UPSC Daily Current Affairs| Prelim Bits 28-04-2025

Measles-Rubella Elimination Campaign (2025-26)

Prelims – Current events of national and international importance.

Mains (GS II) – Government policies and interventions for development in various sectors and issues arising out of their design and implementation.

Why in news?

Recently, Union Health Minister launched the National Zero Measles-Rubella Elimination Campaign on first day of the World Immunization Week (24-30 April)

• Launched by – Ministry of Health and Family Welfare.
• Objective – To achieve 100% immunization coverage to provide high quality life to children by administering them with two doses of Measles and Rubella vaccine.
• It is a significant step towards India's goal of eliminating Measles and Rubella by 2026.

Campaign Activities

• Awareness programs – Intensive IEC (Information, Education, and Communication) outreach campaign about vaccination in multilingual formats.
• Data-based surveillance – By leveraging the data available from Integrated Disease Surveillance Program (IDSP) and the U-WIN digital platform.

The Integrated Disease Surveillance Program (IDSP) launched in 2004 with World Bank assistance is a nationwide disease surveillance system to detect and monitor diseases, enabling timely policy decisions.

• Targeted vaccination – To reach out to remote and hard to reach areas, slums, migratory population, areas with frequent outbreaks.
• Achieve and maintain high population immunity with at least 95% vaccination coverage with 2 doses of measles and rubella containing vaccines in each district of the country.

The Universal Immunization Programme (UIP) is the world's largest vaccination program for pregnant women and newborns providing protection against 12 vaccine-preventable diseases.

India’s progress in Measles & Rubella (MR) elimination

• Current MR vaccination coverage in India:
  • First dose MR vaccination - 93.7%
  • Second dose MR vaccination - 92.2%
• Reduction in MR cases – In 2024, India has recorded a decline of 73% in Measles cases and a 17% reduction in Rubella cases in comparison with 2023.

Reference

PIB| Zero Measles-Rubella Elimination Campaign

Fourth Global Coral Bleaching

Prelims – General issues on Environmental ecology, Bio-diversity

Mains (GS III) – Environmental Conservation, environmental pollution and degradation.

Why in news?

Recently, scientists have confirmed that the world is experiencing its fourth global coral bleaching event, which has affected nearly 84% (83.7%) of the planet's coral reef area.

• Coral reefs – A coral reef is an underwater ecosystem formed of colonies of coral polyps.
• They are referred to as Rainforests of the sea and it supports 1/3^rd of global marine species.
• Symbiotic Relationship – Corals rely on microscopic algae (zooxanthellae) living in their tissues, which provide food and energy through photosynthesis.
• Global Distribution – Coral reefs exist in the Pacific, Atlantic, and Indian oceans.
• Australia’s Great Barrier Reef is the largest in the world.
• Coral bleaching – It is caused when the when reef water remains too hot for too long, putting corals under stress.
• The stress compels corals to expel marine algae (zooxanthellae) residing inside their tissues.
• These algae provide food and energy from the sun through photosynthesis.
• Once the algae are expelled, corals turn white (bleaching), exposing their skeleton and makes corals vulnerable to diseases.
• Prolonged and extreme heat exposure leads to coral mortality.
• Corals can recover from bleaching in conducive environments, but recovery can take years or even decades.
• Global bleaching events – It is the widespread mass bleaching of Coral reefs that affects coral reefs area globally.
  • 1^st global coral bleaching event (1998) - 21%
  • 2^nd global coral bleaching event (2010) - 37%
  • 3^rd global coral bleaching event (2014-2017) - 68%
  • 4^th global coral bleaching event (2023-2025) - 83.7%
• Mass coral bleaching has been recorded in at least 83 countries and territories.
• This is the most widespread global bleaching event surpassing the previous global bleaching event.
• Causes – Record high ocean temperatures that remains elevated over a period of time across the Pacific, Atlantic, and Indian oceans.
• Climate models predicts that nearly every coral reef on the planet will experience annual bleaching events between 2040 and 2050.

• The Great Barrier Reef is currently undergoing its 6^th mass bleaching event, with its 1^st mass bleaching occurred in 1998.
• This is the 2^nd time the Great Barrier Reef has experienced consecutive bleaching events, with the first being in 2016-17.

Reference

Down to Earth| Mass Global Bleaching Event

Entry Denial for transport vehicles in Delhi

Prelims – Current Events of National Importance

GS III - Issues Relating to Development | Growth & Development | Renewable Energy | Environmental Pollution & Degradation

Why in News?

Starting July 1, all End-of-Life (EOL) vehicles will be denied  fuel in Delhi, with similar restrictions extended five high vehicle density (HVD) districts from Nov 1, 2025.

• Areas of Restriction - This ban will extend to five high vehicle density (HVD) districts like Gurugram, Faridabad, Ghaziabad, Gautam Buddha Nagar, and Sonipat and across the rest of NCR.
• Purpose - To curb the menace of polluting vehicles.
• Banned vehicles - All transport or commercial goods vehicles not compliant with BS-VI, CNG, LNG, or EV (electrical vehicle) standards, unless the vehicles are registered in the Capital.
• End of Life Vehicles (EOL vehicles) - Diesel vehicles, older than 10 years, and petrol vehicles, older than 15 years, are not allowed to ply in the Capital.
• Directions from Centre - Immediate legal action has been directed against EOL vehicles, including impoundment and disposal, except for exempted categories.
• The commission cited past directives from the National Green Tribunal (NGT) and the Supreme Court, which emphasized the role of overaged vehicles in worsening air quality.
• Monitoring & Surveillance - Delhi has been piloting a solution involving Automated Number Plate Recognition (ANPR) camera systems.
• These systems capture and display vehicle registration details in real-time.
• These are integrated with the centralized VAHAN database.
• It is to identify EoL vehicles and those lacking a valid Pollution Under Control Certificate (PUCC), and relay audio alerts when a non-compliant vehicle is detected.

VAHAN database provides a nationwide search over the digitized data of Registered Vehicles.

• All fuel stations in Delhi are required to install these systems, as per the Commission’s latest directive.
• The identification of polluting vehicles at the border entry points will also be intensified.
• Exceptions - Only those carrying essential commodities and services will  be allowed until Oct 31, 2026.

Reference

The Indian Express | No entry in Delhi for transport vehicles

Regulatory Framework for Over-The-Counter (OTC) Drugs

Prelims – Current Events of National Importance

GS II – Health | Human Resource

Why in News?

India may soon have a streamlined regulatory framework around OTC drugs as the Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation (CDSCO) has approved the recommendations made by a special OTC sub-committee.

• Recommendations - The committee draw up a framework for OTC drugs, and also create a mechanism to determine which medicines can qualify as OTC.
• Around 27-30 drugs, primarily analgesics, topical ointments for pain, cough-and-cold medications, etc., could be part of India’s first comprehensive OTC drugs list. More drugs can be added in future.
• The framework and guidelines can be formalized once it gets approval from the health ministry.
• Health concerns - Self-medication with drugs such as antibiotics, painkillers, and sedatives, commonly bought from chemists without a prescription, can lead to significant health risks and side effects.
• Antibiotics like amoxicillin, ciprofloxacin, and azithromycin are frequently used without medical guidance. Improper or incomplete use of antibiotics can lead to antibiotic resistance, making future infections harder to treat and spreading resistant bacteria in the community.
• Painkillers, especially Non-Steroidal Anti-Inflammatory Drugs (NSAIDs) like ibuprofen, diclofenac, and naproxen are also commonly misused.
  • It can irritate the stomach lining, leading to ulcers and bleeding, and in some cases cause kidney damage or raise the risk of heart attack and stroke.

Prescription drugs are categorized into Schedules H, H1, and X of the Drugs Rules, 1945.

• Advantage - Experts have cautioned against self-medication across categories, and, therefore, having a clear list of OTC medications will help reduce misuse.
• Disadvantage for pharma sector - Clampdown on OTC drug sales could dent Indian Pharma Market (IPM) volume growth, especially in the acute therapy segment where self-medication is rampant in analgesics, antipyretics, and common cold medicines.

Reference

Business Standard | Regulatory framework for OTC drugs

Community led initiatives for Marine Protected Areas (MPAs)

Prelims – Current Events of National Importance

GS III – Environmental Pollution & Degradation | Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) | Conservation

Why in News?

A new global initiative called ‘Revive Our Ocean’ was launched recently.

• Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) – MPAs are designated areas within the ocean where human activities are regulated to protect marine life and ecosystems.
• They are similar to land-based parks, but in the ocean, these areas offer special protection for natural or historic marine resources.
• MPAs restrict human activities like fishing or mining to conserve biodiversity and other natural resources.
• They are governed in different ways. Some are managed by national governments, others by local authorities, NGOs or through co-management with communities.
• Community management initiatives – In Spain - Medes Island in Spain is a small no-fishing zone which is just one square kilometre in size but brings in 16 million Euro every year from diving tourism.
• It is 25 times more than what fishing earns in the same area.
• In Scotland - Similarly, creating a no-fishing zone on Scotland’s Isle of Arran helped marine life come back.
• The number of plants and animals on the seabed has more than doubled, and nearby waters are also seeing more life.
• In Philippines - RARE’s Fish Forever program has helped communities set up no-fishing zones. In 5 years, the amount of fish in those areas doubled.
• Global Initiative - Coastal 500 - It includes global network of mayors and local government leaders who share knowledge and push for better policies, like banning industrial fishing near their shores.
• Revive Our Ocean Initiative - Aim – To scale up effective, community-led marine protected areas (MPAs) through local action.
• It hopes to remove key barriers that prevent coastal communities from protecting and managing their ocean spaces.
• Pillars
  • Inspire
  • Enable and
  • Equip
• It is rooted in successful models from across the world and will initially focus on 7 countries - The UK, Portugal, Greece, Turkey, the Philippines, Indonesia and Mexico.
• 30X30 Target – It is the target of the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework (KMGBF) that aims to protect 30% of the oceans by 2030.
• Challenges in protecting MPAs - Though more than 16,000 MPAs have been established globally, amounting 8% of the world’s oceans, only 3% are currently under full protection.
• Most of these MPAs are either poorly managed or allow damaging activities like bottom trawling.

Reference

Down to Earth | Revive Our Ocean