The 2+2 dialogue between India and the U.S. is going to be held in Washington, D.C.
During the dialogue, both countries are expected to sign the Industrial Security Annex (ISA) and review the steps to operationalise the Communications Compatibility and Security Agreement (COMCASA).
The ISA is part of the General Security of Military Information Agreement (GSOMIA), which India had signed with the U.S. many years ago.
It will allow the transfer of defence technology
It is crucial for U.S. companies bidding for big-ticket Indian deals to partner Indian private companies.
It would be the first time India has entered into such a pact with any country, although the United States has such agreements in place with several countries.
But the Basic Exchange and Cooperation Agreement for Geo-spatial Cooperation (BECA), which is under discussion, is unlikely to be concluded in the upcoming dialogue.
Plastic Parks
A plastic park is an industrial zone devoted to plastic enterprises and its allies’ industries.
It includes a whole range of companies required by the plastics processing community such as
Material and machinery suppliers,
Plastics processing companies,
Plastic recycling companies including waste management system.
These plastic parks are being developed by State Governments with the support of Department of Chemicals & Petrochemical of Ministry of Chemicals & Fertilizers.
The government has approved setting up of 6 plastic parks in Assam, Madhya Pradesh, Odisha, Jharkhand and Tamil Nadu.
Under the scheme, the government provides grant funding up to 50 per cent of the project cost.
The remaining project cost is to be funded by State Government beneficiary industries and by a loan from financial institutions.
Golden Rice
In the late 1990s, German scientists developed a genetically modified variety of rice called Golden Rice.
It was claimed to be able to fight Vitamin A deficiency, which is the leading cause of blindness among children and can also lead to death due to infectious diseases such as measles.
Rice is naturally low in the pigment beta-carotene, which the body uses to make Vitamin A.
Golden rice contains this, which is the reason for its golden colour.
Now, Bangladesh could be on the verge of becoming the first country to approve plantation of this variety.
In Bangladesh, over 21 per cent of the children have vitamin A deficiency.
The Golden Rice that is being reviewed in Bangladesh is developed by the Philippines-based International Rice Research Institute.
Cane Turtle
While turtles are more or less dependent on water, tortoises are completely terrestrial.
Cane Turtle is an anomaly. It scuttles through the forest and adopts a land-based lifestyle among leaves.
Although the shape of its legs and webbed feet are reminiscent of its aquatic relatives, it doesn’t like water and stays clear of streams.
When scared, it dives under dry leaves as if it were plunging into a pond or brook.
They are endemic to the evergreen and semi-evergreen forests of the Western Ghats of Karnataka, Kerala and Tamil Nadu.
They are omnivorous and feed on fruits, leaves, arthropods, and molluscs.
Males have a darker pink or scarlet colouring compared to females, besides also being smaller in size.
The 10-cm-long turtle blended in colour and shape with the dry leaves that clothed the forest floor.
Rainforests don’t undergo a distinct winter season, but the turtle puts its life on hold for six months after the Northeast monsoon recedes.
Its IUCN Status is Endangered.
Measles
Measles is a highly infectious acute viral illness that can lead to severe complications, such as pneumonia, encephalitis and death.
Children younger than five years who get infected with measles have higher rates of complications, hospitalisation and even death.
The disease is preventable through two doses of a safe and effective vaccine.
Babies are protected against measles through maternal antibodies for the first six months based on studies carried out in measles-endemic settings.
A recent study has shown that maternal antibodies against measles does not protect infants for the first 6 months of age.
It shows that antibodies from the mother almost disappear by the end of three months.
Hence, infants become susceptible to measles infection at the end of three months and not six months as earlier thought.
Currently, as per WHO recommendations, children in India are vaccinated only at 9-12 months, leaving them open to infection.
India currently gives a measles rubella vaccine in its universal immunisation programme to tackle both measles and rubella.
India, as part of the global initiative, has targeted elimination of measles and control of rubella by 2020.
