December 2nd, 2020 PIB:- Download PDF Here

TABLE OF CONTENTS

1. Cyclone Burevi
2. Border Roads Organisation (BRO)
3. Union Education Minister sets up a task force
4. International Financial Services Centres Authority (IFSCA)
5. India Sweden Healthcare Innovation Centre
6. WHO World Malaria Report 2020

1. Cyclone Burevi

Context:

Southern Tamil Nadu and southern Kerala are on high alert as Burevi inches closer to the southern shores.

Details:

• The cyclonic storm is expected to make the first contact with the Indian coast somewhere between Pamban and Kanyakumari in Tamil Nadu, sometime between the night of December 3 and morning of December 4.
• Although Burevi is likely to weaken into a deep depression on entering Kerala, five districts including the capital Thiruvananthapuram are on Red Alert.
• NDRF teams have been deployed in both Kerala and Tamil Nadu.
• The storm has crossed Sri Lanka’s Trincomalee in its northern coast, bringing with it heavy rains and strong winds.
• Relief camps have been set up and fishermen have been asked not to venture out into the sea.

2. Border Roads Organisation (BRO)

Context:

Lieutenant General Rajeev Chaudhry assumes charge as Director General Border Roads (DGBR).

To know more about Border Roads Organisation (BRO), click on the linked article.

3. Union Education Minister sets up a task force

Context:

Union Education Minister sets up a task force for preparing a roadmap on imparting technical education in Mother Tongue.

Details:

• The task force will be set up under the chairmanship of the Secretary, Higher Education.
• It will take into consideration the suggestions made by various stakeholders and will submit a report in a month.
• The Minister reiterated that no language will be imposed on any student but enabling provisions should be made so that bright students are not deprived of Technical Education due to lack of knowledge of the English language.

Read more on the National Education Policy, 2020.

4. International Financial Services Centres Authority (IFSCA)

Context:

IFSCA obtains Membership of International Association of Insurance Supervisors (IAIS).

Details:

• With this membership, the IFSCA would have access to IAIS’s global network and would be able to exchange ideas and information with other global regulators.
• This would help in developing a vibrant global insurance hub in IFSC at GIFT City.
• Currently, 17 leading insurance entities are operating from GIFT IFSC undertaking offshore insurance and reinsurance business.
• This membership would go a long way in connecting IFSC with global insurance institutions and would facilitate IFSCA in the joint development of global insurance business with other global centres.

Read more about IFSCA in PIB dated Oct 19, 2020.

About International Association of Insurance Supervisors (IAIS):

• The IAIS a voluntary membership organization of insurance supervisors and regulators from more than 200 jurisdictions, constituting 97% of the world’s insurance premiums.
• It is the international standard-setting body responsible for developing and assisting in the implementation of principles, standards and other supporting material for the supervision of the insurance sector.
• The IAIS also provides a forum for members to share their experiences and understanding of insurance supervision and insurance markets.
• In recognition of its collective expertise, the IAIS is routinely called upon by the G20 leaders and other international standard-setting bodies.
• It is headquartered in Switzerland and was established in 1994.

5. India Sweden Healthcare Innovation Centre

Context:

The inaugural session of the annual conference of the India Sweden Healthcare Innovation Centre was held.

About the India Sweden Healthcare Innovation Centre:

• The Centre was launched to further deepen the collaboration in the field of innovation and healthcare between India and Sweden.
• The Centre was launched in the wake of the India-Sweden MoU in the field of healthcare and the India-Sweden Joint Declaration on Innovation Partnership for a Sustainable Future.
• This initiative is a tripartite collaboration between the Swedish Trade Commissioner’s Office, All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi (AIIMS Delhi) and All India Institute of Medical Sciences, Jodhpur (AIIMS Jodhpur), with active participation from core partners like the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, ICMR and AstraZeneca.
• The overall vision of the Centre is to make healthcare accessible and affordable to everyone.
• It strives to enable a collaborative ecosystem of Open Innovation by supporting start-ups to address healthcare challenges in India.

6. WHO World Malaria Report 2020

Context:

The World Malaria Report 2020 released by WHO.

About the World Malaria Report:

• The World Malaria Report gives the estimated cases for malaria across the world, based on mathematical projections.
• It provides a comprehensive update on global and regional malaria data and trends.
• The report tracks investments in malaria programmes and research as well as progress across all intervention areas: prevention, diagnosis, treatment and surveillance.
• It also includes dedicated chapters on malaria elimination and on key threats in the fight against malaria.
• The report is based on information received from national malaria control programmes and other partners in endemic countries.
• It is published by WHO annually.

Highlights of World Malaria Report 2020

• The report indicates that India has made considerable progress in reducing its malaria burden.
• India is the only high endemic country which has reported a decline of 17.6% in 2019 as compared to 2018.
• The Annual Parasitic Incidence (API) reduced by 27.6% in 2018 compared to 2017 and by 18.4% in 2019 as compared to 2018. India has sustained API less than one since the year 2012.
• India has also contributed to the largest drop in cases region-wide, from approximately 20 million to about 6 million. The percentage drop in the malaria cases was 71.8% and deaths was 73.9% between 2000 to 2019.
• India achieved a reduction of 83.34% in malaria morbidity and 92% in malaria mortality between the year 2000 and 2019.
  • This helped India achieve Goal 6 of the Millennium Development Goals (50-75% decrease in case incidence between 2000 and 2019).
• The total number of malaria cases reported in 2020, till October has also decreased by about 45% as compared to the corresponding period in 2019.

Malaria in India – Background

• Malaria has been a problem for India since centuries.
• During the latter parts of the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, nearly one-fourth of India’s population suffered from malaria, particularly in the states like Punjab and Bengal.
• The economic losses were also enormous due to malaria.
• The National Malaria Control Programme was first launched in 1953.
  • This was a successful programme which helped to reduce the number of malaria cases significantly by 1958.
• In 1958, the ambitious National Malaria Eradication Programme was launched.
  • This programme suffered many setbacks and cases surged in the country.
• In more recent times, the National Framework for Malaria Elimination (NFME) was launched in 2016 by the Health Ministry.
• Based on the NFME’s framework, the National Strategic Plan for Elimination of Malaria was launched in 2017.
  • This plan lays down the strategies for 2017 to 2022.
• Malaria has been made notifiable in 31 states/UTs of India.
• The states with a high burden of the disease are West Bengal, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh.

High Burden to High Impact

• WHO launched the High Burden to High Impact approach as a targeted response to malaria.
• The approach is currently being driven by the 11 countries that carry a high burden of the disease (Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ghana, India, Mali, Mozambique, Niger, Nigeria, Uganda and United Republic of Tanzania).
• Key elements include:
  • political will to reduce the toll of malaria;
  • strategic information to drive impact;
  • better guidance, policies and strategies; and
  • a coordinated national malaria response.

About Malaria:

• Malaria is a life-threatening disease caused by parasites that are transmitted to people through the bites of infected female Anopheles mosquitoes. It is preventable and curable.
• Children aged under 5 years are the most vulnerable group affected by malaria.
• The WHO African Region carries a disproportionately high share of the global malaria burden. In 2019, the region was home to 94% of malaria cases and deaths.
• Malaria is caused by Plasmodium parasites.
• The parasites are spread to people through the bites of infected female Anopheles mosquitoes, called “malaria vectors.”
• Symptoms of malaria:
  • Fever
  • Headache
  • Chills
  • Severe malaria can cause severe anaemia, respiratory distress in relation to metabolic acidosis, or cerebral malaria.
  • In adults, multi-organ failure is also frequent.
• If untreated, malaria can be fatal.

Read previous PIB here.

December 2nd, 2020, PIB:- Download PDF Here