Relevance IN - Prelims (about BiPAP Non-Invasive ventilator) + Mains GS III Achievements of Indians in science & technology; indigenization of technology and developing new technology.)

What's the NEWS

• CSIR - National Aerospace Laboratories (NAL) Bangalore, a constituent of lab of CSIR has developed a Non Invasive BiPAP Ventilator

Know! all about BiPAP Non-Invasive ventilator

• BiPAP Non-Invasive ventilator is a microcontroller-based precise closed-loop adaptive control system with a built-in biocompatible "3D printed manifold & coupler" with HEPA filter (Highly Efficient Particulate Air Filter).
• These unique features help to alleviate the fear of the virus spread. It has features like Spontaneous, CPAP, Timed, AUTO BIPAP modes with provision to connect Oxygen concentrator or Enrichment unit externally.
• The system has been certified for safety and performance by NABL accredited agencies.
• The system has undergone stringent biomedical tests and beta clinical trials at NAL Health Centre.
• The major advantage of this machine is that it is simple to use without any specialized nursing, cost effective, compact and configured with majority of indigenous components.
• This is ideal for treating COVID -19 patients in Wards, Make shift Hospitals, dispensaries and home in current Indian COVID 19 scenario
• CSIR-NAL developed BIPAP Non Invasive Ventilator with externally connected Oxygen concentrator which will be ideal to treat moderate or mid-stage severe COVID-19 patients who do not require intubation and invasive ventilation.

Defence
Shekatkar Committee
Relevance IN - Prelims (about the recommendations given by shekatkar committee) + Mains (GS II Government policies and interventions for development in various sectors and issues arising out of their design and implementation
What's the NEWS

• Defence Minister Rajnath Singh has approved a proposal for the abolition of 9,304 posts in the Military Engineering Service (MES)
• This is in line with the recommendations of the Lt. Gen. D.B. Shekatkar (Retd.) Committee, which had suggested measures to enhance combat capability and rebalance armed forces' expenditure.

Know! the recommendations given by the committee

• It recommended to restructure the civilian workforce in a manner that the work of the MES could be partly done by departmentally employed staff and other works could be outsourced
• It recommended that India's defence budget should be in the range of 2.5-3% of GDP (Gross Domestic Product), in view of current and future threats.
• Establishment of a Joint Services War College for training of middle-level officers, with three separate war colleges at Mhow (Madhya Pradesh), Secunderabad (Telangana) and Goa, focusing on training younger officers.
• The Military Intelligence School at Pune to be converted to a tri-service intelligence training establishment.
• The recommendations on the creation of the Chief of Defence Staff post and a Department of Military Affairs have been already implemented.
• Closure of Military Farms and Army Postal Establishments in peace locations.

Government Owned Contractor Operated (GOCO) Model

• In the model, the assets owned by the government are operated by the private industries.
• The main advantage of the model is that it is efficient and will boost competitiveness among the private entities.

Know! about the committee

• The 11-member committee, appointed by the late Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar in 2016 with a broad mandate, had made about 99 recommendations from optimising defence budget to the need for a Chief of the Defence Staff.
• The recommendations, if implemented over the next five years, can result in savings of up to Rs.25,000 crore in defence expenditure.
• Of these, the first batch of 65 recommendations pertaining to the Army were approved in August

Prelims Factoids
Lockdown air: less NO2, same PM2.5 and more urban ozone
Relevance IN - Prelims(about urban ozone)
What's the NEWS

• While traffic pollution has been falling, the lockdown may be leading to the generation of a dangerous pollutant, urban ozone, which can cause airway inflammation in humans.

Urban ozone

• The photochemical production of ozone may become more important in urban areas during summertime in these low conditions of oxides of nitrogen.
• As nitrogen oxides reduce, photochemical production may become more efficient and can lead to higher ozone concentrations in the summertime as higher temperatures increase emissions of biogenic hydrocarbon from natural sources such as trees.
• These biogenic hydrocarbons significantly affect urban ozone levels.
• While ozone is important for screening harmful solar UV radiation when present higher up in the atmosphere, it can be a dangerous at the Earth's surface, and can react to destroy or alter many biological molecules.

Health
National Institute of Virology develops ELISA test to detect antibodies
Relevance IN - Prelims (about ELISA test and how it is different from RT-PCR)
What's the NEWS

• The Pune-based National Institute of Virology (NIV) has developed an immunological assay - enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) - to detect antibodies that the body develops in response to infection by the SARS-CoV-2 novel coronavirus

Know! about ELISA test

• The test will detect IgG antibodies present in blood samples. ELISA is routinely used for detecting HIV infection.
• It has the advantage of testing 90 samples together in a single run of 2.5 hours
• NIV had transferred the technology to Zydus Cadila for mass-scale production.
• The Drug Controller General had granted commercial production and marketing permission to Zydus Cadila
• This is the first time India has developed an indigenous ELISA test for coronavirus.
• While ELISA tests for coronavirus are already available in other countries, procuring them in large numbers may be a challenge, particularly during a pandemic.
• The ELISA test will be used to screen 30,000 samples from 75 hotspot districts to understand the extent of spread of the virus in the community.

ELISHA v/s RT-PCR

• ELISA test is based on detection of antibodies, it can only help in knowing if the person has been previously infected by coronavirus.
• While the RT-PCR, which detects the RNA of the coronavirus, enables detection of current infection, it will not be useful if the testing is carried out days after the infection clears as the virus will no longer be present.
• Antibodies developed in response to the coronavirus infection will be present in the blood for a longer duration and hence the ELISA test can help detect past infection.

Prelims Factoids
Indian and Chinese troops clash in Sikkim, Ladakh
Relevance IN - Prelims (geographical location - Naku la pass + Pangong Tso + doklam + about Operation Juniper
What's the NEWS

• Indian and Chinese troops have clashed at two points along the Line of Actual Control this week, leaving personnel injured on both sides.
• The incidents took place in the Naku La sector - it's a mountain pass in Sikkim at an altitude of over 5000 metres and in a contested area near Pangong Tso, a lake in Ladakh

Pangong Lake Ladakh

• It is a long narrow landlocked lake situated at a height of more than 14,000 ft in the Ladakh Himalayas.
• One-third of the lake is in Indian control while the rest of the is under Chinese control.
• The LAC cuts through the lake but India and China do not agree on its exact location.

Previous Stand-offs

• In August 2017, Indian and Chinese soldiers had pelted each other with stones and exchanged blows near Pangong Lake in Ladakh.
• In 2017, Indian and Chinese soldiers were locked in a 73-day standoff in Doklam after the Indian side stopped the construction of a road in the disputed area by the Chinese Army.
• Since ‘Operation Juniper‘ - when Indian troops moved into Doklam, a small territory in Bhutan, to stop the Chinese army from constructing a road that threatens India's strategic interests - India has increased focus on its northern and eastern boundaries than being purely Pakistan centric.

Prelims Factoids
Pranavayu to monitor ILI patients launched
Relevance IN - Prelims (about Pranavayu)
What's the NEWS

• Many COVID-19 patients have low oxygen levels that puts them at risk of complications.
• The Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) launched an initiative that will allow them to monitor blood oxygen levels and heart rates of patients showing influenza-like illnesses (ILI) in fever clinics.
• It is aimed at helping patients monitor the progress of ILI to severe acute respiratory illness (SARI)

Know! about pulse oximeter

• A pulse oximeter is a small device or probe that can be clipped onto a finger for reading of blood oxygen level and heart rate.
• With this, it is possible to detect respiratory distress well in advance and start treatment to mitigate the distress, even possibly the use of ventilators.

Bilateral Relations
India launches Mission Sagar to assist island nations in Eastern Indian Ocean

Relevance IN - Prelims (about Mission Sagar and SAGAR) + Mains GS II (India and its neighbourhood- relations.)
What's the NEWS

• India launched Mission Sagar as part of the government's outreach initiative towards five Island nations in the Indian Ocean amidst the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.

Know! about the mission objectives

• Indian Naval Ship Kesari has departed for Maldives, Mauritius, Seychelles, Madagascar and Comoros, to provide Food Items, COVID related Medicines including HCQ Tablets and Special Ayurvedic Medicines with Medical Assistance Teams embarked."
• Also, as part of Mission Sagar, Indian Naval Ship Kesari would enter the Port of Male in the Republic of Maldives, to provide them 600 tons of food provisions.
• India and Maldives are close maritime neighbours with strong and extremely cordial defence and diplomatic relations.
• COVID-19 related essential medicines including HCQ Tablets were already sent earlier to Mauritius, Maldives and Seychelles.
• A team of select medical personnel was also dispatched earlier to Maldives to augment their preparedness to fight this crisis.

Know! more about Mission Sagar' and SAGAR

• This deployment as ‘Mission Sagar' is in line with India's role as the first responder in the region and builds on the excellent relations existing between these countries to battle the COVID-19 pandemic
• The deployment is in consonance with the Prime Ministers' vision of Security and Growth for All in the Region ‘SAGAR' promulgated in March 2015.
• SAGAR highlights the importance accorded by India to relations with her neighbouring countries and further strengthens the existing bond.
• The operation is being progressed in close coordination with the Ministries of Defence and External Affairs, and other agencies of the Government of India.
  
  

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