ANSWER: B
About NFHS Survey
• It is a large-scale, multi-round survey conducted in a representative sample of households
throughout India.
• The survey provides state and national information for India on fertility, infant and child mortality,
the practice of family planning, maternal and child health, reproductive health, nutrition, anaemia,
utilization and quality of health and family planning services.
• The Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MOHFW) designated the International Institute for
Population Sciences (IIPS) Mumbai, as the nodal agency, responsible for providing coordination
and technical guidance for the survey.
• NFHS-5, the most comprehensive survey on socio-economic and health indicators in the country,
shows some surprising demographic transitions.
• The previous four rounds of the NFHS were conducted in 1992-93, 1998-99, 2005-06 and 2015-16.
Highlights of the Report:
• Women outnumber men, fertility has decreased, and India is getting older: There were 1,020
women for 1000 men in the country in 2019-2021. This is the highest sex ratio for any NFHS survey
as well as since the first modern synchronous census conducted in 1881.
• The Total Fertility Rate (TFR) has also come down below the threshold at which the population is
expected to replace itself from one generation to next. TFR was 2 in 2019-2021, just below the
replacement fertility rate of 2.1.
• Children’s nutrition improved but at a slower pace: The share of stunted (low height for age),
wasted (low weight for height), and underweight (low weight for age) children have all come down
since the last NFHS conducted in 2015-16. However, the share of severely wasted children has not,
nor has the share of overweight (high weight for height) or anaemic children.
• India might be food secure, but nutrition is a problem for adults too: Though India might have
achieved food security, 60% of Indians cannot afford nutritious diets
ANSWER: A
Army chief General M M Naravane recently observed military exercise ‘Dakshin Shakti’ with the
Army and the Air Force taking part in it in Jaisalmer.
About military exercise ‘Dakshin Shakti’
• Location of the exercise: The exercise began on Saturday in the deserts of Jaisalmer.
• Participants: T-72, T-90 as well as Vijayanta tanks of the Army and the IAF’s Dhruv and Rudha
helicopters, and the Jaguar fighter aircraft participated in the joint exercise.
• Aim of the exercise: The drill aims to establish the best coordination among the wings of the
armed forces, space technology and artificial intelligence.
• Dignitaries present: General Officer-in-Commanding of the Army’s Southern Command, Lieutenant
General JS Nain, JOC Battle X Division Major General Ajit Singh Gehlot were also present at the
exercise.
ANSWER: A
DBT-National Brain Research Centre (DBT-NBRC), recently developed project SWADESH, a unique
brain initiative focusing on certified neuroimaging, neurochemical, neuropsychological data and
analytics that are made accessible to researchers for managing brain disorders. It was inaugurated
by Dr. Jitendra Singh, Union Minister of State (Independent Charge) for the Ministry of Science and
Technology
• About SWADESH
• SWADESH is the first large-scale multimodal neuroimaging database designed specifically for
Indian population with big-data architecture and analytics for various disease categories under one
platform.
• 6 modules covered under SWADESH: The initiative proposes a big-data architecture that manages
and analyzes six modules namely neurodegenerative [Alzheimer’s Disease (AD), mild cognitive
impairment (MCI), and Parkinson’s disease (PD)], neuropsychiatric (schizophrenia and bipolar
disorder), neurodevelopmental (autism and epilepsy), COVID-19-related disorders and other
disorders.
ANSWER: C
Recently, Madhya Pradesh Cabinet approved the proposal to create cyber tehsils. This was
informed by Home Minister Narottam Mishra, adding that the state will be the first across the
country to do so.
About Cyber Tehsils:
• Cyber Tehsil will help in making the property mutation process easy and people will be able to take
the benefit of the system from anywhere in the state.
• In addition, the Cyber Tehsil will make the process of conversion convenient in the cases of
undisputed land through this service.
ANSWER: B
Recently, National Multidimensional Index of India (MPI) report issued by the Niti Aayog
About Multidimensional Index of India (MPI) report and Himachal Pradesh
• Himachal Pradesh has bagged the 23rd position in the National Multidimensional Index of India
(MPI) report issued by the Niti Aayog, with 7.62 per cent of its population being multidimensionally poor.
• Chamba tops the state with 11.27 per cent MPI, while Sirmaur and Solan district were at the
second and third position with MPI of 10.88 and 9.24 per cent, respectively.
• Smaller district of Kullu was at the fourth position with 8.97 per cent MPI while Mandi is ahead of
tribal districts Lahaul-Spiti and Kinnaur, registering MPI of 8.3 per cent as against 7.7 per cent
registered by Lahaul-Spiti, which occupies the sixth position among districts. Presence of industrial
clusters appears to have failed to alleviate poverty in Solan and Sirmaur. Bilaspur secured MPI of
7.54 per cent and occupied the seventh position while Shimla is marginally better at eight position
with MPI of 7.5 per cent.
• The state’s biggest district of Kangra has MPI of 5.88 per cent where Una stood next with MPI of
5.12 per cent, followed by Kinnaur at 5.10 per cent and Hamirpur has the lowest MPI score of 4.60
per cent. The MPI was found to be more pronounced in rural areas.
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