National Current Affairs – UPSC/IAS Exams- 26th June 2019

by Mentors4ias · June 26, 2019

NITI Aayog’s Health Index

Topic: Polity and Governance

In News: Kerala continued to top the list for the best performing State in the health sector among the 21 large States, while Uttar Pradesh retained the worst performer tag, according to the second edition of NITI Aayog’s Health Index.

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The Index ranks the States and Union Territories based on 23 health-related indicators, including neonatal mortality rate, under-five mortality rate, proportion of low birth weight among new-borns, proportion of districts with functional Cardiac Care Units, full immunisation coverage and proportion of specialist positions vacant at district hospitals.
The report stated that only about half the States and UTs showeds an improvement in the overall score between 2015-16 (base year) and 2017-18 (reference year).
The report added that among the eight Empowered Action Group States, only three States Rajasthan, Jharkhand and Chhattisgarh showed improvement in the overall performance.

The Statistics:

Kerala, which got an overall score of 74.01, was followed by Andhra Pradesh (65.13), Maharashtra (63.99), Gujarat (63.52) and Punjab (63.01), Himachal Pradesh (62.41), Jammu and Kashmir 62.37, Karnataka (61.14) and Tamil Nadu (60.41).
Uttar Pradesh continued to be at the bottom of the list with its score falling to 28.61. Other States at the bottom of the list were Bihar (32.11), Odisha (35.97) and Madhya Pradesh (38.39).
The report ‘Healthy States, Progressive India: Report on Rank of States and UTs’ has ranking in three categories — larger States, smaller States and Union Territories “to ensure comparison among similar entities.”
Among the UTs, Chandigarh jumped one spot to top the list with a score of (63.62), followed by Dadra and Nagar Haveli (56.31), Lakshadweep (53.54), Puducherry (49.69), Delhi (49.42), Andaman and Nicobar (45.36) and Daman and Diu (41.66).

Model Mains Question: The NITI Ayog report ‘Healthy States, Progressive India: Report on Rank of States and UTs’ states only about half the States and UTs showed an improvement in the health indices. Analyse the reasons behind the poor performances and suggest measures to correct the same.

Source: The Hindu

Indian Children-Stunting Status

Topic: Social Justice

In News: According to an analysis of the country’s food and nutrition security released recently almost one in three Indian children under five years will still be stunted by 2022 going by current trends.

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The report, which is a baseline analysis of the country’s progress in achieving the second Sustainable Development Goal to end hunger, was prepared by the UN World Food Programme in collaboration with the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation.

Highlights of the report:

Over the last decade, child stunting which is a measure of chronic malnutrition has reduced at a rate of about 1% per year, the slowest decline among emerging economies. At this rate, 31.4% of children will still be stunted by the 2022 deadline. India must double its rate of progress to reach the target of 25% by that time.
Foodgrain yields have risen 33% over the last two decades, but are still only half of 2030 target yields.
Even so, the Indian farmer is producing more foodgrains than ever before, making the country self-sufficient in this regard. Unfortunately, the consumer’s access to rice, wheat and other cereals has not increased at the same rate, due to population growth, inequality, food wastage and losses, and exports.
As a result, the average per capita consumption of energy among the poorest 30% of the population is 1811 kilo calories, much lower than the norm of 2155 kilo calories per day.
The signs of unequal access are starkest among children. In States like Bihar (48%) and Uttar Pradesh (46%), almost one in two children are stunted, while it is only one in five children in Kerala and Goa (20% each).
There are high rates of stunting among children in the poorest wealth quintile (51.4%), Scheduled Tribes (43.6%) and Scheduled Castes (42.5%), and children born to mothers with no education (51%).

Model Mains Question: A report by UN World Food Programme in collaboration with the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation states that children born to mothers with no education are stunted 51% more than the children born to mothers with education. Discuss the link between Women empowerment and poverty alliviation.

Source: The Hindu

Impressive’ tortoise

Topic: Environment and Ecology

In News: A tortoise considered beautiful enough to be named ‘impressed’ has been discovered in Arunachal Pradesh.

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This is the first record of the tortoise in India, taking the count to five and the non-marine chelonian count to 29. Chelonian is an order of reptile that includes turtles, terrapins and tortoises.
There are only two species of tortoises under the Manouria genus. India was known to be the home of only the Asian Forest Tortoise (Manouria emys) until the discovery of the Impressed Tortoise.
The Asian Forest Tortoise, the largest in mainland Asia, is found only in the northeast, as are 20 of the other 28 species of chelonians.
The male Impressed Tortoise is smaller than the female which is 30 cm in length. This Manouria species is one-third the size of the Asian Forest Tortoise.

Source: The Hindu

Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana

Topic: Government Policies

In News: Union Housing and Urban Affairs Minister of State said that the government’s target of constructing one crore houses by 2022 under the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (Urban) could be completed by the end of 2020.

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The Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (Urban) Programme launched by the Ministry of Housing and Urban Poverty Alleviation (MoHUPA), in Mission mode envisions provision of Housing for All by 2022, when the Nation completes 75 years of its Independence.
The Mission seeks to address the housing requirement of urban poor including slum dwellers through following programme verticals:
Slum rehabilitation of Slum Dwellers with participation of private developers using land as a resource.
Promotion of Affordable Housing for weaker section through credit linked subsidy.
Affordable Housing in Partnership with Public & Private sectors.
Subsidy for beneficiary-led individual house construction /enhancement.

Key facts:

The beneficiaries are poor and people living under EWS and LIG categories in the country.
The government is providing an interest subsidy of 6.5% on housing loans which can be availed by beneficiaries for 15 years from start of loan date.
The government will grant Rs 1 lakh to all the beneficiaries of the scheme. In addition, Rs 1.5 lakh will be given to all eligible urban poor who want to construct their houses in urban areas or plan to go for renovation in their existing houses. One can also avail loans under this scheme to build toilets in existing houses.

Collateral Benefits:

PMAY-U does offer a huge opportunity for several sectors by setting off a virtuous cycle.
One crore houses would mean an opportunity for over Rs 2 lakh crore of home loans, and incremental consumption of 80-100 million tonne of cement and 10-15 million tonne of steel.
The construction opportunity is of about four billion square feet over the life of PMAY-U. And all that would translate into 9-10 crore incremental jobs over the execution period.

Source: The Hindu

Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transportation (AMRUT) and the Smart Cities Mission

Topic: Government Policies

In News: Four years have completed since the launch of the Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transportation (AMRUT) and the Smart Cities Mission.

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Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation (AMRUT) along with smart cities were jointly planned and launched by the government to transform urban living conditions through infrastructure upgradation.
AMRUT is aimed at transforming 500 cities and towns into efficient urban living spaces over a period of five years. Ministry of Urban Development has selected the five hundred cities with the help of state governments.
A project oriented development approach is adopted under the scheme in contrast to the area based approach of Smart Cities Mission.
A unique feature of AMRUT is that it is a centrally sponsored scheme with 80% budgetary support from the Centre. Formula for Allocation of AMRUT cities among States was based on total population and number of statutory urban towns (50:50)
Mission of AMRUT is to
ensure that every household has access to a tap with assured supply of water and a sewerage connection;
increase the amenity value of cities by developing greenery and well maintained open spaces (e.g. parks);
reduce pollution by switching to public transport or constructing facilities for non-motorized transport (e.g. walking and cycling).

Synergy between Smart Cities Mission and AMRUT:

The two missions that were simultaneously launched – Smart Cities Mission and AMRUT are interlinked.
AMRUT adopts a project approach to ensure basic infrastructure services in 500 cities and towns.
Smart Cities Mission adopts an area based approach in 100 cities with focus on core infrastructure services like: Adequate and clean Water supply, Sanitation and Solid Waste Management, Efficient Urban Mobility and Public Transportation, Affordable housing for the poor, power supply, robust IT connectivity, Governance, especially e-governance and citizen participation, safety and security of citizens, health and education and sustainable urban environment.

Source: The Hindu

Bandipur National Park

Topic: Environment and Ecology

In News: An inter-State meeting of senior forest personnel in Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Kerala at Bandipur in Karnataka recently decided to make concerted effort to conserve wildlife in the region.

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The meeting, convened by the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) regional zone, Bangaluru, discussed various issues, including the invasion of invasive plants in the forest areas, steps being adopted by the authorities to vulture conservation, movement of radio collared higher mammals such as tiger and elephants and various measures to be adopted to mitigate man-animal conflict in the region.
The meeting decided to intensify joint efforts to eradicate invasive plants such as Senna Spectabilis which caused major threat to the wildlife habitat in the Nilgiri Biosphere Reserve.

About Bandipur National Park:

Located in Karnataka.
Together with the adjoining Nagarhole National Park, Mudumalai National Park and Wayanad Wildlife Sanctuary, it is part of the Nilgiri Biosphere Reserve making it the largest protected area in southern India and largest habitat of wild elephants in south Asia.
The park is flanked by the Kabini river in the north and the Moyar river in the south. The Nugu river runs through the park.
The highest point in the park is on a hill called Himavad Gopalaswamy Betta.

Source: The Hindu

Lunar Evacuation System

Topic: Science and Technology

In News: Among preparations for NASA’s 2024 Moon mission, one has been to test a device called Lunar Evacuation System Assembly, or LESA.

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Developed by the European Space Agency (ESA), LESA is a pyramid-like structure whose purpose is to rescue an astronaut should he or she suffer an injury on the lunar surface.
Astronauts will be wearing heavy extravehicular activity (EVA) suits and there is no way an astronaut could carry their fallen crewmate over their shoulder while wearing an EVA suit.
LESA can be operated by a single astronaut.
It can be transported like a golf caddy and placed close to the fallen astronaut to provide a lifting mechanism.
It enables an astronaut to lift their crewmate onto a mobile stretcher.
The astronauts can then safely bring their crewmate to the lander.
This entire process of deploying and securing their crewmate to the stretcher should take less than 10 minutes.