13-April-2024-Daily-Current-Affairs

ANNUAL STATUS OF EDUCATION REPORT (ASER) 2023

TOPIC: (GS2) POLITY AND GOVERNANCE –SOURCE: THE HINDU

ASER 2023 annual educational assessment, sheds light on the foundational learning levels and aspirations of India’s adolescents aged 14-18. This report offers critical insights into the challenges faced in education and the aspirations of the youth.

ASER 2023 covered 28 rural districts across 26 states.

• Reading Skills: 26% of 14-18 year olds couldn’t read a standard two level text in their regional language.
• Historical Data: In 2018, 32% of standard seven and 27% of standard eight students struggled with the same reading level.
• Importance of Early Learning: Foundational skills need early development; later grades see minimal improvement without focused interventions.

Educational Enrolment and Attendance:

• Enrolment Data: 57% of 14–18-year-olds lacking basic reading skills are enrolled in standard 10 or below.
• Non-enrolment: 28% of these children are not enrolled in any educational institution.
• Attendance Concerns: NSSO 75th round (2017-18) indicated rural India’s secondary grade attendance was as low as 60%.

Reading Abilities and Challenges:

• Reading Levels: Many can recognize letters or simple words but struggle with fluency and comprehension.
• Reading Materials: Limited availability of reading materials outside of school textbooks hampers reading habits.
• Community Libraries: Effective community libraries managed by dedicated individuals can foster reading habits and critical thinking.

Career Aspirations:

• Educational Aspirations: Over 60% aim for college education; more girls (65%) than boys (59%).
• Career Choices: Boys lean towards police or defence, while girls prefer teaching or medical professions.
• Guidance Needed: Many lack mentors in their desired professions, hindering informed career decisions.
• Smartphone Usage: Youth predominantly use smartphones for entertainment over education.
• Potential Use: Digital technology can support vocational aspirations by offering relevant courses and connecting youth with professionals.

ASER reports show us where education struggles, but they also point to ways we can fix it.

New education policy on development of foundational skill

• STRONGER BASICS: Mastering reading, writing, and math early on.
• LESS MEMORIZING, MORE UNDERSTANDING: Learning why things work, not just memorizing facts.
• COOLER SKILLS: Learning practical stuff like coding or design alongside regular subjects.
• TECH TIME: Using computers and tablets for more interactive learning.

WAYFOREWARD

• Teachers might need extra training to make these changes work.
• Not everyone might have equal access to these new resources.
• Tests might change to reflect these new skills, so stay focused!

RISKY PREMISE

TOPIC: (GS3) ECONOMY – SOURCE: THE HINDU

The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has raised its forecast for India’s GDP growth in the current fiscal year.

ADB’s Revised GDP Growth Forecast for India

• ADB raised India’s GDP growth forecast for FY 2024-25 to 7% from 6.7%.
• Predicted 7.2% growth for FY 2025-26.

Factors Supporting Growth:

• Robust public and private investment.
• Gradual improvement in consumer demand as rural economy recovers.

Comparison with Other Estimates:

• ADB’s forecast is slower than India’s National Statistical Office’s 7.6% estimate for the same period.
• Last year’s growth was driven by strong investment; consumption remained low.

Risks and Concerns

Global Risks:

• Possible sharp rise in oil prices.
• Prolonged high interest rates in the West to tackle inflation.

India-specific Risks:

• Indian economy could be most affected in Asia due to sensitivity of the rupee to Western interest rates.
• Private sector project completions lag behind rising project announcements.

Missing Points in ADB’s Report

• Integrity of Data: No comments on controversies surrounding India’s national income data.
• Structural Reforms : No mention of the absence of significant reforms since the COVID-19 pandemic.

ASIAN DEVELOPMENT BANK

The Asian Development Bank (ADB) was established in 1966 with the aim of promoting economic and social development in Asia and the Pacific

• Founded in 1966, headquartered in Manila, Philippines.
• A regional development bank aiming to promote social and economic development in Asia and the Pacific.

Members:

• Consists of 68 members, including 49 from the region and 19 from other parts of the world.

Financial Assistance:

• Provides loans, grants, and technical assistance to its member countries for development projects.

Focus Areas:

• Infrastructure development, environment, regional integration, and poverty reduction.

Governance:

• Governed by a Board of Governors, Board of Directors, and Management.

Operations:

• Collaborates with governments, private sector, and civil society to implement projects and programs.

Impact:

ADB has supported numerous projects in sectors like energy, transport, education, and health, benefiting millions of people.

Suggestions by ADB

• Special Economic Zones:Create large-scale SEZs with an easier policy environment to boost exports.
• Integration with Global Supply Chains:Improve logistics infrastructure to integrate better with global supply chains.

Trade Challenges:

• Address volatile situations in West Asia and disruptions in east-west shipping routes.

JOSHIMATH EVACUEES RETURN TO THEIR UNSAFE & DAMAGED HOMES EVEN AS REHABILITATION POLICY NON-EXISTENT AFTER 16 MONTHS

TOPIC: (GS3) DISASTER MANAGEMENT –SOURCE: DOWN TO EARTH

Despite 16 months, no clear policy exists for rehabilitating affected people due to land subsidence.

• Compensation fixed based on building rates but not for the land, causing disputes and delays.
• Only 200 out of 1,400 affected families received compensation.
• Impact on Livelihood: Reduced tourist footfalls affecting local businesses and livelihoods.

Displacement Proposals:

• Administration suggested relocating residents to Gauchar, 100 km away, but faced rejection due to employment concerns.

Living Conditions:

• Families living in inadequate temporary shelters; some facing harassment from officials.
• Power cuts in tin sheds, leaving families in darkness.

Prevention Measures:

• Rs 1,400 crore released by the Centre; Rs 1,000 crore allocated for stabilization but no work initiated yet.
• Ongoing land subsidence causing widening cracks and new damages in Joshimath. 

Landslides in India

Geographical Vulnerability:

• Himalayan regions, Western Ghats, and Eastern Ghats are landslide-prone areas due to steep slopes and monsoon rains.

Causes:

• Heavy rainfall, deforestation, earthquakes, and human activities like construction without proper planning.

Major Events:

• Uttarakhand (2013), Malin in Maharashtra (2014), and Kerala (2018) witnessed significant landslide disasters.

Government Initiatives:

• National Landslide Susceptibility Mapping, guidelines for safe construction in landslide-prone areas, and disaster response mechanisms.

Challenges:

• Inadequate infrastructure, unplanned urbanization, and limited public awareness leading to increased vulnerability.

WAYANAD WILDLIFE SANCTUARY

TOPIC: (GS3) ENVIRONMENT –SOURCE: INDIAN EXPRESS

• Location: Situated in Wayanad, Kerala, part of the Western Ghats in southern India.
• World Heritage Status: Integral to the Nilgiri Biosphere Reserve, a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
• Establishment: Founded in 1973, the sanctuary spans approximately 344.44 sq. km.

Neighboring Protected Areas:

• Borders the protected regions of Nagarhole and Bandipur in Karnataka to the northeast.
• Shares boundaries with Mudumalai in Tamil Nadu to the southeast.

Tribal Communities:

• Houses various scheduled adivasi tribes, including Paniyas, Kattunaikkans, Kurumas, Ooralis, Adiyans, and Kurichiyas.

Flora:

• Vegetation: Showcases a blend of Western Ghats vegetation types: moist deciduous, dry deciduous, and semi-evergreen patches.
• Plantations: About one-third of the sanctuary comprises teak, rosewood, eucalyptus, and silver oak plantations.
• Marshy Lands: Features marshy areas within the sanctuary

OPENAI’S CHATGPT AND GPT-4 VISION

TOPIC: (GS3) SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY –SOURCE: INDIAN EXPRESS

 OpenAI’s ChatGPT has announced access to GPT-4 with Vision, Introducing GPT-4 Vision (GPT-4V):

• Multimodal AI: GPT-4V combines image, text, and audio inputs.
• Visual Question Answering (VQA): Users can upload images and ask questions about them.
• Large Multimodal Model (LMM): Capable of processing various modalities like text, images, and audio to generate responses.

Key Features:

• Visual Content Processing: Handles photos, screenshots, and documents.
• Object Identification: Identifies objects in images and interprets visual data like graphs and charts.
• Text Interpretation: Recognizes handwritten and printed text in images, bridging visual understanding with textual analysis.

Applications:

• Research & Academia: Assists in interpreting historical documents and manuscripts.
• Web Development: Generates website code from visual designs, including sketches.
• Data Analysis: Provides insights based on visual and graphic data interpretation.

THE WORLD CYBERCRIME INDEX

TOPIC: (GS3) SECURITY –SOURCE: TIMES OF INDIA

The World Cybercrime Index ranks countries based on cybercrime vulnerability, revealing global disparities in cyber threats.

Development and Collaboration:

• Developed by an collaboration between the University of Oxford and UNSW Canberra.
• Data collected from a survey of 92 global cybercrime experts involved in intelligence and investigations.

Objective:

• Aims to identify major cybercrime hotspots globally.
• Ranks approximately 100 countries based on categories like ransomware, credit card theft, and scams.

Key Insights

• Global Distribution: Cybercrime threats vary across countries and are not evenly distributed.
• Top Hotspots: Russia leads the index, followed by Ukraine, China, the USA, Nigeria, and Romania.
• Country-Specific Cybercrimes:
• USA linked with data and identity theft.
• China often associated with cybercrimes related to technical products/services.

Economic Impact:

• Cybercrime is estimated to cost the global economy around $9.22 trillion in 2024.
• Expected to rise to $13.82 trillion by 2028.

MANGE OUTBREAK

TOPIC: (GS3) SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY: INDIAN EXPRESS

Mange Outbreak in Asiatic Wild Dogs at Mudumalai Tiger Reserve

Understanding Mange Disease:

• A skin disease in animals caused by mite infestations, leading to skin inflammation, itching, thickened skin, and hair loss.
• Causes: The severe form is caused by the Sarcoptes scabiei mite, also responsible for human scabies.
• Transmission: Spread through direct animal contact or contact with contaminated objects; most forms are treatable.

About Asiatic Wild Dogs (Dholes):

• Also known as Indian wild dogs, whistling dogs, red wolves, red dogs, and mountain wolves.
• Habitat: Found in forests across central, south, and southeast Asia, from Siberia to Malaysian islands and the Indian peninsula.
• Distribution in India: Mainly seen in three clusters – Western and Eastern Ghats, central India, and Northeast India, with Ghats being a stronghold region.
• Preferred Habitats: Dense jungles, steppes, mountains, scrub forests, and pine forests.

CONSERVATION STATUS:

• IUCN Red List: Classified as ‘Endangered.’
• Wildlife Protection Act 1972: Listed under Schedule
• CITES: Listed in Appendix II, highlighting the need for conservation efforts.