Explained

New FLiRT variant of the Covid virus – Should you worry?

UPSC Syllabus:

Preliminary Examination: Current events of national and international importance
Mains Examination: GS-II: Issues relating to the development and management of Social Sector/Services relating to Health.
What’s the ongoing story- The new coronavirus variant called KP.2 — nicknamed FLiRT — that has been linked to rising cases of COVID-19 in the United States, United Kingdom, and South Korea, has been in circulation in India since November 2023, genomic surveillance data show.

Prerequisites:

— What is the Global Initiative on Sharing All Influenza Data (GISAID)?
— What are KP.2 and JN.1?

Key takeaways: 

— KP.2 is a descendant of the JN.1 variant of the virus. It is a sub-variant of the Omicron lineage with new mutations. Flirt, the nickname of KP.2, is based on the letters representing two immune escape mutations that allow the virus to evade antibodies.
— A little more than half of the 250 KP.2 genomes sequenced by INSACOG — 128 sequences were from Maharashtra.
— India has been reporting the highest proportion of KP.2 sequences in the world, global data show. KP.2 sequences made up 29% of COVID-19 sequences uploaded by India to the Global Initiative on Sharing All Influenza Data (GISAID), the world’s largest repository of these sequences, over the last 60 days.
— Flirt is characterized by its ability to evade immunity from vaccines and previous infections. Its symptoms are similar to those of earlier variants, including fever, cough, fatigue, and digestive issues.

Points to Ponder: 

— What is the impact of Covid-19 on the senior people?
— What is the recent controversy regarding COVID-19 vaccination?
— How FLiRT is different from other variants?

Post Read Question:

FLiRT variant is related to which of the following?

(a) New Covid-19 variant
(b) New variant of submarine
(c) Economic term for unemployment
(d) New vaccination for HIV

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Is Covid-19 variant FLiRT a cause for worry? Here’s all you need to know

Heatwaves & Climate Change

UPSC Syllabus:

Preliminary Examination: Geography
Mains Examination: GS-I: Important Geophysical phenomena
What’s the ongoing story- Amitabh Sinha – “The extreme heat in parts of eastern and southern India this April has been attributed to climate change. A new study has said that the abnormally high temperatures were made about 45 times more likely by climate change.”

Prerequisites:

— What are heat waves and the criteria for declaring them?
— What do you understand by climate change?
— Institutions to look for: IMD, National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA)

Key takeaways: 

— The research is by World Weather Attribution, an international group of researchers that tries to ascertain whether a particular extreme weather event was caused by climate change.
— This is the third straight year that heatwaves in the early part of summer in India have been attributed to climate change the same researchers had earlier shown that the excessive heat in March-April of 2022 and April of 2023 was also most likely caused by climate change.

— Climate change is a global phenomenon, and scientists have been extremely cautious about blaming any individual weather event on climate change. 

— Heatwaves are not defined by high temperatures. Abnormalities in temperature define them instance, a location accustomed to 40 degrees Celsius in summer isn’t considered to experience a heatwave even if it reaches 42 or 43 degrees. Conversely, another area would be deemed to have a heatwave at 35 degrees if its usual summer temperature is 27 or 28 degrees.
— Heatwaves are quite common in northern, central, and eastern India during summer. But there is plenty of evidence now to suggest that heatwaves are becoming more frequent, intense, and prolonged because of climate change.
— Prolonged exposure to heat can result in dehydration and cardiovascular and respiratory diseases, and exacerbate existing weaknesses, even leading to sudden deaths.

— Data collected and maintained by IMD and NDMA showed a sharp decline in the number of heat-related deaths ever since state governments and district administrations began implementing heat action plans. It was evidence for the success of early warnings and heat action plans, but this dataset has been showing a reversal of trends in the last couple of years. This could be because of better reporting or an increase in the severity of heat waves.

— All the 23 states known to be vulnerable to heatwaves now have heat action plans to manage the adverse impacts. Simple measures like the provision of cool drinking water in public places, and free distribution of oral rehydration solutions,… have brought relief to large numbers of people and prevented illnesses and deaths in several cities.

— However, much more needs to be done,….Local administrations must mandatorily regulate activities even in unorganized sectors like construction….Like schools and colleges, office timings can also be tweaked. All organized outdoor activities, including sports, would need to be strictly regulated. Some experts lament the lack of adequate funding for the heat action plans.

Points to Ponder: 

• What causes heatwaves?
• What are the impacts of heat waves?
  

Discuss the impact of heatwave on food security and human health. Also, provide the way forward.

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Heatwave

Heat Warning

 

The Ideas Page

Misreading America’s lines  

UPSC Syllabus:

Preliminary Examination: Current events of national and international importance

Mains Examination: GS-II: International Relations

What’s the ongoing story- C. Raja Mohan writes: “Going by the Indian media coverage of the United States, you might think Washington keeps awake at night worrying about India’s “democratic backsliding” and planning to meddle in the Indian elections. The US is in the middle of a general election that could alter its political, economic, and geopolitical orientation.”

Prerequisites:

— Which political parties exist in the United States?

— The presidential election in the US

— The ongoing trade rifts between the US and China

Key takeaways: 

—It’s a pity there is so little discussion in India on the consequential US domestic debates, especially this year amidst the impending elections in November. That former president Donald Trump, the great disruptor, might be back at the White House is sending a shiver down the spine.

— What about the “hostile discourse” on Indian democracy by the liberal Western commentariat? Commentary about India in the US is a drop in the bucket of the massive daily output of the American opinion industry with its numerous media outlets and countless think tanks.

— The debate on democracy in general and Indian democracy, in particular, American and European foreign policies are not run by missionaries to spread political liberalism despite suggestions that may imply otherwise.

— Capitalists and security planners, not the self-proclaimed missionaries for democracy, primarily define Western interests.

For Your Information:

— Trump promises to impose a 10 percent tariff on all imports into the US, demand greater access to partners’ markets, and refuse to subordinate commercial interests to geopolitical considerations. The time is now for Delhi to develop a domestic reform agenda to effectively deal with the inevitable changes in the global economic order driven by Washington.

— Biden and Trump, however, have significant differences like US alliances in Europe and Asia. Whoever wins this election, the US role in the global order is about to change significantly. As a rising power, India has an opportunity to think creatively about this change and seize the possibility of elevating its position in the global hierarchy.

Points to Ponder: 

— India-US trade relations

— Why does India need to maintain a balance in its foreign policy?

— How much influence does the elected political party in the US have on economic relations with India?

Post Read Question:

‘What introduces friction into the ties between India and the United States is that Washington is still unable to find for India a position in its global strategy, which would satisfy India’s National self-esteem and ambitions’. Explain with suitable examples. (2019)

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Express View on the US presidential race: Change and continuity

The World

Biden sharply hikes tariffs on imports from China, risking standoff in poll year

UPSC Syllabus:

Preliminary Examination: Current events of national and international importance

Mains Examination: GS-II: Effect of policies and politics of developed and developing countries on India’s interests, Indian diaspora.

What’s the ongoing story- The US has imposed sharp tariff hikes on multiple Chinese imports, including electric vehicle (EV) batteries, computer chips, and medical products, prompting a response from China which said that the move “will seriously affect the atmosphere of bilateral cooperation”.

Prerequisites:

• What is Intellectual Property (IP)?
• What are the purposes of tariffs and duties?
• How have China-US relations been in Recent Years?

Key takeaways: 

— The US on Tuesday quadrupled EV duties to over 100% and doubled duties on semiconductor tariffs to 50%, the White House said in a statement. It cited “unacceptable risks” to US economic security posed by what it considers unfair Chinese practices that are flooding global markets with cheap goods.

— The new measures affect $18 billion in imported Chinese goods including steel and aluminum, semiconductors, electric vehicles, critical minerals, solar cells, and cranes, the White House said.

— The United States imported $427 billion in goods from China in 2023 and exported $148 billion to the world’s No. 2 economy, according to the US Census Bureau, Reuters reported.

—  US Trade Representative Katherine Tai said the revised tariffs were justified because China was stealing US intellectual property.

For Your Information:

— According to the data released by the Global Trade Research Initiative (GTRI), China has overtaken the US to become India’s largest trading partner after a gap[ of two years with the imports from China crossing over $100 billion in FY24.

— India’s trade relations with China have been under scrutiny largely due to India’s dependence on the neighboring country’s critical products such as telecom & smartphone parts, pharma, and advanced technology components among others.

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Points to Ponder: 

— Status of India’s trade relations with China and the USA

— Why is India’s dependence on China not decreasing?

— What are India’s concerns over changes in US-China relations?

(Thought process: Highlight the challenges of developing a rift between the US and China on India’s plan of Global South cooperation– India’s relation should be viewed as a balancing act and avoiding a Loss of Interest of world– mention the steps that need to be taken by India to prevent escalation.)

Post Read Question:

“The USA is facing an existential threat in the form of a China, that is much more challenging than the erstwhile Soviet Union.” Explain. (UPSC CSE 2021)

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