Daily Current Affairs for State Exams: 09 May 2022

Daily Current Affairs 09 May 2022

Important News: India

National Family Health Survey (NFHS-5) report

Why in News

Union Minister for Health and Family Welfare, Dr. Mansukh Mandaviya released the National Report of the fifth round of National Family Health Survey (NFHS-5).
He has also released the Rural Health Statistics publication for the year 2020-21 (as on 31st March, 2021).

Key Points

The report comprises of detailed information on key domains of population, health and family welfare and associated domains like characteristics of the population; fertility; family planning; infant and child mortality; maternal and child health; nutrition and anaemia; morbidity and healthcare; women’s empowerment etc.
The NFHS-5 survey work has been conducted in around 6.37 lakh sample households from 707 districts (as on March, 2017) of the country from 28 States and 8 UTs, covering 7,24,115 women and 1,01,839 men to provide dis-aggregated estimates up to district level.
NFHS-5 provides information on important indicators which are helpful in tracking the progress of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in the country.
NFHS-4 (2015-16) estimates were used as baseline values for a large number of SDG indicators and NFHS- 5 will provide data for around 34 SDG indicators at various levels.

Key results from NFHS-5 National Report- Progress from NFHS-4 (2015-16) to NFHS-5 (2019-21):

India has made significant progress in population control measures in recent times.
The Total Fertility Rates (TFR), an average number of children per women, has further declined from 2.2 to 2.0 at the national level between NFHS-4 & 5.
Overall Contraceptive Prevalence Rate (CPR) has increased substantially from 54% to 67% in the country.
Institutional Births have increased substantially from 79 percent to 89 percent in India. Even in rural areas around 87 percent births are delivered in Institutions and same is 94 percent in urban areas.
In NFHS-5, more than three-fourths (77%) children age 12-23 months were fully immunized, compared with 62 percent in NFHS-4.
The level of stunting among children under 5 years has marginally declined from 38 to 36 percent for India since the last four years.
Stunting is higher among children in rural areas (37%) than urban areas (30%) in 2019-21.
NFHS-5 shows an overall improvement in SDG indicators in all States/UTs.
Between NFHS-4 and NFHS-5, the use of clean cooking fuel (44% to 59%) and improved sanitation facilities (49% to 70%), including a hand-washing facility with soap and water (60% to 78%) have improved considerably.

Source: newsonair

Sagarmala projects

Why in News

Union Minister for Ports, Shipping and Waterways Sarbananda Sonowal chaired the meeting of the National Sagarmala Apex Committee (NSAC) at Vigyan Bhawan, in New Delhi.

Key Points

The Ministry of Ports Shipping and Waterways has formulated a plan under the Sagarmala Programme for carrying out “Holistic Development of Coastal Districts”.
The committee reviewed the Sagarmala program along with review of development of port linked Road and Rail connectivity project, development of Floating jetties and Inland waterways besides other agenda items.
Holistic development of coastal communities through a new initiative ‘Sagartat Samriddhi Yojana’ was also discussed in the meeting.
The Ministry has identified a total of 567 projects under convergence mode with an estimated cost of Rs. 58,700 Crore.
With addition of projects identified in Holistic Development of Coastal Districts and new project proposals received under Sagarmala, total number of projects stands at 1537 worth Rs. 6.5 lakh crore.
There are 802 projects worth Rs. 5.5 lakh Crore under the Sagarmala program targeted to be executed by 2035.

About National Sagarmala Apex Committee (NSAC):

NSAC is the apex body providing policy directions and guidance for port led development-Sagarmala projects and reviews its implementation.
It was constituted on 13.05.2015 by the Union Cabinet.

About Sagarmala:

Sagarmala is a National Programme aimed at accelerating economic development in the country by harnessing the potential of India’s 7,500 km long coastline and 14,500 km of potentially navigable waterways announced by the Prime Minister in 2014 and approved by the Union Cabinet on 25th March 2015.

Source: PIB

PM Modi addresses the inaugural session of ‘JITO Connect 2022’

Why in News

Prime Minister Narendra Modi addressed the inaugural session of Jain International Trade Organisation’s ‘JITO Connect 2022’.

Key Points

While appreciating the youth of Jain community and JITO, PM Modi appealed them to be vocal for local.
He also explained the meaning of the word EARTH.
He said E means environment where one should encourage those practices which are protecting the environment.
They should invest in A, means agriculture and natural farming.
R means recycling and focus on circular economy.
One should think of T, means technology for all and H means health care.

About Jain International Trade Organisation (JITO):

JITO is a global organisation connecting Jains worldwide.
JITO Connect is an endeavour to help business and industry by providing an avenue for mutual networking and personal interactions.

Source: newsonair

Important News: Science

ISRO plans mission to Venus

Why in News

Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) Chairman S. Somnath said the Venus mission has been conceived and a project report made.

Key Points

After sending missions to the Moon and Mars, the ISRO is now readying a spacecraft to orbit Venus to study what lies below the surface of the solar system's hottest planet, and also unravel the mysteries under the Sulfuric Acid clouds enveloping it.
The space agency is eyeing the December 2024 window for its launch with orbital maneuvers planned for the following year when earth and Venus would be so aligned that the spacecraft could be put in the neighbouring planet's orbit using a minimum amount of propellant.
The next similar window would be available in 2031.

About Venus:

Venus is the second planet from the Sun and is named after the Roman goddess of love and beauty.
As the brightest natural object in Earth's night sky after the Moon, Venus can cast shadows and can be visible to the naked eye in broad daylight.
Venus orbits the Sun every 224.7 Earth days.
Even though Mercury is closer to the Sun, Venus is the hottest planet in our solar system.
Its thick atmosphere is full of the greenhouse gas carbon dioxide, and it has clouds of sulfuric acid.

Source: The Hindu

Important News: Environment & Ecology

Cyclone ‘Asani’

Why in News

The India Meteorological Department (IMD) indicated that Cyclone ‘Asani’, brewing in the southern Andaman Sea, is on course to become a short-lived cyclone by May 8, 2022 and will make landfall between Visakhapatnam in Andhra Pradesh and Bhubaneswar in Odisha by May 10.

Key Points

Senior IMD officials have confirmed that the cyclone, as of now, is unlikely to cause major damages to West Bengal.
There is, however, a possibility of strong winds and heavy rainfall measuring 7-11 centimetres affecting Gangetic West Bengal May 10-13.
However, “there are many variabilities involved, including a possibility of recurve of the cyclone path towards Bangladesh, which is also set to impact the West Bengal coast more directly”.

Asani: If the low-pressure area develops into a cyclone, it will be called Asani, which is a name given by Sri Lankan weather authorities. In Sinhalese, Asani means 'wrath', or 'anger'.

Source: DTE

Important News: Award and Honours

Cynthia Rosenzweig receives 2022 World Food Prize

Why in News

Cynthia Rosenzweig, a senior research scientist and head of the Climate Impacts Group at NASA’s Goddard Institute for Space Studies, New York City, received the 2022 World Food Prize from the World Food Prize Foundation.

Key Points

World Food Prize is an international award conceived as the "Nobel Prize for Food and Agriculture" with a mission to elevate innovations and inspire action to sustainably increase the quality, quantity and availability of food for all.
Rosenzweig was selected for the award for her research to understand the relationship between climate and food systems and forecast how both will change in the future.

Source: worldfoodprize.org

Important News: Books

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh releases a book titled ‘INDO-PAK WAR 1971- Reminiscences of Air Warriors’

Why in News

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh released a book titled ‘INDO-PAK WAR 1971- Reminiscences of Air Warriors’ at the 37thAir Chief Marshal PC Lal Memorial Lecture in New Delhi.

Key Points

The book comprises 50 articles penned by the veterans who have shared their experiences in detail.
The book has been edited by Air Marshal Jagjeet Singh and Group Captain Shailendra Mohan.

Note: Rajnath Singh also paid tributes to Air Chief Marshal P.C. Lal who was the Vice Chief of the Air Staff during the 1965 war and had served as the 7th Air Chief during the 1971 war.

Source: The Hindu

Important News: Important Days

May 08, World Thalassaemia Day

Why in News

World Thalassemia Dayis observed on May 8 every year.

Key Points

The event was first organised by the Thalassemia International Federation (TIF) in 1994, in memory of George Englezos, the son of TIF founder Panos Englezos. He had lost his life to the disease. Since then, the event is observed every year.

Thalassemia:

Thalassemia is a blood disorder inherited by children from their parents.
In this disease, the ability of an individual's body to produce haemoglobin and the red blood cells is affected severely.

Source: Business Standard

May 07, World Athletics Day

Why in News

World Athletics Day is celebrated every year on May 7.

Key Points

On this day, the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF), formerly the International Amateur Athletic Federation, was created as a social responsibility project called 'Athletics for a Better World'.
World Athletics Day was established in 1996 by then- IAAF President Primo Nebiolo.

Note: The Athletics Federation of India (AFI) is the national governing body for athletics in India. AFI was established in 1946. It's a member of the IAAF, the Indian Olympic Association, and the Asian Athletics Association.

Source: India Today