Dasuopu glacier
Why in news?
- Human activity may have contaminated one of the highest peaks in the central Himalayas hundreds of years before a person ever set foot there.
Key highlights:
- According to a study published in the journal PNAS, indicates that the byproducts of burning coal in Europe in the late 18th century made their way to the Dasuopu glacier, about 10,300 kilometres from London, the birthplace of the Industrial Revolution.
- The Industrial Revolution was a revolution in the use of energy adding that the use of coal combustion also started to cause emissions that we think were transported by winds up to the Himalayas.
- Dasuopu, at 7,200 metres above sea level, is the highest-altitude site in the world where scientists have obtained a climate record from an ice core. It is located on Shishapangma, one of the world’s 14 tallest mountains, which are all located in the Himalayas.
World Unani Day
Why in news?
- World Unani Day has observed every year on 11th February. This day is celebrated every year to mark the birth anniversary of great Unani scholar and social reformer Hakim Ajmal Khan.
- He was an eminent Indian Unani physician who was a versatile genius, a great scholar, a social reformer, a noted freedom fighter, a Unani medical educationist and founder of scientific research in Unani System of Medicine. He was one of the founders of the Jamia Millia Islamia in New Delhi.
Key highlights:
- The main objective of World Unani Day is to spread awareness about health care delivery through Unani system of medicine through its preventive and curative philosophy.
- The Unani system of medicine has a long and impressive record in India.
- It was introduced in India by the Arabs and Persians sometime around the eleventh century.
- Today, India is one of the leading countries as far as the practice of Unani medicine is concerned. It has the largest number of Unani educational, research and health care institutions.
- The unani system of medicine originated in Greece. Its foundation was laid by Hippocrates. The system owes its present form to the Arabs who not only saved much of the Greek literature by rendering it into Arabic but also enriched the medicine of their day with their own contributions.
CRR buffer to get 5-year exemption: RBI
Why in news?
- The Reserve Bank of India has said that the special lending window with Cash Reserve Ratio exemption will be open from 14th of February and incremental loans disbursed under this facility will have CRR exemption for the next five years.
About:
- The central bank circular said that the window will open for six months ending 31st of July this year, but the Net Demand and Time Liabilities (NDTL) will be calculated as of 31st of January.
- It asked banks to report the CRR exemption availed at the end of a fortnight under exemptions/others in the Section 42 return, under the provisions of the master circular on CRR and SLR issued on 1st of July, 2015.
National Deworming Day
Why in news?
- The Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MoHFW) conducted the tenth round of National Deworming Day (NDD).
- This will be followed by the mop-up day on February 17, 2020.
Key highlights:
- As part of this campaign, children and adolescents aged 1-19 years are being administered Albendazole (400 mg) across government, government-aided schools, anganwadis, private schools and other educational institutions.
- The NDD is implemented with an objective to reduce the prevalence of Soil Transmitted Helminths (STH), commonly called the parasitic intestinal worms, among all children and adolescents.
- Infections with the main STH – roundworm, whipworm and hookworms – contribute to 50.1 lakh disability adjusted life-years (DALYs) worldwide (WHO, 2010).
- One DALY can be thought of as one lost “healthy” year from a life. In India, over 22 crore children under 14 years are at risk of STH infections (WHO, 2017).
Objective:
- Launched in 2015, the NDD is the largest public health program implemented on a single day reaching crores of children and adolescents through two NDD rounds every year. This year today, 19 states took up activities to reach 9.35 crore of the target population.
- NDD will be observed in 34 States/UTs over the next weeks and is expected to reach an estimated 30 crore of the target population.
- NDD is a key intervention of Anemia Mukt Bharat. Its success and impact lie in convergence with the Swachh Bharat Mission.
- NDD presents opportunities to further policy dialogue on health and nutrition as a way of supplementing efforts under POSHAN Abhiyaan.