous production­linked incentives are also on the anvil, including to the scientists involved in the process
• The government proposes to set up three major manufacturing parks including one in Hyderabad, with an investment of ₹1,000 crores each to help drive  import substitution of basic raw materials, active pharmaceutical ingredients (API) and the making of medical devices
• There had to be renewed focus on bringing together research institutions, academia, and the industry to identify new chemicals, update processes, and discover new drug delivery systems.
• Current approval processes were archaic and that there was a dire need to strengthen institutions and recognize scientists’ role in new discoveries, and to help them commercialize the projects so they too can ‘become millionaires’
• The Centre has so far received 13 requests for setting up the bulk drug parks.
• About 53 APIs had been identified for manufacture, of which 26 were being processed on a war footing, with results expected in 2­3 years. 

Production Linked Incentive Scheme (PLIS)

• Govt has already launched this scheme for mobile and medical gears AND govt is planning to extend this scheme for a few more sunrise (which has growth potential) sectors that have the export potential for example pharmaceuticals. 
• PLIS is implemented in a complex way and no need to go in detail in this scheme. But it is a very important scheme. So, let me give you an example of how it has been implemented for mobile phones.  
• If a company's sales of goods manufactured in India increases from a particular year (considered as the base year) then the Company will get an incentive of 4% to 6% on incremental/additional sales. For example, earlier a company was selling goods worth Rs. 1 lakh in a year and now its sales increased to Rs. 1.2 lakh. Then the company will get incentive of 4% of Rs. 20,000 = Rs. 800 (No detail available that in which form this incentive will be given and no need to know). There is a condition of additional investment in plant and machinery also under this scheme.
• Similarly, it is being implemented for the pharma sector also.
• Under this scheme for the pharma sector, around 53 active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs) — covering 41 products — have been identified by the government, for which companies will be eligible for financial incentives, provided they set up indigenous greenfield manufacturing.

Fact: 

• The Indian pharmaceutical industry is the third-largest in the world by volume and 14th largest in terms of value. India contributes 3.5 percent of the total drugs and medicines exported globally. 
• Despite these achievements, India is significantly dependent on the import of some basic raw materials (from China), viz., bulk drugs, and APIs used to produce finished dosage formulations.

Source: The Hindu

5) GI tag for basmati rice

• Amid Madhya Pradesh government’s push for the Geographical Indication (GI) tag for basmati rice, Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh has written to Prime Minister Narendra Modi seeking his personal intervention against allowing this in the larger interest of Punjab and other states which are already basmati GI tagged. 
• Apart from Punjab, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Delhi, Western Uttar Pradesh and select districts of Jammu and Kashmir have GI tagging for basmati
• India exported basmati to the tune of ₹33,000 crores every year
• Any dilution in registration may give advantage to Pakistan (which also produces basmati as per GI tagging) in the international market in terms of basmati characteristics, quality parameters
• GI tagging of Madhya Pradesh basmati would negatively impact the State’s agriculture and India’s basmati exports. Madhya Pradesh has sought inclusion of its 13 districts for GI tagging for basmati.
• As per the Geographical Indications of Goods (Registration and Protection) Act, 1999 a geographical indication tag can be issued for agricultural goods that are originating in the territory of a country, or a region or locality in that territory, where a given quality, reputation or other characteristics of such goods is essentially attributable to its geographical origin. GI tag for basmati has been given based on the traditionally grown areas of basmati due to special aroma, quality and taste of the grain, which is indigenous to the region below the foothills of the Himalayas in the Indo­-Gangetic Plains and basmati of this area has distinct recognition across the world
• Madhya Pradesh did not fall under the specialized zone for basmati cultivation. “It was for this reason that the State was not included in the indigenous area of basmati cultivation in India.” 

GI Tag

• A geographical indication is a sign used on products that have a specific geographical origin and possess qualities or a reputation that are due to that origin. To function as a GI, a sign must identify a product as originating in a given place. Also, the qualities, characteristics, or reputation of the product should be essentially due to the place of origin. Since the qualities depend on the geographical place of production, there is a clear link between the product and its original place of production.
• However, a protected geographical indication does not enable the holder to prevent someone from making a product using the same techniques as those set out in the standards for that indication. Protection for a geographical indication is usually obtained by acquiring a right over the sign that constitutes the indication. The registration of a geographical indication shall be for ten years but may be renewed from time to time. The Controller-General of Patents, Designs and Trade Marks (DPIIT, Ministry of Commerce) appointed under the Trade Marks Act, 1999, shall be the Registrar of Geographical Indications.
• India, as a member of the World Trade Organization (WTO), enacted the Geographical Indications of Goods (Registration & Protection) Act, 1999, and has come into force with effect from 15th September 2003.

Source: The Hindu

6) Pakistan’s New Map

• Recently, Pakistan has released a new political map that includes all of Jammu & Kashmir, Ladakh, Sir Creek, and Junagadh.
• The map has been released on the eve of the first anniversary of the abrogation of special status to Jammu and Kashmir under Article 370.

The Map:

• The map depicts entire Jammu & Kashmir as a disputed territory and does not show any borders in the east of Kashmir.
• It has also renamed Kashmir Highway in Islamabad as Srinagar Highway.
• It claims the Siachen, regions of Sir Creek, and the erstwhile state of Junagadh in Gujarat as part of Pakistan’s territory.
• This is not the first time Pakistan has tried to portray Junagadh as part of its territory. The 2012 Atlas of Pakistan also portrayed Junagadh as a Pakistan’s territory.
• The map also shows the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) as being part of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province.

India’s Response:

• India has called Pakistan's move as an exercise in political absurdity, which lays untenable claims to the Indian territories.
• These assertions have neither legal validity nor international credibility and it only confirms the reality of Pakistan’s obsession with territorial aggrandizement supported by cross-border terrorism.

Concerns for India:

• This is the second time in the recent past where India’s neighboring country has published a new map claiming India’s territories. Nepal was the first country to do so.
• Nepal published its news map claiming the territories of the Kalapani region.
• The closeness of Nepal, Pakistan towards China.
• Recently, China also changed the status quo along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in the western sector in its favor.

Sir Creek

• It is a 96 km long strip of water disputed between India and Pakistan in the Rann of Kutch marshlands.
• The dispute lies in the interpretation of the maritime boundary line between Kutch and Sindh.
• Pakistan claims the line to follow the eastern shore of the estuary while India claims a centerline (differing interpretations of paragraphs 9 and 10 of the Bombay Government Resolution of 1914 signed between the then Government of Sindh and Rao Maharaj of Kutch).
• India insists Sir Creek should be divided between the two countries according to the thalweg principle. Under international law, a thalweg is the middle of the primary navigable channel of a waterway that defines the boundary line between states.
• The International Boundary in the Sir Creek area and International Maritime Boundary line (IMBL) between India and Pakistan have not been demarcated.

Siachen Glacier

• The Siachen Glacier is part of Ladakh which has now been converted into a Union Territory. It is the Second-Longest glacier in the World's Non-Polar areas.
• It is located in the Eastern Karakoram range in the Himalayas, just northeast of Point NJ9842 where the Line of Control between India and Pakistan ends.
• It lies immediately south of the great drainage divide that separates the Eurasian Plate from the Indian subcontinent in the extensively glaciated portion of the Karakoram sometimes called the "Third Pole".
• It is the world's highest battlefield.

FATA

• The Federally Administered Tribal Areas was a semi-autonomous tribal region in northwestern Pakistan that existed from 1947. In 2018 it was merged with the neighboring province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

Way Forward

• Over the last one year, Pakistan has made several attempts to raise the change in Jammu and Kashmir’s status from a state to a union territory at several international fora but hasn’t been able to get much traction. Further, with Pakistan, India continues to maintain that terror and talks cannot go hand-in-hand.
• With Nepal turning hostile, Sri Lanka tilted towards China, Bangladesh miffed over the Citizenship (Amendment) Act, 2019 and India out of Iran’s Chabahar railway link project (which India was to have constructed), there is a relative decline in India’s sphere of influence, especially in its neighborhood and the extended neighborhood. This demands a deeper examination of foreign policy.

Source: Indian Express

7) Thenzawl Golf Resort in Mizoram

• Recently, the Thenzawl Golf Resort Project in Mizoram has been virtually inaugurated.
• The project was implemented under the Swadesh Darshan Scheme of the Ministry of Tourism, Government of India.
• The project was sanctioned under the Integrated Development of New Eco-Tourism under Swadesh Darshan-North East Circuit at Thenzawl and South Zote, District Serchhip, and Reiek, Mizoram.
• Eco-Tourism has been broadly defined as ecologically sustainable tourism.
• A total amount of Rs. 92.25 crore was sanctioned for it, out of which Rs. 64.48 crores was sanctioned for various components at Thenzawl including the golf course which is designed to have facilities of international standards.
• The competitive advantage of Thenzawl Golf Course is that it will provide quality golfing experience at a fair price.

Golf Tourism in India:

• Currently, India has more than 230 golf courses in all out of which several are of international standards, and golf events held there attract domestic and international tourists.
• Golf tourism has a strong potential in India because the climatic condition is more favorable here as compared to most countries.
• India’s picturesque landscapes and exceptional hospitality services add to the enhanced experience.
• The Ministry of Tourism, Government of India endeavors to work as a catalyst and active supporter for the development of golf tourism in the country.
• For that, it is creating a comprehensive and coordinated framework for promoting golf tourism in India as a niche tourism product.

Swadesh Darshan Scheme

• It was launched in 2014-15 for the integrated development of theme-based tourist circuits in the country.
• Currently, there are 15 theme-based circuits - Buddhist, Coastal, Desert, Eco, Heritage, Himalayan, Krishna, North-east, Ramayana, Rural, Spiritual, Sufi, Tirthankara, Tribal, and Wildlife.
• Theme-based tourist circuits are developed on the principles of high tourist value, competitiveness, and sustainability in an integrated manner to enrich tourist experience and enhance employment opportunities.
• It is a Central Sector Scheme.
• Under the scheme, the Ministry of Tourism provides Central Financial Assistance (CFA) to State Governments/Union Territory Administrations for infrastructure development of circuits.
• This scheme is envisioned to synergize with other schemes like Swachh Bharat Abhiyan, Skill India, Make in India, etc. with the idea of positioning the tourism sector as a major engine for job creation, driving force for economic growth, building synergy with various sectors to enable tourism to realize its potential.

Source: PIB