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Current Affairs for IAS Exams - 07 November 2022

::NATIONAL::

National SC-ST Hubscheme

5th meeting of High Powered Monitoring Committee (HPMC) under National SC-ST Hub schemewas chaired by Union Minister of MSME.

About National SC-ST Hub:

It aims to develop a supportive ecosystem for SC/ST entrepreneurs to achieve mandated4% procurement by the CPSEs from the SC/ST entrepreneurs.
It is being implemented by National Small Industries Corporation (NSIC), a public sector undertaking under the administrative control of Ministry of MSME.
Various components/interventions introduced like
Special Credit Linked Capital Subsidy for technology enablement,
Capacity building of SC/ST entrepreneurs,
Special Marketing Assistance Scheme (SMAS) etc.

Malaria Vaccine

In 2021, WHO recommended broader use of GSK’s Mosquirix to reduce childhood illness and deaths from malaria in children living in sub-Saharan Africa and other regions with moderate to high transmission as defined by WHO.

About:

Nearly more than 30 years and approximately $700 million for this breakthrough.
Malaria kills nearly 600,000 people every year, the majority of whom are children under the age of five in sub-Saharan Africa.
Malaria is a disease caused by the Plasmodium parasite.
The parasite can be spread to humans through the bites of infected mosquitoes.
There are many different types of plasmodium parasite, but only 5 types cause malaria in humans.

1.   Plasmodium falciparum – mainly found in Africa, it's the most common type of malaria parasite and is responsible for most malaria deaths worldwide.
2.   Plasmodium vivax – mainly found in Asia and South America, this parasite causes milder symptoms than Plasmodium falciparum, but it can stay in the liver for up to 3 years, which can result in relapses.
3.   Plasmodium ovale – fairly uncommon and usually found in West Africa, it can remain in your liver for several years without producing symptoms.
4.   Plasmodium malariae – this is quite rare and usually only found in Africa.
5.   Plasmodium knowlesi – this is very rare and found in parts of Southeast Asia.

::INTERNATIONAL::

BeiDou Satellite System

China outlined plans to expand global reach of its home-grown BeiDou satellite navigation system(BDS).

About:

BDS is the first navigation satellite system to provide a regional short message communicationservice (SMS) for authorised users.
BDS is a global navigation network alongside US’ GPS (Global Positioning System), Russia’sGLONASS and European Union’s Galileo.
BDS applied in daily life through applications like smartphones, vehicle terminals, andwearable devices.
BDS employs hybrid constellation including GEO (Geosynchronous Earth Orbit), IGSO (InclinedGeosynchronous Orbit), and MEO (Medium Earth Orbit) satellites.

Falcon Heavy Rocket

On November 1, Elon Musk-owned SpaceX launched the Falcon Heavy rocket into a geosynchronous Earth orbit from the Launch Complex 39A at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida, U.S.

About:

This is considered as a National Security Space Launch for the U.S. military.
This is the fourth launch of the giant rocket system, and the first one in nearly three years since its last launch in 2019.

Key features:

SpaceX claims Falcon Heavy to be the most powerful rocket in the world today by a factor of two.
With a lifting capacity of around 64 metric tonnes into orbit, Falcon Heavy can lift more than twice the payload of the next closest operational vehicle, the Delta IV Heavy.
Falcon Heavy has 27 Merlin engines which together generate more than five million pounds of thrust at lift-off, equalling around eighteen 747 aircraft at full power.
The rocket can lift the equivalent of a fully loaded 737 jetliner, complete with passengers, luggage and fuel, to orbit.
Merlin is a family of rocket engines developed by SpaceX for use on its Falcon 1, Falcon 9 and Falcon Heavy launch vehicles.
Merlin engines use RP-1 and liquid oxygen as rocket propellants in a gas-generator power cycle.
These engines were designed for recovery and reuse.

::Economy::

7th Annual Meeting of Board of Governors of Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank

Union Minister of Finance & Corporate Affairs Smt. Nirmala Sitharaman attended the 7th Annual Meeting of the Board of Governors of Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) via video conference from New Delhi.
The Finance Minister shared her thoughts in the Governor’s Roundtable Discussion on the theme “Financing Infrastructure in a Crisis-Prone World”.

About:

AIIB is a multilateral development bank that aims to improve economic and social outcomes in Asia.
The headquarters of this bank is located in Beijing, China.
All powers of the Bank are vested in our Board of Governors, which is the highest decision-making body under our Articles of Agreement.
AIIB has 105 members. China is the AIIB’s largest shareholder with a 26.5% voting share. India is the second-largest, with 7.5%, followed by Russia, which has a 5.97% voting share.
India is a Founding Member of AIIB. India also has the largest project portfolio within AIIB.

::SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY::

CAR-T therapy

The eight-year-old got the treatment as part of the safety trials for India’s first indigenously made CAR-T cells.

About:

CAR-T therapy is indigenously developed by IIT Bombay and Tata Memorial Centre, Mumbai.
It is funded under National Biopharma Mission (NBM) by Biotechnology Industry Research Assistance Council (BIRAC).
Price of indigenous technology would be a 10th of its cost in the US.
CAR-T cells therapy entails reengineering the body’s T immune cells (a type of white blood cell that attacks foreign pathogens) with some genetic material so that they selectively target cancer cells for destruction.

Benefits of CAR-T therapy

While existing cancer treatments work towards increasing life of patients by a few years or months, CAR-T technology holds promise of curing certain types of cancers.
Unlike chemotherapy, CAR-T is administered only once to a patient.
Short treatment time needed and more rapid recovery

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Current Affairs for IAS Exams - 07 November 2022