TABLE OF CONTENTS
1. Rashtra Raksha Samarpan Parv 2. Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) 3. State of the Art prototype Air Pollution Control Tower (APCT) 4. Kashi Utsav 5. SAI institutional Awards 6. NaVIC 7. MoU signed between Ministry of Food Processing Industries (MOFPI), the Department of Animal Husbandry and Dairying (DAHD), Ministry of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying
1. Rashtra Raksha Samarpan Parv
Context: In order to pay homage to the gallantry of Rani Laxmi Bai on her birth anniversary, a three-day-long celebration has been organised wherein the Ministry of Defence will announce important initiatives.
Key Highlights:
- The progress of the national security apparatus has been provided with special attention as an essential objective of the Rashtra Raksha Samarpan Parv.
- The government is geared up to develop a modern and well-equipped military and a self-reliant defence industry that heads towards Atma Nirbhar Bharat.
- A major focus has been applied to promote ‘Make in India, Make for the World’.
2. Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD)
Context: Indian researchers from the Jawaharlal Nehru Centre for Advanced Scientific Research, an autonomous institute under DST, GOI have found a better solution to treat Autism Spectrum Disorder by using a compound called “6BIO”.
About the Disorder:
- Autism Spectrum Disorder arises from impairment in brain development and it is accompanied by a series of symptoms and severity.
- This disorder impacts the behavioural patterns of the individuals, thus disturbing the potential to communicate and socialise.
- It includes conditions such as autism, Asperger’s syndrome, childhood disintegrative disorder and pervasive developmental disorders.
- This is resulting in the rise of severe burden in the society as there is an unavailability of treatment and potent drugs for Autism Spectrum disorder. The existing treatments increase the adverse effects like epileptic seizures, sleep issues without addressing the root cause of the disorder.
Significance of the Research:
- The researchers employ the usage of a compound called 6BIO that enables the restoration of neuronal functions to treat ASD/Intellectual Disability. This offers a better therapeutic value.
- The research showed that the 6BIO compound helps in the improvement of learning, memory, sociability and reduces epileptic seizures.
- Restoration of neural functions by the compound (6BIO), in the middle stage of brain development (between 7-11 years) has been observed in the study.
- Therefore, this research provides a better understanding and a proper line of treatment with enormous compassion to improving the lives of autistic children, and children with other disabilities who face social challenges. This study reveals the growing importance of rare disorders and their treatment.
Also Read: Rare Diseases
3. State of the Art prototype Air Pollution Control Tower (APCT)
Context: The State of the Art prototype Air Pollution Control Tower, developed in-house by BHEL has been inaugurated.
Importance:
- The APCT will assist in tackling urban pollution, especially in the National Capital Region as it is an area of concern that imposes adverse effects on health.
- Much emphasis has been placed on eliminating the pollutants at the source.
- There is a possibility of expanding the APCT project and setting up a grid of such pollution control towers.
About APCT:
- The pollution control towers operate by pulling the polluted air through a base and thereby capturing the particulate matter in the filters present in the towers.
- Clean air is released from the top of the tower.
- The particulate matter gets collected at the bottom of the tower and periodically removed.
Also read: Air pollution in Delhi
4. Kashi Utsav
Context: The ‘Kashi Utsav’ is celebrated to cherish the rich cultural heritage of Kashi and the centuries-old illustrious personalities like Goswami Tulsidas, Sant Kabir, Sant Raidas, Munshi Prem Chand and many more.
About the Festival:
- This is a remarkable initiative by the Ministry of Culture to enliven the folk music, Vedas, science, knowledge and literature associated with Kashi.
- Kashi ke Hastakshar, ‘Kabir, Raidas ki Bani aur Nirgun Khushi’ and ‘Kavita aur Kahani – Kashi ki Zubani’ are the central themes of the celebration.
- Besides, there will be plays on personalities like Rani Laxmi Bai, a book exhibition and the involvement of 150 artists participating in the event reflecting the literary and cultural enrichment of Kashi.
Context: The Sports Authority of India Institutional awards have been conferred to 246 athletes and coaches across the country to bolster the sportspersons in our country.
About the Award:
- The SAI Institutional Awards have been conferred to athletes and coaches for their performance in national and international platforms and were classified as Outstanding Award and Best Award categories.
- The athletes have been considered as an inspiration to this generation and it was put forth to include sports as an integral part of the National Educational Policy.
- These awards are conferred based on the decision of the selection committee comprising the SAI officials, famous sports personalities.
6. NaVIC
Context: The Vice President of India emphasized the importance of promoting NaVIC (Navigation with Indian Constellation) for global use as India has huge potential in the field of space technology, remote sensing satellites data and imaging.
Read More about NaVIC in the given link: NaVIC
Context:
The MoU has been signed between MOFPI and DAHD in order to work together for the betterment of the rural poor by extending the benefits of welfare schemes.
Key Objectives:
- To generate income
- Providing financial assistance to the rural poor
- Strengthening quality control of dairy and meat processing units and their value addition
- Improving the infrastructure facilities of animal feed plant
- Technology-assisted breed improvement farms
Importance:
- India is the world’s largest producer and consumer of dairy and dairy products with an estimated increase in milk production from 146.3 million tonnes in 2014-15 to 198.4 million tonnes in 2019-2020 with an annual growth rate of 6.28%. All these data determine the importance of the livestock sector in the Indian economy.
- Over the years there has been an increase in the per capita availability of milk.
- About 60% of the livestock sector is unorganised and requires adequate facilities such as village cold chain infrastructure that affects the export opportunities.
- This initiative will be a welcoming step to mitigate the challenges and revive the livestock sector.
Future Avenues:
The collaboration between MOFPI and DAHD will attract several beneficiaries and offer them developed facilities thereby establishing a larger scope of food safety and quality assurance in various processing units.
Read previous PIB here.
November 17th, 2021, PIB:- Download PDF Here
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