{"id":14710,"date":"2021-04-08T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2021-04-08T00:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/current_affairs\/uncategorized\/08-04-2021\/facts-in-news-120\/"},"modified":"2021-04-08T00:00:00","modified_gmt":"2021-04-08T00:00:00","slug":"facts-in-news-120","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/current-affairs\/08-04-2021\/facts-in-news-120","title":{"rendered":"Facts in News"},"content":{"rendered":"

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

\n

Robot Sophia<\/h3>\n<\/td>\n

\n
    \n
  • It is the world\u2019s first humanoid robot<\/strong> developed by Hanson Robotics<\/strong>, a Hong Kong based company.<\/li>\n
  • Sophia was unveiled in 2016<\/strong>, and was later made the first humanoid citizen of Saudi Arabia<\/strong>.<\/li>\n
  • She can mimic facial expressions and have conversations like a normal person.<\/li>\n
  • Sophia is also a framework for cutting edge robotics <\/strong>and Artificial Intelligence<\/strong> (AI) research<\/strong>, particularly for understanding human-robot interactions and their potential service and entertainment applications.<\/li>\n
  • The robotics company is currently building its sibling<\/strong>, named Joyce<\/strong>.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

    <\/p>\n

    \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 (Image Courtesy: The Hindu<\/a>)<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n

\n

Star Campaigner<\/h3>\n<\/td>\n

\n
    \n
  • A star campaigner is a celebrity vote seeker<\/strong> in an election for a party and can be a politician or even a film star<\/strong>.<\/li>\n
  • Section 77 of the Representation of the People Act, 1951<\/strong> allows every party to submit a list of such \u2018star campaigners\u2019 to the election authorities.<\/li>\n
  • They are nominated by the concerned political parties <\/strong>specifying their constituencies and duration of the status.<\/li>\n
  • There is no law governing<\/strong> who can or cannot be made a star campaigner. The status is given to big names who have more vote-fetching ability in the polls than others.<\/li>\n
  • A recognised party <\/strong>can nominate a maximum of 40<\/strong> star campaigners and an unrecognised<\/strong> political party can nominate a maximum of 20<\/strong>.<\/li>\n
  • The expenditure incurred on the campaign done by star campaigners is not included in the expenditure of the candidate<\/strong> concerned but that of the political party.\n
      \n
    • It will be included in the expenditure of candidates and their allies if they share dais with the star campaigner.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
\n

World Health Day<\/h3>\n<\/td>\n

\n
    \n
  • Every year 7th April<\/strong> marks the celebration of World Health Day.<\/li>\n
  • Inception:<\/strong> At the First Health Assembly in 1948<\/strong> and since taking effect in 1950<\/strong>.<\/li>\n
  • Aim:<\/strong> To create awareness of a specific health theme to highlight a priority area of concern for the World Health Organization<\/strong> (WHO).<\/li>\n
  • It has brought to light important health issues<\/strong> such as mental health, maternal and child care, and climate change.<\/li>\n
  • Theme for 2021:<\/strong> Building a fairer, healthier world for everyone.\n
      \n
    • Countries in the Western Pacific have experienced rapid economic growth, migration and urbanization, which created opportunities for better lives for many, but left others behind.<\/li>\n
    • The Covid-19 pandemic has undercut recent health gains, pushed more people into poverty and food insecurity, and amplified gender, social and health inequities.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
\n

Lord Venkateswara Temple<\/h2>\n

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

\n
    \n
  • Venkateswara Temple is a Vaishnavite temple<\/strong> situated in the hill town of Tirumala at Tirupati<\/strong> in the Chittoor district of Andhra Pradesh<\/strong>.<\/li>\n
  • The Temple is dedicated to Lord Sri Venkateswara<\/strong>, an incarnation of Vishnu, <\/strong>who is believed to have appeared here to save mankind from the trials and troubles of Kali Yuga.<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
      \n
    • The temple lies on the seventh peak -Venkatadri<\/strong>, on the southern banks of Sri Swami Pushkarini, a holy water tank. <\/strong>\n
        \n
      • Hence the temple is also referred to as the \u201cTemple of Seven Hills.<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
          \n
        • The Temple is constructed in Dravidian architecture <\/strong>and is believed to be constructed over a period of time starting from 300 AD.<\/strong><\/li>\n
        • The Garbhagriha (Sanctum Sanctorum)<\/strong> is called AnandaNilayam.\n
            \n
          • The presiding deity, Venkateswara, is in a standing posture and faces east in Garbha griha. <\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n
          • The temple follows the Vaikhanasa Agama <\/strong>tradition of worship.<\/li>\n
          • The temple is one of the eight Vishnu Swayambhu Kshetras <\/strong>and is listed as 106th and the last earthly Divya Desam.<\/strong><\/li>\n
          • The Temple premises had two modern Queue <\/strong>complex buildings to organize the pilgrim rush, Tarigonda<\/strong> Vengamamba Annaprasadam<\/strong> complex for free meals to Pilgrims<\/strong>, hair tonsure building<\/strong>s and a number of pilgrim lodging sites.<\/strong><\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

            \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0Image Courtesy: Deccan Chronicle <\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

            \u00a0<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n

\n

National Programme on High-Efficiency Solar PV Modules<\/h2>\n

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

\n
    \n
  • The Union cabinet has approved the Ministry of New & Renewable Energy’s <\/strong>proposal for the implementation of the Production Linked Incentive (PLI) Scheme <\/strong>‘National Programme on High-Efficiency Solar PV (Photovoltaic)<\/strong> Modules’ for achieving manufacturing capacity of Giga Watt (GW) scale <\/strong>in high-efficiency <\/strong>solar PV modules with an outlay of Rs.4,500 crore.<\/strong><\/li>\n
  • Solar PV<\/strong> manufacturers will be selected through a transparent competitive bidding process<\/strong>.<\/li>\n
  • PLI will be disbursed for 5 years post commissioning of solar PV manufacturing plants, on sales of high-efficiency solar PV modules.<\/li>\n
  • Manufacturers will be rewarded for higher efficiencies of solar PV modules and also for sourcing their material from the domestic market.<\/li>\n
  • Thus, the PLI amount will increase with increased module efficiency and increased local value addition.<\/li>\n
  • It will reduce import dependence<\/strong> in a strategic sector like electricity. It will also support the Atmanirbhar Bharat initiative.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
\n

Surface-Enhanced Raman Spectroscopy (SERS)<\/h2>\n

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

\n
    \n
  • Researchers at the Indian Institute of Technology have developed a handheld Surface Enhanced Raman Spectroscopy (SERS)<\/strong>-based platform for early diagnosis of dengue<\/strong> and also gives dengue test<\/strong> results within one hour (rapid diagnosis).<\/li>\n
  • It also helps in the rapid detection of HIV.<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
      \n
    • The research work was funded by the IMPRINT India programm<\/strong>e of the Ministry of Education with New Age Instruments and Materials Pvt Ltd as the industry partner.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

      IMPRINT India programme<\/strong><\/p>\n

        \n
      • It is the first of its kind MHRD supported Pan-IIT + IISc joint initiative to address the major science and engineering challenges<\/strong>.<\/li>\n
      • IMPRINT provides the overarching vision that guides research into areas that are predominantly socially relevant.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
          \n
        • \u00a0This novel initiative with the twofold mandate is aimed at:\n
            \n
          • Developing new engineering education policy<\/li>\n
          • Creating a road map to pursue engineering challenges<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/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 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0Facts in News Robot Sophia It is the world\u2019s first humanoid robot developed by Hanson Robotics, a Hong Kong based company. Sophia was unveiled in 2016, and was later made the first humanoid citizen of Saudi […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":14711,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[21],"tags":[30,26,25,42],"class_list":["post-14710","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-current-affairs","tag-gs-2","tag-gs-3","tag-gs1","tag-literature"],"acf":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/wp-images.nextias.com\/cdn-cgi\/image\/format=auto\/ca\/uploads\/2023\/07\/6558405Current-Affairs.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14710","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=14710"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14710\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/14711"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=14710"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=14710"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=14710"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}