ANSWER: D

ANSWER: B

ANSWER: D

ANSWER: D

• Government starts joint inspection of drug manufacturing units across the country to ensure high quality of medicines.
• The Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation (CDSCO) has started conducting joint inspections of identified Drug Manufacturing Units along with State Drugs Control Administration as per a risk-based approach.
• The Joint Inspections are being conducted all over the country as per the Standard Operating Procedures.
• A Committee of two Joint Drugs Controllers has been constituted at CDSCO Head Quarters to monitor the process of inspection, reporting, and subsequent action so as to ensure compliance with the Drugs and Cosmetics Act, 1940, and the Rules thereunder.

About the Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation (CDSCO):

• The objective of drug regulation is to ensure the safety, efficacy, and quality of the drugs available in the country. The drug control administration is required to ensure that manufacturing units comply with Drugs and Cosmetics Act, especially to the requirements of Good Manufacturing Practices.
• The Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation(CDSCO)under Directorate General of Health Services, Ministry of Health & Family Welfare, Government of India is the National Regulatory Authority (NRA) of India.
• Its headquarter is located in New Delhi and also has six zonal offices, four sub zonal offices, thirteen Port offices and seven laboratories spread across the country.
• The Drugs & Cosmetics Act,1940 and rules 1945 have entrusted various responsibilities to central & state regulators for regulation of drugs & cosmetics.
• It envisages uniform implementation of the provisions of the Act & Rules made there under for ensuring the safety, rights and well-being of the patients by regulating the drugs and cosmetics.
• CDSCO is constantly thriving upon to bring out transparency, accountability and uniformity in its services in order to ensure safety, efficacy and quality of the medical product manufactured, imported and distributed in the country.
• Under the Drugs and Cosmetics Act, CDSCO is responsible for approval of Drugs, Conduct of Clinical Trials, laying down the standards for Drugs, control over the quality of imported Drugs in the country and coordination of the activities of State Drug Control Organizations by providing expert advice with a view of bring about the uniformity in the enforcement of the Drugs and Cosmetics Act.
• Further CDSCO along with state regulators, is jointly responsible for grant of licenses of certain specialized categories of critical Drugs such as blood and blood products, I. V. Fluids, Vaccine and Sera.

ANSWER: C

• Power Ministry and the Defence Research and Development Organisation, DRDO, have signed an Memorandum of Understanding, MOU, for implementation of Early Warning System for Vulnerable Hydro Projects and Power Stations. 
• It is to work jointly towards developing suitable mitigation measures against avalanches, landslides, glaciers, glacial lakes and other geo-hazards.
• Power Ministry has taken the initiative of implementing Early Warning System, EWS, in the Hydro Power Projects, especially in upper reaches of Hilly regions.
• EWS is an integrated system of hazard monitoring, forecasting and prediction, disaster risk assessment, communication and preparedness for timely action to reduce disaster risks in advance of hazardous events.
• The expertise of DRDO will also be utilized in developing comprehensive EWS for vulnerable hydro projects and power stations in hilly regions. Expertise of DRDO will also be utilized in developing comprehensive EWS, for these projects.

ANSWER: C

• As India rides on 5G with more than 50 cities and towns now enjoying the new technology, the India Cellular and Electronics Association (ICEA) Chairman Pankaj Mohindroo said that by the end of 2023, 75-80 per cent of the new smartphone launches will be 5G-enabled.
• The 5G services were launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on October 1.
• Telecom service providers have launched the service in select cities and plan to cover the entire nation by the end of 2023 or early 2024.
• India as a nation is an early adopter of 5G technology. This 5G technology has opened a vast opportunity for a new generation of telecom equipment manufacturers, application providers, and internet of things (IoT), machine-2-machine (M2M) and healthcare services, among others,”
• The mobile device ecosystem was an early starter for manufacturing 5G phones.
• Even before the launch of 5G services, approximately 80-100 million 5G-compatible phones were already in the market.
• 5G will represent around 53 per cent of mobile subscriptions in India by 2028, with 690 million users, according to ‘Ericsson Mobility Report’.
• 5G subscriptions in India were expected to reach around 31 million by the end of 2022.
• On semiconductor industry, Mohindroo said that the Indian semiconductor market was $15 billion in 2020 and expected to reach $63 billion by 2023 at 30 per cent CAGR.
• The India Semiconductor Mission offers an incentive outlay of Rs 76,000 crore for the development of semiconductor ecosystem in India, offering fiscal support of 50 per cent of the project cost.

ANSWER: C

• Ministry of Railways has formulated a new policy for modernization of stations named “Amrit Bharat Station” scheme.
• Amrit Bharat Station scheme envisages development of stations on a continuous basis with a long term vision.
• It is based on Master Planning for long term and implementation of the elements of Master Plan as per the needs and patronage of the station.

Broad objectives:

• The scheme aims at preparation of Master Plans of the Railway stations and implementation of the Master Plan in phases to enhance the facilities including and beyond the Minimum Essential Amenities (MEA) and aiming for creation of Roof Plazas and city centres at the station in long run.
• The scheme shall aim to meet the needs of the stakeholders, station usage studies as far as possible based on availability of funds and inter-se priority.
• The scheme shall cater for introduction of new amenities as well as upgradation and replacement of existing amenities.
• This scheme will also cover the stations where detailed techno-economic feasibility studies have been conducted or are being conducted but the work for construction of Roof Plazas has not been taken up yet, ensuring the phasing of Master Plan being suitably implemented and relocation of structures and utilities being given more emphasis in the phasing plans.

ANSWER: A

• The ‘Ekalabya Puraskar’ for the year 2022 was presented to cyclist Swasti Singh.
• The award is given every year to encourage young sports talents.
• She presented with a citation, trophy and Rs 5 lakh cash in a programme organized by Indian Metals Public Charitable Trust (IMPaCT), the charitable wing of IMFA.
• She was honoured for her performance from April 1, 2020 to March 31, 2022 at both national and international levels.
• Ekalabya Puraskar, instituted by IMPaCT in the year 1993, has come a long way to be recognized as the most prestigious sports award of Odisha, drawing parallels with many national awards.

ANSWER: C

• The Mission Vatsalya scheme is a roadmap to achieve development and child protection goals, said Justice Avtar Dogra (retd), a member of the Himachal Pradesh Human Rights Commission (HPHRC), at an awareness camp in Bilaspur.
• He said the scheme emphasises on spreading awareness about child rights and their advocacy. It also addressed issues pertaining to the strengthening of the juvenile justice care and protection system with the motto, ‘leave no child behind’.
• The Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2015, provides protection to children from sexual offences.

ANSWER: C

• An interactive session with progressive farmers and entrepreneurs cultivating aromatic crops under the CSIR Aroma Mission was organised by the CSIR-Institute of Himalayan Bioresource Technology (CSIR-IHBT) at Talla village, Sihunta, of Chamba district.
• Farmers apprised the experts about the problems — monkey menace, hailstorm and the non-availability of farm inputs — being faced by them, resulting in crop loss.
• To overcome such problems, the CSIR-IHBT, under the Aroma Mission Phase-II, provided the technology and quality planting material to the farmers to grow aromatic marigold.
• Scented marigold is able to withstand biotic and abiotic stresses and is not affected by grazing and stray animals.
• Research Council chairman Dr Trilochan Mohapatra and other members visited the essential oil extraction unit set up in the fields by the CSIR-IHBT under the Aroma Mission for the value addition of aromatic crops.
• They appreciated the progress made by the institute under the ongoing mission.
• CSIR-IHBT director Dr Sanjay Kumar said the global essential oil demand was increasing day by day. “Its estimated world market demand of USD 8.8 billion during 2022 will be expected to reach USD 16.34 billion in 2027.”
• Dr Kumar added that the institute supports the farmers by promoting the cultivation of aromatic crops and making efforts to double their income.

ANSWER: C

ANSWER: C

ANSWER: C

ANSWER: C

ANSWER: C