Author: Smriti Rawat

On the auspicious occasion of Nuakhai, the Prime Minister has greeted the people.

Background

• In Chhattisgarh, Nuakhai, also known as Nuakhai Parab or Nuakhai Bhetghat, is also known as Navakhai Parv.
• Nuakhai is an agricultural festival observed primarily by tribal tribes and Hindus in Western Odisha.
• It is also seen in nearby Simdega in Jharkhand, where the cultural influence of Western Odisha is strong.
• The advent of the new rice harvest is marked by Nuakhai.
• The term “nua” means “new,” and “khai” means “food,” representing the farmers’ possession of freshly harvested rice.
• This event takes place on the panchami tithi (fifth day) of the lunar fortnight in the month of Bhadrapada (typically August-September).
• It takes place the day after the Ganesh Chaturthi festival.

Historical Foundations

• Nuakhai has its roots in ancient times, with the Pralambana Yajna, which entails harvesting the first crop and presenting a reverent offering to the mother goddess.
• The festival’s current shape is related to the reign of the first Chauhan King Ramai Deva of Patnagarh in western Odisha.

Celebration Schedule

• Nuakhai celebrations consist of nine ceremonies, beginning with Behrana and ending with Juhar Bhet.
• Beheren: This is the notice of the meeting date.
• Nuakhai: The highlight of the festival is eating the freshly gathered produce after offering it to the deity, which is accompanied by boisterous dancing and singing.
• Juhar bhet: It entails requesting blessings from elders and giving presents as a sign of respect and affection.

Source: https://www.newindianexpress.com/states/odisha/2023/sep/20/odisha-no-nuakhai-joy-for-displaced-residents-2616578.html

The Governor of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has discussed the problems and weaknesses involving Urban Cooperative Banks (UCBs), emphasising the significance of resolving these issues.

Urban Cooperative Banks (UCBs) are what exactly?

• UCBs are main cooperative banks that serve small borrowers and businesses. They are typically found in urban and semi-urban areas.
• They are governed by the Cooperative Societies Act of the relevant State and registered under the Banking Laws (Cooperative Societies) Act of 1955.
• UCBs were once only allowed to lend for non-agricultural uses, but since 1996, they have expanded their size and operations.
• Five states, Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat, Karnataka, Maharashtra, and Tamil Nadu, account for 79% of all UCBs.

Types of UCBs

UCBs are categorized into different tiers by the RBI based on their deposit size:

• Tier 1: Deposits up to Rs 100 crore.
• Tier 2: Deposits ranging from Rs 100 to 1,000 crore.
• Tier 3: Deposits between Rs 1,000 to Rs 10,000 crore.
• Tier 4: Deposits exceeding Rs 10,000 crore.

Key concerns/addresses raised by RBI

(1) Operational Stability

• To contribute to the overall stability of the financial and banking industry, UCBs must strengthen their operational and financial resilience.
• The effectiveness of the governance inside UCBs is crucial in ensuring the stability of these particular banks.

(2) Setting up right priorities

• The integrity and openness of financial reporting must be a top priority for boards and directors of UCBs, who should abstain from cutting-edge accounting techniques that hide the true financial situation.
• To systematically control liquidity risk, asset liability management must be proactive.
• It is essential to set up a strong IT and cybersecurity infrastructure and to have the required capabilities available at the bank level.
• Governance procedures need to be improved, particularly those that deal with Compliance, Risk Management, and Internal Audit.

(3) Functioning of Boards

• Ensuring that directors have the necessary knowledge and experience.
• Assembling a qualified management board.
• Taking into account the board members’ tenure and diversity.
• Encouraging open and active participation at board meetings.
• Ensuring that committees at the board level operate effectively.

(4) Credit Risk Management

• Maintaining risk control by using strict underwriting guidelines.
• Putting in place efficient post-sanction surveillance.
• Early detection and stress reduction for emerging stress.
• To aid in recovery and keep adequate provisioning, follow-ups with significant non-performing asset (NPA) borrowers are pursued.

@the end

• For the general stability and resilience of the banking industry, it is critical to address the worries and vulnerabilities in urban cooperative banks.
• In order to maintain the health of UCBs, the RBI’s suggestions emphasise the significance of governance, risk management, and transparency.

Source: https://www.thehindubusinessline.com/money-and-banking/urban-co-operative-banks-face-dual-challenges/article30390395.ece

The article’s context is the use of psychedelic substances for both recreational and medicinal purposes.

What are Psychedelics?

• Psychedelics are a type of drug that alters a person’s perception, mood, and thought processing while allowing the person to stay conscious and with unimpaired insight.
• They are non-addictive and non-toxic, causing less harm to the user than illicit substances.
• LSD (Lysergic acid diethylamide) and psilocybin are the two most often utilised psychedelics. Synthetic psychedelics have also been developed by researchers.
• The Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic chemicals Act of 1985 in India forbids the use of psychedelic chemicals, with the exception of ketamine, which is administered under rigorous medical supervision.

The Evolution of Psychedelics

• For millennia, humans have used psilocybin and mescaline in ceremonial, healing, and spiritual rites.
• The current use of psychedelics is often associated with the 1897 isolation of mescaline from the peyote cactus by German chemist Arthur Heffter.
• Albert Hofmann, a Swiss scientist, originally synthesised LSD in 1938 while researching chemicals related to ergotamine.
• Between 1947 and 1967, LSD was widely used as a therapeutic catalyst in psychotherapy, until it was criminalised in the United States due to medical concerns and the Vietnam War.

Psychedelic substance use experience

• Users report alterations in perception, bodily experience, mood, thought-processing, and entheogenic experiences.
• The visual domain is the most typically affected by perceptual abnormalities.
• Visceral, tactile, and interoceptive domains may be included in somatic experiences.
• Elation, euphoria, anxiety, and paranoia are examples of mood swings.
• Transcendental and ineffable spiritual experiences are examples of entheogenic encounters.

How do they work inside the body?

• Traditional psychedelics increase serotonin levels in the brain.
• The therapeutic effects of psilocybin require a ‘trip’ that is mediated by the activation of serotonin receptors.
• According to modern neuroimaging, psychedelics promote cross-talk between distinct brain networks, which correlates with the subjective effects of psychedelics.

Can psychedelic chemicals be harmful?

• Despite 50 years of recreational use, no death from direct toxicity of LSD, psilocybin, or mescaline has been reported in the literature.
• Acute heart, central nervous system, and limb ischemia, as well as serotonin syndrome, have all been linked to synthetic psychedelics.

What exactly is Psychedelic-Assisted Psychotherapy (PAP)?

• There are three sorts of sessions in psychedelic-assisted psychotherapy: preparation, medication, and integration.
• The patient is accompanied by a male-female co-therapist dyad during the medication session, and a psychedelic substance is provided in a comfortable and well-appointed room.
• The therapists will listen to the patient for the following 6-8 hours while maintaining a neutral therapeutic position.
• The therapists work with the patient during the integration session to translate the contents of their psychedelic experience into significant long-term change based on their views and ideas.

Treatment of Neuropsychiatric Disorders

• Psychedelic drugs have been found in studies to have potential therapeutic effects in the treatment of neuropsychiatric diseases such as treatment-resistant depression and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).
• A single dose of psilocybin or MDMA-assisted therapy has been proven in recent trials to reduce depression scores and improve PTSD symptoms in participants.

Source: https://www.nih.gov/news-events/nih-research-matters/how-psychedelic-drugs-may-help-depression#:~:text=Some%20types%20of%20psychedelic%20drugs,between%20neurons%20in%20the%20brain.

• The attendance of Chinese and Russian defence ministers to attend a Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) ministerial conference in Delhi has focused attention on the SCO’s larger geopolitical growth. While the clamour for membership demonstrates the forum’s attractiveness, its internal contradictions and incapacity to deal with intra-state and inter-state issues among member nations raise concerns about the forum’s strategic coherence.
• Everything you need to know about SCO Following the fall of the Soviet Union in 1991, the region’s security and economic infrastructure disintegrated, necessitating the establishment of new entities. China, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, and Tajikistan were the original Shanghai Five.
• The SCO was established in 2001, with Uzbekistan as a founding member. In 2017, it was expanded to cover India and Pakistan. Since its inception, the SCO has prioritised non-traditional regional security, including counter-terrorism as a top priority.
• China, Russia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, India, and Pakistan are the eight member countries. Afghanistan, Belarus, Iran, and Mongolia are the four observer states, and Armenia, Azerbaijan, Cambodia, Nepal, Sri Lanka, and Turkey are the six dialogue partners.

SCO Executive Branch Functionaries

• The SCO has an executive branch that is led by the Secretary-General and is in charge of the organization’s day-to-day operations.
• The Council of Heads of State is the SCO’s highest decision-making body, meeting annually to discuss and make decisions on major topics.
• The Council of Heads of Government is the SCO’s second most significant decision-making body, meeting annually to discuss and make decisions on economic and trade problems.
• RATS (Regional Anti-Terrorist Structure): The SCO has RATS, which is in charge of coordinating member states’ efforts to combat terrorism, separatism, and extremism.

The SCO paradox

• Even as the Eurasian forum appears to be appealing to a rising number of regional states, internal tensions are casting a shadow over its strategic coherence.
• Russia-Ukraine conflict: Russia’s war in Ukraine raises concerns about Moscow’s ability to maintain primacy in its backyard.
• China’s domination in Asia: China’s rise raises the likelihood of Beijing establishing itself as the dominant force in Asia.

Membership The SCO’s Glamour and Attractiveness

• Comparison of long lines for membership at the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation and the SCO:
• Central European countries’ attitudes towards NATO: Many Central European countries, including Ukraine, desire to join NATO after Finland and Sweden.
• Several significant regional powers in India’s neighbourhood are lining up to join the SCO, which already has eight members: China, India, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Pakistan, Russia, Uzbekistan, and Tajikistan.
• Iran is set to join the SCO, and Afghanistan, Belarus, and Mongolia among observers who would like to follow Tehran’s lead.
• Then there’s the outstanding list of present and prospective conversation partners, which includes Azerbaijan, Armenia, Egypt, Qatar, Turkey, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates from the Middle East, as well as Maldives, Nepal, and Sri Lanka from the Subcontinent.
• SCO is all-encompassing: Unlike NATO, the SCO is open to anyone, and its appeal underscores the growth of non-Western security institutions.
• Turkey wants to be part of SCO: Turkey, a long-standing member of NATO, wants to be part of SCO certainly highlights the value of being part of a forum led by Russia and China that today are at loggerheads with the West.

Counter-terrorism and Internal Conflicts Preoccupation

• Internal conflicts have become a top priority: For many years, the SCO’s primary concern has been counter-terrorism. Internal conflicts among member nations and partners are becoming a larger priority for the SCO.
• For example, domestic instabilities in Afghanistan have been a major impetus for the SCO. Despite all of the hype about the SCO becoming the regional security arbitrator, it was a direct agreement between the US and the Taliban that transformed the Afghan scenario.
• Russia’s Role and Ambitions in Central Asia: Russia’s muscle and Beijing’s money provide a sound foundation for their strategic division of work in Central Asia to keep Western powers out. However, while Russia may be a protector of Central Asian regimes, it may equally be a predator.
• China’s expanding Regional Influence: China’s expanding regional influence will come at the expense of Russia, as China replaces Ukraine as the senior partner in the bilateral relationship with Russia. China’s stated support for Central Asian governments’ sovereignty is a straw in the wind. Shared borders, increased political significance, and developing regional security profiles all point to China being a Central Asian force to be reckoned with in the not-too-distant future.

The Importance of the SCO for India

• Central Asia connection: India’s SCO membership allows it to engage with Central Asian nations, Russia, and China in order to promote regional stability, security, and economic cooperation.
• Security cooperation: The SCO focuses on countering terrorism, separatism, and extremism in the area, which is especially important to India.
• Consensus on CBT: For decades, India has been a victim of cross-border terrorism. India has been collaborating closely with the RATS to share intelligence and coordinate regional counter-terrorism activities.
• Economic push: The SCO has established trade and economic cooperation structures such as the SCO Business Council, the SCO Interbank Consortium, and the SCO Development Bank.
• Cultural cooperation: The organization’s goal is to foster cultural exchanges among member countries, and it has established structures for cooperation in areas such as education, research, and technology.

SCO issues (Indian context)

• Pakistan’s presence: India has accused Pakistan of utilising SCO forums to promote anti-India propaganda and misinformation.
• China’s dominance: India has expressed worry over China’s dominance in the organisation, as well as its attempts to use the platform to advance its strategic objectives in the area.
• Limited economic benefits: Despite being a member of the organisation for more than a decade, India’s trade with other SCO members remains limited, and the organization’s full potential has not been realised.
• While the organization’s principal goal is to combat terrorism, India has raised worry about the organization’s limited counter-terrorism cooperation among member governments.
• India’s views and concerns have not been effectively represented in the organisation, despite its status as a key force in the area.

India’s difficult role in the SCO

• All these decades, India’s participation with the SCO has been predicated on Russian primacy in the region and Moscow’s support for India’s regional interests.
• A robust and autonomous Russia is vital for India’s internal Asian balance. However, Delhi is unable to guarantee Moscow’s strategic independence from Beijing; this is dependent on Russian strategic decisions.
• India’s duty in the SCO must now be to preserve its own interests in the face of a fast shifting regional power distribution in favour of China.

@the end

This year, India is chairing the Eurasian regional conference, and it has a number of bilateral issues to negotiate with its other SCO members. However, its duty in the SCO must now be to preserve its own interests in the face of a rapidly changing regional power distribution in favour of China. The task is more difficult because India lacks direct geographic access to the landlocked region.

Source: http://usanasfoundation.com/indias-role-in-the-evolving-geopolitical-dynamics-of-sco

The implementation of Universal Health Coverage (UHC) in India raises the question of whether we believe in health as a fundamental human right, which India’s Constitution guarantees under the right to life. The UHC should cover primary, secondary, and tertiary care for all who require it at a reasonable cost.

The Definition of Health

• The World Health Organization’s (WHO) definition of health, which includes mental and social well-being and happiness in addition to physical fitness and the absence of disease and disability.
• We cannot achieve health in its broadest sense unless we address health determinants, which necessitates intersectoral collaboration beyond medical and health departments.

The distinction between primary health care (PHC) and universal health care (UHC)

• The primary distinction between PHC and UHC is that PHC is a level of care within the health-care system, whereas UHC is a broader goal of ensuring equal access to health-care services for all individuals.
• PHC is typically delivered at the primary care level, whereas UHC encompasses all levels of care, from primary to secondary and tertiary.
• PHC focuses on basic health care services and health promotion, whereas UHC aims to provide all individuals with comprehensive health care services.

Health for All by the Year 2000

• Halfdan Mahler proposed and the World Health Assembly endorsed the slogan “Health for All by 2000” in 1977. It contends that universal health care (UHC) was implicit as early as 1977.
• Through its National Health Policy 1983, India committed to the ‘Health for All’ goal by the year 2000.

International Conference on PHC

• The Alma Ata International Conference on Primary Health Care in 1978, which identified eight components of minimum care for all citizens.
• The following components were included: It mandated that all health promotion and disease prevention activities, including vaccinations and treatment of minor illnesses and accidents, be provided free of charge to all citizens, with priority given to the poor.
• Components not included: Chronic diseases, including mental illnesses, as well as their investigation and treatment, were almost entirely excluded from primary care. When it came to secondary and tertiary care, it was up to the individual to seek it from a small number of public hospitals or the private sector, which they had to pay for out of their own pockets.

The Astana Declaration’s Concerns

• The 2018 Astana Declaration, which calls for collaboration with the private sector. However, the commercial private sector is well established and contributes to alcohol, tobacco, ultra-processed foods, industrial and automobile pollution.
• The Astana Declaration never addressed poverty, unemployment, or poor living conditions, instead extolling quality PHC as the cornerstone of Universal Health Coverage while ignoring broader Universal Health Care.

@the end

Every person has the right to be healed without complications, disability, or death. Individualism in public health, the new global approach to UHC in which no one is left uncounted or uncared for, is the only way to guarantee that right. The Alma Ata Declaration on Primary Health Care should be remembered as a beautiful edifice of past concepts, and we should move forward with a newer concept of UHC.

Source: https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/universal-health-coverage-(uhc)

• The NASA-ISRO SAR (NISAR) satellite has been delivered to the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO).

What exactly is NISAR?

• Under a partnership agreement signed in 2014, space agencies from the United States and India collaborated to build NISAR.
• The satellite, weighing 2,800 kilogrammes, is equipped with both L-band and S-band synthetic aperture radar (SAR) instruments, making it a dual-frequency imaging radar satellite.
• ISRO provided the S-band radar, the GSLV launch system, and the spacecraft, while NASA provided the L-band radar, GPS, a high-capacity solid-state recorder to store data, and a payload data subsystem.
• The satellite’s large 39-foot stationary antenna reflector is also an important component.
• The reflector, which is made of gold-plated wire mesh, will be used to focus the radar signals emitted and received by the upward-facing feed on the instrument structure.

NISAR Objectives

• NISAR will observe subtle changes in Earth’s surfaces once launched into space, allowing researchers to better understand the causes and consequences of such phenomena.
• It will detect natural disaster warning signs such as volcanic eruptions, earthquakes, and landslides.
• The satellite will also measure groundwater levels, track glacier and ice sheet flow rates, and monitor the planet’s forest and agricultural regions, which will help us better understand carbon exchange.
• NISAR will generate high-resolution images using synthetic aperture radar (SAR).
• SAR can penetrate clouds and collect data day and night, regardless of weather conditions.

Source: https://www.thehindu.com/sci-tech/science/nasa-hands-over-nisar-satellite-to-isro/article66595669.ece