10 PM Current Affairs Quiz #25 September 30, 2019

Explanation: The National Family Health Survey (NFHS) is a large-scale, multi-round survey conducted in a representative sample of households throughout India. Three rounds of the survey have been conducted since the first survey in 1992-93. The survey provides state and national information for India on fertility, infant and child mortality, the practice of family planning, maternal and child health, reproductive health, nutrition, anaemia, utilization and quality of health and family planning services. Each successive round of the NFHS has had two specific goals: a) to provide essential data on health and family welfare needed by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare and other agencies for policy and programme purposes, and b) to provide information on important emerging health and family welfare issues. The Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MOHFW), Government of India, designated the International Institute for Population Sciences (IIPS) Mumbai, as the nodal agency, responsible for providing coordination and technical guidance for the survey. IIPS collaborated with a number of Field Organizations (FO) for survey implementation. Each FO was responsible for conducting survey activities in one or more states covered by the NFHS.

Explanation: Nearly 10% of children in the age group of 5-9 years and adolescents in the age group of 10-19 years are pre-diabetic, 5% are overweight and another 5% suffer from blood pressure. These are among the key findings of the first-ever national nutrition survey conducted by the Centre, yet to be made public, providing for the first time hard evidence of the coexistence of obesity and under nutrition, among school going children. The Comprehensive National Nutrition Survey conducted by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare and UNICEF between February 2016 and October 2018 is the first study undertaken to measure malnutrition, including micronutrient deficiencies through biochemical measures such as blood and urine samples, anthropometric data as well as details of non-communicable diseases such as diabetes, hypertension, cholesterol and kidney function in children and adolescents. The National Family Health Survey (NFHS), however, collects anthropometric data (weight for age, height for age, weight for height, mid-upper arm circumference) to measure prevalence of stunting, wasting and underweight and household dietary intake to measure deficiencies.

Explanation: The International Astronomical Union (IAU) was founded in 1919. Its mission is to promote and safeguard the science of astronomy in all its aspects, including research, communication, education and development, through international cooperation. Its individual Members — structured into Divisions, Commissions, and Working Groups — are professional astronomers from all over the world, at the Ph.D. level and beyond, who are active in professional research, education and outreach in astronomy. The IAU also has Junior Members. The IAU has 13682 members. The Individual and Junior Members Directory contains 11128 names in 107 countries worldwide (these Individual Members are labeled as “active” in the IAU database: they have a valid, public email, and are affiliated to at least one Division.). Out of those countries, 82 are National Members. In addition, the IAU collaborates with various scientific organizations all over the world. The International Astronomical Union (IAU) has named an asteroid, discovered in 2006, after Indian classical singer Pandit Jasraj.

Explanation: The farmer field school (FFS) approach was developed by FAO and partners nearly 25 years ago in Southeast Asia as an alternative to the prevailing top-down extension method of the Green Revolution, which failed to work in situations where more complex and counter-intuitive problems existed, such as pesticide-induced pest outbreaks. In a typical FFS a group of 20-25 farmers meets once a week in a local field setting and under the guidance of a trained facilitator. In groups of five they observe and compare two plots over the course of an entire cropping season. One plot follows local conventional methods while the other is used to experiment with what could be considered “best practices”. They experiment with and observe key elements of the agro-ecosystem by measuring plant development, taking samples of insects, weeds and diseased plants, and constructing simple cage experiments or comparing characteristics of different soils. At the end of the weekly meeting they present their findings in a plenary session, followed by discussion and planning for the coming weeks.

Explanation: The idea of a port in Hambantota had been floated for about three decades, but a succession of governments ignored the proposal every time. It was only when an individual named Ariya Wickramanayake funded his own research into the port’s potential, and presented it to Rajapaksa, back then a minister, that the idea took hold. As soon as Rajapaksa was elected president in 2005, there was renewed interest in the project, along with other big-ticket infrastructure initiatives such as an international airport, a new town, a convention centre, and a highway extension, all to take place in the poorest and least developed district of Sri Lanka. Rajapaksa was also the first to lure in the much-needed Chinese investment to complete the incipient stages of the project. The first phase of the Hambantota Port project was built through a $307m loan from the Export-Import Bank of China (Exim Bank) at 6.3% interest – a very high interest rate by all standards. At the time, SLPA said that when Sri Lanka made an open request for funding, China was the first to respond. In reality, China was the only country willing and able to throw its weight behind what was almost unanimously perceived to be a doomed project.
As the Asia Maritime Transparency Initiative notes, “the economic rationale for Hambantota is weak, given existing capacity and expansion plans at Colombo port, fuelling concerns that it could become a Chinese naval facility,” a realisation that at the time prevented other lenders, such as India, from getting involved.