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In a major breakthrough for the use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in the field of medicine, scientists from the United States and Canada have found a new antibiotic – powerful enough to kill a superbug – using AI.

What is a Superbug?

• Superbugs are strains of bacteria, viruses, parasites and fungi that are resistant to most of the antibiotics and other medications commonly used to treat the infections they cause. 
• A few examples of superbugs include resistant bacteria that can cause pneumonia, urinary tract infections and skin infections.
• Each year these drug-resistant bacteria infect more than 2 million people in the US and kill at least 23,000, according to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

What is Antimicrobial Resistance?

• Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR) occurs when bacteria, viruses, fungi and parasites change over time and no longer respond to medicines making infections harder to treat and increasing the risk of disease spread, severe illness and death. 
• As a result of drug resistance, antibiotics and other antimicrobial medicines become ineffective and infections become increasingly difficult or impossible to treat.

What is Acinetobacter Baumannii?

• The bacterium was identified by the World Health Organization (WHO) as one of the world’s most dangerous antibiotic-resistant bacteria. 
• A. baumannii can cause pneumonia, meningitis and infect wounds, all of which can lead to death. 
• A. baumanni is usually found in hospital settings, where it can survive on surfaces for long periods.

How did researchers use AI in this case?

• Exposure of superbug to chemical compounds: The researchers first exposed A. baumannii grown in a lab dish to about 7,500 different chemical compounds, to see which ones could help pause the growth of the bacterium.
• Use of Machine Learning: The structure of each molecule was fed into the machine-learning model. The model was instructed whether each structure could prevent bacterial growth or not. This allowed the algorithm to learn chemical features associated with growth inhibition.
• Analysis and Outcomes: Once the model was trained, the researchers used it to analyse a set of 6,680 compounds. This analysis yielded a few hundred results in less than two hours. Of these, the researchers chose 240 to test experimentally in the lab, focusing on compounds with structures that were different from those of existing antibiotics.
• Discovery of Abaucin: Those tests yielded nine antibiotics, including one that was very potent and effective at killing A. baumannii. This has been named abaucin.

News Source: Indian Express

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Genetically modified food remains controversial, especially in Europe, but for some experts it is the best science-based method for a sustainable global food system amidst biodiversity loss and a rising population.

What are genetically modified crops and organisms?

• GMO: A genetically modified organism (GMO) is any living organism whose genetic material has been modified to include certain desirable techniques.
  • Genetic modification has previously been used for the large-scale production of insulin, vaccines, and more.

• GM crops are those crops that involve genetic modification with the manipulation of DNA to alter certain characteristics of the crop.
• To genetically modify a crop, the gene of interest is identified and isolated from the host organism. It is then incorporated into the DNA of the crop to be grown. The performance of the GM crop is tested under strict laboratory and field conditions.
• Soyabean, maize, cotton, and canola with herbicide tolerance and insect resistance are the most widely grown GM crops around the world. 
• Other common genetically modified characteristics include virus resistance, drought resistance, and fruit and tuber quality.

Image credit: GEAC

What is the Genetic Engineering Appraisal Committee (GEAC)?

• It is a body under the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEF&CC), responsible for the assessment of proposals related to the release of genetically engineered organisms and products into the environment, including experimental field trials.
• GEAC or people authorised by it have the power to take punitive actions under the Environment Protection Act.

Regulatory framework in India:

• Strict regulations are in place to control threats to animal health, human safety, and biodiversity at large during the processes of development, cultivation and transboundary movement of GM crops.

Image credit: GEAC

Acts and rules regulating the GM crops in India include:

• Environment Protection Act, 1986 (EPA)
• Biological Diversity Act, 2002
• Plant Quarantine Order, 2003
• GM policy under Foreign Trade Policy
• Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006
• Drugs and Cosmetics Rule (8th Amendment), 1988

Activities Covered:

• All activities related to research and development of GMOs
• Field and clinical trials of GMOs
• Deliberate or unintentional release of GMOs
• Import, export, and manufacture of GMOs

GM crops in India:

Bt Cotton:

• India introduced Bt cotton seeds in 2002. 
• Bt modification is a type of genetic modification where the Bt gene obtained from the soil bacterium Bacillus thuringiensis is introduced into the target crop – in this case, cotton. 
  • Bt cotton is resistant to bollworm, a pest that destroys cotton plants.
• As a result of the adoption of Bt cotton, India is now the largest cotton producer in the world.
• By 2014, around 96% of the area under cotton cultivation in India was Bt cotton, making India the fourth-largest cultivator of GM crops by acreage and the second largest producer of cotton.
• It has greatly reduced the use of toxic pesticides. 

GM mustard:

• Dhara Mustard Hybrid (DMH -11) was developed by a team of scientists under a government-funded project.
• It uses a system of genes from soil bacterium that makes mustard — generally a self-pollinating plant — better suited to hybridisation than current methods.
• In September 2017, a feasibility report said that the developers of DMH-11 claimed a yield increase of 25-30% over non-hybrids, which was refuted by several NGOs.
• The GEAC cleared the environmental release of mustard hybrid Dhara Mustard Hybrid (DMH-11) for its seed production and testing as per existing ICAR guidelines and other extant rules/regulations prior to commercial release.

Advantages of GM Crops:

1. Rise in farm production: It improves production and raises farmer’s income. Indian farmers are still practising the traditional process of seeding and cultivation, which requires scientific moves for raising their production. 
2. It reduces the use of pesticide and insecticide during farming that might be great moves for the betterment of the food supply.
3. Food security: It can feed a rapidly increasing population because it shows dramatically increased yields. Hence, many scientists and agricultural experts have called for faster clearance of GM crops in India, where farms are shrinking due to rapid urbanisation and erratic weather patterns threatening the output of staples such as rice and wheat.
4. More from less: It can produce more in a small area of land.

Disadvantages of GM Crops

1. Input expenses: It increases the cost of cultivation and is more inclined towards marketization of farming that works on immoral profits.
2. Threat to Biodiversity: The production imposes high risks to the disruption of ecosystem and biodiversity because the better traits produced from engineering genes can result in the favouring of one organism. Hence, it can eventually disrupt the natural process of gene flow.
3. Health risk: It is biologically altered. The technology is mostly carcinogenic. It is a killer technology that kills soil, microbes, pollinators, almost all medicinal herbs and adversely affects crop diversity. It can also cause cancer in humans.
4. Pest resistance: The excessive production of genetically modified foods will be rendered ineffective over time because the pests that these toxins used to deter might eventually develop resistance towards them.
5. Unsuitable For Indian conditions: The Supreme Court’s own Technical Expert Committee [TEC] had said that these GM crops were not meant for agriculture in the Indian context. They may be suitable in the western context where there are large farms.

Way Forward 

• Regulatory certainty: 
  1. Taking up the proposed Biotechnology Regulatory Authority of India Bill again is a must.
  2. Government should start with transparency; bringing biosafety data in the public domain.

• Recommendations by GEAC
  1. Environmental release of mustard hybrid DMH-11 for seed production and testing as per existing ICAR guidelines.
  2. Conduct field demonstration studies with respect to the effect of GM mustard on honey bees and other pollinators post-environmental release.

News Source: Indian Express

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Punjab and Himachal Pradesh are set for a face-off as the 99-year lease on the Shanan hydropower project situated at Jogindernagar in Mandi district of Himachal Pradesh.

About Shanan Power Project:

• The 110 MW Shanan power project was envisaged by Col. Battye, the then Chief Engineer of the Government of Punjab, in 1922. 
• The first stage (48 MW) of the project was commissioned in 1932. The project was constructed following the execution of the lease agreement in 1925.
• It was given to Punjab on 99-year lease by the then ruler of Mandi, Raja Joginder Singh Bahadur, which would end on March 2, 2024.
• The Shanan project was allocated to the State of Punjab in accordance with the provisions of the Punjab Reorganisation Act, 1966. 
• Under the Act, the Shanan project was allocated to Punjab State by the Ministry of Irrigation and Power, Government of India.
• Himachal Pradesh wants the project handed over to the State expiry of the lease period. 
• The Punjab Government is prepared to take legal recourse to retain it saying that the project is in continuous ownership and possession of the Punjab Government.

News Source: The Hindu

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The death of over 288 passengers in train accident in the Balasore district of Odisha has brought into sharp focus the safety mechanisms needed to prevent such tragedies.

Image Source: Hindustan Times

What is Kavach? 

• It is an indigenously developed Automatic Train Protection (ATP) system by the Research Design and Standards Organisation (RDSO) in collaboration with the Indian industry.
• Features: 
  1. It is a state-­of­-the­-art electronic system with Safety Integrity Level­4 (SIL­4) standards. 
  2. It is one of the cheapest, SIL­4 certified technologies where the probability of error is 1 in 10,000 years.

• Purpose: It is meant 
  1. To provide protection by preventing trains to pass the signal at Red (which marks danger)
  2. To avoid collision between two locomotives

• Working: 
  1. It activates the train’s braking system automatically if the driver fails to control the train as per speed restrictions.
  2. The system also relays SoS messages during emergency situations. 
  3. It enables the centralised live monitoring of train movements through the Network Monitor System. 

• Present deployment: The South Central Railway (SCR) Zone is a pioneer in the implementation of the KAVACH – (TACS). The Kavach system has been deployed over 1,465 kms in the SCR limits in 77 locomotives and 135 stations till March this year.

How does Kavach work on Railway Systems?

• The Traffic collision avoidance system (TCAS), with the help of equipment on board the locomotive and transmission towers at stations connected with Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) tags, helps in two-­way communication between the station master and loco­pilot to convey any emergency message.
• The instrument panel inside the cabin helps the loco­pilot know about the signal in advance without visual sighting, and the permissible speeds to be maintained. 
• If a red signal is jumped and two trains come face to face on the same line, the technology automatically takes over and applies sudden brakes.

Kavach deployment strategy? 

• Implementation in a phased manner
  • First priority lines: High Density Routes and the New Delhi-­Mumbai and New Delhi­-Howrah Sections, as they have higher chances of accidents because the trains run closer to each other. 
  • Second priority lines: Highly Used Networks
  • Third priority lines: Other Passenger High Density Routes
  • Final priority:  To cover all other routes.

• Glitches about vulnerability of a vehicle crossing a closed level crossing, stray cattle or boulders on track, radio communication issues in tunnels, ghat sections, have been tackled.

News Source: The Hindu

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The Karnataka HC recently ruled that having sexual intercourse with the dead body of a woman can’t fall under the ambit of rape or unnatural offences under the IPC.

Background:

• Recently a person was sentenced to rigorous life imprisonment by the Sessions Court and was asked to pay a fine of Rs. 50,000 for murder.
• For raping the victim’s dead body, he was sentenced to another 10 years of rigorous imprisonment and a fine of Rs. 25,000.

What is necrophilia?

• Necrophilia is a morbid fascination with death and the dead and more particularly, an erotic attraction to corpses. (Observed by Karnataka High Court in “Rangaraju @Vajapeyi vs State of Karnataka case).
• It is a psychosexual disorder, classified under the DSM-IV, among a group of disorders, called “paraphilias,” including paedophilia, exhibitionism, and sexual masochism.
• Necrophilia could be the result of rage, experimentation, or lust rather than sexual necessity or habit.

Ruling of the Karnataka High Court:

• It upheld the trial court’s decision to convict and sentence him to life imprisonment for murder under Section 302 of the IPC.
• The high court acquitted the accused under Section 376 for raping the victim’s dead body, reasoning that there is no provision in the IPC to punish him for the same.
• Non-applicability of Section 375 or 377: The provisions of Sections 375 and 377 of the Indian Penal Code makes it clear that the dead body cannot be called as human or person. Thereby, these provisions of the IPC would not attract.
• Non-punishable offence under law: 
  • Adding that no offence punishable under Section 376 (punishment for rape) had taken place, the court clarified that sexual intercourse on a dead body is nothing but necrophilia.
  • The court opined that rape must be “accomplished with a person, not a dead body”. 
  • A dead body cannot consent to or protest a rape, nor can it be in fear of immediate and unlawful bodily injury
• National Human Rights Commission’s advisory, on “Upholding the Dignity and Protecting the Rights of the Dead: The court invoked the 2021 advisory of NHRC which states that there cannot be any physical exploitation or discrimination in the treatment of the body and also mentions the right to a decent and timely burial.

SC ruling in  Parmanand Katara, Advocate vs Union of India:

• The court relied on the 1989 SC ruling in  Parmanand Katara case which said that the dignity of a dead body must be maintained and respected 
• It established a corresponding duty on the state to ensure decent cremation is served to the person. 
• The right to dignity and fair treatment under Article 21 of the Constitution of India is not only available to a living man but also to his body after his death.

Is necrophilia an offence in India?

• As of date, the IPC does not list necrophilia as a specific offence under sexual offences mentioned in the code.
• The court mentioned that it could be brought under Section 297 as causing indignity to any human corpse if someone trespasses into a place for performing funeral rites or a depository for the remains of the dead.
• Section 297 of IPC: 
  • It requires the act of causing indignity to be accompanied by an intention to wound the feelings or insult the religion of any person.
  • The knowledge that any person’s feelings are likely to be wounded or their religion is likely to be insulted by such an act will make it an offence under Section 297.

Recommendations of the High Court:

• Amend Section 377 of IPC 
  1. To include dead bodies of men, women, and animals.
  2. To protect the dignity of the dead. 

• Criminalising necrophilia: It also offered an alternative that the Centre brings in a separate penal provision to criminalise necrophilia with life imprisonment up to 10 years with a fine.
• The court also ordered the installation of CCTVs in Karnataka morgues within six months and directed the government to maintain hygiene and privacy, ensure the security of clinical records and information, and sensitize mortuary staff.

News Source: Indian Express

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The government’s fiscal deficit as of end ­December touched 59.8% of the full year Budget Estimate (BE) on subdued growth in revenue collections, according to Finance Ministry data released. 

About the News:

• In actual terms, the fiscal deficit — the difference between expenditure and revenue — was ₹9,92,976 crore during the April-­December period of 2022­-23.
• In the corresponding period last year, the deficit stood at 50.4% of the BE of 2021­-22.
• The Centre had budgeted fiscal deficit at ₹16.61 lakh crore, or 6.4% of the GDP, in the current financial year ending March 2023. The deficit is funded by market borrowing. 

About Fiscal Deficit:

• Fiscal deficit is defined as excess of total expenditure over total receipts excluding borrowings during a fiscal year.
• It reflects the borrowing requirements of the government for financing the expenditure including interest payments.
  • Fiscal deficit = Revenue expenditure + capital expenditure – Revenue receipts – capital Receipts excluding borrowings.
• It is an indicator of the increase in future liabilities of the government on interest payment and loan repayment.

 News Source: The Hindu

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Much ink has been spilled by now on the Budget’s hike in the tax-free ceiling under the new income tax system introduced in 2020, to ₹7 lakh from ₹5 lakh, with lower tax rates for those who give up existing tax exemptions.

Experts Concerns on take away of the old tax regime:

• Exemptions “give some social security to the middle class” altogether will be affected.
• May affect the savings rate and hit investments.
• Lower income earners do not save enough to avail the tax-exemptions and end up paying higher rates.
• India’s literacy and financial literacy levels mean many taxpayers cannot deem the right mix of consumption and savings.
• Inflation beating investments. 

Why is the old tax regime required?

The old exemption-based regime helps guide families towards some level of prudent asset allocation to cope with life’s uncertainties, with a leg-up for building a critical asset over their working lives — a roof over their head.

Conclusion:

The nudge away from the old tax regime must be accompanied by greater financial literacy efforts from the government and regulators and a crackdown on unethical selling practices that could lead to people ending up in penury.

News Source: The Hindu

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The first time an Egyptian President (Abdel Fattah El-Sisi) has been invited as chief guest for the Republic Day celebrations in India.

History of Relationships:

• The history of contact between India and Egypt, two of the world’s oldest civilisations, can be traced back to at least the time of Emperor Ashoka.
• Ashoka’s edicts refer to his relations with Egypt under Ptolemy-II.
• In modern times, Mahatma Gandhi and the Egyptian revolutionary Saad Zaghloul shared the common goal of independence from British colonial rule.
• The diplomatic relations at Ambassadorial level was made on 18 August 1947.
• India’s PM Jawaharlal Nehru and Egypt’s President Gamal Abdel Nasser signed the Friendship Treaty between the two countries, and they were key to forming the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM in 1961) along with Yugoslav President Josip Broz Tito.

The Recent Engagements:

• During this year’s meeting, both India and Egypt agreed to elevate the bilateral relationship to a “strategic partnership”.
• The strategic partnership will have broadly four elements: political, defence, and security; economic engagement; scientific and academic collaboration; cultural and people-to-people contacts.
• India has invited Egypt as a special guest for the G-20 summit.
• Exercise Cyclone-I – first ever exercise between Indian Army and Egyptian Army was conducted recently.
• India and Egypt signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for three years to facilitate content exchange, capacity building, and co-productions between Prasar Bharati and the National Media Authority of Egypt.
• Under the pact, both broadcasters will exchange their programmes of different genres like sports, news, culture and entertainment on a bilateral basis.

Bilateral Relations:

• Both have had a bilateral trade agreement since 1978 based on the most-favoured nation clause (India provided the MFN status to Egypt).
• The bilateral trade has increased more than five times in the past 10 years.

Areas of Cooperation 

• Agriculture: Egypt is currently facing a shortage of food grains as its major sources were the warring Ukraine and Russia. India allowed the export of 61,000 tonnes of wheat to Egypt.

• Cyber security & IT and to end cross-border terrorism.

• Healthcare

• Culture: The Maulana Azad Centre for Indian Culture (MACIC) was established in Cairo in 1992. The center has been promoting cultural cooperation between the two countries.

• Youth matters and Broadcasting
• Investment: Egypt is seeking investments in infrastructure including Metro projects, a Suez Canal economic zone, a second channel of the Suez Canal, and a new administrative capital in Egypt. More than 50 Indian companies have invested in Egypt.

 Geo-Strategic Concerns:

• China’s bilateral trade with Egypt is currently at USD 15 billion, double that of India’s USD 7.26 billion in 2021-22. During the past eight years, the President of Egypt has traveled to China seven times to lure Chinese investments.
• Egypt, the most populous country in West Asia, occupies a crucial geo-strategic location — 12% of global trade passes through the Suez Canal and is a key player in the region.

Conclusion:

Egypt is a major market for India and can act as a gateway to both Europe and Africa, can help in improving ties with Muslim-majority countries and together put a stronger voice in UNSC for developing nations.

News Source: The Indian Express

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The Prime Minister will inaugurate TRIFED’s Aadi Mahotsav festival in Delhi. 

About Aadi Mahotsav:

• It is an annual Tribal Festival that was started in the year 2017.
• Organized by: It is a joint initiative of the Ministry of Tribal Affairs & Tribal Cooperative Marketing Development Federation of India (TRIFED).

• Significance:

• • The Aadi Mahotsav acquaints people with  rich tribal heritage and culture. 
  • It helps the underprivileged tribes get a bigger market for displaying and selling their arts and crafts. 
  • The Aadi Mahotsav is also an opportunity for the artisans to interact directly with art lovers and get first-hand feedback which can then better their creations and designs.
  • Aadi Mahotsav establishes a direct connection between the masses and the tribal people. 

Tribal Cooperative Marketing Development Federation of India (TRIFED):

• TRIFED was established in 1987 under the Multi-State Cooperative Societies Act, 1984 as a National level Cooperative body under the administrative control of the then Ministry of Welfare of India.
• Mandate: To bring about socio-economic development of tribals of the country by institutionalizing the trade of Minor Forest Produce (MFP) & Surplus Agricultural Produce (SAP) collected/ cultivated by them.

• Role:

• • Dual Role: It plays the dual role of both a market developer and a service provider, empowering the tribals with knowledge and tools to better their operations in a systematic, scientific manner and also assist them in developing their marketing approach.
  • Capacity Building: It is involved actively in capacity building of the tribal people through sensitization and the formation of Self Help Groups (SHGs).

Some initiatives by TRIFED:

• • ‘Van Dhan Yojana’: Trifed’s ‘Van Dhan Yojana’ seeks to shift tribal economy from supply of raw materials to value-added processing of these materials.

• Tech for Tribals: It aims at the holistic development of tribals with a focus on entrepreneurship development, soft skills, IT, and business development through self help groups (SHGs) operating through Van Dhan Vikas Kendras (VDVKs).

• Sankalp Se Siddhi – Mission Van Dhan: TRIFED  plans to expand its operations through convergence of various schemes of different Ministries and Departments and launch the various tribal development programs.

News Source: The Hindu 

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