Current Affairs

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US FDA approves world’s 1st oral antiviral for COVID-19

Paxlovid:

Paxlovid (nirmatrelvir and ritonavir tablets) is manufactured by US pharma major Pfizer.
It is the fourth drug — and first oral antiviral pill — approved by the FDA to treat COVID-19 in adults.
So far, Paxlovid was being sold under emergency use authorisation (EUA) in the US.
With the pandemic now in its endemic stage, oral treatments, or pills, are believed to be a potential game changer for mild to moderate infections.

SARS-CoV-2 Virus:

Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a highly contagious viral illness caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2).
SARS-CoV-2 is a novel beta coronavirus belonging to the same subgenus as the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus (SARS-CoV) and the Middle East Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus (MERS-CoV).
- It was first identified in December 2019 in Wuhan, China, and then caused a global pandemic leading to the disease COVID-19.
Coronaviruses (CoVs) are positive-stranded RNA viruses with a crown-like appearance due to the presence of spike glycoproteins on the envelope.
Like other RNA viruses, SARS-CoV-2, while adapting to their new human hosts, is prone to genetic evolution with the development of mutations over time, resulting in mutant variants that may have different characteristics than its ancestral strains.
Although the origin of SARS-CoV-2 is currently unknown, it is widely postulated to have originated from an animal, implicating a zoonotic transmission.

Transmission: Via exposure to respiratory droplets carrying the infectious virus from close contact or droplet transmission from presymptomatic, asymptomatic, or symptomatic individuals harbouring the virus.

India may join offshore wind alliance

Context: India is “very actively" considering joining the Global Offshore Wind Alliance in an attempt to improve its energy transition standing, said Gauri Singh, deputy director general of the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA), which played a key role in forming the alliance.

What is global offshore wind alliance (GOWA)?

The alliance was initiated by the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA), Denmark and the Global Wind Energy Council.
It will bring together governments, the private sector, international organisations and other stakeholders to accelerate the deployment of offshore wind power.
It has the aim of reaching global offshore wind capacity of at least 380 GW by 2030.
Countries joining GOWA have agreed to work together to drive national, regional, and global ambitions and remove barriers to the deployment of offshore wind in new and existing markets.
Offshore wind can be deployed at large scale, in short timeframes and at competitive cost.

What is Global Wind Energy Council (GWEC)?

The Global Wind Energy Council is the international trade association for the wind power industry.
GWEC is a member-based organisation that represents the entire wind energy sector.
The members of GWEC represent over 1,500 companies, organisations and institutions in more than 80 countries, including manufacturers, developers, component suppliers, research institutes, national wind and renewables associations, electricity providers, finance and insurance companies.

GWEC India – a single advocacy and research body representing the entire value chain of India’s wind industry, from IPPs to OEMs to end-users to service-providers – will work closely with central and state governments to improve the enabling environment for sector growth, creating the conditions for inward investment in the tens of billions of dollars.

What is offshore wind energy?

Offshore wind power or offshore wind energy is the energy taken from the force of the winds out at sea, transformed into electricity and supplied into the electricity network onshore.
It is the clean and renewable energy that is produced on the high seas, where it reaches a higher and more constant speed than on land due to the absence of barriers. In order to make the most of this resource, mega-structures are installed that are seated on the seabed and equipped with the latest technical innovations.

Benefits:
1. Renewable, unlimited and non-polluting.

2. Reduces pressure on land resource.

3. Barrier free regions thus higher wind speed and efficiency

4. Visual and acoustic impact is small5. No issues of land acquisition.
6. The ease of maritime transport, which has few limitations with regard to cargo and dimensions in comparison with land transportation, has made it possible for offshore wind turbines to reach much larger unit capacities and sizes than onshore wind turbines.

India and offshore wind energy:

India is blessed with a coastline of about 7600 km surrounded by water on three sides and has good prospects of harnessing offshore wind energy. Considering this, the Government had notified the “National offshore wind energy policy” as per the Gazette Notification dated 6th October 2015. As per the policy, Ministry of New and Renewable Energy will act as the nodal Ministry for development of Offshore Wind Energy in India and work in close coordination with other government entities for Development and Use of Maritime Space within the Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) of the country and shall be responsible for overall monitoring of offshore wind energy development in the country. National Institute of Wind Energy (NIWE), Chennai will be the nodal agency to carryout resource assessment; surveys and studies in EEZ demarcate blocks and facilitate developers for setting up offshore wind energy farms.

Update NPR to enumerate self during next Census

Context: Census 2021, which has been postponed indefinitely, will be the first digital Census giving citizens an opportunity to “self-enumerate” as and when it is conducted. The government has not announced when the next Census will be held, with a January 2, 2023 notification ruling out the exercise at least till September.

About Self enumeration

The Office of the Registrar of General of India (ORGI), which conducts the Census, has developed a “self-enumeration (SE)” portal which is presently available in English only.
With the help of this SE portal, any usual resident of India can update census-related information on their own without involving government enumerators.
If citizens want to exercise the right to fill out the Census form on their own rather than through government enumerators, they will have to first update their National Population Register (NPR) details online . The NPR, first put together in 2010 and updated in 2015, already has the details of 119 crore people.
During self-enumeration in NPR, Aadhaar / mobile number is mandatorily collected.

Benefits of Self Enumeration

Respondents can update the details of their family members online without the help of an enumerator for “privacy” and to reduce the financial and administrative burden incurred in the collection of field data.
The portal accessible to “respondents of India” will offer “ secure and controlled access to the respondent’s family information and authentication based on pre-filled information available with ORGI and One Time Password (OTP) sent to a registered mobile number,” the report said.
The respondent will be allowed to change the family member details and add details of new family members. Those who are no longer part of the household shall be marked as “moved out or died”.

The Census is conducted in two phases-

1. The first phase — the House-listing Operations (HLO) and Housing Census — is to be conducted with simultaneous updating of NPR.

2. The second phase- Population enumeration is the main phase, which collects details on key social and economic parameters.

Initially, it had been decided that during the HLO, the mobile number from the households willing to share them would be collected, and then, used for giving people access to self-enumeration during the second phase — the population enumeration. “Later, when the Census and NPR exercise was postponed due to COVID-19, it was decided to extend the self-enumeration facility for HLO also.
According to the Citizenship Rules 2003, the NPR is the first step towards the compilation of the National Register of Indian Citizens (NRIC/NRC).
The yet-to-be-launched mobile-friendly portal will allow users to register their mobile number in the NPR database, self-enumerate and fill in the details under house listing Operations.

National Population Register (NPR)

The NPR pre-test form in 2019 collected details on 14 parameters of all family members of a household. The sub-heads included:

1. Passport number,

2. Relationship with the head of the family,

3. Whether divorced/widowed or separated,

4. The mother tongue and the kind of occupation, among others.

The trial form had a column on Aadhar, mobile phone number, Voter ID and driving licence numbers to be provided if available with the respondent. The final form is yet to be published.
The government earlier said that the objective of the NPR is to create a comprehensive identity database of every usual resident in the country and it is “mandatory for every usual resident of India to register in the NPR.”
While similar data is collected through the Census, according to Section 15 of the Census Act, of 1948, individual data are confidential and “only aggregated data are released at various administrative levels.”
The Home Ministry had earlier said that data collected under the NPR are shared with States and used by the Central government for various welfare schemes at the individual level.

FIPIC (Forum for India Pacific Islands Cooperation)

Context: PM Modi during the recent FIPIC summit communicated that Small island nations of the Pacific Ocean are in fact “large ocean states”, highlighting the importance of the 14 members of the Forum for India Pacific Islands Cooperation (FIPIC). He also spoke in favour of free and open Indo-Pacific region and focused on India’s commitment to assist the development goals of the member-countries.

Mr. Modi also highlighted the close cooperation by explaining Climate change, natural calamities, poverty and famine already existed but now new challenges are emerging as supply chains of food, fuel fertilizer and pharma are facing hurdles. Those we thought were reliable, we came to know they were not standing with us. In this time of difficulty, the old saying that a friend in need is a friend indeed has been proved. From vaccines to medicines, wheat and sugar, India has supplied the countries that needed the items

He was also conferred the Grand Companion of the Order of Logohu (GCL), the highest civilian award of Papua New Guinea.
PM Modi further unveiled a comprehensive 12-step initiative aimed at advancing India's collaborations with the countries in the Pacific region which included FIPIC SME Development Project, Solar project for Government buildings, Provide desalination units for drinking water, Supply sea ambulances, Set up dialysis units, Set up of 24x7 emergency helpline, Set up of Jan Aushadi Kendras, Set up Yoga centres
At the same time members of the FIPIC highlighted that they are victims of global power play and they want India to advocate for them and sit in those meetings,”. They also urged India to serve as the voice of the Global South in the G-7 and the G-20.
The recent visit of PM Modi to Papua New Guinea highlights the growing strategic significance of the Pacific Island nations, which have also received attention from China, with the country having signed a security agreement last year with the Solomon Islands.

India and the Pacific Island Nations

Historically, India’s interaction with the region goes back to the colonial era, in the early 19^th century when Indian workers were taken to the region, to work as indentured plantation labourers, most of whom settled there, particularly in Fiji and PNG. However in the post-colonial era until recently the region did not find much significance in India’s foreign policy.
In the recent times the changing geopolitical scenario and strategic and economic compulsions have driven India to refresh and redesign its Pacific policy.
India's involvement with these 14 nations aligns with its Act East Policy, and the country has primarily fostered its relationships with them through developmental aid as part of South-South Cooperation.
The PICs with their resource rich Exclusive Economic Zones (EEZs) can be attractive sources of natural and mineral resources like LNG and hydrocarbons to fuel India’s growing economy and can also provide new markets for its products. Some of the PICs have EEZs that are larger than the landmass and EEZ of India taken together.
Further India with its rising naval capabilities begins to look beyond the east of Malacca, the PIC’s would become inevitably significant in India’s broader maritime strategy.
However, India’s interaction with the PICs still largely revolves around its engagement with Fiji and PNG, mainly driven by the presence of sizeable Indian Diaspora

Nearly 40 percent of Fiji’s population is of Indian origin and about 3000 Indians live in PNG.
In terms of institutional engagements, India participates in the Pacific Island Forum (PIF) as one of the key dialogue partners of the Forum.
The most important development in facilitating India’s interaction with the PICs in recent years has been the formation of FIPIC.
In 2019 PM Modi announced US$12 million grant (US$ 1 million to each PSIDS) towards the implementation of high impact developmental project in the area of their choice
There was also announcement made for a concessional Line of Credit of US$150 million which can be availed by these countries for undertaking solar, renewable energy and climate-related projects based on their requirements.
An ‘India-Pacific Islands Sustainable Development Conference’, was also organized in Fiji 2017. The conference focused on discussing the issues including the blue economy, adaptation-mitigation practices for climate change, disaster preparedness and health
In 2017, India launched Climate Early Warning Systems in seven PICs. India has regularly provided assistance in these counties to deal with consequences of frequent cyclones like the relief and rehabilitation grant was provided when Tropical Cyclone Hola hit Vanuatu in 2018.
India has also offered a Line of Credit set up a pharmaceutical manufacturing plant and the distribution centre in the Pacific Island region for access to affordable drug and has
Further, India has provided financial assistance for the Small and Medium Enterprise (SME) sector in these countries, helping many small scale entrepreneurs to develop their own business.
At this moment, total annual trade of about $300 million between the Indian and Pacific Island countries, whereas exports are around $200 million and imports are around $100 million.

Recent Developments in the region:

Located between the US, China and Australia, the Pacific island countries hold strategic importance for security and defence. The US has long maintained influence and a military presence in the Pacific region. Over the last decade, China has focused on strengthening its ties in Pacific through increased aid development, diplomacy and security cooperation.

The area gained prominence when in 2022, Solomon Islands signed a security pact sparking international concern over the possibility of Beijing building its first military base in the region.
China has also signed off on a variety of smaller bilateral agreements during the same tour. To counter the move, newly appointed Australian Foreign Minister, immediately travelled to Fiji, Samoa and Tonga to shore up Australian diplomatic interests in Oceania
ISOLATION OF TAIWAN: Strategist are of the opinion that China would use the island countries to further isolate Taiwan from the diplomatic support it receives from the region.

Several countries in Oceania (The Marshall Islands, Nauru, Palau, and Tuvalu) recognize Taiwan as a sovereign country. Chinese outreach and development manoeuvrings could therefore help them reduce regional support for Taiwanese independence.
As a testimony to this Honiara has recently cut ties with Taiwan and followed Beijing’s line on the “One China” policy. The “Inter-governmental Framework Agreement on Security Cooperation” between Beijing-Honiara is a culmination of these efforts.

ISOLATION OF AUSTRALIA: Increased Chinese influence in the region could lead to more overseas military bases being built, and could lead to Australia, a vital Pacific ally for the United States, to be isolated, cutting them from supply lines from overseas.
THE ZERO SUM GAME IN PACIFIC: China’s engagement with South Pacific is about increasing its influence and about diminishing American and Australian influence. It’s a zero-sum game. Australia has a security cooperation agreement with Honiara and is a preferred security provider. Australia went from being a “key security provider” to becoming “one of the options” to seek out.
GREAT GAME IN PACIFIC: The US’ posture and initiatives in Indo-Pacific are also worrying China. US’ Indo-Pacific strategy outlines that it is keen to focus on “every corner of the region including the Pacific Islands. Further the formation of Quad and US’ Indo-Pacific strategy have worried China, so this game of influence will further intensify.

REGIONAL ECONOMICS: The Pacific region is also an important route to transport products and natural resources. Further the exports from Australia (as Australia supplies critical minerals like that of iron ore, coal, and raw cotton and exports to important allies like Australia and other countries like New Zealand pass through this sea area.
CLIMATE HAZARDS: Many Pacific Island nations are worried of the impact of climate change and rising sea levels, which pose an immediate existential threat. In fact, the Fijian Defence Minister, in the recent Shangri-La Dialogues that the greatest threat to the region is not a conflict between China and the U.S., but rather the geopolitical effects of climate change.

CONCLUSION:

As two geopolitical superpowers start to compete for political dominance in the region, the region as a whole now risks being dragged into conflicts, being used as pawns in broader global ambitions, and at the worst, could see themselves as the site of an armed conflict.

Carbon dating

Context: The Allahabad High Court ordered scientific survey that includes Carbon dating of a ‘Shivling’, found at the Gyanvyapi mosque complex in Varanasi.

Radiocarbon Dating Pioneer

An American physical chemist, Willard Libby spearheaded a group of scientists in devising a technique to gauge radiocarbon activity.
He is acknowledged as the first scientist to propose the existence of the unstable carbon isotope known as radiocarbon or carbon-14 within living organisms.
He measured the rate of decay of radiocarbon and established a half-life of 5568 years ± 30 years.
In recognition of his contributions to the development of radiocarbon dating, Mr. Libby was honoured with the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 1960.

Carbon dating

The most prevalent carbon isotope in the atmosphere is C-12, while a small amount of C-14 is also present. The ratio of C-12 to C-14 in the atmosphere remains relatively constant.
Plants obtain carbon through photosynthesis, and animals primarily acquire it from their diet. As plants and animals derive their carbon from the atmosphere, they accumulate C-12 and C-14 in a similar proportion to what is available in the atmosphere.
When they die, their interaction with the atmosphere ceases. While C-12 remains stable, the radioactive C-14 undergoes a process called "half-life," wherein it reduces to half its initial amount in approximately 5,730 years.
Carbon-14 serves as an isotopic timekeeper. By measuring the amount of carbon-14 present in a sample and comparing it to an internationally recognized reference standard, an approximate age can be determined.

Significance

It stands as a ground breaking scientific method that has not only transformed our comprehension of the present but has also unravelled events that occurred thousands of years ago.
Archaeology and various fields within the realm of human sciences heavily rely on radiocarbon dating to validate or refute theories.
Moreover, throughout the years, carbon-14 dating has found practical applications in diverse disciplines such as geology, hydrology, geophysics, atmospheric science, oceanography, paleoclimatology, and even biomedicine.

Limitations

While carbon dating is highly reliable, it does have limitations in its applicability.

For instance, it cannot be employed to ascertain the age of inanimate objects like rocks.
Carbon dating is not suitable for determining the age of items that exceed approximately 40,000-50,000 years. The majority of rocks of interest surpass this timeframe.
This restriction arises from the fact that, after undergoing 8-10 half-life cycles, the quantity of C-14 becomes exceedingly minuscule and becomes nearly undetectable.

Alternative methods

Alternative methods exist for determining the age of inanimate objects, many of which operate on the same principles as carbon dating. Instead of carbon, the decay of other radioactive elements present in the material serves as the basis for these dating techniques.

Potassium-Argon dating: Radioactive isotope of potassium decays into argon, and analysing their respective ratios provides insights into the age of rocks.
Uranium-Thorium-Lead dating: They possess multiple radioactive isotopes, all of which decay into stable lead atoms. By measuring the ratios of these elements within a material, estimates about its age can be derived.
Cosmogenic Nuclide dating:

Additionally, there are techniques to determine the duration of an object's exposure to sunlight.
These methods employ different approaches but are also based on radioactive decay, making them particularly valuable for studying buried objects or changes in topography.
One commonly used technique is cosmogenic nuclide dating, or CRN, which is frequently applied to assess the age of ice cores in polar regions.
Indirect use of Carbon dating method:

The age of ice cores in glaciers and polar regions can be determined by examining the trapped carbon dioxide molecules within large ice sheets.
These molecules have had no interaction with the external atmosphere and are preserved in the same state as when they were trapped.
Estimating their age provides a rough approximation of when the ice sheets were formed.

Practice MCQ

Q. With reference to the Radioactive dating methods, consider the following statements: 1. Carbon dating is the most effective method to estimate age of organisms as well as inanimate objects. 2. Carbon-14 is the most prevalent carbon isotope in the atmosphere and its ratio remains stable to that of Carbon-12. Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

A 1 only
B 2 only
C Both 1 and 2
D Neither 1 nor 2

Show Answer

The correct answer is D.

India to have new supercomputer for weather forecasting

Context: India is set to unveil its new 18 Peta-flop supercomputer for weather forecasting institutes later in 2023.

Flops (floating point operations per second) are an indicator of the processing speed of computers and a petaflop refers to a 1,000 trillion flops.

Major Highlights:

Currently, The National Centre for Medium Range Weather Forecasting (NCMRWF) in Noida, houses 'Mihir', a 2.8 petaflop supercomputer and the Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology (IITM), Pune has 'Pratyush', a 4.0 petaflop supercomputer.

The new supercomputer will be bought at Rs 900 crores, and once it is unveiled, 'Mihir' and 'Pratyush', launched in 2018, will be decommissioned.

Significance:

The new high-power computing facility is expected to improve weather forecasts at the block level, help weather scientists give higher resolution ranges of the forecast, predict cyclones with more accuracy and lead time and ocean state forecast, including marine water quality forecasts.
- Processing power to such a degree greatly eases the complex mathematical calculations required for accurate weather forecasting, among others.
- E.g., It can be used to forecast how the weather will be over the next few days up to two or three months ahead.

Key Facts:

The AI Supercomputer ‘AIRAWAT’, installed at C-DAC, Pune has been ranked 75th in the world with a remarkable speed of 13,170 teraflops.
- It was declared in the 61st edition of the Top 500 Global Supercomputing List at the International Supercomputing Conference (ISC 2023) in Germany.
- 1 teraflop is equal to one trillion floating-point operations per second (flops).

The fastest high-performance computing system in the world is currently the Frontier-Cray system at Oakridge National Laboratory, United States. This has a peak speed of one exa-flop (or about 1,000 petaflops).

To know more about ‘India’s supercomputing ambitions’, kindly refer to the link given below: https://compass.rauias.com/current-affairs/powering-up-indias-supercomputing-ambitions/

AI and issue of copyright infringement

Context: The recent decision of the U.S. Supreme Court in the Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts Inc. versus Goldsmith et al. case has added more unpredictability to the process of being exempted from copyright infringement liabilities. The judgment is set to have implications for how we regulate a powerful form of artificial intelligence.

Generative AI programs (like ChatGPT, Midjourney, DALL-E etc.) may infringe copyright in existing works, either by making copies of existing works to train the AI or by generating outputs that resemble those existing works.

Copyright law in India:

The Copyright Act in India, 1957 provides a legal framework for the protection of copyright and related rights. The Act grants copyright protection to:
- Original literary, dramatic, musical, and artistic works
- Cinematograph films
- Sound recordings, and
- Computer programs

Copyright holders have exclusive rights over their works, including the right to reproduce, communicate to the public, perform, adapt, and translate the work. In contrast to patents, copyright safeguards expressions rather than ideas.

Under Section 52(1)(a) of the Copyright Act, certain acts are exempted from copyright infringement if they fall within the scope of fair dealing.
- Fair dealing allows for the use of copyrighted works for specific purposes such as private study, research, criticism, review, news reporting, or incidental use.

In addition to fair dealing, India's Copyright Act also includes a detailed list of enumerated exceptions under Section 52(1)(a), which provides specific situations where the use of copyrighted works is allowed without obtaining permission from the copyright owner.
- They include reproduction for educational purposes, certain library and archive use, performance or display of works during religious ceremonies etc.

AI and Copyright issues:

Under Indian Copyright Law, the authorship of works created by artificial intelligence (AI) is currently a topic of debate and does not have a clear legal framework. The Copyright Act, 1957, does not specifically address the issue of AI-generated works or the determination of authorship in such cases.
- Traditionally, copyright law recognizes human authors as the creators of original works, as they exercise creative judgment and skill in their creation.
- However, with the rise of AI technology and its ability to generate original works independently, questions have emerged regarding the attribution of authorship.

According to Section 2 (d) of the Copyrights Act, the "author" means the person who causes the work to be created (concerning any literary, dramatic, musical or artistic work which is computer generated). This bars the AI from owning any authorship because it is generally not regarded as a legal person.

Hence, in the absence of specific legislation or judicial precedents in India, determining authorship for AI-generated works remains uncertain.

India-Australia ties

Context: Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Australia. The visit which was originally planned for a multilateral event, the meeting of the Quad, it transformed into a purely bilateral visit after the U.S. President pulled out over domestic political constraints; Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida followed suit, and a shortened Quad Summit was held in Hiroshima. As a result, PM visit to Australia was much more in the spotlight.

It needs to be highlighted that that purpose of such visits is conducive to strengthening the common understanding between both countries, or in the best interests of the “three D’s” i.e.— Democracy, Diaspora and Dosti [Friendship] as earlier reiterated by PM Modi.

During the recent visit the discussions focused in multiple areas with areas covering like that of cooperation in defence and security, trade and investment, new and renewable energy, green hydrogen, critical minerals, education, migration and mobility and people to people ties

Institutionalisation of India-Australia Summit: India & Australia has upgraded their relationship to Annual bilateral summits at the highest political level in 2023. A Consulate General of India in Brisbane was also established highlighting the growing trust, convergence of interests among the two middle powers.

India & Australia have already raised their relationship status to India-Australia Comprehensive Strategic Partnership level.

Strategic aspect of relations: The leaders also reiterated their determination to ensure a peaceful, prosperous and inclusive Indo-Pacific region, underpinned by a rules-based international order. They also discussed reform of UN Security Council.

Australian leader also expressed strong support to India's G20 Presidency and initiatives.

Economic aspect of relations: Australia has a large number of expatriate Indians to contribute to its economy. Also, it is a place where large number of Indian students go for higher education and employment. In this respect, the signing of India-Australia Migration & Mobility Partnership Agreement will further facilitate mobility of students, professionals, researchers, academics. This will be done through a new skilled pathway named MATES (Mobility Arrangement for Talented Early Professionals Scheme) specifically created for India.

A Business Roundtable with CEOs of top Australian companies was also organised, and the business leaders were invited to invest in India in areas particularly including that of digital infrastructure, IT, fintech, telecom, semiconductors, space, renewable energy including green hydrogen, education, pharma, healthcare including medical devices manufacturing, mining including critical minerals, textile, agriculture & food processing.

Partnership in emerging technologies: The two countries have also finalized Terms of Reference of the India-Australia Hydrogen Task Force, to focus on deployment of clean hydrogen, fuel cells etc highlighting the cooperation in areas beyond traditional spheres of diplomacy.

However despite of the increasing cooperation between the two countries there are still deep challenges that exist between two countries

Challenges in India-Australia Ties

Dichotomous Australian foreign policy: There is some misalignment in Australia’s economic and political interests. Though Australia has been actively engaging with India and US as part of QUAD grouping, its economy still depends on China owing to its huge share in bilateral trade and investment.

Lingering CECA: Comprehensive Economic Cooperation Agreement (CECA) has not yet materialised though the negotiation started in 2011. This is a hindrance to the bilateral trade.

Withdrawal from RCEP: One reasons for India’s withdrawal from RCEP was objection from farmer organisations and diary cooperatives due to fears of flooding of cheaper agricultural and dairy products from Australia.

Challenges in Indian economy: Australia feels India is too complicated for its growth story to be linear and has scepticism about India’s economic progress, which is constrained by political compromise, burdened by interfering bureaucracy , dented by corruption and shaped by a political tradition which puts greater faith in government intervention than the efficiency of market.

Forum for India-Pacific Islands Cooperation (FIPIC) Summit

Context: Prime Minister of India has gone to Papua New Guinea to attend the 3^rd Forum for India-Pacific Islands Cooperation (FIPIC) Summit.

About Forum for India-Pacific Islands Cooperation (FIPIC)

The Forum for India–Pacific Islands Cooperation (FIPIC) was launched during Hon'ble Prime Minister, Mr. Narendra Modi's visit to Fiji in November 2014.

Member Islands: Cook Islands, Fiji, Kiribati, Marshall Islands, Micronesia, Nauru, Niue, Palau, Papua New Guinea, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Tonga, Tuvalu, and Vanuatu.

India's focus has largely been on the Indian Ocean where it has sought to play a major role and protect its strategic and commercial interests. The FIPIC initiative marks a serious effort to expand India's engagement in the Pacific region.

At this moment, total annual trade of about $300 million between the Indian and Pacific Island countries, whereas exports are around $200 million and imports are around $100 million.

Areas of Cooperation:

Special USD one million fund for adapting to climate change and clean energy,

Establishing a trade office in India.

Pan Pacific Islands e-network to improve digital connectivity.

Extending visa on arrival at Indian airports for all the 14 Pacific Island countries.

Cooperation in space technology applications for improving the quality of life of the islands, and training to diplomats from Pacific Island countries.

In addition, India has increased the annual "Grant-in-Aid" from USD 125,000 to 200,000 to each of the 14 Pacific Countries for community projects of their choice, and launched a new Visitors Programme for Pacific Island Countries.

The second summit of the Forum for India Pacific Cooperation (FIPIC-2) in Jaipur on 21-22 August 2015 has made significant progress in strengthening India's engagement with the 14 Pacific Island countries.

During the second summit of FIPIC, Hon'ble Prime Minister has announced FIPIC Trade Office at Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce & Industry (FICCI) to promote Trade & Investment opportunities between India & Pacific Island Countries.

The main objectives of the business accelerator are:

Provide necessary information and facilitation to businessmen on both sides regarding prospects of Trade and Investment

Facilitate meetings between the concerned businessmen from both sides

Exchange of business delegations between India and Pacific Islands Countries (PICs)

Online & Offline Match Making Services

Organising Events/ Trade Fairs

Harappan Civilisation

Context: A burial site has been discovered at Khatiya Village, in Kutch region, Gujarat. It is considered to be the largest pre-urban Harappan cemetery.

About Khatiya cemetery

Situated on the banks of the Gandi stream, which flows into the Great Rann of Kutch. Researchers believe that in prehistoric times, the Great Rann of Kutch was a navigable area through which the Ghaggar-Harka-Nara River used to pass. However, the river eventually dried up, transforming Kutch into an arid region.

Findings

The excavation at the cemetery has revealed 500 graves, out of which 197 have been excavated so far.

Relation to ‘pre-urban’ Harappan phase: The Harappan civilisation, is said to have thrived along the banks of river Indus from around 5,000 BC to 1,000 BC. It is divided into the pre-Urban phase (5,000 BC to 2,600 BC); Urban phase or Mature phase (2,600 BC to 1,900 BC) and Post-Urban phase (1,900 BC to 1,000 BC).

Burial goods: Shell bangle, pottery shards, stone blades and even human skeletal remains have been found.

Pottery: Found as burial goods at the Khatiya site are mainly redware, buffware and greyware. It is comparable to the pre-urban Harappan pottery of Sindh and Baluchistan and North Gujarat.

With these findings, conclusion is drawn that the cemetery is believed to be 5,000 years old, belonging to the ‘pre-urban’ phase of the Harappan civilisation.

Harappan Civilisation

The Harappan civilization, also known as the Indus Valley Civilization, is considered the beginning of Indian history. It can be divided into three phases:

Early Harappan Phase from 3300 to 2600 BCE.

Mature Harappan Phase from 2600 to 1900 BCE.

Late Harappan Phase from 1900 to 1300 BCE.

Early Harappan Phase

The early Harappan phase marked the transition towards the mature Harappan period.

During this phase, farmers from the highlands gradually migrated between their mountain residences and the lowland river valleys.

The earliest specimens of the Indus script date back to the third millennium BCE, and trade networks connected this civilization to other regional cultures and distant sources of raw materials.

By this time, the villagers had successfully cultivated a diverse range of crops such as peas, sesame seeds, dates, and cotton. Additionally, they also domesticated animals like the water buffalo.

By 2600 BCE, early Harappan villages had developed into major urban centres, signalling the beginning of the mature Harappan phase.

The following sites show how the Early Harappan phase originated and took shape:

Mehrgarh: The earliest evidence for this development comes from Mehrgarh, Baluchistan.

First phase: People used stone tools but no potteries are found.

Second phase: Stone tools were refined and potteries were made.

Third phase: Greater use of pottery and copper tools were introduced.

Incipient Urbanism: Gradually, villages were getting larger and agriculture more developed. It was from these settled agricultural communities, the early phase of the Harappan civilization developed, marked by beginning of cities.

Ghaggar-Hakra-Indus Axis: In this region, the civilisation developed fully. Around 40 Early Harappan sites have been discovered.

Amri: Located near the Indus River. It shows the development of Indus pottery tradition from hard made, monochrome potteries to nicely painted, wheel-made potteries decorated with humped Indian bull. The use of copper and bronze also increased.

Kot Diji: This was a very important Early Harappan site. It is located on the left bank of river Indus opposite Mohenjodaro. One important feature is the diverse forms of wheel-made potteries decorated with plain dark brown stripes. This kind of pottery has been named as the Kot-Dijian Pottery and was widely spread in the Indus area.

The motifs such as horned bull, scaled fish and pipal leaves, used in the Amri and Kot Diji potteries, have been found extensively even during the mature Harappan period.

Punjab, Rajasthan and Haryana:

Harappa: The site reveals the existence of Early Harappan phase. Kot Diji-type of potteries have been found. Lapis lazuli, steatite and terracotta human figurines are reported from these levels.

Kalibangan: Situated in north Rajasthan (on now dried-up Ghaggar bank). During its Early Harappan period, people lived in houses made of mud bricks of standard sizes.

Copper axes, terracotta bangles shell, carnelian etc. have been found. Evidences about the use of plough for agricultural purposes are found.

Banawali: Located at the now dried-up course of Ghaggar and Saraswati, Hissar district of Haryana. Material objects found at the site comprise potteries, terracotta bangles, terracotta animal figurines, shell etc. At one place, a depiction of covered cart with spoked wheel have been found.

New Doctor Registration Rules

Context: Recently National Medical Commission (NMC) notified new regulations on the licensing and registration of doctors, which have come in for much criticism from the medical community.

What are the new rules?

Under the new regulation, all registered doctors have to register afresh through a portal of the NMC’s Ethics & Medical Registration Board (EMRB), which is responsible for maintaining the IMR, now renamed National Medical Register (NMR).

Why are the new regulations important?

India does not know exactly how many practising doctors it has. Every year, Parliament is told that ‘x’ numbers are registered in the Indian Medical Registry ( IMR ), but about 20% might have migrated, retired, stopped the practice, never practised, or died.

Under the new regulation, all registered doctors have to register afresh through a portal of the NMC’s Ethics & Medical Registration Board (EMRB), which is responsible for maintaining the IMR, now renamed National Medical Register (NMR).

They will be issued a unique registration number, and the licence will be valid for five years.

With this, India could have an exact count of its practising doctors since anyone not renewing will automatically not be counted as practising in India.

Why are doctors objecting to the new registration process?

Many doctors are registered through the state medical councils. The NMC Act does not give the commission the power to issue a licence for practice. This is done by the state councils.

NMC only maintains the IMR, which is a collection of all state registries. So, doctors are asking why they should re-register through the Central portal.

All registered doctors have been asked to renew their registration within three months. Assuming that only 80% of the 13 lakh-plus doctors registered in the IMR are currently practising in India, over 10. 4 lakh doctors will need to reregister within 90 days from May 10 – an average of about 12,000 registrations per day.

Doctors say they have been put together without enough consultation, so they contain contradictory sections, and provisions that lack clarity, and some of the regulations might be difficult or impossible to implement.

What’s the advantage of registration through a Central portal?

Doctors registering every five years and specifying the state/ states in which they practise will enable better manpower planning by the Centre and the state governments.

Also, the new format asks doctors to give their place of work (name of hospital/institute). This could provide an estimate of doctors in the public and private sectors.

At present, multiple registrations in different state registers make it difficult to enforce disciplinary actions against doctors.

A doctor whose registration is suspended by one state council can continue to practise using the registration number and entry in another registry.

Unique registration numbers are also expected to tackle the menace of fake doctors or those with unrecognised degrees.

People could look up the qualifications of any doctor on the NMC website.

The NMC Act stipulates real-time synchronisation of the national and state registers, which means no waiting for state councils to share/ update the state registries to update the NMR.

What’s the problem with registration through state councils?

State medical councils are set up through state legislation. Hence, their mandate varies between states.

Not all state councils stipulate renewal of registration, and where they do, many doctors do not comply, arguing that the erstwhile Indian Medical Council (IMC) Act, did not mandate such renewal. Hence, medical registries are often not updated.

The IMC Act required the state councils to supply copies of their state registers to the Central Council after April 1 of each year. These were combined to form the IMR.

However, with the state councils having different rules regarding updating the registry, and with one doctor registered in many state registries with different registration numbers, the IMR was plagued with discrepancies.

Even today, many state councils do not share updated registries on time.

Does NMC have the power to grant or revoke a licence?

The NMC Act repeatedly states a medical graduate can be registered “in the state register or the national register, as the case may be”.

But many states mandate registration with their state council for permission to practise.

Interestingly, even in the NMC Act, the list of the commission’s functions does not include granting of a licence to practise, while state councils are defined as being “for regulating the practice and registration of practitioners of medicine in that state or Union Territory”.

Doctors argue that there is no bar on their practising in a state where they are registered even if they are not registered in the NMR.

Will doctors be barred from practising in multiple states?

There’s confusion on this because different sections of the regulations seem to contradict each other.

Under the procedure for seeking a licence to practise medicine, the regulations state: “eligible person may opt any state/states to practise medicine”. This seems to imply that a doctor may register to practise in more than one state.

But their regulations also state that the licence will have a unique identification number that “shall be suffixed with a code of the state/UT concerned”. Here the reference is to a single state or UT.

The section on the transfer of licence again implies a doctor may practise in only one state at a time.

This has worried doctors who practise in more than one state. For instance, many registered in Chandigarh practise in Chandigarh, Haryana and Punjab, and those registered in Delhi might practise in Noida (UP) and/or Gurgaon (Haryana).

During calamities or for short stints doctors might practise in another state and registering each time would be inconvenient.

Why are doctors asking NMC to redraft the regulations after consultations with state medical councils?

Many of the regulations suggested by NMC run counter to what is mandated in the state council Acts.

States have different operational protocols.

Will NMC ensure that all state council laws are harmonised with its new regulations?

Doctors point out that the details of the process for renewal of registration were not spelt out in the draft regulations put out in May 2022 seeking comments from the public.

WHO’s guidelines on non-sugar sweeteners

Context: World Health Organization (WHO) issued new guidelines on May 15 advising against the use of non-sugar sweeteners (NSS) as a “healthy” alternative to sugar.

What are non-sugar sweeteners?

Non-sugar sweeteners (NSS) are marketed as low or no-calorie alternatives to free sugars which aid in weight loss, and in controlling blood glucose in individuals with diabetes. They are widely used ingredients in beverages and pre-packed food.

Examples: Acesulfame K, aspartame, advantame, cyclamates, neotame, saccharin, sucralose, stevia, and stevia derivatives.

Aspartame is popularly used to sweeten diet colas that claim to have ‘no sugar, no calories.’

Saccharin is used to sweeten tea or coffee.

Associated health risks:

As per a trial conducted by WHO ‘higher intake’ of NSS was associated with a 76% increase in risk of obesity and a 0.14 kg/m2 increase in BMI (Body Mass Index).
- As per WHO, while there could be some weight loss and reduction in BMI in the short term as the artificial sweeteners bring down the calories consumed, but in the long run they have been linked to weight gain.

WHO warned that long-term use of NSS could lead to increased risk of Type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular diseases, chronic kidney disease and cancer.

Some low-certainty data also linked the use of such artificial sweeteners to bladder cancer and preterm birth when consumed by pregnant women.

Guidelines by WHO:

In its ‘conditional’ guideline, WHO says non-sugar sweeteners should not be used as a means of achieving weight control or reducing the risk of diet-related non-communicable diseases.
- In 2015, WHO issued a guideline that a high intake of free sugars is linked to weight gain and obesity, which lead consumers to turn to NSS as an alternative.

The Ministry of Health will have to initiate discussions among policy-makers before it decides to adopt this ‘conditional’ recommendation as a national policy.

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Harappan Civilisation

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What are the new rules?

Why are the new regulations important?

Why are doctors objecting to the new registration process?

What’s the advantage of registration through a Central portal?

What’s the problem with registration through state councils?

Does NMC have the power to grant or revoke a licence?

Will doctors be barred from practising in multiple states?

Why are doctors asking NMC to redraft the regulations after consultations with state medical councils?

Will NMC ensure that all state council laws are harmonised with its new regulations?

What are non-sugar sweeteners?

Associated health risks:

Guidelines by WHO:

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