Daily Current Affairs 1 October 2020 | UPSC Current Affairs 2020

 Current Affairs Of Today Are

1) New Ideal weight of Indian men, women

• The ICMR­National Institute of Nutrition (NIN) has redefined the ideal or reference Indian adult man and woman about age to 19­-39 years instead of 20-­39 years. The body weight has been put at 65 kg for men and 55 kg for women while earlier, it was 60 kg and 50 kg respectively, which are a decade­-old.
• This is based on the latest nationally representative data sourced from the National Family Health Survey­4 (NFHS­4, 2015­-16), National Nutrition Monitoring Bureau (NNMB, 2015­-16), the World Health Organisation (WHO, 2006­-07), and the Indian Academy of Paediatrics (IAP 2015) to “derive acceptable reference bodyweight values through the lifespan”
• In the ‘Recommended Dietary Allowances’ and ‘Nutrient Requirements’ report prepared by NIN, the city-based nodal agency for recommending dietary allowances and nutrient requirements for Indians, includes Estimated Average Requirements (EARs) and Tolerable Upper Limits of nutrients for the first time. 
• Recommended Dietary Allowances (RDA) are daily dietary nutrient intake levels which would be sufficient to meet the nutrient requirements of nearly all healthy individuals while EARs are the average daily nutrient intake levels of the population.
• The cereal-­legume-­milk composition of the diet for a moderately active man has been improved to 3:1:2.5 as compared to the earlier 11:1:3 within a given low-cost window to meet daily protein requirements. 
• Visible fat intake for sedentary, moderate, and heavy activity has been set at 25 gm, 30 gm and 40 gm a day for an adult man and 20 gm, 25 gm, and 30 gm a day for adult women as against the single level recommended earlier. 
• For the first time, fiber-based energy intake was recommended and the level of about 40 gm/2000 kcal has been considered as safe intake. For carbohydrates, the EAR has been set at 100 gm/day for ages 1 and above with an RDA of 130 gm/day. 
• About sodium due to emerging concerns on the prevalence of hypertension a safe intake of 2000 mg/day which amounts to 5 gm/day of salt is recommended; while intake of 3,510 mg/day is recommended for potassium. 
• For children, the requirement is greater than 60 ml per kg body mass and for adolescent boys, it ranges from 47­60 ml per kg body mass, while, for girls, it is 39­ 49 ml per kg body mass. 

Source: The Hindu

2) Crimes against Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribes

• Crimes against members of the Scheduled Castes (SCs) and the Scheduled Tribes (STs) saw an increase of over 7% and 26% in 2019 compared with the 2018 figures, according to the annual Crime in India 2019 report published by the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) on Wednesday. Due to “non­receipt of data” from West Bengal for 2019, the 2018 data had been used to arrive at national and city­wise figures
• A total of 45,935 cases were registered for committing crimes against the SCs, showing an increase of 7.3% over 2018 when 42,793 such cases were recorded. At 11,829 cases, Uttar Pradesh recorded the highest number of crimes against the SCs in 2019, followed by 6,794 cases in Rajasthan and 6,544 cases in Bihar
• In the number of cases of rape of women belonging to the SCs, Rajasthan topped the list with 554, followed by Uttar Pradesh at 537 and Madhya Pradesh at 510.
• A total of 8,257 cases were registered for crimes against the STs, an increase of 26.5% over 2018 when 6,528 such cases were registered. Madhya Pradesh recorded the highest number of cases against the STs as it recorded 1,922, followed by Rajasthan, which recorded 1,797 and Odisha 576. The highest number of incidents of rape of tribal women (358) was registered in Madhya Pradesh.
• A total of 51,56,172 cognizable crimes, comprising 32,25,701 Indian Penal Code ones and 19,30,471 Special and Local Laws crimes were registered in 2019.  
• It showed an increase of 1.6% in the registration of cases over 2018 (50,74,635 cases), the NCRB said. A total of 4,05,861 cases of crimes against women were registered in 2019 compared to 3,78,236 cases in 2018, showing an increase of 7.3%
• The Commonwealth Human Rights Initiative (CHRI), a police reform advocacy group, said few cases were being registered for specific discriminatory action against the SCs and the STs.

Source: The Hindu

3) Southwest monsoon ends

• The southwest monsoon this year has ended with an 8.7% surplus, surpassing estimates by the India Meteorological Department (IMD). This is also the first time since 2010 that India has got more than 100% of its long period average (LPA) of 88 cm in consecutive years. Last year, India saw record rainfall of 110% of the LPA, the highest in a quarter-century
• India has never got over 105% of the LPA in consecutive years in at least 30 years, according to records available since 1988 on the IMD website
• There are larger trends that statistics show of a decadal swing in overall monsoon rainfall. The last
• two decades, however, have been weak
• The heavy rains this year have been due to several long­lasting low­pressure systems in the Bay of Bengal that fuelled heavy rain over large swathes of India in August. This wiped out the deficit in July, which is usually the rainiest of the four monsoon months. At 32 cm, August rainfall was nearly 26% more than what’s usual for the month.
• A developing La Nina, the converse of an El Nino, which is a heating of the central equatorial Pacific and responsible for diminished monsoon rain over India, too, contributed to munificent rain this year. 
• The IMD, in its forecasts, had anticipated ‘normal’ rain, defined as 96­-104% of the LPA. Rains above 110% LPA are termed ‘excess’ and this year has fallen only a tad short
• Of the 36 meteorological subdivisions that the IMD has partitioned the country into, 12 recorded ‘excess’ rain and 17 recorded ‘ normal’ rain. Only five divisions posted ‘deficient rain’.

El Nino

• El Nino refers to the unusual warming of the central and east-central equatorial Pacific Ocean which affects global weather. The warmer waters of the Pacific Ocean cause the winds in various regions to reverse, like the trade winds that come towards India.
• This change of wind direction leads to warmer winters and summers and a decrease in rainfall during the monsoon. Most of the time, it also leads to drought.
• There is also an opposite of an El Niño, called La Niña means The Little Girl in Spanish. This refers to times when waters of the tropical eastern Pacific are colder than normal and trade winds blow more strongly than usual.
• Collectively, El Niño and La Niña are parts of an oscillation in the ocean-atmosphere system called the El Niño-Southern Oscillation, or ENSO cycle.

Effects of El Nino

• El Nino affects global weather. It favors eastern Pacific hurricanes and tropical storms.
• Recorded unusual rainfall in Peru, Chile, and Ecuador is linked to the climate pattern.
• El Nino reduces the upwelling of cold water, decreasing the uplift of nutrients from the bottom of the ocean. This affects marine life and sea birds. The fishing industry is also affected.
• Drought caused by El Nino can be widespread, affecting southern Africa, India, Southeast Asia, Australia, and the Pacific Islands. Countries dependent on agriculture are affected.
• WHO report on the health consequences of El Nino forecasts a rise in vector-borne diseases, including those spread by mosquitoes, in Central and South America. Cycles of malaria in India are also linked to El Nino.
• Over India, the El Nino has usually been the harbinger of drought and the La Nina of rain.

Source: The Hindu

4) BrahMos Missile Featuring Indigenous Booster Successfully Flight Tested

• BrahMos surface-to-surface supersonic cruise missile featuring indigenous Booster and Airframe Section along with many other ‘Made in India’ sub-systems were successfully flight tested for designated range at 1030 hours today on September 30, 2020, from ITR, Balasore in Odisha. It is one more major step in enhancing the indigenous content.
• The BrahMos land-attack Cruise Missile (LACM) was cruising at a top speed of Mach 2.8.
• Today’s successful launch has paved the way for the serial production of the indigenous booster and other indigenous components of the powerful BrahMos Weapon System realizing the Atmanirbhar Bharat pledge.

Source: PIB

5)  CSIR Technologies for rural development

• The Minister of Science & Technology, Earth Sciences, and Health & Family Welfare, Dr. Harsh Vardhantoday launched CSIR Technologies for rural development under a joint initiative of the Council of Scientific & Industrial Research (CSIR), Unnat Bharat Abhiyan (UBA), Indian Institute of Technology Delhi (IITD) and Vijnana Bharti (VIBHA). The technologies released included:
• Improved beehive for quality and hygienic extraction of honey,  CSIR-IHBT, Palampur
• Technology for manufacturing of Ginger paste,  CSIR-CFTRI, Mysore
• Dehumidified drier for food and agri products,  CSIR-NIIST, Thiruvananthapuram; and
• Technology for agricultural waste (wheat bran, sugarcane bagasse, and fruit peels) based biodegradable plates, cups and cutleries,  CSIR-NIIST, Thiruvananthapuram
• Over the years CSIR has developed several appropriate technologies that could be deployed in rural areas for development and livelihood generation and achieving sustainable development goals. These technologies will now be disseminated to society through the Higher Education Institutional network of UBA and local chapters of VIBHA. CSIR- National Institute of Science, Technology and Development Studies (CSIR-NISTADS) is acting as a nodal CSIR Lab to establish linkages between CSIR laboratories, UBA, VIBHA, and stakeholders.

“Unnat Bharat Abhiyan”

• “Unnat Bharat Abhiyan” is a flagship program of the Ministry of Education conceptualized and launched in IIT Delhi, with a vision of transformational change in rural development processes by leveraging knowledge institutions to help build the architecture of an Inclusive India. Unnat Bharat Abhiyan now constitutes 45 Regional Coordinating Institutions (RCIs) and 2,614 Participating Institutions (PIs). To date, a total of 13,760 villages have been adopted under Unnat Bharat Abhiyan

CSIR-National Institute of Science, Technology and Development Studies(NISTADS)

• CSIR-National Institute of Science, Technology and Development Studies(NISTADS), New Delhi is one of the constituent laboratories of CSIR. It is devoted to a study of various aspects of interaction among science, society, and state and exploring continuously the interface between Science, Technology, and Society. Currently, the faculty comprises of highly qualified faculty members drawn from a variety of academic disciplines. This intellectual diversity is the mainstay of the institute. The Institute has core competence in Science and Technology Policy Research mainly addressing the concerns and problems of developing countries. The institute’s strength mainly lies in Interdisciplinary research teams, multi-discipline in faculty, long experience of field research.

Vijnana Bharti(Vibha): 

• VIBHA, a science movement with a swadeshi spirit, has a greater role to play. Swadeshi Science Movement was started in the Indian Institute of Science, Bengaluru by some eminent scientists under the guidance of Prof. K. I. Vasu. One of the founding principles of VIBHA is – Swadeshi Movement with modern sciences adapted to national needs.

Source: PIB

6) Kiren Rijiju launches Sports Authority of India’s new logo

The Minister of State for Youth Affairs and Sports, Shri Kiren Rijiju launched the Sports Authority of India’s (SAI) new logo at Delhi’s Major Dhyan Chand Stadium

Source: PIB

7) Green Strategic Partnership between India and Denmark

• India and the Kingdom of Denmark have launched the Green Strategic Partnership for delivering sustainable solutions to India.
• The Ministry of Commerce and Industry has also signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for Intellectual Property (IP) Cooperation with Denmark.

Green Strategic Partnership:

• The Partnership will focus on expanding economic ties, green growth, and cooperation on global challenges such as climate change.
• Green growth is a term to describe a path of economic growth that sustainably uses natural resources.
• Danish companies with niche technologies and expertise have offered to help India in meeting its air pollution control targets, including in the key area of tackling the problem of burning crop stubble.
• Other key points under the partnership include dealing with the Covid-19 pandemic and cooperation in water efficiency and water loss.
• The creation of India-Denmark energy parks in areas with large numbers of Danish firms and an India-Denmark skill institute to train Indian manpower has been proposed.
• The Green Strategic Partnership will build on an existing Joint Commission for Cooperation and existing joint working groups.

Intellectual Property Cooperation:

• The MoU aims at increasing IP co-operation between the two countries by way of, exchange of information and best practices on processes for disposal of applications for patents, trademarks, industrial designs, and Geographical Indications, and cooperation in the field of protection of Traditional Knowledge.
• It will be a landmark step forward in India’s journey towards becoming a major player in global innovation and further the objectives of the National Intellectual Property Rights Policy, 2016.

India Denmark Relationship:

• India and Denmark had signed a Joint Commission for Cooperation in February 2009 for cooperation in politics, economics and commerce, science and technology, energy, environment, and education.
• They have joint working groups on Shipping; Food, Agriculture and Fisheries; Environment, Biotechnology; New and Renewable Energy; and Labour Mobility.
• Currently, over 140 Danish companies are participating in the Make in India initiative.
• However, the relations got affected due to the non-extradition of the main accused of the Purulia arms drop case (Kim Davy) to India by Danish Officials.
• Purulia arms drop case, 1995: Unauthorised arms were dropped from an aircraft in Purulia district in the state of West Bengal in India.
• In the recent meeting for Green Strategic Partnership, both sides agreed that concerned officials will work for an early resolution of the matter.
• India has also invited Denmark to join the supply chain resilience initiative, which is proposed between Japan, Australia to diversify supply chains and reduce dependence on any one nation.

Source: The Hindu

8) Federalism and Emerging Challenges

Recently, several states have complained about the growing crisis of Indian federalism. They have argued about the Ordinances and the Bills brought by the Centre which encroaches on their area of legislation, which is an assault on the federal structure of the Constitution.

Federal Issues Raised by States:

• The refusal of the Central government of its legal commitment to compensate for Goods and Services Tax (GST) shortfall on account of lower revenue.
• The Centre argued that the lower revenues are the result of an “act of God” for which it cannot be held responsible.
• As per the GST Act, states are guaranteed compensation for any revenue shortfall below 14% growth (the year 2015-16) for the first five years ending 2022.

The re transgresses into the powers of the state government. E.g

• The recent Farm Acts which allow farmers to sell their produce outside the Agricultural Produce Market Committee (APMC) and aim to promote inter-state trade. However, the Acts encroach upon the State list.
• Entry 33 of the Concurrent List mentions trade and commerce, production, supply, and distribution of domestic and imported products of industry; foodstuffs, including oilseeds and oils; cattle fodder; raw cotton and jute.
• However, if foodstuffs are considered synonymous with agriculture, then all the powers of states in respect of agriculture, listed so elaborately in the Constitution, shall become redundant.
• The Parliament cannot legislate a law in respect of agricultural produce and markets under the Seventh Schedule of the Constitution because agriculture and markets are State subjects.
• The amendment in banking regulations by bringing cooperative banks under the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) supervision.
• Cooperative societies come under the State list i.e. list 2 of the Seventh Schedule to the Constitution of India.

Provisions Related to Federalism:

• Nations are described as ‘federal’ or ‘unitary’, depending on how governance is organized.
• Federalism essentially means both the Centre and states have the freedom to operate in their allotted spheres of power, in coordination with each other.
• In the unitary system, all powers of the Government are centralized in one Government that is Central Government.
• In the State of West Bengal vs Union of India (1962), the Supreme Court held that the Indian Constitution is not federal.
• However, in SR Bommai vs Union of India (1994), a nine-judge Bench of the Supreme Court held federalism a part of the basic structure of the Constitution.
• It stated neither the legislative entries in Seventh Schedule nor the fiscal control by the Union per se is decisive to conclude the Constitution is unitary. The respective legislative powers of states and Centre are traceable to Articles 245 to 254.
• The Court has observed that the Indian federation differs from the USA significantly. Indian Parliament has the power to admit new States (Article 2), create new States, alter their boundaries and their names, and unite or divide the States (Article 3).
• Recently, Jammu and Kashmir (J&K) State was converted into two Union Territories - J&K and Ladakh.
• The concurrence of States is not needed for the formation and unmaking of States and Union Territories.
• Further, the court noted the existence of several provisions of the Constitution that allow the Centre to override the powers of the States e.g. legislation on a Concurrent List.
• Even though the States are sovereign in their prescribed legislative field, and their executive power is co-extensive with their legislative powers, it is clear that the powers of the States are not coordinated with the Union. This is why the Constitution is often described as ‘quasi-federal’.
• The Seventh Schedule of the Constitution contains three lists that distribute power between the Centre and states (Article 246).
• There are 98 subjects (originally 97) in the Union List, on which Parliament has exclusive power to legislate.
• The State List has 59 subjects (originally 66) on which states alone can legislate.
• The Concurrent List has 52 subjects (originally 47) on which both the Centre and states can legislate,
• In case of a conflict, the law made by Parliament prevails (Article 254).

The mechanism to Solve Dispute:

• The Supreme Court has used two mechanisms to solve the dispute between the Centre and states over the entry list in Seventh Schedule. The mechanisms are the Doctrine of Pith and Substance and Doctrine of Colourable Legislation.
• The Doctrine of Pith and Substance says that the constitutionality of legislation is upheld if it is largely covered by one list and touches upon the other list only incidentally.
• The doctrine relates to finding out the true nature of a statute.
• Pith denotes the ‘essence of something’ or the ‘true nature’, while substance states the most significant or essential part of something.
• The Doctrine of Colourable Legislation tests the competence of the legislature against an enacted law. This doctrine states the fact that what cannot be done directly, cannot also be done indirectly.
• The doctrine restricts the overstretching of the constituted power of the legislature in a disguised, covert, or indirect manner.

Source: Indian Express

9) PMNCH Accountability Breakfast

• The Union Ministry for Health and Family Welfare participated in the Partnership for Maternal, Newborn and Child Health (PMNCH) ‘Accountability Breakfast’ (an annual event) to discuss the issues of maternal and child health.
• The event was co-hosted by the White Ribbon Alliance (WRA) and Every Woman Every Child (EWEC).
• The theme of the Event: Protecting gains in Reproductive, Maternal, and Child Health from the Covid pandemic.

PMNCH

• The Partnership (PMNCH) is a global health partnership founded in 2005.
• It is hosted at the World Health Organization in Geneva, Switzerland which joins the maternal, newborn, and child health (MNCH) communities into an alliance.
• The Accountability Breakfast aims to convert talk into action for the health and rights of women, children, and adolescents.

The White Ribbon Alliance

• WRA is a nonpartisan, non-profit, and non-governmental membership organization that aims to decrease maternal and newborn death globally.
• Founded in 1999 and the same year it came to India as WRA India
• Headquarters: Washington, D.C., USA

‘Every Woman Every Child’ (EWEC) Movement

• It was launched by the United Nations during the United Nations Millennium Development Goals Summit in September 2010.
• Every Woman Every Child is an unprecedented global movement that mobilizes and intensifies international and national action by governments, the private sector, and civil society to address the major health challenges facing women, children, and adolescents around the world.

Indian Government Initiatives during Covid-19 Pandemic:

• At the national level, the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare has issued guidance to the States to ensure that women, children, and adolescents continue to get all the healthcare services even under severe strain due to the Covid pandemic.
• Further, the government has included Covid in the medical conditions covered under the Ayushman Bharat – PM-JAY insurance package provided by the government.
• The government has tried to reduce out-of-pocket expenditure through its policy of no denial for essential services, like-
• Reproductive Maternal Newborn, Child and Adolescent Health (RMNCAH): It was launched in 2013 to address the major causes of mortality among women and children as well as the delays in accessing and utilizing health care and services.
• Tuberculosis, chemotherapy, dialysis, and healthcare of the elderly, irrespective of the Covid-19 status.

Government Initiatives related to Maternal and Child Health:

• LaQshya program to reduce preventable maternal and newborn mortality, morbidity, and stillbirths associated with the care around delivery in the Labour Room and Maternity Operation Theatre (OT) and ensure respectful maternity care.
• The safe Motherhood Assurance (SUMAN) initiative aims to achieve zero preventable Maternal and Newborn Deaths.
• According to the NITI Aayog data, Maternal Mortality Rate (MMR) has dropped by 8% in India to 130 per 100,000 live births. The aim is to get it in line with the Sustainable Development Goal of 70 per 1,00,000 live births by 2030.
• Janani Suraksha Yojana
• Janani Shishu Suraksha Karyakaram (JSSK)
• Pradhan Mantri Matru Vandana Yojana (PMMVY)
• Mission Indradhanush
• Poshan Abhiyan
• Mother and Child Protection Card
• Making available an adequate number of nurse practitioners in India is another important step towards the Universalization of Skilled Birth Care.

Reproductive Rights: 

• A woman's choice during maternal care reckoned that maternity care goes much beyond healthcare services, also including dignity, privacy, confidentiality, choice, and respect for her as well as her baby.
• India’s Zero-tolerance approach: For service denial to pregnant women and their new-born babies.
• Pre-Natal Diagnostic Techniques (Prohibition of Sex Selection) Act:
• PCPNDT Act was enacted in 1994 and amended in 2003 and is an important tool for addressing sex selective eliminations.
• Objectives: To ban the use of sex selection techniques before or after conception and prevent the misuse of a prenatal diagnostic technique for sex-selective abortion.

The Medical Termination of Pregnancy Act, 1971

• The Act provides for termination up to 20 weeks. If an unwanted pregnancy has proceeded beyond 20 weeks, women have to approach a medical board and courts to seek permission for termination, which is extremely difficult and cumbersome. For this, a new bill to amend the MTP Act is under the consideration of the Parliament.

Source: PIB

10) Congo Fever Alert in Maharashtra

The Palghar administration has asked authorities to remain alert against a possible spread of the Congo fever in the Maharashtra district.

Background: 

• Congo fever was first discovered in Crimea in 1944 and was named Crimean hemorrhagic fever.
• Later in 1969, scientists discovered that the pathogen responsible for causing Crimean hemorrhagic fever and the one that caused illness in Congo in 1956 was the same.
• Hence, the name changed to Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever.

Crimean-Congo Haemorrhagic Fever (CCHF):

• Cause: The CCHF is a widespread disease caused by a tick-borne virus (Nairovirus) of the Bunyaviridae family.
• Transmission:
• The virus is transmitted through the bite of the Hyalomma tick, an external parasite, living by feeding on the blood of mammals, birds, etc.
• It can also be contracted through contact with viraemic animal tissues (animal tissue where the virus has entered the bloodstream) during and immediately post-slaughter of animals.
• Human-to-human transmission: It can occur resulting from close contact with the blood, secretions, organs, or other bodily fluids of infected persons.
• Hospital-acquired infections can also occur due to improper sterilization of medical equipment, reuse of needles, and contamination of medical supplies.
• Fatality: CCHF outbreaks constitute a threat to public health services as the virus can lead to epidemics, with a high case fatality ratio (10-40%).
• Case fatality rate (CFR) is a measure of the severity of a disease and is defined as the proportion of cases of a specified disease or condition which are fatal within a specified time.
• CCHF is endemic in all of Africa, the Balkans, the Middle East, and Asia.

Symptoms:

• Fever, muscle ache, dizziness, neck pain, backache, headache, sore eyes, and photophobia (sensitivity to light).
• There may be nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, abdominal pain and sore throat early on, followed by sharp mood swings, confusion, depression, and liver enlargement.

Treatment:

• General supportive care with the treatment of symptoms is the main approach to managing CCHF in people.
• The antiviral drug ribavirin has been used to treat CCHF infection with apparent benefit.
• There are no vaccines widely available for human or animal use

Source: Indian Express