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  • 27 Nov 2021
  • 33 min read
Governance

Women Related Data: NFHS 5

Why in News

Recently, the latest data from the National Family Health Survey (NFHS 2019-21) has been released.

Key Points

  • Prevalence of Child Marriage:
    • The share of women aged 20-24 who married before turning 18 has declined from 27% to 23% in the last five years.
      • Child marriage is a key determinant of high fertility, poor maternal and child health, and lower social status of women.
    • West Bengal and Bihar, with around 41% such women each, had the highest prevalence of girl child marriage.
    • The maximum reduction in the proportion of underage marriages was observed in Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, and Haryana.
  • Rampant Anaemia:
    • As many as 57% women aged 15-49 were anaemic in 2019-21, compared to 53% in 2015-16, while the same for men rose from 22.7% to 25%.
    • The most formidable increase—8.5% was observed for children aged 6-59 months (67.1%).
    • Among larger states, West Bengal and Kerala reported the highest and lowest prevalence, respectively, of anaemic women.
    • Child anaemia rates worsened the most in Assam, Mizoram, Chhattisgarh, and Odisha.
  • Improving Amenities:
    • All states, except Manipur, Meghalaya, Assam and Jharkhand, had over 90% population with access to improved drinking water sources.
    • Bihar, Jharkhand etc states had almost doubled the access since 2015-16, but most fell below the 75% mark.
  • Women who own House:
    • The number of women who own a house or land in Delhi, either alone or jointly, has significantly dipped over the past five years.
    • While the percentage of women who had a house or land registered in their name in 2015-16 was around 35%, it dipped to 22.7% in 2020-21.
  • Women who have a Bank Account:
    • It has gone up 8% and women who have a mobile phone that they use is up by 7%.
  • Access to Internet:
    • The percentage of women who have ever used the internet was around 64% as compared to 85% men. This data was not available in the previous survey.
  • Participation in the Household Participation:
    • It has gone up from around 74% in 2015-16 to 92% now. The participation of married women in household decisions includes health care for self, making major household purchases, and visits to her family or relatives, etc.
  • Out-of-Pocket Expenditure:
    • It went from Rs 8,518 to Rs 2,548 in five years. Average out-of-pocket expenditure has seen a significant improvement in the per delivery in a public health facility.
  • Rise in Obesity:
    • Obesity among both men and women has risen. While 41.3% of women are now overweight or obese, this figure is 38% for men.
    • The rise in the percentage of men who are overweight or obese, however, has been faster in men than in women.
  • High Malnutrition:
    • The share of under-five children who were stunted (too short for age), wasted (low weight for height), or underweight has declined.
    • However, every third child still suffers from chronic undernourishment, and every fifth child is acutely malnourished.
      • Stunting: Meghalaya had the prevalence, followed by Bihar while Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Jharkhand recorded declines of 5-7% since 2015-16.
      • Wasting: Bihar had the highest prevalence of underweight children, followed closely by Gujarat.

National Family Health Survey (NFHS)

  • The National Family Health Survey (NFHS) is a large-scale, multi-round survey conducted in a representative sample of households throughout India.
  • The Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MoHFW), Government of India has designated the International Institute for Population Sciences (IIPS) Mumbai, as the nodal agency for providing coordination and technical guidance for the survey.
    • IIPS collaborates with a number of Field Organizations (FO) for survey implementation.
  • 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, Anaemia, Utilization and quality of health and family planning services
  • Each successive round of the NFHS has had two specific goals:
    • To provide essential data on health and family welfare needed by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare and other agencies for policy and programme purposes.
    • To provide information on important emerging health and family welfare issues.
  • The funding for different rounds of NFHS has been provided by USAID, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, UNICEF, UNFPA, and MoHFW (Government of India).

Way Forward

  • The NFHS findings are a reminder of the urgent need to close gaps in girls’ education and address the pathetic nutritional status of women and children.
  • 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.

Source: IE

Social Justice

Women Participation in STEM

Why in News

Recently, India-Israel Women in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) conference was held.

  • The need for introducing flexible work times and gender-neutral pays to enhance women participation in STEM was highlighted.

STEM

  • About
    • The STEM acronym was introduced in 2001 by scientific administrators at the U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF).
    • The organization previously used the acronym SMET when referring to the career fields in those disciplines or a curriculum that integrated knowledge and skills from those fields.
    • It is a curriculum based on the idea of educating students in 4 specific disciplines — science, technology, engineering and mathematics — in an interdisciplinary and applied approach.
    • India is one of the countries that produce the highest number of scientists and engineers, the growth of STEM has picked up significantly over the last few years.
      • Under Article 51A of the Constitution of India, it is a duty of every citizen of India to develop the scientific temper, humanism and the spirit of inquiry and reform.
  • Significance:
    • A robust STEM education creates critical thinkers, problem-solvers, and next-generation innovators.
    • According to the National Science Foundation, it is predicted that 80% of the jobs created in the next decade will require some form of math and science skills.

Key Points

  • Participation of Women in STEM:
    • About 43% of STEM graduates in India are women, which is the highest in the world, but their share in STEM jobs in India is a mere 14%.
    • In Indian STEM, the primary concern has never been with the number of women graduates, but with the proportion of those who ultimately land STEM jobs.
    • S&T has translated into the economic sphere and institutions are structured so, Science & Technology (S&T) could become a changemaker in society by introducing flexible work times, and gender-neutral pays to enhance women participation in STEM.
    • Greater women’s participation in the tech sector will make women more strong and influential, giving a boost to their socio-economic situation in the society.
  • Reasons for the Low Participation:
    • Stereotypes: The paucity of women in STEM is not merely due to skill inadequacy, but also a result of assigned stereotypical gender roles.
    • Patriarchy: There are patriarchal attitudes in hiring practices or awarding fellowships and grants etc.
    • Society: Lack of role models, pressures to conform to societal norms and trappings of domesticity.
    • Stress: Stressors related to marriage, childbirth etc.
    • Household Responsibility: Responsibility related to running of households and elder care.
    • Physical Safety: Physical safety during the commute to work.
    • Harassment: Sexual and other types of harassment in workplaces, etc.
  • Initiatives to Promote Women Participation:
    • Vigyan Jyoti Scheme:
      • It is launched by the Department of Science & Technology (DST).
      • It is intended to create a level-playing field for the meritorious girls in high school to pursue Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) in their higher education.
      • It also offers exposure for girl students from the rural background to help to plan their journey from school to a job of their choice in the field of science.
    • GATI Scheme:
    • Knowledge Involvement Research Advancement through Nurturing (KIRAN):
      • Launched in 2014-15, the scheme provides opportunities for women scientists in moving up the academic and administrative ladder.
      • One of the programmes under the KIRAN scheme — ‘Women Scientist Scheme’ — provides career opportunities to unemployed women scientists and technologists, especially those who had a break in their career.

Way Forward

  • The problem needs to be addressed at two levels – at societal level which requires long term effort and the policy and institutional level, which can be started with immediate effect.
  • There is an immediate need to invest in supporting infrastructure, incentivising institutions to promote gender equity, transparency in decision making etc. to bridge the persisting gender imbalance in STEM majors.
  • As a first step, however, schools need to break the ‘gendered notions of intelligence’ and encourage girls not only to take science at secondary and higher secondary level but also to pursue their career in STEM.
    • This would help not only in women being able to chase their dreams but science itself would be benefitted from other points of view.
  • While the situation is definitely improving, and the increase in numbers of women in STEM is indicative of this, the road is yet long. We have a long way to go.

Source: PIB

Indian Polity

Constitution Day: 26th November

Why in News

The Ministry of Law & Justice has launched ‘Online Course on Indian Constitution’ on the eve of ‘Constitution Day’ as a part of celebrations of ‘Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav’ for 75 years of India’s Independence.

  • The online course aims to enhance the awareness of the constitutional values to understand the fundamental rights and duties.
  • It will also help the citizens familiarize with the glorious constitutional journey and to understand the supreme law of the land including the right to life, personal liberty and privacy issues.

Key Points

  • About:
    • It is celebrated on 26th November every year.
    • It is also known as National Law Day.
    • On this day in 1949, the Constituent Assembly of India formally adopted the Constitution of India that came into force on 26th January 1950.
    • The Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment on 19th November 2015, notified the decision of the Government of India to celebrate 26 November as 'Constitution Day’.
  • Framing of Constitution:
    • In 1934, M N Roy first proposed the idea of a constituent assembly.
    • Under the Cabinet Mission plan of 1946, elections were held for the formation of the constituent assembly.
    • The Constitution of India is framed by the Constituent Assembly. The Constituent Assembly of India appointed a total of 13 committees to deal with different tasks related to the framing of the constitution.
    • There were 8 major committees and the rest were minor ones. The list of major committees and their heads are mentioned below:
      • Drafting Committee – B. R. Ambedkar
      • Union Power Committee – Jawaharlal Nehru
      • Union Constitution Committee – Jawaharlal Nehru
      • Provincial Constitution Committee – Vallabhbhai Patel
      • Advisory Committee on Fundamental Rights, Minorities and Tribal and Excluded Areas – Vallabhbhai Patel.
      • Rules of Procedure Committee – Rajendra Prasad
      • States Committee (Committee for Negotiating with States) – Jawaharlal Nehru
      • Steering Committee – Rajendra Prasad
  • Facts about the Constitution of India:
    • World's lengthiest Constitution.
    • Federal System with Unitary Features.
    • Parliamentary Form of Government.
    • The framing of the Constitution took over 2 years, 11 months and 18 days.
    • The original copies of the Indian Constitution weren’t typed or printed. They have been handwritten and are now kept in a helium-filled case within the library of the Parliament.
    • Prem Bihari Narain Raizada had written the unique copies of the Structure of India.
    • Originally, the Constitution of India was written in English and Hindi.
    • The basic structure of the Indian Constitution stands on the Government of India Act, 1935.
    • The Constitution of India has also borrowed some of its features from a number of countries.

Further Reading

Source: PIB

Indian Economy

National Milk Day: 26th November

Why in News

Recently, the Ministry of Animal Husbandry & Dairying has celebrated the National Milk Day (NMD) on 26th November.

Key Points

  • About:
    • NMD is celebrated to commemorate the birth Anniversary of Dr. Verghese Kurien (Milk Man of India).
      • NMD 2021 commemorates the 100th birth anniversary of Dr. Kurien.
    • The day celebrates the importance of milk in a person’s life. And to promote the benefits related to the milk & milk industry and to create awareness among people about the importance of milk and milk products.
  • Dr. Verghese Kurien (1921-2012):
    • He is known as the ‘Father of White Revolution in India’. 
    • He is famous for his ‘Operation Flood’, which is known as the world’s largest agricultural program. 
    • He established 30 institutions that are run by various farmers and workers. 
    • He also played a key role in the establishment and success of Amul Brand. 
    • Because of his efforts only, India became the largest producer of milk in 1998, surpassing the U.S.
    • He also helped manage the Delhi Milk Scheme and corrected the prices. He also helped India become self-sufficient in edible oils.
    • He was honoured with several awards, including the Ramon Magsaysay Award (1963), Krishi Ratna (1986) and World Food Prize (1989).
    • He is also the recipient of India's highest civilian awards- Padma Shri (1965), Padma Bhushan (1966) and Padma Vibhushan (1999).
  • Operation Flood:
    • About:
      • It was launched on 13th January, 1970. It was the world's largest dairy development programme.
      • Within 30 years, the operation helped double milk available per person in India, making dairy farming India's largest self-sustainable rural employment generator.
      • The operation gave farmers direct control over the resources they create, helping them direct their own development. This was achieved not only by mass production, but by production by the masses. It is also now known as the "White Revolution".
    • Phases of the White Revolution:
      • Phase I (1970-1980): This phase was financed by the sale of butter oil and skimmed milk powder donated by the European Union through the World Food Program.
      • Phase II (1981 to 1985): During this phase, the number of milk sheds increased from 18 to 136, milk outlets were expanded to about 290 urban markets, a self-sustaining system was set up that included 4,250,000 milk producers spread across 43,000 village cooperatives.
      • Phase III (1985-1996): This phase enabled the dairy cooperatives to expand and gave a finishing touch to the programme. It also strengthened the infrastructure required to procure and market increasing volumes of milk.
    • Objectives:
      • Increase milk production ("a flood of milk").
      • Increase rural incomes.
      • Reasonable prices for consumers.
    • Significance:
      • It helped dairy farmers direct their own development, placing control of the resources they create in their own hands.
      • It has helped India become the largest producer of milk in the world in 2016-17.
      • Currently, India is the world's largest milk producer, with 22% of global production.

Indian Dairy Sector

  • About:
    • India being the world's largest milk producing country, accounts for more than 22.0% of the world and 57% of Asia’s total milk production.
    • The milk production of India has grown from 17 million tonnes in 1951 to 187.7 million tonnes in the year 2018-2019.
  • Significance:
    • Dairy is the only agri-product in which around ~70-80% final market value is shared with farmers and it accounts for approximately one-third of rural household income in India.
    • It improves farmer livelihoods, creates jobs, supports agricultural industrialization and commercialization, and enhances nutrition for the masses.
  • Challenges:
    • Lack of proper packaging and labeling system of milk and milk products.
    • Lack of Market Intelligence to understand the mindset of entrepreneurs.
    • Consumer perception/Brand Building is also a major challenge.
    • Cold chain (transportation) and storage facilities are not effectively in operation.
  • Related Initiatives:
    • Gopal Ratna Awards: They are National Awards for the Cattle and Dairy sector, the awards have been launched to promote the best herd of Indigenous Breed and practicing best management practices.
    • e-Gopala (Generation of wealth through Productive Livestock) App: It is a comprehensive breed improvement marketplace and information portal for direct use of farmers.
    • National Action Plan on Dairy Development 2022: It seeks to increase milk production and double the income of dairy farmers.
    • National Animal Disease Control Programme & National Artificial Insemination Programme: It was launched to control and eradicate the Foot & Mouth Disease (FMD) and Brucellosis amongst the livestock in the country,
    • Pashu-Aadhar: It is a unique ID on a digital platform for traceability for the animals.
    • Rashtriya Gokul Mission: It was launched in 2019 for the setting up of 21 Gokul Grams as Integrated Cattle Development Centres.

Source: PIB

Governance

Integrated Command and Control Centres

Why in News

The Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (MoHUA) has begun work to finalise its recommendation for providing Integrated Command and Control Centres (ICCCs) as a service to states and smaller cities.

Key Points

  • About:
    • The Smart Cities project, which aims at developing 100 citizen-friendly and self-sustainable urban settlements, includes setting up ICCCs for each city as a vital step.
    • These ICCCs, designed to enable authorities to monitor the status of various amenities in real time.
    • Initially aimed at controlling and monitoring water and power supply, sanitation, traffic movement, integrated building management, city connectivity and Internet infrastructure.
    • The MoHUA aims to finalise the ICCC model and implement a pilot project across six major states — Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Tamil Nadu.
    • So far, these ICCCs have been operationalised in 69 cities, with Agartala, Indore and Vadodara ranked the best for a sustainable business model of these centres.
  • Smart City Mission:
    • About: It is an innovative initiative under the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs, to drive economic growth and improve the quality of life of people by enabling local development and harnessing technology as a means to create smart outcomes for citizens.
    • Objective: To promote cities that provide core infrastructure and give a decent quality of life to its citizens, a clean and sustainable environment and application of Smart Solutions.
    • Focus: On sustainable and inclusive development and to look at compact areas, create a replicable model which will act like a lighthouse to other aspiring cities.
    • Strategy:
      • Pan-city initiative in which at least one Smart Solution is applied city-wide.
      • Develop areas step-by-step with the help of these three models:
        • Retrofitting.
        • Redevelopment.
        • Greenfield.
    • Coverage and Duration: The Mission covers 100 cities for the duration of five years starting from the financial year (FY) 2015-16 to 2019-20.
    • Financing: It is a Centrally Sponsored Scheme.

Source: IE

Science & Technology

Multisystem Inflammatory Syndrome in Children

Why in News

Recently, the World Health Organization (WHO) has released fresh guidelines for treating children who developed Multisystem Inflammatory Syndrome (MIS-C) after being exposed to Covid-19 infection.

Key Points

  • About:
    • MIS-C is a condition where various organs of the body are affected by inflammation. The patient develops heart problems, the severity of which may determine the line of treatment.
    • It is a rare but severe hyperinflammatory condition in children and adolescents that typically occurs 2-6 weeks after a Covid-19 infection.
    • It is a potentially deadly condition where different body parts can become inflamed, including the heart, lungs, kidneys, brain, skin, eyes, or gastrointestinal organs.
    • Children with MIS-C may have a fever and various symptoms, including abdominal (gut) pain, vomiting, diarrhea, neck pain, rash, bloodshot eyes, or feeling extra tired.
  • MIS-C with Neurological Complications:
    • In a recent study, young people with the MIS-C syndrome have shown neurological issues which were life-threatening such as strokes or severe encephalopathy (any brain disease that alters brain function or structure).
    • Neurological symptoms include hallucinations, confusion, speech impairments, and problems with balance and coordination.
    • The new findings strengthen the theory that the syndrome is related to a surge of inflammation triggered by an immune response to the virus.
  • Causes of MIS-C:
    • As the Syndrome is less researched, there are varied theories as to what causes MIS-C.
    • While some researchers believe that MIS-C is a delayed response to the coronavirus which in turn causes massive inflammation in the body and as a result damages organs.
    • Others believe that it can also be a result of the children’s immune response making antibodies against the virus.
    • There may be a genetic component as not every child develops MIS-C and the presenting symptoms are so varied.
  • WHO Guidelines for Treatment:
    • It is suggested to use corticosteroids in addition to the standard of care for Kawasaki disease (conditional recommendation, very low certainty) in hospitalised children (0-18 years of age).
      • Commonly referred to as steroids, corticosteroids are a type of anti-inflammatory drug.
      • Corticosteroids along with supportive care resulted in a more effective treatment than either intravenous immunoglobulin plus supportive care or supportive care alone.
      • The treatment was also found to be effective in treating children with Kawasaki disease in association to Covid-19.
    • Not to use corticosteroids in the treatment of patients with non-severe Covid-19 as the treatment brought no benefits, and could even prove harmful.

Kawasaki Disease

  • It is an acute inflammatory disease of the blood vessels and usually occurs in children below the age of five.
  • The inflammation in the coronary arteries that are responsible for supplying blood to the heart results in enlargement or in the formation of aneurysms (swelling of the wall of an artery), leading to heart attacks.
  • Symptoms: Fever, rashes, redness of the cornea, red and cracked lips, a red tongue and lymph node enlargement of the neck.

Source: DTE

Science & Technology

Tundra Satellite System: Russia

Why in News

Recently, Russia has successfully placed into orbit a military satellite. The satellite is believed to be a Tundra Satellite, part of Russia's early warning anti-missile system named Kupol or dome.

Key Points

  • About:
    • Tundra satellite system is a constellation of Missile Early Warning Satellites established by Russia between 2015 and 2020.
    • It carries a secure emergency communications payload to be used in case of a nuclear war.
    • It is a series of satellites that are the next generation of Russian early warning satellites to replace the early warning satellites of the Oko-1 system.
      • This final Oko (Eye) satellite (missile defence early warning program) reportedly stopped operating in mid 2014, leaving Russia relying on ground-based missile detection systems.
    • They are part of the EKS or Unified Space System (USS-Also sometimes referred as Kupol or dome), which will also include several satellites in geostationary orbit.
      • Unveiled in 2019, Kupol is designed to detect launches of ballistic missiles and track them to their landing site, though its exact configuration is unknown.
  • Anti-Missile Defence Systems With India:
    • S-400 TRIUMF:
      • About:
        • India has S-400 TRIUMF, which also caters to the three threats (rockets, missiles and cruise missiles). But they have a much longer range.
        • It has a much larger air defence bubble to knock off threats.
        • It is a mobile, surface-to-air missile system (SAM) designed by Russia.
      • Range & Effectiveness:
        • The system can engage all types of aerial targets within the range of 400km, at an altitude of up to 30km.
        • The system can track 100 airborne targets and engage six of them simultaneously.
    • Prithvi Air Defence and Advance Air Defence:
      • About:
        • It is a double-tiered system consisting of two land and sea-based interceptor missiles, namely the Prithvi Air Defence (PAD) missile for high altitude interception, and the Advanced Air Defence (AAD) Missile for lower altitude interception.
      • Range:
        • It is able to intercept any incoming missile launched 5,000 kilometres away. The system also includes an overlapping network of early warning and tracking radars, as well as command and control posts.
    • Ashwin Advanced Air Defence Interceptor Missile:
      • About:
        • It is also an indigenously produced Advanced Air Defence (AAD) interceptor missile developed by Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO).
        • It is the advanced version of the low altitude supersonic ballistic interceptor missile.
        • The missile also has its own mobile launcher, secure data link for interception, independent tracking and homing capabilities and sophisticated radars.
      • Range:
        • It uses an endo-spheric (within the Earth’s atmosphere) interceptor that knocks out ballistic missiles at a maximum altitude of 60,000 to 100,000 feet, and across a range between 90 and 125 miles.
  • Other Anti-Missile Defense System:

Source: TH

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