Today's GK (5-10-2013)

India launches vaccine to prevent Japanese encephalitis

India on Friday launched its first indigenous vaccine to protect children from Japanese encephalitis. Until now, the country has been importing the vaccine from China.

The Vero cell-derived purified inactivated JE vaccine–JENVAC, which received manufacturing and marketing approvals from the Drug Controller General of India, is the first vaccine to be manufactured in the public-private partnership mode between the Indian Council of Medical Research and Bharat Biotech.

The vaccine will provide increased immunogenicity and long-term protection as a result of unique manufacturing technologies.

Japanese encephalitis, a mosquito-borne viral infection, is the most common cause of viral encephalitis in eastern Uttar Pradesh (U.P.), affecting 171 districts and claiming hundreds of lives every year. Mortality is higher among children and thousands of them in this area have been rendered disabled by it.

The virus strain for this vaccine was isolated in Kolar, Karnataka, during the early 1980s and characterised by the National Institute of Virology at Pune. The strains were transferred to Bharat Biotech for further vaccine development.

The most significant benefit JENVAC brings over live attenuated vaccines (those that reduce the harmful effects of pathogens but keep them viable) is that it can be administered during an epidemic as it is a highly purified and inactivated vaccine.

In the clinical trials, JENVAC showed superior safety and immunogenicity, in comparison to live vaccine. It met all its primary and secondary endpoints in the age group of 1-50 years, after 1 or 2 doses in vaccination. Phase III trials showed 98.7 per cent sero-protection 28 days after the first dose, and 99.8 per cent sero-protection 28 days after the second dose.

Indian Bank offers combo loan product

Indian Bank has announced the launch of a special combo loan product combining home and vehicle/consumer durable loans. Those availing of home loans will be offered vehicle and consumer durable loans at 10.20 per cent. The bank has also decided to waive processing charges for all retail loans. According to T. M. Bhasin, CMD, this is a limited period offer for the festive season.

Malnutrition is rampant in Modi’s ‘shining’ Gujarat

Chief Minister Narendra Modi has been trumpeting the Gujarat model of development, but the latest Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) report as well as his own Government speak of malnourished and underweight children in the State.

Gujarat Women and Child Development Minister Vasuben Trivedi, in a written reply to the State Assembly, said there were at least 6.13 lakh children in 14 districts who were malnourished or extremely malnourished as of August this year. Figures for the other 12 districts were not available.

What is more, Ahmedabad district, the commercial hub, has over 85,000 malnourished or extremely malnourished children, the highest in the State.

“There are 54,975 malnourished children and 3,860 extremely malnourished children in Ahmedabad city alone,” the Minister told the Assembly

Ms Trivedi said malnutrition was not confined to any specific region, it was prevalent throughout the length and breadth of Gujarat.

2% train fare hike from October 7

Facing a cash crunch, the Railways have decided to increase passenger fare by 2 per cent for the second time this year to offset the additional financial burden of over Rs.1,200 crore arising out of the increased fuel and power costs. The passenger fare hike will come into force from October 7. Freight rates will also be increased by 2 per cent from October 10 under the fuel adjustment component

India's October 28 Mars mission on schedule: Isro

Isro on Saturday said the country's October 28 Mars Orbiter Mission (MOM) was on schedule, dismissing suggestions that Nasa may not be in a position to offer it deep space network support following government shutdown in the US.

"There is no delay. We are going ahead with our MOM as scheduled," Indian Space Research Organisation (Isro) spokesperson Deviprasad Karnik told PTI in Bangalore.

The Bangalore-headquartered space agency is drawing comfort from the fact that Nasa has announced that it would go ahead with its own MAVEN (Mars Atmosphere and Volatile Evolution) mission, slated for launch as early as November 18.

ICSI Launched the ICSI Primer on Companies Act 2013 on its Foundation Day

The Institute of Company Secretaries of India (ICSI), functioning under the aegis of the Ministry of Corporate Affairs, on 4 October 2013 launched the ICSI Primer on Companies Act 2013 on its Foundation Day. The ICSI Primer on Companies Act 2013 was launched by the President, Council of the ICSI- SN Ananthasubramanian.

The Ninth Formation Day of National Disaster Management Authority Observed at New Delhi

4 October- Formation Day of National Disaster Management Authority

The ninth Formation Day of National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) took place in New Delhi at Vigyan Bhawan, New Delhi on 4 October 2013. At the occasion, Army Chief General Bikram Singh and Navy Chief Admiral DK Joshi were also present. The primary focus at the ninth Formation Day of National Disaster Management Authority was at the recent massive tragedy of Uttarakhand.

Kalpana Devi won Bronze Medal at the Judo Tournament in Tashkent

Kalapana Devi on 5 October 2013 won bronze medal at the Judo tournament in Tashkent, Uzbekistan. It was India’s first IJF Grand Prix medal. Competing in 52kg weight category, Kalpana defeated Zarifa Sultonova of Uzbekistan but lost to Gili Cohen of Israel. However, Kalpana jumped back to medal contention through repechage round, where she got the better of Brazilian Raquel Silva.