Current Affairs for IAS Exams - 02 March 2022

::NATIONAL::

Amending Article 80

The Chandigarh Municipal Corporation approved a proposal to amend Article 80 of the Constitution so that its councillors could send a representative to the Rajya Sabha.
The Private Member Bill is a bill introduced by a Member of Parliament (MP), who is not a minister. MPs sitting in the Opposition mostly bring Private Member Bills in the house.

About:

Article 80 of the Constitution of India deals with the composition of the council of states also called the Upper House and Rajya Sabha (Upper House).
In the case of Chandigarh, the Private Member Bill was introduced by Congress MP from Anandpur Sahib, Punjab, Manish Tewari, who is a resident of Chandigarh.
Tewari has sought the adding of a provision “provided that the ‘representative of the Union Territory of Chandigarh in the council of states shall be elected by an electoral college consisting of elected members of Municipal Corporation of Chandigarh constituted under the Punjab Municipal Corporation (Extension to Chandigarh) Act, 1994” in Article 80 of the Constitution in clause (5).
MP Tewari has also sought amendment of the Fourth Schedule of the Constitution with ‘Entry 32, Chandigarh.”

Cheetah Action Plan

A five-member delegation from India visited Namibia this week to hold discussions on translocating the animals to India.
As Namibia, known for the world’s cheetah capital, for support in sending a few cheetahs for reintroduction into the wild in a scientific and carefully-monitored manner.

About:

The cheetah is the only large carnivore to have gone extinct in India. Since then, India has committed to stringent laws against poaching and hunting and also undertaken biodiversity conservation efforts.
Home to about 3,000 wild tigers or 60% of the world’s tiger population, India has already achieved the 2018 Saint Petersburg Declaration’s target of doubling the wild cats’ population.
The conservation efforts have also led to a rebound in the number of Asiatic lions from 50 in the last century to around 700 today.

Reintroduction of Cheetahs:

African Cheetahs (IUCN status:Vulnerable), are being considered for reintroduction as Asiatic Cheetah (IUCN:critically endangered) are low in numbers which is known to occur only in Iran now.
Cheetahs a keystone species of dry forests, scrub forests, and savannahs.
It was declared extinct in India in 1952 due to over-hunting and loss of habitat.
It is also the world’s fastest land mammal.
Part of Appendix 1 of Convention onInternational Trade in EndangeredSpecies of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES).

CLICK HERE FOR FULL CURRENT AFFAIRS (Only for Course Members)

JOIN Full Online Course for UPSC PRE Exam

UPSC IAS Exam Complete Study Materials

::INTERNATIONAL::

India, South Africa, Namibia oppose talks at WTO on e-commerce, investment, MSMEs

India, South Africa and Namibia have jointly voiced concerns on the plurilateral talks on e-commerce, investment facilitation, services domestic regulation and MSMEs, gathering pace at the WTO.

About:

The proponents of the plurilateral talks,called the Joint Statement Initiative (JSI) are trying to look for an outcome at the 12th WTOMinisterial Conference.
The countries argued that new rules cannot be introduced without fulfilling the multilateral body’s mandate of reaching an agreement by consensus.
India, South Africa and Namibia also challenged members, including developed nations, supporting the JSI, asking them to legally disprove their argument that new rules cannot be negotiated and formalised at the forum without consensus building.
All members need to follow the foundational rules of the rules-based multilateral system, as enshrined in the MarrakeshAgreement.
Marrakesh Agreement (led to the establishment of the WTO in 1994) highlighted the concerns over the fragmentation of multilateral rules following the Tokyo Round and was in favour of developing an integrated, more viable and durable multilateral trading system.

Montreux Convention

Turkey is set to implement an international convention on naval passage through two of its strategic straits, which would allow them to limit the movement of Russian warships between the Mediterranean Sea and the Black Sea.
Turkey has said that the situation in Ukraine had become a war, a declaration that authorises Ankara to activate the Montreux Convention and ban Russian war vessels from entering the Black Sea through the Bosporus and Dardanelles straits.

Key highlights:

The Bosporus and Dardanelles straits, also known as the Turkish Straits or the Black Sea Straits, connect the Aegean Sea and the Black Sea via the Sea of Marmara. It is the only passage through which the Black Sea ports can access the Mediterranean and beyond.
According to the 1936 Montreux Convention Regarding the Regime of the Straits, often referred to simply as the Montreux Convention, Turkey has control over both the Bosporus and Dardanelles straits.
In the event of a war, the pact gives Ankara the right to regulate the transit of naval warships and to block the straits to warships belonging to the countries involved in the conflict.
Russia’s location on the Black Sea complicates the situation.Article 19 of the treaty contains an exception for the countries on the Black Sea that can effectively undermine Turkey’s power in blocking the Russian warships entering or exiting the Black Sea.

CLICK HERE FOR FULL CURRENT AFFAIRS (Only for Course Members)

:ECONOMY::

Minimum Assured Return Scheme

The supervisor and regulator for pensions in India, Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority (PFRDA), which operates the National Pension System (NPS), is preparing to launch a guaranteed return scheme, Minimum Assured Return Scheme (MARS), which will provide savers and people from the salaried class an option for their investments.

What is the PFRDA’s plan?

The regulator has appointed EY Actuarial Services LLP as a consultant to help design the proposed MARS under the NPS.
This will be the first scheme from the pension regulator that will offer a guaranteed return to investors.

What kind of returns will the scheme offer?

The actual returns will depend on the market conditions. Any shortfall will be made good by the sponsor, and the surplus will be credited to the subscribers’ account.
Two options are likely to be on offer. Under the fixed guarantee option, the guaranteed return is fixed along the accumulation phase. Under the floating guarantee option, the guaranteed rate of return is not fixed along the savings phase.
The floating guarantee depends on the development of the 1-year interest rate until retirement. The current 1-year interest rate is assigned to each annual contribution made, and is valid until retirement so that, at each point of time, there is a different minimum return.

CLICK HERE FOR FULL CURRENT AFFAIRS (Only for Course Members)

::SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY::

Genomics and cancer treatment

Genomic data and machine-learning algorithms help accurately predict who will respond better and who will face side effects of a particular treatment

About:

Cancer is a disease caused by an abnormal proliferation of clonal cells caused by aberrations in the DNA.
These can be seen in the form of mutations, deletions, substitutions, rearrangements, or amplifications which produce abnormal protein and function.
These genetic alterations can be inherited or acquired due to environmental factors like exposure to carcinogens, infections, lifestyle etc.
The human genome project has estimated 80,000 to 1,00,000 genes in humans, which are the functional unit of inheritance. Genomic information about cancer has revolutionised our understanding of cancer development and progression.
The main objective of genomics and precision medicine is to give the right diagnosis at the right time to choose the right treatment.
Genomic sequencing solves the diagnostic dilemma in difficult cases on histopathology and helps to understand the genetic background of cancer patients.

CLICK HERE FOR FULL CURRENT AFFAIRS (Only for Course Members)