THE POLITY AND GOVERNANCE

1. I-T SURVEY TEAM TOOK DATA BY CLONING SERVER: OXFAM INDIA

THE CONTEXT: Recently, the income tax officials conducted a “survey” on Oxfam India on suspicion of financial irregularities, the non-profit organisation said that the survey team took all data by cloning its server and private mobile phones of senior leadership team.

THE EXPLANATION:

The department on conducted surveys on two think tanks and a charity organisation on suspicion of irregularities related to financial transactions.

• According to Oxfam India “The Income-Tax (I-T) Department officials conducted an income tax ‘survey’ at the Oxfam India Delhi office from the 7th September 2022 noon to early hours of 9th September.
• It added that while the team conducting the survey was polite and professional, the process of a survey with such sweeping powers and broad ambit resulted in disappointing Oxfam India. “The Income Tax survey team took away hundreds of pages of data pertaining to finances and programs of Oxfam India. They also took all the data by cloning the Oxfam India server and the private mobile phones of the senior leadership team and the finance lead”.
• It further said that it is compliant with Indian laws and has filed all its statutory compliances, including Income tax and Foreign Contribution Regulation Act (FCRA) returns, in a timely manner since its inception.
• Stating that past eight months have been distressing for Oxfam India, the company pointed out that in December 2021, the renewal of FCRA licence was denied by the Home Ministry. “Despite this, Oxfam India was conducting one of the largest civil society responses to the COVID crisis across 16 States. Oxfam India has provided life-saving medical and diagnostic equipment to 150 district hospitals, 172 primary health centres, and 166 community health centres in 16 States. Ten oxygen plants have also been set up and made operational across the country” .

OXFAM

• Oxfam is a confederation of 20 independent charitable organisations focusing on the alleviation of global poverty.
• It was founded in 1942 and led by Oxfam International.
• It is a major nonprofit group with an extensive collection of operations.
• HQ at Nairobi, Kenya.
• Vision: A world where people and the planet are at the centre of our economy. Where women and girls live free from violence and discrimination. Where the climate crisis is contained. And where governance systems are inclusive and allow for those in power to be held to account.

VALUE ADDITION:

What is the FCRA?

• The FCRA was enacted during the Emergency in 1976 amid apprehensions that foreign powers were interfering in India’s affairs by pumping money into the country through independent organisations.
• These concerns were, in fact, even older; they had been expressed in Parliament as early as in 1969.

Aim: The law sought to regulate foreign donations to individuals and associations so that they functioned in a manner consistent with the values of a sovereign democratic republic.

Prohibition:

The Act prohibits the receipt of foreign funds by candidates for elections, journalists or newspaper and media broadcast companies, judges and government servants, members of legislature and political parties or their office-bearers, and organisations of a political nature.

New guidelines to banks on Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Act rules

• State Bank of India’s New Delhi branch: A new provision that makes it mandatory for all NGOs to receive foreign funds in a designated bank account at the State Bank of India’s New Delhi branch was inserted.
• Designated FCRA account: All NGOs seeking foreign donations have to open a designated FCRA account at the SBI branch.
• The NGOs can retain their existing FCRA account in any other bank but it will have to be mandatorily linked to the SBI branch in New Delhi.
• Only banking channels allowed: Foreign contribution has to be received only through banking channels and it has to be accounted for in the manner prescribed.
• OCI or PIO: Donations are given in Indian rupees by any foreign source including foreigners of Indian origin like OCI or PIO cardholders” should also be treated as foreign contributions.
• Sovereignty and integrity: It requires NGOs to give an undertaking that the acceptance of foreign funds is not likely to prejudicially affect the sovereignty and integrity of India or impact friendly relations with any foreign state and does not disrupt communal harmony.

THE INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS

2. INDIA- UK CONDUCT COUNTER RANSOMWARE EXERCISE

THE CONTEXT: Recently India’s National Security Council Secretariat (NSCS) and the British Government in collaboration with BAE Systems successfully conducted a virtual ransomware drill for 26 countries to prepare for a large, widespread cyber attack.

THE EXPLANATION:

THEME: The theme of the exercise is “Energy Sector” which aims to enable national cyber crisis management teams belonging to CRI affiliates to tackle ransomware attacks on multiple power distribution companies.

• The exercise was part of the International Counter Ransomware Initiative (CRI)-Resilience Working Group led by the National Cyber ​​Security Coordinator (NCSC) in India.
• The objective of conducting this virtual cyber exercise is to detect and address a large, widespread cyber security incident affecting institutions operating within a country.
• The exercise is designed to support CRI’s mission, and is intended to allow participating CRI members to test their abilities to respond to a major ransomware incident at multiple power distribution companies.
• It also mentions the benefits of sharing and collaborating during such a major cyber attack.
• Such exercises also provide opportunities for CRI countries to share their perspectives on tackling ransomware.

VALUE ADDITION:

National Cyber Coordination Centre (NCCC)

• It is an operational cyber security and e-surveillance agency in India which is intended to screen communication metadata and co-ordinate intelligence gathering activities of other agencies. It generates situational awareness about potential and existing cyber security threats and enables timely sharing of information for proactive, preventive and protective actions by individual entities.
• National Cyber Security Coordinator (NCSC) under National Security Council Secretariat (NSCS) coordinates with different agencies at the national level for cyber security matters.

THE HEALTH ISSUES

3. KERALA GOVT: EXPERT COMMITTEE TO STUDY HUMAN RABIES DEATHS

THE CONTEXT: Recently, Kerala Health Minister has issued orders to set up an expert committee to study human rabies deaths in Kerala following a rise in cases of stray dog ​​bites in Kerala.

THE EXPLANATION:

• The minor was bitten on August 14 when she had gone out to buy milk and had six wounds, including one on her face. He died during treatment at the Kottayam Medical College Hospital. The thing to note here is that this girl had also been vaccinated against rabies, yet she died.
• The stray dog ​​bite case was not the first as the number of such cases is increasing in Kerala, following which two petitioners, Father Geevarghese Thomas and Sabu Stephen, moved the court.
• According to the Kerala Health Ministry data, more than 95,000 people were bitten by dogs in eight months this year and 14 people died compared to 11 last year. Of the 14 deaths, five had taken the rabies vaccine.
• The figures for the last five years also show that the cases in the state have been rising steadily: from 1,48,899 in 2019 to 1,21,529 as of August 2022. Rabies deaths are also on the rise: from nine cases in 2018 to 14 deaths in August 2022

Mission Rabies

• It is a charity, initially founded as an initiative by Worldwide Veterinary Service (WVS). It is a United Kingdom-based charity group which assists animals. Mission Rabies works with ‘One Health approach’ which is driven by research to eliminate dog bite transmitted rabies disease. It was launched in September 2013 with the objective of vaccinating 50,000 dogs against rabies in India.  Rabies has estimated to kill 59,000 people annually. Mission Rabies teams have vaccinated 968,287 dogs since 2013. Organisation has worked in the states of Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Andhra Pradesh, Orissa, Maharashtra, West Bengal, Goa, Jharkhand, Rajasthan, and Assam.

About Rabies

• As per WHO, Rabies is a vaccine-preventable viral disease that occurs in about 150 countries and territories. Dogs act as the source of majority of human rabies deaths. Dogs are responsible for contributing up to 99% of rabies transmissions to humans. In Asia and Africa regions, low awareness regarding the need of health care after dog bite takes lives of about 55000 people per year.
• India is endemic for rabies with the burden of 36% of world’s deaths. 30-60% of reported rabies cases and deaths in India occur in children aged under 15 years because bite often go unrecognized and unreported.

THE ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENTS

4. UNDP HUMAN DEVELOPMENT INDEX

THE CONTEXT: India has been ranked 132 out of 191 countries in the recently released Human Development Report 2021-22 by the United Nations Development Program (UNDP).

THE EXPLANATION:

• This year’s report is titled “Uncertain Times, Unsettled Lives: Shaping Our Future in a Transforming World”.
• India’s HDI value during 2021 was 0.633, lower than the world average of 0.732. In 2020 also, India recorded a decline in its HDI value (0.642) as compared to the pre-Covid level of 2019 (0.645).
• Gross National Income (GNI) per capita: India’s GNP per capita (2017 PPP) at $6,590.
• India’s Life expectancy at birth: In 2021, India’s life expectancy at birth was recorded at 67.2 years.
• India’s Life expectancy at birth: The decline in India’s HDI from 0.645 in 2018 to 0.633 in 2021 can be attributed to falling life expectancy at birth.
• Access to knowledge: The expected years of schooling in India is 11.9 years and the average years of schooling is 6.7 years.

Top 5 countries

• Switzerland has been ranked first in the report of the United Nations Human Development Index. It is followed by Norway, then Iceland, Hong Kong and Australia in fifth place.

India’s Neighbours

Sri Lanka has been ranked 73rd in the Human Development Index. With this China is ranked 79th, Bhutan 127th, Bangladesh 129th, Nepal 143rd and Pakistan 161st.

About Human Development Index

The HDI is an average measure of basic human development achievements in a country measured by UNDP. It is a summary measure for assessing long-term progress in three basic dimensions of human development: a long and healthy life, access to knowledge and a decent standard of living.

5. KIRIT PARIKH COMMITTEE TO MODERATE GAS PRICES

THE CONTEXT: The Central Government has recently constituted a committee under the chairmanship of Kirit Parikh to control and reduce the continuous increase in LPG gas prices.

THE EXPLANATION:

• A representative each from private companies involved in city gas distribution, public gas company GAIL India Limited, Indian Oil Corporation and the Ministry of Fertilizers has been included in this committee.
• This committee will decide the formula for better pricing for domestic gas production. The report is expected to be submitted by the end of this month.
• This committee will also review the formula for fixing the price of gas produced by companies like ONGC and Reliance.

LPG consumption in India

• Consumption of LPG in the country – mainly used as cooking fuel – rose 3.75% in January to a record high of 2.569 million tonnes in January, PPAC data showed. India’s LPG consumption has increased in recent years to 27.558 million tonnes in the financial year 2020-21 (April-March), from 4.803 million tonnes in the financial year 1997-98.
• Indian imports were traditionally butane-heavy, although the LPG import ratio has remained largely the same in recent years.
• The flagship scheme of the government Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana (PMUY) has made a significant contribution towards enhancing the penetration of LPG, especially in rural areas. The renewed targets under the Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana (PMUY) aims to provide LPG connections to 10 crore households before January 31, 2022.

THE SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

6. WHAT IS ‘HUMAN ORGAN TRANSPORTATION DRONE’?

THE CONTEXT: Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways recently inaugurated the country’s first prototype drone for transporting human organs to facilitate quick transplantation in hospitals.

THE EXPLANATION:

• With this innovation, it will take much less time to transport the transplanted organs from airport to hospital.  At present, this facility has been started by MGM Healthcare Hospital located in Chennai.
• This drone can be used to carry the organ box up to a distance of 20 km. For this, an agreement has been signed with a city-based drone company.
• This experiment will prove to be a milestone in the direction of seamless transport of organs after transplantation in this service.
• India ranks third in the world after United States and China, with a maximum of 17,000-18,000 solid organ transplants every year. And to defend such circumstances, the human organ transportation drone can be a boon.

Organ Transplantations in India:

• Globally, Spain has the highest organ donation rate at about 34 donors per million, while India has nearly 0.03 donors per million. In India, Tamil Nadu has a highest number of organ donations.
• India needs an estimated 6 lakh kidney donations annually, only 6,000 kidney transplants take place. The number of heart transplants is just inching close to 500.
• National Organ and Tissue Transplant Organization (NOTTO) under the ministry of health and family welfare was setup in 2014 to oversee the process of Organ transplantation. Under NOTTO two organizations are present, namely, Regional Organ and Tissue Transplant Organization (ROTTO) and SOTTO (State Organ and Tissue Transplant organization).

THE GOVERNMENT SCHEMES IN NEWS

7. WOMEN IN ENGINEERING, SCIENCE, AND TECHNOLOGY (WEST) INITIATIVE

THE CONTEXT: Recently, the central government launched a new i-STEM (Indian Science Technology and Engineering Facilities) initiative named “Women in Engineering, Science and Technology (WEST)”.

THE EXPLANATION:

• The WEST program is aimed at women from STEM backgrounds and will empower them to contribute to the science, technology and innovation ecosystem.
• Under the WEST initiative, the existing support being provided by I-STEM to S&Tstartups of women entrepreneurs will be enhanced and a dedicated team of women will ensure the successful implementation of this initiative.
• Access to R&D facilities and R&D software platforms (Comsol, Matlab, LabVIEW, AutoCAD) available through this portal will create a strong support network for women entrepreneurs in science and technology.
• In addition, a digital group “Connect Quickly” has also been set up through I-Stem’s WhatsApp and Telegram platforms for online discussion and immediate help.

Significance of WEST

• i-STEM will provide a platform for women researchers to discuss achievements, issues and exchange ideas to take the country forward through advances in science, technology and innovation.
• Women with this experience can become entrepreneurs to serve as consultants for operation and maintenance of sophisticated equipment/equipment through i-STEM platform.
• This initiative will also help in bringing women back into the science and technology domain after a career break.
• This will go a long way toward filling the “skills gap” and putting publicly funded tools to good use.

VALUE ADDITION:

I-STEM Portal

• I-STEM is Indian Science, Technology Engineering Facilities Map. The portal will act as a gateway for the researchers and users to locate facilities that are required for their research and development work. Also, after locating the facility, the researcher can make an online reservation in order to use the facility. With this, the start-ups can leverage public and private investments and come up with successful services and products.
• Initially, similar facility was operating at IISc Bengaluru and IIT Bombay. The I-STEM portal is a replica of these facilities. The facility at IISc Bengaluru was called the Centre for Nano Science and Engineering (CeNSE).

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