27 APRIL 2022 DAILY CURRENT AFFAIRS | UPSC CDS CAPF AFCAT NDA SSB

1. COVID VACCINES FOR CHILDREN

Amid an uptick of fresh COVID-19 cases in the country, the Drugs Controller General of India (DCGI) approved the emergency use authorisation for two anti-coronavirus vaccines in children between five and 12.

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Biological E’s Corbevax has been approved for administration in children between the ages of five and 12 and Bharat Biotech’s Covaxin has been approved for restricted use in emergency situations in the 6-12 age group.
Currently, Bharat Biotech’s inactivated whole virion vaccine is being administered in children aged 15-18, and Biological E’s protein sub-unit vaccine in children between 12 and 15 under a national COVID-19 immunisation programme.
The DCGI has also cleared ZyCoV-D’s two-dose regimen for children aged over 12. The second dose of the vaccine can be administered on the 28th day.

Source : The Hindu

2. UNITED STATES COMMISSION ON INTERNATIONAL RELIGIOUS FREEDOM (USCIRF)

In its 2022 Annual report, the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) has recommended that India be designated a ‘Country of Particular Concern’ (CPC), i.e., the category of governments performing most poorly on religious freedom criteria.

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It has also called for “targeted sanctions” on individuals and entities responsible for severe violations of religious freedom by freezing those individuals’ or entities’ assets and/or barring their entry” into the U.S.
The USCIRF is an independent, bipartisan body created by the International Religious Freedom Act, 1998 (IRFA) with a mandate to monitor religious freedom violations globally and make policy recommendations to the President, the Secretary of State, and the Congress.
It is a congressionally created entity and not an NGO or advocacy organisation.
It is led by nine part-time commissioners appointed by the President and the leadership of both political parties in the House and the Senate.

Source : The Hindu

3. RAMSTEIN AIR BASE

Top U.S. officials hosted emergency talks with allies in Germany on Tuesday on supplying Kyiv with more weapons to fend off Russia’s assault, as the UN’s chief headed to Moscow in a bid to avert further escalation of the conflict.

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The meeting of 40 countries at the U.S. Ramstein Air Base in Germany comes after Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov accused Ukraine of only “pretending” to negotiate a cease-fire and warned of a “real” risk of a new world war.
Ramstein Air Base is a United States Air Force base in Rhineland-Palatinate, a state in southwestern Germany.
It serves as headquarters for the United States Air Forces in Europe – Air Forces Africa (USAFE-AFAFRICA) and also for NATO Allied Air Command (AIRCOM).

Source : The Hindu

4. COAL POWER

China led global coal power expansion in 2021, with about 25,000 MW of new plants, followed by India with about 6,100 MW, reported the Global Energy Monitor which conducts an annual survey of coal power capacity under development or deployment.

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Worldwide, however, coal-plant capacity under development declined 13% last year.
After rising in 2020 for the first time since 2015, total coal power capacity under development slid last year to a record low of 457 gigawatts (GW), from 525 gigawatts.
China, South Korea, and Japan have pledged to stop funding new coal plants in other countries, but China continued to lead globally in domestic development of new coal plants, commissioning more coal capacity than the rest of the world combined.

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Earlier this month the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change said there was no carbon budget left for new coal plants, and added that coal use needed to fall by 75% by 2030 (from 2019 levels) to limit global temperature rise below 1.5 degrees Celsius, in line with the Paris Agreement.

Source : The Hindu

5. TAX COLLECTION

India’s net direct tax collections amounted to ₹14,09,640.83 crore for FY22, which is the highest collection ever, signaling that the Indian economy has bounced back after two years of the pandemic, Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) Chairman J.B. Mohapatra said.

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As against ₹14.09 lakh crore this year, our collection in 2020-21 was only ₹9.45 lakh crore. In a single year, we moved upward by nearly ₹4.5 lakh crore, registering a growth of 49%.
The collection is the best-ever as far as income tax and corporation tax are concerned.
The direct tax-to-GDP ratio is around 12%,” he added, noting that the CBDT was working to raise the ratio to 15-20% in 5-10 years.
“The direct tax collection this year has surpassed the indirect tax collection which was other way round till last year. It is now 52%... our aim is to look at 60% of tax contribution coming from direct taxes in some years,” said the CBDT chairman.

Source : The Hindu

6. ROPEWAYS PROJECTS

Himachal Pradesh government has signed MoU for the development of seven ropeway projects in Kangra, Kullu, Chamba, Sirmour and Bilaspur districts of the state.

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The MoU was signed between Ropeways and Rapid Transport System Development Corporation (RTDC) HP Limited and National Highways Logistic Management Limited (NHLML) for the development of ropeways as innovative transport solution in Himachal Pradesh.
The Chief Minister Jai Ram was also apprised of the immediate need for maintenance of important stretches on Shimla-Mataur, Pathankot-Chakki-Mandi Mandi-Manali highways.

Source : All India Radio

7. FASAL BIMA PATHSHALA

Government of India will conduct ‘Fasal Bima Pathshala’ under ‘Kisan Bhagidari Prathmikta Campaign’ during the period from 25th April to 1st May 2022 as a Jan Bhagidari movement under Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav.

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Union Minister of Agriculture & Farmers Welfare Shri Narendra Singh Tomar will chair the National level special programme on ‘Fasal Bima Pathshala’ on 27th April 2022.
He will connect with farmers in all the Implementing States across the country through specially organized ‘Fasal Bima Pathshala’ coordinated by CSC from 1 lakh locations across the country.
The Campaign aims to make the farmers aware about key scheme aspects of Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana (PMFBY) like basic scheme provisions, importance of insuring the crops and how to avail scheme benefits etc. in the ongoing Kharif Season 2022 along with facilitating farmers in getting benefit of the PMFBY scheme.
Under this campaign, the broader focus will be on importance of PMFBY/RWBCIS (Restructured Weather Based Crop Insurance Scheme) and how farmers can enrol under the scheme and avail the benefit of the scheme.

Source : PIB

8. BAGDOGRA AIRFIELD

The Indian Air Force has carried out extensive resurfacing work on the runway of Bagdogra airfield enabling civil aircraft to resume operations from the morning of 26 April 2022.

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The work was executed with Border Roads Organisation (BRO) as the implementing agency.
Bagdogra is the second busiest airport of West Bengal and is a joint user international airport with a civil terminal attached to the IAF airfield.
The Bagdogra airfield is not only important from a strategic point of view but is also a major international hub for promoting tourism and economy. The airfield is an important node for connecting Darjeeling and Siliguri to the rest of the country and the world.

Source : PIB

9. MONTELUKAST

A widely available drug, used for treatment of asthma and allergies, can also block a protein that is key to replication of SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes Covid-19, a study by Indian Institute of Science (IISc) researchers has found.

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he drug, montelukast, is an oral treatment given to prevent wheezing, difficulty breathing, chest tightness, and coughing caused by asthma, and also used to prevent breathing difficulties during exercise.
Montelukast is prescribed in India by physicians. It is readily available as tablets and syrup (for kids) in pharmacy shops under different brand names.
In fact, some clinicians were using montelukast to treat Covid-19 patients because of its known role in making breathing easier in asthma patients.
However, it was not known that this drug also has antiviral activity, which was figured out in this study.

Source : Indian Express

10. PAXLOVID

On April 22, the World Health Organisation (WHO) said Pfizer’s oral antiviral drug Paxlovid was “strongly recommended” for patients with non-severe Covid-19 who are at highest risk of developing severe disease and hospitalisation, such as unvaccinated, older, or immunosuppressed patients.

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Paxlovid consists of nirmatrelvir tablets and ritonavir tablets, co-packaged for oral use.
It was given emergency use authorisation (EUA) by the USFDA in December last year.
Nirmatrelvir inhibits a viral enzyme called protease that is necessary for the virus to replicate itself inside the host cell. Ritonavir slows down the breakdown of nirmatrelvir in order to help it remain in the body for longer at higher concentrations.
A drug like nirmatrelvir is considered to have an advantage over vaccines because it attacks a vulnerability in the virus that does not mutate like spike proteins — which vaccines target — do.
As a result, the medication is seen to be effective against all variants.

Source : Indian Express

27 APRIL 2022 DAILY CURRENT AFFAIRS | UPSC CDS CAPF AFCAT NDA SSB

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