SOCIETY

Explained: A suicide every 40 seconds, taking stock of global trends

A fact sheet released by the World Health Organization last week shows that close to 8 lakh people die due to suicide every year.

-        The report said that while suicide happens throughout the lifespan, it was the second leading cause of death among 15-29 year olds.

-        The leading cause for death in this age group is road injury (for men) and maternal conditions (for women).

-        WHO finds that many suicides happen during a crisis and because of an individual’s inability to deal with stress.

 

 

Other unknown causes:

-        Many youth takes to suicide due to value clashes within the family where family has traditional values while youth possess the democratic, modern values.

-        High unemployment rate, poverty forces people to go for suicide.

-        Drug addiction, mental health disorder are also the causes behind it.

-        Peer pressure, not able to withstand the pressure of education is also the reasons behind it.

Solution to Prevent Suicide:

-        Family support and cohesion, including good communication.

-        Peer support and close social networks.

-        School and community connectedness.

-        Cultural or religious beliefs that discourage suicide and promote healthy living.

-        Adaptive coping and problem-solving skills, including conflict-resolution.

-        General life satisfaction, good self-esteem, sense of purpose.

-        Easy access to effective medical and mental health resources.

-        The curriculum should be designed in ways that stress the importance of mental exercises and meditation.

-        Delhi government’s initiative on the ‘Happiness Curriculum’ may be a step in the right direction.

-        Making Equal Opportunity Cells with an anti-discrimination officer functional in universities and colleges will make college inclusive.

-        The framework for implementation of the Rashtriya Madhyamik Shiksha Abhiyan (RMSA) recognises the role of guidance and counselling services to students.

Reference: https://indianexpress.com/article/explained/a-suicide-every-40-seconds-taking-stock-of-global-trends-5984669/

INTERNATIONAL

Explained: What is the UN human rights body, what does it do?

The United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet has expressed concern over the National Register of Citizens (NRC) in Assam, and the communications blackout and detention of political leaders in Jammu and Kashmir.

The UNHRC:

-        The Human Rights Council describes itself as “an inter-governmental body within the United Nations system responsible for strengthening the promotion and protection of human rights around the globe and for addressing situations of human rights violations and make recommendations on them”.

-        The UNHRC has “the ability to discuss all thematic human rights issues and situations that require its attention throughout the year”.

-        The Human Rights Council replaced the former United Nations Commission on Human Rights (UNCHR).

HRC Meetings:

-        The Human Rights Council holds no fewer than three regular sessions a year, for a total of at least 10 weeks.

-        The meetings take place for four weeks in in March, for three weeks in June, and for another three weeks in September.

-        The sessions are held at the UN Office in Geneva, Switzerland.

-        If one-third of the Member States so request, the HRC can decide at any time to hold a special session to address human rights violations and emergencies.

Membership:

-        The Council is made up of 47 UN member States, which are elected by the UNGA through a direct and secret ballot.

-        Members of the council serve for a period of three years, and are not eligible for immediate re-election after serving two consecutive terms.

-        The UNHRC has a bureau of one President and four Vice-Presidents, representing the five regional groups.

Reference: https://indianexpress.com/article/explained/explained-what-is-the-un-human-rights-body-what-does-it-do-5983691/

 

AGRICULTURE

Explained: The idea of ‘zero-budget’ farming, and why scientists are sceptical

Addressing the 14th Conference of Parties (COP14) to the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) Prime Minister mentioned that India was “focusing on Zero Budget Natural Farming (ZBNF)”.

What is Zero Budget Natural Farming:

-        ZBNF is a farming technique that seeks to bring down input costs for farmers by encouraging them to rely upon “natural products rather than spending money on pesticides and fertilisers.”

-        This system is more environment friendly.

-        The concept behind ZBNF is that over 98 per cent of the nutrients required by crops for photosynthesis — carbon dioxide, nitrogen, water, and solar energy — are already available “free” from the air, rain, and Sun.

-        To help the microorganisms act, farmers must apply ‘Jiwamrita’ (microbial culture) and ‘Bijamrita’ (seed treatment solution), and take up ‘mulching’ (covering plants with a layer of dried straw or fallen leaves) and ‘waaphasa’ (giving water outside the plant’s canopy) to maintain the right balance of soil temperature, moisture, and air.

-        To manage insects and pests, ZBNF recommends the use of ‘Agniastra’, ‘Brahmastra’ and ‘Neemastra’, which, like ‘Jiwamrita’ and ‘Bijamrita’, are based mainly on urine and dung of Indian cow breeds.

Positives of Zero Budget Farming:

-        It increases crop yield.

-        It doesn’t have disastrous health effect.

-        It is environment-friendly.

-        It increases farmers income by reducing the input cost.

-        It helps in supporting other agro industries mainly related to cows and cattles.

-        It can prevent farmers suicides.

Case Study of ZBNF:

-        Subhash Parlekar, a Farmers in Maharashtra has used ZBNF since decades in his fields and worked with other farmers associations.

-        Palekar says that in ZBNF, farmers use only local seeds, and need around 10% of the water required in conventional farming.

-        Andhra Pradesh had appointed him an adviser, and allocated Rs 100 crore to promote ZBNF in the state.

Criticism of It:

-        There is no evidence to support Palekar’s claims of the efficacy of ZBNF.

-        Giving up modified high-value seeds and fertilisers can actually hurt agriculture.

-        78 per cent of air is nitrogen, but it is not freely available to plants. Being non-reactive, atmospheric nitrogen has to be fixed into a plant-usable form such as ammonia or urea. It needs chemical fertiliser to do it.

Way Forward:

-        ICAR has appointed a committee to study the ZBNF.

-        The committee will examine its strengths, weaknesses.

-        Experiments are taking place in the research stations.

-        Inputs and assessments are being done with the farmers who have adopted it.

Reference: https://indianexpress.com/article/explained/explained-the-idea-of-zero-budget-farming-and-why-scientists-are-sceptical-5983583/

 

POLITY

First time in 30 years, why NAFED faces challenge

The National Agricultural Cooperative Marketing Federation of India (NAFED) has not bought a single kilogram of apples for the last three decades or more.

-        Earlier it was completely in the Private hands.

-        But with the Current restriction on movements, NAFED has to procure the apples from Valley.

-        With production worth Rs 8,000 crore, apple forms a crucial part of Jammu and Kashmir’s economy.

-        This year, the country’s output is projected to touch 26 lt, due to good snowfall, with J&K alone harvesting 20 lt or so.

-        There is no MSP for apple.

-        The state government will fix the procurement prices for different grades (A, B and C) and varieties.

-        NAFED will pay 5 per cent more than the market price prevailing last year.

-        The J&K Directorate of Horticulture, Planning & Marketing would do the actual procurement, with NAFED taking delivery of the apples.

Challenge:

-        The real challenge lies in the very short preparation time.

-        It leaves hardly much time to undertake registration of growers, collecting their Aadhaar and bank account details for making direct benefit transfer payment.

-        Ideally, this process should have happened at the time of flowering, but that option simply does not exist now.

About NAFED:

-        National Agricultural Cooperative Marketing Federation of India Ltd (NAFED) is an apex organization of marketing cooperatives for agricultural produce in India, under Ministry of Agriculture, Government of India.

-        It is registered under Multi State Co-operative Societies Act.

-        NAFED is the nodal agency to implement price stabilization measures under "Operation Greens” which aims to double the farmer’s income by 2022.

-        The Department of Agriculture and Cooperation is implementing a Price Support Scheme (PSS) for the procurement of oilseeds and pulses at the Minimum Support price.

 

Reference: https://indianexpress.com/article/india/first-time-in-30-yrs-why-nafed-faces-challenge-j-k-himachal-apples-procurement-5984373/

 

Inauguration of Motihari-Amlekhganj (Nepal) pipeline by PM and PM Oli of Nepal

PM Modi and PM Oli of Nepal, today, jointly inaugurated a cross-border petroleum products pipeline via video conference.

-        Prime Minister Oli expressed appreciation for early implementation of this important connectivity project, completed much ahead of schedule.

-        It has a capacity of 2 million metric ton per annum.

-        It will provide cleaner petroleum products at affordable cost to the people of Nepal.

Source: PIB