Food Security and Nutrition

According to the latest UN report, The State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World 2019, more than 821 million people suffered from hunger worldwide in the year 2018.

• The report was prepared by the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and other United Nations agencies including the World Health Organization (WHO).

Key Findings

• Undernourishment: After decades of steady decline, the trend in world hunger – as measured by the prevalence of undernourishment – reverted in the year 2015, remaining virtually unchanged in the past three years at a level slightly below 11 %, posing a challenge to achieving the SDG Goal 2 (End hunger, achieve food security and improved nutrition and promote sustainable agriculture)
  
  • Hunger is on the rise in almost all African subregions, making Africa the region with the highest prevalence of undernourishment, at almost 20 %.
  • In Asia, despite great progress in the last five years, Southern Asia is still the subregion where the prevalence of undernourishment is highest, at almost 15 %.
  • It is projected that undernutrition will reduce Gross Domestic Product (GDP) by up to 11 % in Africa and Asia.
  • Most countries (65 out of 77) that experienced a rise in undernourishment between 2011 and 2017 simultaneously suffered an economic slowdown or downturn.
  • Economic shocks have also prolonged and worsened the impact of conflict and climate events on acute food insecurity.
• Breastfeeding: Only 40% of infants under six months are exclusively breastfed, which is far from the 2030 target of 70 %.
• Low Birthweight: No progress has been made in reducing the prevalence of low birthweight since 2012. One in seven live births, or 20.5 million babies globally, suffered from low birthweight in 2015.
• Stunting: The number of stunted children has declined by 10% over the past six years. In the year 2018, Africa and Asia accounted for more than nine out of ten of all stunted children globally, representing 39.5% and 54.9 % of the global total, respectively.
• Food Insecurity: About 2 billion people in the world experience moderate or severe food insecurity.
  
  • In every continent, the prevalence of food insecurity is slightly higher among women than men, with the largest differences found in Latin America.
  • Moderate food insecurity: People experiencing moderate food insecurity face uncertainties about their ability to obtain food, and have been forced to compromise on the quality and/or quantity of the food they consume.
  • Severe food insecurity: People experiencing severe food insecurity have typically run out of food and, at worst, gone a day (or days) without eating.
• Obesity: Overweight and obesity continue to increase in all regions, particularly among school-age children and adults. In 2018, an estimated 40 million children under five were overweight.
  
  • Throughout the world, most school-age children do not eat enough fruit or vegetables, regularly consume fast food and carbonated soft drinks, and are not physically active on a daily basis.
• Anaemia: It currently affects 33 % of women of reproductive age – more than double the 2030 target of 15 %.

India Specific Findings

• The prevalence of undernourishment in India declined from 22.2% in 2004-06 to 14.5% between 2016 and 2018.
• In Southern Asia, food insecurity increased from less than 11% in 2017 to more than 14% in 2018. This possibly reflects an increase in the unemployment rate in India between 2017 and 2018, and especially in Pakistan, where growth is expected to slow down significantly.
  
  • In the Indian Himalayas, economic slowdown coupled with natural resource depletion and climate change negatively impacted on food production and employment opportunities. This resulted in increased threats to food security due to lower purchasing power.

Suggestions

• Reducing gender inequalities and those inequalities arising from social discrimination.
• Creating synergies between poverty reduction, hunger and malnutrition eradication.
• Policies to protect, promote and support breastfeeding and to increase the availability and affordability of nutritious foods that constitute a healthy diet are required, along with measures to create healthier food environments and limit consumption of harmful fats, salt and sugars.
• Safeguarding food security and nutrition through economic and social policies that help counteract the effects of economic slowdowns or downturns, including guaranteeing funding of social safety nets and ensuring universal access to health and education.

International Day against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking

The Ministry of Social Justice & Empowerment has observed International Day against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking on 26^th June 2019.

• The Ministry highlighted the importance of the following approach in dealing with the menace of drug abuse:-
  
  • Universal Accessibility of Treatment.
  • Focus on Prevention, Treatment and Rehabilitation under National Action Plan for Drug Demand Reduction.
  • Targeted Intervention for High-Risk District & for Vulnerable Population in Closed Settings

Government Intervention

• The Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment, Government of India, addresses the prevention and rehabilitation aspect of substance use through the establishment of “rehabilitation centres” run by nongovernmental organizations.
• The Drug De-addiction Programme (DDAP) was initiated in 1988 under the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Government of India, and was mandated with provision of treatment for substance use disorder (SUDs.)
• Globally, three broad approaches are followed to address the issue of drug use – “supply reduction”, “demand reduction” and “harm reduction.”
  
  • The “supply reduction” sector of the government works toward reducing the availability of illicit drugs through implementing the relevant drug laws and policies and is managed largely by the Narcotics Control Bureau, Ministry of Home Affairs, Government of India and a variety of other agencies in the central or state governments.
  • The “demand reduction” sector, on the other hand, deals with reducing the demand for drugs in the population through prevention, treatment, and rehabilitation.
    
    • The Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment (MoSJE), Government of India, is the nodal ministry for demand reduction and has a “Scheme for Prevention of Alcoholism and Substance (Drugs) Abuse” in place since 1985–86.
  • “Harm reduction” in India is primarily seen as prevention of HIV among people who inject drugs and various strategies for this are implemented by the National AIDS Control Organization, Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MoHFW).

Complaint Management System

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has launched the Complaint Management System (CMS) in order to improve the customer experience in grievance redressal process of banking services.

• CMS is an application (accessible on mobile and desktops) for filing complaints with RBI, on the grounds of violation under:
  
  • Banking Ombudsman (BO) Scheme, 2006.
  • Ombudsman Scheme for NBFCs, 2018
• CMS will enable individuals to submit their complaints on RBI’s website against any of the RBI regulated entities such as commercial banks, urban co-operative banks, and Non banking financial companies.
• Features:
  
  • Acknowledgement through SMS/e-mail notification(s).
  • Status tracking through unique registration number.
  • Receipt of closure advises and filing of appeals.
  • It also asks for voluntary feedback on the customer’s experience.
• CMS Database:
  
  • Can be used by banks/ financial service providers for designing products, which meet the expectations of their customers.
  • Can be used by RBI for analytics, which can be used for regulatory and supervisory purposes.
• The Reserve Bank is also planning to introduce a dedicated Interactive Voice Response (IVR) System for tracking the status of complaints.

White Label ATM

In order to enhance the viability of White Label ATMs (WLAs), the RBI has allowed White Label ATM Operators (WLAOs) to buy wholesale cash from the RBI and currency chests.

• This will provide the functionality to WLATMs, as they are cash-starved because the banks used to give preference to the ATMs deployed by them.
• Until now cash Management at the WLAs was the responsibility of the Sponsor Bank.
• By allowing WLAO to source cash directly from RBI, will encourage more WLATM to be opened across the country, thereby leading to deepening of financial inclusion

White-Label ATMs

• Automated Teller Machines (ATMs) set up, owned and operated by non-bank entities are called "White Label ATMs" (WLAs).
• Non-bank entities incorporated in India under the Companies Act 1956 are allowed to operate WLAs.
• In September 2015, Government permitted Foreign Direct Investment (FDI), up to 100%, under the automatic route.
• Non-bank entities are permitted to set up WLAs in India, after obtaining authorisation from RBI under the Payment and Settlement Systems (PSS) Act 2007.
• Such non-bank entities should have a minimum net worth of Rs 100 crore.
• Tata Communications Payment Solutions Limited (TCPSL) was the first company authorized by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) to open White Label ATMs in the country. It got launched under the brand name 'Indicash'.
• White Label ATMs are like normal ATM. However, cash deposit or cash acceptance facility is not permitted at the WLA. The difference is this ATM machine does not have any branding of Bank. These machines are usually deployed by NBFC (Non-Banking Financial Institutions).
• The basic idea about White Label ATM is to increase the geographical spread of ATM to enhance financial inclusion.

Brown Label ATM

• Brown Label ATM is based on the concept of sharing the cost.
• In Brown Label, ATM hardware is owned by the service provider, but cash management and network connectivity are provided by the sponsor bank. but the ATM machine contains Logo of sponsor bank.
• Brown Label ATM is a cost-effective solution for banks.

Controlling Chikungunya and Dengue through Bacteria

To control the spread of dengue and chikungunya, scientists at the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) have developed a strain of Aedes aegypti mosquito into which a naturally occurring bacteria, Wolbachia, is introduced.

• This variant of Aedes aegypti mosquito has been named the Puducherry strain since it was developed at the Vector Control Research Centre (VCRC), Puducherry in collaboration with Monash University in Australia.
• Aedes aegypti mosquito is the main vector that transmits the viruses that cause dengue.

Mechanism

• The bacteria Wolbachia “inhibits” viral infection, that is, even if people encounter mosquito bite, they will not be infected. This happens because bacteria does not allow the virus to replicate in the mosquito thereby minimising its number within the mosquito and hence virus won’t be transmitted through a bite.
• Over a period of time, the population of Aedes aegypti mosquitoes in India will be slowly replaced by this new strain carrying Wolbachia bacteria.This is called as population replacement strategy.
• This strain will specifically help in reducing the number of dengue cases across the country.

About Dengue

• Dengue is transmitted by several species of mosquito within the genus Aedes.
• Symptoms include fever, headache, muscle and joint pains, and a characteristic skin rash that is similar to measles. There are four strains and Type-II and IV are considered more severe and normally require hospitalisation.
• Dengvaxia has been approved by the US Food & Drug Administration, the first dengue vaccine to get the regulatory nod in the US. The Indian drug controller has yet to grant approval to Sanofi's dengue vaccine - Dengvaxia.
• India has reported 6,210 cases and six deaths from dengue until June 9, 2019.

Bureau of Indian standards (BIS) Act 2016

The Bureau of Indian standards (BIS) Act 2016 establishes the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) as the National Standards Body of India.

Bureau of Indian Standards Act

• BIS Act allows multiple types of simplified conformity assessment schemes including self-declaration of conformity.
• BIS act provides enabling provisions for making hallmarking of precious metal articles mandatory.
• The Act enables the Central Government to appoint any authority/agency, in addition to the BIS, to verify the conformity of products and services with the established standard and  issue certificate of conformity.
• There is a provision for repair or recall, of the products (bearing Standard Mark) that do not conform to the relevant Indian Standard.
• New areas identified in standardization are:
  
  • Alternate fuels
  • E-mobility
  • Medical Devices
  • Smart Cities
  • Digital Technologies (e.g. Industry 4.0, Artificial Intelligence, Block Chain etc.)
  • New and Renewable energy.

Important initiatives for effective implementation of the BIS Act, 2016 are

• BIS (Hallmarking) Regulations, 2018 under the BIS act calls for Hallmarking of:
  
  • Gold jewellery and gold artefacts
  • Silver jewellery and silver artefacts
• Penal provisions for better and effective compliance have been made stringent under BIS (Hallmarking) Regulations, 2018.

Sangeet Natak Akademi Awards- 2018

Recently, the General Council of the Sangeet Natak Akademi has announced its awards in the field of performing arts for the year 2018.

• The awards are: Sangeet Natak Akademi Fellowships (Akademi Ratna), Sangeet Natak Akademi Awards (Akademi Puraskar), and Ustad Bismillah Khan Yuva Puraskar 2018.

Sangeet Natak Akademi Fellowships (Akademi Ratna)

• The Akademi conferred this award on four eminent personalities:
  
  • Zakir Hussain: Tabla
  • Sonal Mansingh: Indian classical dancer (Bharatanatyam, Odissi, Manipuri, Kuchipudi)
  • Jatin Goswami: Sattriya dance and music
  • K.Kalyanasundaram Pillai: Bharatanatyam
• The Fellowship of the Akademi is the most prestigious and rare honor, which is restricted to 40 numbers at any given time. By the election of above four fellows there are presently forty Fellows of Sangeet Natak Akademi.
• The honour of Akademi Fellow carries a purse money of Rs.3,00,000/- (Rupees three lakh) along with a Tamrapatra and Angavastram.

Sangeet Natak Akademi Awards (Akademi Puraskar)

• These awards have been given to forty-four artists from the field of Music, Dance, Theatre, Traditional/Folk/Tribal Music/Dance/Theatre, Puppetry and Overall contribution/scholarship in the Performing Arts.
• These forty-four artists include three joint awards as well.
• Diwan Singh Bajeli (Theatre) and Puru Dadhich (Author/ Kathak) have been selected for the Akademi Award 2018 in the field of Overall Contribution/Scholarship in the Performing Arts.
• Akademi Puraskar carries Rs 1,00,000/- (Rupees one lakh) along with a Tamrapatra and Angavastram.

Ustad Bismillah Khan Yuva Puraskar

• The academy has selected 32 (Including one joint Awards) artists of India who have made a mark as young talents in their respective fields of the performing arts for Ustad Bismillah Khan Yuva Puraskar 2018.
• It is conferred upon artists below the age of 40 years with the objective of identifying and encouraging outstanding young talents in diverse fields of performing arts and giving them national recognition early in their lives, so that they may work with greater commitment and dedication in their chosen fields.
• Ustad Bismillah Khan Yuva Puraskar carries a purse money of Rs 25,000/- (Rupees twenty five thousand only).

Leachate Treatment

The South Delhi Municipal Corporation (SDMC) has commissioned a leachate treatment plant at the Okhla landfill to overcome the problem of seepage during monsoons.

• Leachate is the black, foul-smelling toxic liquid emanating from rotting garbage at landfills, which not just has fungus and bacteria in it but harmful chemicals as well.
• It gets accumulated at the bottom of the landfill and percolates down through the soil contaminating the groundwater. It contaminates surface water as well.
• Such contamination of groundwater resources poses a substantial risk to local resource users and to the natural environment.
• Leachate generation is a major problem for municipal solid waste (MSW) landfills.
• Leachate treatment options include recycling, on-site treatment, discharge to a municipal sewage treatment plant, or a combination of these approaches.

Broadband Readiness Index (BRI)

Recently the Department of Telecom (DoT) and the Indian Council for Research on International Economic Relations (ICRIER) signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to develop a Broadband Readiness Index (BRI) for Indian States and Union Territories (UT).

• This BRI will appraise the condition of the underlying digital infrastructure and related factors at the State/UT level.
• It will help the states to make choices for investment allocations in ICT programmes.
• The index will encourage the spirit of competitive federalism, as states will learn from each other and jointly participate in achieving the overall objective of digital inclusion and development in India.
• The BRI was recommended by National Digital Communication Policy (NDCP) 2018
  • NCDP acknowledged the need for building a robust digital communications infrastructure leveraging existing assets of the broadcasting and power sectors including collaborative models involving state, local bodies and the private sector.
• The BRI consists of two parts.
  
  • First part will focus on infrastructure development
  • Second part will consist of demand-side parameters such as the percentage of households using computers/ laptops with an internet connection, the percentage of households with fixed broadband connection etc.
• The primary survey of BRI will be conducted annually until 2022. which will form the basis of the new digital communication policy in 2022.

Markandeshwar Temple

The Archaeological Survey of India is taking up the restoration work of Markandeshwar temple in Maharashtra.

• Markandeshwar temple is situated on the bank of River Wainganga in district Gadchiroli of Maharashtra.
• It is also known as the “Khajuraho of Vidarbha”.
• Markandeshwar temple belongs to the Nagara group of temples of North India.
• The Nagara temples belong to Saiva, Vaishnava and Sakta faith.
• Most of the temples have a simple plan, with ardhamandapa, mandapa, antarala and garbhagriha forming the component of the entire set up.