CURRENT AFFAIRS
TOPICS:
1) Disability and the barriers to feminine hygiene
2) INS Khanderi
3) AKRUTI
4) New Arunachal monkey named after mountain pass
5) Madden-Julian Oscillation
Disability and the barriers to feminine hygiene
- In the past decade, significant progress has been made in India by government and nongovernmental actors with regard to menstrual health and hygiene management (MHHM).
- However, certain groups have been overlooked thus far, including girls and women with disabilities, who face an exceptional burden on account of the intersections between gender and disability.
- According to Census 2011, nearly 27 million persons (or 2.2% of the Indian population) are disabled.
- The Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act, 2016 specifies that a person with disabilities has “long term physical, mental, intellectual or sensory impairment which, in interaction with barriers, hinders [her]/his full and effective participation in society equally with others”
Magnified vulnerabilities
- Disabilities act 2016 recognised that women and children are particularly vulnerable
- Eg : Reproductive rights of disabilities more neglected or disregarded as compared to others.
- Deeply embedded prejudices and misconceptions about the reproductive anatomy and abilities of persons with disability result in their being considered asexual, unsuitable for marriage, and incapable of having and raising children.
- Access to sexual and reproductive health information and services are in turn compromised because of these social and physical barriers.
- Constraints imposed by limited mobility, cognitive capacities and self care pose even greater challenges for girls and women with disabilities.
- Despite the intent of the Act and its provisions, the realisation of rights and entitlements of persons with disability is poor, especially for those from socially and economically vulnerable groups.
- Triple burden exacerbating their vulnerabilities: girls and women with disabilities from poor households and marginalised communities.
Collaboration for solutions:
- The United Nations Population Fund and Water Aid India are working together to understand the key challenges and constraints.
- Accessible and adapted information education and communication on menstrual health and hygiene for persons with disability based on their differential needs and capacities, and an enabling socio cultural environment.
- Ensuring appropriate and safe menstrual products and hygiene promotion.
- Providing responsive and inclusive water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) facilities, including disposal solutions in different settings.
- Recognising the importance of caregivers, both from within the family and institutions are vital for disability focused interventions and must be included as both participants and partners.
- Every menstruating person has the right to menstrual health, irrespective of their gender identity, ability, or socioeconomic status. While India has made significant progress busting stigmas around menstrual health and expanding access to hygiene products, let us not leave anyone behind.
INS Khanderi
Context
- Defence Minister Rajnath Singh undertook a sea sortie on a Scorpene class submarine ‘INS Khanderi’.
- INS Khanderi (S22) is the second of the Indian Navy‘s six Kalvari-class submarines being built in India.
- It is a diesel-electric attack submarine
- This was designed by French naval defence and energy company DCNS and manufactured at Mazagon Dock Limited in Mumbai.
Kalvari class of submarines:
- These are primarily attack submarines or ‘hunter-killer’ type which means they are designed to target and sink adversary naval vessels.
- They can be used in anti-warship and anti-submarine operations, intelligence gathering and surveillance.
- These are built under Project 75 and their design is based on the Scorpene class of the submarines.
- These submarines have the Air Independent Propulsion (AIP) which enables non-nuclear submarines to operate for a long time without access to surface oxygen.
- INS Kalvari, INS Khanderi, INS Karanj, INS Vela, INS Vagir and INS Vagsheer.
AKRUTI
Context :
- The Nuclear Power Corporation of India Limited, which is assisting unemployed youth living in 16 village panchayats near the Tarapur Atomic Power Station (TAPS)through its Advanced Knowledge and Rural Technology Implementation (AKRUTI) programme.
- Department of Atomic Energy, besides identifying newer nuclear power generation techniques, is devising new, user friendly and cost effective technologies in the fields of nuclear science, radioisotopes, industry, health and agriculture.
- These technologies are being taught to the younger generation and the unemployed youth to make them entrepreneurs.
- One of the AKRUTI’s interesting technology transfers is the cost effective foldable dryer, which can be used for drying fruits, vegetables and fish.
- The rectangular or triangle shaped dryer having steel mesh trays is covered with poly sheets to amplify the atmospheric heat to 200%
- Which dries fruits and vegetables easily to ensure longer shelf life
New Arunachal monkey named after mountain pass
- A new species of old world monkey recorded from Arunachal Pradesh has been named after a strategic mountain pass (SELA)at 13,700 ft above sea level.
- The phylogenetic analysis revealed that the Sela macaque was geographically separated from the Arunachal macaque (Macaca munzala) of Tawang district by Sela.
- This mountain pass acted as a barrier by restricting the migration of individuals of these two species for approximately two million years.
Madden-Julian Oscillation
- Recently the Bay of Bengal region saw a cyclone named Cyclone Asani that gave rain to parts of the eastern coast of India.
- This cyclone had a twin by name Cyclone Karim in the southern hemisphere.
- Such twin cyclones are said to be cause by the Madden-Julian Oscillation.
What is the Madden-Julian Oscillation (MJO)?
- The MJO is a large cluster of clouds and convection, around 5000-10,000 kilometres in size
There are 2 parts in the MJO:
- One is moist part in regions where the ocean is warm, so there are lots of clouds
- Another is a dry part of the MJO that goes right around the Earth and comes back again. Therefore, it is called an oscillation. This repeats every 30 to 50 days. So that we can find this part of MJO around the world.
- It is composed of a Rossby wave and a Kelvin wave, which is a type of wave structure that we see in the ocean.
- On the eastern side of the MJO is the Kelvin wave, while on the western, trailing edge of the MJO, is the Rossby wave, once again with two vortices on either side of the equator.
Not all twin tropical cyclones are born from the MJO
- Twin cyclone is a mere Rossby wave with two vortices on either side.
- Rossby waves are huge waves in the ocean with wavelengths of around 4,000–5,000 kilometres.
- This system has a vortex in the northern hemisphere and another in the southern hemisphere, and each of these is a mirror image of the other.
- The vortex in the north spins counter clockwise and has a positive spin, while the one in the southern hemisphere spins in the clockwise direction and therefore has a negative spin.
- Both have positive value of the vorticity which is a measure of the rotation.
- Very often twin cyclones are formed from these Rossby waves.
UPSC Civil Services Daily Current Affairs 28th May 2022
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