Context: India’s G20 presidency this year with focus on health, the Varanasi StopTB board meeting, and UN High-Level Meeting on TB in September provides a perfect platform for India to create a global cooperation and synergy towards ending TB.

Background:

• Tuberculosis (TB) is an infectious disease caused by Mycobacterium tuberculosis, which commonly affects the lungs but can also affect other parts (extrapulmonary TB).
• Around 1.5 million people died from TB and an estimated 10 million people fell ill worldwide in 2020. India has the world’s highest TB burden, with an estimated 26 lakh people contracting the disease and approximately 4 lakh people dying every year.
• StopTB Partnership is a global partnership of experts from different countries and regions, with a shared mission to end TB by 2030. It has its board meeting in Varanasi, India, coinciding with World TB Day.
• Bacille Calmette-Guérin (BCG) vaccine is provided to children for preventing TB, but once infected the standard 6-month course treatment consisting of 2 phases is carried out.

Decoding the Editorial:

• Despite constraints, the global TB response has been adapting to changes such as:
  • Engagement of those affected by the disease on the lines of HIV response mechanism.
  • Use of molecular diagnostic tools developed to respond to acts of bioterrorism 20 years ago are the current state of the art for diagnosing TB.
  • Using social safety programmes to address the poverty drivers of the TB and leveraging the “mobile and computational data revolution” to improve treatment outcomes.

• Areas of concern in TB treatment
  
  • Lack of development and wide scale usage of adult TB vaccines. Current vaccines are 100 years old and delivered at birth being useful for children.
    • Opportunity: The experience with the development of COVID-19 vaccine gives us an understanding that things can be done if there is collective will and action.
  • Unavailability of newer therapeutic agents for TB: There has been a development drought for anti-TB drugs for the last 5 decades. Current estimates of drug-resistant TB are very alarming.
    • Opportunity: New anti-TB drugs are available today for widespread use, however high costs and limited production capacities are a constraint. Furthermore, switch to an injection-free and shorter all oral pills regimen for TB will improve compliance and reduce patient fatigue
  • Diagnostics: Inadequate, obsolete, time consuming and unreliable diagnostic techniques also create a hurdle in effective treatment of TB.
    • Opportunity: Use of AI-assisted handheld radiology with 90-second reporting and 95% plus accuracy for diagnosing TB. Sentinel, passive surveillance and interpretation of cough sounds for TB is another breakthrough area which could confirm TB cases in rural areas.

Beyond the Editorial: India’s efforts in Tackling TB:

• Pradhan Mantri TB Mukt Bharat Abhiyan was launched in 2022 to accelerate the country’s progress towards TB elimination by 2025, ahead of the global target of 2030.
• National strategic plan for tuberculosis elimination (NSP) 2017-2025 where TB elimination has been integrated into the four strategic pillars of “Detect – Treat – Prevent – Build” (DTPB).
• Revised National TB Control Programme (RNTCP) was launched in 1993, DOTS was launched as the RNTCP strategy. By 2006 the entire country was covered under RNTCP.
• Ni-kshay Poshan Yojana where Rs 500 support through direct benefit transfer to TB patients.

Early detection, complete treatment and no mismanagement or misuse of TB drugs reduces the chances of development of drug-resistant tuberculosis (TB) and multidrug-resistance TB which can act as a hurdle to achieving India’s target of ending TB by 2025.

Source:

https://www.thehindu.com/opinion/op-ed/the-road-to-ending-tuberculosis/article66649256.ece

In News: The Ministry of Tourism has formulated a National Strategy and Roadmap for Medical and Wellness Tourism in order to boost Medical Tourism in the country.

About Medical and Wellness Tourism:

Medical tourism may be defined as activities related to travel and hosting a foreign tourist who stays at least one night at the destination region for the purpose of maintaining, improving or restoring health through medical intervention. Such medical intervention may be broadly classified into following three categories:

• Medical Treatment
• Wellness and Rejuvenation
• Cures through the Traditional System of Medicines.

Wellness tourism can be defined as travel associated with the goal of maintaining or enhancing one’s personal well-being and includes the pursuit of physical, mental, spiritual or environmental ‘wellness’ while travelling for either leisure or business. They can be of two types:

• Primary Wellness traveller: Trip motivated by wellness.
• Secondary Wellness traveller: Traveler who participates in wellness experiences while taking any type of trip for leisure or business.

Vision, mission and key pillars of National Strategy and Roadmap for Medical and Wellness Tourism?

• Vision: To position India as a sustainable and responsible medical and wellness tourism destination.
• Mission: To create a robust framework and synergy amongst the Ministries of Central Government and State Governments and Private Sector for promoting India as a Medical and Wellness tourism destination through a dedicated agency to promote Medical and wellness tourism in India.
• Key Strategic Pillars: In order to promote India as a destination for medical value travel and wellness tourism, the Strategy has identified the following key pillars:

1. Develop a brand for India as a wellness destination
2. Strengthen the ecosystem for medical and wellness tourism

• Enable digitalization by setting up Online MVT Portal

1. Enhancement of accessibility for MVT
2. Promoting Wellness Tourism
3. Governance and Institutional Framework

SWOT analysis of the medical and wellness tourism sector

Steps taken for the Promotion of Medical and Wellness Tourism

• Liberalisation of the e-Tourist Visa Scheme and ‘E- Medical Visa’ and ‘E-Medical Attendant Visa’ have also been introduced for 156 countries where triple entry is permitted and extension may be granted up to 6 months on case to case basis.
• MoT constituted the National Medical & Wellness Tourism Board (NMWTB) in 2015 to provide a dedicated institutional framework to take forward the cause of promotion of Medical and Wellness in India.
• MoT provides financial Assistance under Market Development Assistance Scheme to Medical Tourism Service Providers accredited by National Accreditation Board for Hospitals & Healthcare Providers (NABH) for participation in Medical/ Tourism activities.
• Champion Service Sector Scheme: Ministry of Ayush developed a Central Sector Scheme for MVT to incentivize private investors for the establishment of Super Specialty Hospitals, etc.

https://pib.gov.in/PressReleaseIframePage.aspx?PRID=1908865

In News: Recently, A parliamentary panel has attributed low installation of solar roof-top and wind energy projects as key reasons for the shortfall in achieving India’s renewable energy capacity target of 175 GW by 2022.

About

• India set an ambitious target of installing 175 GW of renewable energy capacity by the year 2022, which included 100 GW from solar, 60 GW from wind, 10 GW from bio-power and 5 GW from small hydropower.
• Despite India's efforts to boost its commitments to renewable energy in the "Long-Term Low-Carbon Development Plan" presented at the UNFCCC COP27, it seems that the country will not be able to fulfill one of its original promises in the renewable energy sector.

Specific Findings of the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Energy:

• A RE capacity of 90 GW (69% of the overall target) has been installed in the country as of December 31, 2022.
• This is a commendable achievement, as the RE installed capacity has increased by more than 236% since 2014.
• Against 40 GW, only 7.40 GW of rooftop solar projects could be installed in the country. Against 60 GW, the cumulative installed capacity of wind power is 41.93 GW.

Reason behind the deficient performance under the solar rooftop programme:

• Non-availability of information at the grass root level,
• Lack of awareness about this scheme amongst the masses,
• The apathy of discoms.

Suggestion given by the Parliamentary Panel

• Strong commitment: Keeping in view India’s commitment to increase its non-fossil fuel-based energy capacity to 500 GW by 2030, the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) must ramp up its pace for the timely achievement of targets.
• Time framework: A strict timeline should be imposed for approvals/rejection of applications, installation of net-metre, an inspection of the system, etc., by the discoms.
• Incentivization of Discoms: Discoms may be incentivised to allay their concerns about losing their high-paying customers as a result of the installation of solar rooftops.
• Allocation of Budget: The MNRE should increase its fund absorption capacity and focus on exhaustive utilization of the budgetary allocation. In the Union Budget 2023-24, Rs 10,222 crore has been allocated to MNRE with an increase of 45% against the Revised Estimates of 2022.

https://www.thehindu.com/sci-tech/energy-and-environment/india-misses-re-capacity-target-due-to-low-solar-rooftop-wind-energy-project-installations-parliamentary-panel/article66646350.ece

In News:

• Three States Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, and Uttar Pradesh have initiated joint action to curb illegal sand mining in the Chambal sanctuary.
• Forest and Mineral Departments, police, and district administration in the three states will operate in close coordination to prevent illegal mining

Key highlights:

• The sanctuary is located at the trijunction of the three states and is home to critically endangered gharials.
• The sanctuary's lotic ecosystem is crucial for the breeding of gharials, and illegal sand mining poses a threat to the flora and fauna in the area
• Steps are taken for prompt exchange of information among officials to prevent mining activities and manual checking of vulnerable places to stop entry of individuals with questionable credentials.

Sanctuary's Significance:

• The 5,400 sq. km. sanctuary is protected under the Wildlife Protection Act, 1972.
• The sanctuary is listed as an Important Bird and Biodiversity Area and is also a proposed Ramsar site.
• About 320 species of resident and migratory birds inhabit the sanctuary, and migratory birds from Siberia form part of its rich avian fauna.

https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/other-states/three-states-begin-joint-action-to-stop-illegal-sand-mining-in-the-chambal-sanctuary/article66645763.ece#:~:text=Three%20States%20have%20commenced%20joint,population%20of%20critically%20endangered%20gharials.

In News: India's heaviest launch vehicle LVM-3 will launch second fleet of 36 OneWeb satellites from Sriharikota spaceport completing constellation.

About

• LVM - 3 launch vehicle carried only a single satellite during its two development flights and its first operational flight carrying onboard Chandrayaan-2.
• The heavy launch vehicle will face the challenge of maintaining the minimum 137 metre distance between any pair of satellites during the launch.
• India accounted for only about 2 per cent of the commercial market despite being one of the major space-faring nations.
• With the space sector opened up to private players in 2020, India is likely to increase its market share as more companies are developing their own small satellite launch capabilities.

OneWeb constellation:

• OneWeb is backed by the UK government and India’s Bharti and plans to create a 588-satellite strong constellation.
• Satellites will be placed in 12 rings of 49 satellites each, completing a full trip around the Earth in 109 minutes.
• OneWeb’s high-speed, low-latency solutions will help connect communities, enterprises, and governments around the world.
• OneWeb will bring secured solutions to enterprises, towns, villages, municipalities, schools, and the hardest-to-reach areas across India.

https://indianexpress.com/article/technology/science/isros-lvm-3-to-launch-second-fleet-of-36-satellites-sunday-8508143/

In News: The Interpol has recently removed the Red Notice against Mehul Choksi from its website, which is a major setback for Indian agencies.

About

• The Interpol took the decision following a representation by Mr. Choksi and has been declared a fugitive by an Indian court.
• The Interpol made the decision based on its finding that there was a possibility of Mr. Choksi's abduction, which was done to get him back to India.
• Nirav Modi is currently imprisoned in London's Wandsworth Jail after the UK's High Court turned down his appeal against the District Court judgment.
• Secretary of State had previously ordered his extradition to India, however, the UK authorities are yet to give a final clearance on grounds including the issue of mental health.

Interpol:

• Interpol is a shorthand for "International Criminal Police Organization" and is the world's largest police organization, with 194 member countries.
• It is a global organization that promotes cooperation among law enforcement agencies in different countries to combat crime and maintain public safety.
• Its main focus is on transnational crimes, such as terrorism, cybercrime, organized crime, and human trafficking.
• It issues Red Notices, which are international arrest warrants, for individuals who are wanted for serious crimes.
• Interpol operates on a strict policy of political neutrality and does not intervene in matters of a political, military, religious, or racial nature.
• It maintains several databases, including the Stolen and Lost Travel Documents database, the DNA database, and the fingerprint database, which help member countries identify and track criminals across borders.

https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/interpol-takes-down-red-notice-against-mehul-choksi/article66642874.ece

In News:  The vernal equinox or March equinox will be observed on March 21, 2023 and marks the beginning of spring in the Northern Hemisphere and autumn in the Southern Hemisphere.

About Vernal Equinox

• Vernal Equinox, also known as the Spring Equinox is an astronomical event that occurs twice a year, around March 20-21 in the Northern Hemisphere and September 22-23 in the Southern
• It marks the beginning of the spring season in the Northern Hemisphere and the autumn season in the Southern Hemisphere.
• During the vernal equinox, the Sun is located directly above the equator, and both hemispheres receive almost equal amounts of sunlight, resulting in day and night being of almost equal length.

• The word equinox is derived from the Latin words aequus (equal) and nox (night), which roughly translates to "equal night."
• In the Northern Hemisphere, after the vernal equinox, the days become longer, and the nights become shorter, leading to warmer temperatures and springtime growth.
• In contrast, in the Southern Hemisphere, after the vernal equinox, the days become shorter, and the nights become longer, leading to cooler temperatures and the start of autumn.
• Equinoxes occur when the Earth's hemispheres aren't tilted towards or away from the Sun, resulting in both hemispheres receiving an almost equal amount of sunlight.

The vernal equinox also has cultural and religious significance: 

• Ancient Maya and Aztec civilizations: It is celebrated the vernal equinox as a time of planting and sowing.
• Hinduism: In its astrology, the vernal equinox is known as Vasant Vishuva or Vasant Sampat.
• Persian: It marks the beginning of the new year Nowruz which falls on the day of the vernal equinox.

https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/astrology/planets-transits/vernal-equinox-2023-date-time-and-significance/articleshow/98731838.cms?from=mdr

Why in news? Recently, Anti-submarine ship INS Androth launched in Kolkata.

About:

• It is an Anti-Submarine Warfare Shallow Watercraft (ASW SWC).
• It is built by Garden Reach Shipbuilders and Engineers (GRSE) in Kolkata for the Indian Navy.
• INS Androth draws its name from the largest and longest island known as Androth Island, in the Lakshadweep archipelago.
• Primary Role: To conduct anti-submarine operations in coastal waters, low-intensity maritime operations, and mine-laying operations.
• It is also capable of full-scale sub-surface surveillance of coastal waters and various surface platforms and coordinated ASW operations with aircraft.
• Features:
  • It is propelled by three diesel-driven water jets.
  • It can attain a maximum speed of 25 knots.
  • It carries lightweight torpedoes, ASW rockets and mines, a close-in weapon system (with a 30 mm gun), and 16.7 mm stabilized remote-controlled guns.
  • It will be fitted with hull-mounted sonar and a low-frequency variable depth sonar.

https://www.thestatesman.com/bengal/most-silent-ship-ins-androth-launched-1503165271.html

Why in news? World Down’s Syndrome Day observed recently.

About:

• Down syndrome is a genetic disorder, caused by the presence of an extra chromosome 21, also known as trisomy of chromosome 21.

• Types of Down syndrome:
  • Trisomy 21: About 95% of people with Down syndrome have Trisomy 21. Each cell in the body has 3 separate copies of chromosome 21 instead of the usual 2 copies.
  • Translocation Down syndrome: This occurs when an extra part or a whole extra chromosome 21 is present, but it is attached or “trans-located” to a different chromosome rather than being a separate chromosome 21.
  • Mosaic Down syndrome: For children with mosaic Down syndrome, some of their cells have 3 copies of chromosome 21, but other cells have the typical two copies of chromosome 21.
• Symptoms: Mental retardation, cognitive impairment may be mild to moderate, tilted eyes or Fold of the skin above the eye etc.
• Treatment: Down syndrome is a lifelong condition, and it cannot be cured. Early therapy programs can help improve skills.

https://indianexpress.com/article/cities/pune/world-downs-syndrome-day-pune-dance-teacher-students-make-giant-steps-battle-odds-8509509/

Why in news? Tribal people in Hariharpur have opposed the proposed opening of the new Parsa coal mine for over a year.

About:

• The Hasdeo Aranya (Aranya means forest) lies in the catchment area of the Hasdeo river and is spread across 1,878 sq km in North-Central Chhattisgarh.
• It is often called the "lungs of Chhattisgarh".
• The Hasdeo river is a tributary of the Mahanadi River which originates in Chhattisgarh and flows through Odisha into the Bay of Bengal.
• It is a large migratory corridor for elephants.

Lemru Elephant Reserve

• The reserve is located in the Korba district of Chhattisgarh.
• The reserve is aiming at reducing human-animal conflict and destruction of property in addition to providing a permanent habitat to the elephants.
• Earlier, the state government notified the reserve (Conservation Reserve) in October 2020 under Section 36A of the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972 (WLPA).
• Elephant reserves are not recognized under the WLPA. However, an area can be declared a 'conservation reserve' under the Section.

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-india-64949877

Why in news? A recent study suggested the possibility of aliens hiding in special 'terminator zones' on distant exoplanets, where the temperature is not too hot or cold.

About:

• Various exoplanets, which are outside our solar system, remain tidally locked and hence, one side always continues to face the star around which they orbit, and the other side remains permanently in darkness.
  • An exoplanet or extrasolar planet is a planet outside the Solar System.
• The astronomers, in their study, found that there is a band around these planets in which there is a possibility that they are harbouring liquid water which is the main ingredient for life.
• This band is called the 'terminator or twilight zone' where the terminator acts as the dividing line between the day side and night side of the exoplanet.

Tidal locking.

• This occurs when the gravitational interaction between two bodies "locks" the smaller body's rotation to the same period as its orbit, so that one side is always facing the larger body.
• We see this with Earth and the Moon, too.

https://www.sciencealert.com/terminator-zones-on-harsh-planets-may-sustain-life-in-an-endless-twilight

In News: The Kerala High Court declared the election of CPI(M) legislator null and void, holding that as a baptised Christian, he is ineligible to contest from a seat reserved for members of the Scheduled Castes (SC).

About

• The Constitution (Scheduled Caste) Order, 1950 challenged in the present case was based on historical data which established that “no backwardness or oppression was ever faced by members of Christian or Islamic Society.”
• It allowed only Hindus to be classified as SCs and was later amended to include Sikhs in 1956, and Buddhists in 1990.
• The Centre had established a commission, under former CJI KG Balakrishnan, to examine the grant of SC status to persons converted to religions other than in the Presidential Orders issued under Article 341 of the Constitution.
• Article 341: The President may with respect to any State (after consultation with the Governor) or UT, may notify the SCs in relation to that State/UT. The Parliament may by law include or exclude from the list of SCs specified in a notification issued.

https://indianexpress.com/article/explained/explained-law/kerala-high-court-a-raja-election-null-void-dalit-christian-8508351/

In News: An India-UK study is trying to find out how the brain develops as we grow

About

• C-Veda is an India-UK project (jointly funded by ICMR and UK’s Newton Grant from Medical Research Council (MRC))
• It aims to investigate if environmental and genetic risk factors in industrialised countries and emerging societies distinctly shape brain function and behaviour. It has now established the largest neurodevelopmental database in India.

https://www.thehindu.com/sci-tech/science/an-india-uk-study-is-trying-to-find-out-how-the-brain-develops-as-we-grow/article66618032.ece