Daily CURRENT AFFAIRS

Daily Current Affair - UPSC/KAS Exams - 18th May 2021

What : An telemedecine initiative  dedicated to creating awareness on early diagnosis and treatment.

By : Karnataka State Sugarcane Cultivators Association

Details :

The group –

• Includes specialist doctors as well and its objective is to infuse confidence among people who contract COVID-19 and allay fears which are resulting in people hiding early symptoms and refusing to get tested fearing isolation or quarantine
• Gives thrust to dispelling vaccine hesitancy among the rural populace

What is the news : Punjab Chief Minister  declared Malerkotla as the 23rd district of the state on the occasion of Eid-ul-Fitr.

How are new districts carved:

• The power to create new districts or alter or abolish existing districts rests with the State governments. This can either be done through an executive order or by passing a law in the State Assembly.
• Many States prefer the executive route by simply issuing a notification in the official gazette.

How does it help: States argue that smaller districts lead to better administration and governance. For example, in 2016, the Assam government issued a notification to upgrade the Majuli sub-division to Majuli district for “administrative expediency”.

History of  Malerkotla:

• Malerkotla owes its foundations in the 15th century to Sufi saint Sheikh Sadrauddin Sadar-i-Jahan, also known as Haider Sheikh. The initial beginnings were humble with the settlement being called ‘Maler’ which was bestowed by the Behlol Lodhi to the Sheikh whose lineage too was Afghan, as was Lodhi’s, and they were said to be distantly related.
• ‘Kotla’, meaning Fortress, was added later in 17th century with a collection of villages which formed a jagir which was awarded to Bayzid Khan, a descendant of Haider Sheikh, by Mughal Emperor Shah Jehan.
• Bayzid Khan supported Aurangzeb against his brother Dara Shikoh and thus gained favour with the emperor and added permanency to the rule of his family. A hereditary succession began thereafter. After the decline of the Mughal empire, Malerkotla’s rulers exercised greater independence and at the time of the invasion of India by Ahmad Shah Abdali from Afghanistan, they aligned with him.

How were the relations of Malerkotla with neighbouring states:

• According to historian Anna Bigelow’s work, 'Punjab’s Muslims', after Maharaja Ranjit Singh consolidated his rule in Northern Punjab in the early 19th century, Malerkotla aligned itself with the neighbouring Sikh states like Patiala, Nabha and Jind which too were feeling threatened by Maharaja Ranjit Singh’s consolidation of the Sikh empire. These cis-Sutlej states accepted British protection in 1809 and were free from interference from the Sikh Maharaja.
• Malerkotla continued under the British protection and the alliance with the neighbouring Sikh states till 1947 when it became the only Muslim majority Sikh state in East Punjab.
• After the dissolution of the princely states in 1948, Malerkotla joined the new state of PEPSU or Patiala and East Punjab States Union (PEPSU). PEPSU itself was dissolved in 1954 and Malerkotla became a part of Punjab.

What is the background of the special status of Malerkotla with the Sikh community:

• The special relationship between Sikhs and Malerkotla goes back to the period when the tenth Sikh Guru, Guru Gobind Singh, was engaged in a series of battles with the oppressive Mughal rules of the region.
• Sher Mohammad Khan was the Nawab of Malerkotla at the time and though a supporter of Aurangzeb and his lieutenants who governed Punjab at the time, he is said to have expressed his anguish at the bricking alive of two young sons of Guru Gobind Singh, Zorawar Singh (aged nine years) and Fateh Singh (aged seven years), by the Subedar of Sirhind Wazir Khan in 1705.
• The ‘Haa da Naara’ or cry for justice was made by Sher Mohammad Khan before Wazir Khan when the order to brick the two young boys was pronounced. This incident has been narrated over the years and has attained an image of tolerance of the Nawab towards the two young Sahibzadas and given placed Malerkotla a special place in the Sikh narrative.

What is the news : Ministry of Rural development recently released data on MNREGA

What are the details provided

• Even though rural India has been hit by the second wave of raging Covid pandemic, the Ministry of Rural Development has ensured that the development works across the country should not be affected
• 1.85 crore people have been offered work under the scheme. The work offered is 52% higher than the one offered during the same period in May 2019, which was 1.22 crore persons per day.
• As on 13th May, 2021, 2.95 crore persons have been offered work in FY 2021-22 completing 5.98 lakh assets and generating 34.56 crore person-days
• The accomplishment has been achieved despite casualties either through death or infection among the operating staff at all levels, including those in the front line
• To fight against COVID-19 in rural areas, training has been provided to trainers on COVID-19 appropriate behaviours, vaccination and vaccine hesitancy and encourage good health-seeking behaviours and immunity building measures from 8-12th April 2021 under Deendayal Anyodaya Yojana - National Rural Livelihoods Mission (DAY-NRLM). Under the initiative, 13,958 state, district and block level nodal persons trained as master trainers in 34 SRLMs, 1,14,500 Community Resource Persons (CRP) trained by master trainers and 2.5 Crore women SHG members trained by CRPs. State and district nodal persons have also been trained for capacity building and social development on COVID management under DAY-NRLM.
• Despite lockdown across over 20 States/UTs and resultant difficulties in availability and movement of men, machine and materials, this year highest length of road has been completed in the comparable period over the last 3 years. The Cumulative Physical Progress and The Cumulative Expenditure under Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana (PMGSY) from 1st April to 12th May Period are 1795.9 Km and Rs 1693.8 respectively in FY 2021 much higher than the previous years in the same corresponding period.

About MNREGA : The scheme was introduced as a social measure that guarantees “the right to work”. The key tenet of this social measure and labour law is that the local government will have to legally provide at least 100 days of wage employment in rural India to enhance their quality of life.

Background : The holy river Ganges is increasingly polluted with the dumping of COVID-19 patients after their death. This is seriously affecting the persons dependent on the river for their day-to-day activities.

What did NHRC say :

• Temporary arrangements to avoid undue delay in cremations.
• The Burial ground and the crematory staffs should be sensitized about proper handling of the dead bodies. They should be provided with essential safety equipment and facilities to perform their day to day duties.
• Only those religious rituals that so not require touching the dead bodies should be allowed.
• The state or local administration may perform the last rites if the family members are not there or are not willing to perform the last rites out of fear.
• Use of electric crematoriums should be encouraged.
• Piling of dead bodies during transportation shall not be allowed.
• Mass burial or cremation shall not be allowed.
• The prices of ambulance services should be regulated
• The staffs of burial grounds, crematoriums should be paid fair wages to compensate their hard work.

Additional information: The River Ganga (Rejuvenation, Protection and Management) Authorities order say that no person shall carry a project or process that causes pollution in river Ganga.

About NHRC

• The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) established in 1993, is an independent statutory body as per the provisions of the Protection of Human Rights Act of 1993 which was amended in 2006.
• Human Rights are an indispensable part of society and Human Rights in India are watched by NHRC.
• NHRC acts as a watchdog of human rights in the country.
• NHRC looks over the rights that are related to life, dignity, liberty and equality of the individual that is defined in Section 2(1) of the PHR Act.
• They are guaranteed by the Constitution of India, embodied in the international covenants and are enforceable by the courts of India as well.
• NHRC was established in compliance with the Paris Principles of Human Rights, 1991 which were adopted for the promotion and protection of Human Rights and were endorsed by United Nations at its General Assembly of 1993

What : Convalescent plasma  therapy uses blood from people who've recovered from an illness to help others recover.

Details :

• Plasma is the clear liquid portion of the blood that remains after red and white blood cells, platelets, and other cellular components have been taken from it. Convalescent plasma extracted from the blood of patients recovering from an infection is a source of antibodies against the infection.
• India’s clinical management protocol had so far recommended off-label use of convalescent plasma when two specific criteria were met: early moderate disease, preferably within seven days of symptoms once, and no use after seven days; and availability of high titre donor plasma.
• India’s largest trial PLACID had earlier found that convalescent plasma was ineffective in arresting Covid-19. An ICMR study published in October last year reported that convalescent plasma was not associated with reduction in progression to severe Covid-19 or all-cause mortality.
• After the publication of the PLACID trial data, ICMR issued an evidence-based advisory to address the inappropriate use of convalescent plasma in Covid-19 patients. It emphasised that convalescent plasma with a low concentration of specific antibodies against SARS-CoV-2 may be less beneficial in the treatment of Covid-19 patients compared to plasma with high concentration of such antibodies.
• The RECOVERY trial results published on May 14 revealed that compared to usual care alone, high-titre convalescent plasma did not reduce the probability of discharge within 28 days, or the probability of progressing to the composite outcome of invasive mechanical ventilation or death in patients who were not receiving invasive mechanical ventilation at randomisation

Recent news : India on Monday dropped convalescent plasma therapy (CPT) from its national clinical management protocol for Covid-19.

Reasons :

• The decision by the AIIMS-ICMR Covid-19 National Task Force and the Health Ministry indicates that convalescent plasma offers no therapeutic benefits in patients admitted to hospital with the disease.
• It comes three days after findings of the RECOVERY trial, the largest randomised trial to report results of the effect of convalescent plasma in patients hospitalised with Covid-19, were published in The Lancet medical journal.
• The study findings showed that compared with usual care alone, high-titre convalescent plasma did not reduce 28-day mortality. “In patients hospitalised with Covid-19, high-titre convalescent plasma did not improve survival or other prespecified clinical outcomes,”

What: Ship

By: The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), USA

Recent news: It departed from the Port Canaveral in Florida on May 14, 2021.

Okeanos Explorer

• The Okeanos Explorer is on a two-week expedition of ocean exploration.
• It is to build 3D maps of vast regions of unexplored ocean floors in Hadal Zone.
• It is to conduct a technology demonstration of autonomous under water vehicle called Orpheus.
• The Orpheus robot is a new class of submersible robot that will help in identifying the scientific features on the sea floor.

Orpheus

• Usually, a large high power location finding equipment such as Sonar will be required to navigate in the dark sea bed. Unlike such equipment, Orpheus uses low power system of cameras and lights, along with advanced software. It is lighter than the deep-sea submersibles.
• It weighs around 250 kilograms.
• It is designed to nimble (quick and light movement), move easily in a rugged (broken or uneven rocky surface) environment. This kind of environment is usually inaccessible to most of the deep-sea vehicles.
• Orpheus was designed by JPL and Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI). The JPL also designed the Perseverance river and the Ingenuity helicopter of Mars Mission 2020. The WHOI is conducting the HADEX Programme. HADEX is Hadal Exploration Programme.

Hadal Zone: The Hadal Zone is the deepest region of ocean that lies within the oceanic trenches. The Hadal zones are usually found in the depth of 6,000 metres to 11,000 metres. Recently, the Five Deeps Expedition was launched to explore the deepest points of five oceans of the earth.

What is the news : The Government of India recently allowed free import of tur, moong and urad dal. All the three pulses have been put under non-restricted list.

Why : This is because their retail prices increased in the last few weeks due to low stock levels with the traders. Also, the GoI has announced that the import consignments should be cleared strictly before November 30, 2021.

What impact does this make:

• Consignments means a batch goods destined to be delivered to someone. By November 2021, the Kharif harvests of these three pulses will start arriving in the market. If the import is made free during that time, it will affect the farmers income. Only if the free imports are stopped farmers will get reasonable rates above the Minimum Support Price.
• Also, this Kharif season, GoI has increased the area of cultivation of pulses. This is to be done under the Special Kharif Strategy, 2021. This means more pulses will be arriving in the markets by November to December 2021. Kharif Season crops predominantly depend on South West Monsoon. They are sown in June and harvested in October.

Note : India primarily imports these three pulses from Myanmar and African countries.

INTERNATIONAL ISSUES

When : May 18

Why : 

• To honour thousands of volunteers, health professional, community leaders and scientists who workers together to develop AIDS (Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome) vaccine
• Also, The concept of AIDS Vaccine was rooted by the then US President Bill Clinton in his speech at the Morgan State University on May 18, 1997.

Details

• The World AIDS Day is celebrated on December 1 every year
• Currently there are no licensed HIV vaccine in the market. However, medical treatments exist. Highly Active Antiretroviral Therapy (HAART) is recommended to control HIV infection. However, HAART must be taken lifelong. HIV virus mainly attacks the immune system of human body.
• The total number of HIV patients in India as of 2017 is 21.4 lakhs. However, the number of HIV cases have been declining in India. Between 1995 and 2017, the number of HIV cases in India declined by 85%.

• The Chinese Government recently announced that it is to add the Synthetic Cannabinoids to the list of banned drugs in the country. This is being done to curb the trafficking and manufacturing of the drug. In simple term, the Synthetic Cannabinoid is an artificially produced Cannabinoid. Cannabinoid is a compound found on Cannabis plant.
• Every year, the International Day of Light is celebrated on May 16 by UNESCO and several other international organisations. The day celebrates the role of light in science, art, culture, education and sustainable development as on this day first successful operation of LASER was conducted on May 16, 1960 by physicist Theodore Maiman. Theme for 2021 “Trust Science”
• The Ministry of Commerce has recently initiated the anti-dumping investigation against China, Vietnam and Thailand. The investigation is against the import of solar cells from these countries. The investigation has been started by the Ministry following the application submitted by the Indian Solar Manufacturer Association.
• Andrea Meza of Mexico was crowned the Miss Universe, 2020. The 69th edition of Miss Universe was held on May 16, 2021 in Florida, United States
• In order to address the problems of elders in the context of the ongoing COVID pandemic, the Ministry of Social Justice has started state wise call centres in major states under the ELDERLINE(14567) project. The facility is already made operational in 5 major States of UP, MP, Rajasthan, TN and Karnataka. In Telangana, this facility has been working for more than a year.
• With an objective of providing psychological first-aid and emotional support to children affected during COVID-19 Pandemic, National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR)is providing Tele-Counselling to children through SAMVEDNA(Sensitizing Action on Mental Health Vulnerability through Emotional Development and Necessary Acceptance) - a Toll-Free Helpline launched to provide psycho-social mental support for Children affected during COVID 19 Pandemic. Tele-counselling is being provided through a network of qualified Experts/Counselors/Psychologists
• Padma Shree awardee and former national president of the Indian Medical Association Dr KK Aggarwal passed away