Mission COVID Suraksha.
The
Government of India (GOI) has announced the third stimulus package of Rs. 900
Crore for the Mission COVID Suraksha- The Indian COVID-19 Vaccine Development
Mission.
This
grant will be provided to the Department of Biotechnology (DBT) for Research
& Development of Indian COVID-19 vaccines.
About:
The
COVID-19 Vaccine development Mission with end-to-end focus from preclinical
development through clinical development and manufacturing and regulatory
facilitation for deployment, would consolidate all available and funded
resources towards an accelerated product development.
This
will help accelerate development of approx. 5-6 vaccine candidates and ensure
that these are brought closer to licensure and introduction in market for
consideration of regulatory authorities for introduction in public health
systems, to combat further spread of COVID infection.
Key objectives of the fund:
It
will be accelerating pre-clinical and clinical development;
To
licensure of COVID-19 vaccine candidates that are currently in clinical stages
or ready to enter clinical stage of development,
To
establishing clinical trial sites, and to strengthening the existing
immunoassay laboratories, central laboratories and suitable facilities for
animal studies, production facilities and other testing facilities to support
COVID-19 vaccine development.
Way ahead:
It
will be supporting development of common harmonized protocols, trainings, data
management systems, regulatory submissions, internal and external quality
management systems and accreditations.
Capabilities
for process development, cell line development and manufacturing of GMP batches
for animal toxicology studies and clinical trials will also be supported under
the Mission.
A
key element will be development of suitable Target Product Profile so that
vaccines being introduced through the mission have preferred characteristics
applicable for India.
Hoysala Temple Architecture.
Recently,
an Idol of Goddess Kali was found damaged at the historic Hoysala temple.
Hoysala Temple Architecture:
•
Hoysala architecture is the building style in Hindu Temple Architecture.
•
It was developed under the rule of Hoysala Empire between 11th and 14th
centuries in the modern state of Karnataka.
•
Hoysala architecture reveals a negligible Indo-Aryan style influence while the
impact of
Southern
Indian style is more distinct.
•
Over a hundred surviving temples are spread across the state of Karnataka.
•
The Hoysalas usually dedicated their temples to Shiva or to Vishnu. They
occasionally built some temples dedicated to the Jain faith as well.
•Three
of the most well-known temples are the Kesava Temple at Somanathapura, the
Chennakesava temple at Belur and the Hoysaleswara temple at Halebidu.
Hoysala Empire:
•
The Hoysala Empire was a Kannadiga power originating from the Indian
Subcontinent that ruled most of what is now Karnataka, between 10th and 14th
centuries.
•
The capital of Hoysalas was initially located at Belur but was later moved to
Halebidu.
•
The Hoysala era was an important period in the development of art,
architecture, and religion in South India.
India’s Shukrayaan Mission.
The
Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) short listed 20 space based
experiment proposals for its proposed Venus orbiter mission ‘Shukrayaan’ to
study the planet.
Highlights:
•
ISRO is looking forward to launch country’s first Venus mission in 2014 or 2016.
•
The optimal launch window (when Venus is closest to the Earth) comes about
every 19 months.
•
The 20 payloads (scientific instruments) proposals, including collaborative
contributions are from Russia, France, Sweden and Germany.
•
The one payload from France - VIRAL Instrument has been already selected for
the upcoming mission.
•
VIRAL (Venus Infrared Atmospheric Gas Linker) instrument is co-developed with
the Russian space agency Roscosmos, and the LATMOS atmospheres, environments
and space observations laboratory attached to the French national scientific
research centre CNRS.
Venus Mission:
•
The payload capability of the proposed 2500-kg satellite.
•
Planned to be launched onboard GSLV Mk II rocket.
•
It is likely to be 175 kg with 500W of power.
Objectives of Venus Mission:
•
Investigation of the Surface Processes and shallow subsurface stratigraphy.
•
Solar wind interaction with Venusian Ionosphere.
•
Studying the Structure, Composition and Dynamics of the Atmosphere.
Venus:
•
It is described as the "twin sister" of the Earth because of the
similarities in size, mass, density, bulk composition and gravity. Both planets
share a common origin, forming at the same time out of a condensing nebulosity
around 4.5 billion years ago, ISRO had noted in its announcement of
opportunity. Venus is around 30 per cent closer to the Sun as compared to Earth
resulting in much higher solar flux.
Model Tenancy Act, 2020.
The
Model Tenancy Act, 2020 aims to bridge the trust deficit between tenants and
landlords by clearly delineating their obligations. To ensure speedy redressal
of disputes, it also proposes to establish Rent Court and Rent Tribunal to hear
appeals for matters connected to rental housing.
Ultimately,
the creation of rental housing stock will help students, working professionals
and the migrant population (especially in COVID-19-like exigencies) to find
accommodation. Once implemented in all fairness, will benefit one and all.
Why India Needs Rental Legislation?
Paradoxically,
even while there is acute housing shortage in India, the vacancy levels of
homes have been on the rise.
According to the National Census, vacant houses comprised around 12% of the total share of the urban housing stock.
These
vacant homes in urban areas could clearly feed the rental market across the
country, but various factors have created roadblocks. These include:
1.
Lack of a sound rental policy
2.
Low rental yield accrued from residential properties – averaging not more than
3% in major cities
3.
Lack of demand in far-flung areas due to connectivity and physical
infrastructure issues.
4.
COVID-19 saw lakhs of migrant workers return to their hometowns. The key reason
for their return was the non-availability of affordable accommodation in cities
amidst almost zero income.
Salient
Features of the Model Tenancy Act, 2020:
The
government has proposed guidelines that enforce rental contracts and protect
the rights of landlords as well as tenants. As per the draft Model Tenancy Act,
2020, the government has laid down various proposals. Some notable features
include:
After
commencement of the Act, all premises (residential or commercial) shall be
rented only after a written agreement on mutually agreed terms.
The
Act will provide for a fast-track quasi-judicial mechanism for adjudication of
disputes.
Security
deposit has been capped to a maximum of two months’ rent in case of residential
property, and in the case of non-residential property it shall be as per the
terms of tenancy agreement subject to a maximum of six-months’ rent.
Security
deposit to be refunded by the landlord at the time of taking over vacant
possession of the premises, after making due deductions, if any.
The landlord is entitled to get a compensation of double of the monthly rent for two months and four times of the monthly rent thereafter if a tenant does not vacate the premises after tenancy has been terminated by order, notice or as per agreement.
If
the term of the tenancy ends at the time when locality (where rented premises
is situated) experiences any force majeure event, the landlord shall allow the tenant
to continue possession of premises for one month from the cessation of such
force majeure event on the same terms of prevailing tenancy agreement.
The
tenant cannot sublet a part of or the whole property or carry out any
structural change without execution of supplementary agreement between landlord
and tenant.
The
proposed rent authority must be informed about the rental agreement within two
months of its signing.
An
officer of the rank of deputy collector or higher will act as rent authority to
adjudicate any issue arising out of a rental disagreement.
Additional
Collector or Additional District Magistrate or an officer of equivalent rank
shall be the Rent Court for the purposes of this Act, within his jurisdiction.
District Judge or Additional District Judge to be appointed as Rent Tribunal in
each district.
BrahMos Missile .
Recently,
India has successfully test-fired a land-attack version of the BrahMos
supersonic cruise missile. The test by the Army comes over a month after the
naval version of BrahMos was successfully test fired from Indian Navy’s
Indigenously-built stealth destroyer INS Chennai.
Highlights:
•
The range of the missile has been extended to 400 km from the original 290 km
but its speed has been maintained at 2.8 Mach or almost three times the speed
of sound.
•
The missile is required to climb sharply after launch, travel at a certain
altitude and then fall on top of the target.
•
The Missile travels at a lower altitude, directly striking the target, in
direct attack mode.
About BrahMos Missile:
•
An amalgamation of the names of Brahmaputra river and Moskva river (Russia),
BrahMos missiles are designed, developed and produced by BrahMos Aerospace.
•
BrahMos Aerospace is a joint venture company set up by the Defence Research and
Development Organisation (DRDO) and Mashinostroyenia of Russia.
•
It is a medium-range supersonic cruise missile which can be launched from
submarines, ships, aircraft or land.
•
Cruise missiles are defined as “an unmanned self-propelled guided vehicle that
sustains flight through aerodynamic lift for most of its flight path and whose
primary mission is to place an ordnance or special payload on a target.”
•
Depending upon the speed, such missiles are classified as Subsonic (around 0.8
Mach), Supersonic (2-3 Mach) and Hypersonic cruise missiles (more than 5 Mach).
•
It is the world’s fastest supersonic cruise missile, as well as the fastest
anti-ship cruise missile in operation.
•
It operates on the "Fire and Forget" principle, i.e it does not
require further guidance after launch.
•
The missile has a flight range upto 290-km. However, India's entry into the
Missile Technology Control Regime (MTCR) has extended the range of the BrahMos
missile to reach 450-600 km.
•
Various versions of BrahMos, including those that can be fired from land,
warships, submarines and Sukhoi-30 fighter jets, have already been developed
and successfully tested in the past.
•
A hypersonic version of the missile, capable of reaching a speed of 5 Mach, is
under development.
Indian Regional Navigation Satellite System (IRNSS).
Recently,
the Maritime Safety Committee (MSC) of the International Maritime Organisation
(IMO) has recognised the Indian Regional Navigation Satellite System
(IRNSS)
as a component of the World Wide Radio Navigation System (WWRNS) during its 102nd
session held virtually.
Highlights:
•
The IMO is the United Nations specialised agency responsible for the safety and
security of shipping and the prevention of marine and atmospheric pollution by
ships.
•
India has become the fourth country in the world to have its independent
regional navigation satellite system recognised by the IMO as a part of the
World Wide Radio
Navigation System (WWRNS).
•
The other three countries that have its navigation systems recognised by the
IMO are the USA, Russia and China.
About Indian Regional Navigation
Satellite System (IRNSS)
•
It is an independent regional navigation satellite system developed by the
Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO).
•
The main objective is to provide reliable position, navigation and timing
services over India and its neighbourhood.
•
Its constellation was named as “NavIC” (Navigation with Indian Constellation)
by the Prime Minister.
NavIC
provides two types of services are Standard Positioning Service (SPS) is meant
for the general public and Restricted Service (RS) is an encrypted service
meant for authorised users and agencies.
•
Technically satellite systems with more satellites provide more accurate
positioning information. However, compared to GPS which has a position accuracy
of 20-30 metres, the NavIC is able to pinpoint location to an estimated
accuracy of under 20 metres.
Other Important Navigation Systems:
•
The Global Positioning System (GPS) is a satellite-based navigation system that
consists of 24 orbiting satellites.
•
Glonass is Russian Satellite Navigation System considered as a counterpart to
GPS of the USA.
•
BeiDou Navigation Satellite System of China: A hybrid constellation consisting
of around 30 satellites in three kinds of orbits.
•
Galileo is Europe's Global Navigation Satellite System.
World AIDS Day.
The
theme of World AIDS Day, to be observed on December 1 is ‘ending the HIV/AIDS
epidemic: resilience and impact.’
The
method to achieve this by 2030 is to ensure life-saving anti-retroviral therapy
reaches all those who are infected and that all persons living with HIV know
their status.
It
aims to ensure that those on ART are viral suppressed so that infection is
negligible. The aim is to make U=U or undetectable = Untransmittable a reality.
Experts
treating HIV/AIDS are worried that the COVID-19 pandemic has delayed the World
Health Organization’s target to improve the life of people living with HIV
(PLHIV).
The
target date to ensure that 90% of the PLHIV are reached by 2020 has been
delayed.
The aim of the WHO was to ensure that 90% of PLHIV know their status, 90% of them are on life-saving anti-retroviral therapy (ART) and 90% of those on ART are virally suppressed, before the end of 2020.
By
2030, it aimed to make accessible ART to every PLHIV, which in turn reduces the
viral load in their blood to undetectable levels. This would result in making
negligible their risk of transmitting the HIV.
ARTPARK.
Artificial
Intelligence and Robotics Technologies Park (ARTPARK) was recently set up in
Bengaluru.
It
is a unique not-for-profit foundation established by Indian Institute of
Science, Bengaluru with support from Al Foundry in a public-private model.
It
aims to leverage Al and Robotics to bring a better quality of life by lowering
the cost of living with Al andro botics, and improving access to Al awareness,
education and enablement.
It
receives seed funding from the Department of Science and Technology under the
National Mission on Inter-disciplinary Cyber-Physical Systems.
Focus
on Mains.
Desalination.
Recently,
Maharashtra announced the setting up of a desalination plant in Mumbai. The
plant will process 200 million litres of water daily (MLD), and will help in
overcoming the water Shortage Faced by Mumbai in the months of May and June.
About Desalination Plants:
•
A desalination plant turns salt water into water that is fit to drink.
Maharashtra will be the fourth state to experiment with Desalination Plants.
• It is the process of removing salts from water to produce water that meets the quality (salinity) requirements of different human uses. Most commonly used technology for the process is reverse osmosis.
•
An external pressure is applied to push solvents from an area of high-solute
concentration to an area of low-solute concentration through a semi-permeable
membrane.
•
The microscopic pores in the membranes allow water molecules through but leave
salt and most other impurities behind, releasing clean water from the other
side.
•
These plants are mostly set up in areas that have access to sea water.
Significance:
•
It can extend water supplies beyond what is available from the hydrological
cycle, providing an “unlimited”, climate-independent and steady supply of
high-quality water.
•
It can provide drinking water in areas where no natural supply of potable water
exists.
•
As it generally meets or exceeds standards for water quality, water
desalination plants can also reduce pressure on freshwater supplies that come
from areas (over exploited water resources) that Need Protecting.
Disadvantage:
•
The Cost to build and operate desalination plants as the plants require huge
amounts of energy.
•
The Energy costs account for one-third to one-half of the total cost of
producing desalinated water.
•
Because energy is such a large portion of the total cost, the cost is also
greatly affected by changes in the price of energy.
•
The environmental impact is another disadvantage to water desalination plants.
Disposal of the salt removed from the water is a major issue.
•
This process uses or produces numerous chemicals including chlorine, carbon
dioxide, hydrochloric acid and anti-scalents that can be harmful in high
concentrations.
•
The environmental problem can be changed into an economic opportunity as the
discharge (brine) can also contain precious elements like uranium, strontium as
well as sodium and magnesium which have the potential to be mined.
•
Brine has been used for aquaculture, with increases in fish biomass of 300%. It
has also been successfully used to cultivate the dietary supplement Spirulina,
and to irrigate forage shrubs and crops.
Use of Desalination Plants:
•
It has largely been limited to countries in the Middle East and has recently
started being used in parts of the United States and Australia.
•
Tamil Nadu has been the pioneer in using this technology, setting up two
desalination plants near Chennai in 2010 and then 2013.
•
The other states that have proposed these plants are Gujarat and Andhra
Pradesh.
Way Ahead:
•
This technological refinement for low environmental impacts and economic costs,
along with innovative financial mechanisms to support the sustainability of
desalination schemes, will likely be required. There is a need to make desalination
technologies more affordable, i.e. increasing the viability of desalination for
addressing Sustainable
Development
Goal 6 to Ensure Access to water and Sanitation for All.
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