NPPA has cut down prices of various medicines related to diabetes, blood pressure, asthma etc.
About NPPA
- It was constituted by a government of India resolution in 1997, as an independent Regulator for pricing of drugs.
- Ministry: Attached office of Department of Pharmaceuticals, Ministry of Chemicals & Fertilizers.
- Functions:
- Implement and enforce the provisions of the Drugs (Prices Control) Order
- To monitor the availability of drugs, identify shortages, if any, and to take remedial steps.
- Advise the central government on changes/ revisions in the drug policy.
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1 sourceThe Finance Ministry has asked the State Bank of India to form a committee to tackle co-lending issues.
About Co-lending/ Co-origination
- It is an arrangement where multiple lenders partner to provide loans to borrowers.
- This helps increase lending capacity and reduces risk for individual lenders.
- As per RBI, banks and NBFCs can co-lend loans to priority sectors, with a minimum 20% credit risk on NBFCs, and the rest on banks.
- Banks are not allowed to enter into co-lending arrangement with an NBFC belonging to the promoter Group.
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NHAI Organises Workshop on Implementation of Insurance Surety Bonds in National Highway Contracts.
About ISB
- ISB are legally enforceable three-party contracts comprising:
- 1st party: Principal (the beneficiary).
- 2nd party: Contractor
- 3rd party: Surety Provider (The Insurance Company).
- ISBs provide the Principal with the financial guarantee that the Contract will be completed as per mutual agreed terms between the Principal and the Contractor.
- Government has made ISB at par with Bank Guarantees.
- Wider adoption of such instruments will help to strengthen infrastructure development in the country.
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1 sourceIndia is working to develop its first research testbed to study Nor’westers.
About Nor'westers
- These are extremely severe evening thunderstorms accompanied by squally winds.
- Triggered by daytime landmass heating in March and April, in eastern India (Bihar, jharkhand, West Bengal, etc.).
- It's also called ‘Kalbaisakhi’, a calamity of the month of Baisakh.
- In Assam, these storms are known as “Bardoli Chheerha”.
- These showers are useful for tea, jute, and rice cultivation.
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1 sourceA latest study on South African Leopards mitogenome has revealed details about their possible origin.
About Mitogenome
- It is a small circular chromosome found inside the mitochondria.
- Mitochondria are considered as the powerhouse of the cell and generate the energy necessary to power cells.
- Built of double-stranded DNA similar to nuclear genome and are entirely maternal in nature.
- Nuclear genomes are inherited equally from both parents.
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A study at Oxford University Physics provided the first observational proof of ‘plunging regions’ as per Einstein’s theory.
About Plunging region
- It is an area around Black Hole where matter stops circling the black hole and instead falls straight in.
- It was predicted by Albert Einstein’s theory of general relativity which states that it is impossible for particles to safely follow circular orbits sufficiently close to a black hole.
- Plunging regions exert some of the strongest gravitational forces in the galaxy.
India-Japan joint moon mission Lunar Polar Exploration Mission (LUPEX) is likely to take flight in few years.
About LUPEX
- Aimed at exploring the Moon for water and other resources and gaining expertise in exploring the surface of the Moon.
- It is an international cooperative project, with the Japanese Space Agency (JAXA) responsible for the lunar rover, the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) handling the lander.
- Observation instruments from NASA and the European Space Agency (ESA) will also be mounted on the rover.
RoseTTAFold, an AI software prediction tool, has the potential to revolutionize target discovery and understand drug-target interaction better.
About RoseTTAFold
- Developed at the Institute for Protein Design at the University of Washington.
- Uses generative diffusion-based architectures (an AI model) to predict structural complexes.
- It is a ‘three-track’ neural network which integrates three types of information namely:
- Sequential patterns in proteins,
- Interplay between amino acids, and
- Their probable 3D- configurations.
- The model has the ability to predict structures and interactions between any combination of protein, DNA, and RNA.
