Weekly Current Affairs (22nd to 31st October 2022) - 2 | Current Affairs & Hindu Analysis: Daily, Weekly & Monthly - UPSC PDF Download

First-Ever List of Fungal Infections

Context: Recently, The World Health Organisation released the first-ever list of fungal infections (Priority Pathogens) that can be a threat to public health.

What is WHO’s Fungal Priority Pathogen List?

About FPPL:

• Fungal priority pathogens list (FPPL) includes 19 fungi that represent the greatest threat to human health.
• The list takes precedence from the bacterial priority pathogens list, first established by WHO in 2017 with a similar focus to galvanise global attention and action.

Aim:

• It aims to focus and drive further research and policy interventions to strengthen the global response to fungal infections and antifungal resistance.

Categories:

• The classification is based on the pathogen’s public health impact or emerging antifungal resistance risk.
  • Critical Priority Group: It includes Candida auris, which is a highly drug-resistant fungi, Cryptococcus neoformans, Aspergillus fumigatus, and Candida albicans.
  • High Priority Group: It includes a number of other fungi from the Candida family as well as others such as Mucorales, a group containing "black fungus", an infection which rose rapidly in seriously ill people, particularly in India, during Covid-19.
  • Medium Priority Group: It includes a number of other fungi, including Coccidioides spp and Cryptococcus gattii.

Recommended Actions by FPPL Report:

• Strengthening laboratory capacity and surveillance.
• Sustaining investments in research, development, and innovation.
• Enhancing public health interventions for prevention and control.

What are the Rising Concerns related to Fungal Pathogens?

Concerns:

• Fungal pathogens are a major threat to public health and are becoming increasingly common and resistant to treatment with only four classes of antifungal medicines currently available, and few candidates in the clinical pipeline.
• Most fungal pathogens lack rapid and sensitive diagnostics and those that exist are not widely available or affordable globally.
• Emerging evidence indicates that the incidence and geographic range of fungal diseases are both expanding worldwide due to global warming and the increase of international travel and trade.
• During the COVID-19 pandemic, the reported incidence of invasive fungal infections increased significantly among hospitalized patients.
• As the fungi that cause common infections (such as candida oral and vaginal thrush) become increasingly resistant to treatment, risks for the development of more invasive forms of infections in the general population are also growing.

Target Population:

• These fungal infections often affect severely ill patients and those with significant underlying immune system related conditions.
• Populations at greatest risk of invasive fungal infections include those with cancer, HIV/AIDS, organ transplants, chronic respiratory disease, and post-primary tuberculosis infection.

Pillars of Creation: James Webb Telescope

Context: A lush, highly detailed landscape- the iconic "Pillars of Creation" has been caught by NASA's powerful James Webb Telescope.

What is Pillars of Creation?

About:

• It is a vista of three looming towers made of interstellar dust and gas.
• These iconic Pillars of Creation is located in the centre of the Eagle Nebula (it is a constellation of stars), which is also known as Messier 16.
• The images show vast, towering columns of dense clouds of gas and dust where young stars are forming in a region some 6,500 light-years from Earth.
• At the ends of several pillars are bright red, lava-like spots. These are ejections from stars that are still forming, only a few hundred thousand years old.
• The pillars were made famous by the Hubble Space Telescope, which first captured them in 1995 and then again in 2014.

Significance:

• The new image will help researchers revamp their models of star formation by identifying far more precise counts of newly formed stars, along with the quantities of gas and dust in the region.

What is the James Webb Space Telescope?

About:

• The telescope is the result of an international collaboration between NASA, the European Space Agency (ESA) and the Canadian Space Agency which was launched in December 2021.
• It is currently at a point in space known as the Sun-Earth L2 Lagrange point, approximately 1.5 million km beyond Earth’s orbit around the Sun.
  • Lagrange Point 2 is one of the five points in the orbital plane of the Earth-Sun system.
  • Named after Italian-French mathematician Josephy-Louis Lagrange, the points are in any revolving two-body system like Earth and Sun, marking where the gravitational forces of the two large bodies cancel each other out.
  • Objects placed at these positions are relatively stable and require minimal external energy or fuel to keep themselves there, and so many instruments are positioned here.
• It's the largest, most powerful infrared space telescope ever built.
• It's the successor to Hubble Telescope.
• It can see backwards in time to just after the Big Bang by looking for galaxies that are so far away that the light has taken many billions of years to get from those galaxies to our telescopes

Objectives:

• It will examine every phase of cosmic history: from the Big Bang to the formation of galaxies, stars, and planets to the evolution of our own Solar System.
• The goals for the Webb can be grouped into four themes.
  • The first is to look back around 13.5 billion years to see the first stars and galaxies forming out of the darkness of the early universe.
  • Second, to compare the faintest, earliest galaxies to today’s grand spirals and understand how galaxies assemble over billions of years.
  • Third, to see where stars and planetary systems are being born.
  • Fourth, to observe the atmospheres of extrasolar planets (beyond our solar system), and perhaps find the building blocks of life elsewhere in the universe.

India-Russia Trade

Context: Recently, the Ministry of Commerce and Industry has released data showing that India’s bilateral trade with Russia has soared to an all-time high of USD 18,229.03 million in just five months (April-August) of FY 2022-23.

What are the Findings?

Overview:

• The total annual bilateral trade between the two countries stood at USD 13,124.68 million in 2021-22, and USD 8,141.26 million in 2020-21.
  • Pre-Covid, it was USD 10,110.68 million in 2019-20, USD 8,229.91 million in 2018-19, and USD 10,686.85 million in 2017-18.
• Russia has now become India’s seventh biggest trading partner — up from its 25th position last year.
  • The US, China, UAE, Saudi Arabia, Iraq and Indonesia were the six countries which recorded higher volumes of trade with India during the first five months of 2022-23.
• Of the total USD 18,229.03, India’s imports from Russia accounted for USD 17,236.29 million, while India’s exports to Moscow were only worth USD 992.73 million, leaving a negative trade balance of USD 16,243.56 million.
• An analysis of the data shows that Russia’s share in India’s total trade has increased to 3.54%, up from 1.27% in 2021-22. While Russia’s share in India’s total trade was 2.1% in 1997-98, it has hovered below 2% for the last 25 years.

Drivers:

• It is mainly due to a sudden jump in imports from Russia, mainly oil and fertilisers, which began to surge earlier in 2022.
  • There was an over 500% increase in three months – 561.1% in June, 577.63% in July and 642.68% in August – as compared to the same months of the previous year.
• Petroleum oil and other fuel items (mineral fuels, mineral oils and products of their distillation; bituminous substances; mineral waxes) accounted for 84% of India’s total imports from Russia.
• Fertilizers were second, fertilisers and fuel together account for over 91% of the total imports from Russia this year.

What are the Different Aspects of Indo-Russia Relations?

Historical Background:

• During the Cold War, India and the Soviet Union had a strong strategic, military, economic and diplomatic relationship. After the Dissolution of the Soviet Union, Russia inherited its close relationship with India which resulted in both nations sharing a Special Strategic Relation.
• However, the relations have taken a steep downfall over the past few years, especially in the post-Covid scenario. One of the biggest causes for this is Russia’s close relations with China and Pakistan, which have caused many geopolitical issues in the past few years for India.

Political Relations:

• In 2019, Russia signed the Executive Order on awarding PM Narendra Modi Russia’s highest state decoration – The order of St Andrew the Apostle. The order was presented to PM for his distinguished contribution to the development of a privileged strategic partnership between Russia and India and friendly ties between the Russian and Indian peoples
• Two Inter-Governmental Commissions – one on Trade, Economic, Scientific, Technological and Cultural Cooperation (IRIGC-TEC), and another on Military-Technical Cooperation (IRIGC- MTC), meet annually.

Trade Relations:

• The two countries intend to increase bilateral investment to USD 50 billion and bilateral trade to USD 30 billion by 2025.

Defence and Security Relations:

• Both countries regularly conduct the Tri-Services exercise ‘INDRA‘.
• The joint military programmes between India and Russia include:
  • BrahMos cruise missile programme
  • 5th generation fighter jet programme
  • Sukhoi Su-30MKI programme
  • Ilyushin/HAL Tactical Transport Aircraft
  • KA-226T twin-engine utility helicopters
  • some frigates
• The military hardware purchased/leased by India from Russia includes:
  • S-400 Triumf
  • Kamov Ka-226 200 to be made in India under the Make in India initiative
  • T-90S Bhishma
  • INS Vikramaditya aircraft carrier programme.

Nuclear Relations:

• Kudankulam Nuclear Power Plant (KKNPP) is being constructed within the scope of the Russia-India Inter-Governmental Agreement.
• Both India and Russia are implementing Rooppur Nuclear Power Project in Bangladesh.

What is the Significance of Russia for India?

Balancing China:

• The Chinese aggression in the border areas of eastern Ladakh, brought India-China relations to an inflection point, but also demonstrated that Russia can contribute to defusing tensions with China.
• Russia organized a trilateral meeting among the foreign ministers of Russia, India, and China following deadly clashes in the Galwan Valley in the disputed territory of Ladakh.

Emerging New Sectors of Economic Engagement:

• Apart from traditional areas of cooperation such as weapons, hydrocarbons, nuclear energy, and diamonds, new sectors of economic engagement are likely to emerge — mining, agro-industrial, and high technology, including robotics, nanotech, and biotech.
• India’s footprint in the Russian Far East and in the Arctic is set to expand. Connectivity projects may get a boost too.

Combating Terrorism:

• India and Russia are working to close the gap on Afghanistan and are calling for early finalization of the Comprehensive Convention on International Terrorism.

Support At Multilateral Forums:

• Additionally, Russia supports India’s candidacy for permanent membership of a reformed United Nations Security Council and of the Nuclear Suppliers Group.

Russia’s Military Exports:

• Russia has been one of the largest arms exporters to India. Even as Russia’s share in India’s arms imports fell by over 50% in the last five-year period compared to the previous five years (2011–2015).
• In the last 20 years, India imported arms and weapons worth USD 35 billion from Russia, according to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute which tracks global arms trade.

Way Forward

• Russia will remain a key defense partner for India for decades to come.
• On the other hand, Russia and China are currently in a quasi-alliance setup. Russia repeatedly reiterates that it does not see itself as anybody’s junior partner. That’s why Russia wants India to act as a balancer.
• The two countries have been discussing how they can cooperate in using India as a production base for exporting to third countries Russian-origin equipment and services.
  • To address this, Russia has made legislative changes allowing its companies to set up joint ventures in India to address it following an Inter-Governmental Agreement signed in 2019.
  • This agreement needs to be implemented in a time bound manner.

India-UK Relation

Context: Recently, Rishi Sunak took charge as the 57th Prime Minister of the United Kingdom.

• He is the country’s third PM in 50 days after first Boris Johnson and then Liz Truss was forced from office by a rebellion within the ruling Conservative Party.

What are the Opportunities for India-UK ties under PM Rishi Sunak?

• It is an opportunity for India and the U.K to work closely together on global issues and implement the roadmap 2030 for bilateral relations with the elevation of a person of Indian origin as prime minister of the U.K.
• His vision for India-U.K. bilateral ties has gone beyond the opportunity for the U.K. to sell things in India, wanting Britain to also "learn from India".
• A Free Trade Agreement between India and the UK is expected to enhance economic growth and prosperity by: increasing import and export flows; increasing investment flows (both outward and inward); enhancing productivity through a more efficient allocation of resources; and greater openness to international competition.

Why is the Indo-UK Partnership Important?

• For UK: India is a key strategic partner for the UK in the Indo-Pacific both in terms of market share and defence, as was underscored by the signing of the Defence and International Security Partnership between India and the UK in 2015.
  • For Britain, a successful conclusion of an FTA with India would provide a boost to its ‘Global Britain’ ambitions as the UK has sought to expand its markets beyond Europe since Brexit.
  • Britain has been trying to seize opportunities in the growing economies of the Indo-Pacific to cement its place on the global stage as a serious global actor.
  • The British would be better able to achieve this goal with good bilateral relations with India.
• For India: The UK is a regional power in the Indo-Pacific as it possesses naval facilities in Oman, Singapore, Bahrain, Kenya, and British Indian Ocean Territory.
  • The UK has also confirmed USD 70 million of British International Investment funding to support the usage of renewable energy in India, which will help in building renewable energy infrastructure and developing solar power in the region.
  • India has sought easy market access for Indian fisheries, pharma, and agricultural products besides duty concession for labour-intensive exports.

What are the Current Major Bilateral Issues between the Both Countries?

Extradition of Indian Economic Offenders:

• The issue is the extradition of Indian economic offenders who are presently seeking shelter in Britain and using the legal system to their advantage.
• Offenders like Vijay Mallya, Nirav Modi and others have long taken shelter under the British system despite clear cut Indian cases against them which warrant extradition.

Umbilical link between the British and Pakistani Deep State:

• This legacy of the long-gone British Raj in the sub-continent allows Britain to box in a higher weight category with the help of Pakistan on imperial follies of Jammu and Kashmir.
• The presence of a large Muslim community from the sub-continent in the UK, particularly from areas like Mirpur of Pakistan-occupied Kashmir adds to dissonance apart from the trap of vote bank politics.

Non-Acceptance of White Britain:

• The unacceptance of white Britain particularly its media of the rise of India as a global power is another issue.
• India under the current Prime Minister has left behind Britain as the fifth largest economy in GDP terms and is on the way up.
• There is no difference between a modern and confident Indian and a British colonial Indian in terms of skin colour or the imperial legacy of the British Empire.

What is the Distinction between the British and Indian Parliamentary System?

• The parliamentary system of government in India is largely based on the British parliamentary system. However, it never became a replica of the British system and differs in the following respects:
  • India has a republican system in place of the British monarchical system. In other words, the Head of the State in India (that is, President) is elected, while the Head of the State in Britain (that is, King or Queen) enjoys a hereditary position.
  • The British system is based on the doctrine of the sovereignty of Parliament, while the Parliament is not supreme in India and enjoys limited and restricted powers due to a written Constitution, federal system, judicial review and fundamental rights.
  • In Britain, the prime minister should be a member of the Lower House (House of Commons) of Parliament. In India, the prime minister may be a member of any of the two Houses of Parliament.
  • Usually, the members of Parliament alone are appointed as ministers in Britain. In India, a person who is not a member of Parliament can also be appointed as minister, but for a maximum period of six months.
  • Britain has the system of legal responsibility of the minister while India has no such system. Unlike in Britain, the ministers in India are not required to countersign the official acts of the Head of the State.
  • ‘Shadow cabinet’ is a unique institution of the British cabinet system. It is formed by the opposition party to balance the ruling cabinet and to prepare its members for future ministerial office. There is no such institution in India.
  • Way Forward
  • The profound ties of culture, history and language already give the UK a potentially strong foundation upon which to further deepen its relationship with India.
  • With a whole new set of circumstances, India and Britain should recognise that they both need each other to achieve their larger goals.

The Lancet Countdown on Health and Climate Change

Context: Recently a report was released titled Lancet countdown on health and climate change: health at the mercy of fossil fuels, showing that from 2000-2004 to 2017-2021, heat-related deaths increased by 55% in India.

• This report comes ahead of this year's United Nations climate change conference (COP27), to be held in Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt.
• The report represents the work of 99 experts from 51 institutions, including the World Health Organization (WHO) and the World Meteorological Organization (WMO).

What is Lancet Countdown on Health and Climate Change Report?

• The Lancet Countdown on Health and Climate Change, published annually, is an international, multidisciplinary collaboration, dedicated to monitoring the evolving health profile of climate change, and providing an independent assessment of the delivery of commitments made by governments worldwide under the Paris Agreement.
• The countries considered in the modelling study represent 50% of the world’s population and 70% of the world’s emissions – Brazil, China, Germany, India, Indonesia, Nigeria, South Africa, the UK and the US.
• The Lancet Countdown report was established following the 2015 Lancet Commission on Health and Climate Change.
• It tracks 43 indicators across five key domains:
  • Climate Change impacts, Exposures and Vulnerability; adaptation, Planning, and resilience for health; mitigation actions and health co-benefits; economics and finance and public and political engagement.

What are the Findings of the Report?

• Subsidies Causing Global Problems: Subsidies to fossil fuel consumption in many countries are causing global problems, including deterioration of air quality, decline in food output and increased risk of infectious disease linked to higher carbon emissions. In 2021, 80% of the countries reviewed provided some form of fossil fuel subsidy, totaling USD 400 billion. In 2019, India spent a net USD 34 billion on fossil fuel subsidies, accounting for 5% of total national health spending. Over 3,30,000 people died in India in 2020 as a result of exposure to fossil fuel pollutants.
• Effects of Rising Temperature on Age Groups: From 2012-2021, infants under one year old experienced an average of 72 million more person-days of heatwaves per year, compared to 1985-2005. Adults over the age of 65 in India experienced 301 million more person-days during the same time period. From 2000-2004 to 2017-2021, heat-related deaths increased by 55% in India.
• Impact on GDP: In 2021, Indians lost 167.2 billion potential labour hours due to heat exposure with income losses equivalent to about 5.4% of national GDP.
• Dengue Transmission: From 1951-1960 to 2012-2021, the number of months suitable for dengue transmission by Aedes Aegypti rose by 1.69%, reaching 5.6 months each year.

What are the Recommendations?

• Improvement in air quality will help to prevent deaths resulting from exposure to fossil fuel-derived particulate matter.
• Develop climate solutions that are proportionate to the scale of the problem. The climate crisis is endangering not only the health of the planet, but also the health of people everywhere, through toxic air pollution, decreased food security, increased risks of infectious disease outbreaks, extreme heat, drought, floods, etc.
• Therefore, governments should pay more attention to and invest more resources in environmental protection.
• Burning of dirty fuels needs to be minimized as soon as possible to reduce the accompanying health impacts.

Liquidity Adjustment Facility

Context: The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) injected Rs 72,860.7 crore of liquidity into the banking system in October 2022, the highest since April 2019 after liquidity condition tightened on higher demand for credit during the festival season.

• It is the central bank’s intervention in the foreign exchange market to curb volatility in the rupee.

What is Liquidity?

• Liquidity in the banking system refers to readily available cash that banks need to meet short-term business and financial needs.
• On a given day, if the banking system is a net borrower from the RBI under Liquidity Adjustment Facility (LAF), the system liquidity is said to be in deficit. If the banking system is a net lender to the RBI, the liquidity is said to be in surplus.

What is Liquidity Adjustment Facility (LAF)?

• A LAF is a monetary policy tool used in India by the RBI through which it injects or absorbs liquidity into or from the banking system.
• It was introduced as a part of the outcome of the Narasimham Committee on Banking Sector Reforms of 1998.
• LAF has two components - repo (repurchase agreement) and reverse repo. When banks need liquidity to meet its daily requirement, they borrow from RBI through repo. The rate at which they borrow fund is called the repo rate. When banks are flush with fund, they park with RBI through the reverse repo mechanism at reverse repo rate.
• It can manage inflation in the economy by increasing and reducing the money supply.
• LAF is used to aid banks in resolving any short-term cash shortages during periods of economic instability or from any other form of stress caused by forces beyond their control.
• Various banks use eligible securities as collateral through a repo agreement and use the funds to alleviate their short-term requirements, thus remaining stable.
• The facilities are implemented on a day-to-day basis as banks and other financial institutions ensure they have enough capital in the overnight market.
• The transacting of liquidity adjustment facilities takes place via an auction at a set time of the day.

What is Monetary Policy?

• Monetary policy refers to the policy of the central bank with regard to the use of monetary instruments under its control to achieve the goals specified in the Act.
• The primary objective of the RBI’s monetary policy is to maintain price stability while keeping in mind the objective of growth.
  • Price stability is a necessary precondition to sustainable growth.
• The amended RBI Act, 1934 also provides for the inflation target (4% +-2%) to be set by the Government of India, in consultation with the Reserve Bank, once in every five years.
• Tools under the Monetary Policy:
  • Cash Reserve Ratio (CRR).
  • Statutory Liquidity Ratio (SLR).
  • Bank Rate.
  • Standing Deposit Facility (SDF).
  • Marginal Standing Facility (MSF).
  • Cash Reserve Ratio (CRR).