TNPSC Current affairs May 2017 13 for group 1 & group 2 mains(ALL)

TNPSC Current Affairs May 2017

1.Pneumonia Vaccine has been included in India’s Universal Immunization Programme (UIP).

India has included Pneumonia Vaccine in Universal Immunization Programme, which will protect children against pneumococcal disease. 13-valent Pneumococcal Conjugate Vaccine (PCV 13) has been selected for immunization programme

Vaccine will protect around 2.7 lakh children against 12 preventable diseases.

Objectives: 

• In India, pneumococcal disease is one of the leading causes of deaths in children younger than 5 years of age.
• The aim of the programme is no child in the country dies from vaccine preventable disease.
• The first phase of 3-dose Pneumococcal conjugate vaccine has been rolled out in Himachal Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh and Bihar in 2017. The Second Phase will be rolled out in Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh next year.
• PCV-13 will give protection against 13 types of pneumococcal bacteria which cause pneumonia.

About UIP 

• Universal Immunisation Programme is a free vaccination programme launched by Government of India in 1985 .
• It provides vaccination free of cost against 10 vaccine preventable diseases, namely Diphtheria, Pertussis, Tetanus, Polio, Measles, severe form of Childhood Tuberculosis, Hepatitis B and Meningitis & Pneumonia caused by Hemophilus Influenza type B.
• It also includes Japanese Encephalitis in JE endemic districts and Rotavirus diarrhoea in selected states and now it has included Pneumococcal Conjugate Vaccine.
• It is one of the largest immunization programmes in the world and a major public health intervention in the country which give maximum protection to the children against vaccine preventable Diseases.
•  Under UIP,Mission Indradhanush’  has been launched  2014 to fully immunize more than 89 lakh children who are either unvaccinated or partially vaccinated.

2.Piyush Goyal presided over the launch of World’s largest efficient lighting programme, UJALA – UK

Shri Piyush Goyal, Union Minister of State (IC) for Power, Coal, New & Renewable Energy and Mines, presided over the launch of World’s largest efficient lighting programme, UJALA – UK (UK Joins Affordable LEDs for All) by Energy Efficiency Services Ltd. (EESL) in London, United Kingdom.

About the Programme:

Energy Efficiency Services LTd (EESL) will be replacing around 100 million incandescent and CFL bulbs in the United Kingdom will be replaced LED Bulbs by March 2019.

Energy Efficiency Services LTd (EESL)  is a joint venture among four central PSUs – NTPC, PowerGrid, REC and PFC – and under the administrative control of the Union Power Ministry.

LED bulbs consume very less power comparing to the incandescent bulbs. It is the most energy efficient, the cleanest and most eco-friendly way of illumination.

           

3.India now have its own gold Standard.

India now have its own Gold Standard called the Bharatiya Nirdeshak Dravya (BND 4201) which is 99.9% pure and used to verify the purity of Gold.

In November 2016 the India Government Mint (IGM), a unit of Security Printing and Minting Corp of India Ltd, signed an agreement with the Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC) and CSIR-National Physical Laboratory (NPL) to develop the first gold standard.

About the Gold Standard: 

• India now has its own standard bar of gold which is 99.9% Pure and impurities of only 100 parts-per-million.
• It will help Indian jewelers not to depend on gold bars which are imported to check the purity of ornament.
• It would be 25 Per cent cheaper than the imported Gold Bars.
• The development will add to the Make in India campaign and will save foreign exchange as well as minimise dependency on other countries.