24th April 2021
Significance of the Crew-2 Mission
Recently, four astronauts were launched to the International Space Station (ISS) from Florida under Crew-2 mission.
- Out of the four astronauts, two are from NASA and two are from the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) and the European Space Agency (ESA).
- In May 2020, NASA’s SpaceX Demo-2 test flight lifted off for the ISS carrying astronauts Robert Behnken and Douglas Hurley.
- The aim of this test flight was to see if SpaceX capsules could be used on a regular basis to ferry astronauts to and from the ISS.
- Demo-2 was followed by the Crew-1 mission in November, which was the first of six crewed missions between NASA and SpaceX marking the beginning of a new era for space travel.
Crew-2 Mission
- It is a part of collaboration between NASA and SpaceX under the Commercial Crew Program.
- It is the second crew rotation of the SpaceX Crew Dragon and the first with international partners.
Importance of Crew-2 Mission
- The Crew-2 astronauts will join the members of Expedition 65.
- They will stay aboard the ISS for six months during which time they will conduct science experiments in low-Earth orbit.
- The central focus during this time will be to continue a series of Tissue Chips in Space studies.
- Tissue Chips are small models of human organs that contain multiple cell types that behave similarly to the human body.
Commercial Crew Program
- Its main objective is to make access to space easier in terms of its cost, so that cargo and crew can be easily transported to and from the ISS, enabling greater scientific research.
- The NASA plans to lower its costs by sharing them with commercial partners such as Boeing and SpaceX through Commercial Crew Program.
- It gives the companies incentive to design and build the Commercial Orbital Transportation Services (COTS).
- NASA can focus on building spacecraft and rockets meant for deep space exploration missions.
SVAMITVA Scheme
Recently, the Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi has launched the distribution of e-property cards under the SWAMITVA scheme.
Key Highlights
- The SVAMITVA scheme has been implemented to benefit the population in rural areas and with the possession of e-property cards, they will now have a written document regarding their land ownership.
- Nearly 4.09 lakh property owners will be given their e-property cards on the occasion of National Panchayati Raj Day.
- The distribution of e-property cards will mark the rolling out of the SVAMITVA scheme for implementation across the country.
SVAMITVA Scheme
- It is a Central Sector Scheme launched by Hon’ble Prime Minister of India on National Panchayat Day i.e. 24th April 2020.
- SVAMITVA stands for Survey of Villages and Mapping with Improvised Technology in Village Areas.
- Its nodal ministry is Ministry of Panchayati Raj (MoPR).
- In the States, the Revenue Department / Land Records Department will be the Nodal Department and shall carry out the scheme with support of State Panchayati Raj Department.
- The Survey of India shall work as the technology partner for implementation.
- The pilot phase of the scheme was implemented during 2020-2021 in the states ofMaharashtra, Karnataka, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Madhya Pradesh and select villages of Punjab and Rajasthan.
Purpose of SVAMITVA Scheme
- It aims to provide an integrated property validation solution for rural India.
- The demarcation of rural abadi areas would be done using Drone Surveying technology which provides the ‘record of rights’ to village household ownerspossessing houses in inhabited rural areas in villages.
- It would enable them to use their property as a financial asset for taking loans and other financial benefits from Bank.
- The scheme has the potential to transform rural India using modern technical tools of mapping and surveying.
- The scheme will cover around 6.62 lakh villages of the entire country during 2021-2025.
Objectives of SVAMITVA Scheme
- The scheme seeks to achieve the following objectives:-
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- To bring financial stability to the citizens in rural India by enabling them to use their property as a financial asset for taking loans and other financial benefits.
- Creation of accurate land records for rural planning.
- Determination of property tax, which would accrue to the GPs directly in States where it is devolved or else, add to the State exchequer.
- Creation of survey infrastructure and GIS maps that can be leveraged by any department for their use.
- To support in preparation of better-quality Gram Panchayat Development Plan(GPDP) by making use of GIS maps.
- To reduce property related disputes and legal cases
National Panchayat Day
- It is observed on 24th April every year because the 73rd Constitutional Amendment Act, 1992 came into force from 24 April 1993.
- The most significant aspect of this day is the diversification of political power in the hands of common men.
- The National Panchayati Raj day is observed in the country since 24 April 2010.
- The Ministry of Panchayati Raj commemorates the following awards to the Panchayats on the occasion of National Panchayat Day:
- Nanaji Deshmukh Rashtriya Gaurav Gram Sabha Puraskar (NDRGGSP) to Gram Panchayats for outstanding performance of Gram Sabha.
- Deen Dayal Upadhyay Panchayat Sashaktikaran Puraskar (DDUPSP) in General and Thematic categories for all three levels of Panchayats.
- Child-friendly Gram Panchayat Award
- Gram Panchayat Development Plan (GPDP) Award: To be conferred upon three best performing Gram Panchayats across the country.
Reaching Zero Forum on Malaria Elimination
Recently, the Union Minister of Health & Family Welfare has chaired the “Reaching Zero” forum on malaria elimination to celebrate World Malaria Day.
Key Highlights
- India has been able to achieve remarkable success in reducing the malaria burden in terms of cases by 84.5% and deaths by 83.6%.
- WHO has attributed India’s success to rejuvenated political commitment, strengthened technical leadership which focused on prioritizing the vector control measures and increased domestic funding.
- In February 2021, El Salvador became the first country in Central America to be certified malaria-free by World Health Organisation (WHO).
- Between 2000 and 2019, the number of countries with fewer than 100 indigenous malaria cases increased from 6 to 27.
- The Prime Minister of India has been among the 18 Global leaders who endorsed the Malaria Elimination roadmap of Asia Pacific Leaders Malaria Alliance at the East Asia Summit in 2015.
- It was then that the alliance leadership set the goal of ensuring that the Region becomes free of malaria by 2030.
- In 2020, as many as 116 districts in the India had reported zero malaria cases.
Reaching Zero Forum on Malaria Elimination
- It is a virtual forum jointly launched by World Health Organisation (WHO) and RBM Partners.
- It is focused on the World Malaria Day elimination theme of “Reaching the Zero Malaria target”.
- The Country leaders, frontline and community health workers, and global partnerswill come together to discuss their malaria elimination journeys and inspire others to reach the target of zero malaria.
Initiatives in India to eliminate malaria
- Malaria Mukt Abhiyan in the Bastar Region of Chhattisgarh was successfully carried out wherein 3.78 million people were screened for malaria.
- National Framework for Malaria Elimination (NFME) 2016-2030: It outlines India’s strategy for elimination of the disease by 2030.
- The objectives of the national framework are:
- Eliminate malaria from all low (Category 1) and moderate (Category 2) endemic states/UTs (26) by 2022;
- Reduce incidence of malaria to less than 1 case per 1000 population in all States/UTs and the districts and malaria elimination in 31 states/UTs by 2024;
- Interrupt indigenous transmission of malaria in all States/ UTs (Category 3) by 2027;
- Prevent re-establishment of local transmission of malaria in areas where it has been eliminated and to maintain malaria-free status of the country by 2030.
- Malaria Elimination Research Alliance (MERA) India: It aims to identify, articulate, prioritise and respond to the research needs of the country in a coordinated and combinatorial way to eliminate malaria from India by 2030.
- It was launched by the ICMR Director General in 2019.
- It is a conglomeration of National and International partners like World Health Organization (WHO), National Vector Borne Diseases Control Program (NVBDCP), and medicines for Malaria Venture (MMV).
WHO initiatives for Malaria Elimination
- E2020 initiative: In 2017, WHO launched the E-2020 initiative to support a group of countries to achieve zero indigenous cases of malaria by 2020.
- 21 countries across five regions were identified as having the potential to reach the milestone of eliminating malaria.
- Of the 21 countries, eight reported zero cases of malaria, as of April 2021 which included, Algeria, Belize, Cabo Verde, China, El Salvador, Iran, Malaysia, and Paraguay.
- E2025 initiative: It aims to halt transmission of the disease in 25 countries by 2025 co-sponsored by the RBM Partnership to End Malaria.
- The set of countries includes all E-2020 member countries that did not yet receive malaria-free certification, along with eight new countries.
- Guatemala, Honduras, Dominican Republic, Panama, Sao Tome and Principe, Vanuatu, Thailand, and the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea.
World Malaria Day
- The 25th April is designated as the ‘World Malaria Day’.
- The 2021 theme of World Malaria Day is “Reaching the Zero Malaria target”.
- It provides inspiration to the global community and all affected countries that are working to root out malaria and improve the health and livelihood of their people.
Malaria
- It is caused by protozoan parasites (Plasmodium species).
- It is transmitted from one human to another by the bite of infected Anopheles mosquitoes.
- The malaria parasite Plasmodium has a complex, multistage life cycle occurring within two living beings, the vector Anopheles mosquitoes and the vertebrate hosts.
Role of nitric oxide in fighting coronavirus
Recently, a multinational collaboration has announced the results of phase 2 clinical trials indicating that a nitric oxide nasal spray can be an effective viral treatment.
- The nitric oxide is known to have a broad antimicrobial effect against bacteria, fungi, helminths, protozoa and viruses.
- The researchers evaluated nitric oxide’s vitro antiviral effect on SARS-CoV-2 replication and published their findings in September 2020.
Nitric Oxide nasal spray
- It has been developed by a Vancouver-based biotech firm, SaNOtize Research and Development Corporations.
- The other partners are St Peter’s hospitals, NHS Foundation Trust in Surrey, andBerkshire and Surrey Pathology Services.
- The spray releases a small, topical amount of nitric oxide that is well known to kill viruses including SARS-CoV-2.
- It is non-specific and thus kills any virus.
- The patients treated with the spray saw an average reduction of around 95% in viral load in the first 24 hours, and more than 99% within 72 hours.
- The self-administered nasal spray releases a small topical amount of nitric oxide and aims to kill the virus in the upper airways, preventing it from incubating and making its way to the lungs.
WHO clearance for nitric oxide nasal spray
- The World Health Organization has yet to give an emergency use authorisation (EUA).
- Israel and Bahrain have given EUA to the spray, as a medical device.
- The developers have also applied for EUA in the UK.
Significance of the Crew-2 Mission
Recently, four astronauts were launched to the International Space Station (ISS) from Florida under Crew-2 mission.
- Out of the four astronauts, two are from NASA and two are from the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) and the European Space Agency (ESA).
- In May 2020, NASA’s SpaceX Demo-2 test flight lifted off for the ISS carrying astronauts Robert Behnken and Douglas Hurley.
- The aim of this test flight was to see if SpaceX capsules could be used on a regular basis to ferry astronauts to and from the ISS.
- Demo-2 was followed by the Crew-1 mission in November, which was the first of six crewed missions between NASA and SpaceX marking the beginning of a new era for space travel.
Crew-2 Mission
- It is a part of collaboration between NASA and SpaceX under the Commercial Crew Program.
- It is the second crew rotation of the SpaceX Crew Dragon and the first with international partners.
Importance of Crew-2 Mission
- The Crew-2 astronauts will join the members of Expedition 65.
- They will stay aboard the ISS for six months during which time they will conduct science experiments in low-Earth orbit.
- The central focus during this time will be to continue a series of Tissue Chips in Space studies.
- Tissue Chips are small models of human organs that contain multiple cell types that behave similarly to the human body.
Commercial Crew Program
- Its main objective is to make access to space easier in terms of its cost, so that cargo and crew can be easily transported to and from the ISS, enabling greater scientific research.
- The NASA plans to lower its costs by sharing them with commercial partners such as Boeing and SpaceX through Commercial Crew Program.
- It gives the companies incentive to design and build the Commercial Orbital Transportation Services (COTS).
- NASA can focus on building spacecraft and rockets meant for deep space exploration missions.
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