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28th FEBRUARY 2019 DAILY CURRENT AFFAIRS
IAF plane shot down, pilot taken captive by Pak. army
Govt. brings 42 cancer drugs under price control
A.P. gets new South Coast Railway zone
China to act against rogue scientists
Yuva Sahakar
India’s first indigenous semiconductor chips
SHREYAS
IAF plane shot down, pilot taken captive by Pak. army
GS PAPER - 03 SECURITY - Security challenges and their management in border areas; linkages of organized crime with terrorism Various Security forces and agencies and their mandate
Context :
★ An Indian pilot was captured by Pakistan after a major aerial confrontation and chase between Pakistan Air Force planes, which dropped bombs in four locations of Jammu and Kashmir, and Indian Air Force jets that countered them over the Line of Control (LoC).
Issue :
★ The confrontation began after Pakistan sent several aircraft to the LoC in retaliation for the Indian Air Force strike on a Jaish-e-Mohammad camp in Balakot.
★ The government said IAF jets shot down an F-16 jet of the PAF in the skirmish, and the wreckage had fallen on the Pakistan side. Pakistan’s military, however, denied the loss of any aircraft.
★ Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman began to chase the Pakistani jets to push them back, when he had to eject over the LoC after the MiG-21 he was flying was shot by a Pakistani plane. He landed in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir, where he was taken into custody.
Geneva Convention :★ Geneva Conventions are the rules protecting prisoners of war (POWs).★ The Geneva Conventions are a series of treaties concluded in Geneva between 1864 and 1949 for the purpose of ameliorating the effects of war on soldiers and civilians.★ They were first detailed in the 1929 Geneva Convention and later amended in the third 1949 Geneva Convention following the lessons of World War II.★ The conventions were established as a result of Red Cross founder Henri Dunant pushing for negotiations to help the wounded in time of war in 1864.★ There are four Geneva Conventions. The third Geneva Convention defines and details who can be considered a POW and how he/she must be treated.3 Geneva Conventions :★ The third Geneva Convention provides a wide range of protection for prisoners of war.★ It defines their rights and sets down detailed rules for their treatment and eventual release. The status of POW only applies in international armed conflict.★ POWs are usually members of the armed forces of one of the parties to a conflict who fall into the hands of the adverse party.★ The third 1949 Geneva Convention also classifies other categories of persons who have the right to POW status or may be treated as POWs.★ POWs cannot be prosecuted for taking a direct part in hostilities.★ Their detention is not a form of punishment, but only aims to prevent further participation in the conflict.★ They must be released and repatriated without delay after the end of hostilities. The detaining power may prosecute them for possible war crimes, but not for acts of violence that are lawful under international humanitarian law.★ POWs must be treated humanely in all circumstances. They are protected against any act of violence, as well as against intimidation, insults, and public curiosity |
Source :- The Hindu
Govt. brings 42 cancer drugs under price control
GS PAPER - 02 GOVERNANCE - Issues relating to development and management of Social Sector/Services relating to Health
Context :
★ The government said Wednesday it has brought 42 non-scheduled anti-cancer drugs under price control, capping trade margin at 30 per cent, which would reduce their retail prices by up to 85 per cent.
More about the news:
★ The National Pharmaceutical Pricing Authority has invoked extraordinary powers in public interest, under para 19 of the Drugs (Prices Control) Order, 2013 to bring 42 non-scheduled anti-cancer drugs under price control through trade margin rationalisation
★ The government hereby puts a cap on trade margin of 30 percent and directs manufacturers to fix their retail price based on price at first point of sale of product... of the non-scheduled formulations containing any of the 42 drugs.
Need :
★ As per the WHO estimate, there are approximately 18 million cases globally and 1.5 million in India alone. There were eight lakh cancer deaths in India in 2018. The number of new cases is estimated to rise to double in India in 2040.
★ The financial burden associated with cancer can force patients and households to acute misery and even insolvency.
★ It is also noted that out of pocket (OOP) expenditure on cancer hospitalization is about 2.5 times of overall average hospitalization expenditure.
★ While catastrophic expenditure on cancer inpatient treatment is highest among all NCDs, poor health financing mechanisms and heavy reliance on out-of-pocket healthcare payments compel several cancer patients to resort to distressed means for treatment financing.
National Pharmaceutical Pricing Authority :★ NPPA is an organization of the Government of India which was established, inter alia, to fix/ revise the prices of controlled bulk drugs and formulations and to enforce prices and availability of the medicines in the country, under the Drugs (Prices Control) Order, 1995.★ The organization is also entrusted with the task of recovering amounts overcharged by manufacturers for the controlled drugs from the consumers.★ It also monitors the prices of decontrolled drugs in order to keep them at reasonable levels.Functions :★ To implement and enforce the provisions of the Drugs (Prices Control) Order in accordance with the powers delegated to it.★ To deal with all legal matters arising out of the decisions of the Authority;★ To monitor the availability of drugs, identify shortages, if any, and to take remedial steps;★ To collect/ maintain data on production, exports and imports, market share of individual companies, profitability of companies etc, for bulk drugs and formulations;★ To undertake and/ or sponsor relevant studies in respect of pricing of drugs/ pharmaceuticals;★ To recruit/ appoint the officers and other staff members of the Authority, as per rules and procedures laid down by the Government;★ To render advice to the Central Government on changes/ revisions in the drug policy;★ To render assistance to the Central Government in the parliamentary matters relating to the drug pricing. |
Source :- Economic Times
China offers to help eradicating terror breeding group
GS PAPER - 02 INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS - Bilateral, regional and global groupings and agreements involving India and/or affecting India's interests
Context :
★ In a significant gain for India in its push to isolate Pakistan internationally on the issue of terrorism post-Pulwama attack, China and Russia on Wednesday agreed for a closer policy coordination to eradicate the "breeding grounds of terrorism".
★ Their commitment came at the conclusion of the Russia, India and China Foreign Ministers' meeting in the east Chinese city.
Key Highlights:
★ The foreign ministers of Russia, India and China (RIC) strongly condemned terrorism and said the three sides “stressed that terrorist groups cannot be supported and used in political and geopolitical goals”.
★ We agreed to jointly combat all forms terrorism through closer policy coordination and practical cooperation. Especially important is to eradicate the breeding grounds of terrorism and extremism
★ The mention of the "breeding grounds" of terrorism by Chinese Foreign minister, is significant as India justified its airstrikes on Pakistan saying that they were directed against the terror camps of the Jaish-e-Muhammad (JeM) in Balakot in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province.
★ The Chinese foreign minister, however tried to cautiously tread the fine line by highlighting that Pakistan, which is a close ally of Beijing, is also opposed to terrorism.
Source :- The Hindu
A.P. gets new South Coast Railway zone
GS PAPER - 03 ECONOMY - Infrastructure: Energy, Ports, Roads, Airports, Railways etc.
Context :
★ The Centre has announced the creation of a separate railway zone in Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh named ‘South Coast Railway’.
More about the news:
★ As per item 8 of Schedule 13 (Infrastructure) of the Andhra Pradesh Reorganization Act, 2014, Indian Railways was required to examine establishing a new railway zone in the successor State of Andhra Pradesh.
★ The matter has been examined in detail in consultation with stakeholders and it has been decided to go ahead with creation of a new zone with headquarter at Visakhapatnam.
South Coast Railway :
★ A new railway zone with Visakhapatnam as its headquarters will be formed with Vijayawada, Guntur, and Guntakal rail divisions, besides a section of the Waltair rail division.
★ The Waltair division will be bifurcated and a portion will be merged with Vijayawada division.
★ At present, Vijayawada, Guntur and Guntakal divisions are in the South Central Railway and Waltair division is in the East Coast Railway.
Source :- Hindu Business Line; PIB
China to act against rogue scientists
GS PAPER - 03 SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY - Awareness in the fields of IT, Space, Computers, robotics, nano-technology, bio-technology and issues relating to intellectual property rights.
Context :
★ China has drafted new rules to supervise biotechnology research, with fines and bans against rogue scientists after a Chinese researcher caused a global outcry by claiming that he gene-edited babies.
Background :
★ The announcement comes as He Jiankui’s controversial experiment continues to transfix the scientific community, with researchers saying the procedure had the potential of enhancing the learning capabilities and memory of the babies.
★ He announced in November that the world’s first gene-edited babies — twin girls — were born that same month after he altered their DNA to prevent them from contracting HIV by deleting a certain gene under a technique known as CRISPR.
★ The claim shocked scientists worldwide, raising questions about bioethics and putting a spotlight on China’s lax oversight of scientific research.
New rules :
★ The announcement comes as He Jiankui’s controversial experiment continues to transfix the scientific community, with researchers saying the procedure had the potential of enhancing the learning capabilities and memory of the babies.
★ He announced in November that the world’s first gene-edited babies — twin girls — were born that same month after he altered their DNA to prevent them from contracting HIV by deleting a certain gene under a technique known as CRISPR.
★ The claim shocked scientists worldwide, raising questions about bioethics and putting a spotlight on China’s lax oversight of scientific research.
Source :- The Hindu
Yuva Sahakar
GS PAPER - 02 GOVERNANCE - Welfare schemes for vulnerable sections of the population by the Centre and States and the performance of these schemes
Context :
★ Union Agriculture & Farmers Welfare Minister has said that National Cooperative Development Corporation (NCDC) has played a crucial role in promoting cooperative development in the country by progressively shaping its financial schemes and programmes for benefitting farmers through cooperatives.
Yuva Sahakar :
★ Union Minister of Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare, on November 14, 2018 launched the ‘Yuva Sahakar-Cooperative Enterprise Support and Innovation Scheme’ of the National Cooperative Development Corporation (NCDC).
★ The NCDC has come up with this youth-friendly scheme for attracting youth to cooperative business ventures. It has created a dedicated fund with liberal features enabling youth to avail the scheme.
Key Features :
★ The scheme will be linked to Rs 1000 crore ‘Cooperative Start-up and Innovation Fund (CSIF)’ created by the NCDC.
★ It would have more incentives for cooperatives of North Eastern region, Aspirational Districts and cooperatives with women or SC or ST or PwD members.
★ The funding for the project will be up to 80 percent of the project cost for these special categories against 70 percent for others.
★ The scheme envisages 2 percent less than the applicable rate of interest on term loan for the project cost up to Rs 3 crore including 2 years moratorium on payment of principal.
★ All types of cooperatives in operation for at least one year are eligible to avail of the scheme.
★ It would encourage cooperatives to venture into new and innovative areas.
★ The scheme is expected to meet the needs of youth.
National Cooperative Development Corporation:★ The National Cooperative Development Corporation (NCDC) was established by an Act of Parliament in 1963 as a statutory Corporation under the Ministry of Agriculture & Farmers Welfare.★ The NCDC functioning as an apex financial and developmental institution exclusively devoted to cooperative sector.★ It supports cooperatives in diverse fields apart from agriculture and allied sectors.★ It is an ISO 9001:2015 compliant organisation and has a distinctive edge of competitive financing.★ Being the most preferred financial institution in the world of cooperatives, it has also initiated Sahakar 22, a Mission for Doubling Farmers’ Income by 2022. |
Source :- PIB
India’s first indigenous semiconductor chips
GS PAPER - 03 SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY - Awareness in the fields of IT, Space, Computers, robotics, nano-technology, bio-technology and issues relating to intellectual property rights.
Context :
★ India’s first Indigenous Semiconductor Chips by Bengaluru based semiconductor company “SIGNALCHIP” for 4G/LTE and 5G NR MODEMs was unveiled in New Delhi.
More about the news:
There four chips designed by SIGNALCHIP.
★ SCBM3412: a single chip 4G/LTE modem including the baseband and transceiver sections in a single device
★ SCBM3404: a single chip 4X4 LTE baseband modem
★ SCRF3402: a 2X2 transceiver for LTE
★ SCRF4502: a 2X2 transceiver for 5G NR standards
Significance :
★ At present only 8 companies and a few countries can design and build semiconductor chips and launch of Indigenous Chip is in a real sense Make in India for the World.
★ India is just breaking into the elite club of the world and this will have huge implications for India’s data security and data sovereignty, besides the positive economic implications.
★ The launch of a world class product by SIGNALCHIP is start of the Third Wave, after Software and India Stack as First and Second wave.
Source :- PIB
SHREYAS
GS PAPER - 02 GOVERNANCE - Welfare schemes for vulnerable sections of the population by the Centre and States and the performance of these schemes
Context :
★ The Minister for Human Resources Development, Shri Prakash Javadekarhas launched the Scheme for Higher Education Youth in Apprenticeship and Skills (SHREYAS) for providing industry apprenticeship opportunities to the general graduates exiting in April 2019 through the National Apprenticeship Promotional Scheme (NAPS).
★ The program aims to enhance the employability of Indian youth by providing ‘on the job work exposure’ and earning of stipend
Objective :
★ To improve employability of students by introducing employment relevance into the learning process of the higher education system
★ To forge a close functional link between education and industry/service sectors on a sustainable basis
★ To provide skills which are in demand, to the students in a dynamic manner
★ To establish an ‘earn while you learn’ system into higher education
★ To help business/industry in securing good quality manpower
★ To link student community with employment facilitating efforts of the Government
Source :- PIB
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