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1. Consider the following statements with reference to the ASHA (Accredited Social Health Activist).
1. ASHA must primarily be a woman resident of the village married/widowed/divorced, preferably in the age group of 25 to 45 years.
2. ASHA worker is primarily an honorary volunteer but is compensated for her time in specific situations.
3. This initiative was started in 2005 under National Rural Livelihood Mission (NRHM).
Which of the statement(s) given above is/are correct?
(a) 2 and 3 only
(b) 1 and 2 only
(c) 1 and 3 only
(d) 1, 2 and 3
Answer-B
Explanation
ASHA (Accredited Social Health Activist)
One of the key components of the National Rural Health Mission is to provide every village in the country with a trained female community health activist ASHA or Accredited Social Health Activist.
Selected from the village itself and accountable to it, the ASHA will be trained to work as an interface between the community and the public health system.
Following are the key components of ASHA:
ASHA must primarily be a woman resident of the village married/ widowed/ divorced, preferably in the age group of 25 to 45 years.
She should be a literate woman with due preference in selection to those who are qualified up to 10 standard wherever they are interested and available in good numbers. This may be relaxed only if no suitable person with this qualification is available.
ASHA will be chosen through a rigorous process of selection involving various community groups, self help groups, Anganwadis Institutions, the Block Nodal officer, District Nodal officer, the village Health Committee and the Gram Sabha.
Capacity building of ASHA is being seen as a continuous process. ASHA will have to undergo series of training episodes to acquire the necessary knowledge, skills
and confidence for performing her spelled out roles.
The ASHAs will receive performance-based incentives for promoting universal immunization, referral and escort services for Reproductive & Child Health (RCH) and other healthcare programmes, and construction of household toilets.
Empowered with knowledge and a drug-kit to deliver first-contact healthcare, every ASHA is expected to be a fountainhead of community participation in public health programmes in her village.
ASHA will be the first port of call for any health related demands of deprived sections of the population, especially women and children, who find it difficult to access health services.
ASHA will be a health activist in the community who will create awareness on health and its social determinants and mobilise the community towards local health planning and increased utilisation and accountability of the existing health services.
She would be a promoter of good health practices and will also provide a minimum package of curative care as appropriate and feasible for that level and make timely referrals.
ASHA will provide information to the community on determinants of health such as nutrition, basic sanitation & hygienic practices, healthy living and working conditions, information on existing health services and the need for timely utilisation of health & family welfare services.
She will counsel women on birth preparedness, importance of safe delivery, breast-feeding and complementary feeding, immunization, contraception and prevention of common infections including Reproductive Tract Infection/Sexually Transmitted Infections (RTIs/STIs) and care of the young child.
ASHA will mobilise the community and facilitate them in accessing health and health related services available at the Anganwadi/sub-centre/primary health centers, such as immunisation, Ante Natal Checkup (ANC), Post Natal Check-up supplementary nutrition, sanitation and other services being provided by the government.
She will act as a depot older for essential provisions being made available to all habitations like Oral Rehydration Therapy (ORS), Iron Folic Acid Tablet(IFA), Chloroquine, Disposable Delivery Kits (DDK), Oral Pills & Condoms, etc.
At the village level it is recognised that ASHA cannot function without adequate institutional support.
Women’s committees (like self-help groups or women’s health committees), village Health & Sanitation
Committee of the Gram Panchayat, peripheral health workers especially ANMs and Anganwadi workers, and the trainers of ASHA and in-service periodic training would be a major source of support to ASHA.
https://nhm.gov.in/index1.php?lang=1&level=1&sublinkid=150&lid=226
2. Consider the following statements regarding the Group of Twenty (G-20).
1. It is a leading forum for global financial issues whose members include major developed and developing economies.
2. Its membership comprises 19 countries plus the European Union.
3. It started in 1999 as a meeting of Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors in the aftermath of the Asian financial crisis.
Which of the statement(s) given above is/are correct?
(a) 2 and 3 only
(b) 1 and 2 only
(c) 1 and 3 only
(d) 1, 2 and 3
Answer-d
Explanation
Group of Twenty (G-20)
Prime Minister of India participated in the G-20 virtual summit led by King Salman bin Abdulaziz al Saud of Saudi Arabia which is the current president of the economic grouping.
The Group of Twenty, or G20, is the premier forum for international cooperation on the most important aspects of the international economic and financial agenda.
It brings together the world’s major advanced and emerging economies.
The G20 comprises Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, EU, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, Mexico, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, South Korea, Turkey, UK and USA.
The G20 Countries together represent around 90% of global GDP, 80% of global trade, and two thirds of the world’s population.
The objectives of the G20 are:
a) Policy coordination between its members in order to achieve global economic stability, sustainable growth;
b) To promote financial regulations that reduce risks and prevent future financial crises; and
c) To create a new international financial architecture.
Origin and Evolution
The G20 was created in response to both to the financial crises that arose in a number of emerging economies in the 1990s and to a growing recognition that some of these countries were not adequately represented in global economic discussion and governance.
In December 1999, the Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors of advanced and emerging countries of systemic importance met for the first time in Berlin, Germany, for an informal dialogue on key issues for global economic stability. Since then, Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors have met annually. India hosted a meeting of G20 finance ministers and central bank governors in 2002.
G20 was raised to the Summit level in 2008 to address the global financial and economic crisis of 2008.
Organizational Structure of G20
The G-20 operates without a permanent secretariat or staff. The chair rotates annually among the members and is selected from a different regional grouping of countries.
The chair is part of a revolving three-member management group of past, present and future chairs referred to as the Troika. The current chair of the G-20 is Mexico; the next Chair will be Russia.
The preparatory process for the G20 Summit is conducted through the established Sherpa and Finance tracks that prepare and follow up on the issues and commitments adopted at the Summits. The Sherpas’ Track focuses on non-economic and financial issues, such as development, anti-corruption and food security, while addressing internal aspects such as procedural rules of the G20 process. The Sherpas carry out important planning, negotiation and implementation tasks continuously.
The Finance Track focuses on economic and financial issues. The Sherpa and Finance tracks both rely on the technical and substantive work of a series of expert working groups.
Additionally, the thematic agenda is developed through the organization of several Ministerial Meetings, such as the Joint Meeting of Finance and Development Ministers, and the Labour, Agriculture and Tourism Ministerial meetings.
http://g20.org.tr/about-g20/
3. Consider the following statements regarding the Angiotensin Converting Enzyme-2 (ACE-2) Receptors.
1. SARS-CoV-2 spike protein directly binds with the host cell surface ACE2 receptor facilitating virus entry and replication.
2. SARS-CoV-2 recognizes this receptor more efficiently than SARS-CoV increasing the ability to transmit from person to person.
3. Appearance of the ACE2 receptor is only found in lungs of human beings.
Which of the statement(s) given above is/are correct?
(a) 2 and 3 only
(b) 1 and 2 only
(c) 1 and 3 only
(d) 1, 2 and 3
Answer-b
Explanation
Angiotensin converting enzyme 2 (ACE2) receptors
A novel infectious disease, caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), was detected in Wuhan, China, in December 2019.
SARS-CoV-2 and severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus (SARS-CoV) use ACE2 receptor to facilitate viral entry into target cells
SARS-CoV-2 has been sequenced.
A phylogenetic analysis found a bat origin for the SARS-CoV-2. There is a diversity of possible intermediate hosts for SARS-CoV-2, including pangolins, but not mice and rats.
SARS-CoV spike protein has a strong binding affinity to human ACE2, based on biochemical interaction studies and crystal structure analysis.
SARS-CoV-2 and SARS-CoV spike proteins share 76.5% identity in amino acid sequences and, importantly, the SARS-CoV-2 and SARS-CoV spike proteins have a high degree of homology.
SARS-CoV-2 recognizes human ACE2 more efficiently than SARS-CoV increasing the ability of SARS-CoV-2 to transmit from person to person. Thus, the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein was predicted to also have a strong binding affinity to human ACE2.
It is required for host cell entry and subsequent viral replication.
Over expression of human ACE2 enhanced disease severity in a mouse model of SARS-CoV infection, demonstrating that viral entry into cells is a critical step; injecting SARS-CoV spike into mice worsened lung injury. Critically, this injury was attenuated by blocking the renin-angiotensin pathway and depended on ACE2 expression. Thus, for SARS-CoV pathogenesis, ACE2 is not only the entry receptor of the virus but also protects from lung injury.
SARS-CoV-2 does not use other coronavirus receptors such as aminopeptidase N and dipeptidyl peptidase 4.
SARS-CoV-2 spike protein directly binds with the host cell surface ACE2 receptor facilitating virus entry and replication.
Expression of the ACE2 receptor is also found in many extra pulmonary tissues including heart, kidney, endothelium, and intestine.
Importantly, ACE2 is highly expressed on the luminal surface of intestinal epithelial cells, functioning as a co-receptor for nutrient uptake, in particular for amino acid resorption from food.
The intestine might also be a major entry site for SARS-CoV-2 and that the infection might have been initiated by eating food from the Wuhan market, the putative site of the outbreak.
Whether SARS-CoV-2 can indeed infect the human gut epithelium has important implications for fecal–oral transmission and containment of viral spread.
ACE2 tissue distribution in other organs could explain the multi-organ dysfunction observed in patients.
Of note, however, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, whether a person can get COVID-19 by touching surfaces or objects that have virus on them and then touching mucus membranes is yet to be confirmed.
https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s00134-020-05985-9
4. Consider the following statements with reference to the Pradhan Mantri Swasthya Suraksha Yojana (PMSSY).
1. The primary goal is to correct the region imbalances in availability of affordable/reliable tertiary level healthcare in the country in general.
2. In addition to setting up of AIIMS, PMSSY also envisaged up-gradation of several existing Government Medical Colleges/Institutions in different states in the country.
3. It is a Central Sector Scheme.
Which of the statement(s) given above is/are correct?
(a) 2 and 3 only
(b) 1 and 2 only
(c) 1 and 3 only
(d) 1, 2 and 3
Answer-d
Explanation-
Pradhan Mantri Swasthya Suraksha Yojana (PMSSY)
In his Independence Day speech on 15th August, 2003 the then Hon’ble Prime Minister had announced the setting up of six AIIMS type hospitals under Pradhan Mantri Swasthya Suraksha Yojana (PMSSY).
The scheme was approved in March 2006.
The primary objective of PMSSY is to correct the region imbalances in availability of affordable/reliable tertiary level healthcare in the country in general, and, to augment facilities for quality medical education in under-served or backward States, in particular.
In addition to setting up of AIIMS, PMSSY also envisaged up-gradation of several existing Government Medical Colleges/Institutions in different states in the country.
Apart from declaration of six AIIMS in 2003, the PMSSY scheme has been enlarged to encompass setting up of many other AIIMS at different states and also upgradation of existing Government Medical Colleges/Institutions (GMCIs) in different states.
Under PMSSY scheme various activities have been undertaken since its inception without any discontinuation of the process.
The first phase in the Pradhan Mantri Swasthya Suraksha Yojana (PMSSY) consists of two components:
✔ Establishment of six institutions in the line of AIIMS;
✔ Modernization of 13 existing Government medical college institutions.
In the second phase of PMSSY,
✔ Approval of the setting up of two more AIIMS-like institutions have been given by the government; one each in the States of West Bengal and Uttar Pradesh
✔ Upgradation of six medical college institutions namely
In the third phase of PMSSY,
✔ The upgradation of the medical college institutions namely of Jhansi, Rewa, Gorakhpur, Dharbanga, Kozhikode, Bellary, Muzaffarpur has been proposed
http://pmssymohfw.nic.in/index1.php?lang=1&level=1&sublinkid=81&lid=127
5. Consider the following statements regarding the Globally Important Agricultural Heritage Systems (GIAHS).
1. It was conceptualized and launched by FAO in 2002 at the occasion of World Summit on Sustainable Development in Johannesburg.
2. Kuttanad Below Sea Level Farming System and Saffron Heritage of Kashmir are only GIAHS system in India.
3. GIAHS are outstanding landscapes of aesthetic beauty that combine agricultural biodiversity, resilient ecosystems and a valuable cultural heritage.
Which of the following statements is/are correct?
(a) 2 and 3 only
(b) 1 and 2 only
(c) 1 and 3 only
(d) 1, 2 and 3
Answer-c
Explanation-
Globally Important Agricultural Heritage Systems (GIAHS)
Remarkable Land Use Systems and landscapes which are rich in biological diversity evolving from the co adaptation of a community and their needs and aspirations for sustainable development with its environment (FAO, 2002).
Globally Important Agricultural Heritage Systems” (GIAHS) are outstanding landscapes of aesthetic beauty that combine agricultural biodiversity, resilient ecosystems and a valuable cultural heritage. Located in specific sites around the world, they sustainably provide multiple goods and services, food and livelihood security for millions of small-scale farmers.
Unfortunately, these agricultural systems are threatened by many factors including climate change and increased competition for natural resources. They are also dealing with migration due to low economic viability, which has resulted in traditional farming practices being abandoned, and endemic species and breeds being lost.
These ancestral agricultural systems constitute the foundation for contemporary and future agricultural innovations and technologies. Their cultural, ecological and agricultural diversity is still evident in many parts of the world, maintained as unique systems of agriculture.
Kuttanad Below Sea Level Farming System, Koraput Traditional Agriculture and Saffron Heritage of Kashmir are GIAHS system in India.
GIAHS selection Criteria
Local food and livelihood security
Biodiversity and genetic resources
Local knowledge of individuals and community
Cultural Diversity of Agriculture including products and services diversity
Landscape diversity and aesthetic values
THEY ARE UNDER THREAT BCAUSE OF:
• Inappropriate policy, legal and incentive frameworks,
• Industrialization of agriculture and Neglect of diversified systems and local knowledge,
•Low community involvement in decision making,
• Population pressure and cultural change
http://agriperi.ac.ir/Dorsapax/userfiles/Sub0/pejoheshmaghale/242.pdf