Current Affairs Feb 1 – GES Reporter

Pulse Polio Programme for 2021

Why in News?

President of India launched the Pulse Polio Programme for 2021.
Administered polio drops to children on the eve of the Polio National Immunization Day, which is observed on the 31st January 2021.

Pulse Polio Immunization Programme

The strategy of Pulse Polio Immunization Programme was conceived in December 1993 and it was rolled out from 2nd October, 1994 when the first child was immunized against Polio as part of this programme.
In 1995 seeing the visible impact of the Pulse Polio Programme in Delhi, this was replicated at the national level.
A year later, several countries of South East Asia region of WHO emulated the strategy and implemented similar programs.
Even in Africa, Mr. Nelson Mandela launched ‘Kick Polio out of Africa’ campaign.
Before the start of the program, India had 60% caseload of Polio worldwide. With the last case of Polio reported in Howrah on 13th January, 2011, the country has been free of Polio for a decade now.
Polio-free certification’ of the entire South-East Asia Region of WHO including India on the 27th of March 2014.
Universal Immunization Programme is focusing to protect children from more diseases than ever before and has introduced several new vaccines like Pneumococcal Conjugate Vaccine, Rotavirus vaccine, and Measles-Rubella vaccine in the recent past.

PIB

Lower Arun Hydro Electric Project

Why in News?

Government of Nepal has allotted 679 MW Lower Arun Hydro Electric Project in Nepal to Satluj Jal Vidyut Nigam Limited (SJVNL) through competitive bidding.

Located in

The Lower Arun Hydro Electric Project is located in Sankhuwasabha and Bhojpur Districts of Nepal.
SJVN is already constructing 900 MW Arun 3 HEP in Nepal and 217km 400 kV associated transmission system.
With addition of Lower Arun Hydro Electric Project to its kitty, SJVN portfolio now stands at 8960.5 MW.
SJVN has presence in various sectors of energy generation which includes Hydro, Wind, Solar & Thermal. The company also has presence in the field of Energy Transmission.

PIB

Indian Coast Guard will celebrate 45th Raising Day

Indian Coast Guard is celebrating its 45th Raising Day on 01 Feb 2021.
From a modest beginning with just 07 surface platforms in 1978, ICG has grown into a formidable force with 156 ships and 62 aircraft in its inventory and is likely to achieve targeted force levels of 200 surface platforms and 80 aircraft by 2025.
As the fourth largest Coast Guard in the world, Indian Coast Guard has played a significant role in securing the Indian Coasts and enforcing regulations within the Maritime Zones of India.
Its motto “Vayam Rakshamah” meaning “We Protect”.
To harmonise the Maritime & Civil Aviation Search & Rescue mechanism, ICG conducted National Maritime Search & Rescue Board meeting and followed it up with SAR Exercise-2020 (SAREX-2020) to validate the existing mechanism for undertaking Mass Rescue Operations.
The Coast Guard became the first force to deploy women officers in operational roles on board ships.
Deputy Commandant Kanchan Jadhav from the Mumbai regional headquarters is among the seven women officers who were trained to operate air-cushion vehicles popularly known as hovercraft.

PIB

Medical Board on Abortion ‘Unfeasible’

Why in News?

A panel of doctors to decide on termination of pregnancy beyond 24 weeks as proposed in the Medical Termination of Pregnancy (MTP) Amendment Bill, 2020, is “unfeasible” as 82% of these posts are lying vacant in the country, finds a new study.

Medical Termination of Pregnancy (MTP) Amendment Bill, 2020

The MTP Bill was passed in Lok Sabha in March 2020, and is likely to be brought before Rajya Sabha during the ongoing Budget Session.
The Bill proposes several amendments, including the constitution of a Medical Board in every State and UT, which will decide on pregnancies beyond 24 weeks in cases of foetal abnormalities. Each board will have one gynaecologist, one radiologist or sonologist, one paediatrician, and other members prescribed by the State/UT government.

The report analysis & Findings

District-wise availability of specialists, including surgeons, obstetricians and gynaecologists, physicians and paediatricians.
It found that for each of the years between 2015-2019, the shortfall in these posts hovered between 71% to 81.8%.
For the year 2019, for a total of 21,296 vacancies in the country, only 3,880 were filled, that is, there was a shortfall of 81.8%.
The shortfall was starker in the northeast where Sikkim, Mizoram and Manipur had a total absence of obstetricians and gynaecologists, and a near total absence of paediatricians.
Arunachal Pradesh and Meghalaya had a 100% shortage of paediatricians.
The World Health Organization also urges nations not to create barriers by including complex authorisation processes and noted that “negotiating authorization procedures disproportionally burdens poor women, adolescents, those with little education and those subjected to, or at risk of, domestic conflict and violence, creating inequality in access”.

THE HINDU

Census

Why in News?

The Centre is on track to push the 2021 Census to 2022 on account of the country’s continuing preoccupation with COVID-19.

Census Phases

The first phase of the census — House Listing & Housing Census — and the updating of the National Population Register (NPR) were initially to be rolled out in some States on April 1, 2020, but were postponed due to the pandemic.
The exercise was to have been conducted in two phases — House Listing and Housing Census from April to September 2020 and Population Enumeration from February 9 to February 28, 2021.
The entire process had become controversial after Parliament approved the Citizenship (Amendment) Act in December 2019 that sought to give citizenship to persecuted minorities from Bangladesh, Afghanistan and Pakistan who entered India on or before December 31, 2014.
The rules required for implementing the CAA have not been framed so far — more than a year after the passage of this key legislation pushed through by the government in the teeth of strong opposition.
Strong opposition from Bangladesh is one of the factors that led to the CAA remaining on hold.
Citizenship Rules framed in the year 2003 hold that the NPR is the first step towards compilation of National Register of Indian Citizens (NRIC) or NRC.
Data for an NPR was first collected in 2010 and then updated in 2015.
Some States had objected to additional questions to be asked in the fresh NPR such as “date and place of birth of father and mother, last place of residence and mother tongue”.

THE HINDU

Sukhoi

Why in News?

The Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) has manufactured the last two Su-30MKIs of the 272 aircraft contracted from Russia and is all set to deliver them to the IAF.
One aircraft is certified and inducted for BrahMos modification. Another aircraft has been produced and planned to be certified by February end.

Russia’s Role

India had contracted the Su-30s from Russia in batches of which 222 were assembled by HAL at its Nasik plant under Transfer of technology (ToT) since 2004.
Of the 272 fighters, 40 are being modified to carry the air launched version of the supersonic cruise missile BrahMos.
The IAF has started receiving the aircraft and has deployed some at Thanjavur air base in Tamil Nadu last year.

Major upgrade programme

A major upgrade programme for the entire fleet is under negotiation with Russia to give the aircraft better radar, avionics and weapons among others.
Initially, it was envisaged that all upgrades would be incorporated per aircraft at one go but given the cost and time that it would take to cover the entire fleet, the IAF has decided to go for capability upgrades in phases.
While manufacturing of SU-30s comes to an end, HAL is now gearing up for the order of 83 indigenous Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) Tejas-MK-1A the deal for which is expected to be signed at the Aero India estimated at ₹47,000 crore.

THE HINDU

Many Northeast Wildlife Habitats Understaffed

Why in News?

Many wildlife habitats in the Northeast are understaffed, without trained manpower and proper infrastructure, the Management Effectiveness Evaluation (MEE) report of the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change has said.

About MEE Report

Union Environment Minister had a fortnight released the MEE report covering 146 national parks and wildlife sanctuaries across the country.
Sixteen protected areas in the Northeast, minus the major ones such as Assam’s Kaziranga National Park and Manas National Park, were included in the evaluation done in 2018-19 with technical assistance from the Wildlife Institute of India.
Of these 16, two were rated ‘very good’, seven ‘good’, five ‘fair’ and two ‘poor’.
The best managed among the 16 evaluated protected areas in the region was found to be Meghalaya’s Nongkhyllem Wildlife Sanctuary because of the continuity of a management plan since 2001.
Yordi Rabe Subse Wildlife Sanctuary in West Siang district of Arunachal Pradesh was found to be the worst managed as it has been running with casual staff only.
The sanctuary is known for its biodiversity, including the tiger, leopard, clouded leopard, Mishmi takin, black-necked crane and Asiatic black bear.
“The infrastructure is lacking in almost all aspects, i.e. protection camps, patrolling equipment, monitoring and survey equipment, etc.”.
The frontline workers of Manipur’s Keibul Lamjao National Park, for instance, were found to have had no training in wildlife management especially in the park’s specialised freshwater ecosystem.

THE HINDU

What caused the tilt to Saturn’s rotation axis?

Why in News?

The tilt of the rotation axis of the gas giant Saturn may in fact be caused by its moons, scientists have reported.
The current tilt of Saturn’s rotation axis is caused by the migration of its satellites, and especially by that of its largest moon, Titan.
Recent observations have shown that Titan and the other moons are gradually moving away from Saturn much faster than astronomers had previously estimated.
By incorporating this increased migration rate into their calculations, the researchers concluded that this process affects the inclination of Saturn’s rotation axis: as its satellites move further away, the planet tilts more and more.
Saturn’s axis is still tilting, and what we see today is merely a transitional stage in this shift. Over the next few billion years, the inclination of Saturn’s axis could more than double.
The decisive event that tilted Saturn is thought to have occurred relatively recently.
For over three billion years after its formation, Saturn’s rotation axis remained only slightly tilted.
It was only roughly a billion years ago that the gradual motion of its satellites triggered a resonance phenomenon that continues today: Saturn’s axis interacted with the path of the planet Neptune and gradually tilted until it reached the inclination of 27 degrees observed.

THE HINDU

Nobel Peace Prize

Why in News?

Russian dissident Alexei Navalny, the World Health Organization and climate campaigner Greta Thunberg are among those nominated for this year’s Nobel Peace Prize, all backed by Norwegian lawmakers who have a track record of picking the winner.
Thousands of people, from members of parliament’s worldwide to former winners, are eligible to propose candidates.
Norwegian lawmakers have nominated the eventual laureate every year since 2014, with the exception of 2019.
The Norwegian Nobel Committee, which decides who wins the award, does not comment on nominations, keeping secret for 50 years the names of nominators and unsuccessful nominees.
But nominators can choose to reveal their picks.

Chosen one are

Thunberg was named as one of “the foremost spokespeople inthe fight against the climate crisis”, with the campaigning group she co-founded, Fridays for Future, also receiving a nod.
Navalny, nominated by Russian academics, was named for his”efforts for a peaceful democratisation of Russia”.
The battle against COVID-19 is front and centre, including a nomination for the GAVI vaccine alliance.
Other nominees include former U.S. President Donald Trump, NATO and the U.N. refugee agency (UNHCR).
Also on the list is Aminatou Haidar, for her peaceful campaigning towards an independent Western Sahara, the International Space Station and the International Scout Movement.

THE HINDU

Law to Ban Cryptocurrencies

Why in News?

The Centre plans to introduce a law to ban private cryptocurrencies such as bitcoin and put in place a framework for an official digital currency to be issued by the central bank, according to a legislative agenda listed by the government.
The law will “create a facilitative framework for creation of the official digital currency to be issued by the Reserve Bank of India [RBI].
The legislation, listed for debate in the current parliamentary session, seeks “to prohibit all private cryptocurrencies in India, however, it allows for certain exceptions to promote the underlying technology of cryptocurrency and its uses”.

Government Panel Recommendations

In mid-2019, a government panel recommended banning all private cryptocurrencies, with a jail term of up to 10 years and heavy fines for anyone dealing in digital currencies.
The RBI had in April 2018 ordered financial institutions to break off all ties with individuals or businesses dealing in virtual currency such as bitcoin within three months.
However, in March 2020, the Supreme Court allowed banks to handle cryptocurrency transactions from exchanges and traders, overturning a central bank ban had that dealt the thriving industry a major blow.
Governments around the world have been looking into ways to regulate cryptocurrencies but no major economy has taken the drastic step of placing a blanket ban on owning them, even though concern has been raised about the misuse of consumer data and its possible impact on the financial system.

THE HINDU

How the N439K variant Escapes Immune System’s Antibodies

Why in News

Scientists have assessed a mutation in the novel coronavirus and found that it confers the virus resistance to some individual’s serum antibodies, an advance which underscores the need for constant molecular surveillance of the pathogen to guide the development of vaccines.

According to the study

Variants carrying this mutation are similar to the wild-type novel coronavirus from Wuhan, China in their ability to spread and cause disease, but can bind more strongly to the human ACE2 receptor which acts as the gateway for the virus to enter host cells.
In this mutation, the scientists said a single molecule part of the virus spike protein is altered from the amino acid asparagine to lysine, enabling the formation of a new point of contact with the ACE2 receptor.

Increase in binding affinity

They believe this alteration in the 439th position of the protein’s chain of amino acid building blocks is in line with a two-fold increase in its binding affinity with ACE2.
“Therefore, the mutation both improves interaction with the viral receptor ACE2 and evades antibody-mediated immunity”.
The mutation, denoted as N439K, was first detected in Scotland in March and since then, a second lineage B.1.258 has independently emerged in other European countries.
While the N439K mutation did not change virus replication, it significantly diminished binding of a proportion of both clinical antibodies and serum samples.
One of the biggest hurdles in studying variants is the limited amount of viral genome sequencing that’s currently being done across the globe.

THE HINDU

Marine Heat Waves

Why in News?

The mixed layer of the ocean which blankets the top 20 to 200 metres is becoming thinner each year, says a new study which warns that the continued loss of this buffer may lead to more frequent and destructive warming events such as marine heat waves.
Researchers said the thickness of this top layer of the ocean is responsible for marine heat events.

Findings & Predictions

The thicker this mixed layer, the more it can act as a buffer to shield the waters below from incoming hot air.
“Marine heatwaves will be more intense and happen more often in the future”. “When the mixed layer is thin, it takes less heat to warm the ocean more”.
Over the last 40 years, the layer has thinned by nearly three metres in some regions of the North Pacific.
By 2100, they believe the mixed layer could be four metres thinner which is about 30% less than what it is today.
According to the researchers, this thin mixed layer combined with warmer global temperatures could set the stage for drastic swings in ocean temperatures, leading to much more frequent and extreme heating events.
As the climate continues to warm and the mixed layer continues to thin, scientists might lose the ability to predict annual ocean surface temperatures.
Fisheries and other coastal operations could be in danger without this ability to accurately forecast ocean temperatures.

THE HINDU

Section 8 of the Representation of the People (RoP) Act of 1951

Why in News?

Former Chief Minister Jayalalithaa’s close aide V.K. Sasikala, who got released from prison recently after completing a four-year sentence in a disproportionate assets case, cannot contest either the Assembly or the Parliamentary elections till January 27, 2027, though there is no legal bar for her to lead a party.

About Act

Section 8 of the Representation of the People (RoP) Act of 1951 lists out instances when a person will suffer disqualification from contesting elections if he/she gets convicted for certain offences. Section 8(1)(m) brings a conviction under the Prevention of Corruption (PC) Act of 1988 under the ambit of disqualification.
The provision of law also states that if a person has only been fined by a court of law for offences such as indulging in terror activities, rape, subjecting women to cruelty and promoting enmity between two groups, listed under Section 8(1), he/she will stand disqualified for six years from the date of such conviction.
However, if he/she has been imprisoned for those offences, then the disqualification will begin from the date of such conviction and continue for a further six years from the date of release from prison.
A conviction under the PC Act of 1988 was included in the disqualification provision of the RoP Act through an amendment in 2002, when a conviction under the Prevention of Terrorism Act (PoTA) of 2002 was also listed as a disqualification from contesting in either the Assembly or Parliamentary elections.

THE HINDU

Aerosol Particles

The impact of atmospheric aerosols on clouds and climate may be different than previously thought.
Cloud decks cover vast stretches of the subtropical oceans.
They cool the planet because they reflect incoming sunlight back to space.
Air pollution in the form of aerosols—particles suspended in the atmosphere—can increase this cooling effect because it makes clouds brighter.
The cooling effect of pollution offsets part of the warming effect of greenhouse gases.

Ship tracks

A striking illustration of clouds becoming brighter as a result of aerosols, is provided by shipping emissions in the form of “ship tracks.”
These are visible as bright lines within a cloud deck that reveal the paths of polluting ships that travel beneath the clouds.
Such ship tracks are a good example of how aerosol effects on clouds are traditionally thought of, and of how they are still represented in most climate models.
But according to the cloud researcher, ship tracks do not tell the whole story.
The problem is that the clouds get brighter at first but after a while they start to get thinner and thus less bright again. And ship tracks disappear before we can observe this dimming effect.

Other Way

Instead, researchers created an extensive data set of detailed cloud simulations.
The researchers designed a clever new way to compare their simulated cloud decks to satellite snapshots. Such snapshots contain information about aerosol effects on clouds all over the globe, but have so far been hard to interpret.

Overestimation

“Researchers conclusion is that the cooling effect of aerosols on clouds is overestimated when we rely on ship-track data,”.
“Ship tracks are simply too short-lived to provide the correct estimate of cloud brightening.”
The reason for this is that ship-track data don’t account for the reduced cloud thickness that occurs in widespread pollution. “
To properly quantify these effects and get better climate projections, researchers need to improve the way clouds are represented in climate models.

Phys.org

Drugs used to treat HIV and flu

The increased global use of antiviral and antiretroviral medication could have a detrimental impact on crops and potentially heighten resistance to their effects, new research has suggested.
Scientists from the UK and Kenya found that lettuce plants exposed to a higher concentration of four commonly-used drugs could be more than a third smaller in biomass than those grown in a drug-free environment.
They also examined how the chemicals transferred throughout the crop and found that, in some cases, concentrations were as strong in the leaves as they were in the roots.
For it, scientists focused on the drugs nevirapine, lamivudine and efavirenz—which are used to treat and prevent HIV/AIDS—and oseltamivir, which stops the spread of the flu virus in the body.
Such compounds get into soils when they are irrigated with contaminated surface water, treated or untreated waste water, sewage sludge and biosolids.
There were differing levels of uptake across the four drugs with lamivudine exhibiting the lowest bioaccumulation—a level similar to that shown previously with caffeine.
However, when exposed to a combination of the four drugs (as would be found in the wider environment) mean leaf and root mass was reduced by 34%.
While the environmental levels measured may not pose a direct threat to human health, evidence of ecological effects in both aquatic and terrestrial systems demonstrates an environmental impact that could be significant if left unchecked.

Phys.org

Wildland Fire Growth

A new 3-D analysis shows that wildland fires flare up in forests populated by similar-sized trees or checkerboarded by large clearings and slow down where trees are more varied.
The research can help fire managers better understand the physics and dynamics of fire to improve fire-behavior forecasts.
Adding diverse tree sizes and shapes slowed fire quite a bit, as did adding small gaps between trees.
The study for the first time links generalized forest characteristics that can be easily observed by remote sensing and modeled by machine learning to provide insight into fire behavior, even in large forested areas.
Understanding how wildland fire behaves is necessary to curb its spread, and also to plan safe, effective prescribed burns.
Using award-winning model, FIRETEC, on high-performance computers at Los Alamos, the team ran 101 simulations with U.S. Forest Service data for Arizona pine forests to realistically represent the variability of forests.
The simulations coupled fire and atmospheric factors—such as wind moving through trees—at fine scales to provide a 3-D view of how fire, wind, and vegetation interact.
To understand how the forest structure affects fire behavior, researchers repeated simulations with minor changes in the forest structure, which they made by moving trees and randomizing tree shapes. Small changes had monumental impact in fire behavior.
However, despite highly variable fire behavior, observable forest characteristics, such as tree diversity and the size of a stand of trees or a clearing, also substantially control how fire spreads.
Results show that the more detailed and varied simulated forest decreases the forward spread of fire spread due to a combination of fuel discontinuities and increases fine-scale turbulent wind structures.
On the other hand, large clearings can increase fire spread.

Phys.org

Antifreeze

Why in News?

Eleven US soldiers fell sick recently after accidentally drinking ethylene glycol, a chemical found in antifreeze.

What is antifreeze?

Ethylene glycol is an industrial compound found in consumer products including automotive antifreeze, hydraulic brake fluids, some stamp pad inks, ballpoint pens, solvents, paints, plastics, films, and cosmetics and is also used as a pharmaceutical vehicle.
It is a synthetic liquid, which is odourless and is used to make antifreeze and de-icing solutions for cars, airplanes and boats.
Ethylene glycol has a sweet taste and is often accidentally or intentionally ingested.
Once ingested, ethylene glycol is chemically broken down into toxic compounds. These byproducts then affect the central nervous system (CNS), the heart and then the kidneys.
The ingestion of sufficient amounts can be fatal.
Ethylene glycol can be disseminated through indoor air, water, food, outdoor air and agricultural products.
Depending on the quantity of ethylene glycol consumed, death can occur within the first 24 hours and permanent damage to the nervous system may also occur, which can cause blindness and decreased mental functioning.