Gist of The Hindu: APRIL 2020

Gist of The Hindu: APRIL 2020

 

VP claims next 10 years to be decade of youth in India

  • Vice President Venkaiah Naidu has said the next ten years would be the decade of the youth in India. He gave an extramural lecture in the IIT, Madras on the topic, 'India 2020 to 2030: GenY's Vision for the Decade,' this evening.
  • In his address, he said, India’s population is among the youngest in an ageing world. He said the strategy and vision for the education of the youth will decide how successful India will be in converting the country’s demographic advantage into a rich dividend.
  • The Vice President said a resurgent India is being witnessed today, driven by the dreams and aspirations of the youth. He expressed confidence that through their collective efforts, the dream of an India that is prosperous, inclusive, peaceful and harmonious can be realised.
  • He said India’s greatest asset is its tremendous diversity, adding, the time-tested bonds of unity are deeply rooted in it. He observed that there is a growing tendency to use technology irresponsibly to spread fake information or hate messages.
  • The Vice President stressed that the nation's timeless values of empathy with the people, harmony with nature, tolerance, non-violence and peaceful co-existence must be promoted.
  • He highlighted that the pursuit of excellence and utmost dedication and devotion to one’s duties and responsibilities are the highest forms of patriotism.
    Experts suggests need of protocol for introduction of wild animals
  • Days after the Supreme Court green-lighted the introduction of cheetahs in India, the top scientist at the laboratory for saving extinct species says it will be a challenge.
  • The court recently gave the nod to the National Tiger Conservation Authority to re-introduce African cheetahs, nearly 10 years after the plea was made.
  • “The background extinction rates are over 100 to 1,000 times due to reasons like hunting, destruction of habitat and human intervention. Species die out naturally but when a species becomes extinct unnaturally, it is like murder,” said Mr. Vasudevan,an expert.
  • Mr. Vasudevan said India would need a protocol to introduce wild animals in the country. “The International Union for Conservation of Nature has a protocol. It has reintroduction specialist groups. It has template guidelines, but we need to adapt them to our needs and we have to develop for our own species,” he said.
  • There is a need to create provisions under the Wildlife Protection Act for a policy on introduction of wild animals. Otherwise, citing this [cheetah introduction], many things can be done. We need to safeguard the interests of other species,” he said.
  • One of the successful efforts of Laboratory for the Conservation of Endangered Species(LACONES) has been the reintroduction of mouse deer in the wild with its captive breeding programme in collaboration with the Nehru Zoological Park in Hyderabad.

In terms of invoicing, India is amongst the most dollarized countries

  • India is among the most dollarised countries as far as invoicing is concerned, and by all these measures of internationalisation, the dollar is largely ahead of other currencies with euro as a distant second, Professor Hélène Rey, Lord Bagri Professor of Economics, London Business School, said.
  • Ms. Rey was speaking at the Export-Import (EXIM) Bank of India’s 35th Commencement Day Annual Lecture in Mumbai on ‘financial globalisation and international financial markets’.
  • “One can also see the U.S. as an insurer, since the value of its external dollar liabilities such as Treasury bills and U.S. government bonds held by the rest of the world tend to appreciate in bad times, thereby insuring the people holding them,” she said.
  • As a result, the U.S. gets seigniorage as people from different countries use dollars, she said, adding that India was one of the most dollarised countries in the world, following Brazil, Pakistan and Indonesia, in the share of imports and exports invoiced in dollars.
  • Ms. Rey said that according to a survey by the European Central Bank, the dollar dominated 62.2% international debt, 56.3% international loan and 62.7% global exchange reserves, whereas the euro had acquired much less global market.
  • “The dollar is becoming more unstable over time as the relative size of the U.S. shrinks in the world economy while the stock of dollar liabilities in the rest of the world keep growing,” she added.

New Zealand to expand trade with India if the latter does not join RCEP

  • New Zealand on Thursday said it will look forward to a bilateral trade agreement with India in case New Delhi does not join the China-backed mega trade deal RCEP.
  • The Narendra Modi-led government in November decided not to join Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) deal as negotiations failed to satisfactorily address New Delhi's "outstanding issues and concerns".
  • However, the possibility of India joining the trade pact is open provided its concerns are addressed by the member nations.
  • Responding to issues concerning the opening of the domestic dairy sector, he said New Zealand appreciates the concerns of the Indian dairy industry but expressed hope that some solutions could be arrived at through negotiations.
  • Observing that New Zealand was disappointed after India did not join the conclusion of the RCEP negotiations, Parker said the disappointment was not only for lost bilateral opportunities but also because the nation believes there is a strategic benefit for India of being on the table when the regional trade rules are made.
  • The RCEP negotiations were launched by leaders from 10 ASEAN member states and six other countries -- India, China, Japan, South Korea, Australia and New Zealand during the 21st ASEAN Summit in Phnom Penh in November 2012.

Evidence of colistin resistant bacteria in the gut found in Indian patients

  • A small study involving 65 stool samples taken from patients from a single hospital in Chennai found 51% of them harbour colistin-resistant bacteria. This reflects the presence of such bacteria in the gut as stool samples represent gut colonisation.
  • This is the first study from India which has found indirect evidence of colistin-resistant bacteria in the gut and was published in the journal Diagnostic Microbiology & Infectious Disease.
  • Colistin is the last-resort antibiotic used to treat highly drug-resistant bacterial infections.
  • Colistin-resistant bacteria can be of hospital origin or food origin. Colistin-resistant bacteria of hospital origin do not respond to any of the antibiotics, including carbapenem while colistin-resistant bacteria of food origin will respond to carbapenem.
  • The main cause of colistin resistance in food is due to the rampant use of colistin in poultry. Since poultry litter is used as manure to grow vegetables, colistin-resistant bacteria are found in vegetables as well.
  • In clinical practice, it is the mutation in the mgrB gene or other chromosomal genes that confers colistin resistance to Klebsiella bacteria. In their 2018 study, the authors found mgrB gene mutation in food Klebsiella bacteria.
  • Till date, there is no evidence to suggest that the mgrB gene mutation spreads from food to human Klebsiella bacteria. The only colistin resistance mechanism that is known to spread from food to human Klebsiella bacteria is through mcr gene transfer.
  • In light of that, the finding that a large number of individuals carry colistin-resistant bacteria of food origin in the gut is therefore worrying.

India’s fastest women clinches  gold in Khelo India university games

  • India's fastest woman Dutee Chand clinched gold in 100 meters dash while long distance runner Narendra Pratap Singh bagged his second title at Khelo India University Games in Bhubaneswar today.
  • The 24-year-old sprinter, representing Kalinga Institute of Industrial Technology (KIIT), raced ahead to take a massive lead within no time. With her competitors nowhere close to Dutee, the national record holder bagged gold with a timing of 11.49 seconds.
  • The second best, S. Dhanalakshmi from Mangalore University, clocked 11.99 seconds and S.S. Sneha from Mahatma Gandhi University clinched the bronze with a timing of 12.08 seconds.

Centre launches campaign for empowerment of women & girls through education

  • The government has launched a special campaign to take forward the momentum of empowerment of girls and women through education. Human Resource Development Minister Ramesh Pokhrial Nishank has said the ministry will celebrate the international women's day in schools and colleges across the country.
  • He said the week-long special theme-based campaign begins from today in the run up to the International Women's Day on 8th of March. The Minister further said, as a tribute to women, the celebration by HRD Ministry will continue throughout the year.
  • The Minister said the government has taken several initiatives since 2014 for the education of the girl child. This is one of the reasons for the success of the scheme of Beti Bachao Beti Padhao whereby the Gross Enrollment Ratio of girls across all levels of education is now higher than boys.
  • The Minister said that a self-defence Olympiad will be organized for girls at school-level on the lines of Yoga Olympiad.
  • He said to ensure safety and security of girls, self-defence training is imparted to girls of class 6 and 12 belonging to Government Schools.

Centre to review monuments under ASI

  • The number of monuments under the Centre’s protection could increase as the government is planning to conduct a review of those under the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) and the ones protected by the State governments, Union Minister for Culture Prahlad Singh Patel has said.
  • At present, 3,691 monuments nationwide are protected by the ASI, with the highest number, 745, in Uttar Pradesh, according to his reply in the Lok Sabha on February 10.
  • The list of the Centrally protected monuments had not seen a substantial increase in many years, and important sites under the State governments could be added to the list, the Minister said. On the other hand, he added, there were some monuments that could be removed from the Central list and placed under the State governments.
  • “The list of centrally protected monuments can go up to 10,000. In Tamil Nadu alone, there are about 7,000 temples, many of which are hundreds of years old. On the other hand, there are some monuments under the ASI that can be shifted to the State list,” he said.
  • The Minister said there were some sites that could be moved from the Central list allowing development works in their vicinity. He was referring to the ban on construction within 100 metres of a Centrally protected monument and regulated construction within 100-200 metres under the Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Sites and Remains Act, 1958.

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Courtesy: The Hindu

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