9 PM Daily Current Affairs Brief – March 24th, 2022

Mains Oriented Articles

GS Paper 1

• The serious public health burden of gender violence

GS Paper 2

• On India’s education and healthcare: Mind, body & growth
• The controversy over the proposed Mekedatu water project
• Buyers’ power: India depends on Russian arms. But Russia depends on Indian arms purchases. That gives Delhi leverage
• Fighting TB with lessons learnt during Covid pandemic
• Dial down the security dilemma that sets vicious cycle in motion
• Teachable moments

GS Paper 3

• Phasing out coal-based plants: The way forward
• Global uncertainties, India’s growth prospects
• Green Bonds, digital currency hold promise

Prelims Oriented Articles (Factly)

• India achieves $400 billion merchandise exports well before target date: Commerce Minister
• First of its kind phase 3 clinical trial in Ayurveda for Rheumatoid Arthritis
• Schemes launched by the Government in Textile sector for employment generation
• Telecommunications Secretary inaugurates All India Digital Nation-Wide Pension Adalat
• National Bank for Financial Infrastructure and Development: Govt sets Rs 1-trillion infrastructure lending target for DFI
• Skill Development Ministry recognises INS Shivaji as the Centre of Excellence in Marine Engineering
• World Meteorological Day: WMO to ensure global early warning systems coverage in 5 years
• The Artemis programme, NASA’s new moon mission
• Explained: What are Kamikaze drones, the ‘lethal’ weapon being sent by the US to Ukraine?
• World Happiness Report: India among ‘unhappiest’ nations, languishes at 136th spot

Mains Oriented Articles

GS Paper 1

The serious public health burden of gender violence

Context: Gender-based violence constitutes one of the serious public health burdens in India. 

What is gender-based violence? 

‘Gender-based violence’ refers to violence that is directed towards an individual owing to their gender and/or sexual orientation. It also includes efforts to bring young boys or LGBTQIA+ individuals into dominant forms of masculinity or femininity. 

Global and National Trends of Gender-Based Violence 

Globally, every third woman faced physical or sexually-intimate partner violence or both at least once in their lives (UN Women estimates).  

In India, Nearly, one in four women has experienced physical or sexual abuse by a partner (As per NFHS).  

Socially or economically disadvantaged women are at a higher risk of being exposed to such violence. 

Now, women and girls have to confront newer forms of violence. It includes online abuses, for example, digital misogyny, online stalking, morphing of images, abusive trolling, death and rape threats on social media platforms etc. For example, In India, around 50% of women on social media has been facing cyber abuse.  

What are the impacts associated with gender violence? 

Women are subjected to extreme “Allostatic load”: Allostasis refers to an equilibrium (homeostasis) maintained by adapting to stressful situations through the release of stress hormones. It helps to reduce or eliminate the stressors. If allostatic load is in excess over a period of time. It leads to bad outcomes including depression, anxiety, heart disease, etc. Therefore, gender-based violence becomes a serious public health burden. 

Public health burdens: It leads to injuries, unintended pregnancies, pregnancy complications, poor reproductive and sexual health, sexually transmitted infections, HIV, depression, post-traumatic stress disorder, difficulties with intimacy and interpersonal relationships, and death etc. 

What is the way forward? 

Address the underreporting of gender-based violence. Survivors do not seek support because of the shame, stigma and self-blame associated with such violence, worsening its impact 

There should be digital inclusion of Indian women. The Indian digital sphere is male dominated; For example, only 33% of internet users are female in India. Only 8% of Twitter users are female. Only 25% Facebook users are women in India (As per NFHS-5 report)  

There is a need to recognize patriarchy as a toxin. Its worst effect is gender-based violence.  

We must stop normalizing violence, discrimination and exclusion against women. Everyone has a right to a life. 

GS Paper 2

On India’s education and healthcare: Mind, body & growth

News: Ensuring top quality and a proper delivery of public goods like education and healthcare is one area where successive governments have underperformed in India.

The article highlights the current situation, reasons for underperformance and measures to address the issues.

What is the situation wrt education and healthcare in India?

– Education: ASER reported in 2019 that only about half the students in Standard III could read at Standard I levels.

– Healthcare: The rate of malnutrition amongst India’s children stays stubbornly over 30%, which is higher than in Ghana or Kenya.

Why India has not been able to deliver on education, health and other public goods?

Lack of responsibility: One of the reasons is that no particular person can be held responsible for local level health or education infrastructure. For instance: No one can be held responsible for a local primary health centre (PHC) that is frequently out of medicines, or for a local government school where the teacher is perpetually absent.

Local elections fought on populist matters: The aggrieved locals or their panchayat representatives often have little ability to reach the state capital to air their grievances about poor condition of local level infra. So local elections are rarely about improving delivery of public goods. Instead, campaigns are based on populist giveaways such as loan waivers or free rations that have broad appeal across the state, job reservations based on caste, region, or other subgroup identities etc.

What measures need to be taken?

Pushing the demand side: The supply side of service delivery in health and education is improving, but at too slow a pace. The demand side needs to be mobilised. Instead of centralising administration, we need to decentralise, while empowering beneficiaries.

Empowering the local govt: Some power to reward or punish providers needs to be handed to local government. Even better would be to set up school boards and health boards, staffed primarily by user households, which should be the primary input to the local govt’s decisions.

Removal of arbitrary laws that any administration – local, state, or national – has to harass critics. These laws cause fears against protesting a bad service delivery.

Private service providers: Private providers can offer people more choice. Instead of viewing them with suspicion, regulating them lightly and effectively, is a much better alternative.

Enhance transparency: Transparency can lead to more informed choice. Parents should know their local school’s test performance and its teachers’ qualifications. There is however no need to insist that every teacher have a B. Ed.

The eventual aim should be to allow state and private providers to compete on a level playing field. If the poor household chooses private alternatives, the government should aid them through school vouchers and health insurance. For instance: Ayushman Bharat.

The regulatory side of the state should be independent of the side providing the service, so that regulations do not inhibit competition to state providers.

Rethinking spending priorities: Consider sums being given under Production-Linked Incentives schemes – it will cost $10 billion or more in subsidies to convince a big industrialist to build one semi-modern chip factory, a highly capital-intensive (not labour-intensive) enterprise. That sum could fund 50 top-notch universities churning out 50,000 fantastic scientists and engineers a year or 1,000 schools with state-ofthe-art laboratories, libraries and gyms.

The controversy over the proposed Mekedatu water project

News: Karnataka and Tamil Nadu are heading for a political confrontation over the Mekedatu drinking water project across river Cauvery, proposed by the former.

Within days of Tamil Nadu Assembly’s resolution against the project, Karnataka’s legislative assembly is set to counter it with a resolution seeking the project’s early implementation and clearances from the Centre.

Furthermore, with Cauvery being an emotive issue that binds people in the Cauvery basin districts in Old Mysore region, Mekedatu is likely to impact election results.

About Mekedatu project

Originally mooted in 1948, Mekedatu (which translates as Goat’s crossing) is a drinking water cum power generation project across river Cauvery.

Karnataka gave the project shape after the final award of the Cauvery Water Disputes Tribunal was notified in February 2013 allocating the riparian states their shares.

The ₹9,000 crore balancing reservoir at Mekedatu on the Karnataka-Tamil Nadu border will involve submergence of nearly 5,100 hectares of forest in Cauvery wildlife sanctuary hosting rich flora and fauna.

What is the current status of the project?

The project is now before the Cauvery Water Management Authority. The Authority is exploring the possibility of having an exclusive discussion on the project, when the matter is sub judice.

Tamil Nadu has written to the Centre to withdraw the permission given to prepare the detailed project report (DPR). It has also filed a petition before the Supreme Court, explaining its objections against the project.

The Centre and Karnataka have also filed counter affidavits.

How will it benefit Karnataka?

Along with the 5th stage of the Cauvery Water Supply Scheme, the water from Mekedatu is projected to meet the water requirement of Bengaluru for the next 30 years. Currently, more than 30% of Bengaluru is dependent on borewell water.

Besides, there are also plans to generate 400 MW of power. The revenue earned from power generation is expected to compensate the Govt its investment on the project within a few years.

Karnataka argues that the reservoir will also help to ensure monthly flow stipulated in the award for Tamil Nadu, rather than harm the neighbouring State’s interest in any way.

What are the arguments by Karnataka and Tamil Nadu?

Karnataka

– Karnataka says that there is no case for Tamil Nadu after its share of 177.75 tmc ft. of water is ensured at the inter-State border gauging centre at Biligundlu.

– Also, the project falls inside the jurisdictional limit of Karnataka and Tamil Nadu’s permission is not needed.

– The State also argues that since there is no stay in any court for the project, Karnataka can go ahead.

– On utilising the surplus water, Karnataka says that any allocation in this sphere should be done after hydrology studies to ascertain the quantum of excess water available in the basin.

Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu feels that Karnataka, through the project, will impound and divert flows from “uncontrolled catchments” to itself.

As the upper riparian State, K’tka has adequate infrastructure even now to address the water needs of Bengaluru. Hence, there’s no need for the Mekedatu project, according to Tamil Nadu.

Mekedatu also does not find mention in the Tribunal’s final order or the Supreme Court judgement.

Besides, given the unpleasant experiences that it has had with Karnataka in securing its share of the Cauvery water, as per the monthly schedule of water release, Tamil Nadu is skeptical of its assurances.

Buyers’ power: India depends on Russian arms. But Russia depends on Indian arms purchases. That gives Delhi leverage

News: India’s national interest and its international stand on Ukraine are at centre of debate due to the Ukraine-Russia Conflict. 

Status of the Russian Economy 

Russia relies hugely on exports of two products, oil and petroleum products and arms products.  

Oil and Petroleum: Russia’s oil and petroleum products export was 8 million barrels/day. However, The Western sanctions may lead to its reduction to 5 million barrels/day.  

Arms: According to Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI), “Russia was the world’s second largest arms exporter behind the US with a market share of 19% during the period 2017-21”.  

Why is India facing pressure due to the ongoing Ukraine Crisis? 

India is heavily dependent on Russia for arm trade. Therefore, India is in a vulnerable situation.  

Therefore, it has not taken a critical diplomatic position on Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Thus, Quad members and European countries aim to persuade India to take a more critical stand. 

Is India in a vulnerable position because of its dependence on Russian arms imports?  

Not really. 

Russia is also dependent upon India for arms trade. India is Russia’s largest defence customer. India is the recipient of 28% Russian arms exports from Russia. 

Importance of India to Russia’s arms exports: Russia had a global market share of 24% arms export between 2012-16 period. When India began to diversify its arms sources; Russia’s export share fell by 5%.  

In the 2017-21 period, India and Saudi Arabia were the largest arms importers in the world.  

What is the way forward? 

India is not in a weak position in Indo-Russia defence relation. If India needs Russia’s arms, Russia needs India to buy them.  

China is not going to buy more Russian arms. China is not at the top in the list of arm importing countries. In fact, China’s needs are different and its capabilities are much higher.  

India has diplomatic leverage against Russia. India is in a powerful position to negotiate with Russia. Therefore, it gives India the room to critique Russian Invasion of Ukraine.  

Fighting TB with lessons learnt during Covid pandemic

News: Recently, World TB Day was organized. Focus on TB has declined due to Covid-19 Pandemic. 

It’s time we acknowledge the magnitude of the disease, and work harder at offering individuals’ equitable healthcare access and resources that the disease warrants. 

Why should TB be considered serious? 

On one side, 1.8 million people succumbed to the Covid-virus in the first year. On the other hand, 1.5-2 million individuals died every year between 2010-20 due to tuberculosis.  

The government spent 162 times more public money on the Covid-19 than the amount spent on TB in 2020.  

What are the similarities and difference b/w Covid and TB? 

Similarities 

– Both are airborne infections and transmissible in nature. Both can spread in crowded settings, and harm people with immuno-compromising conditions. 

Differences

– Differences only lies in the profiles of those who get infected. TB disproportionately affects people in low-income nations, the poor and the vulnerable. 

How has COVID impacted TB control? 

It has increased the burden on the healthcare facilities.

There has been redirection of human resources within the health system towards the Covid management, leaving TB facilities understaffed, leading to poorer quality and delayed care. 

Due to Covid, TB diagnosis, case detection and treatment has dropped. Now, the proportion of such “missing cases” is likely to have increased. It may also be due to stigma associated with respiratory symptoms  

Covid may lead to an increase in TB cases. Historically, wars, food insecurity, poverty and malnutrition have resulted in surges in the incidence of TB.

Further, Covid may lead to reactivation of dormant TB bacilli. 

What can be learnt from Covid-19 vis-à-vis TB control in India? 

The epidemiological triad: i.e., Agent, host and the environment can be the new approach for TB management in India 

Test, treat and track (TTT) Strategy can be employed in TB Control. The innovative strategies such as active surveillance, bidirectional screening for respiratory tract infections using the most sensitive molecular diagnostics, and contact tracing can be done.  

Vaccine development at war scale can be replicated the same way for tuberculosis. There can be lobbying for funding from governments and industry to develop a successful vaccine for TB. 

Public education can transform behaviour. Therefore, focus on tobacco smokers, educating individuals to avoid crowds when possible, and to encourage voluntary masking, especially in ill-ventilated and closed spaces.  

Social security programmes should be initiated like the health insurance etc. Avoid “medicalising” the disease. 

Adequate focus be given on addressing malnutrition, poverty and immuno-compromising conditions such as diabetes which are strongly associated with TB. 

We need to actively engage the private sector, build bridges and partnerships as we did in the case of Covid. 

The government must increase the public funding for health, nutrition and preventive services including TB. It should invest in state-of-the-art technologies, build capacity, expand its health workforce and strengthen its primary care facilities. For example, telemedicine and remote support for health services can be focused.  

There has to be an open and collaborative forum where all stakeholders, especially affected communities and independent experts, take a lead role.

Dial down the security dilemma that sets vicious cycle in motion

Context: The Russian invasion of Ukraine has given a blow to post-1989 ‘liberal’ international order.

What was the post-1989 ‘liberal’ international order?

The global order rested on the premise that the world could rely on economic interests to spread prosperity and mitigate conflict. For instance, as the middle and rising powers such as Russia and China became richer, they would become more like the ‘West’. The gains made from trade would overshadow the geopolitical competition.

What is happening now?

The old order’s narrative is being replaced by geo-political ‘realists’. Their version of the world is characterized by zero-sum great-power competition, where national security and absence of global rule enforcers will lead mostly to conflict. In such a scenario, the issue of containing Russia and China becomes dominant. Other matters such as trade, climate change, poverty, public health take a backseat.

The central framework of ‘realists’ is based on the ‘security dilemma’. In this, attempts are made by each country to become more secure which further adds to insecurity of other countries. This then triggers countermeasures that creates the vicious cycle. For instance, Ukraine’s interest in entering a military alliance was to bolster its economy and security. But Russia saw it as inimical to Russia’s interest and took counter measures.

This dilemma is exacerbated when American and European policymakers talk about a “rules based international order”, but use it to fulfill their own interests and overlook their transgression of it. This leads to hostile views of the West. For instance, the exclusion of Chinese firms such as Huawei from the global market, fuel China’s concern that America wants to undermine its economy.

The dilemma further increases when great power seeks hegemony rather than accommodation. The US is guilty of this. For instance, it is expanding its military presence via NATO but leaves little room for other powers’ legitimate security concerns.

Is there an alternative to this order?

Yes, it is possible to create a stable world while remaining realistic about the nature of great-power competition. As in the long term a country cannot invest all its resources in military capabilities. They also need to focus on building their economy. For instance, South Korea after the 1960s focused on its economic strength to deal with its northern neighbor. For this end, the countries can:

1. Set national security goals which are not overtly offensive.
2. Convey their intentions and concerns better.
3. Reduce scope for misunderstanding and work for cooperation.

Teachable moments

News: The University Grants Commission (UGC) has taken a decision to hold the Common University Entrance Test (CUET) for undergraduate admissions to all 45 centrally funded universities.

Issues that remain to be clarified:

CUET is expected to provide a level playing field to a great extent. However certain issues still remain to be clarified. Such as:

1. Handling of Supernumerary admissions such as through the quota for sports and extracurricular activities.
2. Role of Class XII board exams in the admission process. Whether the CUET supersedes them or some colleges will prescribe a minimum cut-off.
3. Disadvantage to state board exams as  the syllabus for the exam will be the prescribed Class XII National Council of Educational Research and Training curriculum.
4. Nature of exam: It must avoid the pitfall of following a set pattern of variable questions, eventually creating a set of standard Q&As that students merely have to learn by rote. This can also lead to mushrooming of coaching classes.
5. Divert attention from non-academic activities: The non-academic activities, which go towards offering a rounded education, may well fall by the wayside as students focus on cramming for the CUET, just as they do for the NEET and JEE.

Hence, CUET should focus on not perpetuating the limitations of the Indian education system.

GS Paper 3

Phasing out coal-based plants: The way forward

Context: The world including India is making plans to decarbonise in context of the looming threat of climate change 

Challenges in achieving 500GW non-fossil fuel generation capacity by 2030

There are questions on the availability of the sufficient demand in the economy

Such a huge capacity of renewable generation needs grid stability.  

Renewable energy requires to be stored. Therefore, there is the issue of the projected cost of storage in the years to follow.  

DISCOM health: The private sector needs support of the distribution company to invest such a huge amount in renewable generation. But, DISCOMS may not be healthy enough to give confidence to encourage private investment. 

Concerns over general investment climate: Reopening power purchase agreements (PPAs) and delaying the dues of the renewable generators has brought in bad publicity.

Status of Coal based power sector in India 

As of January 2022, India coal-based electricity generation capacity stands at 203 GW). Out of total, 31% of the capacity is in the central sector, 33% is in the state sector and 36% is in the private sector.  

How to phase out India’s coal-based plants to decarbonise the power sector?  

We need to fix a criterion on the basis of which coal-based plants would be phased out.  It can be done on the basis of –

Age of the coal plant:

– The argument against decommissioning coal plants reaching 25-years of age is that the station heat rate (SHR) of a properly maintained plant running at good capacity does not become adverse over time. The SHR provides the calorific value of coal required for every unit generated. So the lower the SHR, the more economical is the plant. This means an older plant is economical

Station Heat Rate (SHR)

– Phasing out could also be considered on the basis of the SHR. All plants above a certain SHR could be decommissioned since they are relatively more inefficient. However, this may lead to an increase in the total generation cost because many pithead plants would get decommissioned necessitating transporting coal to longer distances. Coal transport is expensive and at long distances the cost can go up by 30 to 40%.

However, there will be savings since a higher coal cost will be offset against an increased efficiency as high SHR plants would be decommissioned.

Merit-order dispatch

– In a merit order scheme, all plants are compared on the basis of their variable cost, lowest to highest. Since we have more capacity than we actually need, the high variable cost plants are not used at all. The discoms still have to pay the fixed cost of such plants. So one could explore the option of decommissioning these high cost plants as one possible criterion.

Challenges in decommissioning of coal plants 

33% of the coal capacity is in the state sector and the central government does not have the authority to decommission a state plant. The state govts, may not be willing to decommission inefficient plants due to political concerns as doing so may lead to large scale unemployment.

What is the way forward?

There is a need to immediately decide on the criteria to be adopted for decommissioning coal-based plants 

The addition of renewable capacity and decommissioning coal-based plants should go hand in hand.  

40 GW of renewable capacity must be added each year between now and 2030 to fulfil targets. 

Global uncertainties, India’s growth prospects

News: On February 28, 2022, the National Statistical Office (NSO) released India’s GDP data for Quarter 3 of 2021-22. The NSO also released Second Advance Estimates (SAE) for Fiscal Year 2021-22.  

India’s Growth performance 

As per the estimates, India’s real GDP and GVA growth are estimated to recover to 8.9% and 8.3%, respectively, in 2021-22 after the pandemic situation.  

What are the challenges for economic recovery amid ongoing geopolitical uncertainties? 

Inc in global crude oil prices may result in reduction in real GDP growth and an increase in CPI inflation in India. If the prices of other imported commodities also increase, the inflation impact will be higher. 

The demand for public expenditure may increase with respect to prices of petroleum products, fertilizer subsidies etc. Therefore, the government may face the challenge of maintaining the fiscal deficit at the budgeted level. 

It would lead to worsening of the current account balance due to higher import bills and depreciation of India rupee.

Sectoral supply-side bottlenecks and the cost escalation would be faced by certain sectors. These sectors may be fertilizers, iron and steel foundries, transportation, construction and coal which depends upon petroleum products. 

It would lead to disruption in Indian trade with Russia and Ukraine. It would be due to the discontinuation of transactions through SWIFT.  

The ongoing economic uncertainties have led to increase in the outflow of the net Foreign Portfolio Investment (FPI) from India and reduction in the inflows of net Foreign Direct Investment (FDI). 

Challenges in bearing burden of increased oil prices 

If the oil marketing companies don’t raise prices of petroleum products, then the oil sector-linked subsidies would go up.  

If the central and State governments reduce excise duty and value-added tax (VAT) on petroleum products, their tax revenues would be adversely affected.  

If, burden is passed on to the consumers and industrial users, it can impact already weak investment and private consumption. 

What is the way forward?

There should be proper rationalization of burden of higher prices of petroleum products among consumers and industrial users, oil marketing companies (OMC) and the Government in India 

Efforts should be made towards promotion of consumption growth and reducing the cost of industrial inputs.   

RBI may raise the policy rate. It can help tackling inflationary pressures and outward flow of the U.S. dollar. 

Green Bonds, digital currency hold promise

Context:  The Budget had two major announcements pertaining to the issuance of sovereign green bonds and a central bank digital currency. These two launches will be a joint effort between the government and the RBI.

What are Sovereign Green Bonds?

It will be a part of the government’s borrowing program. The government undertakes borrowing to finance the excess expenditure incurred, on both capital and revenue accounts. In the case of sovereign green bonds, the money borrowed has to be used for projects which are ESG (environment, social and governance) compliant.

Pricing of bonds: This can prove to be tricky. They can either be priced at higher rates as  ESG compliant companies have to make special investments that will push up costs. Or they can be priced at lower rates to aid ESG implementation. They can also be issued as tax-free bonds, open to the public, which can incentivise participation of retail investors.

What is Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC)?

This is the central bank’s version of digital currency. It is different from cryptocurrency as cryptos are an investment option, unlike a CBDC which is a substitute for currency.

Certain fundamental questions have to be addressed before launching CBDC:

1. Is a CBDC going to replace currency at some point in the future? There are still several sections of people in India not familiar with this technology.
2. If it is going to coexist with currency, how different will it be for the public from the digital payments that are being made today?
3. Any issuance of CBDC on a voluntary basis also raises a question on the security of the owner’s information. There is a requirement of confidentiality.
4. What will be the future of the banking system as CBDC catches on? Issues related to the future ATMs, bank tellers, bank deposits etc. need to be addressed.
5. The issue of security as any financial system that runs on technology can be hacked. It has to be foolproof and power failure resistant.

Way forward: In future green bonds can be replicated by the state governments, if successful. The CBDC can also help in taking advantage of new technologies like blockchain. However, it might be useful to keep in mind the issues flagged above.

Prelims Oriented Articles (Factly)

India achieves $400 billion merchandise exports well before target date: Commerce Minister

Source: This post is based on the following articles:

– “India achieves $400 billion merchandise exports well before target date: Commerce Minister” published in PIB on 23rd March 2022

– “Exports cross $400 billion annual target as goods shipments jump” published in The Hindu on 24th March 2022.

– “India achieves $400-bn export target for FY22 ahead of schedule” published in Business Standard on 24th March 2022.

What is the News?

India’s Annual Merchandise(Goods) Exports have crossed the $400-billion mark for the first time ever. This is 37% higher than the previous financial year, when India exported goods worth $291 billion.

During the same time period, imports grew 51% on year to $589 billion, resulting in a trade deficit of $189 billion. The trade deficit was $114 billion in FY21.

About India’s Merchandise Trade

Engineering goods, petroleum products were the top goods exported from India.

Engineering goods exports have gone up by nearly 50% vis-à-vis last year. Higher engineering exports indicate that the misconception of India being a major exporter of primary commodities is gradually changing.

The agriculture sector too had recorded its highest-ever export during 2021-22 with the help of export of rice, marine products, wheat, spices and sugar.

What is the reason behind the rise in exports?

The major reasons for the jump in exports are 1) Rise in demand, which had fallen due to the Covid pandemic, and 2) boost in domestic manufacturing due to production-linked incentive (PLI) schemes and implementation of some interim trade pacts.

First of its kind phase 3 clinical trial in Ayurveda for Rheumatoid Arthritis

Source: This post is based on an article “First of its kind phase 3 clinical trial in Ayurveda for Rheumatoid Arthritis” published in PIB on 24th March 2022 

What is the News?

The Ministry of Ayush is conducting the world’s first multicenter phase III clinical trial examining the efficacy of Ayurveda in the treatment of Rheumatoid Arthritis. 

What is Rheumatoid Arthritis(RA)?

Rheumatoid arthritis is an autoimmune disorder that causes chronic inflammation of the joints and other parts of the body.

Caused by: Our immune system releases antibodies when a foreign material like bacteria and fungus enters the body. Those antibodies fight the foreign material and kill them. However, in some cases, the immune system can mistakenly send antibodies to attack their own cells. (In this case: the lining of joints) This is the root cause of Rheumatoid Arthritis.

Risk Factors: The characteristics that increase the risk of RA are:

– Age: RA can begin at any age, but the likelihood increases with age. The onset of RA is highest among adults in their sixties.

– Sex: New cases of RA are typically two-to-three times higher in women than men.

– Genetics/inherited traits: People born with specific genes are more likely to develop RA.

– Smoking and Obesity: Multiple studies show that smoking and obesity increases a person’s risk of developing RA.

Symptoms: Common symptoms include stiff joints, especially when getting up in the morning or after sitting down for a while. Some people experience fatigue and a general feeling of being unwell.

Diagnosis: RA is diagnosed by reviewing symptoms, conducting a physical examination, and doing X-rays and lab tests.

Treatment: Treatments include medications, rest, exercise, and, in some cases, surgery to correct joint damage.

Schemes launched by the Government in Textile sector for employment generation

Source: This post is based on an article “Schemes launched by the Government in Textile sector for employment generation” published in PIB on 23rd March 2022 

What is the News?

The Minister for Textiles has informed Lok Sabha about the important schemes launched by the Government in the textile sector.

About Textile Industry

The Textile industry is one of the largest source of employment generation in the country with an estimated 45 million people directly engaged in this sector including a large number of women and rural population.

Some of the important schemes launched in the textile sector are

Scheme for Capacity Building in Textile Sector (SAMARTH)

Amended Technology Up-gradation Fund Scheme (ATUFS)

National Technical Textile Mission

Production Linked Incentive(PLI) Scheme for Textiles

PM-MITRA

Scheme for Integrated Textile Parks (SITP)

Integrated Processing Development Scheme (IPDS)

Nodal Ministry: Ministry of Textiles 

Purpose: To facilitate the textile industry to meet the required environmental standards and to support new Common Effluent Treatment Plants (CETP)/ upgradation of CEPTs in existing processing clusters as well as new processing parks especially in the Coastal Zones.

Special Package for Textile and Apparel sector: Rs. 6000 crore package was launched in June 2016 to boost employment and export potential in the apparel and made up segments.

Telecommunications Secretary inaugurates All India Digital Nation-Wide Pension Adalat

Source: This post is based on an article “Telecommunications Secretary inaugurates All India Digital Nation-Wide Pension Adalat” published in PIB on 23rd March 2022 

What is the News?

Secretary (Telecommunications) & Chairman, Digital Communications Commission (DCC) inaugurated the All India Digital Nation-Wide Pension Adalat.

What is All India Digital Nation-Wide Pension Adalat?

Organized by: Controller General of Communication Accounts(CGCA), Department of Telecommunications.

Purpose: The Adalat serves as a forum for mitigating the grievances of the pensioners by bringing in all the relevant stakeholders under one single platform.

What is SAMPANN?

Click Here to read

What is Jeevan Pramaan(Digital Life certificate)?

Click Here to read

National Bank for Financial Infrastructure and Development: Govt sets Rs 1-trillion infrastructure lending target for DFI

Source: This post is based on an article “Govt sets Rs 1-trillion infrastructure lending target for DFI” published in Business Standard on 24th March 2022

What is the News?

Government has set a target of about Rs 1 trillion for the National Bank for Financial Infrastructure and Development(NaBFID) for sanctioning loans to the infrastructure sector in the next financial year.

What is NaBFID?

NaBFID has been set up as a Development Financial Institution(DFI) to support the development of long-term infrastructure projects.

NaBFID shall be regulated and supervised as an All India Financial Institution(AIFI) by the Reserve Bank of India under the Reserve Bank of India Act, 1934.

It shall be the fifth AIFI after EXIM Bank, NABARD, NHB and SIDBI.

How will NaBFID fund projects?

NaBFID with a capital base of Rs 20,000 crore will invest in infrast­r­ucture projects in India and outside with a focus towards prioritizing systemic risk mitigation and credit enhancement. It will provide funding in the public sector as well as the private sector.

It will get a 10-year tax concession so that it can provide long-term funds at an affordable cost to the infrastructure sector.

It can also issue debt securities and promote securitisation of the loan portfolios of companies engaged in the development and financing of infrastructure to create and develop a secondary market for securitisation receivables. 

Moreover, it can also get government guarantees at a concessional rate of up to 0.1% for borrowing from multilateral institutions, sovereign wealth funds and other such foreign institutions.

Skill Development Ministry recognises INS Shivaji as the Centre of Excellence in Marine Engineering

Source: This post is based on an article “Skill Development Ministry recognises INS Shivaji as the Centre of Excellence in Marine Engineering” published in PIB on 23rd March 2022 

What is the News?

The Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship(MSDE) has recognised INS Shivaji as the Centre of Excellence(CoE) in the field of Marine Engineering(ME).

What is INS Shivaji?

I​​NS Shivaji is an Indian naval station located in Lonavala, Maharashtra. It is located close to the Bhushi Dam.

It houses the Naval College of Engineering, which trains officers of the Indian Navy and the Indian Coast Guard. It was commissioned in 1945 as HMIS Shivaji. 

INS Shivaji has three premier institutions viz. Centre of Marine Engineering and Technology (CMET), Centre of Excellence (CoE) and Nuclear, Biological and Chemical Defence (NBCD) School.

INS Shivaji’s Centre of Excellence (Marine Engineering): It was established in 2014 with a broad mandate that included the induction of niche technologies for naval applications, quality research in collaboration with R&D and academic institutes of high reputation. 

– The larger goal is to improve the skills of the personnel across the Indian Navy, Friendly Foreign Navies, and the entire ecosystem.

What is the Centre of Excellence(CoE)?

Recognised by: Ministry of Skill Development & Entrepreneurship (MSDE).

Purpose: It is a body that provides leadership, best practices, research, support, training of trainers, and skill training for a specific sector or sector. 

As per the National Policy for Skill Development & Entrepreneurship, 2015, it was decided that National Skills Universities and Institutes will be promoted in partnership with States as centres of excellence for skill development and training of trainers.

World Meteorological Day: WMO to ensure global early warning systems coverage in 5 years

Source: This post is based on an article “World Meteorological Day: WMO to ensure global early warning systems coverage in 5 years” published in Down To Earth on 24th March 2022

What is the News?

On World Meteorological Day, the World Meteorological Organization(WMO) has announced that it would present an Action Plan on Early Warning Systems at the 27th Conference of Parties (CoP) to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change(UNFCCC) in November 2022 at Sharm-el-Sheikh, Egypt.

Note: World Meteorological Day is observed on March 23rd every year. It is observed to mark the establishment of the World Meteorological Organization (WMO). The theme for 2022 is ‘Early warning and early action’.

What are Early Warning Systems?

An early warning system for floods, droughts, heatwaves or storms is an integrated system that alerts people to hazardous weather. 

It informs how governments, communities and individuals can act to minimize the possible impacts of the weather event.

Aim: To understand what risks the foreseeable storms could bring to an area that will be affected — which may differ if it is a city or rural area, polar, coastal or mountainous region.

Currently, a third of the world’s people, mainly in the least developed countries(LDC) and small island developing states (SIDS) are still not covered by early warning systems. In Africa, it is even worse: 60% of people lack coverage.

What is the need for Early Warning Systems?

According to a report by Swiss Re Institute, a Switzerland-based research company, in 2021, extreme weather events caused total damage worth $105 billion, which is the fourth-highest since 1970.

According to a 2021 WMO report on disaster statistics, between 1970 and 2019, a weather, climate or water-related disaster has occurred on average every day — taking the lives of 115 people and causing $202 million in losses daily.

The number of lives lost due to these events decreased by a factor of three due to better weather prediction and associated early warning systems.

For instance, the Global Commission on Adaptation flagship report in 2019 had found that just 24 hours warning of a coming storm or heatwave can cut the ensuing damage by 30% and spending $800 million on such systems in developing countries would avoid losses of $3-16 billion per year.

What has India done on the Early Warning Systems?

India Meteorological Department(IMD) has developed state of art tools for cyclone warning services and has demonstrated its capability to provide early warning for Cyclones with high precision. This has already saved hundreds or even thousands of lives in the past few years.

In 2020, the Union Ministry of Earth Sciences in collaboration with the Municipal Corporation of Greater Mumbai launched the Integrated Flood Warning system for Mumbai, referred to as iFLOWS-MUMBAI. A similar system was also established in Chennai in 2019.

But still more needs to be done in this regard, especially in the field of the district and even village-level weather prediction and early warning.

The Artemis programme, NASA’s new moon mission

Source: This post is based on an article “The Artemis programme, NASA’s new moon mission” published in The Hindu on 24th March 2022 

What is the News?

National Aeronautics and Space Administration(NASA) has rolled out its Artemis I moon mission to the launchpad for testing at the Kennedy Space Centre in Florida, United States.

What is Artemis Mission?

To be Launched by: NASA 

Named After: The mission is named after the twin sister of Apollo from Greek mythology. Artemis is also the goddess of the moon.

Aim: To land the first female astronaut and the first astronaut of colour on the Moon’s the South Pole by 2024. 

Other space agencies involved in the mission are: Canadian Space Agency, European Space Agency and Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency

Significance: With this mission, NASA aims to contribute to scientific discovery and economic benefits and inspire a new generation of explorers.

Artemis I

Artemis I will be the first integrated test of NASA’s deep space exploration systems.

It will be an uncrewed flight test that will provide a foundation for human deep space exploration and demonstrate commitment and capability to extend human existence to the Moon and beyond.

During this flight, Orion ​​spacecraft will be launched on Space Launch System(SLS)  — the most powerful rocket in the world — and travel 2,80,000 miles from the earth for over four to six weeks during the course of the mission. 

The Orion spacecraft is going to remain in space without docking to a space station, longer than any ship for astronauts has ever done before.

What after Artemis I Mission?

After Artemis-I, the second flight under the Artemis programme will be launched. It will have a crew on board and will test Orion’s critical systems. 

Eventually, the learnings from the Artemis programme will be utilized to send the first astronauts to Mars. NASA plans on using the lunar orbit to gain the necessary experience to extend the human exploration of space farther into the solar system.

Explained: What are Kamikaze drones, the ‘lethal’ weapon being sent by the US to Ukraine?

Source: This post is based on an article “Explained: What are Kamikaze drones, the ‘lethal’ weapon being sent by the US to Ukraine?” published in Indian Express on 22nd March 2022 

What is the News?

US has nnounced USD 800 million in new military aid for Ukraine including 800 additional Stinger anti-aircraft missiles, 9,000 antitank weapons, 100 tactical drones including Kamikaze or suicide drones.

What are Kamikaze Drones?

Kamikaze Drones are also called Switchblade drones. These are small unmanned aircraft that are packed with explosives that can be flown directly at a tank or a group of troops that are destroyed when it hits the target and explodes.

Key Features of Kamikaze Drones:

Less Cost: These drones have the capability of going past traditional defences to strike their targets, and also cost a fraction of what their larger counterparts do.

Difficult to Detect: These small lethal drones are difficult to detect on radar, and they can even be programmed to hit targets without human intervention, based on facial recognition.

Light Weight: These drones weigh just five-and-a-half pounds and can fly up to 7 miles to hit a target.

Cameras to show Target: These drones also have cameras that show a target seconds before impact.

Although the Kamikaze might be the most advanced form of this genre of drones, Russia, China, Israel, Iran and Turkey all have some version of it.

World Happiness Report: India among ‘unhappiest’ nations, languishes at 136th spot

Source: This post is based on an article “World Happiness Report: India among ‘unhappiest’ nations, languishes at 136th spot” published in Indian Express on 21st March 2022 

What is the News?

The World Happiness Report 2022 has been released.

What is the World Happiness Report 2022?

Published by: United Nations Sustainable Development Solutions Network(UNSDSN) powered by the Gallup World Poll data. 

Purpose: The report uses global survey data to report how people evaluate their own lives in countries worldwide. 

Factors: The report takes into account factors such as Per capita GDP, social support, healthy life expectancy, freedom, generosity and corruption levels.

The rankings of countries are based on average data of a three-year period of 2019-2021.

What are the key findings of the World Happiness Report 2022?

Topped by: Finland has topped the index for the fifth time in a row.

India: India continued to fare poorly in the World Happiness Index, with its position marginally improving to 136 as against 139 in 2021.

Among the South Asian nations, only Afghanistan fared worse than India. Afghanistan was named the most unhappy country in the world, ranking last on the index.

— Nepal (84), Bangladesh (94), Pakistan (121) and Sri Lanka (127) managed to get better ranks in the list.