Context:

• In a major policy change, the WHO has recently included three fixed dose combinations of cardiovascular medicines or polypills 2023 for use in primary and secondary prevention of atherosclerotic cardiovascular diseases.

About Polypills:

• Evidence from large randomised-controlled trials shows that use of the polypill is associated with reduced risks of cardiovascular events, including fatal and non-fatal myocardial infarction and stroke.
• The polypill is thus an important low-cost public health intervention which can prevent over millions of cardiovascular events and deaths every year.
• The polypill is not a new drug but a drug delivery mechanism, which improves medication adherence (because it is a single pill) and saves money by preventing hospitalisations.
• One of the polypills that has been included in the EML is Polycap. This four-drug combination includes simvastatin, ramipril, atenolol, hydrochlorothiazide along with acetylsalicylic acid or aspirin.

Fixed Dose Combinations(FDC):

• Fixed Dose Combinations refer to products containing one or more active ingredients used for a particular indication(s).
• These FDCs combine two or more active drugs in a single dosage form, like a tablet or capsule. 

Active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs):

• APIs are the active components in a pharmaceutical drug that produce the required effect on the body to treat a condition. APIs are produced by processing chemical compounds.
• APIs are broadly categorized into two types: synthetic and natural , synthetic drugs are processed in the labs to produce therapeutic effects unlike natural drugs which are found in nature.

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Context:

• Sixteen airports constructed under the government’s Regional Connectivity Scheme (RCS) UDAN are lying unused, of the 74 airports operationalised under the scheme.

About UDAN (Ude Desh ka Aam Naagrik)Scheme:

• UDAN is a regional airport development program of the Government of India and part of the Regional Connectivity Scheme (RCS) of upgrading under-serviced air routes. Its goal is to make air travel affordable and improve economic development in India.

Key Features:

• Nodal Ministry: The UDAN Scheme is a key component of the National Civil Aviation Policy (NCAP) which was released by the Ministry of Civil Aviation on 15 June 2016.
• Affordability: Make air travel affordable for the general public. Hence airfare on a certain number of seats in an aircraft are capped.
• Viability Gap Funding (VGF): VGF support is a monetary assistance that is provided by MoCA to the airline operator to enable them to successfully run the routes. VGF support is market determined, though a competitive bidding mechanism where the airline operators bid for the route in the form of VGF per seat.
• Funding Pattern: The scheme is jointly funded by the central government and state governments.

News Source: The Hindu 

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Context:

• The Union Housing and Urban Affairs Ministry has set a new target for its loan scheme for street vendors.

PM SVANidhi(Pradhan Mantri Street Vendors Atmanirbhar Nidhi) Scheme:

• It was launched by the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs on June 01, 2020 for providing affordable Working Capital loan to street vendors to resume their livelihoods that have been adversely affected due to Covid-19 lockdown.
• The duration of the scheme has been extended till December 2024, with focus on enhanced collateral free affordable loan corpus and increased adoption of digital transactions.

Scheme Benefits:

• Vendors can avail a working capital loan of up to Rs. 10,000, which is repayable in monthly installments in the tenure of one year.
• On timely/ early repayment of the loan, an interest subsidy @ 7% per annum will be credited to the bank accounts of beneficiaries through Direct Benefit Transfer on quarterly basis.
• The scheme promotes digital transactions through cash back incentives up to an amount of Rs. 100 per month.
• The vendors can avail the facility of escalation of the credit limit on timely/ early repayment of loan

News Source: Indian Express

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Context:

• The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) recently concluded its elections, marking the beginning of the seventh assessment cycle.

About IPCC:

• The IPCC is the United Nations body for assessing the science related to climate change. 
• The IPCC was set up in 1988 by the World Meteorological Organisation (WMO) and the UN Environment Programme (UNEP). 
• Its main activity is to prepare Assessment Reports, special reports, and methodology reports assessing the state of knowledge of climate change.
• However, the IPCC does not itself engage in scientific research. Instead, it asks scientists from around the world to go through all the relevant scientific literature related to climate change and draw up the logical conclusions.

What are the IPCC assessment cycles?

• The IPCC has had six assessment cycles so far during which it released six comprehensive assessment reports. 
• In each of these cycles, it also produced several special reports on specific topics. 
• IPCC also publishes methodology reports during these cycles, in which it provides guidelines for governments to estimate their greenhouse gas emissions and removals.

Assessment Reports:

• The IPCC’s Assessment Reports (ARs) are the most comprehensive and widely accepted scientific evaluations of the state of the Earth’s climate. 
• So far, it has released six ARs — the final synthesis report of the sixth AR came out in March 2023 — and with the latest elections, the body has initiated a new cycle of producing the next AR.

News Source: Indian Express 

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Context:

• The World Health Organisation (WHO)  has recently released a report on tobacco control measures.

Key Highlights from the Report:

• Globally, the number of smokers has reduced by 300 million, with the prevalence of smoking declining from 22.8% in 2007 to 17% in 2021. 
• Nearly 40% of countries now have completely smoke-free indoor public spaces in order to curb second-hand smoke .
  • Of the estimated 8.7 million tobacco-related deaths each year, 1.3 million are of non-smokers exposed to second-hand smoke.
• Over the past 15 years since the introduction of the MPOWER measures, approximately 5.6 billion people worldwide, representing 71% of the global population, are now protected by at least one of these measures. 
• Mauritius stands out as an example for fully implementing all MPOWER measures.

Dangers of e-cigarettes:

• The progress made so far is being hindered by the tobacco industry’s relentless promotion of E-cigarettes as a safer substitute for traditional cigarettes. 
• However, E-cigarettes are detrimental to both users and those nearby, particularly when used indoors.

How does India fare?

• As per the report, India has the highest level of achievement when it comes to putting health warning labels on tobacco products and providing tobacco dependence treatment.
• With 85% of cigarette packs carrying health warnings both on the front and back, India figures among the top 10 countries in terms of the size of health warnings. The cigarette packets in the country also carry a toll-free number for helping smokers to quit.
• India has also banned the sale of e-cigarettes, and banned smoking in healthcare facilities and educational institutions. 
• One of the biggest steps in the works is implementing warnings on OTT platform content when actors are seen using tobacco products making India the first country in the world to do so. 

News Source: Indian Express 

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Context:

• The Lok Sabha has recently passed the Registration of Births and Deaths (Amendment) Bill, 2023 that paves the way for digital birth certificates.

About the bill:

• The Bill aims to create a centralised database for deaths and births to help in transparent delivery of public services and to update other databases. 
• It  proposes the appointment of special “sub-registrars” in case of disasters or epidemics for easier registration of deaths and issuance of certificates and to collect Aadhaar numbers of informants and parents in case of registering births
• The bill proposes the use of a birth certificate as a single document to be used for admission to educational institutions, applications for driving licences, government jobs, passports or Aadhaar, voter enrolment, and registration of marriage, among others.

Significance:

• This will avoid the need for a multiplicity of documents to prove date and place of birth in the country.
• The bill will also help create a state, and national, level database of registered births and deaths.

News Source: The Hindu

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Context:

According to an updated analysis of the 2022 tiger census released recently, India’s tiger population increased to 3,682 in 2022, from 2,967 in 2018.

About All India Tiger Estimation 2022:

• Nodal Ministry: Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC).
• Trends in Tiger Population:
  • India is home to approximately 75 percent of the world’s tiger population.
  • Madhya Pradesh has the maximum number (785) of tigers in the country, followed by Karnataka (563), Uttarakhand (560), and Maharashtra (444).
  • The number of tigers “within the tiger reserve” is highest in Corbett (260), followed by Bandipur (150), Nagarhole (141), Bandhavgarh (135), Dudhwa (135), Mudumalai(114), Kanha (105).
  • Increase: Central India, the Shivalik Hills, and the Gangetic plains witnessed increases in tiger population, particularly in the states of Madhya Pradesh, Uttarakhand, and Maharashtra.
  • Decrease: Western Ghats experienced localized declines, needing targeted monitoring and conservation efforts. 
    • Mizoram, Nagaland, Jharkhand, Goa, Chhattisgarh, and Arunachal Pradesh — have reported “disquieting trends”.
• Approximately 35% of the tiger reserves urgently required enhanced protection measures, habitat restoration, ungulate (deer, chital, blackbuck) augmentation, and subsequent tiger reintroduction.

Methodology used in all India Tiger Estimation:

• Double Sampling Methodology: It involves ground surveys of all tiger bearing forests, estimating prey abundance, understanding habitat characteristics, mapping other tiger signs, and camera trap pictures of tigers.

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Protection Status of Tiger:

• Schedule I: Indian Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972
• Endangered: International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List
• Appendix I: Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES)

Tiger Landscapes of India:

• Shivalik Hills and the Gangetic Plains
• Central India
• Eastern Ghats
• Western Ghats
• North-Eastern Hills and Brahmaputra Plains
• Sunderbans

Image Credits: Hindustan Times

Challenges:

• Poaching: Poaching is driven by tiger parts used in traditional Chinese medicines, tiger skin is used for decorative and medicinal purposes.
  • Further, their demand for organs are big hurdles to survival.
• Habitat Loss: The  fragmentation of tiger habitats due to human activities such as agriculture, logging, and infrastructure development continue to threaten tiger populations and give rise to Tiger-Human conflicts.
• Lack of resources: The resources available for the management and protection of tiger reserves are limited.
• Climate change: Climate change may affect tiger habitats, prey availability, and other aspects of tiger ecology, which could further threaten tiger populations in the long term.

Benefits of Conserving Tigers:

• Umbrella Species: Tiger is an “umbrella species” which ensures viable populations of other wild animals (co-predators, prey) and forest, thereby ensuring the ecological viability of the entire area and habitat,
• Food Chain: It is a top predator which is at the apex of the food chain and keeps the population of wild ungulates in check, thereby maintaining the balance between herbivores and the vegetation upon which they feed.
• Tourism: Tigers are an iconic species and attract a large number of tourists to protected areas. Ecotourism generates income for local communities and contributes to the economy.
• Carbon sequestration: Tiger habitats, particularly forests, are important for carbon sequestration and climate change mitigation. 
  • Conserving these habitats helps to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and slow down the pace of climate change.

Indian initiatives to Protect Tiger:

• Project Tiger: It was launched in 1973 from  Jim Corbett National Park, Uttrakhand.
  • It is a Centrally Sponsored Scheme of MoEFCC, for creating a network of Tiger reserves and providing central assistance to tiger States for tiger conservation in designated tiger reserves in India. 
  • The project is administered by the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA).
• Tiger Census: The Government conducts a national tiger census every four years to estimate the tiger population in the country.
• Tiger Conservation Plan: It is a document mandated under Section 38 V of the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972 for each tiger reserve, which prescribes management interventions for the said tiger reserve.
  • A Tiger Conservation Plan consists of three parts namely :
    • Core Plan
    • Buffer Plan
    • Adjoining Area/Corridor Plan
• Conservation Assured | Tiger Standards: CA|TS is a comprehensive system that will provide a reference point to evaluate the existing management effectiveness of tiger conservation within integrated landscape planning, and ensure that benefits from these efforts are optimized.
• Community Reserves: The Government has also established Conservation Reserves and Community Reserves to protect critical tiger habitats outside of the designated tiger reserves.
• Lidar-based survey technology is being used to deal with the challenge of human-animal conflict that was causing the death of animals.
• M-STrIPES (Monitoring system for tigers – intensive protection and ecological status): It uses GPS to geotag photo-evidences and survey information of tiger.
• CaTRAT (Camera Trap data Repository and Analysis Tool) for automated segregation of camera trap photographs to species.

Global Initiatives to Protect Tiger:

• Global Tiger Forum(GTF): Established in 1994, the Global Tiger Forum is the only inter-governmental body for tiger conservation. 
  • Its membership includes seven tiger range countries: Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Cambodia, Myanmar, Nepal and Vietnam. 
• Global Tiger Initiative(GTI): It was launched in 2008 as a global alliance of governments, international organizations, civil society and the private sector with the aim of working together to save wild tigers from extinction.
• St. Petersburg Declaration on Tiger Conservation: It was adopted In 2010, by the leaders of 13 tiger range countries (TRCs) assembled at an International Tiger Forum in St. Petersburg, Russia.
  • 13 tiger range countries – India, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Cambodia, China, Indonesia, Lao PDR, Malaysia, Myanmar, Nepal, Russia, Thailand and Vietnam.

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Way Forward:

• Minimize man-animal conflict: The National Tiger Conservation Authority has issued SOPs to deal with emergencies arising due to straying of tigers in human dominated landscapes.
  • These SOPs provide a structured framework for the implementation of tiger conservation initiatives which  include monitoring, protection, habitat management.
• Habitat Protection and Restoration: Tigers need large areas of forest to live and hunt, so protecting and restoring their habitat is crucial to their survival.
• Anti-Poaching Efforts: Anti-poaching efforts involve monitoring tiger populations and cracking down on illegal wildlife trade.
  • Special Tiger Protection Force (STPF) is a force raised on lines of the India Reserve Battalion. It is deployed in Tiger Reserves for focused anti-poaching operations. 
• Conflict Mitigation: As human populations grow and encroach on tiger habitat, conflicts between people and tigers can arise. 
  • Efforts to mitigate these conflicts can include measures such as relocating problem tigers or providing compensation to people who have lost livestock or crops to tigers.
• Education and Awareness: Raising awareness about the importance of tiger conservation and the threats facing tiger populations is key to building support for conservation efforts.

News Source: The Hindu

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Context: 

Recently, India has mooted the concept of a partnership between like-minded countries to work together on digital public infrastructure (DPI) that can be used by everyone.

More on News

• India has floated a concept of ‘One Future Alliance’, a voluntary initiative that aims to bring together all countries and stakeholders to synergise, shape, architect and design the future of DPIs that can be used by all.
• Under the proposed alliance, India will work with other countries to create a global framework for cybersecurity principles and laws.
• Efforts by India in Promoting DPI across the Globe are: 
• India signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Armenia, Sierra Leone, Suriname, and Antigua and Barbuda on sharing its ‘India Stack’ with them.
  • India Stack broadly refers to digital solutions implemented at population scale to deliver social benefits.
• India is in talks with a number of countries to extend its DPIs partnerships.
  • Countries accepting UPI payments: Singapore, Australia, Canada, Hong Kong, Oman, Qatar, US, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, and the United Kingdom.
  • Unified Payments Interface (UPI) is India’s mobile-based fast payment system, which facilitates customers to make round-the-clock payments instantly, using a Virtual Payment Address (VPA) created by the customer.

About digital public infrastructure (DPI)

• DPI refers to the digital platforms and systems that enable the delivery of public services, such as identification, payments, health, education, and governance.
• It can be understood as an intermediate layer in the digital ecosystem. 
  • It sits atop a physical layer (including connectivity, devices, servers, data centers, routers, etc.), and supports an apps layer (information solutions to different verticals, e-commerce, cash transfers, remote education, telehealth, etc.). 
• DPI can help solve global challenges such as poverty reduction, climate resilience, and digital transformation by improving the efficiency, transparency, inclusion, and innovation of public service delivery.

India and Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI)

• India, through India Stack, became the first country to develop all three foundational DPIs through JAM Trinity Initiative (JAM stands for Jan Dhan Yojana, Aadhaar and Mobile number): 
  • Jan-Dhan Accounts ensure access to various financial services like availability of basic savings bank account, access to need based credit, remittances facility, insurance and pension to the excluded sections i.e. weaker sections & low income groups.
    • Real-time fast payment: India ranks 1 for Real-time payments globally, with 89.5 Bn payment transactions in 2022 (76.8% YoY growth (2021-2022)). 
  • Digital identity (Aadhar): Till date, 1.3+ Bn Aadhaar cards have been issued and 15 Bn Aadhaar based E-KYC verification has been done.
  • A platform to safely share personal data without compromising privacy: BHIM-UPI has emerged as the preferred payment method among users. 
    • UPI has set a new record of processing over 9 Bn transactions (worth $ 179 Bn) in May’23 . 
    • UPI accounts for 75% of the total retail digital payments in India.

Significance of  Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI)

• Efficiency: DPI can improve the efficiency and transparency of public service delivery, such as health, education, social protection, and governance. 
  • Aadhaar system provides a unique digital identity to over 1.4 billion Indians, enabling them to access various government schemes and subsidies.
• Empowerment: DPI can enable digital inclusion and empowerment of citizens, especially the poor and marginalized, by providing them access to information, opportunities, and rights. 
  • UPI allows instant and low-cost digital transactions for millions of users, facilitating financial inclusion and digital literacy .
• Innovation: DPI can foster innovation and collaboration across sectors and countries, by creating a common platform for data exchange, interoperability, and reuse. 
  • Account Aggregator framework enables consent-based data sharing among financial service providers, enhancing consumer choice and convenience .
• SDGs: DPI can support the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals, by addressing urgent challenges such as poverty reduction, climate resilience, and digital transformation. 
  • National Digital Health Mission aims to create a digital health ecosystem that can improve access, affordability, and quality of health care for all Indians .
  • It will help in achieving the goals of SDG-03 i.e Ensure healthy lives and promote well-being for all at all ages.

Challenges faced in Development of Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI):

• Cyber-Attack: DPI is vulnerable to cyber-attacks and data breaches that compromise sensitive data and transactions.
  • Between June, 2018 and March, 2022, India’s banks recorded 248 successful data breaches by hackers and criminals”, out of which 41 cases from public sector banks, 205 were from private sector banks, and two from overseas banks.
• Regulatory Void: DPI requires a robust legal and regulatory framework that can balance the interests of various stakeholders, protect the privacy and security of data, and ensure accountability and compliance. 
  • Personal Data Protection Bill is still pending in the Parliament, creating uncertainty and ambiguity for data users and providers .
• Governance: DPI requires a strong institutional capacity and governance structure that can manage the complexity and scale of the digital infrastructure, coordinate among different actors and agencies, and resolve disputes and grievances effectively. 
  • National Health Authority is responsible for implementing and regulating the National Digital Health Mission, but it faces challenges such as lack of resources, expertise, and coordination .
• Funding: DPI requires continuous investment and innovation that can keep pace with the changing needs and expectations of the users, address the gaps and challenges in the existing infrastructure, and leverage the emerging technologies and opportunities. 
  • BharatNet project aims to provide broadband connectivity to all rural areas in India, but it has faced delays, cost overruns, and quality issues .
• Digital Inequality: India has a digital divide where many lack access to digital infrastructure such as smartphones and internet connectivity, particularly in rural areas.
• Infrastructure: One of the biggest challenges is the lack of proper infrastructure, including internet connectivity, electricity, and hardware.

Steps to make DPI more robust and efficient are:

• Strengthening cybersecurity framework to protect digital assets and prevent cyber attacks on important information like Aadhaar and banking data.
  • Cyber threats require a comprehensive security policy to protect critical infrastructure, industry, and security.
• Invest in the right technologies that can meet the needs and expectations of the users, ensure interoperability and scalability of the systems, and leverage the emerging opportunities and innovations.
• Demonstrate business agility that can adapt to the changing contexts and demands of the users, respond to the feedback and challenges in the systems, and foster a culture of learning and experimentation.
• Achieve operational excellence that can optimize the performance and quality of the systems, ensure the reliability and security of the data and services, and manage the risks and costs effectively.
• Enable innovation that can create new solutions and products that add value to the users, collaborate with different actors and sectors in the ecosystem, and reuse the existing infrastructure and data.
• Establish a robust legal and regulatory framework that can balance the interests of various stakeholders, protect the privacy and security of data, ensure accountability and compliance, and resolve disputes and grievances.
• Create a strong institutional capacity and governance structure that can manage the complexity and scale of the digital infrastructure, coordinate among different actors and agencies, and engage with the users and communities.
• Secure continuous investment and innovation that can keep pace with the changing needs and expectations of the users, address the gaps and challenges in the existing infrastructure, and leverage the emerging technologies and opportunities.
• Improve digital literacy in India to enable citizens to fully utilize digital services and platforms, as many are unaware of their benefits or lack the necessary skills to access and use them.
• Nearly 20 million women have been certified to be digitally literate in India under the PMGDISHA programme dedicated to digital literacy.

News Source: Financial Express

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