Current Affairs for SSC CGL Exams - 10 January 2022

SSC CGL Current Affairs

Current Affairs for SSC CGL Exams - 10 January 2022

::NATIONAL::

Rajasthan govt prepares draft of right to health law, defines patients’ rights

At the time Covid cases are surging again due to Omicron variant, the Rajasthan government has prepared a draft of the country’s first Right to Health Law that defines rights of patients, their attendants and healthcare providers and provides for a mechanism to redress grievances of the stakeholders, according to senior Rajasthan government officials.
A senior Rajasthan government official familiar with the development said the bill will be introduced in the budget session of the state assembly, likely to start in March, after getting an approval of the state cabinet. A final draft will be prepared for cabinet consideration after consulting all stakeholders, the official quoted above said.
Rajasthan chief minister Ashok Gehlot in 2021 budget announced that the state will provide right to health to all. He had also announced universal healthcare scheme worth ₹3,500 crore, under which every family in the state would get medical insurance benefits up to ₹5 lakh.
According to officials, the right to health guarantees certain rights to people in government and private health institutions.
“The Rajasthan government is already providing facilities such as free medicines and tests, Chiranjeevi health insurance of up to ₹5 lakh, etc. This law will ensure not just effective implementation but also rights to patients and their attendants,” he said.
“The aim is to ensure equity and affordable health care and treatment of patients with dignity and respect along with transparency in running health systems,” another senior official of the health department said.
For this, the second official said the hospital will have to disclose to patients or their attendants about the disease, treatment adopted and about their right to take second opinion from other doctors.
A third official dealing with the right to health issue said the new law will provide for fixing prices of medicines and treatment even in private hospital, whose intake of patients is increasing every year. “The bill has provision to fix rates or packages, be it heart or liver transplant, even in private hospitals,” he said.

::INTERNATIONAL::

Ahead of talks with Russia, US rules out breakthrough, issues warning

As the United States and Russia prepare for crucial bilateral talks on Monday in Geneva, the first in a series of dialogues the two countries will have under different formats this week, Washington has reiterated its warning of “massive consequences” if Russia invades Ukraine, rejected Russian proposals about a change in the NATO’s engagement with allies and partners in eastern Europe, and lowered expectations by ruling out any breakthrough in talks.
But the US has also emphasised the importance of diplomacy, opened the door for dialogue on reviving the Intermediate Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty that bans the deployment of medium-range nuclear missile in Europe and Russia, pointed out that Russian actions were leading to precisely the outcomes that Moscow sought to prevent, and expressed willingness to address Russia’s legitimate concerns on a reciprocal basis.
US deputy secretary of state Wendy Sherman will meet her Russian counterpart, deputy foreign minister Sergei Ryabkov, for bilateral talks under an extraordinary session of the Strategic Stability Dialogue in Geneva.
On Wednesday, Brussels will host a NATO-Russia council meeting for the first time since 2019. And then, on Thursday, the 57-member Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) — of which both Russia and the US are members — will meet for a broader discussion on European security.
These meetings between the US and Russia come in the wake of phone conversations between US President Joe Biden and Russian President Vladimir Putin in December meant to address the crisis in Ukraine.

::ECONOMY::

Singapore to rewrite one of the world’s most successful economic models

The triple shock of the pandemic, disruptive tech and climate change is pushing Singapore to rewrite one of the world’s most successful economic models.
Over the past two years, at least eight state-linked companies have announced major mergers, acquisitions, asset disposals or privatizations in the island’s biggest industrial overhaul in two decades. Oil-rig builder Keppel Corp. has been pivoting toward clean energy, while Sembcorp Industries Ltd. shed its rig business altogether. Singapore Telecommunications Ltd. is entering the world of digital banking.
“I compare this to the restructuring phase of Singapore conglomerates in early 2000s” in the aftermath of the SARS virus and the dot-com crash, said Kenneth Tang, a portfolio manager at Nikko Asset Management Co. “Those were very dark times for Singapore but they became a catalyst for change.”
Singapore’s government has for decades curated the nation’s economic future through a group of state-owned champions, shifting direction as needed to stay relevant in the global economy. But the latest rewriting of the nation’s industrial playbook may prove harder as the giant firms take on competitors that are often newer and more nimble.
It has also set aside about S$25 billion ($18.4 billion) through 2025 for research in areas such as health and biomedical sciences, climate change and artificial intelligence. And a series of industry-led groups have been set up to explore opportunities in areas such as robotics, e-commerce and supply-chain digitalization, with government support.
For Keppel, Sembcorp Industries and Sembcorp Marine Ltd., the changing global economy means trying to shed or merge oil-related businesses and focus on renewable energy such as offshore wind and hydrogen.

::SCIENCE AND TECH::

Researchers find new method to evaluate donor kidney quality

Researchers have found a way to evaluate the quality of kidneys before transplantation that could help increase the number of usable donor kidneys.
The study has been published in the 'Optics Express Journal'.
"Today, the lack of methods for precisely measuring donor kidney injury and predicting transplant outcome leads to high discard rates and recipient complications in clinical practice," said research team leader Mingxing Sui from Changhai Hospital of Shanghai in China.
"We want to solve this problem by developing a new system that can noninvasively provide an objective measure of donor kidney quality," Sui added.
Sui and colleagues from the University of Shanghai for Science and Technology in China reported the first use of surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) for simultaneous, ultrasensitive detection of two important kidney injury biomarkers. They also described how they made SERS spectroscopy more practical for clinical use.
"This highly sensitive SERS-based multiplexing technique can rapidly capture subtle changes in the biomarker expression levels associated with donor kidney injury. This paves the way for objectively assessing the quality of donor kidneys in clinical practice," Sui said.
Recently, researchers have identified secretory leukocyte peptidase inhibitor (SLPI) and interleukin 18 (IL-18) as biomarkers present in a person's blood and urine that can be used to objectively evaluate kidney injury. Although various analysis methods have been explored to detect these biomarkers, they have all come up short due to limited sensitivity, lack of multiplexing, complicated sample preparation, or high cost.

::SPORTS::

BharathSubramaniyam becomes India's 73rd chess GM

Fourteen-year old BharathSubramaniyam on Sunday became India's 73rd chess Grandmaster, securing the third and final GM norm at an event in Italy.
The Chennai-based player scored 6.5 points from nine rounds along with four others to finish seventh overall in the event held at Cattolica.
He obtained his third GM norm here and also touched the requisite 2,500 (Elo) mark.
Fellow Indian player M R LalithBabu emerged winner in the tournament with seven points, winning the title on the basis of a better tie-break score after he tied with three others including top-seed Anton Korobov (Ukraine).
Bharath finished with six wins and one draw while losing two games - against Korobov and LalithBabu.