UPSC Prelims News of 22nd September 2022
Bio-Decomposer
- Context: To control stubble burning and reduce air pollution during winter, the Delhi government will spray a bio-decomposer free of cost over 5,000 acres of paddy fields in the city this year.
- Need: In every winter season, air pollution spikes in Delhi and adjoining areas due to slow wind speed, bursting of firecrackers and pollution from stubble burning.
- About Bio-decomposer: It is composed of a group of beneficial micro-organisms, which rapidly convert crop residues, animal waste, dung and other waste into organic manure.
- A bio-decomposer capsule, developed by the Indian Agricultural Research Institute, turns into a solution through a week-long process, after which it decomposes straw and stubble into manure.
UPSC Prelims News of 21st September 2022
India Hypertension Control Initiative (IHCI)
Context: India has won ‘2022 UN Interagency Task Force and WHO Special Programme on Primary Health Care Award’ for its ‘India Hypertension Control Initiative’.
India Hypertension Control Initiative (IHCI)
- About
- It is a multi-partner initiative involving the Indian Council of Medical Research, WHO-India, Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, and State governments to improve blood pressure control for people with hypertension.
- The project initiated in 26 districts in 2018 has expanded to more than 100 districts by 2022.
- Key features
- Treatment protocols that simplify quality patient care in primary care facilities.
- Provision of adequate supply of quality medicines and blood pressure monitors.
- Comprehensive training for healthcare workers at all levels on latest practices in hypertension treatment.
- Team-based care for counseling and follow up of the patients.
- Prevalence of Hypertension in India
- The overall prevalence of hypertension among adults in India is about 30% with urban prevalence of 34% and rural prevalence of 28%.
- India has set a target of 25% relative reduction in the prevalence of hypertension by 2025.
What is Hypertension?
- Hypertension is defined as having systolic blood pressure level greater than or equal to 140 mmHg or diastolic blood pressure level greater than or equal to 90 mmHg.
- Hypertension is a major cause of premature death worldwide.
India’s First Dugong Conservation Reserve
Context: Tamil Nadu notified the country’s first ‘Dugong Conservation Reserve’ in Palk Bay covering the coastal waters of Thanjavur and Pudukottai districts.
What are Dugongs?
- About: Dugongs also called ‘Sea Cows’, are the largest herbivorous marine mammals.
- Habitat:
- They thrive primarily on sea grasses in shallow coastal waters of the Indian and western Pacific Oceans.
- They are found in the waters of some 40 countries and territories throughout the Indo-West Pacific.
- There are only about 240 individuals estimated to be present in the country and the majority is found in Tamil Nadu coast (Palk Bay).
- Protection status
- Wild Life (Protection) Act, 1972 – Schedule 1.
- IUCN Red List – Vulnerable.
- CITES – Appendix 1.
- Threats
- Habitat loss or degradation because of coastal development or industrial activities that cause water pollution.
- Loss of seagrass beds due to ocean floor trawling.
- Victims of bycatch, the accidental entanglement in fishing nets.
Lumpy Skin Disease (LSD)
Context: Mumbai Police have prohibited cattle transportation in the city to prevent the spread of the lumpy skin disease.
About the Disease:
Spread
- The virus is shed by animals through oral and nasal secretions which may contaminate common feeding and water areas.
- The disease can spread either through direct contact with the vectors or through contaminated fodder and water.
- It can also spread through artificial insemination.
Protective Measures
- Quarantining animals, sanitizing sheds and spraying insecticides to stop vectors such as mosquitoes and other insects are some of the measures.
Economic Impact
- Reduced milk production: The disease leads to reduction in milk production as the animal becomes weak and also loses appetite due to mouth ulceration.
- Contamination of milk: There are chances of LSDV virus in milk derived from the infected animal. However, pasteurizing or boiling ensures that the virus is inactivated or destroyed.
- Income losses: Loss of income can be due to reduced draught power capacity, abortions, infertility and lack of semen for artificial insemination.
Treatment
- Goat pox vaccine: Goat Pox Vaccine has proved effective against LSD and is being used across affected States to contain the spread.
- Indigenous vaccine: Institutes under Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) have developed an indigenous vaccine for LSD.
- Experimental trials conducted on animals have revealed encouraging results.
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