Addapedia Odisha | Daily Current Affairs |25 November 2023 | Download PDF

• Nicaragua’s Sheynnis Palacios was crowned Miss Universe 2023 at the 72nd edition of the pageant, held this year in El Salvador. 
• Palacios received the crown and sash from her predecessor, R’Bonney Gabriel from the United States. 
• Miss India Shweta Sharda had made it to the list of top 20 contestants.

• At present, more than 3 lakh people are waiting for an organ transplant in India alone; the global number is far higher, with no respite in sight. 
• There is an alarming disparity in the number of organ donors and the number of recipients 
• The successful application of animal insulin and the more recent use of animal heart valves in human surgeries have saved human lives.
• Researchers have also made attempts to grow full human organs inside the bodies of animals using advancements in induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) technology.
• At the same time, controversy continues to beset this field, most of it centred on the use of human iPSCs in animal embryos and the creation of chimeric animals, the results of which we are yet to fully comprehend.

Key points

• A genetic chimaera is a single organism composed of cells of more than one genetic makeup. 
• Human-pig chimaeras have been induced in laboratory settings in a bid to develop model systems that could ‘produce’ human organs of a suitable size, anatomy, and physiology
• In a study published in Cell, scientists reported successful generation of a live chimaera in non-human primates – species evolutionarily close to humans. 
• This is the first time scientists have succeeded in producing a live infant chimeric monkey.

• Induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) are adult cells that have been genetically reprogrammed to an embryonic stem cell–like state by being forced to express genes and factors important for maintaining the defining properties of embryonic stem cells.
• Although additional research is needed, iPSCs are already useful tools for drug development and modeling of diseases, and scientists hope to use them in transplantation medicine.

• The Government of Tamil Nadu issued an order recently to set up a Fact Check Unit with the intent of checking across all media platforms the authenticity of information related to the Government of Tamil Nadu. 
• This government order (GO) is violative of several fundamental rights guaranteed by the Constitution of India, and is unconstitutionally vague and arbitrary.

Key points

• The operative part of the GO issued by the Government of Tamil Nadu says that the fact check unit will check the veracity of information related to the announcements, policies, schemes, guidelines and initiatives of the Government of Tamil Nadu. 
• Annexure III to the GO has more details on the unit’s functioning.
• The fact check unit has been given powers to take suo motu cognisance of social media posts/articles that require fact checking
• There is no doubt that it creates a chilling effect on the freedom of speech and expression, a fundamental right guaranteed under Article 19(1)(a) of the Constitution.

• Sixty years ago, the launch of a 715-kg Nike Apache rocket set India on a journey that saw two more milestones before the country became part of an elite international group
• The first was the launch of India’s first truly indigenous rocket, on February 22, 1969 — a “pencil-sized” vehicle, in the words of Vasant Gowariker, later Director of the Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre (VSSC), that weighed around 10 kg. 
• The second came on July 18, 1980, when its home-grown Satellite Launch Vehicle-3 (SLV-3) rocket, weighing 17 tonnes, placed the 35-kg Rohini satellite in orbit — and India in a small group of countries that could launch their satellites into orbit using their own launch vehicles. The only others were the Soviet Union, the U.S., the U.K., and France.

West Bengal fishermen arrested for fishing in the sea at Gahirmatha Marine Sanctuary

About

• Gahirmatha Marine Sanctuary is a marine wildlife sanctuary located in Odisha.
• It extends from Dhamra River mouth in the north to Mahanadi river mouth in the south.
• It is very famous for its nesting beach for olive ridley sea turtles.
• It is the one of world’s most important nesting beach for turtles.
• The olive ridley turtles turn up in millions for mass nesting along the Odisha coast every year. This phenomenon is referred to as ‘arribada’.
• Apart from Gahirmatha, these aquatic animals turn up at Rushikulya river mouth and Devi river mouth for mass nesting.
• Rushikulya river mouth is considered the second-biggest nesting site for Olive Ridley Turtles in India.

More than 6000 villages in Odisha are yet to get mobile and internet services

Key points

• There is no mobile connectivity and internet services in 6799 villages in Odisha. 
• The state government has allotted land for free to set up mobile towers for services to be provided by three major telecom operators under USOF (Universal Service Obligation Fund) of the Union Government at 3673 uncovered areas in the state.
• The state government has implemented Odisha Mobile Towers and Telegraph Line, OFC and related Telecom Infrastructure Policy, 2017, to establish and ensure telecommunication infrastructure/network in remote rural areas

• A year after the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act was amended to make adoption of orphaned and abandoned children simpler, Odisha has witnessed a significant rise in such children finding parental care, both within and outside the state.
• As per CARA adoption data from April 2021 to March 2022, Odisha with 150 in-country adoption figures among the top 10 states that have witnessed a majority of adoptions. 
• While Maharashtra has the maximum 499 adoptions during this period, it is followed by Tamil Nadu (294), Karnataka (250), West Bengal (229), Telangana (178), Uttar Pradesh (174) and Odisha.

• The state government will soon bring in Odisha Inland Vessel Rules, 2023 to regulate operation of boats in rivers, lakes, and reservoirs in the state to ensure safety of passengers/tourists
• The Odisha Inland Vessel Rules, 2023 has been formulated with the assistance of the National Inland Navigation Institute (NINL), Patna.

The NH-316 between Bhubaneswar and Puri will be converted into Odisha’s first model highway stretch.

Key points

• A model stretch has all the required safety and aesthetic features, including road signs, road markings, road furniture and safety items, proper junctions and entry/exit points.
• The proposed model stretch will also have CCTV cameras to detect traffic violations, illumination, drainage, pedestrian walkways, plantation and landscaping, redeveloped toll plaza at Pipili, user facilities and wayside amenities and no black spots to avoid accidents.

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