All that was discussed in the House through the day
There had been an increase in natural disasters like cyclones and floods in India during recent years, Jitendra Singh, minister of state (independent charge) in the Union ministry of science and technology and earth sciences told the Lok Sabha July 23, 2021.
There had been a significant rise in the frequency of post-monsoon (October–December) season very severe cyclonic storms in the north Indian Ocean during the past two decades (2000–2018), the minister said.
The frequency of extremely severe cyclonic storms over the Arabian Sea had increased during the same period. There also had been an increase in the frequency of localised heavy rainfall on sub-daily and daily timescales that had enhanced the flood risk over India, contributing to increased frequency and impacts of floods in urban areas, Singh added.
Biomedical waste
The non novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) waste generated in India during 2017-18, 2018-19 and 2019-20 was estimated to be 531 tonnes per day (TPD), 608 TPD and 615 TPD respectively, according to the data from the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB).
A total of 56,898.14 tonnes of COVID-19-infected waste was generated between June 2020 and June 2021, according to the COVID-19 BWM app, Ashwini Kr Choubey, minister of state in the Union ministry of environment, forest and climate change told the Lok Sabha.
COVID-19 serosurvey
Four rounds of COVID-19 National serosurveys had been conducted by the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) to determine the prevalence of coronavirus antibodies. ICMR conducted the fourth round of COVID-19 National serosurvey between June 14, 2021 and July 6, 2021 to estimate seroprevalence among children aged 6-17 years, adults and healthcare workers.
The survey was conducted in the same 70 districts from 20 states and one Union territory selected during the previous three serosurveys, Bharati Pravin Pawar, minister of state in the Union ministry of health and family welfare told the Lok Sabha.
Many states and cities had conducted serosurveys. Metropolitan cities such as Delhi, Mumbai, Pune, Chennai, Ahmedabad and Hyderabad had reported seroprevalence ranging between 17.6 per cent and 56 per cent at different time points, Pawar added.
COVID-19 jabs
A functional Adverse Event Following Immunisation (AEFI) surveillance system had been strengthened in the country to ensure adequate reporting, investigation and causality assessment of of all AEFIs (minor, severe and serious) including deaths to find any linkages with COVID-19 vaccines, Pawar told the Lok Sabha.
The causality assessment for 179 serious and severe AEFI cases had been approved by the National AEFI Committee till July 19, 2021, of which only one case of death was found to be associated with the COVID-19 vaccine. This was a case of anaphylaxis which can occur with any medicinal product including vaccines and can be fatal, Pawar added.
Air pollution deaths
There was no conclusive data available to establish a direct correlation of death / disease exclusively due to air pollution, Choubey told the Lok Sabha.
Air pollution was one of the many factors causing respiratory ailments and associated diseases. Health was impacted by a number of factors including food habits, occupational habits, socio-economic status, medical history, immunity, heredity, etc, of the individuals apart from the environment, Choubey added.
Biometric authentication
The Government of India was encouraging the states to introduce biometric authentication of farmers for the procurement of wheat and rice in the central pool under minimum support price in order to eliminate middlemen, Sadhvi Niranjan Jyoti, minister of state in the Union ministry of rural development and consumer affairs, food and public distribution told the Rajya Sabha.
Most state governments has already developed their own online procurement system to usher in transparency and convenience to farmers through proper registration and monitoring of actual procurement. Farmers can be paid electronically through this online procurement system.
Farmer suicides
The National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) under the Union ministry of home affairs, compiles and disseminates information on suicides in its publication titled Accidental Deaths and Suicides in India. The NCRB had published reports upto 2019 that were available on its website, Narendra Singh Tomar, Union minister of agriculture and farmers welfare told the Rajya Sabha.
According to the data presented by Tomar in Parliament, the suicide rate among farmers had increased to 5957 in 2019, from 5763 in 2018 .
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