9 PM Daily Current Affairs Brief – August 20th, 2022

Current Affairs Compilations for UPSC IAS Prelims 2022

Mains Oriented Articles

GS Paper 2

• A Story of Private Success and Public Failure
• A red card at last
• End this asymmetrical conflict over ‘freebies’
• Remission or premature release of convicts: The injustice of exceptionalism

GS Paper 3

• How free basics can help India grow rich?

Prelims Oriented Articles (Factly)

• Panch prans for a better India
• Explained: Potentially tasked with protecting the PM, what are Karnataka’s Mudhol hounds?
• Big bang privatization of banks can be harmful: RBI article
• Insects outnumber all species on Earth — some beetle groups are as old as dinosaurs
• Draft Indian Ports Bill, 2022 issued for Stakeholder Consultation
• Global pandemic treaty: Soumya Swaminathan promises draft in 18 months
• India’s first portal on arrested narco offenders ‘NIDAAN’ gets operational
• Super Vasuki: Indian Railways’ 3.5-km-long train with six locos and 295 wagons pass by
• Air Quality and Health in Cities: Delhi, Kolkata, Mumbai among world’s top 20 most polluted cities
• Sutr Santati’an exhibition to bring together diverse textile traditions of the country organized as part of Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav

Mains Oriented Articles

GS Paper 2

A Story of Private Success and Public Failure

News: India is celebrating its 75^th Year of Independence. Therefore, it becomes important to assess India’s achievements.

Background: In April 2011, during the Arab Spring movement, India was asked to answer three important questions. Further, India was also asked to provide the India Model for Egypt’s future

(1) How did you keep the generals out of power?

(2) How did you become one of the fastest growing economies in the world (and a global outsourcer of IT services)?

(3) How did India create social harmony in the most diverse place on earth? In other words, how India had managed to have such a moderate Muslim population. The question reflected the Arab Spring’s fear of radical Islam.

In other words, the three questions point to the three key attributes of a successful nation: (1) Democracy, (2) Prosperity, and (3) Social harmony.

Building blocks of India’s success

(1) Democracy: Andre Malraux said that “India was lucky to have been founded by saints, i.e., liberators with clean hands. For example, Jawaharlal Nehru deserves the most credit for embedding democracy and the rule of law, which was an exceptional achievement among post-colonial societies. This was in stark contrast to Pakistan, which got liberated and side by side turned into ‘an army with a country’.

(2) Unfettering the economy:

(a) Pre-1991: In the early years, India became a socialist country. It resulted in a command economy that was based on a License Raj. Due to this, India missed a lot of economic opportunities prior to 1991.

(b) Post-1991: India undertook economic reforms in 1991. Since then, India has adopted a lot of slow reforms like cutting red tapism, license raj, etc.  This resulted into

India’s IT revolution

Due to this, India became the world’s fastest-growing major economy. Further, India’s poverty decreased and the middle class has grown.

(3) The minority question: Even after 75 years, India has remained united despite so many predictions of our breaking up. This has been because average life expectancy has risen from 32 years to 70 years. Literacy has gone up from 12% to 78%. The extremely poor (defined by $1. 90 income per day) declined from 70% to 21% in 2011. 90% of the people have access to electricity, versus 50% in 1995. There are other areas of development. Indeed, some mishappenings have taken place in India which makes Muslims in India no longer feel secure. But these have happened at the fringe level

The unfinished agenda: India could have done better. There are some areas, which could have been handled better:

(1) India has been unable to provide quality education and healthcare due to poor governance at the Central and state level. For example, one in four teachers is absent illegally in a government primary school and only one of the two present is teaching. Similar statistics describe the government’s primary health centers.

(2) India’s greatest challenge is bad governance and weak institutions. For example, it takes around 15 years to get justice in India, 3/4th of the persons in jail are under trial; and 1/3rd of India’s MPs and MLAs have a criminal record.

What should be the future course of action?

India has risen from below, through the energy and ingenuity of its people, almost despite the state. It is quite unlike the top-down success of East Asian countries, which were steered skillfully by the state.

India should fix its governance institutions as soon as possible. Otherwise, it will not become a developed country.

A red card at last

News: Recently, the Federation Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) suspended the All-India Football Federation (AIFF) with retrospective effect, from August 14.

Argument against the suspension

The action is being perceived, by many, as an arbitrary and authoritarian action.

What are the reasons for the suspension of the All India Football Federation (AIFF)?

FIFA has cited “third-party interference” as the reason for the suspension of the AIFF. It means the failure to put in place a constitution and an elected administrative structure that is in consonance with FIFA’s statutory regime.

Underlying Causes

Over three decades, the AIFF has been administered by only two people at the top: i.e., the late Priya Ranjan Das Munshi (1988-2008) and Praful Patel (2009-2022).

Further, the AIFF is not administered by people who have a meaningful association with the game. For example, both people mentioned above were politicians.

No head has been appointed for the past three-odd months in the AIFF. This is because Mr. Patel was removed in May.

Problems in other sports administration bodies: Every sports body in India is facing administrative problems. This can be seen from the following examples:

(1) Hockey India is also being run by a committee of administrators. The Federation Internationale de Hockey (FIH) also wants India to adopt a new constitution, under which elections must be held to put in place a new administration.

(2) In 2017, the Supreme Court tried to reform the cricket administration. The court appointed a committee of administrators. Thereafter, a constitution was framed, and a new president was elected to head a fresh committee to run the Board for Control of Cricket in India (BCCI). The International Cricket Council (ICC) gave India the leeway and the time needed for such a transition.

(3) The Indian Olympic Association has been threatened with sanctions this year.

The problems are most often caused by the involvement of politicians who have no business being involved in the first place and who are in the game only to make a fast buck.

What should be the future course of action?

Lessons should be learned from the chess federation which has revivified its functioning well in time which will allow Tamil Nadu to host this year’s edition of the Olympiad.

End this asymmetrical conflict over ‘freebies’

News: Recently, the Supreme Court recommended constituting an expert committee to study the issue of ‘freebies’.

What are freebies?

What is the aim behind ‘Trickle down economics’ and Tax cuts?

Trickle-down theory along with Reagan tax cuts believes in providing maximum tax cuts to higher income earners and corporations. This is because of the expectation that any benefit provided at the top would trickle down to the poor in the form of job creation, higher output, and infrastructure development.

For example, in India, neo-liberal schemes of the post-1990s such as the Special Economic Zones (SEZs), Software Technology Parks of India (STPI), and Bio Technology Parks (BTP).

What are the impacts of Trickle down policy and tax cuts?

-In reality, ‘trickle down’ yielded some positive results, but it also widened inequality, diminished inclusive growth. This is highlighted in the recent World Inequality Report 2022 also.

-Since the government is reducing taxes for well-offs, it is forced to rely more on indirect taxes than direct taxes. This includes taxes on fuel and food (rice, milk, cereal) on which the poor spend a major portion of their income. This further increases the financial burden on the poor.

How the distribution of freebies are reducing inequality?

States such as Tamil Nadu address this inequality through social welfare measures (derided as freebies). For instance,

The free bus pass provided for women has a) Saved family’s fuel cost, b) Encouraged more women to join the workforce, and c) Aid in the creation of economically stable families and women’s empowerment.

Free mid-day meals have a) Encouraged socially backward parents to send their wards to school at least for the meals, b) Kept child labour under control, and c) imparting education.

A paper published in Oxford University Press lauded the introduction of free colour television in villages. As it has a) Reduced domestic violence, b) Enabled women’s empowerment as women have been able to connect with the outside world through visual media, c) Ensured self-respect as women and children do not visit the homes of rich who own TV sets.

What are the Supreme Court’s observations on the distribution of freebies?

In R.K. Garg vs Union of India (1981), and BALCO employees Union vs Union of India (2002), the Court held that the wisdom of economic policies is not subject to judicial review.

In S. Subramaniam Balaji vs State of Tamilnadu (2013), the court dismissed the petition which challenged the free gifts schemes (colour television, mixer grinder, laptops) of the T.N. government. The Court observed that the distribution of gifts relates to the implementation of directive principles of state policy.

How fiscal federal setup is aiding the distribution of freebies?

India adopts ‘cooperative federalism’ where the Union and State cooperate to legislate and frame policies in their respective domain. So, social welfare measures (freebies) may differ from State to State or region to region.

For example, in the desert regions of Rajasthan it could be free drinking water, in Kerala, it could be something else.

Thus, it is for the respective legislature/executive to formulate the social welfare measures for that region. So, forming a central committee by the court might not address the socio-economic diversity of the nation.

Remission or premature release of convicts: The injustice of exceptionalism

News: Recently, the Gujarat government released 11 convicts in the Bilkis Bano murder and gang rape case of 2002 under its remission and premature release policy. 

What did the government release them?

Most States, including Gujarat, adopted a revised remission policy for prisoners which makes the person convicted of rape ineligible for premature release. But the Supreme Court of India has ruled that the remission would be governed by the remission policy that was in force at the time of conviction.

How does behaviour aid in the remission or premature release of convicts?

Prison is a state subject. State governments have laid down behaviour/activities that can earn prisoners a certain amount of days as remission, which is then deducted from their sentence.

For example, if a prisoner earns two years in remission and a court has sentenced them to 10 years, they can leave prison effectively after eight years.

This system is enshrined in the Prisons Act, 1894, and also rules developed by different States.

Remission for life sentence: The Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC) mentions that life convicts have to undergo a minimum of 14 years of actual imprisonment before they can be considered for remission/premature release.

Premature release rules: State governments have also developed premature release rules that include the power to give effect to the Governor’s powers of remission under Article 161 of the Constitution.

Those powers are not governed by the CrPC and are often used to bypass the minimum 14 years of actual imprisonment requirement in the CrPC.

The Supreme Court has recognised remission as an inherent part of a prisoner’s right to life. Hence, remission is a right and not a privilege extended to the convict by the state.

What are the concerns associated with the recent remission or premature release of convicts?

Many persons convicted for the same offence after the revised remission policy are ineligible for remission, a different set of governance considerations has been applied to these 11 individuals.

The executive and the judiciary moving towards harsher sentences for those convicted of sexual offences. Rape survivors face many challenges while filing criminal complaints and navigating the justice system.

Further, a victim from caste and the religious minority has to face even more challenges when she is filing complaints against upper caste offenders.

Hence, the recent remission is exceptionalism and this exceptionalism is a grave injustice to the insurmountable difficulties endured by Bilkis Bano to pursue justice

GS Paper 3

How free basics can help India grow rich?

News: Recently, countries like South Korea, Finland, and Canada have made some Universal Basic Income (UBI) experiments, while India is witnessing the debates on the merits of free basic facilities. 

Why should India provide free basic facilities?

(1) There is a growing global consensus about the redistribution of wealth. As per various leftists, the UBI can be a means to correct growing income equality in modern society.

(2) As per some pro-market people, the UBI is helpful to sustain the level of consumption in the economy. For example, Elon Musk, Mark Zuckerberg, and French economist Thomas Piketty have proposed it.

(3) There are some historical experiences related to the benefits of free basic facilities in western countries.

(a) Germany has provided and benefitted from free education and healthcare for years. It implemented the Bismarckian pension model in 1889 which arose to help the landless workers migrate to cities amid rapid industrialization.

(b) After the Great Depression, America’s social security system was implemented. This resulted in the transfer of cash which provided relief to the people and also kick-started demand in a struggling economy.

(4) Over the years, productivity has risen faster than wages in almost all economies (say the US). In India, the share of wages in total output fell from 30.3% in 1981-82 to 18.9% in 2019-2020.

What are other reasons to implement UBI in India?

(1) Limitation of Contribution Based Models: Unlike, the rich countries, most workers in India are working in the unorganized sector. Thus, a contribution-based model will help only salaried people, whose number was only 24% in 2019.

(2) Evident in the existing schemes: the contribution-based model has been implemented in old age and disability schemes. These schemes exclude a large number of people.

(3) Make population employable: Free education and health care reduces out-of-pocket expenditure and make the population more employable.

Prelims Oriented Articles (Factly)

Panch prans for a better India

Source: The post is based on the article “Panch prans for a better India” published in The Hindu on 20^th August 2022.

What is the News?

Recently, the Prime Minister laid out Panch Pran (Five Vows) to be completed by 2047 when India celebrates 100 years of Independence.

What are these Panch Pran?

These include, 1) Moving forward with bigger resolves and resolve of a developed India, 2) Erasing all traces of servitude, 3) Being proud of India’s legacy, 4) The strength of unity, 5) Duties of citizens including PM and CMs.

Panch Pran and its relevance in India

First Pran: It is about inculcating a culture of thinking big and at scale. The digital payments success story best illustrates the success of the first pran. In 2016, UPI was launched, followed by BHIM. In a few years, India had the largest number of digital payment transactions in the world.

The other examples are the world’s largest financial inclusion programme, the largest vaccination drive, the largest health insurance programme and the largest social security schemes.

Second pran: It is about societal change and decolonising the minds of citizens. He stresses that the Western governance norms need not be followed blindly. For instance, after India’s engagement, the debate on Net Neutrality has ended in many countries.

Third pran: About taking pride in India’s civilisational heritage. India is having the world’s oldest civilisational sites, the most vibrant cultural and social festivities, the most diverse tourism sites and the oldest texts in literature and science.

Fourth pran: It is about unity and togetherness. It is vital to pool the strength of the nation towards one common goal and avoid parochial interests.

Fifth pran: Regarding the duties of citizen. Governments alone can rarely affect mass change unless people play a proactive role.

If considered intensely, the panch pran will serve India and can be a part of the national character. The Panch pran can be an agenda for a radical transformation of society and nation.

Explained: Potentially tasked with protecting the PM, what are Karnataka’s Mudhol hounds?

Source: The post is based on the article “Explained: Potentially tasked with protecting the PM, what are Karnataka’s Mudhol hounds?” published in Indian Express on 18th August 2022.

What is the News?

Mudhol hounds, a breed of hunting dogs native to north Karnataka, could be inducted into the Special Protection Group(SPG), the elite force protecting the Prime Minister of India.

What are Mudhol Hounds? 

Mudhol Hound also known variously as the Maratha Hound, the Pashmi Hound, the Kathewar Dog and the Caravan Hound is a breed of sighthound (a type of dog) from India.

Named after: It is named after the erstwhile princely state of Mudhol.

History: The Mudhol hounds are believed to have been bred first by Raja Malojirao Ghorpade of the erstwhile Deccan kingdom of Mudhol.

– The Raja is said to have presented a couple of these dogs to King George V on a visit to England, whereafter the breed got the name of Mudhol hound.

Features: These dogs have athletic legs, an elongated skull and a 270-degree vision and a sharp sense of smell. They are also swift runners and come with great stamina. Hence, they are ideal for hunting, guarding, and surveillance.

Indian Army commissioning: In 2016, the Indian Army took a batch of Mudhol Hounds into its Remount and Veterinary Corps training centre in Meerut for their specific qualities. 

– This was the first time that the centre — with a long history of training foreign breeds such as German Shepherds and Labradors — trained an indigenous breed for possible induction into Army service.

Big bang privatization of banks can be harmful: RBI article

Source: The post is based on the article “Big bang privatization of banks can be harmful: RBI article” published in The Hindu on 18th August 2022.

What is the News?

The Reserve Bank of India(RBI) has published a bulletin which suggests that a big bang approach to privatization of government-owned banks may do more harm than good.

What are RBI’s views on the privatization of public sector banks?

According to the RBI bulletin, a big bang approach to privatization of public sector banks may do more harm than good. This is because:

Firstly, while private banks (PVBs) are more efficient in profit maximization, their public sector counterparts have done better in promoting financial inclusion.

Secondly, private banks have failed to cater to the customers of the rural and semi-urban areas to date and customers from such locations are relying heavily on PSBs for banking.

Thirdly, market confidence tends to be in favour of PSBs in terms of crisis. At the onset of the global financial crisis, deposits flew out of private banks to PSBs. The outflows happened despite these banks offering relatively higher interest rates than others.

What are RBI’s views on reforms in the banking sector?

Recent mega-mergers of Public Sector Banks(PSBs) have resulted in the consolidation of the sector, creating stronger and more robust and competitive banks.

The establishment of the National Asset Reconstruction Company Limited(NARCL) would help in cleaning up the legacy burden of bad loans from their balance sheets.

The recently constituted National Bank for Financing Infrastructure and Development(NABFiD) would also provide an alternative channel of infrastructure funding, thus reducing the asset-liability mismatch concerns of PSBs.

Insects outnumber all species on Earth — some beetle groups are as old as dinosaurs

Source: The post is based on the article “Insects outnumber all species on Earth — some beetle groups are as old as dinosaurs” published in TOI on 20th August 2022.

What is the News?

This article discusses how insects evolved over 300 million years and why these are ‘Earth’s primary engineers’.

Why are Insects important?

Insects outnumber all species on Earth — some beetle groups are as old as dinosaurs

Insects pollinate plants. They are responsible for the food of the world. Insects also recycle perished material. 

One can take away all the birds and mammals but Earth would still have productive crops as long as there are insects. Hence, insects are called as the primary engineers of our planet. 

Insects also outnumber all other species on Earth — of the million and a half knew organisms on the planet, over a million are insects. They weigh as much as all the other species put together — they are the majority of Earth’s biomass. 

Which are the largest group of insects?

Beetles are the largest group of all insects — about one of every four animals is a beetle as are around 30% of all insects. These include parasites, pollinators, plantconsumers, insect-eaters, etc. 

Are human actions impacting Insects?

There is sizable research on ‘insect armageddon’ or the disappearance of insects from Earth. 

Data shows a fraction of insects is around now compared to the numbers forty years ago. This is deeply worrying — if insects were to disappear, we wouldn’t know what to do or how to bring them back. 

Moreover, insects which have evolved over millions of years are now the first indicator of how much the environment is suffering from human impacts.

Draft Indian Ports Bill, 2022 issued for Stakeholder Consultation

Source: The post is based on the article “Draft Indian Ports Bill, 2022 issued for Stakeholder Consultation” published in PIB on 18th August 2022.

What is the News?

The government of India has issued Draft Indian Ports Bill, 2022 for stakeholder consultation.

What is the Draft Indian Ports Bill, 2022?

The Bill seeks to repeal and replace the existing Indian Ports Act 1908, which is more than 110 years old, becoming imperative that the Act is revamped to reflect the present-day frameworks.

Key Objectives of the Bill

– Promote integrated planning between States inter-se and Centre-States through a purely consultative and recommendatory framework;

– Ensure prevention of pollution measures for all ports in India while incorporating India’s obligations under international treaties;

– Address lacunae in the dispute resolution framework required for the burgeoning ports sector;

– Usher in transparency and cooperation in the development and other aspects through the use of data.

Key Provisions of the Bill

It empowers and establishes State Maritime Boards for effective administration, control and management of non-major ports in India.

It provides for adjudicatory mechanisms for redressal of port-related disputes and establishes a national council for fostering structured growth and development of the port sector.

The redundant provisions of the Act have been deleted or replaced with contemporaneous provisions. 

It ensures compliance with the country’s obligation under the maritime treaties and international instruments to which India is a party. 

Further, existing penalties in the Act which are outdated have been updated with respect to amounts and offences relevant to present-day scenarios.

Significance of Ports in India

India has a 7,500 km long coastline, 14,500 km of potentially navigable waterways and a strategic location on key international maritime trade routes. 

About 95% of India’s trade by volume and 65% by value is done through maritime transport facilitated by ports.

Global pandemic treaty: Soumya Swaminathan promises draft in 18 months

Source: The post is based on the article “Global pandemic treaty: Soumya Swaminathan promises draft in 18 months” published in Down To Earth on 17th August 2022.

What is the News?

The chief scientist of the World Health Organization(WHO) has said that the draft international pandemic treaty governing prevention, preparedness and response of future pandemics will be ready for negotiation in 18 months.

What is the Global Pandemic Treaty?

In December 2021, the World Health Assembly(WHA) agreed to start a global process to draft the pandemic treaty. 

The need for an updated set of rules was felt after the COVID-19 pandemic exposed the shortcomings of global health systems.

Under the decision, WHO established an intergovernmental negotiating body (INB) to draft and negotiate the contents of the pandemic treaty in compliance with Article 19 of the WHO Constitution.

The INB has prepared a working draft which compiled inputs from WHO Member States and other stakeholders. 

What is the vision of the draft Global Pandemic Treaty?

The vision of the draft is to protect from the consequences of pandemic based on “equity, human rights and solidarity”. 

It talked about achieving universal health coverage, enhancing local production of medical resources, promoting genetic sequence monitoring and data sharing as well as recognising the socioeconomic impacts of such crises.

Will it be a legally binding treaty?

WHA aims to adopt the treaty under Article 19 of the WHO constitution, which enables it to draw up binding agreements on a wide range of issues under its mandate. 

Many countries agreed to this, but some like the United States wanted the treaty to fall under Article 21. This limits the number of topics that can have binding agreements. 

Only Russia wanted “non-legally binding recommendations”.

India’s first portal on arrested narco offenders ‘NIDAAN’ gets operational

Source: The post is based on the article “India’s first portal on arrested narco offenders ‘NIDAAN’ gets operational” published in Business Standard on 17th August 2022.

What is the News?

The NIDAAN Portal has been made operational for use by various central and state prosecution agencies tasked to enforce anti-drugs laws in the country.

What is the NIDAAN Portal?

Full-Form: NIDAAN stands for National Integrated Database on Arrested Narco-offenders.

Developed by: Narcotics Control Bureau(NCB).

Purpose: It is a first-of-its-kind portal for all narcotics offender-related data.

Key Features: NIDAAN hosts data about those accused who have been arrested and jailed for drug offences and those who are directly or indirectly involved in the produce, manufacture, import or export of any narcotics or psychotropic substance.

– The portal sources its data from the ICJS (inter-operable criminal justice system) and the e-Prisons (a cloud-based application) repository and it is planned to integrate it in the future with the crime and criminal tracking network system or CCTNS.

– A distinct feature called ‘criminal network’ on the portal can also be accessed by agencies, as part of which specific links of an accused to other crimes, linked police FIRs and those who visited them in jail can also be accessed.

Super Vasuki: Indian Railways’ 3.5-km-long train with six locos and 295 wagons pass by

Source: The post is based on the article “Super Vasuki: Indian Railways’ 3.5-km-long train with six locos and 295 wagons pass by” published in Economic Times on 17th August 2022.

What is the News?

On August 15, the Indian Railways conducted a test run of its latest train called Super Vasuki.

What is Super Vasuki?

The Super Vasuki freight train is 3.5 km long. This is the longest and heaviest freight train that the Railways have ever operated.

Named After: The train gets its name from Vasuki, the Hindu god of serpents. Shiva’s snake, Vasuki, is portrayed as being around his neck. The snake is said to have a gem on his head called a Nagamani.

The train was run by the South East Central Railway(SECR).

Features: The train was formed by amalgamating five rakes of goods trains as one unit. The train takes about four minutes to cross a station.

– The amount of coal carried by Super Vasuki is enough to fire 3,000 MW of power plants for one full day.

– This is three times the capacity of existing railway rakes (90 cars with 100 tonnes in each) that carry about 9,000 tonnes of coal in one journey.

Air Quality and Health in Cities: Delhi, Kolkata, Mumbai among world’s top 20 most polluted cities

Source: The post is based on the article “Delhi, Kolkata, Mumbai among world’s top 20 most polluted cities” published in Indian Express on 17th August 2022.

What is the News?

The report titled ‘Air Quality and Health in Cities’ has been published by the State of Global Air.

Note: State of Global Air is a collaboration between the US-based Health Effects Institute (HEI) and the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation’s Global Burden of Disease Project. It is a research and outreach initiative to provide reliable, meaningful information about the air quality around the world.

What is the Air Quality and Health in Cities report?

Purpose: To analyze air pollution and global health effects for more than 7,000 cities around the world.

The report focuses on two of the most harmful pollutants; fine particulate matter (PM2.5) and nitrogen dioxide (NO2).

What are the key findings of the report?

PM 2.5 deaths: In 2019, 1.7 million deaths linked to PM2.5 exposure occurred in 7,239 cities with cities in Asia, Africa, and Eastern and Central Europe seeing the greatest health impacts.

– Beijing had the largest disease burden associated with a PM 2.5-related illness, with 124 attributable fatalities per 100,000 persons.

Delhi came in 6th, with 106 deaths per 100,000 and Kolkata at 8th.

PM 2.5 levels: Delhi and Kolkata are ranked first and second in the list of top 10 most polluted cities when PM 2.5 levels were compared.

NO2 Levels: No Indian city appeared in the list of top 10 or even top 20 polluted cities when NO2 levels were compared. This list saw Shanghai at the top with an average annual exposure of 41 µg/m3.

Note: NO2 comes mainly from the burning of fuels in older vehicles, power plants, industrial facilities and residential cooking and heating.

– As city residents tend to live closer to busy roads with dense traffic, they are often exposed to higher NO2 pollution than residents of rural areas.

Other Key findings: Only 117 nations currently have ground-level monitoring systems to track PM 2.5, and only 74 nations are monitoring NO2 levels.

– In 2019, exposure to pollutants in 86% of the more than 7,000 cities exceeded WHO’s standard, therefore, impacting around 2.6 billion people.

What are the recommendations of the report?

Leverage the expanding air quality monitoring toolbox:  Efforts should be made to expand ground monitoring of air quality to improve the accuracy of estimates of Pollutant levels and understanding of local air quality trends.

– However, in addition to setting up monitors, it is important to invest in resources for calibration and maintenance to ensure the quality of data from these monitors.

Digitize health records: Data on the burden of air pollution on health are vital for assessing the effectiveness of interventions, both in terms of public health benefits and economic impact.

– It is important to collect city-level health data consistently and systematically and make them accessible to researchers. This can help researchers conduct more accurate and local analyses that inform communities and policymakers.

Sutr Santati’an exhibition to bring together diverse textile traditions of the country organized as part of Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav

Source: The post is based on the article “Sutr Santati an exhibition to bring together diverse textile traditions of the country organized as part of Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav” published in PIB on 19th August 2022.

What is the News?

The Union Minister of Culture has inaugurated the Sutr Santati Exhibition.

What is the Sutr Santati Exhibition?

Organized by: Ministry of Culture and the National Museum in collaboration with Abheraj Baldota Foundation.

Purpose: Sutr Santati literally means the continuity of yarn. It is a textile exhibition representing 75 traditional Indian textiles designed to foster Indian pride using traditional techniques using indigenous natural yarns. 

– This exhibition will bring to the forefront all the craftspeople from various clusters pan India involved in creating every piece.

What is the National Museum?

National Museum was established in 1949. It holds a variety of articles ranging from the pre-historic era to modern works of art. 

Origin: The blueprint for establishing the National Museum was prepared by the Maurice Gwyer Committee in May 1946. 

Nodal Ministry: Ministry of Culture.

Located in: New Delhi.