Health and Family Welfare
National Family Health Survey-5

Relevance IN - Prelims ( about NFHS - 5 highlights) + Mains ( GS II Issues relating to development and management of Social Sector/Services relating to Health, Education, Human Resources.)
What's the NEWS

• Dr. Harsh Vardhan, Union Minister of Health and Family Welfare, Government of India, released the Factsheets of key indicators on population, reproductive and child health, family welfare, nutrition and others for 22 States/UTs of the first Phase of the 2019-20 National Family Health Survey (NFHS-5) on Universal Health Coverage

National Family Health Survey

• The main objective of successive rounds of the NFHS is to provide reliable and comparable datasets on health, family welfare and other emerging issues.
• Four rounds of NFHS (1992-93, 1998-99, 2005-06 and 2015-16) have been successfully completed in India.
• All the rounds of NFHS have been conducted by the International Institute for Population Sciences (IIPS), Mumbai, as the national nodal agency.
• Earlier the Health Ministry itself used to conduct District Level Health Survey (DLHS) and Annual Health Survey (AHS).
• MoHFW has decided to conduct integrated NFHS with a periodicity of three years in lieu of different surveys from 2015-16 onwards to meet the evolving requirements for frequent, timely and appropriate data at the National, State and District levels.

NFHS-5 - highlights

• The NFHS-5 is being conducted in around 6.1 lakh sample households to provide disaggregated data up to district levels.
• This data when completed would be comparable with NFHS-4 without any loss of information.
• Many indicators of NFHS-5 are similar to those of NFHS-4, carried out in 2015-16 to make possible comparisons over time.
• NFHS-5 includes new focal areas such as expanded domains of child immunization, components of micro-nutrients to children, menstrual hygiene, frequency of alcohol and tobacco use, additional components of non-communicable diseases (NCDs), expanded age ranges for measuring hypertension and diabetes among all, aged 15 years and above, will give requisite input for strengthening existing programmes and evolving new strategies for policy intervention.
• In 2019, for the first time, the NFHS-5 sought details on the percentage of women and men who have ever used the Internet.

Other Highlights

• It indicates an increase in average out of pocket expenditure (OOPE) per delivery in public health facilities in some States.
• It has indicated a stark disparity in access to the Internet by men, in contrast to women in a number of States.
• In Karnataka and Bihar, for example, twice as many men have access to the Internet as compared to women.
• Sikkim is the only State where access among men (78.2%) and women (76.7%) is almost equal.
• NFHS-5 indicated a decline in nutritional status of children under 5 years, continued female sterilisation being dominant as the modern method of contraceptives, anaemia being much higher among women compared to men and increase in teenage pregnancies.

The International Institute for Population Sciences (IIPS)

• It serves as a regional Institute for Training and Research in Population Studies for the ESCAP region.
• The Institute was declared as a 'Deemed University' on 19 August 1985 under Section 3 of the UGC Act, 1956 by the Ministry of Human Resource Development, Government of India.
• The recognition has facilitated the award of recognized degrees by the Wipro technologies and paved the way for further expansion of the Institute as an academic institution.
• The Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MOHFW), Government of India has designated IIPS as the nodal agency, responsible for providing coordination and technical guidance for the National Family Health Survey (NFHS).
• Started in 1956 under the joint sponsorship of Sir Dorabji Tata Trust, the Government of India and the United Nations, it has established itself as the premier Institute for training and research in Population Studies for developing countries in the Asia and Pacific region.
• The Institute is under the administrative control of the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Government of India.

Science & Technology
VIGYANIKA

Relevance IN - Prelims (about IISF + about Vigyanika) + Mains (GS III awareness in the field of science and technology)
What's the NEWS

• The 6^th India International Science Festival (IISF) 2020 would be based on the theme ‘Science for Self-reliant India and Global Welfare' and would focus on areas like history of Indian science, philosophy & science, agritech, clean air, energy, water, waste, and sanitation, biodiversity, and science diplomacy

Know! about Vigyanika

• A webinar focused on 'Vigyanika' was organized by the Department of Library and Information Sciences, Haryana Central University
• The International Science Literature Festival (IISF) 'Vigyanika' - 2020, which has left an indelible mark in the field of science from the last few years will also be organised virtually from December 22 to 24 due to the pandemic".
• 'Vigyanika' is an important component of IISF.
• The main objective of this science festival is to showcase India's scientific achievements and promote scientific outlook in society.
• The largest virtual science festival and more than one lakh participants are expected to attend it.
• This year the mega event will focus on the role of science in building a self-reliant India. Huge number of people like scientists and technologists, industrialists, researchers, teachers, craftsmen, farmers, students and innovators will participate in the event.
• The objectives of organizing 'Vigyanika' is promoting the development of scientific awareness in the society, promoting scientific literature and generating interest in science among the younger generation

India International Science Festival (IISF)

• India International Science Festival (IISF) 2020 is going to be organized during 22-25 December 2020 on virtual platform.
• This is the largest science festival on virtual platform. The central theme of this year's IISF is "Science for self-reliance India and Global Welfare".
• This year, 41 events will be organized under 9 verticals.
• IISF 2020 will also endeavour to send the entries of Guinness World Records in five different categories.
• On 1st December 2020, the organizing institute of the IISF 2020, CSIR-National Institute of Science, Technology and Development Studies (NISTADS) organized the Curtain Raiser ceremony along with CSIR-National Institute of Science Communication and Information Resources (NISCAIR).

Prelims Factoids
Himalayan Serow

Relevance IN - Prelims (about Himalayan Serow )
What's the NEWS

• The Himalayan Serow, a subspecies of the mainland serow that was presumed extinct, was sighted and photographed in the cold deserts of the Spiti valley for the first time.
• The re-occurrence of the subspecies of the mainland serow was believed to be extinct
• The extinct goat was captured by a team of Wildlife Division Spiti & it is the first photographic record of this species in the cold desert.
• According to the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), Himalayan serows have experienced significant declines in population size, range size and habitat in the last decade, and this is expected to continue due to intensive human impact.
• Previously assessed as ‘near threatened', the Himalayan serow is now been categorised as ‘vulnerable' in the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species.
• It is listed under Schedule I of The Wildlife Protection Act, 1972, which provides absolute protection.
• The snow leopard is native to the mountain ranges of Central and South Asia. However, its sighting has become very rare in the past few years, at least in the mountain ranges of North India.

Know! all about Himalayan serow

• A Himalayan serow as resembling a cross between a goat, a donkey, a cow, and a pig.
• It's a medium-sized mammal with a large head, thick neck, short limbs, long, mule-like ears, and a coat of dark hair.
• There are several species of serows, and all of them are found in Asia.
• The Himalayan serow, or Capricornis sumatraensis thar, is restricted to the Himalayan region. Taxonomically, it is a subspecies of the mainland serow (Capricornis sumatraensis).
• Himalayan serows are herbivores, and are typically found at altitudes between 2,000 metres and 4,000 metres (6,500 to 13,000 feet).
• They are known to be found in eastern, central, and western Himalayas, but not in the Trans Himalayan region.
• Spiti lies in the cold mountain desert region of the western Himalaya, and its valley floor has an average elevation of 4,270 metres above sea level.
• Serows are generally not found at this altitude, and never before has a serow been seen in the Himalayan cold desert.
• Wildlife officials believe this particular animal may have strayed into the Spiti valley from the Rupi Bhaba Wildlife Sanctuary in adjoining Kinnaur.
• Earlier the serows have previously been spotted in the Great Himalayan National Park in Kullu
• It has also been spotted in the Rupi Bhaba Wildlife Sanctuary, and in the higher reaches of Chamba.

Defence
35^th edition of India - Indonesia Coordinated Patrol

Relevance IN - Prelims ( about IND-INDO CORPAT )
What's the NEWS

• The 35^th edition of India-Indonesia Coordinated Patrol (IND-INDO CORPAT) between the Indian Navy and the Indonesian Navy is being conducted from 17 to 18 December 2020.
• Indian Naval Ship (INS) Kulish, an indigenously built missile corvette along with P8I Maritime Patrol Aircraft (MPA) will undertake coordinated patrol with Indonesian Naval Ship

Know! about IND-INDO CORPAT

• As part of Government of India's vision of SAGAR (Security And Growth for All in the Region), the Indian Navy has been proactively engaging with countries in the Indian Ocean Region for Coordinated Patrols, cooperation in EEZ Surveillance, Passage exercises and Bilateral/ Multi-lateral exercises, towards enhancing regional maritime security.
• India and Indonesia have especially enjoyed a close and friendly relationship covering a wide spectrum of activities and interactions, which have strengthened over the years.
• To reinforce maritime links, the two navies have been carrying out CORPAT along their International Maritime Boundary Line since 2002, with the aim of ensuring safety and security of shipping and international trade in the region.
• CORPATs build up understanding and interoperability between navies and facilitate institution of measures to prevent and suppress Illegal Unreported Unregulated (IUU) fishing, drug trafficking, maritime terrorism, armed robbery and piracy.
• The 35^th IND - INDO CORPAT will contribute towards the Indian Navy's efforts to consolidate inter-operability and forge strong bonds of friendship across the Indo Pacific.

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