Current Affairs for IAS Exams - 24 March 2021

::NATIONAL::

The Union Cabinet chaired was apprised on the progress under National Health Mission (NHM)during FY 2019-20.

Key highlights:

Social Awareness and Actions to Neutralize Pneumonia Successfully (SAANS) initiative was launched to accelerate action to reduce deaths due to childhood pneumonia.
SurakshitMatritvaAashwasan (SUMAN) initiative was launched to provide assured, dignified, respectful and quality healthcare at no cost and zero tolerance for denial of services and all existing Schemes for maternal and neonatal health have been brought under one umbrella.
Midwifery Services Initiative aims to create a cadre of Nurse Practitioners in Midwifery who are skilled in accordance to competencies prescribed by the International Confederation of Midwives (ICM) and are knowledgeable and capable of providing compassionate women-centered, reproductive, maternal and newborn health care services.
School Health and Wellness Ambassadors Initiative has been launched under the AB-HWCs Programme in partnership with Ministry of Education to promote health and well-being through an active lifestyle amongst school children.

The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) informed the Lok Sabha that “presently, there is no proposal to implement Panchayat system in Sixth Schedule areas of Assam”.
The Sixth Schedule of the Constitution protects tribal populations and provides autonomy to the communities through creation of autonomous development councils that can frame laws on land, public health, agriculture and others.

After a gap of more than two and half years Indian and Pakistani delegations began the 116th Meeting of the Permanent Indus Commission.

About:

The Permanent Indus Commission (PIC) is a bilateral commission consisting of officials from India and Pakistan.
It has been created to implement and manage the goals and objectives and outlines of the Indus Waters Treaty (IWT).The IWT was signed in September 1960 with World Bank standing guarantee for any dispute resolution.

Key highlights:

The meeting which coincided with the National Day of Pakistan is being viewed as part of the broader process of normalisation of bilateral ties between the two neighbours.
The two-day meeting of the Commission is being led on the Indian side by Indus Water Commissioner Pradeep Kumar Saxena. The Pakistani delegation is led by Pakistan's Commissioner for Indus Waters Syed Mohammad Mehr Ali Shah.
The last meeting of the Permanent Indus Commission was held on August 29, 2018.

India abstained from a crucial vote on Sri Lanka’s rights record at the United Nations Human Rights Council in Geneva.

About:

The resolution on ‘Promoting reconciliation, accountability and human rights in Sri Lanka’ was, however, adopted after 22 states of the 47-member Council voted in its favour.
Sri Lanka, which had earlier deemed the resolution “politically motivated”, was quick to reject the UN move to collect and preserve evidence of war crimes in the country, committed by the armed forces and the LTTE.

Remission of Duties andTaxes on ExportedProducts (RoDTEP)is a remission of duties and taxes paid to exporters on production inputs such as electricity tax, dieseltax, panchayat tax, stamp duty.The idea is to boost exports and make the Indian exporter competitive in theinternational market.
Recently, the benefit rates payable to exporters under the scheme is delayed due various issues.
From 1st January, 2021, scheme has been extended to all export goods.
::SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY::

Some people may experience parosmia, which is characterised by a change in perception of odours.

What is parosmia?

According to Fifth Sense, a charity for people affected with smell and taste disorders, parosmia is a medical term used to describe a condition in which affected individuals experience “distortions of the sense of smell”.
A person with parosmia is able to detect certain odours, but they might experience the smell of certain things as different and often unpleasant. For instance, to someone with parosmia, coffee may smell like burnt toast.
Fifth Sense says that these unpleasant smells are often described by people as being similar to that of chemicals, burning, faeces, rotting flesh and mould.

Causes:

The abnormality is typically experienced by those people who are recovering their sense of smell following loss from a virus or an injury.
Some common triggers of parosmia include roasted, toasted or grilled foods, coffee, onions, chocolate, garlic and eggs.