Friday Factly 7 August 2020

General Studies-1

Sea Level Rise:

• As per this assessment, 0.5-0.7 per cent of the world’s land area is at a risk of episodic coastal flooding by 2100, impacting 2.5-4.1 per cent of the population, assuming there are no coastal defenses or adaptation measures in place.
• Study has found that globally, of the 68 per cent area that is prone to coastal flooding, over 32 per cent can be attributed to regional SLR.
• Researchers predict that by 2100, the global population potentially exposed to episodic coastal flooding will increase from 128-171 million to 176-287 million. The value of global assets exposed to these episodes is projected to be between $6,000-$9,000 billion, or 12-20 per cent of the global GDP.

Flood:

During post-independence period, Assam faced major floods in 1954, 1962, 1972, 1977, 1984, 1988, 1998, 2002, 2004 and 2012. Almost every year three to four waves of flood ravage the flood prone areas of Assam.

Municipality:

• Bengaluru’s average percentage of own revenue to total expenditure is 47.9%, Chennai 30.5%, Mumbai 36.1% and Kolkata at 48.4%.
• According to ASICS 2017, Mumbai has the highest number of officers per lakh population at 938. However, this is abysmally low compared to global cities such as Johannesburg with 2,922 officers and New York with 5,446 officers per lakh population.

Elderly Population:

• A country with an elderly population of about 150 million (about half the population of the US) with no social security protection worth the name.
• India’s savings at 30.1 per cent of the GDP in 2018-19 are already at a 15-year low, largely owing to a drop in household savings from 23 per cent of the GDP in 2012 to 18 per cent today. Over half of these savings are in financial instruments

General Studies-2

Health:

• India’s public health expenditure in 2018 was a mere 1.28% of GDP.
• According to the World Bank, India’s out-of-pocket health expenditure was 62.4% in 2017, while the world average was 18.2%.
• Manpower in the health sector is low with India’s doctor-population ratio being 1:1,457 which is lower than the World Health Organization norm of 1:1,000.

Hunger:

India slipped to the 102nd position in the Global Hunger Report of 2019 that ranked 117 countries.

General Studies-3

Air Pollution

• Air pollution in the national capital has been an issue of concern for quite some time as Delhi and its suburbs have ranked among the most polluted cities in the world frequently since 2014, when the World Health Organisation (WHO) declared Delhi the most polluted city in the world.
• Pollution levels in Delhi increase dramatically during winter — on some days to nearly 10 times above the limits prescribed by WHO, posing a serious risk to vulnerable and also healthy populations.

Horticulture and FPO:

• There are about 10,000 FPOs, promoted by Small Farmers’ Agri-business Consortium through State governments, NABARD and the private sector.
• Horticultural crops (vegetables, fruits and flowers) account for 13.08 per cent of the cropped area and contribute to about 30 per cent of India’s agricultural GDP.
• The top five states in horticulture — Uttar Pradesh, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, West Bengal and Maharashtra — account for almost 40 per cent of the cropped area.

Internet:

• By 2023, India’s internet users will increase by 40% and the number of smartphone users will double (McKinsey).

MGNREGA:

The MGNREGA has created 153.16 crore person-days of employment during April-July.