DAILY CURRENT AFFAIRS ANALYSIS

21^st February 2022

1 – ALL ABOUT TUBERCULOSIS: 

GS II

Topic – Health related issues

• Tuberculosis Facts:
• Mycobacterium tuberculosis is a member of the Mycobacteriaceae family of bacteria, which contains roughly 200 members.
• Some Mycobacteria cause diseases including tuberculosis and leprosy in humans, while others infect a variety of animals.
• Tuberculosis most commonly affects the lungs (pulmonary tuberculosis), but it can also affect other organs in people (extra-pulmonary TB).
• Tuberculosis is an ancient disease with records dating back to 3000 BC in Egypt.
• Tuberculosis is a treatable and curable disease.
• Tuberculosis is transmitted from one person to another through the air. When people with lung TB cough, sneeze, or spit, they disseminate the TB germs into the air.
• Active lung TB symptoms include sputum and blood in the cough, chest aches, weakness, weight loss, fever, and night sweats.
• The Global Impact of Tuberculosis:
• The 30 countries with the highest TB burden accounted for 87% of new TB infections in 2019.
• Two-thirds of new TB cases were reported in India, Indonesia, China, the Philippines, Pakistan, Nigeria, Bangladesh, and South Africa.
• India reported 1.8 million TB cases between January and December 2020, down from 2.4 million the previous year.
• In 2019, MDR-TB remained a public health and security problem.
• MDR-TB is a kind of tuberculosis that is resistant to the two most effective anti-TB drugs.
• Extensively Drug-resistant tuberculosis is tuberculosis caused by microorganisms that are resistant to many of the most powerful anti-TB medications (XDR-TB).
• International Efforts:
• The World Health Organization (WHO) has launched “Find. Treat. All. #EndTB,” a joint project with the Global Fund and the Stop TB Partnership.
• The Global Tuberculosis Report is also published by the World Health Organization.
• India’s Initiatives:
• TB Harega Desh Jeetega Campaign, Nikshay Ecosystem (National Tuberculosis Information System), Nikshay Poshan Yojana (NPY-financial Support), National Strategic Plan (NSP) for Tuberculosis Elimination (2017-2025).
• Two tuberculosis vaccines, VPM (Vaccine Projekt Management) 1002 and MIP (Mycobacterium Indicus Pranii), are currently being tested in Phase 3 clinical trials.
• Source – The Hindu

2 – PRADHAN MANTRI GARIB KALYAN ANNA YOJNA:

GS II

Topic – Government Policies and Interventions

• About the Scheme:
• PMGKAY is a part of the Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Package (PMGKP), which is designed to help the poor battle Covid-19.
• Its nodal ministry is the Ministry of Finance.
• It was supposed to last three months (April, May, and June 2020), and it was supposed to cover 80 million ration card holders. Later, it was extended to November 2020.
• In April 2021, the government, on the other hand, announced that the PMGKAY would be revived.
• The programme aimed to provide an additional 5 kg of free grains (wheat or rice) to each person covered by the National Food Security Act of 2013, in addition to the 5 kg of subsidised foodgrains already provided under the Public Distribution System (PDS).
• The provision of free 1 kilogramme pulses per month to each home covered by the NFSA is one of the important components of the current PMGKAY, which was also present in the 2020 PMGKAY.
• Expenditure: The Indian government would cover the whole cost of the food subsidy and Central funding to states and union territories for intra-state transit and other reasons, which totals about Rs. 26,000 crore.
• So far, the following has been the distribution:
• Under the PMGKAY, states have hauled 15.55 lakh metric tonnes (MT) out of a total monthly allocation of 39.69 lakh MT.
• 01 lakh MT have been distributed to 2.03 crore people until May 2021.
• Challenges
• The fact that the beneficiaries of the National Food Security Act are decided by the most recent census is a huge problem (2011). The number of those who are food insecure has increased since then, and it continues to go unreported.
• Source – The Hindu

3 – WHAT IS CENTRAL RESERVE POLICE FORCE:

GS III

Topic – Internal Security and Security Agencies

• CRPF Facts:
• One of India’s key internal security Central Armed Police Forces is the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) (under the Ministry of Home Affairs).
• It was created in 1939 as the Crown Representative Police and is one of the earliest Central paramilitary units. When the country obtained independence on December 28, 1949, an Act of Parliament renamed the force the Central Reserve Police Force.
• Mission: To enable the government to effectively and efficiently maintain the Rule of Law, Public Order, and Internal Security, as well as to safeguard national integrity and promote social peace and development, by upholding the supremacy of the Constitution.
• The force played a significant role in the amalgamation of the princely states into the Indian Union. It supported the Union Government in punishing the princely realms of Junagarh and Kathiawar in Gujarat, both of which had refused to join the Indian Union.
• Among the CRPF’s responsibilities are:
• Crowd control and riot control
• Operations against insurgency and militancy
• Dealing with Left-Wing Extremism
• Protection of VIPs and key infrastructure
• Environmental degradation must be monitored, and local species and flora must be protected.
• Defending against assault in times of conflict
• Participation in UN Peacekeeping Mission Rescue and Relief Operations in the Event of Natural Disasters.
• Source – The Hindu

4 – ABOUT DRUG DESFERAL:

Prelims Specific Topic

• What is Desferal, exactly?
• Desferal binds to and removes iron from the circulation.
• Desferal (deferoxamine mesylate) is an iron-chelating medication for adults and children over the age of three.
• Desferal is available in generic form.
• Thalassaemia, a blood condition, is also treated with it.

• Source – The Hindu