DAILY CURRENT AFFAIRS FOR UPSC CSE
- Mosquito birth control drug
- Train 18
- Global Economic Prospect
- Universal Basic income
1 . Mosquito Birth Control Drug
Context : Scientists in the United States said on Tuesday they had taken a major step toward developing a “mosquito birth control” drug to curb the spread of malaria and other killer diseases blamed for hundreds of thousands of deaths a year.
About the News
- Researchers at the University of Arizona said they had discovered a protein unique to female mosquitoes which is critical for their young to hatch.
- When the scientists blocked the protein, the females laid eggs with defective shells causing the embryos inside to die.
- The team said developing drugs which targeted the protein could provide a way to reduce mosquito populations without harming beneficial insects such as bees.
Importance
- Mosquitoes are one of the world’s deadliest insects, according to the World Health Organization (WHO) which has warned that global progress against malaria is stalling.
- The disease infected around 216 million people in 2016, killing 445,000 of them, predominantly babies and young children in sub-Saharan Africa.
- Other diseases spread by mosquitoes include Zika, chikungunya, yellow fever, West Nile virus and dengue, which has risen 30-fold in recent decades, according to the WHO.
2 . Train 18
Context : The indigenously built ‘Train 18’ will soon undergo slight modifications to include adequate space for storage of food and catering services.
What is Train 18
- Train 18 is Indian Railways’ latest service that will replace India’s fastest Shatabdi Express train on the Delhi-Bhopal route from January 2019.
- Manufactured at Integral Coach Factory (ICF) Chennai, the ‘Make in India’ train set will be able to travel at speeds of 160 kmph, it will have modular European-style seats, automatic doors with sliding footsteps, fully-sealed gangways, continuous windows for panoramic experience etc.
- Train 18 will run without an engine
Technology
- The concept used is of distributed power
- To adopt the new concept, the traction system and power required for lighting and air-conditioning on the train had to be modularised and distributed across the train set as underslung, that is below the chasis of the coaches.
- In conventional LHB coaches, the traction system is part of the locomotive and the power for lights and air-conditioning is supplied by separate generator power cars.
- This new concept required development of a new design of the coach, bogies and electrical equipment
- In Train 18, every alternate coach will be powered /motorized. It will be be called a motor coach.
- Each motor coach will have four 3-phase traction motors of rating 250 kw, approximately making the total rating of the motor coach – 1000 KW ( 1340 HP).
- For the 16-car train set, this will work out to 8 motor coaches × 1340 HP = 10,720 HP. This will be the power available for traction apart from the air-conditioning and other auxiliary electric loads.
- Two motor coaches will get power from one transformer mounted on the TC (trailer coach)
3 . Global Economic Prospect
Context : Global Economic Prospect report by world bank was released
About Global Economic Prospect Report
- The Global Economic Prospects (GEP) is the World Bank’s semi-annual flagship publication on the state of the world economy.
- In a nutshell, the outlook for the global economy has darkened, amid slowing activity and heightened downside risks.
- In addition to discussing global and regional prospects, this edition includes several pieces on topical issues facing emerging market and developing economies (EMDEs), including the challenges associated with the presence of large informal sectors, the prospects for continued low inflation, rising debt vulnerabilities in low-income countries, and the implications of large food price spikes for poverty.
About the Report
- Global growth is expected to slow to 2.9 percent in 2019. International trade and investment are moderating, trade tensions remain elevated, and financing conditions are tightening.
- India’s GDP is expected to grow at 7.3% in the fiscal year 2018-19, and 7.5% in the following two years, the World Bank has forecast, attributing it to an upswing in consumption and investment.
- China’s economic growth is projected to slow down to 6.2% each in 2019 and 2020 and 6% in 2021
- In 2018, the Chinese economy is estimated to have grown by 6.5% as against India’s 7.3%. In 2017, China with 6.9% growth was marginally ahead of India’s 6.7%, mainly because of the slowdown in the Indian economy due to demonetisation and implementation of the Goods and Services Tax (GST)
4 . Universal Basic Income
Context : Sikkim will be the first state to roll out Universal Basic Income (UBI) and has started the process to introduce the unconditional direct cash transfer scheme. Sikkim’s ruling party, the Sikkim Democratic Front (SDF), has decided to include UBI in its manifesto ahead of the Assembly election in 2019 and aims to implement the scheme by 2022
Background
- The 2017 Economic Survey had flagged the UBI scheme as “a conceptually appealing idea” and a possible alternative to social welfare programmes targeted at reducing poverty.
What is Universal Basic Income
- The Universal Basic Income, implementation of which has repeatedly been debated in India, seeks to alleviate poverty by providing a basic income to all citizens of a particular state or geographical area, irrespective of their income, social standing, or employment status.
- The idea behind a basic income is that all are entitled to a reasonable income, notwithstanding their contribution to the economy.
- The BIEN (Basic Income Earth Network) — a network of academicians advocating for UBI to all — describes basic income as a “periodic cash payment unconditionally delivered to all on an individual basis, without means-test or work requirement.
Types
- Periodic – being paid at regular intervals, not lump sum
- Cash payment -not in kind or vouchers, leaving it on the recipient to spend it as they like
- Individual- Not to households or families
- Universal -for all
- Unconditional -irrespective of income or prospects of job
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