National Current Affairs – UPSC/IAS Exams – 24th June 2019

Super Bugs

Topic: Science and Technology

In News: Plant-based foods can transmit antibiotic resistance to the microbes living in our gut, a study has found. Antibiotic-resistant infections are a threat to global public health, food safety and an economic burden.

More on the Topic: 

• To prevent these infections, it is critical to understand how these bacteria are transmitted. The findings highlight the importance of tackling food-borne antibiotic-resistance from a food chain perspective, including plant-foods and meat.
• Spread of antibiotic-resistant superbugs from plants to humans is different from outbreaks of diarrheal illnesses caused immediately after eating contaminated vegetables.
• Superbugs can asymptomatically hide in (colonise) the intestines for months or even years, and while escaping, cause an infection.

About Superbugs:

• Superbugs are strains of bacteria that are resistant to several types of antibiotics. Each year these drug-resistant bacteria infect more than 2 million people nationwide and kill at least 23,000.
• When used properly, antibiotics can help destroy disease-causing bacteria. But if you take an antibiotic when you have a viral infection like the flu, the drug won’t affect the viruses making you sick. Instead, it’ll destroy a wide variety of bacteria in your body, including some of the “good” bacteria that help you digest food, fight infection, and stay healthy.
• Bacteria that are tough enough to survive the drug will have a chance to grow and quickly multiply. These drug-resistant strains may even spread to other people.
• Over time, if more and more people take antibiotics when not necessary, drug-resistant bacteria can continue to thrive and spread. They may even share their drug-resistant traits with other bacteria. Drugs may become less effective or not work at all against certain disease-causing bacteria.

Why antibiotic resistance is considered as a global threat? Suggest measures to prevent antibiotic resistance.

Source: The Hindu

State of religious freedom in India

Topic: Social Justice

In News: Foreign governments do not have the right to criticise India’s vibrant democracy and dedication to rule of law, said the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) on Sunday, after the U.S. State Department’s annual report on religious freedom pointed out India’s failure to protect minority communities.

More on the Topic:

• The 2018 Report on International Religious Freedom referred to multiple instances of the government of Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the Centre and various State governments of the Bharatiya Janata Party having taken steps that hurt the Muslim community.
• Apart from the murders and lynching by cow vigilante groups, the report pointed out that there were several attempts to undermine minority institutions and change the names of cities that reminded one of the pluralistic nature of India. In this regard, the report highlighted the change of the name of Allahabad to Prayagraj.

Indian Response:

• The official spokesperson MEA, however, maintained that India was proud of its “secular credentials”, saying, it is widely acknowledged that India is a vibrant democracy where the Constitution provides protection of religious freedom, and where democratic governance and rule of law further promote and protect the fundamental rights.

About Communalism:

• It is basically an ideology which consists of three elements:-
• A belief that people who follow the same religion have common secular interestse. they have same political, economic and social interests. So, here socio- political communalities arises.
• A notion that, in a multi-religious society like India, these common secular interests of one religion are dissimilar and divergent from the interests of the follower of another religion.
• The interests of the follower of the different religion or of different ‘communities’ are seen to be completely incompatible, antagonist and hostile.
• Communalism is political trade in religion. It is an ideology on which communal politics is based. And communal violence are conjectural consequences of communal ideology.

About Communalism and Modern India:

• Constitution of India, gives certain fundamental rights to the citizens (i.e. individuals). But in case of minorities, the whole community has been given fundamental rights under Article 28,29 and 30, according to which they are free to manage their educational institutions and have right to conserve their own culture. But these rights are being used, above the individual rights by the personal law boards guided by their own community laws. As it was seen in Shah Bano case.
• There is also resentment against such personal laws and clamour is increasing for Uniform civil code, which is also mentioned under Article 44 in Directive principle for states of Indian constitution. This will help in narrowing the religious cleavages.
• In absence of Uniform civil code, there is still perception that all communities have divergent and contradictory interests. Consequently, community based pressure groups bargain for their own community. At political level these communities compete for power and resources. This competition, in turn, escalates to major conflicts. Politicians try to turn these communities into vote banks and different communities become watertight compartments.
• Since Independence, India has been pursuing the ideal of nation-building based on secularism. Even after 68 years of independence, India is still burning under the fire of communalism. Though, there are various reasons responsible for this., understanding the reasons which play role in continuation of communalism are:-first one is religious, and the second one is political. Third one is socio-economic and the fourth one is international.
• In the first, i.e. religious, its fundamentalism should be considered responsible for communalism. After all, ‘Our belief alone is true’ and ‘rest is untrue or incomplete’, we find this kind of mentality of fundamentalists. As per this mentality, when the followers of any religious community, sect or sub-sect indulge in their activities, they certainly come in conflict with others.  Reason is quite evident.
• They do not have tolerance, which is absolutely necessary for a country like India–a land of different religious communities. They become the cause of confrontation, malice and struggle.
• Politicians also have played a villainous role in creating serious communal situations in India. Even after paying a heavy price in the form of partition, in many riots provoked thereafter, we can find the involvement directly or indirectly, of political parties or their supporters. Along with this for the sake of vote bank, the policy of appeasement, selection of candidates on the basis of community, sect, sub-sect and caste, and flaring up religious sentiments at the time of elections, led to the rise of communalism.  These practices are still continued and the country is bearing heavy loss because of it.  We can witness many adverse results of these practices.
• Population, Poverty, illiteracy and unemployment create a lot of compulsions, especially before younger generation. That is why, many from younger generation, because of lack of right thinking, remain unemployed and in a state of poverty, get involved in the evil like communalism. The efforts being made for uprooting poverty, illiteracy and unemployment are not as fruitful as they should be.
• External elements (including non-state actors) also have a role in worsening the problem of communalism, and making it serious. We cannot mention the name of any particular country in this regard but scholars and those who think on this problem from time to time have highlighted this fact.

Source: The Hindu

Draught

Topic: Agriculture/Disaster Management

In News: With the Southwest monsoon running late, the country faces a 38% current rainfall deficit, according to the India Meteorological Department (IMD).

More on the topic:

• The rain deficit has depleted reservoirs, besides delaying sowing of summer food grain crops. Parts of central and peninsular India are staring at a drought for the second successive year.
• Farmers’ groups are demanding that the government declare drought in affected areas without waiting till the end of the monsoon, so that relief measures can begin this month.
• According to the Central Water Commission (CWC), 80% of the country’s 91 major reservoirs have below-normal storage. In fact, 11 reservoirs have no water at all.
• Summer or kharif sowing is lagging behind as a result of the tardy monsoon, with just over half of the area usually sown with foodgrain crops covered so far.
• The biggest delays are in pulses and oilseeds, which are dryland crops completely dependent on monsoon rains.
• Rice, which is usually sown in irrigated land, is only slightly slower than usual. Sugarcane, a water-guzzling cash crop, has actually been sown on a larger amount of land than usual.
• The farmers’ groups called on the government to extend the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS) from 100 to 150 days of work in drought-affected areas, and offer the job guarantee to every adult, not every household.

About the classifications of drought?

• In the literature, droughts have been classified into three categories in terms of impact.
• Meteorological drought is defined as the deficiency of precipitation from expected or normal levels over an extended period of time.
• Hydrological drought is best defined as deficiencies in surface and subsurface water supplies leading to a lack of water for normal and specific needs. Such conditions arise, even in times of average precipitation when increased usage of water diminishes the reserves.
• Agricultural drought, triggered by meteorological and hydrological droughts, occurs when soil moisture and rainfall are inadequate during the crop growing

About the Relief Measures:

• The state governments submit reports on drought condition with all the relevant information and the government of India extends support via various ministries based on these reports. They include Allocation of additional days of work under MGNREGA to households in drought affected areas,Diesel Subsidy Scheme for farmers in affected areas Enhancement of ceiling on Seed subsidy, Moratorium on farm loans and arrangement for crop loss compensation.
• The public distribution mechanism should be strengthened to provide food and fodder as a measure to sustain the rural economy.
• The government should initiate actions to recharge the groundwater table by building check dams and providing pipeline water and other irrigation facilities.
• Interventions for saving perennial horticulture crops.
• Implementation of additional fodder development programme.
• Flexible allocation under Rashtriya Krishi Vikas Yojana (RKVY) and other centrally sponsored schemes for undertaking appropriate interventions.
• Availability of seeds and other inputs for kharif.
• SDRF/NDRF funds should be released.

Source: The Hindu

Removal of High Court judge

Topic: Polity and Governance

In News: Months after an in-house panel found an Allahabad High Court judge, Justice S.N. Shukla, guilty of misconduct, Chief Justice of India Ranjan Gogoi has written to Prime Minister Narendra Modi to initiate a motion for his removal.

More on the Topic:

About the procedure to follow for the removal high court judge:

• A judge may be removed from office through a motion adopted by Parliament on grounds of ‘proven misbehaviour or incapacity’. While the Constitution does not use the word ‘impeachment’, it is colloquially used to refer to the proceedings under Article 124 (for the removal of a Supreme Court judge) and Article 218 (for the removal of a High Court judge).
• The Constitution provides that a judge can be removed only by an order of the President, based on a motion passed by both Houses of Parliament. The procedure for removal of judges is elaborated in the Judges Inquiry Act, 1968.  The Act sets out the following steps for removal from office:
• Under the Act, an impeachment motion may originate in either House of Parliament. To initiate proceedings: (i) at least 100 members of Lok Sabha may give a signed notice to the Speaker, or (ii) at least 50 members of Rajya Sabha may give a signed notice to the Chairman.
• The Speaker or Chairman may consult individuals and examine relevant material related to the notice.  Based on this, he or she may decide to either admit the motion or refuse to admit it.
• If the motion is admitted, the Speaker or Chairman (who receives it) will constitute a three-member committee to investigate the complaint. It will comprise: (i) a Supreme Court judge; (ii) Chief Justice of a High Court; and (iii) a distinguished jurist. The committee will frame charges based on which the investigation will be conducted.  A copy of the charges will be forwarded to the judge who can present a written defence.
• After concluding its investigation, the Committee will submit its report to the Speaker or Chairman, who will then lay the report before the relevant House of Parliament. If the report records a finding of misbehaviour or incapacity, the motion for removal will be taken up for consideration and debated.
• The motion for removal is required to be adopted by each House of Parliament by: (i) a majority of the total membership of that House; and (ii) a majority of at least two-thirds of the members of that House present and voting. If the motion is adopted by this majority, the motion will be sent to the other House for adoption.
• Once the motion is adopted in both Houses, it is sent to the President, who will issue an order for the removal of the judge.

Source: The Hindu

Chikungunya infection

Topic: Health

In News: The Institute of Life Sciences (ILS), which functions under the Department of Biotechnology, has entered into a non-exclusive license for product commercialisation after having successfully developed antibodies against the Chikungunya viral (CHIKV) infection.

More on the Topic:

• The antibodies were developed following decade-long research on the CHIKV infection at the ILS laboratory.
• Generation of antibodies has had significant impact on the progress of CHIKV-based research. It will help researchers unravel myriad aspects of virus pathogenesis.
• Moreover, with greater light shed upon the CHIKV infection biology using these antibodies, research communities are now a step closer to developing efficacious antivirals and other control strategies against the Chikungunya virus.

About Chikungunya:

• Chikungunya is a mosquito-borne virus that causes a disease.
• It is transmitted by Aedes aegypti and Aedes albopictus mosquitoes.
• Its symptoms are characterised by abrupt fever and severe joint pain, often in hands and feet, and may include headache, muscle pain, joint swelling or rash.
• There is no specific antiviral drug treatment for chikungunya.
• There is no commercial chikungunya vaccine.
• Chikungunya treatment is directed primarily at relieving the symptoms, including the joint pain using anti-pyretics, optimal analgesics and fluids.

Source: The Hindu

Ayushman Bharat

Topic: Government Policies

In News: The Rajasthan government has given an official go-ahead to implement the Central government’s flagship health insurance scheme, Ayushman Bharat – Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana.

More on the Topic:

• Ayushman Bharat Yojana is a program which aims to create a healthy, capable and content new India.
• It will also focus on the poor and weaker sections of the society.
• It aims to provide insurance of up to 5 lakh rupees to each family.
• The new scheme also intends to improve secondary and tertiary healthcare services for crores of Indians.

There are two flagship initiatives under Ayushman Bharat:

Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (PMJAY):

• Under this scheme, 5 lakh health sub-centres are being converted into health and wellness centres.
• It will bring the healthcare system closer to the people.
• The centres will provide comprehensive healthcare, including treatment for non-communicable diseases and maternal and child health services.
• Besides this, they will also provide free essential drugs and diagnostic services;
• 1200 crore have been allocated for this flagship programme.
• The scheme will cover more than 10 crore poor families, which is approximately 50 crore persons.
• It will also setup wellness centres which will give poor people OPD facility near their homes.

National Health Protection Scheme:

• The National Health Protection Scheme will cover over 10 crore poor and vulnerable families.
• It will provide coverage up to 5 lakh rupees per family, per year for secondary and tertiary care hospitalization.

Source: The Hindu

Why is the litchi toxin causing deaths?

Topic: Health

In News: Acute encephalitis syndrome (AES) in Bihar’s Muzaffarpur, Vaishali, Sheohar and East Champaran districts has so far claimed the lives of over 100 children. More than 400 children with AES have been admitted to various hospitals. Most of the deaths have been attributed to low blood sugar level (hypoglycaemia).

More on the Topic:

• While microbes cause all the other conditions like meningitis and encephalitis, encephalopathy is biochemical in origin, and hence very different from the rest. There are different types of encephalopathy. In the present case, the encephalopathy is associated with hypoglycaemia and hence called hypoglycaemic encephalopathy.
• In a majority of cases mentioned above, children died due to hypoglycaemic encephalopathy. According to a Press Information Bureau (PIB) release (June 18) , hypoglycaemia (low blood sugar level) was reported in a “high percentage” of children who died in Muzaffarpur. Unlike hypoglycaemic encephalopathy, encephalitis does not cause low blood sugar level so death in a high percentage of children couldn’t have been due to encephalitis.
• Hypoglycaemic encephalopathy outbreaks are restricted to April-July, with a peak seen in June. This is because litchi is harvested during this period.
• A toxin found in litchi fruit is responsible for causing hypoglycaemic encephalopathy.
• Litchi does not cause any harm in well-nourished children, but only in undernourished children who had eaten litchi fruit the previous day and gone to bed on an empty stomach.
• In well-nourished children, reserve glucose is stored as glycogen (glucose polysaccharide) in the liver. Whenever the glucose level goes down, glycogen is broken down into glucose and circulated in the blood for use.
• But undernourished children lack sufficient glycogen reserve that can be converted into glucose. Therefore, the natural mechanism in undernourished children is unable to correct the glucose level in blood, leading to hypoglycaemia(Hypoglycemia is a condition caused by a very low level of blood sugar (glucose), your body’s main energy source.).

What is the treatment and Prevention:

• Hypoglycaemic encephalopathy can be easily treated. A full and complete recovery can be achieved if children with hypoglycaemic encephalopathy are infused with 10% dextrose within four hours after the onset of symptoms.
• By making sure that undernourished children do not eat plenty of litchi fruit, ensuring that they eat some food and not go to bed on an empty stomach the disease can be prevented.

Source: The Hindu