ANSWER: C

WHY IN NEWS?

WHO on 23^rd July launched its first Regional Status Report on Drowning Prevention in the South-East Asia and Western Pacific regions. This report said that nearly two-thirds of all global deaths due to drowning occur in the Asia Pacific region.

About:

• Drowning is the third leading cause of unintentional injury and death worldwide and it accounts for 7% of all injury-related deaths.
• This report by WHO states that Middle and low income countries account for more than 90% of all the unintentional drowning deaths in the world. Also over 50% of the world’s total drowning occurs in the Western Pacific and South-East Asia regions.
• In 48 of the 85 countries which have data on drowning, it is among the top five causes of death for children who are under the 15 years of age.
• Drowning accounts for 75% of all deaths during flood disasters. Many countries in the South-East Asia and Western Pacific regions are vulnerable to this form of disaster.
• In the year 2019, more than 1,44,000 people had drowned in the Asia Pacific region which accounts for 61% of all global drowning deaths.
• Around 70,000 and 74,000 deaths in the WHO South-East Asia and Western Pacific regions respectively occurred due to drowning. Of the 70,000 drowning related deaths more than 33% were among children who were aged less than 15 years.

ANSWER: D

WHY IN NEWS?

A study conducted by Danone India, a French packaged foods and beverages company, along with Confederation of Indian Industry (CII), has gauged the standard of psychological and physical, social relationships, and environment among more than 2,700 adults in India. It came up with the report that 46.2% Indians report a poor quality of life.

Finding of the report

• This report has revealed that nearly one out of every two Indian adults have reported a poor quality of life. That is 46.2% Indians.
• The city of Kolkata has recorded the highest percentage of adults (65%) with a poor Quality of Life score.
• Kolkata was followed by Chennai (49.8%), Delhi (48.5%), Patna (46.2%), Hyderabad (44.4%), Lucknow (40%) and Indore (39.2%).
• The city of Mumbai had the highest percentage of adults (68%) who recorded having a good quality of life
• Women scored less than for men in the aspect of physical health due to a lower level of physical activity among women.
• The survey also showed how the scores vary based on one’s age, gender, work and socio-economic status.

ANSWER: C

WHY IN NEWS?

In United Nation’s Economic and Social Commission for Asia Pacific’s (UNESCAP) latest Global Survey on Digital and Sustainable Trade Facilitation, India has scored 90.32%.

India’s performance in the survey

• Having evaluated 143 economies globally, this year’s Survey has highlighted India’s significant score improvement on all 5 key indicators.
• Transparency is 100% in 2021 (It was 93.33% in 2019)
• Formalities has been recorded at 95.83% in 2021 (It was 87.5% in 2019)
• Institutional Arrangement and Cooperation is 88.89% in 2021 (It was 66.67% in 2019)
• In 2021 Paperless Trade is 96.3% (It was 81.48% in 2019)
• Cross-Border Paperless Trade in 2021 is 66.67% (In 2019 it was 55.56%)
• Comparing to the South and South West Asia region (63.12%) and Asia Pacific region (65.85%) India has performed the best.
• This survey has found that the overall score of India is greater than many OECD countries which include UK, France, Norway, Canada and Finland etc.
• The survey shows that India’s overall score is better than the European Union’s average score.
• For the Transparency index India has achieved a 100% score
• In the Women in trade component India has achieved 66%.

 ANSWER: A

WHY IN NEWS?
On 22^nd July, 2021, young wrestlers from India Priya and Tannu became the latest world champions at the Cadet World Championship.

About:

• Tannu en route to the 43kg title did not concede even a single point. She won three out of her four bouts by fall. This includes the final match against Valeryia Mikitsich of Belarus.
• Priya won the title in the 73kg category with a 5-0 win over Kseniya Patapovich of Belarus.
• Sagar Jaglan (80kg) and Aman Gulia (48kg) won titles in men’s freestyle competition and this propelled the Indian team to the Team championship title which India won for the first time.
• Varsha, another participant from India, won the bronze medal in the 65kg category with a victory by fall against Duygu Gen of Turkey.
• India finished on top with 147 points, ahead of USA (143) and Russia (140).

ANSWER: A

WHY IN NEWS?

Recently, the fort at Gandikota was identified for development under the Centrally-sponsored ‘Adopt a Heritage’ programme. Further, 3 monuments – Nagarjuna Konda in Guntur district, the Buddhist remains at Salihundam in Srikakulam district and the Veerabhadra temple at Lepakshi in Anantapur district have been identified for development under ‘Adarsh Smarak’ scheme.

About:

Ministry: Ministry of Culture

• The scheme was launched in 2014 for providing improved visitor amenities, especially for the physically challenged, besides cleanliness, drinking water, and interpretation centres, cafeteria, souvenir shop, wi-fi, garbage disposal etc.

Objectives:

• To make the monument accessible to differently-abled.
• To make monument visitor friendly.
• Furthermore, to implement Swachh Bharat Abhiyan.
• Also, to upgrade/provide washrooms, drinking water, signages, cafeteria, and wi-fi facilities.
• To provide interpretation and audio-video centers.
• To streamline wastewater and garbage disposal and a rainwater harvesting system.
• Lastly, to provide safety and protection

ANSWER: C

WHY IN NEWS?

The Indian Navy took part in a bilateral Passage Exercise(PASSEX) with the UK Royal Navy Carrier Strike Group(CSG)-21 in the Bay of Bengal.

Passage Exercise(PASSEX):

• Passage Exercise will take place between the two navies to ensure that the navies are able to communicate and cooperate in times of war or humanitarian relief.
• The Indian Navy had conducted similar passing exercises with the Japan Maritime Self-Defence Force, French Navy, and US Navy among others.

India-UK PASSEX Exercise:

• This is the maiden PASSEX exercise between the Indian Navy and the UK Royal Navy.
• The exercise was designed to hone the two navies’ ability to operate together in the maritime domain

 ANSWER: D

WHY IN NEWS?

An 11-year-old boy in Delhi died of H5N1 avian influenza. This is the first recorded death due to the bird flu in India in 2021.

About Bird Flu:

• Bird flu or avian influenza is a disease caused by avian influenza Type A viruses found naturally in wild birds worldwide.
• The virus can infect domestic poultry including chickens, ducks, turkeys and there have been reports of H5N1 infection among pigs, cats, and even tigers in Thailand zoos.

Types:

• Avian Influenza type a viruses are classified based on two proteins on their surfaces – Hemagglutinin (HA) and Neuraminidase (NA).
• There are about 18 HA subtypes and 11 NA subtypes. Several combinations of these two proteins are possible e.g., H5N1, H7N2, H9N6, H17N10 among others.

Symptoms:

• Symptoms of avian influenza include – Fever, cough, sore throat, muscle aches, nausea, abdominal pain, diarrhea, vomiting, severe respiratory illness, and Neurologic changes.

 ANSWER: A

WHY IN NEWS?

The Supreme Court has knocked down portions of a constitutional amendment that limited states’ exclusive control over cooperative organizations.

About:

Part IXB, added to the Constitution in 2012 by the 97th Amendment, outlined the rules for operating cooperative organizations.

• The amendment’s provisions, which were passed by Parliament without being ratified by state legislatures as needed by the Constitution, established the number of directors a society should have their tenure and even the essential eminent domain powers.
• The decision could be noteworthy in light of concerns expressed by states that the new Central Ministry of Cooperation would disempower them.

What were the court’s observations?

The court concluded that cooperative societies fall under the “exclusive legislative jurisdiction” of the state legislature. The Supreme Court, on the other hand, stated that the Centre has authority over multi-State cooperative groups.

• Firstly, the court held that under Entry 32 of the State List and Part IX B has “seriously and considerably harm the State legislature‘s “exclusive legislative jurisdiction” over their cooperative sector.
• Secondly, parliament, as the recipient of limited power, can only exercise it in conformity with the procedural and substantive constraints set forth in the Indian Constitution.
• Thirdly, the parts of Part IXB of the Amendment dealing with “Multi-State Cooperative Societies” were not struck down by the court due to a lack of ratification.