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■ Electronic Vaccine Intelligence Network (eVIN) : • The Electronic Vaccine Intelligence Network (eVIN) is an innovative technological solution aimed at strengthening immunization supply chain systems across the country. • This is being implemented under National Health Mission (NHM) by Ministry of Health and Family Welfare. • eVIN aims to provide real-time information on vaccine stocks and flows, and storage temperatures across all cold chain points in the country. • This robust system has been used with the requisite customization during the COVID pandemic for ensuring continuation of the essential immunization services and protecting our children and pregnant mothers against vaccine preventable diseases. • eVIN combines state-of-the-art technology, a strong IT infrastructure and trained human resource to enable real time monitoring of stock and storage temperature of the vaccines kept in multiple locations across the country. • To support the Government of India’s efforts to combat COVID-19, eVIN India is helping the State/UT governments monitor the supply chain of COVID response material. • This strong platform has the potential to be leveraged for any new vaccine including COVID-19 vaccine, as and when available.

■ Removal of anti-dumping duty on viscose staple fibre : • The Union government recently revoked anti-dumping duty (ADD) on viscose staple fibre originating in or imported from China and Indonesia. • Viscose is largely used by the textile and clothing industry to make apparel, mainly for women and children, in the domestic market. □ Impact of removal of anti-dumping duty on viscose fibre : • The fibre will be available in India at competitive prices and thus benefit downstream sectors — weaving and garmenting. • Indian textile units will be able to export viscose products at internationally competitive prices and produce more of viscose-based products. □ Viscose staple fiber : • Viscose staple fibers (VSF) or artificial cotton fibers are natural and biodegradable. • These fibers are obtained from wood pulp and cotton pulp, which share the characteristics of cotton fibers. • These are versatile and easily bendable fibers and have a wide range of applications in apparel, home textiles, home furnishings, dress materials, and woven and knitwear. • Increasing demand for textiles and apparel is expected to drive the demand for VSF in these applications. • China, Indonesia, India, Taiwan and Thailand are the major producers of viscose fibre. • While the domestic annual viscose staple fibre demand is 6.34 lakh tonnes, the domestic availability is 4.78 lakh tonnes. • India imported 46,852 tonnes of viscose fibre and 1,04,200 tonnes of viscose yarn in 2019-2020. □ Anti-Dumping Duty : • Dumping is said to occur when the goods are exported by a country to another country at a price lower than its normal value. • This is an unfair trade practice which can have a distortive effect on international trade. • Anti-dumping is a measure to rectify the situation arising out of the dumping of goods and its trade distortive effect. • In fact, anti-dumping is an instrument for ensuring fair trade and is not a measure of protection per se for the domestic industry. • It provides relief to the domestic industry against the injury caused by dumping. • The use of anti-dumping measure as an instrument of fair competition is permitted by the WTO.

■ ZyCov-D : • The Drug Controller General has granted emergency approval to the Zycov-D, a COVID-19 vaccine. • Zycov-D is a COVID-19 vaccine developed by the Ahmedabad based Zydus Cadilla group and is the first vaccine in India that can be administered to adults as well as those 12 and above. • The vaccine has been developed in partnership with the Department of Biotechnology under the ‘Mission COVID Suraksha’. • ZyCoV-D is indigenously developed in India. • It’s the first & only DNA-based vaccine in the world. • It is also an intradermal vaccine which means it is applied using a ‘needle-free injector’. Instead, a spring-powered device delivers the shot as a narrow, precise stream of fluid that penetrates the skin. • The plug-and-play technology on which the plasmid DNA platform is based can be easily adapted to deal with mutations in the virus, such as those already occurring. • Also called third-generation vaccines, DNA-based vaccines deploy a technique where engineered DNA is used to induce an immunologic response in the body against viruses, bacteria and parasites. • The three-dose vaccine once administered produces the spike protein of the SARS-CoV-2 virus and elicits an immune response. □ How does the ZyCov-D vaccine work? • In this vaccine, the plasmids are coded with the instructions to make the spike protein of SARS-CoV-2, the coronavirus that causes Covid-19. • Vaccination gives the code to cells in the recipient’s body, so they can begin making the spiky outer layer of the virus. • The immune system is expected to recognize this as a threat and develop antibodies in response.

■ Election petition (Poll petition) : • An election petition is a procedure for inquiring into the validity of the election results of Parliamentary or local government elections. In other words, it means under law to challenge the election of a candidate in a Parliamentary, Assembly or local election. • The Election Commission’s role ends with the declaration of results, that is once the Returning Officer has signed the final result sheet (Form 20). • After that, an election petition is the only legal remedy available to a voter or a candidate who believes there has been malpractice in an election. • Such a person can challenge the result through an election petition submitted to the High Court of the state in which the constituency is located. Therefore, only the High Courts have the original jurisdiction on deciding on an election petition. • Such a petition has to be filed within 45 days from the date of the poll results; nothing is entertained by courts after that. • Although the Representative of the People Act of 1951 suggests that the High Court should try to conclude the trial within six months, it usually drags on for much longer, even years.

■ Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG) : • The Constitution of India provides for an independent office of the Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG) in chapter V under Part V. • He is the head of the Indian Audit and Accounts Department. • He is the guardian of the public purse and controls the entire financial system of the country at both the levels - the centre and state. □ Duties of CAG : • CAG audits all expenditure from the Consolidated Fund of India, Contingency Fund of India and the Public Account of India as well as the Consildated Fund, Contingency Fund and Public Account of each state. • He audits all trading, manufacturing, profit and loss accounts, balance sheets and other subsidiary accounts kept by any department of the Central Government and the state governments. • He audits the receipts and expenditure of all bodies and authorities substantially financed from the Central or State revenues; government companies; other corporations and bodies, when so required by related laws. • His duty is to uphold the Constitution of India and the laws of Parliament in the field of financial administration. • He audits the accounts of any other authority when requested by the President or Governor e.g. Local bodies. □ Appointment & Removal : • The CAG is appointed by the President of India by a warrant under his hand and seal. • He holds office for a period of six years or upto the age of 65 years. • CAG is provided with the security of tenure. He can be removed by the president only in accordance with the procedure mentioned in the Constitution. Thus, he does not hold his office till the pleasure of the president, though he is appointed by him. • He is not eligible for further office, either under the Government of India or of any state, after he ceases to hold his office. • His salary and other service conditions are determined by the Parliament. His salary is equal to that of a judge of the Supreme Court. • The administrative expenses of the office of CAG, including all salaries, allowances and pensions are charged upon the Consolidated Fund of India that is not subject to vote. □ Articles regarding CAG : • Article 148 broadly deals with the CAG appointment, oath and conditions of service. • Article 149 deals with Duties and Powers of the Comptroller and Auditor-General of India. • Article 150 states that the accounts of the Union and of the States shall be kept in such form as the President may, on the advice of the CAG, prescribe. • Article 151 - Audit reports. • Article 151(1) - The reports of the Comptroller and Auditor General of India relating to the accounts of the Union shall be submitted to the President, who shall cause them to be laid before each House of Parliament. • Article 151(2) - The reports of the Comptroller and Auditor General of India relating to the accounts of a State shall be submitted to the Governor of the State, who shall cause them to be laid before the Legislature of the State.

World's ⛰ Mountain Ranges: https://youtu.be/MoJbHhLmfX4

Famous Conspiracy Cases Modern Indian History https://youtu.be/I3BolkOCUas

📰 News : Defence Minister Rajnath Singh launches Defence India Startup Challenge (DISC) 5.0. • Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Thursday launched the 5th edition of the Defence India Start-up Challenge (DISC) under Innovations for Defence Excellence - Defence Innovation Organisation (iDEX-DIO) meant to achieve self-reliance and foster innovation and technology development in the defence and aerospace sectors. • The launch of DISC 5.0 comes three years after the launch of DISC 1.0. □ About Innovations for Defence Excellence - Defence Innovation Organisation (iDEX-DIO) : • The iDEX initiative was launched by the Prime Minister in April 2018. • It aims to achieve self - reliance and foster innovation and technology development in Defence and Aerospace by engaging Industries including Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs), start-ups, individual innovators, R&D institutes and academia. • iDEX is funded and managed by the DIO, and functions as the executive arm of DIO. • DIO is a ‘not for profit’ company registered under Section 8 of the Companies Act 2013. • It will provide the engaging industries with funding and other support to carry out Research & Development. • iDEX-DIO had launched the Defence India Startup Challenge (DISC) to address problems faced by the Armed Forces, DPSUs & OFB. • Start-ups or individual applications are invited to provide solutions to these problems and after rigorous evaluation of the applications, winners receive innovation grants in technological areas through the prototype funding guidelines called Support for Prototype and Research Kickstart (SPARK). □ About Defence India Startup Challenge (DISC) : • The Defence India Startup Challenge (DISC) has been launched under the Ministry of Defence in partnership with Atal Innovation Mission. • The program aims at supporting Startups/MSMEs/Innovators to create prototypes and/or commercialize products/solutions in the area of National Defence and Security. • On 4 August 2018, Defence India Startup Challenge (DISC) was launched in Bengaluru by Minister of Defence Nirmala Sitharaman.

📰 News : Centre to boost oil Palm farming. • The Centre will offer price assurances, viability gap funding and planting material assistance to oil palm farmers to boost domestic production and reduce dependence on imports via a new mission approved by the Cabinet. • Over a five-year period, the financial outlay for the National Mission on Edible Oils-Oil Palm (NMEO-OP) will amount to ₹11,040 crore of which ₹8,844 crore is the share of the Central government. • The Mission hopes to increase oil palm acreage by an additional 6.5 lakh hectare by 2025-26 and grow production of crude palm oil to 11.2 lakh tonnes by 2025-26 and up to 28 lakh tonnes by 2029-30. • The government will develop a mechanism to fix and regulate palm oil prices. So if the market is volatile, then the Centre will pay the difference in price to the farmers through direct benefit transfer. • This is the first time the Centre will give oil palm farmers a price assurance, with industry mandated to pay the viability gap funding of 14.3% of crude palm oil prices. • In a bid to encourage oil palm cultivation in northeastern India and in the Andaman and Nicobar islands, the Centre will bear an additional cost of 2% of the crude palm oil prices in these States. • The Mission will also more than double the support provided for the cost of planting materials, with an increase from ₹12,000 petr hectare to ₹29,000 per hectare along with further assistance for maintenance, inter cropping interventions and the rejuvenation of old gardens. • To deal with the shortage of planting materials, the Mission will provide assistance to seed gardens up to ₹100 lakh for 15 hectares in the focus areas of the northeast and Andamans, and up to ₹80 lakh in the rest of the country. • India is heavily dependent on imported edible oils, the OPDPA in a press release said nearly 15 million tonnes or about 68% of country’s annual edible oil requirement of 22 MT are imported. About 9 MT or around 60% of the edible oil import is palm oil and its derivatives. • India is the largest consumer of vegetable oil in the world. Of this, palm oil imports are almost 55% of its total vegetable oil imports. □ About NMEO-OP : • The NMEO-OP’s predecessor was the National Mission on Oil Seeds and Oil Palm, which was implemented during the 12th Five Year Plan, to expand the oil palm areas and increase the production of edible oils which was later merged with the National Food Security Mission. • NMEO-OP aims to resolve to allow India to be independent or self-reliant in edible oil production. • Under the scheme, oil palm farmers will be provided financial assistance and will get remuneration under a price and viability formula. □ About Palm Oil : • Palm Oil is currently the world’s most consumed vegetable oil. • It is used extensively in the production of detergents, plastics, cosmetics, and biofuels.

■ Greater Adjutant Storks (Garuda) : • Recently, In a first, Bihar has decided to tag greater adjutant storks locally known as ‘Garuda’ with GPS trackers to monitor their movement as part of efforts to conserve them. • The Bombay Natural History Society will help and work along with the state forest, environment, and climate change department to start the process of tagging greater adjutant storks with GPS tracker. • The greater adjutant is one of the most threatened stork species of the world and is widely considered to be a rare bird. • It helps farmers by killing rats and other farm pests. • Its scientific name is Leptoptilos dubius. • Once found across South and Southeast Asia, the Greater Adjutant is one of the most threatened stork species in the world. But today the endangered storks are mostly found in the Indian state of Assam, Bihar and in Cambodia. • The widespread destruction and degradation of the wetlands that this scavenger bird needs to forage (i.e. search for food) and the loss of its nesting trees, led to a decline. • It is listed as Endangered in IUCN Red List. • It is listed under the Schedule IV of Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972.