Life Science data: 

• Science and Technology Minister Jitendra Singh on November 10, 2022, unveiled India’s first national repository for life science data, generated from publicly-funded research in the country.
• The Indian Biological Data Centre (IBDC) which is established at the Regional Centre of Biotechnology has a data storage capacity of four petabytes.
• It is also home to the ‘Brahm’- High-Performance Computing Facility. As per Union Minister Jitendra Singh, the Indian Biological Data Centre (IBDC) is committed to the spirit of data sharing as per FAIR (Findable, Accessible, Interoperable, and Reusable) principles.

Indian Biological Data Centre (IBDC): Why it is significant for India?

• The Executive Director of IBDC, Prof Sudhanshu Vrati while talking about the significance of the Centre said that the life sciences data was till now stored in data repositories in the United States and Europe and a need was felt to house the data within the country.

Indian Biological Data Centre: Key Points

• India’s first national repository for life science data, the Indian Biological Data Centre (IBDC) has been established in Faridabad, Haryana.
• As per the BIOTECH-PRIDE guidelines of the Government of India, IBDC is mandated to archive all life science data generated from publicly-funded research in India.
• The Centre, supported by the Department of Biotechnology (DBT), has been established at the Regional Centre of Biotechnology, Faridabad with a data disaster recovery site at the National Informatics Centre (NIC), Bhubaneshwar, Odisha.
• The Centre also hosts an online Dashboard for the genomic surveillance data generated by the INSACOG labs that provide customized data submission, access, data analysis services, and real-time SARS-CoV-2 variant monitoring across India.
• The data submission and access portals for other data types are under development and will be launched shortly.

Indian Biological Data Centre (IBDC): Functions

• The Union Science and Technology Minister Jitendra Singh informed that the Indian Biological Data Centre (IBDC) has started nucleotide data submission services via two data portals- the ‘Indian Nucleotide Data Archive (INDA)’ and ‘Indian Nucleotide Data Archive- Controlled Access (INDA-CA)’. It has accumulated over 200 billion bases from 2,08,055 submissions from more than 50 research labs across India.
• The computational infrastructure at IBDC has also been made available for researchers interested in performing computational-intensive analysis.

What is life sciences data?

• Life Science refers to the study of living organisms, including humans, microbes, plants, animals, and fungi.
• Life Sciences generates massive amounts of data, which can be extracted and analyzed.

• The increasing relevance of the Icelandic Model (IM) of intervention in bringing teenagers affected by drug use disorders back to normal life through alternative pursuits will be a key topic of deliberations at the three-day International Forum on ‘Right to Drug-free Childhood’.
• The UN-backed conclave, opening here on November 16, featuring prominent voices against drug abuse from India and abroad, is organised by Fourth Wave Foundation (FWF) in partnership with United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) and World Federation Against Drugs (WFAD). ‘Children Matter-Right to a Drug-Free Childhood’ is the central theme of the meet.
• Harvey Milkman, Emeritus Professor, Metropolitan State University of Denver, U.S., who has been actively campaigning for the implementation of IM in communities across the world; and Margaret Lilja, chief knowledge officer, Planet Youth, will speak at different sessions at the meet. IM seeks to give a new lease of life to drug-addicted children by channelising their energy to creative pursuits like sports and other avenues through a collaboration of numerous stakeholders like parents, teachers and sports clubs.
• Around 30 years ago, Iceland was the hotspot of teenage drug consumption in Europe. Today, the country stands first on the European list of de-addicted teenagers.
• Fourth Wave Foundation’s initiative against substance abuse named ‘VENDA’ (No to Drugs), strongly advocates the ‘alternative pursuit’ model in Kerala on the lines of IM. Major activities of ‘VENDA’ include empowerment programmes for children, football training, summer camp, football tourney ‘Venda Cup’ and awareness classes for parents, teachers, counsellors, police and excise officers.
• ‘VENDA’ is active in districts that have a very high number of drug-addicted teens found by the National Action Plan for Drug Demand Reduction (NAPDDR) survey conducted by the Narcotic Control Bureau. Currently, it is focused on Ernakulam, Kozhikode, Malappuram, Kollam, Thiruvananthapuram, Idukki and Thrissur districts.

What is Methane Alert and Response System (MARS)?

• The Methane Alert and Response System (MARS) is a satellite-based system that enables governments to detect methane emissions and take measures to address them.
• This data-to-action platform is part of the global endeavour to tackle climate change by curbing greenhouse emissions.
• It was set up as part of the United Nations Environment Programme’s International Methane Emissions Observatory (IMEO) strategy to gain policy-relevant data required for mitigating emissions.
• This will be the first publicly available global system connecting methane detection with the notification processes transparently.
• It will use state-of-the-art satellite data to detect and identify notable greenhouse emission events and notify concerned stakeholders. This data will also be used for supporting and tracking the progress of the mitigation efforts.
• If requested, MARS partners will provide technical or advisory services like assessing mitigation opportunities available in specific regions.

About methane and its role in climate change

• Methane accounts for only a minuscule portion of human-induced greenhouse gas emissions. However, it is 80 times more potent than carbon dioxide in trapping atmospheric heat.
• According to the study by the United States’ National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), there are 50 “super-emitters” of methane gas in central Asia, west Asia and the southwestern United States.
• The Global Methane Pledge aims to bring down methane emissions by at least 30 per cent by 2030 to maintain the 1.5°C temperature limit.
• Participants of this pledge have set a global emissions target to voluntarily take actions to minimise methane emissions by at least 30 per cent from 2020 levels by the end of this decade. This could eliminate some 0.2°C warming by 2050.

• The Kerala Tourism has bagged the prestigious Responsible Tourism Global award at the World Travel Mart held in London.State Tourism Minister PA Mohammed Riyas received the award on behalf of the department at London.
• The award was given for the STREET project implemented by the Responsible Tourism Mission under the Kerala Government. The Jury made special remarks about the water street project implemented at Maravanthuruthu in Kottayam district.

About the STREET project:

• STREET is an acronym for Sustainable, Tangible, Responsible, Experiential, Ethnic, and Tourism hubs, which was implemented by the Responsible Tourism Mission under the Government of Kerala on March 31, 2022. The STREET Project is an initiative that promotes water conservation and protection with public participation.
• Under the project, the deepening and cleaning of canals and other water bodies take place to promote tourism, as Kerala is famous for its backwaters and also preserve the water bodies to be maintained in good condition.
• The ‘street’ initiative is a water protection and conservation project in Tourism sector implemented with public participation. The project aims to deepen the canals and various waterbodies and clean them for the purpose of tourism activities, the tourism department.
• As part of it, eco-friendly coir cloth is draped over the banks of waterbodies. The ‘Coir Bhoovastra’, as it is called, is a natural earth cover made from coconut fiber and will stop erosion during monsoon season.

• \The Himalaya Sahitya Sanskriti and Paryavaran Manch has decided to honour Dr Krishna Lal Sehgal with the ‘Lifetime Achievement Award’ for his outstanding contribution to the field of Himachali folk music.
• The honour will be conferred on him at a folk music event in the state capital. “This programme of Himachali folk music will be especially dedicated to Dr Sehgal.
• Sehgal had devoted his whole life to Himachali folk music and was still active at the age of 73 years.
• “He has sung more than 100 of his own compositions through Akashvani, Doordarshan and many other mediums. Many audio and video cassettes of his songs have also been released.
• He has been honoured with the district and state-level honours by many organisations. His book titled ‘Geet Meri Mati Re’ containing folk songs of Sirmaur district in ‘Swaralipi’ was published recently.
• Sehgal was a PhD in vocal music and had obtained the degrees of Sangeet Visharad in Vocaland Instrumentation from Prachin Kala Kendra, Chandigarh, and Sangeet Praveen in Vocal Music from Allahabad.
• Sehgal is one of the top performers of the All India Radio, Shimla, and Doordarshan. He retired as an Associate Professor of Vocals from the Himachal College Cadre in 2008.
• Senior writers who have been honoured with the Lifetime Achievement Award by the organisation include Srinivas Shrikant, Dr Mouluram Thakur, Saroj Vashisht, Satyen Sharma, Ramdayal Neeraj, Sundar Lohia, Ramesh Chandra Sharma and Om Prakash Handa.
• This is the first time that the honour will be given to a Pahari folk artiste.

• The record polling percentage of 75.60 in Himachal Pradesh’s recently concluded Vidhan Sabha Elections.
• Despite the two main parties, who were locked in a direct contest for political supremacy in the hill state, claiming victory post-polling, the fact remains that both are apprehensive of the outcome.
• The present polling percentage of votes cast through EVMs stands at 75.6, but with an additional 2 per cent postal ballots yet to be received, this figure is likely to go up further,” said Maneesh Garg, Chief Electoral Officer.
• The counting of votes will be taken up on December 8.
• Himachal has 68 Assembly segments, including 17 reserved for the Scheduled castes and three for the Scheduled Tribes. Two Independents had won in the 2017 poll.
• Initial reports have indicated that some of these rebels such as Hoshiyar Singh (Dehra), Indu Verma (Theog), Sanjay Prashar (Jaswan Pragpur), KL Thakur (Nalagarh), Tejwant Negi (Kinnaur), Gangu Ram Musafir (Pachhad) and Jagjivan Pal (Sullah) may win.
• Interestingly, the polling percentage in most of the segments which are witnessing a multi-cornered or triangular contest, invariably due to the presence of a rebel from either of the two parties, has been very high. This is visible in Nalagarh (81.40), Pachhad (78.30), Sundernagar (77.80), Bilaspur (76.48), Arki (75.17), Theog (74.96), Mandi (74.0) and Kinnaur (72.56).
• Former CM Virbhadra Singh had formed a minority government for a mere 18 days with the support of Independent MLA Ramesh Dhawala in 1998. However, Dhawala, a BJP rebel, chose to return to the BJP, resulting in the Congress government falling within a few days.
• Following this, the BJP formed a coalition government with the Himachal Vikas Congress (HVC), an outfit floated by former Congress leader Sukh Ram. The HVC had managed to win five seats in the 1998 poll and thus helped in formation of the BJP-HVC combine in which Dhawala also became a minister. As such, a situation where Independents could play a crucial role in government formation in case no party gets a clear majority, cannot be ruled out.

• World Pneumonia Day is a global event observed every year on 12 November to spread awareness and educate people to combat Pneumonia disease, which is a world’s biggest infectious killer of adults and children, responsible for the majority of death of children below five around the world.
• The day is also focused on creating ample opportunity and encourage for the global action mainly in the low- and middle-income countries to fight the toll due to pneumonia and other respiratory infection.

Theme 2022:

• This year 2022, World Pneumonia Day theme is based on the Worldwide Pneumonia Awareness Campaign – “Pneumolight 2022”,with a theme and slogan “Pneumonia Affects Everyone”, with an aim to amplify the effect of awareness campaigns by illuminating monuments worldwide.
• This year 2022, with the support of 42 countries 228 monuments will be illuminated to mark the World Pneumonia Day, with an intention to raise visibility of World Pneumonia Day, 2022 globally.

• Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik announced that the Odisha government aims to make Odisha slum-free by the end of 2023. The CM of Odisha has launched a survey using drones to facilitate a process to provide land deeds to slum-dwellers in five municipal areas across Odisha.
• The land survey was taken in Bhubaneswar, Cuttack, Berhampur, Rourkela, and Sambalpur civic body areas under the state government’s ‘Jaga Mission program.

Odisha to be made slum-free by 2023 end- Key Points

• Naveen Patnaik has declared Hinjili and Digapahandi towns in the Gajman district as ‘Slum Free’ and dedicated 707 ‘Biju Adarsh Colonies’ in 33 urban areas.
• All the slums in Odisha will be converted into model colonies and Odisha will be made slum-free by December 2023.
• Naveen Patnaik also stated that land rights will be given to 2.5 lakh slum families in the state by the next year.
• The authorities of ‘Jaga Mission’ signed an MoU with Tata Steel Foundation to identify slum dwellers and areas under the jurisdiction of the five municipal corporations for the land survey of Odisha.
• Tata Steel Foundation will provide technical support for the purpose.
• Over 1.70 lakh families of slum areas in 105 cities and towns have so far been given land rights under the program.

About Jaga Mission

• The state government of Odisha launched the Jaga Mission in 2017 and the slum development associations have been assigned to manage the ‘Biju Adarsh Colonies’ a provision has been made to allocate 25 percent of the municipal budget to these bodies for the development of infrastructure.
• Jaga Mission in Odisha will also provide social and economic justice to the poor as they have an equal right to the benefits of development and growth.

• The 16th Asian Conference on Diarrhoeal Disease and Nutrition (ASCODD) was held at Kolkata.
• Theme: “Prevention and control of cholera, typhoid and other enteric diseases in low and middle-income countries through community participation: beyond the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic”.

Focus Areas:

• Epidemiology of cholera and typhoid
• Roadmap to end Cholera by 2030, Cholera vaccine development and rapid diagnostics,
• Contemporary perspectives of antimicrobial resistance of enteric bacteria: new Initiatives and challenges,
• Enteric bacterial infections, including Shigella spp, epidemiology, burden, and
• vaccines against other viral infections, including Hepatitis,
• Lessons learned about diarrhoea research during the COVID pandemic.

Achievements of India:

• India successfully ran a free vaccination program with record break vaccination of more than 219 crores.
• India provided vaccinations to other nations so that it can win over the pandemic together. Effective use of safe and affordable vaccines,
• Various Health initiatives under Digital India initiative:
  • Online Registration System,
  • eHospital for hospital management,
  • eSanjeevani telemedicine app

Diarrhoea

• Gastrointestinal infection leading to Loose, watery and possibly more-frequent bowel movements
• It is caused by a Variety of bacterial, viral and parasitic organisms, Infection is spread through contaminated food or drinking-water, or from person to person as a result of poor hygiene.
• Associated with other symptoms: nausea, vomiting, abdominal pain or weight loss.

• Wangala Festival, also known as the festival of ‘100 drums’, is a harvest festival celebrated by the ‘Garo Tribes’ in Meghalaya.

About 

• The Wangala Festival is usually celebrated for two days but sometimes it can also go up to a week. The celebrations include serving local rice beer to the Sun God, dressing up in colourful traditional attires and dancing to the beat of 100 drums.
• The dance form has a popular pattern where two parallel lines are formed, one of the women, and the other of the men. With the beating of the drums, the lines move in rhythm.

History of Wangala Festival

• Wangala Festival is the winter harvesting festival for the people of the Garo Tribe in Meghalaya. During this festival, people pay their respects to ‘Misi Sanljong’ or ‘Pattigipa Ra’rongipa’ or the Sun God!
• The popular belief is that the dance form performed during the Wangala festival was initially performed by water creatures.

Significance of Wangala Festival

• The celebrations of the Wangala Festival honour the Sun God and also mark the end of the long harvest season.
• It also signifies the onset of the winter season. For the Garo tribe in Meghalaya, the festival of 100 drums is also a way of preserving and promoting their cultural identity. They also showcase their culture and traditions to the rest of the world during the Wangala Festival.