Cyclone Fani

• Cyclone Fani, is the first severe, cyclonic storm to have formed in April in India’s oceanic neighbourhood since 1976, according to the records of the India Meteorological Department (IMD).
• According to IMD, it is a consequence of global warming and it is forming due to the warming of the Bay of Bengal basin.
• Data from the IMD’s cyclone-statistics unit show that the Bay of Bengal and Arabian Sea have collectively registered 46 severe cyclonic storms in between 1965-2017.
• Tropical cyclones in the Indian neighbourhood begin as depressions or a gradual build-up of warm air and pockets of low pressure. About 35% of such formations intensify to cyclones and only 7% intensify to very severe cyclones.
• The IMD ranks cyclones on a 5-point scale.

India Meteorological Department (IMD)

• It is the principal agency under the Ministry of Earth Sciences (MoES), Government of India responsible for meteorological observations, weather forecasting and seismology. It is headquartered in Delhi and operates hundreds of observation stations across India and Antarctica. Regional offices of IMD are located at Mumbai, Chennai, Delhi, Kolkata, Nagpur and Guwahati.
• IMD is also one of the six Regional Specialised Meteorological Centres of the World Meteorological Organization. It has the responsibility for forecasting, naming and distribution of warnings for tropical cyclones in the Northern Indian Ocean region, including the Malacca Straits, the Bay of Bengal, the Arabian Sea and the Persian Gulf.

Indian National Centre for Ocean Information Services (INCOIS)

• INCOIS is an autonomous organization of the Government of India, under the Ministry of Earth Sciences (MoES), located in Hyderabad. It was established in 1999 under the MoES and is a unit of the Earth System Science Organization (ESSO).
• It is mandated to provide the best possible ocean information and advisory services to society, industry, government agencies and the scientific community through sustained ocean observations and constant improvement through systematic and focused research.

A Perennial Quandary on Separation of Power

The Madras High Court ruled that the Lieutenant-Governor (L-G) of Puducherry could not interfere with the day-to-day administration of the Union Territory when an elected government was in place.

The court said incessant interference from the L-G would amount to running a “parallel government”. Further, the court observed that the Central government as well as L-G should be true to the concept of democratic principle of Separation of Power.Otherwise, the constitutional scheme of the country of being democratic and republic would be defeated.

Court’s observation regarding power of L-G of Puducherry

There are significant differences in the powers conferred on the legislatures of Puducherry and Delhi under Articles 239A and 239AA of the Constitution respectively .

Points of difference between the L-G of Delhi and Puducherry

Both Delhi and Puducherry have elected legislatures and governments. But, the functions and powers of the L-G of Delhi and Puducherry are marked by certain differences.

• The L-G of Delhi enjoys greater powers than the L-G of Puducherry.
• The L-G of Delhi is vested with “Executive Functions” that enable him to exercise powers in matters connected to public order, police and land “in consultation with the Chief Minister, if it is so provided under any order issued by the President under Article 239 of the Constitution”.
• While the L-G of Delhi is guided by the Government of National Capital Territory of Delhi Act, 1991, and the Transaction of Business of the Government of National Capital Territory of Delhi Rules, 1993, the L-G of Puducherry is guided by the Government of Union Territories Act, 1963.
• Articles 239 and 239AA of the Constitution, as well as the Government of National Capital Territory of Delhi Act, 1991, clearly underline that the role of Centre is more prominent in the UT of Delhi, where the L-G is the eyes and ears of the Centre. Under the constitution, the Delhi Assembly has the power to legislate on all subjects except law & order and land.
• Whereas, the Puducherry Assembly can legislate on any issue under the Concurrent and State Lists. However, if the law is in conflict with a law passed by Parliament, the law passed by Parliament prevails.
• The manner in which the L-G functions vis-à-vis the elected government (Council of Ministers) is also spelt out in the Rules of Business of the Government of Pondicherry, 1963.

The Supreme Court’s decision on power of Delhi L-G

• L-G has no “independent decision-making power” and has to act on the aid and advice of the elected government.
• The Supreme Court said the L-G must work “harmoniously” with the ministers and not seek to “resist them every step of the way”

Though this a welcome judgement in establishing separation of power, the more significant challenge is to find a way out of the complexities and problems thrown up by the multiple forms of federalism and power-sharing arrangements through which relations between the Centre and its constituent units are regulated.

Relaxation in Model Code of Conduct

The Chief Minister of Maharashtra has written to the Election Commission seeking relaxation in the Model Code of Conduct (MCC), in force since March 10 for the Lok Sabha polls, in order to undertake drought relief measures in the State.

• 151 talukas in Maharashtra has been declared as drought affected and hence some infrastructure works such as drilling of borewells, repairs to drinking water schemes etc. need to be taken.

Model Code of Conduct

• The MCC is a set of guidelines issued by the Election Commission (EC) to regulate political parties and candidates prior to elections.
• Basically, the code spells out the do's and don’ts for elections.

Relaxations

• Election Commission in its guidelines on March 5, 2009 allowed following types of works that can be continued by the government agencies without making any reference to it:
  
  • Work-projects that have actually started on the ground after obtaining all necessary sanctions.
  • Beneficiary-projects where specific beneficiaries have been identified, by name, before coming of Model Code into force.
  • Emergency relief works and measures that are aimed at mitigating the hardships, directly and solely, of the persons affected in a disaster may be taken up under intimation to the Election Commission.

NSE Found Guilty of Lapse in Algo-trading Case

The Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) has barred the National Stock Exchange (NSE) from raising money from the securities market directly or indirectly for six months.

Why NSE is Banned?

According to SEBI, NSE officials provided high frequency traders’ unfair access through co-location servers placed at the site of exchange, which could speed up algorithmic trading leading to front-running.

The SEBI asserted that NSE had failed to ensure equal and fair access to all members when they were using its algorithmic trading platform and co-location services.

What is Co-location?

Co-location allows brokers to operate closer to their servers upon payment of additional fees. It helps brokers secure an advantage over others due to proximity to exchange servers as data transmission takes less time. Orders reach exchange servers faster than those who have not availed of the facility.

Co-location and Dark Fibre

Dark fibre refers to a dedicated communication line through which messages travel faster than the regular lines because of the absence of other traffic. As such, there is nothing illegal about using such faster connectivity infrastructure, but in the case of NSE, it was secretively used, thus creating a disadvantageous proposition for other stakeholders.

What is Front-running?

Front-running is when a broker or any other entity enters into a trade because they have the foreknowledge of a big non-publicized transaction that will influence the price of the asset, resulting in a likely financial gain for the broker. It also occurs when a broker or an analyst buys or sells shares for their account ahead of their firm's buy or sell recommendation to the clients.

Front-running is also known as tailgating. Front-running is illegal and unethical because it takes the advantage of private information that is not available to the public.

How will the Order affect NSE?

NSE will have to pay Rs 687 crore to the Investor Protection and Education Fund, and it cannot access capital markets for six months. Its IPO will be delayed till the year-end.

Investor Protection and Education Fund

• Investor Education and Protection Fund (IEPF) has been set-up under the Companies Act, 2013. IPEF is maintained under the Consolidated Fund of India. The amounts which have remained unpaid or unclaimed for a period of seven years are required to be transferred to IEPF.
• Investor Protection and Education Authority is mandated to promote investor education, awareness and protection, and to make refunds of shares, unclaimed dividends, mature deposits

Superbugs

• U.N. Interagency Coordination Group (IACG) report on Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR) calls for greater action by stakeholders at all levels lest so-called "superbugs" claim 10 million lives a year.
• Superbugs is a term used to describe strains of bacteria that are resistant to the majority of antibiotics commonly used today. Resistant bacteria that cause pneumonia, urinary tract infections and skin infections are just a few of the dangers we now face.
• AMR is the ability of a microorganism (like bacteria, viruses, and some parasites) to stop an antimicrobial drug (such as antibiotics, antivirals and antimalarials) from working against it. As a result, standard treatments become ineffective, infections persist and may spread to others.
• Findings of IACG Report
  
  • Alarming levels of resistance have been reported in countries of all income levels, with the result that common diseases are becoming untreatable, and lifesaving medical procedures are riskier to perform.
  • The problem is not limited to low and middle-income countries, it is global in its reach.
  • In high-income countries alone, 2.4 million people could die between 2015 and 2050 due to antimicrobial drug resistance, which is being exacerbated by the abuse and overuse of existing antimicrobials agents such as antibiotic, antiviral, antifungal as well as antiprotozoal drugs.
  • There is also problem of inequity and lack of affordable access, which the report links to the deaths of nearly 6 million people annually, including a million children who die of preventable sepsis and pneumonia.
  • The economic damage of uncontrolled AMR could be comparable to the shocks experienced during the 2008-2009 global financial crisis as a result of dramatically increased healthcare expenditures; impact on food and feed production, trade and livelihoods; and increased poverty and inequality.

Recommendations

• The report recognize that antimicrobials are critical to safeguard food production, safety and trade, as well as human and animal health, and it clearly promotes responsible use across sectors.
• To stop the use of antimicrobials for growth promotion in healthy animals, increased investment in new antimicrobials, improved waste management tools, and the development of alternatives to antimicrobials.
• Preparing and implementing national antimicrobial resistance action plans is the first step towards tackling the drug resistance, but there is a need to address the financing and capacity constraints faced by many resource-poor countries.

Global Efforts

• In 2017, the World Health Organization, in an effort to address these challenges, classified antibiotics into three groups and issued guidance for how each class of drugs should be used to treat 21 of the most common infections.
  
  • The first of these groups consists of medicines that should always be available to patients, preferably by prescription. Amoxicillin, the preferred medicine for respiratory-tract infections in children, is in this group.
  • The second tier includes carbapenems, which are increasingly getting ineffective.
  • Third group, including colistin and other “last resort” antibiotics, are drugs that must be used sparingly and only for medical emergencies.
• Clearly, guidelines are an important first step in addressing the global AMR challenge. But governments, medical associations, and hospitals must also commit to tackling the antibiotic crisis together.
• India’s medical societies in 2012, adopted the Chennai Declaration, a set of national recommendations to promote antibiotic stewardship. Last year, the Prime Minister used his monthly radio address to urge doctors to join the effort.
• India’s Red Line campaign – which demands that prescription-only antibiotics be marked with a red line, to discourage the over-the-counter sale of antibiotics– is a step forward.

Important Facts For Prelims (1st May 2019)

ASI Unearths Late Harappan site at Sanauli (UP)

• The Archaeological Survey of India’s (ASI) ongoing excavation of 4,000-year-old burial sites in Uttar Pradesh’s Sanauli has unearthed underground sacred chamber, decorated legged coffins as well as rice and dal in pots and animal bones buried with the bodies.
• The findings are important to understand the culture pattern of the Upper Ganga-Yamuna doab.
• The discovery implies that it is different from the harappan culture and is contemporary to the last phase of the mature Harappan culture.
• The excavations at Sanauli has brought to light the largest necropolis of the late Harappan period datable to around early part of the second millennium BCE.

NOTE: The term usually implies a separate burial site at a distance from a city, as opposed to tombs within cities, which were common in various places and periods of history. They are different from grave fields, which did not have remains above the ground.

• The discovery points towards the existence of a 'warrior class in the area around 2,000 BCE' and this would challenge some of the basic premises of the Aryan invasion theory that claim that horses were brought in by the invading Aryan army around 1500 to 1000 BC.
• Chariots pulled by horses had given the Aryans the edge over the Dravidians and the power to conquer the North Indian plains by pushing them to the south of the peninsula.

Japan Monarchy

• Japan's new emperor, Naruhito, has formally ascended to the Chrysanthemum Throne (world’s oldest surviving hereditary monarchy), replacing his father, Akihito, who had abdicated in 2019.
• Naruhito became the 126th Emperor of Japan. The abdication by Akihito, is the first in more than 200 years.
• In 2017, Japan’s Parliament passed a law to allow the Emperor to abdicate.
• With the end of the reign of Akihito, the 'Heisei' era has ended, and with the ascension the new 'Reiwa' era has begun in Japan.

Red Sea Reefs

• Scientists consider the Red Sea reefs the most climate change-resilient corals.
• Red Sea corals have developed an unusually high tolerance to the extreme temperatures, salinity and occasional turbidity (caused by huge seasonal dust storms) that occur in the region.
• The Red Sea is an extension of the Indian Ocean, lying between the Arabian Peninsula and Africa.