ICMR Issues New Guidelines To Avoid Antibiotics Prescription

• Recently, a multi-centre survey carried out by the ICMR to spot the trend in antibiotic resistance across the country showed Acinetobacter baumannii, a gram-negative bacteria known to cause infection in the blood, urinary tract and lungs among others, was resistant to high-end antibiotics.
  • Antimicrobial Resistance: It occurs when bacteria, viruses, fungi and parasites change over time and no longer respond to medicines, making infections harder to treat and increasing the risk of disease spread.
• The survey found 5% samples of Acinetobacter baumannii tested in 2021 were resistant to carbapenems, a high-end antibiotic.

Gram-negative bacteria

• Gram-negative bacteria are classified by the color they turn after a chemical process called Gram staining is used on them.
  • Gram-negative bacteria stain red when this process is used.
  • Gram-positive bacteria stain blue.
• Gram-negative bacteria are enclosed in a protective capsule. This capsule helps prevent white blood cells (which fight infection) from ingesting the bacteria. Under the capsule, gram-negative bacteria have an outer membrane that protects them against certain antibiotics, such as penicillin.
• When disrupted, this membrane releases toxic substances called endotoxins. Endotoxins contribute to the severity of symptoms during infections with gram-negative bacteria.
• Gram-negative bacteria cause infections including pneumonia, bloodstream infections, wound or surgical site infections, and meningitis in healthcare settings.

Ikshak, 3rd ship of Survey Vessel (Large) project launched at L&T, Chennai

• The ship, named ''Ikshak'' which means ''Guide'', is being built by Garden Reach Shipbuilders and Engineers (GRSE) and Larson and Toubro (L&T).
• The ship''s name honours the role that Survey ships have played in ensuring the safety of mariners when at sea.
• The first of class ship ''Sandhayak'' was launched on December 5, 2021 at GRSE, Kolkata. SVL ships will replace the existing Sandhayak Class survey ships with new generation hydrographic equipment to collect oceanographic data.
• The Survey Vessel (Large) ships are 110 m long, and 16 m wide with a deep displacement of 3400 tons and a complement of 231 personnel.
• The ship''s propulsion system consists of two main engines with twin shafts, each capable of a maximum speed of 18 knots and a cruise speed of 14 knots.

Bilateral training exercise ''Austra Hind 22'' to start Monday

• Aim of the exercise is to build positive military relations, imbibe each other’s best practices and promote the ability to operate together while undertaking multi-domain operations in Semi deserts terrain under a UN peace enforcement mandate.
• This is the first exercise in the series of AUSTRA HIND with participation of all arms and services contingent from both armies.
• AUSTRA HIND” will be a yearly event that will be conducted alternatively in India and Australia.
• The joint exercise, besides promoting understanding and interoperability between the two armies, will further help in strengthening ties between India and Australia.

PM Modi launches various new initiatives under e-court project

Virtual Justice Clock

• It is an initiative to exhibit vital statistics of the justice delivery system at the Court level giving the details of the cases instituted, cases disposed and pendency of cases on day/week/month basis at the Court level.
• The effort is to make the functioning of the courts accountable and transparent by sharing with the public the status of case disposals by the court.
• Public can access the Virtual Justice Clock of any court establishment on the District Court''s website.

JustIS Mobile App 2.0

• It is a tool available to judicial officers for effective court and case management by monitoring pendency and disposal of not only his court but also for individual judges working under them.
• This App is also made available to High Court and Supreme Court Judges who can now monitor pendency and disposal of all the States and Districts under their jurisdiction.

Digital Court

• It is an initiative to make the court records available to the judge in digitised form to enable the transition to Paperless Courts.

S3WaaS Websites

• It is a framework to generate, configure, deploy and manage websites for publishing specified information and services related to district judiciary.
• S3WaaS is a cloud service developed for government entities to generate Secure, Scalable & Sugamya (Accessible) websites. It is multilingual, citizen friendly and disability friendly.

Scientists discover new species of black corals near the Great Barrier Reef

• Black corals can be found growing both in shallow waters and down to depths of over 26,000 feet (8,000 metres), and some individual corals can live for over 4,000 years.
• Many of these corals are branched and look like feathers, fans or bushes, while others are straight like a whip.
• Unlike their colourful, shallow-water cousins that rely on the sun and photosynthesis for energy, black corals are filter feeders and eat tiny zooplankton that are abundant in deep waters.
• Among the many interesting specimens were five new species – including one that was found growing on the shell of a nautilus more than 2,500 feet (760 metres) below the ocean’s surface.
• Similarly to shallow-water corals that build colourful reefs full of fish, black corals act as important habitats where fish and invertebrates feed and hide from predators in what is otherwise a mostly barren sea floor.
  • For example, a single black coral colony researchers collected in 2005 off the coast of California, United States, was home to 2,554 individual invertebrates.

Coral Reefs

• Coral reefs are built by coral polyps as they secrete layers of calcium carbonate beneath their bodies.
• The corals that build reefs are known as “hard” or “reef-building” corals. Soft corals, such as sea fans and sea whips, do not produce reefs. The calcium carbonate that is created by hard corals provides a foundation for baby corals to settle upon, and if the local threats to coral reefs are limited, then the corals will build up over time and create a healthy, vibrant coral reef.
• Other types of animals and plants also contribute to the structure of coral reefs. Many types of algae, seaweed, sponges, sediment, and even mollusks like giant clams and oysters add to the architecture of coral reefs. When these organisms die, they also serve as foundations for new corals.

Himalayan Yak gets FSSAI tag

• The Himalayan yak has recently earned the food animal tag from the Food Safety and Standard Authority of India (FSSAI).
• The categorisation is expected to help check the decline in the population of the high-altitude bovine by making it a part of the conventional milk and meat industry.
• Yaks belong to the genus Bos and are therefore related to cattle (Bos primigenius species).
• Domestic Yak (Bos Grunniens) descended from the wild yak (Bos mutus).
• Distribution:
  • Yak is found throughout the Himalayan region -- Arunachal Pradesh, Sikkim, North Bengal, Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh, Ladakh and Jammu and Kashmir -- while wild Yak is found in Tibet.
  • It is also found as far north as Mongolia and Russia.
• National Research Centre on Yak:
  • The Government of India established the ICAR-National Research Centre on Yak, in 1989 at Dirang, Arunachal Pradesh as a dedicated centre for research into yak husbandry.
• Yak Census 2019:
  • According to a census carried out in 2019, India has some 58,000 yaks – a drop of about 25% from the livestock census of 2012.
  • The drastic decline could be attributed to less remuneration from the bovid and discouraging the younger generations from continuing with nomadic yak rearing.
  • The sale of yak milk and meat is limited to local consumers.

CSMVS, Byculla Railway station win UNESCO award for conservation

• The UNESCO Asia-Pacific Awards for Cultural Heritage Conservation is supported by a partnership between UNESCO and Ng Teng Fong Charitable Foundation since 2021.
• UNESCO introduced the new category, ‘Special Recognition for Sustainable Development’, in 2020, together with an updated set of Awards Criteria to acknowledge the role and contribution of cultural heritage to sustainable development within the broader framework of the UN 2030 Agenda.
• Since 2000, the UNESCO Asia-Pacific Awards for Cultural Heritage Conservation programme has been recognizing the efforts of private individuals and organizations in restoring, conserving, and transforming structures and buildings of heritage value in the region.
• The complete list of 2022 awarded projects comprises:
• Award of Excellence
  • Chhtrapati Shivaji Maharaj Vastu Sangrahalaya Museum, Mumbai, India
• Award of Distinction
  • Stepwells of Golconda, Hyderabad, India
  • Zarch Qanat, Yazd, Iran
  • Neilson Hays Library, Bangkok, Thailand
• Award of Merit
  • Topdara Stupa, Charikar, Afghanistan
  • Nantian Buddhist Temple, Fujian, China
  • Domakonda Fort, Telangana, India
  • Byculla Station, Mumbai, India
  • Sadoughi House, Yazd, Iran
  • 25 Chivas in Kathmandu, Nepal
• Special Recognition for Sustainable Development
  • West Guizhou Lilong Neighborhood, Shanghai, China
• Award for New Design in Heritage Contexts
  • M30 Integrated Infrastructure for Power Supply and Waste Collection, Macao SAR, China
  • Xiaoxihu Block, Nanjing, China

Union Health Ministry appoints Deepa Malik as Nikshay Mitra ambassador

• It is an initiative under Pradhan Mantri TB Mukt Bharat Abhiyaan.
• It is an initiative launched by President Droupadi Murmu which strives to provide aid to TB-afflicted patients on three levels of nutritional, additional diagnostic, and vocational support.
• Objective:
  • It aims to eradicate the existing societal stigma and discrimination against TB patients and provide them with much-needed nutritional and social support, and help them lead a normal life.
  • It also aims to encourage elected representatives, corporates, NGOs, and individuals to come forward as donors/sponsors to help the patients complete their journey toward recovery.
• Ni-kshay 2.0 portal: The Ni-kshay 2.0 portal provides a digital platform for extending community support to persons with TB and leveraging Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) opportunities.
• Timeframe: Support can be extended to persons with TB, for a minimum duration of one year and a maximum of three years, in any block or district across the country.

National Cadet Corps celebrates 74th foundation day

• National Cadet Corps (NCC) is a Tri-Services Organization, comprising the Army, Navy and Air Force, engaged in grooming the youth into disciplined and patriotic citizens.
• Working:
  • It is a voluntary organization which recruits cadets from high schools, colleges and universities all over India.
  • The Cadets are given basic military training in small arms and parades. They are given preference in military service over normal candidates during selections.
• Background: It came into existence in 1948 under the National Cadet Corps Act, 1948.
• Related Ministries: Defence Ministry deals with NCC at the National level. Education Ministry deals with NCC in all States.
• Directorate General NCC: It is the national level HQ located at New Delhi. It is headed by the Director General (DG), an Army Officer of the rank of Lieutenant General.