25 MARCH 2022 DAILY CURRENT AFFAIRS | UPSC CDS CAPF AFCAT NDA SSB

1. Dare2eraD TB

Union Minister of Science & Technology announced the launch of Data-Driven Research to Eradicate TB- “Dare2eraD TB” by the Department of Biotechnology, M/o Science & Technology, on the occasion of World TB Day.

About:

The Minister said that Dare2eraD TB will be the umbrella TB program of DBT comprising of following key initiatives-
- InTGS - Indian Tuberculosis Genomic Surveillance Consortium;
- InTBK Hub- Indian TB Knowledge Hub- Webinar Series;
- Host Directed therapies against TB and developing an evidence-based regimen for treating extra-pulmonary Tuberculosis.
Union minister also said that Indian Tuberculosis Genomic Surveillance Consortium (InTGS) is proposed on lines of the Indian SARS-CoV-2 Genomic Consortia (INSACOG) for Whole Genome Sequencing, (WSG) TB surveillance.

Source : PIB

2. LITERACY

One lakh Class 3 students across the country are participating in a foundational learning study this week, meant to set a baseline for the Centre’s mission to improve literacy and numeracy in the early school years.

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The study, being conducted by the National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT), aims to set the benchmarks for reading with comprehension in 22 Indian languages, the Education Ministry said.
About 10,000 schools and one lakh students are expected to take part in the study being conducted from March 23 to 26.
One of the major themes of the National Education Policy, 2020 was the understanding that “the ability to read and write, and perform basic operations with numbers, is a necessary foundation and an indispensable prerequisite for all future schooling and lifelong learning”.
Non-governmental surveys, including the Annual Status of Education Report (ASER), have shown that the majority of children in Class 3 in rural schools across the country do not have these basic skills.
Last year, the Education Ministry launched the National Initiative for Proficiency in Reading with Understanding and Numeracy (NIPUN-BHARAT) mission to ensure universal literacy and numeracy for Class 3 children within five years.

Source : The Hindu

3. COVID-19 DEATH CLAIMS

The Supreme Court has fixed the outer limits to apply for COVID-19 death compensation at 60 days for deaths that occurred before March 20, 2022, and 90 days in case of future deaths.

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The States have to process the applications and pay ₹50,000 for each death within 30 days.
This court passed the order directing the Union of India/NDMA/concerned States to pay ex gratia amount keeping in mind the humanity and keeping in mind the sufferings of the family members who lost one of their family members due to COVID-19.
If no outer limit of time is fixed, there is a greater possibility of making false claims.

Fake Claims

The Bench also took into consideration the possibility of fake claims.
If anybody is found to have made a fake claim for financial aid, he or she would face legal action under Section 52 of the Disaster Management Act of 2005. The provision prescribes imprisonment for a term extending to two years and fine.
The Bench ordered the Centre through the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare and the National Disaster Management Authority to carry out a random scrutiny of 5% of the claim applications made in Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat, Kerala and Maharashtra at the first instance.

Source : The Hindu

4. RESERVE BANK INNOVATION HUB (RBIH)

Reserve Bank of India (RBI) governor Shaktikanta Das inaugurated the Reserve Bank Innovation Hub (RBIH) in Bengaluru which is intended to encourage and nurture financial innovation in a sustainable manner through an institutional set-up.

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The RBI has set up hub as a wholly owned subsidiary with an initial capital contribution of ₹100 crore. The new unit has an independent board with S. Gopalakrishnan as Chairman.
RBIH aims to create an ecosystem that focusses on promoting access to financial services and products for the low-income population in the country.

Source : The Hindu

5. SOLOMON ISLANDS

The Solomon Islands has signed a policing deal with China and will send a proposal for a broader security agreement covering the military to its Cabinet for consideration, an official of the Pacific island nation’s government said.

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The arrangements are likely to concern the U.S., which said in February it would open an Embassy in the Solomon Islands.
The Solomon Islands switched diplomatic ties from Taiwan to Beijing in 2019, which partly fuelled discontent that led to riots in the capital, Honiara, in November.
Australia has historically provided security support to the Solomon Islands.
Solomon Islands is a sovereign country consisting of six major islands and over 900 smaller islands in Oceania, to the east of Papua New Guinea and northwest of Vanuatu.

Source : The Hindu

6. INDIA TB REPORT 2022

A 19% increase was witnessed in 2021 from the previous year in TB patients’ notifications.

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The number of incident TB patients (new and relapse) notified during 2021 was 19,33,381 against the 16,28,161 in 2020, noted India TB Report 2022 released recently.
On World Tuberculosis Day. Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya reaffirmed the government’s commitment to making India tuberculosis–free by 2025 and said this will be achieved by ensuring access to quality healthcare and advanced treatment.
The government also released the National TB Prevalence Survey Report which was conducted from 2019 to 2021 to know the actual disease burden of TB. The reports said there has been an increase in the mortality rate due to all forms of TB between 2019 and 2020 by 11%.
The survey report said prevalence of microbiologically confirmed pulmonary tuberculosis (PTB) among 15 years and above in India was 316/lakh population with the highest PTB prevalence of 534/lakh in Delhi and the lowest PTB prevalence of 115/lakh in Kerala.

Source : The Hindu

7. REFUGEES FROM SRI LANKA

The Indian Coast Guard rescued six Sri Lankan nationals who were stranded on the fourth island off the coast of Rameswaram in Tamil Nadu, after they fled the island nation which has been hit by an economic crisis.

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While Tamil-origin refugees from Northern and Eastern Sri Lanka had been arriving in India from long before the 1980s, their flow increased significantly after 1983, when ethnic clashes began on the island between the majority Sinhala Buddhist ruling class and the Indian-armed Tamil Tigers.
Those who arrived before 1983 were mainly Indian-origin Tamils whose forefathers had migrated to Sri Lanka to work in the tea plantations.
Their arrival was facilitated by an agreement between Prime Ministers Lal Bahadur Shastri and Sirimavo Bandaranaike to allow 9,75,000 people of Indian origin in Sri Lanka to become citizens of the country of their choice.
From 1983, the Sri Lankan Tamils arrived in multiple waves pushed by anti-Tamil riots in Sri Lanka after an LTTE ambush killed Sri Lankan soldiers, and pulled by the India-Sri Lanka Accord.
As per latest records, about 19,000 Sri Lankan families — or 58,822 individuals, including about 10,000 children below the age of 8 — live in 108 refugee camps set up for Sri Lankan Tamils in Tamil Nadu. Another 34,087 individuals with refugee certificates live outside the camps.

Source : Indian Express

8. GSAT 7B SATELLITES

The Defence Acquisition Council (DAC) has given the Acceptance of Necessity (AoN) for procurement of a GSAT 7B satellite, along with equipment like Night Sight (image intensifier), 4X4 light vehicles, and Air Defence Fire Control Radar (light).

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GSAT 7 satellites are advanced satellites developed by the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) to meet the communication needs of the defence services.
The GSAT 7 satellite was launched in August 2013 from an Ariane 5 ECA rocket from Kourou in French Guiana.
It is a 2,650 kg satellite which has a footprint of nearly 2,000 nautical miles in the Indian Ocean region. This satellite is mainly used by the Indian Navy for its communication needs.
The GSAT 7 provides a gamut of services for military communication needs, which includes low bit voice rate to high bit rate data facilities, including multi-band communications.
Named Rukmini, the satellite carries payloads in UHF, C-band and Ku-band, and helps the Navy to have a secure, real time communication link between its land establishments, surface ships, submarines and aircraft.
The satellite was injected into a geosynchronous transfer orbit (GTO) of 249 km perigee (nearest point to earth), 35,929 km apogee (farthest point to earth) and an inclination of 3.5 degree with respect to the equator.
The GSAT 7B will primarily fulfil the communication needs of the Army. Currently, the Army is using 30 per cent of the communication capabilities of the GSAT 7A satellite, which has been designed for the Indian Air Force (IAF).

Source : Indian Express

9. LPG PRICES

Oil marketing companies have raised the price of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) by Rs 50 per 14.2 kg cylinder in the first hike since October, as international crude prices have surged due to the war in Ukraine.

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India’s LPG prices are benchmarked to international prices of petroleum gas.
The government had stopped subsidies on LPG cylinders for most consumers in May 2020, adding to the price burden on consumers.
Due to high inland freight costs, the government now provides subsidies only through its direct benefit transfer scheme to customers in remote areas.

Households’ LPG dependence

LPG is the primary cooking fuel in more than 70 per cent of Indian households, and 85 per cent households have LPG connections, according to an independent study released on Thursday by the Council on Energy, Environment and Water (CEEW).
However, 54 per cent households continue to use traditional solid fuels such as firewood, dung cakes, agriculture residue, charcoal, and kerosene, either exclusively or with LPG — increasing the exposure to indoor air pollution.
The hike in prices will impact household inflation expectations, and could further hit subdued consumption sentiment.

Source : Indian Express

10. VACANCIES IN THE IAS

Minister of State for PMO; Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions Jitendra Singh told Lok Sabha that as on January 1, 2021, there were 5,231 IAS officers in the country — 1,515 (22.45 per cent) fewer than the sanctioned strength of 6,746.

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A total 3,787 officers were direct recruits to the IAS, while 1,444 were promotees (State Civil Services/ non-SCS).
The gap between the sanctioned strength and the in-position strength of IAS officers is as large as 104 in UP cadre, 94 in Bihar cadre and 87 in AGMUT cadre.”
The shortage has been a constant feature since 1951 — it was the least in 2001 (0.79 per cent), and the most in 2012 (28.87 per cent), as per available data.

B S Baswan Committee

The B S Baswan Committee, which was set up “to take a comprehensive look at the requirement of IAS officers over a longer time frame”, said in its report submitted in 2016 that “any number above 180 would
- compromise quality;
- exceed the LBNSAA’s (Lal Bahadur Shastri National Academy of Administration’s) capacity and;
- lead to a distortion in the career pyramid of IAS officers, particularly for senior posts in the Government of India.”

Source : Indian Express

25 MARCH 2022 DAILY CURRENT AFFAIRS | UPSC CDS CAPF AFCAT NDA SSB

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