Daily Current Affairs for UPSC CSE
- MRNA Vacccine
- UNWFP
- Goa Portugese Civil Code
- PMLA
- Facts for Prelims
1 . M-RNA Vaccine
Context : The Pune-based Gennova Biopharmaceuticals is expected to roll out India’s first home-grown mRNA (messenger ribonucleic acid) vaccine by April. The COVID-19 pandemic awakened the world to the power of RNA therapies — two of the first vaccines that emerged in late 2020, Pfizer-BioNtech and Moderna, used this technology. Now, an Indian company is developing an mRNA vaccine from scratch, signalling possibilities of the use of the molecule in a variety of diseases beyond COVID-19.
What is an mRNA vaccine?
- Like other vaccines, the mRNA vaccine strives to activate the immune system to produce antibodies that help counter an infection from a live virus.
- Traditional method to do this involves introducing a part or the whole virus in a way that it cannot replicate, there is always the risk of an adverse reaction in the case of the SARS-CoV-2 virus. Hence, a quest of vaccinology has been to tease out an immune response that is effective but also relatively safe.
- The theory goes that the less of a foreign body injected, the fewer the odds of an adverse response. A common approach by vaccine makers during the pandemic was to introduce a portion of the spike protein, the key part of the coronavirus, as part of a vaccine. Some makers, such as those that made the Oxford University vaccine (AstraZeneca) or Sputnik V, wrapped the gene that codes for the spike protein into an inactivated virus that affects chimpanzees, called the chimpanzee adenovirus.
- The aim is to have the body use its own machinery to make spike proteins from the given genetic code. The immune system, when it registers the spike protein, will create antibodies against it. Other vaccines use a piece of DNA to envelope the spike protein genes.
- An mRNA vaccine works in similar ways in that it too is a piece of genetic code inserted into the body to stimulate an immune response.
How are these vaccines different?
- A piece of DNA must be converted into RNA for a cell to be able manufacture the spike protein. While an mRNA vaccine might look like a more direct approach to getting the cell to produce the necessary proteins, mRNA is very fragile and will be shred apart at room temperature or by the body’s enzymes when injected. To preserve its integrity, the mRNA needs to be wrapped in a layer of oily lipids, or fat cells. One way to think of this is that an mRNA-lipid unit most closely mimics how a virus presents itself to the body, except that it cannot replicate like one.
- DNA is much more stable and can be more flexibly integrated into a vaccine-vector. In terms of performance, both are expected to be as effective.
- Both the Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna’s mRNA vaccines performed similarly in trials, the evidence over the last year shows that the latter generally elicited a more robust immune response and better protection against illness, though both vaccines were similar in their ability to stave off severe disease and death.
- A challenge with mRNA vaccines is that they need to be frozen from -90 degree Celsius to -50 degree Celsius. They can be stored for up to two weeks in commercial freezers and need to be thawed at 2 degree Celsius to 8 degree Celsius at which they can remain for a month. A major reason why mRNA vaccines never made it to India was the stringent freezer conditions that made them expensive.
- A major advantage of mRNA and DNA vaccines is that because they only need the genetic code, it is possible to quickly update vaccines to emerging variants and even use them for a variety of diseases. That said, none of the vaccines has been updated for the Delta or Omicron variant yet.
Is Gennova’s mRNA vaccine different?
- Gennova has revealed little public information on its vaccine but Sanjay Singh, the head of the firm, has previously said that the prospective vaccine uses a concoction of lipids and enzymes that allows the vaccine to be stored at 2°C to 8°C.
- However, the bulk of the materials necessary to manufacture the vaccine rely on imports. Company officials also say that the Indian mRNA vaccine will be cheaper than their imported versions but probably costlier than Covishield or Covaxin.
2 . United Nations World Food Programme
Context : India signed an agreement with the United Nation’s World Food Programme (WFP) for the distribution of 50,000 tonnes of wheat that it has committed to sending Afghanistan as part of humanitarian assistance.
About the News
Diplomatic efforts are under way to begin sending truck convoys through Pakistan by road, and the transport is expected to begin after the Punjab election on February 20.
- The agreement was announced by the Indian Embassy in Rome, where Ambassador Neena Malhotra handed over the MoU for the WFP to take charge of the wheat convoys when they reach Afghanistan, and to distribute them to those Afghans who are facing a humanitarian crisis. In a tweet, the WFP, headquartered in Rome, called it a “landmark” agreement thanking India for the “generous contribution of wheat in support of the people of Afghanistan facing severe food shortages”.
- According to the MoU, the wheat will be taken through Pakistan to the Afghan border crossing and handed over to WFP officials in Kandahar beginning February 22. The wheat will eventually be divided into five batches of 10,000 tonnes, to be distributed across the country on approximately 200 trucks that are run by the WFP.
- The WFP runs its own logistics network inside Afghanistan, partnering with civil society groups, and has launched a global campaign for enough food and aid for the population facing malnutrition — estimated to be half the population or 22 million Afghans.
- India’s commitment for 50,000 tonnes is extremely important, especially in times of the pandemic, and we remain hopeful that the Indian government will extend its generosity for even more grain stocks when possible
About World Food Programme
- The World Food Programme is the food-assistance branch of the United Nations.
- It is the world’s largest humanitarian organization, the largest one focused on hunger and food security, and the largest provider of school meals.
- It was established in 1961.
- It launched its first development programme in 1963 for Nubians in Sudan. In the same year, the WFP’s first school meals project – in Togo – was approved. Two years later, WFP became a full-fledged UN programme.
- The WFP is headquartered in Rome, Italy.
- It is governed by an Executive Board, which consists of 36 member states.
- It is headed by an Executive Director, who is appointed jointly by the UN Secretary-General and the Director-General of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. The Executive Director is appointed for fixed five-year terms.
3 . Prevention of Money Laundering Act
Context : The Supreme Court is looking into allegations of metamorphosis of an anti-money laundering law, brought to sniff out drug money, into a potent weapon to raid rivals and deny rights. A three-judge Bench is holding back-to-back hearings on petitions filed by people from all walks of life and across the country complaining of the alleged subversion of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) by the government and the Enforcement Directorate (ED).
What is Money Laundering?
- The goal of a large number of criminal acts is to generate a profit for the individual or group that carries out the act. Money laundering is the processing of these criminal proceeds to disguise their illegal origin. This process is of critical importance, as it enables the criminal to enjoy these profits without jeopardising their source.
- Illegal arms sales, smuggling, and the activities of organised crime, including for example drug trafficking and prostitution rings, can generate huge amounts of proceeds. Embezzlement, insider trading, bribery and computer fraud schemes can also produce large profits and create the incentive to “legitimise” the ill-gotten gains through money laundering.
- When a criminal activity generates substantial profits, the individual or group involved must find a way to control the funds without attracting attention to the underlying activity or the persons involved. Criminals do this by disguising the sources, changing the form, or moving the funds to a place where they are less likely to attract attention.
How is money laundered?
- Initial – or placement – stage of money laundering,
- The launderer introduces his illegal profits into the financial system. This might be done by breaking up large amounts of cash into less conspicuous smaller sums that are then deposited directly into a bank account, or by purchasing a series of monetary instruments (cheques, money orders, etc.) that are then collected and deposited into accounts at another location.
- After the funds have entered the financial system, the second – or layering – stage takes place.
- In this phase, the launderer engages in a series of conversions or movements of the funds to distance them from their source. The funds might be channelled through the purchase and sales of investment instruments, or the launderer might simply wire the funds through a series of accounts at various banks across the globe. This use of widely scattered accounts for laundering is especially prevalent in those jurisdictions that do not co-operate in anti-money laundering investigations. In some instances, the launderer might disguise the transfers as payments for goods or services, thus giving them a legitimate appearance.
- Having successfully processed his criminal profits through the first two phases the launderer then moves them to the third stage – integration
- In this stage the funds re-enter the legitimate economy. The launderer might choose to invest the funds into real estate, luxury assets, or business ventures.
Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002 –
- PMLA was enacted in response to India’s global commitment (including the Vienna Convention) to combat the menace of money laundering.
- Act was introduced by the Central government of India to prevent the money laundering and seizure of property obtained by way of money laundering. It was enacted on 17th January 2003 and enforced on 1st July 2005.
- Crimes like white collar crimes, corporate and financial frauds, drug trafficking or smuggling and even cross border crimes (if anyhow connected to India) come under the ambit of PMLA Act, 2002.
- Entities like financial institutions, banks, and other related organisations are kept in check by the government. Various crimes that often lead to money laundering or precedes money laundering are also taken care of.
- Punishment prescribed in the act includes a jail term (rigorous imprisonment) of minimum 3 years to maximum 7 years.
- Under the Act, the Enforcement Directorate is empowered to conduct money laundering investigation.
- Clarifies that all PMLA offences will be cognisable and non-bailable. Therefore, ED officers are empowered to arrest an accused without warrant, subject to certain conditions.
Issues raised with the act
- PMLA was a comprehensive penal statute to counter the threat of money laundering, specifically stemming from trade in narcotics. Currently, the offences in the schedule of the Act are extremely overbroad, and in several cases, have absolutely no relation to either narcotics or organised crime
- PEven the Enforcement Case Information Report (ECIR) — an equivalent of the FIR — is considered an “internal document” and not given to the accused. “The ED treats itself as an exception to these principles and practices [of criminal procedure law] and chooses to register an ECIR on its own whims and fancies on its own file
- Pursuant to the registration of the ECIR, the ED begins to summon accused persons and seeks details of all their financial transactions and of their family members. The accused is called upon to make statements which are treated as admissible in evidence.
- “Throughout this procedure, the accused does not even know the allegation against him, as the only document which contains the allegation is the ECIR, which is not supplied to the accused persons
- The court is also examining submissions that the PMLA does not distinguish between an accused and a witness while summoning them. “Procedure under criminal law makes a distinction between the accused and a witness
4 . Goa Portugese Civil Code
Context : Poll-bound Uttarakhand’s Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami’s announcement on Saturday that the BJP, if voted to power, will form a committee to prepare a draft of the Uniform Civil Code (UCC) in the State, raises questions over whether an individual State can bring its own family law code and the ripples the move may create in a society with personal laws based on the customs of religious communities.
Goa Portugese Civil Code
- Goa is the only state in India where all communities, including Hindus, Muslims, Christians, are governed by the same law when it comes to marriage, divorce, succession, etc. That is because though Goa became a part of the Indian union in 1961, the former Portuguese colony decided to continue with the Portuguese Civil Code of 1867 for all communities in the state.
- Goa’s Civil Code has four parts, dealing with civil capacity, acquisition of rights, right to property, and the breach of rights and remedies. It begins in the name of God and Dom Luis, King of Portugal and Algarves. India’s Constituent Assembly had rejected H V Kamath’s proposal of a similar invocation of God in the Constitution.
- Registration of marriages is made compulsory under the Goan Code so that the disputes which may arise can be resolved by the law. Consent of men and women is required before marriage. The Goan code allows for a prenuptial agreement which can alter the ratio of the distribution of assets.
- Under the PCC, everyone married under the civil law and both spouses had equal property rights, as did their children.
- For the state’s Catholic population, however, an exception was made — they could solemnize their marriages in the Church after declaring their intent of marriage at the office of the civil registrar. The church would send the marriage document for ratification and registration by the civil registrar. For non-Catholics, however, only the registered marriage at the office of the Civil Registrar was recognised.
5 . Facts for Prelims
Ursa Major
- Ursa Major constellation lies in the northern sky. Its name means “the great bear,” or “the larger bear,” in Latin. The smaller bear is represented by Ursa Minor.
- Ursa Major is the largest northern constellation and third largest constellation in the sky.
- Its brightest stars form the Big Dipper asterism, one of the most recognizable shapes in the sky, also known as the Plough.
- Ursa Major is well-known in most world cultures and associated with a number of myths. It was one of the constellations catalogued by the Greek astronomer Ptolemy in the 2nd century
Micronesian States
- Micronesia, is an island country in Oceania.
- It consists of four states – from west to east, Yap, Chuuk, Pohnpei and Kosrae – that are spread across the western Pacific.
- They lie northeast of Indonesia and Papua New Guinea, south of Guam and the Marianas, west of Nauru and the Marshall Islands, east of Palau and the Philippines, about 2,900 km north of eastern Australia, southeast of Japan, and southwest of the main islands of the Hawaiian Islands.
Solomon Islands
- Solomon Islands is a sovereign country consisting of six major islands and over 900 smaller islands in Oceania, to the east of Papua New Guinea and northwest of Vanuatu.
- It has a land area of 28,400 square kilometres and a population of 652,858
- Its capital, Honiara, is located on the largest island, Guadalcanal.
Chandenagore
- Chandernagore was formerly a French colony and is situated about 30km north of the centre of Calcutta straddling the Hugli River.
- Its importance fell after Colonel Robert Clive of the British East India Company and Admiral Watson captured Chandernagore in the Battle of Chandernagore 1757. Control was returned to the French in 1816, where it remained until independence.
Lingambudhi Lake
- Lingambudhi Lake is a lake in the city of Mysore, India