Boris Johnson invited as chief guest for R-Day
Paper:
Mains: G.S. II International Relations
Why in news?
India has invited U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson as chief guest for the Republic Day celebrations in January 2021 and a decision on this is awaited from London.
Key details
- There has been no top-level visit since U.S. President Donald Trump’s visit in February due to COVID-19.
- With the number of COVID-19 cases in India crossing 9.5 million, there is still no clarity on the Republic Day celebrations next year.
- The two sides reiterated their shared desire to impart a quantum jump to the India-U.K. partnership in the post-COVID, post-Brexit era.
India-UK relationship significance:
- Both leaders agreed that there is tremendous potential for enhancing collaboration in trade and investment, scientific research, mobility of professionals and students, and defence and security.
- Both nations share values and commitments to justice, stability and free markets. India and the UK are bound by strong ties of history and culture.
- It is a significant partner of India as an FDI investor after Mauritius and Singapore which ranked second and first respectively.
- India has engagement with the UK in sectors like pharma, textiles, leather, industrial machinery, furniture, and toys.
- The UK has been pushing India for a bilateral trading arrangement ever since it voted to leave the European Union (EU) in June 2016 and left finally in January 2020.
- India opted out of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership deal in November 2019. Therefore, there is renewed focus on trade deals with the US, the European Union and the UK, which are key markets for Indian exporters and are keen to diversify their sourcing.
Green Tribunal bans sale, use of crackers in NCR
Paper:
Mains: G.S. II and III Governance, Environment and Ecology
Why in news?
NGT ordered a complete ban on the sale and use of firecrackers during the COVID-19 pandemic in the NCR, and all cities and towns where the ambient air quality is in the poor or above categories.
Key details
- NGT directed that only green crackers will be permitted for Christmas and New Year, between 11:55pm and 12:30am in areas where the ambient air quality is in the moderate or below categories.
- NGT specified that the use of green crackers will be restricted to two hours for celebration of any specified festival or permitted occasions.
- NGT observed: Right to business is not absolute. There is no right to violate air quality and noise level norms. Nobody has the right to carry on business at the cost of health of others.
National Green Tribunal:
- This year October 18 marked the 10th anniversary of NGT
- The National Green Tribunal was established in 2010 as per the National Green Tribunal Act,2010.
- It is a specialized judicial body equipped with expertise solely for the purpose of adjudicating environmental cases in the country.
- The Tribunal is tasked with providing effective and expeditious remedy in cases relating to environmental protection, conservation of forests and other natural resources and enforcement of any legal right relating to the environment.
- Additionally, the Tribunal is not bound by procedure under the Code of Civil Procedure, 1908 or the Indian Evidence Act, 1872 and is guided by principles of natural justice.
- Since its inception, the NGT has protected vast acres of forest land, halted polluting construction activities in metros and smaller towns. It has protected the rights of tribal communities and ensured the enforcement of the “polluter pays” principle in letter and spirit.
Antimicrobial Resistance
Paper:
Mains: G.S. III Science and Technology
Why in news?
COVID-19 pandemic continues to wreak havoc on daily lives.
Key details
- Anti microbial resistance is the resistance acquired by any microorganism (bacteria, viruses, fungi, parasite, etc.) against antimicrobial drugs (such as antibiotics, antifungals, antivirals, antimalarial, and anthelmintic) that are used to treat infections.
- As a result, standard treatments become ineffective, infections persist and may spread to others.
- Microorganisms that develop antimicrobial resistance are sometimes referred to as “superbugs”.
- Antimicrobial resistance is now regarded as a major threat to public health across the globe.
- Once the resistance has been acquired, it can spread in the rest of the population of bacteria through reproduction or gene transfer.
- Globally, about 35% of common human infections have become resistant to available medicines.
- The National Health Policy 2017 highlights the problem of antimicrobial resistance and calls for effective action to address it.
- The Ministry of Health & Family Welfare (MoHFW) identified AMR as one of the top 10 priorities for the ministry’s collaborative work with WHO.
- National Action Plan on AMR resistance 2017-2021.
- AMR has the potential to return the world to a pre-antibiotic era when medicines could not treat even simple infections.
- Therefore, to contain AMR, there is need for a One Health Approach through coherent, integrated, multi sectoral cooperation and actions, as human, animal and environmental health are integrated.
RT- LAMP
Paper:
Mains: G.S. III Science and Technology
Why in news?
As the cases of COVID-19 is keep on increasing, the need for testing has also increased. RT- PCR tests were not having 100% accuracy, so there is now RT-LAMP certainly better than RT-PCR.
Key details
- As part of COVID-19 mitigation mission of Country, CSIR has strategized its R&D to develop, integrate, scale-up, and deploy necessary technological interventions for combating Coronavirus pandemic in the country.
- Since testing is vital component in COIVD-19 mitigation, CSIR-IIIM, Jammu a constituent laboratory of CSIR has partnered with Reliance Industries Limited (RIL) to develop and scale-up a new Reverse Transcriptase-Loop Mediated Isothermal Amplification (RT-LAMP) based COVID-19 diagnostic kit
- COVID-19 RT-LAMP test is a nucleic acid based test carried out from nasal/throat swab sample from patients. The test recipe has been developed and successfully demonstrated using synthetic templates. It is rapid (45-60 min), cost effective and accurate test.
- The advantage of this test is that the RT-LAMP based COVID-19 kit components are easily available and these can be completely manufactured in India. While the, the current COVID-19 testing is done by real-time PCR their components are mostly imported. Further these tests are expensive; require highly trained manpower, costly instruments and a relatively high-end lab and cannot be deployed at remote locations in quarantine centres, airports and railway stations, etc.
- On the other hand, the RT-LAMP test can be done in a single tube with minimal expertise in a very basic lab setup like mobile units / kiosks for testing at Airports, Railway Stations, Bus Stands and other public places. The end detection of the test is a simple coloured reaction, which is easily visible in UV light, and now is being modified such that it can be detected in regular light.
- With the formal launch of the RT-LAMP based diagnostic test, the COVID-19 testing will not only be more rapid, cheap, easy and accessible but also would go a long way quickly isolating the infected individuals and mitigating the spread of virus.
