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Syllabus:
Preliminary Examination: Current events of nationalist and planetary importance.
Mains Examination: General Studies II: Bilateral, determination and planetary groupings and agreements involving India and/or affecting India’s interests.
What’s the ongoing story: Taking the archetypal measurement to revive bilateral ties frozen ever since Chinese incursions successful eastbound Ladakh implicit 4 and a fractional years agone triggered a subject standoff on the Line of Actual Control, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Xi Jinping held talks Wednesday and underlined that “maintaining bid connected borderline should beryllium our priority” and “mutual trust, communal respect and communal sensitivity should beryllium the ground of our ties”.
Key Points to Ponder:
• PM Modi-Xi Jinping conscionable astatine 16th BRICS Summit-Know the cardinal highlights of the gathering betwixt PM Modi-Xi Jinping
• ‘India and China person agreed to reconstruct patrolling rights to each successful the Depsang Plains and Demchok region’- what are the cardinal discussions connected patrolling statement on the LAC?
• Why Depsang Plains and Demchok portion are important?
• Map Work-Depsang Plains and Demchok region
• Know the presumption ‘De-induction’ ‘Disengagement’ and ‘De-escalation’?
• What ‘De-induction’, ‘Disengagement’ and ‘De-escalation’ means successful India-China Context
• Why patrolling statement on the LAC is important?
• What are the main reasons for the Sino-Indian conflict?
Key Takeaways:
• Prime Minister Modi, successful a station connected X, said, “Met President Xi Jinping connected the sidelines of the Kazan BRICS Summit. India-China relations are important for the radical of our countries, and for determination and planetary bid and stability. Mutual trust, communal respect and communal sensitivity volition usher bilateral relations.”
• At the commencement of the meeting, Modi said, “We invited the agreements that we person reached implicit the border. Maintaining bid and tranquillity implicit the borderline should stay our priority, and communal trust, communal respect and communal sensitivity should stay the ground of our relationship. I americium assured that we volition clasp talks with an unfastened bosom and our discussions volition beryllium constructive.”
• At the meeting, President Xi said, “Mr Prime Minister, it’s my large pleasance to conscionable you successful Kazan. It’s the archetypal clip for america to person a ceremonial gathering successful 5 years’ time. Both, the radical successful our 2 countries and the planetary community, are paying large attraction to our meeting. China and India are some past civilisations, large processing countries, and important members of the Global South. We are some astatine a important signifier successful our respective modernisation endeavours.”
• It said the 2 leaders “agreed” that the “Special Representatives connected the India-China bound question volition conscionable astatine an aboriginal day to oversee the absorption of bid and tranquillity successful borderline areas and to research a fair, tenable and mutually acceptable solution to the bound question”.
Do You Know:
• According to the Maj Gen (retd) Prof G G Dwivedi, each struggle has a rhythm – it begins with escalation, and is followed by contact, stalemate, de-escalation, resolution, peace-building and reconciliation. The de-escalation process entails talks astatine aggregate levels, and crushed enactment successful assorted stages. For example, determination person been 3 rounds of talks astatine the Corps Commander level, simultaneous talks betwixt Joint Secretaries, and astatine the level of Special Representatives betwixt India and China aft Galwan clash. On the ground, the archetypal measurement successful the de-escalation process is of disengagement – i.e., to interruption the ‘eyeball-to-eyeball’ interaction betwixt the opposing troops connected the guardant enactment by pulling backmost to make a buffer zone. The adjacent measurement is the pulling backmost of the troops successful the contiguous depth, followed by reserve formations successful the rear.
• Given the imaginable for clashes, 5 large agreements were signed betwixt India and China to guarantee bid connected the border.
—The archetypal 1 connected ‘Maintenance of Peace and Tranquillity on the LAC’ was signed successful 1993, which formed the ground for the consequent agreements.
— In 1996, a follow-up statement connected ‘Confidence Building Measures’ on the LAC was inked, denouncing usage of unit oregon engaging successful hostile activities.
— In the 2005 Agreement, ‘standard operating procedures’ were laid down to obviate patrol clashes.
—The Agreement of 2012 acceptable retired a process for consultation and cooperation.
— The ‘Border Defence Cooperation Agreement’ was signed successful 2013 arsenic a sequel to the Depsang intrusion by the PLA. Its accent was connected enhancing borderline practice and exercising maximum restraint successful lawsuit of ‘face-to-face’ situations. Wherever determination was a quality of perceptions successful disputed areas termed arsenic ‘grey zones’, some sides could patrol up to the perceived line, but were not to undertake immoderate build-up.
Other Important Articles Covering the aforesaid topic:
📍PM Modi, X Jinping clasp bilateral talks successful Russia: Top 5 highlights
We enactment dialog & diplomacy, not war… nary treble standards connected terror: PM
Syllabus:
Preliminary Examination: Current events of nationalist and planetary importance.
Mains Examination: General Studies II: Bilateral, determination and planetary groupings and agreements involving India and/or affecting India’s interests.
What’s the ongoing story: Calling for “single-minded, steadfast enactment of all” to “counter coercion and panic financing” and making wide that “there is nary spot for treble standards connected this superior matter”, Prime Minister Narendra Modi told leaders of the BRICS grouping Wednesday that India supports “dialogue and diplomacy, not war”.
Key Points to Ponder:
• What is BRICS?
• Why BRICS matter?
• Is the BRICS confederation nary longer applicable and effective?
• The geopolitics of BRICS looks rather antithetic today-how?
• Map Work-BRICS Countries
• What you cognize astir New Development Bank (NDB) and Contingent Reserve Arrangement (CRA)?
• What were the cardinal takeaways from the 16th BRICS summit?
• “The 16th BRICS Summit concluded connected October 23 with a blessed ending”-Comment
• BRICS and Global South-connect the dots
• “The Kazan Declaration, issued astatine the extremity of the Summit, touches connected practically each salient issue”-Elaborate
• What are the issue’s and challenges with BRICS?
Key Takeaways:
• The cardinal points from the Kazan declaration, opens caller tab issued by the BRICS radical aft a acme successful Russia are arsenic following
—On Ukraine: “We stress that each states should enactment consistently with the Purposes and Principles of the UN Charter successful their entirety and interrelation. We enactment with appreciation applicable proposals of mediation and bully offices, aimed astatine a peaceful solution of the struggle done dialog and diplomacy.”
—ON THE MIDDLE EAST: “We reiterate our sedate interest astatine the deterioration of the concern and humanitarian situation successful the Occupied Palestinian Territory, successful peculiar the unprecedented escalation of unit successful the Gaza Strip and successful West Bank arsenic a result
of the Israeli subject offensive, which led to wide sidesplitting and wounded of civilians, forced displacement and wide demolition of civilian infrastructure.”
“We explicit alarm implicit the concern successful Southern Lebanon. We condemn the nonaccomplishment of civilian lives and the immense harm to civilian infrastructure resulting from attacks by Israel successful residential areas successful Lebanon and telephone for contiguous cessation of subject acts.”
— ON WESTERN SANCTIONS: “We are profoundly acrophobic astir the disruptive effect of unlawful unilateral coercive measures, including amerciable sanctions, connected the satellite economy, planetary trade, and the accomplishment of the sustainable improvement goals.”
— ON THE INTERNATIONAL FINANCIAL SYSTEM’S REFORM: “We underscore the request to betterment the existent planetary fiscal architecture to conscionable the planetary fiscal challenges including planetary economical governance to marque the planetary fiscal architecture much inclusive and just.”
— ON BRICS GRAIN EXCHANGE: “We invited the inaugural of the Russian side
to found a atom (commodities) trading level wrong BRICS (the BRICS Grain Exchange) and to subsequently make it including expanding it to different cultivation sectors.”
—ON BRICS CROSS-BORDER PAYMENT SYSTEM: “We recognise the wide benefits of faster, debased cost, much efficient, transparent, harmless and inclusive cross-border outgo instruments built upon the rule of minimizing commercialized barriers and non-discriminatory access. We invited the usage of section currencies successful fiscal transactions betwixt BRICS countries and their trading partners.”
—ON BIG CATS: “While appreciating the efforts of our countries to sphere uncommon taxon and noting the precocious vulnerability of large cats, we instrumentality enactment of the Republic of India’s inaugural to make an International Big Cats Alliance and promote BRICS countries
to enactment unneurotic to marque further contributions to the conservation of large cats.”
Do You Know:
• According to Rajan Kumar who teaches astatine the School of International Studies, Jawaharlal Nehru University and besides the writer of Locating BRICS successful the Global Order: Perspectives from the Global South, the 16th BRICS Summit sent a wide connection that the non-Western countries privation to prosecute with Russia. Non-Western states inactive find Russia charismatic owed to its strategical value and arsenic a supplier of weapons and energy. Since it invaded Ukraine, the West began to dainty Russia arsenic an outcast. Putin cannot question to galore countries due to the fact that the International Criminal Court issued an apprehension warrant against him. He skipped the past BRICS acme successful South Africa and volition apt miss the G20 Summit successful Brazil this year. Under these circumstances, hosting a Summit carries symbolic and substantive meaning for Putin’s regime. He volition showcase it arsenic impervious that Russia is respected globally and that helium is making an effort to reshape the satellite order.
• According to Rajan Kumar who teaches astatine the School of International Studies, Jawaharlal Nehru University and besides the writer of Locating BRICS successful the Global Order: Perspectives from the Global South, the non-Western states person exhibited the acumen to successfully tally an instauration which, successful immoderate sense, rivals Western institutions. Western experts often disregard BRICS arsenic excessively divers to beryllium coherent. BRICS is so an unusually varied and heterogeneous association. Its members bash not stock territory, civilization and governmental systems. This grouping includes democracies, authoritarian regimes and adjacent monarchies. Further, its economies are besides not comparable. Nonetheless, BRICS has managed to support its differences nether wraps and enactment connected areas of convergence. It holds an yearly Summit, has created palmy institutions, and a ample fig of non-Western states covet its membership.
• BRICS has go an influential bloc successful planetary politics. The West fears the emergence of a rival to the G7 with the imaginable to disrupt the functioning of the G20. BRICS remains an economical grouping but has not shied distant from propagating its politics. It has consistently raised the contented of favoritism and hierarchy successful the planetary system. Its members clasp a lingering grudge of being unrepresented oregon underrepresented successful institutions specified arsenic the UNSC, IMF and World Bank.
• According to Rajan Kumar who teaches astatine the School of International Studies, Jawaharlal Nehru University and besides the writer of Locating BRICS successful the Global Order: Perspectives from the Global South, BRICS has go an influential bloc successful planetary politics. The West fears the emergence of a rival to the G7 with the imaginable to disrupt the functioning of the G20. BRICS remains an economical grouping but has not shied distant from propagating its politics. It has consistently raised the contented of favoritism and hierarchy successful the planetary system. Its members clasp a lingering grudge of being unrepresented oregon underrepresented successful institutions specified arsenic the UNSC, IMF and World Bank.
Other Important Articles Covering the aforesaid topic:
📍BRICS Summit astatine Kazan: The takeaways for India, Russia and China
📍PM Modi attends BRICS Summit successful Russia: What is the group, its value for India
📍Kazan Declaration
Previous twelvemonth UPSC Mains Question Covering akin theme:
📍Compare the value of IBSA and BRICS successful the discourse of India’s multilateral diplomacy. (UPSC CSE GS2, 2012)
THE CITY
‘Declaring Jama Masjid protected monument volition person important impact’
Syllabus:
Preliminary Examination: History of India and Current events of nationalist and planetary importance.
Mains Examination: General Studies I: Indian civilization volition screen the salient aspects of Art Forms, lit and Architecture from past to modern times.
What’s the ongoing story:The Union authorities connected Wednesday filed an affidavit earlier the Delhi High Court stating that “there would beryllium a important interaction of declaring Jama Masjid a protected monument”. This comes astir 2 decades since the Ministry of Culture nether the Manmohan Singh authorities decided not to state the Jama Masjid arsenic a protected monument.
Key Points to Ponder:
• What does a protected monument means?
• What you cognize astir Jama Masjid?
• Who built Jama Masjid?
• “There would beryllium a important interaction of declaring Jama Masjid a protected monument”-What benignant of impact?
• What is Jama Masjid architecture?
• What you cognize astir Indo-Islamic architectural style?
• What makes Mughal creation and architecture distinct?
• Could you place immoderate monuments constructed with reddish sandstone?
• Know astir Archaeological Survey of India (ASI)
Key Takeaways:
• In an affidavit dated October 21, the Union authorities – done the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) – submitted, “…there would beryllium a important interaction of declaring Jama Masjid a protected monument. The proviso of the prohibited country volition beryllium applicable to Jama Masjid, which is simply a 100-m portion from a protected monument successful which caller operation is prohibited. Further, successful a regulated country (200-m portion beyond a prohibited area) each construction-related activities are regulated and necessitate anterior support from the competent authorization and National Monuments Authority. Thus, determination is (a) important interaction of cardinal extortion connected a 300-m portion astir the monument.”
• “Further, Jama Masjid is nether the extortion and guardianship of Delhi Waqf Board nether the Waqf Act, 1995… In the lawsuit of declaring it arsenic a protected monument, the regulations of prohibited and regulated areas would travel (into) effect,” it added.
• The HC has been dealing with 2 petitions from 2014, which raised issues regarding Maulana Syed Ahmed Bukhari’s announcement that helium would anoint his youngest lad arsenic Naib Imam of Jama Masjid astatine a ceremonial connected November 22, 2014, aft helium had proclaimed himself the Shahi Imam of Jama Masjid. The petitions challenged the legality of this anointment and highlighted the request for the Jama Masjid to beryllium declared a protected monument.
• The tribunal has been directing the authorities to nutrient the archetypal record wherever the determination was taken to not state it arsenic protected, since 2018. While the record was subsequently produced earlier the court, connected August 28, the ASI submitted that the archetypal missive dated October 20, 2004 – written by past Prime Minister Manmohan Singh – was “missing”. On Wednesday, the ASI submitted that the archetypal record is “still not traceable”.
Do You Know:
• According to Ministry of Culture website, An past monument which is declared to beryllium of nationalist value by oregon nether this enactment is called protected monument. All past and humanities monuments which person been declared by the Ancient and Historical Monuments and Archaeological Sites and Remains (Declaration of National Importance) Act, 1951, oregon by conception 126 of the States Reorganisation Act, 1956 to beryllium of nationalist value shall besides beryllium deemed to beryllium protected monuments for the purposes of this Act.
• Despite not being declared a protected monument nether the Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Sites and Remains Act, 1958, the ASI continues to transportation retired conservation and restoration enactment of the monument. According to a connection of expenditure submitted by the ASI successful the affidavit, it incurred an expenditure of Rs 61.82 lakh connected the aforesaid from 2007-2008 to 2019-2020.
• In 2003, the Ministry of Culture had emphasised that “ASI would beryllium capable to undertake restoration and conservation enactment lone if Jama Masjid is declared a protected monument”. However, the proposition was not agreed to by Imam Syed Ahmad Bukhari connected the crushed that the Union authorities extortion “may unfastened up avenues of interference with the absorption of the mosque and adjacent compromise its usage for nationalist purposes of Namaz, etc”.
Other Important Articles Covering the aforesaid topic:
📍Imam of India’s biggest mosque has a successor: his 19-yr-old son
Previous twelvemonth UPSC Prelims Question Covering akin theme:
1. With notation to the taste past of India, see the pursuing statements: (UPSC CSE, 2018)
1. White marble was utilized successful making Buland Darwaza and Khankah astatine Fatehpur Sikri.
2. Red sandstone and marble were utilized successful making Bara Imamabara and Rumi Darwaza astatine Lucknow.
Which of the statements fixed supra is/are correct?
A. 1 only
B. 2 only
C. Both 1 and 2
D. Neither 1 nor 2
Previous twelvemonth UPSC Mains Question Covering akin theme:
📍Persian literate sources of mediaeval India bespeak the tone of the age. Comment. (GS1, 2020)
📍Safeguarding the Indian creation practice is the request of the moment.(GS1, 2018)
EXPRESS NETWORK
Rights assemblage demands rollback of caller rules for disablement certificates
Syllabus:
Preliminary Examination: Indian Polity and Governance-Constitution, Political System, Panchayati Raj, Public Policy, Rights Issues, etc.
Mains Examination:
• General Studies II: Issues relating to improvement and absorption of Social Sector/Services relating to Health, Education, Human Resources.
• General Studies II: Welfare schemes for susceptible sections of the colonisation by the Centre and States and the show of these schemes; mechanisms, laws, institutions and Bodies constituted for the extortion and betterment of these susceptible sections.
What’s the ongoing story: A time aft the Central Government notified the amended Rights of Persons with Disabilities (RPwD) Rules, 2024, the National Platform for the Rights of the Disabled (NPRD), a transverse disablement rights organisation, has sought its rollback connected grounds that the caller rules marque the process of availing disablement certificates much stringent and cumbersome.
Key Points to Ponder:
• What precisely amended Rights of Persons with Disabilities (RPwD) Rules, 2024 says?
• Why Rights of Persons with Disabilities (RPwD) Rules was amended?
• Why National Platform for the Rights of the Disabled (NPRD), a transverse disablement rights organisation, has sought its rollback?
• Who was Pooja Khedkar, and her ‘disability’ was questioned?
• What is India’s disablement law?
• What precisely Rights of Persons with Disabilities (RPwD) Act, 2016 says?
• Disabled colonisation Statistics fixed by Census 2011-Know the Data
• What are the Constitutional Frameworks for Differently abled successful India?
• Know the Government Programmes and initiatives for Disabled successful India
• United Nations Convention connected the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNCRPD) and International Day of Persons with Disabilities by the United Nations.
Key Takeaways:
• Broadly, the caller norms person brought changes successful the process of applications made to get Unique Disability Identity (UDID) cards and the process of issuance of these cards.
• One cardinal alteration among them is that lone a aesculapian authorization oregon immoderate different notified competent aesculapian authorization tin contented disablement certificates astatine the territory level. However, NPRD had pointed during the consultation signifier that this summation should beryllium dropped and suggested that experts associated with non-profits should besides beryllium authorised to transportation retired checks.
• The caller norms besides introduced colour-coded white, yellowish and bluish UDID cards signifying ascending levels of disability, with bluish being the highest, for persons having disablement astatine 80 per cent and above.
Do You Know:
• A draught of the Rules was issued successful July by the Department of Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities (DePwD), Ministry of Social Justice, to question views of stakeholders and the amended Rules were published recently. The RPwD Rules, 2024, person travel successful the aftermath of the IAS probationer Puja Khedkar controversy.
Other Important Articles Covering the aforesaid topic:
📍Puja Khedkar controversy: What are the rules governing civilian servants?
India goes to Kenya, looking to root cheetahs amended suited for location conditions
Syllabus:
Preliminary Examination: General issues connected Environmental ecology, Bio-diversity and Climate Change
Mains Examination: General Studies III: Conservation, biology contamination and degradation, biology interaction assessment.
What’s the ongoing story: With sourcing of cheetahs connected agenda, a four-member delegation of the Union Environment Ministry and the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) is successful Kenya to sermon finalisation of a memorandum of knowing (MoU) connected wildlife conservation. Under the ambitious Project Cheetah, which saw the intercontinental translocation of African cheetahs to Madhya Pradesh, the government’s purpose is to present 8 to 14 cheetahs each year, taxable to availability.
Key Points to Ponder:
• Cheetah successful India- Background
• Extinction of Cheetah from Indian Landscape-know the reasons
• What is the Reintroduction of the cheetah successful India plan?
• Action Plan for Introduction of Cheetah successful India-Important Highlights
• Know the quality betwixt cheetah and Leopard and African cheetah and Asiatic cheetah
• Supreme Court of India connected Translocating Animals-know successful detail
• Trans-continental translocation of Animals-know the Issues and Challenges
• Map Work World-South Africa, Namibia and Botswana
• Map Work India-Kuno Palpur National Park (Madhya Pradesh)
• National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA)-know successful brief
Key Takeaways:
• A draught of the MoU was archetypal exchanged and discussed by officials of the 2 countries successful May erstwhile a six-member Kenyan delegation visited Delhi arsenic good arsenic Kuno National Park and Gandhi Sagar Wildlife Sanctuary successful Madhya Pradesh.
• A cardinal constituent of the MoU is “promotion and speech of applicable wildlife species”, indicating the discussions the countries person undertaken connected imaginable import of cheetahs from Kenya and discussions that are apt to hap connected the contented during the sojourn of the Indian delegation.
• India has been exploring the enactment of sourcing cheetahs from Kenya for Project Cheetah arsenic it is believed that they would accommodate amended to India’s tropical climate, arsenic portion of the African state lies successful the bluish hemisphere.
• Cheetahs sourced from confederate hemisphere countries — Namibia and South Africa — had developed wintertime coats during Indian monsoon, and the dampness led to fatal infections nether their vigor collars.
Do You Know:
• Cheetahs are among the oldest of the large feline species, with its ancestors going backmost astir 8.5 cardinal years. It is listed arsenic “vulnerable” by the World Conservation Union (IUCN) Red List of Threatened Species. Two subspecies, the Asiatic cheetah and the Northwest African cheetah, are listed arsenic “critically endangered”.
• Project Cheetah, which saw the instauration of the African sub-species of the chaotic feline successful India, precocious completed 2 years.
• The ambitious task has 2 overarching objectives. First, to found a stable, breeding colonisation of cheetahs successful cardinal India. Two, to usage cheetahs arsenic an umbrella taxon to reconstruct unfastened earthy ecosystems specified arsenic scrubs, savannahs, grasslands, and degraded forests.
• Project Cheetah began with the intercontinental translocation of African cheetahs from Namibia and South Africa to the Kuno National Park successful Madhya Pradesh. This translocation took spot successful 2 batches of 8 and past 12 cheetahs.
• These cheetahs were initially kept successful soft-release bomas, tiny enclosures wrong the nationalist parkland to get them adapted to the section environment. Although confined to an country of astir 1 sq. km, the cheetahs hunted unrecorded prey wrong these bomas. While immoderate cheetahs were aboriginal released successful the wild, they were aboriginal brought backmost into the enclosures. Mating wrong the translocated cohort of cheetahs led to the commencement of 17 cubs.
• The ‘Action Plan for Reintroduction of Cheetah successful India’ proposes bringing successful 12-14 cheetahs each twelvemonth from South Africa, Namibia, and different African countries for 5 years to physique a laminitis stock.
• One of the project’s astir important obstacles is simply a deficiency of prey. According to the project’s astir caller yearly report, the density of chital, the main prey for cheetahs (and leopards), has dropped from 23.43 animals per quadrate kilometre successful 2021 to 17.5 animals per quadrate kilometre successful 2024.
Other Important Articles Covering the aforesaid topic:
Previous twelvemonth UPSC Prelims Question Covering akin theme:
2. Consider the following: (UPSC CSE 2012)
1. Black-necked crane
2. Cheetah
3. Flying squirrel
4. Snow leopard
Which of the supra are people recovered successful India?
(a) 1, 2 and 3 only
(b) 1, 3 and 4 only
(c) 2 and 4 only
(d) 1, 2, 3 and 4
THE EDITORIAL PAGE
Syllabus:
Preliminary Examination: Current events of nationalist and planetary importance.
Mains Examination: General Studies III: Conservation, biology contamination and degradation, biology interaction assessment.
What’s the ongoing story: On respective occasions successful the past 5 years, the Supreme Court has said that the Right to Clean Air is indispensable to the Right to Life. On Wednesday, the Court referred to this Fundamental Right erstwhile again portion upbraiding the Centre and the governments of Delhi and its neighbouring states for failing to guarantee a pollution-free situation successful the Capital and its adjoining areas.
Key Points to Ponder:
• What contributed to the caller terrible AQI successful Delhi?
• What are the different reasons for Air contamination successful Delhi?
• Why Delhi contamination is ever successful News?
• Know the Geographical determination of Delhi
• Being landlocked makes Delhi’s aerial contamination worse-How acold you hold with this?
• Know the Supreme Courts Judgments connected Delhi Air Pollutions
• What is stubble and stubble burning?
• Stubble burning-Impact connected Environment
• Ways to Check Stubble Burning (targeted and cluster-based approach)-Know successful detail
• What is In-Situ Management of Crop Residue?
• Ex-situ absorption of harvest residue- wherefore it is preferred much by the Farmers?
• Know the National Green Tribunal and Various Decisions fixed by NGT similar modification successful National Clean Air Programme
• Air Quality Management successful NCR Region-Role and Steps Taken truthful Far
• What is Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP)?
• Know the champion International Practices to Curb Air Pollution successful Urban Areas
Key Takeaways:
• NCR residents person been breathing “very poor” prime aerial for the past 4 days. The problem, arsenic the SC pointed out, stems from an unfortunate deficiency of resoluteness from some the Centre and authorities governments.
• The information does amusement that seasonal stubble burning — 1 crushed for the contamination spike earlier wintertime — has travel down successful immoderate parts of Delhi’s neighbourhood. However, the gravity of the occupation is specified that incremental changes are insufficient to marque an appreciable quality successful aerial quality.
Do You Know:
• Stubble burning, besides known arsenic parali burning, is simply a prevalent cultivation practise employed to wide paddy harvest remnants from fields successful bid to facilitate the sowing of wheat. This practise often occurs betwixt the past week of September and November. Stubble burning refers to the practise of intentionally igniting the residual straw stubble that remains aft the harvest of assorted grains specified arsenic atom and wheat. The practise of leaving cultivation residue down is typically mandated successful regions that employment the combined harvesting method.
• The combustion of cultivation residue is simply a salient contributor to aerial contamination successful definite regions of bluish India, resulting successful the degradation of aerial quality. The practise of burning paddy stubble is predominantly observed successful the Indo-Gangetic plains of Punjab, Haryana, and Uttar Pradesh, with the superior nonsubjective of preparing the fields for the cultivation of rabi crops.
• The harvesting of paddy harvest successful the regions of Punjab and Haryana typically takes spot wrong the clip framework spanning from the archetypal to the last weeks of October. Subsequently, farmers commence the process of sowing the wheat crop, often commencing successful the archetypal week of November and extending until the midpoint of December.
• The superior origin contributing to the practise of stubble burning is the constricted timeframe betwixt atom harvesting and wheat sowing, arsenic immoderate hold successful the second process tin adversely interaction the wheat crop. Following the completion of the paddy harvest harvest and preceding the commencement of the consequent harvest sowing, a comparatively little clip framework of astir 2 to 3 weeks remains.
• The incidence of atom stubble burning has the highest prevalence successful the authorities of Punjab, with Haryana pursuing intimately behind. Farmers prosecute successful the practise of harvest residue burning arsenic a means of ungraded mentation for consequent agriculture. This attack involves the combustion of harvest residues, specified arsenic straw, which persist successful the tract pursuing the completion of the harvesting process. Hence, the practise of stubble burning is wide regarded arsenic a cost-effective attack for tract attraction pursuing the decision of the harvesting season.
Other Important Articles Covering the aforesaid topic:
📍Explained: Why does aerial contamination emergence successful October each year?
Previous twelvemonth UPSC Prelims Question Covering akin theme:
3. In the cities of our country, which among the pursuing atmospheric gases are
normally considered successful calculating the worth of Air Quality Index? (2016)
1. Carbon dioxide
2. Carbon monoxide
3. Nitrogen dioxide
4. Sulfur dioxide
5. Methane
Select the close reply utilizing the codification fixed below.
a) 1, 2 and 3 only
b) 2, 3 and 4 only
c) 1, 4 and 5 only
d) 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5
4. In the discourse of WHO Air Quality Guidelines, see the pursuing statements: (2020)
1. The 24-hour mean of PM2.5 should not transcend 15 μg/mÑ and yearly mean of PM2.5
should not transcend 5 μg/m3.
2. In a year, the highest levels of ozone contamination hap during the periods of inclement
weather.
3. PM10 tin penetrate the lung obstruction and participate the bloodstream.
4. Excessive ozone successful the aerial tin trigger asthma.
Which of the statements fixed supra are correct?
(a) 1, 3 and 4
(b) 1 and 4 only
(c) 2, 3 and 4
(d) 1 and 2 only
5. How is the National Green Tribunal (NGT) antithetic from the Central Pollution Control
Board (CPCB)? (2018)
1. The NGT has been established by an Act whereas the CPCB has been created by an
executive bid of the Government.
2. The NGT provides biology justness and helps trim the load of litigation successful the
higher courts whereas the CPCB promotes cleanliness of streams and wells, and aims to
improve the prime of aerial successful the country.
Which of the statements fixed supra is/are correct?
a) 1 only
b) 2 only
c) Both 1 and 2
d) Neither 1 nor 2
Previous twelvemonth UPSC Mains Question Covering akin theme:
📍Describe the cardinal points of the revised Global Air Quality Guidelines (AQGs) precocious released by the World Health Organisation (WHO). How are these antithetic from its past update successful 2005? What changes successful India’s National Clean Air Programme are required to execute these revised standards? (GS3, 2021)
📍What are the cardinal features of the National Clean Air Programme (NCAP) initiated by the Government of India? (GS3, 2020)
📍Mumbai, Delhi and Kolkata are the 3 Mega cities of the state but the aerial contamination is overmuch much superior occupation successful Delhi arsenic compared to the different two. Why is this so? (2015)
EXPLAINED
Geoengineering idea: diamonds successful the sky, cooling the Earth
Syllabus:
Preliminary Examination: Economic and Social Development–Sustainable Development, Poverty, Inclusion, Demographics, Social Sector Initiatives, etc.
Mains Examination: General Studies III: Conservation, biology contamination and degradation, biology interaction assessment.
What’s the ongoing story:A caller survey has argued that spraying millions of tonnes of diamond particulate successful the Earth’s precocious ambiance each twelvemonth could assistance chill down the Earth and combat planetary warming. It mightiness look to beryllium a alternatively outlandish claim, but this is not the archetypal clip specified a solution has been proposed.
Key Points to Ponder:
• What is Earth’s precocious ambiance called?
• What is the cardinal thought of this caller study?
• What is geo engineering?
• What are the Carbon Dioxide Removal (CDR) technologies?
• What bash you recognize by the word ‘Carbon Capture and Sequestration (CCS)’?
• The astir ambitious and perchance rewarding signifier of geoengineering is ‘Solar Radiation Management’-what is that?
• What are the challenges and concerns?
Key Takeaways:
• The caller survey published successful Geophysical Research Letters recovered that diamonds would beryllium much effectual successful doing the occupation than immoderate different worldly antecedently considered.
• The bare minimum for achieving the people requires the satellite to chopped its emissions by astatine slightest 43 per cent from the 2019 levels, by 2030. Ongoing and promised actions, however, volition apt effect successful a simplification of conscionable 2 per cent by 2030. As a result, scientists person been looking for extremist exertion solutions that execute melodramatic results wrong a abbreviated period, adjacent if lone temporarily. Geoengineering offers specified options.
Do You Know:
• Geoengineering refers to immoderate large-scale effort to change the Earth’s earthy clime strategy to antagonistic the adverse impacts of planetary warming. Solar Radiation Management (SRM), successful which materials are projected to beryllium deployed successful Space to bespeak incoming star rays and forestall them from reaching Earth, is 1 of the 2 wide geoengineering options being explored.
• The astir ambitious and perchance rewarding signifier of geoengineering is SRM, which is inactive astatine the conceptual stage. It draws inspiration from the earthy process of volcanic eruptions, successful which ample amounts of sulphur dioxide are released. These harvester with h2o vapour to signifier sulphate particles that bespeak sunlight into space, reducing the magnitude reaching Earth.
• Carbon seizure and retention (CCS) is simply a mode to drawback c and trap it beneath the earth. It is antithetic to c dioxide removal (CDR) — wherever c is sucked retired of the ambiance — though immoderate of the technologies overlap. The cardinal quality is that CDR brings down the level of c dioxide successful the atmosphere, cooling the planet, portion CCS successful fossil substance plants and factories prevents the state from getting retired successful the archetypal place.
• Scientists spot a large relation for CCS successful factories that marque cement and fertiliser, arsenic good arsenic successful plants that pain rubbish. They are divided connected whether it makes consciousness to usage it to marque alloy and hydrogen, which person immoderate greener alternatives. Most of their skepticism goes to capturing c erstwhile making electricity, due to the fact that determination are already cheaper alternatives that enactment better, similar upwind turbines and star panels. In theory, it could play a relation successful state plants arsenic a back-up erstwhile the prima doesn’t radiance and upwind doesn’t stroke — peculiarly successful countries that are inactive gathering fossil substance plants contiguous — but it would person to rapidly turn cheaper and much effective.
Other Important Articles Covering the aforesaid topic:
📍Warming up to clime change: What is c seizure and tin it assistance prevention the planet?
Previous twelvemonth UPSC Prelims Question Covering akin theme:
6. Consider the pursuing activities: (2023)
1. Spreading finely crushed basalt stone connected farmlands extensively
2. Increasing the alkalinity of oceans by adding lime
3. Capturing c dioxide released by assorted industries and pumping it into
abandoned subterranean mines successful the signifier of carbonated waters
How galore of the supra activities are often considered and discussed for c capture
and sequestration?
(a) Only one
(b) Only two
(c) All three
(d) None
Syllabus:
Preliminary Examination: Indian Polity and Governance-Constitution, Political System, Panchayati Raj, Public Policy, Rights Issues, etc.
Mains Examination: General Studies II: Functions and responsibilities of the Union and the States, issues and challenges pertaining to the national structure, devolution of powers and finances up to section levels and challenges therein.
What’s the ongoing story: A nine-judge Bench of the Supreme Court held successful a 8:1 ruling connected Wednesday that states person the power to taxation not conscionable alcoholic beverages, but besides ‘industrial’ alcohol.
Key Points to Ponder:
• What precisely nine-judge Bench of the Supreme Court said?
• What is intoxicating liquors”?
• What is excise duty?
• ‘Excise work levied connected drinking intoxicant is simply a cardinal constituent of the gross generated by astir states’-Comment
• The cardinal interpretative question earlier the court?
• How Constitution divides the taxing powers betwixt the Centre and the states?
• What is Seventh Schedule of the Constitution?
• How this caller verdict volition impact Centre-state relations?
Key Takeaways:
• The cardinal interpretative question earlier the tribunal was whether “intoxicating liquor” tin beryllium defined to besides see “industrial alcohol”.
• IN A determination that volition boost the coffers of States, the Supreme Court, successful an 8:1 bulk ruling connected Wednesday, held that the operation “intoxicating liquors” successful the State database includes concern alcohol, and States person the powerfulness to modulate and taxation it.
• Writing for the bench, the CJI said that investigation of erstwhile judgments connected the taxable marque it “clear” that the “meaning of the operation ‘intoxicating liquor’ successful Entry 8 of List II (State list) has been expanded beyond the constrictive explanation of alcoholic beverages that nutrient an ‘intoxicating effect’ upon consumption. Liquids which incorporate intoxicant and which tin perchance beryllium utilized (or misused) arsenic intoxicating liquor person been included wrong the meaning of the phrase.”
• “The Constitution uses 3 chiseled expressions relating to alcohol: ‘intoxicating liquor’, ‘alcoholic liquor for quality consumption’ and ‘intoxicating drinks’… The expressions ‘alcoholic liquor for quality consumption’ and ‘intoxicating drink’ are utilized successful the discourse of ‘consumption’. However, the proviso relating to ‘intoxicating liquor’ is not constricted to its consumption. It stretches to ‘production, manufacture, possession, transport, acquisition and merchantability of intoxicating liquors’ and beyond. The 2nd quality is the usage of the look ‘intoxicating’ alternatively of ‘alcoholic’ arsenic the adjective to liquor,” the bulk ruling said.
• In her dissenting verdict, Justice Nagarathna said that states tin lone taxation intoxicating intoxicant which tin beryllium consumed by nonstop ingestion.
Do You Know:
• The SC’s bulk judgement connected Wednesday overturned its 1990 seven-Judge judgement successful Synthetics & Chemicals Ltd vs State of Uttar Pradesh, which held that States cannot taxation concern alcohol. Several authorities governments, including Uttar Pradesh, had challenged this judgment. The substance was referred to the nine-judge seat successful 2010.
• The seven-Judge seat “did not find the meaning of the expressions ‘intoxicating’ oregon ‘liquors’ oregon ‘intoxicating liquors’ independently,”.
• The halfway of the quality arises from 2 “overlapping” entries successful the Seventh Schedule of the Constitution, which lays down the part of lawmaking powers betwixt the Centre and the states.
• Entry 8 of List II (State List) gives states the powerfulness to modulate “the production, manufacture, possession, transport, acquisition and merchantability of intoxicating liquors”, portion Entry 52 of List I (Union List) allows the Centre to modulate industries arsenic a full to the grade “declared by Parliament by instrumentality to beryllium expedient successful nationalist interest”.
• As intoxicant and different products of fermentation industries that woody with non-potable (non-drinkable) intoxicant are included successful the Industries (Development and Regulation) Act, 1961 — a instrumentality passed by Parliament — the Centre argued that it “occupied the field” erstwhile it comes to concern alcohol, and that states could not modulate the subject.
States, connected the different hand, argued that concern intoxicant tin beryllium misused to nutrient consumable intoxicant illegally, which required them to enact legislation.
• The ruling besides acceptable speech the SC’s 1990 judgement successful Synthetics & Chemicals Ltd. v State of Uttar Pradesh, which held that “intoxicating liquor” refers lone to potable intoxicant and, therefore, states could not taxation concern alcohol.
Other Important Articles Covering the aforesaid topic:
📍States tin tax, modulate concern alcohol: SC successful 8:1 bulk ruling
Previous twelvemonth UPSC Prelims Question Covering akin theme:
7. The income taxation you wage portion purchasing a toothpaste is a
a) Tax imposed by the Central Government
b) Tax imposed by the Central Government but collected by the State Government.
c) Tax imposed by the State Government but collected by the Central Government.
d) Tax imposed and collected by the State Government.
| PRELIMS ANSWER KEY |
| 1. (d) 2. (b) 3. (b) 4. (b) 5. (b) 6. (c) 7. (d) |
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