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  • Current Affairs 16th August 2017

    Updated : 16-Aug-2017

    Current Affairs 16th August 2017 - Important Points

    • USFDA nod to market renal disease drug received by - Natco Pharma
    •  2000 years old three ancient tombs in Egypt discovered by - Archaeologists
    • Milkha Singh appointed as WHO Goodwill Ambassador for Physical Activity on - 11th August 2017
    • Next steering committee meeting of TAPI gas pipeline to be hosted by - India
    •  G-7 Interior Minister's  summit on security to be hosted by - Italy
    • Alexander Zverev beats Roger Federer to win 2017 Rogers Cup on - 13th August 2017
    • Highly sensitive blood test to detect cancer developed by - Scientists
    •  MoU signed between GeM and CII - To establish GeMSamvad

    Current Affairs 16th August 2017 - Details

    USFDA nod to market renal disease drug received by - Natco Pharma

    Natco Pharma announced that it has received approval from the US Food and Drug Administration (USFDA) to market Lanthanum Carbonate chewable tablets in various strengths on 14th August 2017. The tablets are for the treatment of patients with ESRD (End Stage Renal Disease).
    Natco’s Lanthanum Carbonate tablets are indicated to decrease serum phosphate in patients with end stage renal disease.
    More about Lanthanum Carbonate

    • This lanthanum metal along with monazite ore is the salt formed by lanthanum (III) cations and carbonate anions. It is used as a phosphate binder in medicine.
    • It is prescribed for the treatment of hyperphosphatemia, especially in patients with chronic kidney disease.
    • Natco Pharma Limited recognized for its innovation in Pharmaceutical R&D was incorporated in the year 1981 in Hyderabad.
    • Currently, the company has seven manufacturing facilities spread in India with dedicated modern research laboratories and capabilities in New Drug Development, etc.

     2000 years old three ancient tombs in Egypt discovered by - Archaeologists

    Egypt archaeologists have discovered three ancient tombs containing coffins or sarcophagi in the south of the country in a cemetery dating back about 2000 years recently.

    Egyptian Antiquities Ministry provided this information regarding the discovery on 15th August 2017. The discovery was made during the excavation of tombs in the Al-Kamin al-Sahrawi area in Cairo's Minya province by archaeologists. The sarcophagi was found in burial grounds that are thought to be constructed between the 27th Dynasty and the Greco-Roman period.

    Important Highlights

    • The team found a collection of sarcophagi of different shapes,sizes as well and as clay fragments.
    • One of the tombs contained four sarcophagi, each one of them was sculpted to depict a human face.
    • This tomb was reached through a shaft carved in rock.
    • There was another tomb containing the remains of two sarcophagi and six burial holes including the one for the burial of a small child.
    • The discovered clay fragments were dated between the 27th Dynasty (525 BC) and the Greco-Roman era (from 332 BC to the fourth century).
    • Excavators also discovered the men, women and children bones of different ages in one of the three tombs.
    • The discovery has suggested that the area was a great cemetery for a long time.

    Milkha Singh appointed as WHO Goodwill Ambassador for Physical Activity on - 11th August 2017

    Indian track and field sprinter Milkha Singh was appointed as WHO Goodwill Ambassador for Physical Activity in South-East Asia Region on 11th August 2017. As a WHO Goodwill Ambassador, Milkha Singh will be promoting Non-Communicable Diseases (NCDs) Prevention and Control Action Plan in
    South-East Asia Region which are seeking to reduce the level of insufficient physical activity by 10 percent and NCDs by 25 percent by 2025.

    Next steering committee meeting of TAPI gas pipeline to be hosted by - India

    India will be hosting the next steering committee meeting of the proposed Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan-India (TAPI) gas pipeline. This decision was taken during the sixth joint IGC (Inter-Governmental Committee) meeting on trade, economic, scientific and technological cooperation.

    More about Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan-India gas pipeline

    • This pipe line is also named as Trans-Afghanistan Pipeline, It is a natural gas pipeline being developed by the Asian Development Bank (ADB).
    • The pipeline will be transporting Caspian Sea natural gas from Turkmenistan through Afghanistan into Pakistan and then to India.
    • Pakistan, India and Afghanistan signed a framework agreement to buy natural gas from Turkmenistan on 24th April 2008.
    • The intergovernmental agreement on the pipeline was signed on 11th December 2010 in Ashgabat, Turkmenistan.
    • However, India and Afghanistan did not agree on transit fee for gas passing through Afghan territory in April 2012.
    • On 16th May 2012, the Afghan Parliament approved the agreement on a gas pipeline and the day after, the Indian Cabinet allowed state-run gas-firm GAIL to sign the Gas Sale and Purchase Agreement (GSPA) with Turkmengaz which is a national oil companyof Turkmenistan.
    • Construction on the project started in Turkmenistan on 13th December 2015.
    • It is expected that pipeline is expected to be operational by the year 2019.
    • The pipeline will have the diameter of 1420 millimeters with a working pressure of 100 standard atmospheres.
    • The capacity of the pipe will be 33 billion cubic meters of natural gas per year of which 5 billion cubic metres will be provided to Afghanistan and 14 billion cubic metres to each Pakistan and India.
    • The pipeline will be starting from the Galkynysh gas field. In Afghanistan, TAPI pipeline will be travelling alongside the Kandahar–Herat Highway in western Afghanistan, and then via Quetta and Multan in Pakistan.
    • The final destination of the pipeline in India will be a town near Indo - Pak border,Fazilka.

     G-7 Interior Minister's summit on security to be hosted by - Italy

    Italy would be hosting the summit of the Group of Seven Interior Ministers on security issues in October 2017. According to Marco Minniti, Italy’s Interior Minister the meeting is being organised on
    the request of Italy's G-7 partners- the United Kingdom, Canada, France, Japan, Germany and the United States. The Minister also stated at a press conference that while the terror alert level remains high in Italy but there is no trace of forthcoming threat or attack.

     Minniti further added that since the beginning of the year 2015, Italy has already deported more than 199 foreigners, who were suspected to pose security threats to the country.
    The people, according to the minister, initially showed signs of radicalisation but were expelled before they could reach the stage of executing an attack.
    At present Italy is holding the rotating helm of the G-7 industrialised nations.

    More about the Group of Seven

    • This group has seven major advanced economies of the developed nations which are Germany, Italy, Japan, Canada, France, United Kingdom and the United States including The European Union.
    • More than 64% of the net global wealth ($263 trillion) is represented by G7 countries.
    • The main pre requisite to become a member of the group include having a very high net national wealth and Human Development Index.
    • The G7 countries represent 46% of the global GDP evaluated on the basis of market exchange rates.
    • In May 2017, The 43rd G7 summit was held in Taormina, Italy.

    Alexander Zverev beats Roger Federer to win 2017 Rogers Cup on - 13th August 2017

    Germany's Alexander Zverev defeated Roger Federer 6-3 6-4 to claim his second Masters 1000 title in Montreal, Canada on 13th August 2017. After this he became the third man to beat Federer in the year 2017 and the first player outside the Big Four to win multiple Masters 1000 titles in a season since David Nalbandian in 2007.
    More about Alexander Zverev

    • Born on 20th April 1997, Alexander Zverev Jr. is a German professional tennis player.
    • He is the youngest player in the ATP top 10 at present.
    • He entered the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) top-10 for the first time after defeating Novak Djokovic in the final of the 2017 Italian Open, thus won his first Masters 1000 title in May 2017.
    • After defeating Federer at the 2017 Canada Masters, he won a second consecutive Masters 1000 title.
    • It is an annual tennis tournament held in Canada also known as Canadian Open and the Canada Masters.
    • The men's competition is a Masters 1000 event on the ATP tour while women's competition is a Premier 5 tournament on the Women's Tennis Association (WTA) tour.
    • Elina Svitolina won Women’s Singles title in 2017.

    Highly sensitive blood test to detect cancer developed by - Scientists

    Scientists have developed a cost-effective and highly sensitive blood test to detect cancer at Stanford University in California. The test can detect genetic mutations in minute amounts of DNA released from cancer cells into the blood also called single colour digital PCR.
    Researchers have confirmed in the latest report that this highly sensitive test needs only a fraction of a tube of blood and can detect as few as three mutation-bearing molecules in a single reaction.
    According to Hanlee P Ji who is an associate professor at Stanford, only a handful of blood tests are available for monitoring patient tumours, limited to only several types of cancers. "Nearly all cancer patients need monitoring by whole body imaging, which is a costly, complex, and time- consuming process,” he said.

    Important Highlights

    • The new test has the potential to be personalised to recognise mutations which are unique to any individual cancer.
    • It has great potential to quickly tracking cancer growth and spread because of its positive results during every test.
    • In comparison to next-generation DNA sequence, the test would be relatively at low cost.
    • It will potentially be providing an opportunity for universal monitoring of more number of patients than those covered currently.

     MoU signed between GeM and CII - To establish GeMSamvad

    The Government eMarketplace (GeM) SPV and the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to establish GeMSamvad, a GeM -Industry forum on 14th August 2017.

    GeMSamvad will have participative and collaborative approach with the industry to promote Indian industry and entrepreneurship. CEO of GeM, S Radha Chauhan and Chandrajit Banerjee, DG of CII signed the MoU.
    Important Highlights of the MoU

    • GeM and CII will be working together to create GeM related awareness and onboard industry members from across the country.
    • It also includes creation of GeM-Industry Forum to collaborate with the Indian Industry to seek inputs on the technical specifications of products.
    • It calls to improve the products quality procured from the MSMEs and organize annual Public Procurement Convention of all stakeholders.
    • It also calls to set up of GeM Resource Centers at CII Regional Offices.