Rajasthan Current Affairs: November 2018

Health Department Report on Family Planning

• Health department’s recently released stated that Dausa, Kota, Jaipur-II, Pratapgarh, Bundi, Jhalawar, Alwar and Tonk have performed worst collectively in male sterilization, IUD and Antara injection (injectable contraceptives).
• Ganganagar, Jaisalmer and Sikar are at the top of best performing districts in family planning in Rajasthan.
• For population stabilisation, the health department has identified 20 districts which have highest total fertility rate (TFR) in the state. In these districts, intensified campaigns have been launched for encouraging population stabilisation.

Review of Antara Injection

• Antara, the new injectable contraceptive, was launched on July 11, 2017.
• One dose of the injection prevents pregnancy for three months. In a year, four injections are administered.
• It is a new form of contraceptive, which is an intramuscular injection.
• The major concern of the health department is the rate of drop out of women using Antara injections. According to health department’s figures, till May 2018, over 26,400 women had received the first dose of Antara. But, half of them did not take the second dose.

Rajasthan targets Zero Case of Malaria by 2022

• Rajasthan targets to achieve zero indigenous case of Malaria by 2022.
• For the past two years, no death due to malaria has reported from the state.  Last death due to malaria was reported in 2016. In 2015, three persons died of malaria, while the toll was four in 2014.
• Additionally, the number of persons diagnosed with malaria is also declining. While more than 3,000 cases of malaria have reported till date this year. In 2017, there were 10,607 persons that were tested positive for malaria. In 2016, there were 12,741 cases of malaria. In 2014, the total number of malaria cases was 15,118.
• To prevent the spread of malaria, the health department has declared it as a notifiable disease in May. Under notifiable disease, diagnostic centres and doctors have to report each malaria positive case to health department.
• India is targeting to eliminate malaria (zero indigenous cases) throughout the entire country by 2030. Rajasthan is among the 26 low and moderate transmission states/union territories (UTs) and it has been assigned to eliminate malaria by 2022.

Vajra Prahar

Indo-US Joint Special Forces Exercise 2018 named Vajra Pahar, commenced at Mahajan Field Firing Range in Bikaner Rajasthan. The joint exercise aims to train forces to deal with operations for counter-terrorism.

Regional Meeting of World Customs Orgnaisation

Regional meeting of World Customs Organisation (WCO) was held recently in Jaipur, capital city of Rajasthan.  The meeting was attended by representatives of 33 member countries of Asia. It was jointly chaired by WCO Deputy Secretary General Ricardo Travino and Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs Chairman S Ramesh.

Cases pending in Courts in Rajasthan

As per the annual report of 2017 of the Rajasthan High Court:

• Rajasthan High Court had over 2 lakh pending cases by December end last year.
• There are over 16 lakh pending cases in the district and subordinate courts in the state, of which 87,101 cases are more than 10 years old.
• According to the data, the pending cases in high court on January 1, 2017 were 2,54,131 while in the same year, as many as 1,19,086 new cases were filed. The number of disposal has been 1,11,857 cases. By the year end, the number of pending cases had grown to 2,61,360. The data shows the high court was not even able to deal with a number of new cases filed, thus the backlog over the years has been ever increasing.
• Out of the 2,61,360 pending cases in the high court, 58,649 cases are over 10 years old.
• The situation in the district and subordinate courts is also quite similar. The pendency as on January 1, 2017 was 15,73,986 while the number of new cases filed was 15,75, 584. The disposal during the year was 15,14,181 and left a backlog of 16,35,389 cases.

Reasons for such delay:

• Repeated adjournments: It takes an average of 36 adjournments in deciding a criminal case (sessions court) while the number of average adjournments is 31 in civil suits.
• Lack of judicial apparatus: The number of judges is inadequate (sanctioned strength of 1223 RJS) as per the number of cases. On top of it, these limited posts also have vacancy (Vacancy in state district and subordinate courts is 101).

Places in NEWS

Ramsara village 

• Ramsara village in Churu district has a distinction of being the first village in the state that has all its children fully vaccinated against the listed diseases in national immunization programme.