Daily Current Affairs 08th April 2020

Daily Current Affairs 08th April 2020 iasshiksha.com/daily-current-affair/daily-current-affairs-08th-april-2020/

Today’s Important Topic’s For UPSC Preparation 1. INDIA LIFTS BAN ON EXPORT OF HYDROXYCLOROQUINE. 2. OPPOSITION SLAMS DRUG EXPORT. 3. KERALA-KARNATAKA BORDER ROW SORTED OUT, CENTRE INFORMS SC. 4. LOSS OF SMELL MAY BE LINKED TO CELLS: STUDY. 5. SBI CUTS MCLR BY 35BPS. 6. ECONOMY TO CONTRACT 4.5% IN FOURTH QUARTER, SAYS ICRA.

INDIA LIFTS BAN ON EXPORT OF HYDROXYCLOROQUINE What is hydroxychloroquine and what is it used for?

It is an antimalarial drug option, considered less toxic than chloroquine, and prescribed in certain cases.

Doctors also prescribe hydroxychloroquine for patients of rheumatoid arthritis and lupus.

Who makes this drug in India?

Hydroxychloroquine had a market size of only around Rs 152.80 crore in the 12 months ended February 2020, according to pharmaceutical market research firm AIOCD Awacs PharmaTrac.

However, several countries source the drug from India.

Mumbai-headquartered Ipca Laboratories had nearly 82% of the market, with its brands HCQS and HYQ. Around 80% of the volumes produced by Ipca are exported.

Ahmedabad-headquartered Cadila Healthcare (Zydus Cadila) prepares the brand Zy Q, with 8% of the market.

Wallace Pharmaceuticals (OXCQ), Torrent Pharmaceuticals (HQTOR) and Overseas Healthcare Pvt Ltd (CARTIQUIN) have smaller shares.

Why has the COVID-19 outbreak spotlighted hydroxychloroquine?

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In a study last month in the International Journal of Antimicrobial Agents (IJAA), French scientists reported: Twenty cases were treated and showed a significant reduction of the viral carriage.

Compared to controls, and much lower average carrying duration than reported of untreated patients in the literature.

Azithromycin (an antibiotic) added to hydroxychloroquine was significantly more efficient for virus elimination.

The study was flagged as being too small to draw a definitive conclusion.

However, by March 21, Trump had begun to call the drug a “game changer”, and has since been pushing it.

At the end of last month, the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) issued an advisory recommending the use of hydroxychloroquine in asymptomatic healthcare workers treating COVID-19 patients.

And also allowed doctors to prescribe it for household contacts of confirmed COVID-19 patients.

However, the government has stressed that the drug can only be used in COVID-19 treatment on prescription, and that it should not instill a sense of “false security”.

Since when has India stopped exporting the drug?

The US has been looking to procure the drug for emergency use.

On March 21, Ipca told stock exchanges here that the US Food and Drug Administration had “made exception” to its import alert against the company so that it could get stocks.

India decided to ban exports of the drug on April 4. On Tuesday, the government decided to ease the ban.

Is hydroxychloroquine actually effective?

Two large trials are under way on the effectiveness of hydroxychloroquine, and even chloroquine, in COVID-19 treatment.

In the World Health Organization (WHO) solidarity trial, of which India is a part, clinicians worldwide are to follow a common protocol to treat patients with hydroxychloroquine.

The second is the chloroquine accelerator trial, largely funded by the Wellcome Trust and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.

As of now, the jury is still out on how effective these drugs can be against the virus, according to virologist and CEO of the Wellcome Trust/DBT India Alliance Dr Shahid Jameel.

Both of these are testing very large numbers of patients according to the random testing protocol used to test medicines.

The results of those trials are not available yet.

If people in high exposure situations such as health workers are taking hydroxychloroquine/chloroquine as a preventive measure in limited ways, it may be fine.

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But, it is not all right for the general public to go around popping these drugs hoping that they will be protected.

They may not be protected, but they will definitely cause themselves some harm.

Why in News?

India on Tuesday announced that it had rescinded its earlier ban on the export of malaria drug hydroxychloroquine (HCQ).

In view of the humanitarian aspects of the pandemic, it has been decided that India would licence paracetamol and HCQ in appropriate quantities to all our neighbouring countries who are dependent on our capabilities.

We will also be supplying these essential drugs to some nations that have been particularly badly affected by the pandemic.

The MEA announcement came hours after U.S. President Donald Trump said that India could invite “retaliation� if it withheld supplies of HCQ, for which the U.S., Brazil and other countries have already placed advance orders.

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OPPOSITION SLAMS DRUG EXPORT The Opposition criticised the Union government for the quick capitulation in the face of a veiled threat by U.S. President Donald Trump on the ban on export of anti-malarial drug hydroxychloroquine.

The government lifted the ban within hours of Mr. Trump’s comments.

Former Congress president Rahul Gandhi took to Twitter to argue that Indians have the first right over life-saving medicines during the coronavirus pandemic.

Congress chief spokesperson Randeep Surjewala said that though the Congress valued and cherished India’s friendship with the U.S., it saw Mr. Trump’s language as ‘unwarranted’.

Allowing the export of hydroxychloroquine by bowing down before a foreign power cannot be in national interest, he said.

The government should think deeply about the export of essential medicines as our citizens have the first right over them.

Let down India: Yechury CPI(M) general secretary Sitaram Yechury said the statement by the U.S. President was completely unacceptable.

But Modi govt has succumbed to the threat by allowing the export.

That this happened after an expensive gala was organised for him by Modi, instead of preparing to contain Covid-19, shows how this govt has let down India.

Senior TMC leader and Lok Sabha member Saugata Roy said that while the humanitarian gesture made by the Indian government was welcome, it should have raised concern over the language used by Mr. Trump.

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KERALA-KARNATAKA BORDER ROW SORTED OUT, CENTRE INFORMS SC The Supreme Court on Tuesday disposed of a bunch of petitions concerning the Kerala-Karnataka border sealing case after the Union government informed that a consensus had been worked out to allow patients requiring urgent medical treatment to cross the Talapadi border and access hospitals in Mangaluru.

Appearing before a Bench led by Chief Justice of India Sharad A. Bobde, Solicitor General Tushar Mehta said a meeting was held among the Union Home Secretary and the Chief Secretaries of the States to amicably resolve the crisis.

An agreement had been reached on the parameters and protocol for allowing patients into Karnataka.

On April 3, the court ordered the Centre, Kerala and Karnataka to confer immediately and “formulate parameters for passage of patients for urgent medical treatment at the border at Talapadi�.

The court then listed the case on April 7.

The April 3 order was based on petitions highlighting how Karnataka had enforced a blockade which, the court was informed, had resulted in deaths as ambulances bound for Mangaluru were not being permitted to cross the border.

The petitions asked the court to intervene to facilitate free movement of vehicles carrying persons who need urgent medical treatment across the border.

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Karnataka argued that the blockade was put in place in the interest of public health.

The situation regarding COVID-19 was “really dire”.

Kerala was the “worst-affected” State in the country, with nearly 194 cases.

In this, Kasaragod, adjoining Karnataka, was the “worst-affected” district of Kerala with over 100 positive cases, it said.

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LOSS OF SMELL MAY BE LINKED TO CELLS: STUDY Multiple reports have surfaced, primarily from Europe and the United States, from physicians and ear, nose and throat specialists, of COVID-19 patients complaining of an inability to smell — or anosmia.

However, it is not clear whether neurons in the brain that are responsible for recognising various odours are damaged, or whether other cells may be involved.

Researchers at Delhi’s Indrapastha Institute of Information Technology report in the study that is still being peer-reviewed but available as a public preprint.

It is not neurons but a class of cells in the upper regions of the nasal cavity that may be involved: these are called sustentacular cells and horizontal basal cells.

Crucially, both are not directly involved in helping us smell, but nourish and support the cells that help us do, and so the virus may be inflicting an indirect attack on the olfactory sensory cells.

While research on this aspect of the disease is emerging, studies say the loss of smell is different from diminished smell or a lack of perceiving flavour in food when one is afflicted with a cold or stuffy nose.

The coronavirus has spike proteins that bind to ACE 2 receptors on human cells and the enzyme’s presence is a proxy to revealing the signature of the virus in the body’s cells.

Clinical Symptoms: Research so far suggests that it take between 5-14 days for clinical symptoms of the virus — dry cough, laboured breathing and fever — to show and unless this manifested, those infected are likely to continue socialising and spreading the virus.

Because the loss of smell surfaces much earlier, anyone who does not feel sick but registers a significant inability to smell could self-isolate.

A questionnaire could be used via an app, for users to check or report these systems to a doctor.

An analysis by a team at King’s College London showed that 59% of COVID-19 positive patients reported a loss of smell and taste, compared with only 18% of those who tested negative for the disease.

These results were much stronger in predicting a positive COVID-19 diagnosis than self-reported fever.

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SBI CUTS MCLR BY 35BPS What is marginal cost of funds-based lending rate or MCLR? The RBI introduced the MCLR methodology for fixing interest rates from 1 April 2016.

It replaced the base rate structure, which had been in place since July 2010.

The marginal cost of funds-based lending rate (MCLR) is the minimum interest rate that a bank can lend at.

MCLR is a tenor-linked internal benchmark, which means the rate is determined internally by the bank depending on the period left for the repayment of a loan.

MCLR is closely linked to the actual deposit rates and is calculated based on four components: (a)

The marginal cost of funds,

(b)

Negative carry on account of cash reserve ratio,

(c)

Operating costs and

(d)

Tenor premium.

Under the MCLR regime, banks are free to offer all categories of loans on fixed or floating interest rates.

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The actual lending rates for loans of different categories and tenors are determined by adding the components of spread to MCLR. Therefore, the bank cannot lend at a rate lower than MCLR of a particular maturity, for all loans linked to that benchmark.

Fixed-rate loans with tenors of up to three years are also priced according to MCLR. Banks review and publish MCLR of different maturities, every month.

Certain loan rates, like that of fixed-rate loans with tenors above three years and special loan schemes offered by the government, are not linked to MCLR.

Why in News?

State Bank of India, the country’s largest lender, has reduced the marginal cost of fund-based lending rate (MCLR) by 35 basis points (bps) across all loan tenures.

The new rate will come into effect from April 10.

With this cut, the one-year MCLR of SBI will be 7.4%.

EMIs on eligible home loan accounts (linked to MCLR) will get cheaper by around ₹24 per ₹1 lakh on a 30-year loan.

The move comes after the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) reduced the repo rate by 75 bps in the last week of March.

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The lender has also reduced the savings account deposits rate, the second such cut in a month and third cut since November 2019.

“In view of adequate liquidity in the system, SBI realigns its interest rates on savings bank deposits, with effect from April 15, 2020,” SBI said.

The new rate will be 2.75% for both savings account balance of less than ₹1 lakh and above ₹1 lakh.

ECONOMY TO CONTRACT 4.5% IN FOURTH QUARTER, SAYS ICRA The Indian economy is likely to witness a sharp contraction of 5% during Q4FY20 and is expected to recover gradually to post a GDP growth of just 2% in FY21, rating agency ICRA said.

ICRA said it reduced the growth forecast due to the nationwide lockdown imposed in the backdrop of the COVID-19 pandemic.

“Concerns have morphed from the impact of imports from China on domestic supply chains into domestic and external demand shock, with social distancing and lockdowns leading to production shutdowns and job losses in some sectors” ICRA said.

Sectors that will be impacted: High Impact 1.

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The most are aviation, Hotels, Restaurants and tourism, Auto dealerships, Ceramic tiles, Gems and jewellery, Retail, shipping, Ports and port services, Seafood and poultry and Microfinance institutions.

Moderate impact on Sectors: 1.

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Automobiles, Auto components, Building materials, Construction, Chemicals, Residential real estate, Consumer goods, Pharmaceuticals, Logistics, 10/11

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Banking, Mining, Paper, Consulting, Ferrous metals, Footwear, Glass, Plastics, Power and trading are going to be moderate.

Low Impact Sectors: 1.

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Education, Dairy products, Fertilisers and seeds, FMCG, Healthcare, Food and food products, Insurance, Telecom, Utilities, Sugar, Tea, Coffee and agricultural produce.

The rating agency said extended demand disruptions are likely to lead to elongated payment cycles.

WORDS OF THE DAY Retaliation: The action of harming someone because they have harmed oneself; revenge.

The action of returning a military attack; counter-attack.

Tenor: The length of time until a loan is due.

For example, a loan is taken out with a two year tenor. After one year passes, the tenorof the loan is one year.

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