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Current Affairs from The Hindu DATE:30-04-15

S.NO. NEWS ITEM SYLLUBUS ESSENCE OF THE ARTICLE1. Pak must open

Wagah for trade: Ghani (Pages 1 and 10)

a) I.R a) Signalling that Afghanistan is upset with Pakistan over its refusal to allow direct trade with India via the Wagah border, President Ashraf Ghani says that if the deadlock continues, we will not provide equal transit access to Central Asia for Pakistani trucks.

2. Cabinet delinks Assam from new border pact (0)

a) I.R a) The Cabinet approved the long-pending and controversial Land Boundary Agreement with Bangladesh, ahead of bringing Constitution Amendment Bill associated with it in Parliament next week.

3. China hits back over South China Sea (Page 12)

a) International a) The war of words between China and its two main detractors in the South China Sea (Vietnam and Philippines) became stronger after Beijing, accused of reclamation work on disputed islands, charged Manila and Hanoi of illegal construction.

4. Japan and quake preparedness (Page 8)

a) International a) A strong disaster management programme which includes various aspects of mitigating after-effects, sensitisation of public, warning systems and architectural changes resulting in quake-resistant buildings has characterised Japans earthquake preparedness.

5. Changes in Act will make graft heinous crime (Pages 1 and 10)

a) National

b) Polity

a) The Union Cabinet approved amendments to the Prevention of Corruption Act 1988 that provide for classifying corruption as a horrible crime and longer prison terms for both bribe-giver and bribe-taker.

6. 100 cities to turn smart (Pages 1 and 10)

a) National a) The Cabinet cleared one of PM Modis most favoured projects (100 smart cities spread across the country) and a new urban renewal mission with a total outlay of nearly Rs. 1,00,000 crore.

7. RBI minutes say four members of TAC favoured rate cut (Page 13)

a) Economy a) Four members of the Technical Advisory Committee of the RBI on monetary policy had recommended a reduction in the policy repo rate.

8. Himalayas: next major quake may be west of the recent one (Page 14)

a) S&T

b) Geography

a) While stress unloading has taken place from nearly west to east of the focus of the main quake, stress loading could have occurred further west of the focus of the main quake.

9. Chikungunya vaccine shows promise (Page 14)

a) S&T a) An experimental chinkungunya vaccine to induce neutralising immune responses to kill the viruses once they enter the body has shown promise in mice.

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S.NO. NEWS ITEM SYLLUBUS BACKGROUND IMPORTANT POINTS1. Pak must open

Wagah for trade: Ghani (Pages 1 and 10)

a) I.R a) India – Afghanistan relations

b) Afghanistan-Pakistan Transit Trade Agreement (APTTA)

c) Wagah border

d) Attari

e) Terrorism

f) Taliban

a) Signalling that Afghanistan is upset with Pakistan over its refusal to allow direct trade with India via the Wagah border, President Ashraf Ghani says that if the deadlock continues, we will not provide equal transit access to Central Asia for Pakistani trucks.

b) He told that it was a question of sovereign equality, and Pakistan must accept the national treatment clause agreed to in the APTTA (signed in 2011) which gives each country equal access up to the national boundaries of both.

c) At present, Pakistan allows Afghan trucks carrying goods meant for India only up to its last checkpoint at Wagah and not to the Indian checkpoint at Attari, less than a kilometre away.

d) PM Modi said that India was keen on a trade agreement with Afghanistan that would include India in the APTTA.

e) Ghani said that the international terror networks target every one of our neighbours from India to Russia. Our territory is being made the battleground. He also said the Taliban issues should be put on the table so they can be solved politically.

2. Cabinet delinks Assam from new border pact (Page

a) I.R a) India – Bangladesh relations

a) The Cabinet approved the long-pending and controversial LBA with Bangladesh, ahead of

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10)b) Land Boundary Agreement (LBA)

bringing the Constitution Amendment Bill associated with it in Parliament next week. However, it has de-linked Assam from the agreement for now.

b) Sources said the changes had been conveyed to the Bangladesh govt. They had agreed to these amendments.

3. China hits back over South China Sea (Page 12)

a) International a) South China Sea

b) Spratly islands (Nansha Islands)

c) Thitu Island

a) The war of words between China and its two main detractors in the South China Sea (Vietnam and Philippines) became stronger after Beijing, accused of reclamation work on disputed islands, charged Manila and Hanoi of illegal construction.

b) Chinese foreign ministry official said that for a long time, Philippines, Vietnam and other countries have been carrying out reclamations on the Chinese islands they are illegally occupying in the Spratly islands (Nansha Islands). He said that Philippines is building an airport and expanding a dock on Thitu Island.

c) He observed that China is resolutely opposed to these illegal activities and demands relevant countries immediately stop their violations on Chinas sovereignty and rights. Chinas construction in the Nansha Islands is totally within the scope of our sovereignty; it is reasonable, fair and lawful.

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4. Japan and quake preparedness (Page 8)

a) International a) Earthquakes

b) Tectonic plate movement

c) Earthquake Early Warning (EEW)

d) Building Standard Law of Japan

e) Earthquake Disaster Prevention

f) Tohoku tsunami

g) Himalayas

a) The earthquake in Nepal has shaked the world. The author recollects how Nepal and India were quick to support Japan when it faced a similar situation in 2011, during the Tohoku tsunami where more than 20,000 people died.

b) Japan falls in a seismically active region and earthquakes are a part of life. Japanese seismologists and engineers are always working on solutions to mitigate the loss and damage caused by earthquakes.

c) An earthquake is a sudden violent shaking of the ground, as a result of volcanic action or movements deep within earths crust. The Nepal quake resulted from a collision between the Indian crustal block and the Eurasian continent.

d) Geophysicists know that the entire Indian subcontinent is being driven slowly but surely beneath Nepal at a speed of 5cms a year. This generates a 5-metre contraction over a century and results in silent stress build-up in inner crustal rock. An earthquake occurs when stress accumulation reaches critical point.

e) Over millions of years, the pressing has crushed the Himalayas, raising mountains and causing earthquakes on a regular basis. It will continue. This dynamic process will also induce stress accumulation in

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India. The Gujarat earthquake of 2001 was a result of this process. This shows that a quake is sure to occur in future.

f) Like Japan, Nepal is also located in one of most seismic active zones. Earthquake forecasting is a kind of historical science. In Nepal, researchers did track active earthquake history and issued warnings about a possible and destructive quake. Earthquake science still does not have a tool for imminent earthquake prediction. Therefore, being prepared for one is a crucial, and the only step for disaster mitigation.

g) The Japanese believe and agree that anti-disaster investments are lifesavers. If the Indian govt makes a public investment in this area, it should first come to some sort of social agreement in disaster mitigation. Japanese anti-quake construction technology places a premium on high performance. Hence, what is suitable for Japanese conditions may not work elsewhere, in terms of applicability and cost. Therefore, the Gov of India must develop an anti-disaster technology that suits Indian construction and conditions.

h) Disaster mitigation measures also require risk evaluation for rural and urban areas. In high-risk regions,

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there must be public investment. Policymakers in India must look at those parts of the country that have high quake potential. Records show that the western, coastal and northern regions are at high risk.

i) Another important factor is occurrence frequency and probability. Shorter intervals between quakes indicate a high probability. At the same time, longer intervals also produce high probability. An evaluation of these factors will give one the basic information required.

j) Japanese govt operates the Headquarters for Earthquake Research Promotion based on Special Measure Law on Earthquake Disaster Prevention. The most important role of this special inter-ministry organisation is to publish probabilistic seismic hazard maps resulting from probability evaluation of earthquake occurrences. It also conducts unified national earthquake research - as geological surveys, earthquake monitoring and computer modelling.

k) Earthquake risk is defined in the following way - multiplication of earthquake magnitude, probability and social fragility. Scientific data can only estimate magnitude and probability. This shows

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that if a place is very fragile, even a small earthquake can result in disaster.

l) In Japan, a real-time EEW is in operation. If a quake is in sea, the speed of an earthquake wave is about 8 km per second, which is slower than an electric signal. If the epicentre is away from ones location, an electric signal reaches faster than the shake that gives the lead time before the quake arrives. EEW alert is automatically caused whenever any seismometer detects a seismic signal.

m) These examples show how earthquake monitoring data might help decrease the impact of a disaster. However, for the full impact of such a system, there needs to be a high ratio of anti-quake construction. Govt investment in anti-quake construction takes precedence over a modern alert system.

n) Legislation also plays a most important role in disaster mitigation. Japanese govt has amended the Building Standard Law at regular intervals to reflect the advances in science and technology, and the lessons learnt from the last earthquake that occurred

o) We should try to develop a legal system, especially a Building Standard Law for earthquake disaster mitigation. Another countermeasure

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against quake disaster is a city planning policy and advance reconstruction policies.

5. Changes in Act will make graft heinous crime (Pages 1 and 10)

a) National

b) Polity

a) Prevention of Corruption Act 1988

b) United Nations Convention Against Corruption

a) The Cabinet approved amendments to the Prevention of Corruption Act 1988, that provide for classifying corruption as a horrible crime and longer prison terms for both bribe-giver and bribe- taker. The proposed amendment will also ensure a speedy trial for corruption cases.

b) The proposed amendments would fill in perceived gaps in the domestic anti-corruption law and also help in meeting the countrys obligations under the United Nations Convention Against Corruption more effectively. Measures approved include penal provisions being enhanced from minimum 6 months to 3 years and from maximum 5 to 7 years.

c) The ambit of the existing Act will be enhanced to make commercial entities liable for inducement of public servants. Under the present law, only individuals are liable. The proposed amendment bill also provides for issue of guidelines to commercial organisations to prevent persons associated with them from bribing a public servant.

d) Non-monetary gratification will also be covered within the definition of the word

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gratification in the PCA 1988. The Prevention of Corruption (Amendment) Bill 2013 was introduced in the Rajya Sabha on August 19 2013.

6. 100 cities to turn smart (Pages 1 and 10)

a) National a) Smart cities project

b) Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation (AMRUT)

a) The Cabinet cleared one of PM Modis most favoured projects (100 smart cities spread across the country) and a new urban renewal mission named after Atal Bihari Vajpayee (replacing existing one named after Jawaharlal Nehru) with a total outlay of nearly Rs. 1,00,000 crore.

b) Ministry sources said the smart cities mission is aimed at recasting the urban landscape of the country by making cities more liveable and inclusive, besides driving economic growth.

c) Each selected city under the ambitious scheme would get Central assistance of Rs. 100 crore a year for five years. The mission aims to release funding depending on multi-pronged progress of projects and makes citizen participation an integral part of planning of these cities.

7. RBI minutes say four members of TAC favoured rate cut (Page 13)

a) Economy a) Monetary policy

b) Repo rate

c) Statutory liquidity ratio (SLR)

d) RBI

e) Technical Advisory

a) Four members of the TAC of the RBI on monetary policy had recommended a reduction in the policy repo rate.

b) Two of them had suggested a 50 basis points cut along with a forward guidance of no further decline. The other two members had

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Committee (TAC)

f) inflationrecommended a decrease in the policy repo rate by 25 basis points, as they felt that inflation (excluding food and fuel) had declined.

c) They were of the view that until the two 25 basis points cuts in the repo rate (in Jan and March 2015) are transmitted into lending rates, no further cut is desirable.

d) In its first bi-monthly monetary policy for 2015-16, the RBI had kept the short-term policy rates (repo) unchanged at 7.50 percent.

e) One of the members suggested that the SLR be reduced by 50 basis points.

8. Himalayas: next major quake may be west of the recent one (Page 14)

a) S&T

b) Geography

a) Himalayas

b) Nepal earthquake

c) 2004 Sumatra earthquake

d) Tectonic plate movement

e) Continental plate collisions

f) Mariana Trench

a) Researchers said that in future, if any earthquake were to happen along Himalayas, it may happen further west of the focus of main April 25 quake. That is because 7.8 magnitude April 25 quake was caused by a unidirectional fracture. From the focus of the earthquake, the fault propagated in a nearly west to east direction thereby releasing the energy that was stored for many decades.

b) While stress unloading has taken place from nearly west to east of the focus of the main quake, stress loading could have occurred further west of the focus of the main quake.

c) The Dec 24 2004 Sumatra

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earthquake that caused the killer tsunami waves was also caused by a unidirectional fracture that propagated in a south to north direction. As a result of the unidirectional fault propagation, stress was unloaded in the northern direction and stress loading occurred south of the focus of the main Sumatra earthquake.

d) The April 25 2015 quake was caused by thrust faulting on or near the main frontal thrust where the Indian plate is pushed under Eurasian plate. Acc to the US Geological Survey, from the epicentre of the earthquake, nearly 80 km to the northwest of the Nepalese capital of Kathmandu, the India plate is converging with Eurasian plate at a rate of 4.5-5 cm per year.

e) About 3 cm of Indian plate movement is accommodated in Himalayan collision zone and the remaining is accommodated along the east-west strike-slip faults in the Tibet region. As a result, earthquakes caused by thrust fault in Himalayan region occur along the strike-slip fault in an east-west direction.

f) Any quake will cause displacement either in a vertical or horizontal direction. The quake was on a thrust fault and so most of the displacement will be in a vertical direction. According to sources, 1-10 feet

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of India had slipped northward underneath Nepal.

g) Nepal is situated on an ancient lakebed and hence the soil at Kathmandu valley is soft and liquefies easily. Unlike a rocky terrain where the seismic waves travelling with great velocity can have very good transmission, a terrain with sediments can amplify the seismic waves, thereby amplifying the ground motion.

h) A continental-continental plate collision will necessarily produce shallow-focus earthquakes as continental plates are less dense than oceanic plates and both plates have same density. However, when two ocean plates collide, both the plates will go down to form a trench, like in the case of Mariana Trench in Pacific Ocean. Both the ocean plates will go down because of the role of gravity. In the case of two colliding continental plates, gravity is not that intense.

i) In the case of a continental plate colliding with an oceanic plate, the oceanic plate subducts under continental plate as it is heavier than continental plate.

9. Chikungunya vaccine shows promise (Page 14)

a) S&T a) Chikungunya virus

b) Chikungunya vaccine

a) An experimental chikungunya vaccine to induce neutralising immune responses to kill the viruses once they enter the body has shown

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c) E coli

d) Aedes mosquitoes

e) Modified Vaccinia Ankara (MVA)

promise in mice.

b) Chikungunya virus is transmitted by Aedes mosquitoes and causes an infection in humans known as chikungunya fever. The disease causes fever and severe joint pain; the joint pain can last for a few months and in some cases for up to several years. India is one of worst affected countries.

c) The chikungunya virus has two surface proteins - E1 and E2. While E1 is a fusion protein, E2 very likely plays a role in binding the virus with receptors seen on human cells.

d) After producing protein vaccines in E. coli and purifying them, mice were immunised with these protein fragments. Their ability to produce neutralising antibodies in mice was studied post injection. The researchers also generated a recombinant MVA using the sAB+ construct.

e) The MVA is a vector that is used to carry the molecule of interest (which in this case is a protein) into the body of mice/humans. The MVA vectors were used in the AIDS vaccine trail carried out at the Chennai-based National Institute for Research in Tuberculosis.

f) The researchers say that since the mice were infected with a very high dose of

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chikungunya virus, the protective effect of recombinant protein vaccine may be sufficient to protect against a mosquito derived infection.

NOTE: Read all snapshots in S&T .

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laex.in file · web viewchikungunya vaccine shows promise (page 14) a) s&t. a) an experimental...

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