💥Join UPSC 2027,2028 Mentorship (July Batch) + XFactor Notes & Microthemes PDF
Talk to Mentor

Civilsdaily

Login

Distribution: weekly

  • Oculudentavis khaungraae

    Scientists have found the skull of a 99-million-year-old flying dinosaur that is tinier than the tiniest bird known to humans.

    • The bird-like dinosaur was found stuck in a gob of tree resin that eventually hardened into amber, preserving it for millions of years to come.
    • The fossil was dug up in 2016 from a mine in Myanmar. It was so slight; it likely weighed just 2 grams.
    • The dinosaur skull holds around 100 sharp teeth, which hints at its ferocious nature despite its small size.
    • It even had teeth in the back of its jaw, under its eye.

     

  • [pib] National Creche Scheme

    The WCD Minister has informed about some progress in the National Creche Scheme. As of today, 6453 creches are functional across the country under the Scheme.

    National Creche Scheme

    • Earlier named as Rajiv Gandhi National Creche Scheme, the NCS is being implemented as a Centrally Sponsored Scheme through States/UTs with effect from 1.1.2017.
    • It aims to provide daycare facilities to children (age group of 6 months to 6 years) of working mothers.

    Salient features of the Scheme

    • Daycare Facilities including Sleeping Facilities.
    • Early Stimulation for children below 3 years and pre-school education for 3 to 6 years old children.
    • Supplementary Nutrition ( to be locally sourced)
    • Growth Monitoring
    • Health Check-up and Immunization

    Further, the guidelines provide that :

    • Crèches shall be open for 26 days in a month and for seven and a half (7-1/2) hours per day.
    • The number of children in the crèche should not be more than 25 per crèche with 01 Worker and 01 helpers respectively.
    • User charges to bring in an element of community ownership and collected as under:
      1. BPL families – Rs 20/- per child per month.
      2. Families with Income (Both Parents) of up to Rs. 12,000/- per month – Rs. 100/- per child per month
      3. Families with Income (Both Parents) of above Rs. 12,000/- per month – Rs. 200/- per child per month.

     

  • Positive response

    Context

    Cooperation between the Centre and the States in dealing with the threat of the virus is commendable.

    Hope in dealing with the pandemic and India’s response to the pandemic

    • What is the best response?  World Health Organisation declared it a pandemic, Secretary-General offered hope: “If countries detect, test, treat, isolate, trace, and mobilise their people in the response, those with a handful of cases can prevent those cases becoming clusters, and those clusters becoming community transmission.”
    • The advantage with India: India, with 70-odd cases, has the advantage, and commendably, the central and state governments have reacted rapidly to the developing pandemic
    • Equally importantly, they have set aside the acrimony over the CAA-NRC question and pulled together, without the need for external urging.
      • Because everyone realises that COVID-19 is everyone’s problem.
    • Steps taken by the government: No visas are being issued, screening is in progress, health education messaging is visible, public gatherings are sharply reduced and there is no sign of the wearying political blame game which generally besets such challenges.

    No room for complacency

    • Display of political will: The secretary-general has also cautioned that while many nations can avoid the pandemic, the operative verb is not “can” but “will”. The Indian response has displayed political will, but there is no room for complacency.
    • Fear of the unknown: This is the first coronavirus to reach pandemic levels. For at least 18 months, no vaccine can be market-ready. At least until the summer, there will be insufficient information about the behaviour of the organism in the wild. Wisely, Homo sapiens fears the unknown.
    • Caution is the best prescription: Until we learn more about the nature of the beast, abundant caution is the only credible prescription.
      • Isolation at the focus of the response: At present, the focus of the response is isolation (including self-isolation) and the maintenance of sanitation barriers. Schools have been closing down, some workplaces are screening staff, and people are discouraged from leaving home without a compelling reason.
      • However, outside the controlled conditions in homes and hospitals, maintaining the patency of the sanitation barrier requires extraordinary vigilance and self-control.

    Status of healthcare infrastructure

    • The readiness of healthcare facilities: In the case of breaches — a few oversights or accidents are inevitable — the readiness of healthcare facilities would become a serious factor in controlling mortality.
    • Variation in states’ preparedness: The quality of the states’ level of preparedness and the quality of health services varies. While Kerala efficiently controlled the Nipa virus, Uttar Pradesh, the most populous state, has failed to contain annual outbreaks of Acute Encephalitis Syndrome for over a decade.
      • And the capital’s initial failure in the face of seasonal waves of lethal mosquito-borne diseases cannot be forgotten.
    • Rural cluster-most vulnerable: How much less protected would a rural cluster be, serviced by a poorly equipped primary health centre?

    Conclusion

    If community transmission becomes commonplace, it would become a difficult battle. Hence, the sanitation barrier remains the most reliable epidemiological response. If the government has to resurrect primordial provisions from the era of bubonic plagues to keep it patent, so be it.

  • What is a Pandemic and various other terms?

    What is the news: The World Health Organization (WHO) has declared the COVID-19 outbreak a pandemic.

    What is a pandemic?

    • Simply put, a pandemic is a measure of the spread of a disease.
    • When a new disease spreads over a vast geographical area covering several countries and continents, and most people do not have immunity against it, the outbreak is termed a pandemic.
    • It implies a higher level of concern than an epidemic, which the US Centers for Disease and Control Prevention (CDC) define as the spread of a disease in a localised area or country.
    • There is no fixed number of cases or deaths that determine when an outbreak becomes a pandemic.
    • The Ebola virus, which killed thousands in West Africa, is an epidemic as it is yet to mark its presence on other continents.
    • Other outbreaks caused by coronaviruses such as MERS (2012) and SARS (2002), which spread to 27 and 26 countries respectively, were not labelled pandemics because they were eventually contained.

    Which outbreaks have been declared pandemics in the past?

    • A major example is the Spanish flu outbreak of 1918, which killed between 20-50 million.
    • Cholera pandemics have been declared multiple times between 1817 and 1975.
    • In 1968, a pandemic was declared for H3N2 that caused about a million deaths.
    • The last pandemic declared by the WHO was in 2009, for H1N1.

    Does the declaration change the approach to the disease?

    • Describing the situation as pandemic does not change WHO’s assessment of the risk posed by the virus. However, the categorization as a pandemic can lead to more government attention.
    • The categorization by WHO indicates the risk of disease for countries to take preventive measures.
    • It will help improve funding by international organisations to combat coronavirus.

    Difference Between Endemic, Epidemic, Outbreak and Pandemic:

    • AN EPIDEMIC is a disease that affects a large number of people within a community, population, or region.
    • A PANDEMIC is an epidemic that’s spread over multiple countries or continents.
    • ENDEMIC is something that belongs to a particular people or country.
    • AN OUTBREAK is a greater-than-anticipated increase in the number of endemic cases. It can also be a single case in a new area. If it’s not quickly controlled, an outbreak can become an epidemic.

    Epidemic vs. Pandemic

    • A simple way to know the difference between an epidemic and a pandemic is to remember the “P” in the pandemic, which means a pandemic has a passport. A pandemic is an epidemic that travels.

    Epidemic vs. Endemic

    • An epidemic is actively spreading; new cases of the disease substantially exceed what is expected.
    • More broadly, it’s used to describe any problem that’s out of control, such as “the opioid epidemic.”
    • An epidemic is often localized to a region, but the number of those infected in that region is significantly higher than normal.
    • For example, when COVID-19 was limited to Wuhan, China, it was an epidemic. The geographical spread turned it into a pandemic.
    • Endemics, on the other hand, are a constant presence in a specific location.
    • Malaria is endemic to parts of Africa. Ice is endemic to Antarctica.

    Endemic vs. Outbreak

    • Going one step farther, an endemic can lead to an outbreak, and an outbreak can happen anywhere.
    • Last summer’s dengue fever outbreak in Hawaii is as an example. Dengue fever is endemic to certain regions of Africa, Central and South America, and the Caribbean. Mosquitoes in these areas carry dengue fever and transmit it from person to person.
    • But in 2019 there was an outbreak of dengue fever in Hawaii, where the disease is not endemic. It’s believed an infected person visited the Big Island and was bitten by mosquitoes there.
    • The insects then transferred the disease to other individuals they bit, which created an outbreak.

    You can see why it’s so easy to confuse these terms. They’re all related to one another and there’s a natural ebb and flow between them as treatments become available and measures for control are put in place — or as flare-ups occur and disease begins to spread.

  • [pib] The Mineral Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2020

    Parliament has passed The Mineral Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2020 for amendments in Mines & Mineral (Development and Regulation) Act 1957 and The Coal Mines (Special Provisions) Act, 2015. The bill will transform the mining sector in the country boosting coal production and reducing dependence on imports.

    Acts to be amended

    • The MMDR Act regulates the overall mining sector in India.
    • The CMSP Act provides for the auction and allocation of mines whose allocation was cancelled by the Supreme Court in 2014.
    • Schedule I of the Act provides a list of all such mines; Schedule II and III are sub-classes of the mines listed in the Schedule I.
    • Schedule II mines are those where production had already started then, and Schedule III mines are ones that had been earmarked for a specified end-use.

    Features of the Mineral Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2020 

    Removal of restriction on end-use of coal

    • Currently, companies acquiring Schedule II and Schedule III coal mines through auctions can use the coal produced only for specified end-uses such as power generation and steel production.
    • The Bill removes this restriction on the use of coal mined by such companies.
    • Companies will be allowed to carry on coal mining operation for own consumption, sale or for any other purposes, as may be specified by the central government.

    Eligibility for auction of coal and lignite blocks

    • The Bill clarifies that the companies need not possess any prior coal mining experience in India in order to participate in the auction of coal and lignite blocks.
    • Further, the competitive bidding process for auction of coal and lignite blocks will not apply to mines considered for allotment to:
    1. a government company or its joint venture for own consumption, sale or any other specified purpose; and
    2. a company that has been awarded a power project on the basis of a competitive bid for tariff.

    Composite license for prospecting and mining

    • Currently, separate licenses are provided for prospecting and mining of coal and lignite, called prospecting license, and mining lease, respectively.
    • Prospecting includes exploring, locating, or finding mineral deposit.  The Bill adds a new type of license, called prospecting license-cum-mining lease.
    • This will be a composite license providing for both prospecting and mining activities.

    Non-exclusive reconnaissance permits holders to get other licenses

    • Currently, the holders of non-exclusive reconnaissance permit for exploration of certain specified minerals are not entitled to obtain a prospecting license or mining lease.
    • Reconnaissance means preliminary prospecting of a mineral through certain surveys.
    • The Bill provides that the holders of such permits may apply for a prospecting license-cum-mining lease or mining lease.   This will apply to certain licensees as prescribed in the Bill.

    Transfer of statutory clearances to new bidders

    • Currently,upon expiry, mining leases for specified minerals (minerals other than coal, lignite, and atomic minerals) can be transferred to new persons through auction.
    • This new lessee is required to obtain statutory clearances before starting mining operations.
    • The Bill provides that the various approvals, licenses, and clearances given to the previous lessee will be extended to the successful bidder for a period of two years.

    Reallocation after termination of the allocations

    • The CMSP Act provides for the termination of allotment orders of coal mines in certain cases.
    • The Bill adds that such mines may be reallocated through auction or allotment as may be determined by the central government.
    • The central government will appoint a designated custodian to manage these mines until they are reallocated.

    Prior approval from the central government

    • Under the MMDR Act, state governments require prior approval of the central government for granting reconnaissance permit, prospecting license, or mining lease for coal and lignite.
    • The Bill provides that prior approval of the central government will not be required in granting these licenses for coal and lignite, in certain cases.
    • These include cases where: (i) the allocation has been done by the central government, and (ii) the mining block has been reserved to conserve a mineral.

    Advance action for auction

    • Under the MMDR Act, mining leases for specified minerals (minerals other than coal, lignite, and atomic minerals) are auctioned on the expiry of the lease period.
    • The Bill provides that state governments can take advance action for auction of a mining lease before its expiry.

    With inputs from PRS India

  • Sahyadri Megha

    The University of Agricultural and Horticultural Sciences (UAHS), Shivamogga (K’taka) has developed ‘Sahyadri Megha’, a new red variety of paddy that is resistant to blast (a fungal disease) and rich in nutrients.

    Sahyadri Megha

    • It is a red variety of paddy that is resistant to blast disease and rich in nutrients.
    • It was developed under the hybridization breeding method by cross-breeding the best among the ‘Jyothi’ variety with that of ‘Akkalu’, a disease-resistant and protein-rich paddy variety.
    • The new variety will be notified under the Indian Seed Act 1966 shortly after which it will become part of the seed chain.

    Key features

    • The protein content in it is 12.48%, higher than the other red rice varieties grown.
    • The yield per hectare from ‘Sahyadri Megha’ is around 65 quintals, substantially higher than other red paddy varieties.
    • It is a medium-term paddy that can be grown when there is a delay in the onset of monsoon. It can be harvested after 120 days of sowing.

  • Role of Lieutenant Governor

    The Madras High Court has held that the role of Puducherry’s Lieutenant Governor and that of an elected government in the UT were intertwined as per law, and therefore they were expected to act in unison and not in division.

    What did the court rule?

    • The government headed by the CM and the Administrator/Lieutenant Governor of Puducherry shall work in unison and not in division.
    • The Madras HC set aside a single bench judgment that had held that the Lieutenant Governor (LG) does not have the right to interfere in the daily affairs of the elected government of Puducherry.
    • The HC has held that the Administrator is bound by the aid and advice of the Council of Ministers in matters where the Legislative Assembly is competent to enact laws.
    • This power of Assembly is contemplated under Section 44 of the Government of Union Territories Act, 1962.

    How is Puducherry different from other UTs?

    • UT of Puducherry is headed by the Lieutenant Governor of Puducherry as its nominal head, with a democratically elected CM as real head of the executive.
    • Other union territories don’t have an elected government and legislative assembly.
    • Puducherry, National Capital Territory of Delhi and Jammu and Kashmir (newly formed UT) are the three territories which have democratically elected governments like Indian states.
    • The State legislatures were a creation of the Constitution, whereas the UT legislatures were created under a law such as the Government of UTs Act, 1963.
    • The constitutional provisions, the 1963 Act as well as the Rules of Business of the Government of Puducherry lay expect the Lieutenant Governor to act as a bridge between the local government and the Centre.
    • The Administrator is expected to play the role of an umpire whenever there was a disagreement between the Lieutenant Governor and the Council of Ministers.

  • Explained: Epidemic Diseases Act, 1897

    Till today, at least 60 COVID-19 cases have been confirmed in India. So it was decided in a Cabinet Secretary meeting that States and UTs should invoke provisions of Section 2 of Epidemic Diseases Act, 1897, so that Health Ministry advisories are enforceable.

    History of the 1897 Epidemic Diseases Act

    • The Epidemic Diseases Act is routinely enforced across the country for dealing with outbreaks of diseases such as swine flu, dengue, and cholera.
    • The colonial government introduced the Act to tackle the epidemic of bubonic plague that had spread in the erstwhile Bombay Presidency in the 1890s.
    • Using powers conferred by the Act, colonies authorities would search suspected plague cases in homes and among passengers, with forcible segregations, evacuations, and demolitions of infected places.
    • Historians have criticised the Act for its potential for abuse.
    • In 1897, the year the law was enforced, Lokmanya Tilak was punished with 18 months’ rigorous imprisonment after his newspapers Kesari and Mahratta admonished imperial authorities for their handling of the plague epidemic.

    Provisions of the 1897 Epidemic Diseases Act

    • The Act is one of the shortest Acts in India, comprising just four sections. It aims to provide for the better prevention of the spread of Dangerous Epidemic Diseases.
    • The then Governor-General of colonial India had conferred special powers upon the local authorities to implement the measures necessary for the control of epidemics.
    • Although, the act does define or give a description of a “dangerous epidemic disease”.

    Its various sections can be summarized as under:

    • The first section describes all the title and extent, the second part explains all the special powers given to the state government and centre to take special measures and regulations to contain the spread of disease.
    • The second section has a special subsection 2A empowers the central government to take steps to prevent the spread of an epidemic, especially allowing the government to inspect any ship arriving or leaving any post and the power to detain any person intending to sail or arriving in the country.
    • The third section describes the penalties for violating the regulations in accordance with Section 188 of the IPC. Section 3 states, “Six months’ imprisonment or 1,000 rupees fine or both could be charged out to the person who disobeys this Act.”
    • The fourth and the last section deals with legal protection to implementing officers acting under the Act.

    Examples of implementation

    The act has been invoked several times since independence. Few recent incidents include-

    • In 2018, the district collector of Gujarat’s Vadodara issued a notification under the Act declaring a town as cholera-affected.
    • In 2009, to tackle the swine flu outbreak in Pune, Section 2 powers were used to open screening centres in civic hospitals across the city, and swine flu was declared a notifiable disease.

  • Genome sequencing of Coronavirus

    Scientists across the world are trying to develop a line of treatment and a possible vaccine for COVID-19. However, with the most optimistic timelines we don’t see a line of treatment or vaccine arriving before next year.

    Genome sequencing of Coronavirus

    • A global effort is on to collect and analyse the genetic composition of the new virus, which would be key to developing a cure and a vaccine.
    • Genome sequence is the unique code of genetic material of any organism, and determines the characteristic of any organism.
    • Whole genome sequencing is the process of determining the complete DNA sequence of an organism’s genome at a single time.
    • The gene composition of novel coronavirus, for instance, is different from that of the influenza virus. Every organism has a unique genome sequence.
    • Laboratories in various countries have been isolating and sharing the genome sequences of the virus on an international platform.

    Why are so many genome sequences being isolated?

    • When viruses multiply, or reproduce, there is a copying mechanism that transfers the gene information to the next generation.
    • However, no copying mechanism is perfect. When the virus multiplies, there will be small changes, which are called mutations.
    • These mutations accumulate over time, and after prolonged periods, are responsible for evolution into new organisms.
    • Within a single reproduction, the changes are extremely minor. More than 95 per cent of the gene structure remains the same.

    How it helps scientists?

    • However, the small changes that occur are crucial to understanding the nature and behaviour of the organism.
    • In this case, for example, the small changes could provide scientists with information about the origin, transmission, and impact of the virus on the patient.
    • It could also hold clues to the differing effects the virus could have on patients with different health parameters.

    How many genome sequences are required?

    • India has far fewer positive cases compared to China, South Korea, Iran, Italy, or even the US.
    • Patients who have been infected with the virus in similar conditions are unlikely to show any significant changes in the genome sequences.
    • Patients with existing medical conditions could be other candidates from where genome sequences of this virus could be isolated.
    • This could help scientists to look for clues to possible impact of virus amidst those existing medical conditions.

    Currently, what is the most effective medication?

    • As of now, there is none such. Right now, drugs are being repurposed, meaning old drugs for similar diseases are being checked for their efficacy against COVID-19.
    • These drugs, if they work, will require clinical trials, and then can be made widely available for people.
    • In most cases, symptomatic treatment for fever, body ache, and cough will be sufficient. More severe cases will require oxygen and respiratory support.

  • Changes in SDGs

    Thirty-six major changes to the global indicator framework for the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) were approved and adopted by the UN Statistical Commission (UNSC).

    Sustainable Development Goals

    • The UN General Assembly in its 70thSession considered and adopted the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) for the next 15 years.
    • The 17 SDGs came into force with effect from 1stJanuary, 2016.
    • Though not legally binding, the SDGs have become de facto international obligations and have potential to reorient domestic spending priorities of the countries during the next fifteen years.
    • Countries are expected to take ownership and establish a national framework for achieving these Goals.
    • Implementation and success will rely on countries’ own sustainable development policies, plans and programmes.

    About the changes

    • These changes are based on the ‘2020 comprehensive review’ conducted by the UN Inter-Agency and Expert Group on SDG Indicators (IAEG-SDGs).
    • The revised global framework will have 231 indicators, approximately the same number as in the original framework, the statement said.
    • The global indicator framework was adopted by the UN General Assembly on July 6, 2017.

    Eight additional indicators were added across six SDG goals — 2, 3, 4, 10, 13 and 16.

    These include:

    • Indicator 13.2.2 on the total greenhouse gas emissions per year for the SDG target 13.2 to integrate climate change measures into national policies, strategies and planning.
    • Prevalence of anaemia in women aged 15-49 years, by pregnancy status (percentage) under the target 2.2 to end forms of malnutrition by 2030.
    • A new indicator on reducing the percentage of bloodstream infections due to selected antimicrobial-resistant organisms has been added under the Global health goal (SDG 3).
    • Indicator 10.7.3 on the number of migrants killed while attempting to cross maritime, land and air borders.
    • Indicator 10.7.4 on the proportion of the population who are refugees, by country of origin.

    Six indicators across six SDG goals — 1, 4, 8, 11, 13 and 17 — have been deleted.

     These include:

    • Indicator 1.a.1 on the proportion of domestically-generated resources allocated by the government directly to poverty reduction programmes.
    • Indicator 4.2.1 on the proportion of children under five years of age who are developmentally on track in health, learning and psychosocial well-being, by sex.
    • The portion of the indicator that measures progress for children between 0 and 23 months of age, which is currently in tier III was proposed for deletion by the IAEG.
    • Under the SDG goal on combating climate change, the indicator 13.3.2, quantifying the number of countries that have communicated the strengthening of capacity-building for implementing adaptation, mitigation and technology transfer, and development actions has been deleted.