National Current Affairs – UPSC/KAS Exams- 28th January 2019

Sickle Cell Anaemia

Topic: Health

IN NEWS: Scientists have long known what causes sickle-cell disease and its devastating effects: a single mutation in one errant gene. But for decades, there has been only modest progress against an inherited condition that mainly afflicts people of African descent.With advances in gene therapy, that is quickly changing — so much so that scientists have begun to talk of a cure.

More on the Topic:

• Sickle cell anemia is an inherited form of anemia — a condition in which there aren’t enough healthy red blood cells to carry adequate oxygen throughout your body.
• Normally, your red blood cells are flexible and round, moving easily through your blood vessels. In sickle cell anemia, the red blood cells become rigid and sticky and are shaped like sickles or crescent moons. These irregularly shaped cells can get stuck in small blood vessels, which can slow or block blood flow and oxygen to parts of the body.
• There’s no cure for most people with sickle cell anemia. But treatments can relieve pain and help prevent problems associated with the disease.
• Sickle cell anemia is caused by a mutation in the gene that tells your body to make the red, iron-rich compound that gives blood its red color (hemoglobin). Hemoglobin allows red blood cells to carry oxygen from your lungs to all parts of your body. In sickle cell anemia, the abnormal hemoglobin causes red blood cells to become rigid, sticky and misshapen.
• The sickle cell gene is passed from generation to generation in a pattern of inheritance called autosomal recessive inheritance. This means that both the mother and the father must pass on the defective form of the gene for a child to be affected.

New hopes:

• In a half-dozen clinical trials planned or under way, researchers are testing strategies for correcting the problem at the genetic level. Already a handful of the enrolled patients, who have endured an illness that causes excruciating bouts of pain, strokes and early death, no longer show signs of the disease.
• It is still early in the course of these experimental treatments, and it is likely to be at least three years before one is approved.
• At the moment, the only remedy for sickle-cell disease is a dangerous and expensive bone marrow transplant, an option rarely used. An effective gene therapy would not be simple or inexpensive, but it could change the lives of tens of thousands of people.
• “This would be the first genetic cure of a common genetic disease.

Source: The Hindu

Sufism and Bakthi Movement

Topic: Culture

IN NEWS: According to experts who participated Jaipur Literary Festival Sufism and the Bhakti movement have had an impact on the beliefs and thoughts of Muslims since the medieval period, adding that Islam practised in India was “vastly different” from that in West Asian countries.

About Sufism:

• The Sufi movement is believed to have begun in Persian countries against the highly puritan Islamic culture.
• Later, it spread into India and adopted various things like yogic postures, dance and music into it, and turned itself into a pantheistic movement. The Sufi orders were of two types – ba-shara and be-shara, where shara stood for the Islamic law. The former obeyed the laws while the latter was more liberal.
• The saints organized themselves into twelve silsilas or orders. The important among them were the Chisti and Suhrawardi silsilas, both of which belonged to the ba-shara order.
• The Chisti Silsila was begun by Khwaja Moinuddin Chisti who came to India around 1192. None of his records remain, and he is widely known through the writings of his disciples and followers.
• The most famous of the Chisti saints were Nizamuddin Auliya and Naziruddin chirag-i-Delhi. They mingled freely with people of low classes, even Hindus. The chistis didn’t want anything to do with the administration or money. They led simple austere lives.
• They adopted many ideas of each other[religions].
• They rejected outward religiosity and emphasized love and devotion to God and compassion towards all fellow human beings.
• The Sufis often rejected the elaborate rituals and codes of behaviour demanded by Muslim religious scholars.

Model Mains Question: Analyse the contributions of Bhakti and Sufi traditions to the composite culture of India.

Source:The Hindu

Satkosia Tiger Reserve

Topic: Environment and Ecology

In news: Patrolling in the Satkosia Tiger Reserve is set to be strengthened as two trained elephants would be deployed there shortly.

More on the Topic:

• Trained elephants will help ground-level forest guards patrol deep in the forest where jeeps cannot go.
• The two elephants are being brought from the Similipal Tiger Reserve.
• The authorities did not want to leave any stone unturned before approaching the NTCA for resuming the ambitious tiger reintroduction programme in Satkosia.
• The tiger reintroduction programme in STR had run into rough weather following the death of India’s first inter-State translocated tiger last year.
• The Odisha government had planned to bring six tigers (three male and three female) from Madhya Pradesh to increase the feline population in Satkosia. Last year, one pair of big cats was brought to Satkosia.
• However, the programme did not go as per plan. While the tiger T1 reportedly died after falling into a poaching trap, there was huge discontentment among villagers residing in the buffer areas over the frequent straying of the tigress into human habitation. As the situation went out of control following a human kill, the tigress was captured. Subsequently, the programme was put on hold.

About Satkosia Tiger Reserve:

• Satkosia Tiger Reserve is a tiger reserve located in the Angul district of Odisha.
• It is located where the Mahanadi River passes through a 22 km long gorge in the Eastern Ghats mountains.

Source: The Hindu

Seven northeastern States lag behind in toilets for schoolgirls

Topic: Women related Issues

In news: An average of 34.96% schools in the eight northeastern States had usable toilets for girls in 2018 compared to 36.66% in 2016, data analysed from the Annual Status of Education Report (ASER) 2018 report revealed.

More on the Topic:

• With 75.7% schools – a marginal increase from 75% in 2016 – having usable toilets for girls, Sikkim performed better than the national average of 66.4% last year. But the State’s show was overshadowed by the less-than-satisfactory performance by seven other States in the region.

National Scenario:

• Nationally, substantial improvements are visible over this eight-year period in the availability of many school facilities mandated by RTE. The fraction of schools with usable girls’ toilets doubled, reaching 66.4% in 2018. The percentage of schools with books, other than textbooks, available rose from 62.6% to 74.2% between 2016-18.

About ASER Report:

• The ASER report is being published by a NGO called Pratham.
• ASER report is a household-based survey that collects information on children’s schooling status and basic learning outcomes in almost every rural district in the country.
• The ASER survey is an enormous participatory exercise that has involved about 500 organizations and upwards of 25,000 volunteers every year.
• Estimates of children’s schooling and learning status are generated at district, state and national levels.
• ASER is the only annual source of data on children’s learning outcomes available in India.
• The ASER model has been adapted for use by thirteen other countries across three continents.

Recent findings of the report:

• In India 125 million children between 14 and 18 years of age are ill-equipped to read, write or do even basic arithmetic.
• It is revealing that the gender divide in intellect levels worsens with rise in age, as girls are often compelled to drop out of school for a variety of reasons.
• In India 76 per cent of teenage girls have no access to the computer or internet, as against 49 per cent in the case of boys.
• Boys expressed their wish to join the army or police, while girls wished to be teachers, gendered choice of careers remains the norm for society at large.
• The report refers to a lack of interest in pursuing education in agriculture.
• The situation calls for a shift in policy priorities, as pointed out by Economic Survey 2016-17.

Model mains Question: Critically analyse the education system of India in light of the ASER report.

Source: The Hindu

Microplastic found in groundwater: study

Topic: Environment And Ecology

In news: In a first, scientists have detected the presence of microplastics in groundwater in the U.S.

More on the Topic:

• Microplastics are already known to contaminate the world’s surface waters, yet scientists have only just begun to explore their presence in groundwater systems.
• The study, published in the journal Groundwater , identified microplastic fibres, along with a variety of medicines and household contaminants, in two aquifer systems in the U.S. “Plastic in the environment breaks down into microscopic particles that can end up in the guts and gills of marine life, exposing the animals to chemicals in the plastic.

About Micro Plastics:

• Microplastics are small, barely visible pieces of plastic that enter and pollute the environment.
• Microplastics are not a specific kind of plastic, but rather any type of plastic fragment that is less than five millimeters in length according to the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).[3]
• They enter natural ecosystems from a variety of sources, including, but not limited to, cosmetics, clothing, and industrial processes.
• Two classifications of microplastics currently exist. Primary microplastics are any plastic fragments or particles that are already 5.0 mm in size or less before entering the environment. These include microfibers from clothing, microbeads, and plastic pellets (also known as nurdles).
• Secondary microplastics are microplastics that are created from the degradation of larger plastic products once they enter the environment through natural weathering processes. Such sources of secondary microplastics include water and soda bottles, fishing nets, and plastic bags.
• Both types are recognized to persist in the environment at high levels, particularly in aquatic and marine ecosystems.

Source: The Hindu

Model for malaria control

Topic: Health

In news:  The World Health Organisation’s World Malaria Report of 2018 turned the spotlight on India’s recent strides against malaria. India is the only country among the 11 highest-burden countries that saw substantial progress in reducing disease burden.

More on the Topic:

• It saw a 24% decrease in 2017 compared to 2016. This shows that India has assumed a leadership role in advancing global efforts to end malaria. The country’s success provides hope to the other highest-burden countries to tackle malaria head-on.
• India’s progress in fighting malaria is an outcome of concerted efforts to ensure that its malaria programme is country-owned and country-led, even as it is in alignment with globally accepted strategies.
• The turning point in India’s fight against malaria came at the East Asia Summit in 2015, when it pledged to eliminate the disease by 2030.
• Following this public declaration, India launched the five-year National Strategic Plan for Malaria Elimination.
• This marked a shift in focus from malaria “control” to “elimination”. The plan provides a roadmap to achieve the target of ending malaria in 571 districts out of India’s 678 districts by 2022.

The Road Map:

• The plan requires more than ₹10,000 crore. Adequate investment combined with coordinated action between governments, civil society and philanthropic donors is imperative to achieve this goal.
• Since health is a State subject, State governments across the country shoulder a special responsibility in tackling the disease.
• Among the States, Odisha has emerged as an inspiration in the fight against malaria.
• In recent years it has dramatically scaled-up efforts to prevent, diagnose and treat malaria through its Durgama Anchalare Malaria Nirakaran (DAMaN) initiative, which has produced impressive results in a short span of time.
• In 2017, accredited social health activists (ASHAs) helped distribute approximately 11 million bed nets, which was enough to protect all the residents in areas that were at highest risk. This included residential hostels in schools.
• As a result of its sustained efforts, Odisha recorded a 80% decline in malaria cases and deaths in 2017.
• DAMaN aims to deliver services to the most inaccessible and hardest hit people of the State.
• The initiative has in-built innovative strategies to combat asymptomatic malaria. DAMaN has been accorded priority in the State’s health agenda. There is financial commitment for a five-year period to sustain and build on the impact created by the initiative.
• The new country-driven ‘high burden to high impact’ plan to reduce disease burden in the 11 countries reflects the global sentiment that business as usual is no longer an option when it comes to fighting the disease. By prioritising malaria elimination, India, and especially Odisha, is showing the world the way.

Source: The Hindu

Antarctica’s krill shift south as icy waters warm

Topic: Environment And Ecology

In news: Krill are shifting south towards Antarctica as the oceans warm, disrupting stocks that are eaten by penguins and whales and caught by industrial trawlers

More on the Topic:

• Main populations of the shrimp-like crustaceans, which grow to 6.5 cm long and form vast swarms, have moved about 440 km south in the past 90 years.
• It’s often predicted that species will move towards the poles as the climate warms.
• Almost 200 nations promised in 2015 under the Paris climate agreement to limit greenhouse gas emissions. Waters in the southwest Atlantic, home to most krill, have warmed 1 degree Celsius over the past 90 years, and krill are concentrating into a narrowing band towards the coast of Antarctica.
• The British Antarctic Survey (BAS) reckons krill are among the most abundant creatures on Earth with an estimated total of 780 trillion, excluding larvae and eggs. Krill are food for whales, seals, penguins and other predators.
• The analysis by the researcher reveals the species facing increasing difficulty in replenishing itself and maintaining high numbers at the northern edge of the Southern Ocean.
• Krill fisheries around Antarctica peaked in the early 1980s at more than 500,000 tonnes caught a year, dominated by the Soviet Union, and had dropped to 237,000 tonnes caught in 2017, according to the Commission for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources.