Chennai TN, India
November 21, 2024, 6:52 pm
Jobs @NDI
Mail Us info@nationaldefenceinstitute.in
national-defence-institute
Call Us +91 91509 81462
Menu

06 FEBRUARY 2022 DAILY CURRENT AFFAIRS | UPSC CDS CAPF AFCAT NDA SSB

uploads/authour/1669557586.png

Written by NDI EDITOR

Feb 06 2022

Follow @

06 FEBRUARY 2022 DAILY CURRENT AFFAIRS | UPSC CDS CAPF AFCAT NDA SSB
1. IPR WAIVER FOR COVID-19 VACCINES
India runs the risk of being excluded from a proposal it co-authored at the World Trade Organization (WTO) negotiations, in 2020, to “temporarily waive” intellectual property rights (IPR) held, by primarily Western countries, on vaccines, therapeutics and diagnostics for COVID-19.

About:

  • “a small group” of WTO members were “discussing suggestions” to exclude drug manufacturers in India and China — two major, global suppliers of medicine — from prospective waivers to IPR obligations that result from the Trade Related Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) which WTO members are committed to upholding.

  • India and South Africa jointly sponsored a proposal in October 2020 and this was updated, with representation from several low- and middle-income countries — though with the notable omission of China — to expand the scope of the waiver to “all health products and technologies” and to have the waiver in place for at least a year.
Source : The Hindu

2. WAYANAD SANCTUARY
With the onset of summer, the seasonal migration of wild animals has begun from the adjacent wildlife sanctuaries in Karnataka and Tamil Nadu to the Wayanad Wildlife Sanctuary (WWS).

About:

  • Wayanad Wildlife Sanctuary is a wildlife sanctuary in Wayanad, Kerala, India with an extent of 344.44 km2 and four hill ranges namely Sulthan Bathery, Muthanga, Kurichiat and Tholpetty.

  • A variety of large wild animals such as gaur, Asian elephant, deer and tiger are found there.

  • In particular, Indian peafowl tend to be very common in the area. Wayanad Wildlife Sanctuary is the second largest wildlife sanctuary in Kerala.

  • Established in 1973, the sanctuary is now an integral part of the Nilgiri Biosphere Reserve. It is bounded by protected area network of Nagarhole National Park and Bandipur National Park in Karnataka in the northeast, and on the southeast by Mudumalai National Park in Tamil Nadu.

  • The sanctuary is a haven for wild animals during summer owing to the easy availability of fodder and water throughout the year.
Source : The Hindu

3. FUTURE-PROOF PRIMERS, KITS FOR RT-PCR TEST
The Delhi-based CSIR lab Institute of Genomics and Integrative Biology (IGIB) has successfully developed a unique pool of primers and kits to be used in RT-PCR testing of SARS-CoV-2 virus.

About:

  • The most distinguishing aspect of the work carried by a team led by Dr. Sridhar Sivasubbu and Dr. Vinod Scaria at IGIB that was developing primers that will not be affected by mutations seen in SARS-CoV-2 variants.

  • This may allow the primers to detect any new SARS-CoV-2 variants that might emerge immaterial of the novel mutations that the variants might have.

  • The primers developed in a way future-proofs the ability to detect without fail any new SARS-CoV-2 variants that may emerge.

  • RT-PCR tests currently available contain primers for two or more genes. The gene targets selected could be a combination of S gene, N gene and E- gene.
Source : The Hindu
 
4. INDIA-CHINA TRADE
India’s trade with China in 2021 reached $125.6 billion, according to figures released in January by China’s General Administration of Customs (GAC).

About:

  • This was the first time that trade crossed the $100 billion mark. India’s imports from China accounted for $97.5 billion, while exports reached $28.1 billion, both records.

  • Compared to 2019 —trade declined substantially in 2020 because of the pandemic, which exaggerates the year-on-year increase —imports are up 30%.

  • Exports to China, meanwhile, are up by as much as 56%.

  • The trade deficit, a long-term source of concern for India, is up by 22% since 2019, having declined last year.

What is driving India’s imports?

  • India’s biggest imports are electrical and mechanical machinery, a range of chemicals that are intermediate imports used by industries, active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs), auto components, and since 2020, a large amount of medical supplies.

  • According to figures available with India’s Ministry of Commerce, all those key imports continued to rise in 2021.
Source : The Hindu

5. MEDICAL CANNABIS
In a bid to strengthen its position in the global medical cannabis industry, Indian pharmaceutical major Dr Reddy’s Laboratories has said that it will acquire German firm Nimbus Health. Nimbus has been a major player in the field of cannabis-based medicines.

About:

  • Globally, the legal cannabis market is expected to reach an estimated valuation of $146.4 billion by 2025-end.

  • A recent report by ResearchAndMarkets.com pegged the market size of medical cannabis at $176 billion by 2030 as various countries are considering legalising it.

What is the status of medical cannabis in India?

  • In India, while trade and consumption of cannabis is banned under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act of 1985, calls for legalising its use for medicinal purposes have grown stronger over the years.

  • In January this year, the government had informed the Delhi High Court that cannabis is not completely prohibited in the country as its medical and scientific use is allowed after obtaining necessary permissions from state governments.

  • In 2018, Uttarakhand had become the first state in the country to allow commercial cultivation of hemp crops.

  • A year later, the Madhya Pradesh government also did the same.
Source : Indian Express

6. LAKADONG TURMERIC
West Jaintia Hills witnessed the first-of-its-kind Fly-Off Event to demonstrate the use of novel and innovative Drone/UAV technology for payload delivery, that could serve as a model of solving the 1st mile connectivity issues for Lakadong Turmeric farmers from the hinterland.

About:

  • Lakadong Turmeric has been identified under The One District, One Product (ODOP) Initiative under the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT), Ministry of Commerce & Industry, Ministry of Commerce & Industry, as a product with excellent potential for growth and export for West Jaintia Hills.

  • ODOP partnered with AGNIi Mission, one of the nine technology missions under the Prime Minister's Science, Technology and Innovation Advisory Council to identify Indian innovative technologies that can play a transformative role in the end-to-end processing of Lakadong Turmeric.

  • It may be noted that the Lakadong Turmeric from West Jaintia Hills, Meghalaya, one of   the   world’s   finest turmeric varieties with the highest curcumin content of 7-9% (in comparison to 3% or less in other varieties), is fast becoming a game changer in the economy of the district.

  • The State of Meghalaya has applied for a Geographical Indication tag for Lakadong turmeric.

  • India produces 78 per cent of the world’s turmeric, as per a reply given by the Union Minister of Agriculture & Farmers Welfare Narendra Singh Tomar in the Rajya Sabha on March 12, 2021. 
Source : PIB

7. INDIAN FOOTWEAR AND LEATHER DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMME (IFLDP)
Indian Footwear and Leather Development Programme (IFLDP) (erstwhile IFLADP) has been approved for continuation from 2021-22 with an approved financial outlay of ₹1,700 crore, said the ministry of commerce in a statement.

About:

  • The programme was approved by the cabinet on 19 January for continuation till 31 March 2026, or till further review, whichever is earlier.

  • Sub-schemes approved under the programme include
    • sustainable technology and environmental promotion;

    • integrated development of leather sector (IDLS);

    • establishment of institutional facilities;

    • Mega Leather Footwear and Accessories Cluster Development;

    • brand promotion; and

    • development of design studios.
  • Under the IDLS, with a proposed outlay ₹500 crore, assistance would be provided to the sectoral units for their modernization/capacity expansion/technology up-gradation on or after 1 January 2020. 
Source : LiveMint
 
8. CARGO SHIP SAILS FROM PATNA TO PANDU
Union Minister of Ports, Shipping & Waterways, Shri Sarbananda Sonowal flagged off an inland waterway vessel MV Lal Bahadur Shastri from Patna to Guwahati.

About:

  • The vessel started its journey from Patna today and is carrying 200 Metric Tonnes of foodgrains headed for Pandu in Guwahati & will travel via Bangladesh to reach the destination by early March, 2022.

  • The minister also laid the foundation stone for construction of Kalughat intermodal terminal at Saran in Bihar on National Waterway - 1 (river Ganga).

  • The vessel starts its sail on National Waterway-1 (river Ganga) through Bhagalpur, Manihari, Sahibganj, Farakka, Tribeni, Kolkata, Haldia, Hemnagar; Indo Bangladesh Protocol (IBP) route through Khulna, Narayanganj, Sirajganj, Chilmari and National Waterway-2 through Dhubri, and Jogighopa covering a distance of 2,350 km.

  • The vessel will take about 25 days to cover the entire voyage and is expected to reach Pandu in Guwahati by early March.

  • This historic feat will usher a new era of growth for all the states of Northeast India.
Source : PIB
 
9. INTERNATIONAL CROPS RESEARCH INSTITUTE FOR THE SEMI-ARID TROPICS (ICRISAT)
The Prime Minister, Narendra Modi visited the International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT) campus in Patancheru, Hyderabad and kickstarted the 50th Anniversary celebrations of ICRISAT.

About:

  • The Prime Minister also inaugurated ICRISAT’s Climate Change Research Facility on Plant Protection and ICRISAT’s Rapid Generation Advancement Facility.

  • These two facilities are dedicated to the smallholder farmers of Asia and sub-Saharan Africa.

  • ICRISAT is an international organisation that conducts agricultural research for development in Asia & sub-Saharan Africa. It helps farmers by providing improved crop varieties and hybrids and also helps smallholder farmers in the drylands fight climate change.
Source : PIB

10. ANTARCTIC MICROBES FOR PLASTIC CLEAN-UP
A team of Argentine scientists is using microorganisms native to Antarctica to explore the idea of cleaning up pollution from fuels and, potentially, plastics in the pristine expanses of the white continent.

About:

  • The tiny microbes munch through the waste, creating a naturally occurring cleaning system for pollution caused by diesel that is used as a source of electricity and heat for research bases in the frozen Antarctic.

  • The continent is protected by a 1961 Madrid Protocol that stipulates it must be kept in a pristine state.

  • The research on how the microbes could help with plastic waste could have potential for wider environmental issues. This work uses the potential of native microorganisms - bacteria and fungi that inhabit the Antarctic soil, even when it is contaminated.
Source : The Hindu

About Authour
uploads/authour/1669557586.png

Written by NDI EDITOR

National Defence Institute's Editor

Follow @

YOU MIGHT ALSO LIKE

05 FEBRUARY 2022 DAILY CURRENT AFFAIRS | UPSC CDS CAPF AFCAT NDA SSB
Feb 05 2022

05 FEBRUARY 2022 DAILY CURRENT AFFAIRS | UPSC CDS CAPF AFCAT NDA SSB

DIPLOMATIC BOYCOTT ‘CANCER MOONSHOT’ PROJECT GHOST ARMY VANDE BHA

Read More
07 FEBRUARY 2022 DAILY CURRENT AFFAIRS | UPSC CDS CAPF AFCAT NDA SSB
Feb 07 2022

07 FEBRUARY 2022 DAILY CURRENT AFFAIRS | UPSC CDS CAPF AFCAT NDA SSB

LATA MANGESHKAR NO-BUILD ZONE AROUND MONUMENTS 2022 ICC UNDER-19 CR

Read More

Address

Guindy, Chennai
Tamil Nadu, India

Phone Number

+91 91509 81462

Email Address

info@nationaldefenceinstitute.in