National Current Affairs – UPSC/IAS Exams- 21st May 2019

Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO)

Topic: International Relations 

In News: For the first time, since the Pulwama terror attack and the Balakot airstrikes, Indian and Pakistani Foreign Ministers will together attend a ministerial meeting under the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) in Bishkek, Kyrgyz Republic.

More on the Topic:

• The SCO, in which China plays an influential role, is also comprised of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, India and Pakistan.
• India and Pakistan were admitted into the bloc in 2017.
• It is Eurasian economic, political and security organisation headquartered in Beijing, China.
• Its main objective is military cooperation between member states. It is primarily centred on security-related concerns of Central Asian members with main threats being terrorism, separatism and extremism.
• It was established in June 2001 as a successor of Shanghai Five mechanism which was established in 1996 with China, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia and Tajikistan as members.
• Iran, Afghanistan, Belarus and Mongolia enjoy observer status of SCO.
• Turkey, Azerbaijan, Armenia, Cambodia, Sri Lanka and Nepal are dialogue partners of SCO.

Source: The Hindu

Vayoshreshtha Samman

Topic: Social Justice

In News: The Department of Social Justice And Empowerment had invited nominations for the Vayoshreshtha Samman- National Awards for Senior Citizens 2019 for Individuals/Institutions.

More on the Topic:

• The Ministries/Departments of Government of India and their autonomous organistions/State Govts. or UT Administration can nominate the suitable individuals/institutions for the said Awards.
• The Department of Social Justice And Empowerment as part of celebration of the International Day of Older Persons (IDOP) on 1st October every year has been conferring National Award – Vayoshreshtha Samman to eminent senior citizens and institutions involved in rendering distinguished services for the cause of elderly persons.
• The National Awards are conferred by the President of India on the International Day of Older Persons i.e. 1st October every year.

Source: The Hindu

New definition for Kilogram

Topic: Science and Technology

In News: With the definition of the ‘kilogram’ getting a global, technical makeover, textbooks — from those used in schools to ones recommended by engineering colleges in India — are set to undergo an update.

More on the topic:

• Previously the kilogram derived its provenance from the weight of a block of a platinum-iridium alloy housed at the International Bureau of Weights and Measures in France.
• All other prototypes that served as national reference standards, including the one at New Delhi’s CSIR-National Physical Laboratory (NPL), were calibrated to it.
• On May 20, the kilogram joined other standard units of measure such as the second, metre, ampere, Kelvin, mole and candela that would no longer be defined by physical objects.
• The measures are all now defined on the basis of unchanging universal, physics constants.

New definition of Kilogram:

• The kilogram now hinges on the definition of the Planck Constant, a constant of nature that relates to how matter releases energy.
• The CSIR-NPL, which is India’s official reference keeper of units of measurements, released a set of recommendations requiring that school textbooks, engineering-education books, and course curriculum update the definition of the kilogram.
• The institute is also in the process of making its own ‘Kibble Balance’, a device that was used to measure the Planck Constant and thereby reboot the kilogram.

Any Change in Day to day application of ‘Kilogram’?

• An updated kilogram doesn’t mean that weights everywhere will be thrown off balance. For everyday measurements, consumers wanting to calibrate their instruments whether it’s for high-precision drug manufacturing or retail weighing machines will continue doing it the same way.
• The National Physical Laboratory itself will be relying on the kilogram maintained in the U.S.-based National Institutes of Standards and Technology to calibrate its one-kilogram weight.

Source: The Hindu

8th Indo – Myanmar Coordinated Patrol

Topic: International Relations

In News: Myanmar Navy Ships have arrived Port Blair  for the ‘Opening Ceremony’ of the 8th Indo-Myanmar coordinated patrol (IMCOR), at Andaman and Nicobar Command.

More on the Topic:

• The CORPAT initiative between the two navies is meant to address issues of terrorism, illegal fishing, drug trafficking, human trafficking, poaching and other illegal activities inimical to interest of both nations.
• Started in Mar 2013, the CORPAT series has enhanced the mutual understanding and fostered improved professional interaction between the two navies for maritime interoperability.
• The patrolling effort will be augmented by Maritime Patrol Aircraft from both the navies.
• The ships would patrol along the International Maritime Boundary Line (IMBL) between the two countries covering a distance of approximately 725 Kms over a period of four days.
• The ships will also undertake joint manoeuvres and drills during the sea phase of coordinated patrol (CORPAT) prior ‘Closing Ceremony’ of the CORPAT onboard Myanmar Naval Ship.

Source: PIB

ULTIMA THULE

Topic: Science and Technology

In News: NASA has found evidence for a unique mixture of methanol, water ice, and organic molecules on Ultima Thule’s surface–the farthest world ever explored by mankind.

More on the Topic

• The US space agency has published the first profile of Ultima Thule an ancient relic from the era of planet formation revealing details about the complex space object.
• Analysing just the first sets of data gathered during the New Horizons spacecraft’s New Year’s 2019 flyby of the Kuiper Belt object 2014 MU69–nicknamed Ultima Thule unveil much about the object’s development, geology and composition.
• Researchers are also investigating a range of surface features on Ultima Thule, such as bright spots and patches, hills and troughs, and craters and pits on Ultima Thule.
• The largest depression is an eight-kilometer-wide feature the team has nicknamed Maryland crater which likely formed from an impact.
• Some smaller pits on the Kuiper Belt object, however, may have been created by material falling into underground spaces, or due to exotic ices going from a solid to a gas and leaving pits in its place.
• In colour and composition, Ultima Thule resembles many other objects found in its area of the Kuiper Belt. Its reddish hue is believed to be caused by modification of the organic materials on its surface.

About New Horizon Mission:

• New Horizons was launched on 19 January 2006, and has been travelling through space. New Horizon’s core science mission is to map the surfaces of Pluto and Charon, to study Pluto’s atmosphere and to take temperature readings.
• Data transmission from the flyby continues and will go on until the late summer 2020. In the meantime, New Horizons continues to carry out new observations of additional Kuiper Belt objects it passes in the distance.
• The New Horizons spacecraft is now 6 billion kilometers from Earth, operating normally and speeding deeper into the Kuiper Belt at nearly 53,000 kilometers per hour.

Source: PIB

Hornbills among top seed dispersers, most threatened

Topic: Environment and Ecology

In News: The study carried out in Pakke Tiger Reserve in Arunachal Pradesh researchers from Nature Conservation Foundation, Mysore, have mapped the different frugivore (fruit eater) birds and their interactions that are important for the forest ecosystem.

More on the Topic

• The study carried out in Pakke Tiger Reserve in Arunachal Pradesh noted that hornbills, one among the large-sized frugivores, are the top seed dispersers.
• Sadly, they are also the most threatened. This is because they are hunted for meat, and the tribal communities use their feathers for head dresses.
• The study looked at 43 tree species, 48 frugivore bird species that were seen visiting them.
• A single bird species could visit different tree species, and a single tree species would be visited by different bird species. So a complex network of over 400 interactions was created and studied.
• The trees were classified into small-, medium- and large-seeded. The large-seeded trees mainly depended on hornbills and imperial pigeons for their dispersal.
• The medium-size seeded trees were visited by bulbuls, barbets along with hornbills and imperial pigeons.
• Though the frequency of visits was similar for all four bird species, the number of fruits removed from trees was high for hornbills.
• Among the different bird species, hornbills were found to be the most effective seed dispersers. They were found to swallow and disperse most of the fruits they handled. They also removed maximum number of fruits — and therefore seeds — in every visit to a fruiting tree.
• Seeds that fall under the parent tree face heavy competition, predation by rodents and insects and fungal infections.
• So their chances of survival are very low. Plants depend on frugivore birds to disperse the seeds at favourable sites, which have low competition and predation pressures, to expand their geographic range. And so the decline of frugivores could severely affect the ecosystem.

Source: The Hindu

National Pharmaceutical Pricing Authority

Topic: Governance

In News: India’s drug pricing regulator is considering a proposal to cap trade margins of all medicines at 30% to curb profiteering.

More on the Topic

• If the proposal to cap trade margins on all drugs is implemented, it will be an expansion of the government’s earlier scheme of restricting trade margins of cancer drugs.
• The National Pharmaceutical Pricing Authority (NPPA), while reducing the prices of cancer drugs in February, had indicated that more drugs and medical devices will be brought under price control in the future.
• Trade margin is the difference between the price at which the manufacturer sells a drug to stockists and the price at which it is available to patients.
• Although government officials differ on whether trade margins should be capped only for non-scheduled drugs or scheduled drugs should also be considered for the same, it is likely that the government will introduce an umbrella regulation for all drugs.

About National Pharmaceutical Pricing Authority

• The National Pharmaceutical Pricing Authority (NPPA) is a government regulatory agency that controls the prices of pharmaceutical drugs in India.It was formed on 29 August 1997.

The functions include

• 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.

Model Mains Question: What is the mandate of National Pharmaceuticals Pricing Authority (NPPA)? Do you think blanket cap on trade margins of all medicines at 30% to curb profiteering is a good choice? Examine.

Source: Live Mint