Daily Current Affairs – 4th December, 2015, Friday

1) NTC signs MoU with TII

i) National Textile Corporation (NTC) has become the 51st PSU and 49th Central PSU to sign a Memorandum of Understanding with the Transparency International India (TII) in order to adopt an Integrity Pact.

ii) An integrity pact ensures that the activities and transactions between a company or government department and their suppliers are handled in a fair and transparent manner.

iii) The honorary Independent External Monitors (IEMs) keep unethical practices like favours, bribery, etc in check.

iv) The integrity pact was prepared as per the guidelines of the Central Vigilance Commission.

2. First India International Science Festival held in IIT-Delhi

i) The first India International Science Festival (IISF) began in IIT-Delhi on December 4, 2015.

ii) The Union Minister for Science & Technology and Earth Sciences Dr. Harsh Vardhan said that the IISF is expected to be the country’s biggest-ever technology expo. It aims to encourage youngsters to inculcate scientific temperament. The festival also supported several of the Union Government’s flagship programmes, including Make in India, Digital India, Start-Up India, Smart Villages, Smart Cities etc.

iii) The Ministry also organised an event to create a Guinness World Record of the highest number of students conducting an experiment at the same venue, in which 2,000 students are expected to take part.

3. Parliament approves Regional Centre for Biotechnology Bill, 2015

i) The Union Cabinet approved introduction of a bill to establish a Regional Centre for Biotechnology in Faridabad.

ii) The bill aims to provide legal status to the Centre to operate as an autonomous body and an institution for education, training & research in biotechnology.

iii) This centre will be a hub for educational programmes relevant to the industry, including bio- drug discovery science, nano-science, medicine, imaging techniques, designer crops, bioengineering and biomaterials, intellectual property and technology transfer in the field of biotechnology.

4. Himachal Pradesh first to launch Rotavirus vaccination project

i) Himachal Pradesh recently became the first state to launch the rotavirus vaccination, which will also be launched in Vellore, Tamil Nadu and Pune, Maharashtra. The vaccine drops will be administered to the children at six, ten and fourteen weeks after birth.

ii) Rotavirus infects the cell line in the small intestine and causes stomach flu. It’s the most common cause of severe diarrhoea among infants and children. It accounts for about 13% deaths of children under five years of age.

iii) The International Clinical Epidemiological Network would not only provide technical assistance but also bear the total cost of the vaccines.

5. Govt. launches Accessible India Campaign

i) On the occasion of International Day of Persons with Disabilities on December 3, 2015, Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched the ‘Accessible India Campaign’ in New Delhi. It is also called Sugamya Bharat Abhiyan.

ii) This campaign aims to highlight the need for creating a barrier-free environment so that PwDs can easily access government buildings and public transportation, airports and railway stations, information and technology, with greater ease.

iii) It aims to create mass awareness, capacity building, technology solutions, resource generation, etc in order to generate private sector efforts including CSR resources & leadership endorsements.

6. FIFA announces World Rankings for November 2015

i) As per FIFA’s recently released end-of-the-year standings Belgium has retained its top position, which the team bagged in November.

ii) After losing five consecutive qualifying matches for the 2018 World Cup, India was placed in the 172th spot. However, in the recent list India has jumped up six places to 166th rank.

iii) World Cup 2014 runners-up Argentina is at the second position, while World Cup 2010 winner Spain is in the third spot. Germany is in the fourth place.

7. 44th Navy Day observed on December 4th

i) The 44th Indian Navy Day was observed on December 4, 2015. This day is observed to commemorate the success of the naval branch’s Operation Trident on Karachi Harbour during the 1971 Indo-Pak war.

ii) On this occasion, Prime Minister Narendra Modi extended greetings to naval personnel and praised their dedication to protect India’s maritime needs.

8. WHO releases report on food borne diseases

i) The World Health Organisation (WHO) released a report on food borne diseases estimating the global burden of food borne diseases caused by around 31 different agents like bacteria, viruses, parasites, toxins & chemicals. Such diseases affect around 6000 million people across the globe post consumption of contaminated food.

ii) As per the report, among total global deaths caused by such diseases, around one-third deaths are of children aged under five years.

iii) African & South East Asian regions have the highest cases & deaths due to food borne diseases like typhoid fever, hepatitis A, Taenia sodium & aflatoxin.

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