CURRENT AFFAIRS CAPSULE – July 20, 2020

News: A Rhino stranded on a highway, gets well after getting sweetened vitamins and antibiotic eye spray.

News Details 

A Rhino was found to be motion less on a side of highway near Kaziranga National Park and Tiger Reserve (KNPTR).

Although all rhinos have poor eyesight, but this one had even poorer eyesight. 

Rhino believed to be swam out of flooded KNPTR, pulled himself on a highway around the Bandardubi area under KNPTR’s Bagori Range and laid there for almost 3 days. That is why it has been given the name ‘road rhino’. 

Rhino has appeared from Bagori Range of the 1,055 Sq. km KNPTR that has a core area of 430 Sq. km and more than 55% of the world’s population of the one-horned herbivore

A team of veterinarians of the Centre for Wildlife Rehabilitation and Conservation (CWRC) observed the Rhino. 

Team threw multivitamin pills embedded in jaggery wrapped in bundles of grass and sprayed the eye drop mixed in saline water from five metres.

News: Delhi High Court has issued notice to the Centre on a petition by 19 Border Security Force (BSF) personnel.

About petition

Petition is seeking direction to extend the benefit of the old pension scheme (as being provided to the Army, Navy and the Air Force) to BSF personnel as well. 

New Contributory Pension Scheme, which came into effect from January 1, 2004. Scheme is not applicable to the Armed Forces of Union of India.

Whereas, BSF personnel including those who joined the service after January 1, 2004, are receiving pensions based on the hybrid pension scheme – a mixture of old and new. 

As per the petition, BSF was raised as an Armed Force of Union of India and new pension scheme has been illegally invoked to the members of BSF.  

In HC, another Petition of same nature in relation to the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) is pending, both the petitions will be heard together.

New Pension Scheme

NPS is applicable to all new entrants to Central Govt. service except to Armed Forces joining Govt. service on or after 1.1.2004.

Regulated by: Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority

The New Pension Scheme will work on defined contribution basis and will have two tiers – Tier I and Tier II.

Tier-I is mandatory for all Govt. servants joining Govt. service, under which Govt. servants will have to make a contribution of 10% of his Basic Pay, DP and DA every month that will be matched by the government. Tier I contribution will be kept in a non-withdrawal Pension Tier I account.

Tier II will be optional and at the discretion of Govt. servants. Contributions will be kept in a separate account that will be withdrawal at the option of Govt. servant. 

The new system will also be available, on a voluntary basis, to all persons including self-employed professionals and others in the unorganised sector. 

However, there will be no contribution from the Government in respect of individuals who are not Government employees and voluntary tier-II account.

News: Alleged torture of a father son duo has once again given rise to the demand for a separate law against torture.

Torture is not defined in the Indian Penal Code, but the definitions of ‘hurt’ and ‘grievous hurt’ are clearly laid down.

Expanded scope of torture

• Expended definition of torture: Courts in India through various judgments have expanded the ambit of torture by including psychic torture, environmental coercion, tiring interrogative prolixity, and overbearing and intimidatory methods, among others, in its definition.
• Forced confessions: Voluntarily causing hurt and grievous hurt to extort confession are also provided in the Code with enhanced punishment.
• Custodial deaths: Cases of custodial deaths are enquired into by judicial magistrates under Code of Criminal Procedure. 
• NHRC guideline: NHRC has provided specific guidelines for conducting autopsy under the eyes of the camera.
• SC has made sure that in the cases of custodial torture state could no longer escape liability in public law and had to be compelled to pay compensation.
• Court has held in many cases that policemen found guilty of custodial death should be given the death penalty.

Draft Prevention of Torture Bill, 2017

Definition of torture: Any public servant or an individual authorised by him indulges in an act of torture if they inflict on another person: (i) grievous hurt, (ii) danger to life, limb, or health, (iii) severe physical or mental pain, or (iv) death for the purpose of acquiring information or punishment.

Punishment for acts of torture: It provides for Imprisonment up to 10 years and fine as a Punishment for torture.  The punishment includes death or life imprisonment in addition to fine, in case torture leads to death.

State government responsibility: State governments have been made responsible for protecting witnesses against possible violence and ill-treatment and victims of torture, complainants.  The state government will provide such protection from the time of submission of complaint till conclusion of trial for the offence.

Criticisms of the bill 

The Bill will hinder the capacity of the police to discharge its responsibilities without fear of prosecution and persecution.

The terms ‘severe or prolonged pain or suffering’ has been included as a form of torture but have not been defined.

Though the 262nd Law Commission Report recommended that the death penalty be abolished except in cases of ‘terrorism-related offences’, the Bill provided for the death penalty for custodial deaths.

Registration of every complaint of torture as a FIR and blanket denial of anticipatory bail to an accused public servant was not reasonable. 

Way forward

As per 273rd Report of the Law Commission, U.N. Convention against Torture and other Cruel, Inhumane or Degrading Treatment (CAT) that was signed by India, need to be ratified. 

Following are some of the recommendations provided by Retired Supreme Court Justice Deepak Gupta:

• Police need to be trained better. The temptation to use third-degree methods must be replaced with scientific skills.
• The investigations, the prosecutions are not fair; these must be rectified first

News: High level committee constituted by Railway ministry devised a strategy on the modalities and procedure for real-time surveillance, storage, retention and retrieval of feed generated by CCTV cameras installed in passenger coaches. 

News details 

As a part of video Surveillance System to cover stations and trains, Railways has planned to install surveillance cameras in 7,000 coaches by March 2021. 

Committee is tasked with standardising the Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) for Video Surveillance System in coaches. 

The SOP would consist of details relating to data uploading, retention and retrieval besides defining monitoring and response by security personnel and front-line Railway office. 

Why security cameras:

Besides a security measure to prevent/detect crimes at railway stations/ trains, the installation of surveillance cameras was also necessitated as a step to ensure adequate safety of women and children on railway premises.

The Railways is also in the process of installing a Video Surveillance System at 6,049 stations. 

Internet Protocol (IP) based Video Surveillance System (VSS)

Indian Railways is in the process of installing Internet Protocol (IP) based Video Surveillance System (VSS) to improve security and safety. 

In 2019-20, for installation of video surveillance system, a budget of Rs. 250 crores were allotted to Indian Railways from Nirbhaya fund.

RailTel, a Miniratna PSU under Ministry of Railways, has been entrusted with the work. 

This system has the features of video surveillance, face detection, detection of leftover luggage, among other things. Footage from all the cameras will be stored in a hard disk for up to 30 days and can be retrieved at a later date for analysis.

These steps are a part of a security plan under the Integrated Security System (ISS) which was approved in 2016 to strengthen surveillance mechanism at 202 railway stations.

News: Records of 1960 boundary talks show PLA troops at Pangong Tso and Galwan Valley are now beyond Beijing’s own territorial claims. 

News details 

Recently Chinese forces entered deep into Line of Actual Control along Ladakh and started claiming the territories where there were no disputes before that.  

In the process, violent face-of broke out between Indian and Chinese troops on the bend of the Galwan river, that resulted into casualties on both sides. 

But records of China’s territorial claims of 1960 itself are way behind their present claims.

The Chinese are now likely interpreting their perception of the LAC in a manner that offer them tactical advantage and more ‘domination’ in key areas along the LAC as cartography and terrain knowledge have improved compared to 1960s. 

Pangong Tso

Around Pangong Tso lake, the slopes of the barren mountains jut forward into the lake at eight different points, which are officially referred to as “fingers”. 

Disputes existed previously too here; India say LAC is crossing at finger 8 of the region whereas China not claims up to finger 4. 

In 1999, taking advantage of busy Indian force during Kargil war, China built a road to Finger 4 and dominated the position. 

Both the forces have been interrupting each other’s patrolling parties, still, Indian Forces have been patrolling (on foot as not infrastructure is available for India beyond finger 4) up to finger 8 till may.  

It is for the first time that China completely cut off India’s access to its LAC at Finger 8 by positioning its forces at finger 4, effectively shifting the line 8 km west. Now, PLA has moved back from Finger 4 to 5, while Indian troops also moved back further west to Finger 2. 

1960’s claims: Records of border talks in April 1960 in Delhi between Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru and Chinese Premier Zhou Enlai suggests Chinese claims roughly corresponds to an area near Finger 8.

Galwan Valley

Galwan valley lies in along the western sector of the Line of Actual Control (LAC). It flows from the Aksai Chin region and it turns sharply before meeting the Shyok river.  

China is claiming the territory passing through the bend of the Galwan river, called the Y-nallah, where June 15 clash took place. 

India has been routinely patrolling up to Patrolling Point 14, which is a few hundred metres east of the bend called Y-nallah. Chinese recently started objecting to Indian forces crossing Y-Nallah. 

This claim is very new by Chinese as no previous confrontation between troops have taken place here. 

LAC that was around 1 km east of Y-Nallah before may, was in alignment with the coordinates China provided India in 1960. 

Western sector

During the time of British rule in India, two borders between India and China were proposed- Johnson’s Line and McDonald Line.

• The Johnson’s line (proposed in 1865) shows Aksai Chin in erstwhile Jammu and Kashmir (now Ladakh) i.e. under India’s control whereas McDonald Line (proposed in 1893) places it under China’s control.
• India considered Johnson Line as a correct, rightful national border with China, while on the other hand, China considered the McDonald Line as the correct border with India.

In the Western sector, Independent India used the Johnson Line and accordingly marked its western border with China. 

News: More than 1.1million people have so far been infected with the novel coronavirus, however government continues to insist that the disease has still not reached a stage where community transmission starts to happen. Let’s have a look at what is community transmission. 

What is Community transmission?

Initially when it was established that foreign travellers are carrying the infections; travel history check and contact tracing of every infected person was being done. and it is still being followed. 

Present containment strategy is dependent upon determining the chain of infections, followed by Contact tracing, identification, testing and isolation of suspect cases. 

Community transmission simply means that the epidemic has become so widespread in a community that it gets difficult, if not impossible, to determine who is passing on the infection to whom. The source and chain of infections can no longer be established. i.e. contact tracing becomes near to impossible. 

Is India in community transmission stage? 

While the government is insisting that the disease has still not reached a community transmission stage. Many experts are of the opinion that community transmission is happening in India as there are hundreds of cases in which the chain of transmission is totally absent.

News: Itolizumab is one of the newest treatments approved in India for Covid-19.

News details 

Recently Itolizumab has been approved by the Drug Controller General of India as a novel biologic therapy for restricted emergency use.

Drug was approved in 2013 for psoriasis as a safe and effective treatment. It is developed by Bengaluru-based Biocon. 

It is an existing drug used for psoriasis, a chronic skin disease involving unregulated growth of some skin cells that develop into red patches on some of the body parts like knees and elbows. 

Usage 

SARS-CoV-2 virus has been observed to generate a large number of cytokines, due to overreaction of the immune system that may result into severe damage to the lungs and other organs, sometimes multi-organ failure and even death in worst case scenario.

It prevents morbidity and mortality related to the cytokine storm by halting the progression to the hyperinflammation phase (cytokine storm).

The drug has been used over 80 patients in Cuba and off-label in over 150 cases.

Some of the controversies are also associated with the approval process of the drug as DCGI has also exempted the drug from phase III clinical trials and allowed phase IV trials (post-marketing surveillance).