Facts in News

                                   Facts in News

Vaccine Efficacy/Effectiveness (VE) Measurement

• VE measures the proportionate reduction in cases among vaccinated persons.
• Vaccine efficacy is used when a study is carried out under ideal conditions, for example, during a clinical trial.
• Vaccine effectiveness is used when a study is carried out under typical field (that is, less than perfectly controlled) conditions.
  • The basic formula is
    • Risk among unvaccinated group − risk among vaccinated group divided by Risk among unvaccinated group OR 1 − risk ratio
• The greater the percentage reduction of illness in the vaccinated group, the greater the vaccine efficacy/effectiveness.

Index of Industrial Production (IIP)

• As per Quick Estimates released by National Statistical Office (NSO) in the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MoSPI), IIP for January 2021 has contracted by 1.6%.
• It is an index which shows the growth rates in different industry groups of the economy in a stipulated period of time.
• Computed and published by the NSO (previously Central Statistical Organisation (CSO)) on a monthly basis.
• The Eight Core Industries comprise 40.27 per cent of the weight of items included in the IIP.
• IIP is a composite indicator that measures the growth rate of industry groups classified under,
  • Broad sectors:
    • Mining
    • Manufacturing (Constitutes 77.6% of IIP)
    • Electricity
  • Use-based sectors, namely Basic Goods, Capital Goods and Intermediate Goods.
• Base Year: 2011-2012.

Inflation

• Inflation: Inflation is the decline of purchasing power of a given currency over time.
  • A quantitative estimate of the rate at which the decline in purchasing power occurs can be reflected in the increase of an average price level of a basket of selected goods and services in an economy over some period of time.
  • The rise in the general level of prices, often expressed as a percentage, means that a unit of currency effectively buys less than it did in prior periods.

• Inflation can be contrasted with deflation, which occurs when the purchasing power of money increases and prices decline.
• CPI based Inflation is also known as Retail Inflation and tracks retail prices of goods and services which households purchase for their daily consumption.

AT-1 Bonds

• AT-1 stands for Additional Tier-1 bonds.
• They are a type of unsecured, perpetual bonds that banks issue to shore up their core capital base to meet the Basel-III norms.
• AT-1 bonds are annual coupon-bearing bonds that have no fixed maturity date.
• The interest rate on these bonds is higher than fixed deposit rates which make them an attractive investment option.
• The holders of these bonds can get their investments back by selling them in the secondary debt market unless the issuer redeems them.

What are Basel Norms?

• Basel is a city in Switzerland. It is the headquarters of the Bureau of International Settlement (BIS), which fosters cooperation among central banks with a common goal of financial stability and common standards of banking regulations.
• Basel guidelines refer to broad supervisory standards formulated by this group of central banks called the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision (BCBS).
• The set of the agreement by the BCBS mainly focuses on risks to banks and the financial system is called the Basel accord.
• The purpose of the accord is to ensure that financial institutions have enough capital on account to meet obligations and absorb unexpected losses.
• India has accepted Basel accords for the banking system.
• Basel III norms were a set of rules that banking regulators around the world came up with after the global financial crisis in 2008, to strengthen bank balance sheets.

PCA Framework

• Prompt Corrective Action or PCA is a framework under which banks with weak financial metrics are put under watch by the RBI.
• RBI initiated the Scheme of Prompt Corrective Action (PCA) in 2002 to discipline banks when they report poor and risky financial performance.
• The PCA framework deems banks as risky if they slip below certain norms on three parameters — capital ratios, asset quality and profitability.

Relevance

• As most bank activities are funded by deposits that need to be repaid, it is imperative that a bank carries a sufficient amount of capital to continue its activities.
• PCA is intended to help alert the regulator as well as investors and depositors if a bank is heading for trouble.
• It aims to check the problem of Non-Performing Assets (NPAs) in the Indian banking sector.

Sahitya Akademi Award

• The Sahitya Akademi award established in 1954, is a literary honour.
• It is conferred by Sahitya Akademi which is India’s National Academy of Letters.
• The Sahitya Akademi Award prizes the most outstanding books of literary merit published in any of the major Indian languages recognised by the Akademi.

Sahitya Akademi

• It is an autonomous organization under the Ministry of Culture, encourages the preservation and promotion of languages, especially the unrecognized and tribal languages.
• The Sahitya Akademi Library is one of the largest multi-lingual libraries in India, with a rich collection of books on literature and allied subjects.
• It publishes two bi-monthly literary journals: Indian Literature in English and Samkaleen Bharatiya Sahitya in Hindi.

Benzene Pollution

• Benzene is a colourless or light-yellow chemical that is liquid at room temperature.
• It has a sweet odour and is highly flammable.
• Benzene is formed from both natural processes and human activities.
• Benzene can quickly evaporate into the air and be carried over long distances. If it is released into soil it can break down quickly and may contaminate groundwater.
• Prime Sources:
  • Glue, cigarettes, cleaning products, paint strippers and some art supplies such as ink and paint.
  • Oil and gas extraction
  • Rubber, oil, chemicals, footwear and petrol
  • It can occur naturally in the environment. It is emitted into the atmosphere by
    • Erupting volcanoes,
    • From the smoke of forest fires
    • Some plants and animals.
  • Benzene is found in petrol and oil
    • It can be released into the atmosphere by buses, cars, motorbikes, trains and aeroplanes.
    • It can be emitted in exhaust fumes, and by evaporation of fuels from machinery, motors and petrol tanks.
  • Benzene is also used as a solvent for grease and oil.
• Dangers due to Benzene Pollution
  • Secondary Pollutants: Can create Smog
  • Effects on the bone marrow and can cause a decrease in red blood cells, leading to anemia
  • Decreased Immunity
  • Death on exposure to excess concentration