Daily Current Affairs - Civil Services - 17-05-2021

Useful compilation of Civil Services oriented - Daily Current Affairs - Civil Services - 17-05-2021

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• SECTION 1 - TEN NEWS HEADLINES

1. Indian Economy - Diesel and Petrol sales fall to new lows - The sale of diesel in India fell to a seven-month low of around 1.47 lakh tonnes a day during May 1-15 amid COVID-19. Demand for diesel - the most used fuel in India - fell to 5.9 million tonnes in April 2021, down 1.7 per cent from the previous month and 9.9 per cent from April 2019. Sales of petrol - used in cars and motorcycles - fell to 2.14 million tonnes in April, the lowest since August 2020, as per data of state-owned fuel retailers. Petrol sales in April were 6.3 per cent lower than March 2021 and 4.1 per cent lower than April 2019. Petrol sales in April 2020 were 8,72,000 tonnes. Overall, the sales of road fuels dropped by a fifth from April and about 28% from the same period in 2019. Average daily sales of gasoline fell to about 53,300 tonnes, the lowest in a year. Fuels sales could have been worse in April but for the elections in some states that saw increased use of vehicles for campaigning. Demand may witness a sharper slump in May due to more restrictions. Declining fuel sales will reduce crude intake by refiners, reducing operating run rate. Retail prices of fuels are running at all-time highs.
2. Indian Economy - WPI inflation shoots beyond 10 per cent in April - The Wholesale Price Index based inflation in India reached a massive 10.49 percent in April 2021, as the constant rise in cost of fuel - petrol, LPG and high speed diesel - percolated down into the economy. Wholesale inflation had already spiked in the previous month of March when it reached 7.39 percent, up from 4.17 per cent in February. In December, it was just 1.9 percent, but the latest figures for wholesale inflation show how higher fuel prices and therefore transport costs, have led to costs spiking economywide in April. The month saw fuel inflation shooting up by 21 percent, more than double of March's already high inflation of 10.2 percent. Prices of manufactured products, a combined weight of 65 per cent in the index, rose by 9.01 percent, up from March's 7.3 percent. The core-WPI inflation increased to a fresh series-high 8.4% on a YoY basis in April 2021, driven by metals, paper, rubber, chemicals etc., the global prices of many of which have surged. The depreciation in the Indian Rupee pushed landed prices. A continuing uptick in food inflation also contributed, with inflation for primary food articles driven to a six month high of 4.9 percent due to prices of fruits, non-vegetarian protein items and items such as tea shooting up. The ICRA expects WPI inflation to rise further to 13-13.5 percent in May before commencing a downtrend. But retail inflation has eased in April, with the Consumer Price Index (CPI) -based inflation at 4.29 percent, compared with 5.52 percent in March. Retail inflation has stayed within the Reserve Bank of India's (RBI) medium term inflation target of 4(+/-2 per cent) for the fifth consecutive month.
3. Environment and Ecology - Huge elephant casualties on railway lines - According to the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC), a total of 186 elephants were killed after being hit by trains across India between 2009-10 and 2020-21. Assam accounted for the highest number of elephant casualties on railway tracks (62), followed by West Bengal (57), and Odisha (27). Uttar Pradesh saw just one death. A Permanent Coordination Committee was constituted between the Ministry of Railways (Railway Board) and the MoEFCC for preventing elephant deaths in train accidents. Clearing vegetation along railway tracks to enable clear view for loco pilots. Also, setting up underpass/overpass for safe passage of elephants was done. Regulation of train speed from sunset to sunrise in vulnerable stretches was done. Regular patrolling of vulnerable stretches of railway tracks was instituted. The MoEFCC released Rs.212.49 crore to elephant range States under Centrally Sponsored Schemes (CSS) of Project Elephant to protect elephants, their habitat and corridors, to address man-elephant conflicts, and for the welfare of captive elephants, between 2011-12 and 2020-21.
4. Environment and Ecology - South island subduction initiation experiment - Subduction zones are destructive plate boundaries, the main drivers of plate tectonics. They are the primary reason why the plates on Earth actually move. A new research reveals how a young subduction zone was formed in the Puysegur Trench, a deep cleft in the floor of the south Tasman Sea. [The Puysegur Trench was formed by the subduction of the Indo-Australian Plate under the Pacific Plate to the south of New Zealand.] This study was done by the scientists aboard the research vessel Marcus Langseth who set out to this region in 2018 as part of the South Island Subduction Initiation Experiment. They studied the Puysegur margin in the "Roaring Forties," the latitudes between 40 degrees south and 50 degrees south where the winds and currents are brutal. The Puysegur Trench stretches for over 800 kilometres south from the southwesternmost point of the South Island's coast, its southernmost extent being 400 kilometres due west of the Auckland Islands. It is named after Puysegur Point. The area around the Puysegur Trench is seismically active, with the Alpine Fault starting at the trench's northern end. In July 2009, New Zealand's third-largest recorded earthquake (magnitude 7.8) struck close to the northern end of the trench off the coast of Fiordland. A magnitude 7.2 quake hit the trench itself in November 2004.
5. Governance and Schemes - Pradhan Mantri Bhartiya Janaushadhi Pariyojana - Pradhan Mantri Bhartiya Janaushadhi Kendras (PMBJKs), Bureau of Pharma PSUs of India (BPPI) and other stakeholders have come together to fight against the second wave of Covid 19 pandemic. The PMBJP (or Jan Aushadhi Campaign) was launched in 2008 by the Department of Pharmaceuticals, Ministry of Chemicals & Fertilizers. Implementation agency is the Bureau of Pharma PSUs of India (BPPI), Ministry of Chemicals & Fertilizers. Exclusive outlets called PMBJKs were opened to make quality generic medicines available at affordable prices for all, particularly the poor and the disadvantaged. Now, tt will create awareness about generic medicines through education and publicity. The scheme’s product basket has been expanded to cover around 650 medicines and around 150 surgicals and consumables. A medicine under PMBJP is priced on the principle of a maximum of 50% of the average price of the top three branded medicines. The price of Jan Aushadhi Medicines is cheaper at least by 50% and in some cases, by 80% to 90% of the market price of branded medicines.
6. Science and Technology - Dengue prevention and identification - Multiple cities are recording a high number of dengue-related cases every year. Dengue is a mosquito-borne tropical disease caused by the dengue virus (Genus Flavivirus), transmitted by several species of mosquito within the genus Aedes, principally Aedes aegypti. This mosquito also transmits chikungunya, yellow fever and Zika infection. There are 4 distinct, but closely related, serotypes (separate groups within a species of microorganisms that all share a similar characteristic) of the virus that cause dengue (DEN-1, DEN-2, DEN-3 and DEN-4). Sudden high fever, severe headaches, pain behind the eyes, severe bone, joint, and muscle pain, etc. Diagnosis of dengue infection is done with a blood test. There is no specific medicine to treat dengue infection. The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates 39 crore dengue virus infections per year, of which 9.6 crore show symptoms. India registered over 1 lakh dengue cases in 2018 and over 1.5 lakh cases in 2019, according to the National Vector-Borne Disease Control Programme (NVBDCP). The NVBDCP is the central nodal agency for prevention and control of six vector borne diseases i.e. Malaria, Dengue, Lymphatic Filariasis, Kala-azar, Japanese Encephalitis and Chikungunya in India. It works under the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare.
7. Environment and Ecology - Subdoluseps Nilgiriensis - Researchers have discovered an Asian gracile skink species from Western Ghats. Named Subdoluseps nilgiriensis, the reptile has a slender body of just about 7 cm and is sandy brown in colour. The new species is closely related to Subdoluseps pruthi found in parts of the Eastern Ghats. The new species was found in a dry deciduous area, showing that even the dry zones of our country are home to unrealised skink diversity. This species is only the third skink species discovered from mainland India in the last millennium. Skinks are non-venomous. They resemble snakes because of the often-inconspicuous limbs and the way they move on land. Such resemblance has led to confusion often resulting in humans killing this harmless creature. Subdoluseps nilgiriensis is currently considered a vulnerable species as there are potential threats from seasonal forest fires, housing constructions and brick kiln industries in the area.
8. Science and Technology - Protein–Antibody Conjugates to treat untreatable diseases - A nanoparticle designed by researchers from University of Massachusetts, Amherst, in the U.S., offers a new, potentialy revolutionary approach to treating diseases. The new concept, Protein–Antibody Conjugates or PACs, combines two different approaches to drug delivery. One is biologics, where the idea is to target a defective protein in the system by delivering proteins to it. An example of this is the case of insulin treatment. If a person is short of insulin, which is a protein, they are given a shot of this to balance the system. The other approach is to use antibodies for drug delivery. Antibodies are something the body produces to detect a foreign substance inside the body. Protein–antibody conjugates or PACs, developed by the group, which have a protein attached to the antibody, can zero in on, say, pancreatic cancer cells. This could have impact on incurable diseases, so-called undruggable ones like pancreatic cancer.
9. Agriculture - Rice and wheat exports touch new highs - In fiscal 2020-21, a record 92 million tonnes (mt) of rice and wheat was distributed from the central pool. That included 60.32 mt under the National Food Security Act and other regular welfare schemes, besides 31.52 mt under the Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana (PMGKAY), Atmanirbhar Bharat Package (for returning migrant labourers) and assorted programmes launched in the wake of the Covid-19-induced lockdown. The total grain channelled through the public distribution system (PDS) in 2020-21 was nearly 50% higher than in normal years. And in parallel, year 2020-21 also saw exports of 19.81 mt valued at $9.36 billion (Rs 69,331.45 crore). The rice exports were an all-time-high – 13.09 mt non-basmati (Rs 35,448.24 crore) and 4.63 mt basmati (Rs 29,849.40 crore) – the 2.09 mt (Rs 4,033.81 crore) for wheat was also the highest since 2014-15. These twin records – of the country exporting vast quantities and distributing free of cost – is a remarkable story of surplus production and stocks in public warehouses. Exports are surging on the back of international prices. The UN Food and Agricultural Organization’s global cereal price index is currently ruling at its highest since May 2014.
10. Indian Politics - Covid Update - India has reported 2,81,386 new COVID-19 cases and 4,106 deaths in the last 24 hours, making it the first time since April 21 when the country recorded less than 3 lakh daily cases. As many as 3,78,741 people were discharged in the last 24 hours. With this, the total cases have reached 2,49,65,463, while death toll has surged to 2,74,390. The first batch of anti-Covid oral drug 2-DG, developed by the DRDO, was released on Monday by Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and Health Minister Harsh Vardhan. The Drugs Controller General of India (DGCI) approved the 2-deoxy-D-glucose (2-DG) drug for emergency use as an adjunct therapy in moderate to severe coronavirus patients. Virologist Shahid Jameel, one of the most prominent scientific voices of the pandemic, resigned as the head of the Indian SARS-COV-2 Genomics Consortia (INSACOG), the scientific advisory group coordinating the country’s genome sequencing work. INSACOG came into being in January 2021 as a scientific body to promote and expedite genome sequencing of the SARS-CoV2 virus and its multiple variants. The consortium had established a network of ten leading laboratories to carry out gene sequencing of virus samples. NUMBERS - INDIA - Total cases: 24,964,925; New cases: 281,860; Total deaths: 274,411; New deaths: 4,092; Total recovered: 21,167,609; Active cases: 3,522,905.

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• SECTION 2 - DAILY CURRENT AFFAIRS

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

Second Covid wave hits Indian MSMEs hard

• The story: MSMEs are combating lockdown-related issues daily. Stocks are piling up at their godowns, a labour shortage looms, and suppliers are asking for payments to be cleared. Localised lockdowns as part of the second wave of the pandemic, have disrupted the payments cycle critical for small manufacturers.
• Reducing production: From working 24x7, many first cut production to 6 days (8-hour shifts), then 5 days (8 hours shifts). Now work is done only on alternate days. All big factories MSMEs supply to are shut currently, so finished goods cannot be shipped. MSMEs still have to continue manufacturing to fulfil pending orders and keep the remaining labour busy. Small businesses across the chain are cash strapped.
• MSMEs crippled: The restrictions have taken a heavy toll on lakhs of small businesses across the nation as they fight for survival on the face of crippling labour shortage, disrupted supply chains, logistic blocks, raw material shortages, serious cash flow problems—plunging demand. Even in states that have allowed industrial activity to continue in lockdowns, major SME clusters like Ludhiana, Kanpur, Madurai, Coimbatore, Cuttack, Tiruchirapalli, Agra and Rajkot, have reported major drop in economic activity as large factories have shut down, or are operating at partial capacity, and local demand has plummeted.
• An example: Footwear exporters in Agra were gearing up to raise production to meet the autumn and Christmas demand from Europe and US when the state imposed Covid-19 restrictions impacting business activity. In 2020, after the first lockdown, exports shrank by 30 per cent compared to 2019. In 2021, a further 30 per cent dip in exports from 2020 levels is likely. The whole leather ecosystem has been impacted by the second wave very badly.
• Government suppliers too: While SMEs catering to corporates or local markets struggle, small businesses that supply to government departments are facing a different kind of challenge; a raw material shortage and rising prices has meant that they will end up taking losses while fulfilling contracts at old rates. Steel prices have gone up substantially, so how does one supply finished goods at old rates? MSMEs say the government should extend existing contracts or renegotiate contracts or cancel penalties.
• ECLGS didn't work out: Since the restrictions started in the month of March, small businesses have also lost out on orders companies and government departments dole out before closing their accounts for the year. The second lockdown has pushed small businesses to the brink as they are unable to fulfil formal banking requirements. For some, the choice is stark—shutter businesses or bear deeper losses. Banks aren't too helpful, although the government announced an Emergency Credit Line Guarantee Scheme (ECLGS) last year, providing funding of up to Rs 3 lakh crore in the form of a fully guaranteed emergency credit line for SMES. The scheme was even expanded to cover 26 distressed sectors and extended to June 30, but still a large number of 45 lakh plus SMEs haven’t been able to take advantage of the scheme, especially the micro and small businesses.
• Summary: The sudden lockdown in 2020 led to thousands of SMEs shutting shop or looking for exits, especially in sectors like tourism, hospitality, real estate and retail and the industry representatives say the second wave will end up taking a heavy toll as they are not in a financial condition to sustain operations. With revenue shrinking, small and medium businesses still have to bear expenses like employee salaries, ESI and PF payments, electricity charges, interest payments and taxes but the government hasn’t extended any direct help in dealing with such costs.

Dogecoin’s quite popular in India now

• The story: Dogecoin, a cryptocurrency born out of a light-hearted joke in 2013 with no major goals (such as those of Bitcoin's creator Satoshi Nakamoto in 2009), has soared substantially in 2021. The rise of the ‘Doge’ has confounded even the biggest of cryptocurrency lovers.

• What it is: Dogecoin is an Internet meme currency with the symbol of the Japanese Shiba Inu dog for the meme generation, backed by individuals like Elon Musk, the founder of Tesla, SpaceX and Starlink.

1. The popularity of the meme cryptocurrency soared among Indians since the beginning of April 2021, from virtually zero interest prior to that.
2. Much of the interest was driven by reports that pegged the digital currency’s returns at over 10,000 per cent year to date, something unheard of in the world of traditional investing.
3. The rise in popularity of the cryptocurrency has been such that it is threatening to overtake popular search terms in India’s investing landscape like ‘Nifty’ and ‘Sensex’.

• Young driving it: The sharply high interest in Doogecoin was being driven by young investors, ardent admirers of Elon Musk, given his image as a futurist and his involvement in the development of some of the most revolutionary companies of the 21st century.

1. Then came the shocker. The surge in interest was despite Dogecoin giving up almost half of its value earlier this week following the Tesla Founder’s comments on a popular US comedy show that the cryptocurrency was nothing more than a ‘hustle’.
2. Prior to Musk’s appearance on the Saturday Night Live the interest in Dogecoin virtually broke the roof for the cryptocurrency market, as several cryptocurrency exchanges in India such as WazirX were unable to handle the deluge of orders.

• Mad rush: WazirX, India’s largest cryptocurrency exchange, saw the highest single-day trading volumes of $350 million on May 7, a day prior to Musk’s appearance on the SNL show. Musk has tried to make amends ever since his SNL gaffe by announcing the launch of a moon mission called DOGE-1, which will be funded entirely by Dogecoin. But he also later siad that Tesla will suspend acceptance of Bitcoin as payment due to environment-related concerns.

• Summary: Dogecoin’s lack of fundamental value compared with other major crypto assets such as Bitcoin and Ethereum is not lost on cryptocurrency experts, who argue that it has none of the traits such as fixed supply that have made Bitcoin popular. Critics say that this is further proof for crypto assets being largely bubbles, nothing more.

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

Seaspiracy - commercial fishing's big shock

• The story: Seaspiracy, a 90-minute documentary film, was first streamed on March 24, 2021 on Netflix. It was one of the top ten most watched films on Netflix in several countries in the week of its release. The film is directed by British movie maker Ali Tabrizi. It follows Tabrizi’s quest to uncover the true impact of commercial fishing on the world’s oceans and what humanity stands to lose if we still enable this business to run rampant across our blue planet.

• Stop eating fish: Tabrizi requests individuals to stop eating fish and switch to a plant-based diet in the film. But not all agree. Ray Hilborn, a faculty member at the College of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences at the University of Washington in the United States countered this.

1. Hilborn released a video where he said Seaspiracy was not a documentary but a propaganda film created by vegetarian / vegan activists. Seaspiracy in many ways is similar to Cowspiracy, another pro-vegan film that sidesteps different general problems and misrepresents science.
2. It additionally provides no channel to people who rely upon fisheries for income. Hilborn said that several fisheries were sustainably managed for thousands of years and that fisheries were a vital part of food security and employment for several. A billion individuals rely on seafood and therefore the fishing business plays a vital role in the livelihoods of millions of people.
3. To deal with these issues would require major systemic overhauls of how we manage fisheries, more rigorous conservation measures and bringing fossil fuel firms to account.

• Go vegan: Seaspiracy’s answer more or less is GO VEGAN. The end of the film quotes a flurry of pro-vegan doctors with a past of somewhat questionable statements and views as well as a vegetarian food company, all talking about the wonders of plant-based diets. The film is well-intentioned with its decision to go vegan. There are ample reasons for many individuals to chop down their meat consumption, from the climate crisis to animal rights to health. This is also true for seafood, including the negative impacts on biodiversity and human rights.
• Summary: If one wants to fix the gratuitous human rights abuses in the fishing business and stop climate change, then going vegan will not bring you any closer to the objective. Why? Because adopting veganism doesn’t reduce plastic within the ocean nor will it end climate change or the dominance of the fossil fuel industry.

World Tuna Day 2021: Tuna conservation needed

• May 02, World Tuna Day: In the middle of the pandemic, it's tough to pick up other issues. On May 2, the World Tuna Day was observed to promote the conservation and sustainable stock management of this deep sea species.

• Details: More than seven million tonnes of tuna and tuna-like species are harvested yearly across the globe. These migratory tuna species account for 20 per cent of the value of all marine captured fisheries and over eight per cent of all globally traded seafood. It is integrated into the global seafood market with an annual value of more than $42 billion. This is making tuna vulnerable to overexploitation and raising concerns about its sustainable harvest.

1. Fisheries are an important source of nutrition and livelihood across the globe. More than 200 million people depend on them for their livelihood. According to the 2017 Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) Corporate Statistical Database, 15-20 of the protein intake of more than 50 per cent of the world population depends on fish and seafood.
2. In some countries, the number reaches 50 per cent. The demand for fish continues to grow with the rising population, technological innovations and change in food habits due to a rise in income.
3. Tuna and tuna-like species become a victim of their nutritional success. The species are high in demand due to their being rich in Omega-3, minerals, proteins and vitamin B12, among other advantages.

• Global stock will go unsustainable: As per FAO, the global stock of more than one-third of seven principal tuna and tuna-like species is estimated to reach biologically unsustainable levels due to over fishing in the deep sea. The productivity of tuna is evidently declining because more immature tuna are being killed with the purse seine gears method by industrial fishing vessels. This method has decreased the maximum potential yield of tuna in different parts of the world. Purse seine gears vessels, that are mostly owned by developed nations, engage in intensive tuna harvesting, catching 66 per cent of the world’s tuna.
• High demand: The global demand for tuna is high due to its rich nutritional value. The dominant price of tuna in the international market makes underdeveloped countries go for overfishing in their exclusive economic zones. Overfishing leads to risking the population of bycatch species. Tuna fisheries are directly responsible for endangering a wide range of oceanic pelagic sharks, billfishes, seabirds and turtles.
• Indian case: The potential of tuna in India’s exclusive economic zone is still high. India’s harvesting of tuna is still in the initial phase. The share of purse seine gears’ contribution in the exploitation of tuna is almost negligible. India still uses traditional gears like drift gillnet, handline gears and pole and line gears to catch over 70 per cent of its tuna and tuna-like species. But since India has started promoting deep sea fishing through policy support, its challenge now is to promote sustainable harvest of tuna.
• Help tuna, help the ecosystem: The conservation of tuna also helps in improving the marine ecosystem, which is the largest ecosystem on the planet. It is under stress due to poor and unsustainable management practices across the globe. India’s marine ecosystem is also under massive pressure from overfishing. Poor coastal development and pollution contribute to depletion of our marine resources and the degradation of the marine ecosystem.
• Summary: Tuna fishing is capital-intensive and requires a lot of investment. It is unlike coastal fishing on which millions of fisherfolk depend for their livelihood. The MS Swaminathan Research Foundation (MSSRF), which is engaged in sustainable coastal fisheries and conservation of the coastal region, calls for the development of well-defined management strategies involving harvest control rules. The long-term sustainability of tuna and its relatives can only come from stricter management measures. It will help achieve the United Nations-mandated Sustainable Development Goal-14, which calls for conservation and sustainable use of the oceans, seas and marine resources.

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

India and the Afghan peace process

• Status of peace talks: The Afghan peace process has not made much progress because violence by the Taliban continues without break. A condition of the February 2020 US-Taliban deal was a reduction in violence, that didn't happen. The Taliban strategy seems to be to capture power in Kabul by violence and intimidation despite warnings from the international community. The Ashraf Ghani government, which has called for a permanent ceasefire, says it’s willing to schedule early elections to transfer power, an idea opposed by the Taliban.
• Role of international community: Many countries tried through multiple tracks to kickstart the stalled peace process in Afghanistan. A round of talks in Moscow was attended by the US, Russia, China, and Pakistan, besides representatives of Kabul and the Taliban in March this year. Another round in Turkey scheduled for April was called off after the Taliban refused to participate in the talks. UN-backed talks among Russia, China, Pakistan, Iran, India, and the US “to discuss a unified approach to supporting peace in Afghanistan," do not seem to be happening.
• Indian position: India has committed $3 billion in development aid and reconstruction activities, and backs the Ashraf Ghani government in war-torn country. New Delhi wants an “Afghan-led, Afghan-owned and Afghan-controlled" peace process—not one that is remote-controlled by Pakistan, seen as the backers of the Taliban.
• Indian interests: India views Afghanistan as a part of its extended neighbourhood and a link to Central Asia. But for Pakistan occupying part of Kashmir, India would have had a direct border with Afghanistan. Despite claims that the Taliban have changed in the past two decades, there is no proof that it has shed any of its obscurantist ideology. A Taliban-controlled government in Kabul would mean Pakistan controlling Afghan policy on India. And a repeat of the past when Pakistan used Afghanistan territory for anti-India activities.
• Peace in Afghanistan: The chances are poor, given that the US has accommodated Taliban demands as it stays focussed on withdrawing its troops. It has looked away from attacks on Afghan targets. That the 2020 US-Taliban peace deal happened without a Kabul representative is telling. With violence continuing, Afghanistan may slip back into civil war, with warlords cutting deals with the Taliban to control their areas of influence, triggering an indefinite period of instability.

India-EU relations

• The meet: A virtual India-EU leaders meeting was held between Indian Prime Minister and 27 EU leaders. Due to changing geo-political circumstances Europe is changing its perception of India, which can be reflected in this virtual meet also. In 2018, the EU released a new strategy for cooperation with India, calling it a geopolitical pillar in a multipolar Asia, crucial for maintaining the balance of power in the region.
• What India can gain: From Indian perspective, collaboration with the EU can promote peace, create jobs, boost economic growth and enhance sustainable development. Therefore, the EU and India appear to be natural partners and they need to leverage existing opportunities.

• Highlights:

1. Resumption of FTA talks - The significant outcome of the summit was that after eight years, India and the EU decided to resume negotiations for a comprehensive trade agreement. These talks were suspended in 2013 after the two sides failed to bridge their differences on some key issues such as tariff reductions, patent protection, data security and the right of Indian professionals to work in Europe.
2. Resumption of BIT talks - Both agreed to commence talks for a standalone investment protection pact and an accord on geographical indications.
3. Connectivity partnership - The virtual summit saw India and the EU launching an ambitious “connectivity partnership” in digital, energy, transport, and people-to-people sectors, enabling the two to pursue sustainable joint projects in regions spanning from Africa, Central Asia to the wider Indo-Pacific.

• EU and India partnership:

1. EU’s need to move away from an aggressive China - In January 2021, the EU signed a Comprehensive Agreement on Investment with China, which drew a lot of criticism and its ratification has now been suspended because of diplomatic tensions. The European Parliament remains overwhelmingly opposed to this deal after China imposed sanctions on some of its members, in response to the EU imposing sanctions against China for its treatment of the Uyghur Muslim minority in the Xinjiang region.
2. Economic logic - With the EU being India’s largest trading partner and the second-largest export destination, the economic logic of strong India-EU economic relations is self-evident. India wants to showcase its commitment to open trade at a time of renewed focus on developing a domestic manufacturing base.
3. Health cooperation - Given the current situation, health cooperation assumed a new salience. The EU member-states have rallied to support India by sending critical medical supplies in the last few weeks in recognition for the role India had played in helping others over 2020. As the two sides commit themselves to working together on global health, the need to focus on resilient medical supply chains is all the more evident.
4. Convergence in Indo-Pacific theatre - The EU is being forced to reckon with the geopolitical implications of its foreign policy imperatives and India is looking for substantive partnerships with like-minded nations to bring stability to the Indo-Pacific theatre. India is looking beyond the bipolar geopolitical competition between the US and China and works towards the establishment of a Multi-polar world.
5. Climate Change - India can learn from a new industrial strategy called the Green Deal of EU to render its carbon-emission neutral by 2050. The EU and India could endeavour transforming into carbon-neutral economies by 2050 by investing in clean energies. In India’s efforts to increase the use of renewable energy in India, the investment and technology of Europe is of paramount importance.

• Summary: India can pursue EU countries to engage in Indo-pacific narrative, geo-economically if not from security prism. India and the European Union have been negotiating a free trade deal, but it is pending since 2007. For closer convergence between India and the EU, both should engage in finalisation of the trade deal as soon as possible. French President Emmanuel Macron’s visit to India in early 2018 unveiled an expansive framework for revitalising the strategic partnership. India’s partnership with France now has a strong regional anchor in the Indo-Pacific narrative. India should supplement its partnership with the US with a network of multilateral groups with other middle powers, such as the India-Australia-Japan forum and the trilateral dialogue with France and Australia.

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

India's massive 200 crore vaccines plan - An analysis

 

• The story: The government stumbled early on, in not focusing on getting adequate doses of Covid-19 vaccines. Then, it changed track and announed a liberalised vaccination plan in April 2021. Then, a ramping up of vaccine production, and imports, was announced. It was said that India will procure 2 billion doses of vaccine by December 2021. That is an ambitious goal.

• Various arguments: First, there is no sufficient data to show the efficacy of Bharat Biotech's nasal vaccine and Zydus Cadila's DNA vaccine. In 2020, government had said that by December, the Serum Institute would produce 100 million doses of vaccine and Bharat Biotech in tens of millions of doses. There was going to be a large stockpile that was available with them. That failed totally.

1. When the govt. now says there will be 2 billion doses of vaccine in the last five months of 2021, experts are skeptical
2. As the second wave of Coronavirus ravages India, with a third wave expected later this year, experts have urged the government to accelerate the pace of inoculation.
3. While India has administered over 18 crore (180 million) doses so far, the government is confident of vaccinating the country’s entire adult population of 95 crore (950 million) by the end of the year.

• Government stand: Union Health Minister Harsh Vardhan said that the number of vaccine doses administered in India will touch 51.6 crores by the end of July. He said that Sputnik vaccine has been approved. This, along with the slated approval of Zydus Cadila's vaccine, Serum Institute-Novavax vaccine, Bharat Biotech's nasal vaccine, and Genova mRNA vaccine will push the availability of COVID vaccines to 216 crore (2.16 billion) doses in the August-December period.

1. Nasal vaccines don't work very well against many respiratory infections. While it sounds like a brilliant solution, data is not available.
2. DNA vaccine (Zydus Cadila's ZyCoV-D) is totally new, and there never has been a licensed DNA vaccine for humans. The phase 3 data needs inspection.
3. Even the hurried approval of Bharat Biotech's Covaxin in clinical trial mode in January 2021 was questioned, though Astra Zeneca's Covishield and Covaxin are both effective vaccines.

• Covaxin: Bharat Biotech announced its Phase 3 results in March, where it said Covaxin demonstrated an interim clinical efficacy of 81 percent in preventing COVID-19 in those without prior infection after the second dose. Its second interim results, announced in April, demonstrated overall clinical efficacy of 78 percent and 100 percent efficacy against severe COVID-19 diseases.
• Vaccination licensing, procurement: India should be licensing vaccines where there's no data of whether they work or not. Once the clinical efficacy data becomes available, then the vaccine can be accepted. Credibility in your regulatory process needs a pathway for the vaccine.
• Right method: A central procurement of vaccines at the best price available is advised, instead of letting states and the private sector compete. Vaccines being bought for the national immunisation programme are bought by the Centre and distributed to states. In August 2020, the government told states there is no need to go for their own procurement, which changes overnight in April 2021. States which could have done this months ago are in the back of the queue.
• Summary: A free for all market in the middle of a life-and-death crisis is dangerous. Some say that India should buy as one, buy in bulk and rope in private hospitals to hasten the pace of inoculation.

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

Justice Mathur compares 2020s with 1970s - wants liberty protected

• The story: Justice Govind Mathur, who retired as Chief Justice of the Allahabad High Court in April 2021, has said that the challenges facing the judiciary were reminiscent of the early 1970s in the face of a “majoritarian Executive”. He said it was courts that pushed back then and most judges today are independent and cannot be pressured.

• Key ideas:

1. Justice Mathur underlined the need for the judiciary to be free, fair, not vulnerable to pressure from the government and more representative of women and minorities.
2. He said that as far as minorities are concerned, a different kind of mentality works that a young person from a minority will not be appointed. It is not in the mind of judges but at government level.
3. Justice Mathur’s remarks on the role of judiciary come when a string of High Courts, Bombay to Patna, Madras to Karnataka, Delhi and Himachal Pradesh are raising questions and prodding governments — state and Centre — on alleged mismanagement of Covid.

• Performance: In his three-year tenure as Chief Justice of the Allahabad High Court, the country’s largest high court, Justice Mathur constantly questioned the Uttar Pradesh government making significant interventions from quashing the National Security Act charges in several cases and striking down the state’s “name and shame” posters during the anti-CAA protests in 2019. He indicated that law and order in Uttar Pradesh was akin to jungle raj. The state has taken several actions or sometimes supported the mob that is attacking civil liberties of a person.
• NSA and sedition: Justice Mathur criticised the state’s invocation of NSA and sedition. “If I am raising slogans or protesting against some legislation, it does not mean that I am waging a war against the state… It is very easy to call a person anti-national or as someone working against the interests of the state but it is not so. I believe 99.9% citizens of this country are committed to the nation. They are patriots.”
• Judicial independence: On independence of the judiciary, Justice Mathur suggested he was hopeful. He said, “If you see the history of Indian judiciary in early 1970s, at that time also, a majoritarian Executive was there. Today also, it is the same position. At that time, the election of Mrs Indira Gandhi was set aside by the Allahabad High Court.”
• Gogoi saga: Former Chief Justice of India Ranjan Gogoi was nominated to the Rajya Sabha. Justice Mathur made his views clear that if he wanted to go to the Parliament, he would contest an election and go, but would not accept (the nomination) if offered. Adding that his pension, his health insurance courtesy the terms of his retirement, are “enough,” for his family.
• Love Jihad laws: On the anti-conversion (“love jihad”) laws enacted in several BJP-ruled states, following the Uttar Pradesh template, Justice Mathur said that the very use if the word, “conversion,” was suspect. “I fail to understand this term ‘conversion’…I am Govind Mathur, people call me a Hindu for the reason that my father is a Hindu. Nobody asked me…who are you? A Hindu, Muslim, Christian, Sikh or a person without a religion. They are treating me a Hindu without my will, imposing their will. Now if I adopt something, they say it is conversion. If I am choosing something for the first time, how is it conversion?” he said.
• Summary: Justice Mathur represents the essence of what an independent judiciary is all about, in the face of brute force majoritarian executive power.

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

Dr. Shahid Jameel quits as head of virus genome sequencing group 

• The story: Dr Shahid Jameel, eminent virologist and head of the advisory group to the Indian SARS-COV-2 Genomics Consortia (Insacog), resigned from his post in May. He did not give any reasons for his departure.

• INSACOG: There are multiple scientists working as part of Insacog — a group of 10 laboratories across India, tasked with tracking evolving variants of the coronavirus. Many feel “government pressure” as a potential reason for the resignation.

1. Dr. Jameel, Director, Trivedi School of Biosciences at Ashoka University, had been critical of aspects of the government's handling of the pandemic.
2. He had summarised India’s response to the multiple waves and the uneven vaccination rollout and concluded by saying “scientists were facing stubborn resistance to evidence-based policy-making.
3. On April 30, over 800 Indian scientists appealed to the Prime Minister, demanding access to the data that could help them further study, predict and curb this virus. Decision-making based on data is yet another casualty, as the pandemic in India has spun out of control. The human cost we are enduring will leave a permanent scar.

• Funding problems: The Insacog, setup in December 2020, faced initial challenges with funds and equipment but since March has considerably accelerated sequencing samples from all over the country for variants. It has been tracking international variants of concern as well as discovered the so called 'Indian variant ' (B.1.617) that is believed to be instrumental in India’s devastating second wave.
• Summary: It is clear that the opinion of genuine experts is considered uncomfortable, even if it retards the speed of India's response to the second Covid wave. But half-baked advise and non-expert opinions won't bring the pandemic to a swift end in India at all. Without hard science and data, the human cost to be paid would remain high.

One shot okay - Chinese rover lands on Mars 

 

 

• One shot okay: China proved its deep space capabilities by landing a rover on Mars in the first attempt. It is only the second nation after the US to have done so. The six-wheeled, solar-powered Zhurong rover weighs about 240 kg and its stated technological mission is to collect and analyse rock samples and look for water. The lander is completely autonomous and cannot even be monitored in anything approaching real time.

• Details of Zhurong: It was launched from the Tianwen-1 orbiter after three months of preparation. Tianwen reached Mars in February 2021, after being launched in July 2020. It went into orbit around the red planet after the seven-plus-month trip.

1. Multiple Mars landing missions have failed and a descent to Mars is known to space nerds as the “Seven minutes of terror”. It takes around seven minutes or so for a lander launched from orbit to reach the surface. There are many tricky elements to this, which is why missions by the Russians and the European Union have failed to land a rover in working condition.
2. At the closest points in their respective orbits, radio signals take 20-odd minutes to cross one-way between Mars and Earth. This means there’s no question of remote-controlling a mission. Second, there’s guesswork involved about the surface of the chosen landing ground. Mars has some regions buried in deep dust and it also has areas with rocky, uneven terrain.
3. Zhurong had an initial speed of 4.8 km per second (over 17,000 kmph) when it started its descent. It was protected by a heat shield from friction as it entered the thin Martian atmosphere. It released a parachute to slow down, and also used rocket boosters to brake. At about 100 metres above the surface, it hovered and used a laser-guidance system to check for boulders or other hazards in the landing zone.
4. The orbiter and lander have to calculate the trajectory down, and figure out all the deceleration mano­euvres. The irony is, Mars has enough of an atmosphere to create serious heat on descent. But it doesn’t have enough atmosphere for parachutes to work very well. Any last-minute course correction is up to the lander if it discovers there’s something gone wrong with the des­cent and landing approach or decides the chosen spot is not suitable.

• Utopia Plaintia: The Chinese rover landed in a region named Utopia Planitia, believed to be a lava plain created by volcanic eruptions. On Mars terrain, the landing vehicle will eventually release the rover, which will roll out of the lander, run checks on the equipment and then carry out its mission. The orbiter will act as a data-relay hub that allows Earth mission control to talk to the lander and rover.

• History: The first successful Mars landing was the Viking 1 Mission, which landed in July 1976. The Viking 2 Mission, which followed Viking 1 in short order, landed in Utopia Planitia but somewhat North of Zhurong’s chosen spot, in September 1976. Both Viking landers worked for many years but they had far less sophisticated instruments. Zhurong will spend at least 90 Mars days (a Mars day is about 40 minutes longer than an earth day) to study the planet’s geology. Its main task is to look for water ice. Utopia Planitia is believed to contain vast amounts of subsurface water ice.

1. The Zhurong rover carries an inventory of six instruments for scientific studies. This includes two panoramic cameras, one of which is multispectral and perhaps capable of judging mineral content. It also has ground-penetrating radar and a magnetic field detector as well as a laser and meteorological instrument to study the climate and weather.
2. Utopia is an impact crater caused by a meteor strike — the largest known impact crater in the Solar System. The Planitia region within the crater may have underground water ice. Zhurong could give us in­sight into several Martian mysteries, besides being an impressive demonstration of Chinese technology.

• Climate lessons: Millions of years ago, Mars was a warm, wet planet with liquid water and surface oceans, a much thicker atmosphere and a strong magnetic field. It could well have harboured life, given the likely conditions. Then Mars lost the magnetic field, and inevitably lost its atmosphere. A strong magnetic field protects a planet by blocking solar radiation. Without a shield against solar radiation, the atmosphere is ionised (electrically charged) and gradually stripped away. Once the atmosphere thinned out, the temperature dropped. The liquid water vapourised, or turned into ice.
• Summary: Even understanding climate change on Earth can be possible if Mars is studied well. Water is also critically important if rockets are going to refuel on Mars and make return journeys.

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

Covid-19 is hurting Indian poor the most

• The story: India's Covid waves have hurt the poor the most, and they are losing jobs, going hungry and falling victim to scams.

• Suno toh Ganga ye kya sunaye: Villagers suspected dead being buried on the banks of Ganges, by the village of Chausa on the border between Bihar and Uttar Pradesh, India’s poorest, most underdeveloped states. Authorities discovered tens of bodies. In the same week at least three other grisly human logjams were reported upstream. These sad scenes reveal two things.

1. One is the scale of the tragedy now sweeping India’s vast interior. Far away from city labs, no one gets tested, so no cases are recorded, so no deaths are captured in the official national toll, which at approximately 2,58,000 was a small fraction of the real tally.
2. The second thing the bodies in the Ganges reveal is how India’s second wave is worsening the already harsh lot of its poor. People borrow money to pay for medicines, or for oxygen, or for an ambulance driver who has charged them extra covid rates, and then can’t afford the funeral.
3. In recent times, the cost of a cremation has risen sharply. It is telling that the authorities, despite denying that poverty has anything to do with the scandal, have started supplying free wood to the funeral ghats of Chausa. Bihar has also capped the price of ambulances.

• The First Wave: After the first covid-19 wave swept India in 2020, numerous reports tried to tally the cost to the poor. Pew, a research institute, estimates that whereas just 4.3% of Indians were earning less than $2 a day in January 2020, a year later this had risen to 9.7%, or 134m people. An in-depth study by Azim Premji University in Bangalore suggests that in the wake of last year’s nationwide lockdown, some 230m Indians slipped below a poverty threshold tied to the national minimum wage (around $45 a month). Researchers found that during the lockdown, 90% of the poor consumed less food. Six months later, their diets had not returned to normal. Over the course of the year the earnings of Indian workers, including the lucky 10% who hold salaried jobs, declined by a third.
• The Second Wave: Shocked by the pain it caused last year, the central government has left state and local governments to impose their own lockdowns during this wave. But though the economy has not come to a complete standstill, the sheer scale of the outbreak means lots of families have suffered just as much. For many, the biggest blow has been the loss of breadwinners. Indian Railways, which employs 1.2m people, says Covid has killed 1,952 of its staff. The state of Uttar Pradesh in April put 1.2 m civil servants to work running local elections and counting ballots. The vote was a super-spreader and an estimated 2,000 of these workers subsequently died, including 800 schoolteachers. Each of those deaths represented weeks of trauma and expense for the families seeking treatment and, for every person that died, perhaps another 20 were seriously ill.
• Poor health spending: With government spending on health stuck at a meagre 1.2% of GDP, in ordinary times Indians pay out of their own pockets for some 60% of health-care costs. And in an ordinary year one in every 20 families is pushed into poverty by medical expenses. The months of April and May have been anything but ordinary. Millions of desperate Indian families have been forced to sell gold, to pawn possessions or to borrow at usurious rates, all too often in order to pay for unnecessary treatments prescribed by harried doctors, or to provide basic items lacking in government hospitals, from oxygen tanks to syringes. The variety of traps they have fallen into seems endless: medical staff demanding bribes to secure hospital admission, suppliers of fake medicines, and even, in several states, conmen who have painted over fire extinguishers to sell as oxygen cylinders.
• Reacting to scams: In Delhi, police set up a special unit to fight such scams. The government otherwise was notable by its absence. Harsh Vardhan, the health minister, who has promoted herbal covid “cures”, advised Indians to eat extra-dark chocolate with “more than 70% cocoa” in order to beat covid-related stress. He overlooked the fact that 86% of Indian families cannot afford a basic balanced diet, let alone fancy chocolate.
• Summary: Indian society's poor and destitute are hit very hard. In the absence of any major income support from the State, they will simply fall into utter poverty in coming days. The time to act is now.

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

WPI inflation hits all-time high of 10.49% in April

• The story: India's Wholesale Price Inflation (WPI) climbed to an all-time high of 10.49 per cent in April 2021 on YoY basis, primarily due to a rise in prices of crude petroleum, mineral oils. On a month-on-month basis, WPI inflation saw a 3.1 per cent rise as compared to 7.39 per cent in March. The wholesale inflation was 4.17 per cent in February. For January, the WPI inflation rate stood at 2.51 per cent.
• Details: The annual rate of inflation in April 2021 is high primarily because of the rise in prices of crude petroleum, mineral oils viz petrol, diesel etc, and manufactured products as compared to the corresponding month of the previous year. Inflation for primary articles (minerals, crude oil and gas, food articles, and non-food articles) rose 3.83 per cent in April over March, while inflation for fuel and power saw the inflation index declining by 1 per cent in April over March. Coal prices increased 0.32 per cent in April compared to March and minerals saw 0.29 per cent rise in prices.
• Technicals: The Inflation index for manufactured products rose 1.65 per cent in April compared to March. Out of the 22 NIC two-digit groups for manufactured products, 20 witnessed increase in prices. The rate of inflation based on WPI Food Index increased from 5.28% in March to 7.58 per cent in April. The WPI for March 2021 has been compiled at a weighted response rate of 76 per cent, while the final figure for Febraury 2021 is based on the weighted response rate of 91 per cent. The provisional figures of WPI will undergo revision as per the final revision policy of WPI.
• Summary: The RBI is comfortable seeing the CPI-based inflation in its range of 4 +/- 2%, but

Black Fungus

 

 

• What is mucormycosis (black fungus): It is caused by a group of moulds called mucormycetes that are found throughout the natural environment. It often affects the sinuses, lungs, skin and brain. It mainly affects people who are on medication for other conditions, especially diabetes, that reduce their ability to fight environmental pathogens. The sinuses or lungs of such individuals get affected after fungal spores are inhaled from the air.
• Why affecting covid-19 patients: Patients with uncontrolled diabetes are anyway at high risk of contracting covid-19. When this happens, they are treated with steroids which further compromises immunity. Steroids used as a life-saving treatment for severe and critically ill covid-19 patients, can prove to be a trigger for mucormycosis. While steroids help in reducing inflammation in lungs they can decrease immunity and increase blood sugar levels in both diabetics and non-diabetic covid-19 patients alike. Patients with prolonged ICU stay are also at high risk of mucormycosis.
• Symptoms: The ICMR mentions sinusitis (nasal blockage or congestion), blackish/bloody nasal discharge and pain on the cheek bone. Other symptoms include pain on one side of the face, numbness or swelling, blackish discolouration over the bridge of nose/palate, loosening of teeth, blurred or double vision with pain, fever, skin lesion, blood clot, and chest pain.
• Precautions: Covid-19 patients should control hyperglycemia by regularly monitoring their blood glucose level post discharge. Diabetics should also monitor their blood glucose levels. Doctors have been advised to use antibiotics, antifungals and steroids judiciously. Hospitals should use clean, sterile water for humidifiers during oxygen therapy. Doctors have been warned not to miss warning signs and symptoms and not lose crucial time to initiate treatment. Use masks at dusty construction sites.
• Treatment of mucormycosis: Patients should control diabetes and diabetic ketoacidosis. Doctors should reduce steroids in case the patient is still on them and discontinue rapidly. Immunomodulating drugs should also be discontinued. Doctors can go for surgery for removing all necrotic (dead) material. Antifungal therapy has also been advised for at least four to six weeks. Amphotericin B is being used for treatment, leading to a sudden increase in demand in some states.

Okeanos Explorer: Exploring ocean floor

 

 

• The story: The Okeanos Explorer is a ship built by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). It departed from the Port Canaveral in Florida on May 14, 2021.
• Okeanos Explorer: It is on a two-week expedition of ocean exploration, and aims to build 3D maps of vast regions of unexplored ocean floors in Hadal Zone. It is to conduct a technology demonstration of autonomous under water vehicle called Orpheus, a new class of submersible robot that will help in identifying the scientific features on the sea floor.
• Orpheus: Usually, a large high power location finding equipment such as Sonar will be required to navigate in the dark sea bed. Unlike such equipment, Orpheus uses low power system of cameras and lights, along with advanced software. It is lighter than the deep-sea submersibles, and weighs around 250 kilograms. Designed for nimble movements, it can move easily in a rugged (broken or uneven rocky surface) environment. This kind of environment is usually inaccessible to most of the deep-sea vehicles. Orpheus was designed by JPL and Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI). The JPL also designed the Perseverance river and the Ingenuity helicopter of Mars Mission 2020. The WHOI is conducting the HADEX Programme. HADEX is Hadal Exploration Programme.
• Hadal Zone: It is the deepest region of ocean that lies within the oceanic trenches, and found in the depth of 6,000 metres to 11,000 metres. The Five Deeps Expedition was launched to explore the deepest points of five oceans of the earth.
• Visual Inertial Odometry: This system works by using system of advanced cameras and pattern matching software. Also, it uses instruments that can measure the orientation and motion precisely. The Visual Inertial Odometry will help Orpheus identify shells, corals and rocks, and is also called xVIO.

May 16 - International Day of Living Together in Peace

 

 

• The story: Every year, the International Day of Living Together in Peace is celebrated by United Nations and several other organisations in different parts of the world.
• About Living Together in Peace:  The day is celebrated to achieve international cooperation, promoting respect for human rights and freedom for all irrespective of their race, sex, religion and language. The United Nations proclaimed the decade 2001 to 2010 as the International Decade for a Culture of Peace and Non-violence for children of the world.
• Background: It was established to protect the succeeding generations from war. In 1997, the United Nations passed a resolution to celebrate the year 2000 as the International Year for Culture of Peace. In 1999, the United Nations adopted a resolution called the “Declaration and Programme of Action on a Culture of Peace”. It serves as the universal mandate to promote culture of peace and non-violence.
• International Day of Peace: It is different from the International Day of Living Together in Peace. The International Day of peace is also  celebrated by the United Nation. It is clebrated on September 16.
• United Nations Peacekeeping Force: It was established in 1945. There are 90,905 active uniformed personnel working under the UN Peacekeeping force. It focuses on peacemaking, peace building, and peace enforcement. They are also referred to as Blue Berets or Blue helmets for their blue-coloured helmets and berets. Beret is a soft round cap. It is compulsory for the members of the United Nations to pay their respective share towards United Nations peace keeping. The United Nations approved budget of 6.58 billion USD for peacekeeping operations.

9.1 Today's best editorials to read

• We offer you 7 excellent editorials from across 10 newspapers we have scanned. 

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• SECTION 3 - MCQs (Multiple Choice Questions)

Solve the online quiz given, right now. Check scores, and relative performance!

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