Insights Learning (I-Learning) TEST 12 and 13 : 15 October – 12 November, 2017
- Phenotype
Background:
- Genotype is the complete heritable genetic identity of an organism. The word genotype can also refer just to a particular gene or set of genes carried by an individual.
- For example, if you carry a mutation that is linked to diabetes, you may refer to your genotype just with respect to this mutation without consideration of all the other gene variants that your may carry.
- In contrast, your phenotype is a description of your actual physical characteristics.
- This includes straightforward visible characteristics like your height and eye color, but also your overall health, your disease history, and even your behavior and general disposition.
What?
A phenotype results from the expression of an organism’s genetic code, its genotype, as well as the influence of environmental factors and the interactions between the two.
- For e.g. while two fishes may carry similar genes, but they exhibit different colours on their fins due to being in different habitat.
- Phenotypic variation (due to underlying heritable genetic variation) is a fundamental prerequisite for evolution by natural selection.
Importance
It is the living organism as a whole that contributes (or not) to the next generation, so natural selection affects the genetic structure of a population indirectly via the contribution of phenotypes.
Without phenotypic variation, there would be no evolution by natural selection.
The interaction between genotype and phenotype has often been conceptualized by the following relationship:
Genotype (G) + Environment (E) → Phenotype (P)
Source: Concepts: Chapter 5: 12th Biology NCERT
- The North–South divide
It is broadly considered a socio-economic and political divide.
Generally, definitions of the Global North include the United States, Canada, Western Europe, and developed parts of Asia (the Four Asian Tigers, Japan, and Israel), as well as Australia and New Zealand, which are not actually located in the Northern Hemisphere but share similar economic and cultural characteristics as other northern countries.
- The Global South is made up of Africa, Latin America, and developing Asia including the Middle East. The North is home to all the members of the G8 and to four of the five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council.
- There are various contrasts between these regions, for e.g. 95% of the North has a functioning educational system. In the South, on the other hand, only 5% of the population has enough food and shelter.
- As nations become economically developed, they may become part of the “North”, regardless of geographical location, while any other nations which do not qualify for “developed” status are in effect deemed to be part of the “South”.
Source: Additional Research: Chapter 8: 12th NCERT: Contemporary World Politics
- International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ)
It is a global network of more than 200 investigative journalists in 70 countries who collaborate on in-depth investigative stories.
It released The Paradise Papers that revealed the offshore activities of some of the world’s most powerful people and companies.
- Founded in 1997 by the respected American journalist Chuck Lewis, ICIJ was launched as a project of the Centre for Public Integrity, focusing on issues that do not stop at national frontiers: cross-border crime, corruption, and the accountability of power.
- In 2017, ICIJ was spun off to become a fully independent news organization with the goal of extending our global reach and impact even farther. In July 2017, ICIJ was granted its own non-profit status from U.S. tax authorities.
Pursuant to revelations made by the ICIJ, in its famous Panama papers, about certain Indians having linkages with entities in offshore no tax/low tax jurisdictions, the Government constituted a Multi-Agency Group (MAG) in 2016 to facilitate co-ordinated and speedy investigation.
Source: Additional Research: DSM/SBS (Release ID :173278)
- Urja Ganga gas pipeline project
What?
It is a pipeline of length 2540-km is planned to be laid across the states from Uttar Pradesh to Odisha.
The project is committed to provide the household members health safety by providing clean fuel with the piped gas to the locals of Varanasi and later to Bihar, Jharkhand, West Bengal and Odisha.
Benefits:
Only 18 percent households consume LPG as cooking fuel and the rest use other ways of cooking like wood, kerosene, dung cakes etc which is harmful to their health. A lot of population lives in these states where cooking gas is scarcely available in the remote areas.
- The project is committed to provide the household members health safety by providing clean fuel with the piped gas to the locals of Varanasi and later to Bihar, Jharkhand, West Bengal and Odisha. The seven main station cities include Varanasi, Patna, Jamshedpur, Kolkata, Ranchi, Bhubaneswar and Cuttack as the major beneficiaries of the project.
- An estimation to serve 50,000 households is planned to get PNG and almost 20,000 vehicles will be able to get CNG gas per year. It encompasses 40 districts and 2600 villages which will get the direct benefit.
- The government, therefore, also plans to create 25 industrial clusters in these states which can utilise the gas as fuel and generate employment in these areas.
- The project is estimated to get complete in 2020, after which people can get gas supply at their houses itself.
- It can also give lot of benefits to help renewal of a number of declining fertiliser industrialised units and other sectors like Power and Automotive.
- Commercial Courts, Commercial Division and Commercial Appellate Division of High Courts Bill, 2015
Why?
A commercial dispute is defined to include any dispute related to transactions between merchants, bankers, financiers, traders, etc. Such transactions deal with mercantile documents, partnership agreements, intellectual property rights, insurance, etc.
The Union government has recently proposed to establish commercial courts in districts to further improve the ease of doing business parameters
What?
The Bill enables the creation of commercial divisions in high courts, and commercial courts at the district level.
- Commercial courts, equivalent to district courts, may be set up in all states and union territories, by the state governments after consulting with their respective high courts.
- Commercial appellate divisions may be set up in all high courts to hear appeals against: (i) orders of commercial divisions of high courts; (ii) orders of commercial courts; and (iii) appeals arising from arbitration matters that are filed before the high courts.
How?
Any appeal filed in a high court against the orders of certain tribunals like: (i) Competition Appellate Tribunal; (ii) Debt Recovery Appellate Tribunal; (iii) Intellectual Property Appellate Board; (iv) Company Law Board or the National Company Law Tribunal; (v) Securities Appellate Tribunal; and (vi) Telecom Dispute Settlement and Appellate tribunal may be heard by the commercial appellate division of the high court if it relates to a commercial dispute.
- National Projects
Context:
Polavaram Project is a multi-purpose irrigation project which has been accorded ‘National Project status’ by the union government.
What?
The projects proposed for inclusion as National Projects should fulfill all the eligibility criteria required for funding under Accelerated Irrigation Benefit Programme (AIBP), including the investment clearance of the Planning Commission (now abolished).
- Only major irrigation/multi-purpose projects shall be eligible for inclusion as National Projects.
- On receipt of a proposal from the State Government for inclusion of a project as National Project, the Ministry of Water Resources may send a team of officers to the project site for assessment.
- As per information available, Seventeen more project proposals have been received for inclusion under the scheme of National Projects.
Benefits
The progress of work of National Project is monitored by Central Water Commission (CWC).
- A High Powered Steering Committee headed by Secretary, Ministry of Water Resources, River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation also reviews the implementation of National Projects.
- The main advantage of a project which has received national project status is that 90 % of the funding for the project will be given by the central government.
Criteria
The criteria for selection of National Project will be as under:
- International projects where usage of water in India is required by a treaty or where planning and early completion of the project is necessary in the interest of the country.
- Inter-State projects which are dragging on due to nonresolution of Inter-State issues relating to sharing of costs, rehabilitation, aspects of power production etc., including river interlinking projects.
- Intra-State projects with additional potential of more than 2,00,000 hectare (ha) and with no dispute regarding sharing of water and where hydrology is established
- Medical tourism in India and Joint Commission International (JCI)
India’s medical tourism sector was estimated to be worth US$3 billion. It is projected to grow to $7–8 billion by 2020.
- According to the Confederation of Indian Industries (CII), the primary reason that attracts medical value travel to India is cost-effectiveness, and treatment from accredited facilities at par with developed countries at much lower cost.
The medical visa on arrival allows foreign nationals to stay in India for 30 days for medical reasons.
Regional disperse
Chennai attracts about 45 percent of health tourists from abroad arriving in the country and 30 to 40 percent of domestic health tourists.
- Factors behind the tourists inflow in the city include low costs, little to no waiting period, and facilities offered at the specialty hospitals in the city.
International Disperse
Traditionally, the United States and the United Kingdom have been the largest source countries for medical tourism to India.
- However, according to a recent report, Bangladeshis and Afghans accounted for 34% of foreign patients, the maximum share, primarily due to their close proximity with India and poor healthcare infrastructure.
- Russia and the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) accounted for 30% share of foreign medical tourist arrivals.
- In 2016, citizens of Bangladesh, Afghanistan, Maldives, Republic of Korea and Nigeria availed the most medical visas.
Joint Commission International (JCI)
It is a non-profit organization that is concerned with the improvement in quality of Medical care.
India has 28 JCI accredited hospitals.
JCI was established in 1998 as a division of Joint Commission Resources, Inc. (JCR), a private, not-for-profit affiliate of the Joint Commission.
- Through international accreditation, consultation, publications and education programs, it is helping improve the quality of patient care by assisting international health care organizations, public health agencies, health ministries, and others evaluate, improve, and demonstrate the quality of patient care and enhance patient safety in more than 60 countries.
- International hospitals may seek accreditation to demonstrate quality, and JCI accreditation may be considered a seal of approval by medical travellers from the U.S.
Source: Additional Research: Page 60: 12th NCERT: Human Geography
- Mineral Production in India
These are the figures for the month of August 2017, but annual trends remain more or less similar (as shown in the figure below).
- The total estimated value of mineral production (excluding atomic & minor minerals) in the country during August 2017 was Rs. 18015 crore.
- The contribution of Coal was the highest at Rs. 6158 crore (34%). Next in the order of importance were: Petroleum (crude) Rs. 5489 crore, Natural gas (utilized) Rs. 2225 crore, Iron ore Rs. 1921 crore, Lignite Rs. 615 crore and Limestone Rs. 562 crore.
These six minerals together contributed about 94% of the total value of mineral production in August 2017.
Source: YSK/MI (Release ID :172036)
http://pib.nic.in/eventsite/ebook/pdf/Ebookonmineralsector.pdf
