Initiatives/ Schemes
HPV Vaccination Programme
- Context: The State government’s Human Papillomavirus (HPV) vaccination programme reached 81% coverage in the four pilot districts of Ariyalur, Tiruvannamalai, Perambalur and Dharmapuri.
- The HPV vaccination programme was launched on January 27 by the Tamil Nadu State government.
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- Target Group: 14-year-old girls are being vaccinated to protect against Cervical Cancer caused by Human Papillomavirus (HPV).
- Pilot Districts: The programme started in Ariyalur, Tiruvannamalai, Perambalur, and Dharmapuri.
- The vaccination programme, which was started in the four districts in campaign mode, was conducted in government and government-aided schools.
- Nationwide Initiative: The Government of India launched a national HPV vaccination campaign on February 28.
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- Vaccination Facilities: Vaccines are now available at Primary Health Centres, Government Hospitals, and Government Medical College Hospitals.
- Vaccine Used: A single-dose Gardasil HPV vaccine is given to 14-year-old girls.
Tamil Nadu Unveils Statue Reflecting Growth of Education Sector
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- Context: Chief Minister inaugurated the “Kattranai Thoorum Arivu” statue installed at Marina Beach at a cost of Rs1.43 crore.
- The statue installed by the Tamil Nadu Text book and Educational Services Corporation is aimed at showcasing the development of the state’s education department.
- The release noted that TN continues to excel in the field of education through continuous improvements in educational planning, administration and infrastructure from class I to XII.
- In the centre of the sculpture, a man and a woman are seen rising towards the sky. They are depicted overcoming the barriers of poverty, circumstance and geography.
- The sculpture symbolizes the moment when learning transforms one’s aspirations and dreams into achievements.
- The figures of a boy, a girl and a differently-abled student at the base of this sculpture complex affirm that education is a birth right for every child and that no learner is left behind.
- From this strong base, figures representing the diverse life paths that education opens up rise up – a doctor, an Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officer, an Indian Police Service (IPS) officer, a woman pilot, an engineer and a sportsperson.
- Learning empowers a person to serve society, lead, innovate and excel. The banner below the statue states that the lesson all of this teaches us is that if a child is educated, their future will be bright.
Environment
Black Soldier Fly (BSF) Technology for Urban Organic Waste Management
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- Context: The Tamil Nadu State Planning Commission has recommended the state government to adopt Black Soldier Fly (BSF) bioconversion technology for solid waste management on a pilot basis in five cities particularly Chennai.
- In its report titled Organic Waste Management in Urban Tamil Nadu released the commission noted that Chennai which generates 5000 tonnes of waste per day accounted for more than one third of the total 14,600 tonnes produced daily across Tamil Nadu.
- BSF is a non-pest, non-vector insect species. Unlike common houseflies BSF do not transmit diseases, bite, or sting and are not attracted to human habitation.
- BSF uses the feeding capacity of its larvae to rapidly cover organic waste into valuable products such as protein meal, insect oil and frass fertiliser.
- The larvae can consume up to four times their body weight in waste daily and reduce waste mass by 50-80% while producing near-zero methane emissions as the process involves an aerobic mechanism.
- Kochi undertook large scale biomining and introduced BSF technology to process municipal wet waste, becoming the first Indian city to deploy it at a municipal scale with success.
- The commission urged the state government to allocate funds to launch the BSF technology on a pilot basis in Chennai and also in Coimbatore, Madurai, Trichy and Salem before scaling up across Tamil Nadu.
