PM-FME SCHEME & MORE ( CURRENT AFFAIRS 20 NOV 2020 )

 PM-FME SCHEME

Union Minister for Food Processing Industries inaugurated the capacity building component of the Pradhan Mantri Formalisation of Micro food processing Enterprises scheme (PM-FME Scheme).

About:

• Launched under the Aatmanirbhar Bharat Abhiyan, the PM-FME Scheme is a centrally sponsored scheme.
  
  
• It aims to enhance the competitiveness of existing individual micro-enterprises in the unorganized segment of the food processing industry and promote formalization of the sector and provide support to Farmer Producer Organizations, Self Help Groups, and Producers Cooperatives along their entire value chain.
  
  
• With an outlay of Rs. 10,000 crore over a period of five years from 2020-21 to 2024-25, the scheme envisions to directly assist the 2,00,000 micro food processing units for providing financial, technical, and business support for upgradation of existing micro food processing enterprises.
  
  

Source : PIB

GIS ONE DISTRICT ONE PRODUCT (ODOP) DIGITAL MAP OF INDIA

The Ministry of Food Processing launched the GIS One District One Product (ODOP) digital map of India.

About:

• The digital ODOP map provides detailed information about ODOP products to all stakeholders.
  
  
• The GIS ODOP digital map of India provides details of ODOP products of all the states and facilitates the stakeholders.
  
  
• The digital map also has indicators for tribal, SC, ST, and aspirational districts. It will enable stakeholders to make concerted efforts for its value chain development.
  

GLOBAL HIV PREVENTION COALITION (GPC)

Union Minister for Health and Family Welfare addressed the Ministerial meeting of the Global HIV Prevention Coalition (GPC).

About:

• Hosted by UNAIDS and UNFPA on behalf of the Global HIV Prevention Coalition (GPC),the conference this year holds significance in achieving the 2016 UNGA commitment to end AIDS by 2030.
  
  
• Member States of GPC had agreed to reduce new adult HIV infections by 75% at the end of 2020 from 2010 levels.
  

PARAM SIDDHI

Indian supercomputer Param Siddhi has achieved global ranking of 63 in TOP 500 most powerful non-distributed computer systems in the world released on 16th November 2020.

About:

• Param Siddhi is the high performance computing-artificial intelligence (HPC-AI) supercomputer established under National Supercomputing Mission (NSM) at C-DAC.
  
  
• The supercomputer with Rpeak of 5.267 Petaflops and 4.6 Petaflops Rmax (Sustained) was conceived by C-DAC and developed jointly with support of Department of Science and Technology (DST), Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) under NSM.
  

DUCHENNE MUSCULAR DYSTROPHY

Sandeep Eswarappa, Assistant Professor at IISc, Bengaluru proposes to provide new genetic treatment for duchenne muscular dystrophy.

About:

• Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) is a severe type of muscular dystrophy that primarily affects boys. Females with a single copy of the defective gene may show mild symptoms.
  
  
• Muscle weakness usually begins around the age of four, and worsens quickly. Muscle loss typically occurs first in the thighs and pelvis followed by the arms.
  
  
• This can result in trouble standing up.[2] Most are unable to walk by the age of 12. Affected muscles may look larger due to increased fat content. Scoliosis is also common. Some may have intellectual disability.
  
  
• It is caused by a mutation in the gene for the protein dystrophin. Dystrophin is important to maintain the muscle fiber's cell membrane.
  
  
• Although there is no known cure, physical therapy, braces, and corrective surgery may help with some symptoms.
  

MICROWAVE WEAPONS

The Indian Army has rejected “fake” a report which claimed that the Chinese army had used “microwave weapons” to drive Indian soldiers away from their positions in eastern Ladakh.

About:

• Microwave Weapons are supposed to be a type of direct energy weapons, which aim highly focused energy in the form of sonic, laser, or microwaves, at a target.
  
  
• Microwave Weapons use beams of high-frequency electromagnetic radiation to heat the water in a human target’s skin, causing pain and discomfort.
  
  
• A number of countries are thought to have developed these weapons to target both humans and electronic systems.
  
  
• Concerns have been raised on whether they can damage the eyes, or have a carcinogenic impact in the long term.
  
  

Which countries have these “microwave weapons”?

• China had first put on display its “microwave weapon”, called Poly WB-1, at an air show in 2014. The United States has also developed a prototype microwave-style weapon, which it calls the “Active Denial System”.
  
  
• The US apparently deployed such a weapon in Afghanistan, but withdrew it without ever using it against human targets.
  

WORLD TOILET DAY

World Toilet Day is being celebrated on November 19. This year the theme remarks the importance of "Sustainable sanitation and climate change".

About:

• It is an official United Nations international observance day on 19 November to spread awareness about the global sanitation crisis.
  
  
• Objective: To reach, SDG #6 i.e. to reach everyone with sanitation, and halve the proportion of untreated wastewater and increase recycling and safe reuse.
  
  
• History: It was established by the World Toilet Organization in 2001. Twelve years later, the UN General Assembly declared World Toilet Day an official UN day in 2013.
  
  
• Convener: UN-Water is the official convener of World Toilet Day.
  
  
• How is it observed? World Toilet Day is marked by educational campaigns and other activities. Events are planned by UN-Water, local civil society organizations and volunteers.