Current Affairs for IAS Exams - 15 June 2020

::NATIONAL::

Parliamentary committee on labour seeks response from states regarding amendments to labour laws

• More than a month after the Parliamentary Committee on Labour wrote to eight State governments seeking explanation on the changes brought to the labour laws during the extended lockdown, three BJP-ruled States — Uttar Pradesh, Gujarat and Madhya Pradesh — have not responded, despite two reminders from the committee.
• The three States have effected the most significant changes, suspending the majority of the labour laws for a period of up to three years.
• The committee had sought details of the amendments made by them and also the instruments (executive order or ordinance) used to effect the change.A total of 13 State governments had diluted the labour laws in May, with eight of them raising the daily working hours from eight to 12.
• Explaining the changes made by U.P., M.P. and Gujarat governments, TapanSen, general secretary of the Centre of Indian Trade Unions (CITU), said the amendments made by the three States pushed 80% of the workforce out of coverage of labour laws. 
• “In these three States, barring the child labour laws and laws related to women working the night shift, most other laws have been suspended in the name of reform. The custodians of the law themselves want to throw the workers at the mercy of the employer,” Mr.Sen said.

Supreme court decides to extend virtual court system

• A committee of seven Supreme Court judges, led by Justice N.V. Ramana, has decided to continue the virtual court system and not revert to the physical hearings, given the “alarming growth” in COVID-19 cases.
• A letter from the Supreme Court Registry to the office-bearers of the Supreme Court Advocates-on-Record Association said the court “shall continue functioning through the virtual court system for the present, with further direction that the matters may be listed before hon’ble judge-in-chambers as well as before the court of the registrar, through virtual court system only, to enable wider participation of learned advocates”. 
• The Registry informed the lawyers that the committee would next meet on June 30 or any other suitable date to again take stock of the situation.
• On June 2, the court agreed to explore the feasibility of physical appearances of advocates while adhering to physical distancing norms. It has been hearing urgent cases through video-conference. The court had named this mechanism the ‘virtual court system’.

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::ECONOMY::

Government  to give 50% subsidy for fruit and vegetable transport to help farmers 

• The government has issued guidelines to give 50% subsidy in a fixed timeframe for storing and transporting fruit and vegetables to prevent post-harvest losses and distress sale by farmers when prices fall.
• Subsidy will be disbursed if the price in notified production clusters falls below the average of the preceding three years or if it falls more than 15% from last year’s price at the time of harvest. It will also be given if the price falls below the benchmark price for procurement, for a specified period.
• Food processors, farmer producer organisations, co-operative societies, individual farmers, licensed commission agents, exporters, state marketing and retailers engaged in processing and marketing of fruits and vegetables can avail of the scheme.
• The minimum distance between the production cluster to the consumption centre will be 100 km for food processors, farmers, exporters and FPOs but 250 km for retailers, state marketing and cooperative federations.

S & P ratings claim economic recovery along with reforms crucial for retaining rating

• International ratings agency S&P Global said India’s recovery from the impact of the Covid-19 outbreak and the lockdown would be key to maintaining its sovereign rating, in a report on Friday. It also said the country will need fresh reforms to arrest weak consumer sentiment and investment.
•  
• The key question is just how deeply the health crisis and government containment measures will affect the economy, the report said, adding that the current fiscal will likely be the fourth successive year of decelerating economic growth.
• The latest report followed the global rating agency’s reaffirmation of India’s long term BBB- rating with a stable outlook and short term A-3 rating on Wednesday. Apart from favourable external settings,
• India’s healthy demographics and competitive unit labour costs supported its rating and prospects, the report said, adding that the government needs to focus on execution of the economic reforms it announced as a response to the pandemic.

::INTERNATIONAL::

WHO seeks global commitment to ensure equal access to emerging vaccine for COVID

• The World Health Organization (WHO) has urged more countries to make a global political commitment so that any emerging vaccine for COVID-19 will be shared equitably.
• Speaking at a press conference yesterday, WHO director-general TedrosAdhanomGhebreyesus said, vaccines for the novel coronavirus should be made available as a global public good, to ensure everyone had fair access to any life-saving products that are developed.
• Mr Tedros was speaking after concerns being raised that some countries including the United States could hoard any vaccines or drugs they develop to combat Covid-19, with poorer countries not getting access to the treatments they need. 
• The WHO director-general said, many leaders around the globe have promoted the idea of making any vaccine a global public good, but that should continue to be promoted.
• He added that more leaders should join the efforts, and they need to have a truly global political commitment and global consensus before they even have the product. 
• The WHO’s top emergency expert Mike Ryan said, the disease was highly active in Central and South America. He said, the current situation in Brazil, was of increasing concern especially in cities.

India exchanges COVID challenges with Laos

• Prime Minister NarendraModi yesterday spoke on phone with Prime Minister of Laos People's Democratic Republic (PDR) Dr.ThonglounSisoulith. The two leaders exchanged views on the health and economic challenges posed by the global COVID-19 pandemic. 
• The Prime Minister commended the effective measures undertaken by the Government of Laos PDR to contain spread of the pandemic in Laos.Both leaders agreed on the need for international cooperation and for sharing of best-practices and experiences, in order to prepare for the post-COVID world.
• Mr Modi highlighted India’s historic and cultural links with Laos and expressed satisfaction at being involved in the restoration of the World Heritage Site at Vat Phou.
• Laos Prime Minister thanked Prime Minister Modi for India’s support for Laos development programmes, in capacity building and for scholarships. Mr Modi reiterated India’s commitment to continue its development partnership with Laos PDR, a valued partner in India’s extended neighbourhood.

::SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY::

Scientists develop new vaccine against amoebiasis

• According to the World Health Organization (WHO), Entamoebahistolytica is the third-leading cause of morbidity and mortality due to parasitic disease in humans. It causes amoebiasis or amoebic dysentery, which is highly prevalent in developing countries. A team of researchers from the Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) has developed new drug molecules against the protozoa that causesamoebiasis.
• This protozoan is anaerobic or micro-aerophilic in nature such that it cannot survive high concentrations of oxygen. However, during infection, it faces a high surge of oxygen inside the human body. The organism synthesizes large amounts of cysteine to counter oxidative stress.
• This pathogen deploys cysteine as one of the essential molecules in its defence mechanism against high oxygen levels. Entamoeba expresses two crucial enzymes for synthesizing cysteine. Researchers from JNU has characterized and determined the molecular structures of both these crucial enzymes.
• “Cysteine biosynthesis is crucial for the survival of E. histolytica and may be similar protozoan parasites. These can be targeted by inhibiting their pathways, which we have successfully done. The identified molecules can be lead to the development of drug molecules” said Dr Gourinath.

::SPORTS::

India’s  vice captainRohit Sharma interested to play in both T20 and IPL

• India’s limited-over vice captainRohit Sharma wants to compete in both the T20 World Cup and the IPL this year as chances are that only one of the two could be salvaged due to the coronavirus pandemic.