PIB Summary- 21th May, 2021 | PIB (Press Information Bureau) Summary - UPSC PDF Download

COVID-19 Antibody Detection Kit

Context: DRDO develops COVID-19 antibody detection kit.

Details:

• The antibody detection kit is named ‘DIPCOVAN’, the DIPAS-VDx COVID-19 IgG Antibody Microwell ELISA for sero-surveillance.
• It has been developed by the Defence Institute of Physiology and Allied Sciences (DIPAS), a laboratory of DRDO. The kit has been developed in association with a private sector development and manufacturing diagnostics company based at New Delhi.
• The DIPCOVAN kit can detect both spike as well as nucleocapsid (S&N) proteins of SARS-CoV-2 virus.
• It has a sensitivity of 97 per cent and specificity of 99 per cent.
• DIPCOVAN is approved by the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR). It has also received the regulatory approvals from the Drugs Controller General of India (DCGI), Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation (CDSCO), and the Health Ministry for sale and distribution.
• Benefits of DIPCOVAN:
  • It is intended for the qualitative detection of IgG antibodies in human serum or plasma, targeting SARS-CoV-2 related antigens.
  • It requires only 75 minutes to conduct the test.
  • The DIPCOVAN kit has a shelf-life of 18 months.

Shri Sunderlal Bahuguna

Context: Noted environmentalist Sunderlal Bahuguna passed away due to COVID-19. He was 94.

About Sunderlal Bahuguna:

• Bahuguna was a pioneer of the Chipko Movement, which was a socio-ecological movement that aimed at resisting mass deforestation using Gandhian methods of non-violent resistance and Satyagraha.
• Early in his life, he was involved in the freedom movement and later in the Sarvodaya Movement of Vinoba Bhave.
• He was most known for the Chipko Movement, chiefly in the Gharwal Himalayas of Uttarakhand, which involved hugging trees to protect them from being chopped off for commercial purposes.
• Starting in the 1970s, the movement spread to other parts of the country and saw participation from community leaders and also women in large numbers.
• He gave the world the message that ecology and economy should go together.
• As a result of his appeal to the then PM Indira Gandhi, she ordered a 15-year ban on the chopping of green trees in 1980.
• In 1981, he refused to accept the Padma Shri award due to the government refusing to cancel the Tehri dam project.
• In 2009, he was awarded the Padma Vibhushan.

Prelims Facts

Bao-dhaan

• Bao-dhaan is the name of the ‘red rice’ variety that is grown in the Brahmaputra valley of Assam, without the use of any chemical fertilizers.
• It is iron-rich and is an integral part of Assamese cuisine.
• Bao-dhaan is generally grown in areas having higher land submergence that are unsuitable for other varieties of paddy.
• An interesting characteristic of bao-dhaan is that unlike other rice varieties, its seeds do not fall off easily.
• The red colour is conferred by anthocyanin pigments. They are rich in micronutrients like iron and zinc, Vitamin A and antioxidants.