Daily Prelims Notes 27 March 2024

Daily Prelims Notes

27 March 2024

Table Of Contents

1. Employment scenario in India grim, says ILO report
2. The Archaeological Survey of India will ‘delist’ some ‘lost’ monuments. What’s happening, and why?
3. The need to curb black carbon emissions
4. How much should develop countries pay for climate action?
5. BRO connects strategic Nimmu-Padam-Darcha road in Ladakh
6. ICCC: Integrated farm data dashboard for customized solutions
7. NASA touts research in ‘space labs’ to fight cancer
8. Inaccessibility and cost cripple efforts to treat sickle cell disease
9. Here is why Ladakh needs the Sixth Schedule and statehood

1. Employment scenario in India grim, says ILO report

Subject: Economy

Section: Unemployment and inflation

Context:

• The India Employment Report 2024 reveals significant shifts in the employment landscape of India, especially among the youth.

About the report:

• It is a collaborative effort between the International Labour Organisation (ILO) and the Institute of Human Development (IHD).
• Released by Chief Economic Adviser V. Anantha Nageswaran.
• The report highlights trends in education levels among the unemployed and broader employment patterns over two decades up to 2022.

Key findings:

• The report illustrates a stark increase in the share of unemployed youth with secondary or higher education in India, which nearly doubled from 35.2% in 2000 to 65.7% in 2022.
  • Youths represent almost 83% of the country’s unemployed workforce.
• Despite an increase in employment and underemployment from 2000 to 2019, the pandemic years saw a decline.
• The report points to a long-term deterioration in key labour market indicators (Labour Force Participation Rate, Worker Population Ratio, and Unemployment Rate) up until 2018, followed by an improvement post-2019, coinciding with economic distress periods.
• The improvement in labour market indicators during periods of economic slowdown prompts caution, raising questions about the quality and sustainability of jobs created during these times.
• The report also touches on the paradoxical nature of India’s employment scenario over the past two decades, highlighting insufficient growth in non-farm sectors and their capacity to absorb agricultural workers.
• This situation underscores ongoing challenges in transforming India’s employment landscape despite some positive indicators.

Key definitions:

• Labour Force Participation Rate (LFPR):
  • LFPR is the number of persons in the labour force as a percentage of the working-age population.
  • The LFPR is a measure of the proportion of a country’s working-age population that engages actively in the labour market, either by working or looking for work;
  • It provides an indication of the size of the supply of labour available to engage in the production of goods and services, relative to the population at working age.
  • The breakdown of the labour force (formerly known as the economically active population) by sex and age group gives a profile of the distribution of the labour force within a country.
    • LFPR (%) = 100 x Labour force / Working-age population
• Worker Population Ratio (WPR):
  • WPR is defined as the ratio of a country’s working population to its population multiplied by 100.
  • Symbolically,
    • Worker population ratio = Total number of Workers / Total Population ×100
  • If the ratio is higher, it means that the engagement of people is greater.
  • If this ratio is medium or low, it means that a very high proportion of the population of its population is not involved directly in economic activities
• Unemployment Rate (UR):
  • The unemployed are people of working age who are without work, are available for work, and have taken specific steps to find work.
  • The unemployment rate is the percentage of people in the labour force who are unemployed.

Source: TH

2. The Archaeological Survey of India will ‘delist’ some ‘lost’ monuments. What’s happening, and why?

Subject: History

Section: Art and culture

Context:

• The Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) has decided to delist 18 “centrally protected monuments” because it has assessed that they do not have national importance.

More on news:

• These 18 monuments are part of an earlier list of monuments that the ASI had said were “untraceable”.
• Among the monuments that face delisting now are a medieval highway milestone recorded as Kos Minar No.13 at Mujessar village in Haryana, Barakhamba Cemetery in Delhi, Gunner Burkill’s tomb in Jhansi district, a cemetery at Gaughat in Lucknow, and the Telia Nala Buddhist ruins in Varanasi. 
• The precise location of these monuments, or their current physical state, is not known.

So what exactly does the “delisting” of monuments mean?

• The ASI, which works under the Union Ministry of Culture, is responsible for protecting and maintaining certain specific monuments and archaeological sites that have been declared to be of national importance under the relevant provisions of The Ancient Monuments Preservation Act, 1904 and The Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Sites and Remains Act, 1958 (AMASR Act).
• Delisting of a monument effectively means it will no longer be conserved, protected, and maintained by the ASI. 
• Under the AMASR Act, any kind of construction-related activity is not allowed around a protected site. 
• Once the monument is delisted, activities related to construction and urbanization in the area can be carried out in a regular manner.
• The list of protected monuments can grow longer or shorter with new listings and delistings.
• ASI currently has 3,693 monuments under its purview, which will fall to 3,675 once the current delisting exercise is completed in the next few weeks.
• This is the first such large-scale delisting exercise in several decades.

Section 35 of the AMASR Act:

• It says that if the Central Government is of opinion that any ancient and historical monument or archaeological site and remains declared to be of national important ,has ceased to be of national importance, it may, by notification in the Official Gazette, declare that the ancient and historical monument or archaeological site and remains, as the case may be, has ceased to be of national importance for the purposes of [the AMASR] Act.

And what does it mean when the ASI says a monument is “untraceable”?

• The AMASR Act protects monuments and sites that are more than 100 years old, including temples, cemeteries, inscriptions, tombs, forts, palaces, step-wells, rock-cut caves, and even objects like cannons and mile pillars (“kos minars”) that may be of historical significance.
• These sites are scattered across the length and breadth of the country and, over the decades, some, especially the smaller or lesser known ones, have been lost to activities such as urbanization, encroachments, the construction of dams and reservoirs, or sheer neglect, which has resulted in their falling apart.
• In some cases, there is no surviving public memory of these monuments, making it difficult to ascertain their physical location.
• Under the AMASR Act, the ASI should regularly inspect protected monuments to assess their condition, and to conserve and preserve them.
• In cases of encroachment, the ASI can file a police complaint, issue a show-cause notice for the removal of the encroachment, and communicate to the local administration the need for demolition of encroachments.
• The ASI, which was founded in 1861 after the need for a permanent body to oversee archaeological excavations and conservation was realized, remained largely dysfunctional in the decades that followed.
• The ASI also concentrated more on uncovering new monuments and sites, instead of conserving and protecting existing ones.

How many historical monuments have been lost in this way?

• In December 2022, the Ministry of Culture submitted to the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Transport, Tourism and Culture, that 50 of India’s 3,693 centrally protected monuments were missing.
• Fourteen of these monuments had been lost to rapid urbanization, 12 were submerged by reservoirs/ dams, and the remaining 24 were untraceable.
• The Committee was informed that security guards were posted at only 248 of the 3,693 protected monuments.
• The Parliamentary panel said it was perturbed to find that the Barakhamba Cemetery in the very heart of Delhi was among the untraceable monuments. 

Was 2022 the first time that the disappearance of these monuments was noticed?

• In 2013, a report by the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) of India had said that at least 92 centrally protected monuments across the country had gone missing.
• The CAG report said that the ASI did not have reliable information on the exact number of monuments under its protection. 
• It recommended that periodic inspection of each protected monument be carried out by a suitably ranked officer.
• The Culture ministry accepted the proposal.
• Eleven of these monuments are in Uttar Pradesh, two each in Delhi and Haryana, and others in states like Assam, West Bengal, Arunachal Pradesh, and Uttarakhand.

About Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Sites and Remains Act, 1958

• The AMASR Act provides for preservation of ancient and historical monuments and archaeological sites and remains of national importance.
• It provides for the regulation of archaeological excavations and for protection of sculptures, carvings and other like objects.
• The Archaeological Survey of India functions under the provisions of this act. The Archaeological Survey of India is the custodian of these monuments.
• The Act prohibits construction in ‘prohibited areas’, an area of 100 meters around protected monuments.
• It does not permit construction in such prohibited areas even if it is for public purposes, except under certain conditions.
• The central government can extend the prohibited area beyond 100 meters.
• The iconic monuments in India, Taj Mahal, Ajanta Caves, The Great Stupa at Sanchi and the Sun Temple of Konark, among others are designated as “ancient monuments of national importance” and protected under the AMASR Act.
• The National Monument Authority will make a recommendation for construction of public works to the central government, only if it is satisfied that there is no reasonable possibility of moving the construction outside the prohibited area.

About Archaeological Survey of India (ASI):

• ASI, under the Ministry of Culture, is the premier organization for the archaeological research and protection of the cultural heritage of the nation.
• It was founded in 1861 by Alexander Cunningham– the first Director-General of ASI. Alexander Cunningham is also known as the “Father of Indian Archaeology”.
• Its activities include carrying out surveys of antiquarian remains, exploration and excavation of archaeological sites, conservation and maintenance of protected monuments etc.

3. The need to curb black carbon emissions

Subject: Environment

Section: Climate change

Context:

• At the COP26 climate talks in Glasgow in November 2021, India pledged to achieve net-zero emissions by 2070. According to the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy, India had installed a renewable energy capacity of over 180 GW by 2023 and is expected to meet its target of 500 GW by 2030.

Why is black carbon relevant?

• Black carbon is a significant environmental and health concern, emitted from the incomplete combustion of biomass and fossil fuels.
• It has been linked to global warming and various health risks, including heart disease, birth complications, and premature death.
• In India, a substantial portion of black carbon emissions comes from the residential sector, primarily due to the use of traditional cookstoves burning biomass like cow dung or straw.
• A 2016 study indicates that the residential sector accounts for 47% of India’s black carbon emissions, followed by industries at 22%, diesel vehicles at 17%, open burning at 12%, and other sources contributing 2%.
• While decarbonisation efforts have reduced emissions from industry and transport, reducing residential black carbon emissions remains a significant challenge.

Has PMUY helped?

• The Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana (PMUY), launched in May 2016 by the Government of India, aimed to provide free liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) connections to below-poverty-line households, facilitating access to clean cooking fuel, reducing reliance on traditional fuels, and thus lowering black carbon emissions.
• By January 2024, the program had successfully distributed connections to over 10 crore households, along with establishing necessary infrastructure like gas stoves and a distribution network.
• Challenges:
  • Despite these achievements, challenges remain. In 2022-2023, data revealed that 25% of PMUY beneficiaries, amounting to 2.69 crore people, did not go beyond zero or one LPG refill annually, indicating a significant reliance on biomass for cooking.
  • Further findings in August 2023 showed that PMUY households use an average of 3.5-4 LPG cylinders yearly, which is lower than the 6-7 cylinders used by non-PMUY households, suggesting that traditional fuels still meet up to half of their energy needs.

What is the government’s role?

• The government plays a crucial role in improving quality of life by providing access to clean cooking fuels, particularly LPG, as a transitional step towards renewable energy for rural communities.
• Despite increasing the LPG subsidy from ₹200 to ₹300 in October 2023, and further announcing a price reduction of ₹100 in March 2024, the cost of LPG cylinders, which stands at around ₹600 even after subsidies, remains prohibitively high for many PMUY beneficiaries.
• This issue is compounded by the availability of ‘free’ traditional fuels like cow dung and firewood. With an estimated ₹12,000 crore allocated for PMUY subsidies in the fiscal year 2024-2025.
• A promising solution is the local production of coal-bed methane (CBM) gas, which offers a cleaner alternative with lower emissions and can be produced by composting biomass at the village level.
• On the global stage, India’s efforts to reduce black carbon emissions through initiatives like PMUY can position the country as a leader in addressing health concerns and climate change, aligning with its commitment to the Sustainable Development Goals.
• Mitigating residential emissions could prevent over 6.1 lakh deaths annually from indoor air pollution, highlighting the global health and environmental benefits of such initiatives.

Source: TH

4. How much should develop countries pay for climate action?

Subject: Environment

Section: Climate change

Context:

• At a two-day meeting that concluded in Copenhagen, Denmark, on March 22 — the first minister-level climate meeting for this year — some technical work to arrive at the NCQG was finalized.

More on news:

• The 2022 climate change conference in Sharm el-Sheikh decided to set up a Loss and Damage Fund to help developing countries recover from climate disasters.
• The Dubai conference last year was all about Global Stocktake, or GST, a review of ongoing climate action, which resulted in the first ever explicit acknowledgment of the need to “transition away” from fossil fuels, and a promise to triple global renewable energy capacity by 2030.
• This year, the focus is on finance. The expression that is likely to be heard most frequently in climate conversations and at COP29, scheduled for November 11-24 in Baku, Azerbaijan, is NCQG — or New Collective Quantitative Goal (on finance).

What is the New Collective Quantitative Goal?

• The New Collective Quantified Goal on Climate Finance (NCQG) is a new global climate finance goal that the Conference of the Parties serving as the meeting of the Parties to the Paris Agreement (CMA) shall set from a floor of USD 100 billion per year, prior to 2025.
• NCQG is a convoluted way to describe the new amount that must be mobilized by developed countries every year from 2025 onward to finance climate action in developing countries.
• This new amount has to be higher than the $100 billion that developed countries, collectively, had promised to raise every year from 2020, but had failed to deliver.
• NCQG is extremely important for developing countries, and discussions on this new amount have been ongoing for a couple of years at least.

How much money is required to ensure effective climate action?

• The scale of annual climate finance flows has always been considerably less than the $100 billion that the developed countries had promised to mobilize every year from 2020 onward.
• It would be only a small fraction of the money that is required to enable actions that would keep the world on the 1.5 degree Celsius pathway at least until 2030.
• In 2021, UN Climate Change, the secretariat of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), said in a report that developing countries would require a total of about $6 trillion annually between then and 2030 just to implement their climate action plans.

What are the prospects for a realistic new annual climate finance target?

• In a recent submission made to UN Climate Change, India called upon developed countries to ensure that the NCQG was “at least US$1 trillion per year, composed primarily of grants and concessional finance”. India’s submission was one of several inputs that will feed into the ongoing discussions on the NCQG.
• UN Climate Change, which organizes dozens of climate meetings every year and facilitates the implementation of various decisions and agreements, depends heavily on contributions from countries and voluntary organizations for carrying out its work.

How will this money be used?

• The new amount, even if far from sufficient for the climate challenge the world faces, will be higher than the current commitment of $100 billion, since that is the mandate of the NCQG.
• The way the new sum is distributed across different kinds of needs — mitigation, adaptation, loss and damage, and several others — will also be important. Climate finance flows are currently heavily skewed in favor of mitigation actions, while developing countries have been demanding that more money be made available for adaptation and other activities.

About COP29:

• The 2024 United Nations Climate Change Conference or Conference of the Parties of the UNFCCC, more commonly known as COP29, will be the 29th United Nations Climate Change conference. 
• COP29 will be held in Baku, Azerbaijan.

About Loss & Damage (L&D) Fund:

• First announced in 2022 at the conclusion of COP-27 in Sharm El-Sheikh, Egypt.
• A ‘transitional committee’ was set up to decide the working conditions of the fund.
• It will be based at the World Bank but managed by an independent secretariat.
• The World Bank will be the “interim host” of the fund for a period of four years.
• Payments are voluntary and a certain percentage has been set apart for a category of countries called Least Developed Countries and Small island developing states.
• Commitments worth at least $450 million have already been made by countries.
• Contributors include: European Union, United Arab Emirates, Germany, the United States, the United Kingdom, and Japan.

5. BRO connects strategic Nimmu-Padam-Darcha road in Ladakh

Subject: Geography

Section: Mapping

Context:

• Border Roads Organisation (BRO) connected the strategic Nimmu-Padam-Darcha road in Ladakh on March 25, 2024. This 298-km road will connect Manali to Leh through Darcha and Nimmu on Kargil – Leh Highway.

More on news:

• The road is now the third axis apart from Manali-Leh and Srinagar-Leh which connects Ladakh to the hinterland.
• The Nimmu-Padam-Darcha road derives its strategic importance from the fact that it is not only shorter vis-a-vis the other two axes, but crosses only one pass ie Shinkun La (16,558 feet) on which tunnel work is about to commence by the BRO. 
• This will result in the road having all weather connectivity to the Ladakh region.
• The connectivity will strengthen the defense preparedness and provide a boost to the economic development in the Zanskar valley.
• With construction of Shinkun La tunnel commencing, the third all weather axis to Ladakh will be established.

About BRO:

• The Border Roads Organisation (BRO) is a statutory body under the ownership of the Ministry of Defence of the Government of India. 
• BRO develops and maintains road networks in India’s border areas and friendly neighboring countries.
• It is staffed by officers and troops drawn from the Indian Army’s Corps of Engineers, Electrical and Mechanical Engineers, Army Service Corps, Military Police and army personnel on extra regimental employment.
• Engineering Service and personnel from the General Reserve Engineer Force (GREF) form the parent cadre of the Border Roads Organisation.
• Currently, the organization maintains operations in twenty-one states, one UT (Andaman and Nicobar Islands), and neighboring countries such as Afghanistan, Bhutan, Myanmar, and Sri Lanka.
• The BRO operates in 18 projects namely: Arunank, Beacon, Brahmank, Chetak, Deepak, Dantak (Bhutan), Himank, Hirak, Pushpak, Sampark, Yojak, Sewak, Shivalik, Swastik, Udayak, Vartak and Vijayak. Beacon is the oldest BRO project (along with Vartak).

Areas in news:

• About Nimmu:
  • Nimo or Nyemo is a village and the headquarters of an eponymous community development block in the Leh district of Ladakh, India.
  • It is located in the Leh tehsil, 35 km from Leh.
• About Padum:
  • Padum is the main town and the administrative center of the Zanskar tehsil in Kargil district, Ladakh, India.
  • Named after the Buddhist guru Padmasambhava, it was historically one of the two main capitals of the Zanskar Kingdom, the other being Zangla.
  • It is 235 km via the link road from Kargil city.
• About Darcha:
  • Darcha (elevation 3,360 m or 11,020 ft)[1] is a pair of villages (Darcha Sumdo and Darach Dangma) on the Bhaga River in the Lahaul sub-division in the Lahaul and Spiti district in the Indian state of Himachal Pradesh.
  • It is the northernmost permanent settlement in Himachal Pradesh along the Manali-Leh Highway.

6. ICCC: Integrated farm data dashboard for customized solutions

Subject: Geography

Section: Mapping

Context:

• Earlier this month, Agriculture Minister Arjun Munda inaugurated a Krishi Integrated Command and Control Centre (ICCC) set up at Krishi Bhavan in New Delhi, a big-screen dashboard of all digital innovations in the sector.

More on news:

• Officials described the ICCC as a “significant leap forward” in leveraging technology for the advancement of agricultural practices.

What is the Krishi ICCC?

• The ICCC is a tech-based solution involving multiple IT applications and platforms, which is designed to help in making informed decisions.
• The center is housed in the Ministry of Agriculture & Farmers’ Welfare, which is responsible for legislation, policy formation, and implementation of initiatives in the agriculture sector.
• The ICCC uses state of the art technologies such as artificial intelligence, remote sensing, and Geographic Information Systems (GIS) to collect and process large amounts of granular data — on temperatures, rainfall, wind speed, crop yields and production estimations — and presents it in graphical format.

What do you get as the visual output?

• On eight large, 55-inch LED screens installed at the ICCC, you can see information on crop yields, production, drought situation, cropping patterns (geographic region-wise and year-wise) in map, timeline, and drill-down views.
• You can also see the relevant trends (periodic and non-periodic), outliers, and Key Performance Indicators (KPIs), and receive insights, alerts, and feedback on agriculture schemes, programmes, projects, and initiatives.
• The ICCC uses platforms including the Krishi Decision Support System (DSS) to collect micro-level data, process it, and present the macro picture.
• The ICCC has a contact center and a helpdesk facility, with the operator’s handset capable of being converted into a call center. 
• If needed, farmer beneficiaries can interact directly with officials or the Minister through video conferencing facilities.

What is the objective of the ICCC?

• The ICCC will enable comprehensive monitoring of the farm sector by making available at one place geospatial information received from multiple sources, including remote sensing; plot-level data received through soil survey; weather data from the India Meteorological Department (IMD); sowing data from Digital Crop Survey; farmer- and farm-related data from Krishi MApper, an application for geo-fencing and geo-tagging of land; market intelligence information from the Unified Portal for Agricultural Statistics (UPAg); and yield estimation data from the General Crop Estimation Survey (GCES).
• The integrated visualization of the data will enable quick and efficient decision-making by the ICCC ecosystem can be linked with the PM-Kisan chatbot going forward.

Can the command and control center generate individual farmer-specific advisories?

• The ICCC can create an ecosystem based on which individual farmer-level advisories can be generated through apps like Kisan e-mitra, a chatbot developed for PM-Kisan beneficiaries.
• The AI-/ machine learning-based system will identify a farmer through his/ her mobile number or Aadhaar, and match it with the farmer’s field information obtained through land records, historical crop sowing information from the crop registry, weather data from IMD, etc.
• It will then generate a customized advisory in the local language of the farmer.
• For this, the system will use the Bhashini platform that allows translation into several Indian languages.

Practical Applications of ICCC:

Farmers Advisory:

• The ICCC allows visualization of GIS based soil carbon mapping as well as soil health card data for a particular district together at one place.

Drought Actions::

• According to officials, increase or decrease in yield from a specific region (as per GCES data) can be correlated with weather, rainfall, and other information visualized through the Drought Portal, enabling the administration to understand the reason for increase/ decrease in yield and to take decisions proactively.

Crop Diversification:

• An analysis of crop diversification maps, together with field variability for paddy, will enable decision-makers to identify regions with scope for diversified cropping, so that farmers can be advised accordingly.

Farm Data Repository: 

• Krishi Decision Support System (K-DSS), a platform under development, will act as an agriculture data repository. Integrated spatial and non-spatial data will be superimposed as a layer on the GIS map, and various AI/ ML models would be run on the data.
• The K-DSS will help in evidence-based, efficient, and data-driven decision-making, and assist in preparing customized advisories for farmers.

Validation of Yield:

• Yield as captured through Krishi MApper can be analyzed with the yield generated through GCES application for a plot.

7. NASA touts research in ‘space labs’ to fight cancer

Subject: Geography

Section: Mapping

Context:

• NASA officials announced significant advancements in cancer research conducted in the weightless environment of space, aligning with U.S. President Joe Biden’s passionate initiative to combat cancer.
• Astronaut Frank Rubio undertook this research on the International Space Station (ISS), leveraging the unique conditions of space to accelerate and refine the study of cellular behaviours related to cancer.

Why ‘Space’ is a more suitable environment for cancer research?

• In space, cells age more rapidly and do not clump together due to the absence of gravity, allowing for a purer structural analysis.
• This environment has proven advantageous for pharmaceutical research, exemplified by Merck’s experiments with Keytruda, an anti-cancer drug.
• The focus was on crystallization processes that could lead to more effective drug delivery methods.
• Space-based experiments demonstrated that smaller, more uniform crystals formed more efficiently in space, potentially enabling the drug to be administered via injection rather than through extensive chemotherapy sessions.
• This research paves the way for developing drugs that can be stored at room temperature and simplifies treatment protocols.

‘Cancer Moonshot’ initiative:

• The history of cancer research in space spans over 40 years but has seen revolutionary progress recently.
• The efforts contribute to President Biden’s “Cancer Moonshot” initiative, which aims to significantly reduce cancer death rates over the next 25 years.
  • Aim: Bringing down cancer death rates by 50 per cent by the year 2047
• This initiative not only underscores the potential of space research in medical science but also demonstrates a commitment to leveraging every possible avenue in the fight against cancer.

Source: TH

8. Inaccessibility and cost cripple efforts to treat sickle cell disease

Subject: Science and tech

Section: Health and Disease

Sickle Cell Disease (SCD):

• It is a significant genetic disorder characterized by the production of abnormally shaped red blood cells, resembling a sickle.
• This disorder leads to various complications, including severe pain, anaemia, organ damage, and a shortened lifespan.
• India ranks third globally in the number of SCD births, with a significant number of cases found in tribal communities.

Details:

• The 2023 Guidelines for the National Programme for Prevention and Management of Sickle Cell Disease’ reveal that out of 1.13 crore individuals screened across different states in India, about 9.96 lakh (8.75%) tested positive for SCD. This high prevalence highlights the importance of concerted efforts towards the management and prevention of this disease.
• SCD is recognized as one of the 21 “specified” disabilities under the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act 2016, acknowledging the severe impact it has on individuals’ lives.
• The Government of India’s 2023 launch of the National Sickle Cell Anaemia Elimination Mission aims to eradicate Sickle Cell Disease (SCD) by 2047.

Access to Treatment a Major Issue:

• The accessibility of essential treatments such as hydroxyurea, which can significantly alleviate symptoms and improve the quality of life for SCD patients, is severely limited.
• This medication is supposed to be available at primary healthcare levels as per the National Health Mission’s Essential Medicines List but is often only found in tertiary-level facilities.
• Blood transfusion services, a crucial therapy for managing SCD, are similarly restricted to district-level facilities, leaving those in need at block levels without support.
• Families frequently face the burden of arranging for blood replacement units and covering the costs of emergency transportation. Additionally, the availability of pain management medications is insufficient across the board.
• Bone marrow transplantation (BMT), another potential cure for SCD, remains largely inaccessible due to challenges such as finding matched donors, the high costs associated with treatment in private facilities, and lengthy waiting periods in public hospitals.

Access to and Equity of CRISPR in Treating SCD:

• The advent of CRISPR gene-editing technology offers a promising avenue for treating Sickle Cell Disease (SCD).
• The U.S. FDA has approved two gene therapies for SCD for individuals aged 12 and older: Casgevy and Lyfgenia.
  • Casgevy, a collaborative effort by Vertex Pharmaceuticals and CRISPR Therapeutics, marks the first CRISPR-based therapy approved in the U.S., also gaining approval in the U.K. On the other hand, Lyfgenia by Bluebird Bio employs a viral vector for modifying blood stem cells.
• Both therapies involve a process of collecting a patient’s blood stem cells, modifying them in a laboratory setting, and then using high-dose chemotherapy to eliminate the faulty cells in the bone marrow.
• The modified cells are reintroduced to the patient through a hematopoietic stem cell transplant.
• This complex treatment process, which can extend up to a year, necessitates numerous hospital visits.

CRISPR in India:

• The National Guidelines for Stem Cell Research (2017) restrict the commercialization of stem cell therapies to clinical trials with exceptions for certain treatments and only permit gene editing of stem cells for in-vitro studies, advocating for a share of financial benefits from stem cell product commercialization with donors or communities.
• The National Guidelines for Gene Therapy Product Development and Clinical Trials (2019) set the stage for gene therapy development and clinical trials, particularly noting India’s commitment to utilizing CRISPR for treating sickle cell anaemia through a five-year project backed by the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research, with significant funding allocated for 2020-2023, currently in the pre-clinical phase.
• Despite these advances, there are calls for the guidelines to incorporate a stronger stance on health inequity and discrimination, particularly emphasizing the need for equitable opportunities for underserved populations in clinical trials and future access to therapies.

Source: TH

9. Here is why Ladakh needs the Sixth Schedule and statehood

Subject: Geography

Section: Indian physical geography

Context:

• Sonam Wangchuk, a celebrated environmentalist and innovator, decided to sit on a 21-day hunger strike to express the anguish of Ladakhis.
• The Ladakhi leaders approached the MHA with four demands: 1) Statehood for Ladakh 2) Inclusion of Ladakh under the Sixth Schedule of the Indian Constitution 3) Setting up of a separate public service commission for Ladakh 4) Two parliamentary seats for Ladakh.

Challenges in Ladakh:

• Region’s vulnerability to bureaucratic dominance and potential exploitation by industrial interests without adequate safeguards for its environment and people.
• The dilution of the Autonomous Hill Councils’ authority.
• Environmental and ecological challenges are characterized by low-density wildlife populations adapted to the extreme climate, scarce water resources, and a unique blend of Palearctic and Indo-Malayan biodiversity.
• The ecological balance is further disturbed by pollution, climate change impacts on flora and fauna, and unsustainable practices that threaten traditional livelihoods and the region’s natural heritage.

Need for sixth schedule status:

• Ladakh faces significant challenges, particularly after the administrative changes following the abrogation of Article 370 and 35A in 2019, which transitioned Ladakh into a Union Territory without a legislative body.
• The region’s inhabitants, known for their frugality and sustainable living practices, are at a crossroads.
• Civil society organizations and local bodies have advocated for Sixth Schedule status to provide constitutional safeguards, aiming to protect Ladakh’s delicate ecosystem and cultural integrity.
• There is an urgent need for protective measures under the Sixth Schedule to ensure sustainable development, safeguard the environment, and preserve Ladakh’s cultural and natural heritage.
• Without such protection, the region risks irreversible damage, threatening its status as a unique and vibrant part of India’s and the world’s natural and cultural landscape.

Major lakes in Ladakh:

• Pangong Tso
• Tso Moriri (Ramsar site)
• Tso Kar (Ramsar site)
• Yaye Tso
• Chagar Tso

Major protected areas in Ladakh:

• Hemis National Park:
  • It is a high-elevation national park in Ladakh, India. 
  • Globally famous for its snow leopards, it is believed to have the highest density of them in any protected area in the world.
  • It is the only national park in India that is north of the Himalayas, the largest notified protected area in India (largest National park) and the second largest contiguous protected area, after the Nanda Devi Biosphere Reserve and surrounding protected areas.
  • The park is bounded on the north by the banks of the Indus River and includes the catchments of Markha, Sumdah and Rumbak, and parts of the Zanskar Range.
• Karakoram Wildlife Sanctuary:
  • Also known as the Karakoram (Nubra Shyok) Wildlife Sanctuary or the Karakoram (Saichen Shyok) Wildlife Sanctuary is a high-altitude wildlife sanctuary located in the easternmost reaches of the Karakoram range in Leh district, in the Indian Union territory of Ladakh.
  • It was established in 1987 and covers an area of about 5,000 square kilometres (500,000 ha).
  • It is an important wildlife sanctuary due to being one of the few places in India with a migratory population of the Chiru or Tibetan Antelope.
  • It is classified as an IUCN-protected area (category IV) by the World Conservation Monitoring Centre.
  • The Botanical Survey of India has called the wildlife sanctuary an “under-explored area with regards to botanical knowledge”.
  • Karakoram Wildlife Sanctuary could become the “transboundary counterpart” of the Central Karakoram National Park in Gilgit Baltistan.
• Changthang Wildlife Sanctuary (Ramsar Site):
  • It is located in the Changthang Plateau. It has one of the highest lakes on earth, Tso Moriri (4595 m).
  • Korzok monastery (Korzok village) is located on the north-western bank of Tso Moriri.
  • Major Fauna: Snow leopard, kiang or Tibetan Wild Ass (LC), argali or Great Tibetan Sheep (NT).
  • Hanle Dark Sky Reserve: It is located in DigpaRatsa Ri, aka Mt Saraswati, at Hanle in Ladakh as a part of Changthang Wildlife Sanctuary.

Source: DTE