6 September 2023

• Governance: A State Hunger Index showed Bihar, Jharkhand and Chhattisgarh in the "alarming" category, with India ranking 107th globally on the 2022 Global Hunger Index.
• Environment: Sand mining was reported to extract approximately 6 billion tonnes annually from oceans, linked to 60 per cent of plant and animal extinctions.
• International: WHO's Traditional Medicine Global Summit issued the Gujarat Declaration, calling for evidence-based integration of traditional medicine into national health systems.
• Science: The Kylinxia zhangi fossil, a 520-million-year-old three-eyed predator from China, was discussed as a key node in arthropod evolution research.

GS area: Society (food security), Governance

A State Hunger Index (SHI) modelled on the Global Hunger Index tracked hunger conditions across Indian states using four indicators: stunting, wasting, child mortality and undernourishment (measured by BMI).

• Data sources: National Family Health Survey-5 and the Longitudinal Ageing Study in India (LASI).
• SHI scoring: a score of 0 to 100 where a higher score indicates more hunger. Bihar, Jharkhand and Chhattisgarh scored around 35, placing them in the "alarming" category.
• India globally: ranked 107th out of 121 countries in the Global Hunger Index 2022. Over 224 million people in India are estimated to be undernourished.
• Key schemes: National Nutrition Mission (Poshan Abhiyan, 2018) targets stunting, wasting, low birth weight and anaemia among children and pregnant women. The PM Poshan Shakti Nirman scheme provides mid-day meals in schools. Pradhan Mantri Matru Vandana Yojana provides cash transfers to pregnant women.
• The measurement debate: the GHI methodology has been criticised for using a single dietary survey question to estimate food deprivation. India objects to the GHI ranking on methodological grounds.

Static linkage: government schemes (nutrition), society (food security, malnutrition).

GS area: Environment (resources, biodiversity)

Global sand extraction was estimated at approximately 6 billion tonnes per year from oceans and rivers. Sand is the world's most consumed natural resource after water.

• Legal framework in India: sand is classified as a "minor mineral" under the Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Act, 1957. Regulation is primarily a state subject.
• Environmental impact: studies have linked illegal sand mining to 60 per cent of global plant and animal extinctions at riverbed level. Riverbeds are destroyed, breeding habitats lost and floodplains destabilised.
• Economic cost: the cost of sand has quadrupled every decade since 1970. Global trade in sand exceeded $423 billion in 2019.
• India's problem: the Supreme Court has issued directions on sand mining repeatedly. A 2017 notification required environmental impact assessments for mining beyond 500,000 tonnes per year. Enforcement remains weak.
• Kunming-Montreal biodiversity target: the global framework adopted in December 2022 calls for reducing the introduction rate of invasive alien species, which often establish themselves in disturbed riverbed habitats.

Static linkage: environment (mining, biodiversity), mineral policy.

GS area: Health, International Organisations

The WHO Traditional Medicine Global Summit 2023 was held in Gandhinagar, Gujarat, resulting in the Gujarat Declaration. This was the first such WHO summit on traditional medicine.

• The Declaration: calls for member states to strengthen evidence generation for traditional medicine and integrate validated practices into national health systems.
• WHO AYUSH linkage: India's Ministry of AYUSH (Ayurveda, Yoga and Naturopathy, Unani, Siddha and Homeopathy) is the world's largest government body dedicated to traditional medicine. India was the host country for the summit.
• Evidence gap: critics note that many traditional medicine practices lack the clinical trial evidence that WHO normally requires before recommending treatments. The Declaration emphasises evidence-based integration, not blanket endorsement.
• AYUSH economy: India's AYUSH sector is estimated at over 18 billion dollars.

Static linkage: health (AYUSH), international organisations (WHO).

GS area: Environment (biodiversity, ecosystem)

The Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES) released an assessment of invasive alien species (IAS).

• Scale: approximately 37,000 alien species have been introduced globally through human activity. About 3,500 are classified as invasive.
• Impact: responsible for about 60 per cent of global species extinctions and contributing to 16 per cent of the economic losses from natural disasters.
• Five drivers of biodiversity loss: IAS is one of five: the others are habitat change, direct exploitation, climate change and pollution.
• IPBES: the Intergovernmental Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services has 143 member states. Its secretariat is in Bonn, Germany. It is the biodiversity equivalent of the IPCC for climate.
• Kunming-Montreal target on IAS: the Global Biodiversity Framework calls for reducing the introduction and establishment rate of IAS by 50 per cent by 2030.

Static linkage: environment (biodiversity, IPBES, Kunming-Montreal Framework).

GS area: Society (secularism, comparative polity)

The French principle of Laïcité (secularism) continues to be a flashpoint in European politics and in Indian constitutional debate as a point of comparison.

• Origins: Laïcité emerged from the French Revolution's rejection of Church power and was formalised through the Law of 1905, which separated the state from religious institutions.
• Key provision: the state does not recognise, fund or promote any religion. Religious symbols are banned in public schools and government buildings.
• Contrast with Indian secularism: India's Constitution does not adopt the strict separation model. The state may fund religious institutions, set age limits for religious office and regulate temple entries. The Indian model is sometimes called "sarva dharma sambhava" (equal respect for all faiths).
• Relevance in 2023: the French ban on abayas in schools reignited global debate on whether Laïcité amounts to targeted discrimination against Muslims.

Static linkage: polity (secularism, comparative constitutionalism), society.

• IPBES secretariat: Bonn, Germany. The platform has 143 member states and produces scientific assessments on biodiversity loss and ecosystem services, feeding into global policy such as the Kunming-Montreal Framework.
• French Laïcité law: the 1905 Law on the Separation of the Churches and the State formally enacted the principle. It forbids public funding of religious bodies and bans display of religious symbols by civil servants on duty.
• Build-Operate-Transfer model: the BOT model for road construction in India was being revived to fill investment gaps. Under BOT, a private operator builds, operates and recovers costs through tolls before transferring the road to the government.