14 May 2020: PIB Summary & Analysis

May 14th, 2020 PIB:- Download PDF Here

TABLE OF CONTENTS

1. G20
2. Wholesale Price Index (WPI)
3. Operation Samudra Setu
4. Commonwealth Health Ministers’ Meeting
5. SAMARTH
6. Parkinson’s Disease

1. G20

Context:

Union Commerce and Industry Minister attended the 2^nd G20 Virtual Trade & Investment Ministers Meeting, held through video-conferencing.

Details:

• India has called upon the G-20 nations to ensure access to essential medicines, treatments and vaccines at affordable prices.
• The Minister asked the G20 members to first focus on immediate and concrete actions that can ease the distress being faced by people all over the world due to Corona pandemic.
• He said that the unprecedented situation calls for solidarity and a balanced, inclusive and calibrated response.
• An overriding priority for all countries at this time, is to save precious lives.
• He strongly called for agreement to enable the use of TRIPs flexibilities to ensure access to essential medicines, treatments and vaccines at affordable prices.
• He also called upon the G-20 nations to also agree to provide diagnostic and protective equipment, and healthcare professionals across borders where they are most needed.

To read more about TRIPS, check the article India in the WTO.

2. Wholesale Price Index (WPI)

Context:

The Office of Economic Adviser, Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade is releasing Wholesale price Index (WPI) for the month of April, 2020.

To know more about the Wholesale Price Index (WPI), click on the linked article.

3. Operation Samudra Setu

Context:

INS Jalashwa returns to Maldives for phase 2.

Details:

• On her second trip, INS Jalashwa is planned to embark 700 Indian citizens and will depart for Kochi by the night of 15 May.
• Earlier, after successfully bringing home 698 Indian nationals to Kochi, INS Jalashwa proceeded for preparatory activities towards Phase II of the evacuation operation which included disinfection and sanitisation of the entire ship with special attention to the areas occupied by the previous set of repatriated citizens.
• The Indian nationals who have been identified for evacuation will be screened medically, allotted IDs and their baggage sanitised before boarding the ship.

For more on Operation Samudra Setu, check CNA dated May 6, 2020.

4. Commonwealth Health Ministers’ Meeting

Context:

Union Health Minister attended the 32^nd Commonwealth Health Ministers’ Meeting through videoconferencing.

About the Commonwealth Health Ministers’ Meeting:

• The Commonwealth Health Ministers Meeting (CHMM) is the annual meeting of health ministers from across the Commonwealth countries.
• The meeting reviews activity and events from the previous year and provides a platform for countries to bring issues of health to the attention of their Commonwealth partners and peers.
• Each CHMM provides a ministerial statement summarising the discussion and priorities for the coming year including setting the theme for the next meeting.
• CHMM is held every year in Geneva in mid-May. But in 2020, the meeting was via videoconferencing because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

5. SAMARTH

Context:

NIT Kurukshetra Implements Enterprises Resource Planning (ERP), SAMARTH.

About SAMARTH:

• SAMARTH is an e-Governance platform, developed under the National Mission of Education in Information and Communication Technology Scheme (NMEICT) of the MHRD.
• SAMARTH is an ERP platform and is an Open Standard Open Source Architecture, Secure, Scalable and Evolutionary Process Automation Engine for Universities and Higher Educational Institutions.
• It caters to faculty, students and staff at University/Higher Educational Institutions.
• This initiative will enhance productivity through better information management in the institute by seamless access to information, and its utilization for various purposes.

6. Parkinson’s Disease

Context:

A novel tool to help gain deeper insight into Parkinson’s disease developed by scientists from IIT (ISM) Dhanbad and CSIR-Indian Institute of Chemical Biology, Kolkata.

About Parkinson’s disease:

• Parkinson’s disease is a common neurodegenerative disease that has no cure.
• It is a progressive nervous system disorder that affects movement.
• Symptoms start gradually, sometimes starting with a barely noticeable tremor in just one hand.
• Tremors are common, but the disorder also commonly causes stiffness or slowing of movement.
• Common symptoms of the disease include: tremor, slowed movement, rigid muscles, impaired posture and balance, loss of automatic movements, speech changes and writing changes.
• Although there is no medication for this disease, some medicines can help with some of the symptoms.

Finding a cure for Parkinson’s disease:

• It is believed that an aggregation of a protein called alpha synuclein (ASyn) plays a crucial role in the pathology of the disease.
• The aggregation is found in abundance in what is called the substantia nigra (SN) portion in the midbrain of patients suffering from Parkinson’s disease.
• Many researchers from across the world are studying the mechanism of how the protein forms the aggregates, and how the aggregation results in the death of neuronal cells observed in Parkinson’s disease.
• They believe that once these mysteries are uncovered, it could help develop a drug for the disease, which is badly needed and has been long overdue.

May 14th, 2020 PIB:- Download PDF Here

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