10 November 2024

• Health: Antimicrobial resistance is projected to cause 10 million deaths annually by 2050. India's NAP on AMR was launched in 2017.
• Polity: India's out-of-pocket health expenditure fell from higher proportions as government health spending rose to 1.84 per cent of GDP.
• Heritage: Maulana Abul Kalam Azad's birth anniversary on 11 November is celebrated as National Education Day. His contributions as India's first Education Minister are the prelims staple.
• Science: Eurasian otters, classified as Near Threatened, were observed in northern and north-eastern India.

GS area: Health, Science and Technology

Antimicrobial resistance was flagged globally as a growing emergency, with India at the centre of the challenge.

• Global projection: 10 million deaths annually by 2050 if resistance is not checked, surpassing cancer deaths.
• India's National Action Plan on AMR: Launched 2017. It takes a One Health approach covering human medicine, veterinary practice and food systems.
• AMRSN: Antimicrobial Resistance Surveillance and Research Network. Established by ICMR in 2013. Monitors resistance patterns across 30 tertiary hospitals.
• National One Health Mission: Approved 2022. Targets both AMR and zoonotic diseases under one governance structure.
• Cause: Overuse of antibiotics in human medicine and agriculture. Inadequate diagnostics lead to broad-spectrum prescriptions. Counterfeit antibiotics and poor sewage treatment allow resistant bacteria to spread.

Static linkage: Public health, One Health approach, disease surveillance.

GS area: Health, Governance

India's National Health Accounts showed a gradual shift from private to public health spending.

• Government health expenditure (GHE): Rose from 1.13 per cent of GDP in 2014-15 to 1.84 per cent of GDP in 2021-22.
• Social security expenditure: Grew from 5.7 per cent to 8.7 per cent of total health expenditure.
• Ayushman Bharat PM-JAY: Health insurance scheme covering 50 crore beneficiaries for hospitalisation up to 5 lakh rupees per year. It is the world's largest publicly funded health insurance programme.
• OOPE: Out-of-pocket expenditure as a share of total health expenditure has been declining. The per capita OOPE still rose from 1,108 rupees in 2014-15 to 3,169 rupees in 2021-22 in absolute terms, indicating the absolute burden on families persists even as the relative share falls.

Static linkage: Health policy, social security, government schemes.

GS area: Modern History, Art and Culture

11 November is National Education Day, marking the birth anniversary of Maulana Abul Kalam Azad.

• Born: 1888 in Mecca (of Indian parents). Original name: Muhiyuddin Ahmad.
• Journalism: Founded Al-Hilal (1912) and Al-Balagh (1914), nationalist Urdu newspapers that challenged British rule.
• Congress: The youngest Congress President at the time, elected in 1923.
• Freedom struggle: Imprisoned during the Salt Satyagraha of 1930.
• As Education Minister (1947-58): Established Jamia Millia Islamia, the Sahitya Akademi, the Sangeet Natak Akademi and the Lalit Kala Akademi. Championed IITs and scientific institutions.
• Bharat Ratna: Awarded posthumously in 1992.

Static linkage: Freedom struggle, modern Indian history, education policy.

GS area: Education, Governance

India's universities made significant gains in the QS World University Rankings Asia 2025.

• Total ranked: 984 institutions across 25 Asian countries.
• IIT Delhi: 44th, the highest-ranked Indian institution.
• IIT Bombay: 48th with a near-perfect employer reputation score.
• Indian institutions in top 100: Seven universities.
• Growth trajectory: India had 11 institutions ranked in 2015. In 2025, it has 46 ranked institutions, a 318 per cent increase over ten years.
• Employer reputation score: Measured by employer surveys rating graduates of each institution.

Static linkage: Higher education, India's institutional ranking, NEP 2020.

GS area: Defence, Science and Technology

France was evaluating the Indian-developed Pinaka system for its own military requirements.

• Developer: DRDO's Armament Research and Development Establishment in Pune.
• First deployed: Kargil War (1999). It proved decisive in dislodging Pakistani positions on high-altitude terrain.
• Firing rate: 12 rockets in 44 seconds from a single launcher.
• Range: 38 to 75 kilometres in current variants. Extended variants (120 to 300 km) are under development.
• Export interest: Armenia acquired Pinaka systems earlier. France's interest is significant because France is a NATO member and an advanced military power evaluating Indian indigenous systems.

Static linkage: Defence technology, arms exports, DRDO.

• Article 6 carbon credits under the Paris Agreement: Article 6.2 enables bilateral carbon credit trading between countries. Article 6.4 establishes a UN-supervised global carbon market. Ninety-one bilateral agreements have been signed across 56 countries. COP29 in Baku finalised the rules for Article 6 markets.
• Sirpur Ramsar Site: Located in Indore, Madhya Pradesh. Over 130 years old. Ramsar designation in 2022. Hosts 189 bird species from 55 families. Municipal authorities demolished encroachments on its margins in November 2024.
• EV as a Service programme: Launched by Convergence Energy Services Limited (CESL). Target: 5,000 electric cars deployed across government departments in two years. CESL had already placed 2,000 e-Cars and 17,000 e-Buses.