Daily Current Capsules - 11^th May 2020

Infrastructure Development
National Land Management Corporation
Relevance IN - Prelims (about National Land Management Corporation + other recommendations giver by the task force) + Mains (GS III infrastructure development)
What's the NEWS

• The task force on National Infrastructure Pipeline (government panel on boosting infrastructure investment) has recommended setting up a National Land Management Corporation, which would help in monetising state-owned surplus land assets in a systematic and specialised way.
• Such a corporation should be set up under Companies Act to function as the facilitator for land monetisation and an asset manager for lands owned by government of India and Central Public Sector Enterprises.

Know! about the role of National Land Management Corporation (NLMC)

• The Corporation can raise capital from the equity market, based on the value of its leased assets
• A chief executive officer (CEO) and a technical team be hired at market-linked compensation to carry out land monetisation.
• It can work with various government departments including Railways and Defence Ministry to utilise their surplus land assets.
• Apart from a CEO and technical team, it has been proposed that the Corporation have representation from senior officials of the Finance Ministry, Department of Public Enterprises, Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs as well as independent directors from finance and real estate industry.

NLMC (areas of functioning)

• monetisation of land assets
• maintaining an inventory of public land,
• to develop model concession agreements for land development and sale,
• legal management of litigation/encumbrances relating to land,
• development planning, design and bid process management.
• Operational requirements like change of land usage and revenue management

Other suggestive measures by the task force on National Infrastructure Pipeline

• strengthening of the municipal bond market
• deepening of corporate bond markets
• setting up Development Financial Institutions for infrastructure sector.

The task force pegged the total expected capital expenditure for infra sector at Rs 111 lakh crore in the next five years.
Know! about REITs and InvITs.

• The Corporation may adopt different models for land monetisation, including securitising a pool of assets through structures like REITs and InvITs.
• Real estate investment trusts (REITs) and infrastructure investment trusts (InvITs) are innovative vehicles that allow developers to monetise revenue-generating real estate and infrastructure assets, while enabling investors or unit holders to invest in these assets without actually owning them.
• Such monetisation benefits developers by allowing them to release capital for funding new infrastructure/real estate projects, and provides liquidity to investors or unit holders as the units of the trust are listed on exchanges.

Health
Project CARD to push local production of testing kits
Relevance IN - Prelims (about project CARD) + Mains (GS II Issues relating to development and management of Social Sector/Services relating to Health, Education, Human Resources.
What's the NEWS

• Niti Aayog and the Department of Biotechnology have launched the Consortium for Affordable & Rapid Diagnostics (CARD) to scale up India's capacity to make coronavirus testing kits.

Know! all about Project Card

• Project CARD's first goal is to roll out at least 10 million rapid antibody tests for Covid-19 by July.
• Additionally, capacity will be expanded to make reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) and other paper-based tests for Covid-19 in the country.
• This platform will synchronise all stakeholders for a common, urgent goal towards accelerating Covid-19 diagnostics in India
• Trivetron Healthcare, Syngene International and Reliance Industries are three companies that are working on antibody test kits in India and they will get the initial support in terms of procurement and availability of testing facilities to manufacture the kits.
• The private and public sectors will collaborate to set up test delivery and administering systems in Covid-19 hotspots, leveraging existing infrastructure, augmented by new-age technology.
• Globally, antibody tests have become vital for governments to check the spread and decide on future course of action. India has looked to buy the test kits from China, South Korea, Switzerland and the US.

Social Issues
Migrant Workmen Act, 1979
Know! about Migrant Workmen act

• The Act was enacted to prevent the exploitation of inter-state migrant workmen by contractors, and to ensure fair and decent conditions of employment.
• A key piece of legislation governing inter-state migrants in India is the Inter-State Migrant Workmen (Regulation of Employment and Conditions of Service) Act, 1979.
• The Act was enacted to prevent the exploitation of inter-state migrant workmen by contractors, and to ensure fair and decent conditions of employment.
• The law requires all establishments hiring inter-state migrants to be registered, and contractors who recruit such workmen be licensed.
• Contractors are obligated to provide details of all workmen to the relevant authority.
• Migrant workmen are entitled to wages similar to other workmen, displacement allowance, journey allowance, and payment of wages during the period of journey.
• Contractors are also required to ensure regular payment, non-discrimination, provisioning of suitable accommodation, free medical facilities and protective clothing for the workmen.

Environment
Early locusts
Relevance IN - Prelims (about locusts + about LWO + PPQ) + Mains (GS III Environment conservation)
What's the NEWS

• Locusts normally arrive during July-October, but have already been spotted in Rajasthan.
• Scientists at the Locust Warning Organisation (LWO) observed groups of grasshoppers at Sri Ganganagar and Jaisalmer districts of Rajasthan.
• But far from ordinary hoppers, these were desert locusts - the same destructive migratory pests currently devouring acres of maize, sorghum and wheat crops in East Africa.

Know! all about locusts

• The desert locust (Schistocerca gregaria) is a short-horned grasshopper that is innocuous while it is in a "solitary phase" and moving about independently.
• These winged insects differ from normal hoppers, and become dangerous only when their populations build up rapidly and the close physical contact in crowded conditions triggers behavioural changes.
• They, then, enter the "gregarious phase", by grouping into bands and forming swarms that can travel great distances (up to 150 km daily), while eating up every bit of vegetation on the way.
• If not controlled at the right time, these insect swarms can threaten the food security of countries.
• Kenya is already reporting its worst locust outbreak in 70 years, while Ethiopia and Somalia haven't seen one this bad in quarter of a century.
• Locusts are polyphagous, i.e. they can feed on a wide variety of crops. Secondly, they have an ability to multiply rapidly.
• A single female desert locust lays 60-80 eggs thrice during its roughly 90-day life cycle.
• There are 10 important species of locusts in the world Only four species viz. Desert locust (Schistocerca gregaria), Migratory locust (Locusta migratoria), Bombay Locust ( Nomadacris succincta) and Tree locust (Anacridium sp.) are found in India.

Know! about Locust Warning organization (LWO)

• In India, the scheme Locust Control and Research (LC&R) is responsible for control of Desert Locust and is being implemented through Organisation known as "Locust Warning Organisation (LWO)" established in 1939 and later amalgamated with the Directorate of Plant Protection Quarantine and Storage in 1946.
• Locust Warning organization (LWO) is responsible to monitor and control the locust situation in Scheduled Desert Area (SDA) mainly in the States of Rajasthan and Gujarat while partly in the States of Punjab and Haryana by way of intensive survey , surveillance, monitoring and control operations where required

Know! about PPQs

• Directorate of Plant Protection Quarantine & Storage was established in the year 1946 on the recommendation of Woodhead Commission as an apex organization for advising the Government of India and state governments on all the matter related to Plant Protection.
• Plant protection activities encompasses activities aimed to minimizing crop losses due to pests through integrated pest management, plant quarantine, regulation of pesticides, locust warning & control and training in desert areas besides training and capacity building in plant protection.
• It is an attached Office of Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare.

Health
Phytopharmaceutical & Favipiravir
Relevance IN - Prelims (about phytopharmaceutical and favipiravir)
What's the NEWS

• The Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) has received approval for clinical trial of two drugs to treat COVID-19.

Know! more about it

• The Drug Controller General of India (DGCI) has given approval for the clinical trials of the drugs namely, phytopharmaceutical and favipiravir.
• The drug trial will begin within a week and CSIR has already been working with pharmaceutical companies for the solution to control COVID-19.
• Favipiravir is a proven anti influenza drug used in Japan, China, and other countries while Phytopharmaceutical is a herbal medicine extracted from plants

Environment
World Migratory Bird Day
What's the NEWS

• World Migratory Bird Day observed on May 9 every year is celebrated to raise awareness about conservation and ecological importance of such birds in the global ecosystem.
• The theme of World Migratory Bird Day 2020 is "Birds Connect Our World".
• This year's theme was chosen in order to highlight the importance of conservation and restoration of ecological connectivity and integrity of ecosystems that support the movement of these birds.
• The day was first introduced in 2006 after the Secretariat of Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals and the Secretariat of Agreement on the Conversation of African-Eurasian Migratory Waterbirds (AEWA) came up with a proposal.
  
  

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