Anemia: A key focus area during Rashtriya Poshan Maah 2024

Highlights:

• Anemia has always been one of the key focus areas under Jan Andolans so far.

Beneficiary Coverage:

• Pregnant Women (PW): 6.9 million
• Lactating Mothers (LM): 4.3 million
• Adolescent Girls (14-18 years): 2.2 million (under Scheme for Adolescent Girls - SAG)

National Outreach:

• Direct presence of over 100 million beneficiaries.
• Biannual nationwide "Jan Andolans" for nutrition awareness.

Anaemia

• According to the World Health Organization (WHO), anaemia is a condition in which the number of red blood cells or the haemoglobin concentration within them is lower than normal.
• Haemoglobin is needed to carry oxygen.
• If there are too few red blood cells, or not enough haemoglobin, there will be a decreased capacity of the blood to carry oxygen to the body’s tissues.
• This results in symptoms such as fatigue, weakness, dizziness and shortness of breath among others.

Factors

• The most common nutritional cause of anaemia is iron deficiency although deficiencies in folate, vitamins B12 and A are also important causes.
• Certain chronic diseases, such as kidney disease, liver disease, cancer, or autoimmune disorders, can interfere with the production of red blood cells.
• Inherited conditions, such as sickle cell anemia or thalassemia, affect the structure or function of red blood cells, leading to chronic anemia.

Statistics

• National Family Health Survey (NFHS-5) 2019-21: According to NFHS-5, approximately 67% of children under 5 years, 57% of women aged 15-49, and 25% of men aged 15-49 were found to be anemic. These figures highlight the high prevalence rates across different demographics.
• Anemia in Children: The prevalence of anemia among children under five years old was about 67%, which is a serious concern as it impacts their growth and development.
• Anemia in Women: Around 57% of women aged 15-49 were reported to be anemic, with higher prevalence in rural areas compared to urban areas.
• Anemia in Adolescents: Adolescent girls, in particular, face high rates of anemia, which can affect their health and educational outcomes.

Government Initiatives to Tackle Anemia

• Anaemia Mukt Bharat(AMB): It was launched in 2018 as part of the Intensified National Iron Plus Initiative (NIPI) Program for accelerating the annual rate of decline of anaemia from one to three percentage points.
• The target groups for AMB are Children 6-59 months, 5-9 years, Adolescent Girls & Boys of 10-19 years, Women of Reproductive Age (15-49 years), Pregnant Women and Lactating Mothers.
• Weekly Iron and Folic Acid Supplementation (WIFS):
• This Programme is being implemented to meet the challenge of high prevalence and incidence of anaemia amongst adolescent girls and boys.
• The intervention under WIFS includes supervised weekly ingestion of Iron Folic Acid (IFA) tablet.
• Operationalization of Blood Bank: In District Hospitals and Blood Storage Unit in subdistrict facilities such as Sub-Divisional Hospital/ Community Health Centers is being taken to tackle complications due to severe anaemia.
• Pradhan Mantri Surakshit Matritva Abhiyan (PMSMA): It has been launched to focus on conducting special ANC check up on 9th of every month with the help of medical officers/ OBGYN to detect and treat cases of anaemia.

Other Steps Taken:

• To control worm infestation biannual deworming with Albendazole is provided.
• Health management information system & Mother Child tracking system is being implemented for reporting and tracking the cases of anaemic and severely anaemic pregnant women.
• Universal screening of pregnant women for anaemia is a part of ante-natal care and all pregnant women are provided iron and folic acid tablets during their ante-natal visits through the existing network of sub-centres and primary health centres and other health facilities as well as through outreach activities at Village Health & Nutrition Days (VHNDs).

Ministry of Labour and Employment Pushes for Inclusion of Marginalised Workers Under Housing Scheme

Highlights:

• The new initiative aims to include migrant workers, building workers, beedi workers, cine workers, non-coal mine workers, contract laborers, and other unorganized workers under PMAY.
• The Union Cabinet has approved extending PMAY''s implementation for an additional five years, from FY 2024-25 to 2028-29, with a target of providing 2 Crore (20 million) additional houses.

Focus on Marginalized Workers:

• Target Groups: The decision specifically targets economically vulnerable workers who have been historically marginalized.
• Social Justice: The inclusion under PMAY addresses their critical housing needs, aiming to improve their living conditions and support social equity.
• Operational MIS Portal: The portal is designed to collect and analyze data on fund utilization and workers'' coverage under various social security schemes, including insurance, health benefits, and housing.

Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana:

• Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (PMAY) is a credit-linked subsidy scheme initiated to provide affordable housing to low and moderate-income residents across the country.
• The newly formed government has approved the proposal to provide 3 crore additional rural and urban houses under PMAY.
• The scheme has two components: PMAY-U for the urban poor and PMAY-G and PMAY-R for the rural poor.

PMAY-U (Urban):

• Objective:To provide housing for all in urban areas.
• Beneficiaries: Economically Weaker Section (EWS), Low-Income Group (LIG), and Middle-Income Group (MIG).

Subsidy Schemes:

• Credit Linked Subsidy Scheme: Offers interest subsidy on home loans for EWS, LIG, and MIG categories.
• In-Situ Slum Redevelopment: Utilizes land as a resource to provide houses to eligible slum dwellers.
• Affordable Housing in Partnership: Promotes partnerships with public and private sectors to provide affordable housing.
• Beneficiary-Led Construction: Provides financial assistance to individuals to construct or enhance their own houses.

PMAY-G (Gramin):

• Objective: To provide a pucca house with basic amenities to all rural families who are homeless or living in kutcha or dilapidated houses.
• Beneficiaries: Identified using the Socio-Economic and Caste Census (SECC) 2011.

Features:

• Financial Assistance: 1.2 lakh in plain areas and Rs. 1.3 lakh in hilly, difficult, and Integrated Action Plan (IAP) areas.
• Construction: Houses are to be constructed by beneficiaries with technical assistance from the government.
• Convergence with other schemes: Encourages convergence with other schemes like Swachh Bharat Mission (SBM) for toilet construction, and MGNREGA for wage employment.

Challenges to Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana

• Delay in Implementation: The government initially set a deadline of constructing 29.5 million housing units under PMAY-G and 12 million under PMAY-U programmes by March 2022. However, the government missed this target and in August 2022 extended the deadline to ensure “housing for all” to December 2024.
• Improper Execution: Some states delay their contributions which drastically affects progress. In 2020, nine states had delayed the payment of 2,915.21 crores to the beneficiaries. 
• Access to Finance: The disbursed amount of 1.2/1.3 lakh subsidy is not enough to build a house in rural areas therefore households need more funds from financial institutions to cover the shortfall.
• Quality of Housing: The CAG report found poor quality housing in PMAY-G due to lack of supervision, with beneficiaries unaware of construction standards and no mechanism ensuring the effectiveness of provided prototypes.
• Convergence: The PMAY scheme aims to coordinate with other government initiatives like Swachh Bharat Mission, MGNREGA, Jal Jeevan Mission, and Ujjwala Yojana for providing basic amenities during house construction, but reports highlight shortcomings in scheme coordination, such as incomplete toilets in Rajasthan leading to false claims of ''Open Defecation Free'' status.
• Lack of Awareness: Many rural residents are unaware of PMAY or lack the needed documents, with illiteracy, poor awareness campaigns, and complex documentation hindering access to housing subsidies and loans.

Steps Needed to strengthen PMAY

• Timely Release of Funds: Some states face delays in receiving central government funds, with a reported deficit of 200 crores in 2020, prompting the need for timely release of state contributions and direct benefit transfers akin to MGNREGA.
• Formal Credit Facility: Progress of credit disbursal is slow as major banks like SBI don''t have Economically weaker Section (EWS)-specific products due to high risk and low profits, needing government intervention for stable financing for ''Housing for All''.
• More Inclusive: The need of the hour is to acknowledge the limitations of the existing scheme and to devise an intervention solely intended to solve the housing problem of the landless rural population.
• Quality Assurance: It is recommended that the government strengthen the quality monitoring mechanisms. Measures like social audits can be considered.
• Awas Bandhu: Awas Bandhu (PMAY-G Local Motivators) are effectively speeding up progress in places like West Bengal and Odisha. With proper training, they can be an important instrument to enhance convergence possibilities.

“VISHANU YUDDH ABHYAS”: A Mock Drill on Pandemic Preparedness conducted under National One Health Mission

Highlights:

• Objective: The exercise aimed to evaluate pandemic preparedness by simulating a zoonotic disease outbreak.
• Scope: It involved assessing the readiness and response of the National Joint Outbreak Response Team (NJORT), comprising experts from human health, animal husbandry, and wildlife sectors.

National One Health Mission

• It is a comprehensive initiative endorsed by Prime Minister''s Science, Technology, and Innovation Advisory Council (PM-STIAC) in July 2022.
• This mission involves 13 ministries and departments,including the Department of Science and Technology, the Department of Biotechnology (DBT), the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), and others, to take a holistic approach to One Health and pandemic preparedness.
• The establishment of a National Institute for One Health in Nagpur is a key milestone in the mission.
• The institute will act as the coordinating body for national and international activities in the field of One Health.
• The foundation stoneof this institute was laid by the Prime Minister on December 11, 2022.
• The mission aims to coordinate across ministries in achieving overall pandemic preparedness and integrated disease control against priority diseases of both human and animal sectors.

Goals and Strategies of The National One Health Mission

Integrated Disease Surveillance

• The mission aims to establish a seamless and cohesive surveillance systemthat monitors health indicators across human, animal, and environmental sectors.
• By integrating data from these areas, the mission can detect potential health threats earlyand respond more effectively.

Joint Outbreak Response

• A coordinated approach to outbreak response is essentialfor managing and controlling diseases that can affect humans, animals, and the environment.
• The mission seeks to establish protocols and frameworksthat enable different sectors to work together during outbreaks, sharing resources and information to minimize the impact.

Coordinated Research and Development (R&D)

• The mission promotes collaboration across various scientific research institutions and government departmentsto foster the development of innovative solutions for emerging health threats.
• This includes the creation of vaccines, therapeutics, and diagnosticsthat are essential for pandemic preparedness and response.

Information Sharing and Communication

• Effective communication and information sharing are crucial for a coordinated One Health approach.
• The mission aims to facilitate seamless data exchange between different sectors and stakeholders, ensuring that all parties are well-informedand can take timely action when necessary.

Preparedness for Future Pandemics

• Building on the lessons learned from past pandemics, the mission strives to develop strategies and frameworks that will enable the country to be better preparedfor future health crises.
• This includes planning for potential pandemics and emerging diseases such as avian influenza or Nipah virus.

Resource Optimisation

• By leveraging the resources and expertise of multiple sectors and stakeholders, the mission aims to optimise the use of available resources, including laboratory infrastructure,healthcare facilities, and scientific research capabilities.
• This collaboration helps in addressing health threats more efficiently and cost-effectively.

Public Health Education and Awareness

• The mission includes educating the public about the interconnectedness of human, animal, and environmental health.
• Raising awareness about One Health principles can promote healthier behaviours and better preparedness for health emergencies.

Centre notifies constitution of 23rd Law Commission

• The term of the Commission will be for period of three years till 31st August 2027.
• The Commission will have a full-time chairperson and four full-time members including a member-secretary.

Law Commission of India

• The Law Commission of India is a non-statutory body constituted by the Government of India from time to time.
• The first Law Commission of independent India was established in 1955 for a three-year term.
• The first Law Commissionwas established during the British Raj era in 1834 by the Charter Act of 1833 and was chaired by Lord Macaulay.

Objectives:

• It works as an advisory body to the Ministry of Law and Justice.
• The Law Commission undertakes research in law and review of existing laws in India for making reforms therein and enacting new legislations on a reference made to it by the Central Government or suo-motu.

Composition:

• Apart from having a full-time chairperson, the commission will have four full-time members, including a member-secretary.
• Law and Legislative Secretaries in the Law Ministry will be the ex-officio members of the commission.
• It will also have not more than five part-time members.
• A retired Supreme Court judge or Chief Justice of a High Court will head the Commission.

Important Recommendations of the Commission

• The Law Commission has taken up various subjects on references made by Department of Legal Affairs, Supreme Court and High Courts and submitted 277 reports.
• The Commission provides thought provoking and vital review of the laws in India.

Important Recommendations include –

• The 170th report of the Law commission on Electoral reforms, 1999 had suggested simultaneous Lok Sabha and State Assembly Elections. It recommended that this is for the improvement of governance and stability of the states.
• The Law Commission in its 262nd report recommended the abolition of death penalty for all crimes except terror-related offences and waging war against the state.

Centre gives nod to defence proposals worth 1.44 lakh cr.

Highlights regarding the Defence Acquisition Council (DAC) meeting chaired by Defence Minister Rajnath Singh:

Approval of Acceptance of Necessity (AoN):

• The DAC approved AoN for 10 capital acquisition proposals amounting to ₹1,44,716 crore. This is a significant step in the procurement process for defense acquisitions.

 Key Proposals:

• Stealth Frigates (Project-17B): Procurement of seven advanced stealth frigates.
• Future-Ready Combat Vehicles (FRCV): Development of next-generation Main Battle Tanks to replace T-72 and T-90 tanks.
• Air Defence Fire Control Radars (FCR): For detecting and tracking aerial targets and providing firing solutions.
• Dornier-228 Aircraft: For enhancing surveillance and patrol capabilities.
• Fast Patrol and Offshore Patrol Vessels: Advanced vessels for the Indian Coast Guard with high operational capabilities.

 Indigenous Content:

• 99% of the cost is allocated to indigenous sources under the "Buy (Indian)" and "Buy (Indian-Indigenously Designed Developed and Manufactured)" categories, reflecting a strong emphasis on self-reliance.

Significance of FRCV:

• The FRCV is expected to be a futuristic Main Battle Tank with superior mobility, all-terrain capability, multilayered protections, precision fires, and real-time situational awareness. This project aims to replace outdated T-72 and T-90 tanks.

Coast Guard Enhancements:

• The proposals include advanced Dornier-228 aircraft, next-generation fast patrol vessels with enhanced capabilities for rough weather, and offshore patrol vessels for extended long-range operations.

Defence Acquisition Council (DAC)

Establishment: The Defense Acquisition Council (DAC) of India was established in 2001 under the Ministry of Defence to oversee the procurement of defense equipment and weapons for the Indian Armed Forces.

Primary Function

• The DAC serves as the highest decision-making bodywithin the Ministry of Defence on defense procurement matters. It formulates policies and guidelines to streamline the acquisition process and ensure transparency, efficiency, and accountability.
• Give in principle approval of a 15 years Long Term Integrated Perspective Plan (LTIPP) for defence forces.
• Accord of acceptance of necessity to acquisition proposals.
• Categorisation of the acquisition proposals relating to ‘Buy’, ‘Buy & Make’ and ‘Make’.
• Look into issues relating to single vendor clearance.
• Take decisions regarding Transfer of Technology under the ‘Buy & Make’ category of acquisition proposals.
• Field trial evaluation.

Composition

• Chaired by the Defence Minister of India,the DAC includes members from the armed forces, Ministry of Defence, and other relevant departments. The Chief of Defence Staff and the three Service Chiefs are also part of the council.

Challenges and Future Directions

• Despite its efforts, the DAC faces challenges such as bureaucratic delays, budgetary constraints, and complex procurement procedures. Going forward, the council aims to streamline decision-making processes, promote indigenous defense manufacturing, and leverage emerging technologies to bolster India''s defense preparedness in an evolving security environment.