Top News Highlights- 15 October 2024

Mental Health Focus on Youth

• Assumption: World Mental Health Day focuses on mental well-being. An early key issue about the onset of mental health disorders is brought to the fore.
• Facts: The earlier one-third of mental health disorders appear in childhood before age 14. Suicide is the fourth cause of death of young one between the ages of 15 and 19.
• Challenges: Stigma, access, and cost are barriers for young people in getting necessary mental health services.
• Policy: Seek community-based services rather than institution-based treatment to maintain continuity in education and social life.

East Asia Summit: Strategic Dialogues

• Backgrounder: India reiterates ASEAN centrality in the Indo-Pacific frameworks in the 19th East Asia Summit held in Laos.
• Initiatives: Call up the EAS countries for an education conclave at Nalanda University
• Foreign Policy: Urge engagement with Myanmar and develop a Code of Conduct for maritime navigation that meets the UNCLOS standards.

Global Hunger Index 2024

• Rank: At 105 out of 127 countries, ‘serious’.
• Concerns: While India is doing better, child wasting and stunting are still high.
• Global Context: The methods used by the GHI have been criticized for undernutrition, which is reflected only partially in stunting.

India’s Vaccine Regulation Meets International Standards

• Achievemnet: ‘India’s NRA maturity level has again been confirmed at the correct level in vaccine regulation with the help of WHO’s Global Benchmarking Tool.
• Institutions: Indian regulatory bodies are several that guarantee vaccines meet international standards as far as quality and safety.
• Significance: Identifies builds international integrity and builds homegrown vaccine trust.

PM-Surya Ghar: Muft Bijli Yojana

• Objective: Rooftop solar units to provide bijli free of cost to 1 crore households.
• Financials: High-degree subsidy, supports up to 3 kW.
• Wider Relevance: Symbol of energy independence for households and saving on bijli expense.

Key Concepts and Policies

• World Mental Health Day: It is the observance of mental illness problems around the world initiated by the World Federation for Mental Health.
• ASEAN Five Point Consensus: It is a strategic framework of peace in Myanmar focused on non-violent dialogue.
• UNCLOS: It is United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, which set a body of rules that govern maritime activities and navigation.