Subscribe       Follow on Twitter    


    • Register Here | Login Here

    A major milestone in polio eradication

           By  on January 15th 2012
    Comments (5)

    This editorial is too technical. however i am putting some information collected from other polio related articles in Hindu

    • Poliomyelitis (polio) is a highly infectious viral disease which mainly affects young children.
    • transmitted through contaminated food and water, and multiplies in the intestine, from where it can invade the nervous system
    • Acute Flaccid Paralysis is a disabling condition where there is absence of muscle tone in one or both limbs, and tendon reflexes
    • oral polio vaccine prevents the transmission of infection effectively.
    • If all tests for the wild polio virus in India — including laboratory analysis of acute flaccid paralysis cases with onset up to mid-January and environmental sewage sampling — return negative, India will officially be deemed to have stopped the transmission of the indigenous wild polio virus.
    • The next step would be to look at a polio-free South East Asian Region in 2014
    • Currently Pakistan , Afhganistan, India, Nigeria are nations considered enedemic with polio virus
    • challenges faced by India in fighting polio
      1.  a huge population
      2. the logistics of covering a vast geographical area,
      3. poor sanitation and infrastructure,
      4. resistance among some groups of people to taking the vaccine,
      5. children of migrant communities

    Progress

    • Expanded Immunisation Programme in the late 1970s
    • 1985, Universal Immunisation Programme launched
    • National Pulse Polio Initiative (PPI) in 1995-96,
      1. Targeted  coverage of every child under five in the country with the Oral Polio Vaccine (OPV) to be given on two National Immunisation Days, one each in December and January
    • PPI set for the nation a new target — eradication of polio by 2005.
      1. involved millions of frontline workers from the private health sector, members of Rotary International, volunteers, anganwadi workers, besides the massive public health workforce
      2. created systems –
    1.                                                                i.      cold chains for storage and transportation of the vaccines,
    2.                                                              ii.      follow up and mop up campaigns to track children left out
    • In each PPI, 24 lakh vaccinators visit over 20 crore households to ensure that nearly 17.2 crore children, less than five years, are immunised with the OPV
    • Pockets of Uttar Pradesh and Bihar were still endemic
      1. government targeted 107 ‘high risk’ blocks in Uttar Pradesh and Bihar, and identified the challenges, which included remote locations, refusal of vaccine in some areas, and migrating populations.
      2. ‘Influencers’, including religious leaders, were enlisted and tracked for each high risk area, and this helped polio teams reach more families.
      3. UP and Bihar have not reported any case of polio since April 2010, and September 2010, respectively.
    • there is no room for complacency, with the nation having to maintain its zero-cases record for the next three years to be able to totally ‘eradicate’ poliomyelitis.
    • greatest concern is the possibility of infections carried across borders by migrating populations
    • Pakistan and Afghanistan both saw alarming increases in polio cases, and poliovirus from Pakistan re-infected China (which had been polio-free since 1999)
    • In Africa, active polio transmission continues in Nigeria, Chad and the Democratic Republic of the Congo, with outbreaks in West and Central Africa in the past 12 months

    The year the global economy refused to get well

           By  on January 15th 2012
    Comments (0)

    • At start of 2011 economists and policy makers  predicted that economy was on recovery path
    • but by end of the year, situation is more bleak
    • 2012 is being seen as a make or break year
    • The great depression of 1930 had Franklin D Rossevelt leading the way out
    • But now Obama has failed to meet the standards set by FDR
    • US is reeling under high unemployment rates and policy paralyses due to lack of support for presidents proposals in the senate
    • The Eurozone is facing sovereign debt crisis
    • EU is an important region for Asian nations
    • EU is single largest export market for China
    • Most of tourists to Asian nations come from EU and US
    • Recession in these regions may have a ripple effect on nations down south

    Way ahead

    • Internal trade liberalization and greater cooperation within Asian nations

    Inequality problem

    • Worlds 500 richest individuals have income greater than that of poorest 400 million people
    • 40% of world lives in poverty
    • In India top 20% Indian people share 50% of national income
      • Income inequality has doubled in India in last 2 decades

    Current Affairs – 8th January

           By  on January 9th 2012
    Comments (0)

    India to provide special software for blind people to work in government jobs

    • The Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) has launched a country-wide probe against top corporate houses and high net-worth individuals who illegally operate foreign registered private aircraft in India leading to Customs duty evasion to the tune of crores of rupees.
    • Inaugurating the 10th Pravasi Bhartiya Divas in Jaipur today, Dr. Singh said that the Indian economy is expected to grow by 7 per cent this financial year. He also asserted the importance of RTI, a new Pension and Life Insurance Fund for overseas Indian workers and NRIs vote in elections.
    • When the world is beset by the menace of pollution a mini revolution is taking place in the country side of Bihar. Rice husk considered to be a waste product has proved to be a blessing in disguise for the villagers who are producing rice husk powered electricity. Gasifier plants have been installed at cold storage in Vaishali district is running on electricity produced from rice husk. Since the storage is being run on the power produced by burning rice husk, the cost of consumption is reduced considerably.
    • The Overseas Indian Affairs Minister inaugurated country’s 9th protector of Emigrants office (POE) in Jaipur today as a large number of people from Rajasthan go abroad for jobs, particularly in the Middle East.
    • In a step that would bring relief to scores of blind persons aspiring for clerical jobs across the country, the government has decided to provide them a special keyboard and screen reading software while appearing for recruitment tests. The step will help those visually impaired aspirants who apply for the SSC-advertised posts of Stenographers and Lower Division Clerks (LDCs) and have to undertake a computer-based skill test.
    • Iran will establish a permanent station in South Pole by the next three years. Managing Director of the Iranian National Institute for Oceanography (INIO) said one of the most fundamental technological achievements which would be fulfilled in South Pole is construction of research and logistic ice breaker ships, development of ice transportation technology, technology of textiles and South Pole clothes, ice drilling technology, the possibility of space experiments, progress in science and managing complicated jobs.
    • Foreign ministers from the Arab League are due to meet in Cairo to debate the initial findings of their mission in Syria. An observer mission sent by the League to assess a peace plan has been criticised as toothless, as violence continued despite its presence.
    • The first visit (begun today) by an Indian Foreign Minister to Israel after a decade has come at a time when the two countries are trying to strengthen the bilateral relations in anti-terror measures, trade and co-operation. Israel is India’s second largest defence supplier after Russia. The bilateral trade between the two countries has nearly touched USD 5 billion in 2010. Later Mr Krishna would be visiting Ramallah to have a meeting with the Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas.
    • Just when space agencies all over the world are hunting for traces of life, NASA’s Mars Science Laboratory Spacecraft is heading towards Mars. To reach its destination ‘Gale Crater’ on mars, America’s top space agency will change the trajectory of the spacecraft and is touted to the biggest for this mission by NASA.NASA is banking heavily on this mission and has equipped it with Radiation Assessment Detector to detect interplanetary radiation environment. The data received from this mission will be crucial for scientists all over the world to plan their future space activities related to mars.
    • ‘Tulsi’ (Indian Basil) is now being tested by Indian Scientists for treating people exposed to harmful radiations and initial tests have shown some positive results. According to scientists of DRDO, tulsi has anti-oxidant properties and can repair cells damaged by exposure to radiation.
    • The top-seeded Indian pair of Mahesh Bhupathi and Rohan Bopanna lost in the semifinals of the Aircel Chennai Open 2012 on Saturday, going down to fourth seeds Jonathan Erlich and Andy Ram.

    Source: http://upsc-updates.blogspot.com

    Note: Keywords are in BOLD letters, UPSC may ask about it.

    US trump card in Afghan endgame

           By  on January 9th 2012
    Comments (0)

      • With 2014 nearing, US is looking to reach an understanding with Taliban allow permanent US military presence in region
      • In this effort US is making use of Quatar as a mediator
      • Qatar has allowed Taliban to setup its office in Doha
      • US is willing to transfer certain big guys of Taliban from US to afghan police
      • This may improve relations between US and Taliban
      • This might also please Pakistan and improve US – ISI ties
      • Growing Taliban hold in Afghanistan is also an anti dote to Iran’s influence in Afghanistan and disturb Iran Pakistan ties

      Corrupt rule the roost

             By  on January 9th 2012
      Comments (0)

        • There have been heated debates inside and outside parliament on lokpal bill
        • Most of them demand for an independent, autonomous constitutional lokpal
        • But we need to analysis if existing constitutional bodies are able to deliver
        • Election commission in last 2 decades has done a phenomenal job by taking steps to prevent electoral malpractices
        • Income tax officers are being posted to monitor expenditure, bank accounts are to be opened by candidates to route fund
        • Yet, the Commission has not been successful in checking malpractices that result in the compromised getting elected
        • Reserve Bank of India regulates financial institutions yet it couldn’t tackle stock market scams
        • Information Commission oversees the Right to Information. But whistle-blowers are being eliminated
        • Hence neither independence of functioning nor constitutional status has helped watchdog institutions to effectively perform their assigned tasks
        • This is because democracy, the super-watchdog which should deliver all-round accountability, has become weak in India
        • Only a conscious public, not rules and laws, can deliver autonomous and incorruptible legislators.

        « Previous Entries