News: Prime Minister has inaugurated mega virtual summit RAISE 2020- ‘Responsible AI for Social Empowerment 2020′.
Facts:
- RAISE 2020: It has been organised by the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology in association with the NITI Aayog.
- Aim: To bring together people to exchange ideas on the use of Artificial Intelligence for social empowerment, inclusion and transformation in industries such as education, smart mobility, agriculture and healthcare among others.
Additional Facts:
- Global Partnership on AI(GPAI): Itis an international initiative created by France and Canada along with Australia, the European Union, Germany, India, Italy, Japan, Mexico, New Zealand, the Republic of Korea, Singapore, Slovenia, the United Kingdom and the United States of America.
- Aim: To guide responsible development and use of AI in a spirit of respect for human rights, inclusion, diversity, innovation and economic growth.
2. DRDO successfully flight tested the Supersonic Missile Assisted Release of Torpedo(SMART)
News:Defence Research and Development Organisation(DRDO) has conducted a successful flight test of the Supersonic Missile Assisted Release of Torpedo(SMART) from Wheeler Island off the coast of Odisha.
Facts:
- SMART: It is a missile assisted release of lightweight Anti-Submarine Torpedo System for anti-submarine warfare(ASW) operations for far beyond torpedo range.
Additional Facts:
- Anti-submarine warfare: It is a branch of underwater warfare that uses surface warships, aircraft, submarines, or other platforms to find track, and deter, damage and/or destroy enemy submarines.
- Torpedoes: They are self propelled weapons with a warhead and can be used under or on the water surface.They are one of the mainstay of sea-warfare attack systems.
3. Delhi CM to attend ‘Daring Cities 2020’ conference
News: TheChief Minister of Delhi will be among the five urban leaders from around the world to speak at the ‘Daring Cities 2020’.
Facts:
- Daring Cities: It is an action-oriented forum designed to empower urban leaders including mayors and other decision-makers to tackle the climate crisis.
- Created by: It was established by ICLEI and the Federal City of Bonn (Germany).
- Daring Cities 2020: It will comprise high level and visionary speakers. The event will help to set the course to COP26, Daring Cities 2021 and beyond.
- The 26th session of the Conference of the Parties (COP 26) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) will be held in 2021 in Glasgow, UK.
4. New Caledonia rejects independence from France
News: French territory of New Caledonia voted against independence from France in a referendum held recently.The referendum was a part of a decolonisation plan agreed in 1998 known as the Noumea Accord.
Facts:
- New Caledonia: It is an archipelago and special collectivity of France located in the southwest Pacific Ocean.
- Significance: Ithas large deposits of nickel, a vital component in manufacturing electronics and is seen by France as a strategic political and economic asset in the region.
- Autonomy: It enjoys a large degree of autonomy but depends heavily on France for matters like defence and education and still receives large subsidies from France.It is also one of the UN’s 17 “non-self governing territories” where the process of decolonisation has not been completed.
.5. India successfully test-fires new version of nuclear-capable Shaurya Missile
News: Defence Research and Development Organization(DRDO) have successfully conducted the trial of the nuclear-capable Shaurya missile.
Facts:
- Shaurya: It is a hypersonic surface-to-surface tactical missile developed as a land variant of short-range Submarine Launched Ballistic Missile (SLBM) K-15 Sagarika.
- Features:
- These ballistic missiles belong to the K missile family.It has a range of at least 750 kilometers.It is also capable of carrying payloads of 200 kg to 1000 kg.
- The missile is based on a canister system which means that it is stored and operated from specially designed compartments.
Additional Facts:
- K missile Family: They are primarily Submarine Launched Ballistic Missiles(SLBMs).These have been indigenously developed by DRDO and are named after late Dr APJ Abdul Kalam.
- The development of these naval platform launched missiles began in the late 1990s as a step towards completing India’s nuclear triad — the capability of launching nuclear weapons from land, sea and air based assets.
6. National Startup Awards 2020
News: Minister of Commerce & Industry will be releasing the results of the first edition of National Startup Awards.
Facts:
- National Startup Awards: It was set up by the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT), Ministry of Commerce and Industry.
- Aim: To recognize and reward outstanding Startups and ecosystem enablers that are building innovative products or solutions and scalable enterprises, with high potential of employment generation or wealth creation, demonstrating measurable social impact.
- Categories: The awards will be given across 12 sectors namely Agriculture, Education, Enterprise Technology, Energy, Finance, Food, Health, Industry 4.0, Space, Security, Tourism and Urban Services.
- Apart from these, startups are to be selected from those which create impact in rural areas, are women-led and founded in academic campuses.
7. Explained: The discovery of Hepatitis C virus that helped three scientists win the Medicine Nobel
News: The 2020 Nobel Prize for Medicine or Physiology has been awarded to Americans Harvey J Alter and Charles M Rice and British scientist Michael Houghton for the discovery of the Hepatitis C virus.
Facts:
- Hepatitis C: It is a liver disease caused by the hepatitis C virus (HCV): the virus can cause both acute and chronic hepatitis, ranging in severity from a mild illness lasting a few weeks to a serious, lifelong illness.
- Spread: The hepatitis C virus is a bloodborne virus: the most common modes of infection are through exposure to small quantities of blood. This may happen through injection drug use, unsafe injection practices, unsafe health care, transfusion of unscreened blood and blood products, and sexual practices that lead to exposure to blood.
- Cases of Hepatitis C: According to WHO, about 71 million people (6 -11 million of them in India) have chronic infection with the Hepatitis C virus which also happens to be a major cause of liver cancer.
- How is Hepatitis C treated? Presently there is no vaccine available for HCV.However, it can be treated with antiviral medication.
Additional Facts
- Hepatitis: Itis an inflammation of the liver.The condition can be self-limiting or can progress to fibrosis (scarring), cirrhosis or liver cancer.
- Types of Hepatitis: There are 5 main hepatitis viruses referred to as types A, B, C, D and E.
- Hepatitis A and E are typically caused by ingestion of contaminated food or water.
- Hepatitis B, C and D usually occur as a result of parenteral contact with infected body fluids such as contaminated blood or blood products, invasive blood procedures using contaminated equipment.
- Hepatitis B transmission can also happen from mother to baby at birth, from family member to child and also by sexual contact.
