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(PRELIMS + MAINS FOCUS)


India asked to update Climate goals

Part of: Prelims and GS III – Climate change

Context UK has urged India to announce a “more ambitious” Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) ahead of a United Nations climate change summit in the U.K. in a few weeks.

What is a Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC)?

India’s Paris Climate Goals

In 2015, ahead of the UN significant climate conference in Paris, India announced three major voluntary commitments called the Nationally Determined Contributions (NDC):

India’s promises include:


India to attend G20 virtual meeting on Afghanistan

Part of: Prelims and GS – II – International relations

Context Indian Prime Minister will attend an extraordinary virtual meeting of G20 leaders on Afghanistan to be held on October 12.

What is G20?


National Human Rights Commission (NHRC)

Part of: Prelims and GS-II – Statutory bodies; Indian Polity

Context The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) has issued notices to the Jammu and Kashmir Government and the police over the recent spate of targeted killings of civilians from minority communities of Kashmiri Pandits.

What is National Human Rights Commission (NHRC)?


SC on National Green Tribunal (NGT)

Part of: Prelims and GS II – International relations

Context The Supreme Court has declared the National Green Tribunal’s (NGT) position as a “unique” forum endowed with suo motu (action taken by a court of its own accord) powers to take up environmental issues across the country.

Key takeaways from SC‘s judgement

What is NGT?


UN biodiversity Summit

Part of: Prelims and GS II – International Relations and GS-III – Biodiversity

Context A key UN summit tasked with protecting biodiversity opened in China online, as countries meet to protect ecosystems and prevent mass extinction weeks before the COP26 climate conference.

Key takeaways 

The Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD)


Nobel prize in Economics 2021

Part of: Prelims 

Context The Nobel prize for economics was awarded to economist David Card for research that showed 

Two others shared the award for developing ways to study these types of societal issues.

Key takeaways 


(News from PIB)


India’s Renewable Energy

Part of: Mains GS-III: Energy

News Source: PIB


Clean India programme

Part of: Prelims

In News: The Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports, Government of India launched the Clean India programme in collaboration with State Governments on the eve of 75th year of Independence.

News Source: PIB


(Mains Focus)


HEALTH/ GOVERNANCE

The next step is a constitutional right to health

Context: Pandemic has exposed and aggravated the cracks in our health-care systems and given life to the demand for the constitutional ‘Right to Health for all’.

Importance of Right to Health

Importance of ‘Right to Health’ for children

Conclusion

Connecting the dots:


GOVERNANCE/ ENVIRONMENT

Tackling the Climate Crisis

Context: The recently published Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) Sixth Assessment Report from Working Group I makes a clarion call for climate action. 

Do You Know?

Importance of Adaptation

To strengthen adaptation and resilience, India can do the following. 

Conclusion

Connecting the dots:


(Sansad TV – Perspective)


Oct 5: Silver Economy: Challenges & Opportunities – https://youtu.be/wugogQvQOJw 

SOCIETY/ GOVERNANCE

Topic: General Studies 1,2:

Silver Economy: Challenges & Opportunities

Context: India’s elderly population is on the rise, and as per surveys, the share of elders, as a percentage of the total population in the country, is expected to increase from around 8.6% in 2011 to almost 12.5% by 2026, and surpass 19.5% by 2050. 

The pandemic has brought into the open the gaps in India’s health policy, programme implementation, infrastructure and support systems for the elderly, who have been the most vulnerable to the virus. Given this sharp rise there is an urgent need to create a more robust eldercare ecosystem in India, especially in the post-COVID phase. 

Globally, the average life expectancy at birth for males and females was 45.5 and 48.5 respectively in 1950. It has steadily improved to 68.5 and 73.3 in 2015, with India being no exception. Two-thirds of this segment live in developing countries. Ageing, together with falling fertility rates, has profoundly impacted areas of resources, healthcare and insurance. Similar effects can be observed in the familial, psycho-social and life satisfaction indices. As a result, society, in general, will be forced to abandon some of the conventions and accept a few others as the new normal.

In developing countries, the extended lifespan of people beyond 65 years strains the conventional family support system – which is transforming. The diminished family structure often develops cracks in its financial planning with an additional cost centre for eldercare emerging. On the healthcare side, increasing utilisation and consumption of medical facilities, products and supportive devices increase pressure on infrastructure.

Definition of the Silver Economy

The Aged in India

The government is exploring various ways to promote the idea of silver economy. 

Budgetary Allocation: 

Elderly Line 14567: Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment dedicated the Elderly Line 14567 to the Nation on the occasion of International Day of Older Persons: 1st October

Senior Aging Growth Engine or SAGE

SACRED

Longitudinal Ageing Study of India (LASI) Wave-1,India Report

Quality of Life for Elderly Index 

The Way Forward

  1. Phased-in retirement: Phased-in retirement entails a scheme whereby older workers could choose to work fewer hours yet remain longer in the labour force, including after they retire. This allows continuity in tax revenues and reduced expenditure on pensions and older workers can be valuable to organizations and younger colleagues due to their knowledge and experience;
  2. Comprehensive healthcare infrastructure: It is of prime importance that good quality health care be made available and accessible to the elderly in an age-sensitive manner. Health services should address preventive measures, in addition, effective care and support is required for those elderly suffering from various diseases through primary, secondary and tertiary health care systems.
  3. Strengthen the family care: The preferred source of support for the aged is still the family – informal system where the notion of care is embedded within a tradition of social obligations that are understood and reciprocated. The reciprocal care and support within multi-generational families of parents, grandparents and children should be encouraged. Traditional values of filial obligations can also be reinforced in school curricula and through the media.
  4. Efficient welfare policy for the old-age population: Schemes like Varishta Pension Bima Yojana, Pradhan Mantri Vaya Vandana Yojana, and IGNOAPS etc have to be strengthened and made aware to reach the right beneficiaries.
  5. Promoting and rewarding volunteering: Governments could promote and reward volunteering and care work among citizens and NGOs. Such unpaid activities improve the quality of the social fabric, help the well-being of those engaging in them, contribute to the economy, and reduce healthcare and welfare costs.

In the future, the success of a nation will critically depend upon its ability to address such sweeping demographic changes effectively though policies and programmes. This underutilized resource available to humanity should be integrated into the lives of communities and where they can make a substantial contribution to improving social conditions.

Can you answer the following questions?

  1. Elderly population in India is one of the most vulnerable sections of the society in an age of changing social dynamics. Comment. 
  2. What measures have been taken by the government to ensure their welfare? Are they enough? Examine.

(TEST YOUR KNOWLEDGE)


Model questions: (You can now post your answers in comment section)

Note:

Q.1 Which of the following is not a non-constitutional body?

  1. National human rights Commission 
  2. NITI Aayog 
  3. Central information commission 
  4. National commission for scheduled castes

Q.2 Consider the following statements regarding Nationally Determined Contributions (NDC):

  1. These are non-binding national plans highlighting climate actions that governments aim to implement in response to climate change 
  2. These contributions are part of Nagoya protocol

Which of the above is or are correct?

  1. 1 only 
  2. 2 only 
  3. Both 1 and 2 
  4. Neither 1 nor 2 

Q.3 Which of the following was adopted first?

  1. Convention on biological diversity
  2. Nagoya protocol 
  3. Cartagena Protocol 
  4. All were adopted in the same year of 1992

ANSWERS FOR 11th Oct 2021 TEST YOUR KNOWLEDGE (TYK)

1 C
2 B
3 B

Must Read

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