8-feb

India records drop in fertility

1)      India is unlikely to achieve the fifth Millennium Development Goals (MDG-5) of reducing maternal mortality to 109 per 1,00,000 live births by 2015. However, it is expected to meet the target of total fertility rate (TFR) by the end of the 12th Plan i.e. 2017.

2)      India hopes to bring down the TFR to 2.1 by the end of 2017 with nine of the 11 high focus States registering a decline of 0.05 per cent.

3)      24 States and Union Territories have already achieved the replacement fertility level of 2.1 or less. Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, Maharashtra, Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Sikkim, Mizoram and Punjab already have a TFR of less than 2.0; only Uttar Pradesh and Bihar have a higher TFR of 3.1 and 3.3 respectively.

4)      It will take about four years for the TFR to go down to 2.1, which is already at around 2.3.

5)      The Health Ministry is also focussing on meeting the unmet contraception needs; unmet contraception in India is about 21.3 per cent as per the District Level Household and Facility Survey- 3(DLHS 3).

6)      India has committed to spend $2 billion to provide family planning services to 48 million additional women and sustain the current coverage of over 100 million users till 2020.

7)      There is more stress on fixing the gaps in contraception — there are States like Bihar that have an unmet contraception need of 33.5 per cent, Meghalaya has 32.7 per cent and Nagaland 33.8 per cent.

8)      There is need to expand the bouquet of choice in contraception and allow women more control over the reproductive rights. In the long run, this helps bring down MMR and infant mortality rates as well.

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New criteria by Centre for capital infusion into public sector banks

1)      The Centre has selected nine public sector banks (PSBs) for infusing Rs.6,990 crore out of current year’s Budget based on new criteria that  rewards only efficient banks with extra equity capital

2)      Two efficiency parameter :-

                                i.            The first parameter is based on the weighted average of return on assets (ROA) for all PSBs for last three years. Banks above the average have been selected for the equity infusion.

                              ii.            The second parameter is return on equity (ROE) for the last financial year. Banks with above average ROE have been rewarded.

3)      For the last few years the Centre was infusing capital into those banks that were suffering equity erosion.

4)      This year, the Government had adopted the new criteria in which the banks which were more efficient would only be rewarded with extra capital for their equity so that they could further strengthen their position.

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SPVs for coal mining

1)      Two SPVs, one each for Talcher and Ib valley, biggest coalfields in Orissa, would be formed between Mahanadi Coalfields (Coal India Ltd subsidiary), the public sector units under Indian Railways and the State government.

2)      The SPVs is made for construction of railway infrastructure to ease coal movement.

3)      Coal evacuation is now emerging as the single largest bottleneck in increasing availability of the fossil fuel to the power plants and other user-sectors.

4)      Production is increasing at a faster clip than coal evacuation.

5)      The government plans to take coal production to one billion tonnes by 2020 from its sub-500 million tonnes level now.

6)      The Coal Ministry had identified 50 rail projects to ensure evacuation of coal from the mines.

7)      Additional railway lines would help improve the turnaround time for wagons.

8)      Railways will acquire the land needed for laying the tracks, while MCL will provide the funds (it has a 64 per cent stake in the SPV).

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Spread of Swine flu in India

A brief history :

1)      first case was discovered in Mexico in April 2009.

2)      The first official case in India was a 23-year-old man who flew into Hyderabad from the United States on May 19, 2009.

3)      The WHO declared H1N1 swine flu a pandemic in June 2009.

4)      On August 4, 2009, swine flu had claimed its first recorded Indian victim.

 

v  The fatality rates from swine flu  are low.

v  0.02 per cent of all cases, meaning that only two out of every 100,000 people infected with swine flu died in 2009-10.

v  Swine flu disproportionately affects young children and younger people, leading to a larger loss in human years than seasonal influenza.

v  Officially, the world is in a “post-pandemic period”. The H1N1 (2009) virus is expected to continue to circulate as a seasonal virus for some years to come.

v  The virus now settling into what is closer to a seasonal influenza pattern. As temperatures rise, the number of cases has begun to decline.

v  India had 3,037 cases of swine flu and 275 deaths this year.

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