19 Dec 2021: UPSC Exam Comprehensive News Analysis

CNA 19 Dec 2021:- Download PDF Here

TABLE OF CONTENTS

A. GS 1 Related
B. GS 2 Related
C. GS 3 Related
SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY
1. ‘AI to be a valuable tool in education’
ENVIRONMENT
1. Early signs of worsening air emerge in Northeast India
AGRICULTURE
1. Inescapable risks of mandatory iron fortification
D. GS 4 Related
E. Editorials
INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS
1. The UNSC Draft on Climate
SOCIETY
1. Age of Marriage for Girls
ENVIRONMENT & ECOLOGY
1. Highways in the hills
F. Prelims Facts
1. DRDO tests Agni-P missile for second time
2. Central Asia dialogue from today
3. Shah pushes for strong cooperative movement
G. Tidbits
H. UPSC Prelims Practice Questions
I. UPSC Mains Practice Questions

Category: ENVIRONMENT

1. Early signs of worsening air emerge in Northeast India

Topic: Conservation, environmental pollution and degradation, environmental impact assessment.

Main: – Pollution in Northeast India

Context: –

According to an analysis of air quality by the Delhi-based Center for Science and Environment, air quality in India’s northeast States is worsening.

Air Pollution in Northeast India

• Due to the region’s geography, which is less suited to fossil-fuel-driven industrialization and geographic isolation, the air in the northeast States is cleaner.
• In the national debate on air pollution and public health, the present concern with high pollution concentrations in the Indo-Gangetic Plain and in northern India as a whole overshadows and ignores the early signals of the issue in our north-eastern states.
• Poor and insufficient air quality monitoring, as well as a lack of data, prevent a meaningful risk evaluation.
• Several cities are already vulnerable to poor air quality and winter pollution, according to the scarce data.

Category: AGRICULTURE

1. Ecologists oppose changes to Biological Diversity Act, 2002

Topic: Food processing and related industries in India- scope and significance, location, upstream and downstream requirements, supply chain management.

Main: – Effectiveness and Challenges of Iron fortification 

Context: – This article examines the implications of iron fortification of foods.

Iron fortification: –

• Food fortification is a way for addressing iron deficiency that is used all around the world.
• In most iron fortification schemes, basic commodities like wheat flour are fortified in a centralized, required manner.

What is the effectiveness of Iron fortification?

• Iron fortification helps to prevent anemia and iron deficiency.
• Supplementation results in short-term cognitive improvements for children and adults.
• Iron fortification is a low-cost strategy that has the potential to reduce anemia-related morbidity.

What are the Concerns with Iron fortification?

1. First, it’s unclear if anemia is so widespread as to necessitate such required treatments. This year, the WHO is holding a consultation to see if hemoglobin diagnostic cut-offs for anemia could be decreased in several geographies, including India.
2. Second, enforcing obligatory fortification in portions of the population that do not require it takes away their freedom of choice and autonomy, and may even be immoral if the danger of additional morbidities is elevated.
3. Third, iron insufficiency in the Indian diet is not a widespread issue: by 2020, India’s iron need will have been reduced by half to two-thirds.
4. Fourth, rice fortification has not been proved to function in a comprehensive review of all available and rigorous research conducted by the reputable Cochrane group.
5. Fifth, iron is not safe in excess; it is an oxidant with a variety of ill-effectsIron increases the risk for many non-communicable diseases like diabetes, hypertension and even high blood cholesterol.

Category: SOCIETY

1. Age of Marriage for Girls

Topic: Salient Features of Indian Society

Mains: Government Interventions to address the issues faced by women

Context: The Government of India proposed to increase the age of marriage for     women to 21 for legislative business in the Parliament based on the recommendation of a task force constituted last year.

What do the Marriage laws in India Say?

• According to the Hindu Marriage Act of 1955 and the Christian Marriage Act, 1872, the prescribed age is 18 for the bride and 21 for the groom.
• The Muslim Personal Law Application Act , 1937 allows the marriage at the age of puberty.
• The Special Marriage Act of 1954 that governs inter-faith marriage lays down 18 years as the age of marriage for girls and 21 for men.
• Prohibition of Child Marriage Act, 2006 prohibits marriage below 18 years for women and 21 for men.

Purpose to increase the Age of Marriage:

• In the budget session of 2020, it was announced in the Parliament that a task force would be set up to scrutinize the appropriate age of the girls entering motherhood.
• This step of the Government intended to reduce the maternal mortality rates and improve the nutritional status of the women and also engage them in higher education, employment opportunities which are hindered due to early marriages and pregnancy.
• Maternal mortality rate is an important indicator to assess the socio-economic conditions of women which is considered in the Global Multidimensional Poverty Index and the National MPI.
• The task force informed that raising the age of marriage requires strong awareness campaigns to reform the patriarchal mindsets, open up avenues for access to education for girls and bring more women participation across various sectors.
• This would ensure a welcoming step towards the futuristic vision of a gender neutral society.
• The major problem that prevails in various parts of the society is that the family of the girls are hesitant to encourage women to pursue higher education and avail the employment opportunities on the grounds of safety.
• Therefore, the task force also recommended to increase the facilities for girls like providing safe transport to schools, distribute sanitary napkins, spread awareness on sex education, voactional training and livelihood opportunities. Once these recommendations are properly implemented, it would justify the decision to increase the age of marriage for girls.

 Implications of raising the age of marriage:

• It has been observed that children born to adolescent mothers have higher tendencies of stunting and low weight. Experts infer that this is due to poverty which is the underlying cause and to address such an issue, the effectiveness of increasing the age of marriage is of questionable nature.
• There is a necessity to improve the access of education, skill training and employment opportunities which are highlighted by the task force in addition to the increment in the age of marriage. Increase in the age of marriage along with other factors of development will be beneficial to avert several barriers faced by women in our country.

Way towards a Gender Equal Society:

• It is recommended that important observations like the findings by the National Family Health Survey- 5 must be considered in order to provide a multidimensional approach towards solving the issues related to women rather than focusing on just one aspect of the age of marriage.
• There is an enormous necessity to give proper shape and impetus to the Prohibition of Child Marriage Act of 2006 which doesn’t display welcoming statistics in prventing child marriages. For instance the NFHS -5 showed that 23.4% of women aged 20- 24 years got married at an age below 18.
• The Centre for Women’s Development studies revealed that 56% of girls married below the age of 21 and 75% of the girls got married at an early age among the poorest section of the society.
• There has to be a larger emphasis in building the social acceptance in the various sections of society about the age of marriage along with several other factors that act as inhibitions towards the empowerment of women. A holistic approach will ensure a forward society that would set the real example of inclusive growth.

Category: ENVIRONMENT & ECOLOGY

1. Highways in the hills

Topic: Roads

Mains: Impact of developmental projects on environment

Context: The Supreme Court has upheld the government’s mandate to widen three Himalayan highways namely Rishikesh to Mana, Rishikesh to Gangotri and Tanakpur to Pithorgarh as a part of the Char Dham Project of the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways.

About the Issue:

• The move of the Government has been challenged by the environmentalist group which is led by Dehradun based Citizens for Green Doon on the grounds that the project will disturb the Himalayan ecosystem.
• The Government in its response made it clear that the stretches constructed will act as feeder roads to the India- China border and are of immense strategic importance.
• According to the application by the group of environmentalists the double lane construction of highways has the following implications :
  • Deforestation
  • Excavation of hills
  • Dumping of muck
  • Increase in landslides
  • Soil Erosion
• The NGT had set up a panel in 2018 and put forth its observations that the length of each of these projects was less than 100 km and did not require environmental clearance. However, it ordered for an oversight committee to monitor the environmental impacts of the project which was challenged in the court.

Supreme Court Intervention:

• The NGT order of 2018 was modified by the Supreme Court and constituted a High Power Committee which examined in detail the impact of Chardham project on the entire Himalayan valley.
• Based on the report of the High Power Committee, the construction of a two lane road structure of 5.5 meters width was allowed. This circular was later amended by the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways to enable the construction of a road of 7 meters width with 1.5 meters paved shoulder on either side.
• This amendment by the government was justified on the grounds of security issues

 Way forward:

• The Himalayan region is extensively prone to natural disasters and most of the time the disasters are backed by anthropogenic activities. The infrastructure projects on the grounds of security purpose must be regulated with equal provision of weightage to environmental causes.
• The policy interventions must develop a balanced overview towards the economic activities and environmental causes as both contribute towards the sustainable future that the country aspires for.

2. Central Asia dialogue from today

Context: – External Affairs will host the India-Central Asia Dialogue.

India-Central Asia Dialogue

• It is a ministerial-level discussion between India and Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan in Central Asia.
• Except for Turkmenistan, all of the nations taking part in the debate are also members of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization.
• The discussion centered on a variety of topics, including methods to increase connection and pacify war-torn Afghanistan.
• India has suggested forming a ‘India-Central Asia Development Group’ to boost development cooperation between India and Central Asian nations.

3. Shah pushes for strong cooperative movement

Context: –

Recently, the Union Cooperation Minister made remarks on the District Central Cooperative Banks (DCCs) and cooperative movement in India.

District Central Cooperative Banks (DCCs) : –

• A District Co-operative Central Bank (DCCB) is a cooperative bank operating at the district level in various parts of India.
• It was established to provide banking to the rural hinterland for the agricultural sector with branches primarily established in rural and semi-urban areas.
• The banking model consists of a district central bank for each district in every state of India known with a name as a respective District Central Co-operative Bank.

Know more about the Cooperatives in India

Q1. Which one of the following is India’s first Indigenous Aircraft Carrier?

Q2. Consider the following statements with regards to the India–Central Asia dialogue:

Q3. Consider the following statements with regards to Gharials:

Q4. Nord Stream 2 pipeline, recently seen in the news, connects which of the following nations?

Q5. Which one of the following is not a subindex of the World Bank's 'Ease of Doing Business 
Index’?

Read the previous CNA here.

CNA 19 Dec 2021:- Download PDF Here