Current Affairs for IAS Exams - 22 May 2021

::NATIONAL::

Recently, the Centre has informed that no changes are proposed at National Archives building records during the revamp of the Central Vista Project.

About:

National Archives of India (NAI) established in 1891 at Calcutta as the Imperial Record Department.
It is the biggest archival repository inSouth Asia.
It has a vast corpus of records viz., public records, private papers, oriental records, cartographic records and microfilms.
It functions under the Ministry of Culture and has one Regional Office at Bhopal and three Records Centres atBhubaneswar, Jaipur and Puducherry.

National Commission For Protection ofChild Rights

The National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) is working on a centralised digital database to monitor and help children who have lost both their parents to Covid-19.

Key highlights:

The database will help the Commission follow up regularly on the status of the vulnerable children and intervene wherever necessary.
The database and software will help in removing the bottlenecks in terms of the problems the vulnerable children are facing, one of the officials said on the condition of anonymity.
The schemes available for child welfare, such as sponsorship will also be integrated with this database.

About:

NCPCR is a statutory body under Ministry of Women and Child Development set up in 2007 under theCommissions for Protection of Child Rights (CPCR) Act, 2005.
It ensures that all Laws, Policies, Programmes, and Administrative Mechanisms are in consonance with theChild Rights perspective as enshrined in the Constitution of India and also the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child.

The Shangri-La Dialogue Asian security summit that was due to be held in Singapore next month has been cancelled.
It citing the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, including on the host country.

About:

It is an inter-governmental security forum held annually since the first summit in 2002 by an independent think tank International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS).
It is attended by defense ministers, permanent heads of ministries and military chiefs of 28 Asia-Pacific states aimed at building confidence and fostering practical cooperation.
It cultivates a sense of community among the most important policymakers in the defence and security community in the region.

Recently, India and Oman renewed the MoUs on military cooperation and maritime issues.

About India-Oman Relations:

Oman is a strategic partner of India in the Gulf Region.
It is a key pillar of India’s West Asia Policy with the most robust defense and security cooperation mechanisms.E.g., It is the only nation with regular exercises by all three armed forces like ‘Naseem-Al-Bahr’ byNavies of both nations, ‘Al-Najah’ at Army level and‘Eastern Bridge’ between air forces.
Regular institutional and cultural interactions with presence of vibrant Indian expatriate community inOman.

Indian promoters of insurance joint ventures with foreign partners will no longer be able to nominate a majority of the board members, as per new rules notified under the Insurance Act.
The rules come into effect following recent amendments to enhance the foreign direct investment (FDI) limit in insurance from 49% to 74%.
This new norms will apply to all insurers, irrespective of the stake held by the foreign partner, said legal experts.
The Finance Ministry has also specified further conditions on the composition of the board of directors for firms in which foreign investors’ stake exceeds 49%.

According to health officials, four cases of ‘white fungus’ or ‘candidiasis’ have been detected at the government-run Patna Medical College and Hospital.

About:

White fungus is considered to be more dangerous than black fungus or mucormycosis.
White fungus affected the lungs as well as other parts of the body including the nails, skin, stomach, kidney, brain, private parts and mouth.
They pointed that white fungus also caused an infection similar to COVID-19 in the lungs that was detected when high-resolution computed tomography was performed on the infected patient.
The four patients with white fungus had displayed COVID-19-like symptoms. But they were not found to be COVID-19 positive after being tested. Instead, white fungus was detected.
“After the white fungus was detected, the patients were treated with antifungal medicines and have since shown improvement in their condition,” Singh said.
Another PMCH doctor said the oxygen saturation level of one of the four patients detected with white fungus dropped from normal levels. However, after being treated with antifungal medicines, the oxygen level reached 95.