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The U.S.-India Initiative on Critical and Emerging Technology (iCET) allows the exploration of new ways to co-develop key defence platforms, U.S. Secretary of Defence Lloyd J. Austin said in Singapore on Saturday, adding that the U.S. is committed to sharing the technological advances it has made to help its allies.
Mr. Austin is scheduled to hold talks with his Indian counterpart, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, in New Delhi as the two sides are working out projects and initiatives for co-development and co-production, ahead of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to the U.S. later this month.
Stressing that partnerships between countries can strengthen ties, Mr. Austin said the U.S. is stepping up coordination and training exercises with its allies along the East China Sea to the South China Sea to the Indian Ocean, including with India.
That includes staunch allies such as Australia, Japan, the Republic of Korea, the Philippines, and Thailand. And it includes as well such valued partners as India, Indonesia, Vietnam, and clearly our hosts here today in Singapore.
And so our shared goals are clear: to deter aggression and to deepen the rules and norms that promote prosperity and prevent conflict.
He said that the U.S. has made some important strides in its relationship with Australia, India, and Japan through the Quad.
The Quad is strengthening its maritime cooperation and its work on humanitarian assistance and disaster relief. And all four Quad partners will participate in Exercise Malabar.
CAG had flagged many shortcomings in derailments report (Page no. 7)
(GS Paper 2, Governance)
The Comptroller and Auditor-General of India (CAG), in a 2022 report on “Derailments in Indian Railways”, had flagged multiple shortcomings and made several recommendations, which included the suggestion to ensure strict adherence to the scheduled timelines for conducting and finalising accident inquiries.
The instances mentioned in the report were those which came to the CAG’s attention in the course of the test audit for the period April 2017 to March 2021, as well as those which had come to its notice in earlier years, but could not be reported in the previous audit reports.
The focus of the audit was to ascertain whether measures to prevent derailments and collisions were clearly laid down and implemented by the Ministry of Railways.
The auditors found that there were shortfalls ranging from 30% to 100% in inspections by track recording cars and idling of track machines owing to various reasons.
Highlighting the significance of timely inquiries, the report said that its main objective was to ascertain the cause of an accident and to formulate proposals for preventing their occurrence.
In the process it is ascertained if any inherent defect exists in the system of working or in the physical appliances, such as tracks, rolling stock and other working apparatus. Measures for rectifying the defects and irregularities are then proposed based on the findings.
Analysis of 1,129 ‘Inquiry Reports’ of derailment accidents in 16 Zonal Railways (ZRs) revealed 24 factors responsible for derailments in the selected cases/accidents. The total damages/loss of assets in these cases were reported as ₹32.96 crore.
While total 422 derailments were attributable to the Engineering Department, the major factor responsible for derailment was related to “maintenance of track” (171 cases), followed by “deviation of track parameters beyond permissible limits” (156 cases).
Govt. bans 14 combination drugs after panel flags risks, questions efficacy (Page no. 9)
(GS Paper 2, Governance)
Fourteen fixed-dose combination (FDC) medicines found to lack therapeutic relevance have been banned by the Union government through a Gazette notification issued over the weekend.
While industry experts claim that some of these combinations are not available in the market currently, the banned combinations include medicines used for cough, fever and infections, and are sold over the counter.
According to the Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation (CDSCO), FDCs refer to products containing one or more active ingredients used for particular indication(s).
The ban, which comes into effect immediately, follows recommendations of an expert committee formed to examine the efficacy of these drug combinations.
The notification states that an expert committee recommended that “there is no therapeutic justification for these FDCs and the FDCs may involve risk to human beings”.
The notification also said that “in the larger public interest, it is necessary to prohibit the manufacture, sale or distribution” of these FDCs.
The long-pending move has been taken based on the recommendations of the expert committee and the Drugs Technical Advisory Board.
The Central Government is satisfied that it is necessary and expedient in the public interest to regulate by way of prohibition the manufacture for sale, sale, and distribution for human use of the said drug in the country.
The banned FDCs are part of 344 fixed-dose combinations prohibited for sale by the Union Health Ministry in 2016 but the makers of 15 such drugs challenged the decision in Delhi High Court.
World
Indonesia proposes peace plan to end war between Russia, Ukraine (Page no. 10)
(GS Paper 2, International Relation)
Indonesia’s Defence Minister proposed a plan to end the war between Russia and Ukraine at a defence summit in Singapore, an initiative that drew quick criticism from attendees.
In a speech to the Shangri-La Dialogue defence summit, Mr. Subianto proposed a ceasefire “at present positions”, and demilitarised zones that would be guaranteed by observers and United Nations peacekeeping forces.
He also suggested an eventual “referendum in the disputed areas” organised by the UN. Indonesia is prepared to contribute units to a potential UN peacekeeping operation.
Ukraine Defence Minister Oleksii Reznikov dismissed the plan calling it a “strange” proposal. “It sounds like a Russian plan, not Indonesian plan. “We don’t need this mediator coming to us (with) this strange plan.”
China has presented its own peace plan to end the war — a vague list of proposals to which EU politicians have reacted with scepticism.
In contrast, the U.S. and Western allies have delivered billions of dollars in weapons and other aid to Ukraine since Russia’s invasion.
Jakarta, which favours non-aligned diplomacy, had previously attempted to mediate peace. Indonesian President Joko Widodo travelled to Kyiv and Moscow and met the nations’ leaders last year, while his country chaired the G-20 bloc of major economies.
But defence chief Mr. Subianto’s proposal was criticised at the summit on Saturday, with EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell saying peace in Ukraine had to be achieved on “just” terms.
Science
Genetic changes power H5N1 virus spread, severity in animals (Page no. 11)
(GS Paper 3, Science and Tech)
A study published recently has found that the H5N1 virus (clade 2.3.4.4b), which spread among wild birds across 30 countries or territories across continents by February 2022 collected different combinations of genes through reassortment with viruses circulating in wild birds in North America.
The reassortant A(H5N1) viruses are genotypically and phenotypically diverse, with many causing severe disease with dramatic neurologic involvement in mammals.
The viruses have distinct in vitro characteristics including increased virus replication rates and ability to cause severe disease outcomes with dramatic neurologic involvement in mammalian animal models.
The virus has a proclivity to target the central nervous system, says a study published in the journal Nature Communications.
In December 2021, A(H5N1) viruses were detected in poultry and a gull in Eastern Canada. It was closely related to 2.3.4.4b viruses identified in Europe in spring of 2021.
It quickly spread wild birds in several States in the U.S. soon thereafter. As per the WHO update (September 2021-February 2022) the 2.3.4.4b virus clade had caused 26 infections in humans — 25 cases of A(H5N6) infection in China and one case of A(H5N1) in the U.K.
This demonstrates the zoonotic transmission potential of these viruses. So far human-to-human transmission has not been reported. There is a grave risk of sustained transmission in humans once the virus collects a few mutations.
The A(H5Nx) clade 2.3.4.4 viruses was originally identified in North America in 2014-2015 among avian species and disappeared.
This clade, like the current one (2.3.4.4b) was reassorted soon after detection. However, the reassortment was not associated with changes in mammalian pathogenicity. In contrast, the clade now in circulation has enhanced virulence with neurological involvement in mammalian models. The virus initially spread among aquatic mammals in the Americas before infecting a variety of land mammals.
Increased rainfall alone will not help groundwater recovery (Page no. 11)
(GS Paper 3, Science and Tech)
Rapid depletion of groundwater in north India has become a norm during the last few decades. Between 2002 and 2022, about 95% of India’s groundwater depletion occurred in north India.
Groundwater use and summer monsoon rainfall variability are the two main drivers of groundwater storage.
Climate change can throw new challenges for the sustainability of groundwater due to increased groundwater pumping to meet irrigation demands for crops.
Also, a warming climate will increase the frequency of hydroclimate extremes — floods and droughts. A less discussed aspect is the role of increased evapotranspiration due to warming climate, which will limit water availability for groundwater recovery.
But its role will be less as increased groundwater use for irrigation will be the main driver of groundwater usage.
Warming climate will also increase the amount of summer monsoon rainfall that north India will receive, and the enhanced precipitation could help recovery rates of groundwater.
But so far it has been unclear if stronger summer monsoon rainfall alone in the future will be sufficient to compensate for increased water demand for irrigation and loss due to evapotranspiration.
A two-member team from IIT Gandhinagar used observational groundwater well data, and satellite observations from the Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment (GRACE) and hydrological model simulations under future emission scenarios to understand the variability of groundwater storage under the warming climate.
The team found that the projected increase in summer monsoon due to climate change notwithstanding, recovery of the depleted groundwater in north India will be insufficient if there is continued use of groundwater at current levels for irrigation.
Climate warming and unsustainable groundwater extraction are likely to amplify the challenges related to groundwater sustainability,” they write in a study published in the journal One Earth.
The dominance of groundwater use will continue under the warming climate, which will hamper the recovery of the lost groundwater in north India.
FAQ
Why is India rethinking its anaemia policy? (Page no. 12)
(GS Paper 2, Health)
Questions related to anaemia are slated to be dropped from the National Family Health Survey (NFHS-6) scheduled to begin on July 6. The omission comes after health experts questioned the efficacy of the method being used to estimate haemoglobin levels.
India’s anaemia burden has grown alarmingly with NFHS-5 (2019-21) finding that 57% of women in the age group 15-49 and 67% children between six months and 59 months are anaemic (from the corresponding 53% and 58.6% respectively in NFHS-4/2015-16).
The Health Ministry has noted that anaemia is a public health challenge and accurate estimates are needed to tackle the crisis.
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), anaemia is a condition in which the number of red blood cells or the haemoglobin concentration within them is lower than normal. Haemoglobin is needed to carry oxygen and if there are too few red blood cells, or not enough haemoglobin, there will be a decreased capacity of the blood to carry oxygen to the body’s tissues, resulting in symptoms such as fatigue, weakness, dizziness and shortness of breath among others.
Anaemia, according to WHO, may be caused by several factors. The most common nutritional cause of anaemia is iron deficiency.
According to the Health Ministry, assessment of anaemia in India is being shifted to the new Diet and Biomarkers Survey in India (DABS-I), launched last year to map diet, nutrition and health status and provide the correct estimate of anaemia among the rural and urban population.
The WHO defines anaemia in children aged under five years and pregnant women as a haemoglobin concentration <110 g/L at sea level, and anaemia in non-pregnant women as a haemoglobin concentration <120 g/L.
The study by the Indian team also pointed to differences in the way blood is drawn for sampling in NFHS. The NFHS survey measured haemoglobin in a drop of capillary blood that oozes from a finger prick.
This, as per the report, can dilute the blood and give a falsely lower value. The recommended method of venous blood sampling, as per the report, gives a more accurate value.
What are the friction points on the LAC? (Page no. 12)
(GS Paper 3, Science and Tech)
As the 2020 standoff in Eastern Ladakh marks three years, India and China are far from achieving the objective of disengagement and de-escalation and restoration of status quo ante to resolve the situation along the Line of Actual Control (LAC).
As part of the disengagement process from the friction points in Eastern Ladakh, India and China have been engaged in talks at the diplomatic, military and political level, with the senior military commander-level talks being the major avenue to undertake disengagement and de-escalation and resolve the standoff that began in May 2020.
Since the Corps commander level talks in 2020, the two sides have so far undertaken disengagement from five friction points — at Galwan after the violent clash in June 2020, the north and south banks of Pangong Tso in February 2021, at Patrolling Point (PP) 17 in the Gogra-Hot Springs area in August 2021, and PP15 in September 2022.
On the Depsang Plains and Demchok, there are fundamental disagreements, as India maintains that they are the two additional friction points that still remain while China has refused to accept it, terming them as legacy issues predating the 2020 standoff.
On several occasions, Army Chief Gen Manoj Pande has termed the situation along the LAC as “stable but unpredictable” while stating that five out of the seven friction points in Eastern Ladakh have been resolved and the focus is now on the remaining two points.
The 18th round of Corps Commander talks was held at the Chushul Moldo meeting point on the Chinese side on April 23, 2023.
The Indian stance on the same was consistent, i.e. restoration of status quo ante as on April 2020. The above entails restoration of patrolling rights till the traditional patrolling points,” a defence source said on the talks.
On May 31, 2023, India and China held the 27th Meeting of the Working Mechanism for Consultation and Coordination on India-China Border affairs (WMCC) in New Delhi which made no headway and the two sides agreed to hold the 19th round of Corps Commanders talks very soon.
In the past, Beijing has said that it would not accept India’s demand for restoration of status quo ante prior to the standoff saying that “the status quo of April 2020… was created by India’s illegal crossing of the LAC.”
Meanwhile, China has been undertaking massive build-up of infrastructure, habitat and induction of new weapons and equipment along the 3,488 km-long LAC, fundamentally altering the status quo on the ground.