Daily Current Capsules
27 January 2023

iNNCOVACC - World's first nasal vaccine

 

What's the NEWS

• Union Minister of Health & Family Welfare unveiled the iNNCOVACC COVID19 vaccine
• iNNCOVACC is the world's first intranasal COVID19 vaccine to receive approval for the primary 2-dose schedule, and as a heterologous booster dose.

Know! about the Virus

• It is developed by Bharat Biotech International Limited (BBIL) in collaboration with Biotechnology Industry Research Assistance (BIRAC), a PSU under the Dept of Biotechnology, Ministry of Science and Technology.
• ZyCoV-D, the world's first and India's indigenously developed DNA based vaccine for Covid-19 to be administered in humans including children and adults 12 years and above, was also developed in partnership with the Department of Biotechnology in the Ministry of Science & Technology under ‘Mission Covid Suraksha' through BIRAC.
• iNCOVACC is a cost effective covid vaccine which does not require syringes, needles, alcohol wipes, bandage, etc, saving costs related to procurement, distribution, storage, and biomedical waste disposal, that is routinely required for injectable vaccines.
• It utilizes a vector-based platform, which can be easily updated with emerging variants leading to large scale production, within a few months.
• These rapid response timelines combined with the ability of cost effective and easy intranasal delivery, makes it an ideal vaccine to address future infectious diseases.

 

Bharat Parv 2023

 

What's the NEWS

• Bharat Parv was inaugurated at Red Fort Lawns by the Union Minister for Culture, Tourism

Know! about the fest

• The six - day mega event "Bharat Parv" event is being organized by the Government of India from 26th to 31st January, 2023, as part of the Republic Day Celebrations.
• Ministry of Tourism has been designated as the nodal Ministry for the event, the highlights of which include showcasing of the best Republic Day Parade tableaux at the venue, cultural performances by the Zonal Cultural Centres as well as cultural troupes from States/ UTs, a pan - India Food Court and a pan - India Crafts Bazaar with 65 handicraft stalls.

 

12th session of FAO's Intergovernmental Technical Working Group (ITWG) on Animal Genetic Resources (AnGR) for Food and Agriculture

What's the NEWS

• In the recently concluded 12th Session of the Intergovernmental Technical Working Group (ITWG) on Animal Genetic Resources (AnGR) at Rome during 18 -20 January 2023, India was elected as Vice-Chair and represented Asia & Pacific region.
• The Working Group, established by the FAO's Commission on Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture (CGRFA), functions to review technical issues, advise and make recommendations to the Commission and further implement the Commission's programme related to AnGR at global level.
• The Working Group was established by the Commission on Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture at its Seventh Session in May 1997.

 

Animal Genetic Resources

 

• AGR include all species, breeds and strains that are of economic, scientific and cultural interest to agriculture, now and in the future. Common species include sheep, goats, cattle, horses, pigs, buffalo and chickens, but many other domesticated animals such as camels, donkeys, elephants, reindeer, rabbits and rodents are important to different cultures and regions of the world.

 

Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO)

 

• It is an international organization that leads international efforts to defeat hunger and improve nutrition and food security.
• It was founded on 16 October 1945.
• The FAO comprises 195 members (including 194 countries and the European Union).
• Their headquarters is in Rome, Italy, and the FAO maintains regional and field offices worldwide, operating in over 130 countries.
• It helps governments and development agencies coordinate their activities to improve and develop agriculture, forestry, fisheries, and land and water resources.
• It also conducts research, provides technical assistance to projects, operates educational and training programs, and collects agricultural output, production, and development data.

 

AIM, NITI Aayog, CBSE, and Intel India collaborates to revolutionize education through mainstreaming Tinkering and AI

 

What's the NEWS

• Atal Innovation Mission - NITI Aayog, Central Board of Secondary Education -Ministry of Education, and Intel India have collaborated to bring a change in the education sector by embedding future skills such as AI and Tinkering in the formal curriculum.
• The larger aim is to align the NEP 2020's guidance to increase the pace of tech integration for youth, the need to bridge the future skills gap in the country, and optimize the current infrastructure (ATLs, etc.) towards making India AI-ready.
• Together, they launched the AIoT Integration in School Curriculum in September 2022 and initiated a pilot.

 

Immune Imprinting

 

What's the NEWS

 

• Recent studies have shown that a phenomenon in our body, called Immune Imprinting, might be making the new booster doses of coronavirus less effective than expected.

 

Know! about Immune Imprinting

 

• Immune imprinting is a tendency of the body to repeat its immune response based on the first variant it encountered, through infection or vaccination, when it comes across a newer or slightly different variant of the same pathogen.
• The phenomenon was first observed in 1947, when scientists noted that "people who had previously had flu, and were then vaccinated against the current circulating strain, produced antibodies against the first stain they had encountered". At the time, it was termed the ‘original antigenic sin' but today, it's commonly known as imprinting.
• The problem occurs when a similar, not identical, variant of the virus is encountered by the body. In such cases, the immune system, rather than generating new B cells, activates memory B cells, which in turn produce "antibodies that bind to features in both the old and new strains, known as cross-reactive antibodies".
• Though these cross-reactive antibodies do offer some protection against the new strain, they aren't as effective as the ones produced by the B cells when the body first came across the original virus.
• Certain sections of scientific communities attributed the recurrent COVID-19 infections in spite of booster doses to Immune Imprinting. Thus to alleviate this issue, some scientists have said that nasal vaccines might be better than injected ones to tackle the problem of Immune imprinting related recurrent infection.

 

Green Railway Station Certification

 

What's the NEWS

 

• Visakhapatnam railway station of East Coast Railway has been awarded the ‘Green Railway Station Certification with the highest rating of Platinum' by the Indian Green Building Council (IGBC).

 

Know! about Green Railway Station Certification

 

• It is a rating system developed by the Confederation of Indian Industry and Indian Green Building Council with the support of the Environment Directorate of Indian Railway
• It is a voluntary and consensus-based programme.
• This is the first of its kind holistic rating in India to address environmental sustainability in Indian railway stations.

 

Indian Green Building Council (IGBC)

 

• It is part of the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) formed in the year 2001.
• The council offers a wide array of services which include developing new green building rating programmes, certification services and green building training programmes.
• The council also organises Green Building Congress, its annual flagship event on green buildings.
• The council is committee-based, member-driven and consensus-focused.
• All the stakeholders, corporate, Government, academia and nodal agencies participate in the council activities through local chapters.
• The council also closely works with several State Governments, Central Government, World Green Building Council, and bilateral multi-lateral agencies in promoting green building concepts in the country.

 

Confederation of Indian Industry (CII)

 

• It is a non-governmental trade association and advocacy group Headquartered in New Delhi, India
• Founded in 1895.
• CII engages business, political, academic, and other leaders of society to shape global, regional, and industry agendas.
• It is a membership-based organization.
• CII has been appointed as the B20 India Secretariat by the Government of India to lead the B20 India process during India's G20 Presidency in 2023.

 

State Visit of President of Egypt to India

 

What's the NEWS

 

• President of the Arab Republic of Egypt, Abdel Fattah El-Sisi, is on a State visit to India from 24-26 January 2023.
• President Sisi, who is on his second State Visit to India, will also be the Chief Guest on India's 74th Republic Day.
• This is for the first time that President of the Arab Republic of Egypt has been invited as Chief Guest on our Republic Day.
• During the visit, both sides will sign several MoUs and discuss taking ties forward on strategic issues, defence, trade, agriculture and renewable energy.
• A military contingent from Egyptian Army will also participate in the Republic Day parade.

 

India - Egypt bilateral relation

 

• India and Egypt are celebrating 75 years of establishment of diplomatic relations this year.
• Egypt has also been invited as a ‘Guest Country' during India's Presidency of G-20 in 2022-23.
• Bilateral trade between India and Egypt achieved a record high of USD 7.26 billion in FY 2021-22.
• The trade was fairly balanced, with USD 3.74 billion Indian exports to Egypt and USD 3.52 billion imports from Egypt to India.
• In October 2021, Desert Warrior exercise was conducted as the first-ever joint tactical exercise by the air force of the two countries.
• The first ever joint exercise between the special forces of the Indian Army and the Egyptian Army named "Exercise Cyclone-I" was also conducted
• The Egyptians have also shown some interest in India's Tejas fighter jets and Dhruv light attack helicopters.
• In May last year, India - which had put a ban on sale of wheat - allowed export of 61,000 tonnes to Egypt.

 

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