Daily Current Affairs : 20-Nov-2019
Major Topics Covered :
BIRDS DYING IN RAJASTHAN’S SAMBHAR
2019 WORLD CONFERENCE ON ACCESS TO MEDICAL PRODUCTS: ACHIEVING THE SDGS 2030
SOUTH ASIA SAFETY SUMMIT
PARLIAMENT PASSES JALLIANWALA BAGH NATIONAL MEMORIAL (AMENDMENT) BILL 2019
BREAKING CARBON DIOXIDE FASTER, CHEAPER, AND MORE EFFICIENTLY
ROAD ACCIDENT DEATHS RECORD 2.37 PC RISE TO 1.51 LAKH IN 2018
AYURVEDA MEDICINES FOR TREATING LIFESTYLE DISEASES
JANSANKHYA STHIRATA KOSH
AYUSHMAN BHARAT - PRADHAN MANTRI JAN AROGYAYOJANA
BIRDS DYING IN RAJASTHAN’S SAMBHAR
Part of GS- 3 Biodiversity
Why in news?
In November, 2019 nearly 10,000 of migratory birds were found dead mysteriously in the Sambhar Salt Lake area.
Highlights:
Until November 19, the Rajasthan government had, using various agencies, buried a total 17,454 dead birds to prevent the spread of infection.
The clinical signs exhibited by affected birds included dullness, depression, anorexia, flaccid paralysis in legs and wings, and neck touching the ground. The birds were unable to walk, swim, or take flight.
The investigation so far points to avian botulism a paralytic, frequently fatal disease caused by the ingestion of toxins as a possible cause. This has not, however, been officially confirmed.
The Sambhar Salt Lake, India's largest inland Salt Lake, is located 80 km southwest of the city of Jaipur, Rajasthan. It surrounds the historical Sambhar Lake Town. Sambhar Lake has been designated as a Ramsar site (recognized wetland of international importance).
Avian botulism is a serious neuromuscular illness of birds caused by a toxin that is produced by the bacterium Clostridium botulinum. Avian botulism has been recognised as a major cause of mortality in wild-birds since the 1900s.
Source: Indian Express
"2019 WORLD CONFERENCE ON ACCESS TO MEDICAL PRODUCTS: ACHIEVING THE SDGS 2030"
Part of GS-Health
Why in news?
Union Health Minister Harsh Vardhan said on 19th November. Inaugurating the "2019 World Conference on Access to Medical Products: Achieving the SDGs 2030."
Highlights:
The 2019 World Conference on Access to Medical Products- Achieving the SDGs 2030 will be convened from 19-21 November 2019 in New Delhi.
It is being jointly organized by the Ministry of Health & Family Welfare (MoHFW) and the World Health Organization (WHO), in collaboration with the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR); Biotechnology Industry Research Assistance Council (BIRAC); and Translational Health Science and Technology Institute (THSTI).
The Conference is a follow on from the “2017 and 2018 World Conference on Access to Medical Products” organized in November 2017 and October 2018 by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Government of India.
Objectives of the conference are to: Explore new approaches in the innovation landscape in medical products for achieving Universal Health Coverage and the SDG 2030 goals and Discuss the role of intellectual property to promote access to medical products.
Source: WHO
SOUTH ASIA SAFETY SUMMIT
Part of GS- 1 Social Issues
Why in news?
Union Minister Smriti Irani has stressed the need to ensure the safety of women and children within their homes, and create safe neighbourhoods to protect them against violence and abuse.
Highlights:
During the Summit, Union Minister of WCD launched “We Think Digital” website. This website is an online education portal with interactive tutorials aimed at helping people think critically and share thoughtfully online.
The topics covered include privacy, safety, security, digital discourse and knowing your digital footprint.
Citing data from the National Crime Records Bureau, she revealed that three lakh crimes registered against women are committed by husbands and relatives.
Ms Irani highlighted the steps taken by the Ministry, like one-stop centres to service the needs of women in their locality. She informed that 10 one-stop centres open every month across the country.
By the end of this year 2019, every district will have an operational one-stop centre.
The South Asia Safety Summit is being organized to highlight the issue of safety while individuals and communities are connected on the digital platform.
Participants from 125 civil society organizations who have expertise in running digital literacy programmes and creating tools for social-emotional development of young people attended the Summit. They are from India, Nepal, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, and Afghanistan.
Source: AIR
PARLIAMENT PASSES JALLIANWALA BAGH NATIONAL MEMORIAL (AMENDMENT) BILL 2019
Part of GS-1 History
Why in news?
Parliament has passed the Jallianwala Bagh National Memorial (Amendment) Bill, 2019. Rajya Sabha approved the bill yesterday while Lok Sabha had passed it in the last session.
Highlights:
The Bill seeks to amend the Jallianwala Bagh National Memorial Act, 1951.
It has a provision to remove the President of the Congress party as a trustee and clarifies that when there is no Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha, the leader of the single largest Opposition party will be the trustee.
The Bill also allows the Central government to terminate the term of a nominated trustee before the expiry of the period of his term, without assigning any reason.
Replying to the discussion on the Bill, Culture Minister Prahlad Patel said the government’s intention is to build a Memorial so that the sacrifice of martyrs is remembered by generations to come.
The Jallianwala Bagh National Memorial Act, 1951?
The Jallianwala Bagh National Memorial Act, 1951 was enacted to provide for the erection and management of a National Memoraial to prepetuate the memory of those killed or wounded on the 13th day of April, 1919, in Jallianwala Bagh, Amritsar.
The Act provides for a Trust for the erection and management of the Memorial and also provided for composition of the Trust with certain Trustees for life.
Source: AIR
BREAKING CARBON DIOXIDE FASTER, CHEAPER, AND MORE EFFICIENTLY
Part of GS-3 S&T
Why in news?
Scientists from the University of Connecticut in the US have found a novel catalyst that breaks down carbon dioxide into useful chemicals faster, cheaper, and more efficiently than the standard method.
Highlights:
Researchers said extra carbon dioxide in the atmosphere is changing the planet's climate, and many chemists are working on efficient ways to turn it into other useful products.
They, however, noted that carbon dioxide's stability makes this tough. It is hard to get the molecule to react with anything else.
They said the best existing technique to electrochemically break carbon dioxide into pieces that will chemically react uses a catalyst made of platinum, which is a rare, expensive metal.
Nickel-Iron Catalyst:
Now, a team of researchers at Stanford University have created an electrochemical cell filled with a porous, foamy catalyst made of nickel and iron. Both metals are cheap and abundant.
When carbon dioxide gas enters the electrochemical cell, and a voltage is applied, the catalyst helps the carbon dioxide (a carbon atom with two oxygens) break off oxygen to form carbon monoxide (a carbon atom with one oxygen).
The carbon monoxide is very reactive and a useful precursor for making many kinds of chemicals, including plastics and fuels such as gasoline
Source: AIR
ROAD ACCIDENT DEATHS RECORD 2.37 PC RISE TO 1.51 LAKH IN 2018
Part of GS- social Issues
Why in news?
The number of people killed on Indian roads recorded a rise of 2.37 per cent to 1.51 lakh in 2018 and 70 per cent of the victims fell in the age bracket of 18-45 years, according to a report released by the highway’s ministry on 19th November,2019.
Highlights:
Road accidents in the country have increased marginally by 0.46 % during 2018 with the year seeing 4,67,044 road accidents as against 4,64,910 in 2017.
The fatalities during the same period have also risen by about 2.37% and 151471 persons were killed in 2018 as against 1,47,913 in 2017.
Road accident injuries have however showed a decrease of 0.33% in 2018 as compared to 2017.
As in 2017, the State of Tamil Nadu recorded the highest number of road accidents in 2018. Similarly, as in 2017, the number of persons killed in road accident was the highest in Uttar Pradesh in 2018.
National Highways accounted for 30.2 % of total road accidents and 35.7 % of deaths in 2018.
State Highways accounted for 25.2 % and 26.8 % of accidents and deaths respectively. Other Roads were responsible for the balance 45 % of accidents and 38% deaths respectively.
Accident related killings by type of road user: the number of Pedestrians killed accounted for 15%, the share of cyclists was 2.4% and that of Two wheelers was 36.5%. Together these categories explain 53.9% of the accident related killings and are the most vulnerable category.
Young adults in the age group of 18 - 45 years accounted for nearly 69.6 % of road accident victims.
The number of hit and run cases in 2018 accounted for 18.9% of the deaths compared to 17.5% in 2017.
The share of males in number of total accident deaths was 86% while the share of females hovered around 14% in 2018.
Causes of road accidents:
Under the category of Traffic Rule Violations, over speeding is a major killer, accounting for 64.4% of the persons killed followed by driving on the wrong side of the road which accounted for 5.8% of the accident related deaths.
Use of mobile phones accounted for 2.4% of the deaths with drunken driving accounting for 2.8% of the persons killed.
About 29% of deaths can be attributed to non-use of helmets and 16% of deaths can be attributed to non-use of seat belts.
Source: Times of India
AYURVEDA MEDICINES FOR TREATING LIFESTYLE DISEASES
Part of GS- Health
Why in news?
Ministry of AYUSH in collaboration with Ministry of Health & Family Welfare has implemented a project viz Integration of AYUSH (Ayurveda) with National Programme for Prevention and Control of Cancer, Diabetes, Cardio-vascular Diseases and Stroke (NPCDCS) program in the identified Districts.
Highlights:
Central Council for Research in Ayurvedic Sciences (CCRAS), under Ministry of AYUSH has developed AYUSH-82, a formulation through extensive research methodologies and the same has been commercialised for further benefit of public at large.
CCRAS has developed AYUSH-QOL-2C for improving Quality of life of breast & cervical cancer patients in collaboration with All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), Delhi and St. Jones Medical College (Bengaluru).
In addition to this, CCRAS has validated 82 classical Ayurvedic formulations and 11 new drugs on more than 32 diseases conditions, lifestyle diseases such as Diabetes, Bronchial Asthma, Hypertension, Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS), Iron deficiency anaemic, Osteoarthritis, Rheumatoid arthritis, Haemorrhoids, Computer vision Syndrome, Obesity etc.
Source: PIB
JANSANKHYA STHIRATA KOSH
Part of GS- Health
Why in news?
Jansankhya SthirthaKosh (JSK), an autonomous body under Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, implemented the following schemes
Prerna Scheme (for delaying marriage, childbirth and spacing),
Santushti Scheme (Public Private Partnership for sterilization services),
National Helpline (for information on family planning).
STEPS BEING TAKEN BY THE GOVERNMENT TO CONTROL POPULATION GROWTH:
Mission ParivarVikas- The Government has launched Mission Parivar Vikas for substantially increasing access to contraceptives and family planning services in146 high fertility districts with Total Fertility Rate (TFR) of 3 and above in seven high focus states. These districts are from the states of Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand and Assam that itself constitutes 44% of the country’s population.
New Contraceptive Choices- New contraceptives viz. Injectable contraceptive and Centchroman have been added to the existing basket of choices.
A new method of IUCD insertion immediately after delivery i.e. post-partum IUCD (PPIUCD) has been introduced.
Redesigned Contraceptive Packaging - The packaging for Condoms, OCPs and ECPs has now been improved and redesigned so as to increase the demand for these commodities.
Compensation scheme for sterilization acceptors - Under the scheme MoHFW provides compensation for loss of wages to the beneficiary and also to the service provider (& team) for conducting sterilizations.
Clinical Outreach Teams (COT) Scheme - The scheme has been launched in 146 Mission ParivarVikas districts for providing Family planning services through mobile teams from accredited organizationsin far-flung, underserved and geographically difficult areas.
Scheme for Home delivery of contraceptives by ASHAs at doorstep of beneficiaries.
Scheme for ASHAs to Ensure spacing in births.
Scheme for provision of Pregnancy Testing Kits in the drug kits of ASHAs for use in communities.
Family Planning Logistic Management and Information System (FP-LMIS): A dedicated software to ensure smooth forecasting, procurement and distribution of family planning commodities across all the levels of health facilities.
National Family Planning Indemnity Scheme (NFPIS) under which clients are insured in the eventualities of death, complication and failure following sterilization.
Ensuring quality of care in Family Planning services by establishing Quality
Assurance Committees in all states and districts.
Appointment of dedicated RMNCH+A counselorsat high case load facilities.
Improved Demand generation activities through a 360-degree media campaign.
Source: PIB
AYUSHMAN BHARAT - PRADHAN MANTRI JAN AROGYAYOJANA
Part of GS- Health
Why in news?
Ayushman Bharat - Pradhan Mantri Jan ArogyaYojana was launched on 23.09.2018 to provide health cover up to Rs. 5 lakh per family per annum for secondary and tertiary care hospitalisation to around 10.74 crore poor and vulnerable families (approx. 50 crore individuals) based on the deprivation and occupational criteria as per the Socio-Economic Caste Census.
Highlights:
The scheme provides for paperless and cashless access to services for the beneficiary at the point of service i.e. empanelled public and private hospitals across India.
To facilitate this, an online transaction management system has been adopted by States/UTs. Further, claims of the hospitals are also settled through online portal in a time-bound manner.
Salient Features of Ayushman Bharat -Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana
Government of India has launched Ayushman Bharat – Pradhan Mantri Jan ArogyaYojana (AB-PMJAY) on 23.09.2018. PMJAY is a centrally sponsored scheme. It is entirely funded by Government and the funding is shared between Centre and State governments as per prevailing guidelines of Ministry of Finance.
PMJAY provides health cover up to Rs. 5 lakh per family per year for secondary and tertiary hospitalization to around 10.74 crore poor and vulnerable families (approx. 50 crore beneficiaries).
PMJAY is an entitlement-based scheme. This scheme covers poor and vulnerable families based on deprivation and occupational criteria as per SECC database.
PMJAY provides cashless and paperless access to services for the beneficiary at the point of service in any (both public and private) empanelled hospitals across India. In other words, a beneficiary from one State can avail benefits from an empanelled Hospital anywhere in the Country.
Under PMAJY, the States arefree to choose the modalities for implementation. They can implement the scheme through insurance company or directly through the Trust/ Society or mixed model.
There is no restriction on family size, ensuring all members of designated families specifically girl child and senior citizens get coverage.
A well-defined Complaint and Public Grievance Redressal Mechanism, has been put in place through which complaints/ grievances are registered, acknowledged, escalated for relevant action, resolved and monitored.
PMJAY has created a robust IT system for implementation and role of real time transaction data.
At National level, National Health Authority (NHA) has been set up as an attached office to Ministry of Health and Family Welfare to manage the implementation of the scheme.
The details of package, operational guidelines and key features are available at www. pmjay.gov.in
Source: PIB
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