Current Affairs 11 April 2025

Content:

1. RTI Act amendment won’t cut transparency: Minister
2. When Parliament stayed awake through the night
3. Phule: a constant gardener of social revolution
4. Early screening for gestational diabetes can ensure a healthy future for mother and child
5. Indoor air pollution: can better design help protect our health?

RTI Act amendment won’t cut transparency: Minister

The Digital Personal Data Protection Act (DPDP), 2023, introduces an amendment to the RTI Act, 2005, raising concerns about potential restrictions on access to public information. The government asserts it balances transparency with the right to privacy under Article 21.

Relevance :GS 2(Polity ,Governance)

• Minister’s Assurance:
  • Union Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw assured that the amendment to the RTI Act (via the Digital Personal Data Protection Act – DPDP) will not dilute transparency.
  • He stated the amendment will not a relevant to public interest.

• Opposition & Civil Society Concerns:
  • Congress leader Jairam Ramesh raised alarm over potential misuse of the amendment to deny information about subsidy allocations and welfare schemes.
  • Civil society and activists believe the amendment could weaken the RTI Act, especially if it limits access to data involving personal details of citizens or officials.
  • Over 120 Opposition MPs have signed a letter demanding repeal of the amendment.

• Context of the Amendment:
  • The changes will be enforced once the DPDP Act Rules are notified, expected in the coming weeks.
  • Critics say this marks a significant blow to the transparency regime.

• Minister’s Legal Justification:
  • Vaishnaw cited the 2017 Supreme Court judgment declaring the Right to Privacy as a fundamental right under Article 21.
  • He emphasized the need to balance RTI with privacy concerns, ensuring harmonious coexistence of both rights.

When Parliament stayed awake through the night

Contextual Background

• The Budget session of Parliament witnessed a rare all-night sitting — a symbolic moment reflecting both urgency and political theatre.
• Productivity figures were impressive: Lok Sabha – 118%, Rajya Sabha – 119%, signaling an active legislative push.

Relevance : GS 2(Polity)

Key Observations from the Journalist’s Lens

• Unusual but not unprecedented: While the event was historic in recent memory, it isn’t the first such instance since Independence — countering the frequent “first-ever” narrative post-2014.
• Sense of urgency among MPs: Despite the late hour, MPs delivered speeches briskly and passionately, often negotiating for extra time to make a powerful concluding remark.
• Performative politics: The night revealed how parliamentary debates are often staged for media impact and social media virality, even if many attempts fall flat.

The Journalist’s Dilemma

• Deadline pressure vs Live coverage: Reporters, like parliamentarians, juggle the tension of capturing content vs meeting editorial deadlines.
• Fear of missing nuance: Late-night fatigue risks tuning out repetitive arguments, potentially missing important shifts in tone or framing — the ‘greys between black and white’.

Drama and Irony in the House

• Parliament sessions can mirror theatre:
  • A shivering actor-politician, passionate but incoherent.
  • A midnight misquote — Victor Hugo, a Frenchman, cited as British.
  • A Minister rhyming rather than reasoning — all part of the “verbal theatre”.

Historical Reflection

Parliamentary access to the press has a long global journey:

• In UK’s Westminster, debates were kept from public view till late 19th century.
  • In India, while press access is legal, physical barriers and restrictions in the new Parliament building symbolize the control narrative.

Larger Democratic Implications

• All-night sittings symbolize democratic diligence, but also political spectacle.
• Even in a tightly controlled media environment, the press’s persistent presence is crucial for keeping parliamentary debates accountable and accessible.

Phule: a constant gardener of social revolution

Background & Early Influences

• Born in 1827 in the Mali caste, traditionally gardeners—symbolic of his lifelong role as a social reformer who sowed seeds of justice.
• A personal experience of caste humiliation at a Brahmin wedding in 1848 became a turning point, spurring his fight against caste-based oppression.
• Influenced by Thomas Paine’s Age of Reason and missionary CynthiaFarrar—developed a rationalist and reformist perspective on religion and social practices.

Relevance : GS 1(Modern history ),GS 4(Ethics)

Education as Emancipation

• In 1848, at just 21, he and Savitribai Phule started India’s first school for girls.
• Opened 18 schools within 3 years and night schools for workers and women—pioneering mass education for marginalized communities.
• Recognized that economic poverty and caste status impeded education access; advocated compulsory primary education and incentives (scholarships/prizes) for poor children.

Caste Critique & Revolutionary Writings

• In Gulamgiri (Slavery), equated the oppression of Dalits under Brahminism to slavery in the U.S.—a bold global analogy of caste and race oppression.
• Asserted that caste was a construct of selfish Brahmins, designed to perpetuate economic and religious dominance.
• Believed that only those who have been slaves can understand the joy of freedom, emphasizing experience-based understanding of oppression.

Rejecting Orthodox Nationalism

• Clashed ideologically with contemporaries like Tilak and Chiplunkar, who prioritized religious orthodoxy and anti-colonial sentiment over social reform.
• Supported working with the British administration to uplift oppressed castes—saw colonial rule as a potential ally against upper-caste Hindu orthodoxy.
• Still extended help to ideological opponents, as seen in bailing out Tilak and Agarkar—showing a magnanimous spirit despite political divergence.

Satyashodhak Samaj (1873): Social Radicalism

• Founded Satyashodhak Samaj to challenge Brahmin-led reform movements like Brahmo and Arya Samaj, offering a lower-caste-centric platform for liberation.
• Encouraged inter-caste unity, women’s rights, rational religion, and anti-idolatry—redefining reform from the grassroots.
• It was the first large-scale organized lower-caste movement to assert rights and dignity.

Critique of the 1857 Revolt

• Refused to glorify the Sepoy Mutiny of 1857, viewing it as an attempt to reinstate Peshwa-style Brahminical theocracy.
• Differed from the dominant narrative of resistance, focusing instead on the social consequences for Dalits, whom he believed would suffer under reinstated Hindu orthodoxy.

Economic and Agrarian Vision

• In Shetkaryanche Asud, exposed the plight of farmers and criticized the Forest Department for alienating village resources.
• Proposed:
  • Redistribution of forest-grazing lands to villagers.
  • Use of military manpower for building water infrastructure like bunds and dams.
  • Mechanization and scientific farming education for farmers to boost productivity.
  • Controlled cow slaughter to preserve cattle for agriculture.
• Reflected early ideas of sustainable agriculture and inclusive development.

Religious Rationalism & Secular Spirituality

• Influenced by both Islam and Christianity, yet carved a non-sectarian spiritual path.
• Wrote Manav Mahammand praising Prophet Muhammad for fighting religious orthodoxy.
• In Sarvajanik Satya Dharma Pustak, denounced all religious texts as partial, interpolated, and divisive—called for a universal, rational morality.
• Rejected the idea of one religion or scripture as superior: “How and why can only one of those rivers be sacred?”

Gender Equality & Feminist Thought

• One of the earliest Indian thinkers to support women’s education and widow remarriage.
• Criticized polygamy among men and provocatively argued for polyandry as a counter to religiously justified male sexual entitlement.
• Supported Pandita Ramabai’s right to convert to Christianity, defending individual choice over communal dogma.

Critique of Caste Essentialism

• Dismantled the myth of birth-based hierarchy by comparing Brahminical caste logic to animal classifications.
• Satirically questioned, “Who are the Brahmins among donkeys and crows?”
• Asserted: “All human beings… are equipped with similar physical and intellectual faculties.”

Legacy: The Gardener Metaphor

• Just as a gardener nurtures all plants without discrimination, Phule cultivated justice, knowledge, and dignity for all, especially the oppressed.
• His legacy remains foundational for anti-caste movements, Bahujan politics, secular education policies, and gender justice frameworks.
• Inspired future thinkers and activists like Dr. B.R. Ambedkar, who acknowledged Phule as a forerunner of social democracy in India.

Early screening for gestational diabetes can ensure a healthy future for mother and child

Gestational Diabetes Mellitus (GDM)

• GDM is a form of diabetes first recognized during pregnancy.
• It significantly increases the risk of:
  • Type 2 diabetes in mothers later in life.
  • Metabolic disorders and obesity in children.
• In India, ~20% of pregnant women develop GDM, creating long-term health burdens.

Relevance : GS 2(Health)

Need for Early Screening

• GDM is traditionally diagnosed at 24–28 weeks, but by then the foetus is already affected.
• New research suggests:
  • Glucose levels should be regulated as early as 8 weeks.
  • Foetal hyperinsulinemia (excess insulin in foetus) occurs around 11 weeks.
  • Early glucose exposure programs lifelong metabolic responses (Barker’s Hypothesis).

Primordial Prevention Approach

• Goal: Prevent GDM before it occurs, not just manage it later.
• Components:
  • Screening by 8 weeks of pregnancy.
  • Maintain postprandial glucose < 110 mg/dL.
  • Introduce Medical Nutrition Therapy and low-dose metformin (250 mg BD) if needed.

Clinical and Scientific Backing

• Evidence shows early glucose control reduces third-trimester GDM incidence.
• Reduces the need for insulin therapy.
• Prevents future NCDs (Non-Communicable Diseases) in child and mother.

Indian Context & Challenges

• India has 77 million diabetics, making it a global hotspot.
• Indian women are genetically more prone to insulin resistance.
• Challenges:
  • Delayed antenatal care (many women report only in second trimester).
  • Low awareness among both women and healthcare providers.
  • Outdated guidelines focused on second-trimester screening.

Policy and Practice Recommendations

1. Update National Guidelines:
   1. Mandate screening at 8 weeks.
   1. Integrate glucose testing into early antenatal visits.

• Education & Training:
  • Sensitise healthcare providers, especially in rural and remote areas.
  • Public awareness on early antenatal care.

• Pre-conception Health:
  • Risk modification through diet, exercise, and preventive medications even before conception.

• Accessibility & Affordability:
  • Make early tests and treatment affordable and available across public health facilities

• Monitoring High-Risk Mothers:
  • Continuous glucose monitoring in women with risk factors throughout pregnancy.

Scientific Theories Involved

• Barker’s Hypothesis:
  • Foetal conditions impact adult health.
  • Early exposure to high glucose → higher risk of obesity, diabetes, metabolic syndrome.

• Primordial Prevention:
  • Prevention at the root (even before risk factors emerge).
  • Applies to intergenerational control of diabetes.

World Health Day 2025 Relevance

• Theme: “Healthy Beginnings, Hopeful Futures”.
• Recognises the life-long impact of maternal health on child well-being.
• WHO’s choice reinforces the urgency to intervene early in GDM.

Conclusion: A Paradigm Shift Needed

• Preventing GDM must start in the first trimester or earlier.
• A new model of maternal care involving:
  • Early screening.
  • Policy change.
  • Stakeholder involvement.
  • Lifelong monitoring.
• Fighting diabetes in India means starting in the womb — not the hospital.

Indoor air pollution: can better design help protect our health?

Understanding Indoor Air Pollution

• Indoor air pollution is often overlooked, especially in urban India, where people spend 70–90% of their time indoors.
• Unlike well-insulated buildings in developed countries, Indian homes are more permeable, leading to an infiltration of outdoor pollutants indoors.
• Indoor Air Quality (IAQ) is influenced by:
  • Outdoor pollutants entering through windows, doors, and poor insulation.
  • Indoor sources, such as cooking, smoking, use of mosquito coils, incense, chemical cleaners, and building materials (e.g., VOCs in paint).

Relevance : GS 3(Environment and Ecology)

 Major Domestic Indoor Pollutants

• Smoke from solid fuel use (prevalent in rural areas).
• Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs) from furnishings, paint, adhesives, etc.
• Carbon dioxide build-up in crowded, poorly ventilated spaces.
• Biological contaminants such as mould and mildew.
• Particulate matter and allergens from incense sticks, smoking, and cleaning agents.

 Health Impacts of Indoor Air Pollution

• Short-term effects: Eye, nose, throat irritation, headaches, dizziness, and fatigue.
• Long-term effects: Chronic respiratory illnesses, cardiovascular diseases, cancer, and diabetes.
• Health symptoms may mimic viral illnesses, delaying diagnosis and treatment.
• Poor IAQ has been associated with “Sick Building Syndrome” and reduced productivity in offices.

 Design-Related Causes & Solutions

• Lack of proper ventilation is a key design flaw in many urban buildings.
• Shutting windows and doors to block outdoor air traps indoor pollutants.
• Better design can incorporate:
  • Cross-ventilation and natural air flow.
  • Skylights and natural lighting for reduced use of artificial lighting and improved mood.
  • Green indoor spaces for natural purification.
  • Use of toxin-free building materials (e.g., low-formaldehyde products).
  • HEPA filters and air purifiers to remove particulates.

 Role of Architecture and Green Design

• New construction: Easier to integrate sustainable, healthy design features.
• Retrofit possibilities:
  • More complex but feasible with investments.
  • Priority in high-risk zones like hospitals or high-rise apartments.
• Post-COVID: Increased awareness of filtered air systems in healthcare and commercial buildings.
• Separation of zones, reduced crowding, and natural light can support both physical and mental health.

 Climatic & Environmental Considerations

• India’s coastal cities with high humidity and rising temperatures may worsen indoor air quality.
• Green design is now cost-effective due to increased demand and tech accessibility.
• Buildings with air conditioning must use high-quality filters and plan for:
  • Proper waste management,
  • Smooth occupant movement,
  • Easy-to-clean surfaces.

 Policy and Public Health Perspective

• Indoor air pollution remains under-addressed in public health discourse.
• Requires:
  • Inclusion in urban planning policies.
  • Awareness campaigns on indoor pollutant sources.
  • Incentivizing green buildings and retrofitting programs.

 Concluding Insights

• Better design is both preventive and remedial.
• Where possible, a “back to basics” approach — ventilation and greenery — can be simple and effective.
• Indoor air quality must become a mainstream public health priority, especially in urbanizing India.