Top News Highlights- 9 September 2024

Jal Sanchay Jan Bhagidari Initiative

• Launched in Surat, Gujarat, the initiative focused on water conservation through community participation by constructing around 24,800 rainwater harvesting structures.
• Combined with Jal Shakti Abhiyan: It formed part of a much larger campaign to persuade people of the sustainable use of water across India.
• Empowers Local Communities: Applies local knowledge and practices through examples such as the Zabo Water Conservation Method in Nagaland and kudimaramathu in Tamil Nadu for the revitalization of traditional water sources.

WHO’s Global Framework for Pathogen Origins

• Developed through SAGO: This framework outlines an approach that will result in the early and timely identification of new or re-emerging pathogen origins in a scientifically sound and systematic way.
• Aligned with International Health Regulations: It will ensure a coordinated global health response to avert pandemics.
• Emphasis on One Health Approach: This involves the integration and health interplay of humans, animals, and the ecosystem as a whole.

New TB Treatment Regimen in India

• New Regimen BPaLM Introduced: Has four drugs and cuts down treatment duration from 20 months to 6 months.
• Under National TB Elimination Programme: Entails TB elimination in India by 2025.
• Highlights Challenges: Covers issues related to social stigma and comorbidities that create challenges for efforts toward the eradication of TB.

SAARC Revival

• Calls for Reinvigoration: Leaders called for a revival on common issues such as climate change and regional trade.
• Challenges and Opportunities: The structural issues that haunt regional cooperation within South Asia are discussed here.
• India’s Role: India has already been committed to the process through initiatives such as the South Asian Satellite and South Asian University.

India-Maldives Defence Cooperation

• Recent Developments: Discussed increased cooperation during the 5th India-Maldives Defence Cooperation Dialogue in New Delhi.
• Strategic Relevance: Spelled out the role of India as the provider of security in the Indian Ocean and efforts at diffusing Chinese influence.
• Bilateral Military Exercises: Reflects deepening military cooperation following past diplomatic strains.

India’s Economic Advisory Council Report on Food Consumption

• Insightful Findings: The paper highlights significant shifts in food consumption patterns across India from 2011 to 2023.
• Nutritional Diversification: Moves toward a more diversified diet with fruits, dairy, and proteins as per the diet survey conducted across India.
• Policy Implications: This calls for a reorientation of the government’s agricultural and nutrition policy in line with emerging consumption trends.

Key Concepts and Policies

• Jal Shakti Abhiyan: Conserving water more effectively throughout India; this is a pan-India campaign to make effective utilization of water judiciously.
• BPaLM Regimen: A new drug regimen comprising Bedaquiline, Pretomanid, Linezolid, and Moxifloxacin, which aims to significantly reduce the treatment duration for tuberculosis.
• SAARC: South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation aims to promote regional unity and economic cooperation among its eight member countries.
• One Health Approach: A collaborative, multi-sectoral, and transdisciplinary approach to achieve optimal health outcomes by recognizing the health interconnections among people, animals, plants, and their common environment.