1) Global Gender Gap Report 2023: WEF: Recently, 17th edition of the Global Gender Gap Report 2023 has been released by the World Economic Forum (WEF), evaluating the status of Gender Parity across 146 countries.
Status of India:
- India’s Rank: India has made significant progress,rising from 135th (in 2022) to 127th out of 146 countries in the report’s 2023 edition, indicating an improvement in its ranking
- Gender Parity in Education: India has achieved parity in enrolment across all levels of education, reflecting a positive development in the country’s education system.
- Economic Participation and Opportunity: India’s progress in economic participation and opportunity remains a challenge, with only 36.7% gender parity achieved in this domain.
- Political Empowerment: India has made strides in political empowerment, achieving 25.3% parity in this domain. Women represent 1% of parliamentarians, which is the highest representation since the inaugural report in 2006.
- Health and Survival: There is a 1.9%-point improvement in India’s sex ratio at birth, after more than a decade of slow progress.
2) Anxiety Disorders: Recently, there has been a growing recognition of the impact of anxiety disorders on individuals’ daily lives and overall well-being. These common mental health conditions affect a significant portion of the population and can lead to persistent distress and impairment.
- Anxiety disorders are a group of mental health conditions that involve excessive and irrational fear and worry about various aspects of life.
- Historical Context of Anxiety Disorders: Anxiety disorders were historically classified within mood disorders until the late 19th century. Sigmund Freud introduced the concept of “anxiety neurosis” to differentiate anxiety symptoms from depression
- Prevalence: According to India’s National Mental Health Survey, neurosis and stress-related disorders have a prevalence of 3.5% in India.
- Causes for Anxiety Disorders:
- Genetics: family history of anxiety.
- Brain Chemistry: imbalances in neurotransmitters.
- Personality Traits: such as being shy, perfectionistic, or prone to stress.
- Life Events: Traumatic or stressful experiences, such as abuse, violence, loss, or illness
- Medical Conditions: underlying physical health issues.
- Treating Anxiety Disorders: Treatment decisions are based on the severity, persistence, and impact of symptoms, as well as patient preferences. Evidence-based interventions include selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) and cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT).
3) Airlines’ Greenwashing and Contributing to Carbon Pollution: A lawsuit has been filed against Delta Air Lines in the US, accusing the company of engaging in Greenwashing by making false and misleading claims about its Sustainability Efforts and being a “Green” and carbon-neutral airline.
Impact of Greenwashing on Carbon Credits:
- Informal Markets: There are credits available for all kinds of activities such as for growing trees, for planting a certain kind of crop, for installing energy-efficient equipment in office buildings. Greenwashing leads to transactions being flagged for lack of integrity and double counting.
- Credibility: Countries like India or Brazil had accumulated huge carbon credits under the Kyoto Protocol and wanted these to be transitioned to the new market being set up under the Paris Agreement.
- Lead to Lack of Transparency: Greenwashing can lead to a lack of transparency in the carbon offset market.
- Diversion from Real Emission Reductions: Greenwashing practices may divert attention and resources away from genuine efforts to reduce carbon emissions.
