UPSC Prelims Bits Today 29-09-2022

Table of Contents

”UPSC Prelims Bits Today” covers various topics from UPSC Prelims Syllabus and is very helpful and time managing for UPSC Aspirants.
The framing of this daily current affairs compilation article is easy to read and understandable.

36th National Games

Why in news?

PM Modi will inaugurate the 36th National Games at a grand Opening Ceremony to be held at the Narendra Modi stadium in Ahmedabad.

Key Points

National Games are being held in the state of Gujarat for the very first time.
The National Games will be organised between 29th of this month to 12th of next month
Nearly 15 thousand sportspersons, coaches, and officials from across the country will be participating in 36 sports disciplines, making it the biggest National Games ever.
The sporting events will be organised in six cities of Ahmedabad, Gandhinagar, Surat, Vadodara, Rajkot and Bhavnagar.
The mascot is named as Savaj which means cub in Gujarati. The anthem is based on the theme of Ek Bharat Shreshtha Bharat.

Lumpy skin disease

Key Points

Lumpy skin disease (LSD) is caused by lumpy skin disease virus (LSDV), a virus from the family Poxviridae, genus Capripoxvirus. Sheeppox virus and goatpox virus are the two other virus species in this genus.
LSDV is highly host specific and causes disease only in cattle (Bos indicus and B. taurus) and water buffalo (Bubalus bubalis).
LSDV is not zoonotic, so humans cannot get affected by the disease.
The disease is characterized by viremia, nodules on the skin, sit-fast formation, weight loss, emaciation, and reduction in milk and meat production.
Transmission occurs in a wide variety of biotypes, from semi-desert to temperate grasslands and irrigated land. It has the potential to extend its range further.
The morbidity rates for LSD during outbreaks vary between 10 and 20% although it has been reported in some places to be as high as 45%, and mortality rates of 1 to 5% are considered usual.

How to control it?

Successful control and eradication of LSD relies on early detection of the index case, followed by a rapid and widespread vaccination campaign.
It is unlikely that total stamping-out (killing all clinically affected cattle and unaffected herd-mates) and partial stamping-out (killing only clinically affected cattle) alone, in the absence of vaccination, can eradicate LSD.
There is no known carrier state. Once an animal has recovered, it is well protected and cannot be the source of infection for other animals.
In infected animals that do not show clinical signs, the virus may remain in blood for a few weeks and eventually disappear.

Ayushman Bharat Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana

Key Points

Ayushman Bharat Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana is a Government flagship scheme which aims to achieve the vision of Universal Health Coverage.
PM launched this scheme from Jharkhand on 23rd September 2018.
It is the world’s largest scheme fully financed by the government that aims at providing health assurance of up to five lakh rupees to more than 50 crore people of the country.
This scheme provides a cover of 5 lakh rupees per family per year for secondary and tertiary care hospitalization across public and private empanelled hospitals in India.
It is a completely cashless and paperless scheme and its benefits are portable across the country.
So far over 23 thousand hospitals have been empanelled under it.
Over 1.20 lakh Ayushman Bharat – Health & Wellness Centres across the country are providing screening for various diseases including Non-Communicable diseases.
It is greatly helping in early diagnosis and generating more awareness on the risk factors of Non-Communicable diseases.
Over 19 crore Ayushman Cards have been made in the country spanning its coverage in 33 States/UTs, and more than 24 crore Ayushman Bharat Health Account ABHA numbers have also been generated so far.

International Year of Millets 2023

International Year of Millets 2023: A Timeline

It was in 2018 that the government of India decided to mark the National Year of Millets.
In the same year, the government also notified millets as nutri-cereals and included them under the POSHAN Mission Abhiyan.
Later, India pitched the proposal to United Nations for declaring 2023 as the International Year of Millets.
As a result, with the support of 72 other countries, India’s initiative to promote millet was recognized and United Nations General Assembly has recently declared the year 2023 as the International Year of Millets.
It was a proud moment for Indian farmers as India is the largest producer of millet in the world. Accounting for 20 % of global production and 80 % of Asia’s production.

Why Millet is called a superfood?

Millets are called the super grain because of their high nutritional value.
According to the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) millets are high in dietary fibre.
Specifically, millet contains 7-12 % protein, 2-5 % fat, 65-75% carbohydrates and 15-20% dietary fibre.
Due to their high density of nutrients including vitamins, minerals, phytochemicals and dietary fibre, millets are also excellent grains to alleviate malnutrition and micronutrient deficiency.
Additionally, millets do not require high-quality soil to grow and hence can easily cater to the need of the growing population.