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  • Fortified rice in PDS

    As the Odisha government is preparing to launch fortified rice in the Public Distribution System (PDS), some 100 activists have opposed the move.

    Q.What is Fortification of Food? Discuss its various advantages and limitations.

    What is Fortified Rice?

    • Rice can be fortified by adding a micronutrient powder to the rice that adheres to the grains or spraying of the surface of ordinary rice grains with a vitamin and mineral mix to form a protective coating.
    • Rice can also be extruded and shaped into partially precooked grain-like structures resembling rice grains, which can then be blended with natural polished rice.
    • Rice kernels can be fortified with several micro-nutrients, such as iron, folic acid and other B-complex vitamins, vitamin A and zinc.
    • These fortified kernels are then mixed with normal rice in a 1:100 ratio, and distributed for consumption.

    Its advantage

    • Fortified staple foods will contain natural or near natural levels of micro-nutrients, which may not necessarily be the case with supplements.
    • It provides nutrition without any change in characteristics of food or course of our meals.
    • If consumed on a regular and frequent basis, fortified foods will maintain body stores of nutrients more efficiently and more effectively than will intermittent supplements.
    • The overall costs of fortification are extremely low; the price increase is approximately 1 to 2 per cent of the total food value.

    Issues with fortified food

    • Fortification and enrichment upsets nature’s packaging. Our body does not absorb individual nutrients added to processed foods as efficiently compared to nutrients naturally occurring.
    • Supplements added to foods are less bioavailable. Bioavailability refers to the proportion of a nutrient your body is able to absorb and use.
    • They lack immune-boosting substances.
    • Fortified foods and supplements can pose specific risks for people who are taking prescription medications, including decreased absorption of other micro-nutrients, treatment failure, and increased mortality risk.

    Why did the activists protest?

    • Vitamin C and calcium are available in abundance in natural food. Vitamin C is water soluble.
    • If the rice is laced with Vitamin C, it will get washed away while the rice is cleaned before cooking.
    • It is a futile exercise to add Vitamin C to uncooked rice.
    • In our traditional cooking practices, lemon juice is squeezed into cooked food before its consumption.
    • The decision would lead to wasteful expenditure of taxpayers’ money.

    Note: Biofortification is the process by which the nutritional quality of food crops is improved through agronomic practices, conventional plant breeding, or modern biotechnology. It differs from conventional fortification in that Biofortification aims to increase nutrient levels in crops during plant growth rather than through manual means during the processing of the crops.

    Regulating fortification

    • FSSAI has formulated a comprehensive regulation on fortification of foods namely ‘Food Safety and Standards (Fortification of Foods) Regulations, 2016’.
    • These regulations set the standards for food fortification and encourage the production, manufacture, distribution, sale and consumption of fortified foods.
    • The regulations also provide for the specific role of FSSAI in promotion for food fortification and to make fortification mandatory.
    • WHO recommends fortification of rice with iron, vitamin A and folic acid as a public health strategy to improve the iron status of population wherever rice is a staple food.

    Why it is necessary ?

    • Reaching target populations
    • Avoiding over-consumption in non-target groups
    • Monitoring nutritional status

  • Revised height of Mount Everest

    Nepal and China jointly announced the new height of Mount Everest as 8,848.86 meters.

    8,848 metres — the answer to one of the most widely popular quiz questions, and a number drilled into the minds of school students around the world for decades, is set for a revision.

    Mt. Everest

    • Mount Everest or Sagarmatha, Earth’s highest mountain above sea level, is located in the Himalayas between China and Nepal -– the border between them running across its summit point.
    • Its current official elevation – 8,848.86m – places it more than 200m above the world’s second-highest mountain, K2, which is 8,611m tall and located in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir.
    • The mountain gets its English name from Sir George Everest, a colonial-era geographer who served as the Surveyor General of India in the mid-19th century.
    • Considered an elite climbing destination, Everest was first scaled in 1953 by the Indian-Nepalese Tenzing Norgay and New Zealander Edmund Hillary.

    Try this PYQ:

    Q.When you travel to the Himalayas, you will see the following:

    1. Deep gorges
    2. U-turn river courses
    3. Parallel mountain ranges
    4. Steep gradients causing land-sliding

    Which of the above can be said to be the evidences for the Himalayas being young fold mountains?

    (a) 1 and 2 only

    (b) 1, 2 and 4 only

    (c) 3 and 4 only

    (d) 1, 2, 3 and 4

    Everest’s first survey

    • The mission to measure the world’s highest peak was taken up on a serious note in 1847 and culminated with the finding of a team led by Andrew Waugh of the Royal Surveyor General of India.
    • The team discovered that ‘Peak 15’ — as Mt Everest was referred to then — was the highest mountain, contrary to the then-prevailing belief that Mt Kanchenjunga (8,582 m) was the highest peak in the world.
    • Another belief, prevailing even today, is that 8,840 m is not the height that was actually determined by the 19th-century team.
    • That survey, based on trigonometric calculations, is known as the Great Trigonometric Survey of India.

    Why is the height being revised?

    • The height of the summit, however, is known to change because of tectonic activity, such as the 2015 Nepal earthquake.
    • Its measurement over the decades has also depended on who was surveying.
    • Another debate is whether the height should be based on the highest rock point or the highest snow point.

  • What is Molnupiravir?

    A new drug called Molnupiravir has been shown to stop the transmission of SARS-CoV-2 in 24 hours.

    Must read:

    What is mRNA vaccine?

    Molnupiravir

    • Molnupiravir is an experimental antiviral drug which is orally active and was developed for the treatment of influenza.
    • It is a drug of the synthetic nucleoside derivative N4-hydroxycytidine, and exerts its antiviral action through introduction of copying errors during viral RNA replication.
    • Molnupiravir is being developed by the biotechnology firm Ridgeback Biotherapeutics in collaboration with pharmaceutical firm Merck.
    • The research team repurposed MK-4482/EIDD-2801 against SARS-CoV-2 and tested it on ferrets.
    • This is the first demonstration of an orally available drug to rapidly block SARS-CoV-2 transmission and it can be a game-changer.

  • [pib] Digital platform ‘CO-WIN’

    A New Digital platform ‘CO-WIN’ is being used for COVID-19 Vaccine Delivery.

    Q.India’s first mass adult vaccination drive against COVID-19 is a difficult task. Explain.

    CO-WIN

    • This user friendly mobile app for recording vaccine data is working as a beneficiary management platform having various modules.
    • The platform will be used for recording vaccine data and will form a database of healthcare workers too.
    • The app will have separate modules for administrator, registration, vaccination, beneficiary acknowledgement and reports.
    • Once people start to register for the app, the platform will upload bulk data on co-morbidity provided by local authorities.
    • In the process of forming database of Healthcare Workers, which is in an advanced stage across all States/UTs, data is presently being uploaded on the Co-WIN platform.

    Prioritized group

    Prioritized Population Groups include:

    1. Healthcare Workers in both Government and Private Healthcare facilities
    2. Frontline Workers including personnel from state and central police department, armed forces, home guard, civil defence organizations, disaster management volunteers and municipal workers and
    3. Prioritized Age Group, which includes those aged above 50 years & those with co-morbidities

    (Note: This is not the sequence, but categorization.)

  • Why Surge in FPI in India?

    While emerging economies have been facing the crunch of foreign capital due to the pandemic, India is witnessing the surge of FPI: a sign of investors confidence in the economy. 

    Surge in FDI: Sign of trust India has built

    • In the September quarter, FDI doubled year-on-year to $28.1 billion dollars.
    • While foreign portfolio investor (FPI) inflows across emerging economies witnessed a decline due to the pandemic, India recorded a surge to $13.5 billion – a testimony to investor confidence in India’s growth story.
    • This surge in foreign funds amid the pandemic has been possible because of the continuous effort of the government, businesses, and agencies to make India a sought-after destination.

    Strategies used by the government

    Various steps described below signalled the government’s intention to open up the economy to investments.

    Such steps include the following:-

    • Allowing NRI’s to acquire up to 100% stake in Air India.
    • 26% FDI in the digital sector.
    • Permitting 100% FDI through automatic route in the coal mining sector.
    • 100% FDI for insurance intermediaries.
    • The National Infrastructure Pipeline, a ₹13 trillion project to open up avenues for infrastructure investment for global investors.
    • Apart from these steps, the more recent Production Linked Incentive (PLI) scheme worth an estimated ₹1.5 lakh crore is also a testimony to the government’s intention to encourage entrepreneurship and investment in the country.
    • Steps to skill-train 3 lakh migrant workers the country to realign the rural youth towards industry-relevant jobs is also a step in the right direction.

    Reducing dependency

    • The urgency the Indian government has shown to reduce dependency on China as a hub of the global supply chain.
    • Also, providing an enabling alternative environment has struck the right chord with the world as we see global biggies contemplating a move to India.

    Consider the question “India witnessed a steady flow of foreign capital while the world was battling pandemic. What are the factors responsible for this? What are the risks associated with such capital in the economy?”

    Conclusion

    While persisting with its efforts to attract the capital, the government also needs to focus on improving the productivity and export competitiveness of the economy.

    Back2basics: Difference between FDI and FII

    • FDI is an investment that a parent company makes in a foreign country.
    • On the contrary, FII is an investment made by an investor in the markets of a foreign nation.
    • While FIIs are short-term investments, the FDI’s are long term investment.
    • FII can enter the stock market easily and also withdraw from it easily. But FDI cannot enter and exit that easily.

  • Building political consensus on climate change

    With the victory of Joe Biden in the U.S. Presidential election geopolitics of the climate change is headed for a new reset. The article examines the role India could play in the changing geopolitical realities and also spells out the challenge for India.

    India’s role in geopolitics of climate change

    • India is probably better prepared than in the past when India was widely seen as part of the problem on climate issues.
    • But the urgency of addressing climate change is likely to intensify for two reasons:
    • 1) The election of Biden as US President.
    • 2) The prospect of cooperation on climate change between Washington and Beijing.
    • India’s ability to influence the new geopolitics of climate change will depend a lot on its domestic political resilience in adapting to the new imperatives.
    • While a democratic India struggles to deal with the new internal conflicts centred on climate, China has crafted a new template of “coercive environmentalism”.
    • The Chinese model of coercive environmentalism is finding an echo among some Western environmentalists.
    • Whatever the merits of authoritarian environmentalism, it has little political chance of being replicated in democracies.

    Cooperation on climate change between the US and China

    • Modernising liberal environmentalism is the essence of president-elect Biden’s commitment to integrating the climate question with the domestic policy agenda.
    • “Climate justice” is another important objective of Biden’s domestic environmental policy.
    • It is based on the recognition that pollution and other ecological problems have a greater impact on the poor and minorities.
    • Although coercive and liberal approaches to managing climate change are different, the US and China share some important objectives.
    • Both China and the US (along with the West) recognise the urgency of the challenge.
    • Beijing and Washington are also racing to develop new technologies that will constitute the foundations of the green economic future.
    • Both have zeroed in on industrial policy to achieve their climate objectives.
    • For Xi and Biden, gaining the leadership of the global movement for mitigating climate change is a strategic mission.
    • Washington and Beijing understand that climate politics is in the end about rearranging the global order.
    • Consequently, the new direction of Chinese and US policies (in partnership with Europe and Japan) will inevitably put pressure on other states for climate actions.

    Conclusion

    India’s real test on climate change is on building a new domestic consensus that can address the economic and political costs associated with an internal adjustment to the prospect of a great global reset.

  • Debate over Coding for Kids

    Various edutech startups have been in the news for the past several months over the debate on the right age for children to start learning to code.

    Q.The National Education Policy, 2020 proposal for “coding activities” reads like Macaulay’s minute for English education in the early 19th century. Examine.

    What is Coding?

    • Computers have their own language called programming language which tells them what to do.
    • Coding is the process of using a programming language to get a computer to behave how you want it to.
    • In a broader sense, it is the process of designing and building an executable computer program to accomplish a specific computing result or to perform a specific task.

    In today’s digital age, most toddlers in their diapers, learn to swipe and click before they can speak apparently or walk. What an irony!

    Coding for children

    • In the age of digital revolution, India was able to produce a huge army of coders and programmers —essentially people who could create computer software.
    • As computing devices have taken over every aspect of life, the need for good programmers and coders has been increasing relentlessly.
    • This led to a trend to teach coding and programming to young students since their school ages.
    • In recent years, platforms and companies have started to claim that kids as young as those in elementary school must begin to learn to code.

    Proponents for coding

    • Leaders of technology companies around the world have pushed for coding to be included as a subject in middle or higher secondary school for students who may be interested to learn.
    • In 2018, Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates wrote in a blog post that everyone could benefit from learning the basics of computer science.
    • The idea was to make coding as simple and accessible as the new age “mother tongue” for young children.

    Why should children learn to code?

    • Coding is a basic literacy in the digital age, and it is important for kids to understand and be able to work with and understand the technology around them.
    • It fosters creativity. By experimenting, children learn and strengthen their creativity. It enhances their problem-solving capability.
    • It helps children to be able to visualize abstract concepts, lets them apply math to real-world situations, and makes math fun and creative. Coding is present in many of today’s STEM programs.
    • Children who learn to code understand how to plan and organize thoughts.  This can lead to better writing skills that can be built upon as coding skills develop over time.

    Criticisms of early age coding

    • A metaphor that is often used is that children are being made to ride a bicycle before they have even learnt to walk.
    • There’s a reason why in mathematics addition is taught first, then subtraction, then multiplication, and then division.
    • It is necessary to learn several elements of mathematics and logical thinking before one can code.

  • Climate Change Performance Index (CCPI) 2020

    India ranked high along with the European Union and the United Kingdom in the latest edition of the Climate Change Performance Index (CCPI) 2020 released by non-profit Germanwatch.

    It’s a very rare feat that India has performed so better in any climate-related index. We can use this data to highlight India’s dedicated efforts for Paris Agreement.

    Climate Change Performance Index (CCPI)

    • The CCPI is an independent monitoring tool for tracking countries’ climate protection performance. It has been published annually since 2005.
    • It evaluates 57 countries and the European Union, which together generate 90%+ of global greenhouse gas emissions.
    • Using standardised criteria, the CCPI looks at four categories, with 14 indicators: Greenhouse Gas Emissions (40% of the overall score), Renewable Energy (20%), Energy Use (20%), and Climate Policy (20%).
    • The CCPI’s unique climate policy section evaluates countries’ progress in implementing policies working towards achieving the Paris Agreement goals.

    Global scenario

    • No country was doing enough to meet the goals of the 2015 Paris Agreement, according to the index.
    • Six G20 countries were ranked among very low performers. The United States, with a rank of 61, was the worst performer.

    India’s performance

    • India, for the second time in a row, continued to remain in the top 10. The country scored 63.98 points out of 100.
    • It received high ratings on all CCPI indicators except ‘renewable energy’, where it was categorised as having a ‘medium’ performance.
    • Last year, India had been ranked at the ninth position, with an overall score of 66.02.
    • India needed to focus more on renewable energy, both, as a mitigation strategy and for its post-novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) green recovery, the report said.

    Renewable energy

    • No country was rated very high on indicators defining the ‘renewable energy’ category.
    • India has been ranked at 27th out of 57 countries under the category this time. Last year, it was ranked at 26th.
    • India’s performance has been rated as ‘medium’ for its current share of renewable energy. Its performance for the development of renewable energy supply during the last year was rated as ‘high’.

    A positive sign for India

    • India’s improved policy framework has been responsible for the country’s good performance in this global index. However, the report underlined the need for long-term planning.
    • Unlike the other two ‘BASIC’ countries of China and South Africa, India is yet to announce its mitigation strategy.

  • Investing in India’s youth

    Significant progress has been made in India on the skill development front. However, there are many challenges that are needed to be tackled through policy measures and their effective implementation. The article deals with the issue.

    Progress in skill development in India

    • Evidence shows that many people develop 21st-century skills on the job, or from courses that focus on practical application of skills, rather than in schools.
    • India has laid the foundation for delivering on the vision of making quality skills development programmes available to the youth.
    • Vocational education can be a route for many to gain specific skillsets, such education formats are referred to as Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET).
    • The National Skill Development Policy was launched in 2009 and revamped in 2015, recognising the challenge of skilling with speed and high standards.
    • The Skill India Mission was launched soon after, with the vision for making India the “skill capital” of the world.

    Key finding and recommendations of the UNESCO’s State of the Education Report for India

    • The report focuses on vocational education and training and showcases the growth of the skills development sector.
    • It also provides practical recommendations to ensure that policy is effectively implemented.
    • One of the biggest challenges for expanding the reach of TVET-related courses has been the lack of aspiration and stigma attached to jobs such as carpentry and tailoring.
    • Considerable effort, including information campaigns involving youth role models, would help in improving the image of vocational education.
    • At the same time, common myths around TVET need to be debunked.
    • Research is now proving that TVET graduates for entry level jobs can get paid as much as university graduates.
    • Moreover, students from vocational streams typically take less time to find jobs as compared to university graduates.
    • The report emphasises the need for expanding evidence-based research.
    • High-quality research based on careful data-gathering and analytics can add value to all aspects of TVET planning and delivery.

    Emphasis on vocational education in NEP

    • The new National Education Policy (NEP) aims to provide vocational education to 50% of all learners by 2025.
    • Schools are encouraged to provide students access to vocational education from Grade 6 onwards and to offer courses that are aligned to the local economies and can benefit local communities.
    • For the vision of the NEP to be fulfilled, a robust coordination mechanism for inter-ministerial cooperation is necessary for bringing the skills development and vocational education systems together.

    Conclusion

    Effective implementation of the policies for skill development is essential for capitalising on the country’s demographic dividend.

  • Eco-ducts or Eco-bridges and their significance

    Ramnagar Forest Division in Nainital district, Uttarakhand, recently built its first eco-bridge for reptiles and smaller mammals.

    Q.Discuss how Eco-ducts or eco-bridges provide the best alternative for wildlife connectivity which is disrupted because of manmade highways. Also, discuss various challenges in building such bridges.

    What are Eco-bridges?

    • Eco-ducts or eco-bridges aim to enhance wildlife connectivity that can be disrupted because of highways or logging.
    • These include canopy bridges (usually for monkeys, squirrels and other arboreal species); concrete underpasses or overpass tunnels or viaducts (usually for larger animals); and amphibian tunnels or culverts.
    • Usually, these bridges are overlaid with planting from the area to give it a contiguous look with the landscape.

    Why need such bridges?

    • There are many roadkills on this route, especially of reptiles such as the monitor lizard.
    • The bridge is an awareness-building mechanism for this very congested tourist route.
    • These bridges are a way to see how we can preserve the ecosystem necessary for reptiles that feed on insects, for snakes that feed on reptiles, and for eagles that feed on snakes.

    Need of the hour

    • A 2020 study by the Wildlife Institute of India (WII) noted that nearly 50,000 km of road projects have been identified for construction over the next five to six years.
    • Many highways are being upgraded to four lanes.
    • The National Tiger Conservation Authority had identified three major sites that were cutting across animal corridors.
    • These including National Highway 37 through the Kaziranga-Karbi Anglong landscape in Assam, and State Highway 33 through the Nagarhole Tiger Reserve in Karnataka.

    Some considerations

    • The span and distribution of eco-bridges should depend on animal movement patterns.
    • The bigger bridges will see sambar, spotted deer, nilgai, wild pig using them, while for tigers or leopards if the bridge is 5m or 500 m, it doesn’t bother them.
    • But some animals like the deers, which prefer closed habitats, need smaller bridges.

    Some successes

    • The observation on NH 44, which intersects Kanha-Pench and Pench-Navegaon-Nagzira corridors in various sections, is a success.
    • With five animal underpasses and four minor bridges on the 6.6-km road within the forests, it’s one of India’s success stories.

    Such bridges in news

    • One of the largest underpasses – 1.4km – for animal conservation in India is being built along the Madhya Pradesh-Maharashtra border.
    • Other proposals include the Chennai-Bangalore National Highway, in the Hosur-Krishnagiri segment, near reserve forests for elephant crossings, and in the Tadoba-Andhari Tiger Reserve in Chandrapur, Maharashtra.

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