9 PM Current Affairs Brief – March 29th, 2020

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Explained: How antibody test for COVID-19 is different from PCR test

News: Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) has sought price quotes for the supply of 10 lakh antibody kits (serological test) for diagnosis of COVID-19.

Facts:

• Two types of tests for viral infections: Genetic and serological
• Genetic test: It is conducted on a swab collected from the back of the throat, a liquid sample from the lower respiratory tract, or a simple saliva sample.
• Serological Test: It is a blood test to detect the presence of antibodies against a microorganism.
• Advantage of Serological Test over Genetic Test:. Serological tests help detect and trace past infections while genetic tests can only identify infections that are active. They are relatively cheaper than genetic tests.

Additional Facts:

Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR):

• It is the apex and premier medical research organization in India. 
• Function: planning, formulation, coordination, implementation and promotion of biomedical research.
• Nodal Ministry: Ministry of Health and Family Welfare.

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Hydroxychloroquine now a schedule H1 drug

News: The government has notified hydroxychloroquine, an anti-malarial drug, under Schedule-H1 to regulate and restrict the sale and distribution of the drug.

Facts:

Classification of Drugs in India: The Drugs and Cosmetics Rules, 1945, under the Drugs and Cosmetics Act, 1940, provides for classification of drugs into different schedules.

PM’s National Relief Fund (PMNRF)

News: The Railway Board has appealed to its employees to voluntarily donate a day’s salary towards the Prime Minister’s National Relief Fund (PMNRF) to support the fight against the novel coronavirus.

Facts:

• • Established in: 1948
  • Used for: immediate relief to families of those killed in natural calamities like floods, cyclones and earthquakes, etc. and to the victims of the major accidents and riots
  • Headed by: Prime Minister
  • Administration: Administered on an Honorary basis by Joint Secretary to the Prime Minister as Secretary of the fund.
• Features:
• • Consists entirely of public contributions and does not get any budgetary support.
  • Recognized as a Trust under the Income Tax Act
  • Exempt under the Income Tax Act, 1961 under Section 10 and 139 for return purposes.

Zoonotic Diseases

News: Since the beginning of the 21st century, there has been emergence and outbreaks of multiple zoonotic diseases.

Facts:

Definition: Type of disease that passes from an animal or insect to a human.

PM-CARES Fund

News:Prime Minister has announced the constitution of the PM’s Citizen Assistance and Relief in Emergency Situations(PM-CARES) fund.

Facts:

• PM-CARES: It is a dedicated national fund with the primary objective of dealing with any kind of emergency or distress situation like posed by the COVID-19 pandemic.
• Chairman: Prime Minister
• Members: Defence Minister, Home Minister and Finance Minister.
• Exemption: The donations to this fund will be exempted from income tax under section 80(G).

Cantonment Board

News: Cantonment Boards from all over the country have taken various steps to control the spread of Coronavirus pandemic.

Facts:

• Cantonment Board:It is established for municipal administration for the civilian population in the cantonment area.lt is set up under the provisions of the Cantonments Act of 2006.
• Nodal Ministry: It works under the administrative control of the Defence Ministry of the Central Government.
• Functions: It performs similar functions to those of a municipality. 
• Composition: It consists of partly elected and partly nominated members.The elected members hold office for a term of five years while the nominated members continue so long as they hold the office in that station. 
• President: The military officer commanding the station is the ex-oticio president of the board and presides over its meetings.

Trusted News Initiative

News: The Trusted News Initiative has decided to extend its efforts in identifying false and potentially harmful information on the coronavirus pandemic.

Facts:

• The Trusted News Initiative was announced by BBC in 2019. It comprises a number of major news and tech organisations from all around the world.
• Aim: To protect the people against the disinformation and fake news especially during the time of elections.

Tribal Lockdown Rituals

News:Tribes in Arunachal Pradesh have revived indigenous lockdown rituals to contain the spread of COVID-19.

Facts:

Galos Tribe:

• It is one of the 26 major Scheduled tribes of Arunachal Pradesh that dominate West Siang district.
• It practices the Arr-Rinam ritual which imposes lockdown for 48 hours whenever an epidemic strikes.

Adi Tribe:

• The Adi tribe is believed to have come from southern China in the 16th century.They are the Tibeto-Burman language speaking population.
• They performed a ritual called the motor or pator system where the locals lock down villages by erecting barricades to prevent the entry of outsiders.

Nyishi Tribe:

• Nyishi is a single largest Scheduled Tribe of Arunachal Pradesh.They speak Tibeto-Burman language.
• They observe rituals such as Arrue(Self Quarantine), Khyasang-Ratar and Merii for preventing the entry of an epidemic to a village.

COVID-19 National Teleconsultation Centre (CoNTeC)

News:The Union Minister of Health has launched the COVID-19 National Teleconsultation Centre(CoNTeC).

Facts:

• CoNTeC has been conceptualised by the Ministry of Health & Family Welfare and has been implemented by the All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi.
• Aim: It is a Telemedicine Hub to connect the doctors across the country to AIIMS in real-time for treatment of the COVID-19 patients.

Recession

News:The International Monetary Fund(IMF) has said that the world has entered into a global recession due to the coronavirus crisis.

Facts:

• A recession is a period when economic activities are in a general decline typically accompanied by unemployment, falling income and consumer spending.
• To overcome recession, countries generally react by loosening their monetary policies by infusing more money into the system i.e by increasing the money supply.
• The Financial crisis of 2008 is the most recent example of a recession.

Additional Facts:

• Depression:It is a deep and long-lasting recession that lasts for many years.During this period, the decline in GDP exceeds 10% and an unemployment rate that touches 25%.

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