2/14/2017 The HINDU Notes – 14th February | Current Affairs ONLY

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The HINDU Notes – 14th February

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February 14, 2017February 14, 2017 currentaffairsonly The Hindu NOTES

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Daily Current

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THE HINDU (h p://currentaffairsonly.com/2017/02/14/th-notes-14-feb/) – CURRENT

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NOTE 14 February
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UN calls for urgent meet over North Korea’s ballistic missile

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UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres condemned North Korea’s latest ballistic missile test and
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called for a united international response to the “further troubling violation” of UN resolutions. His
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statement came ahead of an urgent UN Security Council meeting called to discuss Sunday’s missile
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test — nuclear-armed North Korea’s first since U.S. President Donald Trump assumed office.
The North’s leader Kim Jong-Un “expressed great satisfaction over the possession of another
powerful nuclear a ack means which adds to the tremendous might of the country.

Russia, China also condemns:

Permanent UN Security Council members China and Russia joined a chorus of international
criticism of the launch near the western city of Kusong. The council was to meet around 2200 GMT
on Monday following a request by the United States, Japan and South Korea.
China’s Foreign Ministry spokesman Geng Shuang said it opposes North Korean missile launches
that violate UN resolutions. Russia’s Foreign Ministry called the launch “a demonstration of
contempt for UN Security Council resolutions”.

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Turmoil in Trump’s National

Security Council

Three weeks into the Trump administration, council staff

members get up in the morning, read President Donald
Trump’s Twi er posts and struggle to make policy to fit
them. Most are kept in the dark about what Mr. Trump
tells foreign leaders in his phone calls.
They have turned to encrypted communications to talk
with their colleagues, after hearing that Mr. Trump’s top
advisers are considering an insider threat programme
that could result in monitoring cellphones and emails for

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leaks.

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The Flynn Case:

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There are transcripts of a conversation in at least one phone
call, recorded by U.S. agencies that wiretap foreign
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diplomats, which may
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determine Mr. Flynn’s future.

National Security Adviser
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Michael T. Flynn has

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hunkered down since

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investigators began looking

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into what, exactly, he told the

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Russian ambassador to the

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U.S. about the lifting of

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sanctions imposed in the last

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days of the Obama

administration, and whether
he misled Vice-President Mike
Pence about those
conversations.

Sensitive ma er:

Stephen Miller, White House senior policy adviser said that possibly misleading the Vice-President
on communications with Russia was “a sensitive ma er”.

Past Issues:

President Barack Obama replaced his NSA Gen. James Jones, a four-star former supreme allied
commander in Europe, after concluding that the general was a bad fit for the administration.
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The first years of President George W.

Bush’s council were defined by clashes
among experienced bureaucratic
infighters — Dick Cheney, Donald
Rumsfeld and Colin Powell among
them.

Under Trump:

What is happening under the Trump

White House is different, and not just
because of Mr. Trump’s Twi er foreign
policy.
Several staff members who did not
want to work for Mr. Trump have
returned to their regular agencies,

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leaving a larger-than-usual hole in the

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experienced bureaucracy. Many of

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those who remain, who see themselves

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as apolitical civil servants, have been
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partisanship.
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Damaged spillway
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triggers mass evacuation

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Emergency crews early on Monday

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prepared loads of rock to be dropped

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by helicopters to seal a crumbling

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spillway that threatens to inundate

communities along the Feather River in
Northern California.

Almost 2,00,000 people were ordered on Sunday to evacuate from the area below the Lake Oroville
Dam, the tallest dam in the United States, after authorities said its emergency spillway could give
way.
Helicopters from around the state were sent to drop chest-high bags of rocks to close the hole in the
spillway, dump trucks dropping off piles of rock, which were then loaded into the bags with
backhoes. The operation to close the gap would begin as soon as it was feasible.
The water department said that the spillway next to the dam was “predicted to fail within the next
hour” but it remained standing, authorities were releasing water to lower the lake’s level after weeks
of heavy rains in drought-plagued California.
State and local officials said the immediate danger had passed with water no longer flowing over
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the eroded spillway but

they cautioned that the
situation continued to
remain unpredictable.

We are fully
sovereign, says
visiting
Taiwanese leader

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Kuan Bi-Ling, member of
the Taiwanese Parliament

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said that Taiwan had

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protected its status as a free

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country despite the difficulties posed by Beijing’s One-China
policy. He said that the country’s freedom is a de facto reality
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in international affairs.
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Some countries may not recognise Taiwan’s independence,

but that has no impact on our sovereignty and freedom said
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the Kuan.
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The first all-women MPs delegation from Taiwan to India

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arrived on Sunday and held a meeting with Indian members

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of the India-Taiwan Parliamentary Association consisting of

MPs from both sides.
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Major Investor:
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Taiwan has become one of the major investors in India from the Asia-Pacific region and it wishes to
uplift relations with India to the same level as its ties with Japan and the United States. Taiwanese
investment in India is aimed at the manufacturing sector which helps in generating employment.
We are determined to build substantive economic ties with India and bridge the gap between our
goals and realities in Taiwan-India ties,” Ms. Kuan said emphasising that Taipei wishes to invest in
the flagship Indian programmes such as the “Make in India” and “Smart City” projects.
Taiwan’s new government under President Tsai ing-Wen has launched the “New Southbound
policy” which aims to energise Taiwan’s ties with the ASEAN region, Australia, New Zealand and
India.

Tourism and culture:

Apart from increased bilateral trade, the “New Southbound Policy” is also aimed at energising
people-to-people contact in the fields of tourism and culture. More Taiwanese tourists should be

enabled to visit the Buddhist sites

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enabled to visit the Buddhist sites

in India. Scholars, researchers
should be supported so that we
can appreciate bilateral issues
be er.

Karnataka amends
law to allow kambala

The Karnataka Legislative

Assembly on Monday passed the

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Prevention of Cruelty to Animals
(Karnataka Amendment) Bill,

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2017. The Bill seeks to exempt

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kambala (traditional buffalo race)

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and bullock-cart racing from the
ambit of the Prevention of
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Cruelty to Animals (PCA) Act,
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1960.
Kambala is currently stayed by
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the High Court following a

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petition by the People for the

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Ethical Treatment of Animals

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(PETA).
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Protest:
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Thousands in the coastal districts of

Dakshina Kannada and Udupi,
where kambala is widely held, had
protested the ban. They argued that
the annual kambala races in paddy
fields were part of their tradition.
The sport did not torture animals,
they said. The movement gathered
momentum after the jallika u
agitation in the neighbouring Tamil
Nadu.

PETA criticises move:

PETA called the amended Bill

“a setback to the welfare of
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 PETA called the amended Bill
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“a setback to the welfare of

buffaloes.” The cruelty
inherent in events such as bull
and buffalo races violated the
PCA Act, 1960. Poorva
Joshipura, CEO, PETA India,
said three kambala events
inspected by the Animal
Welfare Board of India had
resulted in the filing of 65
non-cognisable offence
complaints and an FIR in
2014-15.
PETA said the inspection
reports contained a scientific assessment of the welfare of buffaloes that were forced to participate in

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such events, including evidence of different forms of cruelty inflicted on the animals. Many of the
buffaloes frothed at the mouth, salivated heavily, and displayed increased respiration rates,

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demonstrating that they struggle, and are anatomically unfit to be forced to take part.

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Centre puts onus on States to set factories’ threshold
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Today fresh discussions begin with

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trade unions today to push through a

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long-pending overhaul of the Factories

Act of 1948.
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Labour Ministry has tweaked its draft

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amendments to put the ball on

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contentious issues in the domain of State

governments. Instead of increasing the
threshold limit set for the number of
workers in an industrial unit to be
statutorily covered by the factories law.
The Centre is now proposing an
enabling provision that lets State
governments decide the threshold over
which a unit will be considered a factory
for the purpose of the law.

Change in Definition:

The definition of factory is proposed to be modified as in the original Bill by giving powers to the
State governments to increase the
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State governments to increase the

threshold limit of workers up to 20
and 40 for factories working with
and without the aid of power
respectively.
Earlier, the Centre had proposed
that the Factories Law be
applicable to all factories that
employ at least 40 workers – a
move that was strongly opposed by
the central trade unions.
The present Factories Act 1948
applies to establishments with 10 or
more workers, if the premise is
using power and to establishments

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with 20 or more workers, without electricity connection.
According to the previous proposal, Factories with less than 40 workers were to be covered under a

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new law for small factories. However, the fate of the proposed Small Factories Bill, 2015 is unclear

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as the Labour Ministry note has no mention about the proposed law.

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Now all factories below the threshold limit could be brought under the purview of the Act through
notifications issued by state governments. “Flexibility has been given to the States to decide on the
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threshold limit.
The unions are likely to oppose the move to give flexibility to state governments on deciding the
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threshold limit for the Factories Act and instead ask the Centre to cover all manufacturing
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establishments “since manpower of industrial establishments is reducing as a result of automation

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and advancements in technology.”

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Retail inflation slows to 3.17% in January

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Retail inflation eased in January to 3.17% on the back of a sharp slowdown in food price inflation.
Growth in the consumer price index (CPI) slowed from the 3.4% seen in December 2016, extending
the streak of easing retail inflation to six months.
The food and beverages category registered an inflation rate of 1.3% in January, down from the 2%
witnessed in December 2016. Food price gains have also been easing for six consecutive months.
Inflation in the fuel and light segment slowed to 3.4% in January from 3.7%, while the housing
segment saw inflation quicken marginally to 5.02% from 4.98% over the same period.
The curious part of this inflation rate is that the non-food components have shown higher price
increases such as pan, intoxicants (6.4%), clothing and footwear (4.7%), housing (5.0%), fuel and
light (3.4%), and miscellaneous items (5.1%)
The non-food components have registered an increase and going ahead would tend to be upward
moving. Higher global commodity prices will get ingrained in these components while food items
will be unaffected.” “Also, as the economy is remonetised, some pent-up demand will have
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returned.
The stickiness in core inflation despite continued
decline in other parts of the index is a worry since
wage-price negotiations based on a sticky core can
potentially lift overall inflation. CPI inflation is
expected to accelerate 3.5-3.6% in the next couple of
months.

‘Renewables obviate need for

new coal capacity’

The energy that would be available from renewable

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sources, nuclear and gas plants, both existing and

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planned, would be enough to meet India’s energy
demand for the next 7-8 years, which means no new

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investment in coal is needed at least till then, as per a

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report by TERI.
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The Transitions in Indian Electricity Sector report
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predicts that per capita annual power consumption

will increase from the current 1,075 kWh to 1,490
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kWh in 2021-22, 2,121 kWh in 2026-27 and 2,634

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kWh in 2029-30.
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The country’s renewable energy capacity is set to

increase to the targeted 175 GW level by 2021-22
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and further grow to 275 GW by 2025-26. The results

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indicate that the energy that would be available

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from RE (renewable energy) sources, storage hydro,

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nuclear and gas plants would suffice for meeting the

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remainder of the demand for electricity at the

national level during the next 7-8 years.
This would in other words mean that no new coal
plants would be needed and the plant load factor
(PLF) of coal based plants would be in the range of
78-80% in 2024–25 and 2025–26.
The Centre would do well to take steps to strengthen
the grid infrastructure and build storage capacity.
The increasing penetration of solar and wind (which
have inherent high intermi ency and variability)
would no doubt present a number of challenges in
respect to planning and operation, ensuring requisite
flexibility in ramping up and down, improved

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forecasting of RE power as well as demand,

improved financial health of
utilities would be key factors
in this context.

J&K govt.
launches e-Prison
project

The Jammu and Kashmir

government on Monday

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launched the e-Prison project
to enumerate jail inmates in

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the State, where numbers of
detainees keep swelling during

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unrest.
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The information about jail
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inmates is currently being
maintained manually. To avoid
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delays in processing the

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information and manage all

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the jails efficiently, the

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automation of prison
Minister for Information Technology, Technical Education and department has been started.
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Youth Service and Sports, Molvi Imran Raza Ansari Monday The government has already
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inaugurated e-Prison Project at NIC Centre Civil Secretariat digitised records of 500
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Jammu. inmates. The project will

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digitise 25 district jails, two

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Central jails and one sub-jail in

the State. The second phase of the project will focus on videoconferencing between jails and prison
headquarters, e-court, tele-medication in jails.

Bad air, stomach ailments making urban youth sick

A comprehensive look at diseases and trends across the country has shown that young Delhiites are
the worst hit, reporting maximum doctor visits for air pollution-related diseases.
As per the results released by Practo of the second edition of its ‘Annual Healthcare Map of India,
which highlights some of the key consumer health concerns. The report is based on healthcare
appointments booked across 35 cities, with focus on top seven cities, including Delhi-NCR,
Bengaluru, Mumbai, Kolkata, Pune, Chennai and Hyderabad across nearly 200 medical
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Bengaluru, Mumbai, Kolkata, Pune, Chennai and Hyderabad across nearly 200 medical
specialities.

Alarming increase:

The report is entirely

based on actual
patient actions
(booking
appointments)
rather than surveys.
The report noted
that air pollution-
related diseases were
growing at an
alarming rate across

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India, with visits to
pulmonologists

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seeing a 62 per cent growth.

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The major spike in appointments was seen across the age group of 25-35 years and the top three
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cities that saw a growth in appointments for pulmonologists were Delhi (50%) Mumbai (64%) and
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Bengaluru (80%).
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Harmful toxins:
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The air quality in many cities is poor due to pollution. Many people have been seeking medical help
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for various related problems, like breathing difficulties, chest pain, etc. It is probably due to harmful
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toxins in the atmosphere resulting in acute respiratory infection (ARI), chronic obstructive
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pulmonary disease (COPD) and interstitial lung diseases (ILD), etc., emerging as major health
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problems.
Respiratory diseases are no longer restricted to the elderly. Besides respiratory ailments, spinal cord,
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cardiac and diabetes-related problems are also making the Capital sick. The city reported a 24 per
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cent rise in cardiologist appointments, 23 per cent rise in diabetologist appointments and 27 per cent
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rise in gastroenterologist appointments.

The survey noted that rapid urbanisation and fast-paced socio-economic development was
contributing to rising incidence of cardiovascular diseases, chronic respiratory diseases (such as
COPD and asthma), diabetes, hypertension, etc.

Additional issues:

Additionally, poor dietary habits, physical inactivity, smoking and stress are some of the major
contributors to the development and progression of preventable chronic diseases. Worryingly, the
survey noted, that young India is not young at heart.
There has been a 40 per cent growth in cardiologist appointments, with hypertension as the most
common symptom. Most appointments booked by people in the age group of 25-35 years. Also
registering an “on the rise” is abdominal discomfort or pain, indigestion, loss of appetite, nausea,
and vomiting, especially in the age group of 25-34 years. This ailment showed maximum rise in
Mumbai (26%), Delhi (27%) and Hyderabad (24).
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Mumbai (26%), Delhi (27%) and Hyderabad (24).

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