August 25th Current Affairs

1. e-Shram portal – National Database on Unorganized Workers (NDUW).

IN NEWS:

Logo for e-Shram portal unveiled by Minister for Labor and Employment.

KEY POINTS:

What is the e-Shram portal?

• e-Shram portal is a portal through which the government aims to register 38 crore unorganised workers, such as construction labourers, migrant workforce, street vendors and domestic workers, among others.
• The workers will be issued an e-Shram card containing a 12-digit unique number, which, going ahead, will help in including them in social security schemes.

Significance of e-Shram portal – National Database on Unorganized Workers (NDUW)

• Targeted identification of the unorganized workers was a much-needed step and the portal which will be the national database of our nation builders will help take welfare schemes to their doorstep, who are the builders of our Nation.
• Targeted delivery and last mile delivery, has been a major focus of the schemes of government of India and the National Database of Unorganised workers (E-Shram portal) is another key step towards that.

SOURCE: PIB

2.Nation’s first mRNA-based vaccine

IN NEWS:

Nation’s first mRNA-based vaccine developed by Gennova company is found to be safe and the Drugs Controller General of India DCG(I) has approved for its Phase II/III trial.

KEY POINTS:

About Gennova’s mRNA-based COVID-19 vaccine development program

• Gennova’s mRNA-based COVID-19 vaccine development program was partly funded by the Department of Biotechnology (DBT), Govt. of India under Ind CEPI, way back in Jun 2020.
• Later on, the DBT further supported the program under the Mission COVID Suraksha- The Indian COVID-19 Vaccine Development Mission, implemented by BIRAC.

About Mission COVID Suraksha

• It is a mission to accelerate the development of approximately 5-6 vaccines for coronavirus.
• However, a total of 10 vaccine candidates have been supported by DBT till now.
• Under the mission complete focus on the preclinical and clinical development of the vaccine is to be taken care of, for quick release and to restrict any further spread of the Novel coronavirus in the country.

About DBT BIRAC

• Biotechnology Industry Research Assistance Council (BIRAC) is a not-for-profit Section 8, Schedule B, Public Sector Enterprise, set up by Department of Biotechnology (DBT), Government of India as an Interface Agency to strengthen and empower the emerging Biotech enterprise to undertake strategic research and innovation, addressing nationally relevant product development needs.
• BIRAC is an industry-academia interface and implements its mandate through a wide range of impact initiatives, be it providing access to risk capital through targeted funding, technology transfer, IP management and handholding schemes that help bring innovation excellence to the biotech firms and make them globally competitive.

About CEPI (Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations)

• CEPI is an innovative global partnership between public, private, philanthropic, and civil society organizations that are working together to accelerate the development of vaccines against emerging infectious diseases and enable equitable access to these vaccines for people during outbreaks.
• It is an alliance to finance and coordinate the development of new vaccines to prevent and contain infectious disease epidemics with the mission to accelerate the development of vaccines against emerging infectious diseases and enable equitable access to these vaccines for people during outbreaks.

SOURCE: PIB

3. eSanjeevani initiative.

IN NEWS:

Union Ministry of Health & Family Welfare’s National Telemedicine Service eSanjeevani has conducted more than 1 Crore (i.e. 10 million) tele-consultations across India.

KEY POINTS:

That eSanjeevani has been quickly adopted by patients, doctors and specialists across the country is evident from the fact that it has shown astounding growth of over 1000% in last 10 months.

eSanjeevani is serving around 75,000 patients every day.

About eSanjeevani:

• Started in 2019, Sanjeevani is the first-ever online OPD (outpatient) consultation service offered by the government of India to citizens and is run by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare.
• The scheme is also called the National Teleconsultation Service, it aims to provide healthcare services to patients in their homes.
• The eSanjeevani OPD portal and system has been developed by the Centre for Development of Advanced Computing (C-DAC) in Mohali and includes a structured and safe teleconsultation between a doctor and a patient through online mode (eSanjeevani OPD).

SOURCE: PIB

4. Global Manufacturing Risk Index

IN NEWS:

• Recently, India has overtaken the United States (US) to become the second-most sought-after manufacturing destination globally, driven mainly by cost competitiveness in the Global Manufacturing Risk Index 2021.
• In last year’s report, the US was at second position while India ranked third.

KEY POINTS:

About the Global Manufacturing Risk Index:

• It assesses the most advantageous locations for global manufacturing among 47 countries in Europe, the Americas and Asia-Pacific (APAC).
• The rankings in the report are determined based on four key parameters:
• Country’s capability to restart manufacturing,
• Business environment (availability of talent/labour, access to markets),
• Operating costs,
• Risks (political, economic and environmental).
• The index is released by the US-based property consultant Cushman & Wakefield.
• China remains at number one position and the US is at third position, in the Global Manufacturing Risk Index, 2021.
• The improvement in ranking indicates the growing interest shown by manufacturers in India as a preferred manufacturing hub over other countries, including the US and those in the APAC region.

Factors Responsible for Improvement in India’s Ranking:

• The growing focus on India can be attributed to India’s operating conditions and cost competitiveness.
• India has a huge population, which means a younger workforce with innovative capabilities that has the potential to fuel the country’s manufacturing sector.
• The improvement in ranking can be also attributed to plant relocations from China to other parts of Asia due to an already established base in pharma, chemicals and engineering sectors.
• Also, these factors continue to be at the centre of the US-China trade tensions.

SOURCE:IE