Britain became the first country in the world to approve the Pfizer-BioNTech Covid-19 vaccine for use & More ( CURRENT AFFAIRS 2 DEC 2020 )

 BNT162b2

Britain became the first country in the world to approve the Pfizer-BioNTech Covid-19 vaccine for use and said that it will be rolled out from early next week.

About:

• The British regulator Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) declared that the vaccine offers protection of up to 95 per cent and is safe to be used for immunisation against Covid-19
• The American pharmaceutical giant Pfizer and its German partner BioNTech last month concluded phase 3 study of their mRNA-based Covid-19 vaccine candidate BNT162b2, meeting all primary efficacy endpoints.
  

INTERNATIONAL DAY OF PERSONS WITH DISABILITIES

International Day of Persons with Disabilities is being observed on December 3, 2020.

About:

• International Day of People with Disabilities (IDPWD) is a United Nations sanctioned day celebrated internationally on 3 December each year.
  
  
• The annual observance of the International Day of Disabled Persons was proclaimed in 1992 by United Nations General Assembly resolution 47/3.
  
  
• Its objective is to promote the rights and well-being of persons with disabilities in all spheres of society and development and to increase awareness.
  

INTERNATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF INSURANCE SUPERVISORS (IAIS)

The International Financial Services Centres Authority (IFSCA) obtained membership of International Association of Insurance Supervisors (IAIS).

About:

• Established in 1994, the IAIS headquartered in Switzerland.
  
  
• It is a voluntary membership organization of insurance supervisors and regulators from more than 200 jurisdictions, constituting 97% of the world's insurance premiums. Some of the leading members of IAIS are:
  • United Kingdom- Financial Conduct Authority (FCA),
    
    
  • USA- National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NIAC),
    
    
  • India- Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI) etc.
    
    
  
  
  
• It is the international standard-setting body responsible for developing and assisting in the implementation of principles, standards and other supporting material for the supervision of the insurance sector.

CONSENT FOR CONTEMPT

Attorney General for India K K Venugopal granted consent to initiate criminal contempt of court proceedings against comic illustrator Rachita Taneja for allegedly scandalising the judiciary through her tweets and illustrations.

About:

• The Contempt of Courts Act, 1971, lays down the law on contempt of court. Section 15 of the legislation describes the procedure on how a case for contempt of court can be initiated.
  
  
• In the case of the Supreme Court, the Attorney General or the Solicitor General, and in the case of High Courts, the Advocate General, may bring in a motion before the court for initiating a case of criminal contempt.
  
  
• However, if the motion is brought by any other person, the consent in writing of the Attorney General or the Advocate General is required. If the AG denies consent, the matter all but ends.
  
  
• The objective behind requiring the consent of the Attorney General before taking cognizance of a complaint is to save the time of the court.

‘DAMARU’ INSPIRED LATTICE

IIT Kanpur Researchers have developed ‘Damaru’ Inspired Lattice that finds applications in stealth submarines and high speed trains.

About:

• IIT Kanpur researchers have demonstrated how with the use of a micro-structured hour-glass shaped meta-structure in the lattice unit, one can get a wider variation of propagation and stop bands.
  
  
• Inspiration of the lattice they developed has come from a two-headed drum called ‘Damaru’ or ‘Damaru’ which is used in ancient Hinduism and Tibetan Buddhism. It is said that Lod Shiva has produced a special sound through this musical instrument to create and regulate the universe.
  
  
• In this application, IIT Kanpur researchers have shown the nature of stiffness of a vibrating medium could be altered drastically by controlling the lattice micro-structure from regular honeycomb to auxtetic honeycomb structure.
  
  
• This has wide applications in the field of vibration isolation in high speed trains, stealth submarines and helicopter rotors.
  
  
• This work is sponsored by a SPARC project of Ministry of Education.
  

WORLD MALARIA REPORT 2020

The World Malaria Report (WMR) 2020 released by WHO indicates that India has made considerable progress in reducing its malaria burden.

About:

• India is the only high endemic country which has reported a decline of 17.6% in 2019 as compared to 2018.
  
  
• The Annual Parasitic Incidence (API) reduced by 27.6% in 2018 compared to 2017 and by 18.4% in 2019 as compared to 2018. India has sustained API less than one since year 2012.
  
  
• India has also contributed to the largest drop in cases region-wide, from approximately 20 million to about 6 million. The percentage drop in the malaria cases was 71.8% and deaths was 73.9% between 2000 to 2019.
  
  
• India achieved a reduction of 83.34% in malaria morbidity and 92% in malaria mortality between the year 2000 and 2019, thereby achieving Goal 6 of the Millennium Development Goals (50-75% decrease in case incidence between 2000 and 2019).
  
  
• States of Odisha, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Meghalaya and Madhya Pradesh disproportionately accounted for nearly 45.47 percent of malaria cases and 70.54 percent of falciparum Malaria cases in 2019. 64% of malaria deaths were also reported from these states.

THEREMIN

Theremin instrument turned 100 years old this year.

About:

• What is it? The theremin is an electronic musical instrument controlled without physical contact by the thereminist (performer).
  
  
• History: The instrument was invented in 1920. It is named after its inventor, Leon Theremin, who patented the device in 1928.
  
  
• Functioning: The instrument's controlling section usually consists of two metal antennas that sense the relative position of the thereminist's hands and control oscillators for frequency with one hand, and amplitude (volume) with the other. The electric signals from the theremin are amplified and sent to a loudspeaker.
  

APEX COMMITTEE FOR IMPLEMENTATION OF PARIS AGREEMENT (AIPA)

The Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC) has constituted a high-level inter-ministerial Apex Committee for Implementation of Paris Agreement (AIPA) under the chairmanship of Secretary, MoEFCC.

About:

• The purpose of AIPA is to generate a coordinated response on climate change matters that ensures India is on track towards meeting its obligations under the Paris Agreement including its Nationally Determined Contributions (NDC).
  
  
• Senior officials from fourteen ministries will serve as Members to AIPA who will oversee the progress in implementation of India’s NDC
  
  
• Other key functions of AIPA would be to
• operate as a National Authority to regulate carbon markets in India under Article 6 of the Paris Agreement,
  
  
• formulate guidelines for consideration of projects or activities under Article 6 of the Paris Agreement,
  
  
• issue guidelines on carbon pricing, market mechanism, and other similar instruments that have a bearing on climate change and NDCs.
  

TASK FORCE FOR IMPARTING TECHNICAL EDUCATION IN MOTHER TONGUE

Union Education Minister has set up a task force for preparing a roadmap on imparting technical education in Mother Tongue.

About:

• The task force set up under the chairmanship of Secretary, Higher Education will take into consideration the suggestions made by various stakeholders and will submit a report in a month.
  
  
• The Minister said that no language will be imposed on any student but enabling provisions should be made so that bright students are not deprived of Technical Education due to lack of knowledge of English language.
  

AYUSH DAY CARE THERAPY CENTRES FOR CENTRAL GOVERNMENT EMPLOYEES

A proposal of Day Care Therapy Center facility under Ayurveda, Yoga, and Naturopathy systems for central government employees and pensioners has been approved by the Ministry of Health and Family welfare.

About:

• Private Day Care Therapy centers of Ayurveda, Yoga and Naturopathy will be empanelled under Central Government Health Scheme (CGHS) shortly, in a manner similar to empanelment of Day Care Therapy Centers of conventional (Allopathy) medicine already provided by CGHS.
  
  
• All CGHS beneficiaries, serving as well as pensioners will be able to avail the benefit of these centres.
  
  
• Initial empanelment of Day Care Therapy Centres will be undertaken on pilot basis for Delhi and NCR for a period of one year and subsequently would be considered for other places.
  
  
• The aim of the scheme is to improve the health and wellbeing, reduce health care expenditure and provide excellence in service delivery, efficiency, and comfort to the patients.