October 13th, 2020 PIB:- Download PDF Here

TABLE OF CONTENTS

1. Regional Raw Drug Repositories
2. India-Mexico Bilateral High Level Group on Trade, Investment and Cooperation (BHLG)
3. Aquaponics
4. Effect of dust on nuclear weapons
5. Tech for Tribals

1. Regional Raw Drug Repositories

Context:

Regional Raw Drug Repository for AYUSH Systems launched at Chennai.

About Regional Raw Drug Repositories (RRDRs):

• RRDRs are important components of the Centrally Sponsored Scheme, National AYUSH Mission.
• The repositories play an important role in medicinal plants cultivation.
• As a step in this direction, the Ministry of AYUSH, through the National Medicinal Plants Board (NMPB), initiated the establishment of the National Raw Drug Repository and Regional Raw Drug Repositories.
• The collaborating institutes as identified by the NMPB are the National Institute of Siddha, with the Regional Research Institute of Unani Medicine, and the Siddha Central Research Institute, all three located in Chennai.
• The RRDR in Chennai would play a major role in the collection, documentation, and authentication of raw drugs collected from the agro-climatic region, that is, the Southern Plateau Region.
• This RRDR will not only act as collection centres of raw drugs available and used in the southern region but also as an accredited reference library for authentication of raw drugs and establish standard protocols and keys for authentication of raw drug used in the herbal industries.

Background & Significance

• Medicinal plants form the major resource base of India’s indigenous health care traditions.
• Their relevance has grown substantially in the current pandemic scenario, thanks to their disease preventive effects.
• The outreach and acceptability of AYUSH systems, both nationally as well as globally, are dependent on the uninterrupted availability of quality medicinal plants based raw material.
• Though most of the raw drugs are commonly available, there is a lack of scientific documentation that makes research on these medicines very difficult. This also reduces the chances of commercial exploitation of these medicines.
• Easy availability of authentic scientific data of the raw drugs will promote research on the medicines belonging to the AYUSH system which will lead to further propagation of these systems.

Additional Information

• Currently, India has more than 9000 manufacturing units for Ayurveda, Siddha, Unani and Homeopathy medicine.
• However, the quality of medicines produced by these units critically depends upon the manufacturing process followed as well as the quality of raw material.
• The Government has made it mandatory for all manufacturing units to adhere to the Good Manufacturing Practices as notified under Schedule T of the Drugs and Cosmetics Act 1940.

2. India-Mexico Bilateral High Level Group on Trade, Investment and Cooperation (BHLG)

Context:

The fifth meeting of the India-Mexico Bilateral High Level Group on Trade, Investment and Cooperation (BHLG) was held in October 2020 through video conference.

Details:

• Several Ministries, Departments and Business Chambers from both countries participated in the meeting.
• Both sides discussed a number of bilateral ongoing and outstanding issues, ranging from Audio-visual Co-production, Bilateral Investment Treaty, market access for agricultural products, a cooperation framework on Sanitary and Phytosanitary (SPS) & Technical Barriers to Trade (TBT) measures between the two countries, co-operation in the Intellectual Property Rights, and exploring ways to promote tourism and people-to-people contact between India and Mexico.
• Two business to business MoUs were signed, to foster the cooperation in the respective domains.
  • A Memorandum of Understanding between the Electronics & Computer Software Export Promotion Council (ESC) of India and the Mexican Chamber of Electronics, Telecommunications and Information Technologies (CANIETI) was signed.
  • A Memorandum of Understanding between the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) and the Mexican Business Council of Foreign Trade, Investment and Technology (COMCE) for promoting the development of business relations between India and Mexico was also signed.

3. Aquaponics

Context:

Union Minister inaugurates a pilot ‘Aquaponics facility’ at GADVASU, Ludhiana.

What is Aquaponics?

• Aquaponics is an emerging technique in which both fishes as well as plants are grown in an integrated manner.
• The fish waste provides fertilizer for growing plants.
• The plants absorb nutrients and filter the water. This filtered water is used to replenish the fish tank.
• This is an environmentally friendly technique.
• Aquaponics is a combination of aquaculture and hydroponics.
  • Aquaculture is growing fish and other aquatic animals.
  • Hydroponics is growing plants without soil.
• Aquaponics uses these two in a symbiotic combination in which plants are fed the aquatic animals’ discharge or waste.

4. Effect of dust on nuclear weapons

Context:

Woman scientist finds a solution for nuclear weapons in dust particles.

Details:

• A scientist from the Netaji Subhas Institute of Technology, New Delhi has proved through mathematical modelling that the deadly effects of nuclear weapons can be partially mitigated or reduced with the help of dust particles.
• The study illustrates the reduction in energy released and damage radius from an intense explosion (nuclear explosion in particular) by the introduction of dust particles.
• It shows how the blast waves from the explosion decayed in the process.

5. Tech for Tribals

Context:

TRIFED, IIT Kanpur and Chhattisgarh MFP Federation E-Launch “Tech for Tribals” Initiative.

Know more about the Tech for Tribals initiative in PIB dated 29^th March 2020.

Read previous PIB here.

October 13th, 2020, PIB:- Download PDF Here