Click here to Download 9 PM Daily Brief PDF (16th Sept. 2016)
NATIONAL
[1]. Babies fall to antibiotic resistance
Topic – GS2 [Health]
Context:- Article throws light upon death of newborn babies due to anti-biotic resistance.
Study
The Delhi Neonatal infection study (DeNIS), a study of more than 88,000 live births recorded at three tertiary care hospitals (AIIMS, Safdarjung, Maulana Azad Medical college) in New Delhi from July 2011 to February 2014 found out that thousands of newborn babies are dying within 72 hours of being born due to disturbing levels of anti-biotic resistance
Other findings of the study
- Nearly 26% of babies with sepsis died, as multi-drug resistance made the ailment untreatable
- Despite early detection & appropriate medical attention, neonates (newborns) with sepsis & pneumonia died because none of the drugs worked. It should be noted that both sepsis & pneumonia are common ailments that affect newborns. So, the drugs which earlier used to work are not helping anymore due to anti-biotic resistance
- Three ‘superbugs’, Klebsiella, Acinetobacter, and coliwere associated with over half (53 per cent) of the infections.
Current state
Estimates indicate that 56,524 newborns in India die each year from bacteria that are resistant to first-line antibiotics.
DeNIS Study (Source: The Hindu)
What these findings indicate?
Such high rates of anti-microbial resistance is a concerning issue because if allowed to prevail will throwback India to a pre-antibiotic era leading to high number of deaths, adding to health burden in an already overburdened economy.
What are super-bugs?
Microorganisms that develop antimicrobial resistance are sometimes referred to as “superbugs”.
What is anti-biotic resistance?
Antibiotic resistance refers specifically to the resistance to antibiotics that occurs in common bacteria that cause infections.
[2]. ‘Yatri Mitra’ to the aid of rail passengers in need of assistance Topic –
Context:- Ministry of Railways has announced the launch of ‘Yatri Mitra Seva’. The scheme will be operational at all major railway stations.
Yatri Mitra Seva
It is an initiative to help improve the travel experience of elderly, differently-abled and ailing passengers by the Ministry of Railways. Yatri Mitra or passenger friend will be an assistant or any other person nominated for the purpose. Under this scheme,
- Access to wheelchairs and battery operated cars has been simplified
- Once the service of Yatri Mitra is booked, the IRCTC will ensure that the ‘Yatri Mitra’ is made available at the coach when the passenger arrives at the designated railway station
- The ‘Yatri Mitra’ would contact the passenger on the mobile number given at the time of booking and confirm the expected time of arrival.
- The IRCTC has been asked to make available adequate number of wheelchairs and battery operated cars for enabling the service.
Who will operate Yatri Mitra Sewa?
The Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation Ltd. (IRCTC) has been entrusted with implementing services
How can the services of Yatri Mitra be availed?
that can be availed at the time of booking tickets online, accessing an application to be developed by the Centre for Railway Information Systems (CRIS), calling or messaging ‘139’ IVRS, or by dialing a dedicated mobile phone number.
Inspiration for Yatri Mitra
Yatri Mitra Seva is derived from the ‘Sarathi Seva’ introduced in the Konkan Railways. Union Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu had announced in the budget that the service would be launched at all major stations.
[3]. Centre bans sharing of Aadhaar details- Topic – GS2
Context:- Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) recently approved rules and regulations under the Aadhar Act with respect to enrollment, authentication, data security and sharing of information among others. These rules and regulations were notified on 14th September 2016 by the Government of India
Rules approved by UIDAI & notified by government
The regulations which have been approved include
- Unique Identification Authority of India (Transaction of Business and Meetings) Regulations, 2016,
- Aadhaar (Enrolment and Update) Regulations, 2016
- Aadhaar (Authentication) Regulations, 2016
- Aadhaar (Data Security) Regulations, 2016
- Aadhaar (Sharing of Information) Regulations, 2016
Why these rules have been framed?
To prevent private information of individuals from being misused by a third party.
Under these rules,
- Agencies utilizing the Aadhar details have to inform Aadhaar holders the purpose for which their details will be used
- Biometric information can’t be shared with anyone under any condition whatsoever
Punitive measures
Any violation of the Aadhaar Act will constitute an offence and is punishable under the Act
- Penalty has been prescribed for offences such as impersonation of the Aadhaar holder at the time of enrolment, tampering with data and disclosing identity information. Based on the offence, the penalty could go up to three years imprisonment or a fine of up to Rs.1 lakh or both.
Few noteworthy features of the notified rules,
Under Aadhaar (Enrolment and Update) Regulations, 2016
At the time of enrolment, the enrolling agency shall inform the individual undergoing enrolment of the following details:
- the manner in which the information shall be used
- the nature of recipients with whom the information is intended to be shared during authentication; and
- the existence of a right to access information, the procedure for making requests for such access, and details of the person or department in-charge to whom such requests can be made
Under Aadhaar (Sharing of Information) Regulations, 2016
- Any individual, agency or entity which collects Aadhaar number or any document containing the Aadhaar number, shall:
- Collect, store and use the Aadhaar number for a lawful purpose;
- inform the Aadhaar number holder the following details:—
(i). the purpose for which the information is collected;
(ii). Whether submission of Aadhaar number or proof of Aadhaar for such purpose is mandatory or voluntary, and if mandatory, the legal provision mandating it;
(iii). Alternatives to submission of Aadhaar number or the document containing Aadhaar number, if any;
(iv). Obtain consent of the Aadhaar number holder to the collection, storage and use of his Aadhaar number for the specified purposes.
[4]. Gold key to lower GST Rate – Topic – GS3
Context:- The Centre is set to propose that the rate of tax on gold consumption be doubled under the Goods & Services Tax (GST) regime so as to allow the GST council the elbow room to set a lower standard GST rate.
Why is Centre thinking so?
Countering high GST Rate with high tax rate on gold: Government’s main argument is that the increase in revenue from gold consumption will provide the necessary cushion for the standard GST rate to be fixed at a level lower than 20 per cent
Basis of the proposal
The current proposal is based on recommendations of a government committee headed by Chief Economic Adivser Arvind Subramaniam. The committee recommended that,
- The panel had suggested taxing gold and other precious metals at rates ranging between 2 per cent and 6 per cent.
Rationale: This would protect the revenues of the States even if the standard rate of GST was kept below 20 per cent
Counter argument to the proposal
High tax on gold which is already prone to tax evasion would further worsen the problem.
Present tax rate
At present, the Centre and States tax precious metals at rates between 1 per cent and 1.6 per cent.
What do states want?
GST Rate over 20%: States want a higher GST tax rate so that their revenue losses are minimized after the implementation of GST. At present some states levy 27-28% tax, including VAT and other levies such as entry tax.
A situation where GST Rate is high & tax on gold is low
We have to remember that gold as a commodity is consumed mainly by the rich. A low tax on gold but a high GST rate would mean that poor people end up subsidizing the gold consumption of the rich
Conclusion
Government should work to strike a balance between the tax on gold and the GST rate. Higher rate in any one area will cause unnecessary repercussions.
EDITORIAL
[1]. When the river weeps
Context:- In the wake on ongoing Cauvery dispute, author tries to put forward few suggestions
Both Karnataka and Tamilnadu are fighting over Cauvery water without looking at the long-term solutions to end the tussle once and for all
Monsoon and Cauvery
South India has always been highly dependent on monsoon. Over the past few decades, the south-west monsoon has become unpredictable and has reduced in intensity. The amount of water the river receives during the summer rains is becoming increasingly unreliable.
- In good years, when the river receives enough rainfall, there is no tension between the two States.
- In bad years, like the one we are facing now, it turns into a massive political crisis. Unfortunately, the number of bad years is only going to worsen.
Land Use
The Cauvery rivers’ fertile basin has encouraged the growth of forests, agriculture and industry. Problems associated with poor land use have contributed to less and less water in the river
- Deforestation: Deforestation across the basin has contributed to reduction in rainfall, soil erosion, and flooding, with hundreds of thousands of trees being decimated to make way for plantations, urban construction, and agriculture.
- Water-hungry trees: In the place of forests, plantations of water-hungry trees such as eucalyptus and acacia are further reducing the water table
- Rapid urbanization has converted fertile agriculture, forests and wetlands into concreted areas that are unable to retain rainwater or channel them into tributary streams that feed the Cauvery. Urbanization demands concrete; concrete requires sand. In the districts surrounding the Cauvery, rampant sand mining has altered the natural topography of the river, eroding its banks, widening the river, and altering water flow patterns. Wells along the Cauvery basin are running dry and have forced farmers to rent them out for sand storage to sand contractors
- The large number of dams across the river contribute to a significant decrease in the river’s capacity for water storage. Siltation in dams and connecting river channels has reached alarming proportions
- Pollution by industries: Industries along the Cauvery and its tributaries send large volumes of polluted water that, destroy farmers’ land beyond recovery.The toxic sludge from industrial effluents builds up on the river bed, further reducing its capacity for storage.
- Changes in agricultural patterns:Widespread changes in farming and agricultural patterns exacerbate the problem. Once an area of millet cultivation, the Cauvery basin has transformed into a location for the cultivation of high-yield paddy and sugar cane, both water-intensive crops
Remedy: There needs to be a redesign of the farming system so that crops are planted as per the water availability in the region vis-à-vis crops’ own water requirements
Solutions
State’s assistance: Farmers need better alternatives and greater state assistance in facilitating explorations of alternative cropping strategies, including an examination of a possible return to millet farming (which is more nutritious as well as water-efficient), or to multi-cropping of vegetables, or even to the development of more water-efficient varieties of paddy.
Conclusion
As climate change makes its impact visible, we are going to face many more seasons of drought and points of conflict. It is important that we think long term and in a coordinated fashion.
INTERNATIONAL
[1]. BRICS members to unite against terror groups
Topic – IR [GS2]
Context:- BRICS High Representativesmeeting on security, on 15th Sept agreed to intensify cooperation against terror groups like the IS in West Asia and North Africa region (WANA)
Background
BRICS nations are trying to evolve BRICS as a platform with a global outlook focusing not only on internal issues but also on the external problems that affect entire world on the whole.
- The current meet is in continuation of the security related discussionsthat took place at G20 in Hangzhou, and is expected to take place at the NAM summit in Venezuela and at the United Nations General Assembly session
- Russia, China and India are trying to create an alternative channel of resolution of some of the enduring civil wars in West Asia and North African region.
- Following Russian and Chinese roles to control violence in Syria, India too mobilized its diplomatic team and sent Minister of State for External Affairs, M.J. Akbar, to Syria and Iraq in August 2016.
Key matters discussed during the meet were,
- BRICS nations decided to pool efforts to counter terrorism and violent extremism emanating from the WANA region
- non-traditional threats like cyber hacking were also discussed and BRICS nations agreed to join hands for capacity building and research and development
- encouraged cooperation and exchanging of best practices, expertise, information and knowledge on counter terrorism issues
- Expanding BRICS counter-terrorism cooperation further to include measures for denying terrorists access to finance and terror hardware such as equipment, arms and ammunition
[2]. Delink drug prices from R&D costs: UN
Topic – Health [GS2]
Context:- Report by the United Nations High-Level Panel on Access to Medicines has called for delinking drug prices from research and development (R&D) costs
Problem of high drug prices
The high price of drugs is crippling healthcare systems across the world. Millions of people are suffering and dying because the medicines they need are too expensive.
Recommendations of the report
- Call for sanctions: Countries that threaten, and retaliate against, generic drugs makers in countries such as India for using their entitlements under the Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) Agreement will be forced to face significant sanctions
- Greater transparency in drug pricing and public health impact assessments in free trade agreements
- Inconsistent: Intellectual property rules promoted by the pharmaceutical industry are inconsistent with respect to the human right to health.
If implemented, the report’s recommendations will go a long way towards ensuring all people have access to affordable quality medicines.
Ideas
Other than implementation of the report itself, some additional ways in which Access to medicines can be ensured are,
- Ban on intellectual property rules in trade agreements
- Excluding medicines on national lists or on the WHO List for Essential Medicines from intellectual property rules
[3]. Indonesia to resume work on “Giant Sea Wall” to save sinking Jakarta
Topic – IR [GS2]
Context:- Indonesiawillresume land reclamation that will help prevent Jakarta from sinking below sea level, 5 months after work was suspended due to regulatory and environmental concerns.
Why the wall?
Greater Jakarta, one of the world’s most densely populated cities, sits on a swampy plain and is sinking at a faster rate than any other city in the world.
The Master plan
- A 15-mile sea wall and refurbishing the crumbling flood canal system.
- Building of 17 artificial islands off Jakarta’s northern coast, where property developers plan to build shopping malls and attractions similar to Singapore’s Sentosa Island
Why the project was suspended?
Pproject was suspended in April following disagreements between the government and the Jakarta governor over who had authority to issue permits. Some fishermen have also protested against reclamation, saying it would reduce their catch.
Solution: the government plans to offer them fishing permits in waters near the Natuna Islands
What is land reclamation?
It is the process of creating new land from ocean, riverbeds, or lake beds. The land reclaimed is known as reclamation ground or land fill.
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