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The five newly elected countries will join Ecuador, Japan, Malta, Mozambique and Switzerland as non-permanent members of the Council. They will take up seats currently occupied by Albania, Brazil, Gabon, Ghana and the United Arab Emirates when their two-year terms end on 31 December.

The Security Council is composed of 15 countries, five of which China, France, Russia, the United Kingdom and the United States are permanent members, granting them the right to veto any resolution or decision.

The 10 non-permanent members are elected by the General Assembly, which comprises all 193 UN Member States, and in line with geographical distribution by region.

The Department of Biotechnology supported the first CAR-T cell therapy performed at ACTREC at Tata Hospital in Mumbai.

The first CAR-T cell therapy was performed in June 2021 at the Bone Marrow Transplant unit at ACTREC, Tata Memorial Centre in Mumbai.

This is a first in India gene therapy that is in the early stages of a pilot clinical trial.The trial was conducted by IIT Bombay and Tata Memorial Hospital, Mumbai partly supported by the BIRAC-PACE scheme.

The central government’s National Biopharma Mission-BIRAC has approved 19.15 Cr for the team to conduct a first-in-human phase-1/2 clinical trial of the CAR-T cells.

Chimeric Antigen Receptor T-cell Therapy:

It is a type of treatment in which a patient’s T cells (a type of immune system cell) are altered in the laboratory to attack cancer cells.

T cells are extracted from the patient’s blood. Then, in the laboratory, the gene for a special receptor that binds to a specific protein on the patient’s cancer cells is added to the T cells.

The unique receptor is known as a chimeric antigen receptor (CAR). A large number of CAR T cells are grown in the laboratory and infused into the patient.

It is used to treat certain types of blood cancers and is being researched for other cancers as well.

Interpol has launched a new global Database called “I-Familia” to identify missing persons through family DNA and help the Police resolve outstanding cases in member countries.

I-Familia is the first global database for identifying missing people based on international DNA (deoxyribonucleic acid) kinship matching.

When direct comparison is not possible, the database uses DNA samples from family members to identify missing people or unidentified human remains.

Family members must give their permission for their data to be used for international searching.

It builds on Interpol’s long track record of success with direct DNA matching.

The DEFENCE Minister issued an E-booklet titled ’20 Reforms in 2020,’ which highlights the major reforms undertaken by the Ministry of Defence (MoD) in 2020.

The following are the major reforms undertaken by the Ministry of Defence (MoD) in 2020:

Department of Military Affairs & Chief of the Defence Staff
Self-Reliance in Defence
Increased Defence Exports
Defence Acquisitions
Reforming Defence R&D
Digital Transformation
Strengthening Border
Participation of Women in Armed Forces
Reforms in National Cadet Corps
Aid to Civil Administration during Covid-19
Help beyond Boundaries

The Ministry of Power is implementing energy-saving measures with the goal of lowering CO2 emissions levels in the Environment from industries, establishments, and the use of equipment/appliances.

In this regard, the Power Ministry is implementing the PAT Scheme.

The Perform, Achieve, and Trade (PAT) Scheme is an important programme for large industries and establishments.

This scheme aims to improve the cost-effectiveness of energy Savings by upgrading technologies or implementing in-house energy-saving measures.

The scheme provides mandatory targets for identified large-scale units, and issues excess energy saved as energy-saving certificates, which are tradable tools.

Different industries and establishments have different Energy Efficiency targets based on their energy consumption and potential for energy savings.

Times Higher Education Asia college rankings 2021, three Indian universities secured positions in the top hundred list.

IISc Bangalore, IIT Ropar and IIT Indore have secured ranks among the top one hundred universities in Asia. Like remaining year, not a single Indian varsity made it to the elite top 10. IISc Bangalore ranked at thirty seventh position. IIT Ropar is positioned at 55th rank and IIT Indore at 78th rank amongst the top one hundred universities.

Tsinghua University, China has received the first function in the Asia university rankings 2021. The 2d location is also secured by means of Chinas Peking University. The 0.33 and fifth ranks have been secured with the aid of Singapore varsities. Whereas, the University of Hong Kong is at fourth rank.

Kerala, the southern state of India, is set to make HISTORY by declaring itself as the countrys first total e-governed state. Building upon its reputation as the first fully-literate state inIndia, Kerala has achieved this milestone through a series of policy initiatives aimed at transforming the state into a digitally-empowered Society. With a focus on a knowledge-based economy and 100% digital Literacy, the government has digitized the delivery of vital Services across various domains, ensuring transparency, inclusivity, and accessibility for all citizens.

Decades after attaining full literacy, Kerala embarked on a journey to become a fullye-literate society.Recognizing the potential of digital technologies to enhance Governance and delivery, the State Government launched several initiatives to achieve total e-governance. The vision for transparent and speedy service delivery to all citizens has been a key driving force behind these efforts.

To enable every rural household in the country to have assured potable water through tap water connection by 2024, Government of India in PARTNERSHIP with States is implementing Jal Jeevan Mission (JJM) – Har Ghar Jal since Aug., 2019.Water being a State subject, the responsibility to plan, approve, implement & operate & maintain water supply schemes lies with the States.At the time of announcement of Jal Jeevan Mission in August 2019, 3.23 Crore (17%) rural households were reported to have tap water connections. So far, as reported by States/ UTs as on 09.03.2023, additional 8.15 Crore rural households have been provided with tap water connections in last three and half years under JJM. Thus, as on 09.03.2023, out of 19.42 Crore rural households in the country, more than 11.38 Crore (58%) households are reported to have tap water supply in their homes.

Margdarshika for Gram Panchayats & VWSCs to provide Safe drinking water in rural households and Guidelines on a special campaign to provide piped water supply in anganwadi centres, ashramshalas and schools have been shared with States/ UTs to facilitate planning and implementation of Jal Jeevan Mission. For online monitoring, JJMIntegrated Management Information System (IMIS) and JJMDashboard has been put in place. Provision has also been made for transparent online financial management through Public Financial Management System (PFMS). Sufficient funds are also being provided to states for timely completion of works.

Credit access to Women has doubled in the last five years. The loan penetration among women borrowers has shot up to 14% in 2022 from 7% in 2017. Credit access is the ratio of women borrowers to the total adult Population.
According to a report by TransUnion (TU) Cibil, women borrowers in India have increased at a compound annual Growth rate (CAGR) of 15% over the last five years compared to 11% for male borrowers. The share of women borrowers has increased to 28% in 2022 from 25% in 2017.

There are many reasons for the higher growth rate for women. Many lenders have been offering better rates for women borrowers. Second, women borrowers have a better credit profile compared to men. In 2022, the report said that 57% of women borrowers had prime credit scores (731-770) compared to 51% of male borrowers.

Insights also indicate that the number of women seeking business loans has more than tripled in the last five years (2017 to 2022), which reflects the growth of women-led startups in India. During this period, the share of women in the overall business loan portfolio has increased by 12 Percentage points (32% in 2022 versus 20% in 2017). An increase in the share of women borrowers is also observed in the Home loan segment, growing by 6 percentage points in the last five years.

Among the top 12 states by total credit active borrowers,West Bengal(22%),Rajasthan(21%) and Bihar (21%) have seen the highest growth in women borrowers between 2017 and 2022.

Japan, the United States, South Korea and Taiwan have held the first meeting of senior officials under a new U.S.-led framework to help ensure a stable supply of semiconductors, Japans ministry said. Officials from industry organizations in the four economies took part in the virtual conference of the Chip 4 alliance on Feb. 16 to discuss ways to maintain supply chain resilience in times of natural disasters and other contingencies.

In a bid to outcompete China technologically, the Biden administration launched a new dialogue forum with Japan and South Korea on friend-shoring semiconductors as it invites companies to compete for a share of the $50 billion already approved to revitalize the U.S. chip industry.

Indian Scientists have designed an electrocatalyst system for energy-efficient hydrogen production with the help of electrolysis of urea. The urea electrolysis is helpful towards urea-based waste treatment with low-cost hydrogen production. This can be utilized for energy production towards our country’s benefits.

The energy requirement for production of hydrogen through water electrolysis can be reduced by 70 % through urea electrolysis. The energy-intensive counterpart of water splitting, Oxygen evolution, can be replaced with urea oxidation in urea electrolysis. The low-cost, earth-abundant Ni-based catalysts are widely applied for this process. The main challenge associated with urea oxidation is retaining the prolonged activity of the Catalyst as the strong adsorption of the reactive intermediate (COx) on the active site, referred to as catalyst poisoning, causes activity loss.

Union Labour and EMPLOYMENT Minister Bhupender Yadav launched the Donate-a-Pension programme under Pradhan Mantri Shram Yogi Maan-Dhan (PM-SYM) for people to contribute to the pension fund of their support staff.

It is an initiative under (PM-SYM) pension scheme where citizens can donate the premium contribution of their immediate support staff such as domestic workers, drivers, helpers etc,

The Donate-a-Pension programme which was launched today is part of many initiatives by the Labour Ministry to be launched in the Iconic Week being celebrated by the Ministry from March 7 to 13.

The objective of National Festival is to hear the voice of youth between 18 and less than 25 years of age, who will join various careers in coming years, including public Services.National Youth Parliament Festival (NYPF) is based on the idea given by Prime Minister in his Mann Ki Baat Address on 31st December 2017.

Taking inspiration from the idea of Prime Minister, the first NYPF 2019 was organised from 12 January to 27 February 2019 at District, State & National level with the theme Be the Voice of New India and Find solutions and Contribute to Policy.

National Youth Festival is celebrated every year from 12th to 16th January. 12th January being the birth anniversary of Swami Vivekananda, is observed as National Youth Day. This year, NYPF is also being organized along with the National Youth Festival.