Hindu Notes from General Studies-01

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India among countries where women face most violence by partner

News

• Global estimates published by the World Health Organization (WHO) indicate that about 1 in 3 (35%) women worldwide have experienced either physical and/or sexual intimate partner violence or non-partner sexual violence in their lifetime.

Findings

• Worldwide as many as 38% of murders of women are committed by a male intimate partner. What make this worse for countries like India is the fact that intimate partner violence is the highest at 37.7% in the WHO South-East Asia region.
• As per figures released by WHO, the violence ranges from 23.2% in high-income countries and 24.6% in the WHO Western Pacific region to 37% in the WHO Eastern Mediterranean region.
• Violence against women particularly intimate partner violence and sexual violence is a major public health problem and a violation of women’s human rights. WHO together with UN Women and other partners has developed a framework for prevention of violence against women called Respect which can be used by governments to counter this menace.
• Meanwhile, healthcare professionals cautioned that violence can negatively affect a woman’s physical, mental, sexual, and reproductive health, and may increase the risk of acquiring HIV in some settings.
• Explaining how gender-based violence is perpetrated, the global health organisation said that men are more likely to perpetrate violence if they have low education, a history of child maltreatment, exposure to domestic violence against their mothers, harmful use of alcohol, unequal gender norms, including attitudes accepting of violence, and a sense of entitlement over women.
• Women are more likely to experience intimate partner violence if they have low education, exposure to mothers being abused by a partner, abuse during childhood, and attitudes accepting violence, male privilege and women’s subordinate status.
• Warning that intimate partner violence cause serious short-and long-term problems for women and adversely affect their children besides leading to high social and economic costs for women.
• There is now evidence that advocacy and empowerment counselling interventions, as well as home visitation are promising in preventing or reducing intimate partner violence against women.

Historical ‘Guru Nanak palace’ demolished in Pakistan

News

• A centuries-old ‘Guru Nanak palace’ was partially demolished by a group of vandals who sold its precious windows and doors in Pakistan’s Punjab province.

Beyond News

• The walls of the four-storey building had pictures of Sikhism founder Guru Nanak as well as that of various Hindu rulers and princes.
• The structure at a village in Narowal city about 100 kms from the provincial capital Lahore had 16 rooms with each of them having at least three delicate doors and at least four ventilators.
• The group of locals not only partially demolished the structure allegedly with the connivance of Auqaf department officials but also sold its precious windows, doors and ventilators, the report said.
• This old building is called the Palace of Baba Guru Nanak and we have named it Mahalan. A number of Sikhs from across the world, including India, used to visit this building.
• The construction of the palace comprised of old bricks, sand, clay and limestone. The rooms were constructed with large broad walls with cupboards in them that had wooden doors with flowers carved on them.
• All the rooms were airy and their walls had small lamp enclosures in them. Expensive diyar wood beams of various sizes were used in the roofs.

Hindu Notes from General Studies-02

Draft export policy unveiled

News

• The Commerce Ministry has come out with a comprehensive draft of the export policy which includes product- specific rules with a view to provide a ready reckoner for exporters.

Beyond News

• Based on inputs received from various partner government agencies, it is proposed to bring out a comprehensive exports policy for all ITC (HS) tariff codes (including items which are ‘free’ for export and do not currently exist in the policy), covering conditions/restrictions imposed by partner government agencies on exports.
• The draft policy aims at consolidating the export norms for each product as applicable at different government agencies.
• ITC-HS Codes are Indian Trade Clarification based on Harmonised System of Coding. It was adopted by India for import-export operations.
• Every product has been accorded eight digit HS codes. The compendium will help an exporter know all the applicable norms pertaining to a particular product, helping him/her understand policy conditions for that item.
• This exercise is for consolidating the norms and not for making any changes in the existing export policy of the country. The DGFT said that the updated draft had been prepared by including all existing policy conditions, all notifications and public notices issued after January 2018. Besides, it also includes non-tariff regulations imposed by different government agencies.
• It will help exporters in understanding export norms and conditions for items.
• The directorate had sought the views of all stake holders on the draft.
• A similar policy exists for import purposes also. While Schedule 1 deals with imports, Schedule 2 deals with export related matters.

• WHO guidelines to reduce risk of cognitive decline, dementia

  

  News

  • A range of lifestyle modifications may help reduce the risk of cognitive decline and dementia.
  • A set of guidelines released by the World Health Organization (WHO) last week has put the focus on regular exercise, a healthy diet, and controlling obesity, diabetes and hypertension.

  Beyond News

  • Dementia can be defined as a group of symptoms that involves loss of memory and other thinking skills. The WHO has termed it as one of the greatest global challenges for health and social care in the 21st century.
  • The existence of potentially modifiable risk factors means prevention of dementia is possible through a public health approach, including the implementation of interventions that delay or slow cognitive decline or dementia.
  • The report said dementia is a major cause of disability and dependency among older people worldwide, and it has a significant impact not only on individuals but also on carers, families, communities, and societies.
  • The guidelines prescribed by the WHO include interventions for physical activity, tobacco cessation, nutrition, alcohol use, social activity, weight management, diabetes and hypertension control, and management of depression.
  • The guidelines are aimed at the healthcare providers who can advise people and have been listed under various categories such as low to moderate, strong, and low to high, based on the quality of evidence available and the strength of recommendations.

‘H-1B curbs put pressure on IT firms’ margin’

News

• Indian IT revenue is expected to grow by 7-8% in dollar terms during fiscal 2020, helped by double digit growth in digital services.
• However, operating margin is forecast to decline 30-80 bps (basis points) for the sector this year as local hires increase for onsite jobs.

Beyond News

• Local talent comes at an additional cost of 25 to 30% compared with the salaries paid to H-1B holders deployed onsite. Traditionally, the sector had relied on labour arbitrage for maintaining margins, but that gap had been narrowing owing to various market forces mainly, changing U.S. policy stance towards H-1B visas.
• Employee expenses, which account for nearly 60-65% of total operating costs and cost per employee for tier 1 players, rose faster at about 17% and about 9% on-year in fiscal 2019, respectively, compared with about 6% and about 3% a year before.
• For mid-tier players, the increase in employee expenses were about 13% on-year for nine months ended December of fiscal 2019 as many are yet to declare fourth quarter results.
• Such a rise in staff costs can be attributed to tightening of visa norms for Indian players, resulting in higher onsite costs for them.
• Ever since the U.S. government tightened its H-1B visa norms in 2017, challenges had mounted for the sector.
• That year, Indian-origin employees were the largest consumers of H-1B visas at 63% of initial employment, so the sudden change meant fulfilling onsite client requirements became tough.

Hindu Notes from General Studies-03

New version of Akash missile test-fired successfully

News

• The DRDO successfully test-fired the new version of the Akash surface-to-air defence missile system with a new indigenously-developed seeker in Balasore off the Odisha coast.

Beyond News

• This is the second successful test of the missile following another.
• The medium range multi-target engagement capable missile was developed as part of the Integrated Guided-Missile Development Programme (IGMDP) other than Nag, Agni, Trishul, and Prithvi missiles.
• The supersonic missile has a range of around 25 km and up to the altitude of 18,000 metres.
• The missile uses high-energy solid propellant for the booster and ramjet-rocket propulsion for the sustainer phase. The missile system is said to be highly mobile.
• Several variants of the missile Akash MK1, Akash-MK2 with improved accuracy and higher ranges are under development by the DRDO.
• The missile system was formally inducted into the IAF on July 10, 2015, and in the Army on May 5, 2015. In September that year, the Defence Acquisition Council cleared seven additional squadrons of the missile for the IAF.
• India is slowly plugging the holes in its air defence elements by developing the advanced surface-to-air missile named MRSAM Medium Range Surface to Air Missile in collaboration with Israel.
• Besides that, five regiments of the renowned S-400 air defence system are under procurement from Russia. The delivery is slated to begin in 2020.

Seawater from Ice Age tucked in rocks discovered in Indian Ocean

News

• In a first, scientists have discovered the remnants of seawater dating back to the Ice Age, tucked inside rock formations in the middle of the Indian Ocean.

Beyond News

• Researchers made the discovery on a months-long scientific mission exploring the limestone deposits that form the Maldives.
• The ship, the JOIDES Resolution, is specifically built for ocean science and is equipped with a drill that can extract cores of rock over a mile long from up to three miles beneath the seafloor.

        Findings

• When they extracted the water, they noticed their preliminary tests were coming back salty much saltier than normal seawater.
• Further studies showed that the water was not from today’s ocean, but the last remnants of a previous era that had migrated slowly through the rock.
• Scientists are interested in reconstructing the last Ice Age because the patterns that drove its circulation, climate and weather were very different from todays.
• Understanding these patterns could shed light on how the planet’s climate will react in the future.

Madhya Pradesh’s Orchha makes it to tentative list of UNESCO World Heritage Sites

News

• The architectural heritage of Orchha town in Madhya Pradesh which depict peculiar style of the Bundela dynasty have been included in UNESCO’s tentative list of world heritage sites following a proposal sent by the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) to the U.N. body.

Beyond News

• The ASI had sent a proposal to the UNESCO on April 15, 2019 to include the sites in its list.
• According to the rules, to be a part of UNESCO’s World Heritage sites, the heritage or any historical site first has to be on the tentative list. After it makes to the tentative list, another proposal is sent to the UNESCO.
• The ASI in its earlier proposal had requested to include Orchha in the list of cultural heritage.
• Orchha is situated on the banks of the Betwa river. It is located around 80 km away from Tikamgarh district in Madhya Pradesh and 15 km from Jhansi of Uttar Pradesh. Orchha was built by king Rudra Pratap Singh of Bundela dynasty in the 16th century. The ancient town is famous for its Chaturbhuj Temple, Orchha fort complex, Raja Mahal among others.
• The Bundela architecture has Mughal influence since the two dynasties were very close. The famous King of Bundela dynasty Veer Singh Dev was a close friend of Mughal emperor Jahangir and fought wars as Akbar’s aid.
• Orchha is also famous for its two elevated minaret called Saavan and Bhadon and its four palaces Jahangir Palace, Raj Mahal, Sheesh Mahal and Rai Praveen Mahal and for its concept of open bungalows, stone work windows, animal statues depicting the culture of Bundelkhand.
• It is the only place in India where Lord Ram is worshipped as a king with a dedicated temple in his name called Sri Ram Raja Mandir.

‘World’s rivers loaded with antibiotics waste’

News

• Rivers worldwide are polluted with antibiotics that exceed environmental safety thresholds by up to 300 times, according to research unveiled at a conference on Monday.

Findings

• Scientists found one or more common antibiotics in two-thirds of 711 samples taken from rivers in 72 countries, they told a meeting of environmental toxicologists in Helsinki.
• In dozens of locations, concentrations of the drugs used to fight off bacterial infection in people and livestock exceeded safety levels set by the AMR Industry Alliance, a grouping of more than 100 biotech and pharmaceutical companies.
• Ciprofloxacin, a frontline treatment for intestinal and urinary tract infections, surpassed the industry threshold at 51 of the sites tested.
• At one location in Bangladesh, concentrations of another widely used antibiotic, metronidazole, were 300 times above the limit, the researchers said.
• The widespread presence of antibiotics not only impacts wildlife, but likely contributes to the problem of antimicrobial resistance.
• The World Health Organisation (WHO) has warned that the world is running out of antibiotics that still work, and has called on industry and governments to urgently develop a new generation of drugs.
• Discovered in the 1920s, antibiotics have saved tens of millions of lives from pneumonia, tuberculosis, meningitis and a host of deadly bacteria.
• Overuse and misuse of the drugs are thought to be the main causes of antimicrobial resistance.
• But the growing presence of antibiotics in the environment may be a key factor too, the new research suggests.
• Safety limits were most frequently exceeded in Asia and Africa, but samples from Europe and the Americas showed that the problem is global in scope.
• The countries with the highest levels of antibiotic river pollution were Bangladesh, Kenya, Ghana, Pakistan and Nigeria.
• Within Europe, one site in Austria had the biggest concentrations anywhere on the continent.
• Water samples were collected from the Danube, Mekong, Seine, Thames, Tigris, Chao Phraya and dozens of other rivers.

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