Amrit Bharat Station scheme envisages development of railway stations with long-term vision

• Amrit Bharat Station scheme envisages development of stations on a continuous basis with a long term vision.
• The scheme will subsume all previous redevelopment projects where work is yet to begin.
• The scheme aims at preparation of Master Plans of the Railway stations and implementation of the Master Plan in phases to enhance the facilities including and beyond the Minimum Essential Amenities.
• However, plans and consequent budgets will only be approved on the basis of factors such as footfall and inputs from stakeholders. Zonal railways have been given the responsibility of selecting stations, which will then be approved by a committee of senior railway officials.
• The model envisages low-cost redevelopment of stations which can be executed timely.
• The scheme also aims to relocate redundant/old buildings in a cost efficient manner so that space is released for higher priority passenger related activities and future development may be carried out smoothly.

Facilities Planned under Amrit Bharat Station Scheme

• Provision for Roof Plaza to be created in future
• Free Wi-Fi, space for 5G mobile towers
• Smooth access by widening of roads, removal of unwanted structures, properly designed signages, dedicated pedestrian pathways, well planned parking areas, improved lighting etc.
• High level platforms (760-840 mm) at all stations with a length of 600 metres
• Special amenities for the disabled

SEBI gives final nod for Social Stock Exchange: What is SSE? Who can list on it?

• SSE is a novel idea in India, and a stock exchange of this kind is intended to benefit the private and non-profit sectors by directing more capital to them.
• During her Budget speech for the fiscal year 2019–20, Finance Minister first proposed the concept of SSE. The Securities Contracts (Regulation) Act, 1956 was then invoked by the government, which subsequently published a gazette notification announcing a new security as "zero coupon zero principal".
• The SSE will function as a distinct division of the current stock exchanges under the new regulations.

List on SSE

• Not-for-profit organisations (NPOs) and for-profit social enterprises with social intent and impact as their primary goal will be eligible to participate in the SSE.
• The social enterprises will have to engage in a social activity out of 16 broad activities listed by the regulator.
• The eligible activities include-
  • eradicating hunger poverty, malnutrition and inequality
  • promoting healthcare, supporting education, employability and livelihoods
  • gender equality empowerment of women and LGBTQIA communities
  • supporting incubators of social enterprise.
• Corporate foundations, political or religious organisations or activities, professional or trade associations, infrastructure companies, and housing companies, with the exception of affordable housing, will not be eligible to be identified as social enterprises.
• According to Sebi''s framework, minimum issue size of ₹1 crore and a minimum application size for subscription of ₹2 lakh are currently required for SSE.

Sepsis is one of the most expensive medical conditions in the world — new research clarifies how it can lead to cell death

• Despite dramatic improvements in understanding the immunological mechanisms behind sepsis, it remains a major medical concern, affecting nearly 50 million people globally each year.
• Sepsis is a life-threatening condition arising from the body’s over-reactive response against infection, leading it to injure its tissues and organs.
• Researchers have studied how certain types of bacteria interact with cells during infections to discover the cells and molecules that potentially trigger death from sepsis.

Autoimmunity and sepsis

• The body’s response to infection starts when immune cells recognise components of the invading pathogen. These cells then release molecules like cytokines that help eliminate the infection.
• Among the hundreds of cytokines that exist, tumour necrosis factor, or TNF stands tall as the most potent and the most studied for nearly the past 50 years.

Tumour Necrosis Factor

• It is a cytokine which is produced when the immune system is stimulated by a bacterial extract called Coley’s toxin.
• Blood cells made in the bone marrow (myeloid cells) are the major producers of TNF.
• In normal conditions, TNF promotes beneficial processes such as cell survival and tissue regeneration.
• Uncontrolled TNF production can lead to a dangerous cytokine storm and to the development of rheumatoid arthritis and similar inflammatory conditions.
• Blocking and neutralising TNF activity can effectively treat numerous autoimmune diseases, including rheumatoid arthritis.

Cytokines

• These are a broad group of small proteins released by the immune cells in response to a pathogen.
• Cytokines play an essential role in the immune response, excessive and uncontrolled cytokine production can lead to a dangerous cytokine storm.

NTPC, Tecnimont to jointly explore green methanol production

• The green methanol project involves capturing carbon from NTPC power plants and converting it into a green fuel.
• The objective of the partnership was to demonstrate technologies for firing a higher percentage of Torrefied Biomass in NTPC’s coal fired units, Methanol Firing and Ammonia Firing.

Green methanol

• Green methanol is methanol that is produced renewably and without polluting emissions, one of its variants being generated from green hydrogen.
• It is a low-carbon fuel that can be made from either biomass gasification or renewable electricity and captured carbon dioxide (CO2).
• This chemical compound can be used as a low-carbon liquid fuel and is a promising alternative to fossil fuels in areas where decarbonisation is a major challenge, such as maritime transport.

Other classifications:

Grey methanol

• It is obtained by synthesis reaction from methane present in natural gas (or in some cases, as in China, still from coal). It is therefore not a renewable or clean energy.

Blue methanol

• It is also obtained by synthesis derived from natural gas, but includes as part of the process the capture and storage of the carbon generated during its production, converting it into a less polluting product.

Customs notifies Rules of Origin for India-Australia trade pact

• The notification, which relates to the eligibility requirement to claim the preferential customs duty on trade in goods, under the economic cooperation and trade agreement (ECTA), will come into effect from December 29. This is when the ECTA will also come into effect.
• India and Australia had in April this year signed the ECTA, which is expected to cover 90% of the bilateral trade between the two.

Rules of Origin

• Rules of origin are the criteria needed to determine the national source of a product. Their importance is derived from the fact that duties and restrictions in several cases depend upon the source of imports.

Rules of origin are used:

• to implement measures and instruments of commercial policy such as anti-dumping duties and safeguard measures;
• to determine whether imported products shall receive most-favoured-nation (MFN) treatment or preferential treatment;
• for the purpose of trade statistics;
• for the application of labelling and marking requirements; and
• for government procurement.

No specific provision in GATT

• GATT has no specific rules governing the determination of the country of origin of goods in international commerce.
• Each contracting party was free to determine its own origin rules, and could even maintain several different rules of origin depending on the purpose of the particular regulation.

CDSCO and State Drugs Control Administration commence joint inspection of drug manufacturing units

• A committee of two Joint Drugs Controllers has been constituted at CDSCO (HQ) to monitor the process of inspection, reporting & subsequent action.

CDSCO

• It is the Central Drug Authority for discharging functions assigned to the Central Government under the Drugs and Cosmetics Act of 1940.
• It works under the Ministry of Health & Family Welfare the National Regulatory Authority (NRA) of India.
• Under the Drugs and Cosmetics Act, CDSCO is responsible for -
• Approval of Drugs.
• Conduct Clinical Trials.
• Laying down the standards for Drugs.
• Control over the quality of imported Drugs in the country.
• Coordination of the activities of State Drug Control Organizations.
• Further CDSCO along with state regulators, is jointly responsible for the grant of licences to certain specialised categories of critical Drugs such as vaccines and sera, etc.
• The Indian government has announced plans to subject all medical devices, including implants and contraception, to CDSCO scrutiny.
• Drugs Controller General of India (DCGI): DCGI is the head of the department of the CDSCO of the Government of India responsible for approval of licences of specified categories of drugs such as blood and blood products, IV fluids, vaccines and sera in India.
• DCGI also sets standards for the manufacturing, sales, import, and distribution of drugs in India.

ADB approves $125 million loan to improve urban services in Tamil Nadu

• The Government of India and the ADB signed a $125 million loan to develop climate-resilient sewage collection and treatment, and drainage and water supply systems in three cities in the state of Tamil Nadu.
• The financing is the third and the last tranche of the $500 million multi-tranche financing facility (MFF) for the Program approved by ADB in 2018 to build priority water supply, sewerage, and drainage infrastructure in strategic industrial corridors across 10 cities in the state. The tranche 3 loan covers Coimbatore, Madurai, and Thoothukudi.
• This financing will help ensure universal access to basic water and sanitation services and improve resilience against floods in the project target areas which are also the industrial hubs of Tamil Nadu

ADB

• It is a regional development bank established on 19th December 1966.
• It envisions a prosperous, inclusive, resilient, and sustainable Asia and the Pacific while sustaining its efforts to eradicate extreme poverty in the region.
• Headquarters: Manila, Philippines.
• Members: 68 members, 49 from within Asia.
• Japan holds the largest proportion of shares in ADB followed by the USA, because Japan is one of the largest shareholders of the bank, and the president has always been Japanese.
• ADB is an official United Nations Observer.

Allahabad HC quashes UP govt notification, tells it to hold municipal polls with no OBC reservation

• The Urban Local Bodies were constitutionalized through the 74th Constitutional Amendment Act of 1992.
• This Act added a new Twelfth Schedule to the Constitution and it contains 18 functional items of municipalities.
• Reservation:
• The Act provides not less than one-third of the total number of seats for women (including the number of seats reserved for women belonging to the SCs and the STs).
• It also provides for the reservation of seats for the scheduled castes and the scheduled tribes in every municipality in the proportion of their population.
• There will be no bar on State Legislatures from making provisions for the reservation of seats in any municipality or office of Chairperson in the municipalities in favour of the backward class of citizens.
• Term: The municipality has a fixed term of 5 years from the date appointed for its first meeting.
• Elections:
• To constitute a municipality, are required to be completed before the expiration of the duration of the municipality.
• If the municipality is dissolved before the expiry of 5 years, the elections for constituting a new municipality are required to be completed within 6 months from the date of its dissolution.
• If a municipality is elected after it has been dissolved, it will remain in existence for the remainder of the time that it would have remained in existence had it not been dissolved.

South Korea reports first case of deadly brain-eating amoeba infection

• It is a single-celled organism which can infect humans. It was first discovered in Australia in 1965 and is commonly found in warm freshwater bodies, such as hot springs, rivers and lakes.
• According to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), with the rising global temperatures**.** The organism best grows in high temperatures up to 46°C and sometimes can survive at even higher temperatures.

Infect humans

• The amoeba enters the human body through the nose and then travels up to the brain. In some cases, it was found that people got infected when they cleaned their nostrils with contaminated water.
• Scientists haven’t found any evidence of the spreading of Naegleria fowleri through water vapour or aerosol droplets.
• Once Naegleria fowleri goes to the brain, it destroys brain tissues and causes a dangerous infection known as primary amebic meningoencephalitis (PAM).

Symptoms of PAM:

• The first signs of PAM start showing within one to 12 days after the infection. In the initial stages, they might be similar to symptoms of meningitis, which are headache, nausea and fever.
• In the later stages, one can suffer from a stiff neck, seizures, hallucinations, and even coma.

Treatment for the infection:

• As the Naegleria fowleri infection is rare and progresses quickly, scientists haven’t been able to identify any effective treatments yet.
• At present, doctors treat it with a combination of drugs, including amphotericin B, azithromycin, fluconazole, rifampin, miltefosine, and dexamethasone.