1) India becomes first country to administer COVID-19 DNA vaccine
•India has become the first country in the world to administer a DNA vaccine against COVID-19. The ZyCoV-D which is the World’s first plasmid DNA vaccine has been produced by Ahmedabad-based vaccine manufacturer Zydus Cadila and it was administered for the first time in Patna. It is a Painless and Needleless vaccine given at intervals of 28 days and 56 days. It is the second India-made vaccine to get emergency authorization in India after Bharat Biotech’s Covaxin.
•The Indian government approved emergency use authorisation for Zydus Cadila’s DNA vaccine earlier this year, citing initial results from Phase III clinical trials that showed approximately 66 per cent efficacy for symptomatic cases.
2) J&K topped in India Press Freedom Report 2021
•The India Press Freedom Report 2021 was recently released by the Rights and Risks Analysis Group. According to the report, 13 media houses and newspapers were targeted in the country, 108 journalists were attacked, and 6 journalists were killed. Jammu and Kashmir, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh and Tripura topped the list of States and Union Territories where journalists and media houses were targeted in 2021.
•24 journalists were attacked physically, obstructed, threatened, and harassed for doing their work. All these attacks were made by public officials. This includes police attacks as well. 17 of these attacks were police attacks. 44 FIRs were registered against journalists in 2021. Of this 21 were registered under Section 153 of IPC.
3) Santishree Dhulipudi Pandit named as first woman Vice Chancellor of JNU
•The Ministry of Education (MoE) has appointed Santishree Dhulipudi Pandit as the new Vice-Chancellor of Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU). She is the first women Vice-Chancellor of JNU. The 59-year-old Pandit has been appointed for a period of five years. Pandit replaces M Jagadesh Kumar, who has been appointed as Chairman of the University Grants Commission (UGC). Before this appointment, Pandit was serving as the Vice-Chancellor of Savitribai Phule University in Maharashtra.
4) Salesforce Global Index: India leads in digital skills readiness
•Salesforce, a leading player in Customer Relationship Management (CRM), published the Global Digital Skills Index 2022 which highlights the growing global digital skills crisis and the need for action. India has scored 63 out of 100, leads the digital skills readiness, and has the highest readiness index among the 19 countries. The average global readiness score was 33 out of 100.
5) R Rajamohan, who led the 1st Asteroid Discoveries In Independent India, passes away
•Professor R Rajamohan, who was an astronomer at the Indian Institute of Astrophysics (IIA), Bengaluru, for decades, passed away. He is best known for his Kalki Project, which aimed to discover asteroids using the 48-cm Schmidt telescope in Kavalur VBO and discovered a new asteroid, number 4130, from India. This was the first asteroid discovered in India in 104 years.
6) S R Narasimhan takes additional charge as CMD POSOCO 2022
•S. R. Narasimhan, Director (System Operation) has assumed the additional charge of the post of Chairman and Managing Director (CMD) of Power System Operation Corporation Limited (POSOCO) w.e.f. 1st February 2022 at New Delhi. He has a Bachelor Degree in Electrical Engineering and a Master in Business Administration (MBA) in Finance. He has over three decades’ experience in Power System Operation spread across CEA, POWERGRID and POSOCO after an initial stint with BHEL.
•SR Narasimhan has contributed to several Expert Committees at the Government and regulatory levels in different areas ranging from system operation, grid integration of Renewable Energy (RE) resources and optimization to institution building.
7) Queen Elizabeth II marks 70th anniversary of her rule 2022
•The United Kingdom has marked the 70th anniversary of Queen Elizabeth II’s rule, the queen looked to the future of the monarchy. She surpassed Louis XIV of France as the longest-reigning monarch of a sovereign state. She became the longest-lived British monarch on 21 December 2007. In 2017, she became the first British monarch to commemorate a Sapphire Jubilee. Elizabeth II is the Queen of the United Kingdom and 14 other Commonwealth realms. On 6 February 1952, Elizabeth became queen after the death of her father King George VI.
8) Dr Unnikrishnan Nair named as New Director of VSSC
•Scientist and launch vehicle specialist, Dr S Unnikrishnan Nair took charge as the director of Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre (VSSC). VSSC is a keyspace research centre of the Indian Space Research Organisation (Isro) and specialises in rocket and space vehicles for satellite programs. Nair, who started his career in VSSC Trivandrum in 1985, has made significant contributions in launch vehicle mechanisms, acoustic protection systems and payload fairing areas during his tenure.
9) RPF launches nationwide “AAHT operation” to curb human trafficking
•Indian Railway Protection Force has launched a nationwide operation to curb human trafficking. As part of “Operation AAHT”, special teams will be deployed on all long-distance trains/routes with a focus on rescuing victims, particularly women and children, from the clutches of traffickers. The Railways, which operate about 21,000 trains across the country daily, is the most reliable mode of transportation for the traffickers who often moved their victims on long-distance trains.
•The RPF that rescued more than 2,000 women and children between 2017-21 from the clutches of traffickers intensified the crackdown on human trafficking with the increasing number of cases. The National Crime Records Bureau registers about 2,200 cases of Human Trafficking cases on an average each year.
10) Africa Cup Of Nations: Senegal Beat Egypt 2022
•Senegal has defeated Egypt in the Africa Cup of Nations championship winning the continental championship for the first time on penalty kicks at Olembe Stadium in Yaoundé, Cameroon. Sadio Mane scored the winning spot-kick as Senegal claimed a first-ever Africa Cup of Nations title with a 4-2 penalty shootout victory over seven-time winners Egypt. The final had ended 0-0 after extra time.
•Senegal had lost two finals previously, including at the last African Cup in Egypt in 2019, when Mané was left inconsolable. This time he delivered the winning moment.
