UPSC 2017: Comprehensive News Analysis - Sept 24

A. GS1 Related
Culture
1. ‘Flavours of Bengal in Durga Puja celebrations at Indirapuram Prantic Cultural Society 
organising five-day event showcasing Bengali pride and heritage; musical performances,
cooking competitions and other activities scheduled’

B. GS2 Related
Health and Human Resource
1. Child mortality on the decline, says study
C. GS3 Related
Infrastructure
1. Japan to fund mass rapid transit systems in Gujarat, Haryana
Internal Security
1. Manipur tightens security over possible Rohingya influx
Energy Security
1. India third in nuclear power installations: study
Science and Technology
1. Drug-resistant bacteria emerge from drug companies’ untreated effluents
D. GS4 Related
E. Prelims Fact
F. UPSC Prelims Practice Questions
G. UPSC Mains Practice Questions 

A. GS1 Related

Context:

• A Bengal-like setting of Durga puja can be seen in Indirapuram, Ghaziabad, where Prantic Cultural Society is organising a five-day cultural celebration starting Sunday. The event will continue till navami, September 29.

 

Theme:

• ‘Our Heritage, Our Pride’, with an aim to showcase the Bengali pride and traditions associated with the festival.

 

Keypoints:

• Prantic Cultural society is a socio-cultural forum consisting of groups of people who are passionate to preserve and promote Bengali art and culture.
• It’s a five-day celebration, including musical performances, cooking competitions and theatre by children.
• No artificial colours will be used in the making of the idol.

 

B. GS2 Related

Context:

• India’s child mortality rate per thousand live births has fallen by 62% from 125 per thousand live births in 1990 to 47 per thousand live births in 2015.
• This is slightly less than the 2015 Millennium Development Goal of a 66% reduction.

 

 

Keypoints:

• ‘Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and Maharashtra have shown remarkable progress between 2000 and 2015’
• The study shows a significant decline in cause-specific child mortality rates between 2000 and 2015 in the country.
• The faster declines in child mortality after 2005 (average annual decline of 3.4% for neonatal mortality and 5.9% for 1 to 59-month mortality) suggest that the country has avoided about one million more child deaths compared to the rates of progress in 2000–2005.

 

Premature births

• Deaths due to premature births or low birth weight rose from 12.3 per 1000 live births in 2000 to 14.3 per 1000 live births in 2015.
• The low birth weight in poorer States and rural areas was the prime reason behind the increase in the past.
• The Million Death Study titled “Changes in cause-specific neonatal and 1–59 month child mortality in India from 2000 to 2015: a nationally representative survey’ was published online by the Lancet.
• It surveyed the progress in three States during this period, the study says that “if all States of India had achieved the declines seen in Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, and Maharashtra, nearly all States of India would have met the 2015 Millennium Development Goals.”

B. GS3 Related

Context:

• $4.5 billion soft loan from Japan International Cooperation Agency to boost $100 bn Delhi-Mumbai Industrial Corridor project

 

Keypoints:

• The DMIC spans six States (Uttar Pradesh, Delhi National Capital Region, Haryana, Rajasthan, Gujarat and Maharashtra).
• It uses ‘the 1,500-km-long, high-capacity western Dedicated Railway Freight Corridor (DFC) as the backbone’ and aims to be ‘a global manufacturing and investment destination’.
• A soft loan will be utilised to improve two Mass Rapid Transit Systems (MRTS) — one each in Gujarat and Haryana that will be part of the DMIC.
• The JICA is the Japanese governmental agency in charge of implementation of Japan’s Official Development Assistance (ODA).
• Its prime objective is promoting economic development and welfare in developing countries.
• The interest rate of the loan will be kept ‘very low’ (at 0.1%) and have a ‘long’ repayment period (at 40 years, including a 10-year grace period).

Context:

• Manipur has taken stringent security measures at the border areas of Manipur, sensing the possibility of a mass influx in the backdrop of the recent large-scale violence in Rakhine province of neighbouring Myanmar.

 

Keypoints:

• Assam-Jiribam is the most vulnerable point with respect to the influx of Bangladeshi immigrant, hence additional forces have been stationed at the border.
• Similarly, the drive against illegal immigrants have been strengthened at the Indo-Myanmar border at Moreh by deputing officers.
• The Indo-Myanmar border at Beihang in Churachandpur district would be developed as second corridor in the wake of the Act East Policy adding that a permanent police station would soon be established at Beihang.
• A total ban on use of agriculture land for commercial purpose, “State government is going to effectively implement the Manipur Conservation of Paddy Land and Wetland Act, 2014 by putting a total ban on sale, purchase and use of agricultural land for commercial purposes.”
• Manipuri government reaffirming to effectively implement the Conservation Act 2014,” to keep the records of paddy lands by conducting proper identification of the status of the existing paddy land through digitised cadastral maps on the basis of satellite images to conserve the wetlands.

Context:

• India is third in the world in the number of nuclear reactors being installed, while China is leading at 20, as per the World Nuclear Industry Status Report 2017
• But share of energy generation stagnates globally, and several countries shut down nuclear reactors in 2017

 

Keypoints:

• Most nuclear reactor constructions are behind schedule, with delays resulting in increase in project costs and delay in power generation.

 

Nuclear Power vs Renewable Energy Development.

• Since 1997, worldwide renewable energy has produced four times as many new kilowatt-hours of electricity than nuclear power
• The world no longer needs to build nuclear power plants to avoid climate change and certainly not to save money.
• The global nuclear power generation increased by 1.4% in 2016 due to a 23% increase in China, though the share of nuclear energy in electricity generation stagnated at 10.5%.
• By comparison, globally, wind power output grew by 16% and solar power by 30%. Renewables represented 62% of global power generating capacity additions.

 

Financial crisis

• Massive losses over its nuclear construction projects, Toshiba filed for bankruptcy of its U.S. subsidiary Westinghouse, the largest nuclear power builder in history. AREVA has accumulated $12.3 billion in losses over the past six years.
• French bailout
• The French government has provided a $5.3 billion bailout and continues its break-up strategy.
• Fukushima nuclear power project in Japan, six years after the disaster began, the report notes how the total official cost estimate for the catastrophe doubled to $200 billion.

Context:

• Discharge of untreated effluents from pharmaceutical companies in and around water bodies is contaminated with antibiotics and antifungal agents leading to the emergence of multidrug-resistant bacteria.

 

Keypoints:

• The bacteria have been found to produce enzymes such as extended spectrum beta-lactamases and carbapenemases which can protect them from antibiotics such as penicillin, cephalosporins, cephamycins, and carbapenems.
• The other antiinfectives found in the waters included antifungal medicine voriconazole, medications for bacterial infections such as moxifloxacin, linezolid, levofloxacin, clarithromycin, ciprofloxacin, ampicillin, doxycycline, trimethoprim and sulfamethoxazole.
• The samples of bacteria tested contain drug-resistant genes.

D. GS4 Related

E. PRELIMS FACT

F. Practice Questions for UPSC Prelims Exam

G. UPSC Mains Practice Questions

GS Paper II

GS Paper III

Also, check previous Daily News Analysis