ENVIRONMENT SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY - Aram IAS ...

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E-BOOK XIII

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Contents

Environment

Science And Technology

Covid Current Affairs

1. RAMSAR CONVENTION - 10 NEW SITES

2. WETLANDS (CONSERVATION AND MANAGEMENT) RULES, 2019

3. COP 13 ON CONSERVATION OF MIGRATORY SPECIES (CMS)

4. ISA ASSEMBLY

5. POLYCRACK TECHNOLOGY

6. ECOLOGICAL FLOW NOTIFICATION

7. LABORATORY OF CONSERVATION OF ENDANGERED SPECIES (LACONES)

8. GREEN CRACKERS

9. HYDROCHLOROFLUOROCARBON (HCFC)-141

10. BIPCC REPORT ON OCEAN AND CRYOSPHERE

11. NOMENCLATURE OF LUNAR FEATURES

12. RAMANUJAN MACHINE

13. XENOBOTS, NEON, VYOMMITRA

14. GSAT - 30 AND GSLV-MK III - M1 / CHANDRAYAAN-2 MISSION

15. PERSEIDS METEOR SHOWER

16. VIKRAM SARABAI

17. GLOBAL INNOVATION INDEX-2019

18. DEEP OCEAN MISSION

19. PEGASUS

20. INDIA INTERNATIONAL SCIENCE FESTIVAL (IISF)

21. SODIUM HYPOCHLORITE

22. VANDE BHARAT MISSION

23. HYDROXYCHLOROQUINE AND PRAFULLA CHANDRA RAY

24. CARUNA

25. EPIDEMIC DISEASE ACT, 1897

26. CONVALESCENT PLASMA THERAPY

27. HERD IMMUNITY

28. POOLED TESTING

29. POLYMERASE CHAIN REACTION (PCR) TEST

30. EXERCISE NCC YOGDAN


Whyinnews? The Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC) announced that

10 more wetlands from India have been added to the Ramsar list.

RamsarConventiononWetlands

The Ramsar list identi�ies wetlands around the world that are important for global biological diversity and sustaining human life, and provides guidance on their proper management.

This initiative is governed by the Ramsar Convention on Wetlands, an intergovernmental treaty that provides a framework for the conservation and wise use of all wetlands through local and national actions and international cooperation. It was of�icially adopted in the 1970s in the Iranian town of Ramsar.

NewRamsarsitesofIndia

The new Ramsar sites of India are in three states — Uttar Pradesh (Nawabganj, Parvati Agra, Saman, Samaspur, Sandi and Sarsai Nawar), Maharashtra (Nandur Madhameshwar) and Punjab (Keshopur-Miani, Beas Conservation Reserve and Nangal).

This brings the total number of Ramsar sites in India to 37, with lakes such as the Chilika in Odisha and Kolleru in Andhra Pradesh, the Sundarbans area — which also happens to be located within one of the latest mangrove ecosystems in the world — and river sections like the Upper Ganga already in the list.

1. RAMSAR CONVENTION - 10 NEW SITES

ENVIRONMENT


Whyinnews? The Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change noti�ied guidelines for

implementing the Wetlands (Conservation and Management) Rules, 2019. The Rules constitute various bodies for the conservation of wetlands and de�ine their powers and functions

As per the Wetlands Rules, the Wetlands Authority within a state is the nodal authority for all wetland-speci�ic authorities in a state/UT.

Functionsoftheauthority:

Preparing a list of all wetlands in the state/UT and recommending wetlands for regulation under the Rules

Developing a comprehensive list of activities to be regulated and permitted within the noti�ied wetlands, and

Issuing necessary directions for the conservation and sustainable management of wetlands to the respective implementing agencies

Prohibitedactivities :aspertheguidelinesfollowingactivities areprohibitedonwetlands.Theseinclude:

Setting up any industry and expansion of existing industries Dumping solid waste or discharge of untreated wastes and ef�luents from industries

and any human settlements, and

Encroachment or conversion for non-wetlands uses.

OtherFeatures

The guidelines recommend the state/UT administration to prepare a Integrated Management Plan for the management of each noti�ied wetland. The plan refers to a document which: Describes strategies and actions for use of the wetland

Gives monitoring requirements for detecting changes in the ecological character of the wetland, and

Ensures compliance with regulatory frameworks and policy commitments

Enforcing the rules: The Wetlands Authorities are responsible for ensuring the enforcement of the Wetlands Rules and other relevant acts, rules and regulations.

Penalties: Undertaking any prohibited or regulated activities beyond the thresholds (de�ined by the state/UT administration) in the wetlands or its zone of in�luence, will be deemed violations under the Wetlands Rules. Violation of the Rules will attract penalties as per the Environment (Protection) Act, 1986.

2. WETLANDS (CONSERVATION AND MANAGEMENT) RULES, 2019


Whyinnews?

The Thirteenth Meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals (CMS COP13) concluded in Gandhinagar, Gujarat.

The theme of CMS COP-13 is ‘Migratory species connect the planet and we welcome them home’.

The mascot for CMS COP-13 is ‘Gibi – The Great Indian Bustard’. It is a critically endangered species (according to the IUCN) and has been accorded the highest protection status (listed in Schedule I) under the Wildlife Protection Act, 1972.

The CMS COP 13 logo is inspired by ‘Kolam’, a traditional art form from s outhern India. In the logo of CMS COP-13, Kolam art form is used to depict key migratory species in India like Amur falcon, humpback whale and marine turtles.

The Indian sub-continent is also part of the major bird �lyway network, i.e, the Central Asian Flyway (CAF) that covers areas between the Arctic and Indian Oceans, and covers at least 279 populations of 182 migratory waterbird species, including 29 globally threatened species.

Ten new species were added to CMS Appendices at COP13.

Seven species were added to Appendix I: Asian Elephant, Jaguar, Great Indian Bustard, Bengal Florican, Little Bustard, Antipodean Albatross and the Oceanic White-tip Shark.

Three species were added to Appendix II: Urial, Smooth Hammerhead Shark and the Tope Shark.

New and extended Concerted Actions with targeted conservation plans were agreed for 14 species.

CMS COP13 also adopted the Gandhinagar Declaration, which calls for the concept of ‘ecological connectivity’ to be integrated and prioritized in the new Framework, which is expected to be adopted at the UN Biodiversity Conference in October.

India, as COP13 host, will assume the role of COP Presidency for the next three years.

India has been a Party to the CMS since 1983. The Conference of Parties (COP) is the decision-making organ of this convention.

3. COP 13 ON CONSERVATION OF MIGRATORY SPECIES (CMS)


Migratory species are those animals that move from one habitat to another during different times of the year, due to various factors such as food, sunlight, temperature, climate, etc.

The movement between habitats can sometimes exceed thousands of miles/kilometres for some migratory birds and mammals. A migratory route can involve nesting and also requires the availability of habitats before and after each migration.

ConservationofMigratorySpecies(CMS)

In order to protect the migratory species throughout their range countries, a Convention on Conservation of Migratory Species (CMS), has been in force, under the aegis of the United Nations Environment Programme.

Also referred to as the Bonn Convention, it provides a global platform for the conservation and sustainable use of migratory animals and their habitats and brings together the States through which migratory animals pass, the Range States, and lays the legal foundation for internationally coordinated co nservation measures throughout a migratory range.

The convention complements and co-operates with a number of other international organizations, NGOs and partners in the media as well as in the corporate sector. Under this convention, migratory species threatened with extinction are listed on Appendix I and Parties strive towards strictly protecting these animals, conserving or restoring the places where they live, mitigating obstacles to migration and controlling other factors that might endanger them.

Migratory species that need or would signi�icantly bene�it from international co-operation are listed in Appendix II of the Convention.

India has also signed a non-legally binding MOU with CMS on the conservation and management of Siberian Cranes (1998), Marine Turtles (2007), Dugongs (2008) and Raptors (2016).


Whyinnews?

The Ministry of New and Renewable Energy is hosting the second Assembly of International Solar Alliance (ISA) on 30 and 31 October 2019 New Delhi. While on 30 October 2019, coordination and consultation meetings on different aspects of ISA programmes and initiatives will be held, the Assembly would meet on 31 October 2019.

The Assembly is the supreme decision making body of the ISA, and gives directions on various administrative, �inancial and programme related issues

As on date 81 countries of the 121 prospective member countries have signed the Framework Agreement of the ISA. Of these, 58 countries have rati�ied the same. The Assembly will be attended by the Ministers and delegates from member States, Observer States, ISA Partners, and other invitees

The �irst Assembly of the ISA was attended by 78 countries, and they had af�irmed their determination to accelerate the deployment of solar energy worldwide for achieving universal energy access at affordable rates.

Recognizing that ISA has a major role in achieving Sustainable Development Goals, and objectives of the Paris Agreement on Climate Change, and that the ISA initiative would bene�it the world at large, during the �irst Assembly of the ISA an Indian resolution to extend the Membership of the organisation to all countries that are Members of the United Nations was adopted

Since the �irst assembly on 3rd October 2018, ISA has initiated many activities and programmes.

For building domestic capacity of the ISA member countries programmes such as STAR - C Programme, development of the Infopedia etc. have been launched.

STAR C is a Solar Technology Application Resource Centre project.

Infopedia is an online platform dedicated to the dissemination of information, best practices and knowledge on Solar Energy.

The ISA sent country missions to eight countries over the course of 2019 in order to understand the challenges and issues ‘on the ground’.

ISA has signi�icantly extended outreach and have partnered with over 40 organizations. These broadly include United Nations (UN), Multilateral Development Banks (MDBs), Development Finance Institutions (DFIs), etc.

4. ISA ASSEMBLY


The ISA, is an Indian initiative that was launched by the Prime Minister of India and

the President of France on 30th November 2015 in Paris, France on the side-lines of the Conference of the Parties (COP-21), with 121 solar resource rich countries lying fully or partially between the tropic of Cancer and tropic of Capricorn as prospective members.

The overarching objective of the ISA is to collectively address key common challenges to the scaling up of solar energy in ISA member countries.

The Government of India has allotted 5 acres of land to the ISA in National Institute of Solar Energy (NISE) campus, Gurugram

Whyinnews?

Indian Railways commissions �irst Waste to Energy Plant in Bhubaneswar,the capacity of this Waste to Energy Plant is 500 Kg waste per day

All types of waste including plastic and e-waste can be converted to Light Diesel Oil which is used to light furnaces.

PolycrackTechnology

Indian Railways has commissioned country’s �irst governmental Waste to Energy Plant, having capacity of 500 Kg waste per day, in Mancheswar Carriage Repair Workshop at Bhubaneswar in East Coast Railway.

This Waste to Energy Plant, a patented technology called POLYCRACK, is �irst -of-its-kind in Indian Railways and fourth in India. It is world’s �irst patented heterogeneous catalytic process which converts multiple feed stocks into hydrocarbon liquid fuels, gas, carbon and water.

Polycrack Plant can be fed with all types of Plastic, Petroleum sludge, Un -segregated MSW (Municipal Solid Waste) with moisture up to 50%, E–Waste, Automobile �luff, Organic waste including bamboo, garden waste etc., and Jatropha fruit and palm bunch. Waste generated from Mancheswar Carriage Repair Workshop, Coaching Depot and Bhubaneswar Railway Station will be feeder material for this plant.

The process is a closed loop system and does not emit any hazardous pollutants into the atmosphere. The combustible, non-condensed gases are re-used for providing energy to the entire system and thus, the only emission comes from the combustion of gaseous fuels.

The emissions from the combustion are found to be much less than prescribed environmental norms. This process will produce energy in the form of Light Diesel Oil which is used to light furnaces.

InternationalSolarAlliance

5. POLYCRACK TECHNOLOGY


FEATURESOFPOLYCRACKTECHNOLOGY-Polycrackhasthefollowingadvantagesovertheconventionalapproachoftreatingsolidwaste:

Pre-segregation of waste is not required to reform the waste. Waste as collected can

be directly fed into Polycrack.

It has high tolerance to moisture hence drying of waste is not required.

Waste is processed and reformed within 24 hours.

It is an enclosed unit hence the working environment is dust free.

Excellent air quality surrounding the plant.

Biological decomposition is not allowed as the Waste is treated as it is received.

The foot print of the plant is small hence the area required for installing the plant is

less when compared with conventional method of processing.

All constituents are converted into valuable energy thereby making it Zero

Discharge Process.

Gas generated in the process is re-used to provide energy to the system thereby

making it self-reliant and also bring down the operating cost.

There is no atmospheric emission during the process unlike other conventional

methods except for combustion gases which have pollutants less than the

prescribed norms the world over.

Operates around 450 degrees, making it a low temperature process when compared

with other options.


Safe and ef�icient system with built-in safety features enables even an unskilled user

to operate the machine with ease.

Low capital cost and low operating cost.

Fully automated system requires minimum man power.

Whyinnews? In order to restore and maintain continuous �low of river Ganga, the Centre has

noti�ied minimum environmental �low (e-�low) for the river that has to be maintained at various locations.

Uninterrupted �low of water in any river is important to keep it cl ean through its natural ecological functions and processes.

Any dam or structure meant for diversion of river �lows for the purpose of irrigation, hydro-power and domestic or industrial use will now have to maintain the minimum �low under the noti�ication

All existing projects, which currently do not meet the norms, will have to comply with it within three years. However mini and micro projects, which do not alter the �low characteristics of the river or stream signi�icantly, are exempted from these environmental �low norms.

In September, the government advanced this deadline, from October 2021 to December 2019.

This was after it tasked the Central Water Commission (CWC) to ascertain actual �lows and the amount of water present in the river through 2019.

There are 19 power projects along the river and of the 11 sites studied, eight were fully compliant.

Normsforminimumenvironmental�low(e-�low)forGanga: Power project proponents will be assessed by the CWC quarterly for compliance

after December 2019.

The e-�low noti�ication speci�ies that the upper stretches of the Ganga from its origins in the glaciers and until Haridwar would have to maintain.

20% of the monthly average �low of the preceding 10-days between November and March, which is the dry season;

6. ECOLOGICAL FLOW NOTIFICATION


25% of the average during the ‘lean season’ of October, April and May; and 30% of monthly average during the monsoon months of June-September.

Environmental�lows(E-Flow):

Environmental �lows are the acceptable �low regimes that are required to maintain a river in the desired environmental state or predetermined state.

It will ensure that the river has at least the minimum required environmental �low of water even after the river �low gets diverted by projects and structures.

The river �low would be diverted for purposes like irrigation, hydropower, domestic and industrial use etc.

It is an important step taken towards maintaining the uninterrupted or Aviral �low of the river.

The compliance of minimum environmental �low is applicable to all existing, under-construction and future projects.

The mini and micro projects which do not alter the �low characteristics of the river or stream signi�icantly are exempted from these environmental �lows.


Whyinnews?

National Wildlife Genetic Resource Bank was inaugurated at Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology’s (CCMB) Laboratory of Conservation of Endangered Species (LaCONES) facility in Hyderabad, Telanagana

It is India’s �irst genetic resource bank where genetic material will be stored for posterity which will further the cause of conservation of endangered and protected animals

To use modern biotechnologies for conservation of endangered wildlife (It supports both the measures of conservation i.e. in situ and ex situ measures).

Project LaCONES was established in 1998 with support from (i) Dept. of Biotechnology (DBT), Govt. of India, (ii) Central Zoo Authority of India (CZA), Delhi, (iii) Council of Scienti�ic and Industrial Research (CSIR) and (iv) Government of Andhra Pradesh.

The laboratory was itself established in 2007. It is India’s only dedicated laboratory for conservation of endangered species.

CCMB-LaCONES is the only laboratory in India that has developed methods for collection and cryopreservation of semen and oocytes from wildlife and successfully reproducing endangered blackbuck, spotted deer and Nicobar pigeons.

Through this work, it has established Genetic Resource Bank for Indian wildlife.

Whyinnews?

Green Crackers With 30% Less Emissions to Hit Markets

Following a Supreme Court order on a ban in 2017, the ministry of science and technology commissioned scientists at CSIR to develop less-toxic �irecrackers to provide safer alternatives.

7. LABORATORY OF CONSERVATION OF ENDANGERED SPECIES (LACONES)

8. GREEN CRACKERS


FeaturesofGreenCrackers

Green crackers are less polluting and cheaper than the standard ones

The less-polluting green �irecrackers developed by eight labs led by Council of

Scienti�ic & Industrial Research’s National Environmental Engineering Research Institute (CSIR-NEERI)

The green crackers developed by CSIR are low sound-and light-emitting �irecrackers with at least 30% reduction in emissions at no extra cost.

The �irecrackers developed by CSIR-NEERI don’t contain any of the chemicals banned by the Supreme Court, such as lithium, arsenic, antimony, lead, barium and mercury, or use ash as desiccant (drying agent) or �iller, charcoal use according to PESO’ speci�ications of explosives and pyrotechnics.

Called Safe Water Releaser (SWAS), Safe Thermite Cracker (STAR) and Safe Minimal Aluminium (SAFAL), these crackers on explosion release water vapour and/or air to suppress the dust particles generated. SWAS and STAR are free of potassium nitrate and sulphur, which reduces sulphur dioxide and nitrogen oxides emission by at least 30%; while those called SAFAL have minimal aluminium, which lowers particulate matter emission after lighting by at least 35%


Whyinnews?

India has successfully achieved the complete phase out of Hydrochloro�luorocarbon (HCFC)-141 b, which is a chemical used by foam manufacturing enterprises and one of the most potent ozone depleting chemical after Chloro�luorocarbons (CFCs) .(HCFC)-141 b is used mainly as a blowing agent in the production of rigid polyurethane (PU) foams.

The Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC) brought out a noti�ication in the Gazette of India through which the issuance of import license for HCFC-141b is prohibited from 1st January, 2020 under Ozone Depleting Substances (Regulation and Control) Amendment Rules, 2019 issued under the Environment (Protection) Act, 1986.

HCFC-141b is not produced in the country and all the domestic requirements are met through imports. With this noti�ication, prohibiting the import of HCFC-141 b, the country has completely phased out the important ozone depleting chemical. Simultaneously, the use of HCFC -141 b by foam manufacturing industry has also been closed as on 1st January, 2020 under the Ozone Depleting Substances (Regulation and Control) Amendment Rules, 2014

The Ministry adopted a structured approach to engage with foam manufacturing enterprises for providing technical and �inancial assistance in order to transition to non-ODS and low GWP technologies under HCFC Phase out Management Plan (HPMP).

Environmentalbene�its

The phase out of HCFC-141b from the country has twin environmental bene�its viz. (i) assisting the healing of the stratospheric ozone layer,and ( ii) towards the climate change mitigation due to transitioning of foam manufacturing enterprises at this scale under HPMP to low global warming potential alternative technologies.

Whyinnews?

This Special Report on the Ocean and Cryosphere in a Changing Climate (SROCC) was prepared following an IPCC Panel decision in 2016 to prepare three Special Reports during the Sixth Assessment Cycle

9. HYDROCHLOROFLUOROCARBON (HCFC)-141 B

10. IPCC REPORT ON OCEAN AND CRYOSPHERE


Keyoficonstoindicatecontent

KeyFindingsoftheReport

Over the 21st century, the ocean is projected to transition to unprecedented conditions with increased temperatures, further ocean acidi�ication, marine heatwaves and more frequent extreme El Nino and La Nina events.

OceanWarming:

Global ocean has warmed unabated since 1970 and has taken up more than 90% of the excess heat in the climate system.

Since 1993, the rate of ocean warming and marine heatwaves have very likely doubled in frequency and intensity.

GlobalMeanSea-Level:

It has increased by 16 cm between 1902 and 2015, and that the rate of increase had

doubled of late.

Between 2006 and 2015, the global mean sea level recorded an average rise of 3.6 mm per year, which was more than double of 1.4 mm per year recorded in the �irst 90-year-period of the 20th century.

By assessing new scienti�ic literature the SROCC responds to government and

observer organization proposals. The SROCC follows the other two Special Reports on Global Warming of 1.5°C (SR1.5) and on Climate Change and Land (SRCCL) and the Intergovernmental Science Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES) Global Assessment Report on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services


Sea-level rise is not globally uniform and varies regionally. Regional differences, within 30 % of global mean sea-level rise, result from land ice loss and variations in ocean warming and circulation

TheMeltingofGlaciers:

Between 2006 and 2015, the Greenland ice sheet lost ice-mass at an average rate of

278 billion tonnes every year (e.g. Okjokull glacier of Iceland), which was enough to result in a global sea-level rise of 0.8 mm per year. During the same period, the Antarctic ice sheet lost a mass of 155 billion tonnes on an average every year.

Snow cover outside these two poles, like the glaciers in the Himalayas, together lost an average of 220 billion tonnes of ice every year.

The melting glaciers are the dominant source of sea-level rise, exceeding the effect of thermal expansion of ocean water (due to rising temperatures).

Since the mid-20th century, the shrinking cryosphere has led to predominantly negative impacts on food security, water resources, water quality, livelihoods, health, and well-being, as well as the culture of human societies, particularly for Indigenous peoples.


Whyinnews?

Chandrayaan-2 captures crater ‘Mitra’ named after Bengali physicist

Prof Sisir Kumar Mitra had pioneered the study of ionosphere and the use of radio technology

Sisir Kumar Mitra was the �irst to introduce radio communication in India, and began transmitting radio programmes from his laboratory at the University College of Science, Calcutta, in 1926

The Working Group for Planetary System Nomenclature of the Internation al Astronomical Union (IAU)—the global authority for naming planetary features in the solar system— had named the crater after Professor Mitra in 1970, seven years after his death.

Nomenclature:

The images show impact craters named after various scientists — (Arnold) Sommerfeld (Germany), (Daniel) Kirkwood (US), Mitra (India), (Charles) Hermite (France) etc

The system of nomenclature of lunar features is now standardised. According to a resolution by the International Astronomical Union in 1973

The Moon is remarkable for the variety and unusual nature of the names of its surface features.

The dark, smooth maria are named for states of mind (Sea of Rains, Sea of Tranquility)

while many of the abundant craters of the Moon are named for famous scientists, philosophers, mathematicians and explorers

Mountains are given names corresponding to the geographical names of mountains of the Earth and

11. NOMENCLATURE OF LUNAR FEATURES

SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY


Whyinnews?

Scientists from Technion — Israel Institute of Technology have developed a concept they have named the Ramanujan Machine, after the Indian mathematician. It is not really a machine but an algorithm, and performs a very unconventional function.

Whatitdoes?

With most computer programs, humans input a problem and expect the algorithm to work out a solution. With the Ramanujan Machine, it works the other way round. Feed in a constant, say the well-know pi, and the algorithm will come up with a equation involving an in�inite series whose value, it will propose, is exactly pi. Over to humans now: let someone prove that this proposed equation is correct.

WhyRamanujan?

The algorithm re�lects the way Srinivasa Ramanujan worked during his brief life (1887-1920). With very little formal training, he engaged with the most celebrated mathematicians of the time, particularly during his stay in England (1914-19), where he eventually became a Fellow of the Royal Society and earned a research degree from Cambridge.

Throughout his life, Ramanujan came up with novel equations and identities —including equations leading to the value of pi — and it was usually left to formally trained mathematicians to prove these.

In 1987, two Canadian brothers proved all 17 of Ramanujan’s series for 1/pi; two years earlier, an American mathematician and programmer had used one of these formulas to calculate pi up to over 17 million digits, which was a world record at the time (Deka Baruah, Berndt & Chan; American Mathematical Monthly, 2009).

12. RAMANUJAN MACHINE


Importance

Conjectures are a major step in the process of making new discoveries in any branch of science, particularly mathematics. Equations de�ining the fundamental mathematical constants, including pi, are invariably elegant. New conjectures in mathematics, however, have been scarce and sporadic, the researchers note in their paper, which is currently on a pre-print server. The idea is to enhance and accelerate the process of discovery.

A team of researchers at the Israel Institute of Technology has built what they describe as a Ramanujan machine—a device that automatically generates conjectures (mathematical statements that are proposed as true statements) for fundamental constants.

Scientists in the United States have named the millimetre-wide robots “xenobots” — after the species of aquatic frog found across sub-Saharan Africa from Nigeria and Sudan to South Africa, Xenopus laevis.

Scientists in the United States have created the world’s �irst “living machines” — tiny robots built from the cells of the African clawed frog, that can move around on their own.

They have named the millimetre-wide robots “xenobots” — after the species of aquatic frog found across sub-Saharan Africa from Nigeria and Sudan to South Africa, Xenopus laevis.

13. XENOBOTS, NEON, VYOMMITRA


Scientists have repurposed living cells scraped from frog embryos and assembled them into entirely new life-forms

The xenobots “can move toward a target, perhaps pick up a payload (like a medicine that needs to be carried to a speci�ic place inside a patient) — and heal themselves after being cut

Vyommitra

Recently, Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) unveiled its �irst ‘woman’ astronaut, named Vyom Mitra who will ride to space in the �irst test �light of the human space mission, Gaganyaan.

She is half-humanoid and her body stops at the torso and has no legs. She is capable of switching panel operations, performing Environment Control and Life Support Systems (ECLSS) functions, conversations with the astronauts, recognising them and solving their queries.

The humanoid can detect and give out warnings if the environment changes within the cabin.

She will simulate the human functions required for space before real astronauts take off before August 2022. She will be sent in a space capsule around the end of 2020 or early 2021 to study how astronauts respond to living outside earth in controlled zero-gravity conditions.

The humanoid has been developed by the ISRO Inertial Systems Unit, Thiruvananthapuram

Samsung’sNeon

Samsung’s Neon, a venture from Star Labs, introduced the new NEON “arti�icial

human” during CES 2020.

Neon isn’t a voice assistant or a robot, but rather a video chatbot that can learn people’s preferences and respond to their queries in an unusually lifelike way, the company claims.

Samsung hopes that companies and people will license Neons and says they can be used as yoga instructors, TV anchors, spokespeople, movie actors, �inancial advisors and more.

Neon isn’t a robot or a voice assistant like Siri or Alexa. Instead, it’s a simulated human assistant that appears on a screen and learns about people to help it give seemingly intelligent and life-like responses -- think of it like an animated chatbot

Samsung claims the Neons will be able to provide a response to questions in milliseconds.


Unlike arti�icially intelligent (AI) assistants like Siri or Alexa, STAR Labs'

computationally created beings aren't programmed to be "know -it-all bots" or an interface to answer users' questions and demands.

Instead, the avatars are designed to converse and sympathise "like real people" in order to act as hyper lifelike companions.

Chandrayaan-2

Chandrayaan-2 is an integrated 3-in-1 spacecraft of around 3,877 kg comprising of an Orbiter of the Moon, Vikram (after Vikram Sarabhai) the lander and Pragyan (wisdom) the rover, all equipped with scienti�ic instruments to study the moon.

Chandrayaan-2 is an Indian lunar mission to explore the unchartered south pole of the celestial body by landing a rover.

India's Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle, GSLV MkIII -M1 had successfully launched the 3,840-kg Chandrayaan-2 spacecraft into the earth's orbit on July 22.

The Orbiter will orbit from 100 km away, while the Lander and Rover modules will separate and make a soft-landing on the surface.

Lander (Vikram) will remain stationary after touching down, will mainly study the moon’s atmosphere. It will also look out for seismic activity.

Rover (Pragyan): Once on the Moon, the Rover, a six-wheeled solar-powered vehicle, will detach itself and slowly crawl on the surface, making observations and collecting data.

On September 7, India attempted to make a soft landing on to the lunar surface.

However, lander Vikram missed the primary landing site and went for the second.

The visuals went missing henceforth

14. GSAT - 30 AND GSLV-MK III - M1 / CHANDRAYAAN - 2 MISSION


Rover–Pragyan,Lander-Vikram

HighlightsofChandrayaan-2

Chandrayaan 2 fostered the �indings of Chandrayaan 1 as reported by the ISRO.

The mission targeted the “South Polar region” of the Moon which was completely unexplored.

The mission focused on the extensive mapping of the lunar surface for studying variations in its composition and tracing the Moon’s origin and evolution.

Chandrayaan 2 was considered as a challenging mission as the South Polar Region of the Moon was totally unexplored by any space agency before.

GSAT-30satellite

The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) has launched telecommunication satellite GSAT-30 into a Geosynchronous Transfer Orbit (GTO) from Kourou launch base, French Guiana by European Ariane-5 VA-251.

GSAT-30 satellite will replace INSAT-4A which was launched in 2005.

Features:

GSAT-30 weighs 3,357-kg and will be gradually adjusted into a orbit 36,000 km

from the earth.


It gives the Indian mainland and islands coverage in the Ku band, and extended coverage in a wider area stretching from Australia to Europe in the lower -frequency C-band.

The Ku and C bands are part of a spectrum of frequencies, ranging from 1 to 40 gigahertz, that are used in satellite communications.

It will provide DTH (direct to home) television services, connectivity to VSATs (that support working of banks') ATMs, stock exchange, television uplinking and teleport services, digital satellite news gathering and e-governance applications.

The satellite will also be used for bulk data transfer for a host of emerging telecommunication applications.

Whyinnews?

Several meteor showers can be seen around the year. Among the brightest and best known of them is the Perseid Meteor Shower, which has been active from July 17 onward, and can be seen until August 26.

Meteorshower

On its journey around the Sun, the Earth passes through large swathes of cosmic debris. The debris is essentially the remnants of comets — great frigid chunks of matter that leave behind dirty trails of rocks and ice that linger long after the comets themselves have passed. As the Earth wades through this cloud of comet waste, the bits of debris create what appears from the ground to be a �ireworks display in the sky — known as a meteor shower.

PerseidMeteorShower

The Perseids occur as the Earth runs into pieces of cosmic debris left behind by the

comet Swift-Tuttle. The cloud of debris is about 27 km wide — and at the peak of the display, between 160 and 200 meteors streak through the Earth’s atmosphere every hour as the pieces of debris, travelling at some 2.14 lakh km per hour, burn up a little less than 100 km above the Earth’s surface

The Perseids currently visible in the night sky are not due to the debris left behind by the comet Swift-Tuttle during its most recent pass, which happened in 1992. This particular comet goes around the Sun once in 133 years, and the meteors now visible were left behind by the pass before the last one — or perhaps even earlier.

15. PERSEIDS METEOR SHOWER


RightCircumstancetoseePerseidMeteorShower

Meteors are best seen on a cloudless night, when the entire sky is visible, and when the Moon is not extremely bright. Chances of a successful viewing are higher from locations far away from the lights of cities. Pollution and monsoon clouds make the Perseids dif�icult to view from India.

OtherMeteorShower

According to the International Meteor Organisation, the Perseid Showers will be

followed in 2019 by the Orionids (between October 2 and November 7, peaking around October 21-22), the Leonids (from November 6-30, peaking around November 16-17), the Geminids (from December 4-17, peaking around December 13-14), and the Ursids (from December 17-26, peaking around December 21-22).

WhyinNews?

Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) and Department of Atomic Energy (DAE) are conducting various events at national level in a year long programme to commemorate the 100th birth anniversary of Dr. Vikram Sarabhai.

The celebrations began on 12 August, 2019 in Ahmedabad, where Sarabhai was born on the same day in 1919. He also led the establishment of the Physical Research Laboratory (PRL) in the city in 1947.

The celebrations would conclude exactly a year later, i.e. on 12 August, 2020 in Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala where he had set up the �irst rocket launching station of India.

16. VIKRAM SARABAI


ISRO has recently announced the ‘Vikram Sarabhai Journalism Award in Space Science, Technology and Research’, as part of the centenary year celebrations of Dr. Vikram Sarabhai, the father of Indian space programme.

VikramSarabai

Vikram Sarabhai, in full Vikram Ambalal Sarabhai, (born August 12, 1919, Ahmadabad, India—died December 30, 1971, Kovalam), Indian physicist and industrialist who initiated space research and helped develop nuclear power in India.

SarabaiContributions In spite of his intense involvement with scienti�ic research, he took active interest in

industry, business, and development issues. Sarabhai founded the Ahmedabad Textile Industry’s Research Association in 1947 and looked after its affairs until 1956.

Realizing the need for professional management education in India, Sarabhai was instrumental in setting up the Indian Institute of Management in Ahmadabad in 1962.

Establishing the Indian National Committee for Space Research in 1962, which was later renamed the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO), Sarabhai also set up the Thumba Equatorial Rocket Launching Station in southern India.


After the death of physicist Homi Bhabha in 1966, Sarabhai was appointed chairman of the Atomic Energy Commission of India. Carrying forward Bhabha’s work in the �ield of nuclear research, Sarabhai was largely responsible for the establishment and development of India’s nuclear power plants. He laid the foundations for the indigenous development of nuclear technology for defense purposes.

Someofthemostwell-knowninstitutionsestablishedbyDr.Sarabhaiare:

1. Physical Research Laboratory (PRL), Ahmedabad

2. Indian Institute of Management (IIM), Ahmedabad

3. Community Science Centre, Ahmedabad

4. Darpan Academy for Performing Arts, Ahmedabad (along with his wife)

5. Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre, Thiruvananthapuramm

6. Space Applications Centre, Ahmedabad (This institution came into existence after

merging six institutions/centres established by Sarabhai)

7. Faster Breeder Test Reactor (FBTR), Kalpakkam

8. Varaiable Energy Cyclotron Project, Calcutta

9. Electronics Corporation of India Limited (ECIL), Hyderabad

10. Uranium Corporation of India Limited (UCIL), Jaduguda, Bihar

Whyinnews?

India improved its ranking in the global innovation index by �ive places to 52nd in 2019 from 57th position last year.

The GII rankings are published annually by Cornell University, INSEAD and the UN World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO) and GII Knowledge Partners.

Now in its 12th edition, the GII ranks 129 economies based on 80 indicators, ranging from intellectual property �iling rates to mobile-application creation, education spending and scienti�ic and technical publications.

The theme of GII- 2019 (12th edition) is “Creating Healthy Lives - The Future of Medical Innovation” which aims to explore the role of medical innovation as it shapes the future of healthcare.

Switzerland tops the GII index followed by Sweden, United States of America, Netherlands, United Kingdom, Finland, Denmark, Singapore, Germany and Israel.

17. GLOBAL INNOVATION INDEX-2019


India’sPerformance

India improved its ranking in the global innovation index by �ive places to 52nd in 2019 from 57th position last year, according to a report released Wednesday.

India stands out in the world’s top science and technology clusters, with Bengaluru, Mumbai, and New Delhi featuring among the top 100 global clusters.

India continues to be the most innovative economy in central and southern Asia (a distinction held since 2011).

TheGlobalInnovationIndex2019

The GII 2019 analyzes the medical innovation landscape of the next decade, looking at how technological and non-technological medical innovation will transform the delivery of healthcare worldwide.

It also explores the role and dynamics of medical innovation as it shapes the future of healthcare, and the potential in�luence this may have on economic growth. Chapters of the report provide more details on this year’s theme from academic, business, and particular country perspectives from leading experts and decision makers.


Whyinnews?

After successfully venturing into space exploration, India will launch its ambitious ‘Deep Ocean Mission by October to enter hitherto untapped 75,000 sq km of area in international waters to tap vast marine resources

Underwater robotics and ‘manned’ submersibles are key components of the Mission which will help India harness various living and non-living (water, mineral and energy) resources from the seabed and deep water.

DeepOceanMission

It is a �ive-year, 8,000-crore plan to explore the deepest recesses of the ocean.

The Union Earth Sciences Ministry is tasked with coordinating the exercise and unveiled a blueprint of the ‘Deep Ocean Mission (DOM)’.

The mission proposes to explore the deep ocean similar to the space exploration started by ISRO about 35 years ago.

Objective:

An offshore desalination plant that will work with tidal energy.

Developing a submersible vehicle that can go to a depth of at least 6,000 metres with three people on board.

Signi�icance

India has been allotted a site of 75,000 square kilometres in the Central Indian Ocean Basin (CIOB) bythe UN International Sea Bed Authority for exploitation of polymetallic nodules (PMN).

These are rocks scattered on the seabed containing iron, manganese, nickel and cobalt.

It is envisaged that 10% of recovery of that large reserve can meet the energy requirement of India for the next 100 years.

It has been estimated that 380 million metric tonnes of polymetallic nodules are available at the bottom of the seas in the Central Indian Ocean.

The focus will be on technologies for deep-sea mining, underwater vehicles, underwater robotics and ocean climate change advisory services.

18. DEEP OCEAN MISSION


PolymetallicNodules Polymetallic nodules are rounded accretions of manganese and iron hydroxides that

cover vast areas of the sea�loor.

They are most abundant on abyssal plains at water depths of 4000-6500 metres.


Why in news?

Pegasus, The spyware, developed by Israel -based security company, NSO Group Technologies, was used to hack and snoop on journalists, lawyers and activists in India, presumably by the government

Pegasus is meant to in�iltrate smartphones silently and work on three things -- collect historic data on device, continuously monitor activity and transmit this data to a third party.

Other than Android and iOS systems, Pegasus can also penetrate Symbian and BlackBerry-based devices. The malware can infect devices via phishing text messages that trick users into clicking a particular link, using the over-the-air update system and more.

In WhatsApp’s case, it used a vulnerability in the app that allowed infection through missed video calls. This security gap was plugged by WhatsApp back in May this year

19. PEGASUS


Once on your phone, Pegasus has access to data that’s already on your phone,

including photos, videos, text messages, email apps, browsing history, contact list, location, �iles, other messaging apps (like Viber, Skype, Messenger) etc.

It can also listen to you and sounds around you through the phone’s microphones, record incoming and outgoing calls, capture screenshots and use the phone’s camera to take photos

Whyinnews?

The 5th edition of India International Science Festival (IISF) 2019 will be held at Kolkata from 5th to 8th November, 2019.

IISF 2019 will play a crucial role in promoting love and passion of science among students by bringing science outside the lab. It is time to make science a Jan Andolan.

Themeofthisyearfestival

The Science and Technology Minister further informed the gathering that the theme for this year’s festival is RISEN India Research, Innovation, and Science Empowering the Nation

IndiaInternationalScienceFestival(IISF)2019

The IISF 2019 is the �ifth edition since its inception in 2015. The �irst and second IISF were held in New Delhi, the third in Chennai and the fourth IISF was held in Lucknow, which witnessed a Footfall from over 10 lakh people worldwide.

India International Science Festival (IISF) 2019, an annual event organised jointly by science & technology- related Ministries and Departments of the Government of India and Vijnana Bharati (Vibha), 2019. IISF is a festival to celebrate the achievements of India’s scienti�ic and technological advancements with students, innovators, craftsmen, farmers, scientists and technocrats from India and abroad.

Vigyanika - International Science Literature Festival is being organised as part of the 5th IISF.

It is being coordinated by the CSIR-National Institute of Science Communication and Information Resources (CSIR-NISCAIR), Vigyan Prasar and Vigyan Bharati.

It will feature innovative formats of science communication such as drama, poetry, and magic. A Science Book Fair will also be a major attraction of Vigyanika.

20. INDIA INTERNATIONAL SCIENCE FESTIVAL (IISF)


Whyinnews? Recently, migrant labourers returning to their homes from cities were forced by the

administration in Bareilly to take an open bath in groups with disinfectant before they were allowed entry into the district. It is a matter of concern as the chemicals are strictly prohibited to spray on human bodies.

SodiumHypochlorite

Sodium Hypochlorite is used for a variety of cleaning and disinfecting purposes. A normal household bleach usually is a 2-10% sodium hypochlorite solution. At a much lower 0.25-0.5%, this chemical is used to treat skin wounds like cuts or

scrapes. An even weaker solution (0.05%) is sometimes used as a handwash. The common bleaching powder is chemically referred to as Calcium hypochlor ite

and not Sodium hypochlorite. Isthechemicalsafe?

Sodium hypochlorite is corrosive and is meant largely to clean hard surfaces. It is not recommended to be used on human beings, certainly not as a spray or

shower. Even a 0.05% solution could be very harmful for the eyes. A 1% solution can cause damage to the skin of anyone who comes in contact with it. It can cause itching or burning and is not approved to be used on humans If it gets inside the body, it can cause serious harm to Lungs. The WHO recommends homemade bleach solutions of about 2-10% concentration

to clean hard surfaces to clear them of any presence of the novel coronavirus.

21. SODIUM HYPOCHLORITE

COVID CURRENT AFFAIRS


Whyinnews?

Vande Bharat Mission is the biggest evacuation exercise to bring back Indian citizens stranded abroad amidst the coronavirus-induced travel restrictions.

It is also considered as the largest exercise to bring back Indian citizens since the evacuation of 177,000 from the Gulf region in the early 1990s at the start of hostilities between Iraq and Kuwait during the �irst Gulf War.

Similar evacuations were also seen in April 2015, when Operation Raahat was launched to evacuate Indians from war-torn Yemen.

Citizens in distress will be brought back on commercial aircraft and naval ships based on lists prepared by the India’s embassies. Over ten lakhs Indians are expected to return home, and more than two lakhs are from the UAE alone.

The Ministry of External Affairs has developed a dynamic online platform on which requests received by Indian Missions from Indian nationals wishing to return are regularly being uploaded.

Following arrival, all Indian citizens will have to spend the mandatory quarantine period in a government facility to avoid spread of COVID-19.

22. VANDE BHARAT MISSION


WhyinNews?

Hydroxychloroquine or HCQ, the anti -malarial drug touted by some as a potential weapon against Covid-19, has put the spotlight on a company founded by Prafulla Chandra Ray, considered to be the fath er of Indian chemistry.

The Kolkata-based Bengal Chemicals and Pharmaceuticals Limited, the only public sector unit that manufactures anti-malarial drug in India, said it will apply for a licence to produce HCQ soon.

Bengal Chemicals had started HCQ’s production but was stopped decades ago

Recently, India revoked its earlier ban on the export of malaria drug hydroxychloroquine (HCQ), which is being used to treat Covid-19.

Hydroxychloroquine:

Hydroxychloroquine has long been used to treat malaria as well as other conditions such as lupus and arthritis.

It's used to reduce fever and in�lammation, and the hope has been that it can also inhibit the virus that causes Covid-19.

23. HYDROXYCHLOROQUINE AND PRAFULLA CHANDRA RAY


Some early studies showed that it may be able to shorten the duration of symptoms

experienced by coronavirus patients, while others indicated it had no positive effect at all.

Whyhavethedrugsbecomesocontroversial?

Promotion by leading political �igures such as President Trump has led to both hydroxychloroquine, and the related d rug chloroquine, becoming the subject of widespread speculation online about their potential bene�its and harmful effects.

This has led to high demand for the drugs and global supply shortages.

There's also been controversy within the scienti�ic community.

Trials around the world were temporarily derailed when a study published in The Lancet claimed the drug increased fatalities and heart problems in some patients.

The results prompted the World Health Organization (WHO) and others to halt trials over safety concerns.

However, the Lancet subsequently retracted the study when it was found to have serious shortcomings and the WHO has resumed its trials.

Other studies have looked at using the drugs as a preventative measure against Covid-19.

Whataretheside-effectsofhydroxychloroquine?

In March the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) granted "emergency use" authorisation for these drugs in the treatment of Covid-19 for a limited number of hospitalised cases.

But the FDA subsequently issued a warning about the risk of the drugs causing serious heart rhythm problems in coronavirus patients. The agency cautioned against using these drugs outside of a hospital setting or clinical trial.


PrafullaChandraRay

Born on August 2 in 1861, Ray set up Bengal Chemicals & Pharmaceuticals as an individual initiative in a laboratory in 1892 to foster a spirit of entrepreneurship among the youth of Bengal.

After getting a DSc degree from Edinburgh University in 1887, Ray started teaching chemistry at Presidency College. By 1892, with a capital of about Rs 700, he had started Bengal Chemical Works, and presented its herbal products before the Indian Medical Congress’ 1893 session held in Kolkata.

Ray transformed his initiative into Bengal Chemicals and Pharmaceutical Works Pvt Ltd, with a capital of Rs 2 lakh, by 1901.

Under his stewardship, Bengal Chemicals grew fast. From having its �irst and second factories in Kolkata’s Maniktala in 1905 and the northern suburbs of Panihati in 1920, it set up a third factory in Mumbai in 1938.

Prafulla Chandra Ray authored, among other books, the ‘History of Hindu Chemistry – From the Earliest Times to the Middle of the Sixteenth Century AD’, a book that documented India’s indigenous chemical practices starting from the Vedic era.

He published a paper in 1896 on the preparation of a new stable chemical compound: mercurous nitrite. It made way for a large number of investigative papers on nitrites and hyponitrites of different metals, and on nitrites of ammonia and organic amines.


The Royal Society of Chemistry dedicated its coveted Chemical Landmark plaque to

Ray, the �irst non -European to be conferred the honour, in 2011 on his 150th birth anniversary.

Whyinnews? Associations representing of�icers of central civil services, including the Indian

Administrative Service (IAS) and the Indian Police Service (IPS), have formed an initiative called 'Caruna' to support and supplement the government's efforts in �ighting coronavirus

CivilservicesAssociationReachtoSupportinNaturalDisasters The acronym 'Caruna' stands for Civil Services Associations Reach to Support in

Natural Disasters and represents a collaborative platform, on which civil servants, industry leaders, NGO professionals and IT professionals among others have come together to contribute their time and abilities.

Civil Service associations- IFS, IPS, IFoS, IRS (IT), IRS (C&E), IRPS, IRTS, IPOS, IA&AS, IDES, ICAS, IIS & IAS form CARUNA - Civil services Association Reach to Support in Natural Disasters - a technology platform to support Govt in the �ight against #COVID19

ActivitiesunderCarunaplatform Caruna will support and supplement laudable government initiatives on a real time

basis, besides sharing relevant information with @MoHFW_INDIA, @mygovindia and the task forces set up by the central and state governments in the �ight against COVID19

The Caruna platform has already created a 10-day action plan for operationalisation of support to both governments and �ield-level functionaries, and created themes (called threads on slack) on capacity building/training support to healthcare workers etc., database collation of health equipment manufacturers etc., mitigation of migration-related issues and temporary shelters, working on food security related issues etc., with speci�ic responsibilities being assumed by dedicated teams of members, according to its website.

24. CARUNA


Whyinnews?

In April, the Centre amended the Epidemic Disease Act, 1897, that made attacks on healthcare workers a non-bailable offence. The government had invoked the Act in March to �ight coronavirus outbreak in the country

OrdinancetoEpidemicDiseaseact,1897

Ordinance to amend the Epidemic Diseases Act, 1897 in the light of the pandemic situation of COVID-19 has been promulgated. The Ordinance is called Epidemic Disease (Act) Ordinance 2020, which states that "No person shall indulge in any act of violence against healthcare service personnel or cause any loss or damage to any property during the epidemic".

The amendment makes acts of violence cognizable and non-bailable offences. Commission or abetment of such acts of violence shall be punished with imprisonment for a term of three months to �ive years, and with �ine of Rs. 50,000/- to Rs. 2,00,000/-.

In case of causing grievous hurt, imprisonment shall be for a term six months to seven years and with �ine of Rs. 1,00,000/- to Rs. 5,00,000/-. In addition, the offender shall also be liable to pay compensation to the victim and twice the fair market value for damage of property or the loss caused (as may be determined by the court).

However, the Act that origins from the colonial -era empowers the state governments to take special measures and prescribe regulations in an epidemic. It also de�ines penalties for disobedience of these regulations.

25. EPIDEMIC DISEASE ACT, 1897


HistoricalBackground

On January 28, 1897, Council member J Woodburn tabled the Epidemic Diseases Bill during an outbreak of bubonic plague. The plague, that rooted in Bombay, gradually extended to other parts of the country and seemed to the government expedient that some measures should be promptly taken before the disease has attained large proportions elsewhere to hold it in check.

TheEpidemicDiseasesAct

The Epidemic Diseases Act is routinely enforced across the country for dealing with outbreaks of diseases such as swine �lu, dengue, and cholera.

It aims to provide for the better prevention of the spread of Dangerous Epidemic Diseases.

The then Governor-General of colonial India had conferred special powers upon the local authorities to implement the measures necessary for the control of epidemics.

Although, the act does de�ine or give a description of a “dangerous epidemic disease”.

Varioussectionsundertheact

The �irst section describes all the title and extent, the second part explains all the special powers given to the state government and centre to take special measures and regulations to contain the spread of disease.

The second section has a special subsection 2A empowers the central government to take steps to prevent the spread of an epidemic, especially allowing the government to inspect any ship arriving or leaving any post and the power to detain any person intending to sail or arriving in the country.


The third section describes the penalties for violating the regulations in accordance

with Section 188 of the IPC. Section 3 states, “Six months’ imprisonment or 1,000 rupees �ine or both could be charged out to the person who disobeys this Act.”

The fourth and the last section deals with legal protection to implementing of�icers acting under the Act.

Examplesofearlierimplementation

In 2018, the district collector of Gujarat’s Vadodara issued a noti�ication under the Act declaring a town as cholera-affected.

In 2009, to tackle the swine �lu outbreak in Pune, Section 2 powers were used to open screening centres in civic hospitals across the city, and swine �lu was declared a noti�iable disease.

Whyinnews?

AIIMS Director Randeep Guleria informed that the use of convalescent plasma therapy to treat COVID-19 patient has started at various centres in the country.

DiscoveryofConvalescentPlasmaTherapy

In 1890, physiologist Emile von Behring discovered that convalescent blood plasma

from once- infected rabbits could be used to treat diptheria in humans—initially, it was produced from immunized animals but soon whole blood or serum from recovered donors was identi�ied as a possible source of speci�ic antibodies of human origin.

More than a century and several clinical trials later, it is this same therapy that is showing promise as the world deals with a pandemic caused by a new virus.

In 2014, the World Health Organisation (WHO) had recommended the plasma therapy to treat Ebola virus disease. The plasma therapy was also used during Spanish �lu pandemic. During the H1N1 infection of 2009, doctors used plasma therapy to treat patients.

ConvalescentPlasmaTherapy

Convalescent Plasma Therapy is an experimental procedure for treating COVID-

19 patients. In this treatment, plasma, a blood component, from a cured patient is transfused to a critically ill coronavirus patient. The blood of a person who has recovered from COVID-19 develops antibodies to �ight the virus. This therapy uses the antibodies from the blood of a cured patient to treat another critical patient.

26. CONVALESCENT PLASMA THERAPY


Howitworks: The idea behind this therapy is that immunity can be transferred from a healthy

person to a sick patient using convalescent plasma. This therapy uses antibodies from the blood of a recovered coronavirus patient to treat another critical patient.

The recovered COVID-19 patient's blood develops antibodies to battle against COVID-19. Once the blood of the �irst patient is infused to the second patient, those antibodies will start �ighting against coronavirus in the second person.

Howdoyoudonateplasma?

The process for donating plasma is similar to donating blood and takes about an hour,. Plasma donors are hooked up to a small devi ce that removes plasma while simultaneously returning red blood cells to their bodies. Unlike regular blood donation in which donors have to wait for red blood cells to replenish between donations, plasma can be donated more frequently, as often as twice a week.

The plasma drawn from one recovered person can help two people.

The Union health ministry had advised against considering the therapy to be regular

treatment for conronavirus, adding it should be used for research and trial purposes till there is a robust scienti�ic evidence to support its ef�icacy.


WhatisherdimmunityandcoulditworkwithCOVID-19?

Herd immunity is when a virus can no longer spread easily because enough people are immune to it. That lowers the chances of the virus jumping from person to person and reaching those who haven't been infected yet.

People can become immune to certain viruses after surviving infection or being vaccinated. Typically, at least 70 per cent o f a population must be immune to achieve herd immunity.

But how long immunity lasts varies depending on the virus, and it's not yet known how long COVID-19 survivors might have that protection.

How easily the virus spreads also plays a key role.

Say, for example, someone who's infected with a particular virus typically transmits it to two others.

The chances of that person passing it on to others would be lower if half the population is already immune

The odds of transmission fall further if even more of the population is immune. That could cause new infections to die out.

But if a virus is more infectious, a higher percentage of people would need to have immunity to stop the spread and achieve herd immunity

27. HERD IMMUNITY


Whyinnews?

The ICMR advisory recommends pooled testing only in areas with a covid-19 prevalence of less than 5% and says that not more than �ive samples can be pooled

WhatisPooledtesting?

Pooled testing involves putting multiple swab samples collected from people who may have been exposed to the SARS-Cov2 virus

Pooled testing is being seen as an effective way to conduct covid -19 tests on more people while reducing the load on laboratories. The Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) has also recommended using it in low-prevalence areas

Howisitdone?

Pooled testing involves putting multiple swab samples collected from people who may have been exposed to the SARS-Cov2 virus, and testing all of them using one real-time polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) test kit.

If this pool tests negative, it is concluded that the entire group is covid-19 negative. If the bulk sample tests positive, it indicates that at least one person in the mix has covid-19.

Each of these samples is then tested separately to identify the infected individuals. This strategy is more ef�icient in low-infection areas. It can help track asymptomatic cases and, thus, check community transmission.

WillsuchastrategyyieldresultsforIndia?

The ICMR advisory recommends pooled testing only in areas with a covid-19 prevalence of less than 5% and says that not more than �ive samples can be pooled. If too many samples are tested together, there is a possibility of missing positive samples if the viral load is very mild or low.

Individual tests are always more accurate, but doctors and health experts say pooled testing is crucial for India, which has a large population and a shortage of healthcare and testing resources, and trained personnel. Such a strategy not only saves costs and testing kits, but also means that more people can be screened faster.

Whereispooledtestingbeingdoneinthecountry? The Andaman and Nicobar Islands was the �irst to implement pooled testing in the

country early this month to counter the shortage of RT-PCR testing kits. Uttar Pradesh followed suit in mid-April and, now, Haryana, too, has ramped up pooled testing.

28. POOLED TESTING


Hasitbeensuccessfulinothercountries?

Pooled testing has shown success in Germany and Israel. Researchers at the German Red Cross Blood Donor Service in Frankfurt and the Institute for Medical Virology at University Hospital Frankfurt under Goethe University developed this method.

Germany, with the lowest death rate in Europe, increased testing from 40,000 a day to between 200,000 and 400,000 without sacri�icing accuracy. Researchers at Stanford University used it to track the early spread of the virus in the San Francisco Bay Area.

What’stheriskinusingthistestingmethod? Pooled testing can help increase the testing rate substantially. But may not be as

accurate as testing each individual. It is important to identify hotspots and non-hotspots clearly before deciding where to roll out pooled testing.

Pooled testing of in�luenza-like illness and severe acute respiratory infection will help get a fair idea of transmission in green zones, based on which zoning can be changed. Pooled testing should be part of a larger strategy based on granular data that will �irst help identify where it should be conducted.

Whyinnews?

Bombay High Court has said all frontline workers, including those who are asymptomatic, in hospitals and containment zones in Vidarbha shall be entitled to be tested for COVID-19 using RT-PCR (Rapid Antibody and Reverse Transcription Polymerase Chain Reaction) method

Polymerasechainreaction(PCR)

Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) is a method widely used to r apidly make millions to billions of copies of a speci�ic DNA sample, allowing scientists to take a very small sample of DNA and amplify it to a large enough amount to study in detail. PCR was invented in 1984 by the American biochemist Kary Mullis at Cetus Corporation.

It is fundamental to much of genetic testing including analysis of ancient samples of DNA and identi�ication of infectious agents. Using PCR, copies of very small amounts of DNA sequences are exponentially ampli�ied in a series of cycles of temperature changes.

Two "primers", short single-stranded DNA sequences that are synthesized to correspond to the beginning and ending of the DNA stretch to be copied;

An enzyme called polymerase that moves along the segment of DNA, reading its code and assembling a copy; and

29. POLYMERASE CHAIN REACTION (PCR) TEST


A pile of DNA building blocks that the polymerase needs to make that copy.

PCR is now a common and often indispensable technique used in medical laboratory

and clinical laboratory research for a broad variety of applications including biomedical research and criminal forensics

PCR tests are used to directly detect the presence of an antigen, rather than the presence of the body’s immune response, or antibodies. By detecting viral RNA, which will be present in the body before antibodies form or symptoms of the disease are present, the tests can tell whether or not someone has the virus very early on.

WhatisRTPCR?

RT-PCR (Reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction) is a highly sensitive technique for the detection and quantitation of mRNA (messenger RNA). The technique consists of two parts:

The synthesis of cDNA (complementary DNA) from RNA by reverse transcription (RT) and

The ampli�ication of a speci�ic cDNA by the polymerase chain reaction (PCR).


RT-PCR has been used to measure viral load with HIV and may also be used with other RNA viruses such as measles and mumps

Whyinnews? The National Cadet Corps (NCC) has to date deployed more than 2,000 cadets to

provide assistance in the effort by state governments in voluntary work to control the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak.

More than 50,000 cadets have volunteered and are ready to be deployed as per requisition from governments.

ExerciseNCCYogdan

Under the initiative, Exercise NCC Yogdan, a set of guidelines have been issued for temporary deployment of cadets to augment relief efforts and functioning of various agencies involved in �ighting the outbreak.

According to guidelines, cadets will not be employed in handling law and order situation or for active military duties. Only Senior Division boy and Senior Wing girl volunteer cadets above 18 years old are being mobilised in small and cohesive groups of eight to 20 under the supervision of permanent instructor staff or their associate NCC of�icers.

Since April 1, when Exercise NCC Yogdan was launched, around 2,000 cadets have already been deployed in 12 states and union territories in the country with maximum deployment in Tamil Nadu at 306. This number is increasing by the day, of�icials said.

As the lockdown continues, more states are in the process of requesting for NCC cadets. Headquarters Directorate General NCC is monitoring the number of cadets volunteering for the cause.

The state government and their agencies with whom the cadets are being deployed are ensuring that they get proper safety equipment like masks and gloves. Of�icials said cadets were not being employed in areas that are sealed or earmarked as hotspots.

Dutiesperformedbycadets

Among the various duties performed by cadets are traf�ic management, supply chain management, preparation and packaging of food items, distribution of food and essential items, queue management, ensuring social distancing, manning control centres and CCTV control rooms.

Apart from this, NCC cadets are also actively sensitising the public against COVID -19 through social media platforms like Twitter, Instagram and WhatsApp.

30. EXERCISE NCC YOGDAN

UPSCTOPPERS2019-2020

ISHWARYA RAIR - 47

PRIYANKAAIR - 68

MURUGANANDHANAIR - 119

AMMUAIR - 141

RAMYA RAIR - 186

GIRI SANKAR RAIR - 230

SWETHAAAIR - 251

MOHAMMED YAKUB SAIR - 385

LOGESH KUMAR PAIR - 431

GOWRISANKAR DAIR - 436

JAYACHITRA KAIR - 449

SAKTHIVELAIR - 471

VIBHU KRISHNA UAIR - 473

YAMINIAIR - 491

S S SHOBIKA AIR - 504

SANGEETHAAIR - 499

KAVITHAAIR - 571

DHIYA RAIR - 601

AISHWARYA RAIR - 608

MALLIGA SAIR - 621

STALIN RAIR - 639

MALKARAJAIR - 640

JAGADEESHWARANAIR - 673

VENGATESH PRABHU NAIR - 751

24+ SUCCESSFUL

CANDIDATES

2019-20

250+ CIVIL SERVANTS

IN 5 YEARS

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ENVIRONMENT SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY - Aram IAS ...

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