Sarat Chandra IAS Academy brings to you the daily current affairs keeping in mind the changing pattern of the UPSC civil services exam. UPSC Prelims and Mains exams mix the current affairs with static core concepts. So, we give the background explanation for every current topic.
TOPICS OF THE DAY:
- Panel formed to oversee India’s Paris climate goals
- WHO World Malaria Report 2020
- Data Wise
- Representation of Women in judiciary
- e-Sanjeevani
1) Panel formed to oversee India’s Paris climate goals:
Relevant to: #Mains GS 3
Context: The Union Environment Ministry has constituted a high-level inter-ministerial apex committee for Implementation of Paris Agreement Key points of AIPA: It is constituted under the chairmanship of Secretary, MoEFCC. Composition: Senior officials from fourteen ministries will serve as Members to AIPA who will oversee the progress in implementation of India’s NDC. Objective of this committee: To generate a coordinated response on climate change matters that ensures India is on track towards meeting its obligations under the Paris Agreement including its Nationally Determined Contributions (NDC)
Being the national authority, it will ensure that India maintains its climate leadership by ensuring its climate actions are consistent with the goals of the Paris Agreement. Functions
- AIPA must operate as a National Authority to regulate carbon markets in India under Article 6 of the Paris Agreement.
- Formulate guidelines for the projects or activities under Article 6 of the Paris Agreement. Issue guidelines on carbon pricing, market mechanism, and other similar instruments that have a bearing on climate change and NDCs
2) WHO World Malaria Report 2020:
Relevant to: Prelims GS
Context: World Health Organization (WHO) released the World Malaria Report 2020.
Highlights of the Report:
- 2000 to 2020 will be a period of extraordinary success in malaria control because more than 1.5 billion cases and 7.6 million deaths were averted.
- Current Scenario: At least 29 countries accounted for 95% malaria cases globally, with Africa carrying the highest burden i.e. 94% of the world’s malaria cases and deaths with an estimated 215 million cases in 2019.
Sri Lanka was certified malaria free in 2015 and Timor-Leste (South East Asian Country) reported zero malaria cases in 2018 and 2019.
About India:
- India is the only high endemic country which reported a decline of 17.6% in 2019 as compared to 2018.
- India has contributed to the largest absolute reductions in the WHO South-East Asia Region from about 20 million cases in 2000 to about 5.6 million in 2019.
Measures to eradicate Malaria:
- WHO adopted High burden to high impact initiative that will be guided by the following principles:
- Opting for a Country-owned, country-led approach aligned with the health-related Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), national health goals, strategies and priorities ? Focusing on high-burden settings .
- Demonstrating the impact, with an intensified approach to reduce mortality while ensuring progress is on track to reach the targets for reducing malaria cases. ? Bringing out packages of malaria interventions.
- Optimally delivery through appropriate channels, including a strong foundation of primary health care.
- This WHO initiative is like the one adopted by UGANDA the Mass Action Against Malaria initiative which is an example of a country-led process of political engagement at all levels and multi-sectoral and community mobilization.
- All the Malaria burdened nations should develop a national plan for insecticide resistance monitoring and management.
Diseases in news – Malaria:
It is a life-threatening mosquito borne blood disease caused by plasmodium parasites.
Spread: Through the bites of infected female Anopheles mosquitoes.
3) DataWise:
Relevant to: Mains Agriculture #GS3 #Farmers
- The NCRB’s annual Accidental Deaths and Suicides report 2019 said that 10,281 farmers committed suicide in 2019.
- The High-Level Committee headed by Shanta Kumar observed in 2015, only 6% of farmers get the Minimum Support Price (MSP) — 94% already face the whims of the market.
- The agriculture sector employs over 52% of the workforce, contributing to only 14% of the GDP.
- An RBI study in 2019 said that 28% of agricultural credit is still provided by the moneylenders, traders and relatives. When it comes to small farmers, nearly 60% have no access to bank loans.
- Outstanding agricultural credit amounts to more than half the sector’s output, but institutional credit is accessed by only 61% of farm households, which means a big chunk of farm lending is still in the hands of usurious moneylenders.
- Agriculture accounts for only a fifth of India’s GDP (around 17%) but provides a livelihood for nearly 50% of the working population.
- As per Agriculture Census 2015-16, Small and marginal farmers constitute more than 85% of farm household.
4) Representation of Women in judiciary:
Relevant to: Mains GS 2
Context: Attorney-General has told the Supreme Court that more women judges in constitutional courts would certainly improve gender sensitivity in the judiciary
Women in Judiciary
- The Supreme Court has only two women judges as against a sanctioned strength of 34 judges.
- There has never been a female Chief Justice. This figure is consistently low across the higher judiciary.
- There are only 80 women judges out of the sanctioned strength of 1,113 judges in theHigh Courts and the Supreme Court.
- Only two of these 80 women judges are in the Supreme Court and the other 78 are in various High Courts, comprising only 7.2% of the number of judges.
- There are six High Courts — Manipur, Meghalaya, Patna, Tripura, Telangana, and Uttarakhand — where there are no sitting women judges.
A short timeline
- The first female Judge appointed in Supreme Court was Justice M. Fathima Beevi from Kerala in 1987.
- She was later followed by Justice Sujata V. Manohar from Maharashtra in 1994 and in the year 2000, Justice Ruma Pal was appointed from West Bengal.
- And in the year 2010, Justice Gyan Sudha Misra from Bihar was appointed.
- In 2014, Justice Ranjana Desai from Mumbai was appointed and currently, Justice R. Banumathi from Tamil Nadu is the only woman judge in Supreme Court.
- (Note: This data might be useful for State PSCs or other exams. UPSC aspirants need not remember this.)
What did the A-G say?
- Improving the representation of women could go a long way towards a more balanced and empathetic approach in cases involving sexual violence.
- Judges need to be trained to place themselves in the shoes of the victim of sexual violence while passing orders, said the AG.
- There is a dearth of compulsory courses in gender sensitization in law schools.
- Certain law schools have the subject either as a specialization or as an elective.
Why need more women in Judiciary?
- The entry of women judges into spaces from which they had historically been excluded has been a positive step in the direction of judiciaries being perceived as being more transparent, inclusive, and representative.
- By their mere presence, women judges enhance the legitimacy of courts, sending a powerful signal that they are open and accessible to those who seek recourse to justice.
- They could contribute far more to justice than improving its appearance: they also contribute significantly to the quality of decision-making, and thus to the quality of justice itself.
- Women judges bring those lived experiences to their judicial actions, experiences that tend toward a more comprehensive and empathetic perspective.
- By elucidating how laws and rulings can be based on gender stereotypes, or how they might have a different impact on women and men, a gender perspective enhances the fairness of the adjudication.
5) e-Sanjeevani:
Relevant to: Prelims GS
Context: In a landmark achievement, e-Sanjeevani, Health Ministry’s national telemedicine initiative today completed 9 lakh consultations
What is E-Sanjeevani?
- Ministry of Health & Family Welfare has launched two variants of e-Sanjeevani namely – doctor to doctor (e-Sanjeevani AB-HWC) in the hub and spoke model and patient to doctor (e-SanjeevaniOPD).
- E-Sanjeevani OPD (out-patient department) is a telemedicine variant for the public to seek health services remotely; it was rolled out on 13th of April 2020 during the first lockdown in the country.
- It enables virtual meetings between the patients and doctors & specialists from geographically dispersed locations, through video conferencing that occurs in real-time.
- At the end of these remote consultations, e-Sanjeevani generates electronic prescriptions which can be used for sourcing medicines.
- Andhra Pradesh was the first state to roll out e-Sanjeevani AB-HWC services in November 2019.
Benefits of telemedicine:
Telemedicine benefits patients in the following ways:
- Transportation: Patients can avoid spending gas money or wasting time in traffic with video consultations.
- No missing work: Today, individuals can schedule a consultation during a work break or even after work hours.
- Childcare/Eldercare Challenges: Those who struggle to find care options can use telemedicine solutions.
Sarat Chandra IAS Academy brings to you the daily current affairs keeping in mind the changing pattern of the UPSC civil services exam. UPSC Prelims and Mains exams mix the current affairs with static core concepts. So, we give the background explanation for every current topic.