In Uttra Pradesh, Bijnor district, Pahuli village has emerged as a hotspot of hepatitis C infection.
Hepatitis C is caused by Hepatitis C virus (HCV) that affects the liver.
It has the same mode of transmission as HIV, spreading through blood, injecting drugs, blood transfusion and sexual activity, and from mother to child during pregnancy.
The Central government estimates that about 1.2 crore people are positive for hepatitis C in the country.
The estimate is six times the number of people living with HIV/AIDS.
Viral infections of the liver that are classified as hepatitis include hepatitis A, B, C, D, and E.
Open air Jail
The Tamil Nadu Prison Department is to construct an open air jail at Thirumalaisamudram in Thanjavur district.
Open air jail has relatively less stringent rules as compared to the controlled jails.
The fundamental rule of an open prison is that the jail has minimum security and functions on the self-discipline of the inmates.
There would be no boundary wall and prisoners could work as normal people and required return to the barracks only at night.
17 states in India are reported to have functional open jails.
Rajasthan has the highest open air jails (29 open air jails).
The United Nations Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners, popularly known as the Nelson Mandela Rules, laid down the objectives of open prisons.
Prisons in India are governed by the Prisons Act, 1900 and each state follows their prison rules and manuals.
Prisons in India, and their administration, are a state subject covered by item 4 under the State List in the 7th Schedule of the Constitution of India.
Research on Stalagmite
Physical Research Laboratory (PRL), Ahmadabad analyzed bits of a stalagmite from Kotumsar cave in Central India.
The analysis has revealed variations of the Indian summer monsoon over some 3,000 years, starting from 8,500 years ago to 5,600 years ago.
The Kotumsar cave is 35 metres below ground level and located in the Kanger Valley National Park of Chhattisgarh.
The stalagmite in this region is formed by slow dissolution of the Kanger limestone by water from the Indian summer monsoon.
Stalagmite and Stalactite are elongated forms of various minerals deposited from solution by slowly dripping water.
The analysis also studied the Speleothems which are rocks that were formed in caves over several years by the deposition of water from monsoon.
They hold records of seasonal variation and help in understanding Paleoclimate.
Multidimensional Poverty
A paper titled ‘Estimates of Multidimensional Poverty in India: Evidence from National Family Health Survey-4 (2015-2016)’ reveals the reason for significant reason for Multidimensional Poverty drop.
The poverty levels fell from 55% to 21% in a decade and it is deu to the lowered burden in the southern States.
MDP is an international measure of acute poverty based on three key categories — health, education and living standards.
The national average is 21% whereas in the five southern States (Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Telangana and Andhra Pradesh) the average MDP is 9%.
Bihar is the poorest State with 43% incidence of poverty.
Jharkhand, Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, Odisha, Madhya Pradesh and Assam are above the national average (21%).
Chhattisgarh, which is affected by Left Wing insurgency, has done well, bringing down its poverty level from 71% to 22%.
NASA to send helicopter to Mars
NASA is planning to send a helicopter to Mars to get bird’s eye view of the red planet.
The Mars Helicopter, a small, autonomous rotorcraft, will travel with the agency’s Mars 2020 rover mission.
However, the $55 million project is not part of the main Mars 2020 mission, which is to look for signs of past ancient life in the rocks of Mars.
The aim is to demonstrate the viability and potential of heavier-than-air vehicles on the Red Planet.
The helicopter also contains built-in capabilities needed for operation at Mars, including solar cells to charge its lithium-ion batteries.
It also has the heating mechanism to keep it warm through the cold Martian nights.
On future missions, a helicopter could act as a scout to help a rover navigate or even bring samples.
Flying on the red planet is not easy as the thin air at the surface of Mars is the equivalent of being 100,000 feet above Earth.
It is well beyond the limits of terrestrial helicopters although the weaker gravity helps in the case of earth.
