Advertisement

Hindu Notes from General Studies-01

Editorials are covered separately. HINDU NOTES are available free date wise| CLICK HERE

Gender bias caused ‘excess’ deaths of girls under 5: Lancet study

Gender bias and associated deaths

News

There have been 2,39,000 “excess deaths” per year of girls under the age of five in India, and 29 out of 35 States contributed to this mortality, according to a study.

Beyond News

  • That works out to about 2.4 million deaths in a decade, and the additional deaths were found in 90% of districts in the country.
  • Excess mortality is the difference between observed and expected mortality rates in both genders.
  • The National Family Health Survey in 2017 said that India’s sex ratio at birth has increased to 919 in 2015-16 from 914 in 2004-05.
  • This study, however, focuses on mortality after birth and says that the problem is most pronounced in northern India, where the four largest States in the region, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Rajasthan, and Madhya Pradesh, accounted for two thirds of the total excess deaths of females under five.
  • In Uttar Pradesh, excess female mortality was calculated at 30.5. In Bihar, the rate was 28.5, in Rajasthan it was 25.4, and in Madhya Pradesh, it was 22.1.
  • The worst affected areas were all rural, agricultural areas with lower levels of education, high population densities, low socio-economic development and high levels of fertility.
  • Many deaths of females under five are partly due to unwanted child bearing and subsequent neglect.

Hindu Notes from General Studies-02

Two more child welfare committees sought

News

  • The Department of Social Defence has submitted a proposal to the State government to constitute two more Child Welfare Committees (CWC) in Chennai.

Beyond News

  • The officials said that having two more CWCs, apart from the one already existing in the city, would help in better discharge of duties related to children in need of care and protection, and help in their successful rehabilitation.
  • According to the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection) 2015 Act, every State government shall constitute one or more Child Welfare Committees for exercising powers and to discharge duties in relation to children in need of care and protection and also ensure that induction training and sensitisation of all members of the committee is provided within two months from the date of notification.
  • According to the Department officials, they have proposed a plan where one CWC each can be constituted in north, south and central Chennai.
  • The city currently has only one such committee, that too without a chairperson and only three members. The committee has weekly hearings; two at the Royapuram Government Children’s Home for Boys and one at the Kellys Government Children’s Home for Girls.

Adding to this ,director, CHANGE india, said that,Chennai has over 70 lakh population and children constitute at least 43% of it. Having more CWCs would also help in speedy disposal of cases and avoid overcrowding in government homes.”

State increases environmental fee for infrastructure projects

News

  • The Maharashtra government has substantially increased the processing fee, effective Monday, for major infrastructure projects seeking environmental clearances.

Beyond News

  • The 50% hike and over will be implemented in five categories. The hike is co-related to the cost of projects starting at ₹1 crore and reaching up to over ₹1,000 crore.
  • The environmental clearance fee was introduced in the State after Gujarat and Tamil Nadu implemented it in 2014. The minimum fee, which was restricted to the range of ₹1 lakh to ₹15 lakh, has now reached the range of ₹1.5 lakh to ₹20 lakh in all categories.
  • The fee is imposed by the State Expert Appraisal Committee (SEAC) and the State Environment Impact Assessment Authority (SEIAA), both dealing with smaller projects not making it to the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change.
  • The new hike has been effected as per the directive of the State finance ministry, which had asked all departments to increase their revenue collections. The fee is also used to pay for the administrative expenses of the SEAC and the SEIAA, members of the committee said.
  • The hike is based on a Central directive-2000, which allows charge of the fee for giving clearances of the coastal regulation zone permissions, and carrying out the environmental impact assessment. This is in addition to the Supreme Court judgement on polluters to pay principle, an official said.

Anti-waste drive begins in Sakinaka

News

  • The Tata Trusts launched its ‘Karenge to Hoga’ campaign in Tunga village, Sakinaka in Maharashtra .

Beyond News

  • The campaign aims to create awareness and train families in waste segregation.
  • They will be distributing bins for waste segregation in the area.
  • Under the ‘Karenge to Hoga’ campaign, groups of up to five local youths will be created and trained in educating, mobilising and monitoring households in their area.
  • Each team will be responsible for 150 families.
  • The campaign aims to cover 5,000 families in the next two months. The project is part of Tata Trusts’s larger Mission Garima, an initiative that works for the dignity of human scavengers.

Hindu Notes from General Studies-03

Jupiter’s moon Europa shows evidence of water plumes

News

  • A new look at old data is giving scientists a fresh reason to view Europa, a moon of Jupiter, as a leading candidate in the search for life beyond Earth, with evidence of water plumes shooting into space.

Beyond News

  • A bend in Europa’s magnetic field observed by NASA’s Galileo spacecraft during a 1997 flyby appears to have been caused by a geyser gushing through its frozen crust from a subsurface ocean, researchers who reexamined the Galileo data reported.
  • Galileo was passing some 124 miles (200 kilometers) above Europa’s surface when it apparently flew through the plume.
  • The findings support other evidence of plumes from Europa, whose ocean may contain twice the volume of all Earth’s oceans. NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope in 2012 collected ultraviolet data suggestive of a plume.
  • NASA will get a close-up look from a new spacecraft during its Europa Clipper mission that could launch as soon as June 2022, providing a possible opportunity to sample plumes for signs of life, perhaps microbial, from its ocean.
  • Europa is considered among the prime candidates for life in our solar system, but is not the only one. NASA’s Cassini spacecraft sampled plumes from Saturn’s ocean-bearing moon Enceladus that contained hydrogen from hydrothermal vents, an environment that may have given rise to life on Earth.
  • A bit smaller that Earth’s moon, Europa’s ocean resides under an ice layer 10 to 15 miles (15 to 25 km) thick, with an estimated depth of 40 to 100 miles (60 to 150 km).

Mission Kakatiya best water management practice: NITI Aayog

mission kakathiya

News

  • A report prepared by NITI Aayog with the support of TERI School of Advanced Studies, New Delhi, has recognised the restoration and revival of minor irrigation tanks taken up by the Telangana government as one of the best practices in irrigation water management.

Beyond News

  • The report observed “public participation will lead to ownership and help in long-term sustainability of the interventions” and suggested “restoration and maintenance of water resources should be a continual process and locals should be trained to manage their resources”.
  • The report prepared in August last was kept in the public domain by NITI Aayog recently.
  • The report comes as a breather of fresh air for the Irrigation Department, the implementing agency of Mission Kakatiya, after the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) report found shortcomings in the implementation including unrealistic targets, skewed prioritisation and meeting the intended targets such as silt removal, for the year ending March 2017.
  • Complimenting the objective of the intervention, the report stated that the government aims restoration of minor irrigation sources such as ponds and tanks to enhance development of minor irrigation infrastructure, strengthening community-based irrigation management in a decentralised manner for utilising 265 tmc ft water allocated for minor irrigation in the Godavari and Krishna river basins.
  • The report said de-siltation of tanks, restoration of feeder channels, re-sectioning of irrigation channels, repairs to tank bunds, weirs and sluices and raising of full tank level (FTL) are being carried out wherever required.
  • Further, the intervention had helped in increasing the storage capacity of tanks and other water bodies, made available water accessible to small and medium farmers, increased water retention capacity of the sources and improved on-farm moisture retention capacity.
  • The intervention has bridged 63% ayacut gap and also helped stabilisation of ayacut. Steps such as mixing of silt on farm land reduced use of chemical fertilizers and improved water retention capacity of the soil. An appreciable change was also observed in the nutritive values of the soil, development of fisheries and livestock and rise in the groundwater table in those area, the report said.

CLICK HERE TO SEE DATE WISE CURRENT AFFAIRS.

WHY IASTODAY IS BEST IN ONLINE COACHING?
FEATURESIASTODAY.inOTHERS
DAILY ANSWER REVIEWYES (in 60 minutes for core batch -before 10 PM for all lower courses)NO ( Not even weekly)
EXPERT SUPPORT24 hours x 7 days (In MASTER PLUS and above)NO/ During office hours only
GUARANTEE For Service & fee paid.Guaranteed till you clear (In LIFETIME membership)No guarantee at any cost.
Dedicated exclusive static testsYES(in MASTER PLUS and above)NO
TEST TYPEFull length similar to UPSC (In all dedicated courses)DEPENDS
FULL STATIC SYLLABUS COVERAGEYES (In all dedicated courses)DEPENDS
Full Day to Day current affairs coverageYES with review (All mains courses)NO
TEST REVIEW & MARKSYES throughout the course duration (In MASTER PLUS and above)YES during initial days.
NO after few tests
Effective cost for 30 MAINS static tests with reviewRs.10,000 (Master plus - Writing skill development 1 year)More than Rs.26,000
Flexible scheduleUnlimited. Reschedule based on demands.No flexibility.
Max delay in Mains Test review24 hours for core and In 4 working days for lower courses.Over 15 days
INDIVIDUAL MARKSYES (In all dedicated courses)NO
UPDATED NOTESYES(in all dedicated courses)NOT UPDATED

IASTODY DEDICATED COURSES IN A GLANCE

For 2023 & 24 Aspirants:
  1. Prelims TEST SERIES -PRO 2024- More than just a prelims test series for 2024 aspirants. 2024 PRELIMS in an integrated manner with mains and interview together with daily writing and review. {CLICK HERE for details}
  2. WRITING SKILL DEVELOPMENT(Daily review) (2 months- 6 months) Next is writing skill development- Available for 2 months and 6 months fixed. This can be used for 2024 or even 2025. Your answer will be reviewed as beginner in first day. Next day feedback will be based on first day performance and so on. You will develop a writing skill development better than aspirants outside IASTODAY by the end of this course- CLICK HERE TO KNOW MORE 
  3. DAILY REVIEW (Beginner) 2024 - Till mains 2024 We have Daily review (beginner) course available till Mains 2024. This course have 3 phases ie, Novice and then beginner phase till prelims examination and aggressive mode post prelims exam- You will write 1 answer a day as novice, then 2 till prelims and there after 4 daily.- CLICK HERE TO KNOW MORE
  4. ESSAY TEST SERIES 2023 & 24-Dedicated Essay test series for scoring high is now available for  2024. Real time exam environment, 24 hours accessibility and more @ a nominal fees-{CLICK HERE FOR DETAILS}
  5. Affordable Integrated Marathon (AIM 2024)-Dedicated All in one low cost series covering prelims test series, mains test series, daily answer review, interview, essay, optional and more in single version at lowest ever possible affordable version. Real time exam environment, 24 hours accessibility and more @ a nominal fees in comparison to features-{CLICK HERE FOR DETAILS}
  6. MASTER PLUS 2024-Dedicated mains 2024 @ Rs.50/day effective. Flagship MAINS 2024 program with all features including 29 mains tests, Daily answer review in 3-4 hours & value added notes and much more -{CLICK HERE FOR DETAILS}.
  7. PREMIUM 2024 - Full coverage @ Rs.55/day effective. Our Flagship prelims to interview with all premium features including daily answer review in 60 minutes, Prelims ,interview and much more -{CLICK HERE FOR DETAILS}.