Daily CURRENT AFFAIRS

What is the news : Prime Minister greeted the people of India on the eve of Basava Jayanti on 14 May 2021

About: Basava Jayanthi is an annual event celebrated in the honour of the birth of Vishwaguru Basaveshwara, the 12th century philosopher and social reformer who gave a unique spiritual path to mankind.

Key Points

• Basaveshwara was born in Bagevadi (of undivided Bijapur district in Karnataka) during 1131 AD. He is the founding saint of the Lingayat sect.
• His spiritual discipline was based on the principles of Arivu (true knowledge), Achara (right conduct), and Anubhava (divine experience) and it brought social, religious and economical revolution in the 12th century.
• This path advocates a holistic approach of Lingangayoga (union with the divine). This comprehensive discipline encompasses bhakti (devotion), jnana (knowledge), and kriye (action) in a well-balanced manner.
• In Kalyana, the Kalchuri king Bijjala (1157-1167, AD) appointed Basaveshwara as a karanika (Accountant) in the initial stage, in his court and later as the Prime minister.
• Here, Basaveshwara revolted against all the social evils of the traditionalistic society and brought a drastic change in various facets.
• His practical approach and act of establishment of ‘Kalyana Rajya’ (Welfare state) brought a new status and position for all the citizens of the society, irrespective of class, caste, creed and sex.
• Basaveshwara gave two more very important socio-economic principles. They are:
  • Kayaka (Divine work): According to this, every individual of the society should take up the job of his choice and perform it with all sincerity.
  • Dasoha (Equal distribution):
  • There must be an equal income for equal work.
  • The worker (Kayakajeevi) may lead his day-today life by his hard earned income. But he should not preserve the money or property for tomorrow. He must utilise the surplus money for the society and poors.
• NOTE: On 14th November 2015, the Prime Minister of India inaugurated the statue of Basavanna along the bank of the river Thames at Lambeth in London.

Anubhava Mantapa:

• Basaveshwara established the Anubhava Mantapa, which was a common forum for all to discuss the prevailing problems of socio, economic and political strata including religious and spiritual principles along with personal problems.
• Thus, it was the first and foremost Parliament of India, where Sharanas (citizens of welfare society) sat together and discussed the socialistic principles of a Democratic set up.
• All those discussions of Sharanas were written in the form of Vachanas.
• Vachanas were an innovative literary form written in simple Kannada language.

What is the news : Karnataka to develop it's own protocol for covid vaccination

Details :

• Karnataka will come up with its own version of the CoWIN portal
• Microbiologist Dr Gagandeep Kang has been appointed as chief advisor for developing vaccination protocols in state
• Note : Dr Devi Shetty has been appointed as chairman of technical advisory team for COVID 19 3 wave preparedness

What is in news : Leader of opposition, Lok sabha has asked permission of Lok sabha speaker for a PAC meeting to review vaccination policy.

What  is PAC?

• Standing Parliamentary Committee
• Examines the manners and results of spending the public funds.
• Who are the members :

• Total- 22
• 15 are from Lok Sabha while 7 from Rajya Sabha
• Members are “elected” by members of Parliament amongst themselves via a system of proportional representation by means of single transferable vote
• Tenure of members: 1 year
• Note : Minister cannot be a member

Chairman of PAC

• Appointed by Speaker from its members.
• The chairman used to be of ruling party till mid-1960s, however, now the chairman of PAC is from opposition by convention.

Functions

• PAC examines the three audit reports of CAG submitted to President viz. audit report on appropriation accounts, audit report on finance accounts and audit report on public undertakings.
• It examines the appropriation accounts and the finance accounts of the Union government and any other accounts laid before the Lok Sabha. While doing this examination, it tries to ensure that money disbursed to various ministries was used for the purpose for which it was given; and this money was used as per rules and regulations.
• It also examines the accounts of the public service corporations {except those public undertakings which have been allotted to committee on public undertakings}, and other such bodies whose accounts are audited by CAG.

History of PAC :

• First set up in 1921 in the wake of the Montague-Chelmsford Reforms
• W M Hailey was its first president
• Bhupendra Nath Mitra its first Indian president
• The last president before Independence was Liaquat Ali Khan.
• With the Constitution coming into force on January, 26, 1950, the Committee became a Parliamentary Committee functioning under the Speaker with a non-official Chairman appointed by the Speaker from among the Members of Lok Sabha elected to the Committee.

AFRICAN SWINE FEVER

What is the news : After Mizoram, African swine fever (ASF) has struck in Meghalaya killing more than 300 pigs.

About the disease:

• It is a highly contagious and fatal animal disease that infects and leads to an acute form of hemorrhagic fever in domestic and wild pigs.
• It was first detected in Africa in the 1920s.
• The mortality is close to 100% and since the fever has no cure, the only way to stop its spread is by culling the animals.
• ASF is not a threat to human beings since it only spreads from animals to other animals.
• ASF is a disease listed in the World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE) Terrestrial Animal Health Code and thus, reported to the OIE.

About World Organisation for Animal Health

• OIE is an intergovernmental organisation responsible for improving animal health worldwide.
• In 2018, it had a total of 182 Member Countries. India is one of the member countries.
• OIE standards are recognised by the World Trade Organization as reference international sanitary rules.
• It is headquartered in Paris, France.

What is the news : The Department of Posts, Tamilnadu Circle, has released a special cover with special cancellation on “Kancheepuram Silk”.

About kancheepuram/Kanjeevaram Silk and Saree

• Kanjeevaram sarees are characterized by gold dipped silver thread that is woven on the premium quality silk.
• These sarees are also known for their durability, heaviness and high cost because of Zari work.
• The heavier is the silk and Zari; the better is considered the quality. Kanjeevaram saree is a GI protected product of India.
• They got GI tag in 2005-06.As per Geographical Indication (GI) label, a Kancheepuram saree should have 57 per cent silver and 0.6 per cent gold in zari.

What: It is the technology used in aquaculture system with limited or zero water exchange under high stocking density, strong aeration and biota formed by biofloc. The culture of biofloc will be productive in the case of culture tanks exposed to sun.

What is the news : The Kerala University of Fisheries and Ocean Studies (Kufos) is looking to deploy the biofloc method to farm Vannamei shrimp.

Benefits :

• Fish culture in limited space
• harmful waste produced in conventional aquaculture can be turned into feed for fish
• Alternative to job losses in pandameic

Note :

• The ICAR-Central Institute of Brackishwater Aquaculture in Chennai had even launched a mobile application, Vanami shrimpapp, for disseminating information on shrimp farming.
• The export of Vannamei accounts for a substantial chunk of earnings from seafood exports from India with the USA and South East Asian and European Union countries accounting for most business.

PRADHAN MANTRI KISAN SAMMAN NIDHI

What : Scheme to provide financial support to farmers.

What is the news : Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi released the 8th instalment of financial benefit under the scheme

About the scheme :

Under the PM-KISAN scheme, a financial benefit of Rs. 6000/- per year is provided to the eligible beneficiary farmer families, payable in three equal 4-monthly instalments of Rs.2000/- each. The fund is transferred directly to the bank accounts of the beneficiaries.

What it says : It speaks about the removal or reduction in rank of person employed under Government of India in civil capacities. It acts as a safeguard for civil servants. It gives them chances to respond to charges filed against them.

ARTICLE 311

• Article 311 (1): The article says that a person who is a member of civil service of the GoI (Union or state) shall only be removed by the authority who appointed him or her.
• Article 311 (2): He or she should be informed about the charges filed against him. He should be given opportunity to explain his or her side of argument.

When is the enquiry not applicable?

• The Accusation is under criminal charges
• If the authority empowered to dismiss him or her is satisfied to remove him
• If the President or Governor feels that it is not practical or convenient to hold an inquiry in the interest of the security of the state.

Why is the article in news : A police officer was removed from the office in Maharashtra under the Article

ATLANTIC FOOTBALL FISH

What is the news: Being a deep ocean resident, a football fish was rarely spotted on shores of US as it was washed by waves.

About the fish:

• The Pacific Football fish are 60 centimetres in length.
• Only female Pacific Football fish has bioluminescent tips that are used to hunt prey in the darkness of water that is 3,000 feet deep.
• They have large teeth.
• Their large mouth is capable of swallowing prey that is the size of their own body.
• These fish are found at great depths of the seas. Recently, the Five Deeps Expedition found that aquatic life is present even at 11,000 metres, in the Mariana Trench of Pacific Ocean. Mariana Trench is the deepest point in the world. The Five Deeps Expedition explored deepest points in five oceans of the world.
• The males are called monsters because of their reproduction method

IUCN: It is listed under Least Concern in IUCN list of threatened species.

About the virus :

• It Is a single stranded RNA virus.
• The different strains of HPIV are as follows:
  • HPIV Type 1: Most common of Croup
  • HPIV Type 2: Causes croup and also lower and upper respiratory tract illnesses
  • HPIV Type 3: Associated with Pneumonia and Bronchiolitis
  • HPIV Type 4: Includes subtypes 4a and 4b
• Croup is the swelling inside trachea. It interferes with normal breathing.
• The HPIV is the leading cause of death in childhood respiratory infections.
• More than 30% to 40% of children die due to respiratory illness.

What is the recent news : The scientists have recently found out a new way to block the attachment of HPIV

How does it work

• The virus uses a specialised fusion proteins that resembles three sided corkscrew to enter human cells. Earlier cholesterol and beta amino acids were found to block the HPIV. However, they were not efficient. The scientists have now created a new peptide combining the previously found cholesterol and beta amino acids.
• Gellman lab discovered that modified beta amino acids containing peptides can block the viruses.

What : Report on remittances

By : World Bank

What is remittance : A remittance is a non-commercial transfer of money by a foreign worker, a member of a diaspora community, or a citizen with familial ties abroad, for household income in their home country or homeland.

How are remittances important?

• They help the currency to hold its value against a foreign currency.
• The World Bank says that the remittances are the second largest resource inflow for developing countries after FDI.
• As the flow of remittances increases, the currency value of receiving country increases and the value of foreign currency depreciates

What did report say : Remittance flows to the low-income and middle-income countries were 1.9% lower in 2020 as compared to that of 2019. It was 540 billion USD in 2020 and 548 billion USD in 2019.

What did the report say about India and it's neighborhood :

• In 2019, India received 83.3 billion USD remittances. This fell by 0.2% in 2020. This was maximum in remittance from UAE. The remittance from UAE to India reduced by 17%.
• In Pakistan, the remittances increased by 17%. The biggest growth in remittances to Pakistan came from Saudi Arabia.
• The remittances in Bangladesh increased by 18.4%
• In Sri Lanka, it increased by 5.8%
• In Nepal, it fell by 2%

Focus points :

• Government of Indian must execute and implements the delivery of vaccines and healthcare services on a war footing. This needs active coordination not just between the Union and state governments but right down to the last level of governance, The Panchayats.
• Of our healthcare services, 75 per cent of hospitals are in urban areas. It is important that the government builds a system to reach into the rural areas.
• Problems in Villages: Hesitation to take up tests and vaccine
• State officials and District Commissioners must have proper data about the infected and dead, so that centre can assess the severity of the crisis and make subsequent allocations. In this process the role of Panchayats in providing village level data's become important
• In a village, families with Covid-positive members should be given kits consisting of medicine, thermometers and oximeters. It is important for the caregivers to know the oxygen level if they need to understand the severity of the infection. Village homes do not have oximeters or even thermometers; providing these should be an immediate task. The delivery of the kits should be made through the panchayat sachiv as most panchayats are headless, especially in Haryana, after their terms expired
• Oxygen availability and allocation is a big issue. Along with it, is the planning needed to deliver oxygen. Hence it is important that a task force, consisting of all ward officers, district and municipal commissioners, maps out the demand that is required in the district, which will be based on the data of the spread of deaths in the districts. Epidemiologists, experts and doctors will then be able to predict better the requirement of oxygen in the coming months.
• Mumbai used the food and drug administration department for planning the demand and ensuring the supply in the city. Every ward in the city of Mumbai also created an emergency stock of oxygen; this reduced the time to send supplies to hospitals running out of oxygen.

SNIPPETS

• Vineyard Wind Project is the first major Offshore wind farm that is to power 400,000 homes. The project aims to install 84 turbines in the Atlantic Ocean. It is to be set up 12 Nautical miles off the coast of Matha’s Vineyard, USA
• The first BRICS Employment Working Group was held virtually. It was hosted by India. India assumed BRICS Presidency in 2021.
• China recently launched Changsei 2C rocket from the Xichang satellite launch centre. It is a Yaogan satellite. This satellite has joined the previous seven groups in orbit that were launched after 2017. The satellite is to be used for electromagnetic environmental surveys and other related technical tests.
• The State Government of Maharashtra has recently launched the “Maharashtra Mission Oxygen”. Under the mission, the daily production of the state is to be increased to 3,000 tonnes. The State Government has allocated Rs 200 crores to the mission. It will provide special incentives to the private players who are willing to being oxygen generation .
• Jayatheerth Kagalkar, senior journalist and resident editor of Samyukta Karnataka, Kalaburagi edition, died of COVID-19
• A Flood Meteorological Office (FMO), which will provide valuable meteorological support to the Central Water Commission (CWC) for issuing flood warnings, started functioning at the IMD Meteorological Centre in Thiruvananthapuram on Wednesday.
• Ramesh Powar has returned as the India women’s team’s head coach with the Cricket Advisory Committee preferring the former India off-spinner over former India batsman W.V. Raman.
• Renowned first female sculptor of Karnataka KANAKA MURTHY dies

CURRENT AFFAIRS VOCABULARY

PEPTIDE: It is a compound consisting of two or more amino acids linked in a chain, the carboxyl group of each acid being joined to the amino group of the next by a bond of the type

BIOLUMINESCENCE: It is the production and emission of light by a living organism. It occurs in vertebrates, invertebrates, bioluminescent bacteria and terrestrial anthropod. Usually, this bioluminescence involves a light emitting molecule called luciferin and an enzyme called luciferase. The Enzyme catalyses oxidation of luciferin.