24 March 2023

DAILY CURRENT AFFAIRS ANALYSIS

1 – About the Tuberculosis: GS II – Topic Health-related issues

 About:

• Mycobacterium tuberculosis, a member of the Mycobacteriaceae family with roughly 200 species, is the bacterium that causes tuberculosis (TB).
• Some mycobacteria infect a variety of animals, while others cause diseases like leprosy and TB in humans.
• TB most frequently impacts the lungs in people (pulmonary TB), however it can also impact other organs (extra-pulmonary TB).
• It has been proven that TB, a very old disease, was present in Egypt as early as 3000 BC.
• The disease TB is curable and treatable.

Transmission:

• Through the air, TB can transmit from one person to another. People who have lung TB cough, sneeze, or spit into the air, spreading the TB bacteria.

Symptoms:

• Chest pains, weakness, weight loss, fever, and night sweats are all common signs of active lung TB, as do coughs that occasionally produce sputum and blood.

Global TB Impact:

• In the 30 countries with a high TB burden in 2019, 87% of new TB cases were reported.
• Eight nations—India, Indonesia, China, Philippines, Pakistan, Nigeria, Bangladesh, and South Africa—accounted for two thirds of the new TB cases.
• Between January and December 2020, India reported 1.8 million TB cases, down from 2.4 million the year prior.
• MDR-TB continued to be a public health emergency and a threat to health security in 2019.
• MDR-TB is a type of tuberculosis that is resistant to the two anti-TB medications that are typically used as first-line therapy. Extensively A type of tuberculosis known as drug-resistant tuberculosis (XDR-TB) is brought on by germs that are resistant to several of the most potent anti-TB medications.

The BCG vaccine:

• By altering a Mycobacterium bovis strain, two Frenchmen named Albert Calmette and Camille Guerin created the BCG vaccine (that causes TB in cattle). In humans, it was first applied in 1921.
• BCG was first made available in India on a small basis in 1948, and it was included in the National TB Control Program in 1962.
• In addition to its principal application as a TB vaccine, it also offers defence against other mycobacterial diseases like Leprosy and Buruli’s ulcer as well as infant respiratory and bacterial infections.
• Malignant melanoma and urinary bladder cancer are both treated with it as an immunotherapy agent.
• It’s an intriguing truth regarding BCG that it performs well in certain places and poorly in others. In general, a country’s efficiency increases with distance from the equator.
• In nations near or on the equator, such India, Kenya, and Malawi, where the prevalence of TB is higher, it has little to no efficacy. It has a high efficacy in the UK, Norway, Sweden, and Denmark.

 Related Projects:

Global Initiatives:

• The Global Fund and Stop TB Partnership have joined forces with the WHO (World Health Organization) to launch the “Find. Treat. All. #EndTB” effort.
• The Global Tuberculosis Report is additionally published by WHO.

India’s Initiatives:

• The TB Harega Desh Jeetega Campaign, The Nikshay Ecosystem (a national TB information system), The Nikshay Poshan Yojana (financial support), and The National Strategic Plan (NSP) for Tuberculosis Elimination (2017–2025).
• Two TB vaccines, MIP (Mycobacterium Indicus Pranii) and VPM (Vaccine Projekt Management) 1002, have been created, identified, and are currently undergoing Phase 3 clinical trials.

Source The Indian Express

 2 – Details of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization: GS II – Topic International Organizations

About:

• A permanent multinational intergovernmental organisation is the SCO.
• Keeping the peace, security, and stability in the area is the goal of this Eurasian political, economic, and military institution.
• In 2001, it was founded.
• In 2003, the SCO Charter came into effect after being signed in 2002.

Genesis:

• The Shanghai Five, which included Tajikistan, China, Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan, and Russia, existed prior to the establishment of the SCO in 2001.
• The Shanghai Five (1996) was the result of several boundary delineation and demilitarisation negotiations between China and the four former Soviet republics to maintain peace along the boundaries.
• The Shanghai Five became known as the SCO after Uzbekistan joined the group in 2001.
• Pakistan and India joined in 2017.
• It was reported that Iran would join the SCO as a full member on September 17, 2021.

Objectives:

• enhancing the member states’ sense of cooperation and neighbourliness.
• encouraging efficient collaboration in the fields of politics, trade, the economy, science, and culture.
• strengthening connections in areas such as environmental protection, energy, transportation, and tourism.
• Maintain and uphold the region’s peace, security, and stability.
• creation of a new international political and economic order that is democratic, fair, and logical.

Membership:

• Iran, China, India, Pakistan, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, and Uzbekistan.

Structure:

• The top SCO body, the Heads of State Council, decides how the organisation will operate internally, interact with other States and international organisations, and take into account global challenges.
• The Heads of Government Council approves the budget and deliberates on matters relating to the interaction of economic sectors within the SCO.
• Considers daily operation-related topics in the Council of Foreign Ministers.
• To combat terrorism, separatism, and extremism, the Regional Anti-Terrorist Structure (RATS) was created.

Secretariat of the SCO:

• Located in Beijing to offer organisational, analytical, and informational support

Language Used:

• Chinese and Russian are the SCO Secretariat’s official working languages.

Source The Indian Express

3 – About the Free Trade Agreement: GS III – Topic Indian Economy

 FTA: Free Trade Agreement:

• It is an agreement between two or more countries to lower import and export restrictions.
• Under a free trade policy, there are little to no government tariffs, quotas, subsidies, or prohibitions that prevent the exchange of products and services across international borders.
• The idea of free trade is the antithesis of economic or trade protectionism.

FTAs and India:

• FTAs were put on hold for India after it decided to leave the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP), a 15-member FTA organisation that also includes China, Japan, and Australia.
• However, it was announced in May 2021 that negotiations between India and the European Union, which had ceased in 2013, will resume.
• Internal planning is currently underway on both sides to move these numerous work strands ahead.
• India is negotiating bilateral free trade agreements with the United Arab Emirates, the United Kingdom, Australia, and Canada.
• While the FTA with Australia was at a “highly advanced level,” the agreement with the UAE was “near to finalisation.”

Source The Indian Express

4 – Details of the Serious Fraud Investigation Office: Prelims Related Topic

• Under the Ministry of Corporate Affairs, the Special Fraud Investigation Office (SFIO) is a multidisciplinary organisation made up of experts in the fields of accounting, forensic auditing, law, information technology, investigation, company law, capital market, and taxation for the purpose of identifying, prosecuting, or recommending the prosecution of white-collar crimes and frauds.
• Its headquarters are in New Delhi. In order to aid the SFIO officers in their investigations, the Computer Forensic and Data Mining Laboratory (CFDML) was established in 2013.
• The Government of India established the Serious Fraud Investigation (SFIO) by a resolution dated July 2, 2003. SFIO did not have a formal legal status at the time.
• The Serious Fraud Investigation Office now has statutory status thanks to Section 211 of the 2013 Companies Act (SFIO).
• Additionally, SFIO has the authority to detain individuals for breaking corporate laws.
• The following situations allow the Central Government to begin an investigation into a company’s affairs and entrust it to the Serious Fraud Investigation Office: upon receipt of a report from the Registrar or inspector pursuant to section 208 (Report on Inspection Made) of the Companies Act, 2013; upon notification of a special resolution adopted by a company that its affairs require investigation; in the public interest; upon request from any Department of the Central Government.

Source  The Indian Express