1) iNCOVACC: The iNCOVACC is India’s first nasal COVID-19 vaccine. It has been developed by Bharat Biotech.
- It is a ChAd36-SARS-CoV-S COVID-19 (Chimpanzee Adenovirus Vectored) recombinant vaccine.
- The iNCOVACC serves as an instrument for primary immunisation against Covid-19 in adults in the 18+ age group and it is meant for restricted use in emergencies only.
- For the time being, it can be administered only to the unimmunised.
2) WEST – An I-STEM Initiative: Recently, a new I-STEM (Indian Science Technology and Engineering facilities Map) initiative called Women in Engineering, Science, and Technology (WEST) was launched.
- Through the WEST initiative, I-STEM shall provide a separate platform to women researchers, scientists, and technologists for pursuing research in basic or applied sciences in areas of science and engineering.
- Women may join the WEST program and become stakeholders in various domains and pursue careers in R&D at various levels: technicians, technologists, scientists, and entrepreneurs.
3) India’s External Debt: As per the External Debt management Unit (under Dept. of Economic Affairs), India’s external debt rose to US$ 620.7 bn (Six hundred twenty point seven) as on March 2022 (an increase of over 8% compared to the previous year)
- A country’s gross external debt is the liabilities that are borrowed from outside the country and have to be paid back in the same currency.
- The debtors can be governments, corporations or citizens. External debt may be denominated in domestic or foreign currency. (Most of India’s external debt is linked to the U.S. dollar).
4) Global Alliance for Industry Decarbonization (GAID): RENA ( Int’l Renewable Energy Agency) along with major companies (including Tata Steel) have launched GAID with the aim to accelerate net-zero ambitions and decarbonization of the industrial value chains.
- The term decarbonization literally means the reduction of carbon.
- The International Renewable Energy Agency is an intergovernmental organization mandated to facilitate cooperation, advance knowledge, and promote the adoption and sustainable use of renewable energy.
- India is the 77th Founding Member of IRENA.
5) Floppy Disks: Decades after the floppy disks became obsolete and were phased out globally, Japan has announced that it will finally do away with floppy disks and other outdated technology in a bid to modernise its bureaucracy.
- A floppy disk is a removable disk storage device used to store electronic data, like computer data and programmes.
- It is only able to store about 800 KB of data, which is about 0.0008 GB.
- Early computers did not have CD-ROM drives or USB; floppy disks were the only way to install a new program on a computer or back up your information from a computer.
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