Current Affairs for IAS Exams - 10 May 2021

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The Drugs Controller General of India (DCGI) has granted permission for emergency use of anti-COVID-19 therapeutic application of the drug 2-deoxy-D-glucose (2-DG).

About:

It is developed by Institute of Nuclear Medicine and Allied Sciences (INMAS), a lab of Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO), in collaboration with Dr. Reddy’s Laboratories (DRL),Hyderabad.
Clinical trial results have shown that this molecule helps in faster recovery of hospitalised patients and reduces supplemental oxygen dependence.
Higher proportion of patients treated with 2-DG showed RT-PCR negative conversion in COVID patients. The drug will be of immense benefit to the people suffering from COVID-19.
The drug comes in powder form in sachet, which is taken orally by dissolving it in water. It accumulates in the virus infected cells and prevents virus growth by stopping viral synthesis and energy production. Its selective accumulation in virally infected cells makes this drug unique.

To help the civilian authorities in dealing with the rising cases of COVID-19, Ministry of Defence took initiative under which retired military doctors will provide online consultation on e-Sanjivani OPD to all the citizens of the country.
e-Sanjeevani OPD is a flagship telemedicine platform of the Government, developed by the Centre forDevelopment of Advance Computing (C-DAC), under the aegis of Ministry of Health and Family Welfare.
It provides free consultations to Indian citizens in need.

India is participating in the 3rd Arctic Science Ministerial (ASM3).
It is the global platform for discussing research and cooperation in the Arctic region (8-9 May, 2021).

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The first two meetingsASM1 and ASM2—were held in the USA in 2016 and Germany in 2018, respectively.
ASM3, jointly organised by Iceland and Japan. It is the first Ministerial meeting being held in Asia.
The theme for this year is ‘Knowledge for a Sustainable Arctic’.
The meeting is designed to provide opportunities to various stakeholders to enhance collective understanding of the Arctic region, emphasize and engage in constant monitoring, and strengthen observations.

It is Chinese COVID-19 vaccine for which World Health Organization (WHO) has given the green light for use worldwide.
It estimates that Siopharm is 79% effective against coronavirus.
Earlier, WHO has also listed the Pfizer/BioNTech (USA), AstraZeneca (British-Swedish), Johnson & Johnson (USA),and Moderna vaccines (USA) for emergency use.

A technical group on social stock exchanges (SSEs), constituted by the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi), has recommended that political and religious organisations, trade organisations as well as corporate foundations should not be allowed to raise funds through SSEs.

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Corporate foundations, political or religious organizations/ activities, professional or trade associations, infrastructure and housing companies (except affordable housing) will not be permitted on SSE.
The technical group report said both For Profit Enterprise (FPE) and Not for Profit Organisation (NPO) will be eligible to tap the SSE if they are able to show their primary goals are social intent and impact.
SSE are engaged in at least one of the 15 broad eligible activities.
They target underserved or less privileged population segments or regions; and should have at least 67 per cent of its activities qualifying as eligible activities to the target population.
The panel has recommended different modes of fund raising for NPOs and FPEs.

Researchers at the IIT-Madras have developed a blockchain-based data exchange system- BlockTrack for a mobile phone-based application.
It aims to digitise healthcare information systems while ensuring the protection of sensitive personal information and medical records by decentralising the control and ownership of patient data.

Niti Aayog member Dr VK Paul has said that mucormycosis known as black fungus affects those people who are suffering from diabetes.
Reacting to reports of mucormycosis or black fungus among Covid-19 patients, the infection affects only those who have a high blood sugar level.

About:

Mucormycosis Is a very rare infection.
It is caused by exposure to mucor mould which is commonly found in soil, plants, manure, and decaying fruits and vegetables.
It affects the sinuses, the brain and the lungs and can be life-threatening in diabetic or severely immunocompromised individuals, such as cancer patients or people with HIV/AIDS.