Hindu Notes from General Studies-01

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Yellow weather warning for Himachal

News

• The Meteorological Department issued a yellow weather warning for rain in Himachal Pradesh.

Beyond News

• The weather department has forecast thunderstorm with hail in isolated places of mid hills, including Shimla, Mandi, Kullu, Chamba, Solan and Sirmaur.
• The weather office issues colour-coded warnings to alert people ahead of severe or hazardous weather which has the potential to cause “damage, widespread disruption or danger to life”.
• Yellow is the least dangerous of the weather warnings.

Climate change blights children’s lives in Bangladesh

News

• Environmental disasters linked to climate change are threatening the lives of over 19 million children in Bangladesh, prompting many families to push their daughters into child marriages, UNICEF said.

Findings

• Climate change is deepening the environmental threat faced by families in Bangladesh’s poorest communities, leaving them unable to keep their children properly housed, fed, healthy and educated, UNICEF said in a report.
• In Bangladesh and around the world, climate change has the potential to reverse many of the gains that countries have achieved in child survival and development.
• Around 12 million children live in and around the river systems that regularly burst their banks.
• Another 4.5 million children live in coastal areas regularly struck by powerful cyclones, including almost half a million Rohingya refugee children from neighbouring Myanmar living in fragile bamboo and plastic shelters.
• A further three million children live further inland, where farming communities suffer increasing periods of drought.
• Bangladesh’s flat topography, dense population and weak infrastructure have long made it vulnerable to extreme weather events, but experts say that these have become more frequent in recent years as global temperatures have risen.
• The report says that climate change is a key factor pushing poorer Bangladeshis to head to the capital Dhaka and other major cities, where children risk being pushed into dangerous forms of labour and early marriage.
• It cites research showing that Bangladesh has six million climate migrants already, a number that could more than double by 2050.
• The connection between climate change and child marriage, child labour and access to education is evident in various parts of Bangladesh.
• Despite making impressive gains in many social indicators in recent decades, child marriage remains rampant in the conservative, Muslim-majority country.
• Bangladesh currently has one of the world’s highest rates of child marriage with nearly a third of girls being married before the age of 15.

Hindu Notes from General Studies-02

Increase random checking of VVPAT slips to five per Assembly segment, SC directs Election Commission

News

• The Supreme Court increased voter verified paper audit trail (VVPAT) verification to five random Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) in each Assembly segment/constituency.

Beyond News

• In case of general elections, VVPAT slips of five EVMs in each Assembly segment of a Parliamentary Constituency would be subject to physical counting. In State Assembly elections, the VVPAT verification would extend to five random EVMs in each Assembly constituency. The Supreme Court order would be implemented in the Lok Sabha polls, scheduled to commence from April 11.
• A Bench increased the number of EVM-VVPATs subjected to physical verification in order to “ensure the greatest degree of accuracy, satisfaction in election process.”
• Earlier, under the ECI guideline 16.6, only the VVPAT slips from one EVM in every Assembly segment/constituency was subjected to physical verification. Now, with five such EVMs under physical scrutiny, the apex court said the election would see “fool-proof.”
• The Supreme Court’s decision is a far shot from what 21 Opposition parties wanted VVPAT verification in 50% or 125 polling booths in each constituency. The increase to five EVMs from one would only increase the VVPAT verification percentage from 0.44% to less than two per cent.
• The court said VVPAT verification of five EVMs, rather than in 125 polling booths, is more “viable at this point of time.” It would not be a drain on the ECI’s infrastructural resources and manpower as the Opposition’s idea would have been. Neither would counting VVPAT slips of five EVMs take any substantial amount of time.
• Meanwhile, the Commission submitted that no mismatch has been detected in mock polls or in the verification of VVPAT slips carried out at 1,500 polling stations till date.

Sri Lanka seeks enhanced military training from India

News

• Sri Lanka has sought enhanced military training from India, according to President Maithripala Sirisena’s office.

Beyond News

• Visiting Indian Defence Secretary Sanjay Mitra called on Mr. Sirisena, and wide-ranging matters, including bilateral defence cooperation between the neighbouring countries and regional security, were discussed.
• India and Sri Lanka agreed to increase cooperation in security and defence spheres in several areas, including regional security, curbing drug smuggling and human trafficking and training of members of the security forces.
• Thanking India for its partnership, Mr. Sirisena requested to increase the number of personnel trained by India. The Indian Defence Secretary agreed to look into the possibility of enhancing training facilities, the statement further said.
• Currently, over 60% of Sri Lanka’s military personnel pursue their young officers’ course, junior and senior command courses in India, according to defence sources in Colombo.
• Meanwhile, ‘Exercise Mitra Shakti’, the sixth edition of the joint military training exercise between the Indian Army and the Sri Lankan Army, concluded in Badulla district, in Sri Lanka’s Central Province, on Monday.

India might soon have the most Caesarean births

News

• A new study based on the data from the National Family and Health Survey has shown that there is a significant increase in the rate of caesarean births in India.

Findings

• While the WHO recommends the rate of caesarean delivery to be 10-15%, the number was 17.2% for India during the period from Jan 2015 to Dec 2016.
• This is higher than the rate seen in rich countries such as the Netherlands and Finland. The report says that if this trend continues, India could soon have the largest number of C-section births in the world.
• A 2018 report pointed out that the prevalence of maternal mortality and morbidity is higher after caesarean than after vaginal birth. Also, it is noted to be associated with an “increased risk of uterine rupture, abnormal placentation, ectopic pregnancy, stillbirth, and preterm birth.”
• Many studies have pointed out that babies born via C-section have less bacterial exposure, which in turn alters their immunity and gut microbiome diversity. Children tend to have increased chances of allergy, asthma, and childhood obesity.
• The study noted the rates varied widely across States, with just 5.8% in Nagaland to 57.7% in Telangana.
• When taking socioeconomic conditions into account, the researchers found that the rate of C-section was as small as 4.4% among the poorest group to 35.9% among the richest quintile.
• The high rates point out that there is increased C-section deliveries among non-risk pregnancies in the privileged classes.

Hindu Notes from General Studies-03

NASA’s solar probe completes 2nd closest encounter with Sun

News

• NASA announced that its Parker Solar Probe, the fastest spacecraft in history, has completed its second close approach to the Sun and is now entering the outbound phase of the second solar orbit.

Beyond News

• The spacecraft passed within 24 million kilometres of the Sun, tying its distance record set in October as the closest spacecraft ever to the star, according to NASA.
• Parker Solar Probe was travelling at 343,112 km/hr during this 
• The spacecraft is operating well and all instruments are collecting science data, sending back normal signals through NASA’s Deep Space Network.
• Parker Solar Probe began this solar encounter on March 30, and it will conclude on April 10.

India’s imports from China decelerating, says report

News

• India’s imports from China stood at $60 billion during the April-January period of 2018-19 fiscal, a deceleration of 5% over the corresponding period a year ago.

Beyond News

• According to the chamber, India’s trade deficit with China also eased to $46 billion in April-January 2019 from $53 billion in the same period a year ago.
• Despite substantial volume of imports from China, India’s import growth from China shrunk from 24% during April to January 2018 to (-) 5% during April-January 2019.
• Commerce Ministry data showed India’s export to China totalled $13.8 billion, whereas its imports from the neighbouring country stood at $60.1 billion during the period.
• Indian shipments to China totalled $13.33 billion in 2017-18, whereas the country’s imports from China stood at $76.38 billion in the period.
• The chamber said India has seen a major breakthrough in its exports to China during the last few months, whereas imports of Chinese products in India are decelerating.
• Its exports to China grew 31% in 2019, increasing from $10 billion in April-January 2018 to $14 billion in April-January 2019.
• Meanwhile, India has identified and shared with China a list of 380 products including horticulture, textiles, chemicals and pharmaceuticals, as their shipments hold huge export potential in the neighboring country.
• Increasing exports of these products would help India narrow the widening trade deficit with China, which stood at $50.12 billion during April-February 2018-19.

Army gets first batch of Dhanush, home-made Bofors artillery guns, from OFB

News

The Ordnance Factory Board (OFB) handed over the first batch of six Dhanush artillery guns to the Army.

• Dhanush is the indigenously upgraded gun of the Swedish Bofors gun procured in the 1980s.

Beyond News

• Indigenisation to the extent of about 81%, has already been achieved. By the end of 2019, the indigenisation level of the gun will go up to 91%,.
• Dhanush is a 155 mm, 45-calibre towed artillery gun with a range of 36 km and has demonstrated a range of 38 km with specialised ammunition. It is an upgrade of the existing 155m, 39 calibre Bofors FH 77 gun. It is compatible with all North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) 155 mm ammunition system.
• The gun is fitted with inertial navigation system with global positioning system- (GPS) based gun recording and auto-laying, an enhanced tactical computer for onboard ballistic computations, an onboard muzzle velocity recording, an automated gun sighting system equipped with camera, thermal imaging and laser range finder
• All 114 guns are expected to be delivered within four years. The OFB has already undertaken capacity augmentation to manufacture over 400 barrels and 250 ordinances for large calibre weapon systems.

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