DAILY CURRENT AFFAIRS ANALYSIS

05^th October 2021

S. No.	Topic Name	Prelims/Mains
1.	Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW)	Prelims & Mains
2.	Prohibited Chemicals in Firecrackers	Prelims & Mains
3.	Real Estate Regulatory Authority (RERA) Act of 2016	Prelims & Mains
4.	Nobel Medicine Prize	Prelims & Mains
5.	Drone-Based Vaccine Delivery Model launched in Manipur	Prelims Specific
6.	Exercise Milan	Prelims Specific

 

1. Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW):

GS II

Topic : Important International institutions, agencies and fora, their structure, mandate:

• Why in News:
• The Conference on Disarmament (CD)is being held in Geneva
• At the conference, India expressed deep concern over the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction and their delivery systems that could endanger peace and security, saying the possibility of terrorists acquiring such weapons necessitates the global community to work together to address this grave danger.
• India has said that it supports the full and effective implementation of the Chemical Weapons Convention and emphasises the strengthening of the OPCWto fulfill its important mandate.

About the Conference on Disarmament:

• The Conference on Disarmament (CD)is a multilateral disarmament forum established by the international community to negotiate arms control and disarmament agreements based at the Palais des Nations in Geneva. The Conference meets annually in three separate sessions in Geneva.
• The Conference was first established in 1979 as the Committee on Disarmament as the single multilateral disarmament negotiating forum of the international community.
• It was renamed the Conference on Disarmament in 1984.
• Formation: 1984.
• Membership: 65 Countries
• The Conference was created with a permanent agenda, also known as the “Decalogue,” which includes the following topics:
• Nuclear weapons in all aspects.
• Other weapons of mass destruction.
• Conventional weapons.
• Reduction of military budgets.
• Reduction of armed forces.
• Disarmament and development.
• Disarmament and international security.
• Relationship with the United Nations:
• The Conference is formally independent from the United Nations.
• However, while it is not formally a UN organization, it is linked to it in various ways.
• First and foremost, the Director-General of the United Nations Office at Geneva serves as the Secretary-General of the Conference.
• Furthermore, while the Conference adopts its own rules of procedure and agenda, the United Nations General Assembly can pass resolutions recommending specific topics to the Conference.
• Finally, the Conference submits a report of its activities to the General Assembly yearly, or more frequently, as appropriate.
• About OPCW:
• It is an international organization established by the Chemical Weapons Convention, 1997to implement and enforce the terms of the non-proliferation treaty, which prohibits the use, stockpiling, or transfer of chemical weapons by signatory states.
• The OPCW is authorized to perform inspections to verify that signatory states are complying with the convention.
• By the 2001 Relationship Agreement between the OPCW and the United Nations, the OPCW reports on its inspections and other activities to the UN through the office of the Secretary General.
• The organisation was awarded the 2013 Nobel Peace Prize “for its extensive efforts to eliminate chemical weapons”.
• The Chemical Weapons Convention prohibits:
• Developing, producing, acquiring, stockpiling, or retaining chemical weapons.
• The direct or indirect transfer of chemical weapons.
• Chemical weapons use or military preparation for use.
• Assisting, encouraging, or inducing other states to engage in CWC-prohibited activity.
• The use of riot control agents “as a method of warfare.”
• External auditor for Hague-based OPCW:
• In April 2021, India’s Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) has been chosen as the external auditor by the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) for a three-year term starting 2021.
• The appointment was made through an election process at the OPCW conference recently.
• India was also selected as the member of the executive council of the OPCW representing Asia group for another two-year term during the OPCW conference.
• About the Executive Council:
• It is the governing body of the OPCW.
• The Council consists of 41 OPCW Member States that are elected by the Conference of the States Parties and rotate every two years.
• The Council supervises the activities of the Technical Secretariat and is responsible for promoting the effective implementation of and compliance with the Convention.
• Each Member State has the right, on a rotating basis, to serve on the Executive Council.
• Prelims Hot-Link:
• About OPCW.
• What is CWC?
• Functions of the executive council.
• Roles and functions of the external auditor of OPCW.
• Source – The Hindu à https://www.thehindu.com/news/international/deeply-concerned-over-proliferation-of-weapons-of-mass-destruction-their-delivery-systems-india-at-un/article36834037.ece

2. Prohibited Chemicals in Firecrackers:

GS III

Topic : Conservation and Pollution related issues

• Why in News:
• The Supreme Court is all set to go into an affidavit filed by the environment ministry last October on the use of so-called green and improved fireworks —hearing a case that could well decide whether this Diwali will see fireworks.
• What’s the issue:
• The Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change (MoEFCC) has informed the court that a lot of research and development has gone into this field following the court’s October 2018 judgment.It urged the court to consider the various proposals and formulations on green/improved crackers that the ministry has come up with in its affidavit filed before the court in October 2020.
• The judgment:
• The court’s October 23, 2018 judgment banned the sale and production of firecrackers in Delhi-NCR and regulated the use of firecrackers across the country.
• Barium-based firecrackers were specifically banned.
• Online sale of firecrackers has been completely banned.
• The verdict had come in response to a plea seeking a ban on manufacturing and sale of firecrackers across the country to curb air pollution.
• Recent observations made by the Supreme Court on the use of firecrackers:
• The Supreme Court said it cannot infringe the right to life of other citizens “under the guise of employment of few” while considering a ban on firecrackers.
• Have to strike a balance between employment, unemployment and right to life.
• How do firecrackers work:
• Firecrackers use fuel and oxidisers to produce a combustion reaction, and the resulting explosion spreads the material in a superheated state. The metal salts in the explosive mix get ‘excited’ and emit light.
• What is the controversy:
• Metals in the mix, which have a varying arrangement of electrons in shells outside their nucleus, produce different wavelengths of light in this reaction, generating spectacular colours.
• But as many studies show, the burning of firecrackers is an unusual and peak source of pollution, made up of particles and gases.
• One study in Milan, Italy, quantified the increase in the levels of several elements in the air in one hour as 120 times for Strontium, 22 times for Magnesium, 12 times for Barium, 11 times for Potassium and six times for Copper.
• The Central Pollution Control Board conducted a study in Delhi in 2016, and found that the levels of Aluminium, Barium, Potassium, Sulphur, Iron and Strontium rose sharply on Deepavali night, from low to extremely high.
• Similar episodic spikes have been recorded in China and the U.K. Pollution from firecrackers affects the health of people and animals, and aggravates the already poor ambient air quality in Indian cities.
• This has resulted in litigation calling for a total ban on firecrackers, and court orders to restrict the type of chemicals used as well as their volume. Many crackers also violate legal limits on sound.
• Can green crackers make a difference:
• The Council of Scientific and Industrial Research, through its National Environmental Engineering Research Institute (CSIR-NEERI), Nagpur, has come out with firecrackers that have “reduced emission light and sound” and 30% less particulate matter using Potassium Nitrate as oxidant.
• These crackers are named Safe Water Releaser,which minimises Potassium Nitrate and Sulphur use, but matches the sound intensity of conventional crackers, Safe Minimal Aluminium , where Aluminium use is low and Safe Thermite Crackers with low Sulphur and Potassium Nitrate.
• Need of the hour:
• While deciding on a ban on firecrackers, it is imperative to take into account the fundamental right of livelihood of firecracker manufacturers and the right to health of over 1.3 billion people of the country.
• Prelims Hot-Link:
• What are Green Crackers
• Main products used in their manufacturing.
• What gives colour to the firecrackers
• Source – The Hindu à https://www.thehindu.com/sci-tech/energy-and-environment/explained-why-has-the-supreme-court-clamped-down-on-firecracker-manufacturers/article36800148.ece

3. Real Estate Regulatory Authority (RERA) Act of 2016:

GS II

Topic : Welfare schemes for vulnerable sections of the population by the Centre and States and the performance of these schemes; mechanisms, laws, institutions and bodies constituted for the protection and betterment of these vulnerable sections:

• Why in News:
• The Supreme Court has stepped in to protect homebuyers from exploitation by builders who delay transfer of possession and often redraft delivery schedules.
• Need for:
• A petition was filed on the lack of a “uniform or model” form for agreements entered into among builders, agents and buyers.
• The petition said the Real Estate Regulatory Authority (RERA) Act of 2016had hardly been implemented.
• Often hard-earned savings of ordinary citizens who aspired to have their own homes were invested. But many families became penniless waiting for a roof over their heads that the builders had promised them.
• The petitioner drew court’s attention to Section 41 and 42 of the RERA:
• Section 41 mandated the establishment of a Central Advisory Council.
• Section 42 said the Council would ensure the implementation of the Act, drive major policy changes, assure that consumer interests were not thwarted by builders and promoters and craft the faster growth of the real estate sector.
• The Real Estate (Regulation and Development) Act 2016:
• It is aimed at bringing in transparency and redefining the engagement between various stakeholders
• Key provisions:
• A requirement for developers to now register projects with RERA prior to any advertisement and sale.
• Developers are also expected to have all sanction plans approved and regulatory clearances in place prior to commencement of sale. Subsequent changes have to be approved by a majority of buyers and the regulator.
• The Act ambitiously stipulates an electronic system, maintained on the website of RERA, where developers are expected to update on a quarterly basis the status of their projects, and submit regular audits and architectural reports.
• It requires developers to maintain separate escrow accounts in relation to each project and deposit 70% of the collections in such an account to ensure that funds collected are utilised only for the specific project.
• The Act also requires real estate brokers and agents to register themselves with the regulator.
• The Act also attempts to establish an adjudicatory mechanism for the speedy redressal of disputes. RERA and the Appellate Tribunal are expected to decide on complaints within an ambitious period of 60 days.
• Significance of the Act:
• The Act has been described by the Centre as an attempt at cleaning up the real estate sector, ushering in transparency, accountability and fair-play among stakeholders.
• This law will empower the consumer while boosting the credibility of developers.
• It is widely felt that the Act will shift housing demand at least in the immediate term towards the organised players, better-equipped as they are to fulfil various stipulations. Most such players have welcomed the Act, saying that it will bridge the trust deficit.
• Prelims Hot-Link:
• About RERA.
• Key provisions.
• Important organizations established under it.
• Source – The Hindu  https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/model-builder-buyer-agreement-needed-says-supreme-court/article36818156.ece

4. Nobel Medicine Prize:

GS III

Topic : Science and Technology- developments and their applications and effects in everyday life Achievements of Indians in science & technology; indigenization of technology and developing new technology:

• Why in News:
• S. scientists David Julius and Ardem Patapoutian have won the Nobel Medicine Prize for discoveries on receptors for temperature and touch.
• They will share the Nobel Prize cheque for 10 million Swedish kronor ($1.1 million).
• The pair’s research is being used to develop treatments for a wide range of diseases and conditions, including chronic pain.
• About their discoveries:
• They discovered the molecular sensors in the human body that are sensitive to heat, and to mechanical pressure, and make us “feel” hot or cold, or the touch of a sharp object on our skin.
• Julius discovered the first heat receptor. His work involved experiments with capsaicin, the substance that makes hot peppers hot, to identify a sensor in the nerve endings of the skin that responds to heat.
• Patapoutian unlocked the molecular basis for sensing temperature or mechanical force working with cold and used pressure-sensitive cells to discover a novel class of sensors that respond to mechanical stimuli in the skin and internal organs.
• Significance of these discoveries:
• Breakthroughs in physiology have often resulted in an improvement in the ability to fight diseases and disorders.
• The identification of these receptors opens up the possibility of regulating their functioning.
• For example, there are receptors that make us feel pain. If these receptors can be suppressed, or made less effective, the person would feel less pain.
• About the Nobel Prize:
• The prestigious award comes with a gold medal and 10 million Swedish kronor (over $1.14 million).
• The prize money comes from a bequest left by the prize’s creator, Swedish inventor Alfred Nobel, who died in 1895.
• The Nobel Prize for Physiology or Medicine is awarded for discovery of major importance in life science or medicine.
• Karolinska Institutet (now The Nobel Assembly at Karolinska Institutet) selects the winner.
• Candidates eligible for the medicine prize are nominated by nominators who have received an invitation from the Nobel Committee to submit names for consideration.
• No one can nominate herself or himself.
• Source – The Hindu à https://www.thehindu.com/sci-tech/science/two-scientists-get-medicine-nobel-prize-for-discovery-of-temperature-touch-receptors/article36819161.ece

5. Drone Based Vaccine Delivery Model launched in Manipur:

Prelims Specific Topic:

• ICMR’s drone response and outreach (i-Drone) was recently launched in Manipur.
• The delivery model is aimed at ensuring that life-saving vaccines reach everyone.
• This is for the first time that a ‘Make in India’ drone has been used in South Asia to transport COVID vaccineover an aerial distance of 15 km in 12-15 minutes from the Bishnupur district hospital to Loktak lake, Karang island in Manipur for administration at the primary health centre.
• The actual road distance between these locations is 26 km.
• The delivery model would serve remote areas and hard to reach terrains.

https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/icmrs-drone-based-vaccine-delivery-model-launched/article36821258.ece

6. Exercise Milan:

Prelims Specific Topic

• India is set to host its largest naval exercise-Exercise Milan- early next year for which 46 countries have been invited.
• The exercise will see the participation of all Quad countries.
• Milan has so far been held at Port Blair but is now being shifted to Visakhapatnam, which offers more space and facilities.

https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/navy-to-host-its-largest-exercise-ex-milan-next-february/article36828648.ecee