IASTODAY DAILY CAPSULES -General Studies-01

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Maternal deaths on the decline: report

News

• A special bulletin on maternal mortality has revealed that Indian women in their 20s make up for the biggest chunk of maternal deaths.

 Maternal deaths- reduction in the ratio

• The report by the Sample Registration Survey (SRS) from 2015 to 2017 shows 68% of deaths were among women in the age group of 20-29.
• The three-year data also reveals a positive development of reduction in the maternal mortality ratio (MMR) as compared to 2014-2016.
• It is heartening that the MMR of India has declined from 130 in 2014-2016 to 122 in 2015-17. The drop has been most significant in empowered action group (EAG) States from 188 to 175.
• The SRS had categorised the States into three groups the EAG States comprise Bihar, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Odisha, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, and Assam; southern States consist of Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Karnataka, Kerala, and Tamil Nadu; and Other States cover the remaining States and Union Territories.
• Among the southern States, the decline has been from 77 to 72 and in the Other States from 93 to 90.
• The WHO says the MMR dropped by 38% worldwide between 2000 and 2017. However, an estimated 810 women died every day in 2017 from preventable causes related to pregnancy and childbirth.
• Nearly 4% of deaths were in the age group of 15 to 19 which highlights the problem of early marriages and teenage pregnancies in the country. The sustainable development goals set by the United Nations target reducing the global MMR to less than 70 per one lakh live births by 2030.

 Maternal death

• Maternal death is the death of a woman while pregnant or within 42 days of termination of pregnancy, irrespective of the duration and site of the pregnancy, from any cause related to or aggravated by the pregnancy or its management but not from accidental or incidental causes.
• The high number of maternal deaths in some areas of the world reflects inequalities in access to quality health services and highlights the gap between rich and poor.
• The MMR in low income countries in 2017 is 462 per 100 000 live births versus 11 per 100 000 live births in high income countries. 
• Women die as a result of complications during and following pregnancy and childbirth. -Most of these complications develop during pregnancy and most are preventable or treatable.
• Other complications may exist before pregnancy but are worsened during pregnancy, especially if not managed as part of the woman’s care.
• The major complications that account for nearly 75% of all maternal deaths are: severe bleeding (mostly bleeding after childbirth), infections (usually after childbirth), high blood pressure during pregnancy (pre-eclampsia and eclampsia), complications from delivery and unsafe abortion.

Factors that prevent women from receiving or seeking care during pregnancy and childbirth:

• Poverty
• Distance to facilities
• Lack of information
• Inadequate and poor quality services
• Cultural beliefs and practicesAs per the World Health Organization (WHO), maternal death is the death of a woman while pregnant or within 42 days of termination of pregnancy.

Karnataka to seek UNESCO World Heritage Site status for 14 Hoysala temples

News

• The State Archaeology Department has clubbed 14 temples from the Hoysala period reflecting similar architectural styles — including the monuments at Belur-Halebid and Somnathpur — for serial nomination to seek UNESCO World Heritage Site status.

World Heritage Site status

• The final dossier, is being prepared by the Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage (INTACH), Bengaluru.
• UNESCO defines serial nominations as any two or more unconnected sites that may contain a series of cultural or natural properties in different locations, provided that they are related because they belong to the same historical and cultural group.
• In India, forts at Chittorgarh, Kumbalgarh, Sawai Madhopur, Jaipur, Jhalawar and Jaisalmer are examples.
• The Archaeology Department entered into an agreement with INTACH earlier this year and the inception report was submitted in the last week of September.
• The consultant team carried out site visits recently and covered 29 Hoysala temples, including ones in Belur, Halebid, Somnathpur and Hosaholalu, to study the ground situation and gather information on the maintenance and upkeep of the temples and surrounding areas.
• There are 137 Hoysala temples of significant value in the State 43 are protected by the Archaeological Survey of India, 55 by the Archaeology Department, and the remaining 39 are unprotected.
• For a monument to qualify as a World Heritage Site, it should be in the tentative list for at least six months to one year. The Belur-Halebid temples made it to the tentative list in 2014, while the concept paper for the same had been prepared sometime in 2007.
• In addition to Hoysala temples, the final dossier for the ‘Evolution of Temple Architecture at Badami, Ahihole and Pattadakal’ is also being prepared. The ‘Monuments and Forts of the Deccan Sultanate’ is another cluster in it.
• However, submission of the final dossier alone will not suffice as it will go through another round of scrutiny by the Ministry of Culture, Government of India, which has to nominate the monuments and submit them to UNESCO, which will take the final call.
• At present, Karnataka has the Hampi and Pattadakal group of monuments inscribed as World Heritage Sites.
• Besides, the State has 844 State-protected monuments, nearly 600 ASI-protected monuments, and about 35,000 temples under the Muzrai Department. There are 42 sites in India that are in the tentative list.
• The country has 38 World Heritage Sites 30 cultural and eight natural properties.

IASTODAY DAILY CAPSULES -General Studies-02

WHO initiative to expand access to affordable insulin

News

• Ahead of the World Diabetes Day, the World Health Organisation (WHO) is launching an initiative to expand access to affordable insulin.

Affordable insulin

• The global report on diabetes shows that essential medicines and technologies, including insulin, are generally available in only 1 in 3 of the poorest countries.
• It has recommended that access to insulin should be treated as a matter of life or death and that improving access to medicines in general should be a priority.
• According to the International Diabetes Federation Diabetes Atlas (7th Edition), China has the largest number of patients(11.43 cr.) followed by India (7.29 cr.) in 2017.
• As per the National Family Health Survey 2015-16, 5.8% women and 8.0% men in India are having blood sugar level above 140 mg/dl, in the age group of 15-49 years.

Tribunal confirms five-year ban on LTTE

News

• The five-year ban imposed by the Centre on the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) has been confirmed by a tribunal set up by the government to examine whether the prohibitions on the terror organisation should continue.

Ban on LTTE

• According to sources, the tribunal confirmed the ban on the LTTE and the confirmation order has been sent to the government, in a sealed cover, for notification.
• The tribunal, set up under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA), had held hearings in Delhi and Chennai after it was constituted on May 27.
• India had banned the LTTE after the assassination of former prime minister Rajiv Gandhi in 1991. Since then, the ban imposed on the group has been extended after every five years.
• The terror organisation had suffered a military defeat in May 2009 in Sri Lanka.
• The MHA had on May 14 extended for five more years the ban on LTTE. The last time it was banned for five years was in 2014.
• While extending the ban on the LTTE, the Home Ministry in its notification had said that the group’s continued violent and disruptive activities are prejudicial to the integrity and sovereignty of India, and it continues to adopt a strong anti-India posture and also continues to pose a grave threat to the security of Indian nationals.
• The tribunal was constituted under the UAPA to give an opportunity to the banned entity to present its case.
• The LTTE, a terror outfit based in Sri Lanka but having its supporters, sympathisers and agents in India, came up in 1976.
• Even after its military defeat in May 2009 in Sri Lanka, the LTTE has not abandoned the concept of ‘Eelam’ and has been clandestinely working towards this cause by undertaking fund raising and propaganda activities, and the remnant LTTE leaders or cadres have also initiated efforts to regroup the scattered activists and resurrect the outfit locally and internationally.

U.S. court refuses to strike down work permits for spouses of H-1B visa workers

News

• In a temporary relief to thousands of Indians living in America, a U.S. court has refused to strike down, for the time being, an Obama-era rule that allowed spouses of H-1B visa holders to work in America.

H-1B visa

• The H-1B visa is a non-immigrant visa that allows the U.S. companies to employ foreign workers in specialty occupations.
• A 2015 rule issued by U.S. President Donald Trump’s predecessor Barack Obama allowed work permits for certain categories of H-4 visa holders, primarily spouses of those having H-1B work visas waiting for their Green Card, to work in the US.
• Indians, particularly women, were the greatest beneficiary of this rule, which has been challenged by several U.S. workers with the current Trump administration supporting their cause, saying that it wants to rescind the rule.

Foreign minister Jaishankar holds talks with Netherlands counterpart

News

• External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar met his Netherlands counterpart Stef Blok and held comprehensive discussions on bilateral and multilateral issues of mutual interest.

Bilateral cooperation

• The two ministers discussed ways to further enhance the bilateral cooperation.
• External Affairs also met Dutch political leaders and discussed with them the future of multilateralism, India-EU ties and regional issues.
• The Netherlands is one of the first three countries that established diplomatic relations with independent India in 1947. Both countries have strong economic interests in each other, it said. The two countries have witnessed a series of high-level exchanges in recent years.
• The Netherlands was the third largest investor in India in FY 2018-2019 with investment worth $3.87 billion.
• The cumulative investments from the Netherlands to India in the period from April 2000 – June 2019 amounts to $28.7 billion. The Netherlands is also a major investment destination for Indian firms with a total investment by Indian companies estimated over $12 billion as on March 2018.
• India and Serbia enjoy close and friendly relations. Bilateral ties have strengthened considerably with exchange of high level visits in past few years including the visit of Hon’ble Vice President of India to Serbia in September 2018.

Centre gets responses to draft Social Security code

News

• The draft code on social security, which subsumes eight existing laws covering provident fund, maternity benefits and pension, is being further worked upon after a recent round of public consultations, officials of the Labour and Employment Ministry have said.

Code on social security

• A draft of the social security code, one of the four codes that are part of the Centre’s labour reforms agenda, was published for public comments and suggestions.
• Over 400 comments or suggestions had been received. The draft might be finalised in time for the session of Parliament beginning on November 18.
• Trade unions, are against the proposal for provident fund, pension and insurance funds to be administered by a central board, and a national pension scheme that employees can opt for.

IASTODAY DAILY CAPSULES -General Studies-03

IAF to sign contract this fiscal to procure 83 LCAs

News

• The Light Combat Aircraft Tejas (LCA) Mark-1A and Mark-2 and 114 new fighter jets to be procured will be the mainstay of the Indian Air Force (IAF) in the next decade, as other jets are phased out, and before the indigenous fifth-generation Advanced Medium Combat Aircraft (AMCA) is ready.

Light Combat Aircraft

• The IAF is looking at speeding up the development and production of the LCA by Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL).
• With the FOC variant being inducted, the second LCA squadron is likely to be formed in the next financial year, By then, the first squadron, now based at Sulur in Tamil Nadu, will shift from there.
• HAL sources confirmed that an IAF team was now at their facility for the delivery process.
• The HAL is setting up another assembly line in collaboration with the private industry to increase the production of the LCA from the current eight to 16.
• The IAF is also keen on speeding up the development of the LCA Mark-2 and the AMCA, which are crucial to maintaining its fighter strength. The LCA Mark-2 should come out in 2022-23, and the IAF is planning to induct them in large numbers.
• The LCA Mark-2 is very important. It is a go between the LCA Mark-1A and the AMCA, which is our indigenous Fifth Generation Fighter Aircraft (FGFA).
• The AMCA, being designed and developed by the Aeronautical Development Agency (ADA) with the IAF’s support, will initially be powered by two GE-414 engines. It is expected to make the first flight in 2032.
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Jammu and Kashmir govt sets up panel to declare Dal Lake as eco-sensitive zone

News

• The Jammu and Kashmir government has set up a ten-member committee to declare Srinagar’s famous Dal Lake and its surrounding areas as an eco-sensitive zone (ESZ), following concerns over its shrinking size.

Eco-sensitive zone

• Pollution and encroachments have resulted in the Dal Lake shrinking from its original area of 22 square kilometers to about 10 square kilometers, according to an assessment by the Dredging Corporation of India (DCI) in 2017.
• The DCI also found that the world-famous lake’s capacity has shrunk to about 40% and that its water quality has deteriorated.
• The DCI assessment found that intense pollution by untreated sewage and solid wastes that flow into the lake, encroachments of water channels and clogging has diminished the circulation and inflows into the lake, leading to extensive growth of the weed water hyacinth which has emerged as a health hazard.
• Further, it established that the depth of the lake has reduced at many places due to siltation and encroachment, and that continuing night soil discharge from the 800 to 900 houseboats causes extreme pollution in the water body.

 

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