In the Singapore Weightlifting International, India takes home eight medals.

At the Singapore Weightlifting International 2022, India won eight medals, including six gold, silver, and bronze.

Highlights

• India won eight medals at the Singapore Weightlifting International 2022, including six gold, silver, and bronze.
• Each of the eight Indian lifters that competed in the Singapore International won medals and qualified for the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games, which will take place in July and August.
• India has qualified 12 weightlifters for the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham in 2022.
• Eight Indian weightlifters will compete in Singapore: four women and four men.
• The international weightlifting competition in Singapore ended on 27 February.

Indian Weightlifters For Common Wealth Games 2022

Plant-Derived COVID Vaccine Approved For First The Time In The World

Canada is the first country in the world to approve the use of a COVID-19 vaccine made from plants.

Highlights

• The two-dose vaccine of Medicago is often given to adults who are aged between 18 to 64, but little data is out there on the shots received by people aged 65 and above.
• The decision to authorize the vaccine was supported by a study conducted on 24,000 adults that showed the vaccine`s efficacy rate is 71% at preventing COVID-19 – although the tests were conducted before the omicron variant emerged.
• Side effects of this vaccine were mild fatigue and fever. Covifenz is the name given to the current vaccine.
• Canada agreed to shop for 20 million doses of this plant-based vaccine, choosing to purchase 56 million additional doses.

Vaccine Making

• Plants are used as living factories by Medicago. These plants are wont to grow virus-like particles that mimic the coronavirus spike protein. 
• The particles are purified after being far away from the plants` leaves. An adjuvant, an immune-boosting substance produced by GlaxoSmithKline, is added to the shots.

Medicago

• Medicago is found in Quebec and is developing various plant-based vaccines against multiple sorts of diseases. 
• This plant-based COVID-19 vaccine will help garner more interest during this new sort of medical manufacturing.

BSA Renewed By Japan And India 

• The Bilateral Swap Arrangement (BSA) between Japan and India has been renewed, with a value of up to USD 75 billion. 
• The BSA is a two-way agreement in which both governments can exchange their local currencies for US dollars.
• The interest rate charged in this situation is fixed at the time of signing the agreement, reducing the risk associated with exchange rate swings.
•  In 2018, the Bank of Japan and the Reserve Bank of India signed the actual Bilateral Swap Arrangement (BSA).

BSA Between India And Japan

• It implies that Japan and India can borrow money in their own currencies, such as the Indian Rupee, the Japanese Yen, or the US Dollar. 
• This can be discussed in more detail as follows:
• When India needs money from Japan, it can borrow in either US dollars or Japanese yen up to a cap of $75 billion.
• When Japan borrows money from India, it can do so in either US dollars or Indian rupees up to a $75 billion maximum.
• The nations will pay interest on the amount borrowed at a rate determined at the time the money was borrowed.

International Current Affairs February 4th Week 2022