Daily UPSC Current Affairs | 3rd 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.
“Things work out best for those who make the best of how things work out.” –John Wooden
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:
Living with novel coronavirus
HEADLINES:
Five tips on how to live with novel coronavirus
WHY IN NEWS:
After seventy days of lockdown, the unlock 1.0 is put into action. Officially designated lockdown 5.0, from June 1, 2020, the economy and ordinary life are returning to normalcy in a controlled and phased manner.
SYLLABUS COVERED: GS 3:Health:Diseases
LEARNING:
Nothing much . It is to boost the general awareness ! Communicate these points with family members and dear ones .
ISSUE:
- It is going to be a long haul.
- With vaccine still months away, we need to live in a new normal.
- Meanwhile, we can change ourselves to face the pandemic.
HERE ARE THE FIVE TIPS :
1. WEAR A MASK WHEN YOU STEP OUT OF THE HOUSES
- When a person speaks, about 1000 tiny droplets of saliva comes out.
- Large droplets will fall off the ground, usually within one-metre distance.
- However, the plum of tiny droplets can float in the air for a longer time, mainly if the area is not well ventilated.
- Many people who are infected by the virus do not show any symptoms.
- Wearing a mask protects not only us but others as well, if we are infected.
2.PRACTISE VIGILANT HAND HYGIENE
- When we wash our hands thoroughly with soap for at least thirty seconds, the virus, if any, on our hands is destroyed.
- “There are suggestions that the virus may also be transmitted by faecal and oral routes.
- Hence it is better to wash the hands and legs,” .
3. MAINTAIN SOCIAL DISTANCE
- Keeping a distance of one metre from one another in markets, offices, and public transport would greatly help.
- “Young people can get infected without showing symptoms, and they can infect the elderly.
4. TEST AND TRACKING
- Only an infected person can transmit the virus to others or contaminate a surface and spread the virus.
- If most of the infected persons are identified, then controlling the transmission of the virus becomes easy.
5. ISOLATION
- “The people who have been identified as positive cases should be isolated,”.
- Once isolated, the infected person can receive proper medical attention.
IASbhai WINDUP:
In India, most households have three generations living together.
This may make the implementation of physical distancing difficult.
SOURCES:THE HINDU & PIB/DAILY CURRENT AFFAIRS for UPSC CSE Prelims & Mains
DrugBank database for treating COVID-19
HEADLINES:
IIT, BHU to re-purpose approved drugs from DrugBank database for treating COVID-19 by targeting SARS-CoV-2 main protease
WHY IN NEWS:
Hot from PIB !
SYLLABUS COVERED: GS 3:Diseases:Science and Tech : Recent Innovations
LEARNING:
For PRELIMS it is important to understand the principle behind this recent innovation .
ISSUE:
- The research group of Prof. Vikash Kumar Dubey is working on developing new drug candidates against SARS-CoV-2 by exploring DrugBank (DrugBank is a database of FDA approved drug compounds.
PRINCIPLE :
This database will be used for searching drug against SARS-CoV-2) database compounds as an inhibitor of SARS-CoV-2 main protease, a key enzyme required for SARS-CoV-2 assembly and multiplication.
IASbhai WINDUP:
- As the enzyme SARS-CoV-2 Mpro, is key for processing and polyprotein for virus assembly, the inhibition of this key protein can have an anti-viral effect.
SOURCES:THE HINDU & PIB/DAILY CURRENT AFFAIRS for UPSC CSE Prelims & Mains
Science, Technology, and Innovation Policy (STIP)
HEADLINES:
Consultation process for new Science, Technology, and Innovation Policy (STIP) initiated
WHY IN NEWS:
The Office of the Principal Scientific Adviser to the Government of India (Office of PSA) and the Department of Science and Technology (DST) have jointly initiated a decentralized, bottom-up, and inclusive process for the formulation of a new national Science Technology and Innovation Policy (STIP 2020).
SYLLABUS COVERED: GS 2:3: Governance : Science and Technology
LEARNING:
For PRELIMS nothing much here.
For MAINS go through the different tiers of decentralisation . Find the loopholes in this process . Research and development in India is growing at a very slow rate .
ISSUE:
- As the crisis changes the world, the new policy with its decentralized manner of formation will reorient STI in terms of priorities, sectoral focus, the way research is done, and technologies are developed and deployed for larger socio-economic welfare.
THE STIP 2020 FORMULATION PROCESS IS ORGANISED INTO 4 HIGHLY INTERLINKED TRACKS:
- Track I involves an extensive public and expert consultation process through Science Policy Forum.
- Track II comprises experts-driven thematic consultations to feed evidence-informed recommendations into the policy drafting process.
- Track III involves consultations with Ministries and States, while Track IV constitutes apex level multi-stakeholder consultation.
- Track IV consultation with institutional leadership, industry bodies, global partners and inter-ministerial and inter-state consultations represented at the highest levels are being carried out.
IASbhai WINDUP:
- The consultation processes on different tracks have already started and are running in parallel.
- The six-month process involves broad-based consultations with all stakeholders within and beyond the scientific ecosystem of the country –including academia, industry, government, global partners, young scientists and technologists, civic bodies, and general public.
SOURCES:THE HINDU & PIB/DAILY CURRENT AFFAIRS for UPSC CSE Prelims & Mains
Rajasthan have faced locusts 3 times in one year
HEADLINES:
These farmers in Bikaner, Rajasthan have faced locusts 3 times in one year
WHY IN NEWS:
They face an uncertain future as many have not received any help from the government
SYLLABUS COVERED: GS 3:Agriculture
LEARNING:
For MAINS watch the video and take necessary effective key points.
ISSUE:
IASbhai WINDUP:
- Some villages in Rajasthan close to the Pakistan border have faced locust attacks for the third time in a year.
- Rajasthan is the worst locust-affected state in India.
SOURCES:THE HINDU & PIB/DAILY CURRENT AFFAIRS for UPSC CSE Prelims & Mains
Most common coronavirus type in India
HEADLINES:
Scientists identify second most common coronavirus type in India
WHY IN NEWS:
The A3i type comprised 41% of those analysed
SYLLABUS COVERED: GS 3:Health:Diseases
LEARNING:
For PRELIMS it is important to understand different strains of virus and their names.
ISSUE:
- The most dominant coronavirus clade in India is the A2a, and of 213 genomes analysed by the group, 62% of them were A2a.
- The newly identified type, that the scientists have christened A3i, comprised 41% of those analysed.
HOW MANY TYPES OF STRAINS ?
- With this, there are 11 SARS-CoV-2 types identified globally, with at least six of them identified in India.
- The coronavirus type, or clade, is a cluster of SARS-CoV-2 viruses that share evolutionary similarities.
SIGNIFICANCE :
Such classifications are useful in establishing whether certain strains are particularly virulent, spread more easily, how they are likely to evolve over time and whether some could be less vulnerable to certain kinds of vaccines.
Previous studies indicate that while type O was the first ancestral family of the virus identified from China, it’s the A2a type that has emerged dominant the world over because of a mutation in its genes that allows that coronavirus’ spike to more efficiently infiltrate the lungs.
IASbhai WINDUP:
- So far, there is no evidence that A3i is more virulent — that is, it’s linked to more deaths.
- “It is too early to comment about the virulence right now.
SOURCES:THE HINDU & PIB/DAILY CURRENT AFFAIRS for UPSC CSE Prelims & Mains
Let us ‘Discuss’
IASbhai WINDUP:
Let us know what you think about this in the comment section.
SOURCES:THE HINDU/DAILY CURRENT AFFAIRS for UPSC CSE Prelims & Mains
DISCOVER MORE : Important Daily Current Affairs for UPSC PRELIMS 2020
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