Facts in News

                            Facts in News

Diphtheria

• Cause: Infectious disease caused by the bacterium Corynebacterium diphtheriae.
  • It is an aerobic gram-positive bacillus.
  • Toxin production (toxigenicity) occurs only when the bacillus is itself infected (lysogenized) by a specific virus (bacteriophage) carrying the genetic information for the toxin (tox gene).
• Effects: Infects the throat and upper airways, and produces a toxin affecting other organs.
• Symptoms: Acute onset with a sore throat, low fever and swollen glands in the neck.
  • The toxin causes a membrane of dead tissue to build up over the throat and tonsils, making breathing and swallowing difficult.
• Transmission: Through direct physical contact or from breathing in the aerosolized secretions from coughs or sneezes of infected individuals.
  • In countries endemic for diphtheria, the disease occurs mostly in sporadic cases or in small outbreaks.
• Fatality: It is fatal in 5-10% of cases, with a higher mortality rate in young children.
• Treatment: Involves administering diphtheria antitoxin to neutralize the effects of the toxin, as well as antibiotics to kill the bacteria.
• Vaccination: The vaccine is a bacterial toxoid (a toxin whose toxicity has been inactivated).
  • Vaccination has reduced the mortality and morbidity of diphtheria dramatically, however, diphtheria is still a significant child health problem in countries with poor immunization coverage.

                                       (Image Courtesy: CDC)

DRDO Develops Air Independent Propulsion (AIP)

• Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) successfully completed the trial of the land-based prototype test of the “Air Independent Propulsion (AIP)” technology.
• Air Independent Propulsion (AIP): Allows the submarine to be submerged for a long period underwater.
  • As it is based on the Phosphoric Acid Fuel Cell. Thus, the AIP fitted submarine does not require a surface for charging its batteries and this way it can remain underwater for long periods.
  • AIP has a force multiplier effect on the lethality of a diesel-electric submarine as it raises the submerged endur­ance of the boat, several-fold.

• This was built on the line of Atmanirbhar Bharat, as apart from India, the countries to have AIP technology are China, Germany, Sweden, France, Spain and Russia.
  • The US has not focused on AIP since they operate nuclear submarines.

Agri-voltaic Systems

• Agri-voltaic Systems (AVS) comprise installing solar panels and undertaking farming at the same time on the same land.
• It serves two major purposes of electricity generation and crop cultivation.
• The uniqueness of the AVS system is that it has the provision of harvesting rainwater falling on solar panels that can be reused for supplemental irrigation during the period of water shortages.
• AVS has special relevance in arid areas of the north-western region as these regions receive more sunlight.
• The income from selling Photovoltaics (PV) generated electricity will be in addition to the income from farming.
• Under component-I of the KUSUM (Kisan Urja Suraksha Utthan Mahabhiyan) scheme, there is a provision for installation of the agri-voltaic system in farmers’ fields with a capacity ranging from 500 KW to 2 MW.
• The Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) Central Arid Zone Research Institute, Jodhpur has developed an Agri-voltaic system of 105 KW capacity.

Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS)

• It is the National Standard Body of India established under the BIS Act 2016.
• Aim: Harmonious development of the activities of standardization, marking and quality certification of goods and for matters connected therewith or incidental thereto.
• It has been providing traceability and tangibility benefits to the national economy in a number of ways, by
  • Providing safe reliable quality goods.
  • Minimizing health hazards to consumers.
  • Promoting exports and imports substitute.
  • Control over the proliferation of varieties etc. through standardization, certification and testing.
• Headquarters: New Delhi
• Regional Offices: Kolkata (Eastern), Chennai (Southern), Mumbai (Western), Chandigarh (Northern) and Delhi (Central).
• Activities: Standards Formulation, Product Certification Scheme, Compulsory Registration Scheme, Foreign Manufacturers Certification Scheme, Hall Marking Scheme, etc.

Swachhta Pakhwada

• It started in April 2016.
• Objective: To bring a fortnight of intense focus on the issues and practices of Swachhata by engaging Ministries/Departments in their jurisdictions.
• An annual calendar is pre-circulated to help plan for the Pakhwada activities.
• The Ministries observing Swachhata Pakhwada are monitored closely using the online monitoring system of Swachhata Samiksha where action plans, images, videos related to Swachhata activities are uploaded and shared.
• Observing ministries are considered as Swachhata Ministries and are expected to bring qualitative Swachhata improvements in their jurisdictions.
• After observation, Ministries/Departments announce their achievements through a press conference and other communication tools.

Exercise Dustlik-II

• The first-ever India-Uzbekistan joint military exercise Dustlik was held in 2019.
• The second edition of joint military exercise Dustlik-II will be held from March 10 to 19.
• The focus will be on people-centric intelligence-based surgical operations, incorporating technological advancements to minimize collateral damage.
• The Indian Army will showcase its Counter Insurgency (CI) and Counter-Terrorism (CT) skills.
• The Indian Army will share the experiences and lessons it has gained in Kashmir.

Mahila Mohalla Clinics

• Special mohalla clinics for women will be set up in the next financial year.
•  The ‘Mahila mohalla clinics will function along the lines of Aam Aadmi Mohalla Clinics.
• They will offer free gynaecological and other medical services to women within walking distance from their homes
• Mohalla clinics
  • Delhi is the first city to introduce the concept of mohalla clinics or neighbourhood health centres in 2015.
  • The mohalla or community clinics in Delhi aims to provide basic health services to the underserved population in urban settings
  • It is meant to provide affordable healthcare facilities.

Economic Freedom Index

• Economic Freedom Index published last week by US conservative think-tank, The Heritage Foundation.
• This is the first time the index has been published since the COVID-19 pandemic.
  • 184 countries were covered in the study this time and the period of study is July 2019 to June 2020.
  • Globally, the Foundation rates India’s economy as the 121st freest.

• The Heritage Foundation’s Index of Economic Freedom is an annual guide published to measure the progress made in advancing economic freedom which it claims brings greater prosperity.
• The index ranks 12 indicators from property rights to financial freedom under four categories: rule of law, size of government, regulatory efficiency and open markets.
• Economic Freedom
  • It is the fundamental right of every human to control his or her own labour and property.
  • In an economically free society, individuals are free to work, produce, consume, and invest in any way they please.
  • In economically free societies, governments allow labour, capital, and goods to move freely and refrain from coercion or constraint of liberty beyond the extent necessary to protect and maintain liberty itself.