Daily CURRENT AFFAIRS

Daily Current Affair - UPSC/KAS Exams - 16th May 2022

NEWS : Rajiv Kumar has been appointed as the new Chief Election Commissioner

ELECTION COMMISSION OF INDIA

• Under article 324 
• For the superintendence, direction and control of the preparation of the electoral rolls for the conduct of elections to parliament, state legislatures and to the offices of president and vice president.
• Established on 25th January 1950 - national voters’ day

Composition

The constitution provides for the following provisions in relation to the composition of the election commission:

1. The election commission shall consist of the Chief Election Commissioner and a such number of other election commissioners, if any, as the president may from time to time fix.
2. The appointment of the chief election commissioner and other election commissioners shall be made by the president.
3. When any other election commissioner is so appointed the chief election commissioner shall act as the chairman of the election commission.
4. The president may also appoint after consultation with the election commission such regional commissioners as he may consider necessary to assist the election commission.
5. The conditions of service and tenure of office of the election commissioners and the regional commissioners shall be such as the President may by rule determine.
6. Though the Chief Election Commissioner is the chairman of the election commission, however, his powers are equal to the other election commissioners
7. All the matters in the commission are decided by the majority amongst its members
8. The Chief Election Commissioner and the two other election commissioners receive equal salary, allowances and other benefits.

Tenure: The Chief Election Commissioner and other election commissioners hold office for 6 years or till they attain the age of 65 years, whichever is earlier.

Removal

• They can resign anytime or can also be removed before the expiry of their term.
• The Chief Election Commissioner can be removed from his office in the same manner and on same grounds as a judge of the Supreme Court.

NOTE

The Constitution has not

• Prescribed the qualifications (legal, educational, administrative or judicial) of the members of the Election Commission.
• Debarred the retiring election commissioners from any further appointment by the government.

NEWS : A study in Madhya Pradesh has revealed 37 (about 8%) of 475 children who tested COVID-19 positive from April to July in 2021 developed COVID-acquired hepatitis

DETAILS

• There is a mysterious spike in unexplained hepatitis in children who have tested positive for the infection
• Research done by team of doctors from the Bundelkhand Medical College (BMC), Sagar, Madhya Pradesh, and the Post Graduate Institute of Medical Research
• Though sporadic reports from various parts of India have emerged in the past two years, this is the first systematic investigation to quantify the scale of the syndrome in the country
• Ten children had the more serious and rare, but better-documented Multisystem Inflammatory Syndrome in Children (MIS-C), which is marked by inflammation in multiple organs and can kill three in every 10 diagnosed children
• In CAH, the symptoms include nausea, loss of appetite, weakness, and mild fever.
• Inflammation is not marked, though a high level of liver enzymes, called transaminases, is observed
• All of the other typical causes of hepatitis, such as associated viruses, are absent. All of the 37 children recovered “uneventfully”, meaning that routine treatment for severe hepatitis with corticosteroids, rehydration, fever management and vitamins was sufficient
• Unexplained condition is different from Multisystem Inflammatory Syndrome

HEPATITIS

• Medical condition in which there occurs inflammation of liver cells and its complications vary with type of infection
• There are 5 types - A, B, C, D and E
• Each type is caused by a different hepatitis virus
• One of the common cause of liver damage
• Hepatitis B and C are the most deadly. These two types are mostly responsible for liver damage.
• Hepatitis viruses B, C and D spread by contact with contaminated blood or body fluids.
• Hepatitis A and E spreads through unsafe food and drink.
• Symptoms include yellowing of the skin and eyes, abdominal pain and swelling, yellow urine, pale or dark stools, chronic fatigue, nausea and loss of appetite.

 NEWS : Full moon day of the Hindu month Vaishakha is celebrated as Buddha Poornima, which marks the birth anniversary of Gautam Buddha, founder of Buddhism.

GAUTAM BUDDHA

• Born as Siddhartha Gautama in circa 563 BCE, in a royal family in Lumbini which is situated near the Indo-Nepal border.
• His family belonged to the Sakya clan which ruled from Kapilvastu, Lumbini.
• At the age of 29, Gautama left home and rejected his life of riches and embraced a lifestyle of asceticism or extreme self-discipline.
• After 49 consecutive days of meditation, Gautam attained Bodhi (enlightenment) under a pipal tree at Bodhgaya, Bihar.
• Buddha gave his first sermon in the village of Sarnath, near Varanasi in Uttar Pradesh. This event is known as Dharma Chakra Pravartana (turning of the wheel of law).
• He died at the age of 80 in 483 BCE at Kushinagara, Uttar Pradesh. The event is known as Mahaparinibban or Mahaparinirvana.
• He is believed to be the eighth of the ten incarnations of Lord Vishnu (Dashavatar).

 NEWS : India wins THOMAS CUP for the first time in history after defeating Indonesia

THE THOMAS CUP

• Also called the World Men's Team Championships
• Is an international badminton competition among teams representing member nations of the Badminton World Federation (BWF), the sport's global governing body
• First tournament held in 1948–1949
• Conducted every two years since the 1982( earlier every three years )
• Final phase of the tournament involves 12 teams competing at venues within the host nation and is played concurrently with the final phase of the world women's team championships, the Uber Cup (first held in 1956–1957)
• Since 1984, the two Cups have been held jointly at the various stages of play. Thomas Cup and, to a lesser extent, Uber Cup are some of the world's "biggest" and most prestigious regularly held badminton events in terms of player and fan interest.
• Of the 30 Thomas Cup tournaments held since 1948–1949, only six countries have won the title
• Indonesia is the most successful team, having won 14 times.