THE FOREIGN CONTRIBUTION (REGULATION) AMENDMENT ACT, 2020

An NGO is registered under the FCRA Act, 2010 or granted Prior Permission by Central government for receiving and utilising foreign funds/contribution. It can receive and utilize foreign funds/ contribution for a definite cultural, economic, educational, religious or social programme as provided under Section 11 of the Act.

The Act came into force on May 1, 2011 and has been amended twice. The first amendment was made by section 236 of the Finance Act, 2016 and the second by section 220 of the Finance Act, 2018.

Inflow of foreign contributions

A first-ever exercise conducted has revealed that India has at least 31 lakh registered NGOs — more than double the number of schools in the country, 250 times the number of government hospitals, and represent one NGO for 400 people as against one policeman for 709 people.

An amount of over Rs 58,000 crore foreign funds were received by NGOs registered under the FCRA between 2016-17 and 2018-19. The annual inflow of foreign contribution has almost doubled between years 2010 and 2019 but many NGOs/associations have not utilised the funds for the declared or approved purposes, as per their statement of objects.

Many of these were found wanting in ensuring basic statutory compliances such as submission of annual returns. As a result, the Govt. of India cancelled the FCRA certificates of over 19,000 organisations between 2011 and 2019. Besides, criminal investigation were also conducted against dozens of NGOs which indulged in outright misappropriation or misutilisation of foreign contribution.

Key Changes in the Act made now:

Prohibit public servants to receive foreign funds

The amendment bill prohibit ‘public servants’ from receiving any foreign funding. The competent authority, every arbitrator and every officer empowered by the Central Government or the competent authority, while exercising any power or performing any duty under this Act, shall be deemed to be a public servant within the meaning of section 21 of the Indian Penal Code (45 of 1860).  This include a person holding a government office or job by election or appointment; person in public service.

No-sub-granting or transfer of funds

Section 7 of the principal Act stand amended as:

No person who —

(a) is registered and granted a certificate or has obtained prior permission under this Act; and

(b) receives any foreign contribution,

shall transfer such foreign contribution to any other person.

This means an institution registered or having prior permission under FCRA cannot make sub-grant/s to any other intuition from foreign contributions received in its designated FCRA Bank account even if the second recipient or sub-grantee has registration or prior permission under FCRA.  

This amendment will be a major blow to NGOs working collaboratively on projects and programs.

This may also place ‘foreign funding agencies’ or ‘foreign grant-making organizations’ registered under FCRA in difficulty.

Cap on Administrative expenditure

As per Section 8 of the principal Act, in sub-section (1), at present the institutions are allowed to spend up to fifty per cent of foreign funds received during the fiscal year on admin expenditure. The Act now reduce it to twenty percent (max).

This amendment will cause a major blow to the organisations in terms of payment of salaries, professional fees, utility bills, travel and other such expenditure.

Declaring the Bank Account

In section 12 of the principal Act, after sub-section (1), the following sub-section shall be inserted, namely:  “(1A), Every person who makes an application under sub-section (1) shall be required to open FCRA Account in the manner specified in section 17 and mention details of such account in his application.”

Aadhaar of Board Members & Copy of passport and OCI card

The bill provides for the insertion of a new section 12A empowering the Central government to require Aadhaar number, etc. as an identification document.

Section 12(A) to read as : Person/Organisations applying for registration, prior permission or renewal of FCRA registration shall be required to “provide as identification document, the Aadhaar number of all its office bearers or Directors or other key functionaries, by whatever name called, issued under the Aadhaar (Targeted Delivery of Financial and Other Subsidies, Benefits and Services) Act, 2016, or a copy of the Passport or Overseas Citizen of India Card, in case of a foreigner.

Suspension in case of contravention

If the Ministry of Home Affairs “on the basis of any information or report, and after holding a summary inquiry, has reason to believe that a person (person includes an association) who has been granted prior permission has contravened any of the provisions of this Act, it may, pending any further inquiry, direct that such person (or association) shall not utilize the unutilized foreign contribution or receive the remaining portion of foreign contribution which has not been received or, as the case may be, any additional foreign contribution, without prior approval of the Central Government.”

As such, MHA will have the power to freeze the FCRA Bank account in case of any contravention of the FCRA law.

Suspension of registration

Currently the FCRA registration of an organization which violates the provisions of FCRA may be suspended for “such period not exceeding one hundred and eighty days as may be specified”.

Section 13 to read as: The Bill proposes to amend this to “one hundred and eighty days, or such further period, not exceeding one hundred and eighty days, as may be specified”.

This amendment will empower MHA to suspend FCRA registration of an organization for more than six months.

Voluntary surrendering FCRA registration

Under current law there is no provision for an organization to voluntarily surrender its FCRA registration. Section 14(A) of the Act now proposes that on a request being made in this behalf by the organization, MHA may permit any organization to surrender the certificate granted under this Act, if, after making such inquiry as it deems fit, MHA is satisfied that such organization has not contravened any of the provisions of FCRA, and the management of foreign contribution and asset, if any, created out of such contribution has been vested in the competent authority as provided in Section 15(1).

While this amendment will prove to be a boon for organisations no longer interested in receipt of foreign funds, it will be a bane for organisations which may have created assets (e.g. schools, hospitals, vocational training centers) out of foreign funds.

On surrendering FCRA registration, assets created out of foreign contributions may also have to be surrendered to the competent government authority.

Inquiry before renewal of FCRA

Generally, renewal of FCRA registration has been relatively easy for organisations who have been compliant with requirements under FCRA such as filing annual returns in online Form FC-4, quarterly intimation etc.

However, it is stipulated now that MHA, before renewing the certificate, shall make such inquiry, as it deems fit, to satisfy itself that such organization has fulfilled all conditions specified under Section 12(4) of FCRA 2010.

FCRA Bank Account with State Bank of India

Currently person/organisations are required to open their designated FCRA Bank account with any Core Banking Compliant Bank integrated with the Public Financial Management Systems (PFMS).

In Section 17 of the principal Act, the following section shall be substituted, as: —

Sec. 17. (1) Every person who has been granted certificate or prior permission under section 12 shall receive foreign contribution only in an account designated as “FCRA Account” by the bank, which shall be opened by him for the purpose of remittances of foreign contribution in such branch of the State Bank of India at New Delhi, as the Central Government may, by notification, specify in this behalf:

Provided that such person may also open another FCRA Account in any of the scheduled bank of his choice for the purpose of keeping or utilising the foreign contribution which has been received from his FCRA Account in the specified branch of State Bank of India at New Delhi:

Provided further that such person may also open one or more accounts in one or more scheduled banks of his choice to which he may transfer for utilising any foreign contribution received by him in his FCRA account in the specified branch of the State Bank of India at New Delhi or kept by him in another FCRA Account in a scheduled bank of his choice:

(1) Provided also that no funds other than foreign contribution shall be received or deposited in any such account.

(2) The specified branch of the State Bank of India at New Delhi or the branch of the scheduled bank where the person referred to in sub-section (1) has opened his foreign contribution account or the authorised person in foreign exchange, shall report to such authority as may be specified,—

  • the prescribed amount of foreign remittance;
  • the source and manner in which the foreign remittance was received; and
  • other particulars,

in such form and manner as may be prescribed.”

The Bill now proposes that organisations granted registration or prior permission under FCRA shall receive foreign contribution only in an account designated as “FCRA Account” by the bank, which shall be opened by him for the purpose of remittances of foreign contribution in such branch of the State Bank of India at New Delhi, as the Central Government may, by notification, specify in this behalf, provided that such organization may also open another FCRA Account in any other scheduled bank of their choice for the purpose of keeping or utilizing the foreign contribution which has been received from the FCRA Account in the specified branch of State Bank of India at New Delhi.

Thus, from the requirement of having designated FCRA Bank account with any Core Banking Compliant Bank integrated with the Public Financial Management Systems (PFMS) it has now been narrowed down to such branch of the State Bank of India at New Delhi.

The Bill also makes it incumbent on the specified branch of the State Bank of India at New Delhi or the branch of the scheduled bank where the organization has opened the foreign contribution account to report to the government of India, the prescribed amount of foreign remittance; the source and manner in which the foreign remittance was received; and other particulars, in such form and manner as may be prescribed.’.

Rationale for Amendment

The Government of India’s rationale for these draconian and cumbersome amendments can be found in the ‘Statement of Objects and Reasons’. The statement avers:

  1. The annual inflow of foreign contribution has almost doubled between the years 2010 and 2019, but many recipients of foreign contribution have not utilized the same for the purpose for which they were registered or granted prior permission under the said Act.
  2. Many of them were also found wanting in ensuring basic statutory compliances such as submission of annual returns and maintenance of proper accounts. This has led to a situation where the Central Government had to cancel certificates of registration of more than 19,000 recipient organisations, including non-Governmental organisations, during the period between 2011 and 2019.
  3. Criminal investigations also had to be initiated against dozens of such non-Governmental organisations which indulged in outright misappropriation or misutilization of foreign contribution.

Priority Sector Lending Norms

Priority sector Lending targets :

TARGETS/SUB-TARGETS

The scheduled commercial banks are expected to enlarge credit to the priority sector and ensure that priority sector advances constitute 40 percent of the net bank credit and that a substantial portion is directed to the weaker sections. The targets and sub-targets set under priority sector lending for domestic and foreign banks operating in India are as below:

Domestic commercial banks / Foreign banks with 20 & above branchesForeign Banks with less than 20 branches

Regional Rural Banks (RRB) & Small Finance Banks (SFB)
Categories:  Total Priority Sector
40% of Adjusted Net Bank Credit or credit equivalent amount of Off-Balance Sheet Exposure, whichever is higher.    


 
40% of ANBC or credit equivalent amount of Off-Balance Sheet Exposure, whichever is higher, out of which up to 32% can be in the form of lending to Exports and not less than 8% can be to any other priority sector75% of ANBC or credit equivalent amount of Off-Balance Sheet Exposure, whichever is higher. However, RRBs lending to Medium Enterprises, Social Infrastructure & Renewable Energy shall be reckoned for priority sector achievement only upto 15% of ANBC.
Categories:  Agriculture  
18% of ANBC or credit equivalent amount of Off-Balance Sheet Exposure, whichever is higher, out of which a sub-target of 10% is prescribed for Small and Marginal Farmers- SMFs.No specific target. Forms part of total priority sector target.





18% of ANBC or credit equivalent of Off-Balance Sheet Exposure, whichever is higher, out of which a sub-target of 10%  is for Small & Marginal Farmers (SMFs).


Categories:  Micro Enterprises-MSE
7.5% of ANBC or Credit Equivalent Amount of Off-Balance Sheet Exposure.No specific target. Forms part of total priority sector target.

 
7.5% of ANBC or Credit Equivalent of Off-Balance Sheet Exposure.

Categories:  Advances to Weaker Sections
12% of ANBC or credit equivalent amount of Off-Balance Sheet Exposure, whichever is higher.No specific target in the total priority sector target.


For RRBs – 15% and For SFBs – 12% of ANBC or credit equivalent amount of Off-Balance Sheet Exposure, whichever is higher.

Export Credit (not applicable to RRBs and LABs)

Export credit under agriculture and MSME sectors are allowed to be classified as PSL in the respective categories viz. agriculture and MSME. Export Credit (other than in agriculture and MSME) will be allowed to be classified as priority sector as detailed below:

Domestic Banks / WoS of Foreign Banks/ SFBs/ UCBsForeign banks with 20 branches and aboveForeign banks with less than 20 branches
Incremental export credit over corresponding date of the preceding year, up to 2% of ANBC or Credit Equivalent Amount of Off-Balance Sheet Exposure, whichever is higher, subject to a sanctioned limit of up to Rs. 40 crore per borrower.Incremental export credit over corresponding date of the preceding year, up to 2% of ANBC or Credit Equivalent Amount of Off-Balance Sheet Exposure, whichever is higher.Export credit up to 32% of ANBC or Credit Equivalent Amount of Off-Balance Sheet Exposure, whichever is higher.

For further detailed guidelines, please read our Book – Banking – For Bank Promotion Exams. by N K Gupta….

Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises-Definition

Definition of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises-2020

After 14 years since the MSME Development Act came into existence in 2006, a revision in MSME definition was announced in the Atmanirbhar Bharat package in May, 2020. The Central Government, after obtaining the recommendations of the Advisory Committee, notified revised criteria for classifying the enterprises as micro, small and medium enterprises, with effect from the 1st July, 2020, as below:

1. Classification of enterprises

  • a micro enterprise, where the investment in plant and machinery or equipment does not exceed Rupees One crore and turnover does not exceed Rupees Five crores;
  • a small enterprise, where the investment in plant and machinery or equipment does not exceed Rupees Ten crore and turnover does not exceed Rupees Fifty crores; and
  • a medium enterprise, where the investment in plant and machinery or equipment does not exceed Rupees  Fifty crore rupees and turnover does not exceed Rupees Two hundred and Fifty crores.

2. Becoming a micro, small or medium enterprise

  • Any person who intends to establish a micro, small or medium enterprise may file Udyam Registration online in the Udyam Registration portal, based on self-declaration with no requirement to upload documents, papers, certificates or proof.
  • On registration, an enterprise (referred to as – Udyam in the Udyam Registration portal) will be assigned a permanent identity number, known as – Udyam Registration Number.
  • An e-certificate, namely, ― Udyam Registration Certificate, shall be issued on completion of the registration process.

3. Composite criteria of investment and turnover for classification

  • A composite criterion of investment and turnover shall apply for classification of an enterprise as micro, small or medium.
  • If an enterprise crosses the ceiling limits specified for its present category in either of the two criteria of investment or turnover, it will cease to exist in that category and be placed in the next higher category but no enterprise shall be placed in the lower category unless it goes below the ceiling limits specified for its present category in both the criteria of investment as well as turnover.
  • All units with Goods and Services Tax Identification Number (GSTIN) listed against the same Permanent Account Number (PAN) shall be collectively treated as one enterprise and the turnover and investment figures for all of such entities shall be seen together and only the aggregate values will be considered for deciding the category as micro, small or medium enterprise.

4. Calculation of investment in plant and machinery or equipment

  • The calculation of investment in plant and machinery or equipment will be linked to the Income Tax Return (ITR) of the previous years filed under the Income Tax Act, 1961.
  • In case of a new enterprise, where no prior ITR is available, the investment will be based on self-declaration of the promoter of the enterprise and such relaxation shall end after the 31st March of the financial year in which it files its first ITR.
  • The expression ‘’plant and machinery or equipment’’ of the enterprise, shall have the same meaning as assigned to the plant and machinery in the Income Tax Rules, 1962 framed under the Income Tax Act, 1961 and shall include all tangible assets (other than land and building, furniture and fittings).
  • The purchase (invoice) value of a plant and machinery or equipment, whether purchased first hand or second hand, shall be taken into account excluding Goods and Services Tax (GST), on self-disclosure basis, if the enterprise is a new one without any ITR.
  • The cost of certain items specified in the section 7 of the Act shall be excluded from the calculation of the amount of investment in plant and machinery.

5. Calculation of turnover

  • Exports of goods or services or both, shall be excluded while calculating the turnover of any enterprise whether micro, small or medium, for the purposes of classification.
  • Information as regards turnover and exports turnover for an enterprise shall be linked to the Income Tax Act or the Central Goods and Services Act (CGST Act) and the GSTIN.
  • The turnover related figures of such enterprise which do not have PAN will be considered on self-declaration basis for a period up to 31st March, 2021 and thereafter, PAN and GSTIN shall be mandatory.

The Reserve Bank further said in case of an upward change in terms of investment in plant and machinery or equipment or turnover or both, and consequent re-classification, an enterprise will maintain its prevailing status till expiry of one year from the close of the year of registration.

For further details on the subject, read our Book – Banking – For Bank Promotion Exams. by N K Gupta

CORONAVIRUS – A CHINESE VIRUS

WCoronavirus disease (COVID-19) is an infectious disease caused by a newly discovered coronavirus. Most people infected with the COVID-19 virus will experience mild to moderate respiratory illness and recover without requiring special treatment.  Older people, and those with underlying medical problems like cardiovascular disease, diabetes, chronic respiratory disease, and cancer are more likely to develop serious illness.

Coronaviruses are a group of related RNA viruses that cause diseases in mammals and birds. In humans, these viruses cause respiratory tract infections that can range from mild to lethal. Mild illnesses include some cases of the common cold (which is also caused by other viruses, predominantly rhinoviruses), while more lethal varieties can cause SARS, MERS, and COVID-19. Symptoms in other species vary: in chickens, they cause an upper respiratory tract disease, while in cows and pigs they cause diarrhoea. There are as yet no vaccines or antiviral drugs to prevent or treat human coronavirus infections.

The scientific name for coronavirus is Orthocoronavirinae or Coronavirinae. Coronaviruses belong to the family of Coronaviridae, order Nidovirales, and realm Riboviria.

They are enveloped viruses with a positive-sense single-stranded RNA genome and a nucleocapsid of helical symmetry. The genome size of coronaviruses ranges from approximately 26 to 32 kilobases, one of the largest among RNA viruses. They have characteristic club-shaped spikes that project from their surface, which in electron micrographs create an image reminiscent of the solar corona, from which their name derives.

The best way to prevent and slow down transmission is be well informed about the COVID-19 virus, the disease it causes and how it spreads. Protect yourself and others from infection by washing your hands or using an alcohol based rub frequently and not touching your face. 

The COVID-19 virus spreads primarily through droplets of saliva or discharge from the nose when an infected person coughs or sneezes, so it’s important that you also practice respiratory etiquette (for example, by coughing into a flexed elbow).

At this time, there are no specific vaccines or treatments for COVID-19. However, there are many ongoing clinical trials evaluating potential treatments. WHO will continue to provide updated information as soon as clinical findings become available.

COVID-19, a new virus and disease were unknown before the outbreak began in Wuhan, China, in December 2019. COVID-19 is now a pandemic affecting many countries globally.

HISTORY

Coronaviruses were first discovered in the 1930s when an acute respiratory infection of domesticated chickens was shown to be caused by infectious bronchitis virus (IBV). Arthur Schalk and M.C. Hawn described in 1931 a new respiratory infection of chickens in North Dakota. The infection of new-born chicks was characterized by gasping and listlessness. The chicks’ mortality rate was 40–90%. Fred Beaudette and Charles Hudson six years later successfully isolated and cultivated the infectious bronchitis virus which caused the disease. In the 1940s, two more animal coronaviruses, mouse hepatitis virus (MHV) and transmissible gastroenteritis virus (TGEV), were isolated. It was not realized at the time that these three different viruses were related.

Human coronaviruses were discovered in the 1960s. They were isolated using two different methods in the United Kingdom and the United States. E.C. Kendall, Malcom Byone, and David Tyrrell working at the Common Cold Unit of the British Medical Research Council in 1960 isolated from a boy a novel common cold virus B814. The virus was not able to be cultivated using standard techniques which had successfully cultivated rhinoviruses, adenoviruses and other known common cold viruses. In 1965, Tyrrell and Byone successfully cultivated the novel virus by serially passing it through organ culture of human embryonic trachea. The new cultivating method was introduced to the lab by Bertil Hoorn. The isolated virus when intra-nasally inoculated into volunteers caused a cold and was inactivated by ether which indicated it had a lipid envelope. Around the same time, Dorothy Hamre and John Procknow at the University of Chicago isolated a novel cold virus 229E from medical students, which they grew in kidney tissue culture. The novel virus 229E, like the virus strain B814, when inoculated into volunteers caused a cold and was inactivated by ether.

The two novel strains B814 and 229E were subsequently imaged by electron microscopy in 1967 by Scottish virologist June Almeida at St. Thomas Hospital in London. Almeida through electron microscopy was able to show that B814 and 229E were morphologically related by their distinctive club-like spikes. Not only were they related with each other, but they were morphologically related to infectious bronchitis virus (IBV). A research group at the National Institute of Health the same year was able to isolate another member of this new group of viruses using organ culture and named the virus strain OC43 (OC for organ culture). Like B814, 229E, and IBV, the novel cold virus OC43 had distinctive club-like spikes when observed with the electron microscope.

The IBV-like novel cold viruses were soon shown to be also morphologically related to the mouse hepatitis virus. This new group of IBV-like viruses came to be known as coronaviruses after their distinctive morphological appearance. Human coronavirus 229E and human coronavirus OC43 continued to be studied in subsequent decades. The coronavirus strain B814 was lost. It is not known which present human coronavirus it was. Other human coronaviruses have since been identified, including SARS-CoV in 2003, HCoV NL63 in 2004, HCoV HKU1 in 2005, MERS-CoV in 2012, and SARS-CoV-2 in 2019. There have also been a large number of animal coronaviruses identified since the 1960s.

The human coronavirus discovered in 2003, SARS-CoV, which causes severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS), has a unique pathogenesis because it causes both upper and lower respiratory tract infections.

Six species of human coronaviruses are known, with one species subdivided into two different strains, making seven strains of human coronaviruses altogether.

Four human coronaviruses produce symptoms that are generally mild:

  1. Human coronavirus OC43 (HCoV-OC43), β-CoV
  2. Human c oronavirus HKU1 (HCoV-HKU1), β-CoV
  3. Human coronavirus 229E (HCoV-229E), α-CoV
  4. Human coronavirus NL63 (HCoV-NL63), α-CoV

Three human coronaviruses produce symptoms that are potentially severe:

  1. Middle East respiratory syndrome-related coronavirus (MERS-CoV), β-CoV
  2. Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus (SARS-CoV), β-CoV
  3. Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), β-CoV, named covid-19

MERS

In September 2012, a new type of coronavirus was identified, initially called Novel Coronavirus 2012, and now officially named Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV). The World Health Organization issued a global alert soon after. The WHO update on 28 September 2012 said the virus did not seem to pass easily from person to person. However, on 12 May 2013, a case of human-to-human transmission in France was confirmed by the French Ministry of Social Affairs and Health. In addition, cases of human-to-human transmission were reported by the Ministry of Health in Tunisia. Two confirmed cases involved people who seemed to have caught the disease from their late father, who became ill after a visit to Qatar and Saudi Arabia. Despite this, it appears the virus had trouble spreading from human to human, as most individuals who are infected do not transmit the virus. By 30 October 2013, there were 124 cases and 52 deaths in Saudi Arabia.

After the Dutch Erasmus Medical Centre sequenced the virus, the virus was given a new name, Human Coronavirus—Erasmus Medical Centre (HCoV-EMC). The final name for the virus is Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV). The only U.S. cases (both survived) were recorded in May 2014.

In May 2015, an outbreak of MERS-CoV occurred in the Republic of Korea, when a man who had travelled to the Middle East, visited four hospitals in the Seoul area to treat his illness. This caused one of the largest outbreaks of MERS-CoV outside the Middle East. As of December 2019, 2,468 cases of MERS-CoV infection had been confirmed by laboratory tests, 851 of which were fatal, a mortality rate of approximately 34.5%.

SARS

In 2003, following the outbreak of severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) which had begun the prior year in Asia, and secondary cases elsewhere in the world, the World Health Organization (WHO) issued a press release stating that a novel coronavirus identified by a number of laboratories was the causative agent for SARS. The virus was officially named the SARS coronavirus (SARS-CoV). More than 8,000 people were infected, about ten percent of whom died.

CORONAVIRUS DISEASE 2019 (COVID-19)

In December 2019, a pneumonia outbreak was reported in Wuhan, China. On 31 December 2019, the outbreak was traced to a novel strain of coronavirus, which was given the interim name 2019-nCoV by the World Health Organization (WHO), later renamed SARS-CoV-2 by the International Committee on Taxonomy of Viruses.

As of 4th of June, 2020, there have been at least 386,091 confirmed deaths and more than 6,513,301 confirmed cases in the COVID-19 pandemic. The Wuhan strain has been identified as a new strain of Betacoronavirus from group 2B with approximately 70% genetic similarity to the SARS-CoV. The virus has a 96% similarity to a bat coronavirus, so it is widely suspected to originate from bats as well. The pandemic has resulted in travel restrictions and nationwide lockdowns in many countries.

VIRUSES CARRIED BY BATS

Bats harbour several viruses that are zoonotic, meaning capable of infecting humans. Despite the abundance of viruses associated with bats, they rarely become ill from viral infections, Bats’ immune systems differ from other mammals and evidence indicates they are more tolerant of infection than other mammals. The zoonotic viruses found in bat include the rabies virus, SARS-CoV, Marburg virus, Nipah virus, and Hendra virus. While research clearly indicates that SARS-CoV-2 originated in bats,it is unknown how it was transmitted to humans, or if an intermediate host, possibly the Sunda pangolin, was involved in transmission. Bat viruses are transmitted by direct contact with infected bat fluids like urine, saliva, or through contact with an infected, non-bat intermediate host, such as Sunda pangolin.  It has also been speculated that bats may have a role in the ecology of Ebola virus, though this is unconfirmed. 

Bats host a diverse array of viruses, including all seven types of viruses described by the Baltimore classification:

  • Double-stranded DNA viruses;
    • Single-stranded DNA viruses;
    • Double-stranded RNA viruses;
    • Positive-sense single-stranded RNA viruses;
    • Negative-sense single-stranded RNA viruses;
    • Positive-sense single-stranded RNA viruses – that replicate through a DNA intermediate; and
    • Double-stranded DNA viruses – that replicate through a single-stranded RNA intermediate.

The majority of bat-associated viruses are RNA viruses rather than DNA viruses. A single bat can host several different kinds of viruses without becoming ill. Though bats harbour diverse viruses, they are rarely lethal to the bat host.

WUHAN INSTITUTE OF VIROLOGY

The Wuhan Institute of Virology, Chinese Academy of Sciences is a research institute on virology administered by the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS). Located in Jiangxia District, Wuhan, Hubei, it opened mainland China’s first biosafety level 4 (BSL–4) laboratory in 2015. The Institute has strong ties to the Galveston National Laboratory in the United States, Centre International de Recherche en Infectiologie in France and the National Microbiology Laboratory in Canada. The Wuhan institute houses the largest virus bank in Asia which preserves more than 1,500 virus strains.

In January 2020, conspiracy theories circulated that the COVID-19 pandemic originated from viruses engineered by the WIV, which were refuted on the basis of scientific evidence that the virus has natural origins. In mid-January, U.S. intelligence agencies reported to U.S. officials that they had not detected any alarm within the Chinese government that would suggest the outbreak had emerged from a government laboratory. In an opinion column in the Washington Post, Josh Rogin wrote that US State Department cables from 2018 raised safety concerns about WIV’s research on bat coronaviruses. In April 2020, at the request of Trump administration officials, U.S. intelligence agencies began investigating whether the outbreak originated from the accidental exposure by WIV scientists studying natural coronaviruses in bats. The New York Times reported that senior officials in the Trump administration were pressuring intelligence agencies to find evidence for the unsubstantiated theory that the virus leaked from the laboratory, leading to concern among some intelligence analysts that intelligence assessments would be distorted to serve a political campaign to lay blame on China for the outbreak.

ORIGIN OF COVID-19

The first human cases of COVID-19 infection was first reported in a wholesale Wet market in Wuhan City, China, in December 2019, which incidentally is located close to the Wuhan Institute of Virology. However, the Chinese laboratory is accused by many nations of being the source of the coronavirus pandemic. The World Health Organisation however said that there was no evidence that the virus originated in a lab. 

STRUCTURE (OF CORONAVIRUSES)

Coronaviruses are large, roughly spherical, particles with bulbous surface projections. The average diameter of the virus particles is around 125 nm (.125 μm). The diameter of the envelope is 85 nm and the spikes are 20 nm long. The envelope of the virus in electron micrographs appears as a distinct pair of electron-dense shells (shells that are relatively opaque to the electron beam used to scan the virus particle). The viral envelope consists of a lipid bilayer, in which the membrane (M), envelope (E) and spike (S) structural proteins are anchored. The ratio of E:S:M in the lipid bilayer is approximately 1:20:300. On average a coronavirus particle has 74 surface spikes. 

Inside the envelope, there is the nucleocapsid, which is formed from multiple copies of the nucleocapsid (N) protein, which are bound to the positive-sense single-stranded RNA genome in a continuous beads-on-a-string type conformation. The lipid bilayer envelope, membrane proteins, and nucleocapsid protect the virus when it is outside the host cell.

Coronaviruses contain a positive-sense, single-stranded RNA genome. The genome size for coronaviruses ranges from 26.4 to 31.7 kilobases. The genome size is one of the largest among RNA viruses. 

Infection begins when the viral spike protein attaches to its complementary host cell receptor. After attachment, a protease of the host cell cleaves and activates the receptor-attached spike protein. Depending on the host cell protease available, cleavage and activation allows the virus to enter the host cell by endocytosis or direct fusion of the viral envelop with the host membrane.

Infected carriers are able to shed viruses into the environment. The interaction of the coronavirus spike protein with its complementary cell receptor is central in determining the tissue tropism, infectivity, and species range of the released virus. Coronaviruses mainly target epithelial cells. They are transmitted from one host to another host, depending on the coronavirus species, by either an aerosol, fomite, or faecal-oral route. On entry into the host cell, the virus particle is uncoated, and its genome enters the cell cytoplasm.

SYMPTOMS

The most common symptoms of COVID-19 are fever, dry cough, and tiredness. Other symptoms that are less common and may affect some patients include aches and pains, nasal congestion, headache, conjunctivitis, sore throat, diarrhoea, loss of taste or smell or a rash on skin or discoloration of fingers or toes. These symptoms are usually mild and begin gradually. Some people become infected but only have very mild symptoms.

Most people (about 80%) recover from the disease without needing hospital treatment. Around 20% patients who gets COVID-19 becomes seriously ill and develops difficulty breathing. Older people, and those with underlying medical problems, such as high blood pressure, heart and lung problems, diabetes, or cancer, are at higher risk of developing serious illness.  However, anyone can catch COVID-19 and become seriously ill.   

HOW VIRUS SPREAD

People can catch COVID-19 from others who have the virus. The disease spreads primarily from person to person through small droplets from the nose or mouth, which are expelled when a person with COVID-19 coughs, sneezes, or speaks. These droplets are relatively heavy, do not travel far and quickly sink to the ground. People can catch COVID-19 if they breathe in these droplets from a person infected with the virus.  

These droplets can land on objects and surfaces around the person such as tables, doorknobs and handrails.  People can become infectedby touching these objects or surfaces, then touching their eyes, nose or mouth.  This is why it is important to wash your hands regularly with soap and water or clean with alcohol-based hand rub. This is why it is important to stay at least 1 meter) away from others.

While initial investigations suggest the virus may be present in faeces in some cases, to date, there have not been reports of faecal-oral transmission of COVID-19. Additionally, there is no evidence to date on the survival of the COVID-19 virus in water or sewage.

DISTINGUISHING QUARANTINE, ISOLATION AND PHYSICAL DISTANCING

Quarantine means restricting activities or separating people, who are not ill themselves but may have been exposed to COVID-19. The goal is to prevent spread of the disease at the time when people just develop symptoms.

Isolation means separating people who are ill with symptoms of COVID-19 and may be infectious to prevent the spread of the disease.

Physical distancing means being physically apart. WHO recommends keeping at least 1metre distance from others. This is a general measure that everyone should take even if they are well with no known exposure to COVID-19. 

HOW LONG VIRUS SURVIVE ON SURFACE

Studies have shown that the COVID-19 virus can survive for up to 72 hours on plastic and stainless steel, but less than 4 hours on copper and less than 24 hours on cardboard. The coronavirus on surfaces can easily be cleaned with common household disinfectants that will kill the virus.

As, always clean your hands with an alcohol-based hand rub or wash them with soap and water. Avoid touching your eyes, mouth, or nose.

TREATMENT OF CORONAVIRUS

Antibiotics do not work against viruses; they only work on bacterial infections. COVID-19 is caused by a virus, so antibiotics do not work. Antibiotics should not be used as a means of prevention or treatment of COVID-19. In hospitals physicians will sometimes use antibiotics to prevent or treat secondary bacterial infections which can be a complication of COVID-19 in severely ill patients. They should only be used as directed by a physician to treat a bacterial infection.

There are no vaccines or antiviral drugs to prevent or treat human corona virus infections. Treatment is only supportive. A number of anti-virial targets have been identified, such as viral proteases, polymerases, and entry proteins. Drugs are in development which target these proteins and the different steps of viral replication. A number of vaccines using different methods are also under development for different human coronaviruses.

The National Medical Products Administration (NMPA) of China has approved the use of Favilavir, an anti-viral drug, as a treatment for coronavirus. The drug has reportedly shown efficacy in treating the disease with minimal side effects in a clinical trial.

An antiviral drug earlier developed for ebola, Remdesivir developed by Gilead Sciences that was found to be ineffective is now being tested for treatment of covid-19, in two phase III randomised clinical trials in Asian countries. This drug has been hailed as the frontrunner in the treatment of covid-19, for emergency treatment in critical cases. India has approved Remdesivir for emergency use for five doses in treating Covid-19 patients.

In France, the combination of drugs, Hydroxychloroquine (HCQ) and Azithromycin (AZ) is successfully used in the treatment of COVID-19. Globally, there is a huge debate on the workability and efficacy of Hydrochloroquine for treatment of covid-19. India is one of the largest producers of the drug, HCQ and it is exporting the drug worldwide. India is using hydroxychloroquine as one of its treatment methods for COVID-19 cases in the country.

VACCINE DEVELOPMENT: PROGRESS SO FAR

As the virus spreads easily and rapidly, the majority of the world’s population is still vulnerable to it, and a vaccine would provide some protection by training people’s immune systems to fight the virus so they should not become sick. As such, research is happening at breakneck speed all over the globe. About 80 groups around the world are researching vaccines and some are now entering clinical trials.

  • The first human trial data appears positive showing the first eight patients all produced antibodies that could neutralise the virus.
  • In Oxford, the first human trial in Europe has started with more than 800 recruits and have signed a deal with Pharma company, AstraZeneca to supply 100 million doses (30 million for the UK) if it works.
  • Pharmaceutical giants Sanofi and GSK have teamed up to develop a vaccine together.
  • Australian scientists have begun injecting ferrets with two potential vaccines. It is the first comprehensive pre-clinical trial involving animals, and the researchers hope to test humans by the end of April/May.
  • A vaccine would normally take years, if not decades, to develop. Researchers hope to achieve the same amount of work in only a few months.
  • Most experts think a vaccine is likely to become available by mid-2021, about 12-18 months after the new virus, Sars-CoV-2, first emerged.
  • That would be a huge scientific feat and there are no guarantees it will work.
  • Four coronaviruses already circulate in human beings. They cause common cold symptoms and we don’t have vaccines for any of them.

In India, there are eight Indian vaccines in the works which have been consented to by the WHO, some of which are also moved to the human clinical trial phase.

Serum Institute of India located at Pune, has partnered with Oxford University in their vaccine clinical trials.

The vaccine developed by Bharat Biotech International Limited in collaboration with Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) has also reported to have shown positive developments. 

Yoga guru Baba Ramdev’s Patanjali group has also entered the race to hunt for a preventive vaccine to fight COVID-19. The company, which is basing its trials on ayurvedic supplements have got the ready approvals and are now proceeding to start the tests. They reported to have screened over 1000 phytochemicals (including those with anti-viral properties like ashwagandha, giloy, tulsi) which could control or suppress virus entry into the cells. In the first phase, the tests will be done in cities like Indore and Jaipur.

The Chinese pharma company, Sinovac Biotech, has been working on producing a vaccine earmarked CoronaVac and is reported to have received good results. The vaccine is in stage-2 of the trials, after it has shown promising results in the first phase trials tested on monkeys. It is reported that, stage 3 trials will kickstart soon in the United Kingdom soon. 

NOBEL PRIZE 2020 GOES TO ..

The Nobel Prize is a set of annual international awards bestowed in several categories – Chemistry, Literature, Peace, Physics, Economic science and Physiology or Medicine by Swedish and Norwegian institutions in recognition of academic, cultural, or scientific advances. The will of the Swedish chemist, engineer and industrialist Alfred Nobel established the five Nobel prizes in 1895. The prizes were first awarded in 1901. The prizes are widely regarded as the most prestigious awards internationally available in their respective fields.

Physiology or Medicine

Drs. Harvey J. Alter, Michael Houghton and Charles M. Rice on Monday received the prize for their discovery of the hepatitis C virus. The Nobel committee said the three scientists had “made possible blood tests and new medicines that have saved millions of lives.” Their research paved the way for not only making the highly sensitive blood tests for the virus available but also in the rapid development of antiviral drugs to treat hepatitis C virus.

The prestigious award comes with a gold medal and prize money of 10 million Swedish kronor (over $1,118,000), courtesy of a bequest left 124 years ago by the prize’s creator, Swedish inventor Alfred Nobel. The amount was increased recently to adjust for inflation.

Physics

Roger Penrose, Reinhard Genzel and Andrea Ghez was awarded the Nobel Prize 2020 for their discoveries that have improved understanding of the universe, including work on black holes. The prize will be shared in half by Roger Penrose and the other half will be shared equally by Reinhard Genzel and Andrea Ghez.

Roger Penrose invented ingenious mathematical methods to explore Albert Einstein’s general theory of relativity to show that the theory leads to the formation of black holes, those monsters in time and space that capture everything that enters them.

Reinhard Genzel and Andrea Ghez discovered that an invisible and extremely heavy object governs the orbits of stars at the centre of our galaxy. A supermassive black hole is the only currently known explanation.

Chemistry

The Nobel Prize in Chemistry was jointly awarded on Wednesday to Emmanuelle Charpentier and Jennifer A. Doudna, for developing the tools to edit DNA. This isthe first time a Nobel science prize has gone to a women-only team, for their work on the development of Crispr-Cas9, a method for genome editing.

Their discovery, known as Crispr-Cas9 “genetic scissors”, is a way of making specific and precise changes to the DNA contained in living cells. They will split the prize money of 10 million kronor ($1,110,400).

Literature

The Nobel Prize in Literature was awarded on Thursday to Louise Glück, one of America’s most celebrated poets, “for her unmistakable poetic voice that with austere beauty makes individual existence universal.” Her poem collections include “The Triumph of Achilles” (1985) and “Ararat” (1990) 2006 collection “Averno” (2006) and “Snowdrops”. 

She is the fourth woman to win a Nobel Prize, after Olga TokarczukSvetlana Alexievich and Alice Munro — and only the 16th since the Nobel prizes were first awarded in 1901.

Peace

There were as many as 318 candidates nominated for the 2020 Nobel Peace Prize, which is the fourth largest number in the history of the prize. 

The Nobel Peace Prize 2020 was awarded to the World Food Programme by the Norwegian Nobel Committee, for its efforts to combat hunger, for its contribution to bettering conditions for peace in conflict-affected areas and for acting as a driving force in efforts to prevent the use of hunger as a weapon of war and conflict. David Beasley, is currently the Executive Director of the World Food Programme. The UN entity World Food Programme, which provided food to 100 million people last year, was handed out this honor — the 101st time (Nobel Peace Prize).

Incidentally, for the first time in 1901, Nobel Peace Prize was shared by Henry Dunant, founder of the International Committee of the Red Cross, with Frédéric Passy, a leading international pacifist of the time.

Economic Sciences

The Nobel Prize in Economic Sciences, officially known as The Sveriges Riksbank Prize in Economic Sciences in Memory of Alfred Nobel awarded by the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences is awarded to Stanford University professors  – Paul Milgrom and Robert Wilson — who were recognized “for improvements to auction theory and inventions of new auction formats.” They designed the auction the FCC used to sell radio spectrum to wireless telephone companies, raising more than $120 billion for something the government used to give away for free.

Milgrom and Wilson’s work “benefit/s sellers, buyers and taxpayers around the world.” Auctions are now used to price all kinds of things including Internet advts, wholesale electricity, fishing permits and carbon pollution credits.

Demonetization Was A Master stroke by A Honest PM

Demonetization process may be construed as a huge elephant and with our limited vision, we tend to look at one side of it, one small aspect of it and sometime which suits our negative belief to look down the Govt.

My belief is that it was the most comprehensive action taken ever by any PM in India to detect and curb black money in India. No previous government in the independent history of 7 decades have taken such a daring action against black money and parellel economy in the country. The ball-park assumption was that the parellel black economy running in India was almost as big as the formal white economy. Terror money, counterfeit currency, Overseas slush money coming through various NGOs etc. were making the economy very hot, inflation soaring at unprecedented levels and anti-India – anti-social activities going on unabated as never before.

The Demonetization process made black money hoarders to sit up and take help of all sorts of  famous Indian”jugaad” methods and tools at “somehow” launder their ill-gotten, corruption money, black money and cash stashed in their homes and farms into bank accounts of known and “unknown” beneficiaries at a premium paid to them. Almost 9 lacs accounts with 6 lacs crores of black money was deposited illegally by ingenious, “Jugadu” Indians which are currently under a scrutiny by IT/ED.

This has provided enormous data to the Tax Authorities to keep them busy for the next 5-6 years – to find source of these cash funds and recover taxes and penalties for the Government. The Demonetization process has flushed out all the hoarders, Players, Tax Evaders in open and can no longer remain under veil of secrecy any longer. Many cases of seizures have popped out our eyes where 000’s of crores of cash and property accumulated with corruption and malpractices, and these are just tip of the huge iceburg. 

Immediate impact was also seen that the number of Tax payer which remained incredibly at about slightly over 1.3% to go up to nearly 5% in the next 2-3 years’ time. Not a mean achievement for NDA government.

Now, we all agree that over 50% of commerce in India was in cash and we Indian always cut corners and say in market that “we don’t want bill, save us taxes”. All property deals generate huge black economy. Corruption at all places generates huge cash.

So, if you all please think carefully, Demonetization followed by GST Bill were two very important measures back-to-back to hit black economy very hard.

Now, if 50% plus trade and deals which were happening in cash goes off the market, impact on markets and GDP is inevitable. This is quite expected also. All those who are badly affected .. Politicians, Bureaucrats, businessmen – these politically motivated “RUDALISs” are the one who are crying foul.

Making of New India is under-process and we all have to support the enormous job taken by NaMo government.

SUPER SUCCESS OF DEMONETISATION

* Scrutiny of suspected 18 lakh accounts done
* Cash deposits worth Rs 2.89 lakh crore under investigation
* Advance data analytics tools identified 5.56 lakhs new suspect cases
* 4,73,003 suspicious transactions detected
* Undisclosed income worth Rs. 29,213 crore detected and admitted.
* Black money worth Rs 16,000 crore did not return post demonetisation
* 21 per cent reduction in currency in circulation
* 56 lakh new tax payers added in the first year itself!!
* Number of returns filed increase 24.7 per cent compared to 9.9 per cent in previous year
* Advance tax collections of personal income tax grow at 41.79 per cent over same period of last year
* Personal income tax under self-assessment tax grow at 34.25 per cent over same period last year.
* Transactions of more than three lakh suspected shell companies under the radar
* Nearly 3 lakh shell companies were de-registered
* Around 450 companies delisted and 800 untraceable companies to be further delisted
* More than 400 benami transactions identified and properties worth more than Rs 800 crore attached
* Deposits in the banking system increased around Rs 3 lakh crore
* Additional liquidity helped reduce interest rates by 100 basis points
* Digital payments increase by 56 per cent from 71.27 crore transactions in October 2016 to 111.45 crore transaction in May,2017