Insights Daily Current Events, 19 February 2015
Mridaparikshak
Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) recently presented to the nation ‘Mridaparikshak’, a MINILAB that can determine soil health.
What is it?
- Mridaparikshak is a digital mobile quantitative minilab/soil test kit to provide soil testing service at farmers’ doorsteps.
Important features:
- Mridaparikshak determines all the important soil parameters i.e. soil pH, EC, organic carbon, available nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium, sulphur and micronutrients like zinc, boron and iron.
- It also provides crop and soil specific fertilizer recommendations directly to farmer’s mobile through SMS.
- It is highly compatible with soil health card.
- Mridaparikshak comes with soil sampling tools, GPS, balance, shaker, hot plate, and a Smart Soil Pro, an instrument for determining the soil parameters and displaying of fertilizer nutrient recommendations.
- It can be operated by young educated farmers/rural youths with short training.
Sources: PIB.
Meeting of the National Council for Promotion of Sindhi Language
The first meeting of the newly reconstituted Governing Council of National Council for Promotion of Sindhi Language (NCPSL) was held recently in New Delhi under the Chairpersonship of Human Resource Development Minister.
- Several key decisions like increasing the award money etc. were taken at the meeting.
- It was also decided in the Meeting to provide Rs.1.00 crore for the establishment of Sindhi Chair in Maharishi Dayanand Saraswati University, Ajmer.
About National Council for Promotion of Sindhi Language (NCPSL):
NCPSL is an Autonomous body, fully funded and established by the Government of India, Ministry of H.R.D. Department of Education to Promote, develop and propagate Sindhi Language. It was established in 1994.
Objectives of the Council:
- To promote, develop and propagate Sindhi Language.
- To take action for making available in Sindhi Language, the knowledge of Scientific and Technical Terminological development as well as the knowledge.
- To advise the Government of India on issues connected with Sindhi Language and advising on education as may be referred to it.
- To undertake any other activity for the promotion of Sindhi Language as may be deemed fit by the Council.
The constitution of India has enjoined upon the government of India to ensure the development of all languages included in the eighth schedule of the Indian Constitution.
Sindhi Language:
- Sindhi is a one of the language among 22 languages in the VIII schedule of the Indian Constitution.
- It is spoken by a large number of people who, after migration from Sindhi due to partition of the country in 1947 have settled mainly in Gujarat, Maharashtra, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh and Delhi.
- Significant number of Sindhi speaking people reside in South India and in some other regions of the country.
- Among the modern Indian language, Sindhi is the only language which is not an official language of any particular state. Hence being a stateless language, special efforts are required for its growth and preservation of its literary heritage.
Sources: PIB, http://ncpsl.gov.in/.
Bill to make divorce easier may be dropped
The new government at the centre may not go forward with Marriage Laws (Amendment) Bill introduced by the previous government.
Background:
- The UPA government had introduced the Marriage Laws (Amendment) Bill, proposing amendments to the Hindu Marriage Act, 1955, and the Special Marriage Act, 1954, to make “irretrievable breakdown of marriage” a ground for divorce.
- The Bill was passed by the Rajya Sabha in 2013, but could not be taken up for discussion in the Lok Sabha.
The new government is concerned about the bill as more than 70 representations had been received against it from senior citizen groups and non-governmental organisations such as Save Indian Family and Centre for Reforms. These groups contend that such an amendment will bring down the marriage rate in the country.
About the Marriage Laws (Amendment) Bill:
The Bill amends the Hindu Marriage Act, 1955 and the Special Marriage Act, 1954, to provide therein irretrievable break down of marriage as a ground of divorce. It provides safeguards to parties to marriage who file petition for grant of divorce by consent from the harassment in court if any of the party does not come to the court or wilfully avoids the court to keep the divorce proceedings inconclusive.
Important provisions:
- The Bill amends the Hindu Marriage Act, 1955 which codifies the law relating to marriage among Hindus and the Special Marriage Act, 1954 that provides for special form of marriage in certain cases.
- The Bill deletes the requirement allowing one party to the marriage to present the petition.
- The Bill adds a provision to both Acts that allows both parties to file for divorce on the ground of irretrievable breakdown of marriage. Both parties have to live apart for at least three years before filing for such a petition.
- The wife has the right to oppose the grant of a divorce on the ground that the dissolution shall result in grave financial hardship.
- The court shall consider all circumstances including conduct of parties, children before deciding whether a divorce would result in hardship.
- The court has to be satisfied that adequate financial provision has been made for any children (including unmarried or widowed daughters).
Present scenario:
- Under the current law, divorce is granted if a couple jointly files an application by mutual consent. Present Acts allow a petition for grant of divorce on the ground of mutual consent. This petition has to be presented by both parties together before the court.
- In case the divorce is contested, then the husband or the wife has to prove certain grounds under which a marriage can be dissolved. These include adultery, cruelty, insanity, desertion or medical reasons such as communicable disease.
Sources: The Hindu, PIB, prsindia.org.
Why kids in rural India die of diarrhoea, pneumonia
Diarrhoea and pneumonia are the biggest killer diseases in children aged under five years in India. Recently a study was conducted in Bihar and this study has made it clear
why a large number of children under the age of five years die of diarrhoea and pneumonia, generally in rural India and especially in Bihar.
Details of the study:
- The study team conducted interviews to assess how health-care providers would diagnose and treat children with these diseases. Later, the actual treatment offered by the health-care providers was assessed by sending “patients” pretending to suffer from the same symptoms as in the interviews.
- The study revealed that the providers’ exhibited low levels of knowledge about the two diseases during the interviews and it was even worse during practice.
- The study says that 3.5% of providers offered the correct treatment for diarrhoea. Another 69% offered the correct treatment, but it was in addition to other unnecessary treatments.
- For Pneumonia, it was found that nearly 21% of practitioners prescribed potentially harmful treatment and 72% offered dangerous cocktails that included antibiotics during practice.
- Besides wrong treatment, the researchers found that the health-care providers asked very few pertinent questions that would enable correct diagnosis and understanding of the severity of the diseases during practice than they did during interviews.
- During practice, 76% of practitioners offered treatment despite not seeing the sick child with diarrhoea. It was 79% in the case of pneumonia.
- 80% of the providers in the study did not have a medical degree from any system of medicine. While those with formal medical training did have large gaps between what they knew and what they practised.
According to the Pneumonia and Diarrhoea Progress Report (PDPR) 2013, India loses four lakh children to pneumonia, diarrhoea before they turn five. Many Indian children do not have access to life-saving treatment and prevention measures.
Sources: The Hindu.
Mock Questions:
1)Consider the following statements regarding Mridaparikshak:
- It is a digital mobile quantitative minilab/soil test kit to provide soil testing service at farmers’ doorsteps.
- It is developed by ISRO.
Which of the above statements are true?
a)Only 1.
b)Only 2.
c)Both.
d)None.
2)Consider the following statements regarding Sindhi Language:
- Sindhi is a one of the language among 22 languages in the 8th schedule of the Indian Constitution.
- It is the official state language of Mizoram.
Which of the above statements are true?
a)Only 1.
b)Only 2.
c)Both.
d)None.
3)Consider the following statements regarding National Council for Promotion of Sindhi Language (NCPSL):
- It is a statutory body.
- It advises the Government of India on issues connected with Sindhi Language and such advises are not binding.
Which of the above statements are true?
a)Only 1.
b)Only 2.
c)Both.
d)None.
4)Consider the following statements regarding the Marriage Laws (Amendment) Bill:
- The Bill amends both the Hindu Marriage Act, 1955 and the Special Marriage Act, 1954.
- According to the Bill both parties have to live apart for at least three years before filing petition for grant of divorce.
- According to the Bill the wife has the right to oppose the grant of a divorce on the ground that the dissolution shall result in grave financial hardship.
Which of the above statements are true?
a)Only 1.
b)Only 2 & 3.
c)Only 1 & 3.
d)All are correct.
