Odisha improves child and mental health faster; UP, Bihar lag behind

Current Affairs

Odisha, one of India's poorest states, has made significant progress in reducing child undernutrition—less than India as a whole, but more than other poor states, such as Bihar, Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh, according to government data studied by the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI).
In Odisha, stunting--low height for age and a sign of malnutrition--reduced from 46.5% of children below five years in 2005-06 to 35.3% in 2015-16; the proportion of underweight children decreased from 42.3% of children below five years to 35.8%; and the Integrated Child Development Services (ICDS), the government’s child nutrition and education program, reached 34% more people in 2017 than it had in 2014.
As National Nutrition Week gets under way on September 1, 2019, and the Indian government prepares to launch Poshan Abhiyaan with an aim to improve nutrition among children, pregnant women and lactating mothers and make India malnutrition-free by 2022, we examine the success of Odisha. IFPRI, a research advocacy based in Washington D.C., studied the progress of several countries and 28 Indian states, identifying Odisha as a "nutrition champion", along with Thailand, Brazil, Bangladesh, Nepal, Peru, Vietnam and Ethiopia.
Odisha performed better than other poorer states

 India’s ICDS programme is the world’s largest nutrition programme, launched in 1975 to address health, nutrition and pre-school education of children under the age of six years. The programme operates through a network of anganwadi centres that provide services for pregnant and lactating women, and for children aged six months to six years. The programme mandates one anganwadi per village or for a population of 1,000...Read More

Instagram's trial to hide number of 'likes' may save users' self-esteem

International News

Instagram is running a social media experiment in Australia and elsewhere to see what happens when it hides the number of likes on photos and other posts.
If you have an Instagram account, you’ll get to see the numbers but your followers won’t – at least, not automatically. They will be able to click and see who liked your post, but will have to count the list of names themselves.
The trial is taking place right now in six countries: Australia, Brazil, Canada, Ireland, Italy, Japan and New Zealand. Canada has just finished its trial.
It’s a bold move by Instagram, but arguably a necessary one. There is growing concern about the effect of social media on young people’s mental health and self–esteem.
Read more: Women can build positive body image by controlling what they view on social media
Instagram explained:
We want your friends to focus on the photos and videos you share, not how many likes they get.
Likes, and their public tallying, have become the heart of Instagram and many other social media platforms. By hiding them, does Instagram risk devaluing a crucial currency?

 Receiving loads of likes can feel like getting a gold star. It’s a public affirmation that you’re doing good work – a useful bit of quantitative feedback on your photographic skills or creativity. Under the new trial you’ll still get the gold star, but in private, and without broader recognition...Read More