Current Context : A 75-year-old man from Kerala, who had recently traveled to Vietnam and Cambodia, was diagnosed with murine typhus, a bacterial infection caused by Rickettsia typhi.

ABOUT MURINE TYPHUS:

• It is an infectious disease caused by the flea-borne bacteria Rickettsia typhi.
• Transmission: Spread through bites from infected fleas or contact with their feces, especially when it enters cuts or abrasions on the skin. Humans cannot transmit it directly to one another.
• Symptoms: Usually appear 7 to 14 days after exposure and include fever, headache, body aches, nausea, vomiting, and possibly a rash several days later.
• Common in tropical and subtropical regions. In India, it has been reported in the Northeast, Madhya Pradesh, and Kashmir.
• Treatment : No vaccine is available for murine typhus, but doxycycline is an effective antibiotic when used early.

Current Context : Himachal Pradesh government is working on consolidating various water-related laws under a single “Umbrella Act”.

Aim : to streamline the state’s water governance, addressing issues such as regulation of water usage, conservation, and disputes over water resources.

• Additionally, the state had introduced a water cess on hydropower projects to generate additional revenue, targeting up to Rs 1,000 crore annually.
  • The Himachal Pradesh High Court recently struck down the water cess, deeming it ​

ABOUT UMBRELLA ACT:

• Objective: to combine all existing water-related laws under a single framework. This is intended to:
  • Improve regulation and management of water resources.
  • Address the increasing demand and challenges related to water usage.
  • Enhance clarity and reduce conflicts related to water governance.

Current Context : Recently, Global Hunger Index is published by Irish humanitarian organisation Concern Worldwide and German aid agency Welthungerhilfe.

• India is among 42 countries that fall within the “serious” category, alongside Pakistan and Afghanistan.
• Other South Asian neighbours such as Bangladesh, Nepal and Sri Lanka showing better GHI scores to be listed under the “moderate” category.

INDIA’S RANK AND KEY FINDINGS:

• India’s Rank:105th out of 127 countries, classified under the “serious” hunger category.
• Score: India scored 3, showing slight improvement from previous years but still reflecting significant hunger challenges.
• Child Malnutrition: India has the highest child wasting rate (18.7%) globally, along with a stunting rate of 35.5%. These rates highlight severe child under nutrition issues.
• Undernourishment: The prevalence of undernourishment is 13.7%, with a child mortality rate of 2.9%.
• Despite improvement in child mortality since 2000, malnutrition remains a critical issue.

ABOUT GLOBAL HUNGER INDEX (GHI)

GHI is a tool designed to measure and track hunger at global, regional, and national levels.

The GHI is calculated using four indicators:

1. Undernourishment:Insufficient caloric intake.
2. Child Wasting:Low weight for height in children under five.
3. Child Stunting:Low height for age.
4. Child Mortality:Deaths of children under five.

GLOBAL PERSPECTIVE:

• Global Hunger Stagnation:Since 2016, global progress in reducing hunger has slowed, making the goal of achieving Zero Hunger by 2030 unlikely. Of 127 countries, 42 are still facing “serious” or “alarming” hunger levels.
• The report also links hunger with climate changeand gender inequality, emphasizing the vulnerability of women and minorities to food insecurity.

Current Context : The Union Ministry of Earth Sciences has approved the installation of an X-band radar in Wayanad, Kerala, following severe floods and landslides.

ABOUT X-BAND RADAR:

• Frequency Range: Operates in the 8-12 GHz range, allowing for high-resolution imaging.
• Applications: Monitors particle movements, such as soil, aiding in landslide warnings.
• Real-Time Monitoring: Capable of rapid sampling to detect changes in particle movement.
• Weather Observation: Useful for studying cloud development and light precipitation due to its ability to detect small water particles​

WHAT IS RADAR?

• Radar (Radio Detection and Ranging) uses radio waves to determine the distance, speed, and characteristics of objects.
• Functionality: Emits a signal that reflects off objects, with the return signal analyzed for information.
• Common Use: Weather radar is a significant application, helping to track weather patterns and precipitation​
• Weather radar, also known as a Doppler radar, is a common application of this device. The Doppler effect is the change in frequency of sound waves as their source moves towards and away from a listener.

Current Context : Dragon Drones are a new and deadly weapon seen in the Russia-Ukraine war.

ABOUT DRAGON DRONES:

• These drones deploy thermite, a chemical compound made of aluminum and iron oxide.
• Thermite ignites with an electric fuse, causing a self-sustaining, high-temperature reaction that can burn through almost anything, including military-grade vehicles, clothes, and even underwater targets.
• Functionality: They burn through vehicles, foliage, and military equipment, bypassing traditional defenses.
• Primary Use: Target defoliation (destroying tree cover used by Russian troops) and psychological warfare due to the severe burns thermite can cause

Current Context : Recently, a team from the World Health Organization (WHO) has arrived in Deeg, Rajasthan, to investigate a rise in diphtheria cases.

ABOUT DIPHTHERIA

• Diphtheria, a contagious bacterial infection caused by Corynebacterium diphtheriae.
• It primarily affects children, particularly those from newborns to 16 years old, though it can affect adults too in areas with poor immunization coverage.
• Transmission: Spreads from person to person through respiratory droplets when an infected person coughs or sneezes.
• Diphtheria is preventable through vaccines. In India, it is covered under the Universal Immunization Program (UIP) and provided as part of the DTP (Diphtheria, Tetanus, Pertussis)

Global and Indian Context:

• India is one of the countries reporting a significant number of diphtheria cases. For instance, India recorded 2,365 cases in 2015 as per WHO data​
• Globally, diphtheria cases have been rising, with 16,651 cases reported in 2018, double the annual average from 1996 to 2017. 

Current Context : India and Canada have expelled their top envoys along with other diplomats as the row intensifies over last year’s assassination of a Sikh separatist on Canadian soil.

• Relations between Delhi and Ottawa worsened after Canada’s Prime Minister Justin Trudeau alleged Indian involvement in the killing of a Canadian Sikh leader, Hardeep Singh Nijjar. India called the accusations absurd.

INDIA-CANADA RELATIONS

• Bilateral trade in goods : Showed declining trend in 2023 (USD 7.65 billion from USD 10.50 billion in 2022).
  • In December 2023, India exported goods worth $331 million to Canada and imported $444 million, resulting in a trade deficit for India.​
• Consular Matters : Signed Mutual Legal Assistance Treaty in 1994 and Extradition Treaty in 1987.
• Nuclear Cooperation Agreement : Signed in 2010 under which Joint Committee on Civil Nuclear Cooperation was instituted.
• Space: ISRO, launched its 100th Satellite from PSLV in 2018, also flew Canadian first LEO (Low earth Orbit) satellite.
• Cultural : Canada is home to one of the largest Indian communities, with over 1.6 million people of Indian origin, which plays a significant role in bilateral relations

Current Context : S.Paramesh has been appointed as the new Director General of the Indian Coast Guard, following the passing of Rakesh Pal.

• He is an alumnus of the National Defence College and the Defence Services Staff College.

Awards: He has earned prestigious awards, including the President’s Tatrakshak Medal.

ABOUT INDIAN COAST GUARD

• The Indian Coast Guard plays a crucial role in maritime security, safeguarding India’s 7,516 km coastline.
• It performs both benign (such as search and rescue operations) and constabulary roles, including maritime surveillance, pollution control, and coastal security.

Observed annually on October 17.

• Aim : to promote awareness of the need to eradicate poverty and to highlight the struggles faced by people living in poverty.
• Theme : “Ending Social and Institutional Maltreatment”
• The day was first commemorated in 1987 when 100,000 people gathered in Paris to honor victims of poverty.
• The United Nations officially recognized October 17 as the International Day for the Eradication of Poverty in 1992.

Current Context : The Nobel Memorial Prize in economics was awarded to Daron Acemoglu, Simon Johnson and James A Robinson for their research into differences in prosperity between nations.

• They received the prize for their research into how institutions shape which countries become wealthy and prosperous — and how those structures came to exist in the first place.
• Acemoglu and Johnson work at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Robinson conducts his research at the University of Chicago.

ABOUT PRIZE :

• The economics prize is formally known as the Bank of Sweden Prize in Economic Sciences in Memory of Alfred Nobel.
• The central bank established it in 1968 as a memorial to Nobel, the 19th-century Swedish businessman and chemist who invented dynamite and established the five Nobel Prizes.