Sickle Cell Anaemia

• Sickle cell disease (SCD) is an inherited group of blood disorders that is genetic in nature.
• Transmission - It is usually transferred from the parents to the child during birth i.e. both parents can be carriers of SCDs.
• Characteristics - A modification in the shape of the red blood cell into a crescent shape.
• Sickle cell Anaemia - The misshapen cells lack plasticity and can block small blood vessels, impairing blood flow.
• The sickle cells die prematurely, resulting in a chronic lack of red blood cells (anaemia), often called sickle-cell anaemia.
• Effects - This condition leads to poor blood oxygen levels and blood vessel blockages.
• Chronic acute pain syndromes, severe bacterial infections, and necrosis (tissue death).
• In the union budget of FY 2023-24, it is announced to launch a mission to eliminate sickle cell anemia by 2047.
• The mission entails focus on awareness creation, universal screening of approximately seven crore people in the 0-40 years age group in affected tribal areas and counselling through collaborative efforts of central ministries and state governments.

One Horned Rhinos

• The Bihar government has decided to increase the population of the greater one-horned Rhinos by 3% annually in the State.
• Decision to increase the population of greater one-horned Rhinos by 3% annually was taken at the 3rd Asian Rhino Range Countries Meeting held at Chitwan (Nepal)
• Five Rhino Range Countries are India, Bhutan, Indonesia, Malaysia and Nepal.
• They signed the Chitwan Declaration for Asian Rhinos Conservation (2023) and agreed on managing the population of the greater one-horned Rhinos, Javan and Sumatran Rhinos with the intention of achieving at least 3% annual growth rate in their population.
• The VTR has been selected as one of the potential sites under the National Rhino Conservation Strategy.
• The VTR was established as the 18th tiger reserve in 1990 and ranked fourth in the density of the tiger population.
• The Rivers Gandak and Masan flow through this area.

Commission for Social Development

• India has been elected as the Chair of the 62nd Session of the Commission for Social Development on 15 February 2023.
• The announcement was made at the 13th plenary meeting-61st session of the commission for social development.
• Along with India as the Chair, the commission also elected Jon Ivanovski (North Macedonia), Carla María Carlson (Dominican Republic), and Thomas Lammar (Luxembourg) as Vice-Chairs of the 62nd session.
• The opportunity comes at a time when India is leading the G20 and is steering the global agenda through its G20 Presidency.
• In addition, India has undertaken a number of initiatives and policies to advance the social development of its citizens, which might be very advantageous for other nations.
• Commission for Social Development is one of the key commissions tasked with monitoring and carrying out the Copenhagen Declaration and Programme of Action.
• It was established by the Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC), one of the six main organs of the United Nations.
• The commission’s goal is to advise the ECOSOC, particularly on those social issues that are not dealt by specialized intergovernmental organisations.

Glacial Lake Outburst Floods

• Glacial lakes are large bodies of water that sit in front of, on top of, or beneath a melting glacier.
• As they grow larger in size, they become more dangerous because glacial lakes are mostly dammed by unstable ice or sediment composed of loose rock and debris.
• In case the boundary around them breaks, huge amounts of water rush down the side of the mountains, which could cause flooding in the downstream areas. This is called glacial lake outburst floods or GLOF.
• GLOF can be triggered by several reasons, including earthquakes and ice avalanches.
• GLOFs can prove to be catastrophic as they mostly arrive with little warning and result in large-scale destruction of property, infrastructure, and agricultural land.
• Glacial lakes result from shrinking glaciers. Once the water is released from them, it could cause flooding in the downstream areas.

Objectives of NITI Aayog

• To foster cooperative federalism through structured support initiatives and mechanisms with the States on a continuous basis, recognizing that strong States make a strong nation.
• To develop mechanisms to formulate credible plans at the village level and aggregate these progressively at higher levels of government.
• To ensure, on areas that are specifically referred to it, that the interests of national security are incorporated in economic strategy and policy.
• To pay special attention to the sections of our society that may be at risk of not benefiting adequately from economic progress.