Monthly Current Affairs March 2020

Easy to PICK245 – “UPSC Monthly Magazine\" March-2020 FRBM Act Recently, the State government of Kerala has economic programmes as well as sought flexibility under the Fiscal the post pandemic recovery. Responsibility and Budget Management (FRBM) Act. FRBM Act  This is to ensure that fiscal stimulus in  It was enacted in August 2003. the wake of COVID-19 does not get deterred by FRBM considerations.  It aims to make the Central government responsible for ensuring inter- Reasons for Seeking Flexibility generational equity in fiscal management and long-term macro-economic stability.  According to Kerala’s current fiscal position, Kerala can borrow about  The Act envisages the setting of limits ₹25,000 crore during the financial year on the Central government’s debt and 2020-21. deficits.  Kerala has announced an emergency relief package of worth Rs. 20,000 o It limited the fiscal deficit to 3% crore to mitigate the impact on of the GDP. livelihoods and overall economic activity from the sweeping steps taken to  To ensure that the States too are battle the COVID-19 pandemic, including the latest 21-day nationwide financially prudent, the 12th Finance lockdown. Commission’s recommendations in 2004  The State has proposed to borrow as linked debt relief to States with their much as ₹12,500 crore from the market at the start of the financial year (April - enactment of similar laws. March). o The States have since enacted  The government is concerned that the their own respective Financial stringent borrowing cap under the Responsibility Legislation, fiscal responsibility laws should not which sets the same 3% of Gross constrain its borrowing and spending State Domestic Product ability over the remaining 11 months. (GSDP) cap on their annual budget deficits. o During the 11 months, the government will have to take not  It also mandates greater transparency only COVID-19 mitigation in fiscal operations of the Central measures but would also have to government and the conduct of fiscal meet other expenditure for policy in a medium-term framework. routine affairs related to the running of the State’s socio- o The Budget of the Union government includes a Medium Term Fiscal Policy Statement that specifies the annual revenue and fiscal deficit goals over a three-year horizon.  The rules for implementing the Act were notified in July 2004. The rules were amended in 2018, and most recently to

Easy to PICK246 – “UPSC Monthly Magazine\" March-2020 the setting of a target of 3.1% for the government has already made March 2023. use of the escape clause  The NK Singh committee (set up in o This enabled the government to 2016) recommended that the government adjust the fiscal deficit should target a fiscal deficit of 3% of the target for 2019-20 to 3.8%, from GDP in years up to March 31, 2020 cut it the budgeted 3.3%. to 2.8% in 2020-21 and to 2.5% by 2023. o It was also cited that the impact of Relaxation under the FRBM Act the reforms would also necessitate a reset for 2020-21:  Escape Clause: (PT SHOT) from the earlier deficit target of 3% to 3.5%. o Under Section 4(2) of the Act, the Centre can exceed the  During the global financial crisis in annual fiscal deficit target citing 2008-09: certain grounds. o The Centre resorted to a focused o The grounds include fiscal stimulus: tax relief to boost demand and increased  National security, war expenditure on public projects to create employment and public  National calamity assets, to counter the fallout of the global slowdown.  Collapse of agriculture o This led to the fiscal deficit  Structural reforms climbing to 6.2%, from a budgeted goal of 2.7%.  Decline in real output growth of a quarter by at o Simultaneously, the deficit goals least three percentage for the States too were points below the average relaxed to 3.5% of Gross State of the previous four Domestic Product(GSDP) for quarters. 2008-09 and 4% of GSDP for fiscal 2009-10.  The lockdown could cause severe contraction in economic output and the NK Singh FRBM review committee COVID-19 pandemic could be considered as a national calamity. The FRBM Review Committee headed by former Revenue Secretary, NK Singh was  Also, the government has already made appointed by the government to review the the use of escape clause this year. implementation of FRBM. In its report submitted in January 2017, titled, ‘The Instances of the FRBM Norms been Relaxed in Committee in its Responsible Growth: A Debt the Past and Fiscal Framework for 21st Century India’, the Committee suggested that a rule based fiscal  During the Budget 2020- policy by limiting government debt, fiscal 21 presentation: o The reductions in corporate tax were cited as structural reforms that triggered the escape clause. This implies that this year

Easy to PICK247 – “UPSC Monthly Magazine\" March-2020 deficit and revenue deficits to certain targets is “The maxim that “you cannot spend your way good for fiscal consolidation in India. to prosperity” is now widely accepted. Fiscal policies must therefore be embedded in caution Why a rethinking on FRBM was than exuberance. In restraint than profligacy.” needed? The Committee cited evidences that in the recent past, the economy faced troubles whenever the After nearly twelve years into running of the government made high expenditure by shooting FRBM (2003) legislation, there was a big debate over the FRBM targets. on whether India has to continue with a fiscal deficit target or not. One group argued that in a At the same time, when some crisis like the developing country, government has to make lot 2007-08 appears, fiscal policy should have some of expenditure and an upper ceiling will reduce flexibilities. Here, the Committee suggested a government involvement. The opposite group carefully crafted escape clause allowing higher countered that loosening of the target will led to fiscal deficit. This escape clause is ‘rule based’ excess expenditure, government debt, inflation (smart rules) and not ‘discretionary’. Following and several other macroeconomic problems are the main recommendations of the NK Singh besides creating intergenerational inequality. Committee. The responsibility of the NK Singh Committee thus was to suggest a way out. Specifically, the 1. Public debt to GDP ratio should be Committee has to make suggestions on a considered as a medium-term anchor for commonly raised idea that of a fiscal deficit fiscal policy in India. The combined debt-to- range than a fixed target (like 3% of GDP). GDP ratio of the centre and states should be Similarly, the committee should suggest brought down to 60 per cent by 2023 changes required in FRBM in the context of (comprising of 40 per cent for the Centre and rising global uncertainties. 20% for states) as against the existing 49.4 per cent, and 21per cent respectively. The general perspective of the FRBM Review Committee 2. Fiscal deficit as the operating target: The Committee advocated fiscal deficit as the Before going into the point-by point operating target to bring down public debt. For presentation of the NK Singh Committee’s fiscal consolidation, the centre should reduce its suggestions, it is important to look at the overall fiscal deficit from the current 3.5% (2017) to perspective adopted by it about borrowing run 2.5% by 2023. (fiscal deficit) government budget in the Indian context. Justifying the target of 2.5% to be realized in the next six years, the Committee observed that The FRBM Review Committee’s philosophy is debt sustainability analysis (DSA) conducted for visible in its report throughout and is that in a the central government suggests such a target country like India, where budgets are framed by (for fiscal deficit) will help to achieve the public accommodating populist pressures, activist or debt target of 40% for the centre by 2023. discretionary fiscal policy with high fiscal deficit has limitations. 3. Revenue deficit target The Committee also recommends that the central government should reduce its revenue

Easy to PICK248 – “UPSC Monthly Magazine\" March-2020 deficit steadily by 0.25 percentage (of GDP) the government has to spend more during the points each year, to reach 0.8% by 2023, from a time of a recession and hence it need not restrict projected value of 2.3% in 2017. its borrowing to keep the fiscal deficit target. Hence, the committee advocates countercyclical The Committee advised government to follow covers in fiscal policy while following the FRBM. the golden rule here ie., not to finance government’s day to day expenditure through Here, the committee recommends fiscal flexibilities to go above or below the fiscal borrowings. Revenue deficit implies financing deficit targets in the form of ‘escape clauses’. of government’s day today activities from The Committee set 0.5% as escape clause for fiscal deficit target. borrowings. What is escape clause? Table: Fiscal roadmap for 2023 and the targets for the Centre (figures are as a percent of GDP) The flexibility to adjust with cyclical FD is fiscal deficit and RD is revenue deficit. fluctuations (boom/recession) is incorporated under the “escape clause” (in the case of Year Debt/GDP FD RD recession) where temporary and moderate deviations can be made from the baseline fiscal 2017 49.4 3.5 2.3 path. This can be permitted under exceptional circumstances and in reaction to external 2023 38.7 2.5 0.80 shocks. To ensure that these “escape” clauses are not mis-used, the Committee suggests Source: NK Singh Committee Report several specific guidelines. The escape clause can be used only during the time of following 4. Formation of Fiscal Council to advice the essential circumstances: government. • Over-riding consideration of national The Committee advocated formation of security, acts of war, calamities of national institutions to ensure fiscal prudence in proportion and collapse of agriculture severely accordance with the FRBM spirit. It affecting farm output and incomes. recommended setting up an independent Fiscal Council. The Council will provide several • Far-reaching structural reforms in the advisory functions. It will forecast key macro economy with unanticipated fiscal implications. variables like real and nominal GDP growth, tax buoyancy, commodity prices. Similarly, it will • Sharp decline in real output growth of do a monitoring role, besides advising about the at least 3 percentage points below the average use of escape clause and also specify a path of for the previous four quarters. return. Deviation from the stipulated fiscal deficit target 5. Escape Clause to accommodate counter shall not exceed 0.5 percentage points in a year. cyclical issues: The Escape Clauses can be invoked: The NK Singh Committee points out that there are disadvantages with set fiscal deficit target if some economic instabilities like an external crisis affects the Indian economy. For example,

Easy to PICK249 – “UPSC Monthly Magazine\" March-2020 (a) by the Government after formal consultations and advice of the Fiscal Council. (b) with a clear commitment to return to the original fiscal target in the coming fiscal year. 6. Buoyancy: What the government has to do with fiscal deficit target when higher economic growth occurs? The Committee also advocates that that the policy responses to sharp changes in output growth should be symmetric (to that of the escape clause). This implies that during higher economic growth, fiscal deficit should be reduced accordingly. (Here, in the case of growth fall, fiscal deficit target can be raised using the escape clause). 7. Fiscal consolidation responsibility for states The Committee observes that state government’s fiscal position is important after greater resource transfer to them (Fourteenth finance Commission award). Now, total state expenditures (as a percent of GSDP) is now even greater than the Centre. Hence, fiscal consolidation should also be made by the states. They should bring down their debt target to 20% of GDP from the current 21%. 8. Congruence of Fiscal and Monetary Policy The FRBM Review Commitee observed that both monetary and fiscal policies must ensure growth and macroeconomic stability in a complementary mannger. For this, the Inflation Targeting (IT) regime and Fiscal Rules (FRs) have to interact with each other.

Easy to PICK250 – “UPSC Monthly Magazine\" March-2020 Himalayan Ibex A recent study by scientists of the Zoological species and accelerated allopatric Survey of India (ZSI) has proved speciation. that Himalayan Ibex is a distinct species from the Siberian Ibex. o Allopatric speciation means speciation because of geographic Key Points and reproductive isolation.  The study was funded through  The study also reveals that Siberian ibex the National Mission on Himalayan is a polytypic species, plausibly formed Studies. by lumping of at least 2 species and or 3 to 4 sub-species. o The National Mission on o Polytypic species are species that Himalayan Studies contain two or more subspecies. is implemented by the Ministry Siberian Ibex (Capra sibirica) of Environment, Forest and  Siberian Ibex is a species of wild goat.  It is distributed in diverse Climate Change. habitats, ranging from cold deserts, o It targets to provide much needed rocky outcrops, steep terrain, high- focus, through holistic land flats and mountain ridges to low understanding of system's mountains and foothills. components and their linkages, in  From Mongolia, its distribution extends addressing the key issues relating towards Altai, Hangai, Gobi-Altai, the to conservation and sustainable Hurukh mountain ranges as well management of natural resources as Sayan Mountains near Russia and in Indian Himalayan Region scattered populations in the small (IHR). mountains of Trans-Altai Gobi.  In Asia, Ibex is distributed in  The study was based on genetic the Montane habitats, ranging in analysis conducted with the inclusion of elevations from 500 m to 6,700 m in the sequences available from all across countries like India, Kazakhstan, the distribution ranges of Siberian Ibex. Tajikistan, Mongolia, Pakistan, Southern Siberia and China.  The study revealed that Siberian Ibex was estimated to have diverged from  Its IUCN status is least concerned. Alpine Ibex during the Pleistocene epoch (2.4 million years ago) rather than Himalayan Ibex (Capra sibirica during the Miocene-Pliocene boundary hemalayanus) (6.6 million years ago).  Earlier the Himalayan Ibex was  Scientists presume that the ‘montane regarded as a subspecies of the Siberian systems’, formed by a series of climatic Ibex (Capra sibirica) oscillations and temporal topographic metamorphosis, have broken up the contiguous distribution of the

Easy to PICK251 – “UPSC Monthly Magazine\" March-2020  The Himalyan Ibex is distributed mainly Asiatic Lion, Gir Forest in the trans-Himalayan ranges of the Union Territories of Ladakh and Asiatic Lion is also known as the Indian Lion Jammu and Kashmir and Himachal and can be only found in and around Gir Forest Pradesh. National Park of Gujarat. These are listed as endangered species. These are one of the five Zoological Survey of India (ZSI) big cats found in India, the others being Indian Leopards and Bengal Tigers.  The ZSI was established on 1st July, 1916. It has its genesis in the Kashmir Stag, Kashmir Valley establishment of the Zoological Section of the Indian Museum at Calcutta in Also known as Hangul, Kashmir Stag is found 1875. in the dense forests of Dachigum National Park, Kasmir Valley and Chamba district, Himachal  It is headquartered at Kolkata. Pradesh.  It functions under the Ministry of Lion-Tailed Macaque, Western Ghats Environment, Forest and Climate Change. It is the rarest and the most threatened and  It acts as the premier Indian organisation endangered primate species found only in the in zoological research and studies to Western Ghats of Southern India. promote the survey, exploration and research of the fauna in the country. Purple Frog, Western Ghats PT “PICKSUP” The purple frog, also known as Pignose frog is only found in the rainforests of western ghats in Endemic species are those that are found in just India. It spends most of its life underground. one region and nowhere else in the world. For example, kangaroos are originally endemic to Sangai Deer, Loktak Lake Australia and are found nowhere else in the world. The cases where they have been spotted It is also known as Brow Antlered Deer outside their natural habitat is due to humans exclusively found in Keibul Lamjao National introducing them when the animal was in Park of Manipur. This park is a marshy wetland captivity. located in the southern parts of Loktak lake. There are also other marsupials that are endemic Nilgiri Tahr, Nilgiri Hills only to Australia and its surrounding islands. The Tasmanian Tiger is one such animal that It is a wild sheep species, endangered and was endemic to Australia, Tasmania and New endemic to the Nilgiri Hills of Western Gats. Guinea. But now, it is extinct. Other endemic species of India include: Endemic Species of India  Pygmy Hog, Assam A list of the endemic species of India is  Bronzeback Vine Snake, Western Ghats mentioned below:  Nilgiri Blue Robin, Nilgiri Hills

Easy to PICK252 – “UPSC Monthly Magazine\" March-2020  Malabar Civet, Western Ghats The Redwood Forest on the West Coast of the  Anaimalai Gliding Frog, Anaimalai Hills United States has become endemic as it is now  Namdapha Flying Squirrel, Arunachal almost entirely limited to California. While there was a time when Redwoods used to cover Pradesh much of the United States but have been  Indian Giant Squirrel destroyed by logging and are now limited to a  Bonnet Macaque small conservation area. Name some plant species that are endemic. Diseases, on the other hand, can also be endemic. An endemic disease may be Some of the endemic plant species include- geographically isolated or it may be isolated to Nevada primrose, Waxflower, Pennell’s a certain group. Malaria is an example of an whitlowgrass, Intermountain wavewing, Mt. endemic disease because it is mostly limited to Wheeler sandwort, etc. small pockets of infection in Africa. Examples of Endemic species There are several ways in which a species may come to be endemic to a particular area. A broadly distributed population may disappear from several habitats due to changes which have occurred in their natural habitat. The changes could be an influx of predators, human activities, and climate changes. All other species that were widely distributed around the world starts to die out until the species becomes forcefully restrained to just one region. For example, Endemic species, such as the tortoises of the Galápagos and the lemurs of Madagascar can be found small islands. Big islands also provide the same isolation but on a larger scale. Antarctica Hawaii and Australia are all huge land masses where we can find a lot of endemic species. Kangaroos, koalas, and polar bears are all endemic to these places. In the case of endemic plants, sometimes species become endemic due to habitat destruction as discussed above.

Easy to PICK253 – “UPSC Monthly Magazine\" March-2020 Volatility index .  VIX value is among the important parameters that are taken into account for  VIX (Volatility index) is an index pricing of options contracts, which are used to measure the near term one of the most popular derivative volatility expectations of the markets. instruments. o Volatility signifies the rate and National Stock Exchange of India Ltd. magnitude of change in the stock (NSE) price or index value.  NSE is the leading stock exchange of  The movement in the VIX index reflects India, located in Mumbai. the overall market volatility expectations over the next 30 days.  The NSE was established in 1992 as the first dematerialized electronic exchange  Given the nature of the index, it is also in the country. known as ‘fear gauge’ or ‘fear index’.  The VIX index was first created by the Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE) and introduced in 1993 based on the prices of S&P 500 index. India VIX  The India VIX was launched by National Stock Exchange (NSE) in 2010 and is based on the computation methodology of CBOE though amended to align with the Indian markets.  India VIX indicates the Indian market’s volatility from the investor’s perception.  Volatility and the value of India VIX move parallel. i.e a spike in the VIX value means the market is expecting higher volatility in the near future and vice versa.  India VIX also has a strong negative correlation with Nifty. i.e every time India VIX falls, Nifty rises and when India VIX rises, Nifty falls.

Easy to PICK254 – “UPSC Monthly Magazine\" March-2020 Looking beyond just diagnosis and quarantine The author of the article calls for greater Sequencing: attention towards the development of therapeutic options against epidemics in India.  The first requirement is to sequence the genome of all the isolates from infected Background: patients.  The world has suffered numerous  COVID-19, being an RNA virus, would pandemics and COVID-19 will certainly require conversion to DNA data. Then not be the last. Future pandemics are a the sequence of the alphabets (ATGC) of certainty. the nucleic acids would be determined.  Ebola, Zika, Nipah, SARS, MERS,  COVID-19 can be sequenced in 24 hours H1N1 and COVID-19 are some of the in India. viral diseases.  It is important to sequence the virus  Unlike bacterial infections such as isolates in at least three different cholera, typhoid which have drug and institutions in India to ensure that vaccine options, some of the viruses do sequencing errors are eliminated. not have vaccines or drugs available as yet. Also, mutations of known viruses  The knowledge of genome sequence is periodically cause havoc. essential to designing drugs and vaccines.  In India, given the population density and unsatisfactory hygiene conditions Short term measures: and awareness, citizens can face serious situations even though the disease may  A quick response for the development of have originated elsewhere. treatment regimes would involve the evaluation of repurposed known Details: drugs.  In India, the options against epidemics  This drug development strategy are always limited to diagnosis as per depends on the reuse of existing World Health Organization protocols licensed drugs for new medical and seem to be limited to the exclusive treatments. domain of the National Institute of Virology (NIV), Pune and its designated  For example, in the case of centres. COVID-19, anti-HIV drugs and antimalarial drugs are being  There is much scope for improvement evaluated. in terms of development of therapeutic options in India.  Passive immunisation provides an effective measure for treatment. Therapeutic approach:  This technique uses the plasma derived from convalescing patients, who have completely recovered, which is then injected

Easy to PICK255 – “UPSC Monthly Magazine\" March-2020 into infected patients. This would boost antibodies in the patients.  Another strategy of passive immunisation involves cloning of B cells from patients to make therapeutic antibodies and their subsequent injection into patients. Long-term approach:  A long-term approach in developing therapeutic options involves cloning the genome, making recombinant antigens and testing for vaccine potential and new drug design.  The virus needs to be cultured for drug screening.  A phage library expressing all possible human antibodies (single chain) is available for screening.  This approach eventually needs clinical trials to be taken forward on fast- track with the cooperation of the office of the Drug Controller General of India. Way forward:  There is a need in India for a rapid response research and development team to handle viral onslaughts.  India should come out with a framework for drug and vaccine development domestically.  India can use the vast expertise of its organizations, scientists and medical professionals to effectively implement such a framework. Apart from the state organizations, there should be ample opportunity for including the private sector too, given its expertise.

Easy to PICK256 – “UPSC Monthly Magazine\" March-2020 Red Panda Hunting of Red Panda has decreased as per study  Namdapha National Park – Arunachal by wildlife trade monitoring network Pradesh TRAFFIC, indicative of the success of awareness campaigns.  Singalila National Park – West Bengal  Red panda is endemic to the temperate About IUCN forests of the Himalayas. The International Union for Conservation of  Native to the eastern Himalayas Nature and southwestern China.  IUCN is a membership union uniquely  It is arboreal, feeds mainly on bamboo, but composed of both government and civil also eats eggs, birds, and insects society organisations.  Habitat: Sikkim, Assam, Meghalaya, West  Created in 1948, it is the global authority Bengal and northern Arunachal Pradesh. on the status of the natural world and the measures needed to safeguard it.  Threat: Hunted for meat and fur, besides illegal capture for the pet trade.  It is headquartered in Switzerland.  The IUCN Red List of Threatened  IUCN Status: Endangered  Significance: Red panda’s survival is crucial Species, is the world's most comprehensive inventory of the global for the eastern and north-eastern Himalayan conservation status of plant and animal subalpine conifer forests and the eastern species. Himalayan broadleaf forests  Estimated Population: 14,500 animals in the wild across Nepal, Bhutan, India, China and Myanmar. It is the state animal of Sikkim Protected areas  Kanchendzonga National Park (NP) — Sikkim  Neora Valley NP – West Bengal

Easy to PICK257 – “UPSC Monthly Magazine\" March-2020 o It uses a set of quantitative criteria to evaluate  Data deficient (DD) – Not enough data to the extinction risk of species. These criteria make an assessment of its risk of are relevant to most species and all regions of extinction. the world.  Not evaluated (NE) – Has not yet been o The IUCN Red List Categories define the evaluated against the criteria extinction risk of species assessed. Nine categories extend from NE (Not Evaluated) to EX (Extinct). Critically Endangered (CR), Endangered (EN) and Vulnerable (VU) species are considered to be threatened with extinction. o It is recognized as the most authoritative guide to the status of biological diversity. o It is also a key indicator for the SDGs and Aichi Targets.  Extinct (EX) – No known individuals List of critically endangered species in remaining. India as per IUCN Red List 2019  Extinct in the wild (EW) – Known only to The list of critically endangered species in survive in captivity, or as a naturalized India from various categories are given population outside its historic range. below:  Critically endangered (CR) – Extremely Critically Endangered Mammals high risk of extinction in the wild. 1. Pygmy Hog  Endangered (EN) – High risk of extinction in the wild. 2. Andaman White-toothed Shrew 3. Jenkin’s Andaman Spiny Shrew  Vulnerable (VU) – High risk of endangerment in the wild. 4. Nicobar White-tailed Shrew  Near threatened (NT) – Likely to become 5. Kondana Rat endangered in the near future. 6. Large Rock Rat or Elvira Rat  Least concern (LC) – Lowest risk. Does not qualify for a more at-risk category. 7. Namdapha Flying Squirrel Widespread and abundant taxa are included in this category.

Easy to PICK258 – “UPSC Monthly Magazine\" March-2020 8. Malabar Civet 5. Narrow-snout Sawfish 9. Sumatran Rhinoceros 10. Javan Rhinoceros IUCN Conservation Plan for 2020 Critically Endangered Birds The strategy for the conservation of nature by 1. Aythya baeri IUCN is as follows: 2. Forest Owlet 3. Great Indian Bustard 1. Assess – Focus on monitoring species and 4. Bengal Florican informing the world about the status and 5. Siberian Crane trends of biodiversity, thus providing 6. Spoon-billed Sandpiper measures for the protection of our 7. Sociable Lapwing biosphere. 8. Jerdon’s Courser 9. White-backed Vulture 2. Plan – Aims to enhance collaborative and 10. Red-headed Vulture science-based strategies to ensure the most 11. White-bellied Heron effective species conservation actions. 12. Slender-billed Vulture 13. Indian Vulture 3. Act – Improve the status of biodiversity, 14. Pink-headed Duck by mobilizing actions involving 15. Himalayan Quail governments, educational institutions, civil society, and the private sector. Critically Endangered Reptiles 1. Gharial 4. Communicate – The effectiveness of 2. Hawksbill Turtle IUCN’s species conservation work is 3. Leatherback Turtle enhanced through strategic and targeted 4. River Terrapin communications. 5. Bengal Roof Turtle 6. Sispara day gecko Critically Endangered Fishes 1. Pondicherry Shark 2. Ganges Shark 3. Knife-tooth Sawfish 4. Large-tooth Sawfish

Easy to PICK259 – “UPSC Monthly Magazine\" March-2020 CORD BLOOD BANKING Recently there has been growing concern  Cord blood is the blood from the baby that regarding the aggressively promoted concept of is left in the umbilical cord and placenta cord blood banking. after birth. Cord blood banking involves taking the umbilical cord blood, which is Key Points a rich source of stem cells, and preserving it for future use.  Over the past decade, stem cell banking has been aggressively marketed even as  It contains special cells called its use is still in experimental stages. hematopoietic stem cells that can be used to treat some types of diseases.  The stem cell banking companies get access to data of to-be parents and start  Hematopoietic stem cells can mature into approaching their prospective customers different types of blood cells in the body. much before the delivery and offer competitive packages.  Globally, cord blood banking is recommended as a source  Companies convince parents to bank the of hematopoietic stem cell (derived from cells for several years promising future bone marrow, peripheral blood, or therapeutic use. umbilical cord blood) transplantation for haematological cancers and disorders  Enormous fees are charged from parents where its use is recommended. to preserve cells merely by emotional marketing.  For all other conditions, the use of cord blood as a source of stem cells is not yet  However, according to Indian Council established. of Medical Research (ICMR), there is no scientific basis for preservation of Stem Cells cord blood for future self use and this practice therefore raises ethical and  Stem cells are special human cells that social concerns. have the ability to develop into many different cell types, from muscle cells to  The ICMR does not recommend brain cells. commercial stem cell banking.  Stem cells are divided into two main  Private storage of the cord blood is forms- Embryonic stem cells and Adult advisable when there is an elder child in Stem Cells. the family with a condition treatable with these cells and the mother is expecting  Embryonic stem cells come from unused the next baby. embryos resulting from an in vitro fertilization procedure and that are  In other situations, parents should be donated to science. educated about the limitations of banking at this point of time. 1. These embryonic stem cells are pluripotent, meaning that they can Cord Blood Banking turn into more than one type of cell. 2. Adult Stem Cells: There are two types of adult stem cells.

Easy to PICK260 – “UPSC Monthly Magazine\" March-2020 One type comes from fully developed tissues, like the brain, skin, and bone marrow. There are only small numbers of stem cells in these tissues, and they are more likely to generate only certain types of cells. For example, a stem cell derived from the liver will only generate more liver cells. The second type is induced pluripotent stem cells. These are adult stem cells that have been manipulated in a laboratory to take on the pluripotent characteristics of embryonic stem cells. Indian Council of Medical Research  ICMR is the apex body in India for formulation, coordination and promotion of biomedical research.  Its mandate is to conduct, coordinate and implement medical research for the benefit of the Society; translating medical innovations into products/processes and introducing them into the public health system.  it is funded by the Government of India through the Department of Health Research, Ministry of Health & Family Welfare.

Easy to PICK261 – “UPSC Monthly Magazine\" March-2020