UTTARAKHAND

Forest fires turn Uttarakhand’s air lethal

For days now the forests of Uttarakhand have been on fire, turning the air over the pristine hill state lethal. Levels of black carbon, or soot, have shot up six times while that of ozone has trebled — both going straight from safe levels to dangerously toxic ones within perhaps a week.

Black carbon levels had gone from about 1,000-2,000 microgram per cubic metre last month, before the fires started, to 10,000-12,000 microgram per cubic metre of air.

The concentration of ozone, which used to be around 40-45 parts per billion then, has risen to 110-115 parts per billion now. The safe threshold for black carbon in the air is 3,000-4,000 microgram per cubic metre, while that of ozone is 40-50 parts per billion with an hourly range of 80 and an eight-hour average range of 60. High black carbon and ozone in the air can cause complications from chest pain to coughing, irritation and, on prolonged exposure, damage the heart and lungs.

INTERNATIONAL

Inclusive Internet Index Facebook

The Economist Intelligence Unit and Facebook released the “Inclusive Internet Index.” According to the index, India ranks 49th in terms of Internet penetration and gender equality in Internet access.

Facebook’s Inclusive Internet Index surveyed 120 countries. These countries account for 96% of the global population and 98% of the global GDP.

Along with India, Thailand also ranks 49th

As of 2020, India has 687.6 million Internet users. By 2025, the number of Internet users in India will reach 1 billion.

Among 120 countries, approximately 77 countries have seen an increase in Internet penetration.

The Department of Economic Information is the research and analysis department of the Economist Group based in London. It provides consulting services such as five-year national economic forecasts, monthly national reports and industry reports.

World Population Report 2021 – UNFPA

The flagship “State of World Population Report 2021” of the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) was released, entitled “My Body Is My Own”.

This is the first time that the UN report focuses on the autonomy of the body, which is defined as the power and institution that has the right to make choices about your body without worrying about violence or having other people make decisions for you.

The principle of physical integrity explains the rights of everyone, including children, to autonomy and self-determination in their bodies. It believes that unauthorized human intervention is a violation of human rights.

Traditionally, this principle has been proposed for acts of torture, inhuman treatment and enforced disappearance, but personal integrity may be applicable to a wide range of human rights violations, which also affects the civil rights of children.

United Nations Population Fund: It is a subsidiary organ of the UN General Assembly (UNGA) and works as a sexual and reproductive health agency. In 1967, UNPFA was established as a trust fund began operations in 1969. It was officially renamed the United Nations Population Fund in 1987 but the original abbreviation, ‘UNFPA’ for the United Nations Fund for Population Activities was retained.

World Hemophilia Day is on 17th April

Every year, April 17 is called World Hemophilia Day. The World Hemophilia Federation commemorates this day. In addition to this organization, several other international organizations also commemorate World Hemophilia Day.

Observing World Hemophilia Day has increased awareness of inherited bleeding disorders. On this day, people from all over the world gathered to share the latest developments in haemophilia treatment.

The World Health Organization recognizes the World Hemophilia Federation, and the official relationship between the two organizations was established in 1969.

NATIONAL

Launch of Online Grievance Management Portal of NCSC

The “Online Grievance Management Portal of NCSC” was recently launched by the Union Ministers for Communication and IT, as well as Law and Justice. The National Commission of Scheduled Castes (NCSC) is a body that regulates the caste system in the United States.

The country’s Scheduled Caste community can use the portal to file grievances from anywhere in the country.

Bhaskaracharya Institute for Space Application and Geoinformatics designed this portal of NCSC. The institute operates under the Ministry of Electronics and knowledge Technology.

National Commission for Scheduled Caste was established under Article 338 of the Constitution of India. the most objective of the commission is to research and monitor issues concerning the safeguard of Scheduled Castes within the country.

The 65th Constitution Act, 1990 amended Article 338 of the constitution. The amendment replaced the commission from its one-member system to a multi-member system.

The 89th amendment of the constitution introduced in 2003 separated the National Commission for Scheduled Caste into two different commissions. One was National Commission for Scheduled Caste and therefore the other was National Commission for Scheduled Tribes.