Daily Current Affairs : 16th April

Daily Current Affairs for UPSC CSE

Topics Covered

1. Powers of the Election Commission to deal with hate and defamatory election speeches, and violations of the Model Code of Conduct
2. Facial Recognition Technology
3. 3D Printed Heart
4. Long Period Average
5. Facts for Prelims – Measles, Non core assets

1 . Powers of Election Commission to deal with hate and defamatory election speeches, and violations of the Model Code of Conduct

Context : Poll panel on Monday slapped a 72-hour prohibition on campaigning by Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath and Samajwadi Party leader Azam Khan for violation of the Model Code of Conduct (MCC). A 48-hour campaign ban was also imposed on Union Minister and BJP leader Maneka Gandhi, and BSP chief Mayawati.

Applicability of Model Code of Conduct

• The MCC is applicable to political parties, political leaders, electoral candidates, government machinery, including departments and offices, government officers, and any institution that runs on public funds.

Powers and Limitations of the Commission under MCC

• The MCC contains eight parts. Part I deals with general conduct expected from candidates and political parties. Parts II and III focus on public meetings and processions. Parts IV and V describe how political parties and candidates should conduct themselves on the day of polling and at the polling booths. Part VI is about the authority (observer) appointed by the EC to receive complaints on violations of the MCC. Part VII deals with the party in power.
• The Code prohibits political parties or candidates from aggravating existing differences or creating mutual hatred between different religions, castes and communities. It bars candidates and parties from criticizing leaders or workers on their personal life. No appeal to caste or communal feelings for securing votes is allowed under the Code. It forbids ministers from using official machinery for election work and combining official visits with electioneering.
• Advertisements glorifying the work of the incumbent government using public money are to be avoided. The government cannot announce any financial grants, promise construction of roads or other facilities, and make any ad hoc appointments during the time the Code is in force. Ministers cannot enter any polling station or counting centre, except in their capacity as a voter or a candidate.
• Under the Code, even the ongoing schemes of development work or welfare, relief and rehabilitation cannot be used for election propaganda

Period of Applicability

• Code kicks in as soon as the election schedule is announced, and stays in force until the election process is completed.

Legal Enforceability

• Although the MCC has been around for almost four decades, its observance is left to parties and candidates. It is not a legally enforceable document, and the Commission usually uses moral sanction to get political parties and candidates to fall in line. However, certain provisions of the MCC may be enforced by invoking corresponding provisions in other statutes such as the Indian Penal Code (IPC), 1860 and the Representation of the People (RP) Act, 1951.

Source: Manual on Model Code of Conduct, ECI, March, 2019

Why it is not legally enforceable

• Governments have in the past attempted to amend the RP Act, 1951, to make some violations of the MCC illegal and punishable. However, the EC has argued that making the Code legally enforceable would be self-defeating, because any violation must be responded to quickly and this will not be possible if the matter goes to court. On the other hand, in 2013, the Standing Committee on Personnel, Public Grievances, Law and Justice recommended making the MCC legally binding by making it a part of the RP Act, 1951.

Must Read – Model Code of Conduct issued by Election Commission

2 . Facial Recognition Technology

Context : The Chinese government has drawn wide international condemnation for its harsh crackdown on ethnic Muslims in its western region, including holding as many as one million of them in detention camps. Now, documents and interviews show that authorities are also using a vast, secret system of advanced facial recognition technology to track and control the Uighurs. It is the first known example of a government intentionally using artificial intelligence for racial profiling

About Facial Recognition Technology

• Facial recognition is a category of biometric software that maps an individual’s facial features mathematically and stores the data as a faceprint. The software uses deep learning algorithms to compare a live capture or digital image to the stored faceprint in order to verify an individual’s identity. 
• The software identifies 80 nodal points on a human face. In this context, nodal points are endpoints used to measure variables of a person’s face, such as the length or width of the nose, the depth of the eye sockets and the shape of the cheekbones.
• The system works by capturing data for nodal points on a digital image of an individual’s face and storing the resulting data as a faceprint. The faceprint is then used as a basis for comparison with data captured from faces in an image or video.
• Even though the facial recognition system only uses 80 nodal points, it can quickly and accurately identify target individuals when the conditions are favorable. However, if the subject’s face is partially obscured or in profile rather than facing forward, or if the light is insufficient, this type of software is less reliable.
• Facial recognition is mostly used for security purposes, though there is increasing interest in other areas of use. In fact, facial recognition technology has received significant attention as it has potential for a wide range of application related to law enforcement as well as other enterprises.

3 . 3D Printed Heart

Context : Scientists in Israel unveiled a 3D print of a heart with human tissue and vessels on Monday, calling it a first and a “major medical breakthrough” that advances possibilities for transplants.

What is 3d Printing

• Additive manufacturing, otherwise known as 3D printing, was first developed in the 1980s.
• It involves taking a digital model or blueprint of the subject that is then printed in successive layers of an appropriate material to create a new version of the subject.

Uses of 3D Printing in Medical field

• There are four core uses of 3D printing in the medical field that are associated with recent innovations: creating tissues and organoids, surgical tools, patient-specific surgical models and custom-made prosthetics.

Bioprinting

• One of the many types of 3D printing that is used in the medical device field is bioprinting. Rather than printing using plastic or metal, bioprinters use a computer-guided pipette to layer living cells, referred to as bio-ink, on top of one another to create artificial living tissue in a laboratory.
• These tissue constructs or organoids can be used for medical research as they mimic organs on a miniature scale. They are also being trialled as cheaper alternatives to human organ transplants.

About the News

• Cardiovascular disease is the world’s leading cause of death, according to the World Health Organization, and transplants are currently the only option available for patients in the worst cases.
• But the number of donors is limited and many die while waiting. When they do benefit, they can fall victim to their bodies rejecting the transplant — a problem the researchers are seeking to overcome.
• Researchers at Tel Aviv University managed to successfully print the first ever 3D heart that uses cells and biological materials from a patient.
• The medical breakthrough, managed to produce an entire heart, complete with cells, blood vessels, ventricles and chambers — a marked improvement over previous attempts that only printed simple tissues without vessels.
• The process of creating the heart started with a biopsy of fatty tissue taken from patients. The cellular material from the tissues was used as the “ink” for the print job.
• That allowed researchers to create complex tissue models including cardiac patches and eventually an entire heart. It should be noted that the heart isn’t very big — it’s only about the size of a rabbit’s heart.
• But the technology that made it possible could eventually lead to the production of a human-sized organ

4 . Long Period Average

Context: While releasing its monsoon forecast recently, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) expressed the projected rainfall in terms of Long Period Average (LPA), saying that it was expected to be 96% of LPA. The LPA of the monsoon season over the country is 89 cm, calculated for the period 1951-2000.

What is LPA?

• This is the average rainfall recorded during the months from June to September, calculated during the 50-year period, and is kept as a benchmark while forecasting the quantitative rainfall for the monsoon season every year.

How is it measured?

• Like the countrywide figure, IMD maintains an independent LPA for every homogeneous region of the country, which ranges from 71.6 cm to 143.83 cm. The region-wise LPA figures are: 143.83 cm for East and Northeast India, 97.55 cm for Central India, 71.61 cm for South Peninsular India, and 61.50 for Northwest India, which put together bring the all-India figure to 88.75 cm.
• So, when IMD forecasts the category of rainfall, be it for country, region or month, the forecast is based on these standardised figures calculated for a period of 50 years.

As per the outputs obtained from the weather models, the rainfall is categorised as normal, below normal, or above normal. IMD maintains five rainfall distribution categories on an all-India scale. These are:

• Normal or Near Normal: When per cent departure of actual rainfall is +/-10% of LPA, that is, between 96-104% of LPA.
• Below normal: When departure of actual rainfall is less than 10% of LPA, that is 90-96% of LPA.
• Above normal: When actual rainfall is 104-110% of LPA.
• Deficient: When departure of actual rainfall is less than 90% of LPA.
• Excess: When departure of actual rainfall is more than 110% of LPA.

5 . Facts for Prelims

Measles

• Measles is a highly contagious viral disease. It remains an important cause of death among young children globally, despite the availability of a safe and effective vaccine.
• Under the Global Vaccine Action Plan, measles and rubella are targeted for elimination in five WHO Regions by 2020. WHO is the lead technical agency responsible for coordination of immunization and surveillance activities supporting all countries to achieve this goal.
• Measles is transmitted via droplets from the nose, mouth or throat of infected persons. Initial symptoms, which usually appear 10–12 days after infection, include high fever, a runny nose, bloodshot eyes, and tiny white spots on the inside of the mouth. Several days later, a rash develops, starting on the face and upper neck and gradually spreading downwards.

Non-core assets

• Non-core assets are assets that are either not essential or simply no longer used in a company’s business operations. Non-core assets are often sold when a company needs to raise cash. Some businesses sell their non-core assets in order to pay down their debt.