Daily Current Affairs 5 January 2022

 Current Affairs of today are

1) Multi-Agency Centre (MAC)

• The Union government has asked the States to share more intelligence inputs through the Multi-Agency Centre (MAC), a common counter­terrorism grid under the Intelligence Bureau that was made operational in 2001 following the Kargil War
• Union Home Minister Amit Shah asked the Directors­General of Police to share adequate information and actionable inputs through the MAC.
• As many as 28 organizations, including the Research and Analysis Wing (R&AW), armed forces and
• State police, are part of the platform. Various security agencies share real­time intelligence inputs on the MAC.
• Plans are afoot for more than a decade to link the system up to the district level.
• Though the system existed to share information among various agencies, it was not being implemented effectively.
• States are often reluctant to share information on the platform. There are several gaps in sharing critical information at the right time, the meeting by the Home Minister will give a push to the efforts
• There are around 400 secured sites connected with the MAC headquarters. 
• The reluctance on the part of the States was also stated in a parliamentary standing committee report in 2020.
• The committee had observed that the contribution made over the years by State agencies is lower in the overall inputs that had been received at the MAC.
• The IB had informed the committee that all organizations that are in any way involved in the counter­terrorism effort are members of this center. All the States have a Subsidiary Multi-Agency Centre (SMAC) located in the capitals.
• The IB informed the panel that the Union Home Ministry, along with the IB, was contemplating extending the connectivity of SMAC to the districts.
• The IB is picking up districts in a phased manner because there is an issue of connecting them with the lease line, encryptors, etc. Further, At the MAC level, the meeting of all these agencies is convened almost every day where the intelligence of the last 24 hours is brought on to the table, discussed and follow­up action is devised or agreed upon
• The IB Director had told the committee that there had been a few instances where some State agencies hesitated to share their intelligence inputs with the MAC.

Source: The Hindu

2) Rajasthan is low on the health index

• Health rights groups in Rajasthan expressed concern over the NITI Aayog giving low ranking in the health index round IV report with the findings that health status had stagnated and health services were deteriorating in most parts of the State. The ranking was given recently based on 24 indicators related to health outcomes and on key inputs and processes.
• The report ‘The Healthy States, Progressive India’, prepared by the NITI Aayog, the World Bank, and the Union Ministry of Health & Family Welfare, has placed Rajasthan at the 16th position among 19 big States. Moreover, the State has shown a decline between the base year 2018­-19 and the reference year 2019­-20
• Rajasthan has been depicted as the ‘worst performer’ in health outcomes measured in the form of neonatal, under-five, and maternal mortality rates, tuberculosis treatment success rate, etc. It falters even on institutional deliveries and immunization in comparison with other States
• Jan Swasthya Abhiyan ( JSA) here demanded that the State government get its act together and take decisive steps to improve the health status of people. The JSA highlighted the enactment of the Right to Health Care Act, strengthening of primary healthcare, and making free and rational medication accessible to all as the urgent steps.
• The state government must ensure that all citizens get free basic preventive and curative services within halfan­hour of walking distance as part of the right to healthcare. The State must also invest generously in primary healthcare and maternal and child health services which should be delivered through outreach in villages or through institutions such as the Anganwadi centers
• The functioning of the primary healthcare services largely influences indicators such as immunization, antenatal care, institutional deliveries, and infant and maternal mortality rates

Source: The Hindu

3) Odisha State Commission for Protection of Child Rights (OSCPCR)

• The Odisha State Commission for Protection of Child Rights (OSCPCR) has opposed the move to raise the legal age for marriage of girls to 21 saying it would not be effective in preventing child marriages and at the same time, it could create unwed mothers as another Act permits consensual sex after 18. 
• The change of legislation in isolation will never be able to stop child marriages unless there is socio­behavioural change among the parents and the community
• Factors like distress and poverty, patriarchal norms and practices, lack of opportunity for schooling, employment, and the like are still contributing to a large extent to child marriages. There is also a need to strengthen families by providing appropriate livelihood opportunities. 
• The National Crime Records Bureau data says only 785 cases have been registered under the Prohibition of Child Marriage Act in 2020 which was 523 in 2019 and 501 in 2018. On the other hand, 23.3% of girls were marrying before the legal age as captured by NFHS – 5
• The Juvenile Justice Care and Protection Act and the Integrated Child Protection Scheme have the scope to extend support to such vulnerable children only up to the age of 18. In such circumstances, there will be no space to provide support to a child bride or groom between the age of 19 to 21 if rescued from child marriage. 
• The Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act, 2012 has restricted consensual sex up to the age of 18. This implies that someone may have a sexual act after 18 but won’t be able to marry till 21 which will create new sets of issues like increasing unwed mothers and foeticide thereafter
• The OSCPCR said instead of raising the legal age of marriage of girls to 21, the minimum legal age for both boys and girls must be 18.  

Source: The Hindu

4) Automatic Generation Control

• Union Minister of Power and New & Renewable Energy Shri R.K. Singh on Monday dedicated Automatic Generation Control (AGC) to the nation. This is expected to facilitate achieving the government’s ambitious target of 500 GW non-fossil fuel-based generation capacity by 2030. The AGC is being operated by Power System Operation Corporation (POSOCO) through National Load Despatch Centre. Through AGC, POSOCO sends signals to power plants every 4 seconds to maintain the frequency and reliability of the Power System.
• under the POSOCO’s AGC project, to date 51 GW of generation capacity across all five regions is operational. This is a significant milestone in improving the resilience of the Indian Power System manifolds.
• Through AGC, NLDC (National Load Despatch Centre) sends signals to more than 50 power plants in the country every 4 seconds to maintain the frequency and reliability of the Indian Power System. This will ensure more efficient and automatic frequency control for handling variable and intermittent renewable generation.
• POSOCO is contributing to the formation of the South Asian Grid for effective utilization of resources between neighboring countries (Bhutan, Nepal, Bangladesh, and Myanmar) under its jurisdiction. Over the years, POSOCO has successfully operated the Indian Electricity Grid with a focus on efficiency, reliability, safety, and fairness, despite the challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic.
• Various apps like Vidyut Pravah, Merit, etc. developed by POSOCO are being used for the dissemination of real-time information about the Indian Power System in the public domain for bringing transparency in electricity market operation
• POSOCO Day is observed on 3rd January to commemorate its independent functioning that began on 3rd January 2017, under the Ministry of Power as one of the Power PSUs after separating from POWERGRID as its subsidiary organization. It is responsible to ensure the integrated operation of the Grid in a reliable, efficient, and secure manner. It consists of 5 Regional Load Despatch Centres (RLDCs) and the National Load Despatch Centre (NLDC).

Source: PIB

5) China Builds Bridge across Pangong Lake

• Recently, it was found that China is building a new bridge on Pangong Tso which will provide an additional axis to deploy troops faster between the north and south banks of the lake, and closer to the LAC (Line of Actual Control).
• Earlier, China’s new law on land borders came into effect from 1st January 2022, at a time when border standoff in eastern Ladakh remains unresolved and several places in Arunachal Pradesh have been renamed recently by China as part of its claim on the Indian state.
• India too has been improving its infrastructure in the border areas. In 2021, the Border Roads Organisation completed more than 100 projects in border areas, the majority of which were close to the border with China.
• The bridge is being constructed more than 20 km east of Finger 8 on the lake’s north bank – India says Finger 8 denotes the LAC.
• The Lake is overlooked by the Finger Area - a set of eight cliffs extending out of the Sirijap range (on the northern bank of Lake).
• Pangong Tso, an endorheic lake, is 135 km long, of which more than two-thirds is under Chinese control. 
• The north and south banks of the lake were among the several friction points that surfaced after the start of the standoff. Before India and China pulled back troops from the north and south banks in February 2021, the area had seen massive mobilization and the two sides even deployed tanks, barely a few hundred meters apart in some locations.
• The bridge site is just east of Khurnak Fort in Rutog county where the PLA (People’s Liberation Army) has frontier bases.
• Historically a part of India, Khurnak Fort has been under Chinese control since 1958.
• From Karnak Fort, the LAC is considerably west, with India claiming it at Finger 8 and China claiming it at Finger 4.
• The bridge will cut a 180-kilometer loop from Khurnak to the south banks through Rudok reducing the distance between Khurnak and Rudok to 40-50 kilometers, rather than approximately 200 kilometers as previously stated.
• The building of the bridge will allow it to mobilize its troops faster in this area, hoping to prevent a repeat of what happened in August 2020.
• The bridge is in their territory, and the Indian Army will have to factor this in its operational plans.
• The widening of roads, building of new roads and bridges, new bases, airstrips, advance landing bases, etc are not restricted to the eastern Ladakh region but are happening across the three sectors of the India-China boundary (Eastern, Middle, and Western).

Source: The Hindu

6) Unemployment in India

• According to data from the Centre for Monitoring Indian Economy (CMIE), India’s unemployment rate touched a four-month high of 7.9% in December 2021.
• With Covid-19 cases on the rise amid the threat posed by the Omicron variant and many states imposing fresh curbs, economic activity, and consumption levels have been affected.
• This could adversely affect economic recovery further going ahead.

7) Ayush Aahaar

• Recently, the Ministry of Ayush made a new beginning by making ‘Ayush Aahaar’ available at its canteen at Ayush Bhawan (Delhi).
• It aims to promote a nutritional diet and healthy living.

Source: PIB

8) IRDAI Proposes a Separate Regulator for Healthcare Segment

• To make a common tariff structure for hospitals, the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI) has proposed a separate regulator for the healthcare segment or it must be allowed to regulate hospitals.
• It has been noticed that the rate of inflation of hospital charges at present is around 10-15% and tariffs are being changed regularly.

Varying Tariffs:

• Hospitals keep changing tariffs regularly. There is nobody to regulate them on tariff structure and grading.
• When Covid hit the country last year, patients were charged excessively by some hospitals.

Cost to Health Insurance Businesses:

• If insurers continue to pay whatever the hospitals are demanding, the health insurance business will be in poor health in the long run. Already, the industry is experiencing a high number of claims.

Individual Hospital Empanelment Process:

• At present, health care schemes and private insurance have individual hospital empanelment processes, which replicate various activities and contribute to inefficiency and duplication of processes.

No Infrastructure to Regulate Hospitals:

• IRDAI currently doesn’t have the infrastructure to regulate hospitals. As healthcare is a state subject, it’s going to be a tough proposition for IRDAI to regulate the hospitals.
• Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI), is a statutory body formed under an Act of Parliament, i.e., Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority Act, 1999 (IRDAI Act 1999) for overall supervision and development of the Insurance sector in India.

Suggestions:

• Even with increasing penetration, there will be a need to factor in general and medical inflation, and given that medical inflation operates significantly higher than CPI (Consumer Price Index) inflation, a correction cycle from a pricing standpoint will be needed.
• IRDAI has proposed a unique common hospital registry, empanelment process, grading of hospitals, and package cost harmonization to promote the standardization and effective utilization of health care infrastructure under the insurance program.
• It is recommended to have a common empanelment portal that can be utilized by all the schemes/insurance companies with standardized empanelment criteria (and) will be hugely beneficial with a special focus on standard safety and quality parameters.

About Healthcare:

• Healthcare has become one of the largest sectors in India in terms of revenue and employment. The booming population, rising income levels, growth in infrastructure, increased awareness, insurance policies, and India’s emergence as a hub of medical tourism and clinical trials have contributed to the development of the health care sector in India.
• Since the needs of this sector are increasing, to provide up to date medical facilities is vital. Government-funded health insurance enables the poor in India to benefit from timely care without the burden of out-of-pocket expenditure.

Significance of Health Insurance:

• It is a mechanism of pooling the high level of Out Pocket expenditure (OOPE) in India to provide greater financial protection against health shocks.
• Pre-payment through health insurance emerges as an important tool for risk-pooling and safeguarding against catastrophic (and often impoverishing) expenditure from health shocks.
• Moreover, pre-paid pooled funds can also improve the efficiency of healthcare provision.

Issues related to Health Insurance:

• Life Status is unevenly Distributed:
• There has been a significant increase in life expectancy of people from 35 years to 65 years since Independence. But the status of life is unevenly distributed in different parts of the country. The health problems in India are still a cause of great concern.
• Low Government expenditure :
• Low Government expenditure on health has constrained the capacity and quality of healthcare services in the public sector.
• It diverts the majority of individuals – about two-thirds – to seek treatment in the costlier private sector.
• Significant Population is missed:
• At least 30% of the population, or 40 crore individuals are devoid of any financial protection for health.

Related Government Schemes:

• Ayushman Bharat – Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (AB-PMJAY): It offers a sum insured of Rs. 5 lakh per family for secondary care (which doesn’t involve a super-specialist) as well as tertiary care (which involves a super-specialist).

Source: Indian Express