09-11-22 Daily-Himachal Pradesh-HPPSC Current Affairs

The hill state ofHimachal Pradeshhas the highest life expectancy at birth for females in urban areas a key indicator of the genders Health and social development while the entire region has fared better than the national Average in womens overall life expectancy.

The average life expectancy at birth for females at the all-India level was 71.4 years between 2016 and 2020, as observed by theSample Registration System(SRS) of the Office of Registrar General and Census Commissioner of India. This figure was 77.5 years in Himachal Pradesh, 74.5 years inPunjab, and 73 years inHaryana. The expected female life span in the states urban areas was 81 years against the national average of 71.9 years, 78.1 years in Punjab, and 75.1 years in Haryana.

Himachal had the hightest female life expectancy both at the age of 60 and in childhood. The overall life expectancy at birth in Punjab, Haryana and Himachal was higher in the urban areas. There was a difference of 2.8 years in female-male life expectancy at birth, at the national level, while the maximum difference of 7.2 years was in Himachal. For life expectancy at 70, this difference was about a year at the national level and 4.2 years in Himachal. The difference in urban-rural life expectancy at birth was 4.2 years at the national level and Punjab, 3.9 years in Himachal Pradesh, and 3.5 years in Haryana.

MANGROVES on Indian coasts that act as coastal guards have considerably shrunken due to <a href="https://exam.pscnotes.com/Climate-change”>Climate Change. By 2070, the Indian Mangroves will reduce and shift by around 50%, especially in southern India, due to decline in suitable habitats along the east and west coasts of India, revealed a research conducted by Birbal Sahni Institute Palaeosciences (BSIP).

Mangroves in the southwest and southeast of the country that covers four states: Karnataka,Tamil Nadu, Kerala andAndhra Pradeshwill be in the most vulnerable condition. These coastlines will submerge and the mangroves in the area will degrade more as compared to other areas.

Certain regions like Chilika and Sundarbans along the east coast and Dwarka and Porbandar along the west coast of India is likely to see less reduction and landward shift by 2070 due to the differential response to Precipitation and sea level change in different parts of the Indian coastline, said the study.

In a significant development and recognition to the countrys efforts in improving access to modern family planning methods, India is the only country to have received the Leadership in Family Planning (EXCELL) Awards-2022 in the ‘country category’ at the International Conference on Family Planning held in Pattaya city, Thailand.

India has made outstanding progress not only in improving access but also adoption of modern contraceptive methods enabling couples to make informed choices about family planning. These are reflected in the National Family Health Survey (NFHS) 5 data. As per NFHS-5 data, overall Contraceptive Prevalence Rate (CPR) has increased substantially from 54 percent to 67 percent in the country, from NFHS-4. Similarly, unmet needs of family planning have witnessed a significant decline from 13 per cent to 9 per cent. The unmet need for spacing has also come down to less than 10 per cent.

The total ‘demand satisfied’ for family planning among currently married Women aged 15-49 in India increased from 66 percent in 2015-16 to 76 percent in 2019-21 which has already crossed the SDG target of 75 set globally for 2030. The governments focus on improving easy and affordable access to modern contraceptives are reflected in the fact that 68% modern method contraceptive users obtain their method from the public , as per NFHS-5 data. Mission Parivar Vikas, one of the governments flagship programmes, to reduce unmet needs in family planning, has also been a critical factor in the overall improvement.

Indias efforts in improving family planning demonstrate the progress the country is making towards achieving the SDG targets on women and maternal health.

TheState of the Climate in Asia 2021 reporthighlighted how impacts are wreaking an ever-increasing human, financial and environmental toll, worsening food insecurity and POVERTY and holding back Sustainable Development.

The report also painted a worrying scenario for future water Stress. High Mountain Asia, including the Himalayas and the Tibetan Plateau, contains the largest volume of ice outside of the polar region, with approximately an area of 100,000 km2 of glacier coverage. The rate of glacier retreat is accelerating and many Glaciers suffered from intense mass losses as the result of exceptionally warm and dry conditions in 2021. These so-called water towers of the world are vital for freshwater supplies for the most densely populated part of the planet and so glacier retreat has major implications for future generations.