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DAILY CURRENT AFFAIRS ANALYSIS

29 APRIL 2022

. No. Topic Name Prelims/Mains
1.    MALARIA FREE TARGET SET BY KARNATAKA Prelims & Mains
2.    ABOUT THE HEAT WAVE Prelims & Mains
3.    DETAILS OF HEPATITIS B Prelims & Mains
4.    ABOUT THE SECTION 144 OF CRPC Prelims Specific Topic
5.    DETAILS OF THE INDIA POST PAYMENT BANK Prelims Specific Topic

 

1 – MALARIA FREE TARGET SET BY KARNATAKA: 

GS II

Health related topic

  • Context:
  • Karnataka has set a goal of eliminating malaria by 2027, three years ahead of the Union government’s 2030 deadline.
  • As part of the National Framework for Malaria Elimination in India (NFMEI) project, Karnataka has received national recognition and appreciation for its efforts to eliminate malaria over the last six years, from 2015 to 2021.
  • Malaria Facts:
  • Malaria is a life-threatening parasitic disease spread by bites from infected female Anopheles mosquitoes.
  • Malaria is a global problem:
  • Malaria is most prevalent in Africa, with Nigeria, Congo, Tanzania, Mozambique, Niger, and Burkina Faso accounting for more than half of all deaths each year.
  • According to WHO data, the disease still kills over four lakh people per year.
  • Children under the age of five are the most vulnerable to malaria, accounting for 67 percent (274,000) of all malaria fatalities globally in 2019.
  • In India, an estimated 5.6 million cases of malaria were reported in 2019, compared to around 20 million cases in 2020.
  • Malaria-free accreditation by the WHO:
  • When a country can show that the chain of indigenous malaria transmission by Anopheles mosquitoes has been disrupted countrywide for at least three years, WHO awards the certification.
  • A country must also demonstrate its ability to prevent transmission from resuming.
  • The WHO Director-General makes the final decision on whether or not to give a malaria-free certification, based on a recommendation from the independent Malaria Elimination Certification Panel (MECP).
  • The WHO’s World Malaria Report 2020 highlights the following key findings:
  • India has made significant strides in lowering its malaria burden.
  • India is the only highly endemic country that saw a 17.6 percent decrease in 2019 compared to 2018.
  • The following are some of the reasons why a malaria vaccine has yet to be developed:
  • The malaria-causing parasite’s life cycle is complex, with a portion of it spent in the human host.
  • These parasites can also lurk inside human cells to avoid being detected by the immune system, which adds to the difficulty.
  • Malaria vaccine development is hampered by a lack of money and interest.
  • Malaria vaccine makers have little incentive to produce them.
  • Source – The Hindu

2 – ABOUT THE HEAT WAVE:

GS I

Geography related topic

  • Context:
  • Maharashtra’s Vidarbha and Marathwada areas have been engulfed by a heat wave. This is the second heatwave in April, and the fourth in the last two months. Vidarbha was, in fact, the hottest region in the country on April 26.
  • What is a heat wave, exactly?
  • If the highest temperature in a region hits at least 40 degrees Celsius in the plains and at least 30 degrees Celsius in hilly areas, it is said to be in the grip of a heatwave.
  • The India Meteorological Department (IMD) defines a heatwave when the maximum temperature difference is between 4.5 and 6 degrees.
  • When the maximum temperature recorded in a location deviates from normal by more than 6.4 degrees Celsius, a severe heatwave is declared.
  • In addition, the IMD announces heatwave and severe heatwave conditions when temperatures exceed 45 degrees and 47 degrees Celsius on any given day.
  • Reasons:
  • Because of the lack of pre-monsoon rains, the overall maximum temperature has risen. From March 1 to April 26, Maharashtra has a 63 percent rainfall deficit.
  • The following are some of the reasons why India is experiencing more heat waves in general:
  • Urban locations have a magnified effect of paved and concrete surfaces, as well as a lack of tree cover.
  • The impacts of urban heat islands can make ambient temperatures feel 3 to 4 degrees warmer than they actually are.
  • Because global temperatures had risen by an average of 0.8 degrees in the last 100 years, more heat waves were forecast. Temperatures are also rising at night.
  • As a result of climate change, higher daily peak temperatures and longer, more intense heat waves are becoming more common around the world.
  • UV rays with a high intensity in medium-high heat wave zones.
  • India is vulnerable to heat waves due to a combination of extreme heat stress and a primarily rural population.
  • How could India deal with heat waves in the future?
  • Identifying heat hotspots using suitable weather data and promoting the timely preparation and implementation of local Heat Action Plans with strategic inter-agency coordination and a response that focuses on the most vulnerable communities.
  • Existing occupational health standards, labour legislation, and sectoral requirements for worker safety in connection to climatic conditions are all being reviewed.
  • It is vital to engage in policy intervention and coordination across three sectors: health, water, and power.
  • Traditional adaption techniques, such as remaining home and wearing comfortable clothing, should be promoted.
  • Simple architectural features such as shaded windows, subterranean water storage tanks, and insulating house materials have become more popular.
  • Implementing local Heat Action Plans ahead of time, as well as good inter-agency collaboration, is a critical response that the government may use to safeguard vulnerable groups.
  • The locations most vulnerable to heat waves, known as the Core Heatwave Zone (CHZ), include:
  • Rajasthan, Haryana, Chandigarh, Delhi, West Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Orissa, Maharashtra’s Vidarbha, Gangetic West Bengal, Coastal Andhra Pradesh, and Telangana
  • Source – The Hindu

3 – DETAILS OF HEPATITIS B:

GS II

Health related topic

  • Context:
  • Maharashtra’s Vidarbha and Marathwada areas have been engulfed by a heat wave. This is the second heatwave in April, and the fourth in the last two months. Vidarbha was, in fact, the hottest region in the country on April 26.
  • What is a heat wave, exactly?
  • If the highest temperature in a region hits at least 40 degrees Celsius in the plains and at least 30 degrees Celsius in hilly areas, it is said to be in the grip of a heatwave.
  • The India Meteorological Department (IMD) defines a heatwave when the maximum temperature difference is between 4.5 and 6 degrees.
  • When the maximum temperature recorded in a location deviates from normal by more than 6.4 degrees Celsius, a severe heatwave is declared.
  • In addition, the IMD announces heatwave and severe heatwave conditions when temperatures exceed 45 degrees and 47 degrees Celsius on any given day.
  • Reasons:
  • Because of the lack of pre-monsoon rains, the overall maximum temperature has risen. From March 1 to April 26, Maharashtra has a 63 percent rainfall deficit.
  • The following are some of the reasons why India is experiencing more heat waves in general:
  • Urban locations have a magnified effect of paved and concrete surfaces, as well as a lack of tree cover.
  • The impacts of urban heat islands can make ambient temperatures feel 3 to 4 degrees warmer than they actually are.
  • Because global temperatures had risen by an average of 0.8 degrees in the last 100 years, more heat waves were forecast. Temperatures are also rising at night.
  • As a result of climate change, higher daily peak temperatures and longer, more intense heat waves are becoming more common around the world.
  • UV rays with a high intensity in medium-high heat wave zones.
  • India is vulnerable to heat waves due to a combination of extreme heat stress and a primarily rural population.
  • How could India deal with heat waves in the future?
  • Identifying heat hotspots using suitable weather data and promoting the timely preparation and implementation of local Heat Action Plans with strategic inter-agency coordination and a response that focuses on the most vulnerable communities.
  • Existing occupational health standards, labour legislation, and sectoral requirements for worker safety in connection to climatic conditions are all being reviewed.
  • It is vital to engage in policy intervention and coordination across three sectors: health, water, and power.
  • Traditional adaption techniques, such as remaining home and wearing comfortable clothing, should be promoted.
  • Simple architectural features such as shaded windows, subterranean water storage tanks, and insulating house materials have become more popular.
  • Implementing local Heat Action Plans ahead of time, as well as good inter-agency collaboration, is a critical response that the government may use to safeguard vulnerable groups.
  • The locations most vulnerable to heat waves, known as the Core Heatwave Zone (CHZ), include:
  • Rajasthan, Haryana, Chandigarh, Delhi, West Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Orissa, Maharashtra’s Vidarbha, Gangetic West Bengal, Coastal Andhra Pradesh, and Telangana
  • Source – The Hindu

4 – ABOUT THE SECTION 144 OF CRPC:

Prelims Specific Topic

  • Why is this in the news?
  • After the Supreme Court ordered the Uttarakhand government to guarantee that no “untoward situation” or “inappropriate utterances” would occur during a mahapanchayat organised by Hindu religious leaders in the village on April 27, the Uttarakhand government invoked Section 144.
  • What exactly is it?
  • This colonial-era law, which has been preserved in the Code, authorises a district magistrate, a sub-divisional magistrate, or any other administrative magistrate empowered by the state government to issue instructions to prevent and resolve imminent danger or nuisance.
  • The officer’s written order may be addressed at a specific person or people in a specific location, or it could be directed at the whole public.
  • In emergency situations, the magistrate may issue the order without notifying the person who is the subject of the order.
  • The following are the powers conferred by the provision:
  • The clause permits a magistrate to order a person to refrain from performing a certain act or to pass an order regarding a specific property in his or her possession or under his or her management.
  • This usually include restrictions on movement, the carrying of weaponry, and unauthorised gatherings.
  • An assembly of three or more people is usually regarded to be illegal under Section 144.
  • Duration:
  • Unless the state government deems it necessary to prolong it, orders issued under Section 144 stay in effect for two months. In any case, the injunction cannot be in effect for more than six months.
  • Criticisms:
  • The section is broad, allowing the magistrate to assume unjustified ultimate power.
  • According to the statute, the first step in challenging the order is to file a revision application with the same officer who issued it in the first place.
  • Individuals who are aggrieved say that the state had already breached their rights in many cases before the High Court interfered.
  • Because the security situation differs from place to place and cannot be dealt with in the same way, issuing prohibitory orders over a vast area is not appropriate.
  • Decisions of the Supreme Court:
  • The Supreme Court refused to strike down the law in the 1961 case of ‘Babulal Parate vs State of Maharashtra and Others,’ stating that it is “not accurate to suggest that the remedy of a person aggrieved by an order under the section was illusory.”
  • “No democracy can survive if ‘public order’ is freely allowed to be disturbed by a segment of the citizenry,” the court said in 1967, rejecting a challenge to the law.
  • The court stated in 1970 (‘Madhu Limaye vs Sub-Divisional Magistrate’) that a magistrate’s power under Section 144 “is not an ordinary power coming from administration but a power utilised in a judicial way and capable of additional judicial examination.”
  • The court, on the other hand, maintained the law’s validity, stating that the restrictions imposed by Section 144 are protected by Article 19(2) of the Constitution’s “reasonable restrictions” to basic rights.
  • A requirement for:
  • Hindu religious leaders have frequently delivered incendiary remarks against Muslims at such gatherings, including one held in Haridwar in December of last year.
  • Source – The Hindu

5 – DETAILS OF THE INDIA POST PAYMENT BANK:

Prelims Specific Topic

  • The Union Cabinet has approved a financial aid package for India Post Payments Bank worth Rs. 820 crore.
  • IPPB:
  • The Prime Minister launched IPPB in 2018, with the Government of India owning 100% of the company.
  • It is an Indian postal payments bank that operates through a network of post offices and roughly 4 lakh postmen. The Reserve Bank of India is in charge of it (RBI).
  • The bank was founded with the goal of being India’s most accessible, inexpensive, and trusted financial institution. IPPB’s main goal is to break down obstacles for the unbanked and underbanked in order to reach the last mile.
  • IPPB is dedicated to promoting a cashless economy and contributing to the Digital India agenda.
  • Source – The Hindu