DAILY CURRENT AFFAIRS-8th July 2023

Primary Amoebic Meningoencephalitis

Syllabus: Prelims-Science & Technology (Diseases) 

Why in News?

A 15 year old boy in Kerala has died because of the Primary Amoebic Meningoencephalitis. 

 About: 

 · It is a rare infection of the central nervous system caused by the Naegleria Fowleri. 

 · It is also known as the Brain eating disease. 

 Naegleria fowleri: 

 · It is an amoeba which is a single celled organism. 

 · It is the only one of its species which can infect humans. 

 · It was first discovered in Australia in 1965.

· In India it was first detected in Alappuzha in 2016. 

 · It is generally found in warm freshwater bodies. 

 Transmission: 

· It do not spread from one person to the other. 

 · In humans the amoeba enters the body through the nose and travels up to the brain. 

 · It usually happens when someone goes for a swim or dip their head in a fresh water body.

 Symptoms: 

 · The signs of PAM can be seen within 12 days of the infection.

 · The infected person will have the symptoms like: 

  1. Headache 2. Nausea 3. Fever 4. Stiff Neck 5. Hallucinations 6. Coma etc. 

 · The infection spreads rapidly and cause death within 5 days.

One District One Product 

 Syllabus: Prelims-Important Policies 

 Why in News? 

 One District One Product Programme has been collaborated with an e-commerce player Groyyo.

 One District One Product: 

 · It was initially launched in the state of Uttar Pradesh in 2018. 

 · It was later launched by the Ministry of Food Processing in 2018. 

 · It is a centrally sponsored scheme which is shared by the central government in 60:40 contributions.

 Components of the scheme: 

 · A product is identified per district based on the potential of the district and national priorities. 

 · A cluster for the product will be developed in the district.

 · Then it provides market linkages. 

 · Local exporters will be to scale up manufacturing 

 · Potential buyers will be outside India to promote the exports. 

 · Employment will be generated in the district 

 Some examples of ODOP: 

 · Banana of Kaushambi in U.P.

· Wine from Nashik valley in Maharashtra 

 · Blue Pottery of Jaipur from Rajasthan. 

 · Pineapples in Shivamogga district of Karnataka

Hydrogen fuel-cell buses 

 Syllabus: Prelims-Science & Technology

Why in News? 

 · This year Delhi-Faridabad Road will host test run of hydrogen fuel-cell buses.

 · It is a joint venture which involves Indian Oil Cooperation Ltd and Tata motors.

 Hydrogen Fuel Cell:

· It is an electrochemical device which converts the hydrogen into electrical energy.

 · They work in the similar way of conventional batteries. 

 · The only difference between them two is HFCs do not run out of charge.

 · There is no need to be recharged with electricity.

 · They will continue the electricity until there is supply of hydrogen.

 Advantages: 

 · They do not produce any tailpipe emissions. 

 · They only emit water vapour and warm air. 

 · They are more efficient than internal combustion engine. 

 · Hydrogen can be refilled in the fuel cell in minutes. 

 · It helps in achieving the National Hydrogen Mission.

National Hydrogen Mission:

 · National Hydrogen Mission was launched in the year 2021. 

 · It was introduced with a view to cut down the carbon emissions.

 · It wants to increase the use of renewable sources of energy.

 · It is being implemented by the Ministry of Renewable Energy.

 · National Green Hydrogen Mission was started under the NHM. 

 · Its main aim is to make India a global hub for the production of green energy. 

 · It also wants to harness the green hydrogen energy to fulfil the India’s Nationally Determined Contributions.

Performance Grading Index 

 Syllabus: Prelims-Important Reports

Why in News? 

  Ministry of Education has released the report on Performance Grading Index 2.0 for the States/UTs for the year 2021-22.

Performance Grading Index:

· It was released for the first time in the year 2017-18. 

 · The PGI 2.0 comprises of 1000 points across 73 indicators.

· They are grouped into 2 categories. 

 · They are further divided into 6 domains.

 · They are: 1. Learning Outcomes 2. Access 3. Infrastructure & Facilities 4. Equity 5. Governance Process 6. Teachers Education and Training 

 · PGI has classified the States/UTs into ten grades.

 · Highest achievable grade is Daksh which is for scoring more than 940 points out of 1000.

· The Lowest grade is Akanshi-3 which is for the score up to 460. 

 · Chandigarh and Punjab have topped as the best performers in school education.

 · They have attained the Grade Prachesta-2 (score 641-700).

Solar Flare 

Syllabus: Prelims-Science & Technology (Space) 

 Why in News? 

  An X-class solar flare has led to the radio blackout in parts of U.S.

 Solar Flares: 

 · It is a sudden explosion of energy of the electromagnetic radiation in the Sun’s atmosphere. 

 · The most powerful solar flare has the energy which is equal to the billion Hydrogen Bombs. 

 · By using that energy, we can power the whole world for 20,000 years.

Time Period:

· It can last for minutes to hours. 

 · Sometimes it can give rise to several flares erupting for many days or even weeks.

 Types:

· Solar flares are divided into five different classes.

 They are:

 · A-Class flares-Lowest class of solar flares. 

 · B-Class flares-Smallest after the A-class flare 

 · C-Class flares- It have little effect on the earth. 

 · M-Class flare-They are medium sized solar flares.

 · It has effect on the polar regions of the Earth which results in radio blackouts. 

 · X-Class flares-It is the biggest and strongest them of all. 

 · It can trigger the planet wide radio blackouts. 

 · It even results in long-lasting radiation storms. 

 Effects of Solar Flares: 

 · It effects: 

 1. Radio Communications

 2. Power Grids

 3. Navigation Signals

 4. Endanger Astronauts and spacecrafts 

 5. They can form Auroras

 6. Electricity shortages.

Farmer Distress Index 

 Syllabus: Prelims-Important Index

Why in News? 

  Farmer Distress Index will be handed over to the central government in the next two-three months. 

 About: 

 · It is developed by the Central Research Institute for Dryland Agriculture (CRIDA) which is an institution under the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICRA) 

 · It is a tool that measures the level of hardship and suffering faced by the farmers.

 · It aims to minimise the agrarian distress which often leads to the farmer suicides. 

 · It provides the early warning signals to the state, central and local governments about the possibility of the farmer distress.

 Advantages: 

 · It identifies the areas that are most vulnerable to the farmer distress so that providing interference by the state governments.

 · It helps in monitoring the various schemes and policies which aims to reduce the farmer distress. 

 · It provides a basis for research and analysis on the causes of farmers distress.

 Methodology: 

 · It assesses the farmers distress by collecting information through different sources and also by interviewing the farmers through phone calls. 

 · The interviews will have 21 standard questions based on 7 indicators.

 · Some of the indicators are:

 1. Debt burden 2. Exposure to disasters 3. Landholding and irrigation facilities. 4. Socio-Psychological factors and impacts etc. ·

 The index will then assign a score between 0 and 1 to each farmer. 

 · The score 0 indicates no distress, while the score of 1 means extreme distress.

Questions:

1.Consider the following statements regarding Primary Amoebic Meningoencephalitis: 

 1.It is a rare infection caused by the Naegleria Fowleri. 

 2. It spreads from one person to the other. 

 3. The signs of PAM can be seen within 12 days of the infection 

 Which of the above statements are correct? 

 a) Only one

 b) Only two 

 c) All three 

 d) None

2.Consider the following products 

 1.Banana from Kaushambi 

 2.Wine from Nashik Valley 

 3.Blue Pottery from Jaipur 

 Which among the above are recognised under ODOP? 

 a) Only one 

 b) Only two 

 c) All three

 d) None

3.Consider the following statements regarding Hydrogen Fuel-Cell Buses:

 Statement-I: It is an electrochemical device which converts the hydrogen into electrical energy 

 Statement-II: National Hydrogen Mission is being implemented by the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change. 

 Which of the above statements are correct? 

 a) Both Statement-I and Statement-II are correct and Statement-II is the correct explanation for Statement-I. 

 b) Both Statement-I and Statement-II are correct and Statement-II is not the correct explanation for Statement-I. 

 c) Statement-I is correct but Statement-II is incorrect 

 d) Statement-I is incorrect but Statement-II is correct.

4.Consider the following statements regarding Performance Grading Index: 

 1.It was released for the first time in the year 2017-18.

 2. Highest achievable grade is Daksh which is for scoring more than 950 points.

 3. The Lowest grade is Akanshi-3 which is for the score up to 460. 

 Which of the above statements are correct? 

 a) Only one

 b) Only two

 c) All three

 d) None

5.Consider the following statements regarding Solar Flares: 

 Statement-I: A-Class flares are the lowest class of solar flares 

 Statement-II: Solar flares are one of the reasons for the formation of Auroras 

 Which of the above statements are correct? 

 a) Both Statement-I and Statement-II are correct and Statement-II is the correct explanation for Statement-I. 

 b) Both Statement-I and Statement-II are correct and Statement-II is not the correct explanation for Statement-I. 

 c) Statement-I is correct but Statement-II is incorrect 

 d) Statement-I is incorrect but Statement-II is correct.

6.Consider the following statements regarding Farmer Distress Index: 

 Statement-I: It is developed by the Central Research Institute for Dryland Agriculture (CRIDA). 

 Statement-II: The score 0 indicates no distress, while the score of 1 means extreme distress.

 Which of the above statements are correct? 

 a) Both Statement-I and Statement-II are correct and Statement-II is the correct explanation for Statement-I. 

 b) Both Statement-I and Statement-II are correct and Statement-II is not the correct explanation for Statement-I. 

 c) Statement-I is correct but Statement-II is incorrect 

 d) Statement-I is incorrect but Statement-II is correct.

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