Current Affairs | Learn Finite

'The Ramgarh Vishdhari Sanctuary in Rajasthan was notified as India’s 52nd tiger reserve Union Environment Minister Bhupender Yadav said.' This is Rajasthan’s fourth tiger reserve after Ranthambore, Sariska and Mukundra. The newly notified tiger reserve includes the tiger habitat between Ranthambore Tiger Reserve in the northeast and Mukundra Hills Tiger Reserve on the southern side and facilitates dispersal of tigers from Ranthambore Tiger Reserve. The floristic diversity of this new tiger reserve makes it an important area for research and education. Historic and cultural sites like Bhimlat, Ramgarh palace would encourage eco tourism and provide employment opportunities to local communities, he said.

Delhi hosts SCO-RATS meet

World Affairs

'India, Pakistan and other member-states of Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) deliberated on boosting cooperation in combating various regional security challenges at a meeting hosted by New Delhi.' The three-day meeting is taking place under the framework of the SCO’s Regional Anti-Terrorist Structure (RATS). A major focus of the discussions was to be on the situation in Afghanistan, especially in dealing with the threat from terror groups active in the Taliban-ruled country, sources said. Pakistan, sources said, has sent a three-member team — an official each from the Interior, Defence and Foreign ministries — for the meeting. India assumed chairmanship of the Council of Regional Anti-Terrorist Structure of SCO (RATS SCO) on October 28 last year for a period of one year.

Malviya Mission

Schemes & Policies

'Union Minister of Education Shri Dharmendra Pradhan today reviewed the report on institutional mechanism for capacity building of teacher/faculty in higher education institutes. Minister Pradhan pitched in with an idea of a “Malviya Mission” to develop enabling ecosystem across the country for teacher education/faculty development.' He said that a multi-dimensional approach to upskill faculty aligned with the challenges of the 21st century India must be adopted. Mentioning the focus of National Education Policy 2020 on teacher education, he called for a multidisciplinary approach towards teacher education with focus on Indian values, languages, knowledge, ethos, and traditions.

World Telecommunication & Information Society Day (WTISD) 2022

Science & Tech., Economy

'Centre for Development of Telematics (C-DOT), the premier Telecom R&D centre of the Department of Telecommunications, Ministry of Communications, Government of India, organized a webinar on “Centre of Innovation (COI) for IoT/M2M” on 17 May 2022 to mark the observance of “World Telecommunication & Information Society Day (WTISD)”.' Machine to Machine Communications (M2M)/Internet of Things (IoT) are exclusively targeted at making our lives easier, comfortable and secure with novel technological innovations. The WTISD-2022 webinar is focused on the role of “Centre of Innovation for IoT/M2M” in evolving an indigenous M2M/IoT ecosystem with contribution from relevant stakeholders and aims to invite industry, startups, academia and broader Telecom fraternity to come forward, collaborate and contribute towards the digital transformation with technological innovations.

4th meeting of National Startup Advisory Council (NSAC)

Economy

'The Minister of Commerce and Industry, Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution and Textiles, Shri Piyush Goyal chaired the 4th meeting of National Startup Advisory Council (NSAC) in New Delhi.' He appreciated the work done by NSAC members and urged them to focus on tier 2 and tier 3 cities where limited VC funding is available. He also emphasized on the need for capacity building and generating awareness about various initiatives of the government to promote startups in such cities. Members of the council have also been visiting states and interacting with startup entrepreneurs and students in educational institutions to understand and find ways to energize the startup ecosystem.

Vaccine against 3 encephalitis viruses found safe, effective

Health & Medicine

'A vaccine for eastern equine encephalitis virus (EEEV), western equine encephalitis virus (WEEV), and Venezuelan equine encephalitis virus (VEEV) was found to be safe, well-tolerated and induced a neutralising antibody response in adult volunteers.' EEEV, WEEV and VEEV are spread to humans through the bites of infected mosquitoes. Horses are also susceptible to infection, but horses cannot transmit the viruses directly to humans. Infections in humans are rare but can lead to flu-like symptoms and, in some cases, severe neurological damage or death. Researchers designed a virus-like particle (VLP) vaccine candidate that uses proteins from the outer shells of the viruses, the US National Institutes of Health said in a media release.

Devasahayam Pillai becomes 1st Indian layman to be declared saint by Pope

Today in News

Devasahayam Pillai, who embraced Christianity in the 18th century, was declared a saint by Pope Francis at the Vatican, becoming the first Indian layman to be canonised. 'Devasahayam was recommended for the process of Beatification by the Vatican in 2004, at the request of the Kottar diocese, Tamil Nadu Bishops’ Council and the Conference of Catholic Bishops of India.' Pope Francis canonised Blessed Devasahayam Pillai along with nine other Blesseds during a Canonisation Mass in St Peter’s Basilica in the Vatican. Devasahayam was born on April 23, 1712, as Neelakanta Pillai into a Hindu Nair family, at Nattalam in Kanyakumari district, which was part of the erstwhile Travancore kingdom.

Iron in Tamil Nadu 4,200 years ago

History & Culture

'Carbon dating of excavated finds in Tamil Nadu pushes evidence of iron being used in India back to 4,200 years ago, the Tamil Nadu government announced this week on the basis of an archaeological report.' Before this, the earliest evidence of iron use was from 1900-2000 BCE for the country, and from 1500 BCE for Tamil Nadu. The latest evidence dates the findings from Tamil Nadu to 2172 BCE. Excavations site: Mayiladumparai near Krishnagiri in Tamil Nadu. Nearby archaeological sites: Togarapalli, Gangavaram, Sandur, Vedarthattakkal, Guttur, Gidlur, Sappamutlu and Kappalavadi. It indicates the existence of agricultural activities 4000 years ago. Scientists infer that deforestation took place only after humans began using iron because iron was stronger compared to copper.

India Hypertension Control Initiative

Health & Medicine

'A project called the India Hypertension Control Initiative (IHCI) finds that nearly 23% out of 2.1 million Indians have uncontrolled blood pressure. Recognizing that hypertension is a serious, and growing, health issue in India, the Health Ministry, the ICMR, State Governments, and WHO-India began a five-year initiative to monitor and treat hypertension.' The programme was launched in November 2017. In the first year, IHCI covered 26 districts across five States — Punjab, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh, Telangana, and Maharashtra. Hypertension is defined as having systolic blood pressure level greater than or equal to 140 mmHg or diastolic blood pressure level greater than or equal to 90 mmHg. The definition also assumes taking anti-hypertensive medication to lower his/her blood pressure.

Global Food Policy Report

Index & Reports

'India’s food production could drop 16% and the number of those at risk for hunger could increase 23% by 2030 due to climate change, says a report by the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) on climate change and food systems.' India’s food production could drop 16% and the number of those at risk for hunger could increase 23% by 2030 due to climate change. Projections are part of a model that was used to evaluate the impact of climate change on aggregate food production, food consumption(kcal per person per day), net trade of major food commodity groups, and the population at risk of going hungry.