Avian flu

Context:

• Leopard, three tigers die of Avian flu in Maharashtra’s Gorewada Rescue Centre

News:

• Three tigers and one leopard have died of H5N1 or Avian Influenza (AI) virus at Gorewada Rescue Centre in Maharashtra’s Nagpur.

More info:

• AI is primarily a disease of birds, but certain strains such as H5N1, H5N8 have demonstrated the ability to infect mammals, including tigers, leopards and other mammals through contact with infected birds or their contaminated environment.
• AI outbreaks in wild carnivores have been linked to consumption of infected prey or raw meat.

About H5N1 or Avian Influenza (AI) virus:

• H5N1 is one of several influenza viruses that causes a highly infectious respiratory disease in birds called avian influenza (or “bird flu”).
• Infections in mammals, including humans, have also been documented.
• H5N1 influenza virus infection can cause a range of diseases in humans, from mild to severe and in some cases, it can even be fatal.
• Symptoms reported have primarily been respiratory, but conjunctivitis and other non-respiratory symptoms have also been reported.
• There have also been a few detections of A(H5N1) virus in persons who were exposed to infected animals or their environments but who did not show any symptoms.
• Since 2022, there have been increasing reports of deadly outbreaks among mammals also caused by influenza A(H5) – including influenza A(H5N1) – viruses.
• There are likely to be more outbreaks that have not been detected or reported.
• Both land and sea mammals have been affected, including outbreaks in farmed fur animals, seals, sea lions, and detections in other wild and domestic animals such as foxes, bears, otters, raccoons, cats, dogs, cows, goats and others.
• Almost all cases of H5N1 virus infection in people have been associated with close contact with infected live or dead birds, or H5N1-contaminated environments, for example live bird markets.
• There have been some instances of spread from infected mammals to humans as well.
• While there may have been some cases that were not detected, the virus does not seem to easily infect humans or spread from person to person, based on the current knowledge and understanding.
• The H5N1 virus remains as an animal virus that primarily infects animals.
• The H5N1 virus is constantly evolving and could potentially become easily transmissible from person to person.
• The symptoms of H5N1 infection may include fever (often high fever, > 38°C) and malaise, cough, sore throat and muscle aches.
• Other early symptoms may include conjunctivitis and other non-respiratory symptoms.
• The infection may progress quickly to severe respiratory illness and neurologic changes (altered mental status or seizures).

Significance of accreditation and ranking in higher education

Introduction:

• Accreditation is the cornerstone of institutional quality assurance in higher education.
• It is a process where external bodies evaluate an institution or programme to ensure it meets predefined quality standards that usually encompass areas such as curriculum design, faculty qualifications, student support services, research, and infrastructure.
• Accreditation ensures competitive programmes, credibility, and opportunities for collaboration, grants, and funding.
• It attracts top faculty, students, and partnerships.
• For students, accreditation ensures recognition of the degree, enhances job prospects, and facilitates credit transfer domestically or internationally.
• Rankings evaluate institutional performance through factors such as academic reputation, employer perception, research output, spending, infrastructure and student satisfaction.
• High rankings improve an institution’s reputation, attract international talent, and secure funding.
• For students help highlight institutions with superior resources, faculty, and networking opportunities that impact career success.

Meeting standards:

• Accreditation is vital to ensure institutions meet academic and administrative standards.
• In India, of the over 6,000 Engineering colleges, only around 1,500 are accredited by the National Board of Accreditation (NBA).
• This means that a vast number of Engineering graduates are studying in institutions that do not meet the rigorous standards required for accreditation, which can affect their employability and the overall quality of education.
• In India, the National Assessment and Accreditation Council (NAAC) is the primary body.
• According to the latest statistics, over 392 universities and about 9,000 colleges are accredited by it.
• This shows a considerable number of institutions are still to receive accreditation, signalling the scope to improve quality standards across the country.
• Obtaining accreditation is not without challenges.
• A primary hurdle is the need to engage key stakeholders, especially faculty, staff, research scholars and students.
• Collecting data from researchers and faculty entrenched in their domains and focused on research projects is daunting.
• Accreditation requires a significant amount of documentation, data collection, and process standardisation, which can be time-consuming and demanding.
• Institutions must gather information across a wide range of attributes, including academic outcomes, faculty qualifications, student progression, infrastructure, and governance and this must be meticulously organised and presented for review.
• Additionally, institutional leadership must foster a culture of quality and transparency to ensure that all departments are aligned with the goals of accreditation.

Challenges:

• Indian institutions, while improving, still face significant challenges in achieving top rankings on the global stage.
• While institutions such as the IITs and the Indian Institute of Science (IISc) have made progress in global rankings such as the QS World University Rankings and the Times Higher Education Rankings, India is still underrepresented in the top 200 institutions across the world.
• One reason is the relatively low research output compared to institutions in countries like the U.S., the U.K., and China.
• Additionally, many Indian universities lack sufficient infrastructure and funding to compete with their global counterparts.
• International collaboration and student mobility (Indian institutions have limited inbound and outbound student exchange programmes) also impact global standing.
• For global rankings, Indian institutions must balance between the NBA and the NAAC.
• The former accredits technical programmes (Engineering, Management), aligning with international standards (Washington Accord).
• NAAC evaluates entire institutions, providing domestic recognition.
• To enhance global rankings, institutions should pursue international accreditations (AACSB, ABET, EQUIS) and target QS, Times Higher Education, and Shanghai Ranking frameworks, focusing on research output, academic reputation, and international partnerships.

Conclusion:

• Securing good accreditation must be the initial priority; then, institutions can aspire to improve rankings first nationally and then globally.

UPSC Mains PYQs:

• The quality of higher education in India requires major improvements to make it internationally competitive. Do you think that the entry of foreign educational institutions would help improve the quality of higher and technical education in the country? Discuss.(2015)
• Should the premier institutes like IITs/IIMs be allowed to retain premier status, allow more academic independence in designing courses and also decide mode/criteria of selection of students. Discuss in light of the growing challenges.(2014)

Special categories visas for international students

News:

• India has launched two special category visa for international students intending to pursue higher education in academic institutions in the country.

More info:

• The ‘e-student visa’ and ‘e-student-x’ visa have been introduced by the Ministry of Home Affairs and all applicants will have to use the ‘Study in India’ (SII) portal launched by the government.
• The e-student visa facility can be availed by eligible foreign students registered on the SII portal while e-student-x visa is offered to the dependents of those holding e-student visas.
• The SII portal facilitates the admission process of international students who wish to pursue either long-term or short-term courses in India.
• Students will need to apply for a visa separately on the portal https://indianvisaonline.gov.in/ but the authenticity of their application will be checked by SII ID.
• Hence it is mandatory for students to apply to Indian higher educational institutions through SII website.
• Students may apply for the visa after receiving an admission offer letter from any of the SII partner institutes.
• The e-student visa will be granted to such foreign nationals who obtain admission to studying in India and who wish to pursue such studies, regular, full-time, courses of under graduate, post-graduation, PhD and such other formal programmes at educational institutes duly recognised by the statutory and regulatory body in India.
• Student visas are issued for up to five years, depending on the duration of the course.
• They can also be extended in India.
• Further, those having valid e-student visas can enter India from any desired port of immigration check post.

About Study in India (SII):

• The SII is a flagship project of the Ministry of Education which hosts international students seeking higher education through its 600+ partner institutes offering more than 8000+ diverse courses in disciplines such as engineering & technology, management, agriculture, sciences, arts and humanities, language studies, commerce, law, paramedical sciences covering pharmacy, nursing, and select niche courses like Buddhist Studies, Yoga, etc.
• Furthermore, they are available in different levels, from Undergraduate (Bachelors), Post-graduate (Masters), Doctoral level (PhD) and certification-based courses.
• Due to the availability of an array of options (in courses), the students have the flexibility to choose the course of their interest and study in premier Indian institutes.
• Furthermore, the process to get on board with SII is relatively easy and can be done through its online application submission, seeking admission to students’ choice of programmes and further processing of applications for seeking admission.
• Every student aspiring to complete their higher education in India and applying to study in India must have their unique student SII ID as this ID is what will help them to access their dashboard, track the progress of college and course applications, visa/e-visa, and other higher education in India-related processes.
• No student SII ID means no chance of studying or moving to India.

South Korea

Context:

• Hundreds of South Koreans rallied near the residence of impeached President Yoon Suk Yeol, calling for his ouster and arrest.

More info:

• Investigators from the country’s anti-corruption agency are weighing charges of rebellion after the conservative President, apparently frustrated that his policies were blocked by a legislature dominated by the liberal opposition, declared martial law in Dec. 2024 and dispatched troops to surround the National Assembly.
• The Assembly overturned the declaration within hours in a unanimous vote and impeached Mr. Yoon on Dec. 14, accusing him of rebellion.
• Yoon’s presidential powers have been suspended since the National Assembly voted to impeach him on Dec. 14.
• Yoon’s fate now lies with the Constitutional Court, which has begun deliberations on whether to uphold the impeachment and formally remove Mr. Yoon from office or reinstate him.

About South Korea:

• South Korea, country in East Asia.
• It occupies the southern portion of the Korean peninsula.
• The country is bordered by the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (North Korea) to the north, the East Sea (Sea of Japan) to the east, the East China Sea to the south, and the Yellow Sea to the west; to the southeast it is separated from the Japanese island of Tsushima by the Korea Strait.
• South Korea makes up about 45 percent of the peninsula’s land area.
• The capital is Seoul.
• South Korea faces North Korea across a demilitarized zone (DMZ) 4 km wide that was established by the terms of the 1953 armistice that ended fighting in the Korean War (1950–53).
• The DMZ, which runs for about 240 km, constitutes the 1953 military cease-fire line and roughly follows latitude 38° N (the 38th parallel) from the mouth of the Han River on the west coast of the Korean peninsula to a little south of the North Korean town of Kosŏng on the east coast.

Constitutional framework:

• The constitutional structure is patterned mainly on the presidential system of the United States and is based on separation of powers among the legislature, the executive, and the judiciary.
• The president, since 1987 chosen by direct popular election for a single five-year term, is the head of state and government and commander of the armed forces.
• Legislative authority rests with the unicameral National Assembly.
• The powers of the National Assembly, which was reinstated in 1980 after a period of curtailment, were strengthened in 1987.
• Its 300 members are chosen, as previously, by a combination of direct and indirect election to four-year terms.
• South Korea has a multiparty system in which two parties have tended to dominate, although their names and composition have often changed.
• In the early 21st century the conservative Grand National Party and the centrist-liberal Democratic Party were dominant.