The Daily Brief – 11th July, 2017

6
2138

The Daily Briefs are a comprehensive update of current affairs for the day. If you’d like to receive updates for current affairs every day, you’ll need to subscribe by entering your email address at the right side of this page. The previous Briefs can be accessed at the archives here. You can thank Sayan Bhattacharya in the comments below for this brief! Also, check out our test series!

  • Under the Direct Benefit Transfer Scheme(DBT), the Union Government declared that it has saved a sum of about 57,000 crore in 2016-17. It is a scheme about checking graft in welfare scheme and transferring central subsidies directly to bank accounts of beneficiaries.

    Okinoshima Island
  • Karnataka Government has constituted a nine-member committee to study the possibility of designing a separate state flag and providing it a statutory standing. The committee was constituted following representation of social activists from the state urged the government to design a separate flag for Kannada ‘naadu’ and accord statutory standing for it. There is no constitutional prohibition to the same, and the state of Jammu and Kashmir has a state flag of its own due to special status under Article 370.
  • Ashiana Annexe’, comprising of 12 low cost dwelling units in Dehradun, Uttarakhand was recently inaugurated by the President, Pranab Mukherjee. It has been constructed to accommodate officers and staff of Rashtrapati Bhavan during Presidential visits to the Retreat at ‘Ashiana’. These 12 dwelling units at the ‘Ashiana Annexe’ were constructed using the Habitech-NivaraTantra – Onsite Sanitation Integrated Community Housing Technology Innovations developed at the Asian Institute of Technology (AIT) which is sustainable and environment friendly.
  • Tamil Nadu has reported its first case of Zika virus in a 27-year-old man from a village in Krishnagiri district. RT-PCR test conducted on patient’s blood, urine and throat samples were found to be positive for Zika. This is the second case in India, the first case being from Ahmedabad.
  • Scientists from New Zealand for the first time have claimed that vaccine can protect against the sexually transmitted infection gonorrhoea. They have found that Men B jab vaccine originally developed to stop an outbreak of meningitis B can protect from gonorrhoea.
  • The World Population Day is celebrated every year on the 11th of July to draw it attention to the population crisis. It talks about various population issues like family planning, gender inequality, poverty and maternal health. It was established by the United Nations Development Project in 1989.
  • Scientists from the Northwestern University in the United States have created miniature versions of Saturn, complete with rings, by electrifying tiny droplets of fluids. The future advance research may pave the way for generating microscopic and uniform particles and capsules which are used in products such as drugs, inks, cosmetics and paints. It will also explore new materials that can be used to produce “ring of particles” effect.
  • Okinoshima Island, Japan’s men-only island was declared as a UNESCO world heritage site. The island will be the 17th set of Japanese cultural assets to be granted this status and overall 21st in the list. It still follow strict taboos from ancient times, including the controversial ban on women from entering the island.

    Today’s Quiz

    1. Which state in India recently created a committee to look into creation of a state flag?





    2. What is the name of the low-cost dwelling units project in Uttarakhand recently inaugurate by the President of India?





    3. Which state in India, recently reported the second occurring case of Zika virus in the country?





    4. Scientists belonging to which country recently claimed to have discovered a vaccine to gonorrhoea?





    5. When is World Population Day celebrated on?





    6. Which university in the United States recently created miniature versions of Saturn under a new experiment?





    7. Okonishima Island, located in which country was recently described as an UNESCO World Heritage Site?









6 COMMENTS

Leave a Reply to Irene Cancel reply