{"id":14334,"date":"2021-03-12T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2021-03-12T00:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/current_affairs\/uncategorized\/12-03-2021\/facts-in-news-98\/"},"modified":"2021-03-12T00:00:00","modified_gmt":"2021-03-12T00:00:00","slug":"facts-in-news-98","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/current-affairs\/12-03-2021\/facts-in-news-98","title":{"rendered":"Facts in News"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
\n

\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0Facts In News<\/h2>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n

\n

Report by V\u00adDem (Varieties of Democracy) Institute<\/h3>\n<\/td>\n

\n
    \n
  • VDem, a Sweden Based firm<\/strong> has released a report grading the quality of liberal Democracies across the world.<\/li>\n
  • According to this data, India is an Elected Autocracy<\/strong>.\n
      \n
    • The classification means that elections in India simply assert that autocratic power.<\/li>\n
    • V-Dem downgraded India<\/strong> as a democracy and placed it below neighbours such as Bangladesh and Nepal<\/strong>.<\/li>\n
    • Reasons behind degrading rank:\n
        \n
      • Muzzling of media<\/li>\n
      • Frequent use of sedition clauses<\/li>\n
      • Defamation cases<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n
      • Autocracy<\/strong> is defined as \u201ca system of government by one person with absolute power<\/strong>\u201d.\n
          \n
        • V-Dem classified India as a Complete Autocracy during the Emergency.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n
        • The report pointed towards the \u2018steep<\/strong>\u2019 global decline of liberal democracies in the past 10 years<\/strong> in the Asia-Pacific region, Central Asia, Eastern Europe and Latin America.<\/li>\n
        • Apart from India, countries like Brazil and Turkey<\/strong> figured among the top 10 countries that slipped in rankings that were part of the G-20 nations.<\/li>\n
        • The findings are similar to the recently published report by US-based NGO, Freedom House.\n
            \n
          • Freedom House also lowered India\u2019s status as \u2018partly free\u2019<\/strong> in terms of political rights and civil liberties.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
\n

Right to Education Act (RTE), 2009<\/h3>\n<\/td>\n

\n
    \n
  • The Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act<\/strong> or RTE<\/strong> is an Act of the Parliament of India enacted on 4th August 2009<\/strong>.<\/li>\n
  • It describes the modalities of the importance of free and compulsory education<\/strong> for children between 6 and 14<\/strong> in India under Article 21A<\/strong> of the Indian Constitution.\n
      \n
    • The Constitution (Eighty-sixth Amendment) Act, 2002<\/strong> inserted Article 21-A <\/strong>in the Constitution.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n
    • Article 21-A and the RTE Act came into effect on 1st April 2010<\/strong>.<\/li>\n
    • Education<\/strong> in the Indian constitution is a concurrent issue<\/strong> and the Act lays down specific responsibilities for the centre, state and local bodies<\/strong> for its implementation.<\/li>\n
    • Free Education:<\/strong> No child, other than a child who has been admitted by his or her parents to a school that is not supported by the appropriate Government, shall be liable to pay any kind of fee or charges or expenses which may prevent him\/her from pursuing and completing elementary education.<\/li>\n
    • Compulsory Education:<\/strong> It casts an obligation on the appropriate Government and local authorities to provide and ensure admission, attendance and completion of elementary education by all children in the 6-14 age group.<\/li>\n
    • Key Provisions<\/strong>\n
        \n
      • Requires all private schools to reserve 25 per cent of seats for children (to be reimbursed by the state as part of the public-private partnership plan).<\/li>\n
      • Kids are admitted to private schools based on economic status of caste-based reservations.<\/li>\n
      • Prohibits all unrecognised schools from practice, and makes provisions for no donation or capitation fees and no interview of the child or parent for admission.<\/li>\n
      • No child shall be held back, expelled, or required to pass a board examination until the completion of elementary education.<\/li>\n
      • Special training of school drop-outs to bring them up to par with students of the same age.<\/li>\n
      • Requires surveys that will monitor all neighbourhoods, identify children requiring education, and set up facilities for providing it.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n
      • The Right to Education of persons with disabilities until 18<\/strong> years of age is laid down under separate legislation, the Persons with Disabilities Act, 2016<\/strong>.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
\n

SERB-PRoject Information System & Management (SERB-PRISM)<\/h3>\n<\/td>\n

\n
    \n
  • It has been set up by the Science and Engineering Board<\/strong> (SERB) as a portal that offers real-time information on the various research projects<\/strong> supported by it.\n
      \n
    • SERB is a statutory body<\/strong> of the Department of Science and Technology<\/strong> (DST).<\/li>\n
    • Mandate:<\/strong> To plan, promote and fund internationally competitive research in emerging areas.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n
    • The e-platform will provide information on all projects sanctioned by SERB from 2011 onwards<\/strong>, including<\/strong> funding details, status, research summary and project output details such as publications and patents.<\/li>\n
    • Search facilities enable retrieval of information about projects by the names of Principal Investigators<\/strong> (PIs), institutions, topics and other keywords, as well as year-wise listing and project equipment <\/strong>that have been sanctioned by the Board for them.<\/li>\n
    • It is expected to work as a comprehensive tool <\/strong>to help forge stronger scientist-scientist, and science-society connections.<\/li>\n
    • Among other things, it will help researchers to look at research trends<\/strong>, learn about cutting-edge science, locate critical equipment in their vicinity and help seek collaborations across disciplines.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
\n

Pachyderm<\/h3>\n<\/td>\n

\n
    \n
  • It means a very large mammal with thick skin<\/strong>, like elephants, rhinoceros, or hippopotamus.<\/li>\n
  • It is an obsolete 19th-century taxonomic order of mammals<\/strong>.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
\n

PLI for Active Pharmaceutical Ingredients (API)<\/h3>\n<\/td>\n

\n
\n

Kala-Azar<\/h3>\n

\u00a0<\/h3>\n<\/td>\n

\n
    \n
  • Visceral leishmaniasis<\/strong>, also known as kala-azar,<\/strong> is characterized by irregular bouts<\/strong> of fever, substantial weight loss,<\/strong> swelling of the spleen <\/strong>and liver, and anaemia (which may be serious)<\/strong>.<\/li>\n
  • It is caused by a protozoan Leishmania parasite<\/strong> and is transmitted to humans<\/strong> by the bite of infected female sandflies<\/strong>.<\/li>\n
  • The parasite primarily infects the reticuloendothelial system<\/strong> and may be found in abundance in bone marrow, spleen and liver.<\/strong><\/li>\n
  • The disease affects some of the poorest people on earth <\/strong>and is associated with malnutrition, population displacement, poor housing, a weak immune system<\/strong> and lack of financial resources.<\/strong><\/li>\n
  • If the disease is not treated, the fatality rate in developing countries can be as high as 100% within 2 years.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
\n

Swami Chidbhavananda<\/h3>\n<\/td>\n

\n
    \n
  • He was born on 11th March 1898, in a traditional agricultural family<\/strong> to Perianna Gounder and Nanjammal. <\/strong><\/li>\n
  • He lived as a great teacher <\/strong>by explaining difficult spiritual concepts <\/strong>such as the path to salvation<\/strong> through<\/strong> his lucid writings of Ramayana and Mahabharata.<\/strong><\/li>\n
  • He was the founder of the Ramakrishna Ashram at Udhagamandalam<\/strong>.<\/li>\n
  • He also founded Sri Ramakrishna Tapovanam Ashram at Thirupparaithurai, <\/strong>Tiruchirapalli, Tamil Nadu.<\/li>\n
  • He has authored 186 books<\/strong> and has many literary compositions<\/strong> to his credit.<\/li>\n
  • However, his scholarly work on the Gita<\/strong> is one of the most celebrated ones.\n
      \n
    • The Tamil version<\/strong> of the Gita with his commentaries <\/strong>was published in 1951, followed by the English in 1965<\/strong>.<\/li>\n
    • Its translations into Telugu, Oriya, German and Japanese<\/strong> were undertaken by devotees.<\/li>\n
    • Its Kindle <\/strong>version has been recently launched.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

      <\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n

\n

AsterX<\/h3>\n<\/td>\n

\n
    \n
  • France launched its first military exercise<\/strong> in space <\/strong>this week to evaluate its ability<\/strong> to defend its satellites and other defence equipment<\/strong> from an attack<\/strong>.<\/li>\n
  • The exercise, codenamed “AsterX<\/strong>” in memory of the first French satellite<\/strong> from 1965<\/strong>, will be based on 18 simulated events in an operations room.<\/strong><\/li>\n
  • The drills will simulate the monitoring of a potentially dangerous space object, as well as a threat to a satellite.<\/li>\n
  • The new US Space Force and German space agencies are taking part in the French exercise.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0Facts In News Report by V\u00adDem (Varieties of Democracy) Institute VDem, a Sweden Based firm has released a report grading the quality of liberal Democracies across the world. According to this data, India is an Elected Autocracy. The […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":14335,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[21],"tags":[30,26,25,42,29],"class_list":["post-14334","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-current-affairs","tag-gs-2","tag-gs-3","tag-gs1","tag-literature","tag-thehindu"],"acf":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/wp-images.nextias.com\/cdn-cgi\/image\/format=auto\/ca\/uploads\/2023\/07\/4734021current-affairs (1).jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14334","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=14334"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14334\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/14335"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=14334"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=14334"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=14334"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}