EDITORIALS & ARTICLES
17th May 2021
Deadline for Opening FCRA Accounts
Recently, the Delhi High Court has asked the Union Home Ministry to consider whether the April 1 deadline for opening Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Act (FCRA) account for NGOs can be extended in view of the COVID19 pandemic.
- In 2020, the new amendment says that the NGOs that receive foreign contributions are required to open an FCRA account in the New Delhi branch of the SBI.
- The NGOs have sought an extension for the April 1 deadline by a period of six months and a direction to the Ministry to grant FC6C certificates to the NGOs in an expeditious manner.
Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Act (FCRA)
- The Foreign Contribution Regulation Act, 2010, requires the opening of a designated FCRA account, which is an exclusive account in which foreign contribution is to be received.
- The FCRA Amendment Act of 2020 was then promulgated which amended Section 17.
- It now requires that a primary FCRA account for any organization in India needs to be exclusively opened with State Bank of India, New Delhi.
- The FCRA regulates foreign donations and ensures that such contributions do not adversely affect the internal security of the country.
- The Act, first enacted in 1976, was amended in the year 2010, when a slew of new measures were taken by the Union Home Ministry to regulate foreign donations.
- The Act is applicable to all associations, groups and non-governmental organisations (NGOs) who intend to receive foreign donations.
- The organisation that wants to register itself under FCRA:
- shall be in existence for three years and
- should have spent a minimum amount of ₹15 lakh on its core activities for the benefit of society during the last three financial years.
- The registration is initially valid for five years and it can be renewed subsequently if they comply with all norms.
- The Members of the legislature and political parties, government officials, judges and media persons are prohibited from receiving any foreign contribution.
- In 2017 the MHA, through the Finance Bill route, amended the 1976-repealed FCRA law paving the way for political parties to receive funds from the Indian subsidiary of a foreign company or a foreign company in which an Indian holds 50% or more shares.
Eligibility to open FCRA accounts in India
- In order to be eligible for the normal registration, there are a few prerequisites:
- The applicant must be registered under the Societies Registration Act, 1860 or the Indian Trusts Act, 1882 or registered as Section 8 Company as per the Companies Act, 2013 or any such Act as may be required.
- Must have made reasonable contributions by undertaking activities in its chosen field for the benefit of society.
- Must have spent a minimum of Rs. 10 lakhs in the last 3 years towards achieving its objectives (Excludes administrative expenditure).
- Must submit the copies of the financial statements of the last 3 years that are duly audited by qualified Chartered Accountants.
New Skink Species from Western Ghats
In September 2019, a group of herpetologists gathered at Anaikatti hills in Coimbatore for the South Asian Reptile Red List Assessment organized by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN).
- When Achyuthan Srikanthan from the Indian Institute of Science, Bengaluru, suggested an impromptu night visit to a nearby private farm, they stumbled upon a new species i.e. an Asian gracile skink.
Asian Gracile Skink
- It is named as Subdoluseps nilgiriensis.
- The reptile has a slender body of just about 7 cm and is sandy brown in colour.
- The new species is closely related to Subdoluseps pruthi found in parts of the Eastern Ghats.
- The new species was found in a dry deciduous area, showing that even the dry zones of our country are home to unrealised skink diversity.
- It is currently considered a vulnerable species as there are potential threats from seasonal forest fires, housing constructions and brick kiln industries in the area.
- Most skinks are diurnal and are usually secretive.
- It is only the third skink species discovered from mainland India in the last millennium.
- Skinks are non-venomous but they resemble snakes because of the often inconspicuous limbs and the way they move on land.
Impact of Lightning on Animals
Recently, 18 elephants died on a hilltop in Assam and the preliminary post-mortem report indicates they had been struck by lightning.
How does lightning kill animals?
- When current flows through the ground following a lightning strike, the electric potential (voltage) is highest at the point of the strike, and decreases with distancealong the direction of the flow.
- If an elephant is facing the strike point, the current will flow from the front feet (higher potential) to the hind feet (lower potential), electrocuting it in the process.
- Direct Flash: An animal in an open field may be struck directly by lightning if part of its body protrudes over other objects in the vicinity.
- The taller animals are more vulnerable.
- Side Flash: When lightning strikes a tall object such as a tree, it may generate a side flash that can strike an animal standing underneath the tree.
- Touch Potential: If one part of a tall animal’s body is in contact with the ground while another part, at a higher elevation, comes in contact with a lightning-struck object, a partial current may pass through its body.
- Step Potential: The most common lightning hazard among four-legged animals.
- When an animal’s front and hind feet are far enough apart, a partial current may pass through the body in certain circumstances.
Vulnerability of Elephants
- Since an elephant’s front and hind feet are wide apart, it would appear to make it more vulnerable than a smaller animal, such as a rat.
- The potential difference increases with increasing distance between the two feet.
- The larger the potential difference, the greater the current through the body.
- An animal with a larger body mass can withstand a larger current through step potential.
- An elephant could be subjected to a larger step potential but the chance that the current through its body becomes lethal is less.
- The elephants would potentially have a higher chance of getting struck by lightning compared to other species because of their height.
Impact of direct flash on elephants
- The chances of getting directly struck by lightning highly depend on the vicinitybecause the tallest objects in the vicinity attract the lightning.
- If there are tall trees (higher than the elephants) the chance that lightning strikes them directly is not big but if they are in an open grassfield, the chances are bigger.
How does lightning occur?
- Lightning is an electrical discharge caused by imbalances between storm clouds and the ground, or within the clouds themselves.
- Lightning is extremely hot i.e. a flash can heat the air around it to temperatures five times hotter than the sun’s surface.
- The heat causes surrounding air to rapidly expand and vibrate, which creates the pealing thunder we hear a short time after seeing a lightning flash.
- The cloud-to-ground lightning bolts are a common phenomenon i.e. about 100 strike Earth’s surface every single second.
- A typical cloud-to-ground lightning bolt begins when a step-like series of negative charges, called a stepped leader, races downward from the bottom of a storm cloud toward the Earth along a channel at about 200,000 mph.
- Lightning's extreme heat will vaporize the water inside a tree, creating steam that may blow the tree apart.
Indian SARS-CoV-2 Consortium on Genomics (INSACOG)
Recently, the top Indian virologist has resigned from a forum of scientific advisers called the Indian SARS-CoV-2 Consortium on Genomics (INSACOG).
Indian SARS-CoV-2 Consortium on Genomics (INSACOG)
- It was set up by the government to detect variants of the coronavirus.
- It is a grouping of 10 National Laboratories that was established by Ministry of Health and Family Welfare.
- The labs involved are DBT-NIBMG Kalyani, DBT-ILS Bhubaneswar, ICMR-NIV Pune, DBT-NCCS Pune, CSIR-CCMB Hyderabad, DBT-CDFD Hyderabad, DBT-InSTEM/ NCBS Bengaluru, NIMHANS Bengaluru, CSIR-IGIB Delhi, and NCDC Delhi.
- It will have a high level Inter-Ministerial Steering Committee which will provide guidance and oversight to the consortium especially for policy matters.
- The DBT-NIBMG as the Coordinating Unit of Genome Sequencing Consortium and will closely work with a Nodal Unit of National Centre for Disease Control (NCDC).
Significance of Indian SARS-CoV-2 Consortium on Genomics (INSACOG)
- It is carrying out genomic sequencing and analysis of circulating COVID-19 viruses, and correlating epidemiological trends with genomic variants.
- The consortium will ascertain the status of new variant of SARS-CoV-2 in the country.
- It will establish sentinel surveillance for early detection of genomic variants with public health implication, and determine the genomic variants in the unusual events/trends.
Common Crane in Ireland
Recently, the common crane has returned to the island nation after more than three centuries after it disappeared from Ireland.
Common Crane
- It is a bird that is part of its folklore and was a popular pet during medieval times.
- It is typically seen in Ireland during the winter, but is not sighted during the breeding season.
- A pair of cranes was spotted in 2020 on a restored peat bog which is a type of wetland that is mostly found in northern latitude countries.
- The birds are in Ireland’s Midlands region, but their exact location has been kept secret to protect them.
- Cranes stand at 4 feet tall with a wingspan of over 7 feet, and used to be the largest birds in Ireland.
- They are connected with the history and culture of the country, featuring in folklore tales and in the names of towns.
- It breeds across temperate Eurasia and migrates south across its range.
- In its normal breeding range, Common Cranes are found in wet meadows, forest clearings, wetlands, bogs, and grassy fields.
- It feeds on grains and seeds, berries, and tender shoots and roots of plants.
- The Common Crane is a winter visitor to the arid plains of Western India, primarily Gujarat and Rajasthan.
- It is listed as ‘Least Concern’ under IUCN Red List of Threatened Species.
Bog Wetland
- Bogs (also called quagmires) are soft, spongy wetlands that accumulate peat.
- The peat is a fossil fuel that is used for heating homes and businesses in northern Europe.
- Bogs also act as carbon sinks, sequestering around 200 million tons of carbon from the environment in Siberia and Scandinavia.
Importance of cranes in environment
- Crown Jewels of Conservation: Culturally revered across much of the world, cranes are flagships for saving some of the most beautiful, diverse places on Earth.
- Indicators: Highly dependent on healthy wetlands and freshwater, cranes are excellent indicators for the state of our environment.
Sarus Crane
- It is the tallest flying bird in the world.
- The current range of the Indian Sarus Crane includes the plains of northwestern India, the western half of Nepal’s Terai Lowlands and parts of Pakistan.
- The Eastern Sarus Crane occurs in Myanmar, Laos, Vietnam and Cambodia.
- It is listed in Schedule IV of the Wildlife (Protection) Act 1972.
- It is protected as Vulnerable on IUCN Red List.
- It is a state bird of Uttar Pradesh.
- The species mostly lives and breeds in and around wetlands as well as marshy areas, small lakes and cultivated land with the presence of water, like paddy fields.
Winchcombe Meteorite
Recently, a piece of the Winchcombe meteorite that touched down in the town of Winchcombe in Gloucestershire in the UK in February 2021 will be displayed at the National History Museum.
Meteorite
- NASA notes that the difference between a meteor, meteorite and meteoroid is nothing but where the object is.
- Meteoroids are objects in space that range in size from dust grains to small asteroids.
- When meteoroids enter the Earth’s atmosphere they are called meteors.
- If a meteoroid enters the Earth’s atmosphere and hits the ground, it is called a meteorite.
Discovery of Winchcombe Meteorite
- The piece of meteorite was found in a field by one Mira Ihasz and a team from theUniversity of Glasgow.
- It is a 103 gram fragment of black rock resembling coal.
Significance of Winchcombe Meteorite
- It dates back to the birth of the solar system nearly 4.5 billion years ago.
- It may offer scientists and researchers clues about the beginning of the solar system and maybe even the Earth.
NAIMISHA 2021
Recently, the Ministry of Culture has announced a month-long online programme called NAIMISHA 2021.
- It is an online summer programme of the National Gallery of Modern Art (NGMA).
- It is aimed at creating a virtual museum space by NGMA.
- The planned workshops and hosts of related events are expected to spark imagination, creativity and interest in visual and other related arts.
- The idea behind designing and delivering online interactive programmes is to provide a creative outlet to children, and indeed all interested adults.
- The NGMA NAIMISHA portal will also stream a curated film festival for the participants from NGMA’s private collection.
- The exhibition of selected artworks from NAIMISHA 2021 will be displayed on NGMA’s website and SO-HAM platform.
SO-HAM Platform
- It is the first cultural media platform in the country.
- It is under the banner of National Gallery of Modern Art (NGMA).
- It is a platform to develop a dialog between NGMA, artists and art enthusiasts.
- ‘So Ham’ symbolises “Universal Self (Paramhansa) Reflected as Individual Self (Hamsa) in all of us”.
- It implies that He I (am) and I am He.
Atmanirbhar Bharat 3.0 Mission COVID Suraksha
Recently, the Department of Biotechnology has provided financial support as grant to vaccine manufacturing facilities under Mission COVID Suraksha.
Mission COVID Suraksha
- It is an Indian COVID-19 Vaccine Development Mission with end-to-end focus from preclinical development through clinical development and manufacturing and regulatory facilitation.
- Under the mission, the grant will be provided to the Department of Biotechnology (DBT) for Research & Development of Indian COVID-19 vaccines.
- It is implemented by a dedicated Mission Implementation Unit at Biotechnology Industry Research Assistance Council (BIRAC).
Significance of Mission COVID Suraksha
- It will help the development process of approximately five to six Covid-19 vaccine candidates.
- It is aimed at helping the manufacturers in getting licence for vaccines and finally introduces them in the market.
- It aims at providing end-to-end passage to vaccines i.e. from preclinical stage to manufacturing.
- The aim of the project is to also establish clinical trial sites and strengthen the existing immunoassay laboratories, central laboratories and suitable facilities for animal studies.
Objectives of Mission COVID Suraksha
- Accelerating pre-clinical & clinical development;
- Licensure of COVID-19 vaccine candidates that are currently in clinical stages or ready to enter clinical stage of development, establishing clinical trial sites;
- Supporting development of common harmonized protocols, trainings, data management systems, regulatory submissions, internal and external quality management systems and accreditations;
- Strengthening the existing immunoassay laboratories, central laboratories; and
- Suitable facilities for animal studies, production facilities and other testing facilities to support COVID-19 vaccine development.
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