Global Hunger Index 2019 : India ranked lower than Nepal, Pakistan, Bangladesh
Context : India is ranked 102 of 117 countries in the Global Hunger Index 2019, behind its neighbours Nepal, Pakistan and Bangladesh.
Highlights :
- Seventeen countries, including Belarus, Ukraine, Turkey, Cuba and Kuwait, shared the top rank with GHI scores of less than five.
- The share of wasting among children in India rose from 16.5% in the 2008-2012 period to 20.8% in 2014-2018, according to the report.
- Countries like Yemen and Djibouti, which are conflict-ridden and facing severe climate issues respectively, fared better than India on that front, according to the report.
- Neighbouring countries like Nepal (73), Sri Lanka (66), Bangladesh (88), Myanmar (69) and Pakistan (94) are also in the ‘serious’ hunger category, but have fared better at feeding its citizens than India, according to the report.
- The report also mentions the central government’s Swachh Bharat programme, saying open defecation is still being practised.
What is Global Hunger Index?
The report is a peer-reviewed publication released annually by Welthungerhilfe and Concern Worldwide.
The GHI scores are based on a formula that captures three dimensions of hunger—insufficient caloric intake, child undernutrition, and child mortality—using four component indicators:
- UNDERNOURISHMENT: the share of the population that is under-nourished, reflecting insufficient caloric intake
- CHILD WASTING: the share of children under the age of five who are wasted (low weight-for-height), reflecting acute undernutrition.
- CHILD STUNTING: the share of children under the age of five who are stunted (low height-for-age), reflecting chronic undernutrition.
- CHILD MORTALITY: the mortality rate of children under the age of five
“Food Safety Mitra” (FSM) scheme for strengthening ‘Eat Right India’ movement
Context : “Food Safety Mitra” (FSM) scheme, has been launched to strengthen food safety administration and scale up the ‘Eat Right India’ movement.
What is FSM scheme?
A scheme to support small and medium scale food businesses to comply with the food safety laws and facilitate licensing and registration, hygiene ratings and training.
About FSM :
- Food Safety Mitra (FSM) scheme will support small and medium scale food businesses to comply with the food safety laws and facilitate licensing and registration, hygiene ratings and training.
- Apart from strengthening food safety, this scheme would also create new employment opportunities for youth, particularly with food and nutrition background.
- The FSMs would undergo training and certification by FSSAI to do their work and get paid by food businesses for their services.
Eat Right Jacket :
The ‘Eat Right Jacket’ launched along with Food safety Mitra, will be used by the field staff. This jacket has a smart design to hold tech devices like tablets/smart phone, a QR code and RFID tag for identification and tracking. Apart from providing safety to field staff on duty, this would bring in efficiency, professionalism and transparency in food safety administration and bring in a sense of ownership & visibility of FSOs.
Eat Right Jhola :
The ‘Eat Right Jhola’, a reusable cloth bag shall replace plastic bags for grocery shopping in various retail chains. Since on repeated use, bags are often contaminated with microorganisms and bacteria, proper and regular washing of cloth bags is essential to ensure safety and hygiene. These cloth bags are being provided on rental basis through a private textile rental service company.
Rembrandt
Context : India and the Netherlands will commemorate Rembrandt’s 350th death anniversary with a showcase that will celebrate the two countries’ culture and heritage.
Highlights :
- Rembrandt Harmenszoon van Rijn (1606 – 1669) was a Dutch draughtsman, painter and printmaker. He is generally considered one of the greatest visual artists in the history of art and the most important in Dutch art history.
- Rembrandt made 25 drawings based on Mughal miniatures from India during 1656 to 1661, at the height of his career. This is in spite of the fact that the Dutch artist never set foot on Indian soil.
- These miniatures include paintings of Shah Jahan, Akbar, Jahangir and Dara Shikoh.
- They may also have influenced the costumes and other aspects of his works.
KHON RAMLILA
context : The Culture Department of Uttar Pradesh government is going to organise the country’s first training and performance programme of world famous KHON Ramlila in collaboration with Thailand government.
What is KHON Ramlila ?
- KHON Ramlila is a masked form of Ramlila art of Thailand.
- It is a form of masked dance depicting the scenes of Ramlila.
- It has no dialogues and background voices narrate the whole story of Ramayana.
- It is also famous for its beautiful attire and golden masks.
- It is included in the list of UNESCO’s Intangible cultural heritage.
- The Ramakien (literally ‘Glory of Rama’) is Thailand’s national epic, derived from the Hindu epic Ramayana.
Art & culture
Van Dhan Internship Programme
Context: Van Dhan Internship Programme of TRIFED launched.
Features of the programme:
- Organised by TRIFED under Ministry of Tribal Affairs.
- 18 interns (to be called Minister’s interns) from some of the reputed Institutes of Rural Management/ Management Institutions/ Institutes of Social Work/ Social Services of the country are participating.
- These Interns will help the tribal population in becoming self reliant and entrepreneurs.
- They will support the TRIFED activities on livelihood promotion, value addition of Non-Timber Forest Products (NTFTs), marketing and credit linkages.
- They will develop tools and techniques on institutional development including mechanism for determination of a just price or producer price of Minor Forest Products.
About Van Dhan Vikas Kendras initiative:
The initiative aims to promote MFPs-centric livelihood development of tribal gatherers and artisans.It mainstreams the tribal community by promoting primary level value addition to MFP at grassroots level.
Significance: Through this initiative, the share of tribals in the value chain of Non-Timber Forest Produce is expected to rise from the present 20% to around 60%.
Implementation:
Implemented through Ministry of Tribal Affairs as Nodal Department at the Central Level and TRIFED as Nodal Agency at the National Level.
At State level, the State Nodal Agency for MFPs and the District collectors are envisaged to implement at grassroot level.
Locally the Kendras are proposed to be managed by a Managing Committee (an SHG) consisting of representatives of Van Dhan SHGs in the cluster.
Composition: As per the plan, TRIFED will facilitate establishment of MFP-led multi-purpose Van Dhan Vikas Kendras, a cluster of 10 SHGs comprising of 30 tribal MFP gatherers each, in the tribal areas.
Sources: the Hindu.
EX EASTERN BRIDGE–V
Context : A Bilateral joint exercise of Indian Air Force with Royal Air Force Oman (RAFO), named EX EASTERN BRIDGE-V, at Air Force Base Masirah.
Highlights :
- IAF contingent comprises of MiG-29 and C-17 aircraft. MiG-29 will be exercising with Royal Air Force Oman’s Eurofighter Typhoon, F-16 and Hawk.
- The exercise will enhance inter-operability during mutual operations between the two Air Forces and will provide an opportunity to learn from each other’s best practices.
- For the first time, MiG-29 fighter aircraft will be participating in an International Exercise outside India.
- The participation of Indian Air Force in the exercise will also promote professional interaction, exchange of experience and operational knowledge.
- It will also provide a good opportunity to the air-warriors to operate in an international environment.