Scientists decode genome of ‘miracle plant’
Part of Prelims and Mains GS III Science and Technology
In news
- ‘Arogyapacha’ (Trichopus zeylanicus) is endemic to the Agastya hills, and is known for its medicinal properties.
- This ‘miracle plant’ is known for its traditional use by the Kani tribal community to combat fatigue.
- Studies have also proven its anti-oxidant, aphrodisiac, anti-microbial, anti-inflammatory, anti-tumour, anti-ulcer, hepatoprotective and anti-diabetic properties.
Do you know?
Kani is a tribe living in the Western Ghats area of Kerala, India. Their use of the forest plant arogyapacha (trichopus zeylanicus) as a key ingredient in a herbal remedy called Jeevani was noted by visiting scientists.
ILS develops antibodies against Chikungunya infection
Part of Prelims and Mains GS III Science and Technology: Health
In news
The Institute of Life Sciences (ILS), which functions under the Department of Biotechnology, has entered into a non-exclusive license for product commercialisation after having successfully developed antibodies against the Chikungunya viral (CHIKV) infection.
Significant impact
It will help researchers unravel myriad aspects of virus pathogenesis. Moreover, with greater light shed upon the CHIKV infection biology using these antibodies, research communities are now a step closer to developing efficacious antivirals and other control strategies against the Chikungunya virus.
Ambubachi Mela, Assam
Part of Prelims and Mains GS I Art and culture
In news
A floating replica of the historic Kamakhya Temple, installed on the Brahmaputra river on the occasion of the annual four-day Ambubachi Mela at Amingaon, near Guwahati.PTI
Do you know?
The Ambubachi Mela is an annual Hindu mela held at Kamakhya Temple in Guwahati, Assam. This yearly mela is celebrated during the monsoon season that happens to fall during the Assamese month Ahaar, around the middle of June .
It is the celebration of the yearly menstruation course of goddess Kamakhya. It is believed that the presiding goddess of the temple, Devi Kamakhya, the Mother Shakti, goes through her annual cycle of menstruation during this time stretch.
Cabinet nod for wage code Bill likely
Part of Prelims and Mains GS III Labour laws
In news
- Looking to bring in a fresh wave of labour reforms, the Labour Ministry is likely to seek Cabinet approval for the Code on Wages Bill.
- The wage code Bill is one of four codes envisaged by the government which would subsume 44 labour laws with certain amendments.
- The four codes will deal with wages, social security, industrial safety and welfare, and industrial relations.
Commom Service Centres
Context: NSIC signs MoU with Commom Service Centres– eGovernance Services India for enhancing new offerings for the MSME sector.
What are CSCs?
Common Services Centers (CSCs) are a strategic cornerstone of the Digital India programme. They are the access points for delivery of various electronic services to villages in India, thereby contributing to a digitally and financially inclusive society.
They are multiple-services-single-point model for providing facilities for multiple transactions at a single geographical location. They are the access points for delivery of essential public utility services, social welfare schemes, healthcare, financial, education and agriculture services, apart from host of B2C services to citizens in rural and remote areas of the country.
CSCs enable the three vision areas of the Digital India programme:
- Digital infrastructure as a core utility to every citizen.
- Governance and services on demand.
- Digital empowerment of citizens.
Significance of CSCs:
CSCs are more than service delivery points in rural India. They are positioned as change agents, promoting rural entrepreneurship and building rural capacities and livelihoods. They are enablers of community participation and collective action for engendering social change through a bottom-up approach with key focus on the rural citizen.
Key facts:
- The CSC project, which forms a strategic component of the National eGovernance Plan was approved by the Government in May 2006, as part of its commitment in the National Common Minimum Programme to introduce e-governance on a massive scale.
- It is also one of the approved projects under the Integrated Mission Mode Projects of the National eGovernance Plan.
CSC 2.0 Scheme:
Based on the assessment of CSC scheme, the Government launched the CSC 2.0 scheme in 2015 to expand the outreach of CSCs to all Gram Panchayats across the country. Under CSC 2.0 scheme, at least one CSC will be set up in each of the 2.5 lakh GPs across the country by 2019. CSCs functioning under the existing scheme will also be strengthened and integrated with additional 1.5 lakh CSCs across the country.
Saudi Arabia becomes 1st Arab country to get FATF membership
Context: Saudi Arabia has become the first Arab country to be granted full membership of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) following the group’s annual general meeting in the US.
- The kingdom’s accession came as the global money laundering watchdog celebrated the 30th anniversary of its first meeting held in Paris in 1989.
- Saudi Arabia had received an invitation from the FATF at the beginning of 2015 to join as an “observer member“.
About FATF:
What is it? The Financial Action Task Force (FATF) is an inter-governmental body established in 1989 on the initiative of the G7. It is a “policy-making body” which works to generate the necessary political will to bring about national legislative and regulatory reforms in various areas. The FATF Secretariat is housed at the OECD headquarters in Paris.
Objectives: The objectives of the FATF are to set standards and promote effective implementation of legal, regulatory and operational measures for combating money laundering, terrorist financing and other related threats to the integrity of the international financial system.
Functions: The FATF monitors the progress of its members in implementing necessary measures, reviews money laundering and terrorist financing techniques and counter-measures and promotes the adoption and implementation of appropriate measures globally. In collaboration with other international stakeholders, the FATF works to identify national-level vulnerabilities with the aim of protecting the international financial system from misuse.
What is blacklist and grey list?
FATF maintains two different lists of countries: those that have deficiencies in their AML/CTF regimes, but they commit to an action plan to address these loopholes, and those that do not end up doing enough. The former is commonly known as grey list and latter as blacklist.
Once a country is blacklisted, FATF calls on other countries to apply enhanced due diligence and counter measures, increasing the cost of doing business with the country and in some cases severing it altogether.
Removal of Judges
Context: Months after an in-house panel found an Allahabad High Court judge, Justice S.N. Shukla, guilty of misconduct, Chief Justice of India Ranjan Gogoi has written to Prime Minister Narendra Modi to initiate a motion for his removal.
Removal of Judges:
Article 124(4) and the Judges Inquiry Act 1968 determine the procedure of removal of the judges:
- A motion of impeachment addressed to the President is to be signed by at least 100 members of the Lok Sabha or 50 members of the Rajya Sabha and then delivered to the Speaker of Lok Sabha or the Chairman of Rajya Sabha.
- The motion is to be investigated by a Committee of 3 judges of the Supreme Court and a distinguished jurist.
- If the Committee finds the judge guilty of misbehavior or that he suffers from incapacity, the motion along with the report of the committee is taken up for consideration in the House where motion was moved.
- The judge is then removed by the requisite majority, i.e. majority of total and 2/3 of its members present and voting.
Key facts:
- A member of the higher judiciary, which means the Judges and Chief Justices of the Supreme Court of India and the state High Courts, can be removed from service only through the process of impeachment under Article 124 (4) of the Constitution.
- A judge is removable from his office, only on the grounds of proved misbehavior or incapacity.
- Parliament is empowered to regulate the procedure for the investigation and proof of such misbehavior or incapacity.
- A judge may be removed from his office only by an order of the president.
Issues present and the need for reforms:
- Method pursued by the legislature in the Act of 1968 falls abysmally short of the mark as the same makes judges susceptible to a political process of voting which may or may not impeach judges despite a 3-member committee holding the Judge guilty. Such an event is a travesty of natural justice as there is propensity for a ‘guilty’ judge to be let off on the whims of a political process of voting.
- Entire process concerns of a possibility of harming judicial independence. This stems from a possibility of Judges being harassed to toe the ideology of a party in majority or face their wrath in an impending motion of impeachment.
- The words “misbehaviour” or “incapacity” have neither been defined nor clarified in the Constitution.
Odisha flood hazard atlas:
Context: Odisha has come out with a unique flood hazard atlas on the basis of historic flood inundation captured through satellite imagery over the period from 2001 to 2018, which is expected to help the State manage floods more efficiently.
- The process of removing a judge is too elaborate and somewhat cumbersome.
The National Remote Sensing Centre (NRSC) of the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), Hyderabad had taken the study on flood hazard zonation for Odisha.
Background: Vast areas of the State are inundated when there is flooding every year in major rivers, namely, the Mahanadi, Brahmani, Baitarani, Subarnarekha and Rushikulya. Some of the rivers like, the Vamsadhara and Budhabalanga, also cause flash floods due to instant run-off from their hilly catchments.
Device to trap ocean plastic relaunches:
A floating device designed to catch plastic waste has been redeployed in a second attempt to clean up an island of trash swirling in the Pacific Ocean between California and Hawaii.
It is part of the Ocean Cleanup Project.
Ocean currents concentrate plastic in five areas in the world: the subtropical gyres, also known as the world’s “ocean garbage patches”.
The Ocean Cleanup is a non-profit organization, developing advanced technologies to rid the world’s oceans of plastic.
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