Today's GK(15-10-13)

Global Hunger Index Report 2013: India Ranked at 63th Position

2013: Global Hunger Index: The challenge of hunger: building resilience 2013 global hunger index to achieve food and nutrition security

The 2013 Global Hunger Index (GHI), released on 14 October 2013 by the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI), Welthungerhilfe, and Concern Worldwide- revealed that 842 million people were chronically under nourished across the world. The 2013 GHI is calculated for 120 countries, its scores are based on three equally weighted indicators.

The GHI combines three equally weighted indicators into one score:

1.The proportion of people who are undernourished.
2.The proportion of children under five who are underweight.
3.The mortality rate of children younger than age five.

An increase in a country’s GHI score indicates that the hunger situation is worsening, while a decrease in the score indicates improvement in the country’s hunger situation.

Report Highlights

The 2013 Index indicates that global hunger is decreasing; the 2013 world GHI score has fallen by 34 percent from the 1990 GHI score. Yet world hunger still remains “serious,” with 19 countries suffering from levels of hunger that are either “alarming” or “extremely alarming.”

South Asia has the highest regional GHI score, followed by Africa south of the Sahara while Burundi, Eritrea and Comoros have the highest levels of hunger.

India Performance

• India has moved from 65 to 63 in the Global Hunger Index, making a marginal improvement since 2012, but continues to suffering far behind other emerging economies.

• The score for India has improved slightly from 22.9 in 2012 to 21.3 in 2013. Within SAARC countries also, India continued to trail behind Pakistan and Bangladesh on the index.

• The level of hunger in India remained at ‘alarming levels’ and the report also noted that it is one of the three countries outside Sub-Saharan Africa to fall in this category. The other two are Haiti and Timor-Leste.

• India continued to record one of the highest prevalence of children under five who are underweight, at more than 40 per cent.

1.Undernourished population 2010-12:  17.5 Per cent
2.Underweight children <5years 2008-12: 40.2 Per cent
3.Under-5 Mortality 2011: 6.1 Per cent

South Asia Region

• South Asia continued to have the maximum number of hungry people in the world, followed by sub-Saharan Africa.
• Social inequality and the low nutritional, educational, and social status of women are major causes of child under-nutrition in the South Asian region.

Emerging economies Performance

• Other emerging economies with high growth trajectories have done a much better job at pulling people out of hunger, when in comparison to India.
• China improved its ranking by 57.69 per cent between 1990-2012, while India showed a 34 per cent improvement in the same period.
• Brazil, in comparison, had a much better score to begin with and by 2012 entered the select block of nations doing the best to fight hunger.
• Countries that have achieved the highest progress on this front included Venezuela, Mexico, Cuba, Ghana, Thailand and Vietnam -all achieving more than 55 percent increase in their Global Hunger Index score.

About Global Hunger Index

The Global Hunger Index (GHI) is designed to comprehensively measure and track hunger globally and by country and region. Calculated each year by the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI), the GHI highlights successes and failures in hunger reduction and provides insights into the drivers of hunger. By raising awareness and understanding of regional and country differences in hunger, the GHI aims to trigger actions to reduce hunger.

The theme of the 2013 GHI report is resilience in theory and in practice.

To reflect the multidimensional nature of hunger, the GHI combines three equally weighted indicators in one index number:

1. Undernourishment: the proportion of undernourished as a percentage of the population (reflecting the share of the population with insufficient calorie intake);

2. Child underweight: the proportion of children younger than the age of five who are underweight (low weight for age reflecting wasting, stunted growth, or both), which is one indicator of child undernutrition; and

3. Child mortality: the mortality rate of children younger than the age of five (partially reflecting the fatal synergy of inadequate dietary intake and unhealthy environments).

The GHI ranks countries on a 100-point scale. Zero is the best score (no hunger), and 100 is the worst, although neither of these extremes is reached in practice.

The International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI)

The International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) seeks sustainable solutions for ending hunger and poverty. IFPRI was established in 1975 to identify and analyze alternative national and international strategies and policies for meeting the food needs of the developing world, with particular emphasis on low-income countries and on the poorer groups in those countries.

Welthungerhilfe

Welthungerhilfe is one of the largest nongovernmental aid organisations in Germany. It provides fully integrated aid from one source, ranging from rapid emergency relief to reconstruction programmes, as well as long-term projects with local partner organisations following the principle of help toward self-help. Since its foundation in 1962, more than 6800 projects have been carried out in 70 countries with a total funding of 2.39 billion euros, striving for a world without hunger or poverty.

Concern Worldwide

Concern Worldwide is an international non-governmental humanitarian organization dedicated to the reduction of suffering and working towards the ultimate elimination of extreme poverty in the world’s poorest countries. The mission is to help people living in extreme poverty achieve major improvements in their lives which last and spread without ongoing support from Concern. To achieve this mission Concern engages in long term development work, responds to emergency situations, and seeks to address the root causes of poverty through development education and advocacy work. Concern currently works in 27 of the world’s poorest countries.

Novak Djokovic defeated Juan Del Potro to win Shanghai Masters 2013

Novak Djokovic on 15 October 2013 defeated Juan Del Potro 6-1, 3-6, 7-6 (7-3) to win a second straight trophy at the Shanghai Masters in China. Djokovic earned victory on the first of three match points in the third-set tiebreaker after Del Potro saved two Djokovic match-winners in the tenth game of the set. Novak Djokovic won a fourth Beijing trophy over the past five years when he beat Nadal last week. Djokovic is from Serbia.

TD Rangaramanujan, the Former Table Tennis Federation of India President Died at 96

TD Rangaramanujan, the former Table Tennis Federation of India (TTFI) president died on 14 October 2013. He was 96 years old. He played an important role in organising of major table tennis events such as Asian Table Tennis Championships and Delhi Asian Games in 1951.

INS Sunayna commissioned into Indian Navy

The Indian Navy on 15 October 2013 inducted into service its largest offshore patrol vessel (OPV), INS Sunayna, at the Southern Naval Command. The ship was designed and built by the public sector Goa Shipyard.  The ship is equipped with the most advanced communication, navigation and electronic warfare equipment besides a 76-mm SRGM (Super Rapid Gun Mount), and close-in weapon system (CIWS). INS Sunayna will strengthen the Indian Navy capability to safeguard the maritime interests.

The vessel is expected to fill the vital gap in the Southern Naval Command’s patrol capability. The vessel also has the ability to embark an advanced light helicopter (ALH) or a Chetak search and rescue helicopter. Two more vessels of this class will be delivered to the Navy between this year-end and mid-2014.

Total Broadband Subscriber Base in India increased to 15.24 Million

As per the latest telecom subscription data released by the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India on 31 July 2013, total Broadband subscriber base in India increased from 15.19 million at the end of June 2013 to 15.24 million at the end of July 2013. This is a monthly growth of 0.33 percent. Yearly growth in broadband subscribers is 3.79 percent during the last one year (July 2012 to July 2013).

At present, there are 161 Internet Service Providers (ISPs) which are providing broadband services in the country. Out of these, 121 ISPs (having 98.48 percent market share) have provided broadband subscription data for the month of July 2013, for the rest of the ISPs data from previous month has been retained. Top five ISPs in terms of market share (based on subscriber base) are: BSNL (9.97 million), Bharti Airtel (1.43 million), MTNL (1.10 million), Hathway (0.37 million) and You Broadband (0.32 million).

Union Government of India Decided to Bring All Post Offices under Core Banking System

The Union Government of India on 15 October 2013 decided to bring all the post offices across India under the core banking solution system to cover more people of rural areas with AADHAAR seeded accounts.

The Adviser to the Planning Commission, Nidhi Khare explained that this will help the people to avail the benefits of various schemes including old age pension and MGNREGA through direct benefits transfer. Deputy Director General of UIDAI, Ashok Pal Singh, in context with the legality of AADHAR card explained that AADHAAR card can be used as an identity as well as a residential proof for opening bank accounts of any individual.

International Day of Rural women observed on 15 October

15 October 2013: International Day of Rural women

International Day of Rural women was observed on 15 October 2013 across the world to recognize the critical role and contribution of rural women, including indigenous women, in enhancing agricultural and rural development, improving food security and eradicating rural poverty.

The Day recognizes rural women’s importance in enhancing agricultural and rural development worldwide.

This International Day of Rural women, established by the General Assembly in its resolution 62/136 of 18 December 2007. The first International Day of Rural Women was observed on 15 October 2008 by the United Nations.
 

Mohan Dharia, the Former Union Minister and an Environmentalist, Died At 88

OVL buys 12 % stake in Brazilian oilfield

Oil and Natural Gas Corporation Videsh Ltd. (OVL), on Monday, announced that it had bought an additional 12 per cent stake in a Brazilian oilfield for $529 million.

OVL, which had a 15 per cent stake in block BC-10 along with Royal Dutch Shell, exercised a pre-emption right to block China’s Sinochem group from buying a 35 per cent interest in the oilfield from Petrobras of Brazil. While the Indian firm will pick up a 12.08 per cent stake, Shell will acquire the remaining 23 per cent.

“In August, Petrobras entered into a sales transaction with Sinochem for disposal of their 35 per cent interest in BC-10 for $1.543 billion. This agreement was subject to pre-emption rights of the partners, Shell and OVL,” OVL says in a statement.

India, Finland ink clean technology pact to produce ethanol

In a bid to promote use of clean technologies and cut down the oil import bill, India on Tuesday signed an agreement with Finland to produce indigenous ethanol.

State-run Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) and Finnish clean technology firm Chempolis will set up a pilot project to produce ethanol, bio-chemicals and bio-coal from biomass residual matters. The agreement was inked by Finnish Minister for European Affairs Alexander Stubb and India's Minister of State for Petroleum and Natural Gas Panabaka Lakshmi in New Delhi.

"We have signed an MoU with a Finnish company called Chempolis. It is for conversion of cellulose into ethanol. We have developed a technology by which all cellulose-based waste products can be converted into ethanol," ONGC chairman Sudhir Vasudeva told reporters at an event here. "Since 75 per cent of India's ethanol requirements are met through imports, there is a large requirement which is not being met by indigenous production," he added. A feasibility study will soon be carried out to assess the quantity of feedstock that is required.

Wonobo draws Google into 'Street' fight

Move over Google Street View. A medium-sized Mumbai-based mapping firm is looking to replicate the Internet search giant’s famed service with the launch of Wonobo on Tuesday.

Google Street View, which is currently struggling with Indian authorities to get the required permissions to take pictures of Indian city streets, works by capturing photos of almost every street in major cities and stitches the images together to create a 360-degree panoramic view of the streets.

Wonobo, which was launched by Genesys International — a Mumbai-based company that was founded over two decades ago by brothers Sol and Sajid Malik— works on the same principles as Google Street View and is now available for 12 major Indian cities and will soon be expanded to 54 cities.

Wonobo, which has been incubated by an almost $35 million investment, is a 360-degree view platform that offers a 3D view of cities and comes with placeholders to point towards businesses, city guides, stories and walking tours.

According to industry insiders, Genesys has worked closely with government authorities in a bid to comply with regulations.

“We are the first urban chronicle of today’s India, having mapped panoramic imagery of thousands of square kilometres and close to 10 million places of interest across the country. We are confident that Wonobo will be a major value creator for an entirely new ecosystem of businesses in the years to come,” said Sajid Malik, CMD, Genesys International.