Current Affairs Oct 16 – GES Reporter

India gained decade of life expectancy since 1990, says Lancet study

India has gained more than a decade of life expectancy since 1990, but there are wide inequalities between States.
Life expectancy in India has risen from 59.6 years in 1990 to 70.8 years in 2019, ranging from 77.3 years in Kerala to 66.9 years in Uttar Pradesh.
However, the increase in ‘healthy life expectancy’ in India has not been as dramatic as the growth of life expectancy since “people are living more years with illness and disability”.
According to the international team of scientists, the current global crisis of chronic diseases and failure of public health to stem the rise in highly preventable risk factors
such as high blood pressure, tobacco use, and air pollution have left populations vulnerable to acute health emergencies such as COVID-19.
The main improvement we see in almost every country, including in India, is a decline in infectious diseases and more rise in chronic diseases.
In India maternal mortality used to be very high, but now it is coming down. Cardiovascular diseases used to be number five, and now it is number one, and cancer rates are increasing.
In the South Asia region, non-communicable diseases (NCDs) now contribute to more than half of the years lost due to ill-health, disability or early death, which was dominated by infectious, maternal, neonatal, and nutritional diseases 30 years ago.
58% of the total disease burden in India is now due to non-communicable diseases, up from 29% in 1990, while premature deaths due to NCDs have more than doubled from 22 to 50%.
In 2019, the research noted that the top five risk factors for death in India were air pollution (contributing to an estimated 1.67 million deaths), high blood pressure (1.47 million), tobacco use (1.23 million), poor diet (1.18 million), and high blood sugar (1.12 million).
High blood pressure is the third leading risk factor after air pollution, responsible for 10-20% of all health loss in eight States in India, primarily in the south.

THE HINDU

‘KAPILA’ Kalam Program

Union Education Minister launched the ‘KAPILA’ Kalam Program for Intellectual Property Literacy and Awareness campaign on the 89th birth anniversary of former President and Scientist Late Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam.
It is necessary not only to invent for the self-sufficiency of the country, but also to patent the inventions. Patent of inventions will lead India towards Self-Reliance.
To promote awareness in the field, the minister decided to celebrate the week of October 15 to 23 as ‘Intellectual Property Literacy Week’.
On ‘National Innovation Day’, this important initiative has been taken towards making India self-reliant.
Under this campaign, students pursuing education in higher educational institutions will get information about the correct system of the application process for patenting their invention and they will be aware of their rights.

PIB

SCALE India

In an endeavour to provide a single platform to integrate quality assurance across all its services, the Leather Sector Skill Council (LSSC) announced the launch of Skill Certification Assessment for Leather Employees (SCALE) India android app.
Operating under the aegis of the Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship(MSDE), LSSC is committed to strengthen its digital capabilities on quality assurance across training delivery, monitoring, assessments, verification and linkages to ASEEM portal.

Synonymous with assessments, the cornerstone of quality assurance and the one of the main functions of LSSC,
this unique initiative aims to provide a one-stop solution for the skilling, learning, assessment and employment needs of the leather and leather products industry.
App will also help employers engage with other stakeholders seamlessly and provide a marketplace for human capital for the leather industry.
SCALE will help candidates in the skilling ecosystem to get assessed and certified on their knowledge, skills and behaviour on a specific qualification pack.
It also enables access to micro-learning modules for bridging the skill gaps that are identified and can be re-assessed and certified at the end of the learning on the specific qualification pack.
It further assists the candidate to become a productive resource who is readily employable in the industry.
The candidates can search for employment opportunities and connect with employers post completion of their certification.
The assessments are currently available in English, Hindi, Tamil, and Bengali, with plans to add more regional languages in a phased manner.
From an employer standpoint, the platform will serve as a job portal with access to a certified talent pool of candidates to hire from, leading to increase in productivity and profitability.

About Leather Sector Skill Council

The Leather Sector Skill Council (LSSC) is a non-profit organisation dedicated to meet the demand for skilled workforce in the leather industry in India.
LSSC was set up in 2012 as one of the key sector skill councils approved by National Skill Development Corporation (NSDC).

They cater to the training and employment needs of various sub-sectors in the leather industry such as Finished Leather, Footwear, Garments, Leather Goods, Accessories, Saddlery and Harness sectors.
They work with a host of members from the industry, government organizations, the academia, the training partners and the assessment partners.
Partnership with Council for Leather Exports (CLE) brings us them closer to the needs of the industry, particularly from the perspective of exports and international industry standards.

THE HINDU

Justice Madan B. Lokur

Former Supreme Court judge, Justice Madan B. Lokur, helped by student volunteer forces deployed from the National Cadet Corps, the National Service Scheme and the Bharat Scouts and Guides, will protect Delhi-NCR (National Capital Region) from pollution caused by stubble-burning in the neighbouring Punjab, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh this winter.
A Supreme Court Bench led by Chief Justice of India (CJI) appointed Justice Lokur as a one-man committee to monitor and prevent instances of stubble-burning by farmers in the three States.
Student forces will patrol highways and fields in the three States and ensure that no fires are started in the fields.
Existing mobile teams and nodal officers of the States will report to the committee.
The Supreme Court’s own Environment Pollution (Prevention and Control) Authority (EPCA) would consult with the committee on issues related to stubble-burning.
The court chose Justice Lokur for the task as he had headed the Green Bench that was monitoring stubble-burning for two whole years before his retirement.
Stubble fires were five time more in Punjab regardless of a remote-sensing app used by the State.

THE HINDU

National Authority For Ships Recycling

The Directorate General of Shipping has been notified as the National Authority for Recycling of Ships under Section 3 of the Recycling of Ships Act, 2019.
DG Shipping will look after the sustainable development of the ship recycling industry, monitor compliance with environment norms, safety and health for the stakeholders in the industry.
DG Shipping will be the final authority for the various approvals required by the recycling yard owners and State governments.
Under Ship Recycling Act, 2019, India has acceded to the Hong Kong Convention for Ship Recycling under International Maritime Organization (IMO). DG Shipping is a representative of India in the IMO and enforces the conventions.
The National Authority of Ship Recycling will be set up in Gandhinagar, Gujarat, which is the home of Asia’s largest ship breaking and recycling industry in the world.

BUSINESSLINE

Vitamin D & COVID

Researchers at the Queen Mary University of London are conducting trials to test whether the intake of Vitamin D can help in fighting the novel coronavirus and other diseases.
The report stated that the participants will be asked to take Vitamin D pills for six months if a “finger-prick test” shows they have a sunshine vitamin deficiency.
The researchers aim to boost immunity, especially during the months of winter as the level of Vitamin D goes down in colder areas.
The researchers maintained that people participating in the trial will be given higher doses of vitamin D than regular supplements.
Vitamin D supplements are low in cost, low in risk, and widely accessible.
If proven effective, they could significantly aid in global fight against the virus.
Vitamin D deficiency is more common in elderly people, among those who are overweight, and in black and Asian people.
Earlier studies claimed that these groups are at high risk of catching the Covid-19 infection and bear severe outcomes.

BUSINESSLINE

Sponsorship Programme

Jana Small Finance Bank, a Bengaluru-based small finance bank (SFB), has partnered with Ashoknagar Co-operative Bank Limited under the bank sponsorship programme.
With this, Jana Bank has become the first SFB to go live under the sponsorship programme.
Recently, the RBI permitted co-operative banks that are Core Banking Solution (CBS)-enabled,

to issue ATM cards/ATM-cum-debit cards in a tie-up with a sponsor bank.
Ashoknagar Co-operative Bank Limited, in association with Jana Small Finance Bank, can extend ATM, POS and e-commerce services to its customers.
This association marks the fulfilment of Jana Bank’s endeavour to promote a full suite of services to co-operative banks.

BUSINESSLINE

India to deliver kilo class submarine to Myanmar

India on Thursday said it will deliver a kilo class submarine INS Sindhuvir to Myanmar’s Navy, a move that comes in the backdrop of China’s increasing efforts to expand its military influence in the region.
It will be the first submarine of the Myanmarese Navy which has been ramping up cooperation with the Indian Navy in the last few years.
The submarine, purchased from the Soviet Union in the 1980s, has undergone modernisation at the Hindustan Shipyard Limited (HSL) in Vizag.
The announcement came days after Chief of Army Staff General MM Naravane and Foreign Secretary Harsh Vardhan Shringla travelled to Myanmar on a two-day visit during which they held talks with the top military and political brass of the country including State Counsellor Aung San Suu Kyi.
This is in accordance with our vision of SAGAR – Security and Growth for All in the Region, and also in line with our commitment to build capacities and self reliance in all our neighbouring countries.
Myanmar is one of India’s strategic neighbours and shares a 1,640-kilometer-long border with a number of northeastern states including militancy-hit Nagaland and Manipur.
Kilo class refers to diesel-electric attack submarines that were designed and built in the erstwhile Soviet Union.

TOI

Import of air conditioners with refrigerants banned

India will no longer be able to import air conditioners (ACs) with refrigerants, as the government banned their imports — a move that comes in the midst of India’s campaign to be self-reliant by promoting domestic manufacturing of such goods.
Import policy of air conditioners with refrigerants … is amended from free to prohibited.
Non-essential electronic goods have been under the purview of the Ministry of Commerce and Industry since the government decided to push for self reliance in various sectors this year.
Air conditioners, specifically, have been singled out by Prime Minister Narendra Modi as an example of a segment where self-reliance was required.
In July, the government imposed restrictions on the imports of various colour TV sets as well.

Every Police Station To Have Women Help-desks

Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister ordered the setting up of women help desks at all police stations in the state.
Referring to the Mission Shakti to be launched for the women’s safety and security on October 17, the first day of the Navratri, the chief ministry dedicated the upcoming Navratri days to women’s and empowerment.
Mission Shakti would be a special campaign in which the cooperation of all the departments including the police was expected.
During the Mission Shakti campaign, a slew of programs on women safety and empowerment is to be organised at various levels, ranging from the Gram Panchayat to schools and college campuses and government offices.
As many as 23 departments, including those of Basic Education, Secondary Education, Higher Education, MSME, the government and non-government agencies will be participating in these programs aimed at the women empowerment.
Private cab operators will also be roped in these endeavours.

World Food Day – 16th October

Throughout history, food has acted as a catalyst for societal transformation, development, and expansion. But now, food safety is becoming an important issue.
Thus to raise awareness about the importance of good food and nutrition World Food Day is celebrated across the globe in different ways.
World Food Day 2020 is observed on October 16 every year to tackle global hunger and strive to eradicate hunger across the world.
There are people all over the world who are suffering from hunger.
Starvation is a massive problem in several countries, and we need to do more to raise awareness and combat this problem.
This year the World Food Day 2020 theme is “Grow, nourish, sustain. Together. Our actions are our future”.
This day also marks the foundation of Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations (UN) that happened on October 16, 1945.
Ranking 102 out of 117 qualifying countries on the 2019 Global Hunger Index (GHI), India is in a uniquely vulnerable position

as it also finds over 60.45 per cent of its land being used for agricultural purposes (as per the World Bank collection of development indicators, 2016),
making it the second largest in the world.
Land use is also a significant part of the puzzle—one acre of land can yield between upto twenty times more plant based foods than animal-based foods.
Dissection of global agricultural yields finds that a more efficient use of existing croplands could feed nearly four billion more people, by virtue of shifting away from growing crops for animal feed to instead directly for human consumption.
Reallocating croplands, then, could also augment available global food calories by as much as 70 per cent, according to research.

INDIA TODAY

Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO)

The Seventh Meeting of Ministers of Justice of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Member States was hosted by Ministry Of Law & Justice.
Minister mentioned initiating Pro Bono Legal Services to provide free legal aid to marginalized sections of the society.
He highlighted that through Tele-Law services initiated in 2017, so far 3.44 Lakh free legal consultations have been given to poor people through video conferencing.
He also highlighted e-Courts projects with Video-Conferencing facility and rolling out of Virtual Courts, as part of Government’s successful transformative change in process automation from the conventional brick and mortar court architecture.
As part of activities of Justice Ministers’ Forum, Minister urged SCO Member States to promote exchange of ideas, best practices and experiences in identified areas through the platform.
He also stressed on widening the spectrum of activities being undertaken in the Forum, in particular and SCO in general.

The salient features of the Joint Statement are as under:

To strengthen the work on implementation of the Agreement on Cooperation between the Ministries of Justice of the SCO Member States (Dushanbe, 18 August 2015).
To continue the work on implementation of the Action Plans of the working groups of experts on forensic activities and legal services for 2018-2020, as well as to develop Action Plans for 2021-2023.
Consider organizing exchange programs for representatives of the ministries (law and justice of the SCO member-states) to study the best practices in alternative dispute resolution.
To continue discussing the parties’ positions on the issues of mutual legal assistance and development of legal services in accordance with national legislation.
Actively develop cooperation with the ministries of justice of the SCO observer and dialogue partner states.
Continue efforts to develop an online platform for the exchange of legal information, taking into account national laws.

PIB

India’s first ‘saviour sibling’ experiment

India’s first ‘saviour sibling’ experiment is a success.
A one-year-old sibling has saved her brother’s life by donating her bone marrow. Kavya was conceived by her parents through invitro fertilisation to save her brother, Abhijeet Solanki, who was born with Thalassemia.
Thalassemia is a disorder where the haemoglobin count is low in blood and such persons require frequent blood transfusions.
Abhijeet required blood transfusions every 25 days and the gap between two transfusions reduced as he grew.
The only way to save him was through a bone marrow transplant.
The family was willing to donate their bone marrow but the human leukocyte antigen (HLA) of the family, including that of his older sister, did not match.
Doctors started the assisted reproductive therapy, called pre-implantation genetic testing, for monogenic disorder with human leukocyte antigen (HLA) matching.
The couple underwent three cycles of IVF and 18 embryos were created. Of this only one perfectly matched Abhijeet’s HLA.
The embryo was implanted in Apla Solanki, who delivered a baby girl a year ago.
They had to wait for the baby to grow and weigh 10 kg before they could draw bone marrow,
They used pre-genetic diagnosis and screening test, an established method for conceiving a child who may donate cord blood or hematopoietic stem cells for transplantation to save a critically ill sibling.

THE HINDU

Oxford University develops rapid antigen Covid-19 test

Researchers at the University of Oxford have developed a rapid coronavirus test that can produce results in less than five minutes.
The researchers hope that the test can be used at public places, especially airports, music venues, and office spaces.
This will help in establishing spaces that are Covid-19-free.
The university informed that the approved device can be procured within six months.
The researchers claimed that the antigen test results are highly accurate.

It can also distinguish SARS-CoV-2 from other infections.
The method involves taking throat swabs, which are then scanned for virus particles.
Machine-learning software then “quickly and automatically” detects SARS-CoV-2 present in the sample — exploiting the fact that different viruses have distinct surface chemistry, sizes and shapes.

BUSINESSLINE

Crimes Against Women

The Supreme Court said crimes against women continued in a “never-ending cycle” in India.
Women in India faced violence and discrimination in one form or the other in their various roles as daughter, sister, wife, mother, partner or single woman.
Though the judgment called a 2005 law against domestic harassment as a “milestone”, the Bench said domestic violence continued to be the least reported form of violence towards women.
Women continue to be vulnerable to these crimes because of non-retaliation, coupled with absence of laws addressing their rights and ignorance of the existing statutes.
Societal attitude, stigma and conditioning also made women vulnerable to domestic violence.
Also, relationships outside marriage were not recognised.
This set of circumstances ensured that a majority of women preferred to suffer in silence, not out of choice but of compulsion.
It said the progress of any society depended on its ability to protect and promote the rights of women.
The observations came in a judgment that held that the relief granting right to residence to a married woman under the domestic violence law by a criminal court was relevant and could be considered even in civil proceedings seeking her eviction from the matrimonial home.

THE HINDU

ICRC approaches India and China

After the incident at the Line of Actual Control in Galwan in Ladakh in June, in which 20 Indian soldiers were killed in a clash with Chinese soldiers,
the International Committee for the Red Cross (ICRC) approached both the Indian and Chinese governments and asked that they observe the Geneva Conventions to which both countries are signatories.
ICRC approached the Permanent Mission of India in Geneva and handed over a note verbale, a form of diplomatic communication, bringing attention to the rules under the Geneva Conventions in situations of armed conflict.
As part of its mandate, the ICRC regularly engages in a dialogue with the authorities on humanitarian issues as well as on rules applicable to various situations, based on the ICRC’s internal analysis.
This dialogue with the concerned authorities is conducted in a confidential manner and the ICRC does not normally publish either its findings or the content of these confidential discussions and recommendations that it presents.
Both India and China have acceded to the 1949 Geneva Conventions, a set of four international treaties that ensure that
in a conflict, warring parties conduct themselves in a humane way with non-combatants
such as civilians and medical personnel, as well as with combatants no longer actively engaged in fighting, such as prisoners of war, and wounded or sick soldiers.
Three protocols were added in later years. India has signed off on one of the protocols, China on two.
The ICRC, an international humanitarian organisation, has the mandate to monitor that signatories follow the rules in situations of conflict.

Origins of metabolism revealed

Metabolism is a key process in living things that enables fuel to be turned into energy, but its evolutionary origin is a long-standing enigma.
Now, a study by US researchers has found a simple reaction between two chemicals, called glyoxylate and pyruvate, in Earth’s primordial soup billions of years ago may have led to the first form of metabolism as we know it.
Today, most living things use a process called the Krebs cycle – a convoluted eight-step process which turns glucose into cellular energy – to metabolise food.
It is a highly complex and delicate process which is closely controlled by various enzymes.
However, the team of scientists found that when glyoxylate and pyruvate simply react in water, they make all the chemicals needed for a version of the Krebs cycle.
Researchers say it is possible these two innocuous chemicals may therefore have driven a primitive, inefficient and uncontrolled version of the Krebs cycle.
As a result, emerging life on Earth may have been able to utilise this process and start creating energy.
Previous research into this conundrum tried to find metals which would act as primitive replacements for each enzyme that controls a stage of the cycle.

DAILY MAIL

Bepicolombo Captures Its First Glimpse Of Venus

The European Space Agency (ESA) has released a sequence of images of Venus, taken by its Mercury-bound BepiColombo spacecraft.
BepiColombo swung by Venus and captured its first glimpse of our immediate planetary neighbour, which appears as a circular orb, visible beneath the craft’s instruments.
The British-built craft, which launched in 2018, is now adjusting its course on the way to Mercury, the solar system’s smallest and innermost planet, which it should reach by December 2025.
The BepiColombo mission is named after the Italian mathematician and engineer Giuseppe (Bepi) Colombo (1920–84).
Its seven-year journey is a joint mission between the ESA and the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA).
One piece of equipment on board, the Mercury Imaging X-ray Spectrometer (MIXS), was built by the University of Leicester and funded by the UK Space Agency.
It will work alongside a second spectrometer called SIXS to analyse surface composition via fluorescent X-rays when it arrives at Mercury.
BepiColombo approached Venus for what is known as a gravity assist or ‘slingshot’ manoeuvre.

By approaching a planet, satellites can making use of its gravitational pull to add momentum, increase its velocity and propel it onward.
BepiColombo needs these gravitational slingshots to set it on course for Mercury orbit.
Together with the spacecraft’s solar electric propulsion system, they will help steer BepiColombo against the strong gravitational pull of the Sun.
BepiColombo launched from French Guiana aboard an Ariane 5 rocket on October 20, 2018.
The last spacecraft to visit Mercury was NASA’s Messenger probe, which ended its mission in 2015 after a four-year orbit.
Before that, NASA’s Mariner 10 flew past the planet in the mid-1970s.
BepiColombo features three components that will separate upon arrival:
Mercury Transfer Module (MTM) for propulsion, built by the European Space Agency (ESA)
Mercury Planetary Orbiter (MPO) built by ESA
Mercury Magnetospheric Orbiter (MMO) or MIO built by Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA)