UPSC 2017: Comprehensive News Analysis - May 28

A. GS1 Related:
B. GS2 Related:

POLITY

1. Ready-to-serve meal packets to tackle malnutrition

2. Centre confirms 3 Zika cases in Gujarat

3. The secret of long life in Japan

INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS

1. India gives $500 mn aid to Mauritius

2. eMigrate violates our sovereignty: UAE envoy

3. G7 leaders divided on climate change, closer on trade issues

4. Commercial e-vehicles won’t need permits

C. GS3 Related:

SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

1. Indian researchers develop 3D bioprinted cartilage 

D. GS4 Related:
E. Concepts-in-News: Related Concepts to Revise/Learn
F. Bills/Acts/Schemes/Orgs in News
G. Practice Questions for UPSC Prelims Exam

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Useful News Articles for UPSC Current Affairs

A. GS1 Related

Nothing here for today!!

 

B. GS2 Related

Category: POLITY

1. Ready-to-serve meal packets to tackle malnutrition

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

2. Centre confirms 3 Zika cases in Gujarat

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.

3. The secret of long life in Japan

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. 

Category: INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS

1. India gives $500 mn aid to Mauritius

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.

2. eMigrate violates our sovereignty: UAE envoy

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.

3. G7 leaders divided on climate change, closer on trade issues

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

In news:

  • Millions of people around the world suffer from degenerative joint diseases such as arthritis.
  • Despite attempting for the last 30 years, scientists across the world have not been able to produce in the lab cartilage-like tissues that are functionally and structurally similar to cartilages seen in human knees and have load-bearing capacity.
  • For the first time, Indian researchers have been able to achieve a measure of success in developing cartilages that are molecularly similar to the ones seen in human knees.
  • The bioink has high concentration of bone-marrow derived cartilage stem cells, silk proteins and a few factors.
  • The chemical composition of the bioink supports cell growth and long-term survival of the cells.
  • The cartilage developed in the lab has remained physically stable for up to six weeks

 

D. GS4 Related

Nothing here for Today!!!

 

PIB Articles                                         

E. Concepts-in-News: Related Concepts to Revise/Learn

 

F. Bills/Acts/Schemes/Orgs in News

Article in News

About the article

 

G. Practice Questions for UPSC Prelims Exam
Question 1: Aedes aegypti transmits which among the following
  1. Dengue, chikungunya , yellow fever and HIV
  2. Dengue, chikungunya and yellow fever
  3. Dengue, chikungunya , yellow fever and Zika virus
  4. Dengue, chikungunya , yellow fever and H1N1
See
Answer


(c)

Type: Science
Level: Moderate

Explanation:

  • 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.
Question 2: Consider the following statements:
  1. Anopheles stephensi transmits Zika virus.
  2. Currently there is no vaccine for Zika
  3. Zika has been linked to microcephaly in the new born infants.

Choose the correct statements.

  1. 1 and 3
  2. 1 and 2
  3. 2 and 3
  4. All are correct
See
Answer


(c)

Type: Science
Level: Moderate

Explanation:

  • Anopheles stephensi is a primary mosquito vector of malaria in urban India.”
Question 3: What is/are the eligibility criteria’s that needs to be fulfilled, in order to 
be the member of a G7 group?
  1. A very high net national wealth
  2. A very high Human Development Index
  3. Both A and B
  4. Neither A nor B
See
Answer


(c)

Type: International Organization
Level: Moderate

Explanation:

  • A very high net national wealth and a very high Human Development Index are the main requirements to be a member of G7 group..
Question 4: Comets appear like a small rounded match-head-like halo followed by a long 
tail, mainly due to which phenomenon?
  1. Sublimation of icy nucleus.
  2. Evaporation of icy nucleus.
  3. Condensation of icy nucleus.
  4. None of the above.
See
Answer


(a)

Topic: S&T
Level: Difficult

Explanation:

  • Solar wind consists of a plasma of electrons and protons flowing away from the sun at hypersonic speeds. Its existence was first inferred indirectly in the 1950s by observing the shapes of comet tails. Only later was its existence confirmed by the Mariner 2 spacecraft.
  • Comets, on the other hand, are icy wanderers that travel far into space and make an appearance periodically in the skies when they pass close to the Sun. Their shape is characteristic — a small rounded match-head-like halo followed by a long tail — and dictated by its interaction with the solar wind. The halo and the tail consist of material that has sublimated from its icy nucleus and has been dragged out by the solar wind.
Question 5: Consider the following statements:
  1. Hodaigiri is the harvest dance associated with Reang tribes.
  2. Jhum cultivation is one of the primary occupations of Reang tribes.
  3. Majority of Reang population are literates.

Choose the correct statements.

  1. 1 and 3
  2. 1 and 2
  3. 2 and 3
  4. All are correct
See
Answer


(b)

Topic: Current affairs
Level: Moderate

Explanation:

  • One of the unique dances of the Reang is the Hodaigiri/Hojagiri, in which a group of women balance themselves on earthen pitchers and manage other props.The performance is associated with the harvest.
  • Jhum (shifting) cultivation has been one of the primary agricultural activities of the Reang tribe.
  • As per the 2001 census, 66.93% of the Reang population is illiterate.
  • The Reang dialect is of Tibetan-Burmese origin and is locally referred to as Kau Bru. Though there is no script for the language, some publications follow the Bengali or Roman script to keep the language alive.
 

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