ART AND CULTURE

1. KARTARPUR CORRIDOR

THE CONTEXT: BJP leaders from Punjab, met PM and requested him to reopen the Kartarpur corridor before Gurpurab, which falls on November 19. The pilgrimage to the Kartarpur Sahib gurdwara was suspended in March 2020 because of the COVID-19 outbreak. 

ABOUT KARTARPUR CORRIDOR

• Guru Nanak is the founder and first Guru of Sikhism.
• He was born in 1469 at Talwandi Rai Bhoe near Lahore. The place is renamed later Nankana Sahib.
• He undertook preaching tours, also called Udasis, to spread his message.
• In the later years of his life, Guru Nanak settled down at the township of Kartarpur, on the banks of river Ravi in Punjab.
• Kartarpur Corridor connects the Dera Baba Nanak Sahib Gurdwara in the India’s state of Punjab to the Gurdwara Darbar Sahib Kartarpur shrine in Narowal district of Pakistan’s Punjab province.
• It runs across over Ravi River.
• The Gurdwara Darbar Sahib was ordered by the Maharaja of Patiala between 1921-1929.
• Guru Nanak died at the age of 70. He appointed Bhai Lena as his successor and renamed him, Guru Angad.

SOURCE: TH

INDIAN POLITY, GOVERNANCE AND SOCIAL JUSTICE

2. CITIZENS’ TELE-LAW MOBILE APP

THE CONTEXT: Union Minister of Law and Justice launched the Citizen’s Tele-Law Mobile App.

THE EXPLANATION:

• Tele-Law: Reaching the Unreached e-interface platform was launched in 2017 by the Department of Justice, to strengthen the pre-litigation mechanism in the country.
• This is operational in 51,434 Common Service Centres across 50,000 Gram Panchayats in 633 districts Tele-Law leverages technology (viz. tele-video conferencing facilities) to connect the beneficiary with the Panel Lawyer to seek legal advice and consultation for early redressal of their grievance.
• Expanding its reach and ambit the Citizens’ Tele-Law Mobile App intends to widen the access to increased legal information and empowers the masses to identify their problem and choose from the appropriate forum of dispute redressal to claim their entitlements and rights by connecting the beneficiary directly to the Panel Lawyer or with the assistance of Para Legal Volunteers, Village Level entrepreneurs, in case of a beneficiary who are unable to read or write.
• The consultation is available free of cost to those entitled to free legal aid under Section 12 of Legal Service Authority, whereas Others could avail at Rs 30/ per consultation.

SOURCE: PIB

ENVIRONMENT, GEOGRAPHY AND AGRICULTURE

3. KEY TAKEAWAYS OF COP26

THE CONTEXT:  The Glasgow climate meeting has ended with a pact weaker than many had hoped for. Among its successes, a global pledge to reduce methane emissions, and resolution of the carbon market deadlock.

ABOUT COP26

• The Glasgow meeting was the 26th session of the Conference of Parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change or COP26. These meetings are held every year to construct a global response to climate change. Each of these meetings produces a set of decisions that are given different names. In the current case, this has been called the Glasgow Climate Pact.
• Earlier, these meetings have also delivered two treaty-like international agreements, the Kyoto Protocol in 1997 and the Paris Agreement in 2015. While the Kyoto Protocol expired last year, the Paris Agreement is now the active instrument to fight climate change.
• The main task for COP26 was to finalise the rules and procedures for the implementation of the Paris Agreement. Most of these rules had been finalized by 2018, but a few provisions, like the one relating to the creation of new carbon markets, had remained unresolved.
• However, due to clear evidence of worsening of the climate crisis in the six years since the Paris Agreement was finalized, host country United Kingdom was keen to ensure that Glasgow, instead of becoming merely a “procedural” COP, was a turning point in enhancing climate actions. The effort was to push for an agreement that could put the world on a 1.5 degree Celsius pathway, instead of the 2 degree Celsius trajectory which is the main objective of the Paris Agreement.

WHAT WAS ACHIEVED?

• Mitigation: The Glasgow agreement has emphasised that stronger action in the current decade was most critical to achieving the 1.5-degree target. Accordingly, it has:

1. 1. Asked countries to strengthen their 2030 climate action plans, or NDCs (nationally-determined contributions), by next year
   2. Established a work programme to urgently scale-up mitigation ambition and implementation
   3. Decided to convene an annual meeting of ministers to raise the ambition of 2030 climate actions
   4. Called for an annual synthesis report on what countries were doing
   5. Requested the UN Secretary-General to convene a meeting of world leaders in 2023 to the scale-up ambition of climate action
   6. Asked countries to make efforts to reduce the usage of coal as a source of fuel, and abolish “inefficient” subsidies on fossil fuels
   7. Has called for a phase-down of coal, and phase-out of fossil fuels. This is the first time that coal has been explicitly mentioned in any COP decision.

• Adaptation: Most of the countries, especially the smaller and poorer ones, and the small island states, consider adaptation to be the most important component of climate action. These countries, due to their lower capacities, are already facing the worst impacts of climate change, and require immediate money, technology and capacity building for their adaptation activities. As such, the Glasgow Climate Pact has:

1. 1. Asked the developed countries to at least double the money being provided for adaptation by 2025 from the 2019 levels. In 2019, about $15 billion was made available for adaptation that was less than 20 per cent of the total climate finance flows. Developing countries have been demanding that at least half of all climate finance should be directed towards adaptation efforts.
   2. Created a two-year work programme to define a global goal on adaptation. Unlike mitigation efforts that bring global benefits, the benefits from adaptation are local or regional. There are no uniform global criteria against which adaptation targets can be set and measured.

Finance:  In 2009, developed countries had promised to mobilise at least $100 billion every year from 2020. This promise was reaffirmed during the Paris Agreement, which also asked the developed countries to scale up this amount from 2025. The 2020 deadline has long passed but the $100 billion promise has not been fulfilled. The developed nations have now said that they will arrange this amount by 2023.

ABOUT THE GLASGOW AGREEMENT

The deal aimed at staving off dangerous climate change has been struck at the COP26 summit in Glasgow. The pact has:

1. Expressed “deep regrets” over the failure of the developed countries to deliver on their $100 billion promise. It has asked them to arrange this money urgently and every year till 2025.
2. Initiated discussions on setting the new target for climate finance, beyond $100 billion for the post-2025 period.
3. Ask the developed countries to provide transparent information about the money they plan to provide.

• • Loss and Damage: Thanks to a push from many nations, substantive discussions on loss and damage could take place in Glasgow. The final agreement, which has acknowledged the problem and dealt with the subject at substantial length, has only established a “dialogue” to discuss arrangements for the funding of such activities. This is being seen as a major let-down.
  • Carbon Markets: The Glasgow Pact has offered some reprieve to the developing nations. It has allowed these carbon credits to be used in meeting countries’ first NDC targets. These cannot be used for meeting targets in subsequent NDCs. That means, if a developed country wants to buy these credits to meet its own emission reduction targets, it can do so till 2025. Most countries have presented climate targets for 2025 in their first NDCs. The resolution of the deadlock over carbon markets represents one of the major successes of COP26.

PARALLEL PROCESSES

A lot of substantial action in Glasgow happened in parallel processes that were not a part of the official COP discussions. These do not form part of the final agreed outcome, but Glasgow can certainly claim credit for facilitating these actions.

1. India announced a Panchamitra (a mixture of five elements) of climate actions. It raised the targets for two of its existing climate targets, announced two new ones, and also promised to turn net-zero by the year 2070. India’s new commitments created the maximum buzz on the first two days of the Glasgow meeting.
2. Several other countries also announced enhanced climate actions. Brazil, for example, said it would advance its net-zero target year from 2060 to 2050. China promised to come out with a detailed roadmap for its commitment to let emissions peak in 2030, and also for its 2060 net-zero target. Israel announced a net-zero target for 2050.
3. Over 100 countries pledged to reduce methane emissions by at least 30 per cent from present levels by 2030. Methane is a dangerous greenhouse gas, with a global warming potential nearly 80 times that of carbon dioxide over a 20-year time period. This pledge, if achieved, is estimated to avoid about 0.2 degrees Celsius temperature rise by the middle of the century. The methane pledge is being seen as one of the biggest successes at COP26.
4. Another set of over 100 countries promised to arrest and reverse deforestation by 2030.
5. Over 30 countries signed on to a declaration promising to work towards a transition to 100 per cent zero-emission cars by the year 2040, at least in the leading car markets of the world.

SOURCE: IE

4. KAISER-I-HIND

THE CONTEXT: Kaiser-i-Hind is Arunachal’s State butterfly.

THE EXPLANATION:

• Kaiser-i-Hind (Teinopalpus imperialism) literally means Emperor of India. This butterfly with a 90-120 mm wingspan is found in six states along the eastern Himalayas at elevations from 6,000-10,000 feet in well-wooded terrain.
• The butterfly also flutters in Nepal, Bhutan, Myanmar, Laos, Vietnam and southern China.
• Although the Kaiser-i-Hind is protected under Schedule II of Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972, it is hunted for supply to butterfly collectors.
• The decision was taken by the State Cabinet meeting that was for the first time held outside State capital Itanagar at an unusual location — Pakke Tiger Reserve.
• The Cabinet also adopted the Pakke Tiger Reserve 2047 declaration on climate change-resilient and responsive Arunachal Pradesh aimed at lowering emissions and sustainable development.

PROTECTED AREAS OF ARUNACHAL PRADESH

• Two National Parks: Mauling NP and Namdapha NP
• Three tiger reserves: Namdapha (Easternmost tiger reserve of India), Kamlang and Pakke (Pakhui) Tiger reserves.
• One biosphere reserve: DehangDibang Biosphere reserve

SOURCE: TH               

5. TIGER TOURISM IN NALLAMALA HILLS

THE CONTEXT: The lush green hills of Nallamala are now open for tourists to explore and learn from, thanks to the ecotourism package announced by the Telangana Forest Department.

THE EXPLANATION:

• Safari ride into the Amrabad Tiger Reserve will be part of the ‘Tiger Stay Package’ which is set to begin from November 17.
• Youth from the local Chenchu tribe will accompany the tourists on the ride and explain the culture of the particularly vulnerable tribal group (PVTG), besides providing assistance in spotting the wild animals.
• Amrabad tiger reserve in Telangana and Nagarjunsagar Srisailam tiger reserve in Andhra Pradesh are continuous protected areas located in two states.

SOURCE: TH               

INTERNAL SECURITY

7. MANIPUR AMBUSH

 THE CONTEXT: The People’s Liberation Army and the Manipur Naga People’s Front have jointly claimed responsibility for the ambush of an Assam Rifles convoy on Saturday (November 13) morning in Churachandpur district of Manipur, killing seven, including a Commanding officer, his wife and their five-year-old son. The ambush is one of the biggest in the state since the attack on the Dogra Rifles in 2015.

THE EXPLANATION:

• Bahiang, where the attack has taken place, borders Myanmar but falls under the territorial jurisdiction of the Zomi Revolutionary Army, a powerful insurgent group in Churachandpur. The question that local insurgent leaders have been asking is, how the PLA could have operated in this area without ZRA permission and have pointed to ZRA’s security lapse.
• Insurgent leaders have also pointed to the Myanmar coup as a reason for both the revival of insurgent activity as well as the choice of Churachandpur. The district neighbours Chin state in Myanmar where the political situation has been tenuous and there have been reports of human rights violations. An active People’s Defence Force, the armed wing of the National Unity Government, which claims to be Myanmar’s legitimate government, is believed to have pushed Indian insurgent groups towards the Indian border.
• The PLA has been one of the most active groups in the past but has remained dormant over the past 5-6 years. Leaders in other groups have pointed out that even in social programmes organised by insurgent groups – such as anti-drug campaigns, anti-AFSPA and other such protests – have been shunned by the PLA. So, their sudden violent activity has caused surprise.
• Unlike the tribal groups – such as the Naga NSCN-IM and NNPGs, or the 20 odd Kuki/Zomi groups which are in peace talks with the Indian government – the Meitei valley groups have to date not come to the table to discuss a solution with the Indian Government.
• There are six main valley groups in Manipur – the UNLF, PLA, KCP, KYKL, PREPAK, MPLF – apart from numerous splinter groups from each. All the groups operate out of Myanmar and raise funds for operations and arms largely through extortion.
• They use guerrilla tactics in their operations and the attacks on Indian security forces in the northeast are largely carried out by these groups.
• Their activity over the years has dwindled, however, with recruitment having stalled on one hand, and Myanmar’s increasing cooperation with India in recent years, placing pressure on the groups

ABOUT THE PEOPLE’S LIBERATION ARMY (PLA)

• The group was founded on September 25, 1978, under the leadership of N. Bisheshwar, after having broken away from its parent body, the United National Liberation Front. In 1979, the PLA’s political wing Revolutionary People’s Front (RPF) was set up.
• Like the UNLF, and many other splinter groups that would follow, the PLA was fighting for the secession of Manipur from India. While the PLA called for Kuki and Naga insurgents to join their ranks, it remains to this day dominated by the Imphal valley-based Meitei Hindu insurgents.
• Also, like other Meitei underground groups, in its initial years, PLA cadres were trained by the NSCN and held Marxist ideology.
• Its political wing, the RPF campaigned against the use of drugs, and banned alcohol in the state, often using violent means to impose these bans.
• Considered one of the strongest groups in Manipur, the PLA has been working out of Myanmar where they continue to have camps, like the other Meitei groups, and remain active with no ceasefire agreement with the Indian government and have so far not expressed any intention of peace talks with India.

SOURCE: IE                          

7. RUSSIA STARTS DELIVERY OF S-400 MISSILES

THE CONTEXT:   Russia has started delivery of the much-awaited S-400 missile system for deployment on schedule this year.

THE EXPLANATION:

• India had bought the system for over US$ 5 billion in 2018, in a deal that became contentious amid a threat of sanctions from the US on countries engaging in defence deals with Russia.
• There was no official word from the Indian side. The delivery of the weapons system was expected to begin before the end of this year. The delivery of parts has already begun through sea and air routes, sources said.
• India had bought five units of the system in 2018 and had made the first tranche of the payment, $800 million, a year later.
• The S-400 is among the most advanced air-defence systems in the world, with a range of around 400 km. It is capable of protecting its air defence bubble against rockets, missiles, cruise missiles and even aircraft.
• The system is already available with China, which has deployed it along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in eastern Ladakh amid the 18-month military standoff.

SOURCE : TH

MISCELLANEOUS

8. BIMAL PATEL ELECTED TO INTERNATIONAL LAW COMMISSION

THE CONTEXT:  Professor Bimal Patel, vice-chancellor of the Rashtriya Raksha University and member of the National Security Advisory Board of India, has been elected to the International Law Commission for a five-year term, in a hard-fought election at the United Nations.

THE EXPLANATION:

• Patel, 51, garnered 163 votes in the UN General Assembly out of 192 members present and voting, topping the Asia-Pacific group that included candidates from China, South Korea and Japan. He will serve a five-year term starting January 1, 2023.
• In the Asia-Pacific group, there were 11 strong candidates vying for 8 seats, making the election hotly contested.
• He has worked for 15 years at global organisations such as the United Nations of Youth and the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) at the Hague, Netherlands, according to his profile on the Rashtriya Raksha University website.

ABOUT INTERNATIONAL LAW COMMISSION

• The International Law Commission was established by the General Assembly in 1947 to undertake the mandate of the Assembly to “initiate studies and make recommendations for the purpose of encouraging the progressive development of international law and its codification.”
• The Statute of the International Law Commission provides that the Commission shall consist of 34 members who shall be persons of recognised competence in international law.

SOURCE: TheWire

THE PRELIMS PRACTICE QUESTIONS

Q1.  Select the odd one out of the following:

a) Namdapha tiger reserve

b) Orang tiger reserve

c) Kamlang  tiger reserve

d) Pakke Tiger reserve

ANSWER FOR NOVEMBER 13^th, 2021 PRELIMS PRACTICE QUESTIONS

Q1. Answer: B

Explanation:

• H-1B visas- For skilled workers, which are often used by the tech industry
• L visas- For executives, managers and specialized workers being transferred within a company
• H-2B visas- For seasonal workers
• J visas- For cultural exchange, including interns, trainees, teachers, camp counsellors and people participating in a summer work travel program
• H-4 visas – Family members who would accompany workers on H-1B visas

INTRODUCTION:

The spike in recent years in extreme calamities, topped by the Covid outbreak, spotlights the urgency of better disaster preparedness in Indian states and the Centre. Health pandemics like Covid and climate hazards like the Uttarakhand floods or Delhi heat waves have differing origins, but they spotlight common gaps in readiness. With extreme health and climate disasters set to continue, these events must be seen as regular occurrences rather than one-off acts of nature. Ranked by HSBC as the most vulnerable to climate change among 67 nations, India needs to make a paradigm shift to prioritize preparedness and not just recovery. This preparedness plan must be tailor-made to the unique requirements of the states.

WHAT IS A DISASTER?

• As per the Disaster Management Act, 2005 disaster is defined as “A catastrophe, mishap, calamity or grave occurrence in any area, arising from natural or manmade causes, or by accident or negligence which results in substantial loss of life or human suffering or damage to, and destruction of property, or damage to, or degradation of the environment and is of such a nature or magnitude as to be beyond the coping capacity of the community of the affected area.”
• The United Nations defines a disaster as “the occurrence of sudden or major misfortune which disrupts the basic fabric and normal functioning of the society or community”.
• A disaster is a sudden, calamitous event that seriously disrupts the functioning of a community or society and causes human, material, and economic or environmental losses that exceed the community’s or society’s ability to cope using its own resources. Though often caused by nature, disasters can have human origins

UNDERSTANDING DISASTER MANAGEMENT

• As per Disaster Management Act, 2005, “disaster management” means a continuous and integrated process of planning, organizing, coordinating and implementing measures to deal with disasters.
• In other words, Disaster Management is the organization and management of resources and responsibilities for dealing with all humanitarian aspects of emergencies, in particular preparedness, response and recovery in order to lessen the impact of disasters.
• Disaster management includes administrative decisions and operational activities that involve Prevention · Mitigation · Preparedness · Response · Recovery · Rehabilitation
• Key Phases of Disaster Management There are three key phases of activity within disaster management:

1. Pre – Disaster: Before a disaster to reduce the potential for human, material or environmental losses caused by hazards and to ensure that these losses are minimized when the disaster actually strikes.
2. During Disaster: It is to ensure that the needs and provisions of victims are met to alleviate and minimize suffering.
3. Post Disaster: After a disaster to achieve rapid and durable recovery which does not reproduce the original vulnerable conditions.

DISASTER PREPAREDNESS: CONCEPT

• The focus of this write up is on the necessity of state-specific Pre-disaster preparedness/readiness plans.
• Hitherto, the approach towards coping with the effects of natural disasters has been post-disaster management, limited to problems such as law and order, evacuation and warnings, communications, search and rescue, fire-fighting, medical and psychiatric assistance, provision of relief and sheltering, etc
• It is not possible to do away with the devastation of natural hazards completely. However, experience has shown that destruction from natural hazards can be minimised by a well-functioning warning system, combined with preparedness on the part of the vulnerable community.
• Warning systems and preparedness measures reduce/ modify the scale of disasters
• It is becoming increasingly evident now that a relatively smaller investment in disaster preparedness can save thousands of lives and vital economic assets, as well as reduce the cost of overall relief assistance.
• This preparedness process embraces measures that enable governments, communities and individuals to respond rapidly to disaster situations to cope with them effectively.
• Preparedness includes, for example, the formulation of viable emergency plans, the development of warning systems, the maintenance of inventories, public awareness and education and the training of personnel.
• It may also embrace search and rescue measures as well as evacuation plans for areas that may be „at-risk‟ from a recurring disaster.
• All preparedness planning needs to be supported by appropriate rules and regulations with a clear allocation of responsibilities and budgetary provisions.
• According to Sendai Framework (2015-2030), one of the priorities of action is enhancing disaster preparedness for effective response.

BENEFITS OF DISASTER PREPAREDNESS PLANS: CASE STUDY FROM STATES

WHY INDIA NEEDS STATE-SPECIFIC DISASTER PREPAREDNESS PLANS?

WHAT ARE THE PROBLEMS IN STATE DISASTER PREPAREDNESS?

The problem areas in preparedness are organisational and planning related issues, like inadequate policy direction, outdated plans and over-concentration on recovery and response activities, which leads to low preparedness.

Lack of resources or resource organisations and unclear allocation of these resources is also likely to create gaps or overlaps in the preparedness arrangements.

Other problems like inadequate coordination and lack of cooperation at the policymaking and implementation level, public awareness and suitable training for the disaster managers usually contribute significantly to poor disaster preparedness activities. The problems in state disaster preparedness are summarized below

WHAT MUST BE DONE?

• In dealing with covid, local efforts have also played a critical role, be it citizens’ responses in such cities as Delhi, Guwahati and Jaipur, or those of gram panchayats in rural areas.
• But across the country, covid has revealed glaring gaps in health systems, and, in many instances, poor governance and often a lack of trust in governments.
• In Australia, following its deadly bushfires of 2018 and 2019, Insurance Australia Group recommended that government funding prioritize risk reduction, lessening the need for spending on disaster recovery. To aid in better preparedness, the Australian Natural Disaster Resilience Index now assesses the risk profiles and resilience of communities faced with bushfires.
• In a similar vein, an audit of how the central and state governments have handled covid will offer valuable lessons that can guide them to upgrade hospitals, increase medical inventories and create/update crisis response plans, for example.
• Every state should conduct a ‘stress test’ of how well it can cope in the event of even more frequent and intense calamities. These results should be published transparently

• In India, it would pay to establish inter-state pooling of technical capabilities, supplies and staff power to manage deficits and gaps.

• The overarching lesson for the Indian states and the Centre is to make more and better investments in health, education and social safety nets.
• Local initiatives will continue to aid disaster preparedness, but governments must act in anticipation of emerging calamities rather than scramble to respond after they strike.

INTERNATIONAL EXPERIENCe: SINGAPORE

Bloomberg ranks Singapore highest in Covid resilience, based on fatality rates, test rates and vaccination rates. Drawing on its experience with Sars and Influenza A, the Singapore government has prioritized disaster preparedness in its investments. One indication of this priority is that the government has built up digital infrastructure and engineering capabilities that can be deployed before, during and after calamities strike. For example, tools for contact tracing, like SafeEntry and Trace Together, are enabling Singapore to respond swiftly to the spread of Covid. A suite of digital tools is helping disseminate information and enabling government agencies to better coordinate and manage the crisis.

 THE WAY FORWARD

• Section 10 and 11 of the DM Act 2005 provides for a national plan to be formulated under the direction of the NDMA to deal with   However, the Central Government and the NDMA has not formulated it despite the ravages of the pandemic. This has set a poor example for states’ covid/disaster preparedness. Leadership role by the Union can nudge and inspire the states to be proactive in disaster readiness.
• The Fifteenth Finance Commission in its first report covering the financial year 2020-21 has recommended 10 per cent of the SDRF allocation for Preparedness and Capacity-building. The states must utilise this fund for conceiving and operationalizing and upgrading the whole gamut of disaster readiness.
• The Second Administrative Reforms Commission, in its report on “Crisis Management”, made a strong pitch for the enhanced role of local self-governments in the entire disaster management cycle with a special focus on the pre-disaster stage and preparedness. States must empower and build local bodies capacities in this regard.
• Excessive focus on the Post-disaster cycle that relies on relief, recovery, reconstruction etc have led to neglect of disaster preparedness. It is imperative for states to concentrate on equal measures and evaluate the preparedness at all governmental and non-governmental (schools, hospitals, businesses, NGOs etc) for the purpose of responding to any threatening disaster situation or disaster and give directions, where necessary, for enhancing such preparedness.

CONCLUSION: Disaster Preparedness” means the state of readiness to deal with a threatening disaster situation or disaster and its effects. It deals with measures to be taken for preparedness and capacity building to effectively respond to any threatening disaster situations or disaster. India’s unique geo-climatic vulnerabilities and poor socio-economic infrastructural base have made it quite vulnerable to disasters. The Covid pandemic has exposed the countries’ lack of preparedness for meeting the challenges. Although almost all states bore the brunt of the Virus, some better-prepared states could come out stronger. For instance, while Uttar Pradesh and Delhi reeled under oxygen shortage, Kerala was well prepared. This and other evidence makes a strong case for state-specific disaster preparedness plans which can be a game-changer in India’s disaster management strategy.

Practice Questions:

1. Critically analyse the need for state-specific disaster preparedness plans in the light of the Covid 19 pandemic.
2. The problems of states’ disaster preparedness have been exposed by the recent occurrence of disasters in India including the Covid 19 pandemic. Discuss.

INDIAN POLITY, GOVERNANCE AND SOCIAL JUSTICE

1. NATIONAL ACHIEVEMENT SURVEY 2021

THE CONTEXT: The National Achievement Survey 2021, was successfully conducted today across all 36 states and UTs of the country.

THE EXPLANATION:

• The National Achievement Survey (NAS) is a process of gathering information in order to develop a deep understanding of what students know, understand and can do with their knowledge as a result of their educational experiences.
• This process will ultimately culminate to improve the subsequent students’ learning and development, through systemic interventions.
• The Achievement Survey was conducted in different mediums of instruction as available in the sampled schools.
• NAS 2021 is the first achievement survey after the release of the National Education Policy 2020 (NEP). The assessment would be used to benchmark students’ learning against criteria such as process skills and learning outcomes.
• NAS 2021 will infuse the competency-based assessment system over the content and memory-based assessment as envisaged by NEP 2020.
• The results of NAS 2021 will be prepared in the form of District Report Cards, State/UT reports and National reports.
• NAS will enable States and the Union Territories to identify gaps in learning outcomes and take remedial steps.
• It will also help in the capacity building for teachers and officials involved in the delivery of education in the country.
• The result from the assessment would also provide a rich repository of evidence and data points furthering the scope of research and development.

SOURCE: PIB

2. SCHOOL DROPOUT WAS HIGH DUE TO COVID-19

THE CONTEXT: According to a new national sample survey by ICRIER and LIRNEAsia, a think tank focusing on digital policy, only 20% of school-age children in India had access to remote education during the pandemic, of whom only half participated in live online lessons,

THE EXPLANATION:

• In fact, 38% of households said at least one child had dropped out of school completely due to COVID-19.
• The survey found that although digital connectivity shot up 40% during the pandemic, low access to devices, poor signal and high costs prevented most children from reaping the benefits.
• Among children aged 5-18 years, it was found that 80% of those who were enrolled in schools prior to the pandemic did not receive any educational services at all during school closure.
• The situation was significantly worse among those from lower socio-economic classes, where the head of the household had lower education levels, and among rural households.
• Among the 20% who received an education, only 55% had access to live online classes, while 68% had access to recorded audio or video lessons. Three-fourths of the students had work sent to them over a smartphone, usually via Whatsapp, and 61% via text messages.
• Almost 70% had contact with their teachers via phone calls, while 58% had work delivered to their homes. About half the students were also instructed to listen to educational TV and radio programmes.
• Of households with school-aged children, 64% had internet connections, but only 31% of those received remote education, often because of a lack of access to devices or a lack of larger screen devices. However, among those without internet connections, the situation was worse, with only 8% receiving remote education.
• Respondents listed an insufficient number of devices, poor 3G/4G signal and high data cost as among the biggest hurdles. Even among those receiving remote education, a third of the households said that schools were not prepared to deliver online education.
• Such challenges continued despite increasing digital connectivity. Over 13 crore people came online in 2020-21, pushing up the country’s total internet users to more than 47 crores. Of the 8 crores who came online in 2020, 43% said they were motivated by COVID-19 related reasons. Overall, internet usage has spiked from 19% of the population above 15 years in 2017 to 47% this year.
• However, only 5% of households had laptops, while 4% had desktop computers. The vast majority relied on smartphones, which were available in 68% of households.

SOURCE:  TH

3. NOROVIRUS CASES SURFACE IN KERALA

THE CONTEXT: A Day after Norovirus cases were confirmed in Wayanad district, the Kerala Government has said people need to be vigilant about the very contagious virus that causes vomiting and diarrhoea.

ABOUT NOROVIRUS

• An animal-borne disease, Norovirus is a group of viruses that leads to gastrointestinal illness among people causing inflammation in the lining of the stomach and intestines.
• The virus is contagious and can be spread through direct contact with infected people and it can significantly affect people from every age group including youngsters, adults, and the elderly.
• The major symptoms of Norovirus include diarrhoea, vomiting, nausea, stomach pain followed by fever, headache, and body aches among others. Apart from this, frequent vomiting and diarrhoea can also lead to dehydration and other complications in people.
• There is no specific medicine to treat people with norovirus illness. If you have norovirus illness, you should drink plenty of liquids to replace fluid lost from vomiting and diarrhoea.
• Alcohol-based hand sanitizers are not effective against the Norovirus.

SOURCE: TH

INDIAN ECONOMY

4. THE TWO INITIATIVES OF THE RBI

THE CONTEXT: PM launched two customer-centric initiatives of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) — the RBI Retail Direct Scheme and the Integrated Ombudsman Scheme. With this, India has opened the government bond market for retail investors.

RBI RETAIL DIRECT SCHEME

• The scheme allows retail investors to buy and sell government securities (G-Sec) online, both in the primary and secondary markets. These small investors can now invest in G-Secs by opening a gilt securities account with the RBI. The account opened will be called Retail Direct Gilt (RDG) Account.
• A retail investor can open the RDG account if they have the following — a Rupee savings bank account maintained in India, PAN card, any officially valid document such as Aadhaar, Voter ID for KYC purpose, a valid email ID and a registered mobile number.
• Participation and allotment of securities will be as per the non-competitive scheme. Only one bid per security is permitted. On submission of the bid, the total amount payable will be displayed. Payment to the aggregator/receiving office can be made through using the net-banking or UPI facility from the linked bank account, whereby funds will be debited at the time of submission of bids on the portal.
• Registered investors can access the secondary market transaction link on the online portal to buy or sell government securities through NDS-OM.

RBI INTEGRATED OMBUDSMAN SCHEME

• This will help in improving the grievance redress mechanism for resolving customer complaints against RBI’s regulated entities.
• The scheme is based on “One Nation-One Ombudsman” with one portal, one email, and one address for the customers to lodge their complaints.
• There will be a single point of reference for customers to file their complaints, submit the documents, track status, and provide feedback.
• There will be a multilingual toll-free number that will provide all relevant information on grievance redress and assistance for filing complaints. The redressal will continue to be cost-free for customers of banks and members of the public.

IMPORTANCE OF THE SCHEMES

• The move comes at a time when rising inflation adds pressure on the RBI to lift rates.
• Tighter monetary policy is likely to weaken the demand for bonds, making it challenging for the government to execute its near-record borrowing program.
• Other emerging-market nations in Asia, like the Philippines, have also sought to raise funds from citizens to battle the pandemic.
• Yields on India’s benchmark 10-year government bonds have risen in the past five months amid surging crude oil prices.

SOURCE: IE                                                                                                                                                                      

SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

5. NATIONAL INTERNET EXCHANGE OF INDIA 

THE CONTEXT:  National Internet Exchange of India (NIXI) has taken a new initiative by establishing out a customer-focused unit – “Customer-Care Unit,” which will facilitate the interaction of customers with all its business units. This team will support the customer queries (24×7) for all the operations.

THE EXPLANATION:

• NIXI has three businesses, viz. — Internet Exchange, Dot IN Registry, and IRINN and all three units deal with their respective customers, supporting and managing their queries.
• At times the same customer might be consuming services from two different units of NIXI and interact with two different teams.
• To overcome this and make the experience seamless, NIXI has created this Customer-Care Unit — for an efficient response towards their customers.

ABOUT NIXI

• National Internet Exchange of India (NIXI) is a not-for-profit organization (section 8 of the Companies Act 2013) working since 2003 for spreading the internet infrastructure to the citizens of India through the following activities:
• Internet Exchanges through which the internet data is exchanged amongst ISP’s, Data Centers, and CDNs.
• IN Registry, managing, and operation of .IN country-code domain and .भारत IDN domain for India.
• IRINN, managing and operating Internet protocol (IPv4/IPv6).

SOURCE: PIB

6. THE CRITICAL NOISE TREATMENT ALGORITHM

THE CONTEXT:  Indian astronomers have developed the critical noise treatment algorithm that can increase the accuracy of data from exoplanets by reducing the contamination by the Earth’s atmosphere and the disturbances due to instrumental effects and other factors.

THE EXPLANATION:

• The understanding of the physical properties of exoplanets with extreme accuracy can help to explore the ones that could be like planet Earth and hence might be habitable.
• For this purpose, a group of astronomers at the Indian Institute of Astrophysics, Bangalore has been using the ground-based optical telescopes available in India and the data obtained by the space telescope “Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite” or TESS.

SOURCE: PIB

INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS

7. INDO-THAI CORPAT

THE CONTEXT:  The 32nd edition of the India-Thailand Coordinated Patrol (Indo-Thai CORPAT) between the Indian Navy and the Royal Thai Navy is being conducted from 12 – 14 November 2021. 

THE EXPLANATION:

• Indian Naval Ship (INS) Karmuk, an indigenously built Missile Corvette and His Majesty’s Thailand Ship (HTMS) Tayanchon, a Khamrosin Class Anti-submarine Patrol Craft, along with Maritime Patrol Aircraft from both navies are participating in the CORPAT.
• Towards reinforcing maritime links between the two countries and with an aim of keeping this vital part of the Indian Ocean safe and secure for international trade, the two navies have been undertaking CORPAT bi-annually since 2005 along their International Maritime Boundary Line (IMBL).
• CORPAT builds up understanding and interoperability between navies and facilitates the institution of measures to prevent and suppress unlawful activities like Illegal Unreported Unregulated (IUU) fishing, drug trafficking, maritime terrorism, armed robbery and piracy.
• It further helps enhance the operational synergy by exchange of information for the prevention of smuggling, illegal immigration and for conduct of search and rescue (SAR) operations at sea.
• As part of the Government of India’s vision of SAGAR (Security And Growth for All in the Region), the Indian Navy has been proactively engaging with the countries in the Indian Ocean Region towards enhancing regional maritime security. This has been through bilateral and multilateral exercises, Coordinated Patrols, Joint EEZ Surveillance, and Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief (HADR) operations. The Indian Navy and Royal Thai Navy have especially enjoyed a close and friendly relationship covering a wide spectrum of activities and interactions, which have strengthened over the years.
• The 32nd Indo-Thai CORPAT will contribute towards the Indian Navy’s efforts to consolidate inter-operability and forge strong bonds of friendship between India and Thailand.

SOURCE: PIB

MISCELLANEOUS

8. U.S. CLEARS WAY FOR SPOUSES OF H-1B VISA HOLDERS TO WORK

THE CONTEXT:  The Biden administration has agreed to provide automatic work authorisation permits to the spouses of H-1B visa holders, most of whom are Indian IT professionals.

THE EXPLANATION:

• An H-4 visa is issued by the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) to immediate family members (spouse and children under 21 years of age) of the H-1B visa holders.
• The H-1B visa is a non-immigrant visa that allows U.S. companies to employ foreign workers in speciality occupations that require theoretical or technical expertise.
• Types of Visa issued by the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services

SOURCE: TH

PRELIMS PRACTICE QUESTIONS

Q1.  Which of the following pairs of visa types and their purpose is/are correctly matched?

1. H-1B Visa – for skilled workers
2. H-2B Visa – for seasonal workers
3. J-1 Visa – for family members dependent on skilled workers

Select the correct answer using the code given below:

a) 1 only

b) 1 and 2

c) 1 and 3

d) All of the above

ANSWER FOR NOVEMBER 12^th, 2021 PRELIMS PRACTICE QUESTIONS

Q1. Answer: B

Explanation:

• From this year, the Karnataka government has decided to celebrate ‘Onake Obavva Jayanti’ on November 11 throughout the state.
• Onake Obavva died fighting the troops of Hyder Ali, a ruler of the Mysore Kingdom and father of Tipu Sultan when he invaded the Chitradurga Fort, which was ruled by Madakari Nayaka in the 18th century. Chitradurga Fort, locally known as Elusuttina Kote, (the fort of seven circles in Kannada), is situated in Chitradurga, 200 km northwest of Bengaluru.
• Obavva is considered to be the epitome of Kannada pride and celebrated along with other women warriors of Karnataka state like Abbakka Rani (first Tuluva Queen of Ullal in coastal Karnataka who fought the Portuguese), Keladi Chennamma (the queen of the Keladi Kingdom who is known for fighting against Mughal emperor Aurangzeb), and Kittur Chennamma (Queen of Kittur known for the 1824 revolt against the British East India Company).

ART AND CULTURE

1. ONAKE OBAVVA

THE CONTEXT: From this year, the Karnataka government has decided to celebrate ‘Onake Obavva Jayanti’ on November 11 throughout the state. 

THE EXPLANATION:

• Onake Obavva died fighting the troops of Hyder Ali, a ruler of the Mysore Kingdom and father of Tipu Sultan when he invaded the Chitradurga Fort, which was ruled by Madakari Nayaka in the 18th century. Chitradurga Fort, locally known as Elusuttina Kote, (the fort of seven circles in Kannada), is situated in Chitradurga, 200 km northwest of Bengaluru.
• Obavva is considered to be the epitome of Kannada pride and celebrated along with other women warriors of Karnataka state like Abbakka Rani (first Tuluva Queen of Ullal in coastal Karnataka who fought the Portuguese), Keladi Chennamma (the queen of the Keladi Kingdom who is known for fighting against Mughal emperor Aurangzeb), and Kittur Chennamma (Queen of Kittur known for the 1824 revolt against the British East India Company).
• Inspired by Onake Obavva, in 2018, the Chitradurga police started ‘Obavva Pade’, a squad of women police constables to protect and educate women in the district.

SOURCE: IE

INDIAN POLITY, GOVERNANCE AND SOCIAL JUSTICE

2. ADR REPORT ON DONATIONS TO REGIONAL PARTIES

THE CONTEXT: the Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR) said in a report that over 55% of the donations received by regional parties in FY 2019-20 came from “unknown” sources. Electoral bonds accounted for nearly 95% of the donations from “unknown” sources.

THE EXPLANATION:

• While the total donations received by 25 regional parties in FY 2019-20 added up to Rs 803.24 crore, Rs 445.7 crore was attributed to “unknown” sources. Of the donations from “unknown” sources, Rs 426.233 crore (95.616%) came from electoral bonds, and Rs 4.976 crore from voluntary contributions.
• The report noted that donations received by national parties from “unknown” sources added up to 70.98% of their income.
• Interestingly, parties in the south — TRS, TDP, YSR Congress Party, DMK and JD(S) — topped the list of regional parties with the highest incomes from “unknown” sources.
• The donations received by regional parties from “known” donors (details of donors as available from contribution report submitted to Election Commission) added up to Rs 184.623 crore, which is 22.98% of their total income; they received another Rs 172.843 crore (21.52% of total income) from other known sources like membership fees, bank interest, sale of publications, party levy etc.
• In its report for FY 2018-19, analysed 23 regional parties which filed their annual audit and contribution reports.

SOURCE: IE

 3. THE CHAR DHAM ROAD DEBATE

THE CONTEXT: The Supreme Court reserved its judgment on an appeal by the Ministry of Defence (MoD) for relaxing its September 2021 order that specified the road width under the Char Dham Mahamarg Vikas Pariyojana (Char Dham Highway Development Project) of the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH).

THE EXPLANATION:

• A flagship initiative of the Centre, the Rs 12,000-crore highway expansion project was envisaged in 2016 to widen 889 km of hill roads to provide all-weather connectivity in the Char Dham circuit, covering Uttarakhand’s four major shrines — Badrinath, Kedarnath, Gangotri and Yamunotri — in the upper Himalayas.
• In 2018, the road-expansion project was challenged by an NGO for its potential impact on the Himalayan ecology due to felling trees, cutting hills and dumping muck (excavated material). The Supreme Court formed a high-powered committee (HPC) under environmentalist Ravi Chopra to examine the issues.
• In July 2020, the HPC submitted two reports after members disagreed on the ideal width for hill roads. In September, the Supreme Court upheld the recommendation of four HPC members, including Chopra, to limit the carriageway width to 5.5 m (along with 1.5 m raised footpath), based on a March 2018 guideline issued by MoRTH for mountain highways.
• The majority report by 21 HPC members, 14 of them government officials, favoured a width of 12m as envisaged in the project following national highway double-lane with paved shoulder standards: 7 m carriageway, 1.5 m paved shoulders on both sides, and 1 m earthen shoulders on either side for drains and utilities (hillside) and crash barrier (valley side).
• A wider road requires additional slope cutting, blasting, tunnelling, dumping and deforestation – all of which will further destabilise the Himalayan terrain, and increase vulnerability to landslides and flash floods.
• HPC chairman Chopra wrote to the Environment Ministry in August 2020, underlining how the project was being implemented in brazen violation of statutory norms “as if the Rule of Law does not exist”. These include:
• Work Without Valid Permission:
• Misusing Old Clearances
• False Declaration:
• Work Without Seeking Clearance
• Violation Of Sc Directive

SOURCE: IE

ENVIRONMENT, GEOGRAPHY AND AGRICULTURE

4. CARBON COLONIALISM

THE CONTEXT: Group of developing countries that includes India and China has rejected the first draft of the expected agreement from the Glasgow climate conference and asked for changing the entire section on enhancing mitigation actions.

THE EXPLANATION:

• With less than two days left for the official end of the conference, this group, which calls itself Like-Minded Developing Countries (LMDCs) and also includes Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Iran, Indonesia, Malaysia among several others, accused the developed countries of attempting to transfer their responsibilities on the rest of the world and trying to impose new rules.
• LMDC group called it “new carbon colonialism” and said the 2050 net-zero targets being “forced” on the developing countries ignored historical responsibilities of the developed nations and the principles of equity and common but differentiated responsibilities (CBDR) enshrined in the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC).

SOURCE: IE

5. INDIA DEMANDS $1 TRILLION AS CLIMATE FINANCE

THE CONTEXT:  India has demanded a trillion dollars over the next decade from developed countries to adapt to, and mitigate, the challenges arising from global warming, and has kept this as a condition for delivering on climate commitments made by PM.

THE EXPLANATION:

• India’s five-fold plan is as follows — India’s non-fossil energy capacity would reach 500 GW by 2030; it will meet 50% of its electricity requirements with renewable energy by 2030; reducing its total projected carbon emissions by a billion tonnes by 2030; it will reduce the carbon intensity of its economy to less than 45% and achieve net-zero by 2070.
• Net-zero is when a country’s carbon emissions are offset by taking out equivalent carbon from the atmosphere so that emissions in balance are zero.
• Nationally Determined Contributions are voluntary targets that countries set for themselves, which describe the quantum and kind of emission cuts they will undertake over a fixed period to contribute to preventing runaway global warming.
• India’s last NDC was submitted following the Paris Agreement of 2015. Before COP26 began countries were expected to provide updated NDCs. India, however, did not furnish one.

SOURCE: TH

INDIAN ECONOMY

6. EGCA

THE CONTEXT: Civil Aviation Minister launched eGCA (e-Governance in Directorate General of Civil Aviation). The project aimed at automation of the processes and functions of DGCA.

THE EXPLANATION:

• The project has been aimed at automation of the processes and functions of DGCA, with 99 services covering about 70% of the DGCA work being implemented in the initial phases, and 198 services to be covered in other phases.
• Single window platform will bring in monumental change- eliminating operational inefficiencies, minimizing personal interaction, improving regulatory reporting, enhancing transparency and increasing productivity.
• The project will provide a strong base for IT infrastructure and service delivery framework.
• The e-platform provides an end-to-end solution including various software applications, connectivity with all the regional offices, a ‘portal’ for dissemination of information and for providing online and speedy service delivery in a secure environment.
• The project would enhance the efficiency of the various services provided by the DGCA and would ensure transparency and accountability in all DGCA functions.
• The project has been implemented with TCS as Service Provider and PWC as Project Management Consultant.

SOURCE: PIB                                                                                                                                                                        

SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

7. SOLAR IRONING CART

THE CONTEXT:  A 15-year-old girl from Tamil Nadu, who was recognized Earth Day Network Rising Star 2021 (USA) for her idea of ‘Solar Ironing Cart’, has exhorted the world to move towards clean energy during the recently concluded COP 26.

THE EXPLANATION:

• Miss Vinisha Umashankar, a class 10 student from Tiruvannamalai district of Tamil Nadu who received the Dr APJ Abdul Kalam IGNITE Awards instituted by the National Innovation Foundation (NIF) for her mobile ironing cart, which uses solar panels to power a steam iron box.
• A key benefit of the solar ironing cart is that it eliminates the need for coal for ironing bringing about a welcome shift towards clean energy. End-users can move around and offer services at the doorstep for increasing their daily earning.
• The ironing cart can also be fitted with a coin-operated GSM PCO, USB charging points and mobile recharging which can fetch extra income.
• It is an ingenious solar-powered alternative for the millions of charcoal burning ironing carts for pressing clothes and can benefit the workers and their families.
• The device can also be powered by pre-charged batteries, electricity or a diesel-powered generator in the absence of sunlight.

SOURCE: PIB

8. NASA’S DART MISSION

THE CONTEXT:  On November 24, NASA will launch the agency’s first planetary defence test mission named the Double Asteroid Redirection Test (DART). The main aim of the mission is to test the newly developed technology that would allow a spacecraft to crash into an asteroid and change its course.

THE EXPLANATION:

• The spacecraft will be launched on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California.
• The target of the spacecraft is a small moonlet called Dimorphous.
• Dimorphous orbits a larger asteroid named Didymos (Greek for “twin”) which has a diameter of 780 metres.
• The asteroid and the moonlet do not pose any threat to Earth and the mission is to test the new technology to be prepared in case an asteroid heads towards Earth in the future.
• Didymos is a perfect system for the test mission because it is an eclipsing binary which means it has a moonlet that regularly orbits the asteroid and we can see it when it passes in front of the main asteroid.
• Earth-based telescopes can study this variation in brightness to understand how long it takes Dimorphos to orbit Didymos.
• NASA states that DART is a low-cost spacecraft, weighing around 610 kg at launch and 550 kg at impact. The main structure is a box (1.2 × 1.3 × 1.3 metres). It has two solar arrays and uses hydrazine propellant for manoeuvring the spacecraft.
• It also carries about 10 kg of xenon which will be used to demonstrate the agency’s new thrusters called NASA Evolutionary Xenon Thruster–Commercial (NEXT-C) in space.
• The spacecraft carries a high-resolution imager called Didymos Reconnaissance and Asteroid Camera for Optical Navigation (DRACO). Images from DRACO will be sent to Earth in real-time and will help study the impact site and surface of Dimorphous.
• DART will also carry a small satellite or CubeSat named LICIA Cube (Light Italian CubeSat for Imaging of Asteroids). It will be deployed ten days before the impact on Dimorphous.
• LICIACube is expected to capture images of the impact and the impact crater formed because of the collision. It can also capture images of any dust cloud formed during the impact.

SOURCE: IE

9. EARTH’S FIRST LANDMASS EMERGED IN SINGHBHUM

THE CONTEXT:  A new study has challenged the widely accepted view that the continents rose from the oceans about 2.5 billion years ago. It suggests this happened 700 million years earlier — about 3.2 billion years ago — and that the earliest continental landmass to emerge may have been Jharkhand’s Singhbhum region. The study, by researchers from India, Australia and the US, has been published in the journal PNAS.

THE EXPLANATION:

• Scientists have found sandstones in Singhbhumwith geological signatures of ancient river channels, tidal plains and beaches over 3.2 billion years old, representing the earliest crust exposed to air.
• The researchers studied the granites that form the continental crust of the Singhbhum region.
• These granites are 3.5 to 3.1 billion years old and formed through extensive volcanism that happened about 35-45 km deep inside the Earth and continued on and off for hundreds of millions of years until all the magma solidified to form a thick continental crust in the area. Due to the thickness and less density, the continental crust emerged above the surrounding oceanic crust owing to buoyancy.
• The researchers believe the earliest emergence of continents would have contributed to a proliferation of photosynthetic organisms, which would have increased oxygen levels in the atmosphere.

SOURCE: IE

PRELIMS PRACTICE QUESTIONS

Q1.  Famous women warrior of the 18^th century, Onake Obavva, is related to which region of India?

a) Jharkhand

b) Karnataka

c) Tripura

d) Kashmir

ANSWER FOR NOVEMBER 11^th, 2021 PRELIMS PRACTICE QUESTIONS

Q1. Answer: B

Explanation:

• Mass nesting phenomenon of  Olive Ridley Sea Turtles is called arribadas (Spanish term for mass nesting)

Q2. Answer: D

Explanation:

• Statement 1 is incorrect: It is an initiative of the Indian Coastguard
• Statement 2 is incorrect: It was initiated in the early 1980s, to protect Olive Ridley turtles as they congregate along the Odisha coast for breeding and nesting from November to December.

ART AND CULTURE

1. THE ART AND CRAFT OF SRINAGAR

THE CONTEXT: Srinagar became one of 49 cities worldwide to join the UNESCO Creative Cities Network (UCCN).

THE EXPLANATION:

• The Indian National Commission for Cooperation with UNESCO had recommended Srinagarand Gwalior for inclusion in the list; only Srinagar made it this time. Five Indian cities are already in the list — Mumbai (film), Hyderabad (gastronomy), Chennai (music), Varanasi (music) and Jaipur (crafts and folk art).
• While the entire central Kashmir is known for its varied craft traditions, the UCCN allows only individual cities to file nominations.
• Srinagar, Ganderbal and Budgam are the main districts of Kashmir that have for ages been involved in making handicrafts products — such as textiles, carpets and rugs, crewel embroidery, silverware, woodwork and papier-mâché.
• Papier-mâché is said to have been brought to Kashmir by saint Mir Sayyid Ali Hamadani from Persia in the 14th century. It is based primarily on creating colourful utility and decorative objects using paper pulp — vases, bowls, cups, boxes, trays and lamp bases. The art is concentrated mainly around downtown Srinagar and employs around 35,000 artisans — big and small, traders and kaarigars.
• The wood comes from walnut trees, which grow at 7,000 feet above sea level here, and is used to make tables, jewellery boxes and trays. Downtown Srinagar is dotted with shops where one finds craftsmen chiselling and polishing wood. These items are an essential attraction for tourists visiting Kashmir, besides being in great demand locally.
• The best-quality shawls in the world are still made of pashmina, the wool of the wild Asian mountain goat.
• The region is also the epicentre of high-quality, intricately woven woollen material like shawls, carpets and rugs. This is the only craft — unlike walnut carving and papier-mâché — that sees extensive participation by women artisans as well.
• It is expected that the UCCN tag would not only give global recognition to Srinagar but also help it in getting international funding, making tie-ups with craft universities, and pitching crafts as products.

ABOUT UCCN

• It was created in 2004 to promote cooperation with and among cities that have identified creativity as a strategic factor for sustainable urban development.
• The UCCN is now an exclusive club of 295 cities from across 90 countries that invest in culture and creativity — crafts and folk art, design, film, gastronomy, literature, media arts, and music — to advance sustainable urban development.

SOURCE: TH

ENVIRONMENT, GEOGRAPHY AND AGRICULTURE

2. FROTHING IN DELHI’S YAMUNA

THE CONTEXT: A layer of froth was seen floating over parts of the Yamuna River near Kalindi Kunj, with Chhath devotees standing in toxic foam-laden water to offer prayers.

THE EXPLANATION:

• Experts say the release of untreated or poorly treated effluents, including sewage from those parts of the city that are not connected to the sewerage network and industrial waste, could lead to frothing.
• Surfactants and phosphates from detergents in households and industrial laundry find their way into the river, as all the sewage is not treated.
• The river is in a lean phase and the water flow is less. Pollutants, therefore, are not diluted. The turbulence at the barrage near Okhla generates foam from the phosphates.
• In June this year, the DPCC banned the sale, storage and transportation of soaps and detergents not conforming to the quality standards set by the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS). The now-disbanded Yamuna Monitoring Committee had recommended that such a ban be imposed.

SOURCE:  IE

INTERNAL SECURITY

3. FOURTH SCORPENE SUBMARINE VELA

THE CONTEXT: The fourth submarine of the Project – 75, VELA was delivered to the Indian Navy.

THE EXPLANATION:

• Project – 75 includes the construction of six submarines of Scorpene design. These submarines are being constructed at Mazagon Dock Shipbuilders Limited (MDL) Mumbai, under collaboration with M/s Naval Group, France.
• Christened ‘Vela’, has completed all major harbour and sea trials including weapon and sensor trials despite COVID restrictions. Three of these submarines are already in commission with the Indian Navy.
• Submarine construction is an intricate activity as the difficulty is compounded when all equipment are required to be miniaturised and are subject to stringent quality requirements.
• The submarine would soon be commissioned into the Indian Navy and enhance the Indian Navies capability.

Source: PIB

INDIAN ECONOMY

4. THE MINERALS CONCESSION RULES 2021 NOTIFIED

THE CONTEXT: Ministry of Mines has notified the Minerals (Other than Atomic and Hydro Carbons Energy Mineral) Concession (Fourth Amendment) Rules, 2021 to amend The Minerals (Other than Atomic and Hydro Carbons Energy Mineral) Concession Rules, 2016 [MCR, 2016].

THE EXPLANATION:

• The highlights of amendments in the Rules are as follows:
• New rules were inserted to provide a manner of sale of 50% of mineral produced from the captive leases. With this amendment, the Government has paved the way for releasing additional minerals in the market by greater utilization of mining capacities of captive mines. The allowance for the sale of a prescribed quantity of mineral shall also motivate the lessees to enhance the production from the captive mines. Further, payment of the additional premium amount, royalty and other statutory payments in respect of the quantity sold shall boost the revenue of the State Governments.
• A provision was added to allow the disposal of overburden/ waste rock/ mineral below the threshold value, which is generated during the course of mining or beneficiation of the mineral. This will enable ease of doing business for the miners.
• The minimum area for the grant of mining lease has been revised from 5 ha. to 4 ha. For certain specific deposits, minimum 2 ha. is provided.
• Part surrender of mining lease area allowed in all cases. Presently, part surrender was allowed only in case of non-grant of forest clearance.
• Rules amended to allow transfer of composite licence or mining lease of all types of mine.
• New rules were inserted to provide for mutation of ML/ CL in favour of legal heirs on the death of the lessee or licenced.
• Interest on delayed payments revised from existing 24% to 12%.
• Rules regarding the period of mining lease granted to Government companies and their payments incorporated in the MCR, 2016.
• Penalty provisions in the rules have been rationalized. Previously, the rules provided for a penalty of imprisonment up to 2 years or fine up to 5 lakh rupees or both for violation of each rule irrespective of the severity of the violation. Amendment in the rules categorized the violations of the rules under the following major heads:

1. Major Violations: Penalty of imprisonment, fine or both.
2. Minor Violations: Penalty reduced. The penalty of only fine for such violations prescribed.
3. Violation of other rules has been decriminalized. These rules did not cast any significant obligation on the concession holder or any other person. Thus, violation of 49 rules has been decriminalized.

SOURCE: PIB

SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

5. LEONIDS METEOR SHOWER

THE CONTEXT: The annual Leonids Meteor Shower has begun. This year’s shower is active between November 6 and 30, with peak activity expected on November 17.

THE EXPLANATION:

• The peak time of a meteor shower comes when the Earth passes through the densest part of the debris. On November 17, bits of the cosmic debris will appear to viewers from Earth like a display of fireworks in the sky.
• The debris that forms this meteor shower originates from a small comet called 55P/Tempel-Tuttle in the constellation Leo, which takes 33 years to orbit the sun.
• The Leonids are considered to be a major shower that features the fastest meteors, which typically travel at speeds of 71 km per second, although the rates are often as low as 15 meteors per hour.
• The Leonids are also called fireballs and earthgazer meteors. Fireballs, because of their bright colours, and earthgazer, because they streak close to the horizon.
• The light—which is why a meteor is called a shooting star — is a result of the friction between the meteorite and the molecules present in the Earth’s atmosphere because of which it burns.
• Every 33 years, a Leonid shower turns into a meteor storm, which is when hundreds to thousands of meteors can be seen every hour. A meteor storm should have at least 1,000 meteors per hour. I
• In 1966, a Leonid storm offered views of thousands of meteors that fell through the Earth’s atmosphere per minute during a period of 15 minutes. The last such storm took place in2002.

SOURCE: IE

INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS

6. NSA MEETS TAJIK AND UZBEK COUNTERPARTS

THE CONTEXT: Ahead of the Delhi Regional Security Dialogue, National Security Adviser met his counterparts from Tajikistan and Uzbekistan for separate bilateral meetings.

THE EXPLANATION:

• At present, no country has recognised the Taliban Interim Government and the Taliban has rejected calls for an electoral process to decide who will succeed the previous Ghani Government.
• They discussed the terror threats from Afghanistan, the humanitarian crisis unfolding there and the need for an inclusive and “legitimate” government in Kabul.
• National Security Adviser of India and Tajikistan also spoke about deepening cooperation in areas like defence, border management and border infrastructure development.

SOURCE:  TH

 7. ISSI SAANEQ

THE CONTEXT: Issi saaneq is New dinosaur species, which roamed Greenland 214 mn years ago.

THE EXPLANATION:

• In 1994, palaeontologists from Harvard University unearthed two well-preserved dinosaur skulls during an excavation in East Greenland.
• One of the specimens was originally thought to be from a Plateosaurus, a well-known long-necked dinosaur that lived in Germany, France and Switzerland.
• Now, an international team of researchers from Portugal, Denmark and Germany has performed a micro-CT scan of the bones, which enabled them to create digital 3D models.
• They have determined that the finds belong to a new species, which they have named Issi saaneq. They have reported their findings in the journal Diversity.
• The name of the new dinosaur pays tribute to Greenland’s Inuit language and means “coldbone”.

SOURCE:  IE

MISCELLANEOUS

8. THE NEXT CHIEF OF THE NAVAL STAFF

THE CONTEXT: Vice Admiral R. Hari Kumar, presently Flag Officer Commanding-in-Chief (FOC-in-C) Western Naval Command, has been appointed as the next Chief of the Naval Staff (CNS).

THE EXPLANATION:

• He will take over on November 30 when incumbent Admiral Karambir Singh retires from service.
• Vice Admiral Kumar graduated from J-squadron, 61 Course National Defence Academy in December 1981 and was commissioned into the Executive Branch of the Navy on January 1, 1983.
• During a career spanning nearly 39 years, he has served in a variety of Command, Staff and Instructional appointments.
• Vice Admiral Kumar’s Sea Command includes Coast Guard Ship C-01, INS Nishank, Missile Corvette,INS Kora and Guided Missile Destroyer INS Ranvir.
• He also commanded the aircraft carrier INS Viraat. He also served as Fleet Operations Officer of the Western Fleet

SOURCE:  TH

PRELIMS PRACTICE QUESTIONS

Q1. Papier Mache  is popular art in:

a) Hyderabad

b) Jaipur

c) Kashmir

c) Mysore

ANSWER FOR NOVEMBER 9^th, 2021 PRELIMS PRACTICE QUESTIONS

Q1. Answer: B

Explanation:

• Statement 1 is correct: It was created in 2004 to promote cooperation among the cities for sustainable urban development.
• Statement 2 is correct: Varanasi and Chennai cities have been added to the network under the category of music.
• Statement 3 is incorrect: Srinagar and Jaipur have been added to the network under the category of craft and folk art.

THE CONTEXT: As the rise of China upends the existing order, the question of the impact of ongoing developments on the Indo-Russia relationship has gained increasing salience, especially as the US-China rivalry intensifies. These developments going to impact the future of India-Russia relations. In the present article, we will analyze the political, security, economic and strategic aspects of this phenomenon and opportunities and challenges for New Delhi and Moscow in evolving world order.

CHANGING INDIA- RUSSIA RELATIONS

• The special and privileged strategic partnership between India and Russia, has, over the decades, stood out as a long-standing, time-tested relationship.
• The two sides have built close political, strategic, defence, energy and investment ties which they continue to promote and nurture through bilateral and multilateral engagements.
• But in the recent past, sustained rapprochement between Russia and China, even as India becomes increasingly wary of a more assertive China the dynamics have only become more complicated.
• The state of their respective relations with the US introduces another level of complexity in this situation.
• These external factors continue to exert pressure on both countries’ policy-making, including the ongoing debate over the Indo-Pacific and the nature of China’s rise.

THE COMPLEXITY IN INDIA- CHINA RELATIONS

• Like two other important ambitious countries, the relations between India and China are in rivalry nature.
• Both countries are focusing to save their interests in a globalized era and this creates complexity in relations.
• As both are neighbored and have boundary disputes, so there is competition in international relations also.
• Even in South Asia and the Indian Ocean region, both have rivalry to expand their influences.
• According to many, the complexity in India-Chain relations will continue in future.
• A highly ambitious powerful China is not good news for India, that’s why India trying to develop good relations with like-minded countries for example the USA and Japan. The emergence of Quad is an example of this approach.

BUT CHINA FACTOR IS INFLUENCING INDIA-RUSSIA RELATIONS

• The beginning of the 21st century brought new opportunities for the partnership, with India’s rising economic growth and Russia’s resurgence on the global stage.
• Over the last two decades, the India-Russia strategic partnership has undergone a major transition given India’s and Russia’s simultaneous interactions with China and the United States.
• The “common threat” factor revolving around the United States and China during the Cold War no longer exists for India and Russia today.
• Modern-day India-U.S. relations and the Russia-China strategic partnership form a stumbling block for India-Russia relations given the emergence of great power rivalry between the United States and China.

WHY CHINA IS PLAYING A MAJOR ROLE IN INDIA-RUSSIA RELATIONS

Divergent Foreign Policies on China

• India and Russia exhibit divergent foreign policy strategies regarding China, with India focusing on multi-alignment and Russia on developing ties within Asia.
• Keeping pace with the changing trends in international relations, India has consciously adopted a policy of multi-alignment with the objective of improving its regional and global profile.
• For example, India’s active participation alongside Russia in the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO), Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa (BRICS), and the Quad is an outcome of its national interests.
• Meanwhile, Russia’s foreign policy since the announcement of the “pivot to Asia” strategy in 2014 has reinforced its focus on the geopolitics and geo-economics of Asia.

Changing geopolitics in recent time

• Expanding Russia-China strategic relations enable Russia to challenge the pre-eminence of the United States but have come at a cost for India.
• The current defence cooperation between Russia and China is set to include cooperation in sensitive fields, such as strategic missile defence, hypersonic technology, and the construction of nuclear submarines.
• India’s security dilemma is further captured in China’s burgeoning defence engagement with Russia, which has amplified the combat capability of the People’s Liberation Army; Russia has sold S-400 missile systems to both India and China.
• India is aware that Russia will not renew its 1971 military assistance to India to counter China’s growth, as China is no longer the “common threat” it was during the Cold War.

Russia dependency on China

• In addition to the defence sphere, Russia is dependent on China for power projection and financial investment to sustain its economic growth momentum.
• Currently, Chinese-Russian trade is nearly $110 billion and China is a big shareholder in a number of large Russian energy and infrastructural projects.
• Meanwhile, India-Russia trade is comparatively meagre, amounting to a mere $7.5 billion in 2019.
• As China-Russia trade relations continue to dwarf those of India-Russia, likely into the near future, China seems to have more clout than India in manoeuvring its foreign policy interests with Russia.

U.S. Ties as a Counterbalance

Given Russia’s current ties with China, its regulated presence in Asian geopolitics and its limited role in the Indian Ocean region, India sees its current engagement with the United States as having more leverage in countering China’s assertive policies.

• India has recently advanced its defence trade relationship and broader security partnership with the United States.
• ·Currently, India’s defence deals with the United States stands at $20 billion alongside crucial defence and strategic agreements that include the troika of “foundational pacts” Logistics Exchange Memorandum of Agreement (LEMOA), Communications, Compatibility and Security Agreement (COMCASA), and Basic Exchange and Cooperation Agreement (BECA), alongside the Industrial Security Agreement (ISA).
• Given growing defence engagement between the two countries, the United States designated India a Major Defense Partner in 2016 and elevated India to Strategic Trade Authorization Tier 1 status in 2018, which provides India ease of access to military technologies Divergent Foreign Policies on China
• India and Russia exhibit divergent foreign policy strategies regarding China, with India focusing on multi-alignment and Russia on developing ties within Asia.
• Keeping pace with the changing trends in international relations, India has consciously adopted a policy of multi-alignment with the objective of improving its regional and global profile.
• For example, India’s active participation alongside Russia in the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO), Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa (BRICS), and the Quad is an outcome of its national interests.
• Meanwhile, Russia’s foreign policy since the announcement of the “pivot to Asia” strategy in 2014 has reinforced its focus on the geopolitics and geo-economics of Asia.
• Changing geopolitics in recent times
• Expanding Russia-China strategic relations enable Russia to challenge the pre-eminence of the United States but have come at a cost for India.
• The current defence cooperation between Russia and China is set to include cooperation in sensitive fields, such as strategic missile defence, hypersonic technology, and the construction of nuclear submarines.
• India’s security dilemma is further captured in China’s burgeoning defence engagement with Russia, which has amplified the combat capability of the People’s Liberation Army; Russia has sold S-400 missile systems to both India and China.
• India is aware that Russia will not renew its 1971 military assistance to India to counter China’s growth, as China is no longer the “common threat” it was during the Cold War.
• Russia dependency on China       In addition to the defence sphere, Russia is dependent on China for power projection and financial investment to sustain its economic growth momentum.
• Currently, Chinese-Russian trade is nearly $110 billion and China is a big shareholder in a number of large Russian energy and infrastructural projects.
• Meanwhile, India-Russia trade is comparatively meagre, amounting to a mere $7.5 billion in 2019.
• As China-Russia trade relations continue to dwarf those of India-Russia, likely into the near future, China seems to have more clout than India in manoeuvring its foreign policy interests with Russia.
• U.S. Ties as a Counterbalance     Given Russia’s current ties with China, its regulated presence in Asian geopolitics and its limited role in the Indian Ocean region, India sees its current engagement with the United States as having more leverage in countering China’s assertive policies.
• India has recently advanced its defence trade relationship and broader security partnership with the United States.
• Currently, India’s defence deals with the United States stands at $20 billion alongside crucial defence and strategic agreements that include the troika of “foundational pacts” Logistics Exchange Memorandum of Agreement (LEMOA), Communications, Compatibility and Security Agreement (COMCASA), and Basic Exchange and Cooperation Agreement (BECA), alongside the Industrial Security Agreement (ISA).
• Given growing defence engagement between the two countries, the United States designated India a Major Defense Partner in 2016 and elevated India to Strategic Trade Authorization Tier 1 status in 2018, which provides India ease of access to military technologies.
• These close ties are perhaps a result of the United States sharing India’s concerns about China’s growing footprint in the Indian Ocean region.
• China’s robust expansive economic initiatives—including through its Belt and Road Initiative and gaining access to military bases and strategic ports—have added to these concerns.
• India’s strategy has expectedly involved strengthening U.S. ties to counterbalance Chinese influence.
• These close ties are perhaps a result of the United States sharing India’s concerns about China’s growing footprint in the Indian Ocean region.
• China’s robust expansive economic initiatives—including through its Belt and Road Initiative and gaining access to military bases and strategic ports—have added to these concerns.
• India’s strategy has expectedly involved strengthening U.S. ties to counterbalance Chinese influence.

SHOULD INDIA FORGET RUSSIA IN CONTEMPORARY TIMES? AN ANALYSIS 

A US-China Cold War could help deepen the US-India strategic partnership as both wish to counter China’s imperialism in Asia and there is an argument that in contemporary times India-Russia relations are not important like India-USA rations because India dependency on Russian weapons has been replaced with other options. In the waning days of the Obama administration, the United States designated India as a “major defence partner,” making it eligible to acquire a range of advanced and sensitive U.S. weapons technologies. The Trump administration has not made any moves to alter this status.  Apart from it, there are two most important development that happened in recent times when

1. In December 2020 Russia criticized QUAD group as a “divisive” and “exclusivist” concept and suggested that India-Russia ties could be affected by it.
2. China was not happy with the Russian arms supply to India.

This shows that the major factor of Indo-Russia Relations, which is armoury supply, is not an attractive package for both countries relations. So at this time, should India forget its relationship with Russia and focus to develop ties with the USA and other like-minded countries?

The answer is no, there are many reasons for saying No

1. Significant player: Russia still is a significant player on the world scene and has been striving to reclaim its erstwhile position primarily through military power and technological advancement. China, India and other major powers are also determined to claim their positions.
2. Neutral position: Instead, the US approach and attitude have contributed to bringing China and Russia closer. But, in the case of the India-China issue, Russia always seems in a neutral position. For example, Last year, acting as a pragmatic interlocutor, Russia had quietly played a constructive role in diffusing the Line of Actual Control standoff between India and China.
3. Strategic autonomy of India: ‘In international relations, there are no permanent friends or permanent enemies, only permanent interests. India has a longstanding relationship with Russia. Nevertheless, through a growing strategic partnership with Europe and the US, India is trying to rebalance its relationship with the great powers, maintaining overall equilibrium and its own strategic autonomy.
4. An important player in indo-pacific: Russia is an important player in the Indo-Pacific region. Both India and Russia countries have initiated cooperation in some geographical locations in this area. Not just the Eastern Maritime Corridor (Chennai-Vladivostok), India and Russia are also exploring the possibilities of Japan-India-Russia trilateral economic cooperation in Russia’s Far East region.
5. USA withdrawal from Afghanistan: The Biden announcement of a complete American troop withdrawal from Afghanistan by September might have created some worry among Indian policymakers about India’s stake in Kabul. Regardless of the existing Russia-China-Pakistan troika, Russia considers India a major stakeholder on the issue of Afghanistan. The Russian side also reiterated its support for India’s position on Kashmir and Pakistan besides making it clear that will neither join CPEC nor supply defence equipment to Islamabad.
6. India and China interest in Iran: China’s 25-year deal with Iran, India’s investment in Iran’s Chabahar port, and International North-South Transport Corridor connecting Russia and Central Asia make the Russian role even more meaningful in striking a balance between Indian and Chinese interests in Iran and the strategically important region.

So far, Russia has been a significant variable in the India-China equation on multiple fronts, creating an equilibrium rather than an imbalance. Indeed, balance and stability between India and China appear to be in Russia’s best interest for now.

FUTURE OF INDIA-RUSSIA COOPERATION

Russia’s strategic ties with China inform its criticism of the Indo-Pacific concept, together with its belief that it is a U.S.-led concept largely aimed to contain China. India’s acceptance of the “Indo-Pacific” concept can mainly be attributed to its growing concerns about Chinese expansionism in the region, affecting its national and maritime interests. With such contrasting views, it would be difficult for both India and Russia to come to a consensus on the idea of the Indo-Pacific. This is especially the case given their burgeoning relations with the United States and China respectively and the growing tensions between the latter two.  

However, there remain several new channels for closer engagement between India and Russia in the region the two may capitalize on. For instance,

• Russian domestic politics, and especially a renewed focus on the Far East and East Siberia, are set to orient foreign policy even more towards engagement with Asia.
• Engagement specifically with India in the Indo-Pacific region could be economically viable. India-Russia engagement in the Russian Far East by means of a trade route between Chennai and Vladivostok—could enhance geo-economic relations and regional connectivity.
• Both countries should address defence misalignment and minimize the divergence of interests to avoid creating too large a wedge in the long run.
• Multi-alignment has enabled India to forge deeper ties with Russia and the United States.

CONCLUSION: Although India sees its engagement with the United States having more weightage in countering China’s aggressive posturing, it must also try to strengthen and sustain its relations with Russia so that it has multiple strong alliances to counterbalance China.

Irrespective of India’s geopolitical equations with Russia and the United States, India’s choice to pursue multi-alignment redefines its strategic autonomy and pragmatism. Given the rising military and strategic competition, how India manages its engagement with extra-regional players will be key alongside enhancing its own capabilities and preparedness.

QUESTIONS:

1. ‘As India is directly involved in the new cold war, so it doesn’t have any strategic choice like past’. Examine the statement.
2. Although India has healthy relations with the USA it shouldn’t leave India-Russia relations back. Discuss the statement.
3. How China factor is affecting India-Russia relations? How India can balance its relations with USA and Russia?
4. As India needs Both USA and Russia to save its interests, it should focus on balance rather than leaning to one side. Comment and suggest the way forward for India’s foreign policy.

THE CONTEXT: The seats in the Lok Sabha is frozen as per the 1971 census population data. Then the population was 54 crores only which has more than doubled leading to significant political underrepresentation. When the next seat readjustment is due after the 2031 census, the changes in political representation would have different consequences to northern and southern States. This write-up examines this issue in detail.

CLARIFYING THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN DEMOCRACY AND FEDERALISM

DEMOCRACY

• Democracy is a system of elected Government. Essentially, a political construct democracy is operationalised through the principle “one person, one vote”. To quote Nehru “I prefer democracy not because it is the best form of Government but because there is no other form of Government better than democracy”.
• Political representation is the key feature of democracy through which the voices and concerns of the people are reflected in the scheme of governance of a country.
• Thus free and fair election process must be based on transparent delimitation after each census. This would reflect the changing demographic profiles of the country and would address the imbalances in “democracy”.
• Democratic governance provides scope for a federal system because it allows dispersal of political power and accommodates diversity.
• However, there might be situations where the political representation might militate against the federal system.

FEDERALISM

• Federalism is an arrangement of power-sharing between two or more constituent units in a political system. The essence of federalism is constitutionally assigned division of powers and the existence of at least two levels of Government.
• Federalism reconciles the needs for autonomy and dependence. In a federal polity, the federal/union/central Government and the province/state/cantons are supreme in their constitutionally demarcated areas.
• Federalism is generally preferred to a unitary structure because it promotes democratic governance by de-concentrating political authority.
• The local needs and aspirations are reflected in the decision making processes of the federal units which ensures political accountability.
• In this sense, a federal setup promotes democracy through ensuring effective say for people in the affairs that affect them.
• The federal system works on the notion of “equality of power” between States. But an increase in political democracy can result in “disturbing” this equality.

CHALLENGES OF FREEZING THE LEGISLATIVE SEATS IN INDIA

• Article 81 provides that each State receives seats in proportion to its population and allocate those seats to constituencies of roughly equal size except in cases of UTs and States less than 6 million populations.
• To divide these seats proportionally, Article 82 of the Constitution provides for the reallocation of seats after every census based on updated population figures.
• However, the Forty-Second Amendment enacted in 1976—suspended the revision of seats until after the 2001 Census. In 2002, the Eighty-Fourth Amendment extended this freeze until the next decennial Census after 2026 which is in 2031 although after the 87^th Amendment the constituencies were readjusted as per the 2001 Census without altering the number of seats.
• By 2031, the population figures used to allot Parliamentary seats to each State will be six decades old. But this freeze for promoting family planning and not punishing successful States have led to serious challenges to Indian polity which are discussed below.
  • PROBLEM OF MAL-APPORTIONMENT

It means a discrepancy between the number of legislative seats and the extent of the population in a geographical unit. For instance, in India, the number of seats in States are the same as in 1971 despite doubling of population. Between States, this problem is acute as States like UP and Bihar suffer from underrepresentation.

• • UNDERMINES DEMOCRATIC PRINCIPLES

The essential condition for democracy is one person one vote and one value. The skewed political representation results in unequal values for votes of citizens. For instance, an MP from the Gangetic valley represents about 25% more people than a non-Gangetic MP.

• • ISSUE OF EXCESSIVE FEDERALISM

Small States (population-wise) enjoy over-representation due to a freeze of seats. For example, studies based on the 2011 Census indicate that Kerala, Tamil Nadu and undivided Andhra is overrepresented by 17 seats while UP, Bihar and Rajasthan are underrepresented by 19 seats. This means a minority of States can hold back important legislations and policies having an impact on national progress.

• • INCREASING DISTANCE BETWEEN THE GOVERNMENT AND THE GOVERNED.

The MPs are the medium of communication between the people of their constituencies and the Government and administration. India has one MP in the Lok Sabha for 2.2 million people. The USA, the third most populated country, has one Congressman for 0.6 million people. And each MP in the UK (a much smaller country of 64 million people, or about the same as Karnataka) represents 0.1 million people.

• • EMPIRICAL EVIDENCE

Underrepresentation of States in the highest decision-making body of the country reduces the scope of favourable policy decisions by the Legislature and the Executive. Studies in the USA, Brazil, etc suggest that this can have an important impact on Executive–Legislature relations, intra-legislative bargaining and the overall performance of democratic systems.

HOW POLITICAL DEMOCRACY WILL IMPACT FEDERAL RELATIONS?

SHIFT IN POLITICAL POWER

The readjustment of Lok Sabha seats after 2026 will benefit the northern States while the southern States are likely to lose out. For instance, Bihar and Uttar Pradesh alone stand to gain 21 seats while Kerala and Tamil Nadu would forfeit as many as 16.

DOMINATION BY BIG STATES

Small States fear that their voices will not count in issues of national governance due to the dominance of bigger States and they will become irrelevant in the economic and political discourse of the country.

ASYMMETRICAL FEDERALISM

Indian federalism differs from the classical federations like the USA in that the relation between the Centre and the constituent units are not uniform. For instance, the special provisions in Art 371, 371A and the number of seats for States in Rajya Sabha etc. There is a view that this asymmetry will be further deepened due to the readjustment of seats.

TENDENCY TOWARDS OVER-CENTRALISATION

The bigger States will have more say in the formation of the Union Government owing to larger representation. As of now, the northern States favour the ruling party at the Centre and most of their MPs come from these States. Readjustment can increase their role in Government formation compared to southern and northeastern states which can result in the centralization of political and economic power at the Centre.

IMPACT ON CENTRE- STATE COOPERATION

A functional federal system requires a cooperative working relationship between the Centre and the States and the States inter se. The political marginalization and economic disadvantages accompanied by changes in representation can lead to an acrimonious relationship between the Centre and the States that lost in the bargain.

SUB REGIONAL CHAUVINISM

The imbalances in the federal relations due to the above-mentioned factors can reignite linguistic, cultural and ethnic challenges which in turn deteriorate the federal relations. The anti-Hindi movement in Tamil Nadu, militancy in Punjab and the insurgency in the northeast provide vital lessons in this regard.

RECONCILING DEMOCRACY AND FEDERALISM IN INDIA

RE-APPORTIONMENT AFTER 2031

Had India reallocated the seats after each decennial Census, the shift in political power would have been gradual. The changes in demography need to be reflected in seat allocations and any further delay will only increase the pain in the process.

EMPOWERING THE STATES

To assuage the concerns of small states that they will be dominated by bigger ones the powers of States vis-à-vis the Centre in the Lists (Schedule 7) and altering of State boundaries must be increased.

MORE POWER TO RAJYA SABHA

Rajya Sabha is the House of States and its role and composition must be expanded. This would allow the small States a kind of check over the majoritarian politics that impacts them adversely. Measures suggested like direct elections, restoring domicile requirements, etc. can transform the Upper House into a real venue for debates on States’ interests.

IDEA OF A SUPERMAJORITY

Constitutional changes dealing with language, religion, financial relations and other significant provisions must have the consent of all or nearly all the States. This idea of “consensus items” that require unanimity is necessary to protect the minority from the majority.

REORGANISATION OF STATES

Breaking up big States into small States can preclude them from dominating national governance policies. Time has also come for a second State reorganisation commission so that the challenges of demography, economy, governance and demands of statehood etc. can be addressed.

INCREASE THE NUMBER OF SEATS IN LOK SABHAThis will have two important advantages. One, no overrepresented States will lose seats under reapportionment. Second, it will address the problems of oversized constituencies and MPs responsiveness. Indian MPs represent an average of 2.5 million people which is three times more than their counterparts in the House of Representatives of the USA.

FAMILY PLANNING NEEDS GREATER FOCUS

The States with higher populations need a greater focus on family planning. Although various Government reports including NFHS IV, Economic Survey 2018 etc. have observed that India is on course to achieve a replacement-level fertility rate, the TFR of UP and Bihar is still very high.

HOW DO OTHER FEDERATIONS DEAL WITH THIS ISSUE?

• Federal democracies have incorporated into their governing structures various mechanisms to ensure the balance between democratic and federal principles.

The US Constitution has protected the smaller States in multiple ways.

• First, the national authority over the States is very limited, for instance, States’ boundaries cannot be altered without their consent etc.
• Second, every State big or small has equal representation in the Senate.
• Third, the President is elected by electoral votes which mean s/he must-win States rather than the majority of votes by national population.
• Fourth, through the custom of filibuster legislation, to pass important Bills, a supermajority is required in the Senate.

Other federations like Switzerland, Canada, etc have adopted such other means of reconciliation.

• For instance, Art 3 of the Swizz Constitution declares that the Cantons (Provinces/States) are sovereign except to the extent that their sovereignty is limited by the Federal Constitution. They exercise all rights that are not vested in the Confederation. While Art 4 provides for four national languages, Art 5A calls for the principle of subsidiarity which must be observed in the allocation of State tasks and responsibilities.

THE CONCLUSION: Federalism and democracy are typically seen as mutually supportive. But, in the Indian context of the debate on the apportionment of seats in the Lok Sabha, this relationship seems to be severely strained. However, reapportionment or increasing the seats in the Lower House is a must for curing the defects of a flawed structure of Indian political democracy. But, the reconciliation between democracy and federalism requires that the concerns of States must be addressed fairly. For this, an environment of trust between the constituent units of Indian polity must be created which has arguably plunged to an all-time low.

ART AND CULTURE

1. UNESCO PICKS SRINAGAR AS CREATIVE CITY

THE CONTEXT: The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) has picked Srinagar among 49 cities as part of the creative city network under the Crafts and Folk Arts category.

THE EXPLANATION:

• The inclusion is likely to pave way for the city to represent its handicrafts on the global stage through UNESCO.
• Only Jaipur (Crafts and Folk Arts) in 2015, Varanasi and Chennai (Creative city of Music) in 2015 and 2017 respectively have so far been recognized as members of the UCCN for creative cities.

ABOUT UCCN

• It was created in 2004 to promote cooperation with and among cities that have identified creativity as a strategic factor for sustainable urban development.
• The Network covers seven creative fields: Crafts and Folk Arts, Media Arts, Film, Design, Gastronomy, Literature and Music.

SOURCE: TH

INDIAN POLITY, GOVERNANCE AND SOCIAL JUSTICE

2. OVER 33 LAKH CHILDREN ARE MALNOURISHED IN INDIA

THE CONTEXT: PTI reported that more than 33 lakh children are malnourished in India and over half of them are in a severe category.

THE EXPLANATION:

• According to the Women and Child Development Ministry, there were 17,76,902 severely acute malnourished children and 15,46,420 moderately acute malnourished children in the country.
• The World Health Organization defines severe acute malnutrition as very low weight for height, nutritional oedema or a mid-upper arm circumference of less than 115 millimetres.
• The world body defines moderate acute malnutrition as moderate wasting and/or a mid-upper arm circumference greater than 115 millimetres but less than 125 millimetres.
• Maharashtra had the highest number of malnourished children at 6, 16,772, followed by Bihar (4,75,824) and then Gujarat (3,20,465).
• Other states with a high number of malnourished children are Andhra Pradesh (2,67,228), Karnataka (2,49,463), and Uttar Pradesh (1,86,640).
• The Poshan Tracker app was developed by the Union Ministry of Women and Child Development to track all Anganwadi centres and their beneficiaries.
• The  2021 Global Hunger Index ranked India at the 101st position out of 116 countries. The rank fell from 94 last year and the country was also behind its neighbours Pakistan, Nepal and Bangladesh. However, the Union Ministry of Women and Child Development claimed that the methodology used for the index was unscientific.

SOURCE: SCROLL

3. GLOBAL DRUG POLICY INDEX

THE CONTEXT: The Global Drug Policy Index, by the Harm Reduction Consortium, ranks Norway, New Zealand, Portugal, the UK, and Australia as the five leading countries on humane and health-driven drug policies.

THE EXPLANATION:

• The five lowest-ranking countries are Brazil, Uganda, Indonesia, Kenya, and Mexico. India’s rank is 18 out of 30 countries.
• It is a data-driven global analysis of drug policies and their implementation. It is composed of 75 indicators running across five broad dimensions of drug policy: criminal justice, extreme responses, health and harm reduction, access to internationally controlled medicines, and development.
• It is a project of the Harm Reduction Consortium, whose partners include: the European Network of People Who Use Drugs (EuroNPUD), the Eurasian Harm Reduction Association (EHRA), the Eurasian Network of People who Use Drugs (ENPUD), the Global Drug Policy Observatory (GDPO) / Swansea University, Harm Reduction International (HRI), the International Drug Policy Consortium (IDPC), the Middle East and North Africa Harm Reduction Association (MENAHRA), the West African Drug Policy Network (WADPN), the Women and Harm Reduction International Network (WHRIN), and Youth RISE.
• Norway, despite topping the Index, only managed a score of 74/100. And the median score across all 30 countries and dimensions is just 48/100.
• India has an overall score of 46/100. On the criteria of use of extreme sentencing and responses, it has a score of 63/100, on health and harm reduction, 49/100; on proportionality of criminal justice response, 38/100; on availability and access of internationally controlled substances for the relief of pain and suffering, 33 /100.

SOURCE : IE

ENVIRONMENT, GEOGRAPHY AND AGRICULTURE

4. KANPUR’S ZIKA OUTBREAK

THE CONTEXT: Zika Virus is creating havoc in Northern parts of India. With 13 new cases of the Zika virus in Kanpur, the total tally of the mosquito-borne disease in the district stands at 79.

ABOUT ZIKA VIRUS

• It is a member of the virus family Flaviviridae.
• It is spread by daytime-active Aedes aegypti mosquitoes (which can also spread dengue fever, chikungunya, Mayaro and yellow fever viruses).
• Its name comes from the Zika Forest of Uganda, where the virus was first isolated in 1947
• It often causes no or only mild symptoms, similar to a very mild form of dengue fever.
• While there is no specific treatment, paracetamol (acetaminophen) and rest may help with the symptoms.
• Zika can spread from a pregnant woman to her baby. This can result in microcephaly, severe brain malformations, and other birth defects. Zika infections in adults may result rarely in Guillain–Barré syndrome (a rapid-onset muscle weakness caused by the immune system damaging the peripheral nervous system).
• Zika can be transmitted from men and women to their sexual partners.

SOURCE:  India.Com

INDIAN ECONOMY

5. LEADS 2021

THE CONTEXT: Ministry of Commerce and Industry released report on Logistics Ease across Different States (LEADS) 2021.

THE EXPLANATION:

• The inputs given by report can lead the way to bring down logistics cost by 5% over the next 5 years.
• LEADS report to push healthy competition for improvement in logistics development among States.
• Gujarat, Haryana and Punjab emerge as top performers in LEADS 2021
• Inputs of the report to act as significant stimulants to PM GatiShakti National Master Plan.

ABOUT LEADS REPORT

• The report ranks the states on the basis of their logistics ecosystem, highlights the key logistics related challenges faced by the stakeholders and includes suggestive recommendations.
• The Ministry of Commerce and Industry (MoCI) had launched a study, “Logistics Ease Across Different States (LEADS)” in 2018 with the main objective of ranking States and UTs on the efficiency of their logistics ecosystem.
• The first version of the report, LEADS 2018, focused on export-import trade and assessed the efficiency of the logistics ecosystem in each State and UT.
• The second edition of the study – LEADS 2019, covered both international and domestic trade.
• The LEADS 2021 exercise has gone one-step ahead in analysing domestic and EXIM logistics ecosystem of the state.
• Specifically, two improvements have been done in the overall assessment framework. Firstly, objective parameters have been used along with the perception-based indicators for index formulation.Secondly, the statistical methodologies to build the index has been updated to get more robust results, given change in the overall framework.
• Alternatively, a total of 21 perception and objective variables have been statistically analysed to prepare a composite index basis upon which the states have been ranked.
• The perception survey was administered to the four different categories of logistics stakeholders, viz. traders/ shippers, transport service providers, terminal operators, and logistics service providers.
• The States’ objective survey collected binary responses in the context of the areas related to policy, institutional framework, current enforcement mechanism, warehousing approvals and processes, smart enforcement, city logistics, drivers’ empowerment, etc. to understand the initiatives taken by the different state governments towards improving the logistics environment in their respective States.
• The secondary dataset was compiled with the assistance of the central government ministries, department and associated agencies.
• LEADS is a continuous exercise, and the MoCI is enthused to provide a pivotal role in initiating, creating, and connecting all the stakeholders to bring in the required improvements in the logistics space collaboratively.

SOURCE: PIB

INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS

6. GOA MARITIME CONCLAVE – 2021

THE CONTEXT: The third edition of Goa Maritime Conclave (GMC) – 2021 is being hosted by the Indian Navy from 07 to 09 November 2021 under the aegis of Naval War College, Goa.

THE EXPLANATION:

• The theme for this year’s edition is “Maritime security and emerging non-traditional threats: a case for a proactive role for IOR Navies”.
• The Navy chiefs and heads of maritime agencies of Bangladesh, Comoros, Indonesia, Madagascar, Malaysia, the Maldives, Mauritius, Myanmar, Seychelles, Singapore, Sri Lanka and Thailand are taking part in the conclave
• Navy chief Admiral laid emphasis on common efforts on information exchange for maritime domain awareness in the region and capacity building.
• India’s efforts are spearheaded by the Information Fusion Centre for IOR (IFC-IOR) located in Gurugram which also has several international liaison officers.
• India has supplied equipment, vessels and aircraft to friends like Vietnam, Mozambique, the Maldives, Mauritius, Seychelles, Comoros, Bangladesh and Myanmar.
• India is in the process of making a Standard Operating Procedure for dealing with disasters in the Asia-Pacific which would be shared with all nations concerned.
• The Navy would continue to work for Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief as a first responder and net security provider.

SOURCE:  PIB

MISCELLANEOUS

7. UAE ANNOUNCED FAMILY LAW REFORMS

THE CONTEXT: The ruler of Abu Dhabi has issued a decree allowing non-Muslims residing in the UAE to marry, divorce and get joint child custody under civil law.

THE EXPLANATION:

• The law covers civil marriage, divorce, alimony, joint child custody and proof of paternity, and inheritance.
• It aims to enhance the position and global competitiveness of the emirate as one of the most attractive destinations for talent and skills.
• The report described the civil law regulating non-Muslim family matters as being the first of its kind in the world in line with international best practices. It maintains its competitive edge as a regional commercial hub.
• A new court to handle non-Muslim family matters will be set up in Abu Dhabi and will operate in both English and Arabic.

SOURCE:  INDIATODAY

PRELIMS PRACTICE QUESTIONS

Q1. Consider the following statements about UNESCO Creative Cities Network:

1. It was created in 2004 to promote cooperation among the cities for sustainable urban development.
2. Varanasi and Chennai cities have been added to the network under the category of music.
3. Srinagar and Jaisalmer have been added to the network under the category of craft and folk art.

Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

a) 1 only

b) 1 and 2 only

c) 2 and 3 only

d) 1, 2 and 3

ANSWER FOR NOVEMBER 8^th, 2021 PRELIMS PRACTICE QUESTIONS

Q1.Answer: A

Explanation:

• NCRB was set up in 1986 under the Ministry of Home Affairs to function as a repository of information on crime and criminals so as to assist the investigators in linking crime to the perpetrators.

Q2.Answer: D

• Statement 1 is correct: The solar magnetic cycle that works in the deep interior of the Sun creates regions that rise to the surface and appear like dark spots. These are the sunspots.
• Statement 2 is correct: Solar flares are highly energetic phenomena that happen inside the sunspots. In a solar flare, the energy stored in the sun’s magnetic structures is converted into light and heat energy. This causes the emission of high energy x-ray radiation and highly accelerated charged particles to leave the sun’s surface.
• Statement 3 is correct: Sometimes solar flares also cause hot plasma to be ejected from the Sun, causing a solar storm, and this is called Coronal Mass Ejection (CME). Coronal Mass Ejections can harbour energies exceeding that of a billion atomic bombs.

INDIAN POLITY, GOVERNANCE AND SOCIAL JUSTICE

1. ACCIDENTAL DEATHS AND SUICIDES IN INDIA REPORT

THE CONTEXT: The latest Accidental Deaths and Suicides in India report, published by the NCRB, notes that 11,716 businesspersons died of suicide in 2020, a 29 per cent jump from 2019 when 9,052 businesspersons had died of the same cause.

THE EXPLANATION:

• Farmer suicides stood at 10,677 for 2020, which is around 1,039 cases fewer than that of businesspeople. This is among the first instances of this happening. Between 2014 and 2019, farmer suicides outnumbered those by businesspersons by.
• A detailed break-up of businessmen reveals that most of those dying of suicides were men (93 per cent) and were mostly vendors (36 per cent) and tradesmen (37 per cent), and belonged to highly developed states.
• Suicides in India rose 10% from 2019 to an all-time high of 1, 53,052 in the pandemic year of 2020.
• Deaths caused by accidents came down from 2019 and the number is the lowest since 2010.
• The share of students in the total suicides has been rising steadily over the years and has now reached the highest level since 1995.
• The worst among States continues to be Maharashtra, with 4,006 suicides in the farm sector, including a 15% increase in farm worker suicides. The other States with a poor record include Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, and Madhya Pradesh.

ABOUT NATIONAL CRIME RECORDS BUREAU

• NCRB was set up in 1986 under the Ministry of Home Affairs to function as a repository of information on crime and criminals so as to assist the investigators in linking crime to the perpetrators.
• It was set up based on the recommendations of the National Police Commission (1977-1981) and the MHA’s Task Force (1985).
• NCRB brings out the annual comprehensive statistics of crime across the country (‘Crime in India’ report).
• Having been published in 1953, the report serves as a crucial tool in understanding the law and order situation across the country.
• The report divides suicides into nine categories — apart from daily wagers, housewives and people working in the farm sector, the deaths are listed under ‘professionals/salaried persons’, ‘students’, ‘self-employed persons’, ‘retired persons’, and ‘others’.
• NCRB started categorizing daily wagers in its ‘Accidental Deaths & Suicides’ data only in 2014.

SOURCE: THEPRINT

ENVIRONMENT, GEOGRAPHY AND AGRICULTURE

2. CHENNAI FLOOD

THE CONTEXT: PM speaks to Tamil Nadu CM about heavy rainfall in parts of the state

THE EXPLANATION:

• The overnight rain was part of a formation of low pressure over the Bay of Bengal.
• In one of the heaviest episodes of rain witnessed in 2015 Chennai recorded 24.6 cm rainfall in 24 hours, which was breaking the previous record of 14.2 cm from November 2005.
• But the maximum rainfall recorded in 24 hours’ time may be from November 1976, when Chennai had received 45.2cm of rainfall.

NORTH-EAST MONSOON BRING RAINS TO CHENNAI

• Chennai’s monsoon is largely about the Northeast Monsoon, rains during October to December, with easterly winds starting from mid-October, precisely the usual onset that begins between October 10 to 20.
• It is the Northeast Monsoon, also known as the ‘primary monsoon of Tamil Nadu,’ that brings sufficient rains to the state when all other states depend on the South-West monsoon for rains that sets in from May, June and July.
• The South-West monsoon, after a prolonged summer, helps Tamil Nadu to maintain the groundwater tables, it is the North-East monsoon that elevates the table.
• Tamil Nadu’s coastal districts get 60% of the annual rainfall and the interior districts get about 40-50% of the annual rainfall from the North-East monsoon.

SOURCE:  IE

3. INDIA STAND ON METHANE EMISSIONS

THE CONTEXT: At least 90 countries have signed the Global Methane Pledge, with India and China abstaining so far. Separately, 133 countries have signed a Glasgow Leaders’ Declaration on Forests and Land Use. China is a signatory to this but India has stayed out.

THE EXPLANATION:

• At the ongoing UN Climate Change Conference (the 26th Conference of Parties-COP26) in Glasgow, the United States and the European Union have jointly pledged to cut emissions of the greenhouse gas methane by 2030. They plan to cut down emissions by 30% compared with the 2020 levels.
• India is the third-largest emitter of methane, primarily because of the size of its rural economy and by virtue of having the largest cattle population. India has stated earlier that it plans to deploy technology and capture methane that can be used as a source of energy.
• In a communication to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, India said approximately 20% of its anthropogenic methane emissions come from agriculture (manure management), coal mines, municipal solid waste, and natural gas and oil systems.
• To tap into this “potential,” the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) claims to have invested heavily in a national strategy to increase biogas production and reduce methane emissions.

THE GLASGOW DECLARATION ON FOREST AND LAND USE

• The Glasgow Declaration was signed by 133 countries, which represent 90% of the globe’s forested land. The declaration is also backed by a $19-billion commitment, though whether this translates into legally binding flows remains to be seen.
• The Glasgow Declaration is a successor to a failed 2014 New York Declaration for Forests — that for a while saw significant global traction — and promised to reduce emissions from deforestation by 15%-20% by 2020 and end it by 2030.
• There is again no official reason accorded but reports suggest that Indian officials are unhappy with the wording that suggests meeting the obligations under the pledge could also mean restrictions in international trade.
• That is unacceptable, they say, as trade falls under the ambit of the World Trade Organization, of which India is a member.
• India is also mulling changes to its forest conservation laws that seek to encourage commercial tree plantation as well as infrastructure development in forestland.
• India’s long-term target is to have a third of its area under forest and tree cover, but it is so far 22%. It also proposes to create a carbon sink, via forests and plantations, to absorb 2.5-3 billion tonnes of carbon dioxide.

 SOURCE: TH

SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

4. EARTH’S FIRST MASS EXTINCTION

THE CONTEXT: A paper published in the journal, Nature Geoscience, has come up with a new reason behind the first mass extinction, also known as the Late Ordovician mass extinction.

THE EXPLANATION:

• The article notes that the cooling climate likely changed the ocean circulation pattern. This caused a disruption in the flow of oxygen-rich water from the shallow seas to deeper oceans, leading to a mass extinction of marine creatures.
• The Ordovician mass extinction that occurred about 445 million years ago killed about 85% of all species. The other big extinction events were:
• The Devonian mass extinction (about 375 million years ago) wiped out about 75% of the world’s species.
• The Permian mass extinction (about 250 million years ago) also known as the Great Dying caused the extinction of over 95% of all species.
• The Triassic mass extinction (200 million years ago) eliminated about 80% of Earth’s species, including some dinosaurs.

SOURCE: IE

5. AY.4.2 VARIANT NOT OF CONCERN

THE CONTEXT:  The Indian SARS-CoV-2 Genomics Consortium (INSACOG) said, the frequency of the new AY.4.2 variant of COVID-19 is less than 0.1 % of all VOI/VOC and is too low to be of concern at this time.

THE EXPLANATION:

• The INSACOG noted that Delta (B.1.617.2 and AY.x) continues to be the main variant of concern (VOC) in India and no new variant of interest (VOI) or VOC are noted in India.
• Delta, which was first found in India in October last year, led to the devastating second wave of the coronavirus pandemic in the country, which was at its peak in April and May.
• INSACOG, a consortium of 28 national laboratories, was set up in December 2020 to monitor the genomic variations in SARS-CoV-2, the COVID-19 causing virus.
• The pan-India network functions under the Union health ministry.

SOURCE: TH

6. SUNLIGHTS UP HIGH-LATITUDE COUNTRIES

THE CONTEXT:  A solar flare that occurred on the Sun triggered a magnetic storm that scientists from the Center of Excellence in Space Sciences India (CESSI) had predicted.

ABOUT SUNSPOTS AND SOLAR STORMS

• The solar magnetic cycle that works in the deep interior of the Sun creates regions that rise to the surface and appear like dark spots. These are the sunspots.
• Solar flares are highly energetic phenomena that happen inside the sunspots. In a solar flare, the energy stored in the sun’s magnetic structures is converted into light and heat energy.
• This causes the emission of high energy x-ray radiation and highly accelerated charged particles to leave the sun’s surface.
• Sometimes solar flares also cause hot plasma to be ejected from the Sun, causing a solar storm, and this is called Coronal Mass Ejection (CME). Coronal Mass Ejections can harbour energies exceeding that of a billion atomic bombs.
• The energy and radiation and high energy particles emitted by flares can affect Earth bound objects and life on Earth – it can affect the electronics within satellites and affect astronauts.
• Very powerful Earth-directed coronal mass ejections can cause the failure of power grids and affect oil pipelines and deep-sea cables. They can also cause spectacular aurorae in the high-latitude and polar countries.

SOURCE: TH

INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS

7. FISHERMAN KILLED IN PAKISTAN

THE CONTEXT: A fisherman from Maharashtra was killed in firing by the Pakistan Maritime Security Agency (PMSA) on an Indian fishing boat off the Gujarat coast on 6th November 2021.

THE EXPLANATION:

• Six other fishermen on the boat have been reportedly abducted.
• The boat which came under fire was from Okha in Gujarat.

SOURCE:  TH

PRELIMS PRACTICE QUESTIONS

Q1. National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) comes under which Ministry

1. Ministry of Home Affairs
2. Prime Minister’s Office
3. Niti Aayog
4. Ministry of Statistics and Program Implementation

Q2. Consider the following statements

1. Regions that rise to the surface and appear as dark spots are created by the solar magnetic cycle, which operates deep within the Sun.
2. The energy contained in the sun’s magnetic structures is turned into light and heat energy during a solar flare.
3. Coronal Mass Ejections have energy that is equivalent to a billion atomic bombs.

Which of the statements given above are correct?

a) 1 and 2 only

b) 2 and 3 only

c) 1 and 3 only

d) 1, 2 and 3

ANSWER FOR NOVEMBER 6^th, 2021 PRELIMS PRACTICE QUESTIONS

Answer: A

Explanation:

• A Zero-Click attack helps spyware like Pegasus gain control over a device without human interaction or human error.
• The “zero-click” is able to silently corrupt the targeted device and was identified by researchers at Citizen Lab, a cybersecurity watchdog organisation in Canada.

INDIAN POLITY, GOVERNANCE AND SOCIAL JUSTICE

1. COVAXIN GETS WHO’S EMERGENCY USE NOD

THE CONTEXT: India’s first indigenous COVID-19 vaccine, Bharat Biotech’s Covaxin, was granted Emergency Use Listing (EUL) by the World Health Organization (WHO).

THE EXPLANATION:

• Covaxin is a whole virion-inactivated vaccine against SARS-CoV-2, developed in partnership with the Indian Council of Medical Research and the National Institute of Virology, Pune.
• It has been granted EUL for use in persons 18 years and above, over two doses spaced four weeks apart.
• No recommendation has been made for use in children, and available data for use on pregnant women is insufficient to assess safety or efficacy.
• The EUL is a prerequisite for the COVAX initiative in vaccine supply and allows countries to expedite their own regulatory approval to import and administer COVID-19 vaccines.
• The move is expected to ease international travel for Indians who have opted for the vaccine.

SOURCE: TH

2. DRAFT MEDIATION BILL

THE CONTEXT: Draft Mediation Bill issued for Public Consultation.

THE MAIN FEATURES OF THE BILL

• The draft Bill proposes for pre-litigation mediation and at the same time safeguards the interest of the litigants to approach the competent adjudicatory forums/courts in case an urgent relief is sought.
• The successful outcome of mediation in the form of a Mediation Settlement Agreement (MSA) has been made enforceable by law. Since the Mediation Settlement Agreement is out of the consensual agreement between the parties, the challenge to the same has been permitted on limited grounds.
• The mediation process protects the confidentiality of the mediation undertaken and provides for immunity in certain cases against its disclosure.
• The registration of the Mediation Settlement Agreement has also been provided with State/District/Taluk Legal Authorities within 90 days to ensure maintenance of authenticated records of the settlement so arrived.
• Provides for the establishment of the Mediation Council of India.
• Provides for community mediation.

SOURCE: PIB

ENVIRONMENT, GEOGRAPHY AND AGRICULTURE

3. DELHI’S AIR QUALITY ENTERED THE SEVERE CATEGORY

THE CONTEXT: As per Central Pollution Control Board’s (CPCB), the air quality of the city deteriorated to the “severe” category on November 5, a day after Deepavali.

THE EXPLANATION:

• The Capital registered its worst post-Deepavali air quality in five years.
• The current air pollution levels affect healthy people and seriously impact those with existing diseases.
• Government-run monitoring agency SAFAR said that local winds have picked up since morning and now the fast dispersion is expected.

SAFAR

• The System of Air Quality and Weather Forecasting And Research (SAFAR) is a national initiative introduced by the Ministry of Earth Sciences (MoES) to measure the air quality of a metropolitan city.
• The system is indigenously developed by the Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology (IITM), Pune and is operationalized by the India Meteorological Department (IMD).
• Pollutants monitored are PM2.5, PM10, Ozone, Carbon Monoxide (CO), Nitrogen Oxides (NOx), Sulfur Dioxide (SO2), Benzene, Toluene, Xylene, and Mercury.

AIR QUALITY INDEX

• It is a tool for effective communication of air quality status to people in terms, which are easy to understand.
• It transforms complex air quality data of various pollutants into a single number (index value), nomenclature and colour.
• There are six AQI categories, namely Good, Satisfactory, Moderately polluted, Poor, Very Poor, and Severe.
• Each of these categories is decided based on ambient concentration values of air pollutants and their likely health impacts (known as health breakpoints).
• AQ sub-index and health breakpoints are evolved for eight pollutants (PM10, PM2.5, NO2, SO2, CO, O3, NH3, and Pb) for which short-term (up to 24-hours) National Ambient Air Quality Standards are prescribed.

SOURCE: TH

4. WORLD FOOD PRICES HIT A 10-YEAR-HIGH

THE CONTEXT: According to the United Nations’ food agency, world food prices are the highest since July 2011, reflecting in part reduced wheat harvests by major exporters and higher palm oil prices.

THE EXPLANATION:

• The Rome-based Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) said international prices of its basket of food commodities rose by 3% in October, for a third straight month of increases.
• Reduced harvests by big exporters like Canada, Russia and the United States helped drive up wheat prices by 5%, while the Vegetable Oil Price Index soared by 9.6% in October, hitting an all-time high. Migrant worker shortages in Malaysia were a factor in that increase.
• Italy, a major exporter as well as consumer of pasta, fears that product’s prices could soar in time for year-end holidays. Italy imports about 40% of its durum wheat, with Canada its principle supplier, to help produce its pasta.
• Experts have said the price of a package of pasta could jump by some 20 euro cents (almost 24 U.S. cents), which, for many popular brands, could translate into a 15-to-20% increase in a product many Italians consume daily.
• The FAO said global cereal inventories are seen heading for a contraction in 2021/22, according to the agency’s forecast. That forecast reflects cuts to the estimates of wheat production in Iran and Turkey as well as the U.S.
• Higher costs of energy and supply chain prices have also been cited for the rising food prices consumers are facing.

 SOURCE: TH

5. GLOBAL CARBON EMISSIONS GOING REBOUND PRE-PANDEMIC LEVEL

THE CONTEXT:  The recent report produced by the Global Carbon Project (GCP) suggests that the decreased levels of emissions during the pandemic would be soon reversed.

THE EXPLANATION:

• A report suggests that carbon dioxide emission this year is likely to rise by 4.9%, thereby reversing what was achieved during the peak of the pandemic period.
• In 2020, carbon dioxide emissions fell drastically, by a record 1.9 billion tons, amounting to a decrease of about 5.4%.
• The report said that China and India would have higher emissions in 2021 than in 2019, while Europe and the United States are expected to have slightly lower emissions.
• China was reported to have increased its coal usage, which is among the most dangerous contributors to global warming, while emissions in some other countries were found to be decreased.
• The GCP report projected that global emissions would surpass 36.4 billion tons of carbon dioxide this year.

SOURCE: NewsClick

INDIAN ECONOMY

6. EDIBLE OIL PRICES SHOW A DECLINING TREND

THE CONTEXT: Edible Oil prices show a declining trend across the country.

THE EXPLANATION:

• The Government has cut the basic duty on Crude Palm Oil, Crude Soybean Oil and Crude Sunflower Oil from 2.5% to nil in a bid to reign in a continuous rise in the cooking oil prices since the past year.
• The Agri-cess on these Oils has been brought down from 20% to 7.5% for Crude Palm Oil and 5% for Crude Soyabean Oil and Crude Sunflower Oil.
• Consequent to the above reduction, the total duty is 7.5% for Crude Palm Oil and 5% for Crude Soyabean Oil and Crude Sunflower Oil.
• The basic duty on RBD Palmolein Oil, Refined Soyabean and Refined Sunflower Oil has been slashed to 17.5% from the current 32.5%.
• To control prices of edible oils the government has rationalised import duties on palm oil, sunflower oil and soyabean oil, futures trading in mustard oil on NCDEX has been suspended and stock limits have been imposed.
• Despite international commodity prices being high, interventions have been taken by Central Government along with State Governments’ proactive involvement have led to a reduction in prices of edible oils.
• Edible prices are higher than the year-ago period but from October onwards there was a declining trend.
• The government is taking steps to improve the production of secondary edible oils, especially rice bran oil to reduce the import dependence.

 SOURCE: PIB

SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

7. MOLNUPIRAVIR

THE CONTEXT: Researchers have engineered enzymes to enable faster manufacture of molnupiravir, an investigational oral antiviral being developed for the treatment of Covid-19. The study appears in ACS Central Science.

THE EXPLANATION:

• Molnupiravir works by causing viruses to make errors when copying their own RNA, introducing mutations that inhibit replication.
• Manufactured by Merck, the drug was originally developed to treat influenza. It has been submitted to the US FDA for review as a Covid-19 treatment.
• In India, the Optimus Group recently announced the results of phase 3 clinical trials, which found 91.5% of patients given the drug tested RT-PCR negative compared to 43% in the placebo group.
• In the new study, researchers developed a three-step synthesis route, which was 70% shorter and had a seven-fold higher overall yield than the original route, the American Chemical Society said in a press release.

SOURCE: IE

INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS

8. INDIA -SENEGAL SIGN MOU ON HEALTH

THE CONTEXT: India and Senegal signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) on Health and Medicine in Dakar and both sides celebrated the 60th anniversary of their diplomatic ties.

THE EXPLANATION:

• The two sides reviewed bilateral ties and explored possibilities of increasing engagement.
• The MoU entails collaboration including in Disease Surveillance, Medical Research, Drugs and Pharma, medical equipment & Traditional Medicine.
• To mark the 60th anniversary of the diplomatic ties a commemorative postal stamp was released.

SOURCE:  ANI

9. CHINA, RUSSIA URGE UNSC TO END SANCTIONS ON NORTH KOREA

THE CONTEXT: China and Russia are urging the U.N. Security Council to end a host of sanctions against North Korea including a ban on exports of seafood and textiles, a cap on imports of refined petroleum products, and a prohibition on its citizens working overseas and sending home their earning.

THE EXPLANATION:

• The Security Council initially imposed sanctions on North Korea after its first nuclear test in 2006 and made them tougher in response to further nuclear tests and an increasingly sophisticated ballistic missile program.
• A draft resolution circulated to council members stresses the economic difficulties in North Korea and says sanctions should be lifted with the intent of enhancing the livelihood of the civilian population.
• The China-Russia draft resolution makes no mention of the missile tests. Instead, it notes that North Korea has refrained from conducting nuclear tests since September 2017.
• The China-Russia draft calls on all U.N. member nations to intensify their efforts to provide humanitarian assistance, including but not limited to food, fertilizer and medical supplies and to provide goods, materials, technology and financial services needed by North Korea to combat COVID-19, improve livelihoods, and develop the economy.
• The draft resolution would lift a ban on North Korea from importing some industrial machinery and transport vehicles used to build infrastructure that can’t be diverted to the country’s nuclear and ballistic missile programs

SOURCE: THE DIPLOMAT

PRELIMS PRACTICE QUESTIONS

Q.1  “Zero click”, the term sometimes seen in the news, is related to

a) Cyberattacks

b) Climate change

c) E-waste management

d) Eco-friendly farming

ANSWER FOR NOVEMBER 2^nd, 2021 PRELIMS PRACTICE QUESTIONS

Answer: A

Explanation:

• ‘The Adaptation Gap Report 2021: The Gathering Storm’ was released by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) during the ongoing COP26 at Glasgow.
• The report found that the costs of adaptation are likely in the higher end of an estimated $140-300 billion per year by 2030 and $280-500 billion per year by 2050 for developing countries only.
• Even if the world limits warming to 1.5°C, many climate risks remain and will be irreversible, while warning that the gap between costs of adaptation and the current financial flow is widening.

ENVIRONMENT, GEOGRAPHY AND AGRICULTURE

1. THE ADAPTATION GAP REPORT 2021

THE CONTEXT: ‘The Adaptation Gap Report 2021: The Gathering Storm’ released by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) during the ongoing COP26 at Glasgow.

THE EXPLANATION:

• The report found that the costs of adaptation are likely in the higher end of an estimated $140-300 billion per year by 2030 and $280-500 billion per year by 2050 for developing countries only.
• Even if the world limits warming to 1.5°C, many climate risks remain and will be irreversible, while warning that the gap between costs of adaptation and the current financial flow is widening.
• It found that the opportunity to use the fiscal recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic to prioritise green economic growth that also helps nations adapt to climate impacts such as droughts, storms and wildfire is largely being missed.
• Around 79% of countries have adopted at least one national-level adaptation planning instrument, such as a plan, strategy, policy or law. This is an increase of seven per cent since 2020.
• Nine per cent of countries that do not have such an instrument in place are in the process of developing one. At least 65% of the countries have one or more sectoral plans in place, and at least 26% have one or more sub-national planning instruments.
• Despite this progress, the report finds that further ambition is needed in financing and implementation.

SOURCE: TH

2. COMPARISON OF INDIA’S NET-ZERO GOAL TO OTHER COUNTRIES

THE CONTEXT: India was the only one among the major greenhouse gas emitters that hadn’t specified a so-called net-zero year.

THE EXPLANATION:

• PM in setting an outer limit of 2070 by which India’s emissions would effectively be zero means that it is asking Western developed countries to do more, or undertake sharper cuts.
• China, Russia and Saudi Arabia have committed to net-zero by 2060.
• The United States, the United Kingdom and the European Union have committed to a 2050 target.
• But only 12 countries have enshrined this commitment in law. These are Germany, Sweden, Japan, United Kingdom, France, Canada, South Korea, Spain, Denmark, New Zealand, Hungary, and Luxembourg.
• The European Union has a collective target of 2050 and Germany and Sweden have a 2045 target.
• An analysis by the World Resources Institute notes “steady progress” in the number of countries reaching peak emissions over time.
• By 1990, 19 countries had peaked (representing 21 per cent of global emissions) and by 2030 this number is likely to grow to 57 countries (representing 60 per cent of global emissions).
• By 2020, 53 countries representing 40 per cent of global emissions (based on 2010 emissions data rather than 2020 projections) peaked or have a commitment to peak by 2020.
• By 2020, almost all developed countries are expected to have peaked.

ABOUT NET ZERO

• ‘Net zero’ is a globally agreed-upon goal for mitigating global warming in the second half of the century, and the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change concluded that for temperature rise to be restricted to 1.5C it was necessary for global carbon dioxide emissions to halt by 2050.
• It would also be necessary to use other methods to remove greenhouse gases from the atmosphere.

SOURCE: TH

3. COAL TRANSITION PROGRAMME

THE CONTEXT:  India, Indonesia and the Philippines will join South Africa as the first recipients of a multibillion-dollar pilot programme aimed at accelerating their transition from coal power to clean energy, the Climate Investment Funds (CIF).

THE EXPLANATION:

• The four countries account for 15% of global emissions related to coal, the dirtiest fossil fuel.
• The new programme has been endorsed by the Group of Seven advanced economies and is supported by financial pledges from the United States, Britain, Germany, Canada and Denmark.
• It will invest in projects ranging from bolstering countries’ domestic capacity to manage energy transitions to repurposing or decommissioning coal assets and creating economic opportunities for coal-dependent communities.
• The project will work with six multilateral development banks to offer coal-transitioning countries a comprehensive financial toolkit that includes low-income loans and technical assistance.

SOURCE: THEWIRE

INDIAN ECONOMY

4. PLI SCHEME FOR WHITE GOODS

THE CONTEXT: The proposal of DPIIT for the PLI Scheme for White Goods for the manufacture of components and sub-assemblies of ACs and LED Lights was approved by the Union Cabinet.

THE EXPLANATION:

• The Scheme is to be implemented over a seven-year period, from FY2021-22 to FY2028-29 and has an outlay of Rs. 6,238 crore.
• The investments in Air Conditioners will lead to manufacturing components across the complete value chain including components that are not manufactured in India with sufficient quantity.
• This is a huge step forward for Atmanirbhar Bharat in important sectors of the economy

ABOUT WHITE GOODS

• White goods are major consumer durables or household appliances that were previously exclusively accessible in white.
• Air conditioners, refrigerators, washing machines and dryers, dishwashers, and LED lights are all part of the white goods business.

SOURCE: PIB

5. CENTRE CUTS EXCISE DUTY ON PETROL AND DIESEL 

THE CONTEXT: The Government slashed excise duties on petrol and diesel by Rs. 5 and Rs. 10 per litre respectively, citing the need to help farmers with the rabi crop, ease inflation and give the economy a consumption boost.

THE EXPLANATION:

• The Centre has urged the States to ‘commensurately reduce’ the Value Added Tax (VAT) on petrol and diesel to give relief to consumers.
• Even if the States don’t act, the actual amount of VAT levied by them on fuels is expected to reduce immediately because they levy varying tax rates on an ad-valorem basis after central excise duties are levied.

SOURCE: TH

6. 75 TONNES MORE GOLD IN FOREX

THE CONTEXT: India is adding more gold to its rising foreign exchange kitty of $640 billion. The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has acquired 75.59 tonnes of gold in the last 12 months.

THE EXPLANATION:

• Data from the Reserve Bank shows that the central bank held 743.84 metric tonnes of gold as of September 2021, more than 11 per cent compared to 668.25 tonnes of the yellow metal held in September 2020.
• The RBI’s gold holding has gone up by 125.6 tonnes in the last two years, making India the world’s ninth-largest holder of gold reserves.
• While 451.54 metric tonnes of gold is held overseas in safe custody with the Bank of England and the Bank for International Settlements (BIS), 292.30 tonnes of gold is held domestically
• Although gold no longer plays a direct role in the international monetary system, central banks and governments still hold extensive gold reserves to preserve national wealth and protect against economic instability.
• According to the 2021 Central Bank Gold Reserves (CBGR) survey, 21 per cent of central banks intend to increase their gold reserves over the next 12 months.
• Central banks are also increasingly valuing gold’s performance during periods of crisis as this attribute now tops their rationale for holding gold.
• The RBI says the major sources of market risk for central banks are currency risk, interest rate risk and movement in gold prices.

SOURCE: IE

MISCELLANEOUS

7.US PUTS NSO GROUP ON TRADE BLACKLIST

THE CONTEXT: Israeli spyware company NSO Group, the maker of phone-hacking tool Pegasus, has been added to a federal blacklist by the US Department of Commerce, thereby restricting it from accessing America-made technologies.

THE EXPLANATION:

• The US government has added Israel’s NSO Group and Candiru, alongside Russian cybersecurity firm Positive Technologies and Singapore-based Computer Security Initiative Consultancy Pte, to its Entity List.
• Being added to the Entity List means the companies will not be able to access American hardware and software
• Trade experts, though, have argued that this is an important flag planted by the US, given that most decisions earlier to put companies on the Entity List involved China. However, this time, the US has taken a stance on a company being operated out of Israel — a long time US ally.

SOURCE: IE

PRELIMS PRACTICE QUESTIONS

Q1 The Adaptation Gap Report is released by?

a) UNEP

b) IUCN

c) WEF

d) World Bank

ANSWER FOR NOVEMBER 2^nd, 2021 PRELIMS PRACTICE QUESTIONS

Answer: D

Explanation:

Sources of methane include:

1. Cow’s digestive system
2. Paddy farms
3. Oil & Natural gas production
4. Landfills waste

INDIAN POLITY, GOVERNANCE AND SOCIAL JUSTICE

1. IREDA LAUNCHES ‘WHISTLE BLOWER’ PORTAL

THE CONTEXT: Indian Renewable Energy Development Agency Ltd. (IREDA), a PSU under the Ministry of New & Renewable Energy (MNRE) launched a ‘Whistle-blower Portal’, as a part of ‘Vigilance Awareness Week 2021’.

THE EXPLANATION:

• Through this portal, IREDA employees can raise concerns related to fraud, corruption, abuse of power etc. The portal has been developed by the IT Team of the company.
• The whistle-blower portal is a part of an IREDA’s “zero tolerance” of corruption.

ABOUT IREDA

• The Indian Renewable Energy Development Agency Limited (IREDA) was founded in 1987 and is a Government of India Mini Ratna (Category – I) Enterprise under the administrative jurisdiction of the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE).
• It is a Non-Banking Financial Institution that was created as a Public Limited Government Company with the motto “Energy for Ever.”

SOURCE:  PIB

2. E-CHHAWANI PORTAL

THE CONTEXT:  Incentives announced for Cashless Transaction on eChhawani Portal of Cantonment Board to promote digital economy. Cashless transaction to get up to 2% rebate.

ABOUT ECHHAWANI

• eChhawani is a citizen-centric project of Directorate General of Defence Estates, Ministry of Defence.
• Under this initiative, Cantonment Boards provide online citizen services to more than 20 lakh residents across 62 Cantonments in the country through the unified eChhawani Portal.
• The unified portal (https://echhawani.gov.in) provides centralised access to civic services to residents of all Cantonment along with all relevant information in a simple, easy to understand and effective manner.
• The services are being provided in the paperless, faceless and cashless environment on eChhawani Portal.

SOURCE:  PIB

3. NHRC: SET UP POLICE COMPLAINTS BODIES

THE CONTEXT:  Fifteen years after the Supreme Court issued directions for police reforms, the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) has asked the Union Home Ministry and the State Governments to set up police complaints authorities as per the judgment in the Prakash Singh vs Union of India, 2006, case.

THE EXPLANATION:

• The NHRC’s core advisory group on criminal justice system reforms has said there is an “immediate need to set up police complaints authorities at the State/UT and district level” as per the Supreme Court’s directives.
• It said the MHA and the Law Ministry should consider implementing the recommendations of the 113th report of the Law Commission to add Section 114 B to the Indian Evidence Act.
• This would ensure that if a person sustains injuries in custody, it is presumed that the injuries were inflicted by the police.

ABOUT NHRC

• It is a statutory body (Protection of Human Rights Act, 1993).
• Composition: A multi-member body consisting of a chairman and five members.
• Qualification: The chairman should be retired chief justice of India or judge of Supreme Court, and members should be serving or retired judges of the Supreme Court, a serving or retired chief justice of a high court and three persons (out of which at least one should be a woman) having knowledge or practical experience with respect to human rights.
• In addition, the commission also has seven ex-officio members.
• Appointment: Appointed by the president on recommendations of a six-member committee.
• Term: The chairman and members hold office for a term of three years or until they attain the age of 70 years, whichever is earlier.
• Removal: The president can remove the chairman or any member from the office
• The salaries, allowances and other conditions of service of the chairman or a member are determined by the Central government.
• It has all the powers of a civil court and its proceedings have a judicial character.
• The commission is not empowered to inquire into any matter after the expiry of one year from the date on which the act constituting a violation of human rights is alleged to have been committed.
• The commission is mainly recommendatory in nature. It has no power to punish the violators of human rights, nor to award any relief including monetary relief to the victim. But, it should be informed about the action taken on its recommendations within one month.
• The commission submits its annual or special reports to the Central government and to the state government concerned.

SOURCE:  TH

ENVIRONMENT, GEOGRAPHY AND AGRICULTURE

4. INFRASTRUCTURE FOR RESILIENT ISLAND STATE

THE CONTEXT: PM launched the Initiative for the Resilient Island States (IRIS) for developing infrastructure of small island nations, saying that it gives new hope, new confidence and satisfaction of doing something for the most vulnerable countries.

THE EXPLANATION:

• The IRIS initiative is a part of the CDRI that would focus on building capacity, having pilot projects, especially in small island developing states.
• The new initiative is the result of cooperation between India, the U.K. and Australia and included the participation of leaders of small island nations such as Fiji, Jamaica and Mauritius.

SOURCE: TH

5. GLOBAL SOLAR GRID INITIATIVE

THE CONTEXT: At COP26, an initiative by India and the United Kingdom to tap solar energy and have it travel seamlessly across borders was announced.

THE EXPLANATION:

• It includes a group of governments called the Green Grids Initiative — One Sun One World One Grid group.
• It is endorsed by more than 80 countries.
• Research support for the Green Grids Initiative is being provided by the Climate Compatible Growth consortium of universities, which includes Cambridge, Imperial College, Oxford and University College London.
• The Green Grids Initiative Working Groups made up of national and international agencies have already been established for Africa and for the Asia-Pacific region. Their membership includes most major multilateral development banks, such as the African Development Bank (AfDB), the Asian Development Bank (ADB) and the World Bank.

SOURCE: TH

6. GLOBAL METHANE PLEDGE

THE CONTEXT: Leaders at the CoP26 global climate conference in Glasgow pledged to make a 30 per cent cut in global methane emissions by 2030, and another to arrest and reverse deforestation by the same year.

THE EXPLANATION:

• Nearly 90 countries have joined a U.S.-and EU-led effort to slash emissions of methane by 30% by 2030 from 2020 levels.
• Among the signatories is Brazil — one of the five biggest emitters of methane
• Over 100 national leaders pledged to halt and reverse deforestation and land degradation by the end of the decade, underpinned by $19 billion in public and private funds to invest in protecting and restoring forests.
• It expands a commitment by 40 countries as part of the 2014 New York Declaration of Forests.
• India has not signed up to either of the two pledges.

SOURCE: TH

INDIAN ECONOMY

7. MoRD SIGNS MOU WITH FLIPKART

THE CONTEXT: Flipkart has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Ministry of Rural Development of the Government of India (MoRD), for their ambitious Deendayal Antyodaya Yojana – National Rural Livelihood Mission (DAY-NRLM) program, to help empower local businesses and self-help groups (SHGs) by bringing them into the e-commerce fold.

THE EXPLANATION:

• The partnership is aligned with the DAY-NRLM’s goal of strengthening the capabilities of rural communities for self-employment and entrepreneurship.
• This MoU is a part of the Flipkart Samarth program and aims to provide skilled yet under-served communities of craftsmen, weavers and artisans with national market access through the Flipkart marketplace, as well as dedicated support for knowledge and training.

ABOUT FLIPKART SAMARTH

• Flipkart Samarth seeks to break entry barriers for local communities by providing time-bound incubation and support with onboarding, cataloguing, marketing, account management, business insights, and warehousing. This will create more avenues for increasing business and trade inclusion and help in creating and sustaining better livelihood opportunities.
• The Flipkart Samarth program was launched in 2019 as a sustainable and inclusive platform to empower underserved domestic communities and businesses with better opportunities and livelihoods. Flipkart Samarth is currently supporting the livelihoods of over 9,50,000 artisans, weavers and craftsmen across India, and is continuously working towards bringing even more sellers onto the platform.

ABOUT DAY-NRLM

• The MoRD’s DAY-NRLM programme with its outreach in 6768 blocks of 706 districts across all 28 States and 6 UTs has 7.84 crore women mobilized into more than 71 lakh SHGs is proving as the game-changing initiative to empower poor rural women.
• Under the mission, poor women from different cross-sections of class and caste form into SHGs and their federations, providing financial, economic and social development services to their members for enhancing their income and quality of life.
• As part of the efforts to promote livelihoods activities, continuous efforts have been made by NRLM at the state and national level for promoting rural products manufactured by these SHGs by providing platforms like Saras Fairs, Saras Gallery and retail outlets, state-owned online e-commerce platforms and other commercial e-commerce platforms.

SOURCE: PIB

INTERNAL SECURITY

8. DAC APPROVED PROPOSALS WORTH RS 7,965 CRORE

THE CONTEXT: The Defence Acquisition Council (DAC) accorded Acceptance of Necessity (AoN) for capital acquisition proposals for modernisation and operational needs of the Armed Forces amounting to Rs 7,965 crore. All of these proposals (100%) are under ‘Make in India’ with a focus on design, development and manufacturing in India.

KEY HIGHLIGHTS

• Approval for procurement of 12 Light Utility Helicopters from HAL.
• Lynx U2 Fire Control System from BEL to enhance detection tracking and engagement capabilities of Naval warships.
• Approval for Mid Life Upgradation of Dornier Aircraft from HAL to increase Naval capacity of coastal surveillance.
• Global procurement case of Naval guns foreclosed; Guns’ quantity added to upgraded Short Range Gun Mount being manufactured by BHEL.

SOURCE: PIB

SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

9. AI PE CHARCHA

THE CONTEXT: The National eGovernance Division (NeGD) under the Ministry of Electronics and IT (MeitY) recently organised an AI Pe Charcha (AI Dialogue) wherein the panellists discussed the importance of data-driven and AI-enabled governance along with the global best practices.

THE EXPLANATION:

• The session had speakers from diverse backgrounds leading to an engaging session for Government officials, AI enthusiasts, AI practitioners, youth, and those who want to understand the implementation aspects of AI. The eminent panellists spoke about the importance of using the right data and how different governments around the world have employed AI to standalone departments and processes for devising prudent policies.
• The AI Pe Charcha series has been initiated as a part of Responsible AI for Social Empowerment (RAISE), India’s first global AI summit, which was organised by MeitY in 2020.
• Such initiatives by the Government of India have commenced a much-needed discourse on AI and would lead to certain positive, tangible meaningful changes in the overall economic and the social sphere.

SOURCE: PIB

10. POLARISATION OF LIGHT

THE CONTEXT: Indian Astronomers have found a new method to understand the atmosphere of extrasolar planets. They have shown that planets going around stars other than the Sun can be studied by observing the polarization of light and studying polarisation signatures.

THE EXPLANATION:

• These polarisation signatures or variations in scattering intensity of light can be observed with existing instruments and expanding the study of planets beyond the solar system using existing instruments.
• About a couple of decades ago, Sujan Sengupta, a scientist at the Indian Institute of Astrophysics (IIA), Bangalore, suggested that the thermal radiation of hot young planets and the reflected light of planets orbiting other stars, known as extra-solar planets or exoplanets would also be polarized and the measure of the polarization might unveil the chemical composition and other properties of the exoplanetary atmosphere.
• Subsequent confirmation of the prediction by the detection of polarization of many Brown Dwarfs motivated researchers all over the world to build highly sensitive polarimeters and use polarimetric methods to probe the exoplanetary environments.
• Polarimetric techniques in the near future will open up a new window for the study of the exoplanets and enable us to overcome many of the limitations of the traditional techniques.

SOURCE: PIB

PRELIMS PRACTICE QUESTIONS

Q1 Which of the following are sources of methane gas released into the atmosphere?

1. Cow’s digestive system
2. Paddy farms
3. Natural gas production
4. Landfills

Select the correct answer from the code given below:

a) 1 and 3 only

b) 1, 2 and 3 only

c) 2, 3 and 4 only

d) 1, 2, 3 and 4

ANSWER FOR NOVEMBER 2^nd, 2021 PRELIMS PRACTICE QUESTIONS

Q1. Answer: C

Explanation:

• India’s commitment made at COP26, Glasgow:
• India will achieve net-zero emissions latest by 2070.
• By 2030, India will ensure 50% of its energy will be sourced from renewable sources.
• India also committed to reducing its carbon emissions until 2030 by a billion tonnes.
• India will also reduce its emissions intensity per unit of GDP by less than 45%.
• India would also install systems to generate 500 gigawatts of renewable energy by 2030, a 50 GW increase from its existing target.

[WpProQuiz 82]

INDIAN POLITY, GOVERNANCE AND SOCIAL JUSTICE

1. DAIRY SAHAKAR SCHEME

THE CONTEXT:  Union Minister of Home Affairs and Cooperation launched the “Dairy Sahakar” scheme at Anand, Gujarat, during the function organised by Amul for the celebration of the 75th Foundation Year of Amul.

ABOUT DAIRY SAHAKAR

• The Dairy Sahakar with a total investment of Rs 5000 crore will be implemented by NCDC under the Ministry of Cooperation, the Government of India to realize the vision, “from cooperation to prosperity”.
• Under Dairy Sahakar, financial support will be extended by NCDC to eligible cooperatives for activities such as bovine development, milk procurement, processing, quality assurance, value addition, branding, packaging, marketing, transportation and storage of milk and milk products, exports of dairy products within the overall objectives of “Doubling the farmer’s income” and “Atmanirbhar Bharat.
• There will also be a convergence with various schemes of Government of India and/or of State Government/UT Administration/ Development agencies/ bilateral/multilateral assistance/ CSR mechanism is encouraged

SOURCE:  PIB

ENVIRONMENT, GEOGRAPHY AND AGRICULTURE

2. G20 ENDS WITHOUT TIME-BOUND PROMISE ON CLIMATE CHANGE

THE CONTEXT: No time-bound agreements were reached as leaders of the world’s top economies ended the summit in Rome, recommitting to providing $100 billion a year to counter climate change, and pushing for greater vaccine equality to fight the COVID-19 pandemic.

THE EXPLANATION:

• G-20 countries also committed to ending international financing for all new coal plants by the end of 2021 but made no mention of domestic commitments on ending coal power generation.
• Amongst the other highlights of the statement was a decision to pursue the recognition of more vaccines by the World Health Organization under a “One Health approach” for the world and providing finances and technology for vaccine production at “mRNA Hubs” in South Africa, Brazil and Argentina, and to mobilize more international public-private financing for “green” projects.
• India pushed for “safeguarding the interests of the developing world” as Prime Minister Narendra Modi addressed the G20 summit at sessions on climate change and sustainable development.

 SOURCE: TH

3. INDIAN DATABASE HIGHLIGHTS EMISSIONS GAP

THE CONTEXT: A day ahead of the commencement of COP 26, India has officially endorsed a website ‘Climate Equity Monitor’, made by Indian climate experts, that lists the historical carbon dioxide emissions of developed countries.

THE EXPLANATION:

• The database aims to highlight the disparity between the emissions of developed and developing countries with countries such as the United States, Canada, and Australia and those in Western Europe shown as having a net carbon debt while developing countries such as India and China have net credit.
• Its focus on equity & climate action from a data and evidence-based perspective will encourage vigorous discussion on the crucial issue and engage experts from all nations.
• It is aimed at monitoring the performance of Annex-I Parties under the UNFCCC (developed countries) based on the “foundational principles” of the Climate Convention.
• The performance and policies of the Non-Annex-I Parties (developing countries) will be provided for comparison.
• The website was conceptualised and developed by the Climate Change Group at the M.S. Swaminathan Research Foundation, Chennai, and the Natural Sciences and Engineering Department at the National Institute of Advanced Studies, Bengaluru, with other independent researchers.

SOURCE: TH

4. PUNJAB BATS FOR CONSERVATION OF INDUS RIVER DOLPHIN

THE CONTEXT: The census of the Indus river dolphin (Platanista gangetica minor), a freshwater dolphin found in the Beas River, is slated to begin this winter as part of a Centre project. Punjab’s wildlife preservation wing, on the other hand, has gone above and above to conserve not only the dolphins but also their natural habitat.

THE EXPLANATION:

• The Indus river dolphin is classified as endangered by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) and, until recently, it was believed that these dolphins were endemic to Pakistan.
• But in 2007, a remnant but viable population of Indus dolphins were discovered in Punjab’s Harike wildlife sanctuary and in the lower Beas River.
• The Indus river dolphin was declared the State aquatic animal of Punjab in 2019.
• Alongside research, the importance will be on engaging the riparian communities by encouraging community-led biological monitoring.
• Villages around the hot spot sites of dolphin occurrence will be developed as models for community-led conservation.
• Extension programmes will be held to develop a group of dedicated individuals, called ‘Beas-Dolphin Mitras’ [friends and protectors] of the river Beas.
• The project also will embark on dolphin eco-tourism.

SOURCE: TH

INTERNAL  SECURITY

5. NAVY TAKES DELIVERY OF GUIDED-MISSILE DESTROYER VISAKHAPATNAM

THE CONTEXT: The first ship of the four Project-15B state-of-the-art stealth guided-missile destroyers, Visakhapatnam, being built at the Mazgaon Docks Limited (MDL), was delivered to the Navy. Delayed by three years, the ships will be commissioned very soon.

THE EXPLANATION:

• The 163-metre-long warship has a full load displacement of 7,400 tonnes and a maximum speed of 30 knots. The overall indigenous content of the project is approximately 75%,” the Navy said
• The design of the ships has been developed in-house by the Directorate of Naval Design and are a follow on of the Kolkata class (Project 15A) destroyers.
• The four ships are named after major cities from all four corners of the country — Visakhapatnam, Mormugao, Imphal and Surat, the Navy said.
• These ships are equipped with BrahMos supersonic cruise missiles and long-range Surface-to-Air missiles (SAM).
• These ships are propelled by four gas turbines in Combined Gas and Gas (COGAG) configuration and have maximum endurance of 4000 nm at an economical speed of 14 knots.

SOURCE: TH

INDIAN ECONOMY

6. PROPOSED AMENDMENT TO ENERGY CONSERVATION ACT 2001

THE CONTEXT: Amidst the growing energy needs and changing global climate landscape, the Government of India has identified new areas to achieve higher levels of penetration of Renewable energy by proposing certain Amendments to Energy Conservation Act, 2001.

THE EXPLANATION:

• The objective will be to enhance demand for renewable energy at the end-use sectors such as Industry, buildings, transport etc.
• Ministry of Power has prepared amendments, after consultations with stakeholders. The proposal includes defining the minimum share of renewable energy in the overall consumption by the industrial units or any establishment.
• There will be provision to incentivise efforts on using clean energy sources by means of a carbon saving certificate.
• The proposed amendments would facilitate the development of the Carbon market in India and prescribe minimum consumption of renewable energy either as direct consumption or indirect use through the grid. This will help in the reduction of fossil fuel-based energy consumption and carbon emission to the atmosphere.
• The proposed changes to the EC Act will boost the adoption of clean technologies in various sectors of the economy. The provisions would facilitate the promotion of green Hydrogen as an alternative to the existing fossil fuels used by the industries.
• The additional incentives in the form of Carbon credits against the deployment of clean technologies will result in private sector involvement in climate actions. The proposal also includes expanding the scope of the Act to include larger Residential buildings, with an aim to promote Sustainable Habitat.

SOURCE: PIB

7. GOI IS COMMITTED TO RELEASE FUNDS FOR THE MGNREGA SCHEME

THE CONTEXT: The government of India is committed to release funds for wage and material payments for proper implementation of the Mahatma Gandhi NREGA scheme.

THE EXPLANATION:

• Fund release towards wage and material is a continuous process. There has been increasing of more than 18% of funds allocated for the current financial year in comparison to the previous financial year as a budget estimate. During the current FY, so far more than Rs.63,793 crore funds have been released for the implementation of the scheme in the States/UTs. Currently Rs.8921 crore funds are available which can meet the wage liability equal to this current availability.
• Govt of India is committed to release funds for wage and material payments for proper implementation of the scheme, as per the provisions of the act and guidelines applicable for Central Government as well as State Governments.
• Whenever additional fund is required, the Ministry of Finance is requested to provide the funds. In the previous financial year, the Ministry of Finance allocated Rs.50,000 crore additional funds for the scheme over and above that of BE.
• The provision for unemployment allowances is applicable for the beneficiary who has demanded work and could not be offered the work within 15 days from the date of demand for work.
• All other demands for work where the beneficiary has already completed 100 days in the current financial year or the beneficiary who has demanded the work but died before 15 days of the date of the demand of work shall not be eligible for unemployment allowances.
• The category wise (SC, ST and Others) wage payment system, as made applicable from this current financial year, has been introduced to accurately reflect on the ground flow of funds to various population groups. Its further streamlining is being undertaken.
• According to its own financial statement, the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) scheme shows a negative net balance of 8,686 crores.

ABOUT MGNREGA

• Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (Mahatma Gandhi NREGA) provides the guarantee of at least 100 days of wage employment against the demand made by a household in a rural area.
• During the current financial year so far more than 222 crore person-days has been generated. A total of more than 6 crore households have got wage employment during the current financial year against their demand.
• Employment has been offered to 99.63% of the total demand of wage employment and against the offer of employment, a total of 87.35% of beneficiaries has turned up for work as per their will.

SOURCE: PIB

8. LAKHPATISHG WOMEN

THE CONTEXT: Ministry of Rural Development launched an initiative to enable rural SHG women to earn at least Rs.1 lakh per annum.

THE EXPLANATION:

• For the realization of this ambitious goal, the Ministry has envisioned livelihood support to 25 million rural SHG women in the next 2 years. Based on various models existing across the country.
• Over the years this money borrowed by SHGs through bank capitalization support is now being used for creating diversified livelihood opportunities. While all these efforts are yielding positive transformation, it is realized that for ensuring sustainable livelihoods and dignified life of women SHG members, there is a need to make a concerted effort for ensuring at least INR 1,00,000 income per annum for the household i.e. enabling them to become a Lakhpati. The figure of Rs 1 lakh is both aspirational and inspirational for rural SHG women.
• DeenDayalAntyodaya Yojana is a flagship scheme of the Ministry of Rural Development organizing the rural poor into self-governed institutions with a focus on building capacity and creating diversified livelihood opportunities for Rural Poor Women.
• The mission has made successful strides through the Mahila Kisan Sashaktikaran Pariyojana bringing focus on the role of women as farmers. Moving from the phase of community mobilization and building institutions of women, now the focus is on envisaging SHG women in higher-order economic activities through producer groups, FPOs and producer companies.

 SOURCE: PIB

INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS

9. EX YUDH ABHYAS

THE CONTEXT: The 17th Edition of Indo-US joint exercise “Ex Yudh Abhyas 2021”, the joint military training between Indian and the US Armies concluded at Joint Base Elmendorf Richardson, Alaska on 29 October 2021.

THE EXPLANATION:

• The aim of this 14-day exercise was to familiarise each other with operational procedures, combat drills and developing inter-operability.
• The Indian contingent comprised 350 personnel of an Infantry Battalion group of the MADRAS Regiment while the US contingent consisted of 300 soldiers of the First Squadron (Airborne) of the 40th Cavalry Regiment.
• The exercise was conducted in two phases. The first phase comprised combat conditioning and tactical training by both the contingents. Training received by both contingents in the first phase was put into practice in the validation stage.
• Both contingents jointly took part in the validation exercise which comprised combat shooting, rappelling and helicopter-based mobilization of quick response teams.
• The troops were organized into composite companies with mixed platoons of Indian and US Armies and the validation exercise culminated in a raid on an enemy position in mountainous terrain and securing of critical infrastructure.
• The two Armies have gained from each other’s expertise and experience in the conduct of platoon and company level operations. The exercise has strengthened mutual confidence, inter-operability and enabled sharing of best practices between the two contingents.

SOURCE: PIB

10. PRIME MINISTER’S MEETING WITH PRIME MINISTER OF SPAIN

THE CONTEXT: Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi met H.E. Mr. Pedro Sanchez, Prime Minister of Spain on the sidelines of the G20 Summit in Rome on 31 October 2021.

THE EXPLANATION:

• The two leaders welcomed the growing bilateral trade and investment linkages including the recent signing of the contract to procure 56 C295 aircrafts from Airbus Spain, 40 of which will be ‘Made in India’ in collaboration with Tata Advanced Systems.
• They agreed to further expand bilateral cooperation in new areas like e-mobility, clean tech, advanced materials and deep sea exploration.
• PM Modi invited Spain to invest in various sectors including Green Hydrogen, infrastructure and defence manufacturing and further take advantage of India’s National Infrastructure Pipeline, Asset Monetization Plan and the Gati Shakti Plan.
• The two leaders discussed India-EU relations as well as cooperation on climate action and priorities at upcoming COP26.
• They also exchanged views on regional and global issues of mutual interest including Afghanistan and the Indo-Pacific.
• PM Modi looks forward to welcoming PM Sanchez to India next year.

SOURCE:  PIB

PRELIMS PRACTICE QUESTIONS

Q1 Consider the following statements about the Indus dolphins:

1. It is classified as endangered species by IUCN.
2. It is found in India only in the Sutlej River.
3. It is declared as the state aquatic animal of Punjab.

Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

a) 1 only

b) 2 and 3 only

c) 1 and 3 only

d) 1, 2 and 3

ANSWER FOR OCTOBER 30, 2021 PRELIMS PRACTICE QUESTIONS

Q1. Answer: C

Explanation:

A conjugate vaccine is a type of vaccine which combines a weak antigen with a strong antigen as a carrier so that the immune system has a stronger response to the weak antigen.

[WpProQuiz 81]

INDIAN POLITY, GOVERNANCE AND SOCIAL JUSTICE

1. SUICIDES AMONG FARMWORKERS ROSE 18% IN 2020

THE CONTEXT:  According to the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) report, the number of agricultural labourers who died by suicide in 2020 was 18% higher than the previous year.

THE EXPLANATION:

• Suicides among landowning farmers dropped slightly during the pandemic year.
• Landless agricultural labourers, who did not benefit from income support schemes such as PM Kisan, may have faced higher levels of distress during the pandemic.
• The worst among the States continues to be Maharashtra, with 4,006 suicides in the farm sector, including a 15% increase in farmworker suicides.
• The other States with a poor record include Karnataka (2016), Andhra Pradesh (889) and Madhya Pradesh (735).

SOURCE:  TH  

2. A NATIONWIDE EXPANSION OF PCV

THE CONTEXT:   Union Health Minister launched a nationwide expansion of Pneumococcal 13-valent Conjugate Vaccine (PCV) under the Universal Immunisation Programme (UIP) as a part of ‘Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav’.

THE EXPLANATION:

• It was for the first time in the country that PCV would be available for universal use. Pneumonia was a leading cause of death among children under five, globally and in India.
• Pneumonia caused by pneumococcus is the most common cause of severe pneumonia in children.
• Around 16% of deaths in children occur due to pneumonia in India. The nationwide roll-out of PCV will reduce child mortality by around 60%

ABOUT PCV13

• Pneumococcal conjugate vaccine (PCV13) protects against bacterial infections that can cause life-threatening meningitis, pneumonia or sepsis.
• Pneumococcal disease refers to any illness caused by pneumococcal bacteria. These bacteria can cause many types of illnesses, including pneumonia, which is an infection of the lungs.
• Besides pneumonia, pneumococcal bacteria can also cause Ear infections, Sinus infections, Meningitis (infection of the tissue covering the brain and spinal cord), Bacteremia (infection of the blood).
• Side effects: Redness, swelling, pain, or tenderness where the shot is given, and fever, loss of appetite, fussiness (irritability), feeling tired, headache, and chills can happen after PCV13 vaccination.
• India’s first pneumococcal conjugate vaccine (PCV) named “Pneumosil” was launched in 2020. It has been developed by the Serum Institute of India Private Limited (SII) in collaboration with partners like the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.
• A conjugate vaccine is a type of vaccine which combines a weak antigen with a strong antigen as a carrier so that the immune system has a stronger response to the weak antigen.

SOURCE:  TH

3. INDIA’S R VALUE STEADY AT 0.90

THE CONTEXT: India’s effective reproduction number or R for Covid is steady at 0.90, the same as last week. However, several states including West Bengal, Assam and Himachal Pradesh are now showing an upward trend in infections.

THE EXPLANATION:

• R indicates the average number of people who are likely to catch the infection from a Covid positive individual. The value of R should remain below 1 for the pandemic to come to an end.
• Himachal Pradesh now has the highest R at 1.20. R for West Bengal and Telangana too is above 1.
• R values for Maharashtra and Karnataka are 0.94 and 0.95, respectively.
• Kerala is once again witnessing a rise in infection rate(0.89). While for Tamil Nadu, the value reduced from 0.94 to 0.92, Odisha’s R dropped from 0.90 to 0.88 this week.
• Among cities, Kolkata has the highest R of 1.14, followed by Delhi, which has R at 1.1.
• R for Bengaluru and Chennai is 0.93 and 0.92, respectively. Meanwhile, Mumbai’s R is at 0.94, and Pune’s R is relatively low at 0.84.

SOURCE: THEPRINT

4. PUBLIC AFFAIRS INDEX 2021

THE CONTEXT:       Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Telangana have taken the top three slots, emerging winners among the 18 large states in governance performance, Public Affairs Centre (PAC), a Bengaluru-based nonprofit think tank.

EXPLANATION:

• Gujarat ranks fifth, Karnataka seventh and Maharashtra 12th in the ranking.
• A highlight of this year’s study is the Covid-19 response index. It is an analysis of the government response of the states to the pandemic and the degree of success achieved in mitigating its impact.
• While Sikkim, Goa and Mizoram have emerged winners among the small states, Puducherry, Jammu & Kashmir and Chandigarh are the toppers among the union territories.
• In the overall rankings, Kerala continues to be at the top and Tamil Nadu has retained its second place. Telangana has replaced Andhra Pradesh at the third spot compared to last year’s ranking.
• The study shows Telangana, Jharkhand and Chhattisgarh have performed better than their parent States.
• Telangana, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand and Gujarat have performed well in the overall index, while Maharashtra, Assam, Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh have slipped in rankings as compared to last year, the study noted.
• Andhra Pradesh which ranked third last year ranks eighth this time due to its fall in the equity and growth pillars. Similarly, Karnataka which ranked fourth last time has declined to seventh place — it has slipped from 12th place to 16th place on the equity pillar score.
• Gujarat which ranked ninth last year has climbed to fifth position this year. While West Bengal which ranked 12th last year, has slipped to 15th, Maharashtra that ranked seventh last year has slipped to 12th because of a drastic fall in the equity pillar.
• This is a clear indication that Maharashtra is struggling to recover from the pandemic, the study has noted.
• A surprise feature is Jharkhand’s jump from 15th to 9th place and ranking third in the growth pillar.

About PAI

• Public Affairs Index (PAI 2021), as the study is called, has prepared the list based on scores secured by the states in governance performance across the pillars of equity, growth and sustainability.
• The study is an annual assessment of the adequacy and quality of governance in states, and it has also assessed the states on the basis of their implementation of the centrally sponsored-programmes of rural employment guarantee scheme, national health mission, integrated child development service, Samagra Siksha Abhiyan and mid-day meal scheme.
• The Public Affairs index series is a purely evidence-based assessment of the performance of states using only the central government data sources.

SOURCE: ET

ENVIRONMENT, GEOGRAPHY AND AGRICULTURE

5. HEALTH INSURANCE FOR INDIA’S MISSING MIDDLE

THE CONTEXT: NITI Aayog released a comprehensive report titled Health Insurance for India’s Missing Middle, which brings out the gaps in the health insurance coverage across the Indian population and offers solutions to address the situation.

THE EXPLANATION:

• The report highlights the need for designing a low-cost comprehensive health insurance product for the missing middle.
• It primarily recognizes the policy issue of low financial protection for health for the missing middle segment and highlights health insurance as a potential pathway in addressing that.
• In doing so, the report offers a starting point for broader discussions on solutions, and specific products, to improve insurance coverage for the missing middle.
• The report proposes wider industry and government stakeholder consultations, and discussion with consumer groups to delve deeper into the specifics of the problem, and potential solutions.

 SOURCE: PIB

INDIAN ECONOMY

6. AYUSH MARKET SIZE CROSSES US DOLLARS 18 BILLION

THE CONTEXT: Buoyed by the growing global and domestic demand and enabled by strong support to regulatory, research and development, and back-end infrastructure by the Ministry, the market size of AYUSH has grown by 17 per cent in 2014-20 to reach US dollars 18.1 billion.

THE EXPLANATION:

• As per the Research and Information System for Developing Countries (RIS) report, despite a slump in economic activity in 2020 due to the pandemic, the industry is projected to reach US$ 20.6 billion in 2021 and US$ 23.3 billion in 2022.
• In terms of the global share, India has grown faster in the AYUSH market as compared to the world and accounts for about 2.8 per cent of the market, which is likely to hold even though disruptions in production are not ruled out.
• During the same period, different product segments have grown at a much higher rate than the overall industry.
• Plant derivatives experienced 21 per cent growth in the period 2014-2020 followed by nutraceuticals (20.5 per cent), pharmaceuticals (15.8 per cent), plant extracts 14.7 per cent and herbal plants (14.3 per cent).
• Ayush medicines have done exceedingly well in helping Covid19 patients recover faster across the world during the first and second waves of pandemics in the last one and a half years.

SOURCE: PIB

7. NO MONEY LEFT IN MGNREGA COFFERS

THE CONTEXT: The Centre’s flagship rural employment scheme has run out of funds halfway through the financial year, and supplementary budgetary allocations will not come to the rescue for at least another month when the next Parliamentary session begins.

THE EXPLANATION:

• According to its own financial statement, the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) scheme shows a negative net balance of Rs 8,686 crore.

• This means that payments for MGNREGA workers as well as material costs will be delayed unless the States dip into their own funds.
• Activists say the Centre is condemning workers to “forced labour” by delaying wage payments at a time of economic distress.
• However, the Centre is now accusing many States of “artificially creating demand” for work on the ground.
• During last year’s COVID-19 lockdown, the scheme was ultimately given its highest budget of Rs 1.11 lakh crore.

SOURCE: TH

8. SHAKTIKANTA DAS GIVEN 3-YEAR EXTENSION AS RBI GOVERNOR

THE CONTEXT: The Government of India has extended the tenure of Reserve Bank of India (RBI) governor Shaktikanta Das for a period of three years.

THE EXPLANATION:

• Mr Das was appointed as RBI’s 25th governor on December 11, 2018, for a period of three years, after the then governor Urjit Patel resigned before the end of his term.
• Prior to that, Mr Das had served as Revenue Secretary and Economic Affairs Secretary in the Ministry of Finance.
• With the extension, he will head the RBI till December 2024.
• Das, 1980 batch officer, played an important role in steering the economy during the COVID-19 period.
• Under his leadership, RBI announced more than 100 measures to maintain financial stability and push growth during the unprecedented crisis.
• To steer the economy out of the woods, triggered by a once-in-a-century pandemic, he took both conventional and unconventional measures.
• The Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) headed by him brought down the benchmark interest rate to a record low of 4 per cent last year in May, and since then it has maintained an accommodative stance to support the economy. The government’s largest-ever borrowing of Rs 12.60 lakh crore was also conducted smoothly.
• In his earlier stint as Economic Affairs Secretary from 2015 to 2017, Das worked closely with the central bank and oversaw the demonetisation of high-value notes in late 2016.
• After his retirement, he has named India’s G-20 sherpa and was also appointed as a member of the 15th Finance Commission.

SOURCE: TH

INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS

9. PM MEETS ITALIAN PM MARIO DRAGHI

THE CONTEXT: PM met the Prime Minister of Italy, H.E. Mr Mario Draghi in Italy on 29 October 2021, on the sidelines of the G20 Summit in Rome. This was their first in-person meeting.

THE EXPLANATION:

• PM congratulated Prime Minister Draghi for successfully hosting the G20 in the midst of a global pandemic. Italy is also partnering with the UK in organizing COP-26 in Glasgow.
• The two leaders discussed the challenges posed by climate change, and the need for the international community to work together.
• PM highlighted the transformative climate actions undertaken by India and the concerns of developing countries about climate financing commitments of the developed world.
• The two leaders also exchanged views on recent global and regional developments, including in Afghanistan and the Indo-Pacific. They reiterated their desire for working closely together to further the India-EU multi-faceted cooperation.
• On the bilateral side, the two leaders reviewed developments since the India-Italy Virtual Summit in November 2020 and expressed satisfaction at the progress in implementation of the 2020-2025 Action Plan adopted at the Virtual Summit that set strategic goals in the political, economic, S&T and cultural spheres to be achieved in the next five years.
• The two leaders reiterated their commitment to further expanding trade and investment linkages between the two countries particularly in textiles, food processing, automotive and renewable energy sectors.
• To provide fresh impetus to the bilateral cooperation in renewables and clean energy, India and Italy issued a Joint Statement announcing a Strategic Partnership on Energy Transition and agreed to explore partnerships in areas such as large size green corridor projects, smart grids, energy storage solutions, gas transportation, integrated waste management (waste-to-wealth), development and deployment of green hydrogen and promotion of biofuels. India and Italy also signed a Statement of Intent on Textiles cooperation during the meeting.
• PM extended an invitation to PM Draghi to pay an official visit to India at the earliest opportunity.

SOURCE: PIB

 10. UNGA COMMITTEE ENDORSES INDIA’S RESOLUTION FOR GRANTING OBSERVER STATUS TO ISA

THE CONTEXT: A draft resolution introduced by India for granting the Observer Status to the International Solar Alliance has been adopted in a U.N. General Assembly committee.

THE EXPLANATION:

• The draft resolution was adopted in the General Assembly’s Sixth Committee, which deals with legal issues, without a vote on October 28.
• The 76th session of the UN General Assembly will now have to formally adopt the recommendation of the Sixth Committee.
• The General Assembly decided that observer status would be confined to states and intergovernmental organisations whose activities cover matters of interest to the Assembly.
• The Sixth Committee of the General Assembly considers all applications for observer status before they are considered in the plenary session. Permanent Observers may participate in the sessions and workings of the General Assembly and maintain missions at the UN Headquarters.
• Intergovernmental organisations having received a standing invitation to participate as Observers in the sessions and the work of the General Assembly include the EU, INTERPOL, International Renewable Energy Agency, OECD, ADB, ASEAN, Commonwealth of Independent States, European Organisation for Nuclear Research, Indian Ocean Rim Association, SCO, SAARC, International Committee of the Red Cross and International Olympic Committee.
• The International Solar Alliance was opened for signature as an international treaty-based organisation in November 2016 and the agreement entered into force on December 6, 2017.
• The alliance of solar-resource rich countries with its membership was open to those 121 U.N. member states that lie fully or partially between the Tropics of Cancer and Capricorn.
• This was further amended at the First Assembly of the ISA, to expand the scope of ISA membership to all U.N. member states.

SOURCE: TH

PRELIMS PRACTICE QUESTIONS

Q1 A conjugate vaccine is:

a) A single vaccine is used for two different diseases.

b) A vaccine is used for a single disease.

c) A vaccine that combines a weak antigen with a strong antigen as a carrier.

d) A vaccine that combines a strong antigen with a weak antigen as a carrier.

ANSWER FOR OCTOBER 29, 2021 PRELIMS PRACTICE QUESTIONS

Q1 Answer: C

Explanation:

• It is a narrow strip of territory in Afghanistan, extending to China and separating Tajikistan from Pakistan.
• From this high mountain valley, the Panj and Pamir rivers emerge and form the Amu Darya.
• The corridor was formed by an 1893 agreement between the British Empire (British India) and Afghanistan, creating the Durand Line.
• This narrow strip acted as a buffer zone between the Russian Empire and the British Empire.

INDIAN POLITY, GOVERNANCE AND SOCIAL JUSTICE

1. CHENNAI-MYSORE-CHENNAI SHATABDI EXPRESS BECOMES THE FIRST IMS CERTIFIED TRAIN

THE CONTEXT:  A feather in the cap of Southern Railway, Chennai – Mysore – Chennai Shatabdi Express has received Integrated Management Systems Certification.

THE EXPLANATION:

• Chennai – Mysore- Chennai Shatabdi Express becomes the first Integrated Management Systems (IMS) certified train of Southern Railway, first Shatabdi of Indian Railways and second mail/express train on Indian Railways.
• This certification has been granted by the certification agency after a comprehensive audit and duly verifying adherence by Railways to all laid down norms.
• Most importantly, this train is running on Head-On-Generation (HOG) Technology, thereby reducing pollution and saving on the consumption of diesel.
• Maintaining 100 per cent passenger amenities in working condition, 100 per cent Biodigester toilet operations and 100 per cent functional sub-pantry equipment, Quality air conditioning, lighting and other electrical amenities with energy conservation technology are the Special features of this train.
• In this train, passengers also get Braille signage seat indication number And Pre-loaded Wi-fi Infotainment System.
• Automatic sliding door closer for passenger coupe in Executive coach, fire extinguishers in all coaches with fire suppression system fitted in power cars and unified information sticker in all coaches with emergency contact numbers ensuring safe and comfortable travel for passengers in this train.

SOURCE:  PIB

ENVIRONMENT, GEOGRAPHY AND AGRICULTURE

2. LOAN FOR INTEGRATED URBAN FLOOD MANAGEMENT IN CHENNAI

THE CONTEXT: The Government of India and the Asian Development Bank (ADB) signed a $251 million loan for climate-resilient, integrated urban flood protection and management in the Chennai-Kosasthalaiyar basin to strengthen the resilience of Chennai city to floods.

THE EXPLANATION:

• The project will establish climate-resilient urban flood protection infrastructure. It will construct 588 kilometres (km) of new stormwater drains, rehabilitate or replace 175 km of stormwater drains, improve 11 km stretches in the Ambattur, Ariyallur, Kadappakkam, and Korattur channels to enhance water-carrying capacity, and upgrade a stormwater pumping station and construct a new one.
• It will also construct 23,000 catch pits in roadside drains to recharge the groundwater aquifer and rehabilitate four disaster relief camps.
• Flood preparedness will be strengthened by developing guidelines to integrate flood hazard zoning into spatial and land use planning, implementing a flood citizen observatory for real-time information in flood areas and creating a manual for green infrastructure design, including rainwater harvesting.
• The project also aims to enhance stakeholders’ involvement, including proactive participation of women, in flood preparedness by raising community knowledge and awareness of flood risks and impacts and its relationship with solid waste management, sewerage, and protection of water bodies.
• The technical staff of the Greater Chennai Corporation (GCC) will also be trained on the planning and design of stormwater drainage systems and the management of solid waste and flood risks.
• The project will develop a plan to ensure sustainable operation and maintenance of stormwater drainage systems.
• The project will also support the GCC to develop a roadmap to strengthen municipal resource mobilization for delivering sustainable and quality municipal services to the citizens.

SOURCE: PIB

3. INDIA IS LARGELY ON TRACK TO MEET ITS PARIS AGREEMENT TARGETS

THE CONTEXT: a new report by an international nonprofit environmental organization said that  India is largely on track to meet, and even exceed its Paris Climate Agreement targets.

THE EXPLANATION:

• The Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC), in its annual review of India’s actions on climate change, said the country is likely to meet its targets of reducing emissions by 33 to 35 per cent of its GDP by 2030 from the 2005 levels and achieve 40 per cent of installed power capacity from non-fossil fuels by 2030.
• In the runup to the climate conference every year, NRDC and partners publish an annual review of India’s actions on climate change.
• India has a pivotal role in future greenhouse gas mitigation and at the same time has massive climate adaptation needs with millions already suffering due to extreme heat, drought, and floods.
• With most of the country’s infrastructure still being built and the energy supply of the future yet to be installed, India has the opportunity to establish a low carbon development paradigm for the rest of the developing world.

SOURCE: IE

4. WORLD SHOULD SHUT NEARLY 3,000 COAL PLANTS TO KEEP ON CLIMATE TRACK

THE CONTEXT: According to research by climate think tank TransitionZero, the world will need to shut down nearly 3,000 coal-fired power plants before 2030 if it is to have a chance of keeping temperature rises within 1.5 Celsius.

THE EXPLANATION:

• TransitionZero said there are currently more than 2,000 GW of coal-fired power in operation across the world, and that needs to be slashed by nearly half, requiring the closure of nearly one unit per day from now until the end of the decade.
• The need to close nearly 1,000 gigawatts of coal-fired capacity would put the onus on China – the world’s biggest source of climate-warming greenhouse gas and owner of around half of the world’s coal-fuelled plants – to accelerate its shift towards cleaner electricity.
• China has reduced the share of coal in its total energy mix from 72.4% in 2005 to 56.8% last year, but absolute consumption volume has continued to rise.

SOURCE: IE

INTERNAL  SECURITY

5. ICGS SARTHAK

THE CONTEXT: In a significant boost to the maritime safety and security of the nation, the indigenously built Indian Coast Guard Ship ‘Sarthak’ was commissioned and dedicated to the nation on October 28, 2021, at Goa.

THE EXPLANATION:

• ICGS Sarthak will be based at Porbandar in Gujarat and operate on India’s Western Seaboard under the Operational and Administrative Control of the Commander, Coast Guard Region (Northwest).
• ICGS Sarthak is 4^thin the series of five OPVs being built by Goa Shipyard Limited for the ICG.
• These OPVs are multi-mission platforms capable of undertaking concurrent operations.
• The 105-meter-long ship displacing 2,450 tons is propelled by two 9,100 kilowatt diesel engines designed to attain a maximum speed of 26 knots.
• The ship is fitted with state-of-the-art equipment, machinery, sensors and weapons which enables it to function as a command platform and undertake mandated Coast Guard charter of duties including search & rescue, combating maritime crimes and preserving & protecting the marine environment.
• Indian Coast Guard is a pioneer in inducting indigenous platforms and ICGS Sarthak is a glowing example of ‘Atmanirbhar Bharat’

 SOURCE: PIB

6. DEEP DIVE TRAINING PROGRAM

THE CONTEXT: Aimed at strengthening the cyber security ecosystem in India, the MeitY is organising a week-long Deep Dive Online Training program for Chief Information Security officers (CISO) along with Technical Heads, front-line IT staff representing different Ministries, Departments and organisations from Central and State Governments, PSUs, and Bank organisations.

THE EXPLANATION:

• The program is being conducted from October 25 – 30, 2021.
• At the end of the sessions, it is envisaged that the CISOs will be equipped and empowered to handle Cyber Security challenges in their respective organizations and spread requisite awareness about cybercrime and build capacities for safety measures for Chief Information Security Officers (CISOs) and frontline IT staff across all government departments.
• Coinciding with the National Cyber Security Awareness Month celebrations, the training program is a part of a series of workshops organised by the National e-Governance Division at MeitY under the Cyber Surakshit Bharat initiative.
• It will help the CISOs and other participants to equip themselves with a better understanding of the changing dynamics of the cyber world so that they are able to translate the benefits of secure cyberspace to individual organisations and citizens at large.
• The role of CISOs is to do a gap analysis of the cyber security in an organisation and come out with a plan and strategy to bridge the gap and take corrective actions.
• The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) had launched the Cyber Surakshit Bharat initiative in January 2018. It is the first public-private partnership of its kind, leveraging the expertise of the IT industry in cybersecurity.

SOURCE: PIB

INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS

7. 18TH INDIA-ASEAN SUMMIT

THE CONTEXT: Prime Minister participated in the 18th India-ASEAN Summit at the invitation of His Majesty Sultan Haji Hassanal Bolkiah of Brunei, the current Chair of ASEAN. The Summit was held virtually and saw participation from the Leaders of ASEAN Member States.

THE EXPLANATION:

• Highlighting the milestone of the 30th anniversary of the India-ASEAN Partnership, the leaders announced the Year 2022 as India-ASEAN Friendship Year.
• Prime Minister underlined the centrality of ASEAN in India’s Act East Policy and in India’s Vision for the wider Indo-Pacific Vision.
• PM and ASEAN leaders welcomed the adoption of the India-ASEAN Joint Statement on cooperation for peace, stability and prosperity in the region.
• On COVID-19, the Prime Minister highlighted India’s efforts in the fight against the pandemic in the region and also reiterated support for ASEAN’s initiatives in this regard.
• India has contributed medical supplies worth USD 200,000 to ASEAN’s humanitarian initiative for Myanmar and USD 1 million for ASEAN’s Covid-19 Response Fund.
• The leaders exchanged views on enhancing India-ASEAN connectivity in broadest terms including physical, digital and people to people.
• To further strengthen India-ASEAN cultural connectivity, Prime Minister announced India’s support for establishing the ASEAN Cultural Heritage List.
• On trade and investment, he underlined the importance of diversification and resilience of supply chains for post-COVID economic recovery and in this regard, the need to revamp the India-ASEAN FTA.
• The ASEAN leaders appreciated India’s role as a trusted partner in the region especially during the current Covid-19 Pandemic with its supply of vaccines.
• The discussions also covered regional and international issues of common interest and concern, including South China Sea and terrorism.
• Both sides noted the importance of promoting a rules-based order in the region including through upholding adherence to international law, especially the UNCLOS.
• The leaders affirmed the importance of maintaining and promoting peace, stability, safety and security in the South China Sea, and ensuring freedom of navigation and overflight.

ABOUT ASEAN

• ASEAN is a regional organization that promotes economic, political, and security cooperation.
• It was founded in August 1967 in Bangkok, Thailand, when the founding fathers of ASEAN, namely Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, and Thailand, signed the ASEAN Declaration (Bangkok Declaration).
• Its chairperson is rotated annually, according on the alphabetical order of Member States’ English names.
• Members: Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam.

SOURCE: PIB

8. CHINA TO BUILD MILITARY BASE IN TAJIKISTAN

THE CONTEXT: China will take full control of a military base in Tajikistan near the Afghan border that it has been quietly operating and will also build a new base for the Tajik Government.

THE EXPLANATION:

• The new base, would be owned by Tajikistan’s Rapid Reaction Group or Special Forces, and financed by China for a cost of $10 million. It will be located in the eastern Gorno-Badakhshan autonomous province near the Pamir mountains, and Chinese troops will not be stationed there.
• While this base will be under Tajik control, the Tajikistan Government has also agreed to transfer full control of an existing facility that both sides have been using jointly, a former Soviet base not far from the ChinaTajikistan-Afghanistan tri-junction and the Wakhan Corridor, where China shares a less than 100 km border with Afghanistan.
• The base, once full control has been transferred, will become only the second known overseas Chinese security facility, after Djibouti near the Horn of Africa.
• Russia and India are among countries that already have a military presence in bases in Tajikistan.

ABOUT WAKHAN CORRIDOR

• It is a narrow strip of territory in Afghanistan, extending to China and separating Tajikistan from Pakistan.
• From this high mountain valley the Panj and Pamir rivers emerge and form the Amu Darya.
• The corridor was formed by an 1893 agreement between the British Empire (British India) and Afghanistan, creating the Durand Line.
• This narrow strip acted as a buffer zone between the Russian Empire and the British Empire.

SOURCE: TH

9. U.S. LAWMAKERS BAT FOR CAATSA SANCTIONS WAIVER FOR INDIA

THE CONTEXT: Key lawmakers continue to voice their support for a sanctions waiver for India for its purchase of the S-400 missile defence system from Russia.

THE EXPLANATION:

• India is likely to begin taking delivery of the S-400 in November, potentially activating U.S. sanctions under a 2017 law, Countering America’s Adversaries Through Sanctions Act (CAATSA).
• They cognized New Delhi’s history of procurement (from Russia) and India’s desire to have diversity in its weapons systems, noting that the situation is difficult.
• Turkey, a NATO ally, was expelled from the American F-35 programme (a consortium to build the aircraft) after it began accepting S-400 shipments in 2019.

SOURCE : PIB

PRELIMS PRACTICE QUESTION

Q1 Strategically located Wakhan corridor is part of which of the following country?

a) Iraq

b) Iran

c) Afghanistan

d) Pakistan

ANSWER FOR OCTOBER 28, 2021 PRELIMS PRACTICE QUESTIONS

Q1 Answer: B

Explanation:

The “Har Ghar Dastak” (Knock Every Door) campaign is scheduled to start soon in districts with low vaccination rates to enthuse and motivate people towards getting their second COVID-19 vaccine dose.