Daily UPSC Current Affairs | 14th June 2020
Dear AspirantsIASbhai Daily Current Affairs for UPSC PRELIMS & MAINS 2020 is an initiative to dilute major articles from leading Newspapers in India which are most relevant to UPSC preparation –‘THE HINDU, LIVEMINT , INDIAN EXPRESS’ and help millions of readers who find difficulty in answer writing and making notes everyday. Hence we choose articles on daily basis and analyse them with respect to UPSC PRELIMS 2020.
“Opportunities don’t happen, you create them.” –Chris Grosser
ORANGE COLOUR: Important for Prelims.
RED COLOUR: Important for Mains.
BLACK COLOUR: Must Read !
BLUE COLOUR : Important Links/Survey.
PINK COLOUR: Reports/Themes/Summits.
Page Contents:
Nepal passes amendment on new map
HEADLINES:
Nepal passes amendment on new map
WHY IN NEWS:
Unanimous vote by Pratinidhi Sabha gives legal stamp to inclusion of Indian territory
SYLLABUS COVERED: GS 2:IR
LEARNING:
For PRELIMS nothing much here . Just go through maps and revise the territorial boundaries of India-Nepal .
For MAINS well we have covered the whole issue in detail . Go with the suggested reading below .
ISSUE:
VOTING FOR NEW MAP :
- The Lower House of Nepal’s Parliament on Saturday unanimously voted for the Second Constitution Amendment Bill, which guarantees legal status for the new political map of the country that includes part of Indian territory in Uttarakhand.
NOT TENABLE: INDIA
- “The artificial enlargement of claims is not based on historical fact or evidence and is not tenable.
- It is also violative of our current understanding to hold talks on outstanding boundary issues,”.
- The territorial dispute stems from the fact that Nepal claims the land to the east of river Kali, which forms the country’s western border.
- India opposes the notion and says the origin of the river is much further down, which reduces Nepal’s territorial demand.
IASbhai WINDUP:
- The voting showed that members from all the political parties of the Pratinidhi Sabha voted in favour of the motion moved by the government of Prime Minister K.P. Sharma Oli.
SOURCES:THE HINDU & PIB/DAILY CURRENT AFFAIRS for UPSC CSE Prelims & Mains
Chikungunya
HEADLINES:
Persistent global transmission of chikungunya from India
WHY IN NEWS:
A new Indian subcontinent sub-lineage emerges
SYLLABUS COVERED: GS 3:Health:Diseases
LEARNING:
For PRELIMS keep an eye on the spread and most affected countries .
For MAINS this study shows a genome of Indian Ocean lineage . Let us dive in !
ISSUE:
DISPERSAL OF THE STRAIN :
- “Dispersal of the strains from India was noted to neighbouring and distant countries” such as Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and China.
- The team studied newly sequenced chikungunya viruses isolated during outbreaks that happened between 2014 and 2018.
- During these years, the virus showed activity in India.
- Karnataka, Maharashtra and New Delhi accounted for a majority of the cases.
INDIAN OCEAN LINEAGE
- The whole-genome sequencing study revealed that the isolates belonged to the Indian subcontinent sub-lineage of the Indian Ocean lineage.
- The Indian Ocean lineage is a subgroup within the East Central South African genotype.
- It was responsible for the resurgence in the epidemic on La Reunion island during 2004-2005.
SPREAD FROM CLUSTERS
- Study based on the genome sequences over the period from 2005 to 2018, showed persistent global transmissions from India.
- The strains have spread to China, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, and Southeast Asian countries in mid-2006.
- Chikungunya sequences revealed indigenous evolution in India at least at three time points over the period 2005-2018
IASbhai WINDUP:
- They add and that surveillance is a continuous process and that their laboratory continues to monitor the changes in the viral strains.
SOURCES:THE HINDU & PIB/DAILY CURRENT AFFAIRS for UPSC CSE Prelims & Mains
Hydroxychloroquine does not reduce mortality
HEADLINES:
Hydroxychloroquine does not reduce mortality, RECOVERY trial finds
WHY IN NEWS:
Participant enrolment to hydroxychloroquine arm was stopped with immediate effect
SYLLABUS COVERED: GS 3:Health:Diseases
ISSUE:
THE TRIALS :
The trial investigators found that there was no significant benefit in mortality reduction in the intervention group, which was the primary objective.
- The RECOVERY trial began in March.
- It is a dynamic trial assessing five candidate drugs and convalescent plasma therapy for treating COVID-19 in patients in U.K. hospitals.
- The trial has enrolled over 11,000 patients.
NO BENEFICIAL EFFECTS
- It then came to light that the drug did not have the desired beneficial effects.
- “This concluded that there is no beneficial effect of hydroxychloroquine in patients hospitalised with COVID-19.
- The researchers found that there was “no significant difference in the primary endpoint of 28-day mortality”.
OUTCOMES MEASURED
- The primary outcome tested was reduction in all-cause mortality within 28 days of randomisation.
- The secondary outcomes measured were to assess any reduction in duration of hospital stay and need for and duration of ventilator or ECMO within 28 days and up to six months after randomisation.
- “These data convincingly rule out any meaningful mortality benefit of hydroxychloroquine in patients hospitalised with COVID-19,”
IASbhai WINDUP:
HUGE SPECULATION
- Speculation and uncertainty about the role of hydroxychloroquine as a treatment for COVID-19, but an absence of reliable information from large randomised trials.
- The preliminary results from the RECOVERY trial are quite clear — hydroxychloroquine does not reduce the risk of death among hospitalised patients with this new disease.”
SOURCES:THE HINDU & PIB/DAILY CURRENT AFFAIRS for UPSC CSE Prelims & Mains
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