Current Affairs 10 May 2021 – IAS Current Affairs

Current Affairs 10 May 2021  focuses on Prelims-Mains perspective. Major events are : 

1. 3rd Arctic Science Ministerial
2. India-EU Leaders Meeting
3. Black fungus in COVID Patients
4. Great Nicobar Plan of NITI Aayog
5. Kaziranga Animal Corridors Construction Activities

3rd Arctic Science Ministerial

Source : PIB
GS III : Conservation, environmental pollution and degradation, environmental impact assessment

Why in News ?

India participates in the 3rd Arctic Science Ministerial shares plans for research and long-term cooperation in the Arctic.

• The first two meetings ASM1 and ASM2 were held in the USA in 2016 and Germany in 2018, respectively.
• ASM3, jointly organised by Iceland and Japan, is the first Ministerial meeting being held in Asia.
• The theme for this year is ‘Knowledge for a Sustainable Arctic’.

Key Facts

• India shared vision and long-term plans for research, work, and cooperation in the Arctic region with the stakeholders.
• Collaborations towards strengthening observational systems and sharing of data to enhance knowledge.
• India would continue to play a positive role in deepening shared understanding of the Arctic through observation, research, capacity building, as well in promoting sustainable development of the region through international cooperation.
• India shared its plans to contribute observing systems in the Arctic both in-situ and by remote sensing.
• The country would deploy open ocean mooring in the Arctic for long-term monitoring of upper ocean variables and marine meteorological parameters.
• India’s contributions to the Sustained Arctic Observational Network (SAON) would continue.
• The meeting is designed to provide opportunities to various stakeholders, including academia, indigenous communities, governments and policymakers, to enhance collective understanding of the Arctic region, emphasize and engage in constant monitoring, and strengthen observations.

India And Arctic Region

• India’s engagement with the Arctic dates back to 1920 with the signing of the Svalbard Treaty in Paris.
• Since July 2008, India has a permanent research station in the Arctic called Himadari at NyAlesund, Svalbard Area in Norway.
• It has also deployed a multi-sensor moored observatory called IndARC in the Kongsfjorden fjord since July 2014.
• The research in the Arctic region from India is coordinated, conducted, and promoted by the National Centre for Polar and Ocean Research (NCPOR), Goa, under the Ministry of Earth Sciences, Government of India.
• India enjoys ‘Observer’ status in the Arctic Council.
• The launch of NISER (NASA-ISRO Synthetic Aperture Radar) satellite mission in collaboration with the USA, is underway.
• NISER aims to conduct global measurements of the cause and consequences of land surface changes using advanced radar imaging.

Arctic Science Ministerial

• It is a grouping to strengthen scientific cooperation and collaboration among both Arctic and non-Arctic States in order to develop our understanding of the rapid changes impacting the Arctic.
• Arctic Science Ministerial
  • First Arctic Science Ministerial (ASM1) was hosted by the United States in 2016.
  • Second Arctic Science Ministerial (ASM2) was co-hosted by Germany, Finland, and the European Commission.
  • The Third Arctic Science Ministerial will be co-hosted by Iceland and Japan and take place on the 8th and 9th of May 2021 in Tokyo, Japan.
• ASM3 aims to use the well-established foundation of the Ministerial as a means to take action on coordinated Arctic observing and research in an open and transparent format which includes all Arctic stakeholders.

Concern over Arctic Region

• Arctic warming and its ice melt are global concerns as they play a pivotal role in regulating climate, sea levels, and maintaining biodiversity.
• There is growing evidence of connection between the Arctic and the Indian Ocean (which modulates the Indian monsoon).
• Improving the understanding of physical processes and quantifying the impact of Arctic ice melt on the Indian summer monsoon is very important.

India-EU Leaders Meeting

Source : PIB
GS III : Bilateral, regional and global groupings and agreements involving India and/or affecting India’s interests

Why in News ?

This is the first time that the EU hosted a meeting with India in the EU+27 format. The meeting was the initiative of the Portuguese Presidency of the Council of the European Union.

Key Facts

• to further strengthen the India-EU Strategic Partnership based on a shared commitment to democracy, fundamental freedoms, rule of law and multilateralism.
• Exchanged views on three key thematic areas:
  • Foreign policy and security
  • COVID-19, climate and environment
  • Trade, connectivity and technology
• Decision to resume negotiations for balanced and comprehensive free trade and investment agreements.
• Commitment to achieving the goals of the Paris Agreement and agreed to strengthen joint efforts for mitigation, adaptation and resilience to the impacts of climate change, as well as providing means of implementation including finance in the context of COP26.
• India and the EU also agreed to enhance bilateral cooperation on digital and emerging technologies such as 5G, AI, Quantum and High-Performance Computing
• Importance of a free, open, inclusive and rules-based Indo-Pacific and agreed to closely engage in the region,
  • Mainly in the context of India’s Indo-Pacific Ocean’s Initiative and the EU’s new strategy on the Indo-Pacific.

Connectivity Partnership

• India and the EU launched Connectivity Partnership.
• It is focused on enhancing digital, energy, transport and people-to-people connectivity.
• The Partnership is based on the shared principles of social, economic, fiscal, climate and environmental sustainability, and respect for international law and commitments.
• The Partnership will catalyse private and public financing for connectivity projects.
• It will also foster new synergies for supporting connectivity initiatives in third countries, including in the Indo-Pacific.

EU-India Business Roundtable

• The business roundtable was organised in the margins of the EU-India Summit
• Organised to highlight the avenues for cooperation in climate, digital and healthcare.
• A finance contract of Euro 150 million for the Pune Metro Rail Project was signed by the Ministry of Finance, Government of India, and European Investment Bank.

Black fungus in COVID Patients

Source : Indian Express
GS III : Bilateral, regional and global groupings and agreements involving India and/or affecting India’s interests

Why in News ?

A rare but serious fungal infection, known as mucormycosis and colloquially as black fungus is being detected relatively frequently among Covid-19 patients in some states.

Key Facts

• The disease often manifests in the skin and also affects the lungs and the brain.
• With a number of mucormycosis cases detected in Delhi, Maharashtra and Gujarat, experts in the national Covid-19 task force issued an evidence-based advisory on the disease.
• About the disease?
  • It is a serious infection.
  • It is caused by a group of moulds known as mucormycetes present naturally in the environment.
  • It mainly affects people who are on medication for health problems that reduces their ability to fight environmental pathogens.
  • How get infected ? : Sinuses or lungs of such individuals get affected after they inhale fungal spores from the air.
  • Usually, mucormycetes does not pose a major threat to those with a healthy immune system.
  • Some groups of people are more vulnerable than others for those patients is uncontrolled diabetes mellitus, immunosuppression by steroids, prolonged ICU stay, and comorbidities post transplant/malignancy, voriconazole therapy.
• Symptoms
  • Warning signs include pain and redness around the eyes or nose, with fever, headache, coughing, shortness of breath, bloody vomits, and altered mental status.
  • Sinusitis, Local pain on the cheek bone, Blackish discoloration over bridge of nose/palate, Loosening of teeth, jaw involvement, Blurred or double vision, Thrombosis, necrosis, skin lesion, Chest pain, pleural effusion, worsening of respiratory symptoms.
• Treatment
  • It is treated with antifungals, mucormycosis may eventually require surgery.
  • Utmost importance to control diabetes, reduce steroid use, and discontinue immunomodulating drugs.
  • To maintain adequate systemic hydration, the treatment includes infusion of normal saline (IV) before infusion of amphotericin B and antifungal therapy, for at least 4-6 weeks.
• Treatment for COVID patient
  • Management of Covid patients with mucormycosis is a team effort involving microbiologists, internal medicine specialists, intensivist neurologist, ENT specialists, ophthalmologists, dentists, surgeons and others.
  • All these will be complicated for a COVID patient.
• Prevention
  • Use masks if you are visiting dusty construction sites.
  • Wear shoes, long trousers, long-sleeved shirts and gloves while handling soil (gardening), moss or manure.
  • Maintain personal hygiene including a thorough scrub bath.

Great Nicobar Plan of NITI Aayog

Source : The Hindu
GS III : Conservation, environmental pollution and degradation, environmental impact assessment

Why in News ?

The Environment Appraisal Committee (EAC) Infrastructure I of the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC) has flagged serious concerns about NITI Aayog’s ambitious project for Great Nicobar Island (‘NITI Aayog vision for Great Nicobar ignores tribal, ecological concerns.

Key Facts

• It has recommended it for grant of terms of reference (TOR) for Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) studies,  which in the first instance will include baseline studies over three months.
• The proposal includes
  • An international container trans shipment terminal
  • A greenfield international airport
  • A Power plant and a township complex spread over 166 sq. km
• All these include mainly pristine coastal systems and tropical  Forests) and is estimated to cost 75000 crore.
• What are the concern ?
  • There are some missing information.
  • That included
    • The minutes of the meeting note
    • details of the township to be developed over 149 sq. km
    • A note on seismic and tsunami hazards, freshwater requirement details
    • Details of the impact on the Giant Leatherback turtle
      • Galathea Bay is an iconic nesting site in India of the enigmatic Giant Leatherback.
    • The committee also noted that there were no details of the trees to be felled a number that could run into millions.
    • The project area has some of the finest tropical forest in India.
  • Concern of 6.5 lakh people are envisaged to finaly inhabit the island when the present population is only 8,500 and the  current total population of the entire island chain is less than 4.5 lakh.
  • Site selection for the port had been done mainly on technical and financial criteria, ignoring the environmental aspects.
  • The need for an independent assessment of terrestrial and marine biodiversity, a study on the impact of dredging, reclamation and port operations, including oil spills need to be done.
  • The last few years have reported a number of new species, many restricted to just the Galathea region.
    • These include the critically endangered Nicobar shrew, the Great Nicobar crake, the Nicobar frog, the Nicobar cat snake, a new skink, a new lizard and a snake of the Lycodon.

Giant Leatherback Turtle

• Galathea Bay is an iconic nesting site in India of the enigmatic Giant Leatherback.
• The world’s largest marine turtle.
• Conservation status : Vulnerable
  • Recent estimates of global nesting populations are that 26,000 to 43,000 females nest annually which is a dramatic decline from the 115,000 estimated in 1980
• The three major, genetically distinct populations occur in the Atlantic, eastern Pacific, and western Pacific Oceans.

Kaziranga Animal Corridors Construction Activities

Source : The Hindu
GS III : Conservation, environmental pollution and degradation, environmental impact assessment

Why in News ?

The authorities in Assam’s Golaghat and Nagaon districts have begun probing cases of clearance of forest land, digging and construction activities on at least three animal corridors within the eco-sensitive zone of the Kaziranga National Park and Tiger Reserve.

Key Facts

• Assam’s Golaghat and Nagaon districts  share large swathes of the 1,300-sq. km. tiger reserve that has nine identified animal corridors.
• Importance of these corridors
  • These corridors are crucial for the rhinos, elephants, tigers, deer and other animals.
  • They escape a flooded Kaziranga during the monsoon months for the safety of the hills of Karbi Anglong district beyond the highway skirting the southern boundary of the tiger reserve.
• What is the Issue ?
  • Three violations on the corridor, including expansion by a resort.
  • These activities violated the Supreme Court’s order on April 4, 2019.
    •  According to the order no new construction shall be permitted on private lands which form part of the nine identified animal corridors.

What are Animal Corridors ?

• An area of habitat connecting wildlife populations separated by human activities or structures.
• The main goal of implementing habitat corridors is to increase biodiversity.
  • When areas of land are broken up by human interference, population numbers become unstable and many animal and plant species become endangered.
• Corridors can contribute to three factors that stabilize a population Colonization, Migration, Interbreeding.
• Corridors can be made in two distinct areas either water or land.

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