ChAdOx1 Vaccine

Soon the trials of the ChAdOx1 NipahB vaccine, consisting of 51 people aged 18 to 55, will be led by the Oxford Vaccine Group.

• ChAdOx1 Vaccine is a replication-deficient adenoviral vector vaccine against coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) developed by the Jenner Institute at the University of Oxford.
• Replication-deficient means that a viral vector can no longer replicate due to the removal of critical portions of its genome.
• It is a modified chimpanzee adenovirus that has been modified to prevent replication.
• Adenoviruses are effective vectors for boosting and inducing cellular immunity to encoded recombinant antigen.
• ChAdOx1 NipahB Vaccine – Is the first human vaccine trials for deadly Nipah virus.
• This trial is a step forward in efforts to build a suite of tools to protect against this killer virus. Knowledge gained could also inform development of other Paramyxovirus countermeasure.
• The vaccine uses the ChAdOx1 platform, the same viral vector vaccine platform that was used for the Oxford/AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine.
• Nipah virus – Is a devastating disease that can be fatal in around 75% of cases.
• Outbreaks have occurred in countries in Asia, including Singapore, Malaysia, Bangladesh and India.
• It is carried by fruit bats and may also be transmitted by contact with infected animals (such as pigs) or from person-to-person via close contact.

Operation Shard Hawa

Recently the Border Security Force launched the Operation Shard Hawa to prevent unwanted border incidents, such as cross-border intrusions during low temperature.

• Operation Sard Hawa is part of the Border Security Force‘s winter exercise
• It is launched to prevent unwanted border incidents, such as cross-border intrusions during low temperatures and dense fog.
• The BSF has heightened its vigilance along the Indo-Pak border due to the consecration of the Ram Mandir and Republic Day celebrations.
• Amidst the cold wave conditions, the border regions are currently experiencing dense fog and haze.
• The operation involves constant patrolling by vehicles, camels and other means in areas where vehicles cannot easily reach.

Hudka, Mridang, Pung and Mardala

The different musical instruments from across the country will be played on the occasion of the Ram Mandir Pran Pratishtha ceremony.

• Kali – Is a wind instrument made of metal. It is widely used in Assam.
• Assamese wedding processions are led by an instrumentalist playing the Kali.
• Mridang – Is a percussion instrument made of leather and jackwood.
• This traditional instrument is found in various parts of South India including Tamil Nadu.
• Pung - Pung is a percussion instrument made of softwood, parchment, leather, and cotton.
• This traditional instrument is found in Manipur.
• Ravanhatha – Is a stringed instrument, made of coconut shell, bamboo, steel, horsehair, wood, and parchment.
• This folk instrument is found in different parts of the country like Rajasthan and Gujarat.
• Algoze – Is a pair of Punjabi woodwind instruments adopted by Sindhi, Rajasthani and Baloch folk musicians also call it as Jorhi.
• It is generally used as a folk instrument and Punjabi folk singers use it to play traditional music such as Jugni, Jind Mahi, and Mirza.

Lithium Triangle

India is all set to invest about INR 200 crore to explore and develop 5 lithium blocks in Argentina which is a part of the Lithium Triangle.

• Lithium Triangle includes countries such as Argentina, Chile and Bolivia.
• It accounts for more than half of the world’s total lithium resources.
• Argentina has the second largest lithium resources in world.
• India's Khanij Bidesh India Limited (KABIL) and Argentina's state-owned enterprise of Catamarca province have forged an agreement to explore lithium.

Gulf of Aden

Recently the Indian Navy’s destroyer (INS Visakhapatnam) responded to distress call from drone-hit merchant vessel in Gulf of Eden.

• Gulf of Aden is a deep-water basin that forms a natural sea link between the Red Sea and the Arabian Sea.
• The gulf connects the Red Sea to the Arabian Sea via the Strait of Bab-el-Mandeb.
• It is bordered by Yemen, Somalia, Djibouti and the Arabian Sea.
• The gulf’s marine life is rich in both the quantity and the variety of its species.
• The main open-sea fish are dolphin, tuna, billfish and sharks.
• Significance – Nearly 13% of India’s trade is dependent on the Gulf of Aden route.
• The Ministry of Shipping estimates that Indian imports through the Gulf of Aden route was valued at around USD 50 billion and exports at USD 60 billion.
• Despite a lack of large-scale commercial fishing facilities, the coastline supports many isolated fishing towns and villages.
• Threat – The Gulf of Aden, the Somali coast and the Omani coast are high risk region for piracy.