Leaders’ Summit on Climate

Why in News

Recently, the Leaders' Summit on Climate was convened by the US President virtually.

• 40 world leaders, including the Prime Minister of India, were invited to the event to underscore the urgency of stronger climate action.
• This summit is seen as a key milestone on the road to the United Nations Climate Change Conference, Conference of the Parties 26 (COP 26) in November 2021 in Glasgow, Scotland.

Key Points

• India-US Clean Energy Agenda 2030 Partnership:
  
  • About:
    
    • It is a joint climate and clean energy initiative of India with the US.
    • It will demonstrate how the world can align swift climate action with inclusive and resilient economic development, taking into account national circumstances and sustainable development priorities.
  • Objective:
    
    • Mobilise investments, demonstrate clean technologies and enable green collaborations in India that could also create templates of sustainable development for other developing countries.
  • Two Main Tracks of the Initiative:
    
    • The Strategic Clean Energy Partnership.
    • The Climate Action and Finance Mobilization Dialogue.
• US’ Stand:
  
  • Pledged:
    
    • To cut the US’s GreenHouse Gas (GHG) in half by the year 2030 and called upon other nations to “set higher climate ambitions” that will create jobs at home, advance innovative technologies and help countries vulnerable to the impact of climate change.
    • To double its public climate financing to developing countries and triple public financing for climate adaptation in developing countries by 2024.
  • NDC:
    
    • It submitted a new Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) target that aims to reduce its GHG emissions by 50-52% below 2005 levels.
      
      • The US has rejoined the Paris Agreement.
  • Applauded:
    
    • India for stepping up its climate change commitment including the partnership with the US to deploy 450 gigawatts of renewable power to meet the ambitious 2030 target for climate action and clean energy.
• China’s Stand:
  
  • Carbon Neutrality:
    
    • Its carbon emissions will peak before 2030 and the country will achieve carbon neutrality by 2060.
      
      • Promoted its green Belt and Road Initiative and announced efforts to “strictly control coal-fired power generation projects” and phase down coal consumption.
  • Common but Differentiated Responsibilities:
    
    • It also emphasised on the principle of common but differentiated responsibilities, which argues for long-time polluters such as developed countries to do more to fight the climate crisis.
• India's Stand :
  
  • Emissions:
    
    • India was already doing its part and that the country’s per capita carbon emissions are 60% lower than the global average.
  • Commitment:
    
    • India’s ambitious renewable energy target of 450 GW by 2030.
    • Despite its development challenges, India has taken many bold steps on clean energy, energy efficiency, afforestation and biodiversity. India is among few countries whose NDCs are 2°C compatible.
  • Emphasis:
    
    • Emphasised its encouragement of global initiatives such as the International Solar Alliance and the Coalition for Disaster Resilience Infrastructure.
• Some Indian Initiatives to Fight Climate Change:
  
  • National Clean Air Programme (NCAP)
  • Bharat Stage-VI (BS-VI) emission norms
  • UJALA scheme
  • National Action Plan on Climate Change (NAPCC)

Way Forward

• There is an urgent need for every country, city, business and financial institution to adopt concrete plans for transitioning to net-zero.
• Even more urgent is for governments to match this long-term ambition with concrete actions now, as trillions of dollars are mobilised to overcome the Covid-19 pandemic. Revitalising economies is our chance to re-engineer our future.
• The G7 Summit in June 2021 offers the opportunity for the world’s wealthiest countries to step up and provide the necessary financial commitments that will ensure the success of COP26.

Source: IE

Climate Change: Impact on Children

Why in News

A recent analysis, based on Notre Dame Global Adaptation Initiative (ND-GAIN) index, has shown the impact of climate change on children across the world.

• The analysis was done by Save the Children International, a child rights non-profit organisation.

Key Points

• From the Analysis:
  
  • Countries with Highest Climate Risk:
    
    • Sub-Saharan Africa has 35 of the 45 countries globally at highest climate risk.
      
      • Climate risk can be defined as a combination of hazard exposure, sensitivity to impact, and adaptive capacity.
    • Chad, Somalia, Central African Republic, Eritrea and Democratic Republic of the Congo are the least capable of adapting to the impact of climate change.
    • Around 490 million children under the age of 18 in 35 African countries are at the highest risk of suffering the impact of climate change.
  • Situation in South Asian Region:
    
    • Of the 750 million children in 45 countries likely to be most affected by climate risk, 210 million are in three South Asian nations — Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan.
  • Impact of Climate Change on Children:
    
    • Floods, droughts, hurricanes and other extreme weather events will have a deep impact on vulnerable children and their families.
      
      • Malaria and dengue fever already plague children in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
      • Increasing extreme weather events can lead to new health risks while the health system is already limited.
      • Around 9.8 million people were displaced due to the disasters caused by climate change during the first half of 2020.
        
        • Most of them were in South and South-East Asia and the Horn of Africa, confirmed the World Meteorological Organisation in its flagship State of the Global Climate report.
    • Children will be impacted by food shortages, diseases and other health threats, water scarcity, or be at risk from rising water levels – or a combination of these factors.
    • There is enough evidence that establishes the impact of “climate crisis on food production”. Hence, this will lead to local food scarcity and price hikes.
      
      • Climate change can disrupt food availability, reduce access to food, and affect food quality.
    • Children of the poorest households will be the most-affected. In fact, there has been scientific evidence of the link between obesity, under-nutrition and climate change.
• India’s Scenario:
  
  • Findings from 2020 PwC Report:
    
    • Disadvantaged and vulnerable populations (including children), indigenous people and local communities dependent on agricultural or coastal livelihoods are at a disproportionately higher risk of adverse consequences due to climate change.
      
      • Children bear the brunt of climate change as it affects their fundamental rights of survival, protection, development and participation.
    • Other potential effects of climate change on children are orphanhood, trafficking, child labour, loss of education and development opportunities, separation from family, homelessness, begging, trauma, emotional disruption, illnesses, etc.
  • India’s Performance in Other Related Indices:
    
    • Climate Change Performance Index:
      
      • India ranked 10^th in CCPI 2021, released by Germanwatch, the New Climate Institute and the Climate Action Network.
    • World Risk Index 2020: India has ranked 89^th among 181 countries on the WRI 2020 and is fourth-most-at-risk in South Asia, after Bangladesh, Afghanistan and Pakistan.
      
      • It is released by the United Nations University Institute for Environment and Human Security (UNU-EHS), Bündnis Entwicklung Hilft and the University of Stuttgart in Germany.
    • Assessment of Climate Change over the Indian Region: MoES:
      
      • It is India’s first-ever national forecast on the impact of global warming on the subcontinent in the coming century, published by the Ministry of Earth Sciences (MoES).
    • National Climate Vulnerability Assessment Report: Released by the Department of Science and Technology, it identified Jharkhand, Mizoram, Orissa, Chhattisgarh, Assam, Bihar, Arunachal Pradesh, and West Bengal as states highly vulnerable to climate change.
• Some of the Indian Initiatives to Fight Climate Change:
  
  • Shift from Bharat Stage-IV (BS-IV) to Bharat Stage-VI (BS-VI) emission norms,
  • National Clean Air Programme (NCAP),
  • UJALA scheme,
  • National Action Plan on Climate Change (NAPCC), etc.

Way Forward

• Scale up adaptive and shock-responsive social protection systems – such as grants for pregnant mothers and children - to address the increasing impacts of climate change on children and their families.
• More countries need to work towards their commitment in the Convention on the Rights of the Child to ensure every child is protected from poverty, for example by providing universal child benefits to improve children’s well-being and build resilience.

Source: DTE

National Panchayati Raj Day

Why in News

India commemorates the 12^th National Panchayati Raj day on 24^th April 2021.

• The Prime Minister has launched the distribution of e-property cards under the SWAMITVA scheme on the Day.

Key Points

• About:
  
  • Background: The first National Panchayati Raj Day was celebrated in 2010. Since then, the National Panchayati Raj Day is celebrated on 24^th April every year in India.
  • Awards Presented on the Day:
    
    • The Ministry of Panchayati Raj has been awarding the best performing Panchayats/States/UTs across the country in recognition of their good work.
    • Awards are given under various categories namely,
      
      • Deen Dayal Upadhyay Panchayat Sashaktikaran Puraskar,
      • Nanaji Deshmukh Rashtriya Gaurav Gram Sabha Puraskar,
      • Child-friendly Gram Panchayat Award,
      • Gram Panchayat Development Plan Award and
      • e-Panchayat Puraskar (given to States/UTs only).
    • For the first time, the Prime Minister will transfer the award money (as Grants-in-Aid) directly to the bank account of the Panchayats concerned in real time.
• Panchayati Raj:
  
  • After the Constitution came into force, Article 40 made a mention of panchayats and Article 246 empowered the state legislature to legislate with respect to any subject relating to local self-government.
  • Panchayati Raj Institution (PRI) was constitutionalized through the 73^rd Constitutional Amendment Act, 1992 to build democracy at the grass roots level and was entrusted with the task of rural development in the country.
  • PRI is a system of rural local self-government in India.
    
    • Local Self Government is the management of local affairs by such local bodies who have been elected by the local people.
  • To strengthen e-Governance in Panchayati Raj Institutions (PRIs) across the country, Ministry of Panchayati Raj (MoPR) has launched eGramSwaraj, a user friendly web-based portal.
    
    • It unifies the planning, accounting and monitoring functions of Gram Panchayats. It’s combination with the Area Profiler application, Local Government Directory (LGD) and the Public Financial Management System (PFMS) renders easier reporting and tracking of Gram Panchayat’s activities.
• About SVAMITVA Scheme:
  
  • SVAMITVA (Survey of Villages and Mapping with Improvised Technology in Village Areas) scheme is a collaborative effort of the Ministry of Panchayati Raj, State Panchayati Raj Departments, State Revenue Departments and Survey of India.
  • Aim: To provide an integrated property validation solution for rural India.
    
    • It is a scheme for mapping the land parcels in rural inhabited areas using drone technology and Continuously Operating Reference Station (CORS).
    • The mapping will be done across the country in a phase-wise manner over a period of four years - from 2020 to 2024.

Source:PIB

Microfinance Institutions

Why in News

Microfinance institutions (MFIs) have urged the Centre to consider prioritising vaccinations for their employees and self-help group workers.

• This request is in order to ensure that lines of credit remain open for the poor amidst the rising second wave of Covid-19 infections.

Key Points

• About:
  
  • MFI is an organization that offers financial services to low income populations.
    
    • These services include microloans, microsavings and microinsurance.
  • MFIs are financial companies that provide small loans to people who do not have any access to banking facilities.
    
    • The definition of “small loans” varies between countries. In India, all loans that are below Rs.1 lakh can be considered as microloans.
  • In most cases the so-called interest rates are lower than those charged by normal banks, certain rivals of this concept accuse microfinance entities of creating gain by manipulating the poor people’s money.
  • Microfinance sector has grown rapidly over the past few decades and currently it is serving around 102 million accounts (including banks and small finance banks) of the poor population of India.
  • Different types of financial services providers for poor people have emerged - non-government organizations (NGOs); cooperatives; community-based development institutions like self-help groups and credit unions; commercial and state banks; insurance and credit card companies; telecommunications and wire services; post offices; and other points of sale - offering new possibilities.
  • Non Banking Finance Company (NBFC)-MFIs in India are regulated by The Non-Banking Financial Company -Micro Finance Institutions (Reserve Bank) Directions, 2011 of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI).
• Major Business Models:
  
  • Joint Liability Group:
    
    • This is usually an informal group that consists of 4-10 individuals who seek loans against mutual guarantee.
    • The loans are usually taken for agricultural purposes or associated activities.
  • Self Help Group:
    
    • It is a group of individuals with similar socio-economic backgrounds.
    • These small entrepreneurs come together for a short duration and create a common fund for their business needs. These groups are classified as non-profit organisations.
      
      • The National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD) SHG linkage programme is noteworthy in this regard, as several Self Help Groups are able to borrow money from banks if they are able to present a track record of diligent repayments.
  • Grameen Model Bank:
    
    • It was the brainchild of Nobel Laureate Prof. Muhammad Yunus in Bangladesh in the 1970s.
    • It has inspired the creation of Regional Rural Banks (RRBs) in India. The primary motive of this system is the end-to-end development of the rural economy.
  • Rural Cooperatives:
    
    • They were established in India at the time of Indian independence.
    • However, this system had complex monitoring structures and was beneficial only to the creditworthy borrowers in rural India. Hence, this system did not find the success that it sought initially.
• Benefits:
  
  • They provide easy credit and offer small loans to customers, without any collateral.
  • It makes more money available to the poor sections of the economy, leading to increased income and employment of poor households.
  • Serving the under-financed section such as women, unemployed people and those with disabilities.
  • It helps the poor and marginalised section of the society by making them aware of the financial instruments available for their help and also helps in developing a culture of saving.
  • Families benefiting from microloans are more likely to provide better and continued education for their children.
• Challenges:
  
  • Fragmented Data:
    
    • While overall loan accounts have been increasing, the actual impact of these loans on the poverty-level of clients is not clear as data on the relative poverty-level improvement of MFI clients is fragmented.
  • Impact of Covid-19:
    
    • It has impacted the MFI sector, with collections having taken an initial hit and disbursals yet to observe any meaningful thrust.
  • Social Objective Overlooked:
    
    • In their quest for growth and profitability, the social objective of MFIs—to bring in improvement in the lives of the marginalized sections of the society—seems to have been gradually eroding.
  • Loans for Non-income Generating Purposes:
    
    • The proportion of loans utilized for non-income generating purposes could be much higher than what is stipulated by the RBI which is 30% of the total loans of the MFI.
    • These loans are short-tenured and given the economic profile of the customers, it is likely that they soon find themselves in the vicious debt trap of having to take another loan to pay off the first.

Way Forward

• MFIs need to focus on creating a sustainable and scalable microfinance model with a mandate that is unequivocal about both economic and social good.
• MFIs should ensure that the ‘stated purpose of the loan’ that is often asked from customers at the loan-application stage is verified at the end of the tenure of the loan.
• RBI should encourage all institutions to monitor their impact on society by means of a ‘social impact scorecard’.

Source: TH

Crew-2 Mission

Why in News

Four astronauts were launched to the International Space Station (ISS) from Florida as part of a collaboration between NASA and SpaceX under the Commercial Crew Program. The mission is called Crew-2.

Key Points

• About the Commercial Crew Program:
  
  • NASA's Commercial Crew Program is a partnership between NASA and private industry to carry astronauts to and from the International Space Station.
  • Unlike previous human spaceflight programs, NASA is a customer buying flights from commercial providers. The agency does not own or operate the spacecraft.
  • The program is helping to lower the cost of spaceflight and potentially create a new commercial market for humans in space.
  • By encouraging private companies to provide crew transportation services to and from low-Earth orbit, NASA can focus on building spacecraft and rockets meant for deep space exploration missions.
  • Boeing and SpaceX were selected by NASA in September 2014 to develop transportation systems meant to transfer crew from the US to the ISS.

• NASA’s Partnership with SpaceX:
  
  • In May 2020, NASA’s SpaceX Demo-2 test flight lifted off for the ISS carrying two astronauts.
    
    • The aim of this test flight was to see if SpaceX capsules could be used on a regular basis to ferry astronauts to and from the ISS.
  • Demo-2 was followed by the Crew-1 mission in November, which was the first of six crewed missions between NASA and SpaceX marking the beginning of a new era for space travel.
  • Crew-1 was the first operational flight of the SpaceX Crew Dragon spacecraft on a Falcon 9 rocket to the ISS.
  • Crew-1 team members joined members of Expedition 64 and conducted microgravity studies at the ISS.
• About the Crew-2 Mission:
  
  • It is the second crew rotation of the SpaceX Crew Dragon and the first with international partners.
  • Out of the four astronauts, two are from NASA and two are from the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) and the European Space Agency (ESA).
  • Crew-2 astronauts will join the members of Expedition 65 (65^th long duration expedition to the International Space Station).
    • They will stay aboard the ISS for six months during which time they will conduct science experiments in low-Earth orbit.
  • Their central focus during this time will be to continue a series of Tissue Chips in Space studies.
• Tissue Chips:
  
  • Tissue Chips are small models of human organs that contain multiple cell types that behave similarly to the human body.
  • According to NASA, these chips can potentially speed up the process of identifying safe and effective drugs and vaccines.
  • Scientists can use these tissue chips in space to study diseases that affect specific human organs, which would take months or years to develop on Earth.

Source: IE

World Malaria Day 2021

Why in News

The report, titled ‘Zeroing in on malaria elimination’, was released by the World Health Organization (WHO) ahead of World Malaria Day 2021.

• World Malaria Day is observed on 25^th April every year. The 2021 theme is “Reaching the Zero Malaria target".
• The WHO has also identified 25 countries with the potential to eradicate malaria by 2025 under its ‘E-2025 Initiative’.

Key Points

• Malaria:
  
  • About:
    
    • Malaria is a life threatening mosquito borne blood disease caused by plasmodium parasites. It is predominantly found in the tropical and subtropical areas of Africa, South America as well as Asia.
    • The parasites spread through the bites of infected female Anopheles mosquitoes.
      
      • After entering the human body, parasites initially multiply within the liver cells and then attack the Red Blood Cells (RBCs) resulting in their rupture.
    • There are 5 parasite species that cause malaria in humans, and 2 of these species – Plasmodium falciparum and Plasmodium vivax – pose the greatest threat.
    • Symptoms of malaria include fever and flu-like illness, including shaking chills, headache, muscle aches, and tiredness.
    • It is preventable as well as curable.
  • Malaria Vaccine:
    
    • Known by its lab initials as RTS,S but branded as Mosquirix, the vaccine has passed lengthy scientific trials that found it to be safe and reducing the risk of malaria by nearly 40%, the best ever recorded.
    • It was developed by GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) company and approved by the European Medicines Agency in 2015.
    • The RTS,S vaccine trains the immune system to attack the malaria parasite (Plasmodium (P.) falciparum, the most deadly species of the malaria parasite).
• E-2025 Initiative:
  
  • In 2017, WHO launched the E-2020 initiative to support a group of countries to achieve zero indigenous cases of malaria by 2020.
    
    • Some 21 countries across five regions were identified as having the potential to reach the milestone of eliminating malaria.
    • The report ‘Zeroing in on malaria elimination’ brings out the progress made through the E-2020 initiative of WHO.
  • Building on the successes of the E-2020, WHO has identified a new group of 25 countries that have the potential to stamp out malaria within a 5-year timeline.
  • The E-2025 countries will receive technical and on-the-ground support by WHO and its partners. In return, they are expected to audit their elimination programmes annually, participate in elimination forums, conduct surveillance assessments, and share malaria case data periodically.
  • The new countries were selected based on four criteria:
    
    • The establishment of a government-endorsed elimination plan;
    • Meeting the threshold of malaria case reductions in recent years;
    • Having the capacity of malaria surveillance and a designated governmental agency responsible for malaria elimination; and
    • Being selected by the WHO Malaria Elimination Oversight Committee.
• India's Scenario:
  
  • Malaria Burden: The World Malaria Report (WMR) 2020 released by WHO, which gives the estimated cases for malaria across the world, indicates that India has made considerable progress in reducing its malaria burden.
    
    • India is the only high endemic country which has reported a decline of 17.6% in 2019 as compared to 2018.
  • Initiatives Taken:
    
    • In 2017, India launched its 5-year National Strategic Plan for Malaria Elimination that shifted focus from Malaria control to elimination and provided a roadmap to end malaria in 571 districts out of India’s 678 districts by 2022.
    • Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) has recently established ‘Malaria Elimination Research Alliance-India (MERA-India) which is a conglomeration of partners working on malaria control.

Source: DTE

CSF and Sheep Pox Vaccine

Why in News

The ICAR-Indian Veterinary Research Institute (IVRI) has transferred the technology for Classical Swine Fever (CSF) & Sheep Pox Vaccines to an animal healthcare company Hester Biosciences.

• The technology was transferred through state-owned Agrinnovate India (AgIn), which aims to work on the strengths of theIndian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR).
  
  • AgIn promotes the development and spread of R&D outcomes through IPR (Intellectual Property Right) protection, commercialization and forging partnerships both in the country and outside for the public benefit.

Key Points

• Classical Swine Fever (CSF):
  
  • About the Disease:
    
    • CSF, also known as hog cholera, is an important disease of pigs.
    • It is one of the most economically-damaging pandemic viral diseases of pigs in the world.
      
      • It is caused by a virus of the genus Pestivirus of the family Flaviviridae, which is closely related to the viruses that cause bovine viral diarrhoea in cattle and border disease in sheep.
      • Mortality is 100%.
  • About the Vaccine Developed in India:
    
    • In India, the disease is controlled by a lapinized CSF vaccine (Weybridge Strain, UK) produced by killing large numbers of rabbits.
      
      • Lapinization means serial passage of a virus or vaccine through rabbits to modify its characteristics.
    • To avoid this, the ICAR-IVRI developed a Cell Culture CSF Vaccine (live attenuated) using the Lapinized Vaccine Virus from foreign strain.
    • The new vaccine has been found to induce protective immunity from day 14 of the Vaccination till 18 Months.
• Sheep Pox:
  
  • About the Disease:
    
    • It is a severe viral disease in Sheep and its virus is closely related to the Goat (capripoxviruses).
    • The virus is also related to the virus of lumpy skin disease.
    • The disease is very serious, often fatal, characterized by widespread skin eruption.
    • It is confined to parts of southeastern Europe, Africa, and Asia.
  • About the Vaccine Developed in India:
    
    • A live attenuated Sheep Pox Vaccine using indigenous strain was developed by the ICAR-IVRI for preventive vaccination in the sheep population.
    • The developed Vaccine uses indigenous Sheep Pox Virus Strain (SPPV Srin 38/00) and is adapted to grow in the Vero cell line which makes the Vaccine production to be easily scalable.
    • It is potent and immunogenic for sheep aged more than 6 months of age. It protects the Vaccinated animals for a period of 40 months.

Source: PIB

Harlequin Ichthyosis: Rare Genetic Disorder

Why in News

Recently, Odisha reported its first-ever case of a baby born with Harlequin Ichthyosis, a rare genetic skin condition.

• India’s first recorded case of a baby born with harlequin ichthyosis was in 2016, at a private hospital in Nagpur, Maharashtra.

Key Points

• About:
  
  • Harlequin Ichthyosis is a rare genetic skin disorder to a newborn infant.
  • It’s a type of ichthyosis, which refers to a group of disorders that cause persistently dry, scaly skin all over the body.
  • It is inherited in an autosomal recessive pattern.

• Causes:
  
  • It can be caused by changes (mutations) in the ABCA12 gene.
  • ABCA12 Gene gives instructions for making a protein that is necessary for skin cells to develop normally.
  • It plays a key role in the transport of fats (lipids) to the most superficial layer of the skin (epidermis), creating an effective skin barrier.
  • When this gene is mutated, the skin barrier is disrupted.
• Impact:
  
  • Newborn infants are covered with plates of thick skin that crack and split apart and can restrict breathing and eating.
  • Premature birth is typical, leaving the infants at risk for complications from early delivery.
• Affected Population:
  
  • It affects males and females in equal numbers.
  • It affects approximately one in 5,00,000 persons.
  • There are around 250 such cases across the world.
• Treatment:
  
  • A newborn with Harlequin ichthyosis requires neonatal intensive care, which may include spending time in a heated incubator with high humidity.
• Related Disorder:
  
  • Lamellar ichthyosis is an inherited skin disorder characterized by broad, dark, plate-like scales separated by deep cracks.
    
    • Its symptoms are similar to Harlequin Ichthyosis.

Source DTE