RSTV NEWS ANALYSIS 18 SEPTEMBER 2019

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NEWS AT 8 @RSTV

BY SUMIT BHARDWAJ

IMPORTANT NEWS ARTICLES:

1.Malnutrition leading risk factor for death in under-5 children- ICMR(GS-2)

CONTEXT:Malnutrition continues to be the leading risk factor for death in children under-five years of age across India, according to comprehensive estimates of disease burden due to child and maternal malnutrition released by the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) on Wednesday.
According to the study, the death rate attributable to malnutrition in under-5 children in India has dropped by two- thirds from 1990 to 2017, but still accounts for 68% of deaths in under-five children.
The study also highlighted that the disease burden rate attributable to malnutrition in children varies seven-fold across states, and is highest in Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and Assam, followed by Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Odisha, Nagaland, and Tripura.
Among malnutrition indicators, low birth weight is the biggest contributor to disease burden followed by child growth failure which includes stunting, underweight, and wasting.

Malnutrition

Malnutrition is a complex and multi-dimensional issue.
It is primarily caused by several factors, including poverty, inadequate food consumption, inequitable food distribution, improper maternal, infant and child feeding, and care practices, inequity and gender imbalances, poor sanitary and environmental conditions, and restricted access to quality health, education and social care services.
Malnutrition in India also persists because of the age-old patterns of social and economic exclusion.
Over 40% of children from Scheduled Tribes and Scheduled Castes are stunted.
Close to 40% of children from the Other Backward Classes are stunted.
In April 2016, the United Nations General Assembly adopted a resolution proclaiming the UN Decade of Action on Nutrition from 2016 to 2025.
The Sustainable Development Goal (SD Goal 2: Zero hunger) aims to end all forms of hunger and malnutrition by 2030, making sure all people – especially children – have access to sufficient and nutritious food all year round. This involves promoting sustainable agricultural practices: supporting small scale farmers and allowing equal access to land, technology and markets.

National Nutrition Mission

The government launched National Nutrition Mission (renamed as Poshan Abhiyaan) in March 2018.
It aims to reduce undernutrition, anemia (among young children, women and adolescent girls) and low birth weight by 2%, 3% and 2% per annum respectively.
It also aims to reduce stunting (a measure of malnutrition that is defined as the height that is significantly below the norm for age) by 2% a year, bringing down the proportion of stunted children in the population to 25% by 2022.
The policy aims to map various schemes that address malnutrition and set up a robust convergence mechanism, and an information and communications technology-based real-time monitoring system, besides incentivising states and Union territories to meet the targets.
National Nutrition Mission is backed by a National Nutrition Strategy prepared by the NITI Aayog with the goal of attaining “Kuposhan Mukt Bharat" or malnutrition-free India, by 2022.
However, achieving this target will require doubling the current annual rate of reduction in stunting.
Challenges related to National Nutrition Mission
Lack of coordination between various ministries affects the programme’s implementation.
The scheme also suffers from under-utilisation of allocated funds.
Till now, State and Union Territory governments have only used 16% of the funds allocated to them.
Lack of real-time data monitoring, sustainability and accountability also impact the National Nutrition Mission (NNM).
Anganwadis are key to the distribution of services to mothers and children. But many States, including Bihar and Odisha, which have large vulnerable populations, are struggling to set up functioning anganwadis, and recruit staff.
The Mission does not have differential approach to the issue of malnutrition, more focus is needed on the areas where malnutrition levels are comparatively high.
For example- the highest levels of stunted and underweight children are found in Jharkhand, Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat and Maharashtra.

2.European parliamentarians back India on Kashmir, slam Pakistan for harbouring terrorists(GS-2,3)

CONTEXT:European parliamentarians Ryszard Czarnecki and Fulvio Martusciello have backed India on the Kashmir issue during a special debate of the plenary of the European Parliament by describing it a great democracy and slammed Pakistan for harbouring terrorists.

In the debate on the situation in Kashmir on Tuesday, Czarnecki, the member of EU Parliament and European Conservatives and Reformists Group in Poland called India the “greatest democracy of the world”.
Martusciello, a member of EU Parliament and Group of European People’s Party (Christian Democrats) in Italy, said Pakistan had threatened to use nuclear weapons which was a concern to the European Union.

The EU minister urged India and Pakistan to resolve Kashmir issue through dialogue, seeking a peaceful and political solution, respectful of the interests of the Kashmiri population on both sides of the Line of Control.
India revoked Jammu and Kashmir’s special status on August 5. Reacting to India’s move on Kashmir, Pakistan downgraded diplomatic ties with New Delhi and expelled the Indian High Commissioner.
Pakistan has been trying to internationalise the Kashmir issue but India has asserted that the abrogation of Article 370 was its “internal matter”. New Delhi also asked Islamabad to accept reality and stop its anti-India rhetoric.
India has defended the imposition of restrictions in the Kashmir Valley on the grounds that they were put to prevent Pakistan from creating more mischief through proxies and terrorists.

EU(European Union)

The European Union’s evolution from a regional economic agreement between 6 neighbouring countries in the year 1951 to a supranational organization of European countries across the continent of Europe today is an unparalleled occurrence in recent human history. In Europe, unions between royal dynasties for territorial consolidation were the mode. There were also a few country-level unions arranged, such as the Austro-Hungarian Empire and the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. But, for such a huge number of countries to give up part of their sovereignty to a predominating entity was unheard of and very unique. The EU is not a federation in the real sense of the term, it is more of a free-trade association like the NAFTA, the ASEAN and the Mercosur. But, it also has several attributes of an independent nation such as its own flag, anthem, currency, founding date and emerging common security and foreign policies in its interactions with other countries. In the future, it is quite likely that many nation-like features would be increased.

European Union History

After the two destructive world wars, many leaders of Europe were convinced that the only manner in which lasting peace can be established was to unite the two nations that were at loggerheads with each other namely, Germany and France, politically and economically. The French Foreign Minister in 1950, Robert Schuman suggested an eventual union of the whole of Europe, for which the first step would be the integration of the industries of coal and steel of Western Europe. In 1951, the European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC) was established after 6 nations – Belgium, Italy, France, Luxembourg, West Germany and the Netherlands signed the Treaty of Paris. This organization found a lot of success that the countries decided to integrate other aspects of their economies as well. The Treaties of Rome established the European Economic Community (EEC) and the European Atomic Energy Community (Euratom) in 1957, wherein the 6 countries took steps to do away with trade barriers between their countries by forming a common market. In 1967, the three communities were formally united to form the European Community (EC) which created a single Commission, a single Council of Ministers and also a European Parliament. The members to this parliament were initially selected by the national parliaments of the countries but in 1979, direct elections were held for the first time and they have been held every five years since.
The EC was expanded for the first time in 1973 when Ireland, Denmark and the UK were admitted to it. Greece joined in 1981 and Portugal in 1986. The Treaty of Maastricht was signed in 1992 that laid the foundations for further cooperation in other aspects such as defense and foreign policy, internal affairs, judicial affairs, and in the development of a monetary and economic union which includes the adoption of a common currency. This enhanced integration led to the formation of the European Union (EU). Finland, Austria and Sweden joined the EU in 1995 making the total membership to 15. On 1st January 1999, a new currency Euro was launched into the world money market. The Euro was adopted as the currency of all the EU member states except Sweden, the UK and Denmark. In the year 2002, 12 euro-area nations started using Euro coins and notes. In 2004, 10 countries joined the EU – Estonia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Hungary, Lithuania, Latvia, Poland, Malta, Slovenia and Slovakia. Now, the total number of members was 25. To make sure that the expanding membership does not hamper the smooth functioning of the EU, the Treaty of Nice was signed in 2003 which set rules for streamlining the procedures and size of the EU institutions. An EU Constitutional Treaty, signed in Rome on 29 October 2004, gave member states 2 years to ratify the document before it was scheduled to take effect on 1st November 2006. Referenda held in France and the Netherlands in May-June 2005 rejected the proposed constitution. This development suspended the ratification effort and left the longer-term political integration of the EU in limbo.

Constitution

Based on a series of treaties, the Treaty of Paris, which set up the European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC) in 1951; the Treaties of Rome, which set up the European Economic Community (EEC) and the European Atomic Energy Community (Euratom) in 1957; the Single European Act in 1986; the Treaty on European Union (Maastricht) in 1992; the Treaty of Amsterdam in 1997; and the Treaty of Nice in 2001; note – a new draft Constitutional Treaty, signed on 29 October 2004 in Rome, gave member states two years for ratification either by parliamentary vote or national referendum before it was scheduled to take effect on 1 November 2006; defeat in French and Dutch referenda in May-June 2005 caused a suspension of the ratification process

Executive branch

The European Council brings together heads of state and government and the president of the European Commission and meets at least twice a year; its aim is to provide the impetus for the major political issues relating to European integration and to issue general policy guidelines

Legislative branch

Council of the European Union (25 member-state ministers having 321 votes; the number of votes is roughly proportional to member-states’ population); note – the Council is the main decision-making body of the EU; European Parliament (732 seats; seats allocated among member states by proportion to population); members elected by direct universal suffrage for a five-year term

Judicial branch

Court of Justice of the European Communities (ensures that the treaties are interpreted and applied correctly) – 25 justices (one from each member state) appointed for a six-year term; note – for the sake of efficiency, the court can sit with 11 justices known as the “Grand Chamber”; Court of First Instance – 25 justices appointed for a six-year term.

3.At 17.5 million, Indian diaspora largest in the world: UN report(GS-2,3)

CONTEXT:India was the leading country of origin of international migrants in 2019 with a 17.5 million strong diaspora, according to new estimates released by the United Nations, which said the number of migrants globally reached an estimated 272 million.
The International Migrant Stock 2019, a dataset released by the Population Division of the UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs (DESA) today, provides the latest estimates of the number of international migrants by age, sex and origin for all countries and areas of the world.
The estimates are based on official national statistics on the foreign-born or the foreign population obtained from population censuses, population registers or nationally representative surveys.
The report said that the top 10 countries of origin account for one-third of all international migrants. In 2019, with 17.5 million persons living abroad, India was the leading country of origin of international migrants.
Migrants from Mexico constituted the second-largest diaspora (11.8 million), followed by China (10.7 million), Russia (10.5 million), Syria (8.2 million), Bangladesh (7.8 million), Pakistan (6.3 million), Ukraine (5.9 million), the Philippines (5.4 million) and Afghanistan (5.1 million).
India hosted 5.1 million international migrants in 2019, less than 5.2 million in 2015. International migrants as a share of the total population in India was steady at 0.4 per cent from 2010 to 2019.
The country hosted 207,000 refugees, the report said adding that refugees as a share of international migrants in the country were four per cent. Among the international migrants in the country, the female population was 48.8 per cent and the median age of international migrants was 47.1 years. In India, the highest number of international migrants came from Bangladesh, Pakistan and Nepal.
In 2019, regionally, Europe hosted the largest number of international migrants (82 million), followed by Northern America (59 million) and Northern Africa and Western Asia (49 million).
At the country level, about half of all international migrants reside in just 10 countries, with the United States of America hosting the largest number of international migrants (51 million), equal to about 19 per cent of the world’s total.
Germany and Saudi Arabia host the second and third largest numbers of migrants (13 million each), followed by Russia (12 million), the United Kingdom (10 million), the United Arab Emirates (9 million), France, Canada and Australia (around 8 million each) and Italy (6 million).
The share of international migrants in total population varies considerably across geographic regions with the highest proportions recorded in Oceania (including Australia and New Zealand) (21.2 per cent) and Northern America (16.0 per cent) and the lowest in Latin America and the Caribbean (1.8 per cent), Central and Southern Asia (1.0 per cent) and Eastern and South-Eastern Asia (0.8 per cent).
A majority of international migrants in sub-Saharan Africa (89 per cent), Eastern and South-Eastern Asia (83 per cent), Latin America and the Caribbean (73 per cent), and Central and Southern Asia (63 per cent) originated from the region in which they reside.
By contrast, most of the international migrants that lived in Northern America (98 per cent), Oceania (88 per cent) and Northern Africa and Western Asia (59 per cent) were born outside their region of residence.
UN Under-Secretary-General for DESA Liu Zhenmin said that These data are critical for understanding the important role of migrants and migration in the development of both countries of origin and destination.
Facilitating orderly, safe, regular and responsible migration and mobility of people will contribute much to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals.
The report added that forced displacements across international borders continue to rise.
Between 2010 and 2017, the global number of refugees and asylum seekers increased by about 13 million, accounting for close to a quarter of the increase in the number of all international migrants.
Northern Africa and Western Asia hosted around 46 per cent of the global number of refugees and asylum seekers, followed by sub-Saharan Africa (21 per cent).
Turning to gender composition, women comprise slightly less than half of all international migrants in 2019.
The share of women and girls in the global number of international migrants fell slightly, from 49 per cent in 2000 to 48 per cent in 2019.
The share of migrant women was highest in Northern America (52 per cent) and Europe (51 per cent), and lowest in sub-Saharan Africa (47 per cent) and Northern Africa and Western Asia (36 per cent).
In terms of age, one out of every seven international migrants is below the age of 20 years.

International migrant stocks are estimates of "the total number of international migrants present in a given country at a particular point in time" United Nations (UN) data on these stocks are based mostly on the country’s population that is born abroad, and (where this information is not available) on holding a foreign citizenship

Data on migrant stocks are often reported together with data on migrant flows. Although both terms account for the number of migrants, what they measure is different. Migrant flows data account for the number of migrants entering or leaving during a specified time period (usually one calendar year)

The United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs (UN DESA) is part of the United Nations Secretariat and is responsible for the follow-up to major United Nations Summits and Conferences, as well as services to the United Nations Economic and Social Council and the Second and Third Committees of the United Nations General Assembly.UN DESA assists countries around the world in agenda-setting and decision-making with the goal of meeting their economic, social and environmental challenges. It supports international cooperation to promote sustainable development for all, having as a foundation the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) as adopted by the UN General Assembly on 25 September 2015. In providing a broad range of analytical products, policy advice, and technical assistance, UN DESA effectively translates global commitments in the economic, social and environmental spheres into national policies and actions and continues to play a key role in monitoring progress towards internationally agreed-upon development goals. It is also a member of the United Nations Development Group.