DAILY CURRENT AFFAIRS ANALYSIS
1 – About IBSA forum: GS II – International issues
About IBSA:
- IBSA is a special platform that unites South Africa, Brazil, and India—three sizable democracies and important economies from three distinct continents—against common issues.
- When the foreign ministers of the three nations convened in Brasilia on June 6, 2003, and released the Brasilia Declaration, the grouping was formally established and given the name IBSA Dialogue Forum.
- The IBSA has become a crucial tripartite organisation for advancing collaboration across a variety of fields.
- With 42 projects spread over 37 nations, the IBSA Fund is a unique aspect of the IBSA collaboration, an internationally acknowledged initiative of South-South cooperation.
In IBSA, collaboration occurs on three fronts:
- as a platform for collaboration and advice on national and local political matters.
- Three countries working together on specific areas/projects through six People-to-People Forums and fourteen working groups for their mutual benefit.
- supporting projects in the latter through the IBSA Fund in order to help other developing nations.
Source: The Hindu
2 – About Vibrio vulnificus: GS II – Parliament related issues
Important information:
- V vulnificus can be contracted through exposure of wounds to waterways containing the bacteria or by eating raw shellfish that has been infected.
- About 20% of those afflicted die from a flesh-eating disease that can be fatal in a matter of days.
- In the tropics or subtropics, where sea or brackish water temperatures rise to 20°C or more, many viruses flourish.
- Additionally, they favour low-salinity waters.
- Coastal communities worldwide may be more vulnerable to V vulnificus as cyclones, rain, and flooding become more frequent and intense due to climate change.
- In addition to lowering the sea’s salinity, heavy rainfall also favours bacteria.
- The highly contagious diarrheal illness cholera, which is caused by Vibrio cholerae, is related to V vulnificus.
- Despite early identification and treatment, the mortality rate for V vulnificus is between 15 and 50 percent.
Indian context:
- The average sea surface temperature in India is 28°C, which makes the seas suitable for V vulnificus growth and multiplication.
- The annual temperature rise in the Arabian Sea and the Bay of Bengal is 0.013°C and 0.016°C, respectively.
- Because of its considerable precipitation and freshwater inflow from rivers, the Bay of Bengal has one of the lowest salinities in the entire international ocean.
- India has a long coastline and favourable maritime environments, although there are few instances of human infections with V vulnificus from this country.
- This may be the result of both laboratory staff and clinicians being unaware of the situation.
- When humans eat raw or undercooked seafood, the germs can get into their digestive systems.
- Because they eat seafood that has been cooked to perfection, Indians are less likely to get the virus this way.
Management:
- When individuals already have impaired immune systems and the bacteria enter the circulation, treatment becomes more challenging.
- Physicians will have to amputate a limb or thumb if the bacteria infect sores on them.
Source: The Hindu
3 – Details of Kaobal Gali-Mushkoh Valley: GS I – Geography related issues
Important information:
Gali Kaobali:
- In Kargil, Jammu and Kashmir, there’s a steep mountain pass called Kaobal Gali.
- It serves as the primary route connecting the Tulail Valley in Gurez with the Mushkoh Valley in Drass, Ladakh.
Valley of Mushkoh:
- The westernmost part of Ladakh is home to the Mushkoh Valley.
- Views of breathtaking glaciers and raucous wild tulip blossoms can be found in the meadows of Mushkoh.
- The Himalayan yew, which is threatened, also lives in the valley.
Gulf of Gurez:
- The Gurez Valley in north Kashmir, which is off-limits to civilians, has historically seen frequent firing from Pakistan due to its high altitude crossings.
- It is now prepared to link to the 1999 battleground of the Mushkoh valley in Ladakh’s Drass Sector of Kargil.
- The Gurez valley is one of the few places in Kashmir where people live in villages made entirely of log houses without the use of concrete for urban construction.
- Marmots, musk deer, and ibex also call it home.
Source: The Hindu
4 – About Nilgiri tahr: GS I – Environmental Conservation related issues
Important information:
- The state of Tamil Nadu is currently developing a standardised technique to count the endangered population of the only mountain ungulate in southern India. This comes after the inauguration of Project Nilgiri Tahr last year for the conservation of the State animal.
- The coordinated census that the Tamil Nadu Forest Department and its Kerala equivalent will suggest is necessary because the animal is restricted to specific areas in both States.
- Given that the Nilgiri tahr favours alpine grasslands with steep and rocky terrain, drones may be utilised for the census for the first time.
- A little over 3,100 of the animals are thought to be present in the Western Ghats of Tamil Nadu and Kerala, where they live in severely fragmented habitats.
About Nilgiri Tahr:
- Of the twelve species of ungulates found in India, the Nilgiri tahr is the only one found in the southern part of the country.
- It is also Tamil Nadu’s official animal.
- Previously prevalent throughout the Western Ghats, the Nilgiri tahr is now restricted to small, fragmented areas.
- This species is unique to the Western Ghats.
- Status of conservation:
N.
- The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species has it classified as Endangered.
India’s WPA:
- Schedule I of the Wildlife (Protection) Act of 1972 provides protection for it.
Location And Dispersion:
- The distribution of Nilgiri tahr currently spans a slender 400 km section of the Western Ghats, running from the Nilgiris in the north to the Kanyakumari highlands in the south.
There are just two known big, well-protected populations:
- A native of the Nilgiris.
- from the Anamalais, the other.
- With around 700 individuals, the Eravikulam National Park in the Anamalai highlands of Kerala is home to the greatest population of Nilgiri tahr.
Hazards:
- Loss of habitat as a result of mass deforestation.
- rivalry with domesticated animals.
- Hydroelectric projects in the habitat of the Nilgiri Tahr.
- single-culture farms.
- Hunted occasionally for its meat and hide.
- Extreme habitat fragmentation has caused a sharp drop in the population in recent years.
- The grasslands and sholas that make up the Nilgiri tahr ecosystem are impacted by plantation activity.
- Invasive species like wattles, pines, and eucalyptus in the grasslands pose a threat to Nilgiri tahr habitats in addition to human pressures.
- They also have a lumpy skin condition.
Source: The Hindu
5 – Details of the Parliament panel on New Education Policy: GS II – Parliament related issues
What was said in the report?
- The paper examined the key elements of the NEP’s implementation in the field of higher education as well as the advancements that have been accomplished thus far.
- The research emphasised the role of States in higher education by noting that of the 1,043 universities operating in the nation, 70% are under the State Act, 94% of students attend State or private institutions, and only 6% attend Central universities.
Several topics covered in the report include:
- strict division of disciplines.
- restricted access to postsecondary education in places with low socioeconomic status.
- absence of institutions of higher learning (HEIs) offering instruction in native tongues.
- the small faculty size and absence of institutional autonomy.
- less focus on the study.
- inadequate regulatory framework and
- inadequate undergraduate education requirements.
- According to the panel, there should be at least one multifunctional HEI in each district of the nation by 2030, and by 2035, the percentage of students enrolled in higher education—including vocational education—should rise from 26.3% in 2018 to 50%.
Suggested actions:
- The group recommended that the State and Federal governments do the following:
- allocating appropriate funding for Socially and Economically Disadvantaged Groups’ (SEDGs’) education,
- establishing precise goals to increase the SEDGs’ Gross Enrollment Ratio,
- improving the gender ratio of HEI admissions,
- increasing financial support and scholarships for SEDGs at both public and private higher education institutions,
- increasing the inclusivity of the curriculum and admissions procedures,
- enhancing the employability of programmes in higher education
- for creating additional degree programmes that are multilingual and taught in regional languages.
- particular infrastructure measures to support pupils with physical disabilities
- a rigorous adherence to all anti-harassment and anti-discrimination laws.
Finances:
- The Committee recommended enhancing HEFA’s (Higher Education Financing Agency) efficiency and influence when it comes to HEI funding.
- It requested that the HEFA look into forming alliances with international financial institutions, philanthropic foundations, and businesses in the private sector in order to diversify its funding sources beyond government grants.
- It suggested examining and modifying the interest rates on loans given by HEFA in order to increase their affordability and competitiveness for HEIs.
Programme for multiple entry and multiple exit:
- The panel predicted that when implementing the multiple entry and multiple exit (MEME) system, Indian institutions will probably run into a number of problems.
- The panel stated that although the MEME appeared to be a versatile system that was successfully implemented by Western educational institutions, it might not function well in the nation.
- It would be extremely impossible for universities to estimate how many students would leave and how many would join midway if they permitted MEME.
- Institutions would undoubtedly disrupt the student-teacher ratio since they would not be aware of the in- and out-traffic.
Source: The Hindu
