UPSC EXAM QUIZ 15.02.2025

Explanation:

• Panamanian government announced its withdrawal from China's international infrastructure project Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), which could affect the economic cooperation between the two countries.
• The Panamanian President announced his withdrawal from the BRI after meeting with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio.
• This was Rubio's first official visit as foreign minister.Panama's membership in the BRI and Chinese influence and operation of the ports led the US to question the neutrality of the Panama Canal and the nature of Panama's relationship with China.
• Currently, more than 20 Latin American countries are among the more than 150 countries participating in the BRI.Earlier in 2017, Panama became the first Latin American country to officially join China's Belt and Road Initiative.
• Since 1997, the Panama Ports Company (PPC) has been operating the Balboa and Cristobal ports located at the northern and southern ends of the Panama Canal. PPC is a member of Hong Kong-based Hutchison Port Holdings (HPH).

Explanation:

• Supreme Court directed Dr Anil Khurana, Chairman of the National Commission for Homoeopathy, to resign from his post. Said that the appointment is not in accordance with the law.
• This appointment was challenged on the ground that the Chairman of the NCH did not have the requisite experience under Section 4(2) and 19 of the National Commission for Homoeopathy Act, 2020.
• Section 4(2) and Section 19 of the National Commission for Homoeopathy Act, 2020 mandate a minimum of 20 years of experience, in which the Chairman was required to be a leader as the head of a department or an organization for 10 years.
• Here the word “leader” means the head of a department or the head of an organization.

National Commission for Homoeopathy (NCH)

• The NCH was constituted in 2021 by an Act of Parliament known as the National Commission for Homoeopathy Act, 2020.
• The NCH under the Ministry of AYUSH repealed the erstwhile Homeopathy Central Council Act, 1973 by notification in 2021.
• The NCH encourages homeopathy medical professionals to adopt the latest medical research and contribute to research in homeopathy.

Explanation:

• According to Transparency International report on February 11, 2025, India is ranked 96th among 180 countries/territories in the 2024 Corruption Perceptions Index. Last year, in 2023, India was ranked 93rd.
• The Corruption Perceptions Index ranks 180 countries/territories based on the perceived public sector corruption level. Denmark topped the index for the seventh time in a row and was considered the least corrupt country.

Corruption Perception Index

• The Corruption Perception Index is released by Berlin, Germany-based non-governmental organisation, Transparency International.
• The first report was released in 1995 and since then every year the report has been released by Transparency International.
• It does not show the actual level of corruption in a country, rather it represents the perception of corruption within the public sector of a country.
• It takes into account the view of experts and business people reading their perception of corruption in the public sector (government) of a country.

Explanation:

• Tata Memorial Centre (TMC), Mumbai, and the National Institute of Biomedical Genomics (NIBMG), Kalyani discovered genomic factors responsible for resistance to hormone (endocrine) therapy in oestrogen receptor-positive (ER+) breast cancer.
• These findings will provide crucial insights into why some patients do not respond or stop responding to hormone therapy.
• It will help in developing new targeted treatment strategies.
• These findings offer significant clinical implications, including the potential repurposing of DNA-damaging drugs for patients who develop hormone therapy resistance.
• Breast cancer is the most frequently diagnosed cancer among women in India. 28.2% of all female cancer cases are breast cancer.
• Around 50-60% are oestrogen receptor-positive, meaning the cancer cells releases a protein called oestrogen receptor (ER), which makes them susceptible to hormone therapy.

Explanation:

• An indigenous semiconductor chip developed by ISRO and IIT Madras.
• This is an important step towards self-reliance in semiconductor technology.
• The developers created the ‘IRIS’ (Indigenous RISCV Controller for Space Applications) chip from the ‘SHAKTI’ processor baseline, enabling its use in IoT and compute systems.
• As part of ISRO's effort, semiconductors are being indigenized for their applications, command and control systems, and critical functions, aligning with the 'Atmanirbhar Bharat' initiative in space technologies.
• ISRO Inertial Systems Unit (IISU) in Thiruvananthapuram collaborated with IIT Madras to define the specifications and design the semiconductor chip.
• The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology backs the project under the ‘Digital India RISC-V’ (DIRV) initiative.
• This initiative promotes the indigenous development of microprocessor-based products with best-in-class security and visibility for users adopting RISC-V technology.