India ranks 28 on UN's Disaster Risk and Age Index
- SENDAI: A Disaster Risk and Age Index launched at the United Nations' third world conference on disaster risk reduction here has ranked India 28th among 190 countries that are worse on most parameters of providing their elderly a secure environment.
Somalia has ranked first, followed by Central African Republic, Afghanistan, Sudan and Iraq among others. All these countries are affected by civil war and ongoing conflict.
However, in countries like India, it has been other factors like lack of social security to its aging population, their vulnerability to natural disasters and absence of a resilient network that has majorly weighed against it and has lowered its ranking among 190 UN member countries.
When it comes to taking care of its elderly, India is worse than even Nepal, Zimbabwe, Cambodia, Guatemala and even Papua Guinea ? all of them ranking better than India.
The Index has been developed by HelpAge with support from UN's Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNISDR) as a pilot. It was launched a day before Home minister Rajnath Singh presented his country statement at the UN's conference at the disaster risk reduction (DRR) here.
Home minister is attending the UN's third world conference to sign a new framework for action post 2015 that will replace the Hyogo Framework for Action (HFA) which was signed in 2005 by UN member countries, post-2004 India Ocean Tsunami. HFA commit nations to legislate DRR laws to work towards building a resilient society and charting out strategies to mitigate economic and human losses.
"It demonstrates clearly how leaving out older people in approaches to development, including disaster risk management planning, can lead to bad outcomes for them. Such planning must take into account the vulnerabilities as well as the capacities of the older generation," Margareta Wahlstrom, head of UNISDR, said.
The UNISDR has urged governments to commit to Charter 14, a 14-point declaration by UN members pledging to include older people in disaster risk reduction efforts. This may be reemphasized and likely to be included in the post-2015 framework for DRR which will be adopted at the world conference in Sendai.
The risk age index is a country-by-country analysis of the disaster risks faced by older people, based on three dimensions: hazard and exposure, vulnerability and lack of coping capacity.
Pakistan has been ranked 16th on this index while Bangladesh has been at 25th. But that should not be any solace to India. European Union nations and US are among some of the best rated countries.
Malta has been ranked the best at 190, followed by Finland, Sao Tome e Principe, Singapore, Norway, Sweden, Luxembourg, Denmark and Netherlands. Japan ranked 133, US at 142, Italy-146, Australia 150 and France 163 among some of the major countries.
These countries have managed to limit the impact of natural hazards to their elderly population despite being highly exposed to natural hazards. They rank high also for the reason that they spend high on healthcare of elderly, have wide coverage of pension benefits and building resilient infrastructure around its elderly.
A UNISDR press note highlighted the need for policy shift for those countries which are ranked lower on this index as 66% of the world's over 60s live in less developed regions. By 2050, this is projected to rise to 79%. The world's population of older people is expected to rise to 2.02 billion by 2050.
Disaster Risk & Age Index:
Worst 10 Ranking
Somalia 1
Central African Republic 2
Afghanistan 3
Sudan 4
Yemen 5
South Sudan 6
Myanmar 7
Congo DR 8
Syria 9
Iraq 10
India 28
Best 10 Ranking
Malta 190
Finland 189
Sao Tome e Principe 188
Singapore 187
Norway 186
Sweden 185
Luxembourg 184
Denmark 183
Netherlands 182
Estonia 181
India world's largest importer of weapons
- India has yet again emerged as the world’s largest importer of weapons and military equipment, accounting for 15 per cent of global imports, with Russia being its majority supplier, a Stockholm-based think tank today said.
Between 2005 – 2009 and 2010 – 14, India’s imports increased by 140 per cent. In 2010 – 14, India’s imports were three times larger than those of either of its regional rivals China and Pakistan, the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) said.
This is in contrast with the 2005 – 2009 period when India’s imports were 23 per cent below China’s and just over double of those of Pakistan.
Of the top 10 largest importers of major weapons during the five-year period (2010 – 14), five are in Asia — India (15 per cent of global arms imports), China (5 per cent), Pakistan (4 per cent), South Korea (3 per cent) and Singapore (3 per cent), according to the report, titled ‘Trends in International Arms Transfers’.
These five countries accounted for 30 per cent of the total volume of arms imports worldwide.
India accounted for 34 per cent of the volume of arms imported to Asia, more than three times as much as China. China’s arms imports actually decreased by 42 per cent between 2005 – 2009 and 2010 – 14.
In 2010 – 14, Russia supplied 70 per cent of India’s arms imports, the US 12 per cent and Israel 7 per cent. The acquisitions from the US are a break with the recent past.
Prior to 2005 – 2009, India barely received any major weapons from the US. However, there now appears to be an upward trend in arms imports from the US.
Imports in 2010 – 14 were 15 times higher than in 2005 – 2009 and included advanced weapons such as anti-submarine warfare aircraft. In 2014, additional deals with the US were agreed, including that for 22 combat helicopters.
India was the world’s largest importer of weapons and military equipment in 2013 and 2014.
India bright spot in global economy: IMF
- Terming India a bright spot in the "cloudy" global economy, IMF Managing Director Christine Lagarde today said the country will clock 7.2 per cent growth in the current fiscal and its GDP will exceed combined total of Japan and Germany by 2019.
"In this cloudy global horizon, India is a bright spot. Recent policy reforms and improved business confidence have provided a booster shot to economic activity," she said while speaking at a function at Sri Ram College here.
On introduction of new series of national accounts with base year 2011-12, she said, "Using India's new GDP series, the IMF expects growth to pick up to 7.2 per cent this fiscal year and accelerate further to 7.5 per cent next year -— making India the fastest growing large economy in the world."
The IMF chief further said, "Indeed, a brighter future is being forged right before your eyes. By 2019, the economy will more than double in size compared to 2009."
When adjusting for differences in purchasing prices between economies, India's GDP will exceed that of Japan and Germany combined, she said adding it will also exceed the combined output of the three next largest emerging market economies —- Russia, Brazil, and Indonesia.
Lagarde further said, "Just as many countries around the world are grappling with low growth, India has been marching in the opposite direction."
India's growth rate this year is expected to exceed that of China, she said, adding the country will also become the most populous in the world by 2030.
The IMF chief believes that the conditions are ripe for India to reap the demographic dividend and become a key engine for global growth as it (the country) is on the verge of a new chapter, filled with immense promise.
On world economy, she said, "More than six years after the global financial crisis, the recovery remains too slow, too brittle, and too lopsided. We have pared down our forecasts of global growth since last October, despite the boost from cheaper oil and stronger US growth."
While the global economy is expected to grow by 3.5 per cent this year, and 3.7 per cent next year, this is still below what could have been expected after such a crisis, she added.
Star leaving Milky Way at record speeds detected
- Astronomers have identified the fastest ever star on an escape trajectory from the Milky Way – travelling at a record breaking speed of 1,200 km per second.
The unbound star, named US708, is travelling at the fastest speed ever recorded for such an object in our galaxy – meaning it is not held back by gravity and will eventually leave the Milky Way.
US708 is believed to have once been part of a double-star solar system, which also included a massive white dwarf star.
The white dwarf is thought to have turned into a ‘thermonuclear supernovae’ and exploded, kicking US708 and sending it hurtling across space, researchers said.
The discovery of US708 by an international team sheds light on the mysterious double-star systems that give rise to thermonuclear explosions.
Thermonuclear, or ‘type Ia’, supernovae have long been used to calculate the distances to faraway galaxies – a measurement which helps to determine how the universe is changing and expanding.
Researchers made the ground-breaking discovery using data gathered by the Pan-STARRS1 telescope on Mount Haleakala on the Hawaiian island of Maui.
Using a range of data gathered over the last 59 years the team were able to determine the full 3-D motion of the star and measure how quickly it is moving across the plane of the sky.
“It brings us a step closer to solving the type Ia puzzle,” Dr Rubina Kotak, from the Astrophysics Centre at Queen’s University Belfast, said.
“Several types of stars have been suspected of causing the explosion of a white dwarf as supernova of type Ia. Until now, none of them could be confirmed. Now we have found a delinquent on the run bearing traces from the crime scene,” European Southern Observatory fellow, Stephan Geier, who led the study, said.
IGBC, CREDAI ink MoU to promote green buildings
- Hyderabad: The Indian Green Building Council (IGBC) have signed a memorandum of understanding with the Confeeration of Real Estate Developers’ Associations of India (CREDAI) to increase the green building footprint in India across the residential sector.
The MoU between the IGBC, a part of the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) and CREDAI, the apex body for private real estate developers, is expected to accelerate green building movement in the country.
CREDAI president Shekar Reddy the MoU would further consolidate partnership with the IGBC and promised to work together in facilitating greener and healthier India.
The two bodies will reach out to all the stakeholders on green building trends and techniques. They will jointly organize awareness and training programmes to facilitate capacity building among their members across India.
S. Raghupathy, executive director, CII Godrej Green Business Centre, who signed the MoU on behalf of IGBC, said the MoU would give impetus to the green building movement.
Taj Mahal emerges as top Google Street View destination
- Agra’s tourist attraction Taj Mahal has emerged as the most popular in Asia for global ‘virtual travellers’, according to Google.
“Taj Mahal has emerged as one of the most popular Asian places for global virtual travellers. The fascination with this grand, symmetrical white marble mausoleum also holds within Asia, with the Taj Mahal ranking as one of the most globally viewed destinations by people in Singapore, Australia, Korea, Philippines, Malaysia and of course, India,” a Google statement said.
“Last year, global virtual tourists had favoured Japan for its trails weaving up Mount Fuji, its colourful canal at Dotonbori and its secluded ruins at Hashima Island, as the most popular Google Street View destinations in Asia,” it said.
Google Street View is a technology featured in Google Maps and Google Earth that provides panoramic views from positions along many streets in the world.
Though Japan still attracts many of virtual tourists, cultural monuments and temples across the region are also taking centre stage, it said.
Other top Google Street View destinations in India include Red Fort, Qutub Minar, Agra Fort, Lavasa, Lovely Professional University, Humayun’s Tomb, Shaniwar Wada, Jantar Mantar and IIT Bombay, the Google statement said.
Rare, threatened coral species bred and raised in the lab
- A rare and threatened Caribbean coral species has for the first time been successfully bred and raised in the lab, the study provides the first photos and documentation of juveniles of this species, and could provide information to help bolster local coral reef conservation. The team also plans to 'out-plant' these lab-grown juveniles in the wild which could help populations become more resilient to climate change.
The Caribbean Pillar Coral Dendrogyra cylindrus is rare and understudied, and small juveniles of this species have never been seen in over 30 years of surveys in the Caribbean. The species is one of very few corals in the Caribbean that forms large branches, which can provide shelter for important fish species and reduce the energy of storm surge as it approaches shore.
Pillar coral. Credit: Mark Vermeij
Lead author and TED Senior Fellow Kristen Marhaver from the CARMABI Foundation on the Caribbean island of Curaçao said, "Strangely enough, pillar corals happen to spawn just half an hour before another threatened coral that is far better studied - the elkhorn corals. So the reason why for so many years we've never witnessed spawning pillar corals is that, while they were spawning, virtually all coral spawning researchers and photographers in the Caribbean were on their boats doing final preparations on their dive gear for elkhorn coral spawning. It was literally right under our noses for years."
Pillar Corals form a unique 'smoke stack' shape like no other coral species, and they display unusual mating behaviour compared to most spawning coral species. Most spawning corals are hermaphrodites that release large bundles of eggs and sperm. Pillar corals, which only spawn on a few specific nights of the year, build colonies that are either all-male or all-female. The males first release sperm into the seawater, shortly followed by the females releasing their individual eggs. This makes collection and breeding research extremely difficult.
Kristen Marhaver, who began this work while she was a postdoctoral researcher at the University of California at Merced, USA, said: "Now that we've successfully reared juvenile Pillar Corals in the lab, not only can we study them in more detail to find out what factors could be threatening their survival in the wild, but it also means that we can try to out-plant a small number back to the reef. We don't know if this will work and it is certainly not a cure-all for the reef. But especially in such a rare coral species, a tiny boost of a few new individuals could make a big difference in their genetic diversity, allowing their populations to adapt and become more resilient to the changing environment in the oceans."
After studying the sunset times and lunar cycles taken from other spawning observations, the research team timed their egg and sperm collection around the most likely annual spawning times - exactly three nights after the August full moon and around 100 minutes after sunset. At depths of 6-7 meters on a Curaçaoan coral reef with a large population of Pillar Corals, the team arranged nets and funnels over the female colonies to automatically collect eggs, and used syringes near the male colonies to manually collect sperm from spawn clouds as they appeared.
The team then attempted to fertilize the eggs by mixing the collected eggs and sperm underwater and on shore. In the lab, the team carefully adjusted several factors related to fertilization times and seawater type and nurtured the eggs to develop into larvae. They managed to successfully grow the embryos to the swimming larvae stage - the first time this have ever been seen - and settled them onto ceramic tripods in water tanks. The settled juveniles then survived for over seven months.
Now that they have determined how best to grow these coral in the lab, work can begin on studying how different factors affect their survival. By testing in the lab the effect of water type, contaminants, or the presence of different species of animals and bacteria, they may be able to translate these findings to the wild, and explain why juvenile pillar corals are missing in certain areas, helping to support local coastal protection.
Populations of branching coral colonies are often genetically identical, making them extremely susceptible to threats such as disease and temperature shock. The team therefore plans to return a few lab-reared juveniles to the reef to see if they will grow and help jumpstart the population's genetic diversity. This could help the species adapt and become more resilient to threats such as climate change.
There is also growing evidence that juvenile corals can in some places better adjust to changing environments than adult corals. The introduction of new juveniles to the reef could therefore help buffer these ecosystems against global threats that affect all corals.
Kristen Marhaver said: "Given how rare the juveniles are in nature, it was a bit of a question whether the species was still reproducing at all. Corals can also reproduce by fragmentation, so a huge field of pillar corals could in fact be from one single parent colony and might not be able to reproduce. Now that we have some of the first solid evidence that they are still able to reproduce, it means we can be cautiously optimistic about the future of this threatened species."
The research team included Mark Vermeij from the CARMABI Foundation and the University of Amsterdam, and Mónica Medina from Pennsylvania State University. The research was funded by the US National Science Foundation with permissions from the Government of Curaçao.
Citation:
Kristen L Marhaver, Mark JA Vermeij and Monica M Medina, 'Reproductive natural history and successful juvenile propagation of the threatened Caribbean Pillar Coral Dendrogyra cylindrus', BMC Ecology 2015 DOI: 10.1186/s12898-015-0039-7
World Bank, UK to help poor nations hit by natural disasters
- SENDAI: Some good news for the developing countries. The World Bank and the UK government has jointly launched a new competitive challenge fund that would help poor nations -- those hit by disasters like floods, cyclones, droughts and earthquakes -- to empower their local communities.
The fund, launched on Monday on the sidelines of UN's 3rd World Conference on Disaster Risk Reduction at Sendai, will help developing countries design and implement ground-breaking solutions to overcome problems they face assessing disaster risks.
"Finding new ways to use technological innovation to empower communities to build their own solutions to the risk of disasters has proven effective from Nepal to New Orleans," said Rachel Kyte, World Bank group vice-president and special envoy for Climate change. The fund is launched by World Bank's Global Facility for Disaster Reduction and Recovery with the UK government.
The new fund will help spur new and inventive approaches and partnerships so that the developing countries can better gauge disaster risks, he said. In its first phase the Challenge Fund will provide between $20,000 and $150,000 to up to 20 projects.
The experience in last decade shows frequency of natural disasters have increased two-fold, compared to what it was 30 years ago with the annual economic losses rising from $50 billion to almost $200 billion. "To limit the human and financial cost, it is vital that countries understand the risks and how to reduce the impact of natural disasters on individuals, communities, and governments," a GFDRR and World Bank press note said.
"World-class innovations and data tools can save lives but global investment in these new technologies remains far too low and is not keeping pace with the growing risk countries face."
The Challenge Fund aims to help decision makers in developing countries to make the best use of technology and data through new approaches and innovative partnerships between technology companies, NGOs and those at risk from natural disasters.
With the new Fund grant organizations will be able to build capacity and respond to DRR challenges. It will help them access high resolution digital models of an area's train and elevation; identify and collect missing data that undermines countries' ability to understand the risks they face; develop new approaches to modeling risk; and initiatives to communicating risk to different stakeholders.
The GFDRR helps high-risk, low-income developing countries better understand and reduce their vulnerabilities to natural hazards, and adapt to climate change. It is working with over 400 partners-mostly local government agencies, civil society, and technical organizations. GFDRR is managed by the World Bank and funded by 25 donor partners.
AFCAT Previous Year Questions
1. Out of the following which centre is making use of enriched Uranium?
(a) Tarapur Nuclear Energy Centre
(b) Kalpakkam Nuclear Energy Centre
(c) Narora Nuclear Energy Centre
(d) Ravat Bhata Nuclear Energy Centre
Ans. (a)
2. Shobha Gurtu is a—
(a) Padmashree
(b) Padmavibbushan
(c) Padmabhushan
(d) Phalke Award Winner
Ans. (a)
3. Dhyan Chand was Indian Captain in Berlin World cup Hockey Test in the year—
(a) 1906
(b) 1916
(c) 1964
(d) 1936
Ans. (d)
4. Where is the largest Railway platform in the world?
(a) Leningrad
(b) Liver pool
(c) Sonepur
(d) Kharagpur
Ans. (d)
5. ‘Nunamati’ is famous for—
(a) mines of raw iron
(b) mines of coal
(c) oil refinery
(d) mines of mica
Ans. (c)
6. Energy is measured in the same unit as-—
(a) work
(b) power
(c) momentum
(d) force
Ans. (a)
7 The largest gland in human body is—
(a) endocrine
(b) Pancreas
(c) liver
(d) none of these
Ans. (b)
8. The universal donor is—
(a) O
(b) A
(c) B
(d) AB
Ans. (a)
10. Sphygmomanometer measures—(a) blood pressure(b) ocean depth(c) magnetic field(d) electric currentAns. (a)11. Who among the following holds the office duringthe pleasure of the President of India?
-
(a) Judges of Supreme Court
(b) Election Commissioner
(c) Governor
(d) Speaker of Lok Sabha
Ans. (c)
12. The author of the book ‘Interpreter of Maladies’ is—
(a) Jhumpa Lahiri
(b) Arundhati Roy
(c) Vikram Seth
(d) Geeta Mehta
Ans. (a)
13. Which among the following is a ‘Morning Raga’?
(a) Sohini
(b) Bhairavi
(c) Kalawati
(d) Sarang
Ans. (b)
14. ‘Guernica’ is a famous painting of—
(a) Leonardo da Vinci
(b) Michelangelo
(c) Picasso
(d) None of these
Ans. (c)
15. ‘Last Supper’ is a world famous painting of—
(a) Paul Gauguin
(b) Leonardo da Vinci
(c) Raphael
(d) None of these
Ans. (b)
16. ‘Bhogali Bihu’ is a festival of—(a) Assam(b) Orissa(c) Gujarat(d) RajasthanAns.(a)- 17. The capital of Andaman & Nicobar is—
- (a) Car Nicobar(b) Port Blair(c) Katchtibu(d) None of theseAns. (b
- 18. What does the term Dactology mean?
(a) Study of finger prints for identification
(b) Study of physically handicapped persons
(c) System of new words
(d) None of these
Ans. (a) - 19. Aizawl is the capital of—
(a) Lakshadweep
(b) Nagaland
(c) Mizoram
(d) None of these
Ans. (c) - 20. The term ‘Third World’ is related to—
(a) Asian countries
(b) Oil producing countries
(c) Developed countries
(d) Developing countries
Ans. (d) - 21. Which of the following is a bulwark of personalfreedom?
(a) Mandamus
(b) Habeas Corpus
(c) Quó’Warranto
(d) Certiorari
Ans. (b) - 22. The anode in a dry cell consists of—
(a) Copper
(b) Zinc
(c) Carbon
(d) Graphite
Ans. (c) - 23. In which country ‘Greenwich’ is situated?
(a) USA
(b) UK
(c) Holland
(d) India
Ans. (b) - 24. Which of the following types of lens is used ina camera?
(a) Convex
(b) Concave
(c) Spherical
(d) Uniform. thickness
Ans. (a) - 25. Sound waves are—
(a) longitudinal
(b) transverse
(c) partially longitudinal and partially transverse
(d) sometimes longitudinal sometimes transverse
Ans. (a)
No comments:
Post a Comment