Prelim Bits 09-12-2021 | UPSC Daily Current Affairs

World Migration Report 2022

The World Migration Report 2022, prepared every second year, was published by the UN International Organization for Migration (IOM).

• The recent report highlights that more people are being displaced by changing climate related disasters than conflicts and violence.
• In 2020, 144 countries reported new displacement due to disasters, while 42 countries reported displacement due to conflicts.
• Historically, conflicts and violence have been the biggest trigger for new displacement. But in recent years, this trend has changed.
• Some 76% of the new displacement in the world was caused by disasters in 2020.

Earlier, the World Bank estimated that 143 million would migrate within their countries by 2050 due to climate change related events in sub-Saharan Africa, South Asia and Latin America.

• Other Findings - By the end of 2020, there were 26.4 million refugees globally.
• Total internal displacement due to disaster, conflict and violence has increased from 31.5 million (2019) to 40.5 million (2020), despite containment due to the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020.
• The highest number of refugees (8 million) moved from Syria - the fifth biggest source country.
• Asia reported the largest displacement due to disasters.
• The Philippines experienced the highest absolute numbers of new disaster displacements in 2020.
• India reported nearly 4 million new displacements due to disasters.

Reference

1. https://www.downtoearth.org.in/news/climate-change/climate-disasters-displace-more-people-than-conflicts-now-world-migration-report-2022-80480
2. https://www.downtoearth.org.in/news/health/covid-19-impacted-global-migration-trend-in-2020-un-report-80587

World Malaria Report 2021

The World Malaria Report 2021 was released by the World Health Organization (WHO).

• Each year, World malaria report provides a comprehensive and up-to-date assessment of trends in malaria control and elimination globally.
• It tracks investments in malaria programmes and research as well as progress across all intervention areas: prevention, diagnosis, treatment, elimination and surveillance.
• Findings - The 2021 report is based on information received from malaria-endemic countries in all WHO regions.
• Global progress against malaria had levelled off even before the pandemic. But, it was further levelled off due to the Covid-19 in 2020.
• If speedy action is not taken, the world is in the danger of seeing an immediate resurgence of the disease, mostly in Africa.
• The report highlighted that the milestones of the WHO Global Technical Strategy for Malaria 2016-2030 have been missed in 2020.
• The 2030 targets won’t be met without immediate attention.
• There were an estimated 627,000 malaria deaths in 2020, an increase of 12% over 2019.
• 68% of the additional 69,000 deaths were linked to disruptions in the provision of malaria prevention, diagnosis and treatment during the pandemic.
• Most of the increase came from countries in the WHO African Region, which accounted for about 95% of cases.
• India accounted for 83% of cases in the WHO South-East Asia Region.

Reference

1. https://www.downtoearth.org.in/news/health/global-malaria-response-suffered-due-to-covid-19-world-malaria-report-2021-80585
2. https://www.who.int/teams/global-malaria-programme/reports/world-malaria-report-2021

Swachhta Udyami Yojana

• The National Safai Karamcharis Finance and Development Corporation (NSKFDC), an Apex Corporation of the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment launched the Swachhta Udyami Yojana (SUY) in 2014.
• This Scheme has twin objective of cleanliness and providing livelihood to Safai Karamcharis and liberated Manual Scavengers to achieve the overall goal of “Swachh Bharat Abhiyan”
• SUY extends financial assistance for
  1. Construction, Operation & Maintenance of Pay & Use Community Toilets in Public Private Partnership (PPP) Mode and
  2. Procurement and Operation of Sanitation related Vehicles viz. Garbage Trucks, Suction and Jetting Machine, etc.
• Quantum of Loan - Under the Scheme for Pay and use Toilets, maximum Rs.25 lacs for setting up of a unit of 10 seater toilet to one beneficiaries/ SHGs in collaboration with reputed organizations.
• Under the Scheme for Sanitation related vehicles, maximum of Rs.15 lacs is given to one beneficiary or in Self Help Group.
• For both schemes, the loan is given at 4% p.a. interest (Rebate of 1% p.a. for women beneficiaries and rebate of 0.5% for timely repayment)
• Repayment period -It is to be repaid with the period of 10 years.
• Moratorium period - 6 months in addition to implementation period of 6 months (Scheme for Pay and use Toilets) or 3 months (Scheme for Sanitation related vehicles).
• For both the schemes, Maximum subsidy of Rs.3.25 lacs in case of manual Scavengers under Self Employment Scheme for Rehabilitation of Manual Scavengers (SRMS) in accordance with the ‘Prohibition of Employment as Manual Scavengers and their Rehabilitation Act, 2013.’
• No State/ Union Territory wise budget allocations are made under the Scheme as funds are to be provided to the channelizing agencies on the basis of the proposals received from them.

Reference

1. https://pib.gov.in/PressReleasePage.aspx?PRID=1779362
2. https://nskfdc.nic.in/en/content/home/swachhta-udyami-yojana-suy
3. https://vikaspedia.in/health/sanitation-and-hygiene/swachhta-udyami-yojana

Central Road & Infrastructure Fund

• The Central Road & Infrastructure Fund (CRIF) was given statutory status under the Central Road and Infrastructure Fund Act, 2000 amended by the Finance Act, 2019.
• Before that the Central Road Fund was governed by the Resolution of Parliament passed in 1988.
• It is earmarked for various infrastructure sectors such as Transport, Energy, Communication, Water & Sanitation, Social & Commercial Infrastructure, etc., as per the provisions of the CRIF Act, 2000.
• This Act allows to,
  1. Levy and collect a cess for development and maintenance of NHs and improvement of safety at railway crossings, and
  2. Levy and collect a duty of excise and duty of customs on motor spirit commonly known as petrol, high speed diesel oil.
• The Fund shall be utilised for
  1. Development and maintenance of national highways; other State roads including roads of inter-State and economic importance;
  2. Development of the rural roads;
  3. Construction of roads either under or over the railways;  
  4. Erection of safety works at unmanned rail-road crossings, new lines, conversion of existing standard lines into gauge lines and electrification of rail lines; and
  5. Undertaking other infrastructure projects.
• Earlier administrative control of CRIF was under the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways, but now it is under the control of the Ministry of Finance.

Reference

1. https://pib.gov.in/PressReleasePage.aspx?PRID=1779229
2. https://morth.nic.in/central-road-and-infrastructure-fund-act-2000
3. https://legislative.gov.in/sites/default/files/A2000-54.pdf

Impact of Climate Change on Food Prices

The Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO) has said that the average food prices (after adjusting for inflation) in the 11 months of 2021 are the highest in 46 years due to climate change.

• Findings - Due to disasters, the world is losing up to 4% of potential crop and livestock production.
• It converts into a loss of some 6.9 trillion kilocalories per year, or annual calorie intake of 7 million adults.
• In the context of poor-, lower- and middle-income countries, it is a loss of 22% calorie intake daily due to disasters.
• Reasons - Climate change is fuelling extreme and erratic weather events and prolonging drought and heat waves. These lead to widespread crop damage and also affect crop yields in the long term.
• Climate change has two impacts on agriculture: It immediately leads to reduction in production and in consumption. Both affect the availability of food and its price, resulting mostly in steep increases.
• Global food price rise was driven predominantly by wheat, which reported an increase in price due to drought and high temperature in major producing countries, including the US and Canada.
• Russia, the world’s largest exporter of wheat, is estimated to harvest less due to unfavourable weather conditions this season.
• Impacts - The price rise impacts the world’s poor even more because the pandemic has already pushed millions into the poverty trap.
• Every third person in the world is not able to have adequate food.
• In 2008-18, as agriculture absorbed 26% of medium- to large-scale disasters, the poor-, low- and middle-income countries lost $108.5 billion in disaster-induced decline in crop and livestock production.

Reference

https://www.downtoearth.org.in/blog/climate-change/french-revolution-arab-springs-and-food-price-due-to-climate-change-80599