Maharashtra has 18 filariasis endemic districts.
Maharashtra government has flagged off its mass drug administration drive for the elimination of lymphatic filariasis.

• Lymphatic Filariasis also called elephantiasis is a vector-borne disease, spread by the bite of mosquitoes and black flies.
• It is a parasitic disease caused by filial worms (parasitic worms).
• In the human body, the disease parasite is acquired during childhood causing gradual damage in the lymphatic system.

• The U.S. had announced the distribution of 80 million doses as part of its “COVID-19 Global Response and Recovery Framework”. 
• The indemnity would be used as a legal defence to protect the U.S. firms, which have pointed out that they cannot take responsibility for cold-chain lapses and transportation problems within India.

 Kerala formulates action plan for Zika

• Zika Virus infection is caused by the Zika Virus (ZIKV) belonging to the Flaviviridae family.
• It is an infection transmitted through the bite of infected female mosquitoes, Aedes aegypti and Aedes albopictus.

A Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP) was passed at a Delhi Disaster Management Authority (DDMA) meeting chaired by Lieutenant Governor Anil Baijal to discuss the COVID situation in the Capital.

4 alert levels

1. Yellow
2. Amber
3. Orange
4. Red

 Union Cabinet has approved a ₹23,123 crore package to boost emergency response and healthcare systems.

• The Centre’s => ₹15,000 crore and the States’ =>₹8,123 crore.
•  March 2020– PM announced a Central Sector Scheme of Rs. 15,000 crore for the “India COVID 19 Emergency Response and Health Systems Preparedness Package”.
• Funding for 20,000 additional ICU (intensive care unit) beds and the setting up of paediatric units in all districts.
• Genome sequencing machines would be provided to the National Centre for Disease Control.
• expansion of the national telemedicine platform, e-Sanjeevani, by increasing daily consultations from 50,000 at present to 5 lakh.
•  biggest impetus for the implementation of the National Digital Health Mission (NDHM).

Meghalaya raises concern about Assam Cattle Preservation Bill -2021.. Not good if it affects people and economy.
Stop transportation of cattle or use state for transmit of bovine animals.
Meghalaya + MIzorama+ Nagaland consume beef.

Sikkim= home to 27% of India’s flowering plants.

Vietnam appoints 1st honorary consul in India.

Ending the shift between Jammu and Kashmir

Durbar Move

• It is a bi-annual shifting of the Civil Secretariat and other offices of the state government from Jammu to Srinagar in summer, and vice versa in winter.
• Jammu is the winter capital of Jammu and Kashmir, while Srinagar is its summer capital.

Background

• The tradition of switching the capitals twice a year is believed to have been started during Dogra rule in 1872 by Maharaja Ranbir Singh, who ruled Jammu and Kashmir from 1856 until his death in 1885.

Himalayan yaks to be insured

National Research Centre on Yak (NRCY) at Dirang in West Kameng district, Arunachal Pradesh, has tied up with the National Insurance Company Ltd. for insuring their livestock.
yak population has been decreasing at an alarming rate

The Centre has decided to allow Agricultural Produce Market Committees (APMC) to access financing facilities through its Agricultural Infrastructure Fund.

India is currently enjoying what is referred to as a demographic dividend. Half of India’s population is under 29 years of age. 

• A separate ‘Ministry of Co-operation’ has been created by the government for realizing the vision of ‘Sahkar se Samriddhi’.
• This ministry will provide a separate administrative, legal and policy framework for strengthening the cooperative movement in the country.
• The Ministry will work to streamline processes for ‘Ease of doing business’ for co-operatives and enable the development of Multi-State Co-operatives (MSCS).
  • Significantly, the MSCBs have now been solely taken under the Reserve Bank of India for regulatory purposes.

The National Security Act:

• The National Security Act of 1980, provides for the provision of preventive detention in certain cases. 
• The Act empowers the Central Government and State Governments to detain a person to prevent him/her from acting in any manner prejudicial to the national security of India, the relations of India with foreign countries, the maintenance of law and order, or the maintenance of supplies and services essential to the community.
• The act also gives power to the governments to detain a foreigner in a view to regulate his/her presence or expel from the country.

35% of govt. schools, anganwadis have no tap water

Background:

Jal Jeevan Mission (JJM) launched a 100-day campaign to provide tap water access to government schools.

Details:

• The 100-day campaign to achieve 100% coverage, and provide potable piped water supply for drinking and cooking purposes as well as tap water for handwashing and in toilets in every school, Anganwadi and ashramshala or residential tribal school, was launched on October 2, 2020.
• The other aims of the scheme were to discuss and bring awareness among rural community, anganwadi workers, school teachers, school management committees, etc about the importance of Water, Sanitation & Hygiene (WASH) and assured availability of safe water to children for their overall development.
• At the time, about 40% of schools and anganwadis already had tap water access.
• About 66% of schools and 60% of Anganwadi centres across the nation have got FHTC [Functional Household Tap Connections] through JJM in 10 months.
• Nine states and Union Territories have already achieved 100% coverage.

Issue:

• Over a third of government schools and anganwadis still do not have tap water access.
• There has been slow progress despite a Parliamentary Standing Committee pointing out the importance of repeated washing of hands as part of COVID-19 safety protocols for schools to reopen.
• There is a wide disparity among States.
  • In Jharkhand and West Bengal, less than 15% of schools and less than 10% of anganwadis have tap water access.
  • On the other hand, 80% of the schools in Uttar Pradesh have access to tap water.

Jal Jeevan Mission:

• Jal Jeevan Mission (JJM) aims at the universal coverage of provision of tap water connections to every rural home by 2024.
• The programme will also implement source sustainability measures as mandatory elements, such as recharge and reuse through greywater management, water conservation, rainwater harvesting.

India hands over relics of holy St. Queen Ketevan = 17th century Georgian Queen to Georgia. Relics found in 2005 in St Augustine Convent in Old Goa.

• China has topped the charts in providing crucial and timely support for Sri Lanka.
• In addition to sanctioning loans and a currency swap facility worth more than $2 billion since the pandemic struck, China also announced a $90 million grant to Sri Lanka in October 2020.
• The hospital is built with a Chinese grant of $60 million and is said to be one of the largest in South Asia for nephrology care.

 Cairn says it has got court nod to attach 20 Indian assets in Paris

Cairn Energy has said that it has secured a French court order allowing it to freeze at least 20 Indian properties in central Paris.

Earlier, the Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA) at The Hague ruled in favour of Cairn Energy PLC of the U.K and awarded $1.2 billion in damages against India in the retrospective taxation case.

International Criminal Police Organization, commonly known as Interpol, is an international organization that facilitates worldwide police cooperation and crime control. 
HQ: Lyon, France

• Meeting virtually at INTERPOL’s 16th annual conference for NCBs
• operational and investigative support to expanding INTERPOL’s I-24/7 secure communications network to national police and border control agencies.
• ransomware activities generated USD 350 million in 2020, according to Chainalysis, a 311% increase over the previous year.

with the territorial defeat of Da’esh opening up a new insurgency phase in the Middle-East,

whilst in other critical theatres such as Africa, new groups have joined the terrorist movement, battling Al-Qaeda for supremacy.

Project I-CAN, a three-year INTERPOL initiative funded by the Italian Department of Public Security to combat the ‘Ndrangheta mafia group.

Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam:

• It is a mega-dam on the upper Blue Nile.
• The dam is set to be Africa’s largest hydroelectric project when completed.
• The project has led to an almost decade-long diplomatic stand-off between Ethiopia and downstream nations Egypt and Sudan. Egypt and Sudan have opposed the project over fears that it could restrict their water access.

 Venezuela’s reflections on the Carabobo

• The Battle of Carabobo, 1821, was fought between independence fighters, led by Venezuelan General Simón Bolívar, and the Spanish Army.
• Bolívar’s decisive victory at Carabobo led to the independence of Venezuela and establishment of the Republic of Gran Colombia.

In defence of India’s noisy democracy

The article draws a comparison between the political system prevalent in India and China. It analyses the authoritarian Chinese model of efficiency, but supports the democratic ideas and values.

China’s economy has transformed enormously from being a poor country to a Global Powerhouse with no parallel in history.

• People did start to rebel to some degree they introduced free market transformations it’s the only reason that china has emerged as powerful economically.
• Recorded high rates of economic growth,
  • focused on capital accumulation,
  • powered an export engine to overcome a limited domestic market,
  • welcomed foreign direct investment,
  • plugged into global supply chains and kept its public finances more or less in order.

Conflict resolution

• Democracy is, slow and often contentious. But its deliberative and electoral processes help mitigate conflicts, especially in heterogeneous and conflict-ridden societies.
• Even in a more homogeneous country like China, the absence of open public discourse does the opposite, as evidenced by the State’s mishandling of ethnic unrest among Tibetans and Uighurs.
• Respect for Minorities and diversity.
• India’s democracy may have been quarrelsome, cumbersome and often dominated by elites, but it has preserved individual liberties, group identities and religious and thought freedoms.

Mao killed the most human beings on earth. He killed like 50 to 60 million people the chinese communism killed more people than anybody ever did in our human history.

• India’s pluralistic democracy has increased political awareness and self-assertion, our independent judiciary, Election Commission and regulatory bodies function with a degree of autonomy.
• Therefore, instead of looking up to China, it is time to defend the noise of Indian democracy.

SEPC= Service Export Promotion council is preparing a roadmap to double its export in 5yrs.
The current policy– validity – march2020 extended upto sept2021.

SEBI recommended–> non permannet staffers to receive share based employee benefits+ sweat equity shares.

Bar Council of India

• It was established by Parliament under the Advocates Act, 1961
• The notification said an Advocate shall conduct himself/herself as a gentleman/gentle lady in his/her day to day life and he/she shall not do any unlawful act.
• He/she shall not make any statement in the Print, Electronic or Social Media, which is indecent or derogatory,  defamatory or motivated,  malicious or mischievous against any Court or Judge or any member of Judiciary, or against State Bar Council or Bar Council of India.

Supreme Court has directed the Central government to provide details on the appointment of Information Commissioners, vacancies and pendency of cases in the Central Information Commission (CIC).

Issue:

• The pendency of cases in the CIC is as high as 36,000.
• Activists have raised concerns that the appointments to CIC have been made in an opaque manner despite a direction from the court in 2019 that the appointment process should be transparent.
• The CIC was constituted with effect from 12th October 2005 under the RTI Act 2005.
• It is not a constitutional body.

Terrain, facilities in J&K to reflect in delimitation

• The Jammu and Kashmir Delimitation Commission will base its final report on the 2011 Census.
• It will take into account the topography, difficult terrain, means of communication and convenience available while delimiting seven additional seats for the 83-member Assembly of the Union Territory (UT).
• Delimitation is the act of redrawing the boundaries of a constituency that votes for a Lok Sabha seat on the basis of population change over a period of time.
• In the erstwhile state of Jammu and Kashmir (prior to August 5, 2019), the delimitation of Lok Sabha seats was governed by the Indian Constitution, but the delimitation of its Assembly seats was governed separately by the Jammu and Kashmir Constitution and Jammu and Kashmir Representation of the People Act, 1957. 
• 24 seats under PoJK wont be deliminated.

New CM of Uttrakhand??

As per the Constitution, a person who is not a member of either house of the state legislature can also be appointed as the Chief Minister, but such a member must become a member of either of the houses before six months, to continue in the post.

The Representation of the People Act, 1951, mandates that a bypoll for any vacancy should be held within six months of that vacancy arising, provided the remainder of the term is not less than one year or the EC and the Centre do not certify that holding the bypoll in that time frame is difficult.

Allowing non-MLAs to become CM/Ministers:

• India has a parliamentary democracy,–> he increasing role of the party high commands in the selection of CM is in direct contrast to the whole concept of the CM being the popular choice of the elected people.
• provision for allowing non-MLAs to become Chief Minister and ministers will allow for outside talent to be accommodated into the administration.
• Article 101 states that if a person is a member of both Houses of Parliament, he or she loses membership of one and if a person is an MP and gets elected as an MLA, or vice versa, he or she has to resign from one post within 14 days.

West Bengal Assembly has passed a resolution to set up a Legislative Council with a two-thirds majority.

• The resolution for the Legislative Council was moved under Article 169.

Article 169:

• Article 169 of the Indian Constitution deals with the abolition or creation of Legislative Councils in states.
• Clause (1) states that Parliament may by law provide for the abolition of the Legislative Council of a State having such a Council or for the creation of such a Council in a State having no such Council, if the Legislative Assembly of the State passes a resolution to that effect by a majority of the total membership of the Assembly and by a majority of not less than two thirds of the members of the Assembly present and voting.
• Clause (3) states that such a law shall be deemed to be an amendment of the Constitution for the purposes of Article 368.

 draft Cinematograph (Amendment) Bill 2021 proposes amendments aimed at tackling the menace of piracy and also introduces some changes with respect to the process of certification.

• The amendment would grant revisionary powers to the Government on account of violation of Section 5B(1) of the Act.
  • Section 5B(1) states that a film shall not be certified for public exhibition if, in the opinion of the authority competent to grant the certificate, the film or any part of it is against the interests of the sovereignty and integrity of India, the security of the State, friendly relations with foreign States, public order, decency or morality, or involves defamation or contempt of court or is likely to incite the commission of any offence.

Super censorship:

• Some prominent filmmakers have criticized the bill over the provision that allows the government to order recertification of films already certified by the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC). They have called it a kind of “super censorship”.

• Gamosa is a symbol of Assamese culture, an important marker of cultural identity for the Assamese.
• This small piece of cloth has high esteem and wide usage in Assamese culture.
• It is also known as ‘Bihuwaan’, as it is an essential part of the Bihu festival of Assam.
• It is generally a white rectangular piece of cloth with primarily a red border on three sides and red woven motifs on the fourth.
• Although cotton yarn is the most common material for making/weaving gamosas, there are special occasion ones made from Pat silk.
• Assam has traditionally had two types of gamosas – the uka and the phulam.
  • The uka or plain kind is used to wipe sweat or dry the body after a bath.
  • The phulam is decorated with floral motifs to be gifted as a memento or during festivals such as Bihu.

Note:

• Handloom (Reservation of Articles for Production) Act, 1985 reserves certain articles for exclusive production by handloom.
• These include the gamosa, angavastram and the Manipuri phanek.

Forensic Architecture of Amnesty International and Citizen Lab launched an online database about the use of the spyware Pegasus to document attacks against human rights defenders.

In 2020, Amnesty and Citizen Lab revealed that the spyware was used on nine human rights defenders who were accused in the Bhima Koregaon case.

• Pegasus is a spyware tool from Israeli firm NSO Group.
• In 2020, WhatsApp’s report stated that 1,400 of its users were hacked by Pegasus.
•  attacker has complete access to the user’s phone.
•  control the phone’s camera and microphone 
• Pegasus delivers “a chain of zero-day exploits to penetrate security features on the phone and installs Pegasus without the user’s knowledge or permission”.

What is a genome?

• A genome is the complete set of genetic information of an organism. It contains all the instructions for creating and maintaining life.
• A human genome consists of nuclear and mitochondrial DNA.
• The genome of a virus comprises RNA as the genetic material.

Genome Sequencing:

• Genome sequencing is figuring out the order of DNA nucleotides, or bases, in a genome.
  • The order of As, Cs, Ts, and Gs that make up an organism’s DNA.

Delhi High Court has directed the Centre to submit a status report on the availability of Liposomal Amphotericin B, used for treating patients of mucormycosis (black fungus).

Mucormycosis:

• Mucormycosis or black fungus is primarily affecting people recovering from COVID-19.
• It is a complication caused by a fungal infection.
• Mucormycosis affects the sinuses, brain, and lungs, and is life-threatening.