Urban quality of life index.
IIT-Bombay
researchers have come up with an urban quality of life index tailored to the
reality of life in India.
For
the first time, they have factored in gender parity.
Chennai,
it turns out, is the most women-friendly and Patna the least.
Overall,
Mumbai tops the list of 14, followed closely by Delhi, Kolkata and Chennai. But
so important is the gender role index that quality of life rankings of six
cities would have changed had it not been considered — Delhi, Jaipur and Indore
would have been ranked higher, and Mumbai, Bhopal and Lucknow would have ceded
their spots.
Only
Chennai, Kolkata and Mumbai surpass the average score for gender index, while
Indore, Jaipur and Patna are way below average.
Key highlights of the study:
The
study found that Jaipur has the highest crime rate against women, Chennai has
the lowest.
The
gap in literacy rate between men and women is the widest in Jaipur (13.2%) and
lowest in Kolkata (5.4%).
The
unemployment rate for women is the highest in Patna — at 346, it is more than
four times the urban average of 73.
Another
often overlooked factor are the basics — power, water, education. Only 36%
urban households in Patna have access to treated tap water.
Literacy
was the highest in Pune (91%) and, surprisingly, the lowest in Hyderabad (83%).
India’s
first homes for transgender children in need of care and protection will soon
be established in Bengaluru.
The
Ministry of Women and Child Development gave its nod for the project last week.
The
minutes of the supplementary Project Approval Board (PAB) under child
protection services says that two government-run children’s homes reserved for
transgender children will be established in Bengaluru Urban.
Children
in need of care and protection include orphans, abandoned children, street
children, child labourers and child victims of abuse.
India Inches towards first Marine ‘Designated Area’ off
Maharashtra Coast
A
proposal has been sent to the Centre to notify Angria Bank as a ‘designated
area’ under the Maritime Zones Act, 1976.
•
The Maharashtra state government has sent its final proposal to the Centre to
notify
2,011.43
sq km Angria Bank as a ‘designated area’ under the Maritime Zones Act, 1976.
•
Angria Bank is located 105km off the Konkan coast.
•
The Angira bank, named after Maratha Admiral Kanhoji Angre, is located in
Malvan town of Sindhudurg district
•
It will be the India’s first marine protected zone beyond territorial waters,
if approved.
Significance of Angria Bank:
•
It is a submerged plateau with coral reef formation (39 species of both hard
and soft corals
(protected
under Schedule I of the WPA) across 650 sq km.).
• Wildlife Institute of India has identified Angria Bank among 106 important coastal and marine biodiversity areas in India.
•
As many as 123 species of fish, 43 species of invertebrates, dolphins and
whales among other marine animals protected under India’s wildlife laws were
recorded.
•
Threats including overfishing, oil, natural gas and mineral exploration, rising
ocean temperatures, and rising marine traffic were identified.
Why
there was the Need to send a Proposal to Center?
•
As Angria Bank lies beyond the Indian territorial waters (12 nautical miles),
it is not possible to declare the site as a protected area under the Wildlife
Protection Act (WPA),
1972.
•
Therefore, being in the exclusive economic zone (EEZ), the only way to provide
legal protection is by notifying it as a ‘designated area’ for marine
protection under the
Maritime
Zones Act, 1976, (covering territorial waters, continental shelf, exclusive economic
zone, and other maritime zones) of the Ministry of External Affairs.
•
This proposal is a first under the Maritime Zones Act, 1976.
•
With more conservation focus there will be more protective measures, promotion
of research, a bit of controlled tourism, and control over suspected threats.
The
Proposal was based on which sources?
•
The proposal was based on underwater and boat surveys.
•
The decision will help India meet international obligations for more protection
of our marine biodiversity.
Marine protected Areas:
✓ Marine Protected Areas are created by delineating zones with permitted and non- permitted uses within that zone.
✓ Marine Protected Areas
in India are the area defined under IUCN Guidelines. They limit anthropogenic
activities and exploitation of resources in these areas.
✓ The term Marine
Protected Areas include marine reserves, fully protected marine areas, no-take
zones, marine sanctuaries, ocean sanctuaries, marine parks, locally managed
marine areas, to name a few.
•
Gulf of Kutch Marine National Park is the first National Marine park of India.
•
India’s other marine protected areas
are:
✓ Gahirmatha Sanctuary
✓ Gulf Kutch Sanctuary
✓ Mahatma Gandhi Marine
National Park
✓ Gulf of Mannar
National Park
•
Many of these have quite different levels of protection, and the range of
activities allowed or prohibited within their boundaries varies considerably
too.
•
(As per World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF), Marine Protected Area are:-
•
An area designated and effectively managed to protect marine ecosystems,
processes, habitats, and species, which can contribute to the restoration and
replenishment of resources for social, economic, and cultural enrichment.
National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (NREGS)
Recently,
the National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (NREGS) portal shows that demand
for work has been at all-time high, according to data available up to November.
Highlights:
•
It is a demand-based scheme and has emerged as a safety net during the pandemic
for Jobless Migrant workers returning to their Villages
•
The number of gram panchayats generating nil person days of work during the
current financial year are at an eight-year low of only 3.42% of the 2.68 lakh
gram panchayats across the country.
•
The number of gram panchayats generating nil person days during the entire
period was 3.91% of the total 2.64 lakh gram panchayats, in 2019. Over 96% of
gram panchayats across the country have registered demand for work under NREGS
from April till November-end.
•
Over 6.5 crore households, covering 9.42 crore individuals, have availed NREGS
till November 2020, which is an all-time high.
•
The Highest number of demand for work came from Tamil Nadu, West Bengal, Uttar
Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh.
•
The wage expenditure has also reached an all-time high of Rs. 53,522 crore
during this period.
•
Tamil Nadu has reported the highest figure of households that availed the NREGS
across the country, since July and has been followed by West Bengal.
•
About National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme
•
The Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act, 2005 was notified
by the Government of India on September, 2005 and was made effective in
February 2006.
Under
it, the NREGS was introduced.
•
The Act aims at enhancing the livelihood security of people in rural areas by
guaranteeing hundred days of wage employment in a financial year to a rural
household whose adult members (at least 18 years of age) volunteer to do
unskilled work.
•
The central government bears the full cost of unskilled labour, and 75% of the
cost of material (the rest is borne by the states).
•
It is a demand-driven, social security and labour law that aims to enforce the
‘right to work’.
• Ministry of Rural Development in association with state governments, monitors the implementation of the scheme.
Export Promotion Council.
The
Ministry of Textiles has invited proposals for the constitution of a dedicated
Export Promotion Council (EPC) for technical textiles.
The
decision is significant as there is a lot of untapped potential in the area of
technical textiles, as per estimates, and the Indian textiles industry has
already demonstrated its abilities by manufacturing large quantities of
personal protective equipment kits and N95 masks following the Covid-19
outbreak.
The
exporter associations and trade bodies registered under the Companies Act or
the Society Registration Act have been asked to submit proposals for
constitution of a dedicated EPC for technical textiles by December 15 2020.
The
Council shall abide by all directions of the Central government in respect of
promotion and development of international trade and would be responsible to
promote ITC (HS) lines identified and notified by the Directorate General of
Foreign Trade (DGFT) from time to time.
The Cancer Genome Atlas Program.
The
Cancer Genome Atlas Program (TCGA)is a cancer genomics program of the US-India
which began in 2006 bringing together researchers from diverse disciplines and
multiple institutions.
Over
the years, TCGA generated over 2.5 petabytes of genomic, epigenomic,
transcriptomic, and proteomic data.
These
data led to improvements in the ability to diagnose, treat, and prevent cancer.
On
similar lines, the establishment of an ‘Indian Cancer Genomics Atlas (ICGA)’
has been initiated by aconsortium of key stakeholders in India led by CSIR.
Hayabusa2 mission.
The
mission is similar to NASA’s OSIRIS-REX mission that brought back samples from
asteroid Bennu late in October.
According
to the Japanese Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA), this is the first time
that a probe has visited a celestial body that is under 100 metres in diameter.
What is the Hayabusa2 mission?
The
Hayabasu2 mission was launched in December 2014 when the spacecraft was sent on
a six-year-long voyage to study the asteroid Ryugu and collect samples that it
is now bringing back to the Earth.
The
spacecraft arrived at the asteroid in mid-2018 after which it deployed two
rovers and a small lander onto the surface. In 2019, the spacecraft fired an
impactor into the asteroid’s surface to create an artificial crater with a
diametre of a little more than 10 metres, which allowed it to collect the
samples.
As
per NASA, the asteroid is thought to be made up mostly of nickel and iron.
“Asteroids like Ryugu are interesting for several reasons, perhaps foremost
because they are near the Earth and might, one day in the far future, pose an
impact threat,” NASA has said.
Hayabasu2’s
predecessor, the Hayabusa mission brought back samples from the asteroid
Itokawa in 2010.
Influenza.
The
researches at Sweden’s Karolinska Institute have recently come out with
findings on
Super
infections and have also highlighted that influenza makes people more
susceptible to bacterial infections.
Highlights:
•
Super infections are infection occurring after or on top of an earlier
infection, especially following treatment with broad- spectrum antibiotics. It
is an overgrowth of an opportunistic pathogen from the bacterial or yeast
imbalance of systemic antibiotics.
•
For example, influenza is caused by a virus, but the most common cause of death
in influenza patients is secondary pneumonia, which is caused by bacteria.
•
The reason behind influenza infections leading to an increased risk of
bacterial pneumonia is not known.
•
When an individual is infected by influenza different nutrients and
antioxidants, such as vitamin C, leak from the blood.
•
The absence of nutrients and antioxidants creates a favourable environment for
bacteria in the lungs.
•
The bacteria adapt to the inflammatory environment by increasing the production
of an enzyme called High temperature requirement A (HtrA).
•
The presence of HtrA weakens the immune system and promotes bacterial growth in
the influenza -infected airways.
•
The ability of pneumococcus to grow seems to depend on the nutrient-rich
environment with its higher levels of antioxidants that occurs during a viral
infection, as well as on the bacteria’s ability to adapt to the environment and
protect itself from being eradicated by the immune system.
Spanish Flu:
•
It was an influenza pandemic that swept across the world in the year 1918–1920.
•
It disproportionately hit young healthy adults and important reason for this
was superinfections caused by bacteria, in Particular Pneumococci.
•
Pneumococcal infections are the most common cause of community acquired
pneumonia and a leading global cause of death.
•
A prior influenza virus infection is often followed by a Pneumococcal
Infection.
Significance:
•
The results could be used to find new therapies for double infections between
the influenza virus and pneumococcal bacteria.
•
A possible strategy can therefore be use of protease inhibitors to prevent
pneumococcal growth in the lungs.
•
The information can contribute to the research on Covid-19.
•
However, it is still not known if Covid-19 patients are also sensitive to such
secondary bacterial infections.
Influenza:
•
It is a viral infection that attacks the respiratory system i.e. nose, throat
and lungs and is commonly called the flu.
•
Its symptoms are Fever, chills, muscle aches, cough, congestion, runny nose,
headaches and fatigue.
•
It is primarily treated with rest and fluid intake to allow the body to fight
the infection on its own.
•
Paracetamol may help cure the symptoms but Non Steroidal Anti-inflammatory
Drugs
(NSAIDs)
should be avoided. An annual vaccine can help prevent the flu and limit its
complications.
•
Young children, older adults, pregnant women and people with chronic disease or
weak Immune systems are at high risk.
Peacock Soft-shelled Turtle
Peacock
soft-shelled turtle has recently been rescued from a fish market in Assam’s
Silchar.
•
Its scientific Name is Nilssonia hurum.
•
They have a large head, downturned snout with low and oval carapace of dark
olive green to nearly black, sometimes with a yellow rim.
•
Males possess relatively longer and thicker tails than females.
Habitat:
•
This species is confined to India, Bangladesh and Pakistan.
•
In India, it is widespread in the northern and central parts of the Indian
subcontinent.
•
These are found in rivers, streams, lakes and ponds with mud or sand bottoms.
•
The species is heavily exploited for its meat and calipee (the outer
cartilaginous rim of the shell). Threats in the River Ganga to the species are
those generic for all large river turtles, including reduction of fish stock,
as a result of overfishing, pollution, increase in river traffic, and
sand-mining, among others.
•
Its Conservation Status are Wildlife Protection Act, 1972: Schedule I; IUCN Red
List:
Vulnerable;
and CITES: Appendix I.
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