Inflation

• Inflation is a rise in prices, which can be translated as the decline of purchasing power over time.
• The rate at which purchasing power drops can be reflected in the average price increase of a basket of selected goods and services over some period of time.

• Retail inflation, specifically, is measured in consumer price index (CPI), which is a weighted average of prices of a basket of consumer goods and services.
• Therefore, retail inflation is also termed CPI-based inflation.
• Under Section 45ZA, the Central Government, in consultation with the RBI, determines the inflation target in terms of the Consumer Price Index (CPI).
• This is done once in five years and is notified it in the Official Gazette.
• The inflation target for the period from August 5, 2016 to March 31, 2021 for the upper tolerance limit is 6 per cent and for the lower tolerance limit is 2 per cent.
• Food inflation is much higher than the overall rate and surged to 7.62 per cent.
• Overall retail inflation and food inflation were 6.7 per cent and 6.69 per cent respectively in July.
• This is the 8th successive month that the inflation is over upper ceiling of targeted inflation rate range of 2-6 per cent, with median of 4 per cent.
• If headline inflation is to move up further, then it would be three successive quarter of headline inflation breaching upper tolerance level.
• This means Reserve Bank of India (RBI) will have to give detailed explanation to the government.

Changthang wildlife sanctuary

• This sanctuary is home to a diversity of flora and fauna and is spread over an area of 1,600 sq. km.
• It is located in the Ladakhi Changthang Plateau in the Leh district of Jammu and Kashmir.
• It boasts of the highest lake on earth, Tso Moriri.
• It is also believed to include the world's highest village, Korzok Village that draws tourists for the Korzok Monastery.
• From sighting the rare snow leopard, one can also spot a kiang or a wild ass, along with the dark-necked crane.
• Other species found here are the Tibetan wolf, wild yak, bharal, brown bear and the marmot that seems to be present everywhere.

Nord Stream 1 pipeline

• Nord Stream 1 is the biggest pipeline transporting natural gas between Russia and Europe via Germany.
• It runs from Vyborg in Russia to Greifswald in Germany.
• In 2021, Russia supplied nearly 40 per cent of the EU's natural gas needs through this pipeline.
• It is majorly owned by Gazprom.
• The twin pipeline system of Nord Stream can transport 55 billion cubic meters of gas from Russia to Europe through the Baltic Sea.
• Energy prices in Germany, Europe's largest economy, are among the lowest in the continent.
• This is made possible due to cheap gas supplies via Nord Stream 1.
• This also makes German manufactured goods more competitive in the international market.

Out of pocket expenditure

• Out-of-pocket payments are expenditures borne directly by a patient where insurance does not cover the full cost of the health good or service.
• They include cost-sharing, self-medication and other expenditure paid directly by private households.

• Total Health Expenditure (THE) of the government was 3.2% of the GDP in 2018, the lowest since 2004-05.
• However, the per capita spending of Rs. 4,470 has been the highest, according to the 2022 National Health Accounts Estimates (NHAE) report.
• A comparative analysis shows that the as a percentage of the GDP was 4.2% in 2004-05, the highest in over a decade.
• It has been steadily declining since then, reaching 3.9% in 2014-15 and 3.8% in the following two years.
• It shrank further to 3.3% in 2017-8 and 3.2% a year later.
• At the same time, the per capita spending at current prices increased from Rs 1,201 in 2004-05 to Rs 4,470 in 2018-19.
• The estimates also show that out-of-pocket expenses borne directly by the patients have been steadily declining from 69.4% in 2004-05 to 48.2% in 2018-19.
• But this slide is minuscule compared to the previous year when it stood at 48.8%.

Breast Cancer

• Breast cancer is a disease in which cells in the breast grow out of control. There are different kinds of breast cancer.
• The kind of breast cancer depends on which cells in the breast turn into cancer.
• Breast cancer can begin in different parts of the breast.
• A breast is made up of three main parts: lobules, ducts, and connective tissue.
• The lobules are the glands that produce milk, the ducts are tubes that carry milk to the nipple, and the connective tissue (which consists of fibrous and fatty tissue) surrounds and holds everything together.
• Most breast cancers begin in the ducts or lobules.
• Breast cancer can spread outside the breast through blood vessels and lymph vessels.
• When breast cancer spreads to other parts of the body, it is said to have metastasized.

Breast Cancer in Men

• Despite outward appearances, breasts in men and women are built very much the same.
• Human breasts in both sexes have nipples, fatty tissue, breast cells and ducts.
• Men and women also share some of the same risk factors for breast cancer.
• The incidence of breast cancer in men is far less than in women.
• Although the breast tissue in both are similar, male breast tissue is mainly fat and fibrous tissue called stroma and they have fewer ducts and lobules.
• When women’s breasts mature during puberty, they develop working lobules and milk ducts to produce and carry milk after childbirth.
• Most breast cancers in women develop in those ducts and lobules.
• Most men produce far fewer and smaller ducts and may not produce lobules.
• Inherited gene mutations may increase cancer risk in both sexes, but are likely to affect genders differently.
• While BRCA mutations significantly increase a man’s risk of breast cancer, men with those mutations are at a higher risk of prostate cancer more than breast or other cancers.
• Gynecomastia: Men with increased estrogen levels develop this condition, in which breast tissue in males may grow or swell.
• Gynecomastia is not a risk factor for male breast cancer, but when discovered does need to be differentiated from male breast cancer.

Factors responsible for breast cancer in men

• Getting older: The risk for breast cancer increases with age.

• Most breast cancers are found after age 50.
• Genetic mutations: Inherited changes (mutations) in certain genes, such as BRCA1 and BRCA2, increase breast cancer risk.
• Family history of breast cancer: A man’s risk for breast cancer is higher if a close family member has had breast cancer.
• Radiation therapy treatment: Men who had radiation therapy to the chest have a higher risk of getting breast cancer.
• Hormone therapy treatment: Drugs containing estrogen which were used to treat prostate cancer in the past, increase men’s breast cancer risk.
  • Estrogen: a hormone that helps develop and maintain female sex characteristics.
• Klinefelter syndrome is a rare genetic condition in which a male has an extra X chromosome.
• This can lead to the body making higher levels of estrogen and lower levels of androgens.
  • Androgens: hormones that help develop and maintain male sex characteristics.

• Certain conditions that affect the testicles.

• Injury to, swelling in, or surgery to remove the testicles can increase breast cancer risk.
• Liver disease: Cirrhosis (scarring) of the liver can lower androgen levels and raise estrogen levels in men, increasing the risk of breast cancer.
• Overweight and obesity: Older men who are overweight or have obesity have a higher risk of getting breast cancer than men at a normal weight.