📰 India, Russia review Afghanistan situation
New Delhi raises issues of Pakistan’s links with the new Taliban regime, JeM and LeT in the talks
•India and Russia conducted their first “detailed and extensive review” of the situation in Afghanistan, agreeing to coordinate their positions at the United Nations, as a delegation led by Russia’s Security Council Secretary General Nikolai Patrushev met National Security Adviser Ajit Doval in Delhi, officials said.
•During the meeting that came a week after Russia decided to abstain from a UN Security Council Resolution on Afghanistan under India’s presidency, the two sides stressed areas of “convergence”, including the need to hold the Taliban to their promises thus far, the threat of terrorism from international terror groups inside Afghanistan, flow of weapons, radicalisation and increase in opium production and drug trafficking under the new regime.
•“[Mr. Doval and Gen Patrushev] touched upon humanitarian and migration problems in [Afghanistan], as well as prospects for the Russian-Indian joint efforts aimed at creating conditions for launching a peaceful settlement process on the basis of an intra-Afghan dialogue,” a statement issued by the Russian Embassy in Delhi said, adding that the two sides “agreed to coordinate the approaches of Russia and India in multilateral formats on the Afghan settlement.” The Russian Security chief also met Prime Minister Narendra Modi and External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar. Mr. Modi appreciated Gen. Patrushev’s visit “at a time when major changes are taking place in the region”.
•Sources said India raised the issue of Pakistan’s links with Taliban, international terror groups, and the Lashkar-e-Toiba and Jaish-e-Mohammad, believed to be operating in Afghanistan as well, in the talks with the Russian delegation.
•The Indian delegation also raised the “special responsibility that Pakistan bears to ensure that Afghanistan soil is not used to spread terrorism,” the sources said. Significantly, neither side gave any indication of talks on the status of the Haqqani Network, a UNSC-designated terror group that has carried out attacks on the Indian Embassy and consulates in Afghanistan, whose leader Sirajuddin Haqqani has been named the Interior Minister of the new regime. The talks followed a day after CIA Director William Burns flew into Delhi to meet Mr. Doval, reported by The Hindu .
•The U.S. has been discussing the issue of housing its Afghan evacuees who are being processed in other countries, the emerging terror threat from developments in Afghanistan and any future engagement with the Taliban government, now headed by Mohammed Hassan Akhund, who is also on the list of UNSC-designated terrorists.
•The Modi government has thus far maintained an independent posture from both the U.S. and Russian stands on the Taliban regime, deciding to close down its embassy in Kabul unlike Russia, China and other countries that kept their missions open.
•In an interview to RIA Novosti on Tuesday, Ambassador to Russia Venkatesh Verma said the results of the U.S.’s Doha Agreement and the Russia-led Troika plus talks which included the U.S., China and Pakistan had not been “matched by subsequent developments” in Afghanistan.
•On Thursday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi will host Russian President Vladimir Putin and leaders of China, Brazil and South Africa for the BRICS summit in a virtual format.
It is scheduled to submit draft document by Nov. 30
•The Central government has constituted a committee for framing/preparing new drugs, cosmetics and medical device laws. The eight-member panel, headed by Drug Controller General of India V.G. Somani, is scheduled to submit a draft document by November 30.
•According to the order issued by the Ministry of Health and Family welfare, dated August 27: “The government has decided to constitute a committee for framing/preparation of New Drugs, Cosmetics and Medical Devices Bill so that New Drugs, Cosmetics and Medical Devices Act can be framed.”
•The other members of the panel are Rajiv Wadhawan (director, Ministry of Health and Family Welfare), Dr. S.E. Reddy (member) A.K. Pradhan (joint drug controller), drugs controllers of Haryana, Gujarat, Maharashtra and IAS officer NL Meena. The committee is allowed to co-opt member(s) if it requires.
•The order further states that the committee shall undertake pre-legislative consultations and examine the present Act, previously framed Drugs and Cosmetics Bills and submit a draft document for a de-novo Drugs, Cosmetics and Medical Devices bill.
•The order is titled ‘Constitution of Committee for Framing of New Drugs, Cosmetics and Medical Devices Act’.
•Rajiv Nath, forum coordinator, Association of Indian Medical Device Industry, said medical devices have outgrown the joint family home shared too long with pharma.
‘A good step’
•“The separate rules were a good step to allow us to have our own home but Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation [CDSCO] is not letting go. If food can have FSSAI, we need something similar for devices, which are engineering goods undergoing constant innovation,’’ Mr. Nath stated.
•The NITI Aayog Bill to regulate devices separately from drugs and decriminalise minor non-compliances was in the right direction, he noted.
•The composition of the committee was a serious conflict of interest and unprecedented. “Involving stakeholders like manufacturers, scientists, doctors and patient groups would have been beneficial,’’ he added.
📰 Govt. clears ₹10,683 cr. textiles PLI plan
Incentives aim to boost investment in new capacities in man-made fibre apparel, technical textiles
•The Union Cabinet on Wednesday approved a ₹10,683 crore Production Linked Incentive (PLI) scheme for the textile sector with a view to “helping India regain its historical dominant status in global textiles trade”.
•The scheme’s incentive structure is designed to encourage investment in fresh capacities in man-made fibre (MMF) apparel, MMF fabrics, and 10 segments or products of technical textiles. The government expects the scheme to help attract fresh investment of more than ₹19,000 crore, creating an additional 7.5 lakh direct jobs.
•Describing the move as a “game changer”, Union Minister for Textiles, Commerce and Industry, Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution Piyush Goyal told The Hindu that any investment in the sector would have a multiplier effect especially in terms of job creation. “ The PLI as a whole is a game changer. And, for textiles it will be a big, big boost. Because... you create maximum employment in the textile sector, for every rupee invested,” he added.
•Two-third of India’s textile exports now are cotton based whereas 66% to 70% of world trade in textiles and apparel is MMF-based and technical textiles. India’s focus on the manufacture of textiles in the MMF sector is expected to help boost its ability to compete in the world market, according to the government.
•The scheme envisages two levels of investment with different sets of incentives. While any person (which includes a firm/company) can invest a minimum ₹300 crore in plant, machinery, and civil works (excluding land and administrative building cost) to produce the identified products to ensure eligibility for the incentives, in the second category a minimum investment of ₹100 crore would make an individual or firm eligible to apply for the PLI.
•Priority would be given for investment in aspirational districts, tier-three, tier-four towns and rural areas. The scheme is expected to benefit States such as Gujarat, U.P., Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, Punjab, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, and Odisha.
•Textiles Secretary Upendra Prasad Singh said guidelines for implementation of the scheme would be notified by the end of this month. A portal would be opened to receive applications and the plan is to allow two months time to the units to apply for benefits under the scheme.
•Applicants would have two years as investment period and 2024-2025 would be the ‘performance’ year. The incentive flow would start in 2025-2026 and extend for five years. As many as 40 product lines in the MMF apparel segment, 14 product lines in MMF fabrics and 10 segments / products in technical textiles have been identified for the PLI scheme.
•S.K. Sundararaman, chairman of the Indian Technical Textile Association, said the PLI plan, in conjunction with other schemes and benefits, was ‘a boon’ to the MMF sector. It would help accelerate decisions by companies wanting to invest in the MMF sector.
•Dilip Gaur, Chairman of the CII National Committee on Textiles and Apparel and Managing Director of Grasim Industries, said the scheme would provide an immense boost to domestic manufacturing and prepare the industry for making a big impact in the global markets.
📰 Green hydrogen, a new ally for a zero carbon future
It holds promise as an alternative, truly clean fuel and in aiding the world’s decarbonisation goals
•Scientists and technocrats have for years been engaged in the quest of discovering alternative fuels to fossil fuels which are responsible for the production of over 830 million tons per annum of carbon dioxide, in turn catalysing human-induced global heating. The latest studies by a battery of scientists representing about 195 countries have signalled the crucial issue of climate vulnerability, especially for the Asian countries. The forthcoming 26th UN Climate Change Conference of the Parties (COP26) in Glasgow from November 1-12, 2021 is to re-examine the coordinated action plans to mitigate greenhouse gases and climate adaptation measures.
•In order to achieve the goal of an alternative source of energy, governments are placing large bets in the hope of adopting a multi-faceted practical approach to utilise ‘Green hydrogen’ as a driving source to power our industries and light our homes with the ‘zero emission’ of carbon dioxide.
Energy-rich source
•Hydrogen is the most abundant element on the planet, but rarely in its pure form which is how we need it. It has an energy density almost three times that of diesel. This phenomenon makes it a rich source of energy, but the challenge is to compress or liquify the LH2 (liquid hydrogen); it needs to be kept at a stable minus 253° C (far below the temperature of minus 163° C at which Liquified Natural Gas (LNG) is stored; entailing its ‘prior to use exorbitant cost’.
•The production techniques of this ‘Energy-Carrier’ vary depending upon its applications — designated with different colours such as black hydrogen, brown hydrogen, blue hydrogen, green hydrogen, etc. Black hydrogen is produced by use of fossil fuel, whereas pink hydrogen is produced through electrolysis, but using energy from nuclear power sources.
•‘Green hydrogen’, the emerging novel concept, is a zero-carbon fuel made by electrolysis using renewable power from wind and solar to split water into hydrogen and oxygen. This ‘Green hydrogen’ can be utilised for the generation of power from natural sources — wind or solar systems — and will be a major step forward in achieving the target of ‘net zero’ emission. Presently, less than 0.1% or say ~75 million tons/year of hydrogen capable of generating ~284GW of power, is produced.
The obstacle of cost
•The ‘production cost’ of ‘Green hydrogen’ has been considered to be a prime obstacle. According to studies by the International Renewable Energy Agency (IREA), the production cost of this ‘green source of energy’ is expected to be around $1.5 per kilogram (for nations having perpetual sunshine and vast unused land), by the year 2030; by adopting various conservative measures.
•The global population is growing at a rate of 1.1%, adding about 83 million human heads every year on the planet. As a result, the International Energy Agency (IEA) forecasts the additional power demand to be to the tune of 25%-30% by the year 2040. Thus, power generation by ‘net-zero’ emission will be the best solution to achieve the target of expert guidelines on global warming to remain under 1.5° C. This will also be a leap forward in minimising our dependence on conventional fossil fuel; in 2018, 8.7 million people died prematurely as result of air pollution from fossil fuels
A power hungry India
•India is the world’s fourth largest energy consuming country (behind China, the United States and the European Union), according to the IEA’s forecast, and will overtake the European Union to become the world’s third energy consumer by the year 2030. Realising the impending threats to economies, the Summit will see several innovative proposals from all over the world in order to reduce dependence on use of fossil fuels.
•The scale of interest for ‘plucking the low hanging fruit’ can be gauged by the fact that even oil-producing nations such as Saudi Arabia where the day temperature soars to over 50° C in summer, is prioritising plans to manufacture this source of energy by utilising ‘idle-land-banks’ for solar and wind energy generation. It is working to establish a mega $5 billion ‘Green hydrogen’ manufacturing unit covering a land-size as large as that of Belgium, in the northern-western part of the country.
•India is also gradually unveiling its plans. The Indian Railways have announced the country’s first experiment of a hydrogen-fuel cell technology-based train by retrofitting an existing diesel engine; this will run under Northern Railway on the 89 km stretch between Sonepat and Jind. The project will not only ensure diesel savings to the tune of several lakhs annually but will also prevent the emission of 0.72 kilo tons of particulate matter and 11.12 kilo tons of carbon per annum.
•It is high time to catch up with the rest of the world by going in for clean energy, decarbonising the economy and adopting ‘Green hydrogen’ as an environment-friendly and safe fuel for the next generations.
📰 Detecting Fragile X Syndrome
The symptoms cannot be treated but early detection and therapy can improve the individual’s quality of life
•In 2017, a man in Delhi, affected by autism, underwent his first DNA blood test at the age of 40. He tested positive for Fragile X Syndrome (FXS). This is caused by changes in a gene called FMR1 which make an important protein (FMRP). This protein is required for brain development.
Largely undetected in India
•It was in 1991, 14 years after that man was born, that the mutation was discovered and named FRAXA by three American geneticists — Ben Oostra, David Nelson and Stephen Warren. They found that it was the leading inherited cause of autism worldwide.
•Three decades ago, there was no primary knowledge of this among healthcare professionals. However, even after the discovery of FMR1, the lack of awareness and appropriate training to diagnose FXS in time prevails everywhere. In India, the lack of adequate screening and diagnostic facilities, the stigma attached to mental health, the absence of surveys in community settings, and bare minimum hospital data based on clinical experience have all kept FXS largely undetected.
•According to a 2019 review paper of the Advanced Centre for Evidence-Based Child Health, established by PGIMER, Chandigarh, under the aegis of the Indian Council of Medical Research, “there is an under-recognition of the genetic disorder due to delay in diagnosis at young age and the lack of uniform application of validated, accessible and affordable diagnostic tools.” It is estimated there are 4,00,000 individuals who have been identified with mutated FMRI in India and 40 lakh undiagnosed carriers of the gene.
•According to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), one in 7,000 males and one in 11,000 females are affected with FXS. FXS is the leading inherited cause of autism in 4% of the population worldwide. The CDC estimates that one in 259 women and one in 800 men carry Fragile X. A mother who is a carrier has a 50% chance of passing the mutated gene to her children, who will either be carriers or have FXS. Men who are carriers do not pass the pre-mutation to their sons, but only daughters, who become carriers. This knowledge is crucial and the numbers are critical and demand attention, according to Professor Sumantra Chattarji, senior neurobiologist at the National Centre for Biological Sciences in Bengaluru. His research is focused on correcting the powerful emotional symptoms of FXS. It helps empower parents with information about babies in whom the FMR1 shuts down the production of FMRP.
•Shalini Kedia, who founded the Fragile X Society of India in 2003 as a support system for families impacted with FXS, says that it is every woman’s right to make an informed choice of becoming a special mother. Studies suggest a high effect of consanguineous parenting on FXS prevalence.
Timely detection
•The simplest tool for timely detection is a DNA test. In the U.S., FXS testing is mandatory for every child diagnosed with autism. This helps parents plan their family better. In India, doctors often fail to appropriately guide women who have fertility issues, late pregnancies, opt for IVF with donor eggs, or donate embryo for surrogacy.
•Experts suggest an overhaul of the MBBS curriculum to include a detailed chapter on FXS and more government-organised Continuing Medical Education programmes for practising healthcare professionals so that FXS is treated as a major public health concern. Mass awareness and an additional test in the list of pregnancy and prenatal and neonatal tests for other chromosomal abnormalities (such as Down Syndrome) will be beneficial. But the majority of people are either not aware of the FXS test or cannot afford it. Tests are done in major government hospitals and in a few private labs and cost between ₹4,500 and ₹7,500.
•People must understand that autism triggered by FXS is a behavioural condition. The symptoms are learning difficulty, speech delay, aggressive behaviour, hyperactivity, attention deficit, fear of the unfamiliar, sensory processing disorders and problems in motor skills. These cannot be cured, but early therapy can improve the individual’s quality of life.
•The National Policy for Treatment of Rare Diseases, 2017, was limited by challenges in implementation. This year, the government introduced the National Policy for Rare Diseases Act. It calls for systematic epidemiological studies on incidence and prevalence of rare diseases. Without naming FXS directly, it recommends prenatal tests for lesser-known single-gene and other genetic disorders. This is profound as the dialogue on rare diseases has to be kept open, even during the pandemic. Or else, it will leave all those who are trying to cope feel even more vulnerable and isolated.
📰 A questionable quota policy
A proposal of the Odisha government betrays its lack of political will in improving government schools
•Reservation as a tool of social engineering seems to be flavour of the season in India. To add to the competitive populism of caste-based reservations, a few months ago, the Odisha government proposed a 15% reservation for government school students in medical and engineering colleges to reduce “inequity arising” from lack of “physical and economic access to coaching institutions”. The state machinery hailed it a historic decision. But is it?
•A number of reports highlight the poor condition of government schools in many parts of the country. Odisha is no exception. Whether the State government has any serious plan of action to improve the functioning of government schools is not clear. But this decision certainly reflects a lack of political will in improving the state of education in schools. This intervention gives the impression that little can be expected of government schools. The current obsession with developing model schools reinforces this impression.
Failing in its duty
•About 62% of students attend government and government-aided schools in India. The other 38% go to private institutions, some of which belong to the elite category and the rest of which are of questionable quality. A much higher percentage of students in Odisha go to government schools. Reserving seats in higher technical institutions for government school students rather than focusing on improving these publicly funded institutions defies all logic. By announcing this policy of reservation, the government seems to be admitting that it has failed in its duty to provide the majority of students with good education and equip them with requisite competence to get admission in technical institutions on the basis of their own merit.
•Decades ago, students from Odisha had a high success rate in national-level competitive examinations. This was attributed to the strong educational foundation laid in government-run schools. During those days, teachers were known for their unquestionable sincerity and integrity. They were dedicated to their calling and commanded respect from the society. Over time, this seems to have changed.
•There is no dearth of ideas or practices that can improve the quality of education in government schools. What is lacking is the government’s resolve to work on these ideas including capacity building of teachers to implement new pedagogic practices, emphasis on language teaching, filling up vacant teaching posts, and a change in the mindset among people and policymakers that government schools are typically backward and inferior to private schools. Instead of addressing relevant issues, government is trying to find a solution which could worsen the problem. The policy of automatically promoting the students to higher classes without passing examinations needs to be scrapped.
•Building an institution is tough. Rebuilding it is even more so. The state can’t simply shirk this responsibility of improving education in government schools where an overwhelming majority of the children study. Focusing on them will go a long way in building the morale of teachers and students who are likely to grow up with an inferiority complex if flawed policies like the one mentioned above are pursued.
Benefits to few
•Some may argue that the quota would help some sections of the society which have long been deprived of good education and decent jobs. But this justification can nevertheless be questioned on several grounds. One of them is that the benefits of quota, if any, would be cornered by the creamy layer of students with better access to coaching and additional technology-enabled resources. There might also be an urban bias in the benefit-sharing.
