Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Collegium System
Mains level: Judicial appointments and transparency issues
The SC Collegium has recommended the transfer of judges of several HC, including the transfer of a Justice of the Andhra Pradesh High Court.
Must read:
[Burning Issue] Uproar over AP CM’s letter to CJI
What is Collegium?
- Collegium system of the Supreme Court (SC) and the High Courts (HCs) of India is based on the precedence established by the “Three Judges Cases (1982, 1993, 1998) “.
- It is a legally valid system of appointment and transfer of judges in the SC and all HCs.
- It is a system of checks and balance, which ensures the independence of the senior judiciary in India.
The Collegium System: A detailed backgrounder
- The Collegium of judges is the Indian SC’s invention.
- It does not figure in the Constitution, which says judges of the SC and HC are appointed by the President and speaks of a process of consultation.
- In effect, it is a system under which judges are appointed by an institution comprising judges.
- After some judges were superseded in the appointment of the CJI in the 1970s and attempts made subsequently to effect a mass transfer of High Court judges across the country.
- Hence there was a perception that the independence of the judiciary was under threat. This resulted in a series of cases over the years.
The Judges Cases
- The First Judges Case (1981) ruled that the “consultation” with the CJI in the matter of appointments must be full and effective.
- However, it rejected the idea that the CJI’s opinion, albeit carrying great weight, should have primacy.
- The Second Judges Case (1993) introduced the Collegium system, holding that “consultation” really meant “concurrence”.
- It added that it was not the CJI’s individual opinion, but an institutional opinion formed in consultation with the two senior-most judges in the SC.
- On a Presidential Reference in its opinion, the SC, in the Third Judges Case (1998) expanded the Collegium to a five-member body, comprising the CJI and four of his senior-most colleagues.
The procedure followed by the Collegium:
Appointment of CJI
- The President of India appoints the CJI and the other SC judges.
- As far as the CJI is concerned, the outgoing CJI recommends his successor.
- In practice, it has been strictly by seniority ever since the supersession controversy of the 1970s.
- The Union Law Minister forwards the recommendation to the PM who, in turn, advises the President.
Other SC Judges
- For other judges of the top court, the proposal is initiated by the CJI.
- The CJI consults the rest of the Collegium members, as well as the senior-most judge of the court hailing from the High Court to which the recommended person belongs.
- The consultees must record their opinions in writing and it should form part of the file.
- The Collegium sends the recommendation to the Law Minister, who forwards it to the Prime Minister to advise the President.
For HC
- The CJs of HC is appointed as per the policy of having Chief Justices from outside the respective States. The Collegium takes the call on the elevation.
- High Court judges are recommended by a Collegium comprising the CJI and two senior-most judges.
- The proposal, however, is initiated by the Chief Justice of the High Court concerned in consultation with two senior-most colleagues.
- The recommendation is sent to the Chief Minister, who advises the Governor to send the proposal to the Union Law Minister.
Does the Collegium recommend transfers too?
- Yes, the Collegium also recommends the transfer of Chief Justices and other judges.
- Article 222 of the Constitution provides for the transfer of a judge from one High Court to another.
- When a CJ is transferred, a replacement must also be simultaneously found for the High Court concerned. There can be an acting CJ in a High Court for not more than a month.
- In matters of transfers, the opinion of the CJI “is determinative”, and the consent of the judge concerned is not required.
- However, the CJI should take into account the views of the CJ of the High Court concerned and the views of one or more SC judges who are in a position to do so.
- All transfers must be made in the public interest, that is, “for the betterment of the administration of justice”.
Loopholes in the Collegium system
- Many have faulted the system, not only for its being seen as something unforeseen by the Constitution makers but also for the way it functions.
- Opaqueness and a lack of transparency, and the scope for nepotism are cited often.
- The attempt made to replace it by a ‘National Judicial Appointments Commission’ was struck down by the court in 2015 on the ground that it posed a threat to the independence of the judiciary.
- Some do not believe in full disclosure of reasons for transfers, as it may make lawyers in the destination court chary of the transferred judge.
- Embroilment in public controversies and having relatives practising in the same High Court could be common reasons for transfers.
Scope for transparency
- In respect of appointments, there has been an acknowledgement that the “zone of consideration” must be expanded to avoid criticism that many appointees hail from families of retired judges.
- The status of a proposed new memorandum of procedure, to infuse greater accountability, is also unclear.
- Even the majority opinions admitted the need for transparency, now the Collegium’s resolutions are now posted online, but reasons are not given.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Ayushman Bharat
Mains level: Importance of Public Health Surveillance
NITI Aayog today released a white paper: Vision 2035: Public Health Surveillance (PHS) in India.
Q.Discuss the role of Public Health Surveillance in the success of Ayushman Bharat Abhiyan.
Vision 2035 for PHS
- It is a continuation of the work on health systems strengthening.
- It contributes by suggesting mainstreaming of surveillance by making individual electronic health records the basis for surveillance.
- Public health surveillance (PHS) is an important function that cuts across primary, secondary, and tertiary levels of care. Surveillance is ‘Information for Action’.
Let’s have a look at the executive summary of the vision document:
PHS in India
- Surveillance is an important Public Health function.
- It is an essential action for disease detection, prevention, and control. Surveillance is ‘Information for Action’.
Why need PHS?
- Multiple disease outbreaks have prompted India to proactively respond with prevention and control measures. These actions are based on information from public health surveillance.
- India was able to achieve many successes in the past. Smallpox was eradicated and polio was eliminated.
- India has been able to reduce HIV incidence and deaths and advance and accelerate TB elimination efforts.
- These successes are a result of effective community-based, facility-based, and health system-based surveillance.
- The COVID19 pandemic has further challenged the country. India rapidly ramped up its diagnostic capabilities and aligned its digital technology expertise.
- This ensured that there was a comprehensive tracking of the pandemic.
Highlights of the vision document
- It builds on initiatives such as the Integrated Health Information Platform of the Integrated Disease Surveillance Program.
- It aligns with the citizen-centricity highlighted in the National Health Policy 2017 and the National Digital Health Blueprint.
- It encourages the use of mobile and digital platforms and point of care devices and diagnostics for amalgamation of data capture and analyses.
- It highlights the importance of capitalizing on initiatives such as the Clinical Establishments Act to enhance private sector involvement in surveillance.
- It points out the importance of a cohesive and coordinated effort of apex institutions including the National Centre for Disease Control, the ICMR, and others.
Gap areas in India’s PHS that could be addressed
- India can create a skilled and strong health workforce dedicated to surveillance activities.
- Non-communicable disease, reproductive and child health, occupational and environmental health and injury could be integrated into public health surveillance.
- Morbidity data from health information systems could be merged with mortality data from vital statistics registration.
- An amalgamation of plant, animal, and environmental surveillance in a One-Health approach.
- PHS could be integrated within India’s three-tiered health system.
- Citizen-centric and community-based surveillance, and use of point of care devices and self-care diagnostics could be enhanced.
- To establish linkages across the three-tiered health system, referral networks could be expanded for diagnoses and care.
Moving ahead
- Establish a governance framework that is inclusive of political, policy, technical, and managerial leadership at the national and state level.
- Identify broad disease categories that will be included under PHS.
- Enhance surveillance of non-communicable diseases and conditions in a step-wise manner.
- Prioritize diseases that can be targeted for elimination as a public health problem, regularly.
- Improve core support functions, core functions, and system attributes for surveillance at all levels; national, state, district, and block.
- Establish mechanisms to streamline data sharing, capture, analysis, and dissemination for action.
- Encourage innovations at every step-in surveillance activity.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Indian Bison (Gaur)
Mains level: Man-animal conflict
A gaur (Indian bison) strayed into a residential area in Pune city and allegedly died while being captured. This has depicted another ugly face of the man-animal conflicts.
Try this PYQ:
Q.Which one of the following groups of animals belongs to the category of endangered species?
(a) Great Indian Bustard, Musk Deer, Red Panda, Asiatic Wild Ass
(b) Kashmir Stag, Cheetah, Blue Bull, Great Indian Bustard.
(c) Snow Leopard, Swamp Deer, Rhesus Monkey, Saras (Crane)
(d) Lion Tailed Macaque, Blue Bull, Hanuman Langur, Cheetah
Gaur/ Indian Bison
- The Indian bison are also known as Gaur, is native to South and Southeast Asia and has been listed as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List since 1986.
- The global population has been estimated at maximum 21,000 mature individuals by 2016.
- It declined by more than 70% during the last three generations, and is extinct in Sri Lanka and probably also in Bangladesh.
- Populations in well-protected areas are stable and increasing.
- The Western Ghats and their outflanking hills in southern India constitute one of the most extensive extant strongholds of gaur, in particular in the Wayanad – Nagarhole – Mudumalai – Bandipur complex.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Not Much
Mains level: Farmers agitation and the South Asia connection
With protests becoming catalysts for anti-authoritarian struggle, the air is ripe for new visions of rural emancipation
Recent policy changes and its impacts on agriculture
- There has been a systematic attack on agriculture in South Asia over the last decades. This can be seen in ongoing protests in India.
- Similar incidences of protests can be seen in Pakistan, where farmers protesting for support prices were beaten up and arrested in Lahore only a month ago, or Sri Lanka, where shortages of imported fertilizers and declining subsidies have led to farmers’ outcry.
- In the middle of a long-simmering rural economic crisis pushed over the cliff by the COVID-19 pandemic, efforts by South Asian governments to project corporatization and deregulation as the way forward for agriculture have angered long-suffering farmers.
- Successive governments have imposed a corporate agenda, seeking profits from food production and distribution by relaxing norms for cheap food imports, and encouraging export-oriented production, price speculation, agribusiness and retail supermarkets.
- South Asia’s rural landscape has been profoundly reshaped by such ‘reforms’, dispossessing farmers of their land, and pushing them into wage labour and migration as coping mechanisms.
- This hollowing out of rural livelihoods does not come with any assurance of stable jobs or a decent quality of life in urban areas.
Pandemic opportunism
- The COVID-19 crisis has increased such efforts and policy changes.
- India is not the only country to have attempted to seize this moment to deregulate agricultural markets. In Pakistan, the government inked an agreement with the World Bank to further deregulate the country’s wheat market.
- In Sri Lanka, with the national budget just passed for 2021, there are only meagre allocations towards revitalizing agricultural livelihoods and policies focused on supporting technologies suitable for agribusinesses.
- Instead of the current crisis sending governments back to the drawing board, South Asia’s authoritarian regimes, complicit with corporate interests, are railroading in anti-farmer agricultural policies.
Practice Question: Do you think there is a common ground between farmers protests in various South Asian countries. Discuss with proper examples.
Menace of the corporatization of Agriculture
- Corporate agriculture further worsens the existential danger faced by South Asian farmers.
- The corporate solutions do not address the role of middlemen and traders in denying farmers a fair price for their labour.
- Instead, opening up markets to large corporations is likely to spark the same sort of race to the bottom that has been seen in the industrial and service sectors.
- Deregulation makes farmers’ livelihoods even more precarious and threatens food sovereignty through increased dependence on global agricultural trade.
- It was the collapse of global agricultural commodity prices in the 1970s that had a large role to play in the debt crisis that haunts countries such as Pakistan and Sri Lanka.
Reviving resistance
- There is a powerful legacy of rural movements in South Asia that have fought for the rights of farmers, peasants and agricultural workers.
- Rural movements played a crucial role in the anti-colonial struggle and fought for progressive land and agrarian reform after independence.
- Seventy years on, they continue to fight against the recent waves of anti-farmer policies, while advancing new progressive visions such as peasant agro-ecology and food sovereignty, which put small food producers and the environment at the centre.
- The current convergence of authoritarianism and corporate capital brings this existential crisis for rural agricultural producers even more sharply in focus.
- Farmers’ movements have been aware of state connivance with exploitative actors, but they must now also contend with a breakdown of the democratic process and increased repression.
- These should be ominous signs for regimes across South Asia which continue to act with impunity in the face of demands for economic and social justice.
Voices of movements
- The COVID-19 pandemic has pushed food sovereignty back into the public imagination. The solution, of course, only begins with making farming a viable livelihood.
- Dominant assumptions about inevitable rural-urban migration and techno-utopian transformation in agriculture must be challenged.
- Questions of land redistribution and other rural inequalities must remain a crucial part of the political agenda.
- The situation of mostly female agricultural workers, the rural landless and Dalits in South Asia remains precarious. Even as rural movements across South Asia fight the ongoing attack on their livelihoods, they must also tackle rural inequality head-on.
Conclusion
- The air is ripe for new visions of rural emancipation in South Asia.
- Rural movements are working to transform not just their world but are becoming catalysts for a broader anti-authoritarian struggle in South Asia.
- The current phase of struggles has revived old questions while raising others about the future of our long-ignored rural world.
- We must listen to the voices and demands of the rural movements converging across South Asia.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Sushrut Samhita
Mains level: Debate over mixopathy
This conundrum of different standards for surgical training must be solved because patient safety is far more important than the career progression of Ayurvedic postgraduates.
Practice Question: There is a need to rethink on the recent notification of AYUSH Ministry allowing Ayurveda postgraduates to conduct surgeries keeping the safety of the patient at the centre. Discuss.
The current clash
- The clash between the allopathic and AYUSH fraternities is about the AYUSH practitioners’ “right” to conduct surgeries.
- The Ayurvedic fraternity maintains postgraduates in Shalya and Shalakya (two surgical streams among 14 post-graduate courses) are taught procedures listed in the curriculum.
- The oldest-known surgical specialist was, in fact, an Ayurvedic surgeon/sage Sushrut (600 BC) who wrote the Sushrut Samhita — a profound exposition on conducting human surgery which continues to receive worldwide acclaim.
- Surgery was practised by Ayurvedic surgeons long before the advent of western medicine.
- Allopaths question the logic of Sushrut’s millennia-old pre-eminence bestowing the right to practise modern surgery. Ayurvedic surgeons may not know the hidden risks of every surgical procedure and how to surmount sudden mishaps.
- The Ministry of AYUSH justifies its notification on the ground that not all vaidyas but only postgraduates qualifying from two surgical streams have been authorized to perform selected surgeries.
The contentious issue
- The moot point is about who decides whether Ayurvedic surgeons possess sufficient proficiency to conduct these surgeries safely and by what standard their skills are judged.
- Surgical proficiency cannot be judged by different standards in one country — particularly when less-educated patients would rather save money than question a surgeon’s qualifications.
- The statutory regulatory body for AYUSH education is the Central Council of Indian Medicine (CCIM). CCIM has only promoted what private college managements demand, propelled, in turn, by students’ need to earn a stable income as medical professionals.
- In this misplaced zeal to give better earnings to the Ayurvedic vaidyas, CCIM has sidelined many skills that Ayurveda could have included, which are relevant even today.
- This has subjugated the curriculum to nurture more and more replicas of doctors of modern medicine.
- This has killed the knowledge, purity and goodness of classical Ayurveda, which ironically is the Ayurveda in high demand in Europe, Russia and America.
Nothing can replace practise and training to perform surgery
- When it comes to surgery, it is not knowledge but rigorous training and continuous practice which makes for perfection. Both require clinical material and most Ayurvedic hospitals do not have a fraction of the surgical patients found in allopathic general hospitals.
- Allopathic students of surgery learn first by watching and then performing scores of surgeries under supervision.
- Surgical skills are by no means impossible to learn but they become difficult to master without continuous training and supervision.
- Due to the paucity of patients, limited scope for training and access to gaining hands-on practice, it is hazardous to allow all Shalya and Shalakya postgraduates to undertake surgical procedures.
- In the last three decades, specialization has excluded general surgeons from performing what was once considered routine. For example, only an ENT surgeon can perform a tonsillectomy.
- Therefore, to notify that Ayurvedic postgraduates in surgery can perform omnibus operations runs counter to the norm in India and in other countries.
Way forward
- In performing surgery, the only benchmark should be the duration of hands-on training received — counted by surgeries under supervision, and being judged through external evaluation.
- Every surgeon’s skills and competence must be tested by applying exactly the same standards before she/he can operate.
- This conundrum of different standards for surgical training must be solved because patient safety is far more important than the career progression of Ayurvedic postgraduates.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: NFHS
Mains level: Various facets of hunger and malnutrition in India
Poor nutritional outcomes in NFHS-5 show that a piecemeal approach does not work.
Nutrition-related data released by NFHS-5
- The Ministry of Health and Family Welfare has released data fact sheets for 22 States and Union Territories (UTs) based on the findings of Phase I of the National Family Health Survey-5 (NFHS-5).
- The 22 States/ UTs don’t include some major States such as Tamil Nadu, Rajasthan, Punjab, Uttar Pradesh, Jharkhand, Odisha and Madhya Pradesh.
Practice Question: The latest findings from the National Family Health Survey data shows a sign of worry. Suggest the policy measures required to tackle the health and nutrition-related issues in India.
Worrying findings
- There is an increase in the prevalence of severe acute malnutrition in 16 States/UTs (compared to NFHS-4 conducted in 2015-16). Kerala and Karnataka are the only two big states where there is some decline.
- The percentage of children under five who are underweight has also increased in 16 out of the 22 States/UTs.
- Anaemia levels among children as well as adult women have increased in most of the States with a decline in anaemia among children being seen only in four States/UTs.
- There is also an increase in the prevalence of other indicators such as adult malnutrition in many States/ UTs.
- Most States/UTs also see an increase in overweight/obesity prevalence among children and adults shows the inadequacy of diets in India both in terms of quality and quantity.
- The data report an increase in childhood stunting (an indicator of chronic under-nutrition and considered a sensitive indicator of overall well-being) in 13 of the 22 States/UTs.
- Poshan Abhiyaan, one of the flagship programmes of the PM, launched in 2017, aimed at achieving a 2% reduction in childhood stunting per year.
Economic growth vs health indicators
- There is an increase in the prevalence of childhood stunting in the country during the period 2015-16 to 2019-20.
- This calls for serious introspection on not just the direct programmes in place to address the problem of child malnutrition but also the overall model of economic growth that the country has embarked upon.
- The World Health Organization calls stunting “a marker of inequalities in human development”.
- Over the last three decades, India has experienced high rates of economic growth. But this period has also seen increasing inequality, greater informalisation of the labour force, and reducing employment elasticities of growth.
- Currently, India is witnessing a slowdown in economic growth, stagnant rural wages and highest levels of unemployment. This is reflected in the rising number of reported starvation deaths from different parts of the country.
- The situation has become even worse due to the pandemic and lockdown-induced economic distress.
- Field surveys such as the recent ‘Hunger Watch’ are already showing massive levels of food insecurity and decline in food consumption, especially among the poor and vulnerable households.
- All of this calls for urgent action with commitment towards addressing the issue of malnutrition.
Social protection schemes and their impact on nutrition indicators
- Social protection schemes and public programmes such as the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme, the Public Distribution System, the Integrated Child Development Scheme (ICDS), and school meals have contributed to a reduction in absolute poverty as well as previous improvements in nutrition indicators.
- However, there are continuous attempts to weaken these mechanisms through underfunding and general neglect.
- Only about 32.5% of the funds released for Poshan Abhiyaan from 2017-18 onwards had been utilized.
- There are some improvements seen in determinants of malnutrition such as access to sanitation, clean cooking fuels and women’s status – a reduction in spousal violence and greater access of women to bank accounts.
A piecemeal approach
- The overall poor nutritional outcomes show that a piecemeal approach addressing some aspects does not work.
- Direct interventions such as supplementary nutrition (of good quality including eggs, fruits, etc.), growth monitoring, and behaviour change communication through the ICDS and school meals must be strengthened and given more resources.
- Universal maternity entitlements and child care services to enable exclusive breastfeeding, appropriate infant and young child feeding as well as towards recognizing women’s unpaid work burdens have been on the agenda for long, but not much progress has been made on these.
- The linkages between agriculture and nutrition both through what foods are produced and available as well as what kinds of livelihoods are generated in farming are also important.
Conclusion
- The basic determinants of malnutrition – household food security, access to basic health services and equitable gender relations – cannot be ignored any longer.
- An employment-centred growth strategy which includes the universal provision of basic services for education, health, food and social security is imperative.
- There have been many indications in our country that business as usual is not sustainable anymore.
- It is hoped that the experience of the pandemic, as well as the results of NFHS-5, serve as a wake-up call for a serious rethinking of issues related to nutrition and accord these issues priority.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Delimitation Commission
Mains level: Delimitation of constituencies
A paper released by the Pranab Mukherjee Foundation (PMF) has suggested that the next delimitation exercise should be a two-step process:
- First a Delimitation Commission should be set up to redraw boundaries of constituencies on the basis of the 2031 Census
- And then a State Reorganization Act be passed to split States into smaller ones
Q.With the new Parliament House, the role of the Presiding officers of the Houses is going to be more challenging. Discuss, how.
Back in news
- PM recently inaugurated a brand new Parliament Annexe building that will afford our lawmakers more space and enable better functioning.
- In a few years from now, we might actually need a new building for Parliament altogether due to the likely increase in a number of seats in both Houses after the lifting of the freeze imposed by the 42nd Constitutional Amendment Act, 1976, which is due in 2026.
What is Delimitation? Why is it needed?
- Delimitation is the act of redrawing boundaries of Lok Sabha and state Assembly seats to represent changes in population.
- In this process, the number of seats allocated to different states in Lok Sabha and the total number seats in a Legislative Assembly may also change.
- The main objective of delimitation is to provide equal representation to equal segments of a population.
- It also aims at a fair division of geographical areas so that one political party doesn’t have an advantage over others in an election.
Why such debate?
- The 84th Amendment to the Constitution in 2002 had put a freeze on the delimitation of Lok Sabha and State Assembly constituencies till the first Census after 2026.
- While the current boundaries were drawn on the basis of the 2001 Census, the number of Lok Sabha seats and State Assembly seats remained frozen on the basis of the 1971 Census.
- The population according to the last census preceding the freeze was 50 crore, which in 50 years has grown to 130 crores.
- This has caused a massive asymmetry in the political representation in the country.
Why there are fewer delimitations?
- The Constitution mandates that the number of Lok Sabha seats allotted to a state would be such that the ratio between that number and the population of the state is, as far as practicable, the same for all states.
- Although unintended, this provision implied that states that took little interest in population control could end up with a greater number of seats in Parliament.
- The southern states that promoted family planning faced the possibility of having their seats reduced.
- To allay these fears, the Constitution was amended during Indira Gandhi’s Emergency rule in 1976 to suspend delimitation until 2001.
- Despite the embargo, there were a few occasions that called for readjustment in the number of Parliament and Assembly seats allocated to a state.
Background
- According to Article 81 of the Constitution — as it stood before the 42nd CAA 1976 — the Lok Sabha was to comprise of not more than 550 members.
- Clause (2) of Article 81 provided that there shall be allotted to each State a number of MPs in such manner that the ratio between that number and the population of the State is the same for all States.
- Further, clause (3) defined the expression “population” for the purposes of Article 81 to mean the population as ascertained at the last preceding census of which the relevant figures have been published.
Dilemma over delimitation
- States which took a lead in population control faced the prospect of their number of seats getting reduced and States which had higher population figures stood to gain by increase in the number of seats in Lok Sabha.
- As a result of the freezing of the allocation of seats, the allocation done on the basis of the 1971 Census continues to hold good for the present population figures.
- According to the 2011 Census, the population of our country stands at 121 crores with a registered electorate of 83.41 crores.
- Basing the 1971 Census figure of 54.81 crores to represent today’s population presents a distorted version of our democratic polity and is contrary to what is mandated under Article 81 of the Constitution.
- So when the first Census figure will be available after 2026 — that is, in 2031 — a fresh delimitation will have to do which will dramatically alter the present arrangement of seat allocation to the States in Parliament.
Acquainting more MPs: A big challenge
- One question that has to be addressed is how the Presiding Officers of the Houses/Legislatures will deal with such a large number of members to capture the attention of the Speaker to raise issues in the House.
- Even with the current strength of 543 members, the Speaker finds it extremely difficult to conduct the proceedings of the House.
- Members do not show much heed to the appeals of the Speaker, thereby making smooth conduct of House proceedings a difficult affair.
- The Speaker’s directions and rulings are not shown proper respect, and disruptions of proceedings aggravate the problem.
- The sudden increase in numbers will render the task of the Speaker more difficult and onerous.
Conclusion
- While 2026 is still a few years away. But we need to be clear on how to deal with the problems that are likely to arise, we will be forced to postpone the lifting of the freeze to a future date as was done in 2001.
- This will only postpone the problem for which we must find a solution sooner or later.
- Even the various proposals for electoral reforms which have been recommended by various Commissions over the past decade do not address these issues.
- These are challenges which our political leaders have to address in the immediate future.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: NFHS
Mains level: Data on India's health
- Current times require integrated and coordinated efforts from all health institutions, academia and other partners directly or indirectly associated with the health care services to make these services accessible, affordable and acceptable to all.
- The data in NFHS-5 gives requisite input for strengthening existing programmes and evolving new strategies for policy intervention, therefore government and authorities should take steps to further improve the condition of women in India.
The first phase of the fifth National Family Health Survey (NFHS-5) has been released.
Do you think that India is still the sick man of Asia?
What is the National Family Health Survey?
- The NFHS is a large-scale, multi-round survey conducted in a representative sample of households throughout India.
- Three rounds of the survey have been conducted since the first survey in 1992-93.
- The survey provides state and national information for India on fertility, infant and child mortality, the practice of family planning, maternal and child health, reproductive health, nutrition, etc.
- The Ministry of Health has designated the International Institute for Population Sciences (IIPS) Mumbai, as the nodal agency, responsible for providing coordination and technical guidance for the survey.
Part I of the Survey
- The latest data pertains to 17 states — including Maharashtra, Bihar, and West Bengal — and five UTs (including J&K) and, crucially, captures the state of health in these states before the Covid pandemic.
- Phase 2 of the survey, which will cover other states such as Uttar Pradesh, Punjab and Madhya Pradesh, was delayed due to the pandemic and its results are expected to be made available in May 2021.
Highlights of the NHFS-5
- The NFHS-5 contains detailed information on population, health, and nutrition for India and its States and Union Territories.
- This is a globally important data source as it is comparable to Demographic Health Surveys (DHS) Programme of 90 other countries on several key indicators.
- It can be used for cross country comparisons and development indices.
Good news
- Several of the 22 states and UTs, for which findings have been released, showed an increase in childhood immunisation.
- There has been a drop in neonatal mortality in 15 states, a decline in infant mortality rates in 18 states and an increase in the female population (per 1,000 males) in 17 states.
- Fertility rate decline and increase in contraceptive use were registered in almost all the states surveyed showing trends of population stabilization.
Some bad news
- There has been an increase in stunting and wasting among children in several states, a rise in obesity in women and children, and an increase in spousal violence.
- In several other development indicators, the needle has hardly moved since the last NFHS-4.
(1) Hunger Alarm
- The proportion of stunted children has risen in several of the 17 states and five UTs surveyed, putting India at risk of reversing previous gains in child nutrition made over previous decades.
- Worryingly, that includes richer states like Kerala, Gujarat, Maharashtra, Goa and Himachal Pradesh.
- The share of underweight and wasted children has also gone up in the majority of the states.
(2) Fertility Rate
The total fertility rate (TFR) is defined as the average number of children that would be born to a woman by the time she ends childbearing.
- The TFR across most Indian states declined in the past half-a-decade, more so among urban women, according to the latest NFHS-5.
- Sikkim recorded the lowest TFR, with one woman bearing 1.1 children on average; Bihar recorded the highest TFR of three children per woman.
- In 19 of the 22 surveyed states, TFRs were found to be ‘below-replacement’ — a woman bore less than two children on average through her reproductive life.
- India’s population is stabilizing, as the total fertility rate (TFR) has decreased across majority of the states.
(3) Under-5 and infant mortality rate (IMR)
- The Under 5 and infant mortality rate (IMR) has come down but in parallel recorded an increase in underweight and severely wasted under 5 children among 22 states that were surveyed.
- These states are Goa, Gujarat, Himachal Pradesh, Kerala, Maharashtra, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, Telangana, Tripura, West Bengal, Lakshadweep and Dadra & Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu.
For the first time: Gaps in internet use
- In 2019, for the first time, the NFHS-5, which collects data on key indicators on population health, family planning and nutrition, sought details on two specific indicators: Percentage of women and men who have ever used the Internet.
- On average, less than 3 out of 10 women in rural India and 4 out of 10 women in urban India ever used the Internet, according to the survey.
- First, only an average of 42.6 per cent of women ever used the Internet as against an average of 62.16 per cent among the men.
- Second, in urban India, average 56.81 per cent women ever used the Internet compared to an average of 73.76 per cent among the men.
- Third, dismal 33.94 per cent women in rural India ever used the Internet as against 55.6 per cent among men.
- In urban India, 10 states and three union territories reported more than 50 per cent women who had ever used the Internet: Goa (78.1%), Himachal Pradesh (78.9%), Kerala (64.9%), and Maharashtra (54.3%).
- The five states reporting the lowest percentage of women, whoever used the Internet in urban India were Andhra Pradesh (33.9%), Bihar (38.4%), Tripura (36.6%), Telangana (43.9%) and Gujarat (48.9%).
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Mt. Everest
Mains level: Himalayan Orogeny
China and Nepal have announced Mount Everest is 0.86 m taller than the 8,848 m accepted globally so far.
Try this PYQ:
Q.When you travel to the Himalayas, you will see the following:
- Deep gorges
- U-turn river courses
- Parallel mountain ranges
- Steep gradients causing land-sliding
Which of the above can be said to be the evidences for the Himalayas being young fold mountains?
(a) 1 and 2 only
(b) 1, 2 and 4 only
(c) 3 and 4 only
(d) 1, 2, 3 and 4
Scaling a mountains’ height
- The basic principle that was used earlier is very simple and uses only trigonometry which most of us are familiar with, or at least can recall.
- There are three sides and three angles in any triangle. If we know any three of these quantities, provided one of them is a side, all the others can be calculated.
- In a right-angled triangle, one of the angles is already known, so if we know any other angle and one of the sides, the others can be found out.
- This principle can be applied for measuring the height of any object that does not offer the convenience of dropping a measuring tape from top to bottom.
Accuracy issues
- For small hills and mountains, whose top can be observed from relatively close distances, this can give quite precise measurements.
- But for Mount Everest and other high mountains, there are some other complications.
- These again arise from the fact that we do not know where the base of the mountain is.
Measuring against sea level
- Generally, for practical purposes, the heights are measured above mean sea level (MSL). Moreover, we need to find the distance to the mountain.
- This is done through a painstaking process called high-precision levelling. Starting from the coastline, we calculate step by step the difference in height, using special instruments.
- This is how we know the height of any city from mean sea level.
Adjusting gravitation anomaly
- But there is one additional problem to be contended with — gravity. Gravity is different in different places. It means that even sea level cannot be considered to be uniform at all places.
- So, the local gravity is also measured to calculate the local sea level. Nowadays sophisticated portable gravitometers are available that can be carried even to mountain peaks.
Technology solutions
- These days GPS is widely used to determine coordinates and heights, even of mountains.
- But, GPS gives precise coordinates of the top of a mountain relative to an ellipsoid which is an imaginary surface mathematically modelled to represent Earth.
- This surface differs from the mean sea level. Similarly, overhead flying planes equipped with laser beams (LiDAR) can also be used to get the coordinates.
How accurate are China/Nepal’s apprehensions?
- Considering that during 1952-1954, when neither GPS and satellite techniques were available nor the sophisticated gravimeters, the task of determining the height of Mount Everest was not easy.
- Nepal and China have said they have measured Mount Everest to be 86 cm higher than the 8,848 m that it was known to be.
- But these have been explained in terms of geological processes that might be altering the height of Everest. The accuracy of the 1954 result has never been questioned.
- Most scientists now believe that the height of Mount Everest is increasing at a very slow rate. This is because of the northward movement of the Indian tectonic plate that is pushing the surface up.
- Big earthquake, like the one that happened in Nepal in 2015, can alter the heights of mountains. Such events have happened in the past.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Project 17A
Mains level: India's maritime capability
Himgiri, the first of the three stealth frigates being built by Garden Reach Shipbuilders and Engineers (GRSE), Kolkata, under Project 17A for the Navy, was launched into the water.
Try this question:
Q“To be secure on Land, we must be Supreme at Sea”. In this context, discuss why India is primarily a Maritime Nation?
Project 17A
- The coveted ‘Project 17A’ was cleared by the govt back in 2015.
- It involves the building of seven stealth frigates at an estimated cost of Rs 50,000 crore.
- Of these seven, the contract for three frigates was awarded to GRSE while the contract for another four frigates was awarded to Government-owned Mazagon Docks Limited (MDL) which is based in Mumbai.
- These frigates will come armed with advanced state-of-the-art sensors and boast of top-notch stealth features.
- They will represent the most advanced class of major surface warships for the Indian Navy in a decade, also featuring BrahMos supersonic surface-to-surface missiles.
- These will also have torpedoes and rockets to hit submarines and rapid-fire guns to destroy anti-ship missiles as well as a heavy main gun to engage ships and coastal target.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Merger of Black Holes
Mains level: Black holes and gravitation waves
NASA’s Chandra X-ray Observatory shared the images of Galaxy NGC 6240 that contains two supermassive Black Holes in the process of merging.
From astronomers to general space enthusiasts, black holes are a topic of interest for many. If you’re someone who spends a lot of their time researching facts about this region of space-time or watching videos on the same, then you must check out this news.
Galaxy NGC 6240
- The black holes, located in Galaxy NGC 6240 are 3,000 light-years apart and they will drift together to form a larger black hole millions of years from now.
- As per a blog post by the observatory, the merging process began some 30 million years ago
- The pairs of massive black holes in the process of merging are expected to be the most powerful sources of gravitational waves in the Universe.
- Seen as the bright ‘dots’ near the centre of this image, the black holes are just 3,000 light-years apart.
About Chandra X-ray Observatory
- It is a telescope specially designed to detect X-ray emissions from very hot regions of the universe such as exploded stars, clusters of galaxies, and matter around black holes.
- Orbiting at 139,000 km in space, the telescope was launched aboard the Space Shuttle Columbia during STS-93 by NASA in 1999.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Himalayan Serow
Mains level: NA
A Himalayan Serow has been sighted for the first time in the Himalayan cold desert region.
Try this MCQ:
Q.In which one of the following State, the Rupi Bhaba Wildlife Sanctuary is located?
(a) Himachal Pradesh
(b) Manipur
(c) Meghalaya
(d) Uttarakhand
Himalayan Serow
- Himalayan Serow resembles a cross between a goat, a donkey, a cow, and a pig.
- They are herbivores and are typically found at altitudes between 2,000 metres and 4,000 metres (6,500 to 13,000 feet).
- They are known to be found in eastern, central, and western Himalayas, but not in the Trans Himalayan region.
- They are a medium-sized mammal with a large head, thick neck, short limbs, long, mule-like ears, and a coat of dark hair.
- There are several species of Serow s, and all of them are found in Asia.
Its’ conservation status
- According to the IUCN, Himalayan Serow s have experienced significant declines in population size, range size and habitat in the last decade, and this is expected to continue due to intensive human impact.
- Previously assessed as ‘near threatened’, the Himalayan Serow is now been categorised as ‘vulnerable’ in the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species.
- It is listed under Schedule I of The Wildlife Protection Act, 1972, which provides absolute protection.
What is so unusual this time?
- The animal was spotted by locals and wildlife officials at a riverside rocky wall near Hurling village in Spiti, Himachal Pradesh.
- This is the first recorded human sighting of the Serow in Himachal Pradesh.
- Serow s are generally not found at this altitude, and never before has a Serow been seen in the Himalayan cold desert.
- Wildlife officials believe this particular animal may have strayed into the Spiti valley from the Rupi Bhaba Wildlife Sanctuary in adjoining Kinnaur.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Not Much
Mains level: Anthropogenic threats to Himalayas
By planning hydropower projects, India and China are placing the region at great risk.
China’s new hydropower project
- Recently China announced that it is planning to build a major hydropower project as a part of its 14th Five-Year Plan (2021-25), on the YarlungZanbo River, in Mêdog County in Tibet.
- The hydropower generation station is expected to provide 300 billion kWh of electricity annually.
- The Chinese authorities say the project will help the country realize its goal of reaching a carbon emission peak before 2030 and carbon neutrality before 2060.
Misadventures
- Such ‘super’ dams projects are very unviable as they are being planned in an area that is geologically unstable.
- There are two hydropower projects being built in Arunachal Pradesh on the tributaries of the Brahmaputra: the 600 MW Kameng project on the Bichom and Tenga Rivers and the 2,000 MW Subansiri Lower Hydroelectricity Project.
- China has already completed 11 out of 55 projects that are planned for the Tibetan region. In this race, the two countries overestimate their economic potential and grossly underestimate the earthquake vulnerability of the region.
- High seismic zones coincide with areas of high population concentration in the Himalayan region where landslides and glacial lake outburst floods are common.
Practice Question:‘’Carbon neutrality should not be at the expense of the environment.” Elaborate with proper examples.
Havocs created due to these earthquakes
- About 15% of the great earthquakes of the 20th century (with a magnitude of more than 8) occurred in the Himalayan region.
- The northeast Himalayan band has experienced several large earthquakes of magnitude 7 and above in the last 100 years, more than the share from other parts of the Himalayas.
- The 1950 earthquake just south of the McMahon Line was of 6 magnitudes. It was the largest continental event ever recorded and devastated Tibet and Assam.
- The earthquake killed thousands, and caused extensive landslides, widespread land level changes and gaping fissures. It resulted in water and mud oozing in the Himalayan ranges and the upper Assam valley.
- The earthquake was felt over an extensive area comprising parts of India, Tibet, erstwhile East Pakistan and Myanmar.
- The2015 Gorkha earthquake of magnitude 7.8 in central Nepal resulted in huge losses in the hydropower sector. Nepal lost about 20% of its hydropower capacity consequent to the earthquake.
- About 30 projects with a capacity of 270 MW, mostly located along the steep river valleys, were damaged.
What are the issues of high concern?
- The main mechanisms that contributed to the vulnerability of hydropower projects were found to be landslides, which depend on the intensity of seismic ground shaking and slope gradients.
- Heavy siltation from giant landslides expected in the project sites and headwater region from future earthquakes will severely reduce the water-holding capacity and life expectancy of such dams.
- Even without earthquakes, the steep slopes made of soft rocks are bound to slide due to deforestation and road-building. These activities will get intensified as part of the dam-building initiatives.
- Desilting of dams is not an economically viable proposition and is technologically challenging.
A transnational asset under threat
- The Himalayan range is a transnational mountain chain and is the chief driver of the Asian climate.
- It is a source for numerous Asian river systems and glaciers which are now under the threat of degradation and retreat due to global warming; these river systems provide water for billions of people.
- The ongoing low-level military confrontations between these two countries have led to demands for further infrastructural development on both sides, including all-weather roads, much to the peril of regional biodiversity and the livelihoods of the indigenous population.
- The Himalayas have seen the highest rate of deforestation and land-use changes.
Way Forward
- There is a need for India and China to sit together to deliberate on the consequences of such misadventures in an area where massive earthquakes are bound to take place.
- The upper Himalayas should be converted into a nature reserve by an international agreement.
- The possibility of a Himalayan River Commission involving all the headwater and downstream countries needs to be explored.
- There is a need to understand that – ‘’Carbon neutrality should not be at the expense of the environment’’.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Not Much
Mains level: Nursing education in India
The year 2020 has been designated as “International Year of the Nurse and the Midwife”.
But the nursing education in India displays a grim situation. It suffers poor quality of training, inequitable distribution, and non-standardized practices.
Nursing sector in India
- Nurses and midwives will be central to achieving universal health coverage in India.
- India’s nursing workforce is about two-thirds of its health workforce. Its ratio of 7 nurses per 1,000 population is 43% less than the World Health Organization norm; it needs 2.4 million nurses to meet the norm.
- The sector is dogged by structural challenges that lead to poor quality of training, inequitable distribution, and non-standardized practices.
Uneven regulation
Nursing education in India has a wide array of certificate, diploma, and degree programmes for clinical and non-clinical nursing roles.
- The Indian Nursing Council regulates nursing education through prescription, inspection, examination, and certification. 91% of the nursing education institutions are private and weakly regulated. The quality of training of nurses is diminished by the uneven and weak regulation.
- The current nursing education is outdated and fails to cater to the practice needs. The education, including re-training, is not linked to the roles and their career progression in the nursing practice.
- There are insufficient postgraduate courses to develop skills in specialities and address critical faculty shortages both in terms of quality and quantity.
- These factors have led to gaps in skills and competencies, with no clear career trajectory for nurses.
- Multiple entries point to the nursing courses and lack of integration of the diploma and degree courses diminish the quality of training.
- A common entrance exam, a national licence exit exam for entry into practice, and periodic renewal of licence linked with continuing nursing education would significantly streamline and strengthen nursing education.
- Transparent accreditation, benchmarking, and ranking of nursing institutions too would improve the quality.
- The number of nursing education institutions has been increasing steadily but there are vast inequities in their distribution. Around 62% of them are situated in southern India.
- There is little demand for postgraduate courses. Recognizing the need for speciality courses in clinical nursing 12 PG diploma courses were rolled out but the higher education qualification is not recognized by the recruiters.
- The faculty positions vacant in nursing college and schools are around 86% and 80%, respectively.
Gaps in education, services
- There is a lack of job differentiation between diploma, graduate, and postgraduate nurses regarding their pay, parity, and promotion.
- The higher qualifications are underutilized, leading to low demand for postgraduate courses.
- Those with advanced degrees seek employment in educational institutions or migrate abroad which has led to an acute dearth of qualified nurses in the country.
- Small private institutions with less than 50 beds recruit candidates without formal nursing education. They are offered courses of three to six months for non-clinical ancillary nursing roles and are paid very little.
- The Indian Nursing Act primarily revolves around nursing education and does not provide any policy guidance about the roles and responsibilities of nurses in various cadres.
- Nurses in India have no guidelines on the scope of their practice and have no prescribed standards of care and is a major reason for the low legitimacy of the nursing practice and the profession. This may endanger patient safety.
- The Consumer Protection Act holds only the doctor and the hospital liable for medico-legal issues; nurses are out of the purview of the Act. This is contrary to the practices in developed countries where nurses are legally liable for errors in their work.
Institutional reforms required
- The governance of nursing education and practice must be clarified and made current.
- The Indian Nursing Council Act of 1947must be amended to explicitly state clear norms for service and patient care, fix the nurse to patient ratio, staffing norms and salaries.
- The jurisdictions of the Indian Nursing Council and the State nursing councils must be explained and coordinated so that they are synergistic.
- Incentives to pursue advanced degrees to match their qualification, clear career paths, the opportunity for leadership roles, and improvements in the status of nursing as a profession should be done.
- A live registry of nurses, positions, and opportunities should be a top priority to tackle the demand-supply gap in this sector.
- The public-private partnership between private nursing schools/colleges and public health facilities is another strategy to enhance nursing education. NITI Aayog has recently formulated a framework to develop a model agreement for nursing education.
- The Government has also announced supporting such projects through a Viability Gap Funding.
Practice Question:
Q. Discuss the various issues related to nursing sector in India and measures to be taken to address them.
A Bill that could spell hope
- The disabling environment prevalent in the system has led to the low status of nurses in the hierarchy of health-care professionals. In fact, nursing has lost the appeal as a career option.
- The National Nursing and Midwifery Commission Bill currently under consideration should hopefully address some of the issues highlighted.
- These disruptions are more relevant than ever in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Not Much
Mains level: Concerns of farmers other than MSP
The standoff between farmers and the government continues even after a few rounds of discussion.
Un-timely reforms
- Currently, the country was struggling with novel coronavirus-caused lockdowns, supply disruptions, job losses and falling incomes in an economy.
- The reforms embedded in the three Acts are unlikely to help resolve the structural issues facing Indian agriculture, even their withdrawal is unlikely to change the ground reality.
Farmers protest continues
- The immediate trigger for the current protests is the enactment of the three Acts, on agricultural marketing, contract farming and stocking of agricultural produce, which deregulates the existing Acts on these.
- Farmer unions have rejected the proposal and continue to demand complete withdrawal of the three Acts along with making MSP a guarantee.
Government for negotiations
- The latest proposal by the government indicates its willingness to amend the three agriculture-related Acts passed in September.
- The government has proposed amendments which will empower the States to frame rules the contentious issues of registration of private traders, levy of taxes on trade outside the Agricultural Produce Market Committee (APMC) mandis.
- Similar assurances have been given on access to the judiciary for dispute resolution and continuation of the Minimum Support Price (MSP) mechanism.
Many protests, one thread
- The last four years have seen a series of large protests in most of the States.
- For example, a group of farmers from Tamil Nadu camped in Delhi for over 100 days, Maharashtra was witness to the ‘Kisan Long March’ of farmers on more than one occasion, protests erupted in Rajasthan, UP, Haryana and MP.
- The latest round of protests may have seen spirited protests from farmers from Punjab and Haryana but has found the support of farmers from the other States as well.
- The common thread in all these protests — of declining agricultural incomes, stagnant wages and withdrawal of state support to agriculture.
Changing faces of agriculture
- The real issue is the lack of remunerative prices for a majority of agricultural commodities, a sharp increase in price variability in recent years, and an unpredictable and arbitrary government policy regime.
- The other major problem is the changing nature of agriculture which has seen increased dependence on markets, increasing mechanization along with increasing monetization of the agrarian economy.
- The increased dependence on markets has contributed to increasing variability in output prices.
- Limited government intervention in protecting farmers’ income and stabilizing prices through MSP-led procurement operations made the increased variability in frequency as well as its spread.
- Other than rice and wheat — and to some sporadic instances, of pulses — most crops suffer from inadequate intervention from MSP operations.
- Even these procurement operations are unable to stabilize prices with falling demand and a slowing economy. For example, wheat has seen a steady decline in year-on-year inflation based on Wholesale Price Index (WPI).
- Uneven nature of procurement in some states is also responsible to arrest the decline in prices. Crops like paddy, maize have seen in many States significantly lower market prices than the MSP.
Factors behind vulnerability
- Increasing mechanization and monetization have led to an increase in the cash requirement.
- Most of these are met by non-institutional sources including middlemen which have contributed to the rising cost of cultivation and an increase in loan defaults.
- The demand for loan waivers is unlikely to subside with the rising cost of inputs.
- These trends have accentuated after 2010-11 when the Nutrient Based Subsidy (NBS) for fertilizers regime led to an increase in fertilizer prices.
- The withdrawal of diesel subsidy and a rise in electricity prices also contributed to making agriculture unviable.
- The government has declined the agricultural investment in the first four years which resulted in rising input costs and falling output prices.
- The shocks of demonetization and the lockdown only increased the uncertainty and vulnerability in the agricultural sector both on input and output prices.
What lies ahead?
- The demand for making MSP a guarantee for private trade is meaningless if the government is unable to ensure procurement for a majority of the 23 crops for which it announces MSP.
- Thus, the withdrawal of the three Acts by the government will only seem to offer a temporary truce.
Policy overhaul needed
- The existing policy framework with an excessive focus on inflation management and obsession with the fiscal deficit will likely lead to lower support from the government either in price stabilization or reduction in the cost of cultivation through fiscal spending.
- The agricultural sector needs a comprehensive policy overhaul to recognize the new challenges of agriculture which are diversifying and getting integrated with the non-agricultural sector.
- This not only entails a better understanding of the structural issues but also innovative thinking to protect farmers’ livelihood from the uncertainty of these changes.
- Above all, it requires financial support and institutional structures to support the agricultural sector and protect it. Only this can lead to the government’s dream of doubling the farmers’ income.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Hydroponics
Mains level: Hydroponics and its utility
This newscard is an excerpt from the original article published in TH.
Many questions related to agricultural techniques are being asked in the Prelims. UPSC has done away with traditional crop-related questions for the past two years.
For example, see this question from CSP 2020:
Q.What are the advantages of fertigation in agriculture?
- Controlling the alkalinity of irrigation water is possible.
2. Efficient application of Rock Phosphate and all other phosphatic fertilizers is possible.
3. Increased availability of nutrients to plants is possible.
4. Reduction in the leaching of chemical nutrients is possible.
Select the correct answer using the code given below:
(a) 1, 2 and 3 only
(b) 1,2 and 4 only
(c) 1,3 and 4 only
(d) 2, 3 and 4 only
What is hydroponics?
Hydroponics is the cultivation of plants without using soil.
- Hydroponic flowers, herbs, and vegetables are planted in inert growing media and supplied with nutrient-rich solutions, oxygen, and water.
- This system fosters rapid growth, stronger yields, and superior quality.
- When a plant is grown in soil, its roots are perpetually searching for the necessary nutrition to support the plant.
- If a plant’s root system is exposed directly to water and nutrition, the plant does not have to exert any energy in sustaining itself.
- The energy the roots would have expended acquiring food and water can be redirected into the plant’s maturation. As a result, leaf growth flourishes as does the blooming of fruits and flowers.
Why Hydroponics?
- Plants sustain themselves by a process called photosynthesis. But they do not need soil to photosynthesize.
- They need the soil to supply them with water and nutrients.
- When nutrients are dissolved in water they can be applied directly to the plant’s root system by flooding, misting, or immersion.
- Hydroponic innovations have proven direct exposure to nutrient-filled water can be a more effective and versatile method of growth than traditional irrigation.
How does hydroponics work?
- Hydroponic systems work by allowing minute control over environmental conditions like temperature and pH balance and maximized exposure to nutrients and water.
- It administers nutrient solutions tailored to the needs of the particular plant being grown.
- They allow you to control exactly how much light the plants receive and for how long.
- pH levels can be monitored and adjusted. In a highly customized and controlled environment, plant growth accelerates.
Components of Hydroponics
To maintain a flourishing hydroponic system, we need to become acquainted with a few components that make it run efficiently.
(1) Growing media
- Hydroponic plants are often grown in inert media that support the plant’s weight and anchor its root structure.
- Growing media is the substitute for soil, however, it does not provide any independent nutrition to the plant.
- Instead, this porous media retains moisture and nutrients from the nutrient solution which it then delivers to the plant.
(2) Air stones and air pumps
- Plants that are submerged in water can quickly drown if the water is not sufficiently aerated. Air stones disperse tiny bubbles of dissolved oxygen throughout your nutrient solution reservoir.
- These bubbles also help evenly distribute the dissolved nutrients in the solution. Air stones do not generate oxygen on their own.
- They need to be attached to an external air pump via opaque food grade plastic tubing
(3) Net pots
- Net pots are mesh planters that hold hydroponic plants. The latticed material allows roots to grow out of the sides and bottom of the pot, giving greater exposure to oxygen and nutrients.
- Net pots also provide superior drainage compared to traditional clay or plastic pots.
Benefits
By controlling the environment of the plant in hydroponics, many risk factors are reduced:
- Plants grown in gardens and fields are introduced to a host of variables that negatively impact their health and growth. Fungus in the soil can spread diseases to plants.
- Wildlife like rabbits can plunder ripening vegetables from your garden.
- Pests like locusts can descend on crops and obliterate them in an afternoon. Hydroponic systems end the unpredictability of growing plants outdoors and in the earth.
- Without the mechanical resistance of the soil, seedlings can mature much faster.
- By eliminating pesticides, hydroponics produces much healthier and high-quality fruits and vegetables. Without obstacles, plants are free to grow vigorously and rapidly.
Various limitations
- A hydroponic system isn’t cheap
- Constant monitoring is required
- Micro-organisms that are water-based can creep in rather easily
- Growing a hydroponic garden demands an expertise
- Production is limited compared to field conditions
- If a disease appears, all plants in the system will be affected
- Without soil to serve as a buffer if the system fails plant death will occur rapidly
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Shola forests, Sky Islands
Mains level: Western Ghats and its biodiversity richness
Tropical montane grasslands (TMG) in the Shola Sky Islands of the Western Ghats have suffered big losses due to invasions by exotic trees.
Try this PYQ:
Q.In India, which type of forest among the following occupies the largest area?
(a) Montane Wet Temperate Forest
(b) Sub – tropical Dry Evergreen Forest
(c) Tropical Moist Deciduous Forest
(d) Tropical Wet Evergreen Forest
Sky Islands
- “Sky islands” are the tops of tall mountains that become environmentally isolated from each other even if they are close together, geographically speaking.
- The Western Ghats are a mountain chain in southwest India home to spectacular and unique sky islands.
- The peaks of the Western Ghats, ranging between 3,000 and 8,500 feet above sea level, host an almost unbelievable array of microclimates, looking like “patches of forests floating in a sea of grasslands.
What are TMGs?
- TMG are high elevation grasslands forming only 2% of all grasslands in the world.
- Among their functions is regulating the global carbon cycle and serving as a source of water to downstream communities.
- Researchers say grasslands do not benefit from conservation and restoration efforts afforded to tropical montane forests, possibly due to limited information.
Treasures of Shola
- One of the specific habitats unique to the sky islands of this area is a type of low-temperature, high-humidity tropical cloud forest full of stunted trees mixed with grasslands called the Shola.
- The Shola forests of South derive their name from the Tamil word solai, which means a ‘tropical rain forest’.
- Classified as ‘Southern Montane Wet Temperate Forest’ the Sholas are found in the upper reaches of the Nilgiris, Anamalais, Palni hills, Kalakadu, Mundanthurai and Kanyakumari in the states of Tamil Nadu and Kerala.
- These forests are found sheltered in valleys with sufficient moisture and proper drainage, at an altitude of more than 1,500 metres.
Various threats to them
- Loss of grasslands due to invasive exotic trees is a “novel threat” through the establishment and expansion of exotic tree plantations.
- These exotic trees include acacias, pines and eucalyptus, shrinking the range sizes of endemic species, including plants, birds, amphibians and mammals.
- In the Western Ghats, 23% of montane grasslands were reportedly converted into invasive exotic tree cover over a period of 44 years.
- Attempts to manage invasive exotic trees in montane grasslands incorporated approaches that include prevention and mechanical, chemical and biological control.
- For invasive species such as Acacia mearnsii that grow rapidly and disperse seeds widely, removing mature trees is often ineffective.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Epigenetics
Mains level: Genetics and human health
Researchers have found the cause of vision impairment due to ageing as the accumulation of “epigenetic noise” that disrupts gene expression patterns leading to changes in inherent DNA function
Genetics is an all-time favourite of UPSC. Every year you can find a question in prelims. Try this one from CSP 2020:
Q.Consider the following statements:
- Genetic changes can be introduced in the cells that produce eggs or sperms of a prospective parent
- A person’s genome can be edited before birth at the early embryonic stage.
- Human-induced pluripotent stem cells can be injected into the embryo of a pig.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
(a) 1 only
(b) 2 and 3 only
(c) 2 only
(d) 1, 2 and 3
What is Epigenetics?
- Epigenetics is the study of how your behaviours and environment can cause changes that affect the way your genes work.
- Unlike genetic changes, epigenetic changes are reversible and do not change your DNA sequence, but they can change how your body reads a DNA sequence.
- Environmental stimuli can cause genes to be turned off or turned on.
- This determines a cell’s specialization (e.g., skin cell, blood cell, hair cell, liver cells, etc.) as a fetus develops into a baby through gene expression (active) or silencing (dormant); and nurture.
- This normal epigenetic control on our genes can get altered during normal ageing, stress and disease conditions.
Cellular regulators
- The functioning of cells and tissues in our body are controlled by thousands of proteins that regulate various cellular functions.
- These proteins are in turn encoded by the respective genes which are a part of our genome or the cellular DNA.
- Any minor or major changes to our inherited DNA (addition or mutation) can result in altered protein production, which in turn leads to defective cellular functions.
- This forms the basis for many heritable genetic disorders affecting mankind.
A trigger for various inactivities
- Apart from DNA or protein sequence level alterations, there are other biochemical changes that influence and dictate if a gene should be active or inactive in a given cell type.
- For example, the gene that encodes for the insulin protein is present in the exact form, in every cell of the body.
- However, it is allowed to express only in the insulin-secreting beta cells of the pancreas and is kept inactive in the rest of the cells of the body.
- This phenomenon is tightly regulated by a combination of regulatory proteins that changes the expressivity of the gene.
- Also, the histone proteins that bind the DNA and help to compactly wrap it inside the chromosomes can undergo chemical modifications such as methylations and acetylations on different lysine amino acids within the protein.
- These modifications both on the DNA and its associated proteins alter the chromosomal conformations and regulate gene expression.
- These changes can either unwind the DNA and allow gene expression or can compact the DNA and render the genes in the region inactive or silent.
Epigenetics and the human eye
- The human (and mammalian) eye is a remarkable organ in the course of evolution which has allowed us to “see” the external world clearly and in colour.
- Earlier forms, such as microbes and plants, reacted to light in other ways (for absorption and use, such as photosynthesis).
- The front part of the human eye (cornea, lens and the vitreous humour gel) is transparent, colourless and helps focus the incoming light into the retina, helping us see colour.
- It is the retina that sends the message to the brain.
- Its main component, called the retinal ganglion cells (RGC) are the ones that help in this process of sending the message in the form of electrical signals, called neurons or nerve cells.
- Thus, RGCs are the ones that convert optics into electronics.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: ICDS, Matru Sahyogini Samitis Scheme
Mains level: Not Much
The MP government has issued an order for the appointment of committees led by mothers to ensure better monitoring of services delivered at Anganwadi or day-care centres across the State.
Try this PYQ:
Q.Which of the following are the objectives of ‘National Nutrition Mission’?
- To create awareness relating to malnutrition among pregnant women and lactating mothers.
- To reduce the incidence of anaemia among young children, adolescent girls and women.
- To promote the consumption of millets, coarse cereals and unpolished rice.
- To promote the consumption of poultry eggs.
Select the correct answer using the code given below:
(a) 1 and 2 only
(b) 1, 2 and 3 only
(c) 1, 2 and 4 only
(d) 3 and 4 only
Matru Sahyogini Samitis
- Called ‘Matru Sahyogini Samiti’ or Mothers’ Cooperation Committees, these will comprise 10 mothers at each Anganwadi centres.
- They would be representing the concerns of different sets of beneficiaries under the Integrated Child Development Services, or National Nutrition Mission.
- Beneficiaries’ would include children between six months to three years, children between three years and six years, adolescent girls and pregnant women and lactating mothers.
- These mothers will keep a watch on weekly ration distribution to them as well as suggest nutritious and tasteful recipes for meals served to children at the centres.
- The move is being taken as per the mandate of the National Food Security Act, 2013 (NFSA).
Its’ functioning
- The committees will include mothers of beneficiary children as well as be represented by pregnant women and lactating mothers who are enrolled under the scheme.
- The Anganwadi scheme includes a package of six services delivered at the centres, including supplementary nutrition, health services including vaccination, early education, among others.
- The Committees will also include a woman panch, women active in the community and eager to volunteer their support to the scheme, teachers from the local school, and women heads of self-help groups (SHG).
Why such a move?
- This is in a move that is aimed at strengthening community response to the problem of hunger and malnutrition in the State.
- With the help of mothers, we will be able to turn anganwadis into a community health system, a nutrition management centre, and spread awareness against social evils.
- These will turn into a model for local governance as well as allow for greater engagement between communities and the State government.
Back2Basics: Integrated Child Development Services (ICDS)
- The ICDS aims to provide food, preschool education, primary healthcare, immunization, health check-up and referral services to children under 6 years of age and their mothers.
- The scheme was launched in 1975, discontinued in 1978 by the government of Morarji Desai, and then relaunched by the Tenth Five Year Plan.
- The tenth FYP also linked ICDS to Anganwadi centres established mainly in rural areas and staffed with frontline workers.
- The ICDS provide for anganwadis or day-care centres which deliver a package of six services including:
- Immunization
- Supplementary nutrition
- Health checkup
- Referral services
- Pre-school education (Non-Formal)
- Nutrition and Health information
Implementation
- For nutritional purposes, ICDS provides 500 kilocalories (with 12-15 grams of protein) every day to every child below 6 years of age.
- For adolescent girls, it is up to 500-kilo calories with up to 25 grams of protein every day.
- The services of Immunisation, Health Check-up and Referral Services delivered through Public Health Infrastructure under the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Myristica Swamp Treefrog
Mains level: Western Ghats and its biodiversity richness
Myristica swamp treefrog, a rare arboreal (living on trees) species endemic to the Western Ghats has been recorded for the first time in Kerala’s Thrissur district.
Again, a stand-alone peculiar species is in the news. Make a special note here. Usually, note the species and its habitat location (IUCN status if available), in the purview of a generic prelims question.
Myristica Swamp Treefrog
- It bears the scientific name Mercurana myristicapalustris.
- The frog was first spotted in 2013 in the Myristica swamps of Arippa, near the Kulathupuzha Reserve Forest, in the western foothills of Agasthyamalai, in Kollam district.
- Unlike the Myristica swamp treefrog found in the foothills of the Agasthyamalai, these frogs were found to be active throughout June and early July.
Unique traits
- These frogs are rare and elusive for the reason that they are arboreal and active only for a few weeks during their breeding season.
- During this season, there is a large aggregation of males that descend from the high canopy of the trees.
- The breeding season, unlike for other frogs, starts in the pre-monsoon season (May) and ends before the monsoon becomes fully active in June.
- Before the end of the breeding season, the female frogs along with their male counterparts descend on the forest floor. The female digs the mud and lays eggs in shallow burrows in mud.
- After breeding and egg-laying, they retreat back to the high canopies of the tree and remain elusive till next breeding season.
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