Key highlights of the report:

• India remained one of the most challenging economies for IP enforcement and protection. While India made “meaningful progress” to enhance IP protection and enforcement in some areas over the past year, it did not resolve recent and long-standing challenges, and created new ones.
  
  
• These long-standing concerns were about
  • innovators being able to receive, maintain and enforce patents particularly in the pharmaceutical sector;
    
    
  • concerns over copyright laws not incentivising the creation and commercialisation of content; and
    
    
  • an outdated trade secrets framework.
    
    
  
  
  
• The report also mentioned high customs duties on medical devices and Information and Communications Technology. 
  
  

Key highlights of the judgement:

• Admissions solely through NEET for graduate and postgraduate medical/dental courses does not violate any fundamental and religious rights of minorities. NEET would apply for both aided and unaided medical colleges run by minorities.
  
  
• The rights available under Article 30 [right of minorities to administer their institutions] are not violated by provisions carved out in Section 10D of the MCI Act and the Dentists Act and Regulations framed by MCI/DCI.
  
  
• The rights of trade, business and occupation or religious rights “do not come in the way of securing transparency and recognition of merits in admissions”.
  
  
• The right to freedom of trade or business is not absolute. It is subject to “reasonable restriction in the interest of the students’ community to promote merit, recognition of excellence, and to curb the malpractices.
  
  
• Regulating academics and imposing reasonable restrictions to ensure educational standards are in national and public interest.
  
  
• NEET is intended to check several maladies which crept into medical education, to prevent capitation fee by admitting students which are lower in merit and to prevent exploitation, profiteering, and commercialisation of education.
  
  
• A uniform entrance test qualifies the test of proportionality and is reasonable. 
  
  

About:

• The Final Report of NIP Task Force is projecting total infrastructure investment of Rs 111 lakh crore during the period FY 2020-25. Out of Rs. 111 lakh crore,
  • projects worth Rs 44 lakh crore (40% of NIP) are under implementation,
    
    
  • projects worth Rs 33 lakh crore (30%) are at conceptual stage,
    
    
  • projects worth Rs 22 lakh crore (20%) are under development.
    
    
  • Information regarding project stage are unavailable for projects worth Rs 11 lakh crore (10%).
    
    
  
  
  
• Sectors such as energy (24%), roads (18%), urban (17%) and railways (12%) amount to around 71% of the projected infrastructure investments in India.
  
  
• The Centre (39%) and States (40%) are expected to have almost equal share in implementing the NIP in India, followed by the private sector (21%).
  
  
• The Task Force has recommended that three Committees be setup:
  • a Committee to monitor NIP progress and eliminate delays;
    
    
  • a Steering Committee in each Infrastructure ministry level for following up implementation; and
    
    
  • a Steering Committee in DEA for raising financial resources for the NIP.
    
    
  
  
  
• The NIP project database would be hosted on India Investment Grid (IIG) shortly to provide visibility to the NIP and help in its financing with prospective investors; domestic and foreign, able to access updated project level information. 
  
  

About:

• Estrogen and progesterone are the two main sex hormones that characterise a woman.
  
  
• Estrogen helps her develop female physical features and also maintains her reproductive system.
  
  
• Progesterone is secreted by a temporary endocrine gland that the body produces during the second half of the menstrual cycle, and helps prepare the body for possible pregnancy after ovulation.
  
  
• The male body too has estrogen and produces progesterone, both in smaller amounts.
  
  
• Now, two teams in the US are testing the theory that these hormones help women fight COVID-19 better. 
  
  

About:

• Ozone (chemically, a molecule of three oxygen atoms) is found mainly in the upper atmosphere, an area called the stratosphere, between 10 and 50 km from the earth’s surface.
  
  
• Though it is talked of as a layer, ozone is present in the atmosphere in rather low concentrations. Even at places where this layer is thickest, there are not more than a few molecules of ozone for every million air molecules.
  
  
• But they perform a very important function. By absorbing the harmful ultraviolet radiations from the sun, the ozone molecules eliminate a big threat to life forms on earth. UV rays can cause skin cancer and other diseases and deformities in plants and animals. 
  
  

About:

• HCARD could be effective for frontline health care officials dealing with COVID-19 patients in delivering services while maintaining mandatory physical distancing.
  
  
• This robot can be controlled and monitored by a nursing booth with a Control Station having such features as navigation, drawer activation for providing medicines and food to patients, sample collection and audio-visual communication.
  
  
• The cost of this device is less than five lakh rupees and the weight is less than 80 kilograms. 
  
  

About:

• International Jazz Day is an International Day declared by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization in 2011 "to highlight jazz and its diplomatic role of uniting people in all corners of the globe."
  
  
• It is celebrated annually on April 30.
  
  
• The idea came from jazz pianist and UNESCO Goodwill Ambassador Herbie Hancock. Jazz Day is chaired by Hancock and the UNESCO Director-General.
  
  
• The celebration is recognized on the calendars of both UNESCO and the United Nations.
  
  

About:

• Alzheimer’s disease is the most prevalent neurodegenerative disorder and accounts for more than 70% of all dementia. The multifactorial nature of the disease attributed to multifaceted toxicity has made it difficult for researchers to develop effective medication.
  
  
• Berberine is poorly soluble and toxic to cells. So they modified berberine to Ber-D, which is a soluble (aqueous), antioxidant. They found it to be a multifunctional inhibitor of multifaceted amyloid toxicity of Alzheimer’s disease.
  
  
• The structural attributes of Ber-D are such that they prevent the generation of reactive oxygen species (ROS) and rescue biomacromolecules from oxidative damage. 
  
  

About:

• The report, released in Washington by the federal government commission that functions as an advisory body, placed India alongside countries, including China, North Korea, Saudi Arabia and Pakistan. India was categorised as a “Tier 2 country” in last year’s listing.
  
  
• This is the first time since 2004 that India has been placed in this category.
  
  
• According to the report, India took a sharp downward turn in 2019, which included specific concerns about the Citizenship Amendment Act, the proposed National Register for Citizens, anti-conversion laws and the situation in Jammu and Kashmir.
  
  
• Government of India reacted sharply to the USCIRF report on Tuesday, terming it “biased and tendentious” and rejected its observations. 
  
  

About:

• The Global Terrorism Index (GTI) is a report published annually by the Institute for Economics and Peace (IEP), a global think tank headquartered in Sydney, Australia.
  
  
• The index provides a comprehensive summary of the key global trends and patterns in terrorism since 2000. It produces a composite score in order to provide an ordinal ranking of countries on the impact of terrorism.
  
  
• The GTI is based on data from the Global Terrorism Database (GTD) which is collected and collated by the National Consortium for the Study of Terrorism and Responses to Terrorism (START) at the University of Maryland. 
  
  

About:

• With a view to enhancing enrolment, retention and attendance and simultaneously improving nutritional levels among children, the National Programme of Nutritional Support to Primary Education (NP-NSPE) was launched as a Centrally Sponsored Scheme in 1995. In 2001 MDMS became a cooked Mid Day Meal Scheme.
  
  
• The Mid-Day Meal Scheme covers children of classes I-VIII studying in government, government-aided schools, special training centres (STC) and madarsas/ maqtabs supported under Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA). It is the largest school feeding programme in the world.
  
  
• The Midday Meal Scheme is covered by the National Food Security Act, 2013. 
  
  

About:

• The current list has, in fact, 13 names each from all 13 member countries of the Regional specialised meteorological centres (RSMCs) including Bangladesh, Iran, Maldives, Myanmar, Oman, Pakistan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Sri Lanka, Thailand, United Arab Emirates and Yemen.
  
  
• The IMD being one of the six RSMCs in the world to provide tropical cyclone and storm surge advisories finalised the new list of 169 names.
  
  
• Significance: Naming of Tropical Cyclones helps the scientific community, disaster managers, media and general masses to
  • identify each individual cyclone.
    
    
  • create awareness of its development.
    
    
  • remove confusion in case of simultaneous occurrence of TCs over a region
    
    
  • remember a TC easily
    
    
  • rapidly and effectively disseminate warnings to much wider audience
    
    
  
  
  
• Once the last name (Amphan) of the previous list is used, the TCs thereafter will be known one-by-one as Nisarga (shared by Bangladesh), Gati (India), Nivar (Iran) in that order from the list of 169 names.
  
  
• The other names from India in the new list include Murasu, Probaho, Prabhanjan, Ghumi, Ambud and Vega. The names of TCs over the north Indian Ocean are not repeated. Once used, it will cease to be used again. 
  
  

About:

• The global military expenditure rose to $1917 billion in 2019, an increase of 3.6% from 2018.
  
  
• In 2019, the top five largest spenders — U.S. ($732 bn), China ($261 billion), India ($71.1 billion), Russia ($65.1 bn) and Saudi Arabia ($61.9 bn) — accounted for 62% of the global expenditure.
  
  
• India and China emerged among the top three spenders. India was at the fourth position in 2018 with Saudi Arabia at the third.
  
  
• The $71.1 billion spent by India on defence in 2019 was 2.4% of its Gross Domestic Product (GDP). India’s expenditure in 2019 was 6.8% more than that in 2018.
  
  
• India’s military expenditure grew 259% over a 30-year period between 1990 and 2019 and by 37% over the decade of 2010–19. However, its military burden fell from 2.7% of GDP in 2010 to 2.4% in 2019.” 
  
  

About:

• Raja Ravi Varma (1848 – 1906) is considered among the greatest painters in the history of Indian art. Varma was patronised by Ayilyam Thirunal, the next Maharaja of Travancore and began formal training thereafter.
  
  
• A prolific artist, Varma is believed to have made around 7,000 paintings before his death at the age of 58. His most famous works include Damayanti Talking to a Swan, Shakuntala Looking for Dushyanta, Nair Lady Adorning Her Hair, and Shantanu and Matsyagandha. 
  
  

Key highlights of his work

• His works are held to be among the best examples of the fusion of European techniques with a purely Indian sensibility.
  
  
• Through his printing press, Varma’s humanised depiction of Hindu pantheon travelled beyond the surfaces of costly canvases, and into the prayer and living rooms of working-class homes.
  
  
• He was notable for making affordable lithographs of his paintings available to the public, which greatly enhanced his reach and influence as a painter and public figure.
  
  
• His depictions of Hindu deities and episodes from the epics and Puranas have received profound acceptance from the public and are found, often as objects of worship, across the length and breadth of India.
  
  

About:

• SVAMITVA scheme is a collaborative effort of the Ministry of Panchayati Raj, State Panchayati Raj Departments, State Revenue Departments and Survey of India.
  
  
• The program is currently being implemented in six states - Haryana, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand.
  
  
• It aims to provide an integrated property validation solution for rural India, engaging the latest Drone Surveying technology, for demarcating the inhabitant land in rural areas. Under this, mapping of rural housing land can be done using the latest survey methods and drones.
  
  
• This scheme will help in streamlining planning and revenue collection in rural areas and ensuring clarity on property rights. This will also help in resolving property related disputes. The scheme will enable creation of better-quality Gram Panchayat Development Plans (GPDPs), leveraging the maps created under this programme. 
  
  

About:

• An aerosol is a suspension of particles or droplets in the air. The virus that causes COVID-19 is thought to spread mainly through respiratory droplets, particularly when an infected person coughs or sneezes.
  
  
• The World Health Organization (WHO) defines two size ranges for droplets through which respiratory infections can be transmitted — 5-10 microns in diameter (respiratory droplets) and less than 5 microns in diameter (droplet nuclei). One micron is a millionth part of a metre.
  
  
• It is respiratory droplets (the larger size range) that are thought to be the primary route of COVID-19 infection. Airborne transmission, which is through droplet nuclei (the smaller size range), was not reported in a large study in China, the WHO notes. 
  
  

About:

• Under the SLF-MF, the RBI shall conduct repo operations of 90 days tenor at the fixed repo rate.
  
  
• The SLF-MF is on-tap and open-ended, and banks can submit their bids to avail funding on any day from Monday to Friday (excluding holidays).
  
  
• The scheme is available from April 27, 2020 till May 11, 2020 or up to utilization of the allocated amount, whichever is earlier.
  
  
• Funds availed under the SLF-MF shall be used by banks exclusively for meeting the liquidity requirements of MFs by
  • extending loans, and
    
    
  • undertaking outright purchase of and/or repos against the collateral of investment grade corporate bonds, commercial papers (CPs), debentures and certificates of Deposit (CDs) held by MFs.
    
    
  
  
  
• Liquidity support availed under the SLF-MF would be eligible to be classified as held to maturity (HTM) even in excess of 25 % of total investment permitted to be included in the HTM portfolio.
  
  
• Exposures under this facility will not be reckoned under the Large Exposure Framework (LEF). 
  
  

About:

• What is it? It is an annual international campaign to promote safe, healthy and decent work.
  
  
• What is safe, healthy and decent work? to ILO, a national occupational safety and health culture is one where –
  • the right to a safe and healthy working environment is respected at all levels,
    
    
  • governments, employers and workers actively participate in securing a safe and healthy working environment through a system of defined rights, responsibilities and duties, and
    
    
  • where the highest priority is accorded to the principle of prevention.
    
    
  
  
  
• Observed on: 28 April (every year). 28 April is also the International Commemoration Day for Dead and Injured Workers organized worldwide by the trade union movement since 1996.
  
  
• Observed by: The International Labour Organization (ILO). This celebration is an integral part of the Global Strategy on Occupational Safety and Health of the ILO, as documented in the Conclusions of the International Labour Conference in 2003.
  
  
• Observed since: 2003. 
  
  

About:

• The guidelines state “Set air conditioners room temperature between 24 degrees Celsius and 30 degrees Celsius and maintain relative humidity between 40 per cent and 70 per cent.
  
  
• The guidelines were formulated by the Indian Society of Heating Refrigerating and Air Conditioner Engineers (ISHRAE) .
  
  
• It quotes a study that found the transmission of Covid-19 in 100 cities in China lower in high temperature and high humidity. It also quotes a study which has shown that the SARS-CoV-2 can live for 14 days on a surface at 4 degrees Celsius, one day at 37 degrees Celsius and will die in 30 minutes at 56 degrees Celsius.
  
  
• Humidity can affect the infectivity — the ease with which infections can take place — of the virus through respiration. In a dry environment, or when there is low humidity, it is easier for foreign particles to invade the body. 
  
  

Spratly Islands dispute:

• There has been an ongoing territorial dispute between China, Taiwan, Vietnam, the Philippines, and Malaysia concerning the ownership of the Spratly Islands archipelago and nearby geographical features like corals reefs, cays etc. in the South China Sea.
  
  
• Although the Spratly Islands are largely uninhabited, there is a possibility that they may have large reserves of untapped natural resources including Oil.
  
  

Paracel Islands dispute:

• The Paracel Islands archipelago is a collection of 130 islands and coral reefs and is located in the South China Sea, almost equidistant from China and Vietnam.
  
  
• Since 2012, China, Taiwan and Vietnam have attempted to reinforce their claims on the territory by engaging in construction of government administrative buildings, tourism, land reclamation initiatives and by establishing and expanding military presence on the archipelago. 
  
  

About:

• The next edition of Pitch Black is scheduled for 2022. In the last edition of Pitch Black in 2018, the Indian Air Force (IAF) for the first time deployed fighter aircraft.
  
  
• The defence and strategic engagement between India and Australia has steadily gone up in recent years especially on the bilateral front with naval cooperation at the forefront.
  
  
• The bilateral naval exercise AUSINDEX early last year saw participation of the largest Australian contingent ever to India with over 1,000 personnel. 
  
  

About:

• Scheduled to run between Renigunta and Hazrat Nizamuddin to meet the requirements of Delhi, this is the first of the proposed two ‘Doodh Duronto Special’ trains (milk tankers) started.
  
  
• This is in tune with the nod given to the Railways to operate both freight and parcel trains on a continuous basis to ensure transportation of essential items.
  
  
• These trains are run even though passenger train services have been suspended. 
  
  

About:

• Basaveshwara, also known as Bhaktibhandari, Basavanna or Basaveswara, was a 12^th century philosopher, Kannada poet and a social reformer during the reign of the Kalachuri-dynasty king Bijjala I in Karnataka.
  
  
• He spread social awareness through his poetry, popularly known as Vachanaas. He rejected gender or social discrimination, superstitions and rituals.
  
  
• He introduced new public institutions such as the ‘Anubhava Mantapa’(or, the "hall of spiritual experience"), which welcomed men and women from all socio-economic backgrounds to discuss spiritual and mundane questions of life, in open.
  
  
• He was founder of the Lingayats sect. 
  
  

About:

• Zarina Hashmi (1937 – 2020) was an Indian artist living and working in the USA.
  
  
• Her work spanned drawing, printmaking, and sculpture.
  
  
• Associated with the Minimalist movement, her work utilized abstract and geometric forms in order to invoke a spiritual reaction from the viewer.
  
  
• She is best known for her series of etchings and woodblock prints that express the estrangement of migration, geographical dislocation and exile, captured in works such as Travels with Rani 2008, a dotted diagram of all the towns and train stations she and her family had passed through, forming a mind map of an undivided subcontinent.
  
  
• She made an indelible mark in the international art world as one of South Asia’s leading artists. 
  
  

Subsequent developments:

• Following Trump’s comments, health authorities in New York City reported an unusually high number of New Yorkers who had ingested bleach or other household cleaning agents.
  
  
• Reckitt Benckiser, the British manufacturer of Dettol and Lysol issued a press release “under no circumstance should our disinfectant products be administered into the human body (through injection, ingestion or any other route)”. 
  
  

How harmful can disinfectants be to the human body?

• Ingesting or injecting disinfectants and other kinds of household cleaning agents is harmful since these agents can be potentially poisonous and can even lead to death.
  
  
• The label for disinfectant and surface cleaner “Lizol”, for instance, which claims to kill 99.9 per cent germs cautions that the product is meant for “external use only”.
  
  
• 80% of Lizol is made up of benzalkonium chloride solution, which is a chemical with antimicrobial properties acting against pathogens such as bacteria, fungi and viruses.
  
  
• This chemical is primarily a skin irritant and can also behave as a skin allergen. The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPC) classifies benzalkonium chlorides (BACs) in toxicity category II by oral and inhalation routes and category III via the dermal route.
  
  

About:

• “Access to COVID-19 Tools (ACT) Accelerator” is a Global Collaboration to Accelerate the Development, Production and Equitable Access to New COVID-19 diagnostics, therapeutics and vaccines.
  
  
• A key goal is to level the global playing field so that any products will be available to rich and poor populations alike.
  
  
• The project, however, is still in the early stages. On May 4, countries and organizations are encouraged to start pledging contributions with an eye toward commitments worth about $8 billion in initial funding. 
  
  

About:

• The EoI has been issued by NTPC's wholly owned subsidiary, NTPC Vidyut Vyapar Nigam (NVVN) Limited.
  
  
• The move to procure Hydrogen Fuel Cell based vehicles is first of its kind project in the country, wherein a complete solution from green energy to the fuel cell vehicle would be developed.
  
  
• The initiative, which has been undertaken with support of Ministry of New and Renewable Energy, will also harness renewable energy for generation of hydrogen and develop it's storage and dispensation facilities as part of pilot projects at Leh and Delhi.
  
  
• The move to launch hydrogen powered vehicles aims at decarbonizing mobility segment.
  
  

About Central Vigilance Commission (CVC):

• Background: The Central Vigilance Commission (CVC) was set up by the Government in 1964 on the recommendations of the Committee on Prevention of Corruption, headed by K. Santhanam.
  
  
• Status: It is a statutory body governed by the Central Vigilance Commission Act 2003.
  
  
• Mandate: To inquire into offences alleged to have been committed under the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988 by certain categories of public servants of the Central Government, corporations established by or under any Central Act, Government Companies, societies and local authorities owned or controlled by Central Government.
  
  
• Composition: The Commission shall consist of a Central Vigilance Commissioner (Chairperson); and not more than two Vigilance Commissioners (Members).
  
  
• Appointment: They are appointed by the President on recommendation of a Committee consisting of the Prime Minister (Chairperson), the Minister of home affairs and the Leader of the Opposition in the House of the People. 
  
  

About:

• Rohtang Pass is a high mountain pass (at 13,058 feet) on the eastern Pir Panjal Range of the Himalayas.
  
  
• It connects the Kullu Valley with the Lahaul and Spiti Valleys of Himachal Pradesh.
  
  
• The pass lies on the watershed between the Chenab and Beas basins. On the southern side of this pass, the Beas River emerges from underground and flows southward and on its northern side, the Chandra River, a source stream of the river Chenab, flows westward.
  
  
• The operation to clear snow is carried out every year as the pass remains snow-bound for almost six months, from mid-November to mid-May. 
  
  

About:

• The event, dubbed GW190412, was detected nearly a year ago, and this is almost five years after the first ever detection of gravitational wave signals by these powerful detectors.
  
  
• The event involved two black holes of unequal masses coalescing, one of which was some 30 times the mass of the Sun and the other which had a mass nearly 8 times the solar mass.
  
  
• The actual merger took place at a distance of 2.5 billion light years away.
  
  

About:

• Data from 1978 onwards was analysed. During 1978-2018, the Rajya Sabha held 3,022 sittings and transacted business for 13,946 hours as against the available 18,132 hours. This comes to 76.91% productivity while 23.09% of the available time was lost due to disruptions.
  
  
• Around 40 % of time is spent in deliberating issues of national importance followed by 32 % in asking questions and holding the government accountable.
  
  
• Only 24 % of its functional time is spent on making laws. And an additional 3.5 % is spent on Private members Bills, which have rarely translated into laws though.
  
  
• The time spent on the Government Bills ranged from 10.87% of the time in 2015 to 40.09% in 2002. It has touched a record high of 45.90% during the historic 250th session last year.
  
  
• Deliberative functions like debating electoral reforms or recent discussion on law and order in parts of Delhi take up the largest chunk of time.
  
  
• The oversight function — which is to hold the government accountable by way of asking questions — calling attention motions and so on takes about 32.22% of time with portion of time reserved for the daily question hour.