[Mission 2024] INSIGHTS DAILY CURRENT AFFAIRS + PIB SUMMARY 6 September 2023

GS2/GS3 Paper 

 Syllabus: Government Policies and Interventions/ Human Resources

Source: TH

Context: The article discusses the issue of hunger and malnutrition in India and the need for a more localized assessment of this problem.

What is Hunger?

As per FAO, hunger is the condition characterized by habitual or chronic consumption of too few calories to meet the minimum dietary energy requirements for a healthy and productive life

Types of Hunger:

What is Malnutrition?

Malnutrition refers to a condition where an individual’s diet lacks the necessary nutrients (such as vitamins, minerals, proteins, and carbohydrates) required for proper growth, development, and overall health. Malnutrition can manifest as

• Undernutrition (insufficient intake of nutrients)
• Overnutrition (excessive intake leading to obesity)
• Specific nutrient deficiencies

Status of India on Hunger:

• Despite being a major food producer with extensive food security programs, India faces significant food insecurity, hunger, and child malnutrition.
• In the 2022 Global Hunger Index (GHI), India ranked 107th out of 121 countries, behind Nigeria and Pakistan.
  • The GHI measures undernourishment and hunger on a national level, including calorie undernourishment, child malnutrition, and under-five mortality.
  • Over the past five years, India’s GHI score has worsened primarily due to the rising prevalence of calorie undernourishment.
  • Child Malnutrition: India faces significant challenges in child nutrition, with high rates of stunting, underweight children, and wasting
• The 2022 State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World report revealed that India has over 224 million ( over 22 crore) undernourished individuals, with notable disparities among states.

About State Hunger Index (SHI):

Key issues:

Suggestions for addressing the issues:

• India-Specific Hunger Index: There is a need for an India-specific hunger index that evaluates hunger and malnutrition at the state and union territory levels.
  • This localized assessment is crucial for achieving the Sustainable Development Goals related to hunger eradication.
• Prioritize Young Children’s Nutrition: Elevate the importance of young children’s food intake in policies, beyond just “complementary” nutrition.
• Improved Assessments: Adapt the Food and Agriculture Organisation’s household-level food insecurity modules for a better understanding of food security in India.
• Evidence-Based Policy: Base policies on measuring the availability, accessibility, and affordability of nutritious food, especially for vulnerable populations.
• Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana: Consider a strategic initiative led by the Prime Minister’s Office to eliminate food insecurity and ensure affordable access to nutritious food, with a focus on young children, to achieve the SDG of zero hunger.

Key nutrition-related programs and initiatives in India:

Conclusion:

The article highlights the pressing issue of hunger and malnutrition in India, the need for localized assessments, and the challenges in obtaining up-to-date and accurate data to address these critical concerns.

Mains Links:

Q) Hunger and Poverty are the biggest challenges for good governance in India still today. Evaluate how far successive governments have progressed in dealing with these humongous problems. Suggest measures for improvement. ( UPSC 2017)

Q) How far do you agree with the view that the focus on lack or availability of food as the main cause of hunger takes the attention away from ineffective human development policies in India? ( UPSC 2018)

Prelims Links:

GS Paper 3

 Syllabus: Environment Conservation

Source: DTE

 Context: Approximately six billion tonnes of sand are extracted annually from the world’s oceans, causing irreversible damage to benthic life, according to a new global data platform called Marine Sand Watch.

What is Benthic Life?

Benthic life refers to organisms that live on or near the bottom of aquatic environments, such as oceans, seas, lakes, and rivers. These organisms are adapted to life on the seabed or riverbed and play crucial roles in the ecosystem, including decomposing organic matter and providing food for other aquatic species.

Impact of Sand Extraction on Benthic Life:

Examples of the impact of Coastal Sand Mining on Indian Coasts:

Preventive measures taken:

Some countries — including Indonesia, Thailand, Malaysia, Vietnam, and Cambodia — have banned marine sand export in the last 20 years, while others lack any legislation and /or effective monitoring programmes.

Addressing these issues requires a comprehensive approach, including:

• Reducing Sand Consumption: Promoting sand-efficient construction practices.
• Taxation and Regulation: Implementing taxes and regulations on sand extraction.
• Alternative Materials: Exploring alternatives to sand in construction, such as recycling concrete or using filler materials like construction waste.
• Community Empowerment: Involving local communities in decision-making, particularly those downstream or reliant on sand resources.
• Integrated Regional Management: Coordinating sand resource management between offshore regulators, coastal communities, and upstream river basins.

Legal Mechanisms:

• Sand is categorized as a “minor mineral” under the Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulations) Act, 1957, and its control lies with the State Governments. The primary sources of sand are rivers and coastal areas, and its demand has surged due to India’s construction and infrastructure development activities.
• The Ministry of Environment, Forests, and Climate Change has issued “Sustainable Sand Mining Management Guidelines 2016” to promote environmentally friendly sand mining practices.
• The International Seabed Authority (ISA), governed by a UN treaty, regulates mineral exploration and extraction. India, as a party to the treaty, has exclusive rights to explore polymetallic nodules in the Central Indian Ocean Basin spanning over 75,000 sq. km.

About Marine Sand Watch

It is a global data platform developed by GRID-Geneva, part of the UN Environment Programme. It monitors and tracks sediment extraction activities in the world’s marine environments, including sand, clay, silt, gravel, and rock dredging. It uses Automatic Identification System signals from vessels and Artificial Intelligence to identify dredging operations.

Mains Links

Coastal sand mining, whether legal or illegal, poses one of the biggest threats to our environment. Analyse the impact of sand mining along the Indian coasts, citing specific examples. (UPSC 2019)

Prelims Links:

GS Paper 3 

 Syllabus: Environment Conservation

Source: DTE, IE, IPEB

Context: The latest Intergovernmental Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES) report, “Assessment Report on Invasive Alien Species and their Control’’ has said that 37,000 alien species have been introduced by humans, including 3,500 invasive species, are linked to 60% of extinctions of global plant and animals

What is an Invasive Alien species?

Invasive alien species are animals, plants, and microbes introduced by humans to new regions, with negative impacts on nature and often on human quality of life.

• Examples: IAS spread diseases like malaria, Zika, and West Nile Fever through invasive mosquito species.
• Water hyacinth in Lake Victoria has harmed fish populations and livelihoods.

Key findings of the Report:

• There are 37,000 alien species introduced to various regions and biomes worldwide due to human activities.
  • Among these, over 3,500 are invasive alien species, responsible for 60% of global plant and animal extinctions.
• Invasive alien species are one of the five major drivers of global biodiversity loss, Other drivers are:-
  • Land and sea use changes
  • Direct exploitation of organisms
  • Climate change
• Alien species increasing: The number of alien species introduced by humans has been increasing, driven by factors like increased travel, trade, and global economic expansion.
• Economic Loss: The annual costs of invasive alien species have quadrupled every decade since 1970, exceeding $423 billion globally in 2019.

Target 6 of the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework aims to reduce the rate of invasive alien species introduction by at least 50% by 2030. While many countries have targets related to managing invasive species, only 17% have specific legislation addressing the issue.

Impact of Invasive Alien Species:

To know how Invasive species threaten the wildlife habitats of the Western Ghats: Click Here

The challenge in controlling Invasive Alien Species:

Recommendations:

• The report suggests an integrated approach involving various sectors like trade, health, and economic development to prevent, detect, and respond to biological invasions.
• The urgency to address IAS stems from their role in driving plant and animal extinctions. Awareness and action are essential to mitigate their impact and protect biodiversity.
• Site-based or ecosystem-based management, enforce border biosecurity and import controls etc.

Efforts in this regard:

• Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD)recognizes that there is an urgent need to address the impact of invasive species.
• Aichi Biodiversity Target 9and one clause of UN Sustainable Development Goal 15 – Life on Land specifically address the issue.
• The IUCN SSC Invasive Species Specialist Group (ISSG)aim to reduce threats to ecosystems and their native species by increasing awareness of ways to prevent, control or eradicate IAS.
• IUCN has developed knowledge platforms:
• The Global Invasive Species Database (GISD) and the Global Register of Introduced and Invasive Species (GRIIS).

About IPBES

The Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (founded 2012; founder: UNEP, UNDP and FAO; secretariat: Bonn, Germany) is an intergovernmental organization established to improve the interface between science and policy on issues of biodiversity and ecosystem services. It was formed on the basis of the Busan outcome document. It has 143 member States including India.

Insta Links:

Alien plants growing together threatening tiger habitats

Mains lInks:

The effects of invasive alien species on their new surroundings as well as the overall biodiversity of the region are grave. Analyse.

Facts for Prelims (FFP)

Source: TH

 Context: The French government announced that the practice of wearing abaya would be banned in state-run schools as it violated the principle of Laïcité.

• Laïcité, the French principle of secularism, involves the complete separation of religious values from the public sphere, emphasizing the promotion of secular values like liberty, equality, and fraternity.
• Its aim is to encourage tolerance and assimilation, with religion reserved for the private sphere. The state plays a crucial role in enforcing Laïcité principles.

History of Laïcité:

• Laïcité emerged following the French Revolution in 1789 but became more concrete with the Law of 1905 during the Third Republic, establishing state-run secular schools.
• Laïcité was not a major issue for much of the 20th century when France was relatively homogenous. However, demographic changes in the 1950s and 1960s due to decolonization led to tensions as immigrants from predominantly Muslim countries arrived.

Facts for Prelims (FFP)

Source: PIB

Context: The “Gujarat Declaration,” released as the outcome of the first WHO Traditional Medicine Global Summit 2023, emphasizes the global commitment to harnessing the potential of traditional medicine for the betterment of health and well-being worldwide.

Facts for Prelims (FFP)

Source: Live Mint

Context: The Minister of Road Transport and Highways in India, has suggested the revival of the Build Operate Transfer (BOT) model for road construction projects.

• This proposal is in response to a lack of private investments in the sector, which has strained the government’s finances.
• In recent years, the government has primarily funded highway construction through the hybrid annuity model (HAM) and engineering, procurement, and construction (EPC) model, resulting in a significant increase in budgetary support to the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI).

Facts for Prelims (FFP)

Source: TH

Context: The Dementia India Alliance (DIA) has launched a national dementia support line and an online memory screening clinic called DemClinic.

• These services are designed to provide information, support, and guidance related to dementia, promote timely diagnosis, and offer memory screening services.
• These initiatives aim to raise awareness, reduce stigma, and provide support for people affected by dementia in India.

Dementia is a general term for a group of symptoms that affect memory, thinking, and social abilities. Dementia is not a specific disease, but rather a result of various diseases and injuries that affect the brain. Alzheimer’s disease is the most common type of dementia and may contribute to 60–70% of cases

Facts for Prelims (FFP)

Source: TH

Context: In May 2020, scientists discovered unusual rocks containing distinctive greenish crystals in the Sahara Desert, which were identified as remnants from the early Solar System.

• These rocks are pieces of the meteorite known as Erg Chech 002, making it the oldest volcanic rock ever found, dating back approximately 4.56556 billion years.

Erg Chech 002 is categorized as an “ungrouped achondrite,” formed from melted planetesimals, and its parent body remains unidentified.

The study revealed that Erg Chech 002 contained a high abundance of lead-206 and lead-207, along with undecayed uranium-238 and uranium-235. Comparisons with other achondrites, particularly volcanic angrites, indicated that aluminum-26 was distributed unevenly in the early Solar System.

Key Findings:

• The study focused on aluminium isotopes, particularly aluminum-26, a radioactive isotope that decays over time and is crucial for understanding the formation of the Solar System.
• Aluminum-26’s decay played a significant role in heating small rocks in the early Solar System, leading to the formation of planets.
• To determine the distribution of aluminum-26 and its absolute ages, the researchers combined aluminum-26 data with uranium and lead data.

This research contributes to a deeper understanding of the early developmental stages of the Solar System and the geological history of emerging planets.

Facts for Prelims (FFP)

Source: TH

Context: Researchers in Japan have developed a sophisticated setup to study unstable atomic nuclei, including those that don’t exist naturally, using electron scattering.

• This method, called SCRIT (Self-Confining Radioactive-isotope Ion Target), allows scientists to trap target ions in three dimensions along an electron beam, improving the chances of successful collisions and reducing the number of required ions.
• By analyzing electron-ion interactions and interference patterns, physicists can gain insights into the internal structure of atomic nuclei, bridging gaps in our understanding of nuclear physics.
• This technology, known as a femtoscope, offers a new tool to investigate the structure of atomic nuclei and address unresolved questions in the field.

Facts for Prelims (FFP)

Source: TH

Context: A coordinate system is a numerical framework used to pinpoint the location of a point in a given space.

• One well-known coordinate system is Cartesian coordinates, which employs a set of three numbers to determine a point’s distance from three mutually perpendicular planes.
• In simpler terms, Cartesian coordinates use pairs of numbers (x and y) on a plane or triples of numbers (x, y, and z) in three dimensions to specify the position of a point.

This system was invented by the 17th-century French philosopher and mathematician René Descartes, bridging the gap between algebra and geometry and giving rise to analytic geometry.

Cartesian coordinates find widespread applications in fields like astronomy, engineering, and computer graphics, enabling the representation of spatial data and geometric design.

Facts for Prelims (FFP)

Source: NewScientist

Context: Scientists have examined an exceptionally well-preserved fossil of Kylinxia zhangi, a creature related to arthropods, using a CT scanner.

• The fossil, which is approximately 520 million years old, was discovered in China’s Chengjiang biota, known for its remarkably preserved animals from the Cambrian period.
• Kylinxia had three eyes on its head and possessed formidable claws, likely used for catching prey. The fossil’s preservation allowed researchers to digitally examine its features and observe that its head had six segments, similar to modern arthropods.
• This finding suggests that Kylinxia and contemporary arthropods share a common ancestor with a six-segmented head.

This study provides valuable insights into the early evolution of arthropods and related organisms, shedding light on the morphology and characteristics of Kylinxia.

Mapping

Source: TH

Israel’s Prime Minister has proposed a fibre optic cable project that aims to connect Asia and the Arabian Peninsula with Europe through Israel and Cyprus.

This project underscores the cost-effectiveness and security of using fibre optic connections for international communication. It also builds on Israel’s ongoing collaboration with Cyprus and Greece, including energy projects like the EurAsia Interconnector, an undersea electricity cable.

Israel, a Middle Eastern country on the Mediterranean Sea, is regarded by Jews, Christians and Muslims as the biblical Holy Land. Its most sacred sites are in Jerusalem. Within its Old City, the Temple Mount complex includes the Dome of the Rock shrine, the historic Western Wall, Al-Aqsa Mosque and the Church of the Holy Sepulchre.