National Current Affairs – UPSC/IAS Exams- 13th June 2019

Indian Medical Council Amendment Bill

Topic: Polity and Governance

In News: The Cabinet has approved the Indian Medical Council (Amendment Bill), 2019 and the Homoeopathy Central Council (Amendment Bill), 2019 – both of which had lapsed in the 16th Lok Sabha session. The Bills will be re-introduced in the next Parliament session.

More on the Topic:

• The Medical Council Bill is aimed at bringing in transparency and quality in the governance of medical education.It amends the Indian Medical Council Act, 1956 which set up the MCI that regulates medical education and practice.
• The amendment provides for the supersession of the MCI for a period of one year.
• In the interim period, the central government will constitute a Board of Governors (BoG).The powers of the Council have been vested in the BoG.The BoG will continue to perform till an alternative comes into place as per the legal provisions in one year time.
• The BoG is likely to make the much-required reforms in the field of medical education and promote access to quality healthcare.

Background:

• In wake of allegations of corruption against the MCI office bearers and investigations into opaque accreditation to several medical colleges, the Supreme Court in May 2016 had directed the government to constitute an oversight committee.
• The apex court had said that the committee would have the authority to oversee all statutory functions of MCI till the new legislation comes in.
• In 2017, another Oversight Committee was set up with the approval of the Supreme Court after expiry of the one-year term of the first panel. The second committee included eminent doctors including those from AIIMS (Delhi), PGI Chandigarh and NIMHANS. In July 2018, the committee resigned citing instances of “non-compliance of their instructions by MCI”.
• Thereafter, the government in September had brought an ordinance–Indian Medical Council (Amendment) Ordinance, 2018–to supersede MCI. With the ordinance coming into force, the powers of the council were vested in a BoG. The powers of MCI were also switched from the elective council body to the BoG.
• The BoG will continue to perform till a council is constituted in line with the provisions of the Act in one year.
• As the oversight committee constituted by the government on direction of the Supreme Court had resigned en masse citing the reason that its instructions were not being followed, the government was forced to bring in this Bill as the MCI could not function. Thereafter the government came with an ordinance.
• The related National Medical Commission (NMC) Bill 2017 that seeks to replace MCI with a National Medical Commission and overhaul the medical education system in India was lapsed and it has been re-introduced now.

Source: The Hindu

Child Labour Laws

Topic: Social Justice

In News: The continuing presence of child labour in the country is a reflection of the fact that implementation of the laws at the State and district levels has been lacking.

More on the Topic:

• Though the number of children engaged in labour had come down to 10.1 million, or 1.01 crore, according to the 2011 Census, from 1.26 crore in the 2001 census, there was still a lot to be done to end the scourge.
• The Child Labor (Prohibition & Regulation) Act, the PENCIL [Platform for Effective Enforcement of No Child Labour] portal, SOPs and guidelines have been formed to tackle child labor.
• India had ratified conventions prescribing minimum age for employment (14 years in developing countries) and employment in hazardous conditions (18 years).

About PENCIL Portal:

• PENCIL (Platform for Effective Enforcement for No Child Labour) — an electronic platform for no child labour in the country is being developed by the Labour Ministry.
• PENCIL portal has five components — Child Tracking System, Complaint Corner, State Government, National Child Labour Project and Convergence.
• The PENCIL portal, through which 900 complaints about child labour had been lodged since it was started in 2017, was “evolving” with new features planned.

What constitution says about Child Labor:

• Article 24 prohibits the employment of children below the age of 14 years in hazardous industries. Allows their employment in non hazardous industries .
• Subsequently , government passed Child Labour (Prohibition and Regulation) Act, 1986 which prohibited employment in 14 industries and regulated employment condition in the rest.
• Article 39(e) directs the state to ensure that health of workers be protected and children not to be exploited.

Model Mains Question: The continuing presence of child labour in the country is a reflection of the fact that implementation of the laws at the State and district levels has been lacking. Comment.

Source: The Hindu

Hypersonic Technology Demonstrator Vehicle (HSTDV)

Topic: Science and Technology

In News:The Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) conducted the test of an indigenously developed Hypersonic Technology Demonstrator Vehicle (HSTDV) along with several critical technologies.

More on the topic:

• The DRDO launched a technology demonstrator vehicle to prove a number of critical technologies for futuristic missions from Dr Abdul Kalam Island off the coast of Odisha.
• The missile was successfully launched and it was tracked by various radars, telemetry stations and electro optical tracking sensors through its course.
• Through the HSTDV project the idea was to demonstrate the “performance of a scram-jet engine at an altitude of 15 km to 20 km.
• Under this project, India is developing a hypersonic vehicle that will be powered by a scram-jet engine.
• This is dual-use technology, which when developed, will have multiple civilian applications. It can be used for launching satellites at low cost. It will also be available for long-range cruise missiles of the future.

About Scram Jet Engine:

• Scramjet is short for Supersonic Combusting Ramjet.Scramjet is a supersonic combustion engine.
• Rockets usually carry both fuel and oxidiser for easy combustion. Scramjet engine uses the oxygen from atmosphere to compress fuel, thus reducing the weight of rocket and increasing the efficiency. It is an air-breathing propulsion system.
• The scramjet engine is used only during the atmospheric phase of the rocket’s flight.The scramjet engine can also liquefy the oxygen and store it on board.
• This is helpful for flying at hypersonic speed – Mach 5 and above.
• These engines have no moving parts. Instead of the rotating compressor and turbine in a jet engine, air is compressed and expanded by complex systems of shockwaves under the front of the aircraft, inside the inlet and under the fuselage at the rear.

Source: The Hindu

Special Economic Zones

Topic: Economy

In News: The Union Cabinet has approved to introduce the Special Economic Zones (Amendment) Bill, 2019).

More on the Topic:

• After the amendment of sub-section (v) of section 2 of the Special Economic Zones Act, 2005, a trust or any entity notified by the Central Government will be eligible to be considered for grant of permission to set up a unit in Special Economic Zones.

About Special Economic Zones:

• Special Economic Zones (SEZs) are geographically delineated ‘enclaves’ in which regulations and practices related to business and trade differ from the rest of the country and therefore all the units therein enjoy special privileges.
• A Special Economic Zone (SEZ) is an area within a country where there are different trade and business laws from the remaining regions of the country. SEZs are broadly located inside the national borders of a country.
• There are multiple aims of these zones including an increase in trade, an increase in the investment, more employment generation, and better administration.
• Countries create special economic zones motivated by the need to attract foreign direct investment (FDI).
• A company located within an SEZ will get many benefits; it will be able to produce and trade goods at globally competitive prices. Basically, in an SEZ, the economic laws that would apply in that geography would be different and more relaxed and conducive to commerce when compared to the other areas of the country.
• Most number of operational SEZs in India is in the state of Tamil Nadu. Second is Telangana and Maharashtra comes in the third place.

As given by the government, the main objectives of establishing SEZs are:

• Generation of additional economic activity
• Promotion of exports of both goods and services
• Generation of employment opportunities
• Promotion of investment from foreign as well as domestic players
• Development of infrastructure facilities

Source: The Hindu

Chandrayaan-2

Topic: Science and Technology

In News: The lunar spacecraft Chandrayaan-2 is scheduled for lift off at 0251 hours on 15 July from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre at Sriharikota in Andhra Pradesh.

More on the Topic:

• The announcement by Isro comes almost 11 years after former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh approved the first lunar mission on 18 September 2008.
• Chandrayaan-2 will have three modules, Orbiter, Lander (Vikram), and Rover (Pragyan).
• These are designed to carry out various experiments, including mapping of the surface, minerals, chemical composition, detection sparse water molecules above the lunar surface and rock formations.
• The spacecraft, with an estimated weight of 3.8 tonnes, will attempt a soft landing on the moon, adding to the complexity of the mission. If successful, India will join the US, the former Soviet Union, and China—the only three other nations to have achieved the feat so far.
• Isro will use the same strategy as Chandrayaan-1 for this mission but the soft landing will be a new attempt. (Soft Landing: The landing of a space vehicle on a celestial body or on Earth in such a way as to prevent damage or destruction of the vehicle.)
• The lunar landing is expected to take place on 6 or 7 September on the unexplored south polar region of the moon,a first for any country which has the possibility of the presence of water in permanently shadowed areas as well as craters that are cold traps that contain the fossil record of the early solar system.
• The entire lifecycle of the Lander and Rover will be one lunar day, which is equivalent to 14 earth days while the Orbiter will continue for one year.
• The Orbiter and Lander will be able to communicate with Earth directly, while the Rover will share information, images and data to the Lander which in turn will share it with Isro.

Source: The Hindu

Non Communicable Diseases

Topic: Health

In News: Dr Harsh Vardhan, Union Minister for Health and Family Welfare participated at the high level meeting to review the status of National Programme for prevention and Control of Cancer, Diabetes, Cardiovascular Diseases and strokes (NPCDCS).

More on the Topic:

• The Union Health Minister suggested an integrated and multi-sectoral coordination, health promotion and health systems strengthening for NCDs.
• He also urged that approved NCD Clinics and Day Care Centres must be made functional. The adequate availability of drugs/consumables in the NCD clinics must be ensured.
• The Ministry presented on the screenings being conducted for NCDs at various government NCD clinics.

Objectives of (NPCDCS):

• Health promotion through behavior change with involvement of community, civil society, community based organizations, media etc.
• Outreach Camps for opportunistic screening at all levels in the health care delivery system from sub-centre and above for early detection of diabetes, hypertension and common cancers.
• Management of chronic Non-Communicable diseases, especially Cancer, Diabetes, CVDs and Stroke through early diagnosis, treatment and follow up through setting up of NCD clinics.
• Build capacity at various levels of health care for prevention, early diagnosis, treatment, IEC/BCC, operational research and rehabilitation.
• Provide support for diagnosis and cost effective treatment at primary, secondary and tertiary levels of health care.
• Provide support for development of database of NCDs through a robust Surveillance System and to monitor NCD morbidity, mortality and risk factors

About Non Communicable diseases:

• Noncommunicable diseases (NCDs), also known as chronic diseases, tend to be of long duration and are the result of a combination of genetic, physiological, environmental and behaviours factors.
• The main types of NCDs are cardiovascular diseases (like heart attacks and stroke), cancers, chronic respiratory diseases (such as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and asthma) and diabetes.
• NCDs threaten progress towards the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, which includes a target of reducing premature deaths from NCDs by one-third by 2030.
• Poverty is closely linked with NCDs. The rapid rise in NCDs is predicted to impede poverty reduction initiatives in low-income countries, particularly by increasing household costs associated with health care.
• Vulnerable and socially disadvantaged people get sicker and die sooner than people of higher social positions, especially because they are at greater risk of being exposed to harmful products, such as tobacco, or unhealthy dietary practices, and have limited access to health services.
• In low-resource settings, health-care costs for NCDs quickly drain household resources. The exorbitant costs of NCDs, including often lengthy and expensive treatment and loss of breadwinners, force millions of people into poverty annually and stifle development.

Source: The Hindu

Danny Kaye Humanitarian Award

Topic: Awards and Honors

In News: Unicef will honour Indian actress Priyanka Chopra with the Danny Kaye Humanitarian Award at the Unicef Snowflake Ball in December.

More on the Topic:

• She is known for her contribution to social causes and for being a voice for children’s education. She is a UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador and most recently she visited Ethiopia as part of it.
• The award is named after actor-philanthropist Danny Kaye. He was an American actor, singer, dancer, comedian, musician, and philanthropist. He was UNICEF’s first Goodwill Ambassador in 1954.

About UNICEF:

• The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), originally known as the United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund, was created by the United Nations General Assembly on 11 December 1946, to provide emergency food and healthcare to children and mothers in countries that had been devastated by World War II.
• UNICEF relies on contributions from governments and private donors. Most of UNICEF’s work is in the field, with a presence in 192 countries and territories.

Source: The Hindu