Bihar Affairs
Maternal mortality rate registers 28% drop in Bihar, but a long way to go
Recent data released by the registrar general of India showed that maternal mortality rate (MMR) has dropped in the country, including in Bihar, when compared to the previous years. However,Biharlagged behind the national Average of 97 with anMMRof 118.
According to the World Health Organisation, maternal death is the death of a woman during pregnancy or within 42 days of the termination of pregnancy, from cause related to pregnancy or its management, and not accidental or incidental causes.
MMR is the number of maternal deaths during a given time period per one lakh live births during the same time period.
As per the special bulletin of sample registration system released by the registrar general of India on Tuesday for 2018-20, Indias MMR was 97. Kerala was the best with an MMR of 19, followed byMaharashtra(33), (43), Andhra Pradesh (45) and Tamil Nadu (54). Among the states witnessing maximum deaths of Women per one lakh live birth was Assam which had the highest MMR of 195, followed by Madhya Pradesh (173), Uttar Pradesh (167), Chhattisgarh (137) and Odisha (119). Bihar was placed at sixth among the 19 states and union territories with an MMR of 118.
In 2014-16, the average MMR of the country was 130.
This shows there has been reduction of nearly 25% in the deaths on an average. Data for Bihar for 2014-16 showed that MMR was 165 and it came down to 118 for 2018-20.
The drop has been nearly 28%, slightly more than the national average.
National and International Affairs
Goa can become a start-ups & innovation hub: MoS Shri Rajeev Chandrasekhar
The Minister of State for Electronics & Information Technology and Skill development & , Shri Rajeev Chandrasekhar today said that the Centre will take all measures to expand economic opportunities in Goa that will help diversify its economy, and turn it into a start-ups and innovation hub especially in the fields of healthcare, medical electronics and Artificial Intelligence and also ensure its Sustainable Development.
The Minister who is currently on a two-day visit to Goa, also met state IT Minister, Shri Rohan Khaunte and discussed about the Growth of IT opportunities.
He also spoke of expanding skilling opportunities for the young people through Skill hubs and Atal Tinkering labs.
Abdel Fattah al-Sisi: Indias 2023 Republic Day Chief Guest
India has invited Egypt President Fattah al-Sisi as the chief guest on 2023 Republic Day. This makes al-Sisi the first Republic Day Chief Guest after a two-year hiatus caused by the pandemic.
Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, who hails from city of el-Gamaliya and raised in an alleyway close to the Jewish quarter of Cairos old city, is a devout Muslim.
He became the head of Military Intelligence in Egypt. He rose to prominence in 2011 after he was named as the member of the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces, which took up political control of the country after Arab Spring protests forced the long-time President Hosni Mubarak to resign.
New Artificial Photosynthetic System to Capture Solar Energy
Scientists have a novel artificial Light-capturing system that imitates the process of Photosynthesis to effectively capture light to conserve power. This technology addresses various challenges faced while replicating the complex process of photosynthesis as well as the problems associated with light absorbers and transmitters.
The new artificial photosynthetic system makes use of clusters of silver with a nanometer dimension, which is a hundred thousand times smaller than the width of human hair. These silver nanoclusters have complicated and exotic photophysical properties. The researchers were able to stabilize them with bulky ligands and entrap the entire ensemble inside another larger molecule called cyclodextrin.
Indias First Private Vehicle Launchpad
Chennai-based space tech startup Agnikul Cosmos recently opened Indias first private launchpad and mission control centre at the Satish Dhawan Space Centre (SDSC) in Sriharikota, Andhra Pradesh. It was inaugurated on November 28 by ISRO chairman S Somanath. The inauguration took place just days after the launch of Indias first privately developed rocket Vikram-S.
The Agnikul launchpad and the Agnikul mission control centre are four kilometres apart. They are connected with each other via various critical systems to ensure 100 per operationality during the countdown.
This facility was designed by the startup Agnikul Cosmos and executed with the support from ISRO and the IN-SPACe.
New Name for Monkeypox
The World Health Organization (WHO) announced that mpox is currently the preferred name for monkeypox.
Monkeypox was named in 1970 more than 10 years after the virus that causes the disease was discovered in captive monkeys.
However, monkeypox probably did not originate in monkeys and knowledge related to its origins is still unknown.
The monkeypox virus is currently found several other animals apart from monkeys.
The name for the disease was given before the WHO published the best practices for naming diseases in 2015.
Since the recent outbreak, experts have suggested changing the name of the disease to avoid discrimination and stigma, which discouraged people from testing and vaccination.