17 JULY 2023

Topic 1: Deaths due to lightening

Contextt: The Union government is not in favour of declaring lightning a natural disaster as deaths caused by it can be prevented by making people aware of safety steps.

Lightening cases in India:

• India is among only five countries in the world that has an early warning system for lightning.
  • The forecast is available from five days to up to three hours.
• However, lightning strikes are not currently covered under the State Disaster Response Fund, which means that states have to use their own resources to respond to lightning-related disasters.
• Demands for covering it as natural disaster:
  • The States such as Bihar and West Bengal have been demanding that lightning deaths be covered as a natural disaster.
• Significance:
  • Once this is notified, the victims will be entitled to compensation from the State Disaster Response Fund (SDRF).
  • The Centre makes 75% of the contribution to the SDRF.
• What is covered under SDRF?
  • Cyclone, drought, earthquake, fire, flood, tsunami, hailstorm, landslip, avalanche, cloudburst, pest attack, frost and cold wave are now considered disasters under the SDRF.
• Data on lightening deaths:
  • National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) data show that 2,880 people died in lightning strikes in 2021.
  • The deaths made up 40% of all accidental deaths caused by forces of nature.
  • The frequency of lightning was the highest in northeastern States and in West Bengal, Sikkim, Jharkhand, Odisha and Bihar.
  • But the number of deaths is higher in the central Indian States of Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Chhattisgarh and Odisha.

What is lightning and how does it cause?

• Lightning is a natural phenomenon characterized by an electrical discharge of high voltage and short duration that occurs between a cloud and the ground or within a cloud.
• It is accompanied by a bright flash, a loud sound, and sometimes thunderstorms. 
• Cloud-to-ground lightning is dangerous because it can electrocute people due to its high electric voltage and current, while inter- or intra-cloud lightning is visible and safe.
• Process of lightening:
  • The process of lightning is caused by a difference in electrical charge between the top and bottom of a cloud, which generates a massive electric current. 
  • Water vapor in the cloud condenses and rises, creating heat and pushing water molecules further up until they become ice crystals.
  • Collisions between the ice crystals trigger the release of electrons, leading to a chain reaction that results in a positively charged top layer and a negatively charged middle layer in the cloud.
  • When the difference in charge becomes large enough, a huge electric current flows between the layers, producing heat that causes the air column to expand and create shock waves that generate thunder sounds. 

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Topic 2: Ex Nomadic Elephant-23

Context: Indian and Mongolian troops will take part in Exercise Nomadic Elephant.

Key details:

• This will be the 15th edition of a bilateral military exercise.
• It will be held in Ulaanbaatar.
• Nomadic Elephant is an annual training exercise that is conducted alternatively in Mongolia and India.
• Aim:
  • Exchanging best practices and developing interoperability.
  • To build positive military relations, bonhomie, camaraderie and friendship between the two Armies.
• Theme:
  • The primary theme of the exercise will focus on counter-terrorism operations in mountainous terrain under United Nations mandate.

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Topic 3: Crimean-Congo haemorrhagic fever

Context: As Europe reels under a heatwave and wildfires, the rising temperatures have also raised fears of spread of viruses generally not found in colder climates such as the Crimean-Congo haemorrhagic fever (CCHF).

About CCHF:

• The CCHF is endemic to Africa, the Balkan countries, Middle East, and parts of Asia.
• According to the WHO, Crimean-Congo haemorrhagic fever (CCHF) is a viral haemorrhagic fever usually transmitted by ticks.
• It can also be contracted through contact with viraemic animal tissues (animal tissue where the virus has entered the bloodstream) during and immediately post-slaughter of animals.
• CCHF outbreaks constitute a threat to public health services as the virus can:
  • lead to epidemics,
  • has a high case fatality ratio (10–40%),
  • potentially results in hospital and health facility outbreaks, and
  • is difficult to prevent and treat.
• CCHF can be transmitted from one infected human to another by contact with infectious blood or body fluids.
• The ticks can also be hosted by migratory birds, thus carrying the virus over long distances.
• Symptoms
  • Fever, muscle ache, dizziness, neck pain, backache, headache, sore eyes and sensitivity to light.
• Treatment and Prevention:
  • There is no vaccine for the virus in either humans or animals.
  • Treatment generally consists of managing symptoms.
  • According to the WHO, the antiviral drug ribavirin has been used to treat CCHF infection with apparent benefit.

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Topic 4: Bhoomi Samman

Context: President of India to present the “Bhoomi Samman” 2023.

Key details:

• The “Bhoomi Samman” 2023 will be presented to to 9 State Secretaries and 68 District Collectors.
• The “Bhoomi Samman” Scheme is a fine example of Centre-State cooperative federalism based on trust and partnership.
• The grading system is largely based on reports and inputs of the States/UTs in the core components of computerization and digitization of land records.
• The “Bhoomi Samman” Scheme primarily aims to acknowledge and encourage outstanding performance in the implementation of the Digital India Land Records Modernization Programme.
• This program is instrumental in modernizing land records and registration processes, streamlining administrative procedures, and ensuring transparency and efficiency in governance. 
• Districts that successfully achieve 100% targets in the core components of the DILRMP receive the prestigious Platinum Grading.
  • This recognition signifies their exceptional performance and commitment to embracing digital transformation and modernization in the land records domain. 

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Topic 5: How are cheetahs faring in India?

Context: As more deaths of cheetahs have been reported from the Kuno National Park (KNP), Madhya Pradesh, an expert committee charged with managing the Project Cheetah programme has recommended that all animals undergo a thorough medical review.

About Project Cheetah

• Project Cheetah is India’s cheetah relocation programme.
• The attempt is to, over the next decade, bring in 5-10 animals every year until a self-sustaining population of about 35 cheetahs is established.
• Unlike cheetahs in South Africa and Namibia that are living in fenced reserves, India’s plan is to have them grow in natural, unfenced, wild conditions.
• As of today, 11 of the translocated cheetahs are in the true wild with four in specially designed one-square-kilometre enclosures called ‘bomas,’ to help the animals acclimatise to Indian conditions.

Need for a medical review

• There was a chance that chafing from the collar may have indirectly sickened the cheetah.
• The collars that the cheetahs wear are made from polystyrene and equipped with a radio-frequency tracking chip that helps monitor the animals.
• Coupled with the moisture from the monsoon season, the animal may have been unable to lick itself clean which allowed parasites to fatally lodge inside the wound.
• There is also a hypothesis that via the wound the African animal may have been exposed to parasites that Indian big-cats are usually resistant too.

Critique of Project Cheetah

• Keeping all cheetahs in one place:
  • It is a mistake to have had all 20 cheetahs in KNP as it’s too little space and prey, given that the animal is a courser and needs large distances.
• Extended periods of quarantine:
  • Having cheetahs for extended periods in quarantine have affected their adaptive capabilities and caused them to have psychological adjustment problems, making them more vulnerable.
• Not all felines are same:
  • Unlike tigers and leopards, cheetahs are relatively delicate animals and are more likely to be fatally injured in the wild.

Conclusion:

• Currently, Indian cheetahs face no competition from other comparable predators such as lions and leopards.
• So, it remains to be seen if the animals can successfully establish themselves in India, over time.
• There are plans to develop a second reserve in Gandhisagar, Madhya Pradesh and also establish a cheetah rehabilitation centre.

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Topic 6: Gambusia

Conntext: The Andhra Pradesh government has released approximately 10 million Gambusia fish into the state’s water bodies to combat mosquito-borne diseases like malaria and dengue.

Key details:

• The fish, also known as mosquitofish, is widely used as a biological agent for controlling mosquito larvae.
• Gambusia affinis (G affinis) is native to the waters of the southeastern United States and a single full grown fish eats about 100 to 300 mosquito larvae per dayW.
• Gambusia have been a part of mosquito-control strategies for over a century in various parts of the world, including India.
• G affinis has a sister species, Gambusia holbrooki (G holbrooki), also known as the eastern mosquito fish.
• Mosquitofish has been part of various malaria control strategies in India since 1928, including the Urban Malaria Scheme.

Concerns:

• There are studies that reported increased mosquito larvae population where they were introduced, as the latter preyed on other predators that ate mosquito larvae.
• There are also studies that reported that Gambusia’s predatory efficacy reduced when they were introduced in running water streams, water bodies with high insecticide levels and waterbodies with thick vegetation.
• The fish has a high breeding capacity.
• The fish can also survive in diverse environments.
• It is this adaptability that has allowed the fish to survive on six out of seven continents and has made the International Union for Conservation of Nature declare Gambusia one of the 100 worst invasive alien species in the world.
• Multiple countries, including India have listed Gambusia as invasive species.
• They are known to eat the eggs of competing fishes and frog tadpoles.

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Topic 7: Endometriosis

Context: A new study points to a link between a bacterium associated with infections in the oral cavity, and endometriosis.

About Endometriosis:

• Endometriosis, a reproductive disease affecting one in 10 women worldwide, involves the growth of lesions on pelvic organs such as the ovaries.
• These lesions are composed of endometrium, a layer of tissue lining the uterus.
• It causes infertility, chronic pain during periods, pelvic pain, bloating, nausea and fatigue and is also associated with depression and anxiety.

Key findings of the study:

• Researchers found a species of Fusobacterium in patients.
• Fusobacterium already has known links to infections of the gum, vagina, and rectum – yet it isn’t commonly found in meaningful quantities in the gut.
• They found that the bacteria triggered the growth of larger lesions of endometriosis.
• The study concluded that the bacteria had a role in the formation and aggravation of endometrial lesions.
• Causes:
  • Retrograde Menstruation:
    • It is a condition when some part of the menstrual blood flows backwards, into the abdominal region, instead of flowing out of the vagina.
    • But this is common, occurring in close to 90% of menstruating women, whereas endometriosis affects only 10%.
  • Weak detection by the immune system:
    • The inability of the immune system to detect and eliminate blood cells from retrograde menstruation, allowing it to persist in the pelvic region, points to some dysfunction in the immune system.
  • Endocrine disrupting substances:
    • Endocrine-disrupting substances interfere with the signalling, production, transport and metabolism of hormones such as oestrogen and progesterone, which are causal factors of endometriosis.
  • Inflammatory bowel disease:
    • There’s a link between inflammatory bowel disease with endometriosis.
    • The latter’s proximity to the gut has had scientists asking whether a bacteria could be the problem.
    • People with endometriosis had gut dysbiosis – an imbalance in the various microbe populations in the gut.
    • Altered microbiota (range of microorganisms) could help endometriosis progress.

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Topic 8: Multidimensional Poverty in India

Context: India has registered a decline in the number of “multidimensionally poor” individuals, from 24.85 per cent in 2015-16 to 14.96 per cent in 2019-2021, according to a report by the government think tank Niti Aayog.

Key findings:

• In absolute terms, approximately 13.5 crore Indians escaped poverty between the five year time period.
• The report was titled ‘National Multidimensional Poverty Index: A Progress Review 2023’.
• It showed that when it came to indicators like nutrition and access to education, the improvement has only been marginal, as these parameters contributed the most in keeping one in seven Indians multidimensionally poor.
• The number of states with less than 10 per cent people living in multidimensional poverty doubled in the five years between 2016 and 2021.
• Statewise Findings:
  • According to the report, in 2015-16 (NFHS-4), only seven states had less than 10 per cent of their population living in multidimensional poverty:
    • Mizoram, Himachal Pradesh, Punjab, Sikkim, Tamil Nadu, Goa, and Kerala.
  • Based on 2019-21 (NFHS-5) data, 14 states now have less than 10 per cent of the population living below the poverty line. It includes:
    • Mizoram, Himachal Pradesh, Punjab, Sikkim, Tamil Nadu, Goa, Kerala, Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, Haryana, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Manipur, and Uttarakhand. (NITI Aayog report)
  • Except for Bihar, no other state in India has more than one-third of its population living in multidimensional poverty.
    • Even in Bihar’s case, the reduction in multidimensional poverty has been significant over the five year time period – in 2015-16, over 51.89 per cent of Bihar’s population lived in multidimensional poverty.
    • By 2019-21, the figure had dropped to 33.76 per cent.
  • Jharkhand reduced the percentage of people living under multidimensional poverty from 42 per cent in 2015-16 to 28.82 per cent in 2019-21.
  • Uttar Pradesh saw a decline from 37.68 per cent to 22.93 per cent.
  • In Madhya Pradesh, multidimensional poverty dropped from 36.57 per cent to 20.63 per cent.

What is multidimensional poverty?

• This is the second edition of Niti Aayog’s report on the Multidimensional Poverty Index (MPI).
• It captures overlapping deprivations in health, education and living standards and other broader qualitative aspects of life, like child mortality, housing conditions, and other basic services such as water and sanitation to ascertain multidimensional poverty.
• The primary data source to arrive at these figures was National Family Health Survey-5 (NFHS-5).
• Under the three broad indicators of health, education and living standards, Niti Aayog assigns specific dimensions such as:
  • nutrition and child adolescent mortality under health,
  • years of schooling under education, and
  • access to cooking fuel, electricity, bank accounts etc. under quality of living.
• Each of these specific parameters are assigned a value to calculate what is called a ‘deprivation score’.
  • The deprivation score is the sum of the weighted status of all the indicators for an individual.
  • If it is more than 0.33, only then an individual is considered multidimensionally poor.

What is keeping Indians multidimensionally poor?

• Even as there has been a significant reduction in the number of multidimensionally poor individuals, it is worth noting that one in seven Indians continue to fall under that category.
  • The reason being that poverty reduction is not equally represented in the three main indicators of standard of living, health, and education.
• Health criteria:
  • Within the health category, three sub-indicators — nutrition, child and adolescent mortality, and maternal health — showed only moderate improvement.
    • Nutrition deprivation decreased from 37 per cent to 31 per cent
    • Maternal health deprivation improved from 22.5 per cent to 19.17 per cent, and
    • Child and adolescent mortality deprivation declined from 2.69 per cent to 2.06 per cent.
  • Lack of proper nutrition contributed close to 30 per cent in the overall calculation of India’s multidimensional poverty index. “
    • A household is considered nutritionally deprived if any child between the ages of 0 to 59 months, or woman between the ages of 15 to 49 years, or man between the ages of 15 to 54 years is found to be undernourished.
    • A woman or a man is considered undernourished if their Body Mass Index (BMI) is below 18.5 kg/m2.
    • Children under 5 years of age are considered malnourished if their z-score of height-for-age (stunting) or weight-for-age (underweight) is below minus two standard deviations from the median of the reference population.
    • Even if a single member of the household is identified as undernourished, the entire household is treated as deprived of nutrition.
• Standard of living criteria:
  • While there has been a significant improvement in access to cooking fuel, close to 44 per cent of India’s population is still deprived of it.
  • While sanitation numbers have improved, more than 30 per cent of the population is deprived when it comes to sanitation services.
  • Access to housing also remained to be an indicator where the improvement was only marginal.
    • In 2015-16, close to 46 per cent of the population did not have such access, and in 2019-21, more than 41 per cent Indians still did not have access to housing.
• Other indicators that did not record a significant decline and aided the most in keeping Indians poor include:
  • lack of years of schooling (16.65%),
  • inadequate access to maternal health services (11.73%), and
  • less-than-desired school attendance (9.10%).