Goaltide Daily Current Affairs 2020
Current Affair 1:
Urban-Rural and Gender divide observed in access to School Education
The phase-1 results of NFHS-5 were recently released. Among others, the survey report provides data on literacy rates and the proportion of the population with 10 or more years of schooling. For both these indicators, a large gender, as well as the urban-rural divide, is observed. Here is a detailed analysis.
In this story, we take a look at a few of the key observations regarding literacy & formal education from the NFHS-5.
Kerala has the highest percentage of Literate men and women
This latest survey includes estimates of literates among men & women. According to the survey guidelines, this indicator refers to those ‘who completed standard 9 or higher and who can read a whole sentence or a part of a sentence.
- The survey is conducted among the respondents aged between 15-49 years. As per the estimates of the survey, among the 22 States/UTs, Kerala has the highest percentage of the population who are identified as literate with 98.2% & 98.3% of men & women respectively.
- Bihar, Andhra Pradesh & Telangana are among the states with a comparably lower proportion of literates among both Men & Women.
- In Bihar, it is estimated that 78.5% of Men are literate while it is only 57.8% among women i.e., a difference of 20.7%.
- Similarly, Telangana has a lower level of literacy among women with only 66.6%, around 18% less than that among the male population.
- All of the north-eastern states perform well on the literacy levels for both men & women with Assam being the least performer – 84.3% of Men & 77.2% of women being literate.
Apart from men and women, there is also urban and rural gap:
Apart from the difference in the literacy rates among men & women, there is also a large divide between the Urban & Rural population. The difference is more prominent in the case of women.
- The lower literacy rates among women are mainly because of much lower literacy among rural women.
- Bihar, which has a lower women literacy rate, the situation is better in urban areas with 75% of women being literate while it is only 54.5% in rural areas.
- Even in Telangana, the literacy among urban women is 81%, compared to just 58.1% in the rural areas.
- Gujarat & Andhra Pradesh are other states where the literacy among women in rural areas is much lower than that among urban women.
Significant improvement in the proportion of Men & Women with 10 or more years of Schooling
- Apart from literacy, another related indicator in NFHS-5 is the estimate regarding the proportion of the population who have more than 10 years of schooling. This indicates access to minimal formal education.
- With the exception of men in Andhra Pradesh among the larger States, there has been an increase in the proportion of the population with 10 or more years of schooling during NFHS-5 compared to that of NFHS-4 across all the states and among both men & women.
- As per NFHS-5, it is estimated that on average, around 55% of men have more than 10 years of schooling compared to around 50% during NFHS-4.
- There is an improvement even among women, from around 41% to nearly 47% on average among these 22 States/UTs.
Conclusion:
With more than 85% of the population estimated to be literate, India does seem to be doing well on this indicator. However, when formal education i.e., those with 10 or more years of schooling is taken into consideration, it is only around about 51% as per phase-1 results of NFHS-5, an improvement of 5% compared to NFHS-4. From a gender perspective, it is 57% and 50% among men and women population respectively, with the rate for women being much lower for rural women.
While improvement in literacy rate is a good sign, such an improvement also has to be aimed for in those completing a minimum of 10 years of schooling, especially in rural areas and among women.
Current Affair 2:
Diversity of food culture prevalent in the Indus Valley Civilization
A recent study published in the Journal of Archaeological Science titled ‘Lipid residues in pottery from the Indus Civilisation in northwest India’ on 9th December 2020 presents some important findings of the diversity of food culture prevalent in the Indus Valley Civilisation.
In this article, we will briefly look at the history of the Indus Valley Civilisation and the salient features of this study.
Details of study methodology
The study deploys “ceramic lipid residue analysis” as it provides a powerful means by which the foodways of populations can be examined. It has been used in a range of archaeological contexts around the world to extract and identify foodstuff within ancient vessels. Organic residue analysis also provides a new understanding of vessel specialization and use.
Until recently, only a single pottery sherd from South Asia had been studied via lipid residue analysis. More recently, a study investigated ceramic lipid residues from 59 vessels from a single site in Gujarat.
The current paper presents the results of a much larger corpus of ceramic lipid residues across multiple Indus Civilisation sites in northwest India to investigate broader patterns of food consumption and vessel use.
Details of the study sites
In this study, organic residues in pottery from one city, one town, and five rural settlements in northwest India are investigated to characterize any possible similarities or differences in foodstuffs used in vessels by urban and rural populations in a single region.
The analysis was conducted on 172 pottery fragments recovered from rural and urban settlements.
Findings of Study:
Diversity and variations in crops
- There is clear evidence of the diversity of plant products and regional variation in cropping practices.
- The overall lipid profiles of vessel fragments from all sites suggest the presence of degraded animal fats such as dairy or carcass fats.
- Indus vessels also show association with dairy processing.
- Lipid profiles suggest the consistent use of animal products and the compound-specific isotopic results suggest the multi-functionality of vessels.
- A broad similarity in products is observed across both rural and urban sites, possibly indicating a degree of regional culinary unity.
- Use of perforated vessels
Current Affair 3:
Miyawaki Method of Afforestation
Bengaluru Hennagara Lake is to get a new life with Miyawaki Forests.
Very brief about Miyawaki Forests:
The Miyawaki forestation method is a unique way to create an urban forest and is pioneered by Japanese botanist Akira Miyawaki.
With this method of plantation, an urban forest can grow within a short span of 20-30 years while a conventional forest takes around 200-300 years to grow naturally. In the Miyawaki technique, various native species of plants are planted close to each other so that the greens receive sunlight only from the top and grow upwards than sideways. As a result, the plantation becomes approximately 30 times denser, grows 10 times faster and becomes maintenance-free after a span of 3 years.
Current Affair 4:
Delimitation Commission.
What is mention in Constitution about Delimitation?
Article 82 of Indian Constitution provides for delimitation and it says: Upon the completion of each census, the allocation of seats in the House of the people to the States and the division of each State into territorial constituencies shall be readjusted by such authority and in such manner as Parliament may by law determine.
Delimitation Commission:
As per Article 82, Parliament by law enacted a Delimitation Act after every census. Once the Act comes into force, the Central Government constitutes a Delimitation Commission.
Therefore, Delimitation Commission have been constituted four times since independence:
- In 1952 under Delimitation Commission Act, 1952
- In 1963 under Delimitation Commission Act, 1962
- In 1973 under Delimitation Commission Act, 1972
- In 2002 under Delimitation Commission Act, 2002
What is the composition of the Delimitation Commission?
Current Affair 5:
Formulation of policy on 3D printing
The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) will soon come up with a policy aimed at promoting 3D printing on an industrial scale in view of its emerging market.
Objectives:
- Help develop a conducive ecosystem for design, development and deployment of 3D printing and additive manufacturing.
- Help domestic companies to overcome technical and economic barriers so that they can build supportive and ancillary facilities for world leaders in the technology, such as the USA and China.
3D printing, also known as additive manufacturing, is a method of creating a three-dimensional object layer-by-layer using a computer created design.
3D printing is an additive process whereby layers of material are built up to create a 3D part. This is the opposite of subtractive manufacturing processes, where a final design is cut from a larger block of material. As a result, 3D printing creates less material wastage.
3D printing technology increasingly used for the mass customization, production of any types of open-source designs in the field of agriculture, in healthcare, automotive industry, locomotive industry and aviation industries.
The USA remains the global leader in 3D printing, with more than 35% market share. In Asia, about 50% of its market is cornered by China, followed by Japan at 30%, and South Korea at 10%.
Challenges:
- Lack of Standards: Since 3D printing is a very niche and new domain, there are no global qualifications and certification norms.
- Hesitation in Adoption: Another challenge is to convince the industry and ministries to push for its adoption in their respective sectors as any new technology, which is not understood easily, faces a tough time.
- High Costing: Although actual printing is cheap, parts to build a 3D printer are very expensive as the equipment and manufacturing costs are very high. In addition, there is a concern about warranty hence, resource companies are hesitant to put 3D-printed parts into their machines if they are not covered for damage in case the parts fail.
- Sector Specific Challenges: Globally and even in India, the largest consumer of 3D printing is the automotive industry and right now it is going through a lot of changes like the introduction of BS-VI and electric vehicles. New vehicle design development has slowed and so has the demand for 3D printing.
