Current Affairs 3rd August 2023 for UPSC Prelims Exam

Current Affairs 3rd August 2023 for UPSC Prelims Exam

Human Challenge Studies

Context: The ICMR Bioethics Unit published a policy statement for the ethical conduct of controlled human infection studies (CHIS), also known as human challenge studies, in India.

More on the ICMR Policy Statement

• The ICMR statement has mentioned that only healthy individuals in the 18-45 years age bracket are to be enrolled.
• Children and women who are pregnant, lactating or planning to conceive within the study period will not be enrolled; Children will be included when “deemed appropriate”, says the statement.
• According to the statement, information on payment for participation should be mentioned in the consent form but the exact amount of payment for participation is to be revealed “only after the volunteer has consented to participate”.

What are Human Challenge Studies?

• Human Challenge Studies or CHIS are scientific experiments where healthy volunteers are intentionally exposed to specific pathogens, such as viruses or bacteria, in a controlled environment.
• The purpose of these studies is to understand various aspects of infectious diseases, including the disease pathogenesis, transmission, and the effectiveness of vaccines and drugs.
• The infectious agents used in these studies are generally well-known and studied, and less virulent forms of the pathogen are often used to reduce harm to the participants.

Potential Benefits of Human Challenge Studies for India

• Accelerated Drug and Vaccine Development: CHIS can expedite the research and development process for drugs, vaccines, and other medical interventions.
• Study of Endemic Diseases: CHIS can be particularly valuable for studying and finding solutions for endemic diseased in India that pose significant public health challenges.
  • The disease burden and mortality from infectious diseases is significantly high at around 30% in India.
• Preparedness for Emerging Diseases: In the face of emerging infectious diseases or new variants, CHIS can help in understanding their impact and evaluating potential treatment options swiftly.

Concerns with the Human Challenge Studies

• Disease Transmission: While CHIS generally uses weakened pathogens, there is always a risk of transmission to others outside the study. Robust infection control measures must be in place to minimize this risk.
• Delicate Ethical Balance: CHIS is considered ethically sensitive due to concerns about deliberate harm to participants, fair compensation, third-party risks, and withdrawal from the study, and involving vulnerable participants.
• Informed Consent: Obtaining truly informed consent from participants is challenging in CHIS. Clear communication about the risks, benefits, and procedures involved is crucial to ensuring ethical participation.
  • The HPV vaccine trial in 2010 became notorious as informed consent requirements were flagrantly violated, as also during the Covaxin trial in Bhopal in 2020-2021.

Current Affairs 2nd August 2023 for UPSC Prelims Exam

Great Barrier Reef

Context: According to UNESCO, the Great Barrier Reef is not likely to be placed on a list of endangered world heritage sites, but it has warned that pollution and ocean warming still pose threats to its ecosystem.

What is the Great Barrier Reef (GBR)?

• About: The GBR is the world’s largest coral reef system with over 2,900 individual reefs, 900 islands and an area covering approximately 344,400 square kilometers.
• Location: It is located in the Coral Sea, off the coast of Queensland, Australia.
• Significance:
  • Biodiversity: The GBR is the largest living structure on Earth and provides habitat for nearly 9,000 species of marine life.
  • Carbon sink: It sequesters 111 million tonnes C yr−1, the equivalent of 2% of present output of anthropogenic CO2.
  • Tourism: Reef tourism contributes $5.4 billion a year to the Australian economy and employs approximately 69,000 people.
  • Coastal defense: The GBR acts as a natural wave barrier and protects the Queensland coastline from storm damage.

Threats to the Great Barrier Reef

• Climate Change: Rising sea temperatures due to climate change result in coral bleaching, which stresses and damages the coral reefs. Prolonged periods of bleaching can lead to widespread coral death. 
• Ocean Acidification: Increased carbon dioxide in the atmosphere gets absorbed by the ocean, causing the seawater to become more acidic. This can negatively affect the growth and health of coral reefs and other marine organisms. 
• Pollution: Runoff from agricultural activities, coastal development, and other sources can introduce pollutants and sediment into the reef’s waters, harming the delicate marine ecosystem. 
• Crown-of-Thorns Starfish: Outbreaks of the crown-of-thorns starfish, a predator of coral, can devastate large areas of reef if left unchecked.

Account Aggregators

Context:  SEBI has come out with a proposal on collating and defining use cases of Financial Information Users (FIUs) in the Account Aggregator framework in securities markets.

About Account Aggregator (AA)

• Definition: An Account Aggregator, a RBI-regulated Non-Banking Finance Company (NBFC), helps an individual securely and digitally access and share information from one financial institution they have an account with to any other regulated financial institution in the AA network.
• Aim: This proposal by Securities and Exchange Board of India is aimed at improving the safeguards within the account aggregator (AA) framework in securities markets to counter scams and mis-selling.

• Features:
  • AAs cannot see or store customer data since the data processed through them is encrypted.
  • They merely transmit it from one financial institution to another based on a customer’s direction and consent.
  • Account Aggregator provides granular, step by step permission and control for each use of customer data.
  • The  AA  framework  is  envisaged  to  make  all  financial  data  available  for  sharing including tax data, pensions data, securities markets data, and insurance data.
  • For instance, there could be certain situations in the securities market when financial information of a client could be sought using the AA framework.
    •  These includes investment adviser and portfolio manager seeking information on financial assets or portfolio of the client via the AA framework in order to devise a financial plan for the client and verification of bank account wherever required when a client is on-boarded by an intermediary.
• Need:
  • Accessing the financial system is a challenging affair for many consumers involving the following issues:
    • Extensive Paperwork:  Furnishing physical signed  and/or  scanned  copies  of bank statements.
    • Authentication of Documents: Attestation, notarizing or stamping of documents.
    • Multiplicity of Documents: Documents must be fetched from across various financial institutions.
    • Lengthy Processing Time: Time taken to acquire such documents and further submit them is a time-consuming process.
  • The Account Aggregator network replaces all these with a simplified, secure digital data access and sharing process based upon used consent.
• Risk:
  • Though there are various safeguards in place and consistent communication advising caution, consumers sometimes adopt unsafe practices of sharing confidential information such as user IDs, passwords, OTPs, account numbers with third parties; authorising third parties to operate their accounts.
  • Such unsafe practices lead to frauds being perpetrated or funds and securities being misappropriated, or financial products/services being mis-sold or customers being subjected to unsolicited cross-sell or upsell.
  •  It is in this context that safeguards within the AA framework have to be improved especially to curb misuse of the financial information in frauds, misappropriation.

Nyaya Bandhu Program

Context:  The Central Government launched the Nyaya Bandhu program.

About Nyaya Bandhu Program

• Definition: Nyaya Bandhu is a pro bono legal service that was launched by the Govt in 2017 to connect the registered lawyers with the registered beneficiaries.
  • This scheme gives voluntary legal advice to individuals and organisations that are unable to afford legal advice and/or cannot access legal aid.
  • The term pro bono, short for “pro bono publico”, is a Latin term which means “for the public good”. In practice, the term is used specifically in context of the legal profession- referring to the practice of giving voluntary legal advice.
• Aim:
  • The scheme is aimed at fulfilling the Department of Justice’s critical mandate of enhancing “access to justice” for marginalised sections of the society and the State’s constitutional obligation of providing “free legal aid” for all.
  • The scheme seeks to put in place an institutional structure which will promote pro bono culture in India.
  • The scheme would facilitate delivery of quality legal assistance to the marginalised communities.
  • It would also ensure that lawyers who volunteer their valuable time and service, towards this public service, are duly recognized for their contribution.
• Ministry: Ministry of Law and Justice
• Features:
  • Beneficiaries or Applicants, to avail the benefits under this programme must belong to one of the categories mentioned under Section 12 of The Legal Services Authority Act of 1987. These include:
    •  Member of a Scheduled Caste
    • Member of a Scheduled Tribe;
    • Victim of trafficking in human beings or begar as referred in article 23 of the Constitution.
    • Woman or a Child;
    • Person with disability;
    • Person in custody;
    •  An industrial workman;
    •  Victim of a mass disaster, ethnic violence, caste atrocity, flood, drought, earthquake or industrial disaster;
    • Person with annual income less than as specified under law.
  • Practicing advocates, interested to volunteer their time and services, are connected, via mobile technology, with eligible marginalized beneficiaries.
  • Nyaya Bandhu Mobile application (Android/IOS) has been developed and onboarded on the UMANG platform in collaboration with technical partner CSC e-Governance Pvt. Ltd.

Vivad se Vishwas II Scheme

Context:   The Central Government has  launched the Vivad se Vishwas II scheme.

About Vivad se Vishwas II Scheme

• Definition: The scheme aims to settle contractual disputes involving the government and government undertakings.  The scheme was announced in the Union Budget 2023-24 by the Union Finance Minister.
• Aim: The scheme aims to resolve the government’s contractual disputes with private parties, clear the backlog of litigation, and improve the ease of doing business.
• Agency: Department of Expenditure, Ministry of Finance.
• Features:
  • The scheme will apply to all domestic contractual disputes where one of the parties is either the Government of India or an organisation operating under its control.
  • The scheme will be applicable to all kinds of procurement, including the procurement of goods, services, and works.
  • The scheme is also applicable to all ‘earning contracts’ (i.e., contracts where the government receives money in exchange for goods, services, rights, etc.) as well as contracts under Public Private Partnership (PPP) arrangements.
  • The central government is aiming to resolve approximately 500 cases, involving an estimated Rs 1 trillion, under this new voluntary settlement scheme.
  • The one-time settlement scheme will cover cases where the court order was passed by 30 April 2023, and the arbitral order was given by 30 January 2023.
  • Under the scheme, for court orders passed on or before 30 April 2023, the settlement amount offered to the contractor will be up to 85% of the net amount awarded or upheld by the court.
  • For arbitral orders passed on or before 1 January 2023, the settlement amount offered is up to 65% of the net amount awarded.
  • The deadline for submitting claims under the scheme is 31 October 2023.
  • Eligible claims will be processed only through the government e-marketplace.

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