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Current Affairs for IAS Exams - 08 December 2021

::NATIONAL::

Indian Oil, Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited and Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Limited announced the launch of Model Retail Outlet Scheme and a Digital Customer Feedback Program called Darpan@petrolpump.

About:

Three oil PSU’s have joined hands to launch Model Retail Outlets to enhance service standards and amenities, across their networks, which serve over 6 Crores consumers everyday.
In order to keep pace with the rapidly changing consumer behavior and a view to offer a heightened customer experience in retail outlets, Oil Marketing Companies aim to benchmark Retail Outlet standards for ensuring standardized customer facilities through these initiatives.
The scheme involves an intense 5 Level evaluation process of over 70000 retail outlets in the country on a set of core service and facility parameters as well as standard of customer amenities e.g., clean and hygienic washrooms, customer centric innovative offerings etc.
The Retail Outlets have been divided into 4 categories based on sales performance, facilities offered and their percentage of digital transactions at the point of sale in keeping with the Digital India imperative.

Benefits:

Other vaccines only produce antibodies, Intranasal vaccine produce antibodies as well as reduce risk of transmission.
Easy delivery- cut down syringe, needles etc.
Additional immune response- addition to the immunity in blood, it activates immunity of the cells founds in the tissues lining the nose and mouth and lungs.
Only small volume typically 0.1 ml will be required.

Nearly 400 years after the country became a British colony, Barbados has become the world’s newest republic.
The Caribbean island nation removed Queen Elizabeth II as the head of the state in a ceremony attended by Prince Charles.

Who took over as the new head of Barbados?

Dame Sandra Prunella Mason, who was selected to become the first president of Barbados last month, took over as the President of the country.
There are no plans to change the flags, coat of arms, national pledge or national anthem.
However, the terms “royal” and “crown” would be dropped from all official references.
Hence, Royal Barbados Police Force will become Barbados Police Force and crown lands would become state lands.

History of Barbados as a British colony and after:

Barbados, which is said to have been made a ‘slave society’ by the British, first became an English colony when a ship arrived at the Caribbean in 1625.
On November 30, 1966, Barbados gained its independence. Barbados, however, will continue to be one of the 54 Commonwealth nations.

Great Green Wall (GGW) is an African-led initiative with the UN Convention to combat desertification as a key partner.
It aims to restore the degraded landscapes of the Sahel from Senegal in the West to Djibouti in the East (11 countries).
According to the FAO, for every dollar invested into land restoration, through the GGW programme, yields investors can expect an average return of$1.20.
Once complete, the GGW will be the largest living structure on the planet, 3 times the size of the Great Barrier Reef, Australia.

After presenting its Concrete Future 2050 roadmap for net-zero concrete at the Glasgow meet, the Global Cement and Concrete Association (GCCA) now has to act on its commitment.

Key highlights:

The global industry body says it has already made proportionate reductions of 20 per cent in carbon dioxide emissions in cement production over the last three decades.
The roadmap envisages an acceleration of decarbonisation to achieve the same reduction in just a decade.
It outlines proportionate reduction of 25 per cent in carbon dioxide emissions by 2030 to achieve full decarbonisation by mid-century.
The roadmap actions between now and 2030 will prevent almost 5 billion tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions.

About:

Green cement is an environmentally friendly product that minimizes the carbon footprint of cement production.
It is energy-efficient, incorporates low carbon production methods, new cement formulations, geopolymers, carbon-negative cements, and new concrete products.
Its production reduces cement intake, and its major raw materials include discarded industrial wastes like blast furnace slag and fly ash.

About:

Type 1 diabetes, once known as juvenile diabetes or insulin-dependent diabetes, is a chronic condition in which the pancreas produces little or no insulin.
Insulin is a hormone needed to allow sugar (glucose) to enter cells to produce energy.
Different factors, including genetics and some viruses, may contribute to type 1 diabetes.
Although type 1 diabetes usually appears during childhood or adolescence, it can develop in adults.
Until now, type 1 diabetes has no cure.