Does India have more women than men?
NFHS-5 + Data Protection Bill + Gratitude
Hello, hope you had a great week and weekend. This week we cover Key observations of the NFHS -5 Survey, Long stretched Data Protection Bill & How to practice Gratitude.
National Family Health Survey
On 24th November 2021, the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare released the National Family Health Survey- 5 (2019- 21). This survey plays a key role in providing essential data on health and family welfare which guides the prospective policies and provides information on emerging challenges.
Some key observations -
The survey states that the proportion of women has exceeded men by 1,020 women for 1,000 men. The experts have cautioned that the survey only covers 630000 households of India’s 300 million households and a clear picture will come with Census data. Despite this, the numbers have exploded on social media with different stakeholders acclaiming it as a “massive achievement” and a “demographic shift”.
In 7 states, more than 90% of the births have been institutional deliveries. Institutional deliveries have been of importance in public health, as it ensures that both mother and child receive necessary care and support.
Technology has become an essential part of the 21st century, but like any other sphere is prone to unequal access and availability. As per the NFHS, usage of the internet remained higher among men than women in all states with the difference being 25% in states like Telangana. In 2020, the impact of unequal access was highlighted in areas of education, health, welfare, etc.
Source: Hindustan Times
Menstrual hygiene is preliminary for ensuring the welfare of women, children and also in ensuring attendance of female students in schools. In this spectrum, Bihar and West Bengal witnessed an increase of 28% in ensuring hygienic menstrual practices, whereas Assam and Gujarat stayed behind on these parameters.
A spike in spousal violence was observed in states like Karnataka, Bihar, Manipur, and Telangana. The number has doubled from 20.6% to 44.5%, indicating higher incidences during pandemic-induced lockdowns.
1-in-7 women do not receive antenatal care, as per the NFHS-5. Nearly half of the families do not consider it important. In rural India, only 16.7% of women are receiving full antenatal care with 4 ANC checkups as per recommendations of WHO. With 26% of men not considering antenatal care essential, with 1-in-4 men finding it “too costly”,
As per government data in NFHS-5, India's population seems to be stabilizing with a noted decline in fertility rate to 2.0 from 2.2 in the previous survey. The overall contraceptive prevalence rate has increased from 54% to 67%.
Parliament on Data Protection
Data Protection Bill has become a necessity due to undeniable reasons and challenges posed by the expansion and adaption of tech. In this view, after almost two years of reviewing and inspecting, the Joint Parliamentary Committee issued its report on the Personal Information Protection Bill 2019 on 24th November 2021. The report will be presented in the Winter Session of the parliament on 29th November 2021.
A few key recommendations mentioned in the report are:
Social media platforms should be treated as publishers and not as intermediaries if they do not verify users.
Any data collecting entity which passes on information to a third party will be required to disclose this information to the party whose data is being passed on.
The data collected from electronic hardware like 5G and home devices like Alexa should also come under the data protection law.
The Data Protection Authority, the function of which is to regulate how data is to be managed and processed should be confined by the directions of the Union government.
Voices of Dissent-
MP Gaurav Gogoi had second thoughts about the exceptions which are granted to the government under Clause 35 and expressed that the bill may not address harms arising from surveillance.
MPs Derek O'Brien and Mahua Moitra have pointed out that the Bill does not provide adequate safeguards to protect the right to privacy.
(Sources: Quint, Internet Freedom Foundation)
Power of Gratitude
Gratitude is powerful and one of the commonly discussed terminologies of the current times. Certain studies have shown that the more we practice gratitude, the more our life function in a better way. Find out how.
Gratitude boosts dopamine production and neuromodulation
A study was conducted which showed how there is a behavioural as well as dopamine enhancement through gratitude letter writing.
Expressing gratitude and the medial prefrontal cortex
The prefrontal cortex is a region of the brain that plays a role in attention planning, higher-order processing, and organization. As per a study, gratitude has a positive impact on that region and the functions that the region plays.
In a study, fMRI scans( that measures brain's activity) were performed with two groups where the first group was asked to feel about what they felt grateful for recently. And the second group expressed how they felt grateful. The results showed increased activity in the medial prefrontal cortex area of the brain in the latter subjects who expressed gratitude which was different from the brain activity seen in the former subjects.
Gratitude activates the hypothalamus, contributing to optimized sleep
The University of Manchester conducted a study on how gratitude impacts sleep. The study included over 400 adults of all ages with 40% of them having sleep disorders who were given the questionnaires which included topics like gratitude, sleep, and pre-sleep thoughts. Those who expressed gratitude had positive thoughts, and fewer negative ones, at bedtime which enhanced their sleep cycle.
Gratitude alters the brain’s Altruism and reward system regions
A study found that practising gratitude activates the ventromedial prefrontal cortex (VMPFC) which focuses on how our brain wants to experience the pleasure of giving.
The study included two groups that had to write a journal every day for three weeks. One group was given prompts unrelated to gratitude, while the second group was prompted to write about experiences of gratitude.
The researchers concluded “gratitude biases the brain’s reward system toward rewards for others versus oneself.”
Gratitude begets gratitude
Hebb’s Law says that “neurons that fire together wire together.” With the practice of gratitude, your brain strengthens with the circuits of gratitude making it simpler to focus on it.
(Sources: Neurohacker)
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