Prelim Bits 04-11-2019

Alzheimer’s Disease

China has approved the first home-grown drug “Oligomannate (GV-971)” for the treatment of "mild to moderate Alzheimer's disease (AD).
It is the first drug to be approved for Alzheimer's disease globally since 2003.
AD is an irreversible, progressive brain disorder that slowly destroys memory and thinking skills, and, eventually, the ability to carry out the simplest tasks.
It is the most common cause of dementia – loss of cognitive thinking among older adults.
It often starts with mild symptoms and ends with severe brain damage.
The plaques and tangles in the brain are still considered some of the main features of Alzheimer’s disease.
Another feature is the loss of connections between nerve cells (neurons) in the brain.

Dhanush Regiment

It is an indigenously developed gun and upgraded version of the Swedish Bofors gun procured by India.
It is a 155 mm ammunition system with a range of 36 km.
It is compatible with all North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) 155mm ammunition systems.
It is fitted with an inertial navigation system having GPS based gun recording, an automated gun sighting system equipped with camera, thermal imaging, and laser range finder.
The Indian Army, will have the first regiment in place by March 2020 and will get all 114 guns by 2022.
Last year, the Army inducted its first modern artillery guns system which include M-777 Ultra Light Howitzers (ULH) from the U.S. and K9 Vajra-T self-propelled artillery guns from South Korea.

Military Exercises

Dustlik-2019 – It is the first ever India-Uzbekistan joint military exercise.
It will be organised in Tashkent and focus on Counter terrorism.
SCOJtEx-2019 – India’s NDRF is hosting the Shanghai Cooperation Organization(SCO) Joint Exercise on Urban Earthquake Search and Rescue.
It is to rehearse the disaster response mechanism, share knowledge, experience and technology for mutual coordination.

Green Urban Mobility

India and Germany have launched the Indo-German Partnership for Green Urban Mobility to reform bus sector in Tamil Nadu.
Under this partnership, both the countries will earmark 200 million Euros for the purpose.
The funding will be for a period of 5 years.
It will be used to finance several environment-friendly projects such as the introduction of electric buses to replace the ones running on diesel for public transport in urban centres.

Lingdum Monastery

President has recently visited Lingdum Monastery in Ranka, Sikkim.
It is a Buddhist pilgrimage centre following the Zurmang Kagyu sect of the ancient school of Tibetan Buddhism.
The monastery symbolizes the Tibetan Buddhist architecture with a gigantic statue of Lord Buddha is enshrined at the end of the hall.

AFSPA in J&K

The Union Cabinet Secretariat has notified regarding Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA) in J&K and Ladakh.
According to it, the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) will be the authority on deciding the imposition of AFSPA in the Union Territories of Jammu and Kashmir (J&K) and Ladakh.
MHA departments will also be responsible for matters including counter-terrorism within J&K.
And coordination with the ministry of defence in regard to manning and managing the Line of Control between India and Pakistan but excluding those with which the ministry of external affairs is concerned.

Source: PIB, The Hindu