Current Affairs 04 February 2026

Content

1. Uttarakhand opens Nanda Devi, 82 other peaks
2. Turtle Trails
3. SC questions WhatsApp, Meta on personal data
4. SC has not upheld death penalty in 3 years
5. Solid Fuel Ducted Ramjet (SFDR) technology
6. AMR Dipstick Test
7. Preventable Cancers in India
8. Sundarbans Tourism & Climate Loss

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Uttarakhand opens Nanda Devi, 82 other Himalayan peaks for mountaineering

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Why in news ?

• Uttarakhand government opened 83 Himalayan peaks (5,700–7,756 m) for mountaineering to promote adventure tourism, expand high-value tourism segments, generate livelihoods, and attract domestic and foreign climbers.
• Iconic peaks like Mount Kamet (7,756 m), Nanda Devi East, Chaukhamba, Trishul, Shivling, Neelkanth included, signalling policy shift toward regulated access to technically challenging high-altitude mountains.
• State waived peak, camping, and environmental fees, and launched a fully digital permission system, reducing entry barriers, improving transparency, and positioning Uttarakhand as a competitive mountaineering destination.

Basics and background

• Adventure tourism involves risk, physical exertion, and natural terrains; includes mountaineering, trekking, rafting, skiing; recognised globally as a fast-growing, high-spending, niche tourism segment.
• Indian Himalayas stretch ~2,500 km across northern India; Uttarakhand’s Garhwal–Kumaon Himalayas host major glaciers, steep relief, and technically demanding peaks attractive to elite climbers.
• Earlier, many peaks remained restricted due to ecological fragility, border proximity, and complex permits, limiting India’s share in global mountaineering compared to more open regimes like Nepal.

Constitutional and legal dimensions

• Tourism is a State subject, but forests and wildlife fall in Concurrent List, requiring coordination between Union and State governments while permitting mountaineering in ecologically sensitive landscapes.
• Activities near protected areas must comply with Forest (Conservation) Act, 1980 and Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972, ensuring expeditions do not degrade notified ecosystems or wildlife habitats.
• Article 48A and Article 51A(g) impose duties on State and citizens to protect environment, requiring mountaineering policies to integrate conservation safeguards and sustainable use principles.

Governance and administrative aspects

• Shifting financial burden from climbers to government reduces bureaucratic friction, potentially increasing participation, but demands strong regulatory oversight to prevent misuse and ensure environmental compliance.
• The digital mountaineering permission portal improves transparency, real-time tracking, and data availability, enabling better regulation, safety monitoring, and evidence-based policy adjustments.
• Effective implementation requires coordination among Tourism, Forest, Disaster Management authorities, ITBP, and district administrations, especially for rescue operations and environmental monitoring.

Economic dimension

• Adventure tourists spend significantly higher per capita, supporting guides, porters, transporters, equipment rentals, and homestays, creating strong local economic multiplier effects in remote mountain districts.
• Tourism contributes roughly 7–8% of Uttarakhand’s GSDP (estimates), and diversification into mountaineering reduces overdependence on seasonal pilgrimage tourism like Char Dham.
• Opening premium peaks can position Uttarakhand as a high-value, low-volume destination, aligning with sustainable tourism models prioritising quality revenue over mass footfall.

Social and ethical dimension

• Mountaineering promotion can empower local youth with skills, certifications, and employment, reducing distress migration from hill districts and strengthening local mountain economies.
• Ethical concerns include ensuring fair wages, insurance, and safety protections for porters and guides who face disproportionate risks during high-altitude expeditions.
• Some Himalayan peaks hold cultural and spiritual significance, requiring sensitive tourism models that respect local beliefs and traditional relationships with sacred landscapes.

Environmental and disaster dimension

• Himalayas are geologically young, tectonically active mountains, highly prone to landslides, earthquakes, avalanches, and flash floods, making large-scale mountaineering inherently risky.
• Expedition-related waste, campsite pressure, and human disturbance can degrade fragile alpine ecosystems with slow natural regeneration rates and low carrying capacity.
• Past disasters like 2013 Kedarnath floods and 2021 Rishi Ganga flood highlight cumulative risks from climate change, glacial instability, and unplanned human activity.

Data and evidence

• India hosts ~9,500+ glaciers, many concentrated in Uttarakhand, making it hydrologically crucial but also highly vulnerable to climate-induced glacial retreat and hazards.
• Global adventure tourism market exceeds $300 billion, growing around 15–20% annually, indicating strong demand for regulated, high-quality mountain tourism destinations.
• High-altitude ecosystems exhibit low resilience and slow recovery, meaning even small-scale disturbances can have long-lasting ecological impacts.

Challenges and criticisms

• Weak enforcement of waste-return rules and Leave No Trace principles risks accumulation of non-biodegradable waste in pristine high-altitude zones.
• Limited high-altitude rescue infrastructure, weather forecasting, and trauma care reduce safety margins for climbers and local support staff.
• Fee waivers may reduce dedicated conservation funds unless government ensures compensatory environmental financing mechanisms.
• Risk of overtourism and route crowding if promotion outpaces regulation and carrying-capacity assessments.

Way forward

• Conduct scientific carrying-capacity studies for each peak and cap annual expeditions based on ecological and safety thresholds.
• Implement strict waste buy-back policies, eco-certification, and environmental bonds refundable upon compliance with green norms.
• Provide mandatory insurance, training, and safety standards for guides and porters, institutionalising mountain labour welfare.
• Strengthen mountain rescue systems, early-warning networks, and climate monitoring, integrating technology and local knowledge.
• Promote community-based eco-tourism models ensuring revenue sharing, local stewardship, and alignment with SDGs 8, 12, 13, and 15.

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Turtle Trails

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Why in news ?

• Union Budget announced ‘turtle trails’ along nesting coasts of Odisha, Karnataka, Kerala, triggering concerns among conservationists about tourism pressure on ecologically sensitive marine turtle nesting habitats.
• Focus areas include Gahirmatha, Rushikulya, Devi river mouths in Odisha, globally known for Olive Ridley mass nesting (arribada) events involving hundreds of thousands of turtles.
• Conservationists warn poorly regulated tourism could disturb nesting females, hatchlings, and beach ecology, undermining decades of protection efforts and community-based conservation successes.

Basics and background

• Olive Ridley turtles (Lepidochelys olivacea) are small marine turtles famous for arribada, where thousands of females synchronously nest on specific beaches over short periods.
• Odisha hosts one of the world’s largest arribada sites, making India globally significant for Olive Ridley conservation and marine biodiversity protection.
• Turtles exhibit natal homing, returning to the same beaches to nest, making disturbance at key sites capable of disrupting long-established reproductive cycles.

Constitutional and legal dimensions

• Wildlife Protection Act, 1972 (Schedule I) gives Olive Ridley turtles highest legal protection, prohibiting disturbance, hunting, or habitat damage at nesting sites.
• Coastal areas fall under CRZ (Coastal Regulation Zone) Notification, restricting construction and tourism infrastructure near ecologically sensitive coastal stretches.
• Article 48A and 51A(g) mandate environmental protection, requiring tourism projects to align with ecological sustainability and precautionary principles.

Governance and administrative aspects

• Turtle conservation involves MoEFCC, State Forest Departments, Coast Guard, local communities, requiring coordinated regulation of tourism, fishing, and coastal development.
• Budget announcements without detailed carrying-capacity studies or management frameworks raise concerns about implementation clarity and ecological safeguards.
• Effective governance needs clear guidelines on visitor limits, timing restrictions, and lighting controls near nesting beaches.

Economic dimension

• Eco-tourism around turtles can generate local livelihoods for guides, homestays, and conservation workers, especially in coastal rural areas with limited income sources.
• However, unregulated tourism risks short-term gains but long-term ecological losses, ultimately undermining sustainable tourism potential and biodiversity-based economies.
• Global wildlife tourism shows that species decline directly reduces tourism value, linking conservation with long-term economic returns.

Social and ethical dimension

• Local fishing communities often act as frontline turtle protectors, and tourism must not marginalise their traditional livelihoods or knowledge systems.
• Ethical wildlife tourism requires non-intrusive viewing, strict codes of conduct, and awareness, avoiding stress to animals during sensitive nesting periods.
• Over-commercialisation risks turning conservation into spectacle, diluting intrinsic ecological and cultural value of nesting sites.

Environmental dimension

• Turtles are vital for marine ecosystem balance, helping maintain healthy seagrass beds and controlling jellyfish populations, supporting broader ocean productivity.
• Artificial lighting, beach furniture, and human presence can disorient hatchlings, leading them away from sea and increasing mortality.
• Coastal ecosystems already face stress from erosion, pollution, and climate change-driven sea-level rise, compounding threats to nesting habitats.

Data and evidence

• Odisha records lakhs of Olive Ridley nesters during arribada seasons in peak years, making it among the largest global aggregations.
• IUCN lists Olive Ridley as Vulnerable, indicating high risk without sustained conservation interventions.
• Marine turtle survival rates are naturally low, with only a fraction of hatchlings reaching adulthood, increasing importance of undisturbed nesting.

Challenges and criticisms

• Absence of clear definition of ‘turtle trails’ creates ambiguity about scale, infrastructure, and tourism intensity planned at nesting beaches.
• Risk of tourism coinciding with peak nesting season, when disturbance causes maximum ecological damage.
• Weak enforcement capacity in coastal zones can allow illegal construction, noise, and lighting violations.
• Conservationists fear policy signals may prioritise tourism optics over science-based conservation.

Way forward

• Develop science-based eco-tourism protocols with strict visitor caps, seasonal restrictions, and no-construction buffer zones near nesting beaches.
• Ensure community-led conservation tourism, giving locals economic stakes in protecting turtles and regulating tourist behaviour.
• Mandatory environmental impact assessments and carrying-capacity studies before operationalising turtle tourism circuits.
• Promote dark-sky beaches, regulated viewing distances, and trained naturalist guides to minimise disturbance.
• Align initiatives with CBD commitments, SDG 14 (Life Below Water), and precautionary conservation principles.

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SC questions WhatsApp, Meta on personal data

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Why in news ?

• Supreme Court (2026) questioned WhatsApp–Meta on sharing and commercial use of user data, warning against violating Article 21 privacy rights of millions of Indian “silent consumers.”
• Case relates to challenge against CCI penalty of ₹213.14 crore (2023) imposed for WhatsApp’s 2021 privacy policy update enabling greater data sharing with Meta.
• Court highlighted that data carries economic value, not merely privacy concerns, and sought comparison of India’s law with EU’s stricter digital regulations.

Basics and background

• Personal data includes identifiers, location, online behaviour, and metadata; such data fuels targeted advertising, AI training, and platform revenue models in the global digital economy.
• WhatsApp has 500+ million users in India, its largest market globally, making Indian citizens’ data a major economic asset for global tech firms.
• Scholar Shoshana Zuboff terms this model “surveillance capitalism,” where user behaviour is continuously tracked and monetised for predictive advertising.

Constitutional and legal dimensions

• K.S. Puttaswamy (2017) declared privacy a fundamental right under Article 21, including informational self-determination and limits on non-consensual data use.
• DPDP Act, 2023 mandates consent, purpose limitation, and data fiduciary duties, with penalties up to ₹250 crore per breach for non-compliance.
• However, DPDP focuses on privacy harms, not explicitly on economic exploitation or value extraction from aggregated data.

Governance and regulatory aspects

• India’s digital regulation split among MeitY (data protection), CCI (competition), RBI (financial data), TRAI (telecom), creating fragmented oversight over Big Tech platforms.
• CCI found WhatsApp’s policy violated Section 4 of Competition Act (abuse of dominance) by forcing data-sharing conditions on users.
• Supreme Court scrutiny indicates shift toward converged regulation linking privacy, competition, and consumer protection.

Economic dimension

• Global digital advertising market exceeds $600 billion (2024 estimates), with Meta and Google controlling a dominant share using behavioural data analytics.
• Meta’s revenue is ~97% ad-driven, showing direct linkage between personal data profiling and corporate profitability.
• Data-driven network effects create entry barriers, reinforcing Big Tech dominance and raising antitrust concerns.

Social and ethical dimension

• India has ~850 million internet users, but digital literacy remains uneven; many users cannot interpret complex privacy policies or consent architectures.
• Solicitor General noted citizens are “not only consumers but products,” reflecting commodification of user data without direct user compensation.
• Raises ethical issues of informational asymmetry, consent manipulation, and exploitation of vulnerable users.

Technological dimension

• End-to-end encryption protects message content, but not metadata like contacts, timestamps, device data, or behavioural signals used for profiling.
• Studies show metadata can reveal social networks and preferences, often sufficient for targeted advertising without reading messages.
• Cross-platform integration allows Meta to combine Facebook–Instagram–WhatsApp data ecosystems for richer user profiling.

Global comparison

• EU GDPR allows fines up to 4% of global turnover, leading to multi-billion-euro penalties on Big Tech for data violations.
• EU Digital Services Act (DSA) regulates algorithmic targeting and systemic platform risks, going beyond narrow privacy to platform accountability.
• India’s DPDP framework is less stringent on platform power and data value issues.

Data and evidence

• India contributes one of the largest global data pools due to scale of digital public infrastructure and smartphone penetration.
• Surveys show over 90% users accept privacy policies without reading, weakening the legal fiction of informed consent.
• Data brokerage industry globally valued at $250+ billion, built on personal data trade.

Challenges and criticisms

• Consent fatigue makes repeated permissions meaningless, reducing genuine autonomy.
• DPDP lacks explicit provisions on data valuation, revenue-sharing, or algorithmic accountability.
• Enforcement capacity of the Data Protection Board still evolving.
• Balancing innovation and regulation remains a policy tension.

Way forward

• Introduce granular, multilingual, simplified consent dashboards for real informed choice.
• Develop framework on data value, benefit-sharing, and algorithmic transparency.
• Strengthen coordination between MeitY, CCI, and sectoral regulators.
• Build capacity and independence of Data Protection Board.
• Align gradually with global best practices while preserving India’s digital innovation ecosystem.

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SC has not upheld death penalty in 3 years: report

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Why in news ?

• A NALSA–NALSAR Square Circle Clinic (2025) report shows the Supreme Court has not confirmed any death sentence in the last three years, indicating rising judicial caution toward capital punishment.
• 10 death-row acquittals by the Supreme Court in 2025, the highest in a decade, highlight serious concerns about trial accuracy and sentencing standards.
• Data reveal a sharp disconnect between Sessions Courts and appellate courts, raising questions about fairness, evidence appreciation, and sentencing procedures in capital cases.

Basics and background

• Capital punishment in India is legally valid but restricted to the “rarest of rare” doctrine evolved in Bachan Singh v. State of Punjab (1980).
• Death penalty may be awarded for crimes like terrorism, certain aggravated murders, and rape-murder of minors under IPC/BNS and special laws.
• India retains death penalty but uses it sparingly compared to many retentionist countries, with long appellate and mercy review layers.

Constitutional and legal dimensions

• Article 21 permits deprivation of life only by just, fair, and reasonable procedure, forming the constitutional basis for strict scrutiny in death cases.
• Machhi Singh (1983) refined “rarest of rare” by balancing crime and criminal test, requiring consideration of mitigating circumstances.
• Manoj v. State of MP (2022) mandated psychological evaluation and mitigation investigation before awarding death penalty.
• Vasanta Sampat Dupare (2015) elevated fair sentencing hearing to a due process requirement.

Data and evidence

• 1,310 death sentences imposed by Sessions Courts between 2016–2025, indicating continued trial-level reliance on capital punishment.
• Of 842 High Court decisions, only 70 confirmed (8.31%), while 411 commuted and 285 resulted in acquittals, showing high appellate correction rates.
• Supreme Court decided 37 confirmed-HC cases: 15 acquittals, 14 commutations, zero confirmations in last three years.
• 574 prisoners on death row (2025)—550 men, 24 women—with average 5+ years on death row, some nearing a decade.

Governance and judicial process dimension

• High reversal rates indicate systemic weaknesses in investigation, evidence appreciation, and legal aid quality at trial stage.
• Nearly 95% of 2025 death sentences violated SC sentencing guidelines, lacking mitigation studies or psychological reports.
• Sentencing hearings often held within days of conviction, undermining individualised sentencing and defence preparedness.

Social and ethical dimension

• Prolonged death row incarceration creates “death row phenomenon”—mental trauma recognised in jurisprudence as rights concern.
• Disproportionate impact on economically weaker and legally underrepresented accused, raising equality and fairness concerns.
• Ethical debate persists between retributive justice vs reformative justice approaches.

International and comparative dimension

• 140+ countries globally are abolitionist in law or practice (Amnesty data), indicating global shift away from capital punishment.
• International human rights bodies increasingly view death penalty as incompatible with evolving standards of dignity and human rights.
• India remains a retentionist but low-execution country, with very few actual executions in recent decades.

Challenges and criticisms

• Arbitrary application despite “rarest of rare” doctrine leads to sentencing inconsistency explaining high appellate reversals.
• Weak mitigation investigation and poor legal aid reduce fair trial guarantees.
• Delays in appeals and mercy petitions prolong uncertainty and psychological suffering.
• Lack of empirical evidence that death penalty has greater deterrent effect than life imprisonment.

Way forward

• Institutionalise mitigation investigation units and trained sentencing specialists for capital cases.
• Ensure mandatory compliance with Manoj guidelines before confirming death sentences.
• Strengthen legal aid and forensic standards at trial level.
• Consider Law Commission’s earlier recommendations favouring progressive abolition except for terrorism-related offences.
• Move toward life imprisonment without remission as proportionate alternative in heinous crimes.

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Solid Fuel Ducted Ramjet (SFDR) technology

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Why in news ?

• DRDO successfully demonstrated Solid Fuel Ducted Ramjet (SFDR) technology from ITR Chandipur, Odisha, marking a major milestone in India’s advanced missile propulsion and air-combat capability development.
• With SFDR success, India joins a small group of nations possessing this technology, strengthening indigenous capacity for next-generation long-range air-to-air missiles and strategic deterrence.
• Defence Minister termed the test a major boost to Aatmanirbhar Bharat in defence, highlighting growing public–private partnership in high-end missile technologies.

Basics and background

• Solid Fuel Ducted Ramjet (SFDR) is an advanced air-breathing propulsion system using solid fuel with ramjet combustion, enabling sustained supersonic speeds and higher missile range than conventional rockets.
• Unlike ballistic propulsion, SFDR uses atmospheric oxygen for combustion, improving fuel efficiency, range, and speed during cruise phase of missile flight.
• SFDR is particularly suited for beyond-visual-range (BVR) air-to-air missiles, enhancing aerial dominance and interception capability against agile enemy aircraft.

Strategic and security dimension

• SFDR-powered missiles allow longer engagement ranges, higher no-escape zones, and sustained high speeds, giving Indian fighters tactical superiority in contested airspaces.
• Strengthens India’s deterrence posture amid regional security competition with China and Pakistan, both investing heavily in advanced missile and air-combat technologies.
• Supports Indian Air Force need for long-range precision engagement, especially in high-altitude or maritime theatres.

Technological dimension

• SFDR integrates ramjet propulsion, nozzle-less boosters, and flame stabilisation systems, demanding high precision in materials, aerodynamics, and combustion control.
• Demonstrates India’s maturity in complex propulsion engineering, an area historically dominated by few advanced defence powers.
• Builds on DRDO’s earlier successes in BrahMos, Astra, Akash, and ballistic missile programmes.

Governance and institutional dimension

• Developed by DRDO with Indian industry partners, reflecting growing defence R&D ecosystem and private-sector participation in strategic technologies.
• Aligns with Defence Acquisition Procedure (DAP) and indigenisation push, reducing reliance on imported missile systems.
• Supports long-term goal of self-reliance in critical defence technologies.

Economic and industrial dimension

• Indigenous missile technologies reduce high-cost imports and save foreign exchange in defence procurement.
• Boosts domestic defence manufacturing ecosystem under Make in India and defence corridors.
• Potential future defence exports if integrated into operational missile systems.

Global and geopolitical dimension

• Only a few countries like USA, Russia, and some European powers possess operational ramjet/ducted ramjet missile technologies.
• Entry into this group enhances India’s technological credibility and strategic signalling.
• Supports India’s image as a major defence technology developer, not just importer.

Challenges and limitations

• Translating technology demonstration into reliable, deployable missile systems requires extensive user trials and integration with fighter platforms.
• High R&D and testing costs demand sustained funding and long-term policy support.
• Advanced propulsion systems require robust quality control and supply chains.

Way forward

• Accelerate integration of SFDR into Astra Mk-III or future BVR missile programmes for operational deployment.
• Expand collaboration between DRDO, startups, and private industry in propulsion and materials research.
• Invest in testing infrastructure and simulation capabilities to shorten development cycles.
• Link missile R&D with broader theatre command and airpower modernisation strategy.

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AMR Dipstick Test

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Why in news ?

• Scientists at THSTI Faridabad developed a low-cost dipstick assay to detect antimicrobial resistance (AMR) genes in sewage, enabling rapid population-level surveillance in a major public health threat area.
• Study published in Nature Communications (Dec 2025) validated the test across 381 sewage sites in six Indian States, confirming sewage as a major AMR reservoir and transmission pathway.
• The assay costs only ₹400–550 per test, versus ₹9,000+ for shotgun sequencing, making large-scale AMR monitoring feasible for resource-constrained public health systems.

Basics and background

• Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) occurs when microbes evolve mechanisms to survive drugs, making infections harder to treat and increasing morbidity, mortality, and healthcare costs globally.
• AMR is driven by antibiotic misuse in humans, livestock, and agriculture, plus pharmaceutical effluents and poor wastewater treatment infrastructure, especially in densely populated developing countries.
• Sewage surveillance captures community-level signals from households, hospitals, farms, and industries, offering early-warning insights into antibiotic use and resistance trends.

Scientific and technological dimension

• The dipstick works like a rapid diagnostic test, detecting amplified resistance genes from sewage DNA using PCR-based amplification and visible colour-band readouts.
• Each dipstick detects 16 resistance genes and provides results within two hours, enabling time-efficient, field-friendly surveillance without advanced laboratory infrastructure.
• The platform is upgradeable within three days if new resistance genes emerge globally, ensuring adaptability to evolving microbial threats.

Public health and governance dimension

• India is recognised as a global AMR hotspot by WHO, with high infectious disease burden and widespread antibiotic access without prescriptions.
• AMR threatens procedures like surgeries, chemotherapy, and organ transplants, where effective antibiotics are critical for infection prevention.
• Low-cost surveillance supports India’s National Action Plan on AMR (NAP-AMR) goals on monitoring and containment.

Economic dimension

• AMR could cause 10 million deaths annually by 2050 globally and reduce global GDP by 2–3.5%, according to international estimates.
• Affordable surveillance reduces long-term healthcare costs by enabling targeted interventions and rational antibiotic stewardship.
• Low-cost diagnostics are vital for LMICs, where high-end genomic surveillance is financially unsustainable.

Social and ethical dimension

• Sewage surveillance is considered ethically acceptable since it monitors communities anonymously without targeting individuals, avoiding privacy and consent concerns.
• Helps protect vulnerable populations who suffer disproportionately from drug-resistant infections due to limited healthcare access.
• Encourages a One Health approach, integrating human, animal, and environmental health.

Data and evidence

• Researchers analysed sewage from 381 locations across Assam, Haryana, Jharkhand, UP, Uttarakhand, and West Bengal, confirming widespread antibiotic residues and resistance genes.
• India has some of the highest antibiotic consumption rates globally, increasing selection pressure for resistant microbes.
• Only a fraction of wastewater in India undergoes effective treatment, facilitating AMR spread.

Limitations and cautions

• Detection of a gene signals possibility of resistance, not presence of a live pathogenic organism; genes alone do not cause disease.
• AMR expression varies by gene combinations and ecological context, requiring cautious interpretation.
• Dipsticks complement but do not replace culture-based and genomic surveillance.

Way forward

• Integrate dipstick surveillance into routine urban wastewater monitoring under public health and Jal Shakti frameworks.
• Link results to antibiotic stewardship programmes and regulation of pharmaceutical effluents.
• Expand AMR labs and genomic surveillance for confirmatory analysis.
• Strengthen wastewater treatment infrastructure under AMR containment strategy.
• Promote global data sharing aligned with WHO Global AMR Surveillance System (GLASS).

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Preventable Cancers in India

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Why in news ?

• A WHO–IARC linked study estimates ~40% of cancers in India are preventable, highlighting large scope for primary prevention through lifestyle change, vaccination, pollution control, and infection management.
• Study analysed 30 preventable cancers using Indian exposure data on tobacco, alcohol, obesity, infections, diet, and pollution, quantifying attributable fractions for evidence-based cancer control policies.

Basics and background

• Cancer involves uncontrolled cell growth driven by genetic mutations; risk arises from interaction of lifestyle, environmental exposures, infections, and ageing, making many cancers theoretically preventable through risk reduction.
• Primary prevention targets risk-factor reduction before disease onset, unlike secondary prevention which relies on screening and early detection after disease processes have begun.

Key findings and data

• 37% of new cancer cases in 2022 (~14 lakh cases) were attributable to known preventable risk factors, showing significant avoidable burden within India’s overall cancer incidence.
• Men (50.6%) show higher preventable burden than women (30.3%), reflecting higher tobacco and alcohol consumption patterns among males in India.
• Tobacco alone accounts for 13.4% of cancers, making it the single largest preventable contributor to India’s cancer burden.
• Infections contribute 13.4%, including HPV, hepatitis B/C, and H. pylori, indicating strong role of vaccination and sanitation in cancer prevention.
• Alcohol contributes 6.4%, obesity 5.7%, air pollution 3.9%, showing rising lifestyle and environmental cancer risks alongside traditional factors.

Public health and governance dimension

• India’s cancer burden rising due to epidemiological transition, ageing population, and urban lifestyles, increasing pressure on already resource-constrained oncology infrastructure.
• Prevention aligns with National Programme for Prevention and Control of Cancer, Diabetes, CVD and Stroke (NPCDCS) focusing on screening, awareness, and lifestyle modification.
• Population-level interventions offer higher cost-effectiveness compared to tertiary cancer treatment, which is expensive and infrastructure-intensive.

Social and behavioural dimension

• High-risk behaviours like smoking, smokeless tobacco, unhealthy diets, and sedentary lifestyles are shaped by socio-economic and cultural factors, requiring behavioural-change communication.
• Lower awareness and late diagnosis among poorer groups worsen outcomes, making prevention and early education crucial for equity in cancer control.

Environmental dimension

• Air pollution contributes nearly 4% of cancers, especially lung cancer, linking environmental regulation directly with non-communicable disease control.
• Industrial emissions, vehicular pollution, and biomass burning increase carcinogenic particulate exposure in Indian cities.

Global and comparative perspective

• WHO estimates 30–50% of global cancers are preventable, placing India within global pattern but with higher tobacco and infection-related burden than many developed countries.
• Countries with strong tobacco control and HPV vaccination show significant cancer incidence decline, demonstrating policy effectiveness.

Challenges and gaps

• Weak enforcement of tobacco and alcohol regulations reduces impact of prevention policies.
• Limited HPV and Hepatitis B vaccination coverage constrains infection-related cancer prevention.
• Urban pollution control remains inconsistent despite regulatory frameworks.
• Behavioural change is slow due to addiction and social norms.

Way forward

• Strengthen tobacco taxation, plain packaging, and cessation services to reduce largest risk factor.
• Expand HPV and Hepatitis B vaccination under Universal Immunisation Programme.
• Integrate cancer prevention into Ayushman Bharat–Health and Wellness Centres for grassroots awareness.
• Enforce air-quality standards and promote healthy urban planning.
• Invest in mass awareness campaigns on diet, exercise, and alcohol risks.

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Sundarbans Tourism & Climate Loss

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Why in news ?

• Debate triggered after Union Environment Minister said Sundarbans tourism is under-exploited, comparing ~9–9.5 lakh annual visitors with ~19 lakh in Ranthambore, raising questions on tourism as climate-adaptation strategy.
• Experts caution that Sundarbans is ecologically fragile, disaster-prone, and densely populated, making scale and model of tourism more critical than raw tourist numbers.
• Context links tourism with climate-induced loss and damage (L&D) and livelihood diversification in one of India’s most climate-vulnerable regions.

Basics and background

• Sundarbans is the world’s largest contiguous mangrove forest (~19,000 sq km across India–Bangladesh) and a UNESCO World Heritage Site, known for biodiversity and Royal Bengal Tiger habitat.
• Indian Sundarbans cover ~4,000 sq km in West Bengal, with over 4.5 million residents dependent on agriculture, fishing, and forest resources.
• Region is low-lying, tidally influenced, and cyclone-prone, making it a frontline zone for sea-level rise and climate extremes.

Climate vulnerability and loss–damage context

• Sundarbans frequently face cyclones, floods, and tidal surges, whose intensity and frequency are rising with climate change in the Bay of Bengal.
• Study across 48 inhabited islands shows agriculture most climate-affected (impact score 4.27/5) and fishery moderately affected (2.52/5).
• Nearly three-fifths of surveyed families reported migration due to disaster-linked livelihood stress, showing climate-induced displacement pressures.

Non-economic loss and damage (NELD)

• NELD includes psychological trauma, cultural erosion, social disruption, and educational discontinuity, often invisible in GDP-based damage assessments.
• Among 75 students (12–16 years) across 10 islands, most experienced ~4 cyclones, with ~60 showing persistent trauma and disaster anxiety.
• Reports show 40 land productivity losses, 25 house damages, 30 school disruptions, indicating deep social impacts beyond economic loss.

Tourism potential: opportunities

• Carefully designed eco-tourism can diversify livelihoods, reducing dependence on climate-sensitive agriculture and fisheries.
• Community-based tourism can generate income for boat operators, guides, homestays, handicrafts, and local services, spreading climate-risk.
• Mangrove and wildlife tourism can incentivise conservation-linked livelihoods, aligning ecology and economy.

Ecological and governance risks

• Sundarbans’ carrying capacity is unassessed, making large-scale tourism scientifically risky for fragile mangrove and delta ecosystems.
• Mangroves act as natural coastal buffers, and ecosystem disturbance can weaken storm protection functions.
• Illegal tourism already violates CRZ norms and NGT orders, reflecting weak regulatory enforcement.

Comparative perspective

• Comparing Sundarbans with Ranthambore is ecologically flawed; Sundarbans is riverine, dispersed, and sighting-based tourism is inherently uncertain.
• Ranthambore supports safari tourism on firm terrain, whereas Sundarbans relies on boat-based, low-density access, limiting scale.
• Tourism models must reflect ecosystem type, hazard exposure, and settlement density.

Institutional and funding dimension

• Sundarbans hold over 42% of India’s mangrove cover, yet West Bengal reportedly receives relatively lower central mangrove-conservation funding.
• Expansion as a major tiger reserve indicates conservation success but also requires balancing tourism with habitat protection.
• Climate adaptation finance and conservation funding remain critical.

Challenges and criticisms

• Risk of over-commercialisation in a fragile delta could damage biodiversity and increase disaster exposure.
• Tourism income may be seasonal and unevenly distributed, not a complete substitute for primary livelihoods.
• Infrastructure expansion can increase ecological footprint and disaster vulnerability.

Way forward

• Conduct scientific carrying-capacity and vulnerability assessments before scaling tourism.
• Promote low-impact, community-based eco-tourism, not mass tourism.
• Strict enforcement of CRZ norms, NGT orders, and mangrove protection laws.
• Integrate tourism with climate adaptation planning and disaster-resilient infrastructure.
• Channel climate finance for livelihood diversification, education, and mental health support.

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