Daily current affairs – May 11/2020

GS – 2

National policy and scheme

Shramik Special trains:

Why it is in News?

• Indian Railways has decided to operate “Shramik Special” trains.
• Aim of this operation is to help the migrant workers, pilgrims, tourists, students, and other people who are stranded at different places due to lockdown.

About operation:

• In these special Shramik Special Trains, a maximum of around 1200 passengers can travel observing social distancing. 
• The passengers will be screened properly before boarding the train. During the journey, passengers will be given free meals and water. 
• These trains have ferried migrants to cities like Tiruchchirappalli, Titlagarh, Barauni, Khandwa, Jagannathpur, Khurda Road, Prayagraj, Chhapra, Balia, Gaya, Purnia, Varanasi, Darbhanga, Gorakhpur, Lucknow, Jaunpur, Hatia, Basti, Katihar, Danapur, Muzzaffarpur, Saharsa, etc. in the country.
• Indian Railways has terminated the operation of trains in various states like Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Himachal Pradesh, Odisha, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Rajasthan, Telangana, Uttar Pradesh, and West Bengal.
• The special Trains are being run by Railways only after concurrence is given both by the State which is sending the passengers and the State which is receiving them

GS – 3

Agriculture

Streptomycin and tetracycline are banned to use in agriculture:

Why it is in News?

• The Registration Committee (RC) under the Central Insecticides Board and Registration Committee (CIBRC) recommended a complete ban on the use of antibiotics streptomycin and tetracycline on crops with immediate effect.
•  It suggested that other options were available for bacterial disease control.
• The decision was made at the 414th meeting of the RC held on 1 May 2020.
• The report will be shared with the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) and the Department of Agriculture Cooperation for necessary action on suggesting alternatives.

About Streptomycin:

• The World Health Organization (WHO) recognized streptomycin as a critically important medicine for human use.
•  It is used to treat tuberculosis (TB) patients in India. It is also used in multidrug-resistant TB patients and in certain cases of TB meningitis (brain TB).

Why it is banned?

• The report recommended that streptomycin and tetracycline use be phased by 2022-end for crops for which no alternatives were available. It directed the antibiotics to be used on crops strictly as per the label claim.
•  It also suggested measures to contain this malpractice and regulate it. 
• The assessment was carried out in the agricultural farms of Delhi, Punjab, and Haryana. It was found that streptomycin, a 90:10 combination of streptomycin and tetracycline.
•  But it was observed that it is being routinely and indiscriminately used by farmers in high doses in crops.

Science and technology

Mission Sagar:

Why it is in News?

• Government of India launched “Mission Sagar”.

About mission:

• The aim is to provide assistance to Indian Ocean Region Nations amid the coronavirus crisis.
•  The operation is being progressed in coordination with the Ministry of Defence (MoD) and the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA).
•  The mission is in line with the Prime Minister’s vision of SAGAR.
• The mission is a part of the Government of India outreach amidst the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.
• Under the mission, Indian Naval Ship (INS) Kesari has departed for Maldives, Mauritius, Seychelles, Madagascar, and Comoros, to provide Food Items, COVID related Medicines including HCQ Tablets and Special Ayurvedic Medicines with Medical Assistance Teams.
• The Ship will deliver consignments of COVID related essential medicines including Hydroxychloroquine (HCQ) tablets, to Mauritius, Madagascar, Comoros and Seychelles and about 600 tonnes of food items to the Maldives.

SAGAR Vision:

• In 2015, GoI introduced its vision of the Indian Ocean called Security and Growth for All in the Region (SAGAR). 
• The aim is to seek economic and security cooperation with India’s neighbours, especially maritime neighbours, under the vision.
• Under this vision, India would cooperate on the exchange of information, the building of infrastructure, coastal surveillance, and strengthening mutual capabilities with its neighbour countries.

COVID KAVACH ELISA:

Why it is in News?

• Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR)-National Institute of Virology (NIV), Pune has developed and validated the indigenous IgG ELISA test ‘COVID KAVACH ELISA’ for antibody detection for COVID-19.

On the horizon:

• Most of the diagnostic material which is used in India for COVID-19 is imported from other countries.
• To make it available in India, the Indian scientists are engaged to develop indigenous diagnostics for SARS-CoV-2, the causative agent of COVID-19.

About COVID KAVACH ELISA:

• The robust indigenous IgG ELISA test has been named as “COVID KAVACH ELISA” in line with the Make in India initiative in record time.
•  The IgG ELISA test will play a critical role in surveillance of the proportion of population exposed to SARS-CoV-2 Coronavirus infection.
• Scientific team of NIV has successfully isolated the SARS-CoV-2 virus from laboratory confirmed patients in India.
• This has led to the development of indigenous diagnostics for SARS-CoV-2. 
•  For this purpose, ICMR has partnered with Zydus Cadila for mass-scale production of the ELISA test kits.
• After developing the test at ICMR-NIV, the technology has been transferred for mass-scale production to Zydus Cadila, which is an innovation-driven global healthcare company.