Central European University Open Society Prize KK Shailaja:

Former Kerala Health Minister KK Shailaja has been awarded the Central European University (CEU) Open Society Prize for the year 2021. 

 

Highlights:

♦ The medal was given to her for "her tenacious leadership and community-based public health work, which saved lives throughout the pandemic." She proves to the rest of the world that strong leadership, community-based public health, and effective communication can save lives.

♦ The CEU Open Society Prize is given annually to a person or organisation "whose contributions have significantly contributed to the emergence of an open society."

♦ CEU was founded in 1991 by George Soros, a Hungarian-born political activist and billionaire philanthropist, to teach future generations of scholars, professionals, politicians, and civil society leaders how to "contribute to the building of open and democratic societies that respect human rights and adhere to the rule of law."

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Reason for New Viruses New Waves:

The NITI Aayog Member for Health has described why new waves occur.

 

Highlights:

There are four factors that contribute to the formation of a new wave:

1.The virus`s behaviour: The virus has the ability to spread and has the potential to do it again.

2.Susceptible host: In order to survive, the virus continues to seek for susceptible hosts. So, unless we have been vaccinated or have had a previous infection, we are vulnerable.

3.Transmissibility: The virus could evolve to the point where it can mutate and spread more easily. The identical virus that infected three hosts previously can now infect 13. Unpredictability is this variable. No one can prepare for such mutations ahead of time. The X factor is a change in the virus`s nature and transmissibility, which no one can anticipate when or where it will happen.

4.Opportunity: We give `opportunities` for the virus to infect. The virus has a higher probability of spreading if we eat together, huddle together, or sit in close quarters without wearing masks.

The member indicated that while the virus`s behaviour and transmission capability are beyond our control, the other two parameters, susceptibility and infection risk, are.

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Partnership of Bharti Airtel and Tata Group 5G Network:

 

Bharti Airtel and the Tata Group have announced a strategic cooperation to implement 5G network technologies in India, which will be commercially available in January 2022. 

 

Highlights:

♦ Using the capabilities of the team and its partners, Tata Group has created an O-RAN (open-radio Access to Network)-based radio and non-standalone architecture/standalone architecture (NSA/SA) core, as well as a wholly indigenous telecom stack.

♦ The NSA/SA is a radio technology that regulates 5G radio signalling. While the NSA can manage 5G signalling to the 4G core, the SA can connect the 5G radio to the 5G core network instantly and manage signalling without relying on the 4G network.

♦ Airtel will test and deploy this indigenous solution as part of its 5G rollout ambitions in India, with the trial set to commence in January 2022, as per government standards. Tata Group will work with Indian IT companies and start-ups for hardware solutions, according to sources, with Tata functioning as a "amazing integrator." It may be able to use this relationship to export science to countries like Africa and Sri Lanka.

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Work of Krivak Stealth Frigates:

The work on the second Krivak or Talwar class frigate has begun, according to the Vice-Chief of the Naval Staff. The building of the first ship began in January 2021. The first ship would be delivered in 2026, followed by a six-month wait for the second ship.

 

About the Krivak:

♦ Goa Shipyard Ltd. (GSL) is building the Krivak class stealth ships with technology obtained from Russia as part of the "Make in India" project.

Ukraine provides the engines for the ships.

♦ In October 2016, India and Russia inked an Inter-Governmental Agreement (IGA) for four Krivak or Talwar stealth frigates.

♦ The Yantar shipyard in Kaliningrad, Russia, will construct the first two frigates. The following two will be created in GSL.

♦ Yantar`s previous three frigates, the INS Teg, Tarkash, and Trikand, will be refitted with the same engines and armament as the new Krivak frigates.

♦ BrahMos anti-ship and anti-land attack missiles will be installed on these.

♦ Use: Perform a wide range of naval missions, including tracking down and destroying enemy submarines and huge surface ships.

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National Population Register - NPR:

Migrants from six non-Muslim minority populations in Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Bangladesh can also use National Population Register (NPR) registration papers as proof of their stay in India when applying for long-term visas, according to a Union Home Ministry handbook (LTVs).

 

Highlights:

♦ The NPR number is one of more than ten documents that can be used to apply for an LTV, which is required for non-Muslims to get Indian citizenship by naturalisation or registration under Sections 5 and 6 of the Citizenship Act, 1955.

♦ These communities are: Hindus, Sikhs, Parsis, Christians, Jains, and Buddhists.

♦ In 2011, an unique provision for Hindus and Sikhs from Pakistan and Afghanistan was introduced for the first time.

♦ It was also alleged that the awareness campaign has nothing to do with the Citizenship (Amendment) Act, 2019, which aims to assist unauthorised migrants from the six groups who arrived in India before the 2014 deadline.

♦ The CAA has not yet been implemented.

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Chimeric Antigen Receptor T-cell (CAR-T) Therapy:

The first CAR-T cell treatment was undertaken at ACTREC at Tata Hospital in Mumbai, with funding from the Department of Biotechnology.

 

Highlights:

♦ At June 2021, the first CAR-T cell therapy was performed at the ACTREC, Tata Memorial Centre in Mumbai`s Bone Marrow Transplant Unit.

♦ This is a gene treatment that is being tested in a pilot clinical trial for the first time in India. IIT Bombay and Tata Memorial Hospital in Mumbai conducted the trial, which was partially funded by the BIRAC-PACE initiative.

♦ The National Biopharma Mission-BIRAC of the Indian government has given the team 19.15 crore to conduct a first-in-human phase-1/2 clinical study using CAR-T cells.

 

About Chimeric Antigen Receptor T-cell Therapy:

♦ It is a treatment in which a patient`s T cells (a type of immune system cell) are genetically modified to kill cancer cells in the laboratory.

♦ T cells are taken from the blood of the patient. The gene for an unique receptor that attaches to a specific protein on the patient`s cancer cells is then introduced to the T cells in the laboratory. 

♦ A chimeric antigen receptor is the name given to this one-of-a-kind receptor (CAR). In the laboratory, a huge number of CAR T cells are generated before being administered into the patient.

♦ It`s used to treat several forms of blood cancers, and it`s also being studied for other cancers.

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Allocation of Spectrum to Indian Railways:

The award of 5 MHz of spectrum in the 700 MHz band to the Indian Railways has been approved by the Cabinet.

 

Highlights:

♦ The Union Cabinet has given its approval to a proposal to give Indian Railways 5 MHz of the 700 MHz frequency spectrum for public safety and security in stations and trains.

♦ Indian Railways intends to use this frequency to deliver LTE-based Mobile Train Radio Communication along its route.

♦ With an anticipated investment of Rs.25000 crore, the project will be finished in five years.

♦ TCAS has also been approved by the Railways (Train Collision Avoidance System).

♦ It is an ATP (Automatic Train Protection) System created in-house that will help prevent train collisions, reduce accidents, and ensure passenger safety.

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World Day Against Child Labour is on 12th June:

Every year on June 12th, the United Nations declares World Day Against Child Labor. According to the International Labour Organization, there are around 152 million teens working in the world, with 72 million of them doing difficult things.

 

Highlights:

 

♦ The action taken for the 2021 International Year for the Elimination of Child Labor is the focus of the day Against Child Labour. Act now: End child labour! is the subject of this year`s World Day Against Child Labor. It is the first World Day in commemoration of the public ratification of the International Labour Organization`s Convention No. 182 on the Abuse of Children, which occurs at a time when the COVID-19 disaster threatens to unravel years of progress in addressing the problem.

♦ In 2002, the International Labour Organization (ILO) established the World Day Against Child Labor to draw attention to the global scope of child labour and, as a result, the movements and efforts aimed at ending it. Every year on June 12th, this Day brings together governments, employers and workers groups, civil society, and a large number of people from all over the world to raise awareness about the suffering of young workers and what is being done to help them.

 

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