Current Affairs Oct 28

 Direct Port Entry facility

• A Direct Port Entry (DPE) facility was inaugurated at the VO Chidambaranar (VOC) port in Thoothukudi to help reduce logistics cost.
• The VOC Port Trust has developed the DPE facility to enable the export clearance of factory stuffed e-sealed containers on a 24×7 basis resulting in faster and cost-effective export admittance.
• The port trust has entered into an MoU with Central Warehousing Corporation (CWC) to operate the facility for 30 years and the Customs department has also approved operating the DPE facility in the port.
• It will help in increasing Ease of Doing Business for the exporters as the facility will bring efficiency and reduce dwell time, lower tariff cost and improve the competitiveness of shippers in international trade.
• Earlier, the factory stuffed (self-sealed) containers were taken to one of the container freight stations (CFSs) / Inland Container Depot operating in Thoothukudi.
• As the CFSs operated between 10 am and 8 pm on working days only, there was considerable delay in admitting the self-sealed export containers into the container terminals.
• The DPE facility will ensure 24/7.

BUSINESSLINE

India, U.S. Ink Strategic Defense Pact

• India and the U.S. inked a landmark defence agreement that will allow sharing of high-end military technology, classified satellite data and critical information between the two countries.
• The signing of the long-negotiated Basic Exchange and Cooperation Agreement (BECA) during the third edition of the 2+2 dialogue between the two strategic partners also signals
• further boosting of bilateral defence and military ties and it comes in the backdrop of India’s tense border standoff with China in eastern Ladakh.
• In the 2+2 dialogue, the two sides deliberated on a host of critical issues including ways to further expand the already close relationship between the militaries of the two countries as well as broader issues of mutual interest in the Indo-Pacific region.
• The inking of the BECA completes finalisation of four key pacts between the two countries which were identified as crucial to significantly expand the strategic ties.
• A key pact called General Security of Military Information Agreement (GSOMIA) was signed by the two countries in 2002.
• The GSOMIA provides for specific measures to ensure security standards for safeguarding critical information shared by the U.S. with India.
• In a major move in 2016, the U.S. had designated India a “Major Defence Partner” intending to elevate defence trade and technology sharing to a level commensurate with that of its closest allies and partners.
• The two countries inked the Logistics Exchange Memorandum of Agreement (LEMOA) in 2016 that allows their militaries use each other’s bases for repair and replenishment of supplies as well as provide for deeper cooperation.
• India and the U.S. signed another pact called COMCASA (Communications Compatibility and Security Agreement) in 2018 that provides for interoperability between the two militaries and provides for sale of high end technology from the U.S. to India.
• BECA agreement will give India access to classified geo-spatial data as well as critical information having significant military applications from the U.S.

THE HINDU

Air Pollution Linked With 15% Covid-19 Deaths Worldwide

• About 15 per cent of deaths worldwide from COVID-19 may be linked to long-term exposure to air pollution, according to a study.
• In Europe the proportion of COVID-19 deaths linked to air pollution was about 19 per cent, in North America it was 17 per cent, and in East Asia about 27 per cent.
• First study to estimate the proportion of deaths from the coronavirus that could be attributed to the exacerbating effects of air pollution for every country in the world.
• This attributable fraction does not imply a direct cause-effect relationship between air pollution and COVID-19 mortality.
• Instead it refers to relationships between two, direct and indirect, i.e. by aggravating co-morbidities, or other health conditions, that could lead to fatal health outcomes of the virus infection.
• The researchers used epidemiological data from previous US and Chinese studies of air pollution and COVID-19 and the SARS outbreak in 2003, supported by additional data from Italy.
• They combined this with satellite data showing global exposure to polluting fine particles known as ‘particulate matter’ that are less than or equal to 2.5 microns in diameter (known as PM2.5), information on atmospheric conditions and ground-based pollution monitoring networks.
• Estimates for individual countries show, for example, that air pollution contributed to 29 per cent of coronavirus deaths in the Czech Republic, 27 per cent in China, 26 per cent in Germany, 22 per cent in Switzerland, and 21 per cent in Belgium.
• When people inhale polluted air, the very small polluting particles, the PM2.5, migrate from the lungs to the blood and blood vessels, causing inflammation and severe oxidative stress, which is an imbalance between free radicals and oxidants in the body that normally repair damage to cells.
• This causes damage to the inner lining of arteries, the endothelium, and leads to the narrowing and stiffening of the arteries.
• The COVID-19 virus also enters the body via the lungs, causing similar damage to blood vessels, and it is now considered to be an endothelial disease.
• If both long-term exposure to air pollution and infection with the COVID-19 virus come together then we have an additive adverse effect on health, particularly with respect to the heart and blood vessels, which leads to greater vulnerability and less resilience to COVID-19.

THE HINDU

Ammonite

• Amid claims in the social media that dinosaur egg fossils have been unearthed in Venkattan kulam, an irrigation tank at Kunnam in Perambalur district, a report indicates that the stone ball-like objects were concretions and a few of them were found to be ammonites.
• Ammonite is a marine organism that existed centuries ago and the coating with sediments and minerals makes it into a rock-like object.
• Stone ball-like objects of varying sizes were found in the tank.
• The objects were mild yellow in colour and found at a depth of 20-feet from the ground.

THE HINDU

Centre notifies J&K land law

• The Centre has notified new laws, including fresh land laws, for the Union Territory (UT) of J&K and omitted any precondition on purchase of land in J&K, as existed under Article 370 for the outsiders.
• Under the newly introduced J&K Development Act (XIX of 1970), it notified that “omit, being permanent resident of the State”.
• In a fresh notification, Section 30 of and Part VII of the State Land Acquisition Act, Samvat 1990 was substituted by the Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Act, 2013 (30 of 2013).
• Introducing the J&K Agrarian Reforms Act, the Jammu and Kashmir Forest Act, 1987 was also substituted by the Indian Forest Act, 1927 (16 of 1927).
• The Centre also completely repealed the J&K Alienation of Land Act, 1995 and the J&K Big Land Estates Act and the J&K Common Lands (regulation) Act, 1956 and the J&K Consolidation of Holdings Act, 1962.
• The fresh notification underlined that the government may on the written request of an Army officer not below the rank of Corp Commander declare
• an area as Strategic Area within a local area, only for direct operational and training requirements of armed forces,
• which may be excluded from the operation of this Act and rules and regulations made there under in the manner and to the extent.
• Under the transfer of land for the purpose of promotion of healthcare or education 133-J, the government may allow transfer of land in favour of a person or an institution for the purpose of promotion of healthcare or senior secondary or higher or specialised education in the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir.
• The Centre has repealed most of the previous land laws, including
• the J&K Prevention of Fragmentation of Agricultural Holdings Act, 1960;
• J&K Prohibition on Conversion of Land and Alienation of Orchards Act, 1975;
• the J&K Right of Prior Purchase ACT, 1936 A.D;
• Section 3 of the J&K Tenancy (Stay of Ejectment Proceedings) Act 1966;
• the J&K Utilisation of Land Act, 2010; and
• the J&K Underground Utilities (Acquisition of rights of user in land) Act.

THE HINDU

MHA designated 18 ‘terrorists’ under UAPA

• The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) designated 18 more individuals, all Pakistan based, as “terrorists” under the amended anti-terror law that was passed by Parliament last year.
• The list includes seven Indians who are now in Pakistan.
• The Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA), 1967, as amended in August last year empowersthe MHA to designate individuals as terrorists.
• Earlier, 13 individuals were designated as terrorists.
• Those designated as terrorists include Hizb-ul-Mujahideen commander Syed Salahudeen, founders of Indian Mujahideen Riyaz and Iqbal Bhatkal and gangster Dawood Ibrahim’s close aide Chota Shakeel.
• Shakeel, a Pakistan-based associate of Dawood Ibrahim “looks after all criminal and underworld operations of D-Company, finances D-Company operatives of India and was involved in the smuggling of firearms to Gujarat in 1993,” the Ministry stated.
• In September 2019, the four individuals to be first designated as terrorists were Jaish-e-Mohammad chief Masood Azhar, Hafiz Saeed, his deputy Zaki-ur-Rehman Lakhvi, and Dawood Ibrahim.

THE HINDU

Strengthening The Skilling Ecosystem

• In line with Hon’ble Prime Minister vision of making India the skill capital of the world, Ministry of Skill Development & Entrepreneurship (MSDE) in collaboration with their unified regulator— National Council for Vocational Education and Training (NCVET) unveiled robust set of guidelines for the Awarding Bodies (AB) and Assessment Agencies (AA) over a digital conference.
• The guidelines and operation manuals have been developed for the recognition and regulation of these two entities, key elements of skilling ecosystem.
• The guidelines aim at establishing quality, improved outcomes and standardizing the processes under Skill India Mission.

About Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship (MSDE)

• MSDE was formed on November 9, 2014 by the Government of India to focus on enhancing employability of skills.
• Since its inception, MSDE has undertaken significant initiatives and reforms in terms of formalizing the policy, framework and standards;
• Launching of new programs and schemes; creating new infrastructure and upgrading the existing institutions; partnering with States;
• Engaging with industries and building societal acceptance and aspirations for skills.
• The Ministry aims to bridge the gap between demand and supply of skilled manpower to build new skills and innovation not only for existing jobs but also for jobs that are to be created.
• Under its flagship programme, Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikas Yojana (PMKVY) 2016-2020, the Ministry has trained more than 92 lakh candidates so far.

The National Council for Vocational Education and Training (NCVET)

• The National Council for Vocational Education and Training (NCVET) was notified by the Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship (MSDE) on 5th December 2018.
• The NCVET acts as an overarching skills regulator which regulates the functioning of entities engaged in vocational education and training, both long and short term, and establishes minimum standards for the functioning of such entities.
• With NCVET’s sincere efforts in framing the guidelines and the operational manuals, country’s skilling ecosystem will witness robust regulations addressing the needs of multitude of stakeholders.
• The uniform certificate formats developed by NCVET is also a step in the right direction and a much needed reform. It will bring about uniformity and enhance the authenticity of the certification.

 PIB

Anti-ageing Compounds

• Researchers at the Indian Institute of Technology-Guwahati (IIT-G) have developed a low-cost membrane technology to produce psychoactive drugs and anti-ageing compounds from agricultural resources.
• The technology, eliminating the use of any organic solvents, has been patented and developed by Mihir Kumar Purkait, professor of the Department of Chemical Engineering and head of the Centre of Environment and his M Tech student V.L. Dhadge.
• According to the duo, the technology produces caffeine (psychoactive drugs) and flavonoids (anti-ageing compounds) from citrus fruits and peels, berries, ginkgo biloba, parsley, pulses, tea, sea buckthorn, onions and other farm resources.
• Commercially available techniques use costly organic solvents such as chloroform and acetone.
• These pharmaceutical raw materials ultimately increases the price of the antioxidant developed.
• The membrane technology used only water, thereby reducing the cost of pharmaceutical stimulants and anti-ageing compounds.
• The IIT-G developers claimed the new membrane technology could help India reduce the import of flavonoids as camellia sinensis (tea), of which the country is the second largest producer on earth, is one of the key resources.

THE HINDU

TRAGNEXT

• Agri-tech start-up AgNext has deployed “TRAGNEXT – a first of its kind AI (artificial intelligence) based fine leaf count solution across the tea growing areas of North-East India.
• The deployment would help improve tea quality, suggest fair pricing for the small tea growers (STG) and industry alike and accelerate India again as a global leader in quality tea suitable for global markets and exports.
• In 2018, AgNext partnered with the Tea Research Association (TRA) to accelerate the implementation of data driven technology TRAGNEXT in the tea industry.
• The vision was to eradicate the traditional human-led manual methods of checking tea quality that lacks visibility and authenticity of the assessments, resulting in improper pricing to the farmers.
• “TRAGNEXT is the first of its kind solution that automatically determines the fine leaf count without human intervention, removing subjectivity, reducing the process to seconds and improving overall accuracy.
• TRAGNEXT can count a sample of one kg of tea and give the percentage of FLC (Fine Leaf Count) & coarse leaf within two minutes, giving accurate results, proper incentivisation of the farmers and curbing yield loss for buyers.
• It also determines the surface moisture of the leaves which also plays a crucial role in quality procurement.

BUSINESSLINE

A Handheld Device For Detecting Oral Cancer

• Detection of oral cancer, one of the most common cancers in India, may become easy and affordable with an Indian biomedical startup coming up with a handheld imaging device that can screen and detect tumours in the mouth very early stages.
• OralScan, designed and developed by Sascan Meditech, a startup incubated at TiMED, a technology business incubator of the Sree Chitra Tirunal Institute for Medical Science and Technology (SCTIMST) in Thiruvananthapuram.
• OralScan has already undergone multi-centre trials covering six hospitals in the country, and the technology has already received an Indian patent, and a US patent is pending.
• OralScan was conceived and developed with seed funding from the National Initiative for Developing and Harnessing Innovations (NIDHI) scheme of the Department of Science & Technology (DST) and was further supported by the Department of Biotechnology and Kerala Start Up Mission.
• Oral cancer is a growing concern in India with more than 80,000 new cases reported each year.
• The disease has a high mortality rate because of the delay in detection. Current practice relies on oral examinations using torchlight to detect early-stage cancers of the oral cavity.
• OralScan, on the other hand, not only screens and detects oral lesions, but also assists the surgeon in taking a biopsy from the most appropriate site which is likely to confirm the diagnosis of malignancy.
• This will avoid multiple biopsies and false negative reports.

BUSINESSLINE

Covid Patients Can Be Treated With T-cells Of Recovered Patients

• According to a new study, T-cells — a type of white blood cell that is an essential part of the immune system — taken from the blood of recovered Covid-19 patients can help in the treatment of Covid-19 infected people.
• These cells need to be taken and multiplied in the lab so that they can effectively target proteins that are important for the virus to function.
• Many people who recover from Covid-19 have T-cells that recognise and target viral proteins of SARS-CoV-2, giving them immunity from the virus because those T-cells are primed to fight it.
• This suggests that adoptive immunotherapy using convalescent T-cells to target these regions of the virus may be an effective way to protect vulnerable people, especially those with compromised immune systems due to cancer therapy or transplantation.
• The expanded group of Covid-19 virus-targeting T-cells could be infused into immuno-compromised patients.
• This can help patients to boost their immunity that can fight the virus.

BUSINESSLINE

Why Energy Companies Want Natural Gas To Be Under Gst

• Global energy majors are bullish on the growth of natural gas usage in India and have called on the government to bring natural gas under the GST regime at the India energy Forum being held this week.
• Currently petrol, diesel, aviation turbine fuel, natural gas and crude oil fall outside India’s Goods and Services Tax (GST) regime.

Why is it important to bring natural gas under the GST regime?

• Bringing natural gas under the GST would lead to a reduction in the cascading impact of taxes on industries such as power and steel, which used natural gas as an input.
• The inclusion of natural gas under the GST regime would do away with the central excise duty and different value added taxes imposed by states.
• This would lead to an increase in the adoption of natural gas in line with the government’s stated goal to increase the share of natural gas in the country’s energy basket from 6.3% to 15%.

IE

The Plasma Therapy Debate

• Recently published findings on convalescent plasma therapy on Covid-19 patients have triggered a debate over its efficacy.
• After the country’s largest such trial, known by the acronym PLACID, found that convalescent plasma was ineffective in arresting Covid-19, the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) has been considering dropping this option from the national guidelines.

What is plasma therapy?

• Plasma is the liquid part of the blood. Convalescent plasma, extracted from the blood of patients recovering from an infection, is a source of antibodies against the infection.
• The therapy involves using their plasma to help others recover. For Covid-19, this has been one of the treatment options.
• The donor would have to be a documented case of Covid-19 and healthy for 28 days since the last symptoms.

What has happened to spark the debate?

• An ICMR study has found convalescent plasma was not associated with a reduction in progression to severe Covid-19 or all-cause mortality.
• ICMR had said they were contemplating deleting convalescent plasma as a definitive therapy from the national guidelines for Covid-19 treatment.

What are the trial findings?

• While use of convalescent plasma seemed to improve resolution of shortness of breath and fatigue in patients with moderate Covid-19, this did not translate into a reduction in 28-day mortality or progression to severe disease.

What happens if ICMR does remove the therapy from its guidelines?

• The ICMR has been cautious because of the trial findings.
• Experts said, however, that guidelines are not necessarily binding and it is too early to dismiss convalescent plasma therapy.
• But there are other issues.
• The authorisation of convalescent plasma as treatment for Covid-19 in India has led to questionable practices such as calls for donors on social media, and the sale of convalescent plasma on the black market.
• Although convalescent plasma is a safe form of treatment when transfused in accordance to the regulations, it involves resource-intensive processes such as plasmapheresis, plasma storage, and measurement of neutralising antibodies.
• A limited number of institutes in India have the capacity to undertake these procedures in a quality-assured manner.

IE

Arctic Methane Deposits Starting To Release

• Scientists have found evidence that frozen methane deposits in the Arctic Ocean – known as the “sleeping giants of the carbon cycle” – have started to be released over a large area of the continental slope off the East Siberian coast.
• High levels of the potent greenhouse gas have been detected down to a depth of 350 metres in the Laptev Sea near Russia, prompting concern among researchers that a new climate feedback loop may have been triggered that could accelerate the pace of global heating.
• The slope sediments in the Arctic contain a huge quantity of frozen methane and other gases – known as hydrates.
• Methane has a warming effect 80 times stronger than carbon dioxide over 20 years
• The Arctic is considered ground zero in the debate about the vulnerability of frozen methane deposits in the ocean.
• With the Arctic temperature now rising more than twice as fast as the global average, the question of when – or even whether – they will be released into the atmosphere has been a matter of considerable uncertainty in climate computer models.
• At one location on the Laptev Sea slope at a depth of about 300 metres they found methane concentrations of up to 1,600 nanomoles per litre, which is 400 times higher than would be expected if the sea and the atmosphere were in equilibrium.
• The most likely cause of the instability is an intrusion of warm Atlantic currents into the east Arctic. This “Atlantification” is driven by human-induced climate disruption.
• Temperatures in Siberia were 5C higher than average from January to June this year, an anomaly that was made at least 600 times more likely by human-caused emissions of carbon dioxide and methane.
• Last winter’s sea ice melted unusually early.
• This winter’s freeze has yet to begin, already a later start than at any time on record.

THE GUARDIAN

Old And Unsafe’ Cars Sent To Developing World Fuelling Air Pollution : UN

• Millions of used motor vehicles exported from the US, Europe and Japan to developing countries are of poor quality and are contributing significantly to air pollution, according a new UN report.
• About 80% of the 14m used light-duty vehicles – saloon cars, SUVs and minibuses – exported between 2015 and 2018 went to low and middle-income countries.
• About 40% went to Africa, found the report, published by the UN Environment Programme (Unep).
• The EU is the largest exporter of used vehicles, sending 7.5m, mostly to north and west Africa.
• Globally, the transport sector is responsible for nearly a quarter of energy-related greenhouse gas emissions.
• Specifically, vehicle emissions are a significant source of the fine particulate matter (PM2.5) and nitrogen oxides (NOx) that are leading causes of urban air pollution.
• The report found that two-thirds of the 146 countries studied had “weak” or “very weak” policies to regulate the import of used vehicles.
• Currently, there are no regional or global agreements on trade in used vehicles. A total of 100 countries had no vehicle emissions standards.
• Nigeria, which had “very weak” regulation policies according to the report, imported 238,760 vehicles in 2018, accounting for 16% of total imports.
• In 2016, the southern city of Onitsha was named the world’s most polluted city – the low-quality diesel from cars and trucks among the reasons.
• Many African states are making moves to counter the problem. In February, 15 energy ministers from the Economic Community of West African States, Ecowas, met to adopt regulations that will see the region switch to cleaner fuels and vehicles.
• A recommended maximum age of used cars was set at five years. The new rules could be implemented within 10 years.
• As well as air pollution, the report said used vehicles are more likely to cause fatal accidents or serious injuries due to mechanical and safety defects.
• Africa has the highest road fatality rates, recording more than 240,000 deaths annually.

THE GUARDIAN

Andaman Sea warmer than Bay of Bengal

• The role of oceanic processes in keeping the deep Andaman Sea warm has been a mystery for long.
• A new study conducted by Indian National Centre for Ocean Information Services (INCOIS) to investigate internal waves, however, has given an answer:
• Deep waters (below 1,200 metres) in the Andaman Sea are about 2 degrees Celsius warmer than the Bay of Bengal due to internal tide mixing.
• The study is important to interpret the response of the ocean to climate change by understanding the distribution of temperature, both near the ocean surface and the deep ocean.
• Internal tide energy dissipation and associated vertical mixing play a major role in maintaining the warmer temperature in the deep Andaman Sea, according to the study.
• The rate of vertical mixing in the AS is about twice than what is observed in the Bay of Bengal.
• This elevated internal tide induced vertical mixing results in the efficient transfer of heat into the deeper layers, which keeps the deep Andaman Sea warm.
• Temperature distribution in the deep ocean plays an important role in regulating the deep ocean circulation, water mass formation, distribution of chemical properties as well as the distribution of marine organisms including invertebrate animals.
• The higher concentration of dissolved Rare Earth Elements in the deep Andaman Sea compared to Bay of Bengal is attributed to the enhanced vertical mixing.
• The effect of climate change was more pronounced in the deep sea and the marginal sea than previously believed.
• Under the global climate change scenario, tidal-induced deep-sea mixing plays an important role in controlling the distribution of heat and carbon in the ocean,
• helping drive global ocean circulation and
• force nutrients up from the deep,
• where they can be used by tiny plants at the sea surface that is at the base of the ocean’s food web.

DTE