DAILY CURRENT AFFAIRS ARTICLES
24th JANUARY 2022
GS 2 - Issues related to vulnerable sections of the society
MANUAL SCAVENGING
Why in the News ?
● A 29-year-man got asphyxiated and another was rendered critical while cleaning
a septic tank.
1. Background
● Manual scavenging is a term used mainly in India for "manually cleaning, carrying,
disposing of, or otherwise handling, human excreta in an insanitary latrine or in an
open drain or sewer or in a septic tank or a pit"
● Manual scavenging refers to the practice of manually cleaning, carrying, disposing
or handling in any manner, human excreta from dry latrines and sewers.
● It often involves using the most basic of tools such as buckets, brooms and baskets.
● The practice of manual scavenging is linked to India’s caste system where so-called
lower castes were expected to perform this job.
● Manual scavengers are amongst the poorest and most disadvantaged communities
in India
2. Legislations to curb manual scavenging
● In 1993, the Government of India enacted the Employment of Manual Scavengers
and Construction of Dry Latrines (Prohibition) Act which prohibited the
employment of manual scavengers for manually cleaning dry latrines and also the
construction of dry toilets, that is, toilets that do not operate with a flush.
● It provided for imprisonment of upto a year and a fine.
● Prohibition of Employment as Manual Scavengers and their Rehabilitation Act, 2013,
which is wider in scope and importantly, acknowledged the urgency of rehabilitating
manual scavengers.
FACT- PROVISIONS UNDER THE CONSTITUTION
● Article-21 Right to live with dignity is implicit in the Fundamental Rights
guaranteed in Part III of the Constitution.
● Article 46 of the Constitution, on the other hand, provides that the State shall
protect the weaker sections particularly, the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled
Tribes from social injustice and all forms of exploitation.
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3.Reasons for the Prevalence of manual scavenging
● Indifferent Attitude: A number of independent surveys have talked about the
continued reluctance on the part of state governments to admit that the practice
prevails under their watch.
● Issues due to Outsourcing: Many times local bodies outsource sewer cleaning tasks
to private contractors. However, many of them fly-by-night operators, do not
maintain proper rolls of sanitation workers.
● Manual scavenging persists mainly because of the continued presence of insanitary
latrines.
● It is strongly connected to the caste system.
● Lack of support by society to eliminate this most inhuman profession.
● Lack of education and humanity which is missing in many parts of India.
● Data show the manual scavengers reluctance to take up self-employment.
● Community mindset – Many communities still regard the inclusion of a sanitary
toilet as ritual.
● Social Issue: The practice is driven by caste, class and income divides.
4.Associated Concerns
● Design: Septic tanks are designed badly. They have engineering defects which
means that after a point, a machine cannot clean it.
● Under the Swachh Bharat Mission, millions of septic tanks are being built in rural
India.
● Sewage issues: Many cities do not have sewerage that covers the whole city.
Sometimes, sewage lines are connected to storm water drains which get clogged
and demand human intervention.
● Open drains: Open drains are also badly designed, allowing people to dump solid
waste into them, which accentuates the problem. Improper disposal of sanitary
napkins, diapers etc clog the drains, which machines cannot clear.
FACT
● According to Safai Karmachari Andolan (SKA), an NGO, 55 deaths were reported in
five years from 2016 with Chennai recording the highest number of 12 deaths due
to manual scavenging.
● Last year, the Centre told the Rajya Sabha that 43 people died while cleaning
sewers and septic tanks in Tamil Nadu in five years, the second highest after Uttar
Pradesh, which reported 52 deaths.
5.Way Forward
● Create a favourable environment through community awareness and sensitization
of local administration.
● Build the capacity of the community to promote rehabilitation efforts and
self-reliance and also build leadership in the community with a particular focus on
Dalit women.
Newslink- TheHindu
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GS 2 - Government policies and intervention; Issues associated with agriculture
LIVESTOCK IN INDIA
Why in the News ?
● Twentieth livestock census held showcases emerging challenges in livestock
rearing.
1.Background
● The twentieth livestock census indicated that India has a livestock population of
approximately 537 million; of this, 95.8% is concentrated in rural areas.
● Given the fact that most of the country’s livestock is in rural and remote areas,
access to veterinary services is a major challenge.
● Livestock farmers are often compelled to travel far from their villages whenever
their animals need treatment, a scenario that adversely impacts the longevity
and the productivity of their livestock.
2.Challenges faced by livestock farmers
● livestock diseases, lack of access to land and water, lack of access to markets,
lack of access to credit facilities, persistent drought, poor animal nutrition and
smaller herd size.
● The challenges exert different impacts on livelihoods of the smallholder farmers.
● The main causes of cattle mortalities and losses in the communal areas are
drought, diseases, straying and theft, with a farmer losing an average of ten cattle
per year.
● The Parliamentary Standing Committee of the Union Ministry of Fisheries, Animal
Husbandry and Dairying has observed that inadequate testing and treatment
facilities for veterinary diseases pose a major challenge, especially now where
there is a drastic rise in cases of zoonotic diseases.
3.Major Concerns of livestock rearing
3.1 Shortage of Feed and Fodder: While the livestock population is increasing, the gap
between the requirement and availability of feed and fodder is increasing primarily due to
decreasing area under fodder cultivation and reduced availability of crop residues as
fodder.
3.2 Low Productivity: Although India is a major producer of livestock products the average
productivity of livestock is lower compared to world average. Inadequate availability of
feed and fodder, insufficient coverage through artificial insemination, low conception
rates, non-availability of quality males for breeding, poor management practises, high
mortality and morbidity losses due to diseases, inadequate marketing infrastructure and
unorganised marketing are the other major concerns.
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3.3 Livestock Health: A large number of infectious and metabolic diseases prevalent in
Indian livestock have serious implications for animal productivity, export potential and
safety/ quality of livestock products, and many of these diseases have zoonotic
implications. The current efforts of prevention and control of livestock diseases needs to
be strengthened. There is a shortage of veterinary and para-veterinary manpower and
facilities including mechanisms for diagnosis, treatment, tracking and prevention of the
diseases. Adequate infrastructure for ensuring bio-security, proper quarantine systems
and services to prevent the ingress of diseases across the states and national borders is
not available.
3.4 Livestock and Environment: Climate change and global warming may have serious
implications to the livestock sector. These may be manifested in the form of heat stress,
loss of animal habitat especially in coastal areas, scarcity of quality feed and fodder, and
changes in epidemiological pattern of vector borne diseases, etc., ultimately leading to
reduction in production and therefore, economic losses. Mitigating the impact of climate
change, calls for critical appraisal of the situation on a continuous basis and advance
planning.
3.5 Knowledge Gap: Most of the livestock producers being small and marginal farmers,
their capacity to mobilise resources required to absorb the latest technologies developed
by research institutions are limited. Absence of an effective extension machinery for this
purpose compounds the problem. Lack of access to institutional finance is a major
constraint in attracting investment required for improving productivity by adopting the
latest technology.
3.6 Inadequate Infrastructure for Marketing, Processing and Value Addition: The livestock
sector is handicapped due to inadequate marketing and processing infrastructure as a
result of which the primary producers do not get remunerative prices most of the times.
Although various initiatives for dairy development have resulted in vibrant dairy
cooperatives in many states, still a large number of dairy farmers are not covered by
cooperatives. The dairy cooperatives handle only about 8% of milk production. Still major
share of marketable surplus of milk and other livestock products are not handled by
organised processing industry, resulting in reduced price realisation by farmers and post
production losses and wastages.
4.Steps taken by Government to aid livestock farmers
● National Livestock Mission- The focus of the scheme is on entrepreneurship
development and breed improvement in poultry, sheep, goat and piggery including
feed and fodder development.
● Animal Husbandry Infrastructure Development Fund-To help increasing of milk and
meat processing capacity and product diversification
● Rashtriya Gokul Mission-To enhance productivity of bovines and increasing milk
production in a sustainable manner using advance technologies
● Kisan Credit Cards (KCC) to Livestock Farmers.
● National Programme for Dairy Development-scheme aims to enhance quality of
milk and milk products
● Supporting Dairy Cooperatives and Farmer Producer Organisations.
● National Animal Disease Control Programme.
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● e-pashuhaat portal - aims to connect breeders and farmers regarding availability of
bovine germplasm. The portal has been launched under the scheme "National
Mission on Bovine Productivity."
● Livestock Health and Disease Control (LH&DC) programme- here, a major focus has
been on the ‘Establishment and Strengthening of Veterinary Services – Mobile
Veterinary Units (MVUs)’.
5. WayForward
● The M.K. The Jain Committee Report has highlighted that livestock farmers face
greater challenges in comparison to traditional agricultural farmers especially while
accessing credit and livestock insurance. Since a majority of livestock farmers have
two to four animals per household, enhancing the longevity and the productivity of
their livestock will go a long way towards alleviating rural poverty.
● Thus, there is a great deal of scope for innovations and intervention by the private
sector in the context of animal health and MVUs. Further, with the growing
prevalence of the Public-Private Partnership (PPP) model, the MVU model is poised
to generate higher returns on investment.
Newslink- TheHindu
PRELIMS BOOSTER
HOUTHI INSURGENCY IN YEMEN
Why in News?
Two Indians and a Pakistani were killed in a massive explosion in three petroleum
tankers in Abu Dhabi on Monday. The blast is believed to have been sparked by a fire near
the Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC) facilities, in what is claimed as a “drone
attack” by Yemen’s Houthi rebels.
About
● The Houthis are from Yemen's large Shia minority, and Sunni opponents of the
militant group have long accused them of close ties to Iran, the largest Shia-led
state in the Middle East and a traditional rival of Saudi Arabia, Yemen's largest
neighbour and ally.
● The Houthi insurgency in Yemen, also known as the Houthi rebellion, the Sa'dah War,
or the Sa'dah conflict, was a military rebellion pitting Zaidi Shia Houthis (though the
movement also includes Sunnis) against the Yemeni military that began in Northern
Yemen and has since escalated into a full-scale civil war.
● The movement's expressed goals include combating economic underdevelopment
and political marginalisation in Yemen while seeking greater autonomy for
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Houthi-majority regions of the country. They also claim to support a more
democratic non-sectarian republic in Yemen
● Six years into an armed conflict that has killed and injured over 18,400 civilians,
Yemen remains the largest humanitarian crisis in the world.
● Yemen is experiencing the world's worst food security crisis with 20.1 million people
nearly two-thirds of the population requiring food assistance at the beginning of
2020.
ImageSource- The Economist
KATHAK
Why in News?
A complete artist who lived music in its entirety, Kathak legend Pandit Birju Maharaj
transcended to a heavenly stage on Monday, leaving behind a rich legacy.
About
● Kathak is one of the eight major forms of Indian classical dance.
● The origin of Kathak is traditionally attributed to the travelling bards in ancient
northern India known as Kathakars or storytellers.
● Kathak is unique in having both Hindu and Muslim gharanas and cultural elements
of these gharanas.
● However, the stories didn’t stay within the temple walls for long. Nomadic
Kathakars, or wandering storytellers, soon began carrying the dances throughout
India.
● They added emotions and facial expressions to their performances, further
developing the dance to include elements of mime and theatricality.
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● In this way, Kathak transitioned from its secluded, devotional origins to a more
accessible, multi-disciplined entertainment tradition.
● During the medieval period, Kathak became an established part of court culture,
performed under the patronage of India’s Persian kings and Muslim moghuls.
ImageSource-BI
DISINFECTION TECHNOLOGY
Why in News?
CSIR’s newly developed disinfection technology is being installed to combat the pandemic
in railway coaches, AC buses, closed spaces
About
● Disinfection technology is effective for the mitigation of airborne transmission of
SARS-COV-2 and will also remain relevant in the post-COVID era.
● UV-C deactivates viruses, bacteria, fungus and other bioaerosols with appropriate
dosages using 254nm UV light.
● UV-C air duct disinfection systems can be used in auditoriums, large conference
rooms, classrooms, malls, etc. which provides a relatively safer environment for
indoor activities in the current pandemic.
● The disinfection technologies for handling COVID waste from its separate collection
to various physical and chemical treatment steps have been reviewed.
DARK MATTER
Why in News?
Scientists have found that out-of-plane bending events of the bar explain the shape of
dark matter halos in barred galaxies.
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About
● Dark Matter is an unknown matter which is not visible.
● The reason behind its invisibility is, it does not absorb, reflect or emit light.
● This makes it extremely hard to spot. Dark matter does not interact with the
electromagnetic force thereby making it hard to spot.
● Dark Matter is important because of its gravitational effects on many components
of this universe.
● Its gravitational effects help in understanding the large scale structure of the entire
universe, the rotation of galaxies, etc.
● The gravity of dark matter is an important prerequisite for permitting the universe
to hold on to the important elements that gave rise to life and habitable planets
like earth.
● Without the presence of Dark Matter, the existence of life would not have been
feasible.
● Black holes could be considered as dark matter.
NATIONAL TEXTILE MISSION
Why in News?
The Ministry of Textiles cleared 20 strategic research projects in the areas of Specialty
fibres and Geotextiles which fall under the Flagship Programme ‘National Technical
Textiles Mission.’
About
● The main aim is to get India the highest position in Technical Textiles at a global
level
● This mission also aims at improving the penetration level of the technical textiles in
the country. It must also be noted that the penetration level of technical textiles is
low in India at 5-10%, against 30-70% in advanced countries.
● The authorities aim at increasing the global market for Indian technical textiles
● The Mission would have a four year implementation period from FY 2020-21 to
2023-24
● A total outlay of Rs 1480 Crore has been finalised by the authorities for this mission
● A Mission Directorate will be operational in the Ministry of Textiles
NOTE- TECHNICAL TEXTILES
● A technical textile is a textile product manufactured for non-aesthetic purposes,
where function is the primary criterion.
● Currently, technical textile materials are most widely used in filter clothing,
furniture, hygiene medicals and construction material.
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