Daily Current Affairs: 03 SEP 2021

North Korea rejects Chinese vaccines: UNICEF

(Topic- GS Paper II–IR, Source-The Hindu)

Why in the news?

Recently, North Korea has rejected around three million doses of a Chinese COVID-19 vaccine which are provided under the COVID-19 Vaccine Global Access (Covax) programme.

About COVAX alliance

COVAX is co-led by the GAVI vaccines alliance, the WHO and the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI).
It is designed to discourage national governments from hoarding Covid-19 vaccines and to focus on first vaccinating the most high-risk people in every country.

Aim

To accelerate the development and manufacture of COVID-19 vaccines, and to guarantee fair and equitable access for every country in the world.
The COVAX initiative aims to deliver at least 2 billion doses of vaccines by the end of 2021.
The alliance also forms a key part of the Access to COVID-19 Tools (ACT) Accelerator.

Related Information

About Access to COVID-19 Tools (ACT) Accelerator

It is a global collaboration to accelerate the development, production, and equitable access to COVID-19 tests, treatments, and vaccines.

Other Alliance for Covid19 Vaccine

GAVI

It is a global Vaccine Alliance created in 2000 by bringing together public and private sectors with the shared goal of creating equal access to new and underused vaccines for children living in the world’s poorest countries.

Members

It brings together developing country and donor governments, the World Health Organization, UNICEF, the World Bank, the vaccine industry in both industrialised and developing countries, research and technical agencies, civil society, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and other private philanthropists.

About Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI)

It is a global partnership between public, private, philanthropic and civil society organisations launched at World an Economic forum (WEF), Davos in 2017.
It aims to accelerate the development of vaccines against emerging infectious diseases and enable equitable access to these vaccines for people during outbreaks.
CEPI will also support science projects related to the development of biological standards and assays, animal models, epidemiological studies, and diagnostics, as well as build capacities for future clinical trials in risk-prone contexts.
It is headquartered in Oslo, Norway.

Funding

It is being funded by the Wellcome Trust, Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, World Economic Forum (WEF), Governments of Norway, Japan, India (Department of Biotechnology) and Germany.

Scrub typhus

(Topic- GS Paper III–Science and Technology, Source-The Hindu)

Why in the news?

Recently, a mysterious fever has been reported from parts of Uttar Pradesh, which has claimed over 40 lives, mostly children in the past one week has been identified as Scrub typhus.

About scrub typhus

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), scrub typhus is a disease caused by a bacteria called Orientia tsutsugamushi
It is also known as bush typhus.
It is a vector-borne disease that spreads to people through bites of infected chiggers (larval mites).

Symptoms

According to CDC, the symptoms of scrub typhus are similar to symptoms of many other vector-borne or rickettsial diseases and usually begin within 10 days of being bitten.
These include fever and chills, headache, body aches, rashes and muscle pain.

Origin

The viral disease has its origin in the tsutsugamushi triangle with the Persian Gulf, North Japan and North Australia forming the three vortices of the imaginary triangle.
It is spread over an area of about 13 million square kilometres and is bound by Japan in the east, through China, the Philippines, tropical Australia in the south, and west through India, Pakistan and Afghanistan.

Treatment

The CDC says that if someone gets infected by scrub typhus, the person should be treated with the antibiotic doxycycline.
People who are treated early with doxycycline usually recover quickly, according to the agency.

No vaccine available

According to CDC, no vaccine is available to prevent scrub typhus.
It suggested that the risk of contracting the infection by avoiding contact with infected chiggers.

Panj Piare

(Topic- GS Paper I–History, Source-The Hindu)

Why in the news?

Recently, the former Uttarakhand chief minister Harish Rawat has apologised for comparing Punjab Congress chief Navjot Sidhu and his four advisers to the Panj Piare.

About ‘Panj Piare

Sikh Guru Gobind Singh established the institution of Panj Piare while founding the Khalsa on the day of Baisakhi in 1699.
Panj Pyare’ is the name given to five baptised Sikhs who perform a baptism ceremony to initiate Sikhs into the order of the ‘Khalsa’.

Who was the first Panj Piare?

The Panj Piare were from different castes and states of India. While Bhai Daya Ram hailed from Lahore, Bhai Dharam Rai was from Hastinapur in Uttar Pradesh, Bhai Himmat Rai came from Jagannath in Odisha, Bhai Mohkam Rai from Gujarat and Bhai Sahib Chand was from Bidar, Karnataka.
In return, Guru Gobind Singh made them drink Amrit (sweet water prepared by reciting Gurbani) from one utensil.
Then he suffixed Singh with their names and renamed them Bhai Daya Singh, Bhai Dharam Singh, Bhai Himmat Singh, Bhai Mohkam Singh and Bhai Sahib Singh.

Ladakh adopts State animal and bird

(Topic- GS Paper II–Governance and Environment, Source-The Hindu)

Why in the news?

Ladakh has recently adopted two endangered species, snow leopard and black-necked crane, as the State animal and the State bird.

About Snow Leopard

It is also known as Ghost of the mountains.
It acts as an indicator of the health of the mountain ecosystem in which they live.
International Snow Leopard Day was observed on 23 October which came into being with the adoption of the Bishkek Declaration by 12 countries on the conservation of snow leopards.
The 12 countries included India, Nepal, Bhutan, China, Mongolia, Russia, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan.
The Bishkek Declaration set a goal of protecting at least 20 snow leopard landscapes with viable snow leopard populations by 2020 and led to the formation of the Global Snow Leopard and Ecosystem Protection Program (GSLEP).

India and the Snow leopard

The Indian government has launched a community volunteer programme "HimalSanrakshak” to protect snow leopards.

Distribution in India

The snow leopard is found along the upper reaches of the Himalayan range.
These are found in Kashmir, Ladakh, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Sikkim and Arunachal Pradesh.

Snow Leopard conservation in India

India has been conserving snow leopards and their habitat through the Project Snow Leopard (PSL).
Project Snow Leopard (PSL) was launched in 2009 to promote an inclusive and participatory approach to conserve snow leopards and their habitat.
India is also a party to the Global Snow Leopard and Ecosystem Protection (GSLEP) Programme since 2013.

For conservation, India has identified three large landscapes, namely

Hemis-Spiti across Ladakh and Himachal Pradesh
Nanda Devi – Gangotri in Uttarakhand
Khangchendzonga – Tawang across Sikkim and Arunachal Pradesh.

Conservation Status of Snow Leopard

The status of the Leopard has been changing from 'Near Threatened’ to ‘Vulnerable’ by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN).
The leopard is listed in Schedule I of the Indian Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972.
In CITIES these are included in Appendix I.

About Black-necked crane

The bird has a conspicuous red crown that adorns the head.
The bird is revered by the community of Monpas (major Buddhist ethnic group of Arunachal Pradesh) as an embodiment of the sixth Dalai Lama (Tsangyang Gyatso).

Habitat and Breeding Grounds

The black-necked crane, only found in the Ladakh region, was the State bird of J&K before August 5, 2019.
The high altitude wetlands of the Tibetan plateau, Sichuan (China), and eastern Ladakh (India)
In Bhutan and Arunachal Pradesh, it only comes during the winters.

Steps for their Conservation

World Wide Fund for Nature-India (WWF-India) in collaboration with the Department of Wildlife Protection, Jammu & Kashmir, has been working towards the conservation of high altitude wetlands, with black-necked cranes as a priority species in the Ladakh region.

Conservation Status of Black-necked Crane

The status of Black-necked Crane has been changing from ‘Near Threatened’ by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN).
The leopard is listed in Schedule I of the Indian Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972.
In CITIES these are included in Appendix I.

Behler Turtle Conservation Award

(Topic- GS Paper III– Environment, Source-The Hindu)

Why in the news?

Indian biologist Shailendra Singh has recently been awarded the Behler Turtle Conservation Award for bringing three critically endangered turtle conservation species back from the brink of extinction.

These turtles are:

The red-crowned roofed turtle (Batagur kachuga),
Northern river terrapin (Batagur baska)
Black softshell turtle (Nilssonia nigricans)

About Behler Turtle Conservation Award

It is widely considered the “Nobel Prize” of turtle conservation and biology.
The award is co-presented by the Turtle Survival Alliance (TSA), the IUCN/SSC Tortoise and Freshwater Turtle Specialist Group (TFTSG), the Turtle Conservancy (TC), and the Turtle Conservation Fund (TCF), the four organizations most closely tied to the turtle conservation legacy of John Behler.
The award was established by Anders Rhodin and Rick Hudson in 2006, with the TSA and TFTSG as co-presenters from 2006 to 2013, and joined in 2014 by the TC and TCF as co-presenters.

About Red-crowned roofed turtle

It is also called Bengal roof turtle.
It is a species of freshwater turtle endemic to South Asia.

Conservation Status

The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN):Critically Endangered
Wildlife Protection Act (IWPA):Schedule I
The Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES):Appendix II

About Northern river terrapin

The northern river terrapin (Batagur baska) is a species of riverine turtle native to Southeast Asia.

Conservation Status:

The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN):Critically endangered and considered extinct in much of its former range.
Wildlife Protection Act (IWPA):Schedule I
The Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES): Appendix I

About Black softshell turtle

The black softshell turtle or Bostami turtle (Nilssonia nigricans) is a species of freshwater turtle found in India (Assam) and Bangladesh (Chittagong and Sylhet).
Previously declared extinct by the International Union for Conservation of Nature in 2002, these turtles were found still to exist in a temple's pond called the Hayagriva Madhava Temple located in Assam, India.

Conservations status

The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN):Critically Endangered.
Wildlife Protection Act (IWPA) : No Legal protection
The Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES): Appendix I

40 Central universities to implement credit bank

(Topic- GS Paper III–Education, Source-The Hindu)

Why in the news?

Recently, forty Central universities will kick off the implementation of innovative measures such as the academic credit bank and the glue grant meant to encourage multidisciplinary.

About Glue grant scheme

It has been announced in Budget 2021-22.
It has proposed to set up a Higher Education Commission of India as an umbrella body having 4 separate vehicles for standard-setting, accreditation, regulation, and funding.
Glue grant to create umbrella structure for better synergy amongst various research institutions, universities and colleges.

About Academic Bank of Credit

Academic Bank of Credit referred to as ABC is a virtual storehouse that will keep records of academic credits secured by a student.
It is drafted on the lines of the National Academic Depository.
It will function as a commercial bank where students will be the customers and ABC will offer several services to these students.
Students will have to open an Academic Bank Account and every account holder would be provided with a unique id and Standard Operating Procedure (SOP).
The academic accounts of students will have credits awarded by higher education Institutes to students for the courses they are pursuing.
However, ABC will not accept any credit course document directly from the students, and its institutes that will make the deposits in students’ accounts.