Contents:
1. Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation (Adaptation of State Laws) Order, 2020
2. Coating developed by JNCASR may prevent transmission of infection
Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation (Adaptation of State Laws) Order, 2020
Why in news?
The Central government passed Jammu And Kashmir Reorganisation (Adaptation of State Laws) Order, 2020 recently.
Details:
- The order
defined new domicile rule for
Jammu and Kashmir (J&K) according to which a person residing in J&K for at least 15
years will now be eligible to be
a domicile of the Union Territory.
- If a person
has studied for a period of 7 years and appeared in class 10th or 12th examination in an educational institution
located in the UT of J&K will also be considered as the domicile of
the UT.
- Tehsildar shall be the competent
authority for issuing the domicile certificate, as opposed to Deputy Commissioner.
- Section 5-A states that no person shall be eligible for
appointment to a post carrying a pay scale for not more than level 4 unless he is a domicile of UT of J&K.
- Through the
same order, the Centre has repealed the J&K Civil Services (Special
Provisions) Act.
- The order also amended the Jammu and Kashmir State Legislature Members’ Pension Act,1984 which fixes the pension for former legislators and councillors.
- The notification scraps all pension benefits such as car, driver, accommodation, phones, electricity, medical facilities and rent-free accommodation to former J&K Chief Ministers.
- The order has also made amendments to the Public Safety Act (PSA) 1978 by removing a clause that prohibited J&K residents booked under the Act to be lodged in jails outside.
- It changes the criteria for appointing the PSA advisory board on the recommendation of a search committee headed by the Chief Secretary instead of the Chief Justice of the J&K High Court.
- The advisory board has a crucial role to play in release of detenus under the PSA.
- It also bars sitting High Court judges to be made part of the board without the Chief justice’s consultation.
- The order also scraps a clause that deals with the power to regulate place and conditions of detention.
The Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation Act, 2019
- It is an act of the Parliament of India.
- It contains provisions to reconstitute the Indian-administered state of Jammu and Kashmir, into two Indian-administered union territories, one to be called Jammu and Kashmir, and the other Ladakh.
Coating developed by JNCASR may prevent transmission of infection:
Why in news?
Jawaharlal Nehru Centre for Advanced Scientific Research (JNCASR) has developed a one-step curable anti-microbial coating which, when coated on different surfaces such as textile, plastic and so on could kill a range of virus types including COVID 19.
Details:
- The recent outbreak of SARS-CoV-2 has created an unprecedented stir in global public health. Like influenza, Coronavirus is also an enveloped virus.
- JNCASR has developed a one-step curable anti-microbial coating which, when coated on different surfaces such as textile, plastic and so on could kill a range of virus types including COVID 19.
- This covalent coating has been found to completely kill influenza virus as well as resistant pathogenic bacteria and fungi, including methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus and fluconazole-resistant C. albicans spp.
- In brief, for coating on cotton, the sheets were dipped in a water solution of the compounds whereas, for other cases, ethanolic substrates were drop-casted on them followed by UV irradiation. (In chemistry, a substrate can refer to a surface on which other chemical reactions are performed)
- After coating, the surfaces were evaluated for their antibacterial, antifungal, and antiviral activity.
- Upon the formation of the coating, it has been shown to permeabilize the membranes of pathogens (i.e. bacteria) leading to their inactivation.
Benefits:
- Can help prevent contamination:
- Till date(to the best of our knowledge) there is no covalent coating strategy which can kill all viruses, bacteria and fungi.
- Therefore it is anticipated that the coating may inactivate SARS-CoV-2 upon contact and can help prevent contamination if coated on various surfaces.
- The coating can be fabricated on a variety of surfaces, and its ease and robustness eliminate the necessity of skilled personnel for procurement of the coating.
- Ability to cross-link: The molecules developed have an ability to chemically cross-link with different surfaces upon UV irradiation.
Considering the current coronavirus outbreak, if shown to be active, the molecule can be synthesized in large scale through a CRO (Contract Research Organization) and can be coated on various personal protective tools such as masks, gloves, gowns, etc. in collaboration with the private organizations.
Extra notes:
Enveloped Virus
- A virus that has an outer wrapping or envelope. This envelope comes from the infected cell, or host, in a process called “budding off.”
- During the budding process, newly formed virus particles become “enveloped” or wrapped in an outer coat that is made from a small piece of the cell’s plasma membrane.
- The envelope may play a role in helping a virus survive and infect other cells.
