Daily Current Affairs - Civil Services - 07-05-2021

Useful compilation of Civil Services oriented - Daily Current Affairs - Civil Services - 07-05-2021

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• SECTION 1 - TEN NEWS HEADLINES

1. Governance and Institutions - Delhi portal for online oxygen booking - The Delhi Government launched an online portal for patients who require oxygen for home isolation in Covid pandemic. They can apply on the government’s portal and their request will be processed. People who require oxygen will need to provide a valid photo ID, COVID positive report, and Aadhaar Card details. The judicial intervention in Delhi's oxygen supply has finally led to the required daily amount of 700 MT being given by Central allocations. It is reported from across India that many patients died due to lack of oxygen, and not necessarily the ravages of the virus.
2. Governance and Institutions - Third wave of Coronavirus inevitable - The Government’s Principal Scientific Advisor K Vijay Raghavan suddenly warned that the "third wave of COVID-19 was inevitable". This came as a shock, as India is currently battling the second wave, with no end in sight. During a press conference, Vijay Raghavan stated that even though there will be a third wave, there is no definite timeline when it will occur. It is clear that the government completely failed to anticipate this massive a surge in second covid wave, and is taking no chances about predicting a third wave. Later, the advisor said that if India stayed prepared, then the third wave can be controlled quickly. Till 07th May, there was no peak of second wave in sight.
3. Healthcare and Medicine - R21/Matrix M - A malaria vaccine candidate R21/Matrix M has shown promise in phase 2b clinical trials, with high efficacy at 77% - The first vaccine to reach WHO’s goal of at least 75% efficacy. It is a modified version of RTS, S vaccine candidate against malaria. It has been developed at University of Oxford and produced in the Serum Institute of India. Significance - In 2019, India had an estimated 5.6 million cases of malaria compared to about 20 million cases in 2020 according to WHO. Globally, in 2019, there was 229 million cases of malaria and 409 000 malaria-related deaths in 87 countries. Between 2000 and 2020, 24 countries reported zero indigenous cases of malaria for 3 or more years - Benchmark for the World Health Organization (WHO) certification of a country as malaria-free. So, developing a vaccine with high efficacy was needed for a long time. Previous version - RTS, S candidate has been in development for more than 30 years. It is the first, and to date the only, vaccine to reduce malaria in children. But it has low efficacious. It is designed to stop the Plasmodium falciparum malaria parasite from entering the liver and preventing the subsequent deadly blood stages. It targets the liver stage protein of the P. falciparum life cycle.
4. World Economy - TRIPS waiver for Covid vaccines - The United States will support an initiative at the World Trade Organisation (WTO) to waive Trade Related Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) protection for COVID-19 vaccines. The Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) is an international legal agreement between all the member nations of the World Trade Organization (WTO). It establishes minimum standards for the regulation by national governments of different forms of intellectual property (IP) as applied to nationals of other WTO member nations. TRIPS was negotiated at the end of the Uruguay Round of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) between 1989 and 1990 and is administered by the WTO. India is vehemently arguing in favour of waiving off the TRIPS protections, so that greater exchange of knowledge and quickler supply of vaccines can be ensured.
5. Defence and Military - Army's Covid efforts - The Indian army has established a Covid management cell to coordinate assistance to civil authority. The Cell is under a Director General rank officer which reports directly to the Vice Chief of Army Staff. This will bring in greater efficiency in coordinating real time responses to address exponential rise in cases across India, including in Delhi. Assistance to civil administration in Delhi is already being provided in the form of testing, admissions in military hospitals and transportation of critical medical equipment. Indian Army has been at the forefront of COVID response at the national level. It has deployed considerable medical resources to assist civil authorities especially at the five COVID hospitals already functional or in the process of being established at Delhi, Ahmedabad, Lucknow, Varanasi and Patna.
6. People and Personalities - Farmer leader Ajit Singh passes away - RLD chief Ajit Singh passed away due to COVID-19 complications. Chaudhary Ajit Singh (1939 – 2021) was an Indian politician, and the founder and chief of the Rashtriya Lok Dal (RLD), a political party recognized in western part of state of Uttar Pradesh. He was son of former Prime Minister of India late Chaudhary Charan Singh. As Minister of Industry in V. P. Singh's cabinet from 1989 to 1990, he began a long and sterling career, and also served as Minister for Food in P.V. Narasimha Rao's cabinet. From 2001 to 2003, he was union Minister of Agriculture. Later, he was the union Minister of Civil Aviation from 2011 to 2014. In the farmers' agitation 2020-21, he had lent his support to the agitating farmers.
7. Indian Economy - WAG 12 B Locomotive - The Indian Railways formally inducted the 100th 12000 HP WAG 12 B Locomotive. The loco is named WAG 12 B with number 60100, and manufactured by Madhepura Electric Locomotive Pvt. Ltd. (MELPL). These locomotives are state of the art IGBT based, 3 phase drive and 12000 horse power electric locomotive. These high horse power locomotives will help to decongest the saturated tracks by improving average speed and loading capacity of freight trains. These locomotive are proving to be a game changer for further movement of coal trains for Dedicated Freight Corridor. First 12000 HP Made in India Locomotive, manufactured by Madhepura Electric Loco Factory situated in Bihar, was put into operation by Indian Railways from Pt Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Jn Station on 18.05.2020.
8. Healthcare and Medicine - Proning - As the second wave of Covid-19 swept through India with deadly consequences, doctors have started advocating proning exercises to improve oxygen levels in Covid positive patients — both in home isolation as well as in hospital. Proning is a medically approved position — which is also being promoted by the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare — in which patients are made to lie on their abdomen to boost their oxygen levels. Proning as an exercise is being advised to Covid patients in hospitals, so that they may not require additional oxygen support.
9. Social Issues - Unique Disability ID (UDID) - The Department of Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities (DEPwD), Government of India has made it mandatory for all States/UTs to grant certificate of disability through online mode only using UDID portal w.e.f. 01.06.2021. The Central Government notified the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Rules, 2017 under RPwD Act, 2016 on 15.06.2017. Rule 18(5) mandates the Central Government to appoint a date making it mandatory for the State/UT authorities to issue certificate of disability through online mode. The UDID project is under implementation since 2016. Concerned authorities of all States/UTs have been imparted training by DEPwD for working on the UDID portal (swavlambancard.gov.in). The States/UTs have been given adequate time to convert to online mode. It will ensure complete digitization of certification of disability from 01.06.2021, besides providing a viable mechanism for cross-checking genuineness of the certificate to achieve pan-India validity, and simplifying the process for the benefit of Divyangjan.
10. Indian Politics - Covid Update - India recorded the world's highest-ever daily coronavirus cases for second day in a row, as 4,14,188 people tested positive for the virus in 24 hours. India also recorded 3,915 deaths due to COVID-19 in 24 hours, taking the death toll in the country to 2,34,083. The government is battling on multiple fronts, trying to regularise oxygen supplies across India, and medicine supplies too. Officials informed that some states are showing first signs of some stabilisation in no. of infections, but at least ten states were showing a rising tend. The latest numbers are - WORLD - Total cases: 156,690,319; New cases: 861,099; Total deaths: 3,269,367; New deaths: 14,006; Total recovered: 134,857,896; Active cases: 18,563,056 || INDIA - Total cases: 21,485,285; New cases: 414,433; Total deaths: 234,071; New deaths: 3,920; Total recovered: 17,597,410; Active cases: 3,653,804.

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• SECTION 2 - DAILY CURRENT AFFAIRS

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• 1. ECONOMY (Prelims, GS Paper 3, Essay paper)

Gold Reserves in Indian foreign exchange reserves

• The story: India has accumulated huge foreign exchange reserves, crossing the half trillion dollar mark for the first time in 2020. Gold is a major part of the holdings. These holdings are managed by the Reserve Bank of India.

• Latest issue: The RBI has revised its stance towards accumulation of gold reserves in the recent years. Why has it done so, and what is the road ahead, is under debate.

1. Current situation - The RBI has not made any move to increase its gold reserves for many years after its purchase of gold from the IMF in 2009. India’s gold reserves, however, have been increasing at a steady pace over the last 3 years. These purchases have added 137 tonnes to the gold reserves between December 2017 and March 2021. The share of gold in India’s foreign exchange reserves has increased to 7% currently, from 5% in March 2017. The resolve to buy gold is continuing in 2021, with purchases in the first quarter already amounting to 18.7 tonnes. The RBI currently holds 695.3 tonnes of gold, ranking tenth globally in gold holding. The quantity of holding is less than that of the US, Germany, France and Switzerland. It is higher than other emerging economies, with the exception of China
2. Larger trend - India is not the only country purchasing gold, and few other emerging economies are also following a similar strategy. Countries such as Turkey, Russia and Kazakhstan have also been avid buyers of gold over the last 5 years. The reason appears to be the need to reduce the risks emanating from excessive US dollar exposure. The US Federal Reserve has been on a major note-printing binge, with the major stimulus being announced by Biden. Also, it is driven by a desire to reduce the dominance of the US over the global economy. A way to do so is to reduce the usage of US dollars in their external transactions as well as in their reserves.

• RBI's logic: India’s desire to add gold reserves seems to be driven mainly by the fear of depreciation in dollar value causing capital loss. For thirty years now, India’s forex reserves have been on an upward trajectory, as the RBI used the foreign portfolio and direct investment inflows to build its reserves. More than one-third of these reserves are held as US treasury securities The beginning of the RBI’s recent gold purchases in early 2018 coincides with two events.

1. the US dollar fell sharply in 2017 as the trade war with China and crash in commodity prices led to selling in dollar assets
2. yields on US treasury bonds spiked sharply between September 2017 and March 2018
3. These two, taken together, would have resulted in a sharp loss in the value of US treasury securities held in foreign exchange reserves. Gold prices have also been in a strong up-trend since September 2018, gaining almost 48% since then. All these would have encouraged the RBI’s resolve further.

• The problem with gold holdings: There are limitations to the gold reserves that India can hold, as gold prices are volatile and can result in sharp capital loss. Prices crashed around 30% in 2013. A country that held over 50% of its reserves as gold would have seen its reserve deplete by 15% that year.

1. An objective behind building forex reserves is to create a buffer to help tide over external account crisis or to support the currency in times of extreme stress. So, exposing a large part of reserves to sharp swings in value is not recommended.
2. Gold’s safe haven attribute too has been questioned quite often in recent past.

• Safe haven: It does provide a hedge in periods of extreme stress that last for short durations, as was seen in March 2020. But, over longer time-frames, gold is not an effective hedge for the portfolio. Another aspect is that liquidity in gold is relatively lower when compared to other fixed income securities. If central banks begin offloading large quantities of gold in the market, it tends to impact gold price adversely. This, in turn, affects the residual holding in the reserves. The assets that make up the reserves should be decided based on – (i) the currency-composition of the country’s external trade, (ii) the currency in which it has borrowed overseas, (iii) the key currency to which its value is linked and so on.

• Summary: Clearly, India needs to hold a chunk of its reserves in US dollars. The RBI will have to decide how much exposure it wants in gold and regulate its purchases accordingly over the next two years.

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• 2. ENVIRONMENT AND ECOLOGY (Prelims, GS Paper 3, Essay paper

Kaleshwaram project under NGT scanner

• The story: The much discussed Kaleshwaram project is now under the scanner of National Green Tribunal (NGT), which wants a relook.
• Kaleshwaram Lift Irrigation Project: The project is considered one of the world’s largest multi-purpose projects, and is designed to provide water for irrigation and drinking purposes to about 45 lakh acres in 20 of the 31 districts in Telangana. It will supply drinking water to several towns and villages and also to twin cities of Hyderabad and Secunderabad, and provide water for Hyderabad and Secunderabad. The cost of the project is Rs.80,000 crore, but is expected to rise to Rs 1 lakh crore by the time it is completely constructed.
• Details of project: It is unique as Telangana will harness water at the confluence of two rivers with Godavari by constructing a barrage at Medigadda. The water will be reverse pumped into the main Godavari River. From here, it will be diverted through lifts and pumps into a huge and complex system of reservoirs, water tunnels, pipelines and canals. The project has set many records with the world’s longest water tunnels, aqueducts, underground surge pools, and biggest pumps. The total length of the entire project is approximately 1,832 km, of which nearly 1,531 km is gravity canals and 203 km comprise water tunnels. It involves digging of 20 reservoirs with total capacity to store 145 TMC. Except for a few stretches involving pipelines and canals, much of the project is complete.
• Importance to Telangana: The Kaleshwaram project will transform Telangana into an agricultural powerhouse, enabling farmers to reap multiple crops with a year-round supply of water. Mission Bhagiratha is a project to supply drinking water to every household in villages. This mission draws a large quantity of water from the KLIS and some quantity from projects on River Krishna.
• NGT recent order: The Principal Bench of the National Green Tribunal, New Delhi, ruled that the Environmental Clearance given to the project in 2017 was void. It ruled so, saying that the Telangana government changed the design of the project to increase its capacity to pump from 2 TMC to 3 TMC water. The NGT observed that major changes were made in the project, due to which large tracts of forest land and other land was taken over. Massive infrastructure was built causing adverse environmental impact.
• Government's response: It argued that the expansion of the project to extract 3 TMC did not involve any infrastructural changes and so a fresh EC was not required. This argument was not accepted by the NGT.
• NGT response: It said that extraction of more water requires more storage capacity, and affects hydrology and riverine ecology of Godavari River. Such issues may have to be examined by the statutory authorities concerned. The NGT said that it is difficult to accept the plea that enhancement of capacity by one third will not require any infrastructural changes. It ordered that, in any case, this aspect needs to be evaluated by the statutory expert Committees before the expansion is undertaken.
• Minsitry's stance: The NGT directed the Union Ministry of Environment, Forests, and Climate Change (MoEFCC) to constitute an Expert Committee. This Committee would assess the extent of damage caused in going ahead with the project’s expansion and to identify restoration measures. The Expert Committee will complete its exercise within six months.
• What next: The NGT directed the Telangana Government to stop all work except the drinking water component. It wants the government to obtain a Forest Clearance from the Centre before going ahead with the project. The Irrigation Secretary said the state government will abide by the NGT directions and obtain the necessary clearances. To enhance the capacity from 2 TMC to 3 TMC not very big changes are required. To store the additional 1 TMC, land for a reservoir has already been acquired while pipelines and canals are already in the works.

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• 3. FOREIGN AFFAIRS (Prelims, GS Paper 3, Essay paper)

A big leap in India-UK relations

• The story: India and the United Kingdom share a modern partnership bound by strong historical ties. The bilateral relationship was upgraded to a strategic partnership in 2004 and further strengthened by the successive government. Now, in 2021, the Prime Ministers of both the countries held a virtual bilateral meeting to deepen the bonds.

• Details: While the health sector dominated the conversation, India and the UK tapped into the enormous potential for bilateral strategic cooperation

1. Rise of India - India is undergoing a transition that could have significant consequences for the UK. India is already the third largest economy in the world (at purchasing power parity exchange rates) and is expected to become the second largest in the coming decades. As its economy is transformed, its political, military and cultural power is also likely to increase, elevating India to a 21st Century superpower. India is looking for new partners in the global race. This represents a great opportunity for the UK.
2. A changing UK - The UK has much to offer India in education, research, civil society and the creative sector. The growth of India’s English-speaking middle classes offers a critical window of opportunity for the UK to become a partner of choice for trade, diplomacy, culture and education before India’s next generation turns its attention elsewhere.

• Challenges: While India’s relations with countries as different as the US and France have dramatically improved in recent years, ties with Britain have lagged. Following reasons can be cited for this:

1. Painful history - One reason for this failure has been the colonial prism that has distorted mutual perceptions. Anti-colonial resentment against Britain is always seething barely below the surface among the Indian political and bureaucratic classes. Britain has found it difficult to shed its own prejudices about India.
2. Pain of 1947 - The bitter legacies of the Partition and Britain’s perceived tilt to Pakistan have long complicated the engagement between India and the UK. Many former Prime Ministers of Indian have accused Britain of creating the Kashmir problem.
3. Labour Party's approach - While there is no way of fully separating South Asian and British domestic politics, India’s problems have been accentuated by the British Labour Party’s growing political negativity towards India. The Labour Party had become rather hostile on India’s internal matters, including on Kashmir.

• New opportunities: Britain and the G-7 are well-positioned to help transform India’s internal capabilities as well as benefit from them in the management of future global pandemics. The possibilities range from ramping up vaccine production to the structuring of a strong public health system in India.

1. Trade - Both countries are on the rebound from their respective regional blocs. Britain has walked out of the European Union and India has refused to join the China-centred Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership. Although both will continue to trade with their regional partners, they are eager to build new global economic partnerships.
2. Convergence - While remaining a security actor in Europe, Britain is tilting to the Indo-Pacific, where India is a natural ally. India, which is looking at a neighbourhood that has been transformed by the rise of China, needs as wide a coalition as possible to restore a semblance of regional balance. As they deepen their bilateral partnership and expand regional and international cooperation, India and the UK may find it easier to manage the irritations over Pakistan and South Asian diaspora politics in Britain. India and the UK are said to be exploring an agreement on “migration and mobility” to facilitate the legal movement of Indians into Britain.

• Summary: The profound ties of culture, history and language already give the UK a potentially strong foundation upon which to further deepen its relationship with India. With a whole new set of circumstances, India and Britain should recognise that they both need each other to achieve their larger goals.

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• 4. GOVERNMENT SCHEMES (Prelims, GS Paper 2, Essay paper)

Online Abuse - Laws to control

• The story: The Kerala government went overboard in issuing an ordinance, that wanted to control defamatory posts online. Following severe criticism, it decided to withdraw an Ordinance.

• What the ordinance did: It gave unrestrained powers to the police to arrest anyone expressing or disseminating any matter that it deems defamatory. The move necessitates an assessment of existing laws to deal with social media abuse and online content in general.

• What was the need: The Supreme Court, in 2015, struck down Section 66A of the Information Technology (IT) Act. The principal argument by Kerala was that the Central government had not brought in any legislation yet to replace the revoked Section 66A. This placed limits in police effectively dealing with social media abuse and cyber crime. Many state governments feel that the existing laws are inadequate. Chhattisgarh too recently brought in an amendment to criminalise sexual harassment online.

• Existing laws: The Indian Penal Code (IPC) criminalises speech that is obscene, defamatory, that insults the modesty of women and intrudes upon her privacy. It punishes anonymous criminal intimidation, voyeurism, digitally enabled stalking, hate speech, and even non-consensual sharing of sexual images online. In addition to that is the Information Technology Act of 2000 that punishes speech that is obscene. It also places obligations on intermediaries, where intermediaries have a duty of due diligence. Intermediaries have to take down content based on a request by the government or a court order. This obligation is actually very broadly worded.

1. It covers any information that is grossly harmful, harassing, blasphemous, defamatory, obscene, pornographic, paedophilic, hateful, or racially or ethnically objectionable, libellous, invasive of another’s privacy, disparaging, etc.
2. Hate speech - Undoubtedly, there is a problem with hate speech in the online space. Discussions at various levels of government have been in place for a while in this regard. In 2017, the Law Commission of India recommended that two new provisions be introduced to the IPC to specifically deal with online hate speech. The Central government has also initiated consultations on amendments to the IT Act. One of the issues being taken up in this context is likely to be the scope of offences under the Act. In particular, there is discussion on whether Section 66A needs to be replaced with a better drafted provision.

• Focus of states: A key problem is that enforcement and implementation of existing laws is not very good. In the Kerala example, rather than rush into making a new law, it could have actually outlined the specific problem. The government should have conducted more transparent consultations with the stakeholders involved, to try and figure out solutions. State governments, in general, must also be focused on improving the criminal justice system. This is to make it easier for victims to access the system to make complaints, and for the police to be able to prosecute the complaints properly. As widely known, it is generally not very easy for victims or individuals to file and proceed with complaints.

• Present-day content regulation: Clearly, there is absence of any changes in the legislative structure after the striking down of Sec 66A. So, courts and governments have largely resorted to blocking content or forcing intermediaries to take steps to limit the spread of illegal content. The government from time to time issues directions. Most recently, in the context of WhatsApp, they have been asked to take certain steps pertaining to illegal content on their platform. There are also independent regulators, like the Election Commission, which has taken some steps in the context of electorally sensitive content. While legislative efforts are on, the priority now is enforcement and implementation of existing laws.

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• 5. POLITY AND CONSTITUTION (Prelims, GS Paper 2, GS Paper 3)

When vaccines become unequal

• The story: The Government of India unveiled a completely revamped vaccine strategy, in April 2021, that resulted in a vaccine inequity which many say can make containment measures more difficult.

• Government decision: Two key elements were the hallmark of this new strategy, implemented from May 1, 2021.

1. The phased roll-out of the vaccination drive (initiated on January 16, 2021), under which the vaccine-eligible sections of the population were gradually increased, has now been extended to the entire adult population. All above 18 years will now get vaccinated.
2. A significant deregulation of the vaccine market was effected. Vaccine manufacturers were given the freedom to sell 50% of their vaccine production to State governments and private hospitals. This can be sold at prices that can be substantially higher than that hitherto fixed by the government.
3. A third element of the vaccine strategy, which was not announced formally, was the grant of Rs.45 billion to the two vaccine manufacturers to boost their capacities (Serum Institute of India (SII) and Bharat Biotech).

• The serious issues: In the midst of the second wave of the pandemic, the Central government has abdicated its responsibility to ensure vaccine equity through free vaccination for the poor across all age groups. State governments were never consulted or given prior notice about the change in vaccination policy. The two vaccine manufacturers are given a free hand to decide the price at which vaccines will be sold to State governments. This has made universal COVID-19 vaccination a difficult task to achieve. A large percentage of those aged 18-44 years does not have the resources to pay for vaccines. Most of them will hence go without being vaccinated. So, the States will have to take a leading role in the free immunisation programme. Nearly two dozen States have already committed to vaccinate for free the target population. It remains to be seen if they use any criteria to identify the beneficiaries.

• Implications: The Union government restricts itself to vaccinating for free just 300 million. Never before has universal immunisation of nearly 600 million people been left to State governments and the private sector. With this precedent, States will probably be required to vaccinate children too, when vaccines become available. This will burden them even further and thereby actively promote vaccine inequity. Making States pay for vaccines is an ill-conceived idea. Forcing them to shell out more than what the Union government pays for the same vaccines will for sure exacerbate vaccine inequity.

• Financing the same: The Union government has already allocated Rs.35,000 crore for COVID-19 vaccination in the current Budget. It has also committed to provide further funds if required. With this, it will have to spend less than ₹10,000 crore to vaccinate for free all above 45 years. The sudden change in policy is therefore not due to lack of financial resources. But, the State governments, which have not factored in funds for vaccination, will now be required to garner funds for the same.

• Predictions: The new policy takes the States and the companies to a completely uncharted territory leading to competition among States, and between State governments and private hospitals. Vaccine shortage from both manufacturers is likely to last a few months. There is less likely to be a smooth roll-out of vaccines for the target group given the combination of - (i) policy pandemonium, (ii) profiteering by vaccine manufacturers in the thick of the pandemic, (iii) vaccine shortage.

• Summary: All this could lead to a dangerous situation where containment and mitigation measures become even more difficult. In all, the new vaccine strategy could undermine “vaccination for all” (in a country that has long championed the cause of access to affordable medicines in international forums.)

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• 6. SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY (Prelims, Various GS Papers)

IBM and the world's smallest, most powerful microchip

• The story: Modern civilisation runs on the magical semiconductor chips inside all gadgets, with the billions of transistors embedded doing all mathematical calculations and processing all computer instructions. For this semiconductor industry, the constant challenge is to make microchips that are smaller, faster, more powerful and more energy efficient — simultaneously.

• Huge announcement: The IBM company announced in May 2021 that it had created a 2-nanometer chip, the smallest, most powerful microchip yet developed. Most computer chips powering devices today use 10-nanometer or 7-nanometer process technology, with some manufacturers producing 5-nanometer chips. The lower numbers denote smaller, more advanced processors. IBM's new chip uses 2-nanometer process technology, a huge leap forward for the components used to power everything from consumers' smart phones and appliances to supercomputers and transportation equipment. IBM said that there were not many technologies or technological breakthroughs that end up lifting all boats, and that this would be one

• Technical details: The way to improve a chip's performance is to increase the number of transistors — the core elements that process data — without increasing its overall size. The new 2-nanometer chips are roughly the size of a fingernail, and contain 50 billion transistors, each about the size of two DNA strands. Having more transistors will also allow more innovations related to artificial intelligence and encryption, among other things, to be added directly onto the chips.

1. When consumers experience that the phone gets better, the cars get better, the computers get better, it is because behind the scenes, the transistor got better and more transistors were available in the chips
2. The new chip is expected to achieve 45% higher performance — and about 75% lower energy usage — than today's most advanced 7-nanometer chips. With 2-nanometer chips, cell phone batteries could last four times longer, laptops could get markedly faster and the carbon footprints of data centers could be slashed as they rely on more energy efficient chips.

• Production: The 2-nanometer chips are expected to go into production starting in late 2024 or 2025, which won't be soon enough to make a dent in the current global chip shortage. IBM is not typically the first company that comes to mind when thinking of semiconductors. Unlike Intel (INTC) or Samsung (SSNLF), the computing giant doesn't do large scale manufacturing of chips. Instead IBM will license its 2-nanometer processor technology to chipmakers. IBM's research on the new chip will also help it develop its own future tech products that will utilize the 2-nanometer chips.

• Biden's priorities: The announcement comes as the Biden administration is considering investing $50 billion to grow domestic chip research, development and manufacturing, after years of decline in the United States' role in the global semiconductor industry.

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• 7. SOCIAL ISSUES (Prelims, GS Paper 2)

Food and hunger crisis, and FAO's Food Price Index

• The story: World food prices increased for a eleventh consecutive month in April 2021, hitting their highest level since May 2014, with sugar leading a rise in all the main indices, the United Nations food agency said on Thursday.

• What is FPO's FPI: The Food and Agriculture Organization's food price index, which measures monthly changes for a basket of cereals, oilseeds, dairy products, meat and sugar, averaged 120.9 points last month versus a revised 118.9 in March.

1. The March figure was previously given as 118.5. FAO said that new forecasts pointed to growth in both world wheat and maize output in the coming season.
2. FAO's cereal price index rose 1.2% in April month-on-month and 26% year-on-year. Worries about crop conditions in Argentina, Brazil and the United States pushed maize prices up 5.7% last month, while wheat prices held largely steady. By contrast, international rice prices slipped.
3. FAO's vegetable oil price index rose 1.8% on the month, pushed higher by rising soy, rapeseed and palm oil quotations, which offset lower sunflower oil values.
4. Dairy prices rose 1.2%, with butter, skim milk powder and cheese all lifted by good demand from Asia, while the meat index climbed 1.7%. FAO said both bovine and ovine meat quotations rose, supported by "solid demand" from East Asia.
5. After a sharp drop in March, sugar prices rebounded in April, posting a 3.9% increase on the month and an almost 60% surge on the year. The monthly increase was prompted by strong buying amid concerns over tighter supplies in 2020/21, due to a slow harvest in Brazil and frost damage in France.
6. FAO raised its forecast for global cereal production in 2020 by 1.7 million tonnes to 2.767 billion tonnes, 2.1% up on 2019 levels.

• Coming season: The U.N. agency also provided its first outlook for wheat in the 2021/22 season, forecasting production at 778.8 million tonnes, up 0.5% on the 2020 estimate, lifted by an anticipated 6% increase in output in the European Union. FAO said that early prospects for global coarse grains production in 2021 pointed to a likely third consecutive year of growth, mostly related to maize. It said the forecast was driven by expectations of increased planted areas in Brazil, China, Ukraine and the United States, as well as recovering yields in the EU.

• Facing hunger: The 307-page Global Report on Food Crises was released. At least 155 million people faced acute hunger in 2020, including 133,000 who needed urgent food to prevent widespread death from starvation—and the outlook for 2021 is equally grim or worse. This was mentioned in this report by 16 organisations. The report, which focuses on 55 countries that account for 97% of humanitarian assistance, said the magnitude and severity of food crises last year worsened as a result of protracted conflicts, the economic fallout of the COVID-19 pandemic, and weather extremes that exacerbated “pre-existing fragilities.”

1. The 155 million people faced “crisis,” “emergency” or “catastrophe/famine” levels of food needs, an increase of around 20 million people from 2019.
2. Two-thirds of the people in those crisis levels were in 10 countries—Congo, Yemen, Afghanistan, Syria, Sudan, northern Nigeria, Ethiopia, South Sudan, Zimbabwe and Haiti. The 133,000 facing starvation, death and destitution were in Burkina Faso, South Sudan and Yemen.
3. The number of people facing acute food insecurity and requiring urgent food, nutrition and livelihoods assistance is on the rise.
4. UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres wrote the forward to this report.
5. First and foremost, declining incomes as a result of the 255 million jobs lost in the pandemic — “four times more than the financial crisis” in 2008 - was repsonsible.
6. In terms of the prevalence of people facing crisis, emergency or famine levels of food needs, the report said Central African Republic, South Sudan and Syria had more than half their analyzed populations at the crisis level or worse, and five countries—Afghanistan, Haiti, Lesotho, Yemen and Zimbabwe—had between 40% and 45% of their populations at those levels.

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• 8. MISCELLANEOUS (Prelims, GS Paper 1, GS Paper 2)

IP waiver for COVID Vaccines

• The story: Both India and South Africa proposed for an IP waiver for vaccines, at the World Trade Organisation in 2020. This has now been backed by the United States. The US will further negotiate at the World Trade Organisation to waive Intellectual property for COVID-19 vaccines. This will help in large scale production of COVID-19 vaccines in middle income countries.
• IP waiver: An IP right is a monopoly granted by a government to an inventor. It means that the others cannot copy their invention. This patent can be a process patent or a product patent. Various developing countries are arguing that the intellectual property is an obstacle in increasing the production of vaccines.
• How produced: The production of COVID-19 vaccines in the middle-income countries has been happening through the licensing or technology transfer agreements. Thus, in order to ramp up the production of COVID-19 vaccine production, it is essential to waive off (remove) the Intellectual Property Rights for COVID-19 vaccine. In simple terms, IPR waiver means that when a company has produced a vaccine, the others can immediately copy its composition, produce their own. By this the vaccine production will increase and also the vaccine cost will come down.
• Deterrents: The pharma companies such as AstraZeneca and Pfizer have opposed the IP waiver. According to them, this might undermine public confidence in vaccine safety and might create a barrier to information sharing. The other barriers in COVID-19 vaccine production are trade barriers, scarcity of raw materials, unwillingness of rich countries to share doses with poorer countries. Overall now 100 countries of the 164 members are in favour of waiving the IP. Recently Australia and New Zealand also agreed on the waiver.

'Stop Tokyo Olympics' campaign

• Japan in a soup: The 'Stop Tokyo Olympics' is an online campaign aiming to stop the Tokyo Olympics Games. It has gathered more than 200,000 signatures within two days of its launch. However, the organisers of the Olympic Games are set to go ahead in conducting the games. Global firm Pfizer agreed to donate their vaccine to help inoculate sportsperson participating in the games.
• The story: Japan is currently battling against the fourth wave of COVID-19 with a sluggish vaccination campaign. Majority of the public are also opposing the Olympics games that is to be held in Japan in July, 2021.
• 2020 Summer Olympics: The Olympics were originally planned to be held in July 2020, and postponed due to COVID-19 pandemic. This is the second time Japan is hosting the Olympics, after 1964. Also, the 2020 Olympics was the second of the three consecutive Olympics in Asia. The first was held in South Korea in 2018, second to be held in Japan in 2021 and third has been planned to be held in China in 2022. The new games to be introduced in 2020 Olympics were BMX, three by three basketball and madison cycling.
• Biosecurity Protocols: The International Olympics Committee had released biosecurity protocols for officials, athletes, press and other staff in February 2021. The participants were to be asked to use the Exposure Notification, a protocol specification developed by Google and Apple. It provides digital contact tracing during COVID-19 pandemic. Digital Contact Tracing is a method of contact tracing based on mobile application. It is used to determine the contact between the infected person and a user.

PM Modi to participate in European Council meeting

• The story: The Prime Minister of India took part in the European Council (tMay 8, 2021) meet. This year, in 2021, the India-European Union Leaders’ Meeting is being hosted by Portugal, which currently holds the chair of the grouping.
• About the meet: The PM participated in the meet along with other Government heads of the members of the European Union. The leaders exchanged views on COVID-19 and also will foster sustainable and inclusive growth. The fifteenth India-EU Summit was held in July 2020.
• Major points: India and the European Union have been long discussing the free trade deal. They discussed ther agreements regarding Geographical Indications and also investment protection agreement. The Investment protection agreement is to “Europeanise” the agreements India has had so far with the individual member states.
• European Union Council: The Council meets at least twice in six months. All the twenty seven heads of the member states participate in the meet. The high representatives of the foreign countries also take part in the meet when the foreign affairs are discussed. During the meet, the European Union discussed the TRIPS waiver on COVID1-9 vaccine. TRIPS is Trade Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights. The US has agreed and the European Union is yet to make a decision on this.
• Treaty on Pandemics: Around twenty-five members of the European Union have been wanting to sign the “Treaty on Pandemics” along with WHO. It will focus on bringing vaccines to global community as quickly as possible. This treaty is to be discussed during the meet.

Scientists model Saturn’s interior structure

• Getting inside: Scientists at the John Hopkins University have simulated the interior of the planet Saturn. The simulations say that a thick layer of Helium rain influences the magnetic field of the planet.
• Details: Saturn stands out in the Solar system as its magnetic field is almost perfectly symmetrical around its rotational axis. The Cassini Mission of NASA helped scientists understand the deep interior of the planet where the magnetic field is generated.
• About simulations: Scientists created two powerful computer simulations of the magnetic field of NASA based on the data from the Cassini mission. The simulations will help the scientists measure the rate at which Saturn rotates. This has been one of the several problems that vexed (difficult) scientists for decades.
• Interior of Saturn: The center of Saturn is a dense core of metals such as iron and nickel. This dense core is surrounded by rocky materials. Further it is enveloped by liquid metallic hydrogen inside a layer of liquid hydrogen. Its core is almost similar to the core of the Jupiter but considerably smaller. Cassini is a joint space mission of European Space Agency, NASA and Italian Space Agency. It was called Cassini-Huygens mission. The Cassini space probe entered the orbit of Saturn and the Huygens of the European Space Agency landed on the Titan (the largest moon of Saturn). Cassini was the first space probe to enter the orbit of the Saturn and the fourth space probe to visit Saturn..

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