In News:

Several reports have recently highlighted India’s success with its vaccination policy which has led to the saving of millions of lives.

About the News:

• According to a recent study published by The Lancet, immunizations programmes in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) alone have prevented up to 3.7 crore deaths over the past 20 years.
• Since the discovery of the smallpox vaccine over two centuries ago, vaccines have effectively reduced the burden of diseases such as polio, measles, tetanus, whooping cough, influenza, and lately, Covid-19.
• In 2016, India became the first country in Asia to launch the Rotavirus vaccine under the UIP and the very next year, the Pneumococcal Conjugate Vaccine (PCV) was scaled up using Made-in-India vaccines to prevent rotaviral diarrhoea and pneumococcal pneumonia in children.
• India’s success with immunization has been an achievement not only for the country but also for the world as it has consistently contributed to the global Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by focusing on the immunization of newborns, infants, children, and pregnant women.
• According to a study published in Health Affairs, the return on investment for each rupee spent on immunisation against 10 pathogens in LMICs from 2021 to 30 will be 52 rupees.
• However, despite multiple challenges, vaccination is a great Indian public health success story due to its advocacy, capacity building, investment in research and manufacturing, community and media engagement, and social mobilization.

Status of vaccination in India:

• About: India has a long history of successful vaccination with historical accounts of inoculation dating back to the 18th century.
• Background: After being declared smallpox-free in 1977, India launched the Expanded Programme on Immunization (EPI) in 1978, and introduced the BCG, DPT, and OPV vaccines.
• Importance: Vaccination is one of the most cost-effective public health interventions, which saves lives by protecting people, especially children, from dreadful vaccine-preventable diseases.

• Performance: India has several programmes for vaccination drive against diseases such as Covid, polio, and childhood besides, a robust network for execution including Electronic Vaccine Intelligence Network (eVIN) system and vaccine awareness.
  • Steps: Newer vaccines, better infrastructure, and innovative strategies to improve both demand and supply of vaccines have been integral components of programme expansion.
• Indicators: According to data from the National Family Health Surveys (NFHS), childhood vaccination rates have consistently improved over the last two decades with the proportion of children who are ‘fully vaccinated’ reaching 76% as per the latest 2019-21 survey.
• Vaccination story of India: As India and the world set themselves up to eliminate measles by achieving a sustained vaccination coverage of 95%, the data from India look promising.
  • UIP: Under the Universal Immunization Programme (UIP), India provides vaccines against 11 diseases nationally and one disease sub-nationally, targeting close to 2.7 crore newborns and 2.9 crore pregnant women every year.
  • Measles vaccination: Its rates have increased since the launch of the Measles-Rubella (MR) vaccination drive in 2006, from 59% in 2006 to 88% in 2021 owing to mass immunization campaigns.
  • Mission Indradhanush: Targets: Launched in 2014, it aims to ensure that full immunization coverage of >90% is achieved and sustained across the country.

Factors of India’s success story:

• Robust infrastructure: since Independence, India has built up its biomedical enterprise including research and development, and manufacturing capacity leading to a fruitful public-private partnership to bolster this development. Example, rotavirus, PCV and Covid-19 vaccines.
• Delivery system: India also built its delivery infrastructure by establishing cold chain systems, and by developing and training a community health cadre of workers who established last-mile services making India the single largest producer of vaccines in the world.
• Demand push: The infrastructural developments have been accompanied by an improvement on the demand side through social and behavioural communication
• Strong foot-soldiers: Sustained communication campaigns along with door-to-door information dissemination by ASHA and Anganwadi workers have helped in conveying consistent and accurate information across the nation.
• Civil society: Building vaccine confidence by roping in national leaders, and engaging with local community influencers and celebrities have helped in spreading messages through mass media besides developing a communication strategy.

Source:

• https://indianexpress.com/article/explained/explained-health/experts-explain-the-vaccination-success-story-8127822/
• https://www.mygov.in/covid-19/

Click the link below to attempt the daily MCQs and the Mains based questions.

In News

According to the recent statement released by the Ministry of Education, the Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikas Yojana (PMKVY) program has trained over 3 lakh women between 2021 and 2022.

About PMKVY

Background:

• The Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikas Yojana (PMKVY), the government's flagship program, is operated under the Skill India Mission, which was introduced by the government in 2015.

• It aims to provide Indian youngsters with vocational training and certification for a better standard of living and social respect.
• By 2022, it hopes to have trained more than 40 crore individuals in India in various disciplines.
• Under the direction of the Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship, the National Skills Development Corporation (NSDC) implements PMKVY (MSDE).

Content Source link:

• https://pib.gov.in/PressReleasePage.aspx?PRID=1849942,
• https://www.financialexpress.com/education-2/in-2021-22-304334-women-trained-under-pmkvy-says-edu-minister-dharmendra-pradhan/2622337/,
• https://frontline.thehindu.com/economy/skill-india-grounded-problems-plague-technical-training-ecosystem-unemployment-crisis/article65675733.ece

Click the link below to attempt the daily MCQs and the Mains based questions.

In news

Community Forest Resource Rights have been granted to the inhabitants of the four villages in the Mungeli district of Chhattisgarh (CFRR) recently.

• • After Udanti Sitanadi Tiger Reserve in the Dhamtari district, Achanakmar has become Chhattisgarh's second tiger reserve to receive CFRR.

What are Community Forest Resource Rights (CFRR)?

• The Scheduled Tribes and Other Traditional Forest Dwellers (Recognition of Forest Rights) Act, 2006 (commonly known as the Forest Rights Act) recognizes the right to "guard, regenerate or conserve or manage" the communal forest resource. This right is outlined in Section 3(1)(i) of the Act.

• These rights enable the community to carry out its obligations under Section 5 of the FRA by creating rules for the use of the forest by itself and others.
• The community's sustainable lives are guaranteed by CFR rights as well as Community Rights (CRs) under Sections 3(1)(b) and 3(1)(c), which include nistar rights and rights over non-timber forest products.
• The Gram Sabha instead of the forest agency now owns the forest after CFRR is recognized for a community.
• The Gram Sabha essentially takes over as the central organization for forest management.
• These rights allow the Gram Sabha the power to establish regional customs for managing and conserving forests inside the community forest resource boundaries.
• The Kanger Ghati National Park is the only national park in which Chhattisgarh has recognized CFR rights, making it the second state to do so.
• The Simlipal National Park's Community Forest Resources (CFRs) was first acknowledged by the Odisha government in 2016.

Significance

• The FRA entered into force in 2008 with the intention of redressing the "historic injustice" meted out to communities dependent on forests due to the restriction of their customary rights over forests.
• It's significant because it affirms the community's legal ownership of the forest land that these groups have long used for farming and habitation as well as their right to use, manage, and maintain its resources.
• It is more important in protected forests, such as national parks, sanctuaries, and tiger reserves, where locals use their traditional knowledge to maintain the forests.

Content Source link: 

• https://www.downtoearth.org.in/news/forests/future-in-forest-how-eviction-of-villagers-from-achanakmar-tiger-reserve-united-adivasis-to-fight-for-cfrr-84557,
• https://www.downtoearth.org.in/news/forests/-we-re-portrayed-as-maoists-jailed-for-protesting-18-gariaband-villages-refuse-to-give-up-fight-for-forest-rights-84250

Image Source Link:

• https://www.livemint.com/politics/policy/why-proposed-changes-to-forest-act-have-stirred-up-a-hornets-nest-1560886010911.html,

Click the link below to attempt the daily MCQs and the Mains based questions.

• Context: Iran has recently seized two US sail drones in the Red Sea, the second such incident reported.
• The Red Sea is an inlet of the Indian Ocean between Africa and Asia.
• The connection to the ocean is in the south through the Bab el Mandeb and the Gulf of Aden.
• The Bab el-Mandeb Strait connects the Red Sea with the Gulf of Aden and thence with the Arabian Sea.

• In the north are the Sinai Peninsula, the Gulf of Aqaba or the Gulf of Eilat and the Gulf of Suez (leading to the Suez Canal).
• The Red Sea shares its marine waters with countries like Egypt, Jordan, Israel, Saudi Arabia, Yemen, Sudan, Eritrea, and Djibouti.
• The Red Sea is also the world's northernmost tropical sea and part of the Global 200 Ecoregion with the Red Sea Rift (part of Great Rift Valley) underlying it.
• The Red sea acquired its present shape over the past 4 to 5 million years, by slow seafloor spreading, a fact that makes it a geologically recent opening and one of the youngest oceanic zones on Earth.
• Currently, the basin continues to widen at a rate of 1-2 cm per year

Source:

• Iran briefly seizes two US sail drones in Red Sea, 2nd such incident this week (timesnownews.com)

Image source:

• https://www.worldatlas.com/webimage/countrys/me.htm

Click the link below to attempt the daily MCQs and the Mains based questions.

• Context: ISRO has recently successfully tested theInflatable Aerodynamic Decelerator (IAD) technology that could aid the cost-effective recovery of spent rocket stages and safely land payloads on other planets.
• The IAD is designed, developed and successfully test-flown byISRO's Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre (VSSC).

• The IAD serves todecelerate an object plunging down through the atmosphere.
• It was initially folded and kept inside the payload bay of the rocket. At around 84 km altitude, the IAD was inflated and it descended through the atmosphere with the payload part of a sounding rocket.
• The IAD has systematically reduced the velocity of the payload through aerodynamic dragand followed the predicted trajectory.
• The IAD has huge potential in a variety of space applications like recovery of spent stages of rockets, for landing payloads on to Mars or Venusand making space habitats for human space flight missions.

Source:

• https://www.thehindu.com/sci-tech/science/isro-successfully-tests-iad-technology/article65848877.ece/amp/

Image source:

• https://mobile.twitter.com/varun55484761/with_replies

Click the link below to attempt the daily MCQs and the Mains based questions.

• Context: Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) has recently planned to commercially launch its indigenously-developed Lumpi-ProVacInd vaccine against the Lumpy Skin Disease virus (LSDV).  
• It is a homologous, live attenuated vaccine specifically targeted to protect cattle against the LSD virus.  
• LSD is caused by LSDV, which is a virus of the capripoxvirus genus in the poxviridae family. 
• The indigenous vaccine Lumpi-ProVac has been developed by the National Equine Research Center, Hisar (Haryana) in collaboration with the Indian Veterinary Research Institute. 
• The two institutes, can produce 2.5 lakh dosages per month and the cost per dose is Rs 1-2/- 
• The immunity induced by LSD vaccines usually persists for a minimum period of one year and the best way to counter the disease is to vaccinate the animals. 
• The safety of the vaccine has been ascertained in the field in cattle and buffaloes of all age groups including lactating and pregnant ones.  
• Based on the outcome, it has been concluded that the vaccine is safe and induces protective immunity in animals against LSD.  
• Lumpy Skin Disease (LSD) is a viral disease that affects cattle. It is transmitted by blood-feeding insects, such as flies and mosquitos, and ticks. 

 Source: 

• https://theprint.in/india/indigenous-vaccine-for-lumpy-skin-disease-launched-big-relief-for-livestock/1077718/?amp

Click the link below to attempt the daily MCQs and the Mains based questions.

• Context: India will be establishing the country’s first Dark Sky Reserve in the cold desert regions of Ladakh by the end of 2022.
• A Dark Sky Reserve is public or private land with a distinguished nocturnal environment and starry nights that has been developed responsibly to prevent light pollution.
• According to the International Dark Sky Association (IDSA), these reserves “consist of a core area meeting minimum criteria for sky quality and natural darkness, and a peripheral area that supports dark sky preservation in the core.”

• This facility will also promote astronomy tourism and Wildlife Awareness.
  • A visitor centre would also be set up to inform people not only about astronomy but also about thewildlife and plant life in the adjoining Changthang Wildlife Sanctuary.
• Ladakh was chosen for Setting up the Dark Reserve as it is a:
  1. Cold Desert with Sparse Population:The Indian Astronomical Observatory, the high-altitude station of IIA, is situated to the north of the Western Himalayas, at an altitude of 4,500 metres above mean sea level.
     • Located atop  Saraswati in the Nilamkhul Plain in the Hanle Valley of Changthang,it is a dry, cold desert with a sparse human population and has the Hanle monastery as its nearest neighbour.
  2. Clear Skies:The cloudless skies and low atmospheric water vapour make it one of the best sites in the world for optical, infrared, sub-millimetre, and millimetre wavelengths.

Source:

• https://indianexpress.com/article/explained/explained-sci-tech/ladakh-dark-sky-reserve-to-promote-astronomy-tourism-8132171/

Image source:

• https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/travel/travel-news/india-to-get-its-first-dark-sky-reserve-in-ladakh/articleshow/92291790.cms

Click the link below to attempt the daily MCQs and the Mains based questions.

Essence – The editorial examines the reason for the low employability of youth in India. It discusses the wrath of Covid19 on the education of adolescents and highlights the prospects of demographic dividend. It mentions the NEP2020 which tries to improve employability via various means. It also brings to the forefront the importance of life skills in empowering youth. It mentions some of the global and national initiatives in this regard.

Towards the end, it suggests having a common vocabulary for life skills, assessment tools, content for life skills and repurposing the existing education infrastructure.

Why should you read this editorial?

• To know about the reason for low employability among Indian youths.
• To Know about the way forward for this issue

Source:

• https://www.hindustantimes.com/opinion/life-skills-the-missing-link-between-education-and-employment-101662028340164.html

Click the link below to attempt the daily MCQs and the Mains based questions.

Essence - The article highlights the case of the over-exploitation of resources that can potentially threaten the very existence of humans. Degraded land and topsoil, depleting groundwater, air pollution, and decreasing biodiversity are all impacts of the over-exploitation of resources.

The last two centuries have seen a dramatic increase in the human population which has now reached 8 billion. The article questions whether agriculture can be sustainable enough to support the ever-growing population. With the recent trend of governments and economies trying to shift to organic farming, the question becomes even more prominent.

The article discusses the probable solutions including a shift to precision farming, the use of AI and ML in managing data and taking informed decisions, the use of sensors, drones, etc, and the focus on drips, hydroponics, and aeroponics.

Above all, it lays emphasis on the political economy of policies. The culture of political policies focused on subsidies and freebies is leading to irrational exploitation of resources and is acting as a hindrance to better management of resources.

Why should you read this editorial?

• To understand the dynamics behind agricultural productivity and sustainability.
• For the better use of scientific knowledge to ensure sustainable and judicious use of resources.

Source:

• https://www.financialexpress.com/opinion/saving-the-planet-and-livelihoods/2654990/lite/

Click the link below to attempt the daily MCQs and the Mains based questions.

Background

Video Volunteers, a community media and human rights organisation in India, has recently helped rescue 40 Bonded Labourers from Torture, in Chandrapur village of Bhadohi District in Uttar Pradesh.

About the rescue

• Around 10 people from Chandrapur were approached by a contractor from Karnataka, who offered them Rs 10,000 each per month to work on a sugarcane plantation in Maharashtra recently.
• Though it was 1400 km away from home, their destitution and inability to find work in the lockdown period made them take up the offer
• The contractor, before handing over them to the plantation owner, had given them Rs 500 each as an advance and told them that they would be paid regularly every month.

• However, the contractor had sold them to work as bonded labourers. They were threatened that if anyone tried to run away or contact their family members, they would be punished.
• Despite Bonded labour being considered a crime under Section 374 of the Indian Penal Code and having 'the Bonded Labor System (Abolition) Act, 1976' in place, it is estimated that 8 Million (80 Lakh) Indians are victims of trafficking and most of them are compelled to work as ‘bonded labourers’.
  • Further, the National Crime Records Bureau reports that in the Year 2020, 1714 people were trafficked in the country.
• So, when a sister from Bhadohi Village got a call from one of the victims, she approached the Video Volunteers (VV) team.
• After failed attempts at the local Police station, the VV team then met the District Commissioner (DC) and Superintendent of Police (SP) to detail to them the plight of workers, which they had come to know through phone calls.
• Later, the Anti-Trafficking Cell of the Maharashtra Police arrested the contractor from Karnataka, and police then rescued 10 people from Bonded Labour.
• Similarly, Video Volunteers has reported 85 cases of trafficking and migration, and 15 cases have been resolved through intervention and collaborative action, resulting in the rescue of 40 people across India.

Quote

Human beings are not property. On the International Day for the Abolition of Slavery, let us reaffirm the inherent dignity of all men, women and children. And let us redouble our efforts so that the words of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights — 'no one shall be held in slavery or servitude' -ring true." - Kofi Annan

Source:

• https://www.thebetterindia.com/296487/video-volunteers-helps-rescue-bonded-labourers-ngo-journalists/

Click the link below to attempt the daily MCQs and the Mains based questions.