UPSC Daily Current Affairs- 2 October 2022 | Current Affairs & Hindu Analysis: Daily, Weekly & Monthly PDF Download

GS-II

Context

• Congenital Heart Disease (CHD), which the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), U.S., acknowledges to be the most common congenital disorder, is responsible for 28% of all congenital birth defects, and accounts for 6 to 10 % of all the infant deaths in India.

• Congenital heart disease is a general term for a range of birth defects that affect the normal way the heart works. CHD is a defect in the structure of the heart or great vessels that is classed as a cardiovascular disease (CVD). The term “congenital” means the condition is present from birth. Congenital heart disease is one of the most common types of birth defect.

Status of CHD:

• Paediatricians say timely medical intervention can save 75% of these children and give them normal lives. The lack of a national policy for the treatment of cardiovascular diseases in children keeps a huge number outside the ambit of treatment.
• According to the Paediatric Cardiac Society of India (PCSI), the prevalence of congenital cardiac anomalies is one in every 100 live births; or an estimated 2 lakh children are born with CHD every year. Only 15,000 of them receive treatment.
• At least 30% of infants who have complex defects require surgical intervention to survive their first birthday but only 2,500 operations can be performed each year. A case in point is the premier All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), where infants are waitlisted till 2026 for cardiac surgery.
• A 2018 article by the Department of Cardiothoracic Cardiology, AIIMS, states, “paediatric cardiology is not a priority area in the face of competing demands for the resources”.

A distressing perception, ground realities:

• There has been more neglect and little improvement in child health care because creating a comprehensive paediatric cardiology care service is usually considered economically unviable.
• There are 22 hospitals and less than 50 centres in India with infant and neonatal cardiac services. Geographically, these centres are not well distributed either.
• A 2018 cardiology department report of AIIMS, highlighted how South India accounted for 70% of these centres; most centres are located in regions with a lower burden of CHD.

It taxes the vulnerable and the marginalised the most:

• For 600 districts with a 1.4 billion population, there are only 250 paediatric cardiologists available. The doctor to patient ratio is an abysmal one for half-a-crore population.
• Apart from the low number of paediatric cardiologists and cardiac surgeons, and critical care centres, poverty is another barrier before treatment.
• It is not just unaffordability but also inaccessibility that constraints paediatric services. In addition, there is the non-availability of crucial equipment that is essential for diagnosis of heart diseases in the unborn.

Antenatal checks are crucial:

• The Child Heart Foundation, an NGO working with underprivileged children with CHD, has been flagging the need for Fetal echocardiography a test that is done usually during the second trimester of pregnancy to check for CVD/ CHD in the foetus.
• Paediatricians say antenatal detection of congenital anomalies is crucial for neonatal care and management. But certain congenital defects such as accurate heart health assessment are not visible in a normal ultrasonography of an unborn baby.
• Fetal echocardiography done in a pregnant woman of 18 to 24 weeks allows better visualisation of the structure and function of the heart.
• There are programmes worth emulating such as Kerala’s ‘Hridayam (for little hearts)’, aimed at early detection, management and support to children with CHD or the Tamil Nadu Chief Minister’s Comprehensive Health Insurance Scheme offering free specialised surgeries.
• The Ayushman Bharat, is expected to financially assist 10 crore poor families but has still to take off.
• So far, a few states like Maharashtra, Karnataka, Gujarat and Andhra Pradesh have started to implement it.

Ayushman Bharat Scheme/National Health Protection Scheme:

• Launched as recommended by the National Health Policy 2017, to achieve the vision of Universal Health Coverage (UHC) and to meet SDG and its underlining commitment, which is “leave no one behind”.
• The mission adopts a continuum of care approach, comprising of two inter-related components, which are:
  • Health and Wellness Centres (HWCs).
  • Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (PM-JAY).
  • HWCs are upgraded primary healthcare centres. It also envisages developing 1.5 lakh such HWCs to cater to the healthcare need at the grassroots level.

Key Features of PM-JAY:

• The world’s largest health insurance/ assurance scheme fully financed by the government, it provides healthcare cover of 5 lakhs per family per year, for secondary and tertiary care hospitalization across public and private empanelled hospitals in India.
• Coverage: Over 10 crore poor and vulnerable entitled families (approximately 50 crore beneficiaries) are eligible for these benefits.
• Provides cashless access to health care services for the beneficiary at the point of service.
• PM-JAY is envisaged to reduce India’s Out of Pocket Expenditure (OOPE) on healthcare, which used to be one of the highest in the world. From the levels of 65%, OOPE in India has now come down to around 49%.

Benefits and significance

• Helps reduce catastrophic expenditure for hospitalizations, which pushes 6 crore people into poverty each year.
• Helps mitigate the financial risk arising out of catastrophic health episodes.

Eligibility Criteria:

• No restrictions on family size, age or gender.
• All pre–existing conditions are covered from day one.
• Covers up to 3 days of pre-hospitalization and 15 days post-hospitalization expenses such as diagnostics and medicines.
• Benefits of the scheme are portable across the country.
• Services include approximately 1,393 procedures covering all the costs related to treatment, including but not limited to drugs, supplies, diagnostic services, physician’s fees, room charges, surgeon charges, OT and ICU charges etc.
• Public hospitals are reimbursed for the healthcare services at par with the private hospitals.

Way Forward:

• There is a need to explicitly include CVD/ CHD under the ambit of PM-JAY and to raise public awareness on people’s entitlement towards these services.
• On the World Heart Day (September 29) we need to act fast to help India’s many children in need.

GS-III

Context

• Considering the genetic altering impact on the human body and biodiversity loss, reduction in pesticide usage i.e., chemical farming should have become an Indian government’s  priority long ago.

What is organic Farming?

• As per the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) organic farming is a system which largely excludes the use of synthetic inputs (fertilizers, pesticides, etc.) and relies upon crop rotations, crop residues, animal manures, organic waste, and biological system of nutrient mobilization.
• Organic farming system in India is not new and is being followed from ancient times.
• Currently India ranks 33rd in terms of total land under organic cultivation and 88th in terms of the ratio of agricultural land under organic crops to total farming area.

What are the principles adopted in Organic Farming in India?

Organic agriculture grows and develops with these principles. These can contribute to improving organic agriculture for the world.

There are four principles of organic farming are as follow:-

• Principles of Health – The health of the ecosystem, people, and communities.
• The Principles of Ecology – The right balance between ecosystem and environment or nature.
• Principles of Fairness – Good human relationships and quality of life.
• Principles of Care – The considerations about the environment and environment of the future.

Need of encouraging the use of organic farming in India:

• Unsustainable conventional agriculture: The ill effects of the conventional farming system are felt in India in terms of the unsustainability of agricultural production, environmental degradation, health and sanitation problems, etc. Organic agriculture is needed as an alternative method to the modern system.
• Agricultural productivity: The fertilizer and pesticide consumption has increased manifold but this trend has not been reflected in the crop productivity to that extent during green revolution.
• Organic farming has the potential of increased productivity in the long term due to better soil conditions and ecosystems.
• Rising population: With the increase in population there is need to increase agriculture production further in sustainable manner. The scientists have realized that the ‘Green Revolution’ with high input use has reached its peak and is now diminishing returns. Thus, a sustainable organic alternative is needed.
• Employment Opportunities: According to many studies, organic farming requires more labour input than the conventional farming system. India which has a very large amount of labour unemployment and underemployment can generate agricultural jobs through organic farming in rural areas.
• Healthy food: Several indirect benefits from organic farming are available to both the farmers and consumers.
• Eco-tourism: Eco-tourism is increasingly becoming popular and organic farms have turned into such favourite spots in many countries like Italy.

Challenges in Organic Farming in India:

• Shortage of Biomass: experts are not sure whether all the nutrients with the required quantities can be made available by the organic materials. Even if this problem can be surmounted, they are of the view that the available organic matter is not simply enough to meet the requirements.
• Disparity of Supply and Demand: Non-perishable grains can be grown anywhere and transported to any location but this is not the case with fruits and vegetables.
• Time: organic farming requires greater interaction between a farmer and his crop for observation, timely intervention and weed control for instance.
• High MRP: It is almost obvious that due to the extreme care taken to go along with organic farming, the results would be kept at a high price.
• Lack of special infrastructure: Most large organic farms still operate in an industrialized agriculture style, including industrial transportation of the food from field to plate. Unfortunately, this involves the adoption of the same environmentally harmful practices as those of factory farms which are however hidden under the cover of being organic

Important Government Initiatives/Schemes:

• Paramparagat Krishi Vikas Yojana: promotes cluster based organic farming with PGS (Participatory Guarantee System) certification. Cluster formation, training, certification and marketing are supported under the scheme.
• Rashtriya Krishi Vikas Yojana: Assistance for promotion of organic farming on different components are also available with the approval of State Level Sanctioning Committee
• One District – One Product: The programme aims to encourage more visibility and sale of indigenous and specialized products/crafts of Uttar Pradesh, generating employment at the district level.
• National Mission on Oilseeds and Oil Palm: Financial assistance is being provided for different components including bio-fertilizers, supply of Rhizobium culture/Phosphate Solubilising Bacteria (PSB)/Zinc Solubilising Bacteria (ZSB)/ Azotobacter/Mycorrhiza and vermin-compost.
• The Organic Farming Action Programme: The objective is to promote and significantly develop organic farming by means of priority measures
• Food Safety and Standards Authority of India(FSSAI) is the food regulator in the country and is also responsible for regulating organic food in the domestic market and imports.
• Participatory Guarantee System (PGS): PGS is a process of certifying organic products, which ensures that their production takes place in accordance with laid-down quality standards.
• National Program for Organic Production (NPOP): NPOP grants organic farming certification through a process of third-party certification for export purposes.

Way Forward:

• Unsustainable agricultural practices have proved to be harmful for land, soil and farmers in general.
• A switch to organic farming can not only help to achieve sustainable agricultural production but would help farmers with rise in income and production.
• An emphasis should be given to organic farming. Sikkim is being such a state to recognise it early and becoming a 100% organic state. Other states should work for the same.

Context

Prime Minister has laid the foundation stone for the “world’s first CNG (Compressed Natural Gas) terminal” at Bhavnagar in Gujarat.

Bhavnagar CNG terminal

• The idea got incepted during the January 2019 Vibrant Gujarat summit when a consortium of some stakeholder signed MoU with Gujarat Maritime Board (GMB) for development of the CNG terminal.
• The port will be built under the BOOT (Build, Own, Operate and Transfer) policy of the state government.
• The state-run GMB will continue to operate the berths on the south side of the port.

Why is the Bhavnagar port important?

• The Bhavnagar port is in close vicinity to the Dholera Special Investment Region (SIR) and is expected to serve the industries that set up base in the region.
• It is already connected to the northern hinterland through a railway line that extends to the existing berths at the port.

When is the CNG terminal expected to commence operations?

• The construction is expected to commence in the first quarter of 2023 after GMB approves the Detailed Project Report.
• It is expected to be made operational by 2026.
• The proposed port terminal’s capacity is 4.65 Million Tonnes Per Annum (MTPA), of which the capacity of the CNG terminal will be 0.3 MTPA.

What makes the port unique?

• The project will repair and redevelop the tidal lock gate system, which will be the fourth largest such system in the world.
• Traditionally, because of the higher tidal range of approximately 10 meters, Bhavnagar creek attracts a significant amount of sediment in the form of silt.
• This lock gate system has been set up so that a minimal amount of sediment enters the port basin during high tide, thus bringing down the cost of dredging inside the port substantially.

Back2Basics: Natural gas vs. LPG

• LPG, or liquefied petroleum gas, is a mixture of light hydrocarbons.
• It consists of at least 90% of propane, with the balance made up of other gases including butane.
• Natural gas, in contrast, is almost entirely made up of methane.
• Compressed Natural Gas, or CNG, and Liquefied Natural Gas, or LNG, are the same substance.
• CNG is received and stored in a vehicle’s tank in gaseous form.
• To obtain LNG, natural gas is compressed and cooled to extremely low temperatures, at which point it turns to liquid.LNG can then be shipped, stored, and used to fill the tanks of LNG vehicles.
• Much of the global natural gas trade occurs in the form of LNG.

Context 

The Central Bureau of Investigation has launched a multi-phase ‘Operation Garuda’ against illicit drug trafficking network, registering 127 new cases, arresting 175 people and seizing huge quantities of narcotic drugs.

About  ‘Operation Garuda’ 

• It was initiated in close coordination with Interpol and Narcotics Control Bureau, for combating the smuggling of illicit drugs and psychotropic substances, with special focus on the Indian Ocean region. 
• Drug trafficking networks with international linkages require law enforcement cooperation across international jurisdiction.
• Objectives :It seeks to disrupt, degrade and dismantle drug networks with international linkages through rapid exchange of criminal intelligence on drug trafficking and coordinated law enforcement actions across international jurisdiction through Interpol.

What is Drug trafficking?

•  It is a global illicit trade involving the cultivation, manufacture, distribution and sale of substances which are subject to drug prohibition laws

Vulnerability of India 

• India is vulnerable to narcotic drug trafficking as it is located between two largest Opium producing regions of the world i.e.
  • Golden Crescent in the west and Golden Triangle in the east.
  • The Golden Crescent region of South Asia comprises Afghanistan, Iran, and Pakistan.
  •  The Golden Triangle is the area where the borders of Thailand, Laos and Myanmar meet at the confluence of the Ruak and Mekong rivers.
    • These two areas are known as the major opium production regions of the world.
• According to The World Drug Report 2022: India has the most number of opiate users in the world and  The trend is expected to rise with an increase in trafficking.

Context

The Uttar Pradesh (UP) cabinet recently approved the notification of the state’s fourth tiger reserve in the Ranipur Wildlife Sanctuary (RWS) in Chitrakoot district.

About Ranipur Wildlife Sanctuary:

• Ranipur Wildlife Sanctuary, was founded in 1977.
• This will be the fourth tiger reserve in the state to be developed, after Dudhwa, Pilibhit, and Amangarh.
• RWS has no tigers of its own. But it is an important corridor for the movement of tigers.
• The Ranipur Tiger Reserve has tropical dry deciduous forests and is home to fauna such as tigers, leopards, sloth bears, spotted deer, sambhar, chinkara and a number of birds and reptiles.
• It will also be the first in the state’s portion of the Bundelkhand region, which it shares with neighbouring Madhya Pradesh.
• There are 53 Tiger Reserves in India spread across India.
• There were 2,967 tigers in India according to the National Tiger Conservation Authority estimation in 2018.

About National Tiger Conservation Authority:

• The National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) is a statutory body under the Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change constituted under enabling provisions of the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972, as amended in 2006, for strengthening tiger conservation.
• The authority consists of the Minister in charge of the Ministry of Environment and Forests ( as Chairperson), the Minister of State in the Ministry of Environment and Forests (as Vice-Chairperson), three members of Parliament, Secretary, Ministry of Environment and Forests and other members.
• The ‘Project Tiger’ is a Centrally Sponsored Scheme (CSS) of the Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change, providing funding support to tiger range States for in-situ conservation of tigers in designated tiger reserves.

The objectives of NTCA are:

• Providing statutory authority to Project Tiger so that compliance of its directives become legal.
• Fostering accountability of Centre-State in management of Tiger Reserves, by providing a basis for MoU with States within our federal structure.
• Providing for an oversight by Parliament.
• Addressing livelihood interests of local people in areas surrounding Tiger Reserves.

Context

Recently, the central government appointed the former head of eastern command Lt General Anil Chauhan (retired) as the new Chief of Defence Staff (CDS).

What is Chief of Defence Staff (CDS)?

• Background: Its creation was recommended in 2001 by a Group of Ministers (GoM) that was tasked with studying the Kargil Review Committee (1999) report.
• After the GoM recommendations, in preparation for the post of CDS, the government created the Integrated Defence Staff in 2002, which was to eventually serve as the CDS’s Secretariat.
• In 2012, the Naresh Chandra Committee recommended the appointment of a Permanent Chairman of the Chiefs of Staff Committee as a midway to eliminate apprehensions over the CDS.
• Finally, the post of CDS was created in 2019 on the recommendations of a committee of defence experts headed by Lt General DB Shekatkar.
• General Bipin Rawat was the first CDS in the country and was appointed on December 31, 2019.
• Roles and Responsibilities
  • His core function will be to foster greater operational synergy between the three service branches of the Indian military and keep inter-service frictions to a minimum.
  • He also heads the newly created Department of Military Affairs (DMA) in the Ministry of Defence.
  • The CDS will be the single-point military adviser to the Defence Minister on matters involving all three services and the service chiefs will be obliged to confine their counsel to issues pertaining to their respective services.
  • As the head of DMA, CDS is vested with the authority in prioritising inter-service procurement decisions as Permanent Chairman-Chiefs of Staff Committee.
  • The CDS is also vested with the authority to provide directives to the three chiefs. However, he does not enjoy any command authority over any of the forces.
  • CDS is first among equals, he enjoys the rank of Secretary within the DoD (Department of Defence) and his powers will be confined to only the revenue budget.
  • He will also perform an advisory role in the Nuclear Command Authority (NCA).

Significance:

• Synergy between Armed forces and Government: 
  • CDS’ role is not simply about tri-service (Army, Navy and Indian Air Force) cooperation, it is equally about fostering better cooperation between the Ministry of Defense bureaucracy and the Armed services.
  • Since 1947, there have been three Service Headquarters (SHQ) designated as “Attached Offices” of the Department of Defense (DoD). Due to this, communication between SHQ and DoD takes place largely through the medium of files.
  • With the creation of CDS as Principal Military Adviser (PMA) to Defense Minister, the process of decision-making will be accelerated.
• Jointness in operations: 
  • The Chiefs of Staff Committee-COSC (predecessor of CDS), has been dysfunctional because its chairmanship is held by one of the three chiefs on a part-time rotational basis.
  • Historically, the chairman COSC lacked the authority as well as capacity and inclination to tackle tri-service issues of substance.
  • With the CDS now being designated as “permanent chairman of COSC”, he will be able to devote undivided attention to the administration of tri-service organisations.
• Operationalisation of Theatre Command: 
  • Creation of DMA will facilitate the operationalisation of joint/theatre command.
  • Although a successful template for joint operations was created in the Andaman & Nicobar Command, the lack of political direction and indifference of the COSC has led to inactivity of this joint command.
  • Theatre commands would need staff with the knowledge and experience to deploy land, maritime and air forces. Given the disruptive impact of each of these measures, they would best be implemented by the CDS.
• CDS as a key functionary in the nuclear command chain will also administer the Strategic Forces Command.
• This measure will go a long way in enhancing the credibility of India's nuclear deterrent.
• The CDS would also initiate an early review of India's Nuclear Doctrine.
• In the approaching era of dwindling defence budgets, a crucial function of CDS will be “prioritising” the capital acquisition proposals of individual services.