Facts in News
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Prime Minister’s Citizen Assistance and Relief in Emergency Situations (PM CARES) Fund
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- It is a dedicated fund with the primary objective of dealing with any kind of emergency or distress situation.
- It has been registered as a Public Charitable Trust & its trust deed has been registered under the Registration Act, 1908 at New Delhi on 27th March 2020.
- PM CARES conforms to being a “public account” and as vast sums of money have been collected manifestly at the behest of the government of India, allowing the CAG to audit it.
- It is not a ‘Public Authority’ Under RTI Act.
- Objective
- To undertake & support relief or assistance of any kind relating to a public health emergency, calamity or distress, etc.
- To render financial assistance, provide grants of payments of money or take such other steps.
- Constitution of Trust
- PM is the ex-officio Chairman.
- The Ministers of Defence, Home Affairs & Finance are ex-officio Trustees.
- The Chairperson has the power to nominate 3 trustees (eminent persons in field of research, health, science, social work, law, public administration & philanthropy).
- Appointees shall act in a pro bono (for the public good) capacity.
- Financing
- Consists entirely of voluntary contributions from individuals/organisations & does not get any budgetary support.
- Qualifies for 80G benefits for 100% exemption under the Income Tax Act, 1961 & donations qualify as Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) expenditure under the Companies Act, 2013.
- Exempted under the Foreign Contribution Regulation Act (FCRA) and accepts donations from foreign individuals & organizations.
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Zhurong Rover
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- It is China’s first Mars rover & has been named after a traditional fire god.
- It is aboard the Tianwen-1 probe which will land on Mars in May 2021.
- Tianwen-1 will analyse & map Martian surface & geology, looking for water ice and will study the climate & surface environment.
- China would become the third country after the former USSR and the US to put a robot rover on Mars.
- The top candidate for the landing site is Utopia Planitia, a rock-strewn plain on Mars where the US lander Viking 2 touched down in 1976.
(Image Courtesy: SCMP)
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Chandler Good Government Index (CGGI)
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- It is released by Singaporean non-profit group, Chandler Institute of Governance, and classifies 104 countries in terms of government capabilities and outcomes.
- The index uses 34 indicators, which are organised into 7 pillars: leadership & foresight, robust laws & policies, strong institutions, financial stewardship, attractive marketplace, global influence & reputation and helping people rise.
- It taps over 50 publicly available global data sources such as the World Trade Organisation, United Nations and World Bank.
- Finland has topped the list and Venezuela is at bottom with 104th position.
- India has been ranked 49th.
- It shows the importance of measuring and investing in governance capabilities that matter and highlights a key need for ‘pracademics’ (someone who is both an academic and an active practitioner in their subject area) in government.
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TRIPS
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- The TRIPS Agreement came into effect on 1 January 1995.
- The TRIPS agreement was negotiated in 1986-94 during the Uruguay round of the World Trade Organization (WTO).
- India is a member of the World Trade Organisation and committed to the Agreement on Trade Related Aspects of Intellectual Property (TRIPS Agreement).
- It is the most comprehensive multilateral agreement on intellectual property.
- The areas of intellectual property that it covers are:
- Copyright and related rights (i.e. the rights of performers, producers of sound recordings and broadcasting organizations)
- Trademarks including service marks
- Geographical indications including appellations of origin
- Industrial designs
- Patents including the protection of new varieties of plants
- The layout-designs of integrated circuits
- Undisclosed information including trade secrets and test data.
- The TRIPS Agreement introduced global minimum standards for protecting and enforcing nearly all forms of intellectual property rights (IPR), including those for patents.
- The Agreement lays down certain general principles applicable to all IPR enforcement procedures.
- In addition, it contains provisions on civil and administrative procedures and remedies, provisional measures, special requirements related to border measures and criminal procedures.
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Compulsory Licensing
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- Compulsory licensing is when a government allows someone else to produce a patented product or process without the consent of the patent owner or plans to use the patent-protected invention itself.
- It is one of the flexibilities in the field of patent protection included in the WTO’s agreement on intellectual property — the TRIPS (Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights) Agreement.
- The Trade Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS Agreement) does not specifically list the reasons that might be used to justify compulsory licensing.
- However, the Doha Declaration on TRIPS and Public Health confirms that countries are free to determine the grounds for granting compulsory licences, and to determine what constitutes a national emergency.
- Compulsory Licencing is regulated under the Indian Patent Act, 1970.
- As per Clause 92 of the Patent Act, compulsory licenses can also be issued suo motu by the Controller of Patents pursuant to a notification issued by the Central Government in cases of national emergency, extreme urgency, public non-commercial use.
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Breakthrough Infections
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- Breakthrough infections happens when vaccinated people even those who have received both doses, testing positive for the virus
- It is indicating that the virus has been able to break through the defences created by the vaccine.
- Cases of breakthrough infections have led to some doubts being expressed about the effectiveness of the vaccine, and contributed to the already prevailing vaccine hesitancy.
- Earlier, the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) released data that showed breakthrough infections were extremely rare in India’s vaccinated population, with an incidence rate of less than 0.05%.
- They point out that immune escape variants of SARS-CoV2 can also contribute to an increase in reinfections and potentially have an adverse effect on the efficacy of vaccines, leading to breakthrough infections.
- Also, it typically takes about two weeks for the body to build immunity after being vaccinated, so the chances of a person falling sick during this period are as high — or as low — as the chances for any person who has not been vaccinated.
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