Prelims Factoids
Mastitis

What's the NEWS

• A poly-herbal and cost-effective medicine has been developed to treat Mastitis, an infectious disease of dairy cattle.
• The medicine called Mastirak Gel, developed by National Innovation Foundation (NIF) has been commercialized through the industry partner Rakesh Pharmaceuticals.

Know! about Mastirak- antimastitis herbal medication

• Mastitis is a common infectious disease, which affects farm productivity due to fall in milk quality, thus impacting income-generating activities.
• Treatment of infected animals with antibiotics poses a public health hazard.
• Indigenous knowledge systems can offer a more sustainable alternative, and their scientific evaluation is necessary to integrate these medications in the health care system.
• NIF, an autonomous institute of the Department of Science and Technology (DST), Government of India, which reinvigorates indigenous technologies based on farmer's wisdom, has identified this unique herbal composition shared by a farmer from Gujarat for control of mastitis among farm animals.
• It was found that the medication could minimize Somatic Cell Count (SCC) and improve the udder health.
• The Somatic Cell Count is a parameter noted globally, and efforts are fine-tuned in reducing the SCC in milk at standard limit.
• The polyherbal medicine reduced inflammation which is detrimental to udder.
• This critical analysis of the indigenous knowledge system led to development of value-added commercial product Mastirak
• It has reduced the use of antibiotics and helped in the cost-effective management of the disease.

National Innovation Foundation (NIF)

• It is an autonomous body of the Department of Science and Technology (DST), Government of India.
• It was set up in February 2000 at Ahmedabad, Gujarat and is India's national initiative to strengthen the grassroots technological innovations and outstanding traditional knowledge.
• Its mission is to help India become a creative and knowledge-based society by expanding policy and institutional space for grassroots technological innovators.
• NIF scouts, supports and spawns' grassroots innovations developed by individuals and local communities in any technological field, helping in human survival without any help from formal sector.
• It also tries to ensure that such innovations diffuse widely through commercial and/or non-commercial channels

Governance/GSII
Web-based project monitoring portal for Military Engineer Services launched

What's the NEWS

• Raksha Mantri launched Web Based Project Monitoring Portal (WBPMP)for Military Engineer Services (MES)
• The portal conceptualized in accordance with the Digital India Mission of the Union Government, has been developed by Bhaskaracharya National Institute for Space Applications and Geo-informatics (BISAG-G).

Know! about WBPMP

• The newly launched unified portal is the first project management-Governance to be implemented by the MES.
• It will enable real time monitoring of projects from its inception to completion.
• All stakeholders not only from MES but also Armed Forces users can gain access to the project information.
• This is one among many initiatives of MES for the scientific management of this organisation.
• MES is also in process of implementing nine other e-Governance applications in an endeavor to increase productivity, build transparency and improve efficiency towards infrastructural development for the Army.
• These applications are expected to be developed by the end of this year and also to be amalgamated into singular Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) by mid of next year.

Enterprise resource planning (ERP)

• It is a process used by companies to manage and integrate the important parts of their businesses.
• Many ERP software applications are important to companies because they help them implement resource planning by integrating all of the processes needed to run their companies with a single system.
• An ERP software system can also integrate planning, purchasing inventory, sales, marketing, finance, human resources, and more.
• ERP software can integrate all of the processes needed to run a company.
• Some benefits of ERP include the free flow of communication between business areas, a single source of information, and accurate, real-time data reporting.

International Organisations/GSII
Quadrilateral economic forum

What's the NEWS

• India, Israel, the United Arab Emirates and the United States have decided to launch a new quadrilateral economic forum

Know about the forum

• The quadrilateral, builds on ongoing cooperation between the U.S.-Israel-the UAE after the Abraham Accords last year that saw the UAE and Israel establish diplomatic ties, and the India-Israel-the UAE cooperation that has been launched since then.
• The grouping had decided to establish an international forum for economic cooperation, and specifically discussed "possibilities for joint infrastructure projects".
• The four Ministers discussed "expanding economic and political cooperation in the Middle East and Asia, including through trade, combating climate change, energy cooperation, and increasing maritime security,

The Abraham Accords

• It is a joint statement between State of Israel, the United Arab Emirates, and the United States of America, reached on August 13, 2020.
• The term was used to refer collectively to agreements between Israel and the United Arab Emirates (the Israel-United Arab Emirates normalization agreement) and Bahrain, respectively (the Bahrain-Israel normalization agreement).
• The statement marked the first public normalization of relations between an Arab country and Israel since that of Jordan in 1994.
• The Abraham Accord between Israel, the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain is mediated by the USA. It is the first Arab-Israeli peace deal in 26 years.
• The agreement with the UAE was officially titled the Abraham Accords Peace Agreement: Treaty of Peace, Diplomatic Relations and Full Normalization Between the United Arab Emirates and the State of Israel.

• The agreement between Bahrain and Israel was officially titled the Abraham Accords: Declaration of Peace, Cooperation, and Constructive Diplomatic and Friendly Relations, and was announced by the United States on September 11, 2020.

• The accords are named after Abraham to emphasize the shared origin of belief between Judaism and Islam, both of which are Abrahamic religions that strictly espouse the monotheistic worship of the God of Abraham.

Prelims Factoids
Nebra Sky Disc: world's oldest map of stars

What's the NEWS

• The British Museum in London will display an ancient object called the Nebra Sky Disc, which is thought to be the world's oldest concrete depiction of stars.

Know! about it

• The object is being loaned to the museum by Germany's State Museum of Prehistory in Halle that owns it and will be showcased as part of an exhibition on Stonehenge, which will open in February 2022.
• About 3,600 years ago, the disc was ritually buried along with two swords, axes, two spiral arm-rings and one bronze chisel near Nebra in Germany.
• The burial of these objects is thought to be made as a dedication to gods.
• While the exact purpose of the disc cannot be determined, hypotheses about its existence have imagined it as an astronomical clock, a work of art and a religious symbol.

Prelims Factoids
MARTAND SUN TEMPLE

What's the NEWS

• Union Minister Piyush Goyal also visited the Sun temple at Martand. Located atop a hillock, the temple is one of the earliest known sun temples much older than Konark and Modhera.

Know! about the temple

• The Martand Sun Temple, also known as Pandou Laidan is a Hindu temple dedicated to Surya (the chief solar deity in Hinduism) and built during the 8^th century CE.

• he Martand Sun Temple was built by the third ruler of the Karkota Dynasty, Lalitaditya Muktapida, in the 8^th century CE. It is said to have been built during 725-756 CE.

• Martand is another Sanskrit synonym for Surya.

• It is now in ruins, as it was destroyed by the orders of Muslim ruler Sikandar Shah Miri.

• The temple is located five miles from Anantnag in the Indian union territory of Jammu and Kashmir.

Prelims Factoids
VALNEVA VACCINE
What's the NEWS

• Valneva SE, a French vaccine company, announced results from its Phase 3 trial of its inactivated Covid-19 vaccine candidate, VLA2001.
• They said that the vaccine was as effective as the Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine.

Know! about the vaccine

• VLA2001 is an inactivated, adjuvanted vaccine. This means that it delivers the whole Sars-CoV-2 virus in an inactivated form.
• The virus is killed using chemicals, heat, or radiation.
• The dead virus cannot infect us but can still trigger an immune response.

• Polio and flu vaccines are common examples of inactivated vaccines. India's Covaxin is also an inactivated vaccine
• Currently, none of the vaccines in the UK - Moderna, Oxford/AstraZeneca, - are inactivated vaccines.
• Moderna and Pfizer/BioNTech are mRNA vaccines. They contain the code of the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein and once inside the body teach our body to produce the spike protein
• Our immune system recognises this and initiates an immune response against Covid-19
• Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine delivers the code of the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein using a carrier - another virus called adenovirus.

Education
BACHELOR OF SOWA RIGPA MEDICINE AND SURGERY (BSRMS)
What's the NEWS

• The University Grants Commission has issued notification recognizing Bachelor of Sowa Rigpa Medicine and Surgery (BSRMS) under the specified Degrees.

Know! about Sowa Rigpa

• Duration of the degree will be of minimum of five years and Ten plus Two (10+2) is fixed as entry qualification.
• In a gazette notification issued on 14th of October, UGC recognized BSRMS as a new degree under Medicine & Surgery, Ayurveda, Unani, Homeopathy and Health & Allied Sciences, Pharmacy, Paramedical and Nursing.
• Sowa Rigpa is a traditional and popular medicinal practice in the Himalayan region.
• So far, only two deemed to be universities, namely Central Institute of Buddhist Studies (CIBS) in Leh and Central Institute of Higher Tibetan Studies (CIHTS) located in Saranath are offering the degree in Sowa Rigpa medicine.
• With UGC recognition, any university could offer BSRMS degree in their colleges.

Prelims Factoids
Israeli Heron-I unmanned aerial vehicles
What's the NEWS

• The Indian Army Aviation has recently got control of israeli Heron-I unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV) in the eastern sector - these were earlier with the Artillery - bringing all aviation assets under one roof and augmenting its ability to keep an eye on Chinese activities across the border.

Know! about the Aviation Brigade

• The move comes just months after the raising of a new Aviation Brigade at Missamari in Assam.
• The Army Aviation Brigade at Missamari was raised in March this year to enable better command and control of aviation resources.
• The Brigade operates the Cheetah and Advanced Light Helicopter (ALH) Dhruv utility helicopters, Rudra weaponsied ALH and Heron-I UAVs.
• Three RPA flights are working under the Army Aviation squadrons which consists of around 14 UAVs.
• The Israeli Heron-I UAVs are in the process of being upgraded and officials said they will also be deployed in this sector in due course.

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