Daily Current Capsules - 17^th April 2020

Science and Technology
Science and Technology of Yoga and Meditation (SATYAM) programme of the DST

Relevance IN - Prelims ( about about the DST proposal under SATYAM programme + about CSRI) + Mains ( GS III Science and Technology- developments and their applications and effects in everyday life. Achievements of Indians in science & technology; indigenization of technology and developing new technology.
What's the NEWS

• The Department of Science and Technology (DST) has invited proposals to study appropriate intervention of yoga and meditation in fighting COVID-19 and similar kinds of viruses.

Know! about the proposal

• The proposals have been invited under the Science and Technology of Yoga and Meditation (SATYAM) programme of the DST, a department under the Ministry of Science and Technology.
• It states that the project may address improving immunity, improving respiratory system and interventions to overcome respiratory disorders and other dimensions like stress, anxiety and depression-related issues due to isolation, uncertainty and disruption in normal life.

Know! about Science and Technology of Yoga and Meditation (SATYAM)

• Department of Science and Technology (DST), in 2015, conceptualized a new research program- ‘Science and Technology of Yoga and Meditation' (SATYAM)- under its Cognitive Science Research Initiative (CSRI).
• Scientists/academicians with research background in ‘Yoga and Meditation' are invited to participate in this initiative.
• Practitioners actively involved in yoga and meditation practices are also encouraged to apply in collaboration with academic and research institutions of repute.

Interdisciplinary approach

• Yoga and Meditation are interdisciplinary endeavours that interface with Neuroscience, Medicine, Psychology, Philosophy, and so on, therefore an interdisciplinary approach is needed to converge different & diverse disciplines as well as approaches & methods in the study of yoga and meditation.

Outcome

• The comprehensive research on yoga and meditation is expected to address various challenges confronting physical and mental health.
• It is aimed to foster scientific research on the effects of yoga and meditation on physical & mental health and on cognitive functioning in healthy people as well as in patients with disorders.

Know! about CSRI

1. Nature and origin of mental disorders of psychological, social and neuro-chemical origin
2. Design of better learning tools and educational paradigms; and
3. Design of better cognition based software technologies and devices, among others.
Additional Info.
Knowledge Involvement in Research Advancement through Nurturing (KIRAN)

• More than 2200 women scientists & technologists have benefitted from the Women Scientists Scheme, including WOS-A, WOS-B, and WOS-C in the last five years,
• Women ranging in the age group 27 to 57 years receive fellowship support ranging from Rs 25000 to 55000 for different categories under Knowledge Involvement in Research Advancement through Nurturing (KIRAN)' Scheme for continuing higher education in Science and Technology after a break in career.
• The Department of Science and Technology (DST) is implementing ‘Knowledge Involvement in Research Advancement through Nurturing (KIRAN)' Scheme to provide various career opportunities to women scientists and technologists.
• It is primarily aimed to bring gender parity in the Science & Technology sector by inducting more women talent in the research & development domain through various programmes.
• Women Scientists Scheme (WOS) of the Department under the KIRAN scheme, including other schemes, empowers women in science and technology.
• The ‘Women Scientist Scheme' provides career opportunities to unemployed women scientists and technologists, especially those who had break in career, for pursuing research in frontier areas of Science and Engineering.

There are three major components of the Women Scientist Scheme, namely, WOS-A, WOS-B, WOS-C.

• The WOS-A scheme provides a platform to women scientists and technologists for pursuing research in basic or applied sciences
• The WOS-B scheme focuses on projects related to Science & Technology (S&T) interventions for societal benefit.
• The WOS-C scheme aims to train women having qualifications in science/engineering/medicine or allied areas in the field of Intellectual Property Rights (IPRs)

Science & Technology
Centre for Nano and Soft Matter Sciences (CeNS)
Relevance IN - Prelims (about CeNS and compact solid-state sensor + about heavy metal ions) + Mains ( GS III Science and Technology- developments and their applications and effects in everyday life. Achievements of Indians in science & technology; indigenization of technology and developing new technology.
What's the NEWS

• Centre for Nano and Soft Matter Sciences (CeNS) has developed a compact solid-state sensor to detect the heavy metal ions in water.

Know! about compact solid-state sensor

• It is a portable device which can help onsite detection in remote areas.
• Heavy metal ions such as lead, mercury and cadmium pose severe potential threats to living beings as they can easily be accumulated in the body and cannot be detoxified by any chemical or biological processes.
• The health hazards associated with heavy metal ions in water demands the development of efficient and portable sensors for rapid onsite detection of these ions.
• There is an urge to develop visual sensors, which can effectively detect heavy metal ions rapidly (within seconds) under ambient conditions.

Know! about CeNS

• The Centre for Nano and Soft Matter Sciences (CeNS) is an autonomous research institute under Department of Science and Technology (DST), Government of India.
• DST provides core support to the Centre in the form of a grant-in-aid for conducting basic and applied research in nano and soft matter sciences

Environment
National Board for Wildlife hasn't met even once since 2014
Relevance IN - Prelims ( about NBWL and its objective + about Wild Life (Protection) Act, 1972 (WLPA) + Mains ( GS III Environment Conservation)
What's the NEWS

• The Standing Committee of NBWL through VC (Video Conference) approved wildlife clearance for a number of developmental project proposals submitted by 11 states
• Union Minister for Environment, Forest and Climate Change chaired the meeting
• India's National Board for Wildlife (NBWL) hasn't met in six years.
• The projects were cleared by the Standing Committee of the NBWL.

Know! about Wild Life (Protection) Act, 1972 (WLPA) and its provisions

• Under the provisions of the Wild Life (Protection) Act, 1972 (WLPA), the NBWL can constitute a Standing Committee, but the board has to meet at least twice a year. But the board hasn't met even once since 2014
• The NBWL is chaired by the Prime Minister according to the WLPA.
• The NBWL which is a statutory policy level body has 47 members including the chairperson. Among these, 19 members are ex-officio members.
• Every new government constitutes a new board, based on the provisions of the WLPA, with the new PM as the chair.
• The Standing Committee's function is to regulate land diversion within Protected Areas and Eco Sensitive Zones, making it a purely project clearance body.
• The NBWL, on the other hand, has the power to deal with policy-level decisions on wildlife.

Know! about the Standing Committee of NBWL

• While the NBWL had not met, policy level decisions were being taken by the Standing Committee
• While the members of the Standing Committee are also part of the NBWL, the committee is a much smaller body in terms of membership.

Prelims Factoids
Virus halts J&K's ‘Durbar move' for the first time in 144 years
Relevance IN - Prelims ( about Durbar Move)
What's the NEWS

• For the first time in 144 years, the J&K administration has decided to halt the annual shifting of the capital, called ‘Durbar move', from Jammu to Srinagar in J&K due to the ongoing COVID-19 crisis,

Know! more about Durbar Move

• Introduced by Dogra monarch Maharaja Gulab Singh in 1872, the ‘Durbar move' would see shifting of the Civil Secretariat in summers from Jammu to Srinagar and in winters from Srinagar to Jammu.
• In January 1987, the then Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi had asked then Chief Minister Farooq Abdullah to stop the practice.
• The ‘Durbar move' was continued to allow it to act as a bridge between two diverse cultures of the Kashmir Valley and the Jammu region.

Prelims Factoids
Pattachitras
Relevance IN - Prelims ( about Pattachitras)
What's the NEWS

• Raghurajpur, The heritage crafts village that was often teeming with visitors has fallen silent. COVID-19 pandemic has robbed the livelihood of the artists here.

Know! about Pattachitras

• Traditional paintings in which mythological, religious stories and folk lore are told through intricate canvasing,
• Pattachitra or Patachitra is a general term for traditional, cloth-based scroll painting, based in the eastern Indian state of Odisha
• Pattachitra artform is known for its intricate details as well as mythological narratives and folktales inscribed in it.
• Pattachitra is one of the ancient artworks of Odisha.
• In the Sanskrit language, "Patta" literally means "cloth" and "Chitra" means "picture".
• Most of these paintings depict stories of Hindu deities.
• These paintings are based on Hindu mythology and specially inspired by Jagannath and Vaishnava sect

Health
Celebrating World Chagas Disease Day for first time in 2020

Relevance IN - Prelims ( about Chagas Disease) + Mains ( GSII Issues relating to development and management of Social Sector/Services relating to Health, Education, Human Resources.)
What's the NEWS

• For the first time, the global community celebrated April 14 as the first World Chagas Disease Day.
• One of the aims is to raise the visibility and public awareness of people with Chagas
• Celebrating World Chagas Disease Day on April 14 will provide a unique opportunity to add a global voice in favour of this and other neglected tropical diseases.

Know! about Chagas disease

• Chagas disease, also called American trypanosomiasis, has been termed as a silent and silenced disease , not only because of its slowly progressing and frequently asymptomatic clinical course but also because it affects mainly poorest people of developing countries, hence it is classified as a neglected tropical disease(NTD)
• Once endemic in Latin American countries, Chagas disease is now present in many others, making it a global health problem.
  
• The main route of transmission (vector-borne transmission) has occurred in Latin America through the insect called triatomine bug, which can carry the protozoan parasite Trypanosoma cruzi.
• Other routes of transmission include: oral (food-borne) transmission, blood/blood products transfusion, mother-to-child (congenital) and organ transplantation transmissions or even laboratory accident transmission.
• Raising awareness and the profile of this neglected tropical disease, which is often diagnosed in its late stages, is essential to improve the rates of early treatment and cure, together with the interruption of its transmission.(curable if detected at early stages)

Neglected tropical diseases (NTDs)

• NTDs are a diverse group of tropical infections which are common in low-income populations in developing regions of Africa, Asia, and the Americas.
• They are caused by a variety of pathogens such as viruses, bacteria, protozoa and parasitic worms (helminths).

Health
Pooled testing, recommended by the ICMR

Relevance IN - Prelims (about Pooled testing and its objective)
What's the NEWS

• The Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) issued an advisory for using pooled samples for testing of COVID-19 in order to increase the number of tests conducted by laboratories across the country.

Know! all about pooled testing

• In a pooled testing algorithm, samples of multiple individuals are put together in a tube and screened through the PCR test.
• In case the pooled test turns out to be positive, individual samples are tested, which is referred to as pool de-convolution.
• If there's no positive result, all individual samples in the pool are regarded as negative, resulting in substantial cost savings.
• ICMR has advised that while more than two samples can be pooled together, the number should not exceed five samples to avoid sample dilution, which can lead to false negatives.
• This method can be used in areas where the prevalence of COVID-19 is low, which means a positivity rate of less than two percent.
• In areas with a positivity rate between two to five percent, sample pooling of PCR screening may be considered in a community survey of surveillance among asymptomatic individuals

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