(DND) Daily News Discussion - 15th April 2021 our YouTube channel for entire GS Course FREE of cost - Sleepy Classes
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Daily News
Discussion
(DND)
15th Apri l 2 021
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Table of Contents
1. Science & Technology ..........................................................................................1
1.1.RNA Vaccine- PIB...................................................................................................................1
2. Economy ..................................................................................................................2
2.1.E-SANTA ...................................................................................................................................2
2.2.GI Tag ........................................................................................................................................3
2.3.India’s Public debt is among the highest in emerging economies .............................5
3. Science & Technology ..........................................................................................8
3.1.60% enrichment in response to Israel’s terrorism, says Iran ......................................8
3.2.NATO to exit Afghanistan along with U.S........................................................................8
3.3.QUAD Navies ..........................................................................................................................9
3.4.Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) ............................................9
4. Polity .........................................................................................................................11
4.1.Begging Act ..............................................................................................................................11
4.2.National Commission for Scheduled Castes (NCSC) ....................................................12
Current affairs Worksheet (15th April 2021) ..........................................................................14
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1. Science & Technology
1.1.RNA Vaccine- PIB
• The Department of Biotechnology (DBT), Ministry of Science & Technology has announced that it has
approved additional funding towards clinical studies of India’s' rst of its kind' mRNA-based
COVID-19 vaccine - HGCO19, developed by Pune-based biotechnology company Gennova
Biopharmaceuticals Ltd.
• HGCO19 has already demonstrated safety, immunogenicity, neutralization antibody activity in the
rodent and non-human primate models.
Signi cance of mRNA Vaccine
• mRNA vaccines are considered safe as mRNA is non- infectious, non-integrating in nature, and
degraded by standard cellular mechanisms.
• They are highly ef cacious because of their inherent capability of being translatable into the protein
structure inside the cell cytoplasm.
• Additionally, mRNA vaccines are fully synthetic and do not require a host for growth, e.g., eggs or
bacteria.
• Therefore, they can be quickly manufactured inexpensively under cGMP conditions to ensure their
"availability" and "accessibility" for mass vaccination on a sustainable basis.
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2. Economy
2.1.E-SANTA
• Union Commerce and Industry Minister Shri Piyush Goyal today virtually inaugurated e-SANTA, an
electronic marketplace providing a platform to connect aqua farmers and the buyers.
e- SANTA
• The term e-SANTA was coined for the web portal, meaning Electronic Solution for Augmenting
NaCSA farmers' Trade in Aquaculture.
NaCSA
• NationalCentre for Sustainable Aquaculture (NaCSA) is an extension arm of Marine Products
Export Development Authority (MPEDA)
Signi cance
• It will enable the farmers to get a better price and the exporters to directly purchase quality
products from the farmers enhancing traceability, a key factor in international trade.
• e-SANTA will raise income, lifestyle, self-reliance, quality levels, traceability, and provide new
options for our aqua farmers.
• e-SANTA is a Digital Bridge to end the market divide and will act as an alternative marketing tool
between farmers & buyers by eliminating middlemen.
• The platform will change the traditional way of carrying out business from a word of mouth basis to
become more formalised & legally binding.
✓e-SANTA will RAISE the lives & income of farmers by:
✓Reducing Risk
✓Awareness of Products & Markets
✓Increase in Income
✓Shielding Against Wrong Practice
✓Ease of Processes
• It will revolutionize traditional aquafarming by providing cashless, contactless and paperless
electronic trade platform between farmers and exporters.
• “e-SANTA can become a tool to advertise collectively the kind of products the buyers, shermen &
sh producing organisations are harvesting, so people in India & internationally can know what is
available & in the future, it can become an auction platform”
• The Platform is available in many languages, which will help the local population
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2.2.GI Tag
• The king of mangoes – Alphonso – is at the centre of a battle between Maharashtra and Karnataka.
After getting complaints from mango growers in Maharashtra that Alphonso-like produce from the
bordering State are eating into their margins
Alphanso Mangoes
• Alphonso mangoes from Konkan have a GI (geographical indications) tag for their unique taste,
aroma and colour.
• Violation of GI of Goods (Registration and Protection) Act, 1999, attracts a jail term of six months
and ₹50,000 in penalty.
• Even as some scientists believe that the Portuguese brought Alphonso to Konkan, researchers and
farmers in the region assert that it is a local product and the Portuguese took it to the world
market.
Varieties grown
• India is home to about 1,000 varieties of mango.
• However, only a few varieties are commercially cultivated throughout India.
• Maharashtra farmers mainly grow Alphonso, Kesar and Pairi while Karnataka farmers grow
Alphonso, Totapuri, Banganapalli, Pairi, Neelum and Mulgoa.
• According to APEDA, the major mango-growing States are Andhra Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh,
Karnataka, Bihar, Gujarat and Tamil Nadu.
• Uttar Pradesh ranks rst in mango production with a share of 23.47 per cent and the highest
productivity.
What is GI Tag?
• A GI or Geographical Indication is a name or a sign given to certain products that relate to a speci c
geographical location or origins like a region, town or country.
• Is a certi cation that the particular product is produced has certain speci c qualities, or has a
particular reputation because of its geographical origin.
• Typically used for wine and spirit drinks, foodstuffs, agricultural products, handicrafts, and
industrial products.
• GI Tag ensures that none other than those registered as authorized users are allowed to use the
popular product name. In order to function as a GI, a sign must identify a product as originating in a
given place.
Regulation of Geographical Indications
• Covered as a component of intellectual property rights (IPRs) under the Paris Convention for the
Protection of Industrial Property.
• Nodal agency-UN’s specialized agency World Intellectual Property Organization
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• Governed by the World Trade Organisation’s (WTO’s) Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of
Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS).
India
• Administered by the Geographical Indications of Goods (Registration and Protection) Act, 1999
which came into force with effect from September 2003.
• Controller General of Patents, Designs and Trademarks (Commerce Min)
• The rst product in India to be accorded with GI tag was Darjeeling tea in the year 2004-05.
• Normally it’s valid for 10 years (and can be renewed further.)
Signi cance
• Legal protection to the products & prevents unauthorised use of GI tag products by others
• It helps consumers to get quality products of desired traits and promotes the economic prosperity of
producers
Issues
Rasgulla dispute
• Both West Bengal and Odisha claim that the dessert originated in their own states. By ‘winning’ a GI
tag, each state is looking to promote its own cultural over the other.
• This sort of unhealthy competition tends to polarise the country on regional, cultural and linguistic
lines
• West Bengal got GI in 2017 & Odisha in 2019
• As a result, neither the local community nor the customer is bene tting economically.
• This trend undercuts the very idea of GI protection to native endemic products.
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GI Logo ‘Invaluable Treasures of Incredible India’
• Commerce Ministry’s logo for GI products to make them more attractive to foreign buyers.
• Guidelines (Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade)
• DPIIT’s prior permission required before using this logo.
• Permission duration will be decided on case-to-case basis.
• DPIIT would not be responsible for the authenticity or quality of the products with these logos.
• Foreign GI products are not allowed to use India’s GI logo.
2.3.India’s Public debt is among the highest in emerging economies
• India’s public debt level is among the highest in emerging economies with a quantitative easing
programme underway, while its debt affordability is among the weakest, Moody’s Investors Service
said on Wednesday.
• Debt affordability varies widely, with Ghana and India [rated Baa3 negative] weakest.
• Across the 11 emerging markets, India, South Africa and Ghana have the highest public debt and
weakest debt affordability
Public Debt
• Public debt is the total amount borrowed by the government of a country.
• In the Indian context, public debt includes the total liabilities of the Union government that have to
be paid from the Consolidated Fund of India (as per Article 292)
• Sometimes,the term is also used to refer to the overall liabilities of the central and state
governments.
• However, the Union government clearly distinguishes its debt liabilities from those of the states.
• It calls overall liabilities of both the Union government and states as General Government Debt
(GGD) or Consolidated General Government Debt.
Sources of Public Debt
• Dated government securities or G-secs.
• Treasury Bills or T-bills
• External Assistance
• Short term borrowings
Public Debt versus Private Debt
• Public Debt is the money owed by the Union government, while private debt comprises of all the
loans raised by private companies, corporate sector and individuals such as home loans, auto loans,
personal loans.
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India
• Year after year, such borrowings build on government’s outstanding debt adding to another
indispensable expense in the form of interest payments.
• In India too, the public debt ratio has increased to 89 per cent from pre pandemic level of 72%. The
current level is higher as per the target set by the latest amendment of FRBM act, 2003
• Target by FRBM amendment act
✓Union debt – 40% by 2024-25
✓General (Union+State) Debt to GDP- 60% by 2024-25
Internal Public Debt versus External Public Debt
External Debt
• Over the years, the Union government has followed a considered strategy to reduce its dependence
on foreign loans in its overall loan mix.
• Also, note that external loans are not market loans.
• They have been raised from institutional creditors at concessional rates.
• Most of these external loans are xed-rate loans, free from interest rate or currency volatility.
Internal Debt
• Internal loans that make up for the bulk of public debt are further divided into two broad categories –
marketable and non- marketable debt.
Marketable Debt
• Dated government securities (G-Secs) and treasury bills (T-bills) are issued through auctions and fall
in the category of marketable debt.
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Non Marketable Debt
• Intermediate treasury bills (with a maturity period of 14 days) issued to state governments and
public sector banks, special securities issued to National Small Savings Fund (NSSF) are classi ed as
non-marketable debt.
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3. Science & Technology
3.1.60% enrichment in response to Israel’s terrorism, says Iran
• Iran’s President Hassan Rouhani said on Wednesday the decision to boost uranium enrichment to
60% was a response to arch-foe Israel’s “nuclear terrorism” against its Natanz facility.
• The European parties to the accord — Britain, France and Germany — on Wednesday expressed
“grave concern” over Iran’s enrichment move.
Uranium enrichment
• When uranium is mined, it consists of approximately 99.3% uranium-238 (U238), 0.7% uranium-235
(U235), and < 0.01% uranium-234 (U234)
• Uranium enrichment is a process that is necessary to create an effective nuclear fuel out of mined
uranium by increasing the percentage of uranium-235 which undergoes ssion with thermal
neutrons.
3.2.NATO to exit Afghanistan along with U.S
• Foreign troops under NATO command will withdraw from Afghanistan in coordination with a U.S.
pull-out by September 11, Washington’s top diplomat said on Wednesday, after Germany said it
would match American plans to leave after two decades of war.
• Around 7,000 non-U.S. forces from mainly NATO countries, also from Australia, New Zealand and
Georgia, outnumber the 2,500 U.S. troops in Afghanistan.
• A key reason for a coordinated withdrawal is the fact that NATO relies on U.S. airlift capabilities and
shipping to move valuable equipment in and out of landlocked Afghanistan.
Resolute Support
• An integral part of NATO’s current mission, Resolute Support, is to train and equip Afghan security
forces ghting the Islamist Taliban, which was ousted from power by a U.S. invasion in late 2001 and
has since waged an insurgency.
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3.3.QUAD Navies
• The Quad navies of India, the U.S., Japan and Australia “already” enjoy a “high degree of
interoperability” and have the capability and capacity to come together in an “almost plug and play
mechanism” if the opportunity arises, Navy chief Admiral Karambir Singh said recently
• The Chinese Navy has seen massive expansion in recent years, with rapid addition of frontline
warships. It has two aircraft carriers and a more capable one is under construction.
• In 2017, China opened its rst overseas base at Djibouti in the Horn of Africa.
• Stating that as India emerges a more con dent nation on the global stage, the Indian Navy was ready
to do its bit to contribute to the Indo-Paci c’s security and stability
• He said one should think about the Quad in the broadest possible terms and realise its potential to
create global economic opportunities, including diversi cation of supply chains, and address
common interests such as cybersecurity concerns and space cooperation and other advanced
technologies in future.
QUAD
• It is a four-nation alliance of India, Australia, USA and Japan which was established in 2007.
• It is often dubbed as an "Asian" or "mini" NATO, and is viewed as a counterbalance to China's military
and economic clout in the Indo-Paci c region.
3.4.Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP)
• Singapore’s Foreign Minister Vivian Balakrishnan said he hoped India would “reassess” its stand on
regional trading agreements such as the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) pact
that India withdrew from in 2019.
What is RCEP?
• Described as the “largest” regional
trading agreement to this day, RCEP
was originally being negotiated
between 16 countries — ASEAN
members and countries with which
they have free trade agreements
(FTAs), namely Australia, China,
Korea, Japan, New Zealand and India.
• The RCEP came into force in
November 2020 without India and is
the world’s largest trading agreement
• The purpose of RCEP was to make it
easier for products and services of
each of these countries to be available
across this region.
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Reason for not Joining
• India has trade de cits with 11 of the 15
RCEP countries
• Auto-trigger Mechanism would have
allowed India to raise tariffs on products
in instances where imports cross a
certain threshold. However, other
countries in the RCEP were against this
proposal.
• Rules of origin are the criteria used to
determine the national source of a
product but current provisions do not
apply this rule.
• Indiawithdrew from the RCEP largely
because of concerns it would open it up to Chinese goods amid an already wide trade imbalance with
China, and the failure of the agreement to adequately open up to services.
The Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Paci c Partnership (CPTPP)
• Agreement calls for a free trade area
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4. Polity
4.1.Begging Act
• The Supreme Court has asked the Centre and four States to le their response within three weeks on
a plea seeking a direction to repeal the provisions criminalising begging.
• The plea led by Meerut resident Vishal Pathak has referred to the August 2018 verdict of the
Delhi High Court which had decriminalised begging in the national capital and said provisions of the
Bombay Prevention of Begging Act, 1959, which treats begging as an offence cannot sustain
constitutional scrutiny.
The Begging Act
• Also known as the Bombay Prevention of Begging Act, 1959 that is extended to the whole of the
Union Territory, Delhi. Under this act Begging means-
• Soliciting or receiving alms, in a public place whether or not under any pretence such as singing,
dancing, fortune telling, performing or offering any article for sale.
• Entering on any private premises for the purpose of soliciting or receiving alms
• Exposing or exhibiting, with the object of obtaining or extorting alms, any sore, wound injury,
deformity of diseases whether of a human being or animal
• Having no visible means of subsistence and wandering, about or remaining in any public place in such
condition or manner, as makes it likely that the person doing so exist soliciting or receiving alm
• Allowing oneself to be used as an exhibit for the purpose of soliciting or receiving alms
• The Bombay Prevention of Begging Act, 1959 criminalizes begging.
• Beggars may be arrested without warrant
• Can be sentenced to jail without trial or may be sent to shelter homes/certi ed institutions
• Punishment tenure for beggary ranges from 3-10 years in jail
• Court may order detention of persons wholly dependent on beggar
• No distinction between Beggars and Homeless.
• Under Article 21 of the Constitution, every beggar or juvenile has a fundamental right to live. It is
state responsibility to provide an alternative routes of earning for them
• It also criminalizes people who make earning by singing, dancing etc.
• Also, every person detained in certi ed institutions “shall at any time allow his nger prints to be
taken”. This is violation of fundamental right
• It contradicts the protective provision of juvenile Justice act Which identi es child beggars as
“children in need of care and protection” and provides for their rehabilitation and re-integration in
the society
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Ram Lakhan v State (Case dealing with anti-Begging law)
• In this case Hon’ble Court has classi ed beggars into 4 categories
✓Down-right lazy who doesn’t want to work
✓Alcoholic or drug-addict
✓Forced by a ring leader of a beggary “gang”
✓Starving, hopeless and helpless
• Judge says that people falling under 3rd and 4th category are doing the act under a necessity and
thus those should not be convicted for the act which they are not performing voluntary.
4.2.National Commission for Scheduled Castes (NCSC)
• Complaints of atrocities against Scheduled Castes can now be registered with the National
Commission for Scheduled Castes (NCSC) through its online portal launched recently, said NCSC
chairman
• The portal, ncsc.negd.in, will allow users to track the progress of their complaints, which had been a
problem for complainants who submitted their grievances by post or by hand.
History of NCSC
Special of cer
• Initially, the constitution provided for the appointment of a Special Of
cer under Article 338 which
was designated as the Commissioner for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes.
• 65th Amendment Act 1990
• Amended article 338
• Replaced the one-member system with a multi-member National Commission for Scheduled Castes
and Scheduled Tribes
• 89th Amendment in 2003
Replaced this Commission with
• National Commission for Scheduled Castes
• National Commission for Scheduled Tribes
Functions
• Monitoring and investigating all issues concerning the safeguards provided for the SCs under the
constitution.
• Enquiring into complaints relating to the deprivation of the rights and safeguards of the SCs.
• Advising the central or state governments with respect to the planning of socio-economic
development of the SCs.
• Regular reporting to the President of the country on the implementation of these safeguards.
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• Recommending steps to be taken to further the socio-economic development and other welfare
activities of the SCs.
• Any other function with respect to the welfare, protection, development and advancement of the
SC community.
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Current affairs Worksheet (15th April 2021)
Factual sheet for Quick revision
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