‘India short of 6 lakh doctors, 2 million nurses: U.S. study

GS PAPER - 02 GOVERNANCE - Issues relating to development and management of Social Sector/Services relating to Health

Context :

A report by the Centre for Disease Dynamics, Economics & Policy (CDDEP), USA, has highlighted India has a shortage of an estimated 600,000 doctors and 2 million nurses.

Key findings :

The scientists found that the lack of staff who are properly trained in administering antibiotics is preventing patients from accessing live-saving drugs.
In India, 65% of health expenditure is out-of-pocket, and such expenditures push some 57 million people into poverty each year.
The majority of the world’s annual 5.7 million antibiotic-treatable deaths occur in low- and middle-income countries, where the mortality burden from treatable bacterial infections far exceeds the estimated annual 700,000 deaths from antibiotic-resistant infections.
Researchers at CDDEP in the U.S. conducted stakeholder interviews in Uganda, India, and Germany, and literature reviews to identify key access barriers to antibiotics in low-, middle-, and high-income countries. Health facilities in many of these countries are substandard.
The findings of the report show that even after the discovery of new antibiotic, regulatory hurdles and substandard health facilities delay or altogether prevent widespread market entry and drug availability.
The report states that, worldwide, the irrational use of antibiotics and poor antimicrobial stewardship lead to treatment failure and propagate the spread of drug resistance which, in turn, further narrows the available array of effective antibiotics.

India’s Case :

In India, there is one government doctor for every 10,189 people (the World Health Organisation (WHO) recommends a ratio of 1:1,000).
There is a deficit of 600,000 doctors, and the nurse: patient ratio is 1:483, implying a shortage of two million nurses.
Lack of access to antibiotics kills more people currently than does antibiotic resistance.

Source :- The Hindu

Oil consuming bacteria found at sea bottom

GS PAPER - 0 3 SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY - Awareness in the fields of IT, Space, Computers, robotics, nano-technology, bio-technology

Context :

The new study published in the journal Microbiome says that Scientists have discovered oil-eating bacteria in the planet's deepest oceanic trench, the Mariana Trench.

More about the news:

In an expedition, organised by marine explorer and film director James Cameron, researchers collected samples from the trench.
When researchers analyzed the microbial samples collected during the expedition, they found a new group of hydrocarbon degrading bacteria.
The microorganisms eat compounds similar to those in oil and then use it for fuel.
The researchers found that nowhere else on Earth are oil-eating bacteria so proportionally dominant.
Scientists found the oil-eating microbes as deep as 4 miles beneath the ocean surface, and researchers suspect the microbes live at even greater depths.
The bacteria are likely deriving a significant portion of their food from pollution that sinks from the ocean surface. But scientists also found evidence that some of the hydrocarbons are sourced from below.
The researchers said that biologically produced hydrocarbons were also found in the ocean sediment at the bottom of the trench which suggests that a unique microbial population is producing hydrocarbons in this environment.
In addition to providing sustenance, researchers suspect the hydrocarbons help microbes survive the crushing pressures of extreme ocean depths.

Significance :

The findings may pave way for sustainable ways to clean up oils spills. As similar microorganisms play a role in degrading oil spills in natural disasters.

Additional Information :

Previously similar kinds of bacteria have y been found and had been even used to help deal with oil spills, such as that from the Deepwater Horizon disaster in 2010.

Source :- The Hindu

World’s largest plane makes first test flight

GS PAPER - 03 SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY - Science and Technology- developments and their applications and effects in everyday life

Context :

The world's largest airplane - a Stratolaunch behemoth with two fuselages and six Boeing 747 engines - has made its first test flight in California.

More about the news:

The white airplane is called Roc.
The plane has the world’s largest wingspan but does not have longest nose-to-tail length.
The plane has been developed by aerospace venture Stratolaunch which was set up by the late Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen in 2011.
The plane has a dual fuselage design. Its wingspan is greater than the length of an American football field.
The plane is designed to act as a flying launch pad for satellites and put payloads in orbit. It is supposed to provide a more flexible way to deploy satellites than vertical take-off rockets.

Purpose of the world’s largest plane :

The Stratolaunch aircraft is designed to act as a flying launch pad for satellites and put payloads in orbit.
It is designed to carry into space, and drop, a rocket that would in turn ignite to deploy satellites.
It is supposed to provide a more flexible way to deploy satellites than vertical takeoff rockets because this way all you need is a long runway for takeoff.

Source :- The Hindu

In a show of intent, external affairs ministry sets up Indo- pacific wing

GS PAPER - 02 INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS - Bilateral, regional and global groupings and agreements involving India and/or affecting India's interests

Context :

Making a strong strategic statement, India has just set up an Indo-Pacific division in the foreign office.
The new division is intended to give a coherent architecture to the Indo Pacific policy, which was articulated by the prime minister at the Shangri-La Dialogue in 2018.

More about the news :

The division will integrate the Indian Ocean Rim Association (IORA), Asean region and the Quad to the Indo-Pacific table.
The US also recently renamed its Pacific Command to the Indo-Pacific Command as it seeks to give significance to its Indo-Pacific policy.
India is planning to put greater energy to the IORA because the heart of its Indo-Pacific policy is rooted in the Indian Ocean.
This will integrate the blue economy part of the Indian policy with the security part which is a trilateral security mechanism between India, Sri Lanka and the Maldives

Source :- Times of India

FATF asks Pakistan to track all gold purchases

GS PAPER - 02 INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS - Important International institutions, agencies and fora- their structure, mandate.

Context :

An international terror financing watchdog has asked Pakistan to implement a new set of constraints in its crackdown against terror financing, including documenting and regulating all gold markets.

Key Highlights :

Financial Action Task Force (FATF) which requires documentation of all gold markets and purchase and sale of gold in the country.
The FATF has asked Islamabad to collect data of all gold markets in the country and to restrict the sale and purchase of gold items using cash, instead requiring payment to be made with a debit or credit card
It has also asked the country to ensure regulation of thousands of registered trust organisations.
Further, Pakistan has to submit a third report on the measures being taken by the government in compliance with the recommendations of the FATF and its regional affiliate, the Asia-Pacific Group (APG) till April 15.
The compliance report would be taken up by the FATF review group in its meeting scheduled to be held in May.

Background :

In June 2018, the Paris-based FATF had placed Pakistan on the grey list of countries. Pakistan was put on the grey list after its domestic laws were considered weak to tackle the challenges of money laundering and terrorism financing.

Financial action Task Force (FATF) :

The Financial Action Task Force (FATF) is an inter-governmental body established in 1989 on the initiative of the G7.
It is a “policy-making body” which works to generate the necessary political will to bring about national legislative and regulatory reforms in various areas.
The FATF Secretariat is housed at the OECD headquarters in Paris.

Objective :

set standards and promote effective implementation of legal, regulatory and operational measures for combating money laundering, terrorist financing and other related threats to the integrity of the international financial system.

Source :- Hindu Business Line

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15th APRIL 2019 DAILY CURRENT AFFAIRS

‘India short of 6 lakh doctors, 2 million nurses: U.S. study

Oil consuming bacteria found at sea bottom

World’s largest plane makes first test flight

In a show of intent, external affairs ministry sets up Indo- pacific wing

FATF asks Pakistan to track all gold purchases

‘India short of 6 lakh doctors, 2 million nurses: U.S. study

GS PAPER - 02 GOVERNANCE - Issues relating to development and management of Social Sector/Services relating to Health

Context :

A report by the Centre for Disease Dynamics, Economics & Policy (CDDEP), USA, has highlighted India has a shortage of an estimated 600,000 doctors and 2 million nurses.

Key findings :

The scientists found that the lack of staff who are properly trained in administering antibiotics is preventing patients from accessing live-saving drugs.

In India, 65% of health expenditure is out-of-pocket, and such expenditures push some 57 million people into poverty each year.

The majority of the world’s annual 5.7 million antibiotic-treatable deaths occur in low- and middle-income countries, where the mortality burden from treatable bacterial infections far exceeds the estimated annual 700,000 deaths from antibiotic-resistant infections.

Researchers at CDDEP in the U.S. conducted stakeholder interviews in Uganda, India, and Germany, and literature reviews to identify key access barriers to antibiotics in low-, middle-, and high-income countries. Health facilities in many of these countries are substandard.

The findings of the report show that even after the discovery of new antibiotic, regulatory hurdles and substandard health facilities delay or altogether prevent widespread market entry and drug availability.

The report states that, worldwide, the irrational use of antibiotics and poor antimicrobial stewardship lead to treatment failure and propagate the spread of drug resistance which, in turn, further narrows the available array of effective antibiotics.

India’s Case :

In India, there is one government doctor for every 10,189 people (the World Health Organisation (WHO) recommends a ratio of 1:1,000).

There is a deficit of 600,000 doctors, and the nurse: patient ratio is 1:483, implying a shortage of two million nurses.

Lack of access to antibiotics kills more people currently than does antibiotic resistance.

Source :- The Hindu

The new study published in the journal Microbiome says that Scientists have discovered oil-eating bacteria in the planet's deepest oceanic trench, the Mariana Trench.

More about the news:

In an expedition, organised by marine explorer and film director James Cameron, researchers collected samples from the trench.

When researchers analyzed the microbial samples collected during the expedition, they found a new group of hydrocarbon degrading bacteria.

The microorganisms eat compounds similar to those in oil and then use it for fuel.

The researchers found that nowhere else on Earth are oil-eating bacteria so proportionally dominant.

Scientists found the oil-eating microbes as deep as 4 miles beneath the ocean surface, and researchers suspect the microbes live at even greater depths.

The bacteria are likely deriving a significant portion of their food from pollution that sinks from the ocean surface. But scientists also found evidence that some of the hydrocarbons are sourced from below.

The researchers said that biologically produced hydrocarbons were also found in the ocean sediment at the bottom of the trench which suggests that a unique microbial population is producing hydrocarbons in this environment.

In addition to providing sustenance, researchers suspect the hydrocarbons help microbes survive the crushing pressures of extreme ocean depths.

Significance :

The findings may pave way for sustainable ways to clean up oils spills. As similar microorganisms play a role in degrading oil spills in natural disasters.

Additional Information :

Previously similar kinds of bacteria have y been found and had been even used to help deal with oil spills, such as that from the Deepwater Horizon disaster in 2010.

Source :- The Hindu

World’s largest plane makes first test flight

GS PAPER - 03 SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY - Science and Technology- developments and their applications and effects in everyday life

Context :

The world's largest airplane - a Stratolaunch behemoth with two fuselages and six Boeing 747 engines - has made its first test flight in California.

More about the news:

The white airplane is called Roc.

The plane has the world’s largest wingspan but does not have longest nose-to-tail length.

The plane has been developed by aerospace venture Stratolaunch which was set up by the late Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen in 2011.

The plane has a dual fuselage design. Its wingspan is greater than the length of an American football field.

The plane is designed to act as a flying launch pad for satellites and put payloads in orbit. It is supposed to provide a more flexible way to deploy satellites than vertical take-off rockets.

Purpose of the world’s largest plane :

The Stratolaunch aircraft is designed to act as a flying launch pad for satellites and put payloads in orbit.

It is designed to carry into space, and drop, a rocket that would in turn ignite to deploy satellites.

It is supposed to provide a more flexible way to deploy satellites than vertical takeoff rockets because this way all you need is a long runway for takeoff.

Source :- The Hindu

In a show of intent, external affairs ministry sets up Indo- pacific wing

GS PAPER - 02 INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS - Bilateral, regional and global groupings and agreements involving India and/or affecting India's interests

Context :

Making a strong strategic statement, India has just set up an Indo-Pacific division in the foreign office.

The new division is intended to give a coherent architecture to the Indo Pacific policy, which was articulated by the prime minister at the Shangri-La Dialogue in 2018.

More about the news :

The division will integrate the Indian Ocean Rim Association (IORA), Asean region and the Quad to the Indo-Pacific table.

The US also recently renamed its Pacific Command to the Indo-Pacific Command as it seeks to give significance to its Indo-Pacific policy.

India is planning to put greater energy to the IORA because the heart of its Indo-Pacific policy is rooted in the Indian Ocean.

This will integrate the blue economy part of the Indian policy with the security part which is a trilateral security mechanism between India, Sri Lanka and the Maldives

Source :- Times of India

FATF asks Pakistan to track all gold purchases

GS PAPER - 02 INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS - Important International institutions, agencies and fora- their structure, mandate.

Context :

An international terror financing watchdog has asked Pakistan to implement a new set of constraints in its crackdown against terror financing, including documenting and regulating all gold markets.

Key Highlights :

Financial Action Task Force (FATF) which requires documentation of all gold markets and purchase and sale of gold in the country.

The FATF has asked Islamabad to collect data of all gold markets in the country and to restrict the sale and purchase of gold items using cash, instead requiring payment to be made with a debit or credit card

It has also asked the country to ensure regulation of thousands of registered trust organisations.

Further, Pakistan has to submit a third report on the measures being taken by the government in compliance with the recommendations of the FATF and its regional affiliate, the Asia-Pacific Group (APG) till April 15.

The compliance report would be taken up by the FATF review group in its meeting scheduled to be held in May.

Background :

In June 2018, the Paris-based FATF had placed Pakistan on the grey list of countries. Pakistan was put on the grey list after its domestic laws were considered weak to tackle the challenges of money laundering and terrorism financing.

Financial action Task Force (FATF) :

The Financial Action Task Force (FATF) is an inter-governmental body established in 1989 on the initiative of the G7.

It is a “policy-making body” which works to generate the necessary political will to bring about national legislative and regulatory reforms in various areas.

The FATF Secretariat is housed at the OECD headquarters in Paris.

Objective :