Daily CURRENT AFFAIRS

Daily Current Affair - UPSC/KAS Exams - 4th June 2021

What is the news : FMD disease outbreak reported in 3 districts of Karnataka

Which districts : Chickballapur, Bengaluru Urban, and Ramanagaram 

What is FMD:

• It is an infectious and sometimes fatal viral disease.
• Affects cloven-hoofed animals, including domestic and wild bovids.
• Symptoms: The virus causes a high fever for two or three days, followed by blisters inside the mouth and on the feet that may rupture and cause lameness.
• The virus responsible for the disease is a picornavirus, the prototypic member of the genus Aphthovirus

Spread of the disease and Concerns associated: Foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) has severe implications for animal farming, since it is highly infectious and can be spread by infected animals through aerosols, through contact with contaminated farming equipment, vehicles, clothing, or feed, and by domestic and wild predators.

Can Humans be affected?

• Humans can be infected with foot-and-mouth disease through contact with infected animals, but this is extremely rare. Some cases were caused by laboratory accidents.
• Because the virus that causes FMD is sensitive to stomach acid, it cannot spread to humans via consumption of infected meat, except in the mouth before the meat is swallowed.
• Symptoms of FMD in humans include malaise, fever, vomiting, red ulcerative lesions (surface-eroding damaged spots) of the oral tissues, and sometimes vesicular lesions (small blisters) of the skin.

What is in news : As on June 3, 2021, 50,000 startups across have been recognized as startups by DPIIT, showing the sucess of the initative

About START-UP INDIA :

SALIENT FEATURES OF STARTUP INDIA ACTION PLAN

1. Compliance Regime based on Self-Certification with an objective to reduce the regulatory burden on Startups thereby allowing them to focus on their core business and keep compliance cost low.
2. Startup India Hub with an objective to create a single point of contact for the entire Startup ecosystem and enable knowledge exchange and access to funding.
3. Rolling out of Mobile App and Portal with an objective to serve as the single platform for Startups for interacting with Government and Regulatory Institutions for all business needs and information exchange among various stakeholders.
4. Legal Support and Fast-tracking Patent Examination at Lower Costs
5. Relaxed Norms of Public Procurement for Startups
6. Faster Exit for Startups
7. Providing Funding Support through Fund of Funds with a Corpus of RS. 10,000 crore with an objective to provide funding support for development and growth of innovation driven enterprises.
8. Credit Guarantee fund for Startupswith objective to catalyze entrepreneurship by providing credit to innovators across all sections of society.
9. Tax Exemptions
10. Launch of Atal Innovation Mission (AIM) with an objective to serve as a platform for promotion of world-class Innovation Hubs, Grand Challenges, Startup businesses and other self-employment activities, particularly in technology driven areas.
11. Setting up of 7 New Research Parks Modelled on the Research Park Setup at IIT Madras with an objective to propel successful innovation through incubation and joint R&D efforts between academia and Industry.

What is the news : Dr. K.P. Krishnan committee on “Variable Capital Company” has submitted its report to International Financial Services centres Authority (IFSCA) regarding feasibility of Variable Capital Companies in International Financial Services Centres in India.

What is Variable Capital Company:

VCC –

• Is an alternative form of corporate vehicle which can be used for open-ended as well as closed-ended alternative and traditional fund strategies.
• Is a corporate vehicle with flexible capital because of which shares are created when investments are made and shares are readily redeemable by shareholders.
• Has been designed for fund management industry.

What did the comittee recommend :

Committee -

• Assessed features of VCC or its equivalent, in jurisdictions of Singapore, UK, Ireland and Luxembourg.
• Recommended to adopt a VCC-like legal structure to conduct fund management activity in IFSCs.
• Recognized that, legal framework governing entities which undertake fund management should provide certainty and clarity to each

About IFSC:

• IFSC

• Enables bringing back the financial services and transactions that are currently carried out in offshore financial centers by Indian corporate entities and overseas branches / subsidiaries of financial institutions (FIs)to India by offering business and regulatory environment that is comparable to other leading international financial centers in the world like London and Singapore.
• Would provide Indian corporates easier access to global financial markets.

• Members The Authority shall consist of a Chairperson, one Member each to be nominated by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), the Securities Exchange Board of India (SEBI), the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI) and the Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority(PFRDA), two members to be dominated by the Central Government and two other whole-time or full-time or part-time members.
• Functions of the Authority:  The Authority shall regulate all such financial services, financial products and FIs in an IFSC which has already been permitted by the Financial Sector Regulators for IFSCs. The Authority shall also regulate such other financial products, financial services or FIs as may be notified by the Central Government from time to time. It may also recommend to the Central Government such other financial products, financial services and financial institutions which may be permitted in the IFSCs.
• Powers of the Authority: All powers exercisable by the respective financial sector regulatory (viz. RBI, SEBI, IRDAI, and PFRDA etc.) under the respective Acts shall be solely exercised by the Authority in the IFSCs in so far as the regulation of financial products, financial services and FIs that are permitted in the IFSC are concerned.
• Processes and procedures of the Authority: The processes and procedures to be followed by the Authority shall be governed in accordance with the provisions of the respective Acts of Parliament of India applicable to such financial products, services or institutions, as the case may be.
• Grants by the Central Govt:  The Central Govt. may, after due appropriation made by Parliament by law in this behalf, make to the Authority grants of such sums of money as the Central Government may think fit for being utilized for the purposes of the Authority.
• Transactions in foreign currency: The transactions of financial services in the IFSCs shall be done in the foreign currency as specified by the Authority in consultation with the Central Govt.

What is the news :  Union Agriculture Minister, Narendra Singh Tomar, launched a seed Minikit programme by distributing high-yielding varieties seeds of oilseeds and pulses to farmers.

Details :

• This programme was launched as a major tool to introduce new varieties of seeds in fields.
• It will also help in increasing the seed replacement rate.
• Under the programme, Mini-kits are being provided by NAFED, National Seeds Corporation (NCS), and Gujarat State Seeds Corporation.
• It is completely funded by government through National Food Security Mission.
• This mission was launched to increase production of oilseeds and pulses
• Under the mission distribution of seeds will continue till June 15, 2021. Thus, farmers will get seeds before commencement of Kharif sowing season.
• About 20,27,318 seed minikits of pulses, 74000 minikits of groundnut and 8 lakh for soybean will be provided free of cost to the farmers directly under National Food Security Mission.

What is the news : World bank recently conducted a research on impact of Black Carbon on Glaciers of Himalaya, Karakoram and Hindu Kush (HKHK) mountain ranges.

Findings :

• Black carbon (BC) deposits produced by human activity which accelerate the pace of glacier and snow melt in the Himalayan region can be sharply reduced through new, currently feasible policies by an additional 50% from current levels
• Deposits of BC act in two ways hastening the pace of glacier melt: by decreasing surface reflectance of sunlight and by raising air temperature.
• The rate of retreat of HKHK glaciers is estimated to be 0.3 metres per year in the west to 1.0 metre per year in the east. Black Carbon adds to the impact of climate change.
• Full implementation of current policies to mitigate Black Carbon can achieve a 23% reduction but enacting new policies and incorporating them through regional cooperation among countries can achieve enhanced benefits
• BC is a short-lived pollutant that is the second-largest contributor to warming the planet behind carbon dioxide (CO2). Unlike other greenhouse gas emissions, BC is quickly washed out and can be eliminated from the atmosphere if emissions stop
• Some of the ongoing policy measures to cut BC emissions are enhancing fuel efficiency standards for vehicles, phasing out diesel vehicles and promoting electric vehicles, accelerating the use of liquefied petroleum gas for cooking and through clean cookstove programmes, as well as upgrading brick kiln technologies
• Specifically, in the Himalayas, reducing black carbon emissions from cookstoves, diesel engines, and open burning would have the greatest impact and could significantly reduce radiative forcing and help to maintain a greater portion of Himalayan glacier systems. More detailed modelling at a higher spatial resolution is needed to expand on the work already completed
• Industry [primarily brick kilns] and residential burning of solid fuel together account for 45–66% of regional anthropogenic [man-made] BC deposition, followed by on-road diesel fuels (7–18%) and open burning (less than 3% in all seasons)

What is the news : THE BLUE-FINNED Mahseer, which was on the International Union for Conservation of Nature’s (IUCN) red list of endangered species, has now moved to the ‘least concern’ status

Details :

• The success is attributed to conservation efforts made by Tata Power.The group is involved in conservation of the blue-finned and golden mahseer for 50 years in Lonavala.
• Tata Power has developed an ingenious method to breed 4-5 lakh Mahseer hatchlings at a time at its Walvan Hatchery in Lonavala. The century old company has created a huge lake by damming the Indrayani River.
• The other species of Masheer include Humpback Masheer of Cauvery Delta and Golden Masheer.
• It was also said that Blue finned masheer overpowered Humpback type which were in verge of extinction

IUCN REDLIST

• It is the world’s most comprehensive inventory of the global conservation status of plant and animal species.
• How are species categorised:
• It uses Following  set of quantitative criteria to evaluate the extinction risk of thousands of species.

1. The rate of population decline.
2. The geographic range.
3. Whether the species already possesses a small population size.
4. Whether the species is very small or lives in a restricted area.
5. Whether the results of a quantitative analysis indicate a high probability of extinction in the wild.

• The IUCN Red List Categories:The IUCN Red List Categories define the extinction risk of species assessed. Nine categories extend from NE (Not Evaluated) to EX (Extinct). Critically Endangered (CR), Endangered (EN) and Vulnerable (VU) species are considered to be threatened with extinction.

DEFENCE

What is the news : Largest warship of Iranian navy caught fire and sank in the Gulf of Oman, circumstances are still unclear. It sank near Iranian port of Jask

Details:

The Kharg

• Was  used to resupply other shops in fleet and conduct training exercises
• Is largest naval vessel by tonnage and one of a very limited number of replenishment ships in the Iranian navy.
• Was built in the United Kingdom in the late 1970s.
• Had been in service for almost four decades before it sank.
• Was one of the few vessels in the Iranian navy that was capable of providing replenishment at sea for its other ships.
• Was also able to lift heavy cargo and serve as a launch point for helicopters.

What is the news : NITI Aayog  recently released SDG India index

What is SDG Index: It is an  index that measures the progress at the national and sub-national level in the country’s journey towards meeting the Global Goals and targets.

Why do we need this Index : It is needed to monitor the country’s progress on the goals through data-driven assessment and to foster a competitive spirit among the States and Union Territories in achieving them

What was the methodology followed

• A composite score for SDG Index was computed in the range of 0–100 for each State/UT based on its aggregate performance across 16 SDGs.
• The higher the score of a State/UT, the closer it is towards achieving the 2030 national targets.
• States /UTs are classified based on the SDG India Index Score as follows:

1. Aspirant: 0–49
2. Performer: 50–64
3. Front Runner: 65–99
4. Achiever: 100

Findings for 2020-21 :

• India saw significant improvement in the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) related to clean energy, urban development and health in 2020
• there has been a major decline in the areas of industry, innovation and infrastructure as well as decent work and economic growth.
• Although the index shows improvement on the inequality SDGs, the NITI Aayog has omitted key economic indicators used to measure inequality in income and expenditure last year and given greater weightage to social indicators instead.
• Kerala retained its position at the top of the rankings in the third edition of the index, with a score of 75, followed by Tamil Nadu and Himachal Pradesh, both scoring 72. At the other end of the scale, Bihar, Jharkhand and Assam were the worst performing States. However, all the States showed some improvement from last year’s scores, with Mizoram and Haryana seeing the biggest gains.
• In 2019, the indicators for inequality included the growth rates for household expenditure per capita among the bottom 40% of rural and urban populations, as well as the Gini coefficient — a measure of the distribution of income — in rural and urban India. The 2018 indicators included the Palma ratio, another metric for income inequality.

Such economic measures have been omitted from the indicators used for this SDG in the 2020 edition of the Index. Instead, it gives greater weightage to social equality indicators, such as the percentage of women and Scheduled Caste/Scheduled Tribe representatives in State Legislatures and the panchayati raj institutions and the levels of crime against the SC/ST communities. The only economic indicator this year is the percentage of population in the lowest two wealth quintiles.

SNIPPETS

• Maharashtra government has launched “Corona-free Village Competitions” which is an interesting route to ensure all Covid-19 precautionary norms are followed in villages of state.Participating villages will be judged on the basis of 22 criteria by a committee set up for the purpose.
• Indian Council of Medical Research, ICMR has approved second home-based Rapid Antigen Test kit named “PanBio COVID-19”. This test kit was developed by Abbott Rapid Diagnostics Division, Chicago
• Anerood Jugnauth GCSK, KCMG, QC, PC was a Mauritian politician and barrister who served both as President and Prime Minister of Mauritius. He passed away recently
• American space agency, NASA, has announced its two new robotic missions namely Davinci+ and Veritas, to Venus to examine atmosphere and geological features on the planet.
• Scientists of Centre for Nano and Soft Matter Sciences(under DST)have fabricated a metal oxide semiconductor (MOS) nanorods array-based oxygen sensor which works at room temperature with assistance of UV irradiation and can detect broad ppm range of oxygen gas concentrations. They used titanium oxide for the purpose and work.
• Operation Sagar Aaraksha II - Indian Coast Guard (ICG), in coordination with Sri Lankan authorities, has been tirelessly engaged in fighting a major fire onboard the Chemical laden container vessel MV X-Press Pearl anchored off Colombo since 25 May 2021.
• National Council of Science Museums (NCSM), an organisation under the Ministry of Culture, GoI is collaborating with the Science Museum Group, London for an international travelling exhibition ‘Hunt for the Vaccine’. The exhibition will tell the story of the global effort to find new ways to develop vaccines at pandemic speed and look at vaccinations more broadly with a historical and contemporary view.

• On the occasion of 100th anniversary of Chinese Communist Party in 2021, China is promoting ‘red tourism’, which means it is encouraging people to visit places that have historical and cultural importance for communist party.
• Red Tourism has been coined by China which refers to “visiting sites which have modern revolutionary legacy”.
• It was Launched in 2004 with the objective of promoting locations with historical and cultural significance for history of Communist Party. It seeks to spread awareness regarding history of communist party starting with its origins. It includes colourful events which promotes visitors to put on revolutionary attire when they visit former residences of Communist leaders and exhibition halls etc.