25-26.06.23 Daily [Andhra Pradesh] APPSC Current Affairs

About 1.44 lakh candidates fromAndhra PradeshandTelanganaregistered their names to appear forthe nationaleligibility-cum-entrancetestundergraduate (NEET-UG) 2023. But only some 1,300 candidates opted to write the exam in Telugu. While the number of students attemptingNEETin Telugu has remained more or less the same in the last five years, registrations from the two Telugu states are going northwards with each passing year.

Conducting the exam in regional languages is supposed to create a level playing field for students who did their intermediate (10+2) and/or schooling in Telugu medium. It is also opined that Telugu question paper may help them understand the questions thoroughly and encourage them to attempt the exam with full confidence. However, the fewer registrations in Telugu speak an altogether different story.

As per National Testing Agency (NTA) data for the last five years, the number of students who choose Telugu faded compared to those who opted for other regional languages in NEET. While English was the favourite, Hindi continued its supremacy as the second most registered language. For example, 16.7 lakh students registered for the exam in English in 2023, followed by Hindi (2.76 lakh), Gujarati (53,027), Bengali (43,890), Tamil (30,536), Assamese (3324), Urdu (1695), etc. All the 11 regional languages accounted for only 1.38 lakh combined registrations.

For sharing of knowledge and innovative best practices, NHAI has launched a Knowledge Sharing platform. Hosted on the NHAI website, this initiative will help the authority to collaborate with experts and citizens who want to share knowledge and insights related to topics such as road design, construction, road safety, environment sustainability and related fields. The platform will encourage sharing of best practices from around the world and will contribute towards holistic development of the National Highway infrastructure in the country.

With the development of State-of-the-art Tunnels, Modern bridges, wildlife corridors and Expressways, it is important for National Highway infrastructure development to have wider participation. The knowledge sharing platform will encourage experts and citizens to share best practices and contribute towards Nation Building.

In order to expedite regulatory process for approval of animal drugs and vaccines, the department has developed NANDI portal.

In order to expedite regulatory process for approval of animal drugs and vaccines, the department has developed NANDI portal through CDAC in coordination with Central Drugs Standard Control Organization (CDSCO) in pursuance of the spirit of Digital India vision.

NANDI is intended to bring about growth and innovation by enabling quick and easy coordination between various Government Departments, Institutes, and Industry through a seamless interconnected system designed to expedite and strengthen the regulatory process. The portal has inbuilt features for end-to-end coordination between departments, committees, subcommittee and applicants.

The Department of Animal Husbandry and Dairying (DAHD) will facilitate the regulatory approval process with transparency to assess and examine veterinary product proposals with this portal. Through this portal, things would be streamlined through seamless integration with the SUGAM portal of the Central Drugs Standard Control Organization.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will launch the National Sickle Cell Anaemia Elimination Mission at a public programme in Shahdol, Madhya Pradesh, on Tuesday with a target that no baby should be born with the genetic blood disorder condition by 2047.

As announced in the budget 2023-24, the mission will focus on awareness building, universal screening of seven crore people in the age group of 0-40 years in affected tribal areas and counselling through collaborative efforts of central ministries and state governments.

The Mission will be implemented in 278 districts of 17 high focused states in the country namely Gujarat, Maharashtra, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh, West Bengal, Odisha, Tamil Nadu, Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Assam, Uttar Pradesh, Kerala, Bihar, and Uttarakhand.

According to reports, around 20 percent of children with SCD die by two years of age and 30 per cent children from tribal areas die before they reach adulthood. Most of them suffer periodic episodes of extreme pain. A major symptom of sickle cell anemia, pain develops when sickle-shaped red blood cells block blood flow through tiny blood vessels to the chest, abdomen and joints of the patients.

It is estimated that about one in 86 births among STs have SCD that affects haemoglobin in red blood cells, which can result in morbidity and mortality. Therefore, early detection, management, and treatment of the disease is critical.

S&P Global Ratings retained Indias GDP growth forecast at 6 per cent saying it will be the fastest growing economy among Asia Pacific nations.

The GDP growth forecast for the current and the next fiscal has been kept unchanged from the forecast made in March partly on account of domestic resilience.

The medium-term growth outlook remains relatively solid. The Asian emerging market economies remain among the fastest growing ones in our global growth outlook through 2026.