11-05-23 Daily-Tamilnadu-TNPSC Current Affairs

The state launched a programme to offer free short-course therapy for the prevention oftuberculosisamong close contacts of patients with the bacterial infection.

The two drugs, which must be taken once a week for three months, reduce the risk of disease and help officials reduce the monitoring period from 180 days with conventional therapy although it costs ten times more than the conventional therapy.

The programme was launched by Health minister Ma Subramanian while releasing the state’s strategic plan 2.0 for the elimination of tuberculosis by 2025. The infectious disease that most often affects the lungs is caused by a type of bacteria. It spreads through the air when infected people cough, sneeze or spit.

So far, the state offered a drug that a patient relative must have every day for six months. Volunteers and healthcare workers found it tough to monitor them, and the high dropouts made preventive therapy ineffective.

The Union Minister for Communications,Ashwini Vaishnaw, launched theSanchar Saathi Portalduring a function held inNew Delhi. This citizen-centric portal aims to empower mobile phone users by providing essential Services, such as tracking and blocking lost mobile phones.

The Union Minister further emphasized how several reforms have positively impacted the telecommunications sector. The is now more robust and Investment-oriented due to these transformations.

The main objective of this workshop is to promote the adoption of the NeVA platform by all State and Union Territory Legislatures. By utilizing technology, the aim is to bring transparency, accountability, and responsiveness to their legislative proceedings.

NeVA is part of the Digital India Programme initiated by the Government of India and is classified as one of the 44Mission Mode Projects (MMPs). Its purpose is to eliminate the need for paper-based operations in all State Legislatures, transforming them into digital entities. Currently, 21 State legislatures have signed a Memorandum of Understanding to implementNeVA.

Funding has been allocated for 17 Legislatures, and they have received the necessary funds to implement the project.

Microsofthas launchedJugalbandi,a generative AI-driven multilingual chatbot accessible via popular messaging platform, WhatsApp. The bot has been especially made to cover areas of rural India which arent easily penetrated through media and lack access to governments welfare activities. The chatbot has been developed by AI4Bharat in collaboration with IIT Madras. It is aimed at providing personalised assistance by understanding user queries in multiple languages, whether spoken or typed. The chatbot was launched in April and has been tested inBiwan,a village near Indias capital city of New Delhi.

According to Microsoft, Jugalbandi combines AI models from AI4Bharat and Microsoft Azure OpenAI Service, allowing seamless conversation between users and the chatbot.

These generative AI tools can synthesise vast amounts of data to generate text and other forms of content.

The online rural educationinitiative Pahalwas officially launched by Chief Secretary DurgaShankar Mishraat Government UP Sainik Inter College in Sarojini Nagar. This program, developed through a PARTNERSHIP between theDepartment of Secondary Education and IIT Kanpur,aims to provide education to rural communities through online platforms.

Mohammed Shahabuddin Chuppuhas become the22nd president of Bangladesh,taking over from Abdul Hamid, in a ceremony attended by Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, politicians, judges, and senior officials. The event was held at the historic Durbar Hall of Bangabhaban, where Speaker Shirin Sharmin Chaudhury administered the oath to Shahabuddin. He was elected unopposed in February this year as the candidate of the ruling party, and after the ceremony, he signed the documents for the office of the president.

There are growing disputes between the ruling Awami League and the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) regarding the as Bangladesh prepares for general Elections. The elections are scheduled for December or January next year.