Current Affairs May 15 – GES Reporter

Pradhan Mantri Bhartiya Janaushadhi Kendras (PMBJKs)

Why in News?

Pradhan Mantri Bhartiya Janaushadhi Kendras (PMBJKs), Bureau of Pharma PSUs of India (BPPI), Distributors and other stakeholders have come together and are contributing in the fight against the current wave of Covid 19 pandemic.
7733 Pradhan Mantri Bhartiya Janaushadhi Kendras (PMBJKs) are functional across the country in 36 State/UTs covering all districts of the country.
The logistics system is being strengthened.
At present three modern warehouses at Gurugram, Guwahati and Chennai for storage and distribution of drugs are functional and a fourth one is under construction at Surat.
A medicine under PMBJP is priced on the principle of a maximum of 50% of the average price of top three branded medicines. Therefore, the price of Jan Aushadhi Medicines is cheaper at least by 50% and in some cases, by 80% to 90% of the market price of branded medicines.
Pradhan Mantri Bhartiya JanAushadhi Pariyojana added several Nutraceutical products to help boost the immunity of all (including women and children).
PMBJP prices of all these products are 50%-90% lesser than the ones offered in the market.
Last year, during the lockdown period, Pradhan Mantri Bhartiya Janaushadhi Kendras (PMBJKs) rendered their essential services by making available quality generic medicines at affordable prices to the common citizens of the country at their doorstep.
Kendra pharmacists, popularly known as “Swasth Ke Sipahi” delivered the medicines to patients and elderly people at their doorstep.

PIB

Defence National OPD on e-Sanjeevani portal

Why in News?

In order to mitigate the criticality of inadequate availability of specialised medical manpower, veteran defence doctors have come forward answering the call of the nation to provide free online consultation services on the e-Sanjeevani platform.
This will help on making the invaluable experience of veteran defence medical professionals available to fellow citizens of the country.

About

e-Sanjeevani OPD is a Govt of India flagship telemedicine platform, developed by the C-DAC, Mohali under the aegis of MoHFW, Govt of India.
It facilitates free online medical consultation to all citizens of India, as well as provides for online prescription of medicines.

PIB

‘Sophisticated Analytical & Technical Help Institutes (SATHI)’ scheme

Why in News?

Several centers are being set up by the Department of Science and Technology to house major analytical instruments to provide common services of high-end analytical testing, thus avoiding duplication and reduced dependency on foreign sources.
Three such centers set up at IIT Kharagpur, IIT Delhi and BHU Varanasi, are being operated with a transparent, open access policy.
These centers initiated under the ‘Sophisticated Analytical & Technical Help Institutes (SATHI)’ scheme of Department of Science and Technology, will address the need for building shared, professionally managed, and strong science and technology infrastructure in the country which is readily accessible to academia, start-ups, manufacturing, industry and R&D labs.

About

DST is planned to set up five SATHI Centers every year for the next four years. SATHI will address the problems of accessibility, maintenance, redundancy and duplication of expensive equipment in our Institutions, while reaching out to the less endowed organizations in need, e.g., industry, MSMEs, startups and state universities.
This will also foster a strong culture of collaboration between institutions and across disciplines to take advantage of developments, innovations and expertise in diverse areas.

PIB

Covishield, Covaxin made fewer antibodies against B.1.617 variant

Why in News?

Both Covishield and Covaxin, while effective at generating an immune response against the coronavirus, appear to generate only half as many antibodies against the B.1.617 strain, or the Indian strain, according to a series of early reports authored by scientists at the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR).
The international variants of concern B.1.1.7 (UK variant), the B.1.351 (South Africa variant), the P2 (Brazil variant) and B.1.617 (Indian variant). Three related variants of the B.1.617 now make up an increasing proportion of cases in India.
The two vaccines authorised in India, Covaxin and Covishield while made differently, were designed on the blueprint of the virus variant, called B1, that became the dominant strain in India by last April.
When scientists tested the virus, bearing the B.1.617 signature mutations, on antibodies that were extracted from the blood serum of those with two doses of Covaxin, they found roughly 55% fewer antibodies than the antibodies generated against B.1.
When a similar study was done with those inoculated with Covishield, the Geometric Mean Titer (a proxy for the number of antibodies) with B.1 was 42.92 whereas with the B.1.617 it was 21.9, again roughly half.
When antibody levels were compared against the B.1.1.7 (UK strain), there was only a 6% reduction whereas against Brazilian strain (P2) there was again a 50% reduction.
In those vaccinated, protection against a future infection isn’t solely determined by the number of antibodies and the extent to which they wax and wane over time, but also by the mobilisation of a class of defensive bodies called T cells, which it is believed direct a more specific kind of attack against the virus and destroys it unlike antibodies, which only block replicating virus cells.

THE HINDU

Chinese spacecraft successfully lands on surface of Mars

Why in News?

An uncrewed Chinese spacecraft successfully landed on the surface of Mars, making China the second space-faring nation after the United States to land on the Red Planet.
The Tianwen-1 spacecraft landed on a site on the Southern Utopia Plain.

About

A solar-powered rover, named Zhurong, will now survey the landing site before departing from its platform to conduct inspections.
Named after a mythical Chinese god of fire, Zhuronghas six scientific instruments including a high-resolution opography camera.
The rover will study the planet’s surface soil and atmosphere. Zhurong will also look for signs of ancient life, including any sub-surface water and ice, using aground-penetrating radar.
Tianwen-1, or “Questions to Heaven”, after a Chinese poem written two millennia ago, is China’s first independent mission to Mars. A probe co-launched with Russia in 2011 failed to leave the Earth’s orbit.
The five-tonne spacecraft blasted off from the southern Chinese island of Hainan in July last year, launched by the powerful Long March 5 rocket.
After more than six months in transit, Tianwen-1 reached the Red Planet in February where it had been in orbit since.

THE HINDU

Defence production policy

Why in News?

The second negative import list, which has been now rechristened as the positive list, has been delayed due to the ongoing pandemic and will be issued very soon by the Department of Military Affairs (DMA).
The final version of the ‘Defence Production and Export Promotion Policy (DPEPP) 2020’ will also be put out very soon.
The draft DPEPP 2020 was released last August for public feedback and once it comes into effect will serve as the overarching guiding document of the Defence Ministry for boosting domestic defence manufacturing as well as exports. The first negative import list issued last year had listed 101 military items that cannot be imported from abroad.
As part of efforts to promote the role of private sector in defence manufacturing testing facilities of DPSUS and DRDO are being opened up for use by private sector while new ones are planned to be set up under the Defence testing Infrastructure Scheme (DTIS).
Under DTIS, testing infrastructure is planned to be set up through public private partnership mode.
The DTIS proposes setting up six to eight greenfield testing facilities in partnership with private sector with a total Grant-in-Aid of ₹400 crore.

THE HINDU

Native Indian turtles

Why in News?

An American turtle popular as a pet is threatening to invade the natural water bodies across the Northeast, home to 21 of the 29 vulnerable native Indian species of freshwater turtles and tortoises.
Between August 2018 and June 2019, a team of herpetologists from NGO Help Earth found red-eared sliders in the Deepor Beel Wildlife Sanctuary and the Ugratara temple pond – both in Guwahati.
Report said a red-eared slider was collected from an unnamed stream, connected to the Tlawng River, on a farm near Mizoram capital Aizawl.

About

The red-eared slider (Trachemys scripta elegans) derives its name from red stripes around the part where its ears would be and from its ability to slide quickly off any surface into the water.
Native to the U.S. and northern Mexico, this turtle is an extremely popular pet due to its small size, easy maintenance, and relatively low cost. But on the flip side, they grow fast and virtually leaves nothing for the native species to eat.
Much like the Burmese python that went to the U.S. as a pet to damage the South Florida Everglades ecosystem, the red-eared slider has already affected States such as Karnataka and Gujarat, where it has been found in 33 natural water bodies.
Preventing this invasive species from overtaking the Brahmaputra and other river ecosystems in the Northeast is crucial because the Northeast is home to more than 72% of the turtle and tortoise species in the country, all of them very rare.

THE HINDU

Israel-Gaza crisis

How did they get here?

The current crisis between Israelis and Palestinians, like so many before, has complex roots in the foundation of Israel in 1948 and after the six-day war in 1967 when Israel captured then Arab-controlled parts of Jerusalem, including the Old City and its holy sites.
A key source of tension this time has been Jewish settlement in the east of Jerusalem. While Israel claims all of Jerusalem as its “undivided capital”, this is not recognised by a majority of the international community and is rejected by Palestinians who claim East Jerusalem as the capital of a future Palestinian state.
The issue came to a head in the climax of a decades-long attempt by Jewish groups to use the courts to evict Palestinian residents from Sheikh Jarrah, which lies at the heart of East Jerusalem. The Palestinians, numbering more than 70, come from families who relocated to East Jerusalem after fleeing their homes in west Jerusalem during the foundation of Israel in 1948.
Settler groups say the land where the threatened families have their houses was owned by Jews prior to 1948. Israeli law allows Jews to reclaim such lands but has no similar provision for the many Palestinians dispossessed in the same conflict, even if they still reside in areas controlled by Israel.
An Israeli supreme court ruling due on Monday 10 May was postponed the day before amid mounting protests by supporters of the Sheikh Jarrah families.
That same day, a series of combustible events coincided dangerously, as Israeli nationalists marked the anniversary of the capture of Jerusalem in 1967 with their annual and highly provocative “flag march”, and police fired teargas and stun grenades on stone-throwing Palestinians marking Ramadan at the Haram-al Sharif compound, home to al-Aqsa mosque.

What has this got to do with militants firing rockets from Gaza?

Perceived threats to al-Aqsa mosque are a hugely sensitive issue and have triggered outbreaks of deadly violence between Palestinians and Jews for decades, including a massacre of dozens of Jews in Hebron in 1929 and the second intifada.
There is also a background of intra-Palestinian rivalry between the Fatah movement of the ageing Palestinian president, Mahmoud Abbas, who governs the West Bank, and Hamas, which rules in the coastal enclave of Gaza.
Abbas surprised many by calling elections in which Hamas was expected to do well. But citing the inability of Palestinians living under Israeli occupation in East Jerusalem to vote, he cancelled the vote.
Other factors include the change of leadership in Washington with the departure of the strongly pro-Israel Donald Trump; shifting power dynamics among the Gulf states that followed that change in the US; and an ongoing political crisis in Israel, which Hamas may have seen as presenting an opening into which to interpose itself.
Two new factors will be influencing Israeli thinking: the use of what Hamas has described as “heavy rockets” targeting Tel Aviv and other major population centres, and the sheer number of rockets being fired simultaneously.

What’s the goal in all this?

Over the years neither Hamas nor the Israeli political leadership have shown any clear strategic vision for where this ends.
Israeli security policy relating to Gaza since the first Gaza war in 2008-09 has been to fight periodic conflicts to bring periods of temporary calm, despite occasional calls by some on the Israeli right to fully invade the coastal strip.
Those calls have generally been rejected as it would involve Israel taking full responsibility for Gaza, with its impoverished population of 2 million and devastated infrastructure, which most balk at.
Hamas, under a years-long joint Israeli and Egyptian blockade, has used the intermittent periods of conflict to reassert its relevance, despite the very heavy cost to Gaza’s civilian population.

THE GUARDIAN

Mixing Covid-19 vaccines

Researchers was launched earlier this year to investigate alternating doses of the Oxford-AstraZeneca and Pfizer-BioNTech vaccines — have reported preliminary data that show more frequent mild-to-moderate reactions in mixed schedules compared to standard schedules.
The researchers said that when given at a four-week interval, both of the ‘mixed’ schedules (Pfizer-BioNTech followed by Oxford-AstraZeneca, and Oxford-AstraZeneca followed by Pfizer-BioNTech) induced more frequent reactions following the second, ‘boost’ dose than the standard, ‘non-mixed’ schedules.
Any adverse reactions were short lived, and there were no other safety concerns.

‘Mice Rain’

Why in News?

The government of New South Wales (NSW) in Australia has extended a support package of $50 million to farmers to deal with a devastating mouse plague that has affected farmers, community members and residents.
To control the plague, the government has now authorised the use of an otherwise outlawed poison called bromadiolone.

When did the plague begin?

The current plague is being called one of the worst plagues in decades and started being reported around mid-March in Australia’s eastern states.
In some places, residents of affected areas reported mice falling out from roof tops causing “mice rain”.
Add to this the fact that mice have a short breeding cycle (a pair of breeding mice can give birth to a new litter every 21 days or so) and are not very choosy about food.
Rodents (which includes rats and mice) are the second most successful mammals on the planet after humans.

How does a plague of this scale affect people?

Rodents are capable of destroying food grains and can cause widespread damage to domestic households, commercial businesses, farms, manufacturers and livestock. Further, rodents can not only gnaw through materials but can also ruin supplies by excreting on them. Rodents can also cause diseases such as leptospirosis and typhus fever. They can also carry fleas or ticks that can harm pets and humans.

How can plagues be controlled?

Increasing zinc phosphide in mouse baits will help farmers to battle the higher than average mouse numbers in eastern Australia.

Third of global food production at risk from climate crisis

A third of global food production will be at risk by the end of the century if greenhouse gas emissions continue to rise at their current rate, new research suggests.
Many of the world’s most important food-growing areas will see temperatures increase and rainfall patterns alter drastically if temperatures rise by about 3.7C, the forecast increase if emissions stay high.
About 95% of current crop production takes place in areas they define as “safe climatic space”, or conditions where temperature, rainfall and aridity fall within certain bounds.
If temperatures were to rise by 3.7C or thereabouts by the century’s end, that safe area would shrink drastically, mostly affecting south and south-eastern Asia and Africa’s Sudano-Sahelian zone.
However, if greenhouse gases are reduced and the world meets the goals of the Paris agreement, in limiting temperature rises to 1.5C or 2C above pre-industrial levels, then only about 5%–8% of global food production would be at risk.
Although rising temperatures could increase food production in some areas that are currently less productive, such as the Nordic regions, that would not be anywhere near enough to offset the loss of important food producing regions in the south.
Under 1.5C to 2C of warming, the boreal forests of northern America, Russia and Europe would shrink from their current 7m sq miles to about 6m sq miles by 2100. In a high emissions scenario, only 3m sq miles would remain.

THE GUARDIAN

Cyclone Tauktae

Why in News?

Cyclone Tauktae is likely to form May 16, 2021 in Arabian Sea.
The current characteristics of the storm indicate rapid intensification. The India Meteorological Department (IMD) in its latest update on the cyclone that a low pressure area had formed in the south eastern Arabian Sea close to Lakshadweep.
The depression, which lies 360 kilometres west-south west of Kannur in Kerala, is likely to intensify into a deep depression by the evening of May 14 and a cyclone by the morning of May 15.
The track of the cyclone will take it in the north-north eastward direction till the evening of May 14 and in a north north-westward direction after that, towards the Gujarat coast.
The weather agency has predicted that the cyclone might intensify into a severe cyclone by the evening of May 15 and into a very severe cyclone with wind speeds in excess of 160 km per hour by the evening of May 16.
But this scenario is changing in a quick and uncertain way due to unusual warming of the Arabian Sea which itself could be a consequence of global warming resulting from the emissions of greenhouse gases from human activities.
The frequency and intensity of cyclones in the Arabian Sea have increased in the recent years. This is because of the rapid warming that has made the relatively cooler Arabian Sea (compared to the Bay of Bengal) a warm pool region that can actively support cyclone formation.
Ocean warming has made some new challenges also. Cyclones are now intensifying rapidly since warm ocean waters act as a fuel for them.
Extremely severe cyclones like Fani and Amphan intensified from a weak to severe status in less than 24 hours due to warm ocean conditions. State-of-the-art cyclone models are unable to pick this rapid intensification because they do not incorporate the ocean dynamics accurately.

DTE