The Hindu Editorial Vocabulary 19th November 2024

The Hindu Editorial Vocabulary 19th November 2024 is an effective tool for regularly learning new words and their contextual meanings. Candidates can utilize this free resource daily to improve their vocabulary knowledge, especially those preparing for government exams like the IBPS PO, SBI Clerk, SSC, and Others.

Go ahead and start building your vocabulary power.

Twin negligence: On the Jhansi hospital fire

Jhansi tragedy is a result of neglecting fire safety and health care

The fire in the neonatal (related to newborns) intensive care unit of the Maharani Laxmi Bai Medical College in Jhansi district, Uttar Pradesh, where 10 newborns died on November 15 night, underscores the fatal (causing death) intersection of severely neglected sectors in government budgeting and planning — health care and fire safety. There was an eerily (strangely or frighteningly) similar incident in May this year, in a hospital in east Delhi. The neonatal care unit in Jhansi was operating at almost three times its capacity — there were 49 babies for incubators meant only for 18. Hospital staff have said that this number sometimes goes up to 60. This must not surprise given that in 2021, the doctor-patient ratio in U.P. was 1: 2,158. A point to be noted is that India’s doctor-patient ratio for 2024 is 1:836, which is well within the World Health Organization recommendation of 1:1,000.

Established in 1968, the Jhansi hospital is the main health-care facility serving Bundelkhand, an impoverished (poor or deprived) region of about 10 districts straddling U.P. and Madhya Pradesh. Despite a patient flow of over 5,000 a day, several wings of the hospital have remained in a dilapidated (in a state of disrepair) state. While multi-level investigations have been announced by U.P. Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath’s government, initial reports suggest an electric short-circuit could be the cause, exacerbated (made worse) by oxygen cylinders in the care unit. According to National Crime Records Bureau data, 101 people died in 106 incidents of electrical short circuit-induced fires in U.P. in 2022, ranking it the fourth highest in fatalities after Odisha, Maharashtra, and Bihar.

In an editorial this year, “Insidious, incendiary”, this daily highlighted the chronic disregard for India’s fire safety norms: “Fire services are not well organized in India”, it said, adding that “In recent years the requirements for fire safety cover have increased manifold whereas the development of fire service has not made much headway”. In the Union Budgets of FY2022 and FY2023, there was an allocation of a mere 2.2% to health care, which declined to 1.75% this year. This is severely inadequate (not sufficient) even when compared with spend by India’s peers among developing countries such as Brazil and South Africa. India’s public health expenditure was 3.3% of GDP in 2021. This is lower than the global average for developing countries, where public health spending often ranges between 2% to 5% of GDP. Brazil and South Africa typically allocate approximately 10% and 8% of their GDP to public health. It may, therefore, be safe to wager (guess or bet) that even while investigations are underway, a broader indifferent (uncaring or apathetic) approach to both public health and fire safety together led to the tragedy in Jhansi.

Hindu Vocab Wordlist 19th November 2024

Upskill yourself and enhance your vocabulary knowledge. Candidates should begin learning new words daily with Hindu Editorial Vocabulary on 19th November 2024.

1. Neonatal: Relating to the first month of life, especially of a baby.
2. Fatal: Causing death.
3. Eerily: In a strange, mysterious, and sometimes frightening way.
4. Impoverished: Made weaker or worse in quality; extremely poor.
5. Dilapidated: In very bad condition because of age or lack of care.
6. Exacerbated: Made something worse, especially a problem or situation.
7. Inadequate: Not good enough or too low in quality.
8. Wager: To risk money by guessing the result of something.
9. Indifferent: Not thinking about or interested in someone or something.
10. Incendiary: Designed to cause fires or to make people angry.

Hindu Vocab Master 19th November 2024 with Synonyms & Antonyms

Here are the synonyms and antonyms of all the difficult words in Hindu Vocab Master for 19th November 2024:

Word	Synonyms	Antonyms
Neonatal	Infantile, newborn, perinatal, early	Adult, mature, postnatal, developed
Fatal	Deadly, lethal, mortal, disastrous	Harmless, safe, beneficial, life-saving
Eerily	Strangely, spookily, mysteriously, uncannily	Normally, familiarly, reassuringly, predictably
Impoverished	Destitute, indigent, deprived, depleted	Wealthy, prosperous, affluent, enriched
Dilapidated	Ruined, decayed, shabby, ramshackle	Well-maintained, intact, new, pristine
Exacerbated	Aggravated, worsened, intensified, heightened	Alleviated, improved, soothed, mitigated
Inadequate	Insufficient, deficient, lacking, scarce	Adequate, sufficient, ample, abundant
Wager	Bet, gamble, stake, risk	Guarantee, ensure, safeguard, certainty
Indifferent	Apathetic, unconcerned, detached, aloof	Concerned, interested, caring, attentive
Incendiary	Provocative, inflammatory, flammable, explosive	Peaceful, calming, fireproof, noncombustible