Daily CURRENT AFFAIRS

Daily Current Affair - UPSC/KAS Exams - 22nd Oct 2021

What is in news : Election commission issues a statement for enforcement of Model Code of Conduct (MCC) during bye-elections being conducted

Model Code of Conduct

• Guidelines issued
• Conduct of political parties and candidates
• During elections mainly with respect to speeches, polling day, polling booths, election manifestos, processions and general conduct.
• Article 324 of the Constitution, which mandates EC to conduct free and fair elections to the Parliament and State Legislatures.
• Aim: To ensure free and fair elections.
• Came into force immediately on announcement of the election schedule by the commission. The Code remains in force till the end of the electoral process.
• First  issued in 1971 (5th Election) and revised it from time to time. This set of norms has been evolved with the consensus of political parties who have consented to abide by the principles embodied in the said code and also binds them to respect and observe it in its letter and spirit.
• Lay down how political parties, contesting candidates and party(s) in power should conduct themselves during the process of elections i.e. on their general conduct during electioneering, holding meetings and processions, poll day activities and functioning of the party in power etc.
• Enforcement: The EC has devised several mechanisms to take note of the violation of the code, which include joint task forces of enforcement agencies and flying squads. The latest is the introduction of the cVIGIL mobile app through which audio-visual evidence of malpractices can be reported.

What is in news : NITI Aayog’s Atal Innovation Mission (AIM) has launched – “Innovations for You” an attempt to showcase the success stories of Atal Innovation Mission’s Startups in different domains. These startups have worked to create new, disruptive and innovative products, services, and solutions that can pave a path for a sustainable future.

About AIM :

• The Atal Innovation Mission (AIM) is the Government of India’s flagship initiative to promote a culture of innovation and entrepreneurship in the country.
• AIM is mandated to create an umbrella structure to oversee innovation ecosystem of the country and revolutionizing the innovation eco-system – touching upon the entire innovation life cycle through various programs.
• Mission shall have two core functions:
  • Entrepreneurship promotion through Self-Employment and Talent Utilization, wherein innovators would be supported and mentored to become successful entrepreneurs.
  • Innovation promotion: to provide a platform where innovative ideas are generated.

What is in news : Government of India celebrated UDAN day on October 21

About

• Ude Desh Ka Aam Naagrik (UDAN) was launched as a Regional Connectivity Scheme (RCS) under the Ministry of Civil Aviation in October 21 2016.
• Objectives:
  • To develop the regional aviation market.
  • To provide affordable, economically viable and profitable air travel on regional routes to the common man even in small towns.
• Features:
  • The scheme envisages providing connectivity to un-served and underserved airports of the country through the revival of existing air-strips and airports. The scheme is operational for a period of 10 years.
  • Under-served airports are those which do not have more than one flight a day, while unserved airports are those where there are no operations.
  • Financial incentives from the Centre, state governments and airport operators are extended to selected airlines to encourage operations from unserved and under-served airports, and keep airfares affordable.

What is in news :The  excessive rain and the landslides in Uttarakhand, as well as other states such as Kerala, is linked to the changing patterns of monsoon

Details :

• The extended stay of the monsoon means that the weather systems are still present in the country to create the circumstances for sporadic excess rainfall.
• Western Disturbances, which are present in the country through the year, rise above a certain latitude in February and then descend after October. This is the time the monsoon has retreated from the country, so the conditions, especially in hill states such as J&K, Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh from where monsoon retreats the earliest, are dry. So, the Western Disturbances are restricted to causing light winter rainfall from November. This year, however, a combination of Western Disturbances along with the low-pressure system created by the monsoon has led to untimely, excessive rains.
• Low-pressure area travelled all along the Northern Limit of Monsoon (NLM) which was then passing through parts of Central India. The system moved north towards Uttarakhand and then recurved towards Uttar Pradesh.

What is in news :  Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology (CCMB) has achieved success in improving the numbers of Pygmy hogs. This breakthrough is done through captive genetic inbreeding of endangered species

About Pygmy Hogs

• Native to alluvial grasslands in the foothills of the Himalayas at elevations of up to 300 m (980 ft).
• Only known population lives in Assam, India and possibly southern Bhutan.
• As the population is estimated at less than 250 mature individuals, it is listed as Endangered on the IUCN Red List.
• Designated as a Schedule I species in India under the Wildlife Protection Act, 1972, and offences against them invite heavy penalties.

About Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology

• The Centre for Cellular & Molecular Biology (CCMB) is a premier research organization which conducts high quality basic research and trainings in frontier areas of modern biology, and promote centralized national facilities for new and modern techniques in the interdisciplinary areas of biology.
• It was set up initially as a semi-autonomous Centre on April 1, 1977 with the Biochemistry Division of the then Regional Research Laboratory (presently, Indian Institute of Chemical Technology, IICT) Hyderabad.
• It is located in Hyderabad and operates under the aegis of the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR).
• It is designated as “Center of Excellence” by the Global Molecular and Cell Biology Network, UNESCO.

What is in news : A rise in Dengue cases among children is being noticed in various cities

What :

Dengue fever

• Mosquito-borne illness
• Occurs in tropical and subtropical areas of the world.
• Mild fever causes a high fever and flu-like symptoms
• The severe form can cause serious bleeding, a sudden drop in blood pressure (shock) and death.

What are the major causes for rises in Children:

• Can affect all age group
• Children are more susceptible to it as they are more likely to get bitten by mosquitoes. If timely treatment is not initiated, it can cause dehydration and shock
• September and October are the two months when dengue cases rise because of Rain, This year, the late rainfall has aggravated the situation.
• With a fall in temperature, mosquitoes will decrease and I think in another ten days, we should see a decrease in dengue cases.

Precautions to be taken

• Warning signs in children - severe pain in the abdomen, frequent vomiting, bleeding from mouth/nose/gums, lethargy, restlessness, poor oral intake. These children need to be admitted to a hospital at the earliest.
• Parents need to treat a fever with only paracetamol, frequently feed the child, and increase liquids like ORS, coconut water.
• Child should pass urine four to six times, and they should report to a hospital early, as soon as the warning signs appear.
• If a patient has a fever that lasts for more than three days, then a blood test is important.
• Also, as mosquitoes bite infants more, they need to be protected with adequate clothing and care.

Is the treatment of dengue different for children:

• Same as that of adults, but there is a need constant monitoring.
• Consider a platelet count of less than one lakh as a warning sign, but low platelets are not the only parameter that we consider.
• Dehydration, low blood pressure, bleeding are serious signs to consider.
• Dengue deaths are completely preventable if we take timely interventions.

What is in news : The Financial Action Task Force (FATF) retained Pakistan in the ‘greylist’

Why : Pakistan is  needed to further demonstrate that investigations and prosecutions were being pursued against the senior leadership of UN-designated terror groups, which include the Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT), Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM), al-Qaeda and the Taliban.

What it means :

A country put in the grey list may face-

• Economic sanctions from IMF, World Bank, ADB etc.
• The problem in getting loans from the IMF, World Bank, ADB and other countries.
• Reduction in international trade.
• International boycott.
• Reduction in bilateral and multilateral trade.

About FATF

The Financial Action Task Force (FATF)

• Inter-governmental body established in 1989 on the initiative of the G7.
• “Policy-making body” which works to generate the necessary political will to bring about national legislative and regulatory reforms in various areas.
• Secretariat is housed at the OECD headquarters in Paris.

Roles and functions:

• Initially it was established to examine and develop measures to combat money laundering.
• In October 2001, the FATF expanded its mandate to incorporate efforts to combat terrorist financing, in addition to money laundering.
• In April 2012, it added efforts to counter the financing of proliferation of weapons of mass destruction.

Composition: The FATF currently comprises 37 member jurisdictions and 2 regional organisations, representing most major financial centres in all parts of the globe. It also has observers and associate members.

Objectives : To set standards and promote effective implementation of legal, regulatory and operational measures for combating money laundering, terrorist financing and other related threats to the integrity of the international financial system.