DAILY CURRENT AFFAIRS ANALYSIS
1 – Global Ocean Census: GS III – Environmental Conservation
Context:
- The Ocean Census initiative is a new initiative that uses cutting-edge technology including high-resolution imaging, DNA sequencing, and machine learning to find 100,000 new marine species within ten years.
- There is a need because only 10% of marine species, or about 2 million, have been formally described, according to scientists.
The project:
- Multiple expeditions to marine biodiversity hotspots are planned by the Ocean Census, with the first mission currently operating in the Barents Sea. The project aims to expand on earlier initiatives like the Challenger Expeditions and the Census of Marine Life (2000–2010).
Carried out by:
- The Nippon Foundation, a non-profit philanthropic organisation in Japan, and the Nekton Foundation, a marine scientific and conservation organisation in the U.K., jointly founded it to find undiscovered marine creatures.
Source The Hindu
2 – Manual Scavenging: GS II – Social Issues
Context:
- The Union Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment (MoSJ&E) reports that just 508 of the country’s 766 districts have proclaimed themselves free of manual scavenging.
Manual scavenging is a common practise in India:
- Meaning: Manual scavenging entails cleaning and maintaining septic tanks, sewers, and gutters as well as manually disposing of human waste from dry latrines, public roadways, and dry latrines.
- The frequency in India: As of 2018, there were up to 58,000 persons employed as manual scavengers. Since 1993, 941 people have perished in accidents related to risky septic tank and sewer cleaning.
- People from lower castes and Dalits are most likely to engage in the practise, which is said to be the worst remaining example of untouchability.
Abstraction of manual scavenging:
The 2013 Prohibition of Employment as Manual Scavengers and Their Rehabilitation Act’s key characteristics are:
- Manual scavenging is forbidden.
- By encompassing all types of physical removal of human excreta, it expanded the definition of manual scavengers.
- The organisation of training programmes (with a stipend of Rs. 3,000) and the provision of scholarships for their offspring place a strong emphasis on rehabilitation of the manual scavengers.
- It makes manual scavenging a cognizable offence that is not subject to bail.
- It makes it mandatory for firms to give employees safety equipment.
Other initiatives:
- The manual scavengers’ rehabilitation programme: Under this, a one-time cash payment of 40,000 apiece has been made to the 58,000 recognised sewage workers.
- 22,000 of them have also been associated with skill-training courses.
- NAMASTE scheme: To fully automate sewage work. The NAMASTE programme and the programme for the rehabilitation of manual scavengers have now been combined.
Concerns:
- Lack of funding: The Union Budget for 2023–24 allocated just 100 crores for the NAMASTE programme and none for the rehabilitation programme.
- Less than half of the sewage workers who have been identified are enrolled in programmes for skill development.
- Manual scavenging is still done in India despite all efforts.
Way Forward:
- All local organisations are required to list and describe every septic tank/sewer worker in their respective regions.
- Give them access to safety gear and occupational training.
- Enrol them in the Ayushman Bharat health insurance programme.
Optimal action:
- The startup Genrobotics created the Bandicoot Robot as part of the Make in India and Swachh Bharat Abhiyan initiatives. It is the first robotic scavenger in the world.
- Kerala became the first state in the nation to clean every commissioned manhole with robotic technology (Bandicoot).
Source The Hindu
3 – Production of Pulses and Edible Oil in India: GS III – Indian Agriculture
Context:
- India has relatively attained atma nirbharta (self-reliance) in pulses compared to edible oil.
- India’s imports of edible oil have increased significantly between 2013–14 and 2022–23, from 8 mt to 16 mt (or from $7 to 21 billion in value terms).
Government initiatives to boost output of edible oil:
- Oilseeds and Oil Palm National Food Security Mission (NFSM-OS and OP): From 2018–19, the government has been putting this centrally-sponsored programme into action to boost the nation’s output and productivity of oilseeds.
- Oil Palm National Mission on Edible Oils [NMEO (OP)]
- Concerns: The productivity (yield) difference between farmers’ practises and newly developed technologies ranged from 21% in sesame to 149% in sunflower.
Regarding pulses:
- India is the world’s top producer of pulses (25 percent of total output), consumer of pulses (27 percent of total consumption), and importer of pulses (14 percent).
- Although both the Kharif and Rabi seasons are used to cultivate pulses, the Rabi season accounts for more than 60% of the total yield.
- Data on imports: India’s pulse imports decreased in volume from 6.61 mt in 2016–17 to 2.52 mt in 2022–23.
Major pulses that India imports, broken down:
Reasons for the decrease in imports of pulses:
- An rise in domestic production: India’s output of pulses climbed from 19 mt in 2013–14 to 28 mt in 2022–23, resulting in a self-sufficiency ratio of over 90% for pulses and 40% for edible oils.
- Chickpea (chana) imports have shown sharp declines: Two significant government actions contributed to the increase in chana production. The first is the imposition of a 60% import charge on chana starting in March 2018.
- The second intervention has been the use of minimum support prices (MSP) in government procurement.
- These encouraged Indian farmers to cover more ground with the rabi (winter-spring) crop of pulses.
Concerns:
- The issue is arhar/tur/pigeon pea. In 2022–2023, imports of arhar from Mozambique, Myanmar, Tanzania, Malawi, and Sudan reached a record-high 0.9 mt.
- The effects of imports The inconsistent production of the majority of non-chana pulses has not resulted in a considerable decrease in overall import numbers. Inflation could emerge as a result, raising El Nino concerns.
Way Forward:
- To lessen reliance on imports, the government must solve concerns with micro-irrigation, high-quality seeds, marketing infrastructure, and government policy.
Source The Hindu
4 – Phage Therapy: GS III – Biotechnology-related issues
Context:
- According to a University of Exeter study, people are aware of and supportive of the use of phage treatment, or bacteria-killing viruses, as an alternative to antibiotics.
Phage therapy: what is it?
- Phage therapy is a therapeutic strategy that makes use of bacteriophages, viruses that attack and eradicate particular bacteria. It entails employing these viruses as an alternative to antibiotics to target and eradicate bacterial illnesses.
How do they work?
- The possibility of antibiotic resistance may be reduced by phages’ highly targeted action, which only targets the particular bacteria they are designed to kill. Phage therapy is being investigated as a potential medical research path for treating illnesses that are resistant to antibiotics.
How do Bacteriophages work?
- Bacteriophages are viruses that replicate by infecting bacteria and using them as hosts. They can attack various bacterial species and are extremely varied. Frederick Willian Twort (Great Britain) and Felix d’Herelle (France) made the discovery in 1915 and 1917, respectively.
Antibiotic Resistance: What Is It?
- The ability of bacteria or other microorganisms to withstand antibiotic effects renders them ineffective for treating infections brought on by these resistant germs. This condition is referred to as antibiotic resistance. Antibiotic resistance will cause 10 million people each year to pass away from drug-resistant illnesses by the year 2050.
Source The Hindu
