UPSC 2017: Comprehensive News Analysis - May 28

In news:

• Union Minister for Women and Child Development Maneka Sanjay Gandhi made a pitch for the introduction of packets of fortified, ready-to-serve meals to tackle malnutrition.
• ‘Feed the Future Now’: a campaign by the NGO Akshaya Patra Foundation that aims to serve five billion meals to children across India by 2020 was flagged off by the Minister.

Basic information:

• Food fortification or enrichment is the process of adding micronutrients (essential trace elements and vitamins) to food. It may be a purely commercial choice to provide extra nutrients in a food
• As outlined by the FAO, the most common fortified foods are:
• Cereals and cereal based products
• Milk and Milk products
• Fats and oils
• Accessory food items
• Tea and other beverages
• Infant formulas

In news:

• The Union Health Ministry has confirmed that three cases of Zika were reported from Ahmedabad.

Transmission

• Zika virus is primarily transmitted to people through the bite of an infected mosquito from the Aedes genus, mainly Aedes aegypti in tropical regions.
• Aedes mosquitoes usually bite during the day, peaking during early morning and late afternoon/evening.
• This is the same mosquito that transmits dengue, chikungunya and yellow fever.
• Sexual transmission of Zika virus is also possible.
• Other modes of transmission such as blood transfusion are being investigated.

Context:

• The World Health Organization report: Japan’s average life expectancy at birth is 83.7 years (Men : 80.5 years, Women: 86.8 years)
• The global average male life expectancy is 69.1 years, 73.8 years for women and 71.4 for both sexes combined. 

Reasons:
Diet

• Rice, vegetables, fish and meat are staples of the Japanese diet.
• Japanese consume more fish than the norm in most other nations.
• Pickled, fermented and smoked foods are also common.
• Fermented foods, in particular, support a healthy digestive system. Soybeans in the form are another key part of any meal.
• Overall, Japanese cuisine is low in calories and saturated fats, a significant factor in reducing the risk of cardiovascular disease.

Public policy:

• 1950’s and 1960’s policy: Childhood vaccination programmes, the introduction of universal health insurance, campaigns to reduce salt consumption, free treatment for TB and the widespread use of medication to reduce blood pressure.
• Regular medical check-ups.

Cultural and Social factors:

• Social cohesion: strong group orientation in Japan prevents the elderly and the economically less well-off from feeling the kind of social alienation linked to bad health.
• Sense of rootedness and community belonging that develops positive emotions, vital to well-being
• Active lifestyle of many elderly Japanese: Retirees often continue working by choice in a voluntary or part-time capacity.
• Senior citizens directing traffic at parking lots, guiding schoolchildren to cross roads safely, or taking tourists around sightseeing spots are all common sights.

Genetic factors:

• Two genes – DNA 5178 and ND2-237Met genotype, help Japanese live longer, by protecting them against certain adult onset diseases.

Consequences:

• Japan’s is one of the world’s most rapidly ageing societies. Over a quarter of the population is already 65 or older.
• Two decades of economic stagnation and a shrinking working age population are threatening the financial and social underpinnings of universal healthcare.
• Prolonging “healthy life expectancy” and figuring out how to pay the bill for it are both tough challenges. 

In news:

• India announced a $500 million line of credit to Mauritius.
• The two countries decided to firm up cooperation in the field of maritime security in the Indian Ocean region , trade and investment.

Maritime security agreement:

• The two countries inked a maritime agreement
• Focus area:
• Fight against piracy that impacts trade and tourism, trafficking of drugs and humans, illegal fishing, and other forms of illegal exploitation of marine resources.
• Strengthen wide-ranging cooperation in hydrography for a secure and peaceful maritime domain.

Other decisions taken:

• Extend the operational life of Coast Guard ship Guardian, that was given by India to Mauritius under a grant assistance programme.
• During Mr. Modi’s visit to Mauritius in March 2015, Mr. Modi had commissioned offshore patrol vessel (OPV) Barracuda, built and financed by India, into the Mauritian Coast Guard.

In news:

• The United Arab Emirates, one of the largest employers of Indians in the Gulf, has raised a red flag with the Ministry of External Affairs over the government’s flagship eMigrate programme.
• It claims it to be a sovereignty issue.
• Other Gulf countries, including Saudi Arabia, had also raised issues with the eMigrate system as soon as it was launched.
• More than five million Indian nationals work in Gulf countries with a majority of them hired as blue-collar workers in labour intensive sectors including construction, industrial sector, transport, supply and service sectors.

What is eMigrate programme?

• MEA’s Overseas Affairs department in 2015 set up a database initiative called the eMigrate programme
• It gathers extensive information on emigrants as well as foreign employers, their companies and recruiting agents.

UAE’s contention:

• India wants to build a databank to extract information about these companies in the UAE. We consider this a breach of our sovereignty.
• eMigrate programme’s mandate to inspect premises of UAE companies.

World Bank study on emigrants and remittances worldwide 2017:

• India retained its top position as a recipient of remittances
• But it saw the biggest year-on-year decline of 8.9% in 2016.
• In 2014 India received $69.6 billion in remittances, which dipped to $68.9 billion in 2015 and fell to $62.7 billion last year.
• Measures taken by government like eMigrate programme in 2015 and a system of Minimum Referral Wages (MRW) in 2014, have made Indian labour much more difficult to hire by foreign employers.

India’s loss has been its neighbours’ gain:

• Countries like Bangladesh, Pakistan, etc. don’t have any kind of restrictions, recruiters and contractors find it easier to hire employees.
• In 2015, of the three countries India accounted for 37% of the labour, Pakistan accounted for 44%, while Bangladesh accounted for just 19%.
  However, in the first three months of 2017, Bangladesh has reversed that trend and now accounts for 51% of the South Asian labour output to Gulf countries.

In news:

Highlights of G7 meet

• The 43rd G7 summit was held on May 26–27, 2017[1] in Taormina (ME), Sicily, Italy
• S. President Donald Trump backed a pledge to fight protectionism on, but refused to endorse a global climate change accord, saying he needed more time to decide.

Basic Information:

• G7
• The Group of 7 (G7) is a group consisting of Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom and the United States. The European Union is also represented within the G7.
• These countries are the seven major advanced economies as reported by the International Monetary Fund: the G7 countries represent more than 64% of the net global wealth ($263 trillion).
• A very high net national wealth and a very high Human Development Index are the main requirements to be a member of this group.
• The G7 countries also represent 46% of the global GDP evaluated at market exchange rates and 32% of the global purchasing power parity GDP.

C. GS3 Related

Category: SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

1. Indian researchers develop 3D bioprinted cartilage

Nothing here for Today!!!

PIB Articles                                         

Question 1: Aedes aegypti transmits which among the following

Question 2: Consider the following statements:

Question 3: What is/are the eligibility criteria’s that needs to be fulfilled, in order to 
be the member of a G7 group?

Question 4: Comets appear like a small rounded match-head-like halo followed by a long 
tail, mainly due to which phenomenon?

Question 5: Consider the following statements: