Malnutrition
According to the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), malnutrition is a major contributor to the disease burden in India and a predominant risk factor for death among children younger than 5 years of age. The World Bank estimates that India is one of the highest-ranking countries in the world for the number of children with malnutrition. More than one-third of the world's malnourished children live in India. Among these, half of the children under three years old are underweight. The major reason for stagnant levels of under-nutrition among Indian children is the failure so far to adequately prevent under-nutrition when it happens most - in the womb, which is caused by poor nutrition of women before and during pregnancy. According to the Registrar General of India, the mortality of children under the age of five was about 59 out of every 1,000 live births which is one of the highest rates in the world. Poverty is one of the main causes for malnutrition in India. Still there are numerous people who do not get the required daily nutrition level because of their low income. Nutrition deficiencies inflict long-term damage to both individuals and society. Providing all people with access to healthy food is a challenge for every country, including India. The Government of India has launched several programmes to converge the growing rate of children with proper nutrition. They include Integrated Child Development Services, NCF, National Health Mission and Mid Day Meal Scheme. These facilitate supplementary nutrition programme, growth monitoring and promotion, nutrition and health education, immunization, health check-ups and health referrals, as well as pre-school education. But due to corruption, people are still not properly getting benefitted by these schemes and food provided under these schemes is not of good quality and so does not fulfil the need of people suffering from malnutrition. So the government and authorities concerned need to take proper steps to provide nutritional food, monitor growth and ensure regular health check-ups because every citizen needs to be healthy to build a healthy society.
Also the Covid pandemic and measures to contain it have had inevitable negative impacts. Rising unemployment, food supply disruption, a downturn in international trade etc., pose serious challenges to the already precarious Indian food and nutrition security scenario. It could in turn further intensify the existing problem of malnutrition among women and children. This in turn accelerates under-nutrition and lowers immunity in the midst of a pandemic, making them more prone to infections and diseases. Covid has also substantially affected the network of government-run health and development centres. Therefore, the government also needs to prepare alternative ways to control malnutrition in a situation like the Covid pandemic.
Aadarshine Rajkhowa,
Cotton University.
NCAP in India
Buying a car nowadays is a long process of thinking and then going for the best-suited one from a sea of new models coming in every month. People nowadays have become smart buyers as they do not go for the looks and the brand but for safety and durability. Global NCAP (New Car Assessment Programme) is a platform which checks the safety and durability of new cars and based on their crash test they give their ratings for a specific model. It has so far assessed more than 50 models of cars from different brands in India, but there are many models which go untested and they fail to perform in a market which is looking for safety and durability. The Indian government has decided to roll out its own Bharat NCAP by April, 2023, which will assess all models made in India for cars weighing under 3.5 tonne. This will inspire car manufacturers to build more safe and sustainable cars in the future. The MoRTH Minister should be lauded for his efforts in bringing such a platform to India.
Noopur Baruah,
Tezpur.
Audacious
bike thieves
It is indeed a matter of great concern that miscreants have so audacious these days that they are not at all scared of committing a crime like motorbike theft even under the nose of the police. To the astonishment of the residents of Teok, the other day two bikes had been stolen on two different days from a spot that is stone's throw from the Teok Police Station. It's quite evident that a bike theft racket has already become active in this small township. Regrettably, the police failed to apprehend the miscreants even when similar incidents occurred last year. It is high time the police ramped up their fight against such rackets and thus ensure safety of the residents' prized possessions. Besides, vehicle owners also need to be on the alert for the strangers loitering in the vicinity.
It is fervently hoped that the police will show their strong sense of duty and responsibility towards the people by cracking down on the motorbike thieves.
Dipen Gogoi,
Teok, Jorhat.
Menace of
social media
It is well known to all that more than 4.62 billion people around the world now use social media. According to the latest data, the average daily time spent using social media is almost two and a half hours. As social media has obsessed people's minds, now it has become difficult to control their feelings and emotions. Whatever one thinks, he or she can express it in social media without editing its content. So, sometimes some emotional and anti-national expressions may create furore in the society. On the other hand, some social media users spread poison to an integrated society in order to break up the unity and brotherhood amongst us. Their divisive intention leads us to a chaotic society where people cannot realize the price of sleep. The misappropriation of social media may also mislead the young generation to a life of doom. As both mature and immature people use social media, rumours play a pivotal role in leading the intellectually underdeveloped ones astray. So, it is the need of the hour to censor the posts and comments of social media users for avoiding a deadly menace of the society.
Harsha Mohan Sarma,
Nalbari.
Kudos to Djokovic
Many congratulations to Novak Djokovic for his spirited fightback from a set down to win his seventh Wimbledon title. By doing so, he became the first male player to win seven-plus Grand Slam singles titles in two different Majors, having won the Australian Open for a record nine times. The Serbian great also took his Grand Slam tally to 21, just one behind Rafael Nadal. Djokovic, who was deported from Australia for refusing to be vaccinated against Coronavirus in January this year, simply drove Kyrgios to distraction with the intensity and tenacity of his tennis. The prospect of Djokovic playing the US Open next month currently looks unlikely, given the country's ban on unvaccinated travellers. Nevertheless, the Wimbledon win serves as yet another feather in his cap and a solid proof that the Serbian great still has in him what it takes to win a major title. The trio of Nadal, Djokovic and Federer has collectively won a staggering 63 Grand Slam titles, and still refusing to let their fingers to be prised off the biggest trophies!
Ranganathan Sivakumar,
Chennai – 600 091.