• The Department of Biotechnology (DBT) is implementing a focused bilateral collaborative programme known as the Indo-US Vaccine Action Programme (VAP), jointly with the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), National Institutes of Health (NIH), USA, since July 1987.
• The current five-year VAP Joint Statement has been extended till 2027.
• Rajesh S. Gokhale, the Secretary, DBT along with the Indian delegation comprising senior officials from DBT is visiting the USA for the 34th Meeting of the Joint Working Group (JWG) of VAP and other scientific consultations.
• The JWG provides oversight to VAP and comprises of Experts and the policy makers from India and US.
• The meeting held at the NIH campus in Bethesda, Maryland in US. During the meeting, the Joint statement of Indo-US VAP has been signed by Dr. Rajesh S. Gokhale and Dr. Anthony Fauci, Director, NIAID considering the five year extension accorded to the programme till 2027.

• President of India, Smt Droupadi Murmu, inaugurated ‘PARAM KAMRUPA’ Supercomputer facility and a high-power active and passive component laboratory of SAMEER at Indian Institute of Technology, Guwahati on the first day of her visit to the State.
• The Param Kamrupa, one of its kind supercomputers in the North East region, installed under the National Supercomputing Mission.
• The Super Computer Param Kamrupa will provide advance computing, healthcare techniques along with solutions for many issues to this region. Many components of this super computer developed indigenously.

• Himachal Pradesh-based Shoolini University has been ranked best private universities in India in the Times Higher Education (THE) World University Rankings for 2023.
• Terming the achievement as a matter of national pride, university Chancellor and Founder Dr PK Khosla said, “It is a collective result of the untiring efforts of our faculty in teaching and research.”
• The university has been ranked 351-400 overall and 39th in the category ‘Citations’ in the world.

• Around 45 samples of medicines were found to be of substandard quality, according to a report of the Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation (CDSCO) released last month.
• The CDSCO is the central drug authority for discharging functions assigned to the Central government under the Drugs and Cosmetics Act, 1940.
• Of the failed samples, Himachal Pradesh-based manufacturing units have more than 13 samples of substandard quality.
• The samples of the most basic drug, Paracetamol, drawn from several manufacturing units in Himachal have failed the dissolution test.
• Dissolution testing is important for characterising the performance of oral solid dosage forms. Dissolution testing measures the extent and rate of solution formation from a dosage form, such as tablet, capsule, ointment, etc.
• The dissolution of a drug is important for its bioavailability and therapeutic effectiveness.
• Recently, Nixi Laboratories of Kala Amb, Himachal Pradesh, was under the scanner because one of its drugs, anaesthesia Propofol, failed the quality test.
• The samples were collected from a pharmacist at the emergency ward of the PGIMER, Chandigarh, following the death of five persons, who were administered the anaesthetic drug during a surgical procedure.
• The Himachal Pradesh firm has been asked to recall all batches of Propofol.
• In May this year, the Assistant Drugs Controller and Licensing Authority, New Delhi, had launched an inquiry against Glenmark Pharmaceuticals Limited and declared one of its drugs, Telmisartan (blood pressure medication), as “spurious” under Section 17 B (e) of the Drugs and Cosmetics Act, 1940.
• Ofloxacin and Ornidazole, an antibiotic of Mohali-based manufacturing firm, has also failed the “assay test”.
• An “assay test” is an investigative procedure for assessing or measuring the presence, amount or functional activity of a drug (the analyte).
• Gentamicin injection, another antibiotic injection manufactured by a Chandigarh-based firm, has failed the bacterial endotoxins and sterility tests.

• The 36th National Games came to a close with a glittering ceremony at Surat yesterday evening.  Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar chaired the closing ceremony.
• Services topped the medal tally with a total of 128 medals including 61 Gold, 35 silver, and 32 bronze medals.
• Maharashtra secured the number 2 position with 140 medals including 39 gold and
• Haryana number 3 with 116 medals with 38 Gold. The winners were awarded on the occasion.
• Harshika Ramchandran from Karnataka won the best female player of the36h National games and Sajan Prakash from Kerala won the Best Male player of the games.
• About 7500 players from 36 states and union territories participated in 36 types of sports competitions held in six cities of the state.
• Goa will host the 37th National Games in October next year.
• The Goa delegation received the IOA flag at the Closing Ceremony of the 36th National Games in Surat.

• Retail inflation, based on the consumer price index (CPI), rose to 7.41 per cent in September this year compared to seven per cent in preceding month.
• As per the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation data released today, inflation climbed mainly due to modest rise in prices of Food & Beverages, Clothing & footwear and Fuel & light segments.
• In September, inflation in the food basket stood at 8.41 per cent, compared to 7.57 per cent in August this year. During September 2022 inflation in clothing & footwear stood at 10.17 percent while fuel & light witnessed 10.39 percent inflation.
• The government has mandated the central bank to maintain retail inflation at four per cent with a margin of two per cent on either side.

• The National Anti-Doping Agency (NADA) and National Dope Testing Laboratory (NDTL) are organizing 3-day long WADA Athlete Biological Passport ABP Symposium- 2022 from Oct 12, 2022 in New Delhi.
• The first WADA ABP Symposium was hosted by the Anti-Doping Lab Qatar ADLQ in November 2015, in Doha, Qatar.
• The second WADA ABP Symposium was organized by the Italian Federation of Sports Medicine FMSI in 2018, in Rome, Italy.
• This is the third WADA ABP Symposium and is being hosted in India for the first time.
• Two hundred plus participants from 56 Countries, WADA Officials, representatives and Experts from different National Anti-Doping Organizations, Athlete Passport Management Units APMUs and WADA Accredited Laboratories are participating in this Symposium.
• The main topic of discussion in this symposium will be recent trends, successes and challenges with the ABP, Managing confounding Factor affecting the steroidal Module, Evolving strategic testing for the ABP etc and will help WADA to work towards the detection and eradication doping in sports through APMUs.
• Since NDTL is in the process of setting up an APMU in India, this Symposium would help to create the necessary expertise in the country and will help the Indian Sports by strengthening the Anti-doping programme of India and also enable us to become a regional leader in anti-doping.

• INS Tarkash reached Port Grequhrea, also known as Port Elizabeth in South Africa to participate in the seventh edition of IBSAMAR, a joint multinational maritime exercise among Indian, Brazilian and South African Navies.
• The harbour phase of IBSAMAR VII includes professional exchanges such as damage control and fire-fighting drills, and interaction among special forces.
• The Indian Navy is represented by the Teg class guided missile frigate, INS Tarkash, a Chetak helicopter and the personnel from the Marine Commando Force (MARCOS).
• The Joint Maritime Exercise will strengthen maritime security, joint operational training, sharing of best practices and building interoperability to address common maritime threats.
• The previous edition of IBSAMAR (IBSAMAR VI) was conducted off Simons Town, in South Africa in October 2018.

• It aims to spread awareness about protection and conservation of sloth bears.
• A proposal for observing the World Sloth Bear Day was mooted by Wildlife SOS India, an organisation involved in sloth bear conservation and protection for over two decades and the IUCN-Species Survival Commission sloth bear expert team accepted the proposal and declared the day to be celebrated worldwide.

Sloth bears ( Melursus ursinus):

• Sloth bears are endemic to the Indian sub-continent with small populations in Nepal and Srilanka and 90% of the species population is found in India.
• They are classified as ‘Vulnerable’ on the IUCN Red List.
• They are identified by their very distinct long, shaggy dark brown or black fur, distinct white V-shaped chest patch and four-inch long ivory-coloured curved claws used for digging out termites and ants from rock-hard mounds. Listed under Schedule I of the (Wildlife Protection) Act of India, 1972 the species has the same level of protection as tigers, rhinos and elephants.
• They are found in all parts of the country except Jammu and Kashmir and north-eastern States.

• The Offshore Security Exercise, ‘Prasthan’ in the Offshore Development Area (ODA) off Kakinada was conducted by  Eastern Naval Command.
• The Half Yearly Exercise was conducted in the KG basin to validate SOPs, address various contingencies and strengthen the command & control organisation towards Maritime Security.
• The exercise is coordinated by the Indian Navy and involves all stakeholders in the maritime domain, including oil and gas operators, the State Marine Police, Dept of Fisheries and the Indian Coast Guard, etc.