Daily Currentaffairs: 15 Oct 2020

Tables of contents

1.Automatic Exchange of Information (AEOI)

2.Murder Hornets and Furry Puss Caterpillars 

3.Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP) 

4.Antibody Cocktail for the US President

5.‘Pak’ Butterfly & ‘Chinese’ Dragonfly received Indian

6.Synedrella Yellow Vein Clearing Virus

1.Automatic Exchange of Information (AEOI)

Recently, India has got the second set of Swiss bank account details of its nationals and entities under the automatic exchange of information pact with Switzerland.

Key Highlights

• India is among the 86 countries with which Switzerland’s Federal Tax Administration (FTA) has exchanged information on financial accounts within the framework of global standards on AEOI.

• India had received the first set of details from Switzerland in September 2019 under AEOI (Automatic Exchange of Information).

• India is among the prominent countries with which Switzerland has shared details about financial accounts of clients of Swiss banks and various other financial institutions.

• A “sizeable number” relates to Indian citizens and entities in the overall exchange of information about over three million financial accounts by Switzerland with 86 countries.

• The 86 countries covered under the AEOI include 11 new jurisdictions i.e. Anguilla, Aruba, Bahamas, Bahrain, Grenada, Israel, Kuwait, Marshall Islands, Nauru, Panama and the United Arab Emirates, in addition to the existing list of 75 countries in 2019.

About Automatic Exchange of Information (AEOI)

• In 2014, the OECD Declaration on Automatic Exchange of Information in Tax Matters was endorsed by all 34 member countries along with several nonmember countries.

• It provides a comprehensive overview of the work the OECD and the Global Forum on Transparency and Exchange of Information for Tax Purposes in the area of the automatic exchange of information

• The Global Forum of the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) reviews AEOI implementation.

• The Standard provides for annual automatic exchange between governments of financial account information, including balances, interest, dividends, and sales proceeds from financial assets, reported to governments by financial institutions and covering accounts held by individuals and entities, including trusts and foundations.

Significance of Automatic Exchange of Information (AEOI)

• The exchanged information will allow tax authorities to verify whether taxpayers have correctly declared their financial accounts in their tax returns.

• The AEOI only relates to accounts that are officially in the name of Indians and they might include those used for business and other genuine purposes.

• The data received by India can be quite useful for establishing a strong prosecution case against those who have any unaccounted wealth.

• The AEOI provides entire details of deposits and transfers as well as of all earnings, including through investments in securities and other assets.

Source: The Indian Express

2.Murder Hornets and Furry Puss Caterpillars

Recently, the health officials in Virginia, Washington have warned the State from Murder Hornets and Furry Puss Caterpillars.

About Murder Hornets

• It is the world’s largest wasps, also known as the Asian giant hornets.

• It is native to East Asia and Japan.

• It is native to temperate and tropical East Asia, South Asia, Mainland Southeast Asia and parts of the Russian Far East.

• It is infamous for ruthlessly ripping apart honeybees and decimating their hives.

About Furry Puss Caterpillars

• The furry puss caterpillar, named after the far less vicious house cat, is essentially a southern flannel moth in its larva stage.

• The caterpillar is widely regarded as one of the most poisonous of its kind in the United States as it closely resembes a wig or toupée.

• The bristly hair that coats it, hides small and toxic spines that can get lodged in a person’s skin and cause immediate and intensely burning pain.

Source: The Indian Express

3.Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP)

Recently, the Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP) is going to commence on 15th October to fight air pollution will come into force in Delhi and its neighbouring National Capital Region (NCR) towns.

About Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP)

• The plan was formulated after several meetings of the Environment Pollution (Prevention and Control) Authority (EPCA) held with state government representatives and experts.

• The plan was approved by the Supreme Court in 2016.

• GRAP works only as an emergency measure i.e. the plan does not include action by various state governments to be taken throughout the year to tackle industrial, vehicular and combustion emissions.

• The plan is incremental in nature and when the air quality moves from ‘Poor’ to ‘Very Poor’, the measures listed under both sections have to be followed.

  • Under the ‘Severe+’ stage of air quality, the response under GRAP includes extreme measures such as shutting down schools and implementing the odd-even road-space rationing scheme.

• The plan requires action and coordination among 13 different agencies in Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, Haryana and Rajasthan (NCR areas).

• The Environment Pollution (Prevention and Control) Authority (EPCA) is the head of the GRAP mandated by the Supreme Court.

Actions allocated under different categories of Air Quality

Severe+ or Emergency

• Stop entry of trucks into Delhi (except essential commodities)

• Stop construction work

• Introduce odd/even scheme for private vehicles and minimise exemptions

• Task Force to decide any additional steps including shutting of schools

Severe

• Close brick kilns, hot mix plants, stone crushers

• Maximise power generation from natural gas to reduce generation from coal

• Encourage public transport, with differential rates

• More frequent mechanised cleaning of road and sprinkling of water

Very Poor

• Stop use of diesel generator sets

• Enhance parking fee by 3-4 times

• Increase bus and Metro services

• Apartment owners to discourage burning fires in winter by providing electric heaters during winter

• Advisories to people with respiratory and cardiac conditions to restrict outdoor movement

Moderate to poor

• Heavy fines for garbage burning

• Close/enforce pollution control regulations in brick kilns and industries

• Mechanised sweeping on roads with heavy traffic and water sprinkling

• Strictly enforce ban on firecrackers

Significance of Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP)

• The biggest success of GRAP has been in fixing accountability and deadlines i.e. each action to be taken under a particular air quality category, executing agencies are clearly marked.

• The coordination among as many as 13 agencies from four states is simplified to a degree because of the clear demarcation of responsibilities.

• The three major policy decisions that can be credited to EPCA and GRAP are the closure of the thermal power plant at Badarpur, bringing BS-VI fuel to Delhi before the deadline set initially, and the ban on Pet coke as a fuel in Delhi-NCR.

Source: The Indian Express

4.Antibody Cocktail for the US President

Recently, a new study in animal models which provides more evidence of the clinical potential of the experimental antibody cocktail which U.S. President Donald Trump received when he tested positive for COVID-19.

Key Highlights

• The study provided that Antibody Cocktail offers benefits against the novel coronavirus infection.

• The scientists from the American biotechnology company Regeneron noted that the cocktail of two antibodies targeting the coronavirus spike protein could be used to neutralise the pathogen.

• The researchers tested REGN-COV2 in rhesus macaques, which manifest mild COVID-19 symptoms, and in golden hamsters, which show symptoms that are much more severe, including rapid weight loss.

• The research found that when the cocktail was administered three days before challenging the macaques with the virus, the treatment almost completely blocked establishment of infection.

• According to the scientists, this ability of REGN-COV2 matches or exceeds the effects recently shown in vaccine efficacy studies using the same animal models.

About Antibody Cocktail

• The antibody cocktail treatment officially known as REGN-COV2. 

• The experimental cocktail of antibodies, developed by the drug maker Regeneron, is a combination of two human neutralising antibodies against the virus.

• It has not been peer-reviewed or approved for emergency use by the US Food and Drugs Administration (FDA).

• It is part of a class of experimental COVID-19 drugs known as ‘monoclonal antibodies’.

Source: The Hindu

5.‘Pak’ Butterfly & ‘Chinese’ Dragonfly received Indian

Recently, a ‘Pakistani’ with wings has become the 1,328th Indian of its kind around the same time as another winged creature i.e. dragonfly, from China earned a similar status.

About Spialia Zebra

• Spialia zebra, the zebra grizzled skipper, is a butterfly in the family Hesperiidae.

• It is a species of butterfly which was found in Dungarpur district of Rajasthan.

• Its known home comprises Pakistan-occupied Kashmir, Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa and Punjab province of Pakistan.

• The zebra skipper is difficult to observe because it is quite small and flies rapidly low over the ground.

• In Pakistan, the butterfly has been recorded from areas where plants need very little water and from cultivated areas in lowlands or arid foothills.

• The zebra skipper or Spialia zebra has added to the richness of Rajasthan’s orchid belt comprising Phulwari ki Nal Wildlife Sanctuary and Sita Mata Wildlife Sanctuary.

• It is found in Pakistan, India, Yemen, Oman, Ethiopia, southern Sudan, Uganda, Kenya and north-western Tanzania.

  • The subspecies are Spialia zebra zebra (Pakistan, India: Punjab) and Spialia zebra bifida (Yemen, Oman, Ethiopia, southern Sudan, Uganda, Kenya, northern Tanzania).

About Atratothemis Reelsi

• It is a monotypic genus of dragonflies in the family Libellulidae.

• The name Atratothemis means "Themis dressed in black".

• It is a species of dragonfly which was recorded in southern Arunachal Pradesh’s Namdapha Tiger Reserve.

• Its previously known nearest locality was the Xiaoqikong Park in China’s Guizhou Province.

• The Atratothemis Reelsi was found to resemble other blackish dragonflies.

• It is listed as 'Data Deficient' under the IUCN List of Threatened Species.

Source: The Hindu

6.Synedrella Yellow Vein Clearing Virus

Recently, a new study with researchers from National Centre of Biological Sciences (NCBS-TIFR), Bengaluru, has discovered a new step in the arms race between the virus called Synedrella Yellow Vein Clearing Virus and the plants it attacks.

About Synedrella Yellow Vein Clearing Virus

• The virus was isolated by the researchers from a plant named Synedrella nodiflora, and it was able to infect tobacco and tomato plant.

• It is a representative of the Begomovirus family of viruses and Begomoviruses are a large family with about 400 members.

• The Plant targets the protein called BetaC1 made by the virus which helps in successful infection and intracellular movement within the plant.

  • The plants degrade BetaC1 protein of virus by tagging this protein with another smaller protein called ubiquitin.

• The virus uses the plant’s machinery to create a small modification of the BetaC1 protein and it adds a tiny protein called SUMO to the betaC1 protein in a process termed SUMOylation.

• The BetaC1 hijacks the SUMO pathway machinery of the plants and makes itself a substrate for SUMOylation.

Begomovirus

 

Begomovirus is a genus of viruses, in the family Geminiviridae.

 

Begomoviruses have monopartite or bipartite genomes, are whitefly-transmitted and are found in both the Old and New Worlds.

 

They are plant viruses that as a group have a very wide host range, infecting dicotyledonous plants.

 

Source: The Hindu

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