Current Affairs for IAS Exams - 16 June 2021


Current Affairs for IAS Exams - 16 June 2021

::NATIONAL::

Jivan Vayu

  • Indian Institute of Technology, Ropar has developed a device ‘Jivan Vayu’ which can be used as a substitute of CPAP machine. 
  • However, this is Nation’s first such device which functions even without electricity and is adapted to both kinds of oxygen generation units like O2 cylinders and oxygen pipelines in hospitals. These provisions are not available in otherwise existing CPAP machines. 

About:

  • “Jivan Vayu’ is designed for a 22mm CPAP closed circuit tube. It can even be customized as per the size of the tube.  Since it can run during power failures, this can be used to safely transport a patient. 
  • ‘Jivan Vayu’ can deliver high flow oxygen (20–60 LPM) while maintaining a continuous positive pressure of up to 20 cm H2O. 
  • The device is designed to maintain an FiO2 of above 40% with a PEEP (positive end-expiratory pressure) of 5-20 cm H2O.

CPAP:

  • Continuous Positive Airway Pressure (CPAP) is a treatment method for patients having breathing problems during sleep called sleep apnea. 
  • The machine uses mild air pressure to keep the airways open for easy breathing. It is also used to treat infants whose lungs have not fully developed. 
  • The machine blows air into the baby's nose to help inflate his or her lungs. The treatment is all the more necessary during early stages of the Covid-19 infection. 
  • It reduces lung damage and allow patients to recover from the inflammatory effects.

Tulu language 

  • Various organisations initiated a Twitter campaign demanding official language status to Tulu in Karnataka and Kerala and received an overwhelming response. 

About:

  • Tuluis a Dravidian language spoken mainly in two coastal districts Dakshina Kannada and Udupi of Karnataka and Kasaragod district of Kerala. 
  • As per the 2011 Census report, there are 18,46,427 Tulu-speaking people in India. 
  • Some scholars suggest Tulu is among the earliest Dravidian languages with a history of 2000 years. 
  • Tulu has a rich oral literature tradition with folk-song forms like paddana, and traditional folk theatre yakshagana. 
  • Tulu also has an active tradition of cinema with around 5 to 7 Tulu language movies produced a year. 
  • Tulu films are being screened every day in Mangaluru and Udupi in at least one theatre.

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::INTERNATIONAL::

World Giving Index 2021

  • World Giving Index 2021 report says, India is 14th most charitable country. 
  • The report is released by the Charities Aid Foundation’s (CAF).

About:

  • The most generous country in the world is Indonesia.
  • Australia and New Zealand the only high-income countries to remain in this year’s Top 10.
  • India is 14th most charitable country.

Significance for India:

  • Scores for India rapidly improved between 2017 and 2019, and this improvement was maintained during 2020.
  • The improvement in India is seen across all the age groups and amongst both men and women.
  • 61 per cent of Indians helped strangers; 34 per cent volunteered; and 36 per cent donated money.

SIPRI yearbook 2021

  • According to SIPRI yearbook 2021 report said that, despite an overall decrease in the number of nuclear warheads in 2020.
  • The report assessed the current state of armaments, disarmament and international security.

About:

  • The nine countries the U.S., Russia, the U.K., France, China, India, Pakistan, Israel and North Korea had an estimated 13,080 nuclear weapons at the start of 2021. This marked a decrease from the 13,400.

About:

  • Russia and the USA together possess over 90 per cent of global nuclear weapons. Both have extensive and expensive programmes under way to replace and modernise their nuclear warheads, missile and aircraft delivery systems, and production facilities.
  • India possessed an estimated 156 nuclear warheads at the start of 2021, compared with 150 at the start of last year, while Pakistan had 165 warheads, up from 160 in 2020.
  • China’s nuclear arsenal consisted of 350 warheads, up from 320 at the start of 2020.

The SIPRI Yearbook is a compendium of data and analysis in the areas of:

  • •    Security and conflicts
  • •    Military spending and armaments
  • •    Non-proliferation, arms control and disarmament

::ECONOMY::

Dagmara HE Project

  • NHPC has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Bihar State Hydro-Electric Power Corporation (BSHPCL) for execution of Dagmara HE Project in Bihar.
  • A MoU between NHPC and BSHPCL has been signed for implementation of 130.1 MW Dagmara HE Project on the river Kosi in Supaul District in Bihar.

About:

  • NHPC is the largest organisation for hydropower development in India. 
  • It has also diversified in the field of solar & wind power.

::SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY::

Scientists finish sequencing 100% of human genome

  • The process of human genome sequencing is finally complete, 20 years after researchers first cracked the human gene code.

About:

  • This should usher in a new era of genomics and sharply increase our understanding of a wide variety of disorders affecting people. 
  • It could also lead to better genetic screening that enables quick and specific diagnostic tests to treat various maladies.
  • But scientists at that time were not able to decode 15% of the genome sequence because they didn’t have the technology. 
  • They made more progress over the years, but even by 2013, 8% of the genome (all genes together) still had not been sequenced.
  • Researchers at the Telomere-to-Telomere (T2T) consortium, an international collaboration, have sequenced the “first truly complete human reference genome.

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