January 17, 2020

Topic:- Health

News:-

About 7,000 leprosy cases reported in the last decade in Punjab.
In 2018, the state’s average child leprosy rate was more than the national average of 9 per cent.

Challenge:-

Even after four decades of the launch of the National Leprosy Eradication Programme, the disease has refused to die down in the state. About 7,000 cases were reported in the state in the past 10 years.
On the national level, Punjab falls in the category of a “low endemic” state in terms of the prevalence of leprosy. Nevertheless, the disease has not been eradicated. In all, 6,897 cases were reported between 2009 and 2019 in the state. Out of these, 1,054 were of Punjabi population.

(Source:- The Tribune)

Stats as per reports:-

In the district-wise breakup, Ludhiana tops the chart. Around one-third of the total cases in the state come from the district alone. Of the 389 cases reported in the state from April to December 2019, 121 are from Ludhiana district alone. One of the main reasons is Ludhiana’s large migrant population.
Jalandhar comes second on the list with 54 cases followed by Amritsar (37) and Mohali (34). Fazilka is the only district from where no new case was reported in the past nine months.
There are about 30 leper colonies in different parts of the state; close to 2,000 people live there.

About Leprosy:-

As per WHO, Leprosy, also known as Hansen’s disease, is a chronic infectious disease caused by Mycobacterium leprae. The disease mainly affects the skin, the peripheral nerves, mucosal surfaces of the upper respiratory tract and the eyes. Leprosy is curable and early treatment averts most disabilities.

Parent disease: Infection

How it spreads?

The infection spreads from person to person by nasal secretions or droplets.
Causes: Mycobacterium leprae

(Source:- The Tribune and WHO)

Topic:- Road Traffic and safety

News:-FASTag still in the slow lane

Context:-FASTag is yet to find favour with commuters as around 50 per cent vehicle owners continue to use cash lanes at Lehra Bega toll plaza on the Bathinda-Chandigarh NH and Jeeda toll plaza on the Bathinda-Amritsar NH.

Meanwhile, many people continue to face difficulty in acquiring FASTag stickers.

About FASTags:-

What is FASTag?

The FASTag is like a sticker with a magnetic strip that will be at the top left corner of the vehicle’s windscreen that uses Radio Frequency Identification (RFID). This will help the passenger and commercial vehicles to pass through the toll booths without halting for paying the toll tax.
Ministry of Road Transport and Highways has made it mandatory for all vehicles from December 1, 2019.

Benefits of using FASTag:-

The main objective of National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) is to evolve the current National Electronic Toll Collection (NETC) ecosystem into four parties scalable model (Issuer, Acquirer, NPCI & Plaza Operator) from the existing single-party model (Issuer & Acquirer combined) being operated currently.

These are some following objectives of NETC:-

FASTag will help to reduce the waiting time at the plaza
Accommodating the increasing traffic without additional lanes.
Eliminating the acceleration and idling, harmful vehicular emissions and air using FASTag.
Reducing congestion around plazas.
Pollution reduction.
To save fuel for the future which will also help to reduce the operating cost of the vehicles.
To provide customers with the flexibility of paying their plaza bills with RFID Tag.
Reduce cash handling which aids in enhanced audit control by centralising user accounts.
Enhancing data collection, information such as vehicle count of the day.

(Source:- India Today Magazine & The Tribune)

January 17, 2020