Current Affairs - 2019-20

Notes:
The National Assessment and Accreditation Council (NAAC) of India has won prestigious International Award of Asia Pacific Quality Network (APQN) titled “APQN Quality Award 2017 for International Co-operation in Quality Assurance” in Moscow, Russia on May 26, 2017. The NAAC is an organisation that assesses and accredits institutions of higher education in India. It’s headquarters is located in Bangalore, Karnataka.

Notes:
Night clouds or noctilucent clouds, made of crystals of water ice, re most commonly observed in the summer months at latitudes between 50° and 70° north and south of the equator. They can only be observed when the Sun is below the horizon. They are the highest clouds in Earth’s atmosphere, located in the mesosphere at altitudes of around 76 to 85 kilometres (47 to 53 mi). They are normally too faint to be seen, and are visible only when illuminated by sunlight from below the horizon while the lower layers of the atmosphere are in the Earth’s shadow. Noctilucent clouds are not fully understood and are a recently discovered meteorological phenomenon; there is no record of their observation before 1885.

Notes:
Gyan Chakra is a think tank on Defence and Strategic Affairs that has been formed by the Army’s Western Command. It includes a large number of defence veterans. It aims at providing an outlet to veterans for pursuing research on strategic and national security issues. “Gyan Chakra” will be an extension of the Khetarpal Officers Institute (KOI), Chandimandir.

Notes:
In Budget 2018, the finance minister announced for two defence industrial corridors. Recently, the defence minister Nirmala Sitharaman unveiled the path for first of the two. The first defence industrial corridor will connect Chennai and Bengaluru and will pass through Coimbatore and several other industrial clusters.

Notes:
Recently, based on the recommendations of Kokate committee, the Union Health Ministry had imposed the ban on 344 FDC drugs under Section 26A of Drugs and Cosmetics Act in March 2016. The ban was imposed because of FDC being unsafe and not having a therapeutic justification. India is one of the world’s largest markets for FDC drugs that make up almost half the market share. It was imposed over fears that these drugs cause anti-microbial resistance and might even cause organ-failure because of high toxicity. It also aimed at curbing the misuse of medicines.

Notes:
BGR-34 is an anti-diabetic Ayurvedic drug developed by the research wing of the Science and Technology Ministry. It was recently in news when it was placed 14^th among the top branded drugs manufactured by multinational Pharma companies, according to a survey by the All Indian Origin Chemists and Distributors (AIOCD). The Ayurvedic drug 'BGR-34' was launched in 2015, and has been developed jointly by two CSIR laboratories, National Botanical Research Institute (NBRI) and Central Institute for Medicinal and Aromatic Plant (CIMAP). It is prepared by a combination of natural extracts from four plants mentioned in Ayurveda, and it helps in treatment of type-II diabetes. It works as antioxidant and checks free radicals, thus, boosting our immune system. It helps to maintain the normal blood glucose levels, and reduces chances of complications due to persistent high blood glucose levels. Therefore, it imparts a good quality life to patients with high blood sugar levels.

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The central government proposed setting up of Food Legumes Research Platform (FLRP) at Sehore in Madhya Pradesh with Satellite Hubs in West Bengal (for pulses) and Rajasthan (for Natural Resource Management).

Notes:
In the recently released bi-annual Logistics Performance Index (LPI) 2016 of World Bank Group, India ranked 35th among 160 countries and Germany at first.