Daily Current Affairs and GK | 24 July 2020

1. Pharma company Cipla is ready to launch favipiravir for COVID-19 patients.

• Pharma company Cipla is all set to launch anti-viral drug favipiravir for the treatment of COVID-19 patients.
• The anti-viral drug favipiravir has shown promising results in clinical trials for the treatment of Covid-19 patients.
• The Drug Controller General of India has permitted restricted emergency use for favipiravir in the country.
• The apex government research institute, Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), has transferred cost effective technology for the development of this drug to Cipla.

2. The Cigarettes and Other Tobacco Products (Packaging and Labeling) Rules, 2008 were amended.

• Recently the Cigarettes and Other Tobacco Products (Packaging and Labeling) Rules, 2008 have been amended.
• Along with this, the Union Health Ministry has notified new sets of health warnings for all tobacco products.
• It states that anyone directly or indirectly engaged in the manufacture, production and supply of cigarettes or any tobacco product must ensure that all tobacco product packages have a health warning specified.
• This new warning will come into effect from 1 December 2020.
• According to this, text messages to be printed on packs of tobacco products are - Tobacco causes painful death.
• Violation of the prescribed provision is a punishable offense with imprisonment or fine.

3. CPCB issued new guidelines on disposal of COVID-19 waste.

• Recently the Central Pollution Control Board has issued new guidelines on waste disposal of COVID-19.
• It has been said in these instructions that-
  • Masks and gloves used by all, infected or not, should be cut and kept in paper bags for at least 72 hours before closing.
  • Common solid waste and biomedical waste generated from quarantine centers and homes should not be mixed. They must be collected separately.
• The CPCB has also recommended the use of biodegradable or non-disposable cutlery, to reduce waste production.
• Isolation coaches, which include temporary health facilities such as rail coaches, have been advised to keep a separate color coded compartment, to use a dedicated bin to collect and store COVID-19 waste.
• Central Pollution Control Board:
  • It is a statutory organization under the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change.
  • It was established in 1974 under the Water Act, 1974.
  • The CPCB is also delegated powers and functions under the Air Act, 1981.
  • Its headquarters is located in New Delhi.

(Source: News on AIR)

4. Riva Ganguly Das appointed by the government as Secretary East in the Ministry of External Affairs.

• Recently, the government has appointed Riva Ganguly Das as Secretary East in the Ministry of External Affairs.
• Currently, she is the High Commissioner of India to Bangladesh.
• Ms. Das is a 1986 batch Indian Foreign Service officer.
• She will succeed Ms. Vijay Thakur Singh, who is retiring on September 30 this year.

5. 10^th meeting of Trade Ministers of BRICS countries concluded in virtual mode.

• Recently the 10^th meeting of the BRICS Trade Ministers took place in virtual mode.
• Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal attended the meeting on behalf of India.
• Addressing the meeting, Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal has called on all countries to build trust to increase transparency in their trade and to prevent losing their role as a key trade partner.
• He also called for removing many barriers to accessing medicines at affordable prices created by WTO rules to protect intellectual property, so that there is no barrier to access to Corona drugs globally for this reason.
• BRICS:
  • BRICS is a group formed by five major emerging countries - Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa.
  • Originally the first four were classified as BRIC in 2006; South Africa's inclusion in 2010 became BRICS.
  • Together these countries represent 42% of the population, 23% of global GDP, 30% of geographical regions and 18% of global trade.

(Source: News on AIR)

6. Ministry of Human Resources and Development conducted the Indian Scholastic Assessment Test 2020 for the first time.

• Recently the Ministry of Human Resource and Development conducted the Indian Scholastic Assessment Test 2020 for the first time under the Study in India program.
• It is an examination conducted to provide scholarships and admissions to foreign students to study in selected Indian universities.
• The examination was conducted in the Internet mode by the National Testing Agency.
• Around five thousand candidates from Nepal, Ethiopia, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Uganda, Tanzania, Rwanda, Sri Lanka, Kenya, Zambia, Indonesia and Mauritius participated.
• The IND SAT score will serve as a criterion for the allocation of scholarships under the study in India program to shortlist meritorious students for undergraduate and post graduate programs.

(Source: News on AIR)

7. 23 July: National Broadcasting Day.

• National Broadcasting Day is celebrated in India every year on 23 July.
• On this day in 1927, a private Indian Broadcasting Company started the first radio broadcast in the country from a Bombay station.
• The greatest democracy  India has its peculiarity of speaking power and freedom of expression.
• Radio is a strong example of freedom of expression as a broadcast medium.
• Currently, radio is an effective and reliable medium of knowledge, information and entertainment.
• Guglielmo Marconi, an Italian inventor, invented the radio in the 1890s.

(Source: News on AIR)

8. Formal sanction letter issued for permanent commission to women officers in Indian Army.

• Recently, the Ministry of Defense has issued a formal government approval letter to give permanent commission to women officers in the Indian Army.
• By this order, the permanent commission can be given to women officers of Shortl Service Commission in 10 branches of the army.
• These branches include Army Air Defense, Signals, Engineers, Army Aviation, Electronics and Mechanical Engineers, Army Service Corp, Army Ordnance Corp and Intelligence Corp.
• Women are already being given permanent commission in the Judge and Advocate General and Army Educational Corp.
• With this, the way has been opened to give big responsibility to women officers in the army.

(Source: News on AIR)

9. Environment Minister Prakash Javadekar inaugurated the National Transit Pass System in Delhi.

• Recently, the Environment Minister Prakash Javadekar has inaugurated the National Transit Pass System at Indira Paryavaran Bhavan in Delhi.
• The national pass system ensures uninterrupted movement of forest produce.
• This system is part of the alleged Comfort of Movement by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
• People can apply for a pass from their mobile phone as well as get an e-pass on their mobile phone, which is another step towards the Digital India movement.

(Source: News on AIR)

10. Turkmenistan was granted Observer status in World Trade Organization.

• Recently Turkmenistan has been granted Observer status by the World Trade Organization General Council.
• With this, Turkmenistan became the last former Soviet republic to establish formal relations with the trade organization.
• Turkmenistan filed a request for Observer status in May.
• Neighboring Central Asian countries — Kazakhstan, Kyrgyz Republic, Tajikistan and Afghanistan — have entered the World Trade Organization, while Uzbekistan has been negotiating since 1994 for WTO accession.
• Turkmenistan:
  • It is a country in Central Asia, surrounded by the Caspian Sea and the Karakum Desert.
  • Its capital is Ashgabat.
  • Its currency is Turkmenistan Manat.

(Source: News on AIR)

11. Lonar lake in Maharashtra turned pink due to microbes called ‘Haloarchaea’.

• The color of the water of Lonar Lake in Buldhana district of Maharashtra had turned pink due to the presence of large amounts of salt-loving Haloarchaea microbes.
• This study was recently done by Agarkar Research Institute, Pune.
• It has surprised not only the locals but also the nature enthusiasts and scientists due to the pink color of the lake water some time ago.
• The lake water samples were then collected and sent to the National Environmental Engineering Research Institute (NEERI) in Nagpur and Agarkar Research Institute in Pune for examination.
• Initially, scientists thought it was due to pigmented Dunaliella algae. But later, the exact reason is understood that it is caused by the Haloarchaea microbes, which produce a pink pigment.
  • The absence of rain, less human interference and higher temperatures resulted in water evaporation, which increased its salinity and pH.
  • Salinity and pH facilitated the growth of halophilic or Haloarchaea microbes.
• The lake's color is now returning to its original form as the rainy season has reduced the salinity of the water.
• Due to this, the level of salinity and pH alkalinity has also decreased and green algae in the water body have started to grow.
• Flamingo has turned pink or red due to food containing carotenoids.
  • This bacteria, which produces a pink pigment, is swallowed by these birds.
  • This carotenoid-rich food flamingo has also become red or pink like a lake.

(Source: The Hindu)