Comprehensive Current affairs 8 August 2020

 

Massive sunspot is turning towards Earth this can result in major solar flares that can effect electrical systems.

The sunspot AR2770 was detected earlier this week and is expected to grow in size in the upcoming days.

A report by SpaceWeather.com - a space weather forecasting website - said that multiple minor flares have been emitted by the sunspot already as it faced towards the earth. These flares have caused "minor waves of ionization to ripple through Earth's upper atmosphere" but nothing major yet. sunspots are dark spots on the sun that are comparatively colder than the rest of the star. These are formed as a result of interactions with the sun's magnetic field. The intense magnetic activities lead to the release of a great amount of energy that erupts out in the form of solar flares and storms known as coronal mass ejections (CME).

Although the entire mechanism is not yet understood, these spots occur on the photosphere region of the sun and can be huge in size - up to 50,000 kilometres in diameter. While solar flares are huge explosions on the sun, a CME is an 'enormous bubble of plasma' expelled by the sun.

A clear picture of the AR2770 has also surfaced that gives a better idea into the current phenomenon. It was captured by an amateur astronomer Martin Wise from Trenton, Florida. The size of the "primary dark core" is about as wide as Mars and it has several "spotlets" on its surface, which are similar to the craters on the surface of the moon.

According to the report in International Business Times, Wise captured the dark sunspot using an 8-inch telescope with safe solar filters and it's dimensions make this sunspot "one of the largest sunspot groups of the current Solar Minimum.”

With the spot growing and turning towards earth, its flares might grow in impact and affect electrical operations and facilities greatly.

According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), strong solar storms can cause "fluctuations of electrical currents in space and energize electrons and protons trapped in Earth's varying magnetic field". These events can affect radio communications, Global Positioning Systems (GPS) connectivity, power grids and satellites.

 

 

 

National handloom day was observed.

National Handloom Day is being organised today by the Ministry of Textiles on a virtual platform. Textiles Minister SmritiIrani will be the Chief Guest on the occasion. During the function, handloom clusters across India, NIFT campuses, all the 28 Weaver Service Centres, National Handloom Development Corporation and others will be connected online.

7th August was chosen as the National Handloom Day to commemorate the Swadeshi Movement which was launched on the same date in the year 1905. The objective is to generate awareness about the Handloom Industry among the public and its contribution to socio-economic development.

To mark the occasion and to instil pride in the workmanship of handloom weaving amongst citizens, a social media campaign is planned for the handloom weaving community.

Modi has said, the Handloom and Handicrafts of India encompass a glorious history of hundreds of years.

In his Mann Ki Baat address on All India Radio last month, the Prime Minister urged everyone to use Indian Handloom and Handicrafts as much as possible, and also communicate to more and more people about them. He said, local artisans and weavers will benefit from conversations about the richness and diversity of Indian handloom and handicrafts.

The Prime Minister emphasized that the correct and positive approach always goes a long way in transforming distressing times into opportunities, adversities into triggers of development and progress. 

Indian government is going to launch national clinical registry for COVID-19.

The Government is set to launch a National Clinical Registry for COVID-19. The main objective of this registry is to collect real time clinical data which will help in evidence based clinical practice, research, formulation of guidelines and policy making.

The Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) and All India Institute of Medical Sciences have proposed to establish a COVID-19 clinical registry for data collection from 100 hospitals across the country.

The duration of the study will be one year and any COVID-19 lab confirmed and hospitalized patient will be enrolled.

ICMR invited a letter of intent from institutions, hospitals identified as dedicated COVID Hospitals and COVID Health Centres to establish this registry.This study is aimed at collecting data regarding clinical and laboratory features, treatments and outcomes of hospitalized COVID-19 patients in India.

Agri-infra fund: Modi is going to launch financing facility of ₹1 lakh cr.

Indian PM Modi is going to launch financing facility of ₹1 lakh crore under Agriculture Infrastructure Fund through video conferencing. Govt in July had approved the setting up of an agri-infra fund with a corpus of ₹1 lakh crore to extend subsidised credit for farm infrastructure project also release 6th installment of ₹17,000 crores fund to 8.5 crores farmers under PM-KISAN scheme.

The agri-infra fund was part of the over ₹20 lakh crore stimulus package announced in response to the COVID-19 crisis it’s duration will be 10 years till 2029.

It aims to provide medium-to-long term debt financing facility for investment in viable projects for post-harvest management infrastructure and community farming assets through interest subvention and financial support.It also aimed to boost private investment and generate more jobs in rural areas.

Rs. 10,000 crore for current year

About Rs.1 lakh crore will be provided by banks and financial institutions as loans to primary agri credit societies, farmer groups, farmer producer organisations (FPOs), agri-entrepreneurs, start-ups and agri-tech players.

Loans will be disbursed in four years starting with sanction of ₹10,000 crore in the current year and ₹30,000 crore each in the next three financial years.

All loans under this financing facility will have interest subvention of 3 per cent per annum up to a limit of ₹2 crore. This subvention will be available for a maximum period of seven years.

Management Information System.

agri-infra fund, which will be managed and monitored through an online Management Information System (MIS) platform, will enable all the qualified entities to apply for loan under the fund.

The online platform will also provide benefits such as transparency of interest rates offered by multiple banks, scheme details including interest subvention and credit guarantee offered, minimum documentation, faster approval process as also integration with other scheme benefits.

RBI decides to leave policy rates unchanged at 4%

RBI governor Dr.Shaktikanta Das today said that the apex bank's monetary policy committee has decided to unanimously leave the policy repo rate unchanged at 4 per cent. He added that RBI will continue with the accommodative stance of monetary policy as long as necessary to revive growth, mitigate the impact of COVID-19, while ensuring that inflation remains within the target going forward.

In an address after the conclusion of the three day MPC meeting today via video conferencing, Dr.Das said the Marginal Standing Facility (MSF) rate and the Bank rate remain unchanged at 4.25 per cent.

He said, the reverse repo rate stands unchanged at 3.35 per cent. He said the MPC’s assessment is that the global economic activity has remained fragile and in retrenchment in the first half of 2020.

The RBI Governor said the headline CPI inflation, which was at 5.8 per cent in March 2020, was placed at 6.1 per cent in the provisional estimates for June 2020.

He said given the uncertainty surrounding the inflation outlook and extremely weak state of the economy in the midst of an unprecedented shock from the ongoing pandemic, the MPC decided to keep the policy rate on hold, while remaining watchful for a durable reduction in inflation to use available space to support the revival of the economy.

RBI to broaden scope of priority sector lending

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on Thursday decided to broaden the scope of priority sector lending (PSL) by including start-ups and enhancing borrowing limits for renewable energy sectors.

The central bank would also increase the targets for lending to ‘small and marginal farmers’ and ‘weaker sections’ under the PSL. Eligible entities get access to credit on easier terms from banks under the PSL.

Banks are required to assign 40% of adjusted net bank credit or credit equivalent amount of off-balance sheet exposure, whichever is higher, to priority sector, including agriculture and micro-enterprises, it said.

Can Two Police Forces Investigate the Same Case?

Sushant Singh Rajput’s body was found at his residence in Mumbai. But the Bihar Police, too, is probing his death. This arises the question whether two police forces can investigate the Same case.

Accidental Death Report (ADR):

• After actor Sushant Singh Rajput’s dead body was found in Mumbai, the local police registered an Accidental Death Report (ADR) in the matter.

• As per Section 174 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, an ADR is taken when an accidental death, suicidal death or unnatural death comes to light. The officer in charge of a police station receives information that a person has committed suicide, he/she shall proceed to the place where the body of such deceased person is, and there, draw up a report of the apparent cause of death.

• The officer then records statements of those who can shed light behind the cause of death. If no one makes any allegations and the post mortem report does not indicate murder, an ACP rank officer then ends the report at ADR stage.

What happens if the family makes an allegation or some foul play comes to light?

Generally, the Post Mortem report points out if a person died of suicide or was killed.

• There have been cases where an ADR was later turned into a murder case, under Section

302 the Indian Penal Code (Punishment for murder), after the post mortem report indicated a person was murdered. Apart from this, if the family members allege someone drove the person to die by suicide, or if a suicide note is found, the police can register an abetment to suicide case under Section 306 of IPC.

What cases have the Mumbai Police and Bihar Police Registered?

• Since the family members of Rajput did not make any allegations and the post mortem reports did not indicate any foul play, the matter is still as an ADR at Mumbai Police Station.

• However, Bihar Police registered an FIR based on the allegations made by Rajput’s father.

It is as part of this FIR that a police team from Bihar came to the Mumbai, resulting in a tussle between the Two Forces.

Can two police forces investigate the same case?

• A case can be Formally transferred to another agency like the CBI, but two agencies cannot probe the same FIR simultaneously.

• In cases where a money laundering aspect emerges, the Enforcement Directorate registers an Enforcement Case Information Report (ECIR) and restricts its probe to the money laundering aspect of it.

• Even in the Sushant Singh Rajput case, after his father alleged to Bihar Police that money had been transferred to unidentified accounts from Rajput’s bank account, the ED registered an ECIR under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).

• However, under regular crimes, if an offence has taken place in Mumbai and the family is in Bihar, they can go to the nearest police station in Bihar and register a Zero FIR.

What is Zero FIR?

• In order to Ensure that a Citizen does not have to run from one police station to another to register an FIR, the law has allowed any police station across the country to register an FIR as soon a cognisable offence is disclosed to them.

• Hence, a zero FIR is Registered by a police station when an offence reported to it has been committed in the area under the jurisdiction of a different police station.

• As per Section 154 of the Criminal Procedure Code, a police officer is duty bound to register the Zero FIR Irrespective of Territorial Jurisdiction.

Controversy in the Sushant Singh Rajput case?

• In the current case, after registering the FIR, the Bihar Police themselves came to Mumbai to investigate the case instead of transferring the case to the local police.

• There is also a demand from former Maharashtra CM that the case be transferred to the CBI. The Supreme Court will take a final call on who will investigate the matter.

EWS Quota Challenge referred to Constitution Bench.

The Supreme Court referred to a five-judge Bench the “substantial question of law” whether grant of 10% reservation to economically weaker sections of the society is unconstitutional and violates the 50% ceiling cap on quota declared by the court itself.

Who are “Economically Weaker Sections”?

For the purposes of article 15 and article 16, “economically weaker sections” shall be such as may be notified by the State from time to time on the basis of family income and other indicators of economic disadvantage.’

• Central Government of India has specified certain criteria for identifying the EWS. This will be a class distinct from the already specified classes of SCs, STs and socially and educationally backward classes (OBCs).

• The EWS quota applies to household with

✓ Annual household income below Rs 8 lakh.

✓ Agriculture land below 5 acres.

✓ Residential house below 1000 sq ft.

✓ Residential plot below 100 yards in notified municipality.

✓ Residential plot below 200 yards in non-notified municipality area.

What are the Implications?

• The 10% reservation will be in addition to the existing cap of 50% reservation for the Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes and the Other Backward Classes, taking total reservation to 60%. The quota targets the poor among the upper castes. This will be over and above 50% mandated by Constitution and hence the need for Constitution amendment Bill.

Supreme Court in Indira Sawhney case:

• The Proposed law would face roadblocks if challenged in the Supreme Court.

• A nine-judge Constitution Bench of the Supreme Court in the Indira Sawhney case of 1992 specifically answered the question “whether backward classes can be identified only and exclusively with reference to the economic criterion.”

• The constitution bench had categorically ruled that a backward class cannot be determined only and exclusively with reference to economic criterion. The bench had held that economic criterion may be a consideration or basis along with, and in addition to, social backwardness, but it can never be the sole criterion.

• The bench in its judgement declared 50% quota as the rule unless extraordinary situations “inherent in the great diversity of this country and the people” happen. Even then, the court stated that extreme caution is to be exercised and a special case should be made out.

What is the Centre’s Argument?

• The Centre had argued that it was every State’s prerogative to provide 10% economic reservation in State government jobs and admissions in State-run education institutions.

• Whether or not to provide reservation to the economically weaker section (EWS) of the society for appointment in State government jobs and for admission to State government educational institutions, as per provisions of the newly inserted Articles 15(6) and 16(6) of the Constitution, is to be decided by the State Government Concerned.

RaTG13 Sarbecovirus

The recent study published in Nature Microbiology, the novel coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) has been circulating unnoticed in bats for decades. Bats have been the ‘primary reservoirs’ for SARS-CoV-2, which is likely to have diverged from closely related bat viruses called the RaTG13 sarbecovirus, 40-70 years ago. 

Highlights:

• The study confirms an earlier Chinese study and also suggests the probable time of divergence of the two viruses.

• The SARS-CoV-2 is most closely related to RaTG13, which was isolated from a horseshoe bat in Yunnan province in 2013.

• It is based on the nearly 96% genome sequence identity between SARS-CoV-2 and

RaTG13, it was held that an origin in bats is probable for the Covid-19 outbreak.

• The SARS-CoV-2 has not arisen from recombination of any sarbecovirus.

• Recombination is a process by which pieces of deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) are broken and recombined to produce new combinations of alleles (forms of a gene). This process creates genetic diversity at the level of genes that reflects differences in the DNA sequences of different organisms.

• The ability of the spike protein in the virus to bind to Angiotensin-Converting Enzyme 2

(ACE2) human receptors had emerged within bats and is an ancestral trait shared with bat viruses and not one acquired recently via recombination.

• The results of the study suggest the presence of a ‘single lineage’ circulating in bats with properties that allowed it to infect human cells. This was also the case with the bat sarbecoviruses related to the 2002 Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) lineage.

About the Evolutionary History of SARS-CoV-2:

• The researchers analysed the evolutionary history of SARS-CoV-2 using genomic data on sarbecoviruses.

• They employed three approaches to identify regions in the virus that had not undergone recombination and that could be used to reconstruct its evolution.