27-11-21 Daily-Tamilnadu-TNPSC Current Affairs

The Union territory of has the lowest POVERTY ratio among the Union territories in the country with just 1.72% of its Population living in poverty, according to a Multidimensional Poverty Index (MPI) report prepared by the NITI Aayog based on the National family Health survey – 4 done in 2015-16. Among the states, Kerala has the lowest poverty ratio with 0.71% whileBiharhas the highest poverty ratio with 51.91% of its population living in poverty.Tamil Naduhas the fourth lowest poverty index among states with 4.89%, after Kerala, Goa (3.76%) and Sikkim (3.82%).

Jharkhand has the second-highest poverty ratio with 42.16% of its population living in poverty followed by Uttar Pradesh (37.79%), Madhya Pradesh (36.65%) and Meghalaya and Assam 32.67%. Among the Union territories, Dadra & Nagar Haveli has the highest poverty ratio with 27.36% of its population living in poverty, followed by Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh (12.58%) and Daman & Diu (6.82%). Lakshadweep is the second least poor territory with 1.82% followed by Andaman & Nicobar Island (4.3%), Delhi (4.79%) and Chandigarh (5.97%).

Niti Aayog vice-chairperson DrRajiv Kumar, in his foreword to the report, said the MPI was prepared using the globally accepted and robust methodology developed by the Oxford Poverty and Human Development Initiative (OPHI) and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP).

The index was prepared based on three key parameters – health, Education and standard of living. Health parameter comprises three indicators – Nutrition, child and adolescent mortality and antenatal care while education includes ‘years of schooling’ and ‘school attendance’ and standard of living includes cooking fuel, sanitation, drinking water, electricity, housing, assets and bank account.

Tamil Nadu fared better in several indicators including electricity, school attendance and cooking fuel.

Niti Aayog used the Alkire-Foster (AF) methodology to prepare the index. The AF methodology is a general framework for measuring multidimensional poverty that identifies people as poor or not poor based on a dual cut off counting method. The first order cut-off within each component indicator is applied to determine which person is ‘deprived’ in that indicator. The information across all indicators is then aggregated to arrive at a deprivation score for each individual.

The second order cut-off is then applied to identify the individuals, who are multidimensionally poor. The methodology is an extension of the widely acceptedFoster-Greer-Thorbecke(FGT) class of poverty measures and has a range of technical and practical advantages that make it favourable for use in nonmonetary poverty estimation, said the report.
However, experts pointed out that Niti Aayog used the data collected for a different purpose to prepare a multi-dimensional poverty index. Generally, monetary measurements are used to measure poverty. The monetary measurements will give a clear picture of whether the individual earns enough to feed himself and his family members with adequate food and meet his and family members necessary calorie requirements.

Munjpara Mahedrabhai, Minister of State (MoS) for Ayush, virtually launched the Ayurveda Parv-2021 on November 26, 2021, in New Delhi.

Highlights:

Ayurveda Parv-2021 is a three-day event designed to promote Ayurveda.

In addition to the involvement of pharmaceutical businesses, an exhibition of 40 booths has been organised as part of the event.

This event has been established to promote the right use of Ayurvedic Health care, as well as to coordinate and improve the use of Ayurvedic Education, research, and pharmaceutical manufacture.

The Ayurveda Parv is organised with the goal of increasing public acceptance of Ayurveda and popularising Ayurveda as the primary therapy for a variety of lifestyle disorders. The Ministry of AYUSH is supporting this programme.

In Light of the Covid-19 crisis, this programme has grown in importance during the last two years. It emphasised the need of promoting Ayurveda in the midst of a pandemic crisis.

In New Delhi, the of India (ECI) sponsored an international webinar titled “Enhancing Electoral Participation of Women, Persons with Disabilities (PwDs), and Senior Citizen Voters: Sharing Best Practices and New Initiatives.”

In the 2019 General Election, women made up more than 67% of the electorate.

In 1962, the gender gap was -16.71 per cent, however, it has already shifted to +0.17 per cent in 2019.

Since the 1971 Elections, India has seen a 233.72% Growth in female electors.The webinar was attended by representatives from 24 countries.