MGNREGS audit crosses 50 percent local bodies in just six States (GS Paper 2, Polity and Constitution)
Why in news?
- Of the 34 States and Union Territories, only six have completed social audit of works done under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS) in more than 50% of gram panchayats.
Corruption:
- High rate of corruption is one of the primary complaints against the scheme and social audit is the inbuilt anti-corruption mechanism in the Act.
- These numbers are sourced from the Management Information System (MIS) on Social Audit maintained by the Union Ministry of Rural Development.
Social audit:
- Section 17 of the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) says the gram sabha “shall monitor the execution of works”.
- Each State has social audit units which are supposed to work independent of the implementing authorities.
- The auditing standards laid down by the Comptroller and Auditor General were issued only on December 19, 2016. Under these, every Social Audit Unit is entitled to funds equivalent to 0.5% of the MGNREGA expenditure incurred by the State in the previous year.
- The audit involves quality checks of infrastructure created under the MGNREGA and checking for financial misappropriation in wages and procedural deviations.
Key Highlights:
- Kerala is the only State to cover 100% gram panchayats.
- Other than Kerala, the States to cross the 50% mark are Bihar (64.4%), Gujarat (58.8%), Jammu and Kashmir (64.1%), Odisha (60.42%) and Uttar Pradesh (54.97%).
- Only three States have covered 40% or more villages; Telangana (40.5%), Himachal Pradesh (45.32%) and Andhra Pradesh (49.7%).
- Other than Telangana, the numbers are really low in Madhya Pradesh (1.73%), Mizoram (17.5%) Chhattisgarh (25.06%), and Rajasthan (34.74%).
Concerns:
- The Centre has, multiple times, reminded the States that if the social audits are not conducted regularly, then the funds under the MGNREGS will be withheld.
- The States complain that the audit is delayed because the Centre does not release the funds for the social audit units, which work independent of the State governments, in time.
- There are recurrent complaints of delayed salaries for the village-level auditors.
First-ever Khelo India Para Games
(Miscellaneous)
Why in news?
- Recently, the Union Minister of Youth Affairs and Sports, announced the first-ever Khelo India Para Games which will be held in New Delhi from 10th December to 17th December.
- A total of 7 disciplines will be held across three SAI (Sports Authority of India) Stadiums.
Background:
- The Khelo India Scheme has remained a game-changer for Indian sports.
- The Khelo India Games have played a pivotal role in the scheme with a total of 11 Khelo India Games held since 2018 – 5 Khelo India Youth Games, 3 Khelo India University Games, and 3 Khelo India Winter Games have been successfully conducted.
Details:
- Over 1350 participants from across 32 states and union territories including the Services Sports Control Board are expected to participate in the maiden Khelo India Para Games.
- It will witness para athletes vie for honours in 7 disciplines including para athletics, para shooting, para archery, para football, para badminton, para table tennis, and para weight lifting.
- The events will be held across 3 SAI stadiums – the IG Stadium, Shooting Range in Tughlaqabad, and the JLN Stadium.
Way Forward:
- Indian para athletes have won an unprecedented 111 medals at the recently concluded Asian Para Games in Hangzhou.
- The Khelo India Para Games will aim to provide continuity to the para athletes with the annually held event.
Fresh China outbreak attributed to multiple known pathogens
(GS Paper 2, Health)
Why in news?
- China has set at rest fears surrounding its recent outbreak of a mysterious pneumonia-like illness and informed the World Health Organization (WHO) that there has been a general increase in respiratory illnesses due to multiple known pathogens in some parts of the country.
Details:
- The Chinese government claimed there was no detection of any unusual or novel pathogens or unusual clinical presentations, including in Beijing and Liaoning.
- Since mid-October, the region reported an increase in influenza-like illnesses compared to the same period over the last three years
- Chinese health authorities blamed the increase in outpatient consultations and hospital admissions of children on Mycoplasma pneumoniae since May, and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), adenovirus and influenza virus since October.
- They, however, admitted that the rise in cases is being seen earlier than usual in this season, but claimed this was not unexpected given the lifting of COVID-19 restrictions.
Influenza like illness:
- Among the winter-spring seasonal peak during 2014-2018, in northern China, there was an increase in influenza activity from December to May.
- Surveillance data provided by the National Influenza Centre in China to the WHO’s FluNet revealed that influenza-like illnesses (ILI) exceeded usual levels for this time of the year and are increasing in the country’s northern provinces.
- The viruses identified commonly were of A (H3N2) and B/Victoria lineage.
- According to WHO’s risk assessment, there is not enough information available to characterise the overall rise in cases of respiratory illnesses seen in children.
Recommendations:
- The WHO recommended vaccines against influenza and maintaining appropriate social distancing from people who are ill, getting tested and medical care as needed, wearing masks as appropriate; ensuring good ventilation, and practicing regular hand washing.
- WHO advised against any travel or trade restrictions, except in the case of people with symptoms. Should people fall ill during travel or afterward, they are advised to get medical help and share their travel history with their healthcare provider.
