Daily CURRENT AFFAIRS

Daily Current Affair - UPSC/KAS Exams - 23rd August 2021

JAN SHIKSHAN SANSTHAN

What is in news : The Jan Shikshan Sansthan (JSS), a Union government initiative for skill development in rural areas, has brought high-speed internet to some of the remotest tribal hamlets deep inside the Nilambur jungle in Kerala.

Jan Shikshan Sansthan

Under Ministry of Skill Development & Entrepreneurship
Established for providing vocational skills to non-literate, neo-literates as well as school dropouts by identifying skills that have a market in the region of their establishment.
The scope of work:
- Develop/Source appropriate curriculum and training modules covering vocational elements, general awareness and life enrichment components.
- JSS’s are encouraged to undertake training equivalent to courses designed by the Directorate of Adult Education, National Institute of Open Schooling and Director General, Employment & Training.
- Provide training to a pool of resource persons and master trainers for conducting training.
- Administer simple tests and award certificates.
- Network with employers and industries for trainees to get suitable placement

SANSKRIT WEEK

DID YOU KNOW : Sanskrit is the official language in Uttarakhand

What is in news : Sanskrit Week is being celebrated from August 19 to August 25, 2021

Aim : Promote and popularise this ancient language

Info : Week in which Sanskrit Day falls, is celebrated as Sanskrit week.

MAHITI FOR PRELIMS – SANSKRIT

Ancient language in Hinduism
Used as a dialect by the old Indo-Aryans during the era of 2000 BCE
As per the Indian Constitution, there are 22 languages that are officially followed in India and Sanskrit is one of them
Most secular and regional literatures were written in Sanskrit
Sanskrit in India was first embodied in the Rig Veda (one of the four Vedas). The Rig Veda was composed between roughly 1700–1100 BCE.
It was Panini (a great grammarian and a scholar of Hinduism) who analysed Sanskrit and its word formations. He then wrote a text called Ashtadhyayi which was full of long descriptive Sanskrit grammar.
Sanskrit is perhaps the only language that kept evolving even beyond the barriers of regions and boundaries.

ENVIRONMENT & GEOGRAPHY

INDIA’S HIGHEST HERBAL PARK

What is in news : India’s highest herbal park, at a height of 11,000 feet, was inaugurated near Indo-China border at Mana village in Chamoli district of Uttarakhand.

Details

Why – Conserving various medicinally and culturally important alpine species and to conduct research on propagation and habitat ecology of these species.
How - This Park was developed in three years under Compensatory Afforestation Fund Management and Planning Authority (CAMPA) scheme of the central government.
Info –
- Comprises of 40 species which are found in high altitude alpine areas in Indian Himalayan region
- Species are categorized as endangered and threatened in the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) red list as well as by the State Biodiversity Board
- Park comprises of several important medicinal herbs also
Park has been divided into four sections:
- First section– It comprises of species associated with Badrinath (lord Vishnu) including Badri Tulsi, Badri Tree, Badri Ber, and sacred tree of Bhojpatra.
- Second section– It is dedicated to Ashtavarga species. This species is a group of eight herbs that are found in the Himalayan region.
- Third section– It comprises of Saussurea species and includes Brahmakamal which is the state flower of Uttarakhand.
- Fourth section– It comprises of assorted alpine species such as Ateesh, Meethavish, Choru and Vankakdi.

SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY

MAHITI FOR MAINS-NON COMMUNICABLE DISEASES – COVID 19

Noncommunicable diseases (NCDs), also known as chronic diseases, tend to be of long duration and are the result of a combination of genetic, physiological, environmental and behaviours factors.

The main types of NCDs :

Cardiovascular diseases (like heart attacks and stroke)
Cancers
Chronic respiratory diseases (such as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and asthma)
Diabetes.

DETAILS

Accounts Nearly 71% of all deaths worldwide
Cardiovascular diseases are the top cause of global deaths. One out of every four deaths occurs due to cardiovascular diseases, especially among younger patients.
In the Indian subcontinent, there is early onset and rapid progression of such diseases, and a high mortality rate.
Premature loss of life due to NCDs in the age group of 30-69 years is also very high among Indians.
Half the deaths due to cardiovascular diseases occur in the age group of 40-69 years.

HAS INDIA TAKEN ANY STEPS

To address this growing burden of NCDs, the National Health Mission launched the National Programme for Prevention and Control of Cancer, Diabetes, Cardiovascular Diseases and Stroke, in 2010, focusing on strengthening infrastructure, promoting good health, human resource development, early diagnosis, management and referral.

IMPACT OF COVID-19

The rapid spread of COVID-19 has severely tested primary healthcare systems, which perform myriad functions, across the world. Maternal healthcare services, immunisation, health surveillance, and the screening and management of NCDs have all been severely disrupted.
A World Health Organization (WHO) survey conducted in May 2020 among 155 countries found that low-income countries were the most affected by this disruption.
More than half (53%) of the countries surveyed had partially or completely disrupted services for hypertension treatment, 49% for treatment for diabetes and diabetes-related complications, 42% for cancer treatment and 31% for cardiovascular emergencies.
The outcomes in COVID-19 patients with pre-existing cardiovascular disease risk factors or with established cardiovascular disease can be worse than others, perhaps due to low cardiorespiratory reserve, worsening of the underlying cardiovascular disease due to systemic effects of the illness, or precipitating novel cardiac complications.
Data from the National Health Mission’s Health Management Information System in India show that emergency services for cerebrovascular diseases dropped by about 14%. Among NCDs, persons with diabetes are at an exceptionally higher risk of severe clinical outcomes of COVID-19.
A recent study reported that nearly one in every two Indians living with diabetes is unaware of their condition. They are at higher risk of dying if they contract COVID-19 because of uncontrolled glucose levels in their blood. Findings from an observational study in Delhi show that 47.1% of hospitalised COVID-19 patients had diabetes.
In most countries, staff working in the area of NCDs were reassigned to support patients with COVID-19, and public screening programmes were postponed. Shortage of medicines, diagnostics and technologies were the main reasons for discontinuing services in one-fifth of the surveyed countries.
Cancellations of planned treatments, decreased availability of public transport, and lack of staff were the most common reasons for the disruption of NCD services. NCD services also got more disrupted as countries moved to the stage of community transmission from the stage of sporadic COVID-19 cases.
Lockdowns and reduced physical interactions led to loneliness, especially in the geriatric population. This resulted in mental health disorders such as anxiety and depression. Lockdowns increase exposure to NCD risk factors as people became more likely to increase their consumption of alcohol and tobacco and adopt an unhealthy diet.

SOLUTIONS

Action plan must include tobacco cessation activities as tobacco consumption
Alternative strategies must be adopted Example : Among the countries reporting service disruptions, half are using telemedicine.
There is an urgent need for national and State health policymakers to draw up a road map which gives equal weight to patients living with NCDs.
Utilising the existing network of NGOs while respecting local factors will go a long way in tackling the growing burden of NCDs. Campaigns on maintaining a healthy lifestyle need innovation; the monotony of broadcasting the same message over and over again must be broken.
Screening for NCDs at the grassroots level and the delivery of locally relevant and contextual messages for health promotion and primordial prevention of NCDs can be significantly improved by incentivising the already overburdened ASHA workers.
Access to essential NCD medicines and basic health technologies in all primary healthcare facilities is essential to ensure that those in need receive treatment and counselling.
A multidisciplinary approach is imperative. Strategies must include mitigation efforts to address administration challenges, a strong health workforce, infrastructure, supplies, maintaining the standard of care, and continued access and care for the vulnerable populations.

INDIA’S LARGEST FLOATING SOLAR PLANT

What is in news : The National Thermal Power Corporation (NTPC) Limited on August 21, 2021, commissioned India’s largest floating solar PV project of 25MW on the reservoir of its Simhadri thermal station in Vishakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh.

Details :

Floating solar reduces temperature related losses due to the cooling effect of water they float on, reduce evaporation rate of water bodies and have lower maintenance costs.
NTPC’s floating solar installation covers 75 acres of the Simhadri reservoir’s surface.
It will produce power from more than a lakh of solar PV modules for lighting 7,000 households.
The project will annually save 46,000 tonnes of CO2 emission and 1,364 million litres of water, which is adequate to meet the requirement of 6,700 households in a year.
The floating solar plant is part of the coal-burning behemoth’s plan to turn green by adding a 60 gigawatts renewable energy capacity by 2032.
It is also the first solar project to be set up under the power ministry’s 2018 ‘flexibilisation’ scheme allowing generators to supply power from any of their sources, based on plant efficiency, to reduce discoms’ cost.

What are floating solar plants:

Floating solar plants is the installation of photovoltaic panels on the water bodies such as lakes, basins, rivers, sea, ocean, etc as an alternative to land-based solar projects.
Floating solar projects are found to be beneficial at countering challenges of land acquisition, grid connectivity, regulations. Floating solar projects aid in reducing water evaporation, interconnectivity costs, suppressing algae blooming.
The cooling effect of the water bodies further enhances the performance of solar panels by 5 to 10 per cent.

About NTPC Limited

Established in 1975, NTPC Limited, formerly known as National Thermal Power Corporation Limited is India’s largest energy conglomerate that aims at accelerating the power generation sector in India.
NTPC has become a Maharatna company in May 2010. It is headquartered in New Delhi.
NTPC’s initiative of installing floating solar plants across India aims at increasing its green energy production up to 30 per cent and reducing carbon footprints.

REPORTS AND INDICES

REPORT ON HUNGER IN AFGHANISTAN

By : World Food Programme

Details:

UN food agency has been able to negotiate with the Taliban in order distribute aid in one provincial capital in Afghanistan. However, it is unable to resume food deliveries to three other provincial capitals.
This is the second drought in three years that country is facing.
This year, drought is combined with fighting.
Draught had afflicted Afghanistan much before the Taliban takeover of the country on August 15.
As per WFP estimates, around 2 million children are malnourished in Afghanistan.
WFP is the food-assistance branch of United Nations and the world’s largest humanitarian organization. It was founded in 1961 with its headquarter in Rome

INTERNATIONAL ISSUES

KANAL ISTANBUL

What is in news : The Kanal Istanbul, an under-construction shipping route running parallel to the strategically critical Bosphorus Strait, is fast gaining prominence as a major divisive issue in Turkey before election.