FRONT PAGE
Indian and Chinese troops complete disengagement in Hot Springs region
Syllabus:
Preliminary Examination: Current events of national and international importance.
Mains Examination: General Studies II: India and its neighbourhood- relations.
Key Points to Ponder:
• What’s the ongoing story- Indian and Chinese troops have completed the disengagement process at Patrolling Point-15 in the Gogra-Hot Springs region of eastern Ladakh, sources in the military establishment said on Tuesday.
• Know the Background-In May 2020 when China had diverted its troops who had come to the Tibetan plateau region for their annual exercise, towards the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in eastern Ladakh, creating a standoff with India, PP15 and PP17A were two of the four points where the soldiers were eyeball-to-eyeball.
• The six-day process had five components-what are they?
• What are PP15 and 17A?
• For Your Information-PP15 is located in an area known as the Hot Springs, while PP17A is near an area called the Gogra post.
• Map Work-Chang Chenmo river, Gogra-Hot Springs, Kongka Pass, Galwan Valley, Depsang Plains, Line of Actual Control, and Charding Nala region
• What is the importance of this region for India?
• How significant are they for the military?
• India-China Relations during Nehruvian Era-Know in detail
• The 1962 India-China War-Know the background
• India-China Border Dispute- Know the background
• What is Line of Actual Control?
• China’s aggressive attitude towards Indo-China Border and What impact can it have on India-China relations?
• Changing dynamics in Indo-China relationships-what are the points of irritation in recent scenario?
• Jingoism and not pragmatism nowadays dominate bilateral relations of India with her Neighbours -do you think so? Attest your opinion with few examples
• Resolving the Sino-Indian imbroglio-How?
Other Important Articles Covering the same topic:
📍Explained: In India-China border dispute, strategic significance of Hot Springs, Gogra Post
Govt confirms: Delhi to host G20 summit next Sept
Syllabus:
Preliminary Examination: Current events of national and international importance.
Main Examination: General Studies II: Bilateral, regional and global groupings and agreements involving India and/or affecting India’s Interests
Key Points to Ponder:
• What’s the ongoing story– India will host the G-20 leaders’ summit in New Delhi on September 9 and 10 in 2023 under its Presidency, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) announced Tuesday.
• For your Information– India will assume the Presidency of the G20 for one year from December 1, 2022, to November 30, 2023, and is expected to host over 200 meetings across the country, beginning in December this year. India, as G20 Presidency, will be inviting Bangladesh, Egypt, Mauritius, Netherlands, Nigeria, Oman, Singapore, Spain and UAE as Guest countries, said the MEA.
• Do you Know-“During our Presidency, India, Indonesia and Brazil would form the troika. This would be the first time when the troika would consist of three developing countries and emerging economies, providing them a greater voice,” said the MEA in a statement.
• What is G20?
• Know the origin of G20
• How G20 Works?
• G20 or Group of Twenty-About, Purpose and Member Countries
• What is G20 ‘Troika’?
• G20 ‘Troika’ and India-Know in detail
• Procedure for taking over the G20 presidency-How it is Decided?
• G20-Relevance in today’s Changing Geopolitical Dynamics?
• For Your Information-Collectively, the G20 accounts for 85 per cent of global GDP, 75 per cent of international trade and two-thirds of the world population, making it the premier forum for international economic cooperation. India is currently part of the G20 Troika (current, previous and incoming G20 Presidencies) comprising Indonesia, Italy and India.
• Map Work-G20 member Countries
Other Important Articles Covering the same topic:
📍Explained: What is the G20, of which India becomes president later this year?
GOVT & POLITICS
Amendment for EWS quota is fraud on Constitution, SC told
Syllabus:
Preliminary Examination: Indian Polity and Governance
Main Examination: General Studies II: Government policies and interventions for development in various sectors and issues arising out of their design and implementation
Key Points to Ponder:
• What’s the ongoing story-Questioning submissions that 103rd Constitution amendment provides reservation to Economically Weaker Sections (EWS) without any “guard rails” — unlike in the case of reservations for backward classes, where conditions like maintenance of efficiency of administration is prescribed in Article 335 — the Supreme Court on Tuesday said the Constitution did not provide for any such guard rails even in the case of reservation for women.
• What Supreme Court said about Article 15(3) part of the original Constitution?
• “Social justice is the first objective of the Constitution and the heart and soul of the Republic”-How Constitution of India ensures social justice?
• Economically Weaker Sections and Socially Weaker Sections-Compare and Contrast
• What is the 103 Amendment in Indian Constitution?
• Know the key highlights of the Economically Weaker Sections Reservation-103rd Constitution (Amendment) Act, 2019
• What was the Supreme Court’s Verdict in Indira Sawhney case 1992?
• Supreme Court on EWS Reservation Criteria-Know about it
• EWS Reservation-Issues and Challenges
• EWS quota: What are the issues fixed by the Supreme Court?
• How is EWS status determined under the law?
• What is the basis of the challenge to the amendment?
• What has been the government’s stand in this matter so far?
• What is the difference between quota and reservation?
Other Important Articles Covering the same topic:
📍Explained: Revisiting definition of EWS
List of essential drugs updated; new diabetes, anti-cancer drugs added
Syllabus:
Preliminary Examination: Current events of national and international importance.
Mains Examination: General Studies II: Government policies and interventions for development in various sectors and issues arising out of their design and implementation.
Key Points to Ponder:
• What’s the ongoing story-The Union Health Ministry on Tuesday launched the new National List of Essential Medicines (NLEM), expanding the list to include newer therapies for diabetes, such as the medicine Teneligliptin and the insulin Glargine, and also incorporating four more anti-cancer therapies.
• For Your Information-The NLEM guides the government’s procurement policy and decides the price cap for medicines. The updated list has deleted 26 drugs from the previous one and added 34 drugs, increasing the list to 384 drugs.
• What is National List of Essential Medicine (NLEM)?
• Do You Know-The NLEM was first formulated in 1996 and was revised in 2003, 2011, and 2015. It takes into account any changing profile of diseases, newer drugs available in the market, and changing treatment protocols. The price of medicines in the list is controlled by the Centre and cannot be changed by companies themselves. Many of these medicines are also available free at government health facilities.
• National List of Essential Medicine (NLEM) in India-Know in detail
• Who is National Pharmaceutical Pricing Authority (NPPA)?
• National Pharmaceutical Pricing Authority (NPPA) and National List of Essential Medicine (NLEM)-Connect the dots
• Why National List of Essential Medicine (NLEM) is significant?
Other Important Articles Covering the same topic:
📍In a first, regulator hikes prices of essential medicines
EXPRESS NETWORK
‘Cheetah mitras’ to watch towers, Kuno ready to host African guests
Syllabus:
Preliminary Examination: General issues on Environmental ecology, Bio-diversity and Climate Change
Main Examination: General Studies III: Conservation, environmental pollution and degradation, environmental impact assessment.
Key Points to Ponder:
• What’s the ongoing story- Equipped with a small shed for shade and a few trees, a 50×30-metre quarantine enclosure is already at Madhya Pradesh’s Kuno National Park to host eight cheetahs arriving from Namibia. Prime Minister Narendra Modi will release three cheetahs — two male siblings and a female — into the enclosure Saturday to launch the re-introduction of the species in India.
• Cheetah in India- Background
• Who are ‘cheetah mitras’?
• Extinction of Cheetah from Indian Landscape-know the reasons
• What is the Reintroduction of the cheetah in India plan?
• How Reintroduction of the cheetah in India plan is executed?
• Action Plan for Introduction of Cheetah in India-Important Highlights
• Know the difference between cheetah and Leopard and African cheetah and Asiatic cheetah
• Know the Difference between Extinct, Extinct in the Wild and Critically Endangered
• Supreme Court of India on Translocating Animals
• Translocating Animals-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)-Role, Area of Work and Chairman
• Wildlife Institute of India-Under which Ministry?
Other Important Articles Covering the same topic:
📍Explained: Why India wants to bring the African cheetah to India
📍Cheetah: The world’s fastest cat is returning to India
📍Cheetahs are coming back to India
📍Inside the controversial plan to reintroduce cheetahs to India
In Kerala, Rs 200-cr resort to be razed for violating CRZ norms
Syllabus:
Preliminary Examination: General issues on Environmental ecology, Bio-diversity and Climate Change – that do not require subject specialization.
Mains Examination: General Studies III: Conservation, environmental pollution and degradation, environmental impact assessment.
Key Points to Ponder:
• What’s the ongoing story- The Kerala government on Monday took back possession of a chunk of poramboku land (area which is not assessed by the revenue department) from Kapico Kerala Resorts Private Limited, paving the way for the demolition of the seven-star tourism property worth Rs 200 crore in the backwaters of Alappuzha district for violating Coastal Regulation Zone (CRZ) rules.
• What is coastal regulation zone (CRZ)?
• Which coastal areas comes under coastal regulation zone (CRZ)?
• What is high tide line (HTL) and low tide line (LTL)?
• For Your Information-The Ministry of Environment and Forests first issued a Coastal Regulation Zone notification in February 1991 to regulate activities in the coastal area under section 3 of India’s Environment Protection Act, 1986. (MoEF)
• The coastal areas have been classified as CRZ-1, CRZ-2, CRZ-3, CRZ-4-Know about them
• What does the Sailesh Nayak committee report said about the coastal regulation zone (CRZ)?
• Why Regulation of Coastal Zones are important and urgent?
• What were the changes in the CRZ notification in 2019?
Other Important Articles Covering the same topic:
📍 Coastal Regulation Zone: How rules for building along coast have evolved
📍Sailesh Nayak Committee report on coastal zone regulations released 18 months after submission
EXPLAINED
Syllabus:
Preliminary Examination: Current events of national and international importance.
Main Examination: General Studies III: Awareness in the fields of IT, Space, Computers, robotics, nano-technology, bio-technology and issues relating to intellectual property rights.
Key Points to Ponder:
• What’s the ongoing story- Over the last two and a half years, as the coronavirus pandemic ravaged the world and exposed the vulnerabilities of humans to new diseases, scientists continued to push ahead with significant progress in utilising an exciting recent technology for permanent cures to some of the most intractable health disorders. In the 10 years since it was developed, the genome-editing technology called CRISPR has begun to deliver on the near unlimited potential that scientists say it has to improve the quality of human life.
• What is genome editing?
• What is CRISPR technology?
• What do you Know about CRISPR-Cas9?
• What are Genetically modified organisms?
• How is gene editing different from GMO development?
• Genetic Engineering Appraisal Committee (GEAC)-Nodal Ministry, Mandate and Role
• What are the regulatory issues which have prevented wider adoption of GM technique?
• CRISPR technology and possibilities and future-know in detail
• What are the ethical dilemma associated with CRISPR technology?
Other Important Articles Covering the same topic:
📍 What Is Genome Editing, And How Is It Different from Gm Technology?
📍 India eases release of genome editing norms; experts say move will help breeders and researchers
Previous Year UPSC Prelims 2017 Question covering the same Topic:
📍 CRISPR-Cas has been in the news recently, is
a. A series of multipurpose geostationary satellites launched by ISRO to satisfy the telecommunications,
broadcasting, meteorology, and search and rescue operations.
b. a system used by bacterial cells to recognise and destroy viral DNA as a form of adaptive immunity.
c. the world’s smallest satellite launched by NASA.
d. the world’s smallest satellite launched by ISRO.
Unemployment rate spikes in August — goes past 30% in Haryana, J&K, and Rajasthan
Syllabus:
Preliminary Examination: Economic and Social Development
Main Examination:
• General Studies III: Indian Economy and issues relating to planning, mobilization, of resources, growth, development and employment
• General Studies III: Inclusive growth and issues arising from it
Key Points to Ponder:
• What’s the ongoing story– According to the data released by the Centre for Monitoring Indian Economy (CMIE), India’s unemployment rate in August rose to 8.3%. This is the highest unemployment rate in the past 12 months. In August 2021, the unemployment rate was 8.35%.
• What is the unemployment rate?
• Is the unemployment rate different in rural and urban areas?
• What about state-wise unemployment rates?
• Why did the unemployment rate go up in August?
• How Unemployment Rate is Calculated by CMIE?
• Centre for Monitoring Indian Economy (CMIE)-Role and Under which Ministry/Organisation?
• India’s unemployment rate in Urban and Rural Areas-Present Status
• Why unemployment is more in the urban areas as compared to the rural areas?
• What do you understand by Labour Force and Labour Force participation rate (LFPR)?
• What do you understand by Labour Force and Labour Force participation rate (LFPR)?
• Female Labour Force Participation Rate-Know about this in detail
• Employment Rate (ER) and Unemployment Rate (UER)-Know in Detail
• Unemployment in India-Types (Open Unemployment, Disguised Unemployment, Seasonal Unemployment, Cyclical Unemployment etc.)
• Know the Basics-Demography, Demographic characteristics, Demographic potential, Demographic Transition, Demographic Dividend and India’s Demographic Dividend
Other Important Articles Covering the same topic:
📍State of (un)employment in India
THE EDITORIAL PAGE
Syllabus:
Preliminary Examination: Economic and Social Development-Sustainable Development, Poverty, Inclusion, Demographics, Social Sector Initiatives, etc.
Mains Examination: General Studies III: Inclusive growth and issues arising from it.
Key Points to Ponder:
• What’s the ongoing story- Amitabh Kundu and Khalid Khan writes: India, belonging to the medium HDI category, shows dimensional inequalities similar to or slightly below the average figures in the category, except in the case of education where it is high and closer to the low HDI countries. The inequalities in health and education are more than twice that of the very high and high HDI categories
• For Your Information-According to the report, released by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), India’s HDI value stood at 0.633 during 2021, which was lower than the world average of 0.732. In 2020, too, India recorded a decline in its HDI value (0.642) in comparison to the pre-Covid level of 2019 (0.645).
• What is Human Development Index?
• Who published the Human Development Index report?
• What is the rank of India in Human Development Index 2022?
• What are the four HDI indicators?
• What is Human Development?
• Can the development of humans be quantified?
• What Are the Criticisms of the Human Development Index (HDI)?
Other Important Articles Covering the same topic:
📍ExplainSpeaking: How to read the latest Human Development Report
📍What Are the Criticisms of the Human Development Index (HDI)?
📍HUMAN DEVELOPMENT REPORT 2021-22
📍India slips 2 places on HDI as Covid-19 reverses global gains
THE IDEAS PAGE
Syllabus:
Preliminary Examination: Economic and Social Development-Sustainable Development, Poverty, Inclusion, Demographics, Social Sector Initiatives, etc.
Mains Examination: General Studies II: Issues relating to development and management of Social Sector/Services relating to Health, Education, Human Resources.
Key Points to Ponder:
• What’s the ongoing story-Over half of all women and children in India are anaemic, and that number has increased in the last three years. Between 2005 and 2015, anaemia declined in India, albeit marginally. But the recent National Family Health Survey (NFHS-5) data shows a reversal of those gains — anaemia rates increased from 53 per cent to 57 per cent in women and 58 per cent to 67 per cent in children in 2019-21.
• What is anaemia?
• Why most of the women and children in India are anaemic?
• What NFHS-4 and NFHS-5 said about anaemia?
• What is Anaemia Mukt Bharat (AMB) strategy?
• What are the Highlights of Anaemia Mukt Bharat (AMB) Strategy?
• What are the other Government Initiatives for Anaemia?
Other Important Articles Covering the same topic:
📍ANAEMIA MUKT BHARAT
THE WORLD
FATF Asia-Pacific group rates Pak low on 10 of 11 global goals
Syllabus:
Preliminary Examination: Current events of national and international importance.
Mains Examination: General Studies II: Important International institutions, agencies and fora- their structure, mandate.
Key Points to Ponder:
• What’s the ongoing story- The Asia-Pacific Group of the FATF, a global watchdog for terror financing and money laundering, has rated Pakistan‘s level of effectiveness as ‘low’ on 10 out of 11 international goals on anti-money laundering and combating the financing of terror, a media report said on Tuesday.
• What is the Financial Action Task Force (FATF)?
• How many lists are there under Financial Action Task Force (FATF)?
• What is FATF GREY list?
• Why is Pakistan on it?
• How grey-list under FATF impacts country?
Other Important Articles Covering the same topic:
📍Explained: What is the FATF’s grey list, and could Pakistan be taken off it at last?
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