Friday Factly 14 August 2020

General Studies-1

Aging population:

• According to a report by the Ministry of Statistics in 2018, the number of citizens over the age of 60 jumped 35.5 per cent, from 7.6 crore in 2001 to 10.3 crore in 2011. This is an all-time high since 1950, and is almost twice the rate at which the overall population grew.
• In the same period (2001-2011), India’s overall population grew by 17.7 per cent. This shows that ageing will emerge as a key social challenge in the future.
• India’s age dependency ratio is also growing, standing at 14.2 against 10.9 in 2001. Age dependency ratio signifies the ratio of older dependents (above 64) to the working-age population (15-64). In contrast, ageing economies such as Japan have an age dependency ratio as high as 42 while Belgium has 28.

General Studies-2

World Health Organization:

The World Health Organization has said it needed at least US $100 billion for its programme that seeks to accelerate the development and manufacture of a novel Coronavirus vaccine, and ensure that it is equitably accessible to everyone.

General Studies-3

Indian Rupee:

• India’s current account deficit (CAD) more than halved in FY20 to $24.6 billion as trade deficit narrowed (because imports fell faster than exports) by $22.8 billion to $157.5 billion and invisible receipts increased by $9.8 billion to $132.9 billion.
• Trade deficit significantly contracted to $9.1 billion in the first quarter of FY21 against $45.9 billion in the corresponding period last year.According to the International Monetary Fund (IMF), world trade volume is projected to de-grow by 11.9 per cent in 2020 and grow by 8 per cent in 2021.
• Because of the collapse in the Brent crude price, the import bill tumbled 66 per cent from $9.5 billion in January to $3.2 billion in June. Crude prices declined from $66 a barrel in January to as low as $16 in April before recovering to $45 by July-end.

Defence:

• India, which is the world’s second largest arms importer, accounting for 9.2% of global arms imports — though, in a first, it has also emerged as a major arms exporter, at 23^rd— has been beset by a problem of delays in manufacturing.

Environment:

• India’s ranking in biennial global Environmental Performance Index report 177th out of 180 countries in 2018.
• The Lancet, 12.4 lakh deaths i.e. 5% of all deaths in India in 2017, could be attributed to air pollution