27 March 2024

• Health: A policy analysis on Universal Health Coverage in India put India's health expenditure at 3.2 per cent of GDP against a global lower-middle-income average of 5.2 per cent.
• Economy: India applied for exploration rights over the Afanasy Nikitin Seamount in the Central Indian Basin, rich in cobalt, nickel and manganese.
• Infrastructure: The Nimmu-Padam-Darcha Road (298 km), connecting Ladakh and Himachal Pradesh, was completed by the Border Roads Organisation.
• Geology: Karnataka High Court proceedings reminded the country that Captive Elephant Rules 2024 had been liberalised, allowing transfer when the owner can no longer care for the animal.

GS area: Health, Government schemes, Economy

A policy review on Universal Health Coverage (UHC) highlighted India's infrastructure gaps:

Key statistics:

• Health expenditure: 3.2 per cent of GDP. The global lower-middle-income average is 5.2 per cent. WHO recommends at least 5 per cent.
• Hospital beds: 1.0 per 1,000 population, against a global average of 2.7.
• Urban concentration: 72 per cent of hospital beds are in urban areas, though 65 per cent of India's population is rural.
• Insurance coverage: only 36 per cent of the lowest wealth quintile households have health insurance (NFHS-5).

Government schemes:

• Ayushman Bharat-PM-JAY: associated with a 21 per cent decline in out-of-pocket expenditure in covered populations. Covers Rs 5 lakh per family per year for secondary and tertiary hospitalisation.
• National Health Mission: improved institutional deliveries from 56 to 69 per cent in rural areas.
• eSanjeevani: 8 crore teleconsultations completed by 2022; the national telemedicine service.
• National Ambulance Service-102: operates 20,990 ambulance vehicles.

Static linkage: Health (UHC, government schemes), economy.

GS area: Economy (minerals), Geography

India applied to the International Seabed Authority (ISA) for exploration rights over the Afanasy Nikitin Seamount in the Central Indian Basin.

• Location: approximately 3,000 km from India's coast in the Central Indian Basin (Indian Ocean).
• Dimensions: 400 km long and 150 km wide.
• Mineral resources: rich in cobalt, nickel, manganese and copper in the form of polymetallic nodules and cobalt-rich crusts.
• Why it matters: cobalt and nickel are critical minerals for EV batteries and electronics.
• ISA: the International Seabed Authority is an intergovernmental body set up under UNCLOS (UN Convention on the Law of the Sea) to regulate mineral-related activities in the international seabed (the "Area").
• India's earlier claim: India already holds exploration rights for a 75,000 sq km polymetallic nodule site in the Central Indian Ocean Basin, one of the first countries granted such rights.

Static linkage: Economy (critical minerals, deep sea), international relations (UNCLOS, ISA).

GS area: Internal security, Geography

The Border Roads Organisation completed the Nimmu-Padam-Darcha Road, a 298-km route linking:

• Nimmu: in the Indus Valley, Ladakh.
• Padum: the headquarters of Zanskar sub-district.
• Darcha: in Lahaul-Spiti district of Himachal Pradesh.

Key significance:

• Connects Ladakh and Himachal Pradesh through the Zanskar Valley, previously accessible only seasonally.
• Distance reduction: shortens the Manali-Kargil road distance by 522 km.
• Strategic importance: provides an alternative supply route to Ladakh that bypasses the Srinagar-Leh highway, which is prone to closure and weather disruption.
• BRO: the Border Roads Organisation is under the Ministry of Defence and specialises in construction and maintenance of roads in strategically important and difficult terrains.

Static linkage: Internal security (border connectivity), geography (Ladakh, Zanskar).

GS area: Art and Culture (medieval history)

Judicial proceedings in Karnataka brought up the heritage of temples from the Kalyana Chalukya (Western Chalukya) period. Key facts:

• Period: 10th to 12th centuries CE, ruling the western Deccan.
• Founded by: Tailapa II, who defeated the Rashtrakutas in 973 CE.
• Peak: under Vikramaditya VI (1076-1126 CE), the longest-reigning Chalukya king.
• Architectural legacy: the Gadag style of temple architecture, found in Karnataka. Characterised by intricately carved, multi-layered shikhara (towers) in stellate plans. Famous examples include the Trikuteshwara temple at Gadag.

Static linkage: Art and culture (medieval India, temple architecture).

• Krishi ICCC (Integrated Command and Control Centre for Agriculture): leverages AI, remote sensing and GIS technologies to provide farmer-specific advisories via the Kisan e-mitra chatbot. Supports decisions on soil health, drought management and crop diversification.
• National Disaster Response Fund: established in 2010 per the recommendations of the 13th Finance Commission, managed by the Ministry of Home Affairs. Karnataka petitioned the Supreme Court in March over delayed central funds for drought relief from the NDRF.
• Magnetic fossils: 50,000-year-old specimens found in Bay of Bengal sediments. Created by magnetotactic bacteria that produce magnetite crystals to navigate using Earth's magnetic field. These fossils indicate prolonged low-oxygen (suboxic) conditions in the water column at that time.