GS Analyst
Daily Current Affairs

PM Narendra Modi and WHO chief Tedros Ghebreyesus will perform the groundbreaking ceremony of the Global Centre for Traditional Medicine in Jamnagar.

What is traditional medicine?

• The WHO describes traditional medicine as the total sum of the “knowledge, skills and practices indigenous and different cultures have used over time to maintain health and prevent, diagnose and treat physical and mental illness”.
• According to WHO, its reach encompasses ancient practices such as acupuncture, ayurvedic medicine and herbal mixtures as well as modern medicines.
• Traditional medicine in India is often defined as including practices and therapies such as yoga, Ayurveda, Siddha that have been part of Indian tradition historically, as well as others such as homeopathy that became part of Indian tradition over the years.
  • Ayurveda and yoga are practised widely across the country;
  • the Siddha system is followed predominantly in Tamil Nadu and Kerala;
  • the Sowa-Rigpa system is practised mainly in Leh-Ladakh and Himalayan regions such as Sikkim, Arunachal Pradesh, Darjeeling, Lahaul & Spiti

About Global Centre for Traditional Medicine:

• The WHO Global Centre for Traditional Medicine (GCTM) is a knowledge centre for traditional medicine.
• The global knowledge centre for traditional medicine is supported by an investment of USD 250 million from the Government of India.
• It aims to harness the potential of traditional medicine from across the world through modern science and technology to improve the health of people and the planet.
• The new centre focuses on four main strategic areas:
  • evidence and learning;
  • data and analytics;
  • sustainability and equity; and
  • innovation and technology
• Its aim is to optimize the contribution of traditional medicine to global health and sustainable development.
• The GCTM will aim to focus on evidence-based research, innovation, and data analysis to optimise the contribution of traditional medicine to global health.
• Its main focus will to develop norms, standards and guidelines in technical areas relating to traditional medicine.

Why has the WHO felt the need to advance knowledge of traditional medicine?

• The WHO says 170 of its 194 WHO Member States have reported the use of traditional medicine, and these member states have asked for its support in creating a body of “reliable evidence and data on traditional medicine practices and products”.
• It says the Jamnagar centre will serve as the hub, and focus on building a “solid evidence base” for policies and “help countries integrate it as appropriate into their health systems”.

Challenges faced by traditional medicine:

• National health systems and strategies do not yet fully integrate traditional medicine workers, accredited courses and health facilities.
• The WHO has stressed the need to conserve biodiversity and sustainability as about 40% of approved pharmaceutical products today derive from natural substances.
  • For example, the discovery of aspirin drew on traditional medicine formulations using the bark of the willow tree.
  • The contraceptive pill was developed from the roots of wild yam plants and
  • child cancer treatments have been based on the rosy periwinkle
• The WHO has referred to modernisation of the ways traditional medicine is being studied.
  • Artificial intelligence is now used to map evidence and trends in traditional medicine.
  • Functional magnetic resonance imaging is used to study brain activity and the relaxation response that is part of some traditional medicine therapies such as meditation and yoga.
• The WHO has said traditional medicine is also being extensively updated by mobile phone apps, online classes, and other technologies.
  • The GCTM will serve as a hub for other countries, and build standards on traditional medicine practices and products.

Earlier collaborations:

• In 2016, the Ministry of AYUSH signed a project collaboration agreement (PCA) with the WHO in the area of traditional medicine.
  • The aim was to create benchmarks for training in yoga, Ayurveda, Unani and Panchakarma, for traditional medicine practitioners.
  • The collaboration also aimed at promoting the quality and safety of traditional medicine and consumer protection by supporting WHO in the development and implementation of the WHO Traditional and Complementary Medicine Strategy.
• A constituent laboratory of the Council of Scientific & Industrial Research-Institute of Himalayan Bio-resource Technology (CSIR-IHBT), Palampur has signed an MoU with National Research Institute of Chinese Medicine, Ministry of Health and Welfare, Taiwan.
  • It aims to collaborate in areas of mutual interest, which include medicinal plants, bioactive molecules, and, herbal formulations etc.
• Also, the CSIR and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation have signed a MoU to identify opportunities for scientific and technological research between researchers within and outside India, including collaborations with foundation-funded entities in the areas including traditional medicine as well as beyond.

Scientists from the ICAR-National Bureau of Fish Genetic Resources (NBFGR), focused on documentation of aquatic genetic resources with special attention on fish and shell fish resources, have discovered a new species of shrimp.

About the new species:

• It is named Actinimenes koyas.
• The species was collected at a depth of 1.0–2.0 m from the coral atoll of Agatti Island, which is part of the Lakshadweep group of islands.
• This new species has been named ‘Koyas’ to honour the local community on the Lakshadweep islands.
• Koyas form an important ethnic community on the islands, who have made a significant contribution to the development and preservation of the heritage of the society.
  

About Agatti Island:

• The Agatti Island is at a distance of 459 km (248 nautical miles) from Kochi and is located the west of Kavaratti Island.
• Agatti has one of the most beautiful lagoons in Lakshadweep.
• In Agatti coral growths and multicoloured coral fishes abound in its lagoons.
• Fishing is the most important industry of Agatti which is perhaps the only island besides Minicoy getting surplus fish.
• Next to Fishing, Coir and Copra are the main industries.
• The airport is built on this island.
• Agatti is the virtual gateway to the islands.
  

About National Bureau of Fish Genetic Resources:

• ICAR-National Bureau of Fish Genetic Resources (ICAR-NBFGR) was established in December 1983 in a rented premises at Allahabad under the aegis of Indian Council of Agricultural Research to undertake research related to the conservation of fish germplasm resources of the country.
• The Bureau’s permanent infrastructure was developed at Lucknow, U.P in 1999.
• Vision: The Institute's vision is assessment and conservation of fish genetic resources for intellectual property protection, sustainable utilization and posterity.
• Mandate: The mandate of the Institute includes collection, classification and cataloguing of fish genetic resources of the country, maintenance and preservation of fish genetic material for conservation of endangered fish species and evaluation and valuation of indigenous and exotic fish species. 
• The Institute has taken up capacity building programmes for the sustainable utilisation of the native germplasm for livelihood upliftment of the local people.
• NBFGR is also attempting to document the biodiversity of shallow water organisms in the waters off different Lakshadweep islands.
• NBFGR has been conducting many exploratory surveys off the Lakshadweep islands with special focus on fish and shrimp species.
• The studies have revealed great diversity of symbiotic communities, which mostly comprise colourful and undescribed shrimp species.
• Recently, NBFGR scientists had discovered new shrimp species - Periclimenella agattii (2019) named after the Agatti Island and Arabianensis (2020) named after the Arabian Sea.

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) is in the news now and often.

About Enforcement Directorate (ED):

• It was established as ‘Enforcement Unit’ in 1956 under the Department of Economic Affairs, for handling Exchange Control Laws violations under the Foreign Exchange Regulation Act (FERA).
• Today, Directorate of Enforcement is a Multi-Disciplinary Organization mandated with the task of enforcing the provisions of two special fiscal laws – Foreign Exchange Management Act, 1999 (FEMA) and Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002 (PMLA).
• Whenever any offence is registered by a local police station, which has generated proceeds of crime over and above ?1 crore, the ED steps in.
  • The ED can also carry out search (property) and seizure (money/documents) if it suspects money has been laundered.
• Since the PMLA was enacted only in 2005, any ill-gotten property acquired before the year 2005 has no case under PMLA.
• Functions:-
  • To collect, develop and disseminate intelligence relating to violations of FEMA, 1999, the intelligence inputs are received from various sources such as Central and State Intelligence agencies, complaints etc.
  • To investigate suspected violations of the provisions of the FEMA, 1999 relating to activities such as “hawala” foreign exchange racketeering, non-realization of export proceeds, non-repatriation of foreign exchange and other forms of violations under FEMA, 1999.
  • To adjudicate cases of violations of the erstwhile FERA, 1973 and FEMA, 1999.
  • To realize penalties imposed on conclusion of adjudication proceedings.
  • To handle adjudication, appeals and prosecution cases under the erstwhile FERA, 1973
  • To process and recommend cases for preventive detention under the Conservation of Foreign Exchange and Prevention of Smuggling Activities Act (COFEPOSA)
  • To undertake survey, search, seizure, arrest, prosecution action etc. against offender of PMLA offence.
  • To provide and seek mutual legal assistance to/from contracting states in respect of attachment/confiscation of proceeds of crime as well as in respect of transfer of accused persons under PMLA.

From where does the ED get its powers?

• As per the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, the ED got its power to investigate under Sections 48 (authorities under act) and 49 (appointment and powers of authorities and other officers).
  • If money has been laundered abroad, the PMLA court (constituted as per the Act) has the right to send a letter of rogatory under Section 105 (reciprocal arrangements regarding processes) of the Code of Criminal Procedure. 

Other roles and functions of the ED:

• The ED carries out search (property) and seizure (money/documents) after it has decided that the money has been laundered, under Section 16 (power of survey) and Section 17 (search and seizure) of the PMLA.
  • On the basis of that, the authorities will decide if arrest is needed as per Section 19 (power of arrest).
• Under Section 50 (powers of authorities regarding summons, production of documents and to give evidence etc), the ED can also directly carry out search and seizure without calling the person for questioning.
• It is not necessary to summon the person first and then start with the search and seizure.
  • If the person is arrested, the ED gets 60 days to file the prosecution complaint (chargesheet) as the punishment under PMLA doesn't go beyond seven years.
• If no one is arrested and only the property is attached, then the prosecution complaint along with attachment order is to be submitted before the adjudicating authority within 60 days.

National Security Advisor recently inaugurated the National Cyber Security Incident Response Exercise.

About National Cyber Exercise (NCX) India:

• National Cyber Exercise (NCX) India will be conducted as a hybrid exercise over a period of ten days from 18 to 29 April 2022 with the aim to train senior management and technical personnel of Government/Critical Sector organisations and agencies on contemporary cyber threats and handling cyber incidents and response.
• The program is being conducted by the National Security Council Secretariat (NSCS), of India in association with Data Security Council of India (DSCI) as the Knowledge Partner and supported by the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO).
• The platform for training is being provided by CyberExer Technologies, an Estonian cybersecurity company accredited for globally conducting several large cyber exercises.
• The participants will be trained on various key cyber security areas such as Intrusion Detection Techniques, Malware Information Sharing Platform (MISP), Vulnerability Handling & Penetration Testing, Network Protocols & Data Flows, Digital Forensics, etc.
• NCX India will help strategic leaders to better understand cyber threats, assess readiness, and develop skills for cyber crisis management and cooperation.
• This will also help develop and test cybersecurity skills, teamwork, planning, communication, critical thinking, and decision-making.
• Cyber Security remains the foundation of any successful Digital Transformation.
• Any threat in cyberspace directly impacts our social, economic and National Security and therefore we need to safeguard our Cyberspace.

National Security Council (NSC) of India:

• The National Security Council (NSC) of India is a three-tiered organization that oversees political, economic, energy and security issues of strategic concern.
• It operates within the executive office of the prime minister of India, liaising between the government’s executive branch and the intelligence services, advising leadership on intelligence and security issues.
• The National Security Council comprises the Strategic Policy Group, the National Security Advisory Board and a secretariat from the Joint Intelligence Committee.
• The National Security Advisor presides over the NSC, and is also the primary advisor to the prime minister. 
• Unlike its American counterpart, the National Security Council of India’s details remain opaque to the public.
  • This has been the case since its formation in 1998, when a broad outline of the structure was provided.

Data Security Council of India (DSCI):

• Data Security Council of India (DSCI) is a not-for-profit, industry body on data protection in India.
• It is setup by NASSCOM and committed to making the cyberspace safe, secure and trusted by establishing best practices, standards and initiatives in cyber security and privacy.
• To further its objectives, DSCI engages with governments and their agencies, regulators, industry sectors, industry associations and think tanks for policy advocacy, thought leadership, capacity building and outreach activities.

Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO):

• DRDO was formed in 1958 from the amalgamation of the then already functioning Technical Development Establishment (TDEs) of the Indian Army and the Directorate of Technical Development & Production (DTDP) with the Defence Science Organisation (DSO).
• DRDO was then a small organisation with 10 establishments or laboratories.
• Over the years, it has grown multi-directionally in terms of the variety of subject disciplines, number of laboratories, achievements and stature.
• DRDO is the R&D wing of Ministry of Defence, Govt of India, with a vision to empower India with cutting-edge defence technologies.
• The mission of DRDO is to achieve self-reliance in critical defence technologies and systems, while equipping our armed forces with state-of-the-art weapon systems and equipment in accordance with requirements lay down by the three Services.

Using leeches to treat a plethora of ailments as prescribed in Ayurveda is gaining prominence as an accepted procedure across the globe.

About Medicinal Leech Therapy (MLT):

• Medicinal Leech Therapy (MLT), also known as Hirudotherapy.
• It has a mention in the ‘Sushruta Samhita’, a 3,000-year-old treatise on medicine and surgery.
• Hirudo medicinalis, belonging to the phylum Annelida, is used as ‘medicinal leech’ and it can be used in treatment of chronic eczema, non-healing ulcers, dermatitis, varicose veins, thrombotic piles, diabetic foot and some auto-immune disorders.
• The Process:
  • The leeches are first dropped into water laced with turmeric and later kept on the affected portion of the human body.
  • The leech moves around the area, selects the place where to begin from.
  • They secrete some of the 36 proteolytic enzymes available in its saliva, facilitating its release into the systemic circulation to counter the disease morbidity.
  • The weekly process is repeated for five to ten weeks depending on the chronicity of the disorder and pathology.
  • Sushruta advises this treatment for inflammatory lesions, cystic lesions and tumorigenesis if the affected area is palm-sized.

 ‘High demand abroad’

• The therapy is in great demand in the U.S.A. as it is used post-grafting in plastic surgery procedures to enhance circulation and improve permeability of blood flow.
• Also, it is used for congestive cardiac failure (CCF) cases to regulate the heart beat and relieve coronary artery blocks.
• The therapy has been recognised by the American Surgical Association and the procedure approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), U.S.A.

About Rashtriya Ayurveda Vidyapeeth:

• Rashtriya Ayurveda Vidyapeeth located at New Delhi is an autonomous organization under Ministry of Ayush, Govt of India.
• This is one among many other premier National Institutes of Ayush working under the supervision of Ministry of Ayush.   
• Rashtriya Ayurveda Vidyapeeth was established in 1988 with one of the objectives of promoting knowledge of Ayurveda and started functioning since 1991.
• The Vidyapeeth initiated the course of Member of RAV with an effort to revive the traditional method of Gurukula system of informal education of India i.e., Guru Shishya Parampara to Ayurvedic graduates after formal education.
• As people are aware, the present classical texts of Ayurveda, Charaka Samhita, Sushruta Samhita, Ashtanga Hridaya etc. are believed to be the outcome of such informal education.