Daily Current Affairs 28 September 2020 | UPSC Current Affairs 2020

 Current Affairs Of Today Are

1) India still far from herd immunity

• Union Health Minister Harsh Vardhan cautioned that the Indian Council of Medical Research’s first
• COVID­-19 sero-­survey should not create a sense of complacency among the people about the virus.
• Indications from the upcoming second sero­-survey “are that India is far from having achieved any kind of herd immunity.  People should continue to follow COVID­19 appropriate behavior
• The first sero­survey from May had revealed a nationwide prevalence of novel coronavirus infection of only 0.73%. 

Pradhan Mantri Swasthya Suraksha Yojana

• On the disparity in setting up only one AIIMS for the entire north-east, the Pradhan Mantri Swasthya Suraksha Yojana scheme was aimed at correcting the regional imbalances in healthcare. 
• Other than setting up new AIIMS, the scheme also aims to upgrade the existing medical infrastructure in a phased manner. Under different phases, the Centre will establish new medical colleges attached with existing district and referral hospitals in Dhubri, Nagaon, North Lakhimpur, Diphu, Kokrajhar districts in Assam, Churachandpur in Manipur, and West Garo Hills District in Meghalaya among others

Source: The Hindu

2) Destination North East-2020

• Union Home Minister Shri Amit Shah inaugurated the "Destination North East -2020"
• Destination North East is a calendar event of the Ministry of Development of North Eastern Region conceptualized to take the North East Region to other parts of the country and bring them closer together to strengthen national integration. For Destination North East 2020, the theme is “The Emerging Delightful Destinations” which speaks of the tourism destinations emerging stronger and more attractive when the Sector picks up momentum.
• The four-day program will feature Audio-Visual presentation of the tourist spots of the states and the region, messages from state icons and achievers, introduction to prominent local entrepreneurs, and virtual exhibition of handicraft/ traditional fashion/ & local products. 

Source: PIB

3) NTPC seeks bids for procurement of biomass pellets to co-fire thermal power plants

• NTPC Ltd, India's largest power producer and a PSU under the Ministry of Power has invited bids for the procurement of biomass pellets for its various thermal plants based on Domestic Competitive Basis (DCB) as part of its endeavor to reduce the burning of crop residue on farmlands that cause air pollution. The power producer has envisaged consumption of five million tonnes of pellets in the current year at its 17 its power plants including NTPC Korba (Chhattisgarh), NTPC Farakka (West Bengal), NTPC Dadri (Uttar Pradesh), NTPC Kudgi (Karnataka), NTPC Sipat (Chhattisgarh), and NTPC Rihand (Uttar Pradesh).
• As per a statement issued by NTPC Ltd, it had first undertaken this unique initiative on a pilot basis in 2017 for biomass co-firing by replacing some of the coal with pellet based fuel at NTPC Dadri, Uttar Pradesh. Post successful implementation, NTPC now plans to replicate the model in 17 of its state of the art plants. The invitation for bids would be done through e-tendering at SRM Portal. The bidding process will be followed by the Single Stage, Two Envelope Bidding System.
• NTPC is confident that co-firing will help create large scale rural employment opportunities in processing as well as the supply chain for biomass. The power producer will give preference to bids from suppliers from Punjab and Haryana. The bidders need to notify NTPC about the relevant provisions of the bidding documents before submitting their bids. NTPC had fired 100 tonnes of agro residue based pellets at Dadri, Uttar Pradesh in 2017. The test-firing was carried out in four phases, with a gradual increase in the percentage of firing from 2.5% to 10% along with coal. To date, the company has fired more than 7,000 tonnes of agro residue pellets.
• As per estimates, about 145 MMTPA of crop residue remains unutilized and most of it is burnt in India in the open fields, creating severe air pollution that leads to health issues. Open burning of agro residue is considered a major contributor to the surge in PM 2.5 in Northern India in the post-harvesting season.
• With its gross calorific value comparable to the bituminous coal, the power generation potential of the entire 145 MMTPA biomass burnt through co-firing in coal-based power plants is equivalent to 28,000-30,000 MW of round the clock generation of renewable power which can produce the same amount of electrical energy as can be produced from the solar capacity of 125,000-150,000 MW.
• With a total installed capacity of 62.9 GW, NTPC Group has 70 Power stations comprising of 24 Coal, 7 combined cycle Gas/Liquid Fuel, 1 Hydro, 13 Renewables along with 25 Subsidiary & JV Power Stations. The group has over 20 GW of capacity under construction, of which 5 GW comprises of renewable energy.

Source: PIB

4) CAG has flagged certain issues with govt. accounting

CAG has flagged certain issues with govt. accounting, These are:

• The Centre collects "GST compensation Cess" in the Consolidated Fund of India and then transfers to "Public Account of India" and then it goes to States Consolidated Fund. The amount is given to States only after proper reconciliation which Finance Ministry has said that it takes time and CAG is saying that the Centre has diverted and not given to States. 
• There is another news in which CAG has pointed out that Cess collected by the center is not utilized for the specific purpose for which it was collected. Cess is collected for a specific purpose like "Health and Education Cess", "Road and Infrastructure Cess" etc. and it should be utilized for that purpose only
• The Centre sold one PSU to another PSU to meet its disinvestment target because this type of transaction ultimately gives money to Govt. of India, which CAG has pointed out to be unfair because at the end of the day even after this kind of transaction, the sold PSU's assets are indirectly under Govt. control/ownership.

5) JIMEX­-20

• The 4th edition of the biennial India and Japan naval exercise is underway in the North Arabian Sea
• This is the first exercise following the conclusion of the mutual logistics support agreement early this month.
• The maritime cooperation has significantly increased between the two sides with a focus on information sharing and Maritime Domain Awareness (MDA) in the Indian Ocean Region (IOR) and Indo­-Pacific.
• JIMEX-­20 will showcase a high degree of inter­operability and joint operational skills through the conduct of a multitude of advanced exercises, across the spectrum of maritime operations
• Multi-­faceted tactical exercises involving weapon firings, cross­deck helicopter operations, and complex surface, anti­submarine, and air warfare drills will consolidate coordination developed by the two navies
• Advanced level of operations and exercises planned during JIMEX­20 are indicative of “the continued upswing in Indo­Japanese defense relations and continued efforts by both governments to work closely for a more secure, open and inclusive global commons, following international regulations
• The Navy has deployed indigenous stealth destroyer INS Chennai, stealth frigate INS Tarkash and fleet Tanker Deepak while the Japanese Maritime Self-­Defense Force (JMSDF) has deployed Kaga, an Izumo Class Helicopter Destroyer, and Ikazuchi, a guided-missile destroyer. The P8I long­range maritime patrol aircraft, integral helicopters, and fighter aircraft will also participate
• The two countries have made steady progress in MDA based on the implementing arrangement for deeper cooperation signed between the two navies. 

Source: The Hindu

6) Sandalwood Spike Disease

• India’s sandalwood trees, the country’s pride — particularly of Karnataka — are facing a serious threat with the return of the destructive Sandalwood Spike Disease (SSD).
• The infection has resurfaced in the aromatic tree’s natural habitats in Karnataka and Kerala. 
• According to a study by scientists of the Bengaluru­based Institute of Wood Science & Technology (IWST), the natural population of sandalwood in Marayoor of Kerala and various reserve forests in Karnataka, including MM Hills, are heavily infected with SSD for which there is no cure as of now. Presently, there is no option but to cut down and remove the infected tree to prevent the spread of the disease, caused by phytoplasma bacterial parasites of plant tissues which are transmitted by insect vectors.
• With between 1 and 5% of sandalwood trees lost every year due to the disease, scientists warn that it could wipe out the entire natural population if measures are not taken to prevent its spread. Also, they fear that any delay in arresting the trend may result in the disease spreading to cultivated sandalwood trees.
• SSD has been one of the major causes of the decline in sandalwood production in the country for over a century. The disease was first reported in Kodagu in 1899. More than a million sandalwood trees were removed in the Kodagu and Mysuru region between 1903 and 1916, prompting the Maharaja of Mysuru to announce a reward in 1907 of ₹10,000 for anyone finding a remedy. Later 98,734 trees were extracted during 1917­-1925 in Salem also due to SSD. 
• Such was the impact of this disease in Karnataka that the growing stock had been reduced to 25% of its initial level between 1980 and 2000. The devastating impact in natural habitats resulted in sandalwood being classified as “vulnerable” by the International Union for Conservation of Nature in 1998
• The present rapid spread of the infection is largely due to restrictions on green felling in forests, which has allowed vectors to spread the disease to healthy trees, says the IWST study.
• Presently it is very difficult to identify the symptoms of SSD. “It can be noticed only when the tree gets completely affected
• To combat the killer disease, the IWST will join hands with the Pune-based National Centre for Cell Sciences for a three­year study, initiated by the Union Ministry of Ayush with a financial allocation of ₹50 lakh.

Source: The Hindu

7) National Medical Commission

• Recently, the National Medical Commission (NMC) has replaced the Medical Council of India (MCI), as per the gazette notification issued by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare.
• MCI was established in 1934 under the Indian Medical Council (IMC) Act, 1933 with the main function of establishing uniform standards of higher qualifications in medicine and recognition of medical qualifications in India and abroad.
• The old Act was repealed in 1956 and a new act was enacted in its place. The new act was further modified in 1964, 1993, and 2001.
• The government dissolved the MCI in 2018 and replaced it with a Board of Governors (BoG), which was chaired by a member of NITI Aayog.
• Now, the IMC Act, 1956 stands repealed after the gazette notification and has been replaced by The National Medical Commission Act that came into existence on 8th August 2019.
• The change is aimed at bringing in reforms in the medical education sector and especially aimed at replacing the MCI, which was tainted by corruption and other problems.
• The NMC will function as the country’s top regulator of medical education.
• It will have four separate autonomous boards for:
• Undergraduate medical education.
• Postgraduate medical education.
• Medical assessment and rating.
• Ethics and medical registration.
• The common final year Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery (MBBS) examination will now be known as the National Exit Test (NEXT), according to the new medical education structure under the NMC.
• NEXT will act as a licentiate examination to practice medicine, the criteria for admission to postgraduate medical courses, and also for screening of foreign medical graduates.
• Besides, the National Eligibility and Entrance Test (NEET), NEXT will also apply to institutes of national importance such as all the All India Institutes of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) in a bid to ensure a common standard in the medical education sector in the country.
• NEET is conducted by the National Testing Agency (NTA).
• Dr. Suresh Chandra Sharma, former head of ENT (Otorhinolaryngology, the study of diseases of the ear, nose, and throat) AIIMS Delhi, has been appointed as its chairman for three years.

Source: The Hindu

8) Scrub Typhus

• An outbreak of Scrub Typhus (also known as Bush Typhus), a bacterial disease, has caused 5 deaths and 600 infections in Nagaland’s Noklak district bordering Myanmar.
• The North East Region is also suffering from an outbreak of diseases like malaria, Japanese encephalitis and Covid-19 pandemic.
• The cattles have also been affected by African swine fever.
• Caused By: Orientia tsutsugamushi (Bacteria)
• Spread: Through bites of Larval Mites of family trombiculid, also called Chiggers.
• Symptoms: Fever, headache, body aches, and sometimes rash.
• Occurrence: Rural areas of Southeast Asia, Indonesia, China, Japan, India, and northern Australia.
• Treatment: Antibiotics. No vaccine available.

Typhus

• Typhus is a group of bacterial infectious diseases that include epidemic typhus, scrub typhus, and murine typhus.
• Epidemic typhus is due to Rickettsia prowazekii spread by body lice.
• Scrub typhus is due to Orientia tsutsugamushi spread by chiggers.
• Murine typhus is due to Rickettsia typhi spread by fleas.
• Napoleon’s army was infected with Epidemic Typhus during his invasion of Russia in 1812 causing it to retreat.

Source: The Hindu