[Mission 2022] Insta– QUED ( Questions from Editorials ) 10 December 2021

Solution: a)

Small Island Developing States (SIDS) are a group of developing countries that are small island countries which tend to share similar sustainable development challenges. These include small but growing populations, limited resources, remoteness, susceptibility to natural disasters, vulnerability to external shocks, excessive dependence on international trade, and fragile environments.

As of 2020, the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs lists 52 small island developing states. These are broken down into three geographic regions: the Caribbean; the Pacific; and Africa, Indian Ocean, Mediterranean and South China Sea (AIMS).

Most (but not all) SIDS are members of the Alliance of Small Island States (AOSIS), which performs lobbying and negotiating functions for the SIDS within the United Nations system.

Solution: d)

Solution: d)

How are zoonotic diseases transmitted? 

Direct contact with animals is the easiest way for diseases to spread from animals to humans, such as through petting, handling or getting bitten or scratched by an animal. People who work in the livestock industry or in animal care industries (zoos or aquariums, for instance) are more susceptible to exposure to zoonotic diseases because they’re often in direct contact with animals. Domestic pets can also be a direct source of exposure, as can wild animals that come in contact with hunters.

Spending time in areas where animals live can lead to indirect exposure to zoonotic disease agents through contact with water or surfaces that infected animals have also come in contact with. Some zoonotic germs can even contaminate the air we breathe. Hantaviruses, for instance, are a family of viruses spread by rodents, but rarely through direct contact. Instead, the viruses are more often spread in aerosolized bits of the rodent’s infected fecal matter. For example, people sweeping out their sheds after a long period of time may inhale dust contaminated with infected fecal particles from mice.

Zoonotic diseases can also be transferred from animals to humans through insects that act as a “middle-man,” or vectors for the disease-causing agent. Ticks, for example, transfer bloodborne pathogens, such as the bacteria that causes Lyme disease, from an infected animal to other animals and humans. Mosquitoes and fleas are also common vectors for zoonotic diseases, such as the Zika virus (transmitted by mosquitoes) and the bacterium that causes plague (transmitted by fleas).

People can also catch zoonotic diseases through consuming contaminated food. Eating undercooked meat or eggs, or eating unwashed produce that’s contaminated with animal feces can lead to illness from germs carried by an animal. Drinking raw, unpasteurized milk or contaminated water can also cause zoonotic diseases to spread to humans.

Solution: b)

• Milk is an important case study for our overall agriculture sector.
• First, milk is our biggest agri-commodity in terms of value, greater than paddy (rice), wheat, and sugarcane combined.
• Second, India is the largest producer of milk in the world with an estimated production of about 208 million tonnes in 2020-21, way above its closest competitor, the US, whose milk production hovers around 100 million tonnes.
• Third, our dairy sector is dominated by small holders with an average herd size of 4-5 animals.
• Fourth, and this is important, there is no minimum support price (MSP) for milk. It is more like a contract between the company and the farmers. Thus, the price of milk is largely determined by the overall forces of demand and supply. 
• Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat, Andhra Pradesh and Punjab are the major milk producing states.
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Solution: a