National Current Affairs – UPSC/IAS Exams- 20th June 2019

Cancer cell detection ‘dots’

Topic: Health

In News: A team of scientists in Assam has developed a chemical process that turns ‘dirty’ coal into a biomedical ‘dot’ to help detect cancer cells.

More on the Topic: 

• The team has applied for a patent for their chemical method of producing carbon quantum dots (CQDs) from cheap, abundant, low-quality and high-sulphur coals.
• CQDs are carbon-based nanomaterials whose size is less than 10 nm, or nanometre.
• Carbon-based nanomaterials are used as diagnostic tools for bio-imaging, especially in detecting cancer cells, for chemical sensing and in opto-electronics.
• A few chemical companies in the U.S. and Japan have been manufacturing CQDs. What the new technique have done is develop fluorescent carbon nanomaterials at one-twentieth the cost of imported CQDs.
• The CQDs that the CSIR-NEIST(Council of Scientific & Industrial Research-North East Institute of Science and Technology) team developed emit a bluish colour with high-stability, good-conductivity, low-toxicity, environmental friendliness, and good optical properties.
• Scientists said CQDs are futuristic materials whose demand in India has been increasing leading to a considerable volume of import. The CSIR-NEIST technology can produce approximately 1 litre of CQDs per day at a low cost to become an import substitute.
• Other advantages of the process are the use of environment-friendly reagents and less water than methods elsewhere.

How Quantum dots help in Cancer Detection:

• Quantum dots (QDs) are semiconductor nanocrystals that emit fluorescence on excitation with a light source.
• They have excellent optical properties, including high brightness, resistance to photobleaching and tunable wavelength.
• Recent developments in surface modification of QDs enable their potential application in cancer imaging.
• QDs with near-infrared emission could be applied to sentinel lymph-node mapping to aid biopsy and surgery. Conjugation of QDs with biomolecules, including peptides and antibodies, could be used to target tumors in vivo.

Source: The Hindu

FDI in multi-brand retail

Topic: Economy

In News: Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal reiterated that the central government will not allow foreign direct investment in multi-brand retail, and also assured small traders that he would not allow predatory pricing by multinationals.

More on the Topic:                        

• The minister urged small retailers, stores to make use of modern technology and avail benefits of Government of India schemes like MUDRA to improve their business, spruce up their shops, improve stocks by storing high quality products and pass on the benefits to people employed by them.

Back ground:

• In 2013, India rolled out a renewed foreign direct investment (FDI) policy in multi-brand retail. But the policy threw up so many conditions such as local sourcing, state-wise decision-making, investment modalities, etc.
• Consequently, Walmart and Bharti group terminated their seven-year-old partnership for retail business in the country. The requirement of sourcing 30% of the goods from domestic companies was one of the reasons.
• Also, Wal-Mart Stores was to find a local partner to own 49% of business under the FDI regulations to set up multi-brand outlets.The break up put an end to the American major Wal-Mart’s dream of tapping the buying power of a rising middle class in India.

Arguments in favor of allowing FDI in multi brand retail:

• Experts are of the opinion that the time for FDI in multi-brand retail has passed.
• This is because, with the earlier unfriendly investor policy, the multinationals have either moved on to other business models or other geographies.
• Businesses are unlikely to shift to a new model unless the terms are lucrative.
• Besides, fast changing scenario in terms of technology is another reason.
• Ex: Online shopping is gaining foot and has a huge potential in the coming years.
• Businesses thus consider investing in this a better option than other expensive physical infrastructure for multi-brand retail.
• Businesses prefer the segments that is the easiest to operate and where returns are promising.

Source: The Hindu

Internet of Things

Topic: Science and Technology

In News: Global internet body Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) and Indian IT industry body National Association of Software and Services Companies (Nasscom) that they were working together on developing standards that will feed into the global consultation for managing Internet-of-Things devices.

More on the topic:

• ICANN, which is often called the phone book of the internet, matches domain names with appropriate IP address numbers. Its partnership with Nasscom, which was announced last year and has so far focused on building standards for IoT, will also collaborate on other research.
• Under the current agreement, both the bodies will first focus on updating IoT devices using domain name system (DNS) even in a situation where the manufacturer or supplier has closed down the business.
• India, with a base of 560 million Internet users and still growing, also leads the world in the adoption of a new set of Internet addresses, called IPv6 (Internet Protocol version 6). Most upcoming IoT devices are expected to have addresses belonging to IPv6.
• The project aims to explore the industrial and large-scale deployment issues associated IPv6-only devices. It is being carried out with a series of simulations and experiments to explore automated updates of different kinds of IoT- enabled devices.

About Internet of Things:

• The internet of things (IoT) is a concept that describes the idea of everyday physical objects being connected to the internet. In the Internet of Things, the connected devices should be able to identify themselves to other devices.
• Simply put, this is the concept of basically connecting any device with an ON and OFF switch to the Internet or to each other. This includes everything from cell phones, coffee makers, washing machines, headphones, lamps, wearable devices and almost anything else you can think of.
• Or, if you want us to make it more simple – Internet of Things (IoT) is a concept where Things can talk to other Things!

Model Mains Question: Discuss Internet of things and its applications.

Source: Economic Times

Libra Crypto Currency

Topic: Science and Technology

In News: Facebook announced a digital currency called Libra that will roll out for use in 2020 and allow the platform’s billions of users across the globe to make financial transactions online.

More on the Topic:

• Facebook says Libra is a “global currency and financial infrastructure”. It is a digital asset built by Facebook and powered by a new Facebook-created version of blockchain, the encrypted technology used by bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies.
• Facebook claims it wants to reach the 1.7 billion people around the world who do not have access to a bank account.
• When the cryptocurrency launches, users can download Calibra, a digital wallet, that will allow them to send it to anyone with a smartphone. It will be available in Messenger, WhatsApp, and as a standalone app.
• The currency will be serviced by a collective of companies called the “Libra Association”, an independent, not-for-profit organisation based in Switzerland.
• It functions as what is known as a “stablecoin”, pegged to existing assets like the dollar or euro, in the aim of making it less subject to the volatility that many cryptocurrencies experience.
• The currency will be launched in 2020. However, the company is likely to run into regulatory hurdles and antitrust concerns, especially at a time when many regulators want to break up Facebook. There are a number of privacy concerns regarding a financial app run by Facebook.

About Crypto Currency:

• A cryptocurrency is a kind of money that does not exist in the form of bills or coins. Governments and banks do not oversee the money. Instead, it is exchanged digitally between buyers and sellers using secret codes for security. A network of computers records cryptocurrency activity between users.
• Cryptocurrency aims to be decentralized, secure and anonymous. Cryptocurrency is entry in database that no one change without fulfilling specific conditions.
• The only major difference, then, between cryptocurrency and regular money is how those entries in the database are changed.
• At a bank, its a central figure who does the changing, the bank itself. With cryptocurrency the entries are managed by a network of computers belonging to no one entity.
• The database is called the blockchain. Essentially, it is a digital ledger that uses encryption to control the creation of money and verify the transfer of funds. This allows users to make secure payments and store money anonymously, without needing to go through a bank.

Source: The Hindu

Monuments of National Importance’ Tag

Topic: Culture

In News: An ancient site with chariots, swords and other objects pointing to the presence of a warrior class around 4,000 years ago in Uttar Pradesh’s Baghpat district could be declared a site of national importance soon.

More on the Topic:

• The Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) has started the process of declaring the site at Sadikpur Sinauli, which is spread over 28 hectares, of national importance, issuing a notification on June 6 seeking objections, if any, from the public for a period of two months.
• The site, where excavation and preservation work is still ongoing after being started in 2018, was deemed to have national importance due to the finds uncovered. Among the treasures unearthed are three chariots, legged coffins, shields, swords and helmets.
• ASI said the site, which is 68 km north-east of Delhi, was the “largest necropolis of the late Harappan period of the early 2nd millennium BCE”.

About Monuments of National Importance:

• he Archaeological Sites and Remains Act, 1958 defines an “Ancient Monument” as follows: Ancient Monument means any structure, erection or monument, or any tumulus or place of interment, or any cave, rock-sculpture, inscription or monolith which is of historical, archaeological or artistic interest and which has been in existence for not less than 100 years.

A monument or a site is declared to be of National Importance by the Archaeological Survey of India provided it meets the following requirements:

• The monument or archaeological site is not less than 100 years old.
• It has special historical, archaeological or artistic interest, making it worthy of declaration as of national importance.
• It qualifies under specified provisions of definition of the Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Sites and Remains Act, 1958.
• The interested public do not have major objections to such declaration.
• The authenticity and integrity of the ancient monument or archaeological site and remains have not been damaged.
• It is free from major encumbrances.
• The central government maintains national monuments, while the state government maintains state monuments.

Source: The Hindu

Regional Cooperation Agreement on Combating Piracy and Armed Robbery

Topic: International Relations

In News: The Indian Coast Guard (ICG) will be co-hosting an international workshop that aims to deepen knowledge on issues related with piracy and armed robbery.

More on the Topic:

• The two-day workshop has been organised in cooperation with the Regional Cooperation Agreement on Combating Piracy and Armed Robbery against Ships in Asia (ReCAAP) Information Sharing Centre (ISC).
• The ReCAAP is the first regional Government-to-Government agreement to deal with piracy and armed robbery at sea in Asia. Presently, 20 countries are members of the ReCAAP.
• India played an active role in setting up and functioning of the ReCAAP ISC along with Japan and Singapore.
• The Centre has designated the ICG as the focal point within India for the ReCAAP .
• A total of 31 International delegates from 19 countries will be participating in the workshop.
• India has previously hosted this workshop in November 2011 in Goa and December 2017 in Delhi.

Source: Business Standard