13th MAY, 2021

NEWS TODAY
ISRAEL-PALESTINIANS: OLD GRIEVANCES FUEL NEW FIGHTING
Reasons for recent conflict
Conflict at Al-Aqsa mosque: More than 160 people were wounded when Israeli riot police
clashed with Palestinians at Jerusalem’s Al-Aqsa mosque.

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Al-Aqsa mosque complex in Jerusalem's Old City is one of Islam's most revered location.
Eviction of some Palestinian families in East Jerusalem: Israel captured East Jerusalem
from Jordan in the 1967 Six-Day War and annexed it later.
Background of conflict
The conflict dates back to early 20th century. During World War II, over 3 lakh Jews migrated

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& resettled in Palestine and demanded a new country.
In 1947 the United Nations voted to split the Palestine between Arabs and Jews.
The Jewish residents accepted the agreement and declared independence of Israel in

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1948 while Arabs rejected the agreement.
India’s stance on Israel Palestine conflict
India believes in the 2-state solution. It supports the establishment of a sovereign
independent and a viable state of Palestine along with maintaining India’s growing
relationship with Israel.
INDIA TO LAUNCH LOW-COST

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CHARGING (LAC) DEVICES FOR
PROBLEM OF FAKE AND SUB-STANDARD DRUGS HAVE ELECTRIC TWO, THREE WHEELERS
RESURFACED IN THE WAKE OF THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC Department of Science and Technology (DST), the
WHO defines ‘counterfeit’ or fake medicine as ‘medicines that are deliberately and Office of the Principal Scientific Advisor (PSA), in

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fraudulently mislabelled with respect to identity and/or source’. close co-ordination with NITI Aayog team have been
Substandard medicines are pharmaceutical products that do not meet their quality work on this initiative.

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standards and specifications. Innovative, LAC infrastructure aims to accelerate
According to research by the OECD and the EU Intellectual Property Office, despite presence of the adoption of EVs
Drugs and Cosmetic Act,1940 and Drugs, India is the world’s leading producer of fake drugs. Group has set a target price of less than Rs. 3500
Act regulates the import, manufacture and distribution of drugs in India. ($50) for a smart AC charge point which can be
operated with a smart phone.
Why India is leading producer of fake drugs?
The user’s smartphone will communicate with the

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non-uniformity in the interpretation of the provisions of laws and their LAC via low-power Bluetooth and links up to a
implementation. back-end where transaction payment and

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Lack of specially trained cadres and inadequate testing facilities, analytics are enabled.
prevalent practice of self-medication, Also, LAC device is intended to be highly scalable
high cost of genuine medicines and deployed in any place.
Measures to be taken New LAC infrastructure will be ratified by the
Create an environment of cooperation and collaboration between various government Bureau of Indian Standards.

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agencies such as Drugs Controller General of India (DCGI) customs, police etc to help Also, cabinet has approved Production Linked
combat the crisis of counterfeit drugs and ensure the safety of patients. Incentive scheme “National Programme on
Advanced Chemistry Cell (ACC) Battery Storage”.
The distribution channel should be upgraded with the latest technological
It will reduce import dependence, support
instruments like Barcode, Holograms, Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) chips.
Atmanirbhar Bharat initiative and facilitate
Raise awareness about the risks of counterfeit medicines demand for EVs, which are proven to be
PLI SCHEME CAN BRING 8-12 GW MORE SOLAR MANUFACT- significantly less polluting
ACCs are the new generation storage
URING CAPACITY’ technologies that can store electric energy
either as electrochemical or as chemical energy
Production-linked incentive (PLI) scheme for the renewable sector could facilitate the
and convert it back to electric energy as and
development of an additional 8-12 GW of annual solar cell and module manufacturing capacity.
when required.
India has set a target to install 280GW of solar power plants by FY30 out of which about 240
GW is under pipeline or yet to be achieved. INDIA’S INITIATIVES FOR EV
India’s initiatives for solar energy:
National Electric Mobility Mission Plan: To achieve
Development of at least 25 Solar Parks and Ultra Mega Solar Power Projects targeting national fuel security by promoting hybrid and electric
over 20,000 MW of solar power installed capacity. vehicles in the country.
National Solar Mission to establish India as a global leader in solar energy, by creating the FAME India Scheme (Faster Adoption and Manufacturing
of (Hybrid &) Electric Vehicles): To encourage electric
policy conditions for its diffusion across the country as quickly as possible. vehicles by providing subsidies. 4 focus areas are
Grid-Connected Rooftop Solar Scheme to achieve a cumulative capacity of 40,000 MW Technology Development, Demand Creation, Pilot Projects
from Rooftop Solar Projects by the year 2022. and Charging Infrastructure.
Suryamitra Programme aims to develop the skills of youth, and prepare the candidates to Phased Manufacturing Programme: Sets a time bound
policy to make India a mobile and component
become new entrepreneurs in Solar Energy sector. manufacturing hub.
Also, in a related news, International Energy Agency (IEA) finds India’s renewable energy National mission for Transformative Mobility and Battery
capacity addition in 2020 declined by more than 50% since 2019, primarily due to Storage by NITI Aayog: To promote clean, connected,
construction delays brought on by COVID-19 pandemic. shared, sustainable and holistic mobility initiatives.
COVID DISASTER COULD HAVE BEEN AVOIDED:GLOBAL EXPERT PANEL
Independent Panel for Pandemic Preparedness and Response (The
Independent Panel) was appointed by the World Health Organization
(WHO) Director-General
Key findings
WHO should have declared emergency sooner
Countries that devalued science failed to build trust in their response
and pursued inconsistent strategies that left them lagging behind the
epidemic and with high infection and death rates.
National pandemic preparedness has been vastly underfunded,
Health systems and health workers were not prepared for a prolonged
crisis.

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Recommendation to address the current pandemic:
Rich countries should provide the 92 poorest territories in the Covax
scheme.
The G7 nations should pay 60% of the $19 billion required to fund
vaccines, diagnostics and therapeutics via the WHO's Access to

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Covid Tools Accelerator programme in 2021.
Voluntary licensing and technology transfers for Covid-19 vaccines or
a waiver of intellectual property rights should come into force.

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The G20 should also create an International Pandemic Financing
Facility.
WHO is United Nations’ specialized agency for Health that works world-
wide to promote health, keep the world safe, and serve the vulnerable.

ALSO IN NEWS

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SGBs are issued by Reserve Bank of India on behalf of the Government of India.
SGBs are government securities denominated in grams of gold. They are substitutes for holding physical gold.
Bonds are sold through Scheduled Commercial banks, Stock Holding Corporation of India Limited (SHCIL),
Sovereign Gold Bond (SGB)
designated post offices, and recognised stock exchanges.
Scheme
The tenor of the Bond will be for a period of 8 years with exit option after 5th year

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The investors will be compensated at a fixed rate of 2.50% per annum payable semi-annually on the nominal
value.

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Health Ministry has recently clarified that WHO has not termed B.1.617 as an Indian variant.
About B.1.617:
According to WHO, the B.1.617 variant of SARS-CoV-2 virus, having three sub-lineages (B.1.617.1,
B.1.617 variant B.1.617.2, B.1.617.3), has a higher rate of transmission.
The variant B.1.617 has been detected in more than 44 countries and has now been declared as a

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variant of concern.
The B.1.617 variant is believed to have been detected in India in October 2020.

Covaxin receives nod for
trials on children
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Drugs Controller General of India (DCGI) has approved Bharat Biotech’s Covaxin to conduct clinical
trials on children between the age of 2 and 18, paving way for the first coronavirus inoculation to be tested
in minors in the country.
Covaxin is the first Covid-19 vaccine developed in India by Bharat Biotech in collaboration with the Indian Council
of Medical Research (ICMR).

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WTO Draft text on fisheries
subsidies
Organisation for Economic
Co-operation and
Development (OECD)
Kenyan tea is under threat
due to climate change:
Report
It is a whole virion inactivated vaccine, which uses a weakened or deactivated virus (Sars-Cov-2) responsible for the
disease to trigger immunity against it.
India and 79-member African, Caribbean and Pacific group likely to oppose WTO draft text aimed at reducing
global fisheries subsidies.
It is seen as a major dilution of developing countries’ special and differential treatment (S&DT) rights.
S&DT provides several flexibilities for developing countries, such as longer time periods for implementing
agreements and commitments, lower levels of commitment and measures to increase trading opportunities.
WTO draft text proposes time bound exemptions for subsidies given by developing and least-developed countries
for fishing close to shore.
It is an intergovernmental economic organisation with 37 member countries, founded in 1961 to stimulate
economic progress and world trade.
Most OECD members are high-income economies with a very high Human Development Index (HDI) and are
regarded as developed countries.
OECD countries and Key Partners represent about 80% of world trade and investment.
It is an official United Nations observer.
India is not a member, but a key economic partner.
Reports and Indices released by OECD are- International Migration Outlook, OECD Better Life Index.
Rise in temperature and extreme rainfall events in Kenya in the future will adversely affect tea production.
Tea requires well drained soil and deep loam in nature with high amount of organic matter and pH 4.5 to 5.5.
The performance of tea is excellent at elevations ranging from 1000 - 2500 m. Optimum temperature:
20 – 27 degree C.
China is the largest producer of tea followed by India (Assam, West Bengal, Tripura, Arunachal Pradesh, Sikkim,
Meghalaya, Bihar, Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh, Mizoram, Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Karnataka).