Comprehensive News Analysis 16-01-2022

Syllabus: Parliament and State legislatures—structure, functioning, conduct of business, powers & privileges and issues arising out of these.

Mains: Functioning of Parliament and State legislatures.

Prelims: Sessions of State legislature; Sessions of Parliament

Context: –

This article discusses the issue with the reduced number of Sittings of State Assemblies and Parliament.

An analysis by The Hindu on the State Assemblies and Parliament Sittings:

• After a low of 33 days in 2020, Parliament saw only a small improvement in 2021 by functioning for 58 days.

• Both Parliament and the State Assemblies cited restrictions imposed due to the COVID-19 pandemic as the primary reason for cutting back on scheduled sittings.

Souce: The Hindu

Why Is the Decline in the Sittings of Parliament & Assemblies Worrying?

1. Fewer sittings of the assembly adversely impact the responsibility of the legislatures to scrutinize the work of the executive.

2. Due to lack of adequate sittings, the members do not have sufficient time to prepare for the deliberation on bills, and several of them are passed without much discussion.

3. Due to fewer sittings, budgets of many states have been passed without detailed discussion and thus the legislature failed to scrutinize budgetary proposals before approving them.

4. Lesser number of sitting days also means that state governments are free to make laws through ordinances. And when they convene legislatures, there is little time for MLAs to scrutinize laws brought before them. 

What Affects the Functioning of the Legislature?

1. Lack of Independence: One of the reasons for decreasing sittings of assemblies is due to the lack of independence of the legislature to decide its own sittings.​

2. Disruptions: Even during the few days that the assemblies meet, disruptions further reduce the time spent on deliberation on important issues of the state.

Sessions of State legislature

• The Constitution does not prescribe a minimum number of sittings.

• Article 174 of the Constitution only says that the State legislature has to meet within six months of the last session. 

• Within this period, it is up to the State governments to call for the session.

Know More About  Sessions of State legislature And  Sessions of Parliament

Way Forward: –

• Continuous and close scrutiny by legislatures is central to improving governance in the country. 

• Increasing the number of working days for state legislatures is a first step in increasing their effectiveness. 

• One way to do that is by convening legislatures to meet all around the year. 

• In many mature democracies, a fixed calendar of sittings of legislatures, with breaks in between, is announced at the beginning of the year. 

• It allows the government to plan its calendar for bringing in new laws. 

• It also has the advantage of increasing the time for debate and discussion in the legislative assembly. 

• With the legislature sitting throughout the year, it gets rid of the politics surrounding the convening of sessions of a legislature.

Category: HEALTH 

1. Covaxin booster increases neutralizing antibodies, study finds

Syllabus: Issues relating to development and management of Social Sector/Services relating to Health, Education, Human Resources.

Mains: Impact of Booster dose on immune response

Prelims: What is a Booster?

Context: –

A joint study by Bharat Biotech and ICMR has provided the first evidence of the immune response of a homologous booster six months after the second dose.

What are the Findings?

• The primary outcome was to measure neutralizing antibody titres four weeks after the booster shot.

• The increase in antibody levels in the control arm is most likely to be due to natural infection as the booster trial was conducted during the second wave.

• The booster dose was found to be safe.

All about the Boosters

1. What is a booster dose?

• A booster dose refers to a single dose of a COVID-19 vaccine given after the protection provided by the primary dose(s) has begun to decrease over time.

• A booster dose helps people maintain their immunity for longer.

Know More About Boosters shots and its Purpose

1. The immune response of Boosters:

• COVID vaccines elicit a systemic immune response that protects against a virus that has reached the respiratory tract, but they do not prevent infection in the first place.

Know More About Immune response of Boosters

1. The Science on Boosters:

• The majority of current vaccinations are focused against the virus’s spike protein. The spikes are located on the virus’s outer surface.

• They allow the virus to bind to the receptor on human cells and enter the cell, where it utilizes the cell’s genetic material to replicate itself multiple times.

Know More About Science behind the Booster Shots

C. GS 3 Related

D. GS 4 Related

Nothing here for today!!!

1. Pig-to-human heart

Syllabus: Science and Technology- developments and their applications and effects in everyday life.

Prelims: Facts about Xenotransplantation 

Mains: Details about Xenotransplantation and various concerns surrounding it.

Context

The University Of Maryland School Of Medicine announced that it has successfully transplanted a genetically-modified pig heart into a patient with life-threatening Arrhythmia, a disorder that affects the rate or rhythm of heartbeats.

Details

• Arrhythmia – Is a problem with the rate or rhythm of the heartbeat. It means that the heartbeats are too quick, too slow, or with an irregular pattern.

• Xenotransplantation – Xenotransplantation, or a heterologous transplant, is the process of the transplantation of living cells, tissues or organs from one species to another. Such cells, tissues or organs are called xenografts or xenotransplants

Xenotransplantation Procedure

• Since the human immune system rejects anything foreign, scientists tweaked the pig genome to make the organ less likely to be rejected.

• A small herd of genetically engineered pigs is being raised. The pigs have 10 of their genes genetically modified to reduce the possibility of rejection.

  • Of the 10 genes, 4 are inactivated, including the one that triggers an aggressive immune response and another that causes the heart to grow after transplantation.

    • Two carbohydrate antigens were eliminated by the removal of the CMAH and Beta-4-Gal genes of the pig. To maintain a human-sized organ.

  • In addition, 6 human genes were inserted to further reduce the risk of rejection.

    • Two human complement inhibitor genes (CD46 and DAF), two human anti-coagulant genes (EPCR and Thrombomodulin), and two human immune-modulating genes (CD47 and HO1) were inserted.

• An experimental drug is also given to the recipient to suppress the immune system so that the transplanted pig heart is not rejected.

• In the 1990s, it was discovered that all human immune reactions were centered against one pig antigen i.e. a sugar molecule present on cell surfaces.

  • The Alpha-gal gene that produces an enzyme, which in turn, produces the sugar molecule that was removed, helps in reducing the risk of an immune reaction leading to rejection.

• The DNA of pigs also contains retroviruses that can infect human cells.

  • Such viruses in the transplanted organ raise the risk of infection in human recipients.

  • Many retroviruses have been removed from the organ to make it safer when transplanted.

• The advent of genome-editing tools such as CRISPR/Cas9, which allows precise removal of specific genes has made gene modification simpler, fast and accurate.

• A genetically modified pig cell is fused with a pig ovum that has its DNA removed. The ova that contain only the genetically engineered genome start dividing to become pig foetuses.

  • This technique was used to clone Dolly, the sheep.

  • The embryos are implanted into surrogate mothers.

  • The gestation period is just 114 days.

  • Pigs have been preferred as ideal candidates for xenotransplantation as the pig organs are anatomically similar to that of humans.

Previous Experiments

• Experiments of kidney, liver and heart transplants from non-human primates to humans happened in the 1970s. Most of them have failed due to rejection by the recipient’s immune system.

• In 1984, a human infant received a heart from a baboon. The experiment failed when the baby died after 21 days.

• In September 2021, surgeons at the New York University Langone Health medical centre transplanted a kidney of a genetically modified pig into a brain-dead person.

  • The second such pig kidney experiment was carried out in November, 2021, on a person in a ventilator.

  • The genetic modification was to deceive the human immune system from recognising the kidney as foreign and rejecting it.

  • Since the recipients were already brain-dead, the purpose of the transplantation was not to save the patient; it was purely an experiment to find out if an organ from a genetically modified pig would be compatible, function normally and not be rejected.

• Experiments have happened in India as well, Dhaniram Baruah, a cardio-thoracic surgeon based in Sonapur near Guwahati, transplanted the organs of a pig into a human body in 1997. However, the procedure ended badly.

Need for Xenotransplantation

• About 4,000 people in the U.S. received human donor hearts in 2021, but the need is far more.

• According to the health ministry, around 0.18 million people in India are estimated to suffer from kidney failures every year, but only about 6,000 transplants are carried out in the country.

• About 25,000-30,000 liver transplants are needed every year in India, but only about 1,500 are being performed.

• Around 50,000 people suffer from heart failure. Yet, only 10-15 heart transplants are carried out in India each year.

• Harvesting organs from genetically engineered pigs are seen as a viable alternative to meet organ shortage.

Key Concerns

• Medical implications

  • This is an experimental surgery and brings with it huge risks for the patient.

  • Even well-matched human donor organs can be rejected after they are transplanted and with animal organs, the danger is likely to be higher.

• Animal rights

  • The experiment has also re-sparked a debate over the use of pigs for human transplants, which many animal rights groups oppose.

  • People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) has condemned the experiment as “unethical, dangerous, and a tremendous waste of resources”.

• Religious Concerns

  • Another dilemma emerges around the acceptance of animal organs based on their religious faiths.

Conclusion

Besides scientific challenges, there are several ethical challenges to overcome before xenotransplantation of porcine organs becomes a reality.

1. Why is India challenging WTO verdict on sugar?

Syllabus: Indian Economy and issues relating to planning, mobilization, of resources, growth, development and employment.

Mains: Issues related to the sugar subsidies in India.

Context

India filed an appeal with the Appellate Body of the World Trade Organization (WTO) disputing a verdict by the WTO’s dispute settlement panel on sugar subsidies.

Details

• In 2019, Australia, Brazil, and Guatemala complained against India at the WTO alleging that subsidies offered by the Indian government to sugar producers were against the rules governing international trade.

• They argued that these subsidies, which include both domestic subsidies as well as export subsidies, exceed the limits imposed by WTO trade rules.

• According to WTO rules, subsidies cannot exceed 10% of the total value of sugar production.

• The three countries believe that subsidies offered by India have led to increased production of sugar and caused the price of sugar to drop significantly in the global market.

• After two years, the WTO ruled that India’s sugar policy was favouring domestic producers through subsidies that harm foreign producers.

To read more about the issue – Are Subsidies Trade-distortionary?

Panel’s Recommendations and Challenges to India

• India should bring its WTO-inconsistent measures in accordance with its commitments under the Agreement on Agriculture and the SCM Agreement.

• The panel recommended that India withdraws its prohibited subsidies under the Production Assistance, the Buffer Stock, and the Marketing and Transportation Schemes.

• The WTO Appellate Body’s decision will be considered final in the dispute.

• In case India refuses to comply with the decision, it might have to face retaliatory action from other countries.

  • This could be in the form of additional tariffs on Indian exports and other stringent measures.

  • However, the appellate body of the WTO is not functioning because of differences among member countries to appoint members, and disputes are pending with it.

2. U.S. coast on tsunami alert after Pacific volcano

Context: –

An enormous underwater volcano called Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha’apai erupted in the South Pacific, creating tsunami waves that hit the country of Tonga.

Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha’apai: –

• Hunga Tonga–Hunga Haʻapai is a volcanic island in Tonga.

• The volcano is part of the highly active Tonga–Kermadec Islands volcanic arc, a subduction zone extending from New Zealand north-northeast to Fiji.

• The island arc is formed at the convergent boundary where the Pacific Plate subducts under the Indo-Australian Plate.

Source: https://volcano.si.edu/

Know More about Volcanoes and Tsunami 

3. Rationalizing distribution of welfare schemes based on data

Context: –

This article examines the significance of Tamil Nadu’s Data Purity Project in the context of the Social Security scheme.

Data Purity Project: –

• Tamil Nadu aims to centralize the data from all its departments through the Tamil Nadu e-Governance Agency (TNeGA).

• To ensure data purity, all departments should provide TNeGA a one-time dump of its electronic data and thereafter, update them from time to time.

• The two illustrations form part of the steps taken by the State government under the data purity project: –

  • To achieve the right targeting of numerous welfare schemes.

  • To ensure that the needy and eligible persons should be brought under the fold of welfare schemes.

What is a social security scheme?

• Social security schemes are schemes imposed and controlled by government units for the purpose of providing social benefits to members of the community as a whole, or of particular sections of the community.

• The Social Security Pension Schemes have been governed by several government orders.

Know More about Social Security Schemes