CURRENT AFFAIRS
06 JULY 2020
NATIONAL NEWS:
A) China doubles down on claims on eastern boundary of Bhutan.
Some days after Bhutan sent China a demarche protesting against Chinese claims to the Sakteng wildlife sanctuary in eastern Bhutan, Beijing has doubled down, including eastern sectors of Bhutan to the boundary dispute between the two countries for the very first time. The Minister of Foreign affairs in China said that the boundary between China and Bhutan has never been delimited. For a long time, there have been disputes over the eastern, central and western sectors. So far, the talks have been about three specific areas, including Jakarlung and Pasamlung in the north, and the Chumbi Valley, where Doklam is situated, in west Bhutan.The negotiations have not been held since the Doklam stand-off between Indian and Chinese troops in 2017.
B) The Embassy and Bhutan Government declined to comment on the issue with China.
Bhutan has always maintained a silence on its boundary negotiations with China. It does not have any formal diplomatic relations with Beijing as well. Bhutan had issued a demarche to the Chinese Embassy in New Delhi in June, protesting against the Chinese statement at the Global Environmental Facility meeting that decides on global grants for various projects. The Sakteng sanctuary has in the past, too, received such grants, including in 2018-2019 for a project on preventing soil erosion, without any objection from China.
C) Vaccine trials take 6 to 9 months: WHO Chief Scientist.
Days after the Indian Council of Medical Research issued a letter calling for fast-tracking the trial process of Bharat Biotech’s COVID-19 vaccine, Chief Scientist at the World Health Organization, Soumya Swaminathan said that a vaccine trial usually takes at least six months to complete. On the specific question of whether Phase-3 trials can be skipped for making the vaccine available for public use in light of the pandemic, Dr. Swaminathan said that any vaccine must demonstrate efficacy and safety on a sizeable number of participants. The WHO has published target product profiles for a COVID vaccine and immunogenicity data alone would be insufficient for a vaccine use policy. It is possible to have protocols which flow seamlessly from Phase-2 to Phase-3 based on interim analysis of data. Experts globally have been saying it would take at least 12 to 18 months to launch a vaccine for COVID-19. Bharat Biotech has got an approval to conduct only the Phase-1 and Phase-2 trials.
D) Students in limbo as UGC yet to decide on final year exams.
The Centre had asked the UGC to review its guidelines eleven days ago. Eleven days after the Centre asked the University Grants Commission (UGC) to review its guidelines on final year university examinations, there is still no clarity for many anxious students across the country. Seven States have cancelled their college and university examinations — Punjab, Haryana, Rajasthan, Odisha, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh and West Bengal — without waiting for the UGC’s fresh guidelines. However, some private universities will continue to conduct online examinations in these States.
E) Food grain offtake by States rises sharply.
Relief measures being implemented in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic have paved the way for States and Union Territories in the country to draw more than double the quantity of rice for distribution during April to June this year, compared to the corresponding period last year. In the corresponding three months of 2019, the total amount of rice lifted by the States and Union Territories from the Food Corporation of India (FCI) under the Centre’s various schemes was 90.71 lakh tonnes. This year the figure was 192.34 lakh tonnes. After the breakout of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Central government had announced that Priority Household (PHH) and Antyodaya Anna Yojana (AAY) cardholders in the country, regarded as the poor, would receive free additional entitlement of 5 kg per person per month, initially for three months (April to June) and now up to November. This was in addition to their entitlement under the National Food Security Act (NFSA).
F) Issue compulsory licences for generic Remdesivir: CPI(M).
The Polit Bureau of the CPI(M) on Sunday said the government should issue compulsory licences for the manufacture of a generic version of remdesivir, an anti-viral drug being used to treat COVID-19 patients. In a statement, it said the government should invoke Clause 92 of the Patent Act that allows it to issue compulsory licences so that Indian manufacturers can produce a more affordable generic version. “Gilead Sciences’ anti-viral drug Remdesivir has shown efficacy in treating COVID-19 patients. Media reports indicate that the U.S., which is hoarding all drugs found to be useful in combating the pandemic, has bought the entire stock of Remdesivir from Gilead for the next three months. It will therefore not be available for the rest of the world,” the statement said. The statement said while the price of the drug was ₹2.25 lakh or $3,000 in the U.S., Indian companies were in talks for manufacturing under a Gilead’s licence for sale at ₹30,000-₹35,000.
