Hindu Notes from General Studies-02

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Cabinet approves India-Kuwait pact on domestic workers

News

• The Union Cabinet approved the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between India and Kuwait for cooperation on the recruitment of domestic workers.

Beyond News

• The move is likely to benefit around 3 lakh Indian workers deployed in Kuwait, including about 90,000 female domestic workers.
• The MoU provides a structured framework for cooperation on domestic workers related matters and provides strengthened safeguards for Indian domestic workers including female workers deployed in Kuwait.
• The MoU is initially valid for a period of five years and incorporates provision for automatic renewal. Under this MoU, a joint committee will also be set up to follow up the implementation.
• The government said this will promote bilateral cooperation in domestic workers-related matters between the two countries.

‘India spurs global growth in public funding for neglected disease R&D’

News

• Indian public funding for research and development (R&D) in neglected diseases increased significantly in 2017, growing by ₹135 crore or 38%, contributing to the strongest global growth since 2009.

Findings

• Worldwide funding for neglected diseaseR&D in 2017 reached its highest level ever, exceeding $3.5 billion, according to the 11th annual G-FINDER report released in Geneva. At that level, funding was up 7% since 2016, driven primarily by new investments from the U.K., the European Commission, Germany and India.
• The G-FINDER report on global investments in R&D to tackle neglected infectious diseases released by the Policy Cures Research is a comprehensive report offering an up-to-date analysis of how R&D investments are being allocated across diseases and product types, funding trends over time, and where gaps lie.
• For India the report also found that “for the first time Indian Council of Medical Research(ICMR) has been placed in the top four largest funders for R&D in tuberculosis with a $6 million or 47% increase in investment.” Also leprosy funding increased by $2 million (up 47%), entirely driven by the ICMR.
• The U.S. government retained the top spot as the world’s largest public funder, providing an additional 1.5% ($23 million) for a total of $1.6 billion.
• The public sector continued to be the most significant funding source for neglected disease research, contributing almost two-thirds of the total.
• Public funding from low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) increased by 19 % with India contributing nearly three-quarters of this total.
• The Indian government increased its contribution by 38% maintaining its position as the fourth-largest public funder globally, and providing the highest reported level of public funding from an LMIC government.

Now, an app to help the visually impaired

News

• In a bid to assist visually impaired people to easily determine denomination of currency notes, the Indian Institute of Technology at Ropar in Punjab has developed an Android App “Roshni”, using image processing and analytics.
• Earlier the visually impaired persons, differentiated the currencies based on the length and width of the note. But after demonetisation it became very difficult for them to identify the denomination, due to similarity in the sizes of new and old notes. Also, for those individuals who lost their vision due to old age or some other conditions, ‘Roshni’ will be very beneficial.

Hindu Notes from General Studies-03

India conducts coastal security drill

News

• Ten years after the 26/11 Mumbai terror attack, India conducted its largest coastal defence drill, Exercise Sea Vigil, to test its preparedness along the entire 7,516.6 km-long-coastline and exclusive economic zone of the country.

Beyond News

• The first of its kind exercise was conducted on January 22 and 23 and coordinated by the Navy.
• Exercise Sea Vigil aims to comprehensively and holistically validate the efficacy of the measures taken since 26/11. It aims to simultaneously activate the coastal security mechanism across all 13 coastal States and Union Territories.
• This involves the evaluation of critical areas and processes, including inter-agency coordination, information sharing and technical surveillance.
• “In an effort to test the preparedness and coordination, some rogue elements tried to breach the surveillance network and reach the coast during the exercise.
• Post 26/11, the Navy was designated as the agency responsible for overall maritime security, including offshore and coastal security, while the Coast Guard was designated as the agency responsible for coastal security in territorial waters.
• A multi-tiered patrol and surveillance mechanism with focus on technical surveillance and augmenting Maritime Domain Awareness through the coastal radar chain was adopted.
• Progress has been made in real-time information sharing through the National Command Control Communication and Intelligence (NC3I) Network and improving intelligence and operational coordination. However, several measures are still in the implementation stage even after a decade.

Cleaning water using bacteria

News

• Researchers have developed a new technology that can clean water twice as fast as commercially available ultrafiltration membranes, an advance that brings hope for countries like India where clean drinking water is a big issue.

Beyond News

• The team developed an ultrafiltration membrane using graphene oxide and bacterial nanocellulose that they found to be highly efficient, long-lasting and environment-friendly.
• The membrane technology purifies water while preventing biofouling, or buildup of bacteria and other harmful micro-organisms that reduce the flow of water.
• They exposed the membrane to E. coli bacteria, then shone light on the membrane’s surface.
• If the technique were to be scaled up to a large size, it could benefit many developing countries where clean water is scarce, the researchers noted.

NGT seeks report on solid waste management

News

• Concerned over the lack of action pertaining to the compliance of solid waste management across the country, the National Green Tribunal (NGT) has summoned the Chief Secretaries of all States and Union Territories from March 1 onwards.

Beyond News

• A Bench has directed the Chief Secretaries to be present before the tribunal with status reports of action taken and the subsequent measures to be adopted.
• According to the World Bank, India’s daily waste generations will reach 3,77,000 tonnes by 2025. Unless the problem is tackled, its impact on health and lives of citizens can be devastating.It is high time stern measures are taken not only by those in charge of administering law themselves but also by educating and involving public at large.
• Further, all States and union territories have been directed to constitute special task forces in every district, and Information Education and Communication (IEC) programmes have been suggested for public awareness.
• States have also been asked to display their progress reports on the websites of pollution control boards.

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