Prelims Spotlight is a part of “Nikaalo Prelims 2020” module. This open crash course for Prelims 2020 has a private telegram group where PDFs and DDS (Daily Doubt Sessions) are being held. Please click here to register.

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12th March 2020

Important Schemes and Policies related to education.

 

1. SHREYAS Scheme: Scheme for Higher Education Youth in Apprenticeship and Skill (SHREYAS)

Launched by- Ministry of Human Resource Development

Important objectives-

• Improve employability: The scheme aims to improve the employability of introducing employment relevance to the learning process of higher education.
• Linking education with industry: Close link between education and industry/service sector.
• Establishing earn while you learn the system into education

Operation of the scheme-

• It will be operated in conjunction with the National Apprenticeship Promotion Scheme.
• The scheme will be implemented by the Sector Skill Council.

2.  NEAT Scheme- National Educational Alliance for Technology (NEAT) 

Launched by- Ministry of Human Resource Development

Objective- Objective is to use Artificial Intelligence to make learning more personalised and customised as per the requirements of the learner.

• It is a PPP based scheme.
• MHRD would act as a facilitator to ensure that the solutions are freely available to a large number of economically backward students.
• MHRD would create and maintain a National NEAT platform that would provide one-stop access to these technological solutions.
• EdTech companies would be responsible for developing solutions and manage the registration of learners through the NEAT portal.

3. EQUIP- ‘Education Quality Upgradation and Inclusion Programme (EQUIP)’

• It is a Five-year vision plan, finalised and released by HRD Ministry.
• The ten Expert Groups have suggested more than 50 initiatives that would transform the higher education sector completely.
• The groups have suggested 10 goals for the higher education sector.
• Key Goals are-
  • Double the Gross Enrolment Ratio (GER) in higher education and resolve the geographically and socially skewed access to higher education institutions in India.
  • Position at least 50 Indian institutions among the top-1000 global universities.
  • Double the employability of the students passing out of higher education
  • Achieve a quantum increase in investment in higher education.

  Important Initiatives launched in 2019-

• DHRUV- The Pradhan Mantri Innovative Learning Programme –
  • DHRUV has been started by the Ministry of Human Resource Development, Government of India to identify and encourage talented children to enrich their skills and knowledge.
  • In centres of excellence across the country, gifted children will be mentored and nurtured by renowned experts in different areas, so that they can reach their full potential.
  • The program aims to cover two areas namely Science and Arts.
  • The program is to be launched from the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO).
• NISHTHA- National Initiative for School Heads and Teachers Holistic Advancement.
  • Its aim is to build capacities of 42 Lakh government teachers across the country.
  • The basic objective of this massive training programme ‘NISHTHA’ is to motivate and equip teachers to encourage and foster critical thinking in students.
• PARAMARSH- Paramarsh’ for Mentoring NAAC Accreditation Aspirant Institutions to promote Quality Assurance in Higher Education
  • The scheme will be operationalized through a “Hub & Spoke” model wherein the Mentor Institution, called the “Hub” is centralized and will have the responsibility of guiding the Mentee institution through the secondary branches the “Spoke”.
• SHAGUN– Union HRD Minister launches Integrated Online junction for School Education ‘Shagun’
  • It is one of the world’s largest Integrated Online Junction for – School Education.
  • It is an over-arching initiative to improve the school education system by creating a junction for all online portals and websites relating to various activities of the Department of School Education and Literacy in the Government of India and all States and Union Territories.
• UDISE+ Unified District Information System for Education Plus – To ensure quality, credibility and timely availability of information from all the schools in the country.

4. RISE– Revitalising Infrastructure and Systems in Higher Education (RISE).

• Higher Education Financing Agency (HEFA) scope was expanded to meet the rising financial requirements of educational infrastructure in the country
• The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs has approved the proposal for expanding the scope of Higher Education Financing Agency (HEFA) by enhancing its capital base to Rs. 10,000 crore and tasking it to mobilise Rs. 1,00,000 crore for Revitalizing Infrastructure and Systems in Education (RISE) by 2022.
• The CCEA has also approved that the modalities for raising money from the market through Government guaranteed bonds and commercial borrowings.
• In order to expand this facility to all institutions, especially to the institutions set up after 2014, Central Universities which have very little internal resources, and the school education/health education infrastructure like AllMSs, Kendriya Vidyalayas, the CCEA has approved five windows for financing under HEFA.

5. IMPRESS- Impactful Policy Research in Social Sciences

• Under the Scheme, 1500 research projects will be awarded for 2 years to support the social science research in the higher educational institutions and to enable research to guide policymaking.
• The broad objective is to identify and fund research proposals in social sciences with maximum impact on governance and society.

6. SPARC- Scheme for Promotion of Academic and Research Collaboration.

• SPARC scheme aims at improving the research ecosystem of India’s higher educational institutions by facilitating academic and research collaborations between Indian Institutions and the best institutions in the world.
• At a total cost of Rs.418 Cr for implementation up to 31.3.2020 and Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur is the National Coordinating Institute to implement the SPARC programme.
• Only such Indian institutes can apply which are in top 100 NIRF ranking or top 100 NIRF subject ranking.

 7. LEAP-Leadership for Academicians Programme

• It is a flagship leadership development training programme.
• It is a three weeks Flagship leadership development training programme (2 weeks domestic and one-week foreign training) for second level academic functionaries in public-funded higher education institutions.
• The implementation of LEAP Programme will be through 15 NIRF top-ranked Indian Institutions.

8. ARPIT- Annual Refresher Programme In Teaching (ARPIT)

• It is a major and unique initiative of online professional development of 15 lakh higher education faculty using the MOOCs platform SWAYAM.
• For implementing ARPIT, 75 discipline-specific institutions have been identified and notified as National Resource Centres (NRCs) in the first phase.

9. Pradhan Mantri Vidya Lakshmi Karyakram- It is a first of its kind portal for students seeking Education Loan.

• A fully IT-based Student Financial Aid Authority has been proposed through the ‘Pradhan Mantri Vidya Lakshmi Karyakram.
• This initiative aims to bring on board all Banks providing Educational Loans.

10. Institutes of Eminence Scheme-

• The aim of the scheme is to bring higher educational institutions selected as IoEs in top 500 of the world ranking in the next 10 years and in top 100 eventually overtime.
• The salient features are available in the UGC Guidelines and the UGC Regulations under which greater autonomy viz.
  • To admit foreign students up to 30% of admitted students.
  • To recruit foreign faculty up to 25% of faculty strength.
  • To offer online courses up to 20% of its programmes; to enter into academic collaboration with top 500 in the world ranking Institutions without permission of UGC.
  • Free to fix and charge fees from foreign students without restriction.
  • The flexibility of course structure in terms of a number of credit hours and years to take a degree; complete flexibility in fixing of curriculum and syllabus, etc. has been provided to IoEs.
• Each Public Institution selected as IoE will be provided financial assistance up to Rs. 1000 Cr over a period of five years.
• The private institution will not be given any funds.

11. Samagra Shiksha Scheme–

• The scheme is an overarching programme for the school education sector extending from pre-school to class XII and aims to ensure inclusive and equitable quality education at all levels of school education.
• It envisages the ‘school’ as a continuum from pre-school, primary, upper primary, secondary to senior secondary levels and subsumes the three erstwhile centrally sponsored schemes- Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA), Rashtriya Madhyamik Shiksha Abhiyan (RMSA) and Teacher Education(TE).
• Bridging gender and social category gaps at all levels of school education is one of the major objectives of the scheme.
• The scheme reaches out to girls and children belonging to Scheduled Caste (SC), Scheduled Tribe (ST), minority communities and transgender.
• The Samagra Shiksha scheme supports States for a strengthening of school infrastructure including in rural areas.
• The scheme provides for the infrastructural strengthening of existing government schools based on the gaps determined by Unified District Information System for Education (UDISE) and proposals received from respective States/UTs.

12. Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan-

• Universalizing elementary education across the countryRashtriya Avishkar Abhiyan, Vidhyanjali, PBBB.
• Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan is implemented as a Centrally Sponsored Scheme in partnership with State Governments for universalizing elementary education across the country. Its overall goals include universal access and retention, bridging of gender and social category gaps in education and enhancement of learning levels of children.
• SSA provides for a variety of interventions, including inter alia, the opening of new schools, construction of schools and additional classrooms, toilets and drinking water, provisioning for teachers, periodic teacher training and academic resource support, textbooks and support for learning achievement. These provisions are made in accordance with norms and standards and free entitlements as mandated by the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education (RTE) Act, 2009. 

13. Rashtriya Madhyamic Shiksha Abhiyan (RMSA)-

• It aims to raise the minimum level of education to class X and universalize access to secondary education.
• To ensure good-quality secondary education with a focus on Science, Mathematics and English; and
• To reduce the gender, social and regional gaps in enrolments, dropouts and improving retention.
• To make sure that the secondary schools conform to prescribed norms, removing gender, socio-economic and disability barriers, etc. Important physical facilities are provided which include, (i) additional classrooms, (ii) laboratories, (iii) libraries, (iv)art and crafts room, (v) toilet blocks, (vi) drinking water provisions, (vii) electricity / telephone/internet connectivity and (viii) disabled-friendly provisions. Improvement in quality through, (i) appointment of additional teachers to improve PTR (ii) in-service training of teachers, (iii) ICT enabled education, (iv)curriculum reforms and (v) teaching learning reforms. Equity aspects addressed through (i) special focus in micro-planning, (ii) preference to areas with concentration of SC/ST/minority for opening of schools, (iii) special enrolment drive for the weaker section, (iv more female teachers in schools and (v) separate toilet blocks for girls. 

14. Rashtriya Ucchatar Shiksha Abhiyan (RUSA)-

• It is a Centrally Sponsored Scheme (CSS), launched in 2013. It aims at providing strategic funding to eligible state higher educational institutions based on their progress.
• The key objectives of RUSA are to improve access, equity and quality in higher education through planned development of higher education at the state level.
• The central funding (in the ratio of 60:40 for general category States, 90:10 for special category states and 100% for union territories) would be norm based and outcome dependent.
• The funding flows from the central ministry through the state governments/union territories to the State Higher Education Councils before reaching the identified institutions.

 15. Unnat Bharat Abhiyan (UBA)-

• It aims at-
  • Building institutional capacity in Institutes of higher education in research & training relevant to the needs of rural India.
  • As a flagship programme of the Ministry of HRD, it aims to link the Higher Education Institutions with a set of at least (5) villages, so that these institutions can contribute to the economic and social betterment of these village communities using their knowledge base.
  • Provide rural India with professional resource support from institutes of higher education, especially those which have acquired academic excellence in the field of Science, Engineering & Technology and Management.
• The UBA 2.0 was officially launched on 25^th April, 2018

16. SWAYAM-

• Study Webs of Active Learning for Young Aspiring Minds is an indigenous IT platform for hosting the Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs).
• SWAYAM is designed to achieve the three cardinal principles of Education Policy viz., access, equity and quality.
• It targets those students who could not complete their studies and professionals who wish to upgrade their knowledge.
• This is done through an indigenous developed IT platform that facilitates hosting of all the courses, taught in classrooms from 9th class till post-graduation to be accessed by anyone, anywhere at any time.

17. Saksham Scholarship Scheme-

• The scheme was launched in 2014-15, with the objective of encouraging economically weaker differently-abled students to pursue technical education at Diploma and Degree levels.
• The scholarship amount of Rs.30,000 is provided towards tuition fee reimbursement and Rs.20000 as contingency allowance for 1000 persons/annum.

18. Swayam Prabha-

• The SWAYAM PRABHA is a group of 32 DTH channels devoted to telecasting of high-quality educational programmes on a 24X7 basis using the GSAT-15 satellite.
• Every day, there will be new content for at least (4) hours which would be repeated 5 more times in a day, allowing the students to choose the time of their convenience.
• Information and Library Network (INFLIBNET), an autonomous Inter-University Centre (IUC) of UGC maintains the web portal.
• The DTH Channels shall cover the following:
  • Higher Education.
  • School education (9-12 levels)
  • Curriculum-based courses that can meet the needs of life-long learners of Indian citizens in India and abroad.
  • Assist students (class 11th & 12th) prepare for competitive exams.

19.Shala Darpan Portal-

• It is an E-Governance school automation and management system for Navodaya Vidyalaya Samiti (NVS).
• This portal has been developed for information sharing and knowledge dissemination for employees and students across schools and offices of NVS.

20. All School Monitoring Individual Tracing Analysis (ASMITA)-

• Shala Asmita Yojana (SAY) aims to track the educational journey of close to 25 crore school students from Class I to Class XII across 15 lakh schools in the country.
• Students will be tracked through their Aadhaar numbers and incase those not having a unique number will be provided with it.
• This online database will carry information about student attendance and enrolment, mid-day meal service, learning outcomes and infrastructural facilities, among other things, on one platform for both private and government schools. 

21. Global Initiative of Academic Network (GIAN)-

• It is intended to enlarge and deepen the interface of India’s institutions of higher learning and globally recognised institutions of academic eminence.
• Under it, faculty from highly rated institutions abroad will visit India, interact and partner with their counterparts and with students, and deliver specialised courses. 

22. IMPRINT India-

• It is MHRD supported Pan-IIT + IISc joint initiative to address the major science and engineering challenges that India must address and champion to enable, empower and embolden the nation for inclusive growth and self-reliance.
• This novel initiative with a twofold mandate is aimed at:
  • Developing new engineering education policy.
  • Creating a road map to pursue engineering challenges
• IMPRINT provides the overarching vision that guides research into areas that are predominantly socially relevant.

23. Ishan Uday and Ishan Vikas-

• Ishan Vikas and Ishan Uday schemes are being implemented for the students of the North-Eastern region.
• Ishan Vikas is coordinated by IIT, Guwahati.
• Under it selected school children from the North Eastern States  are  brought in close contact with the Indian Institute of Technology (IITs), Indian Institutes of Science Education and Research (IISERs) and  National Institute of Advanced Studies (NIAS) during the vacation period
• Ishan Uday Scholarship Scheme is administered by the University Grants Commission (UGC). Under the scheme, the scholarship is provided to the economically backward students from the North East Region for pursuing general degree courses, technical and professional degree courses.
• It is envisaged to provide 10000 scholarships annually.

24. Shodhganga-

• It is the repository developed to contain an electronic copy of all M.Phil/PhD thesis to make it accessible to all institutions.
• The task of setting-up of this repository is assigned to Information and Library Network (INFLIBNET), an interuniversity centre of the University Grants Commission (UGC).
• It also provides access to Indian theses and dissertations in open access to the worldwide academic community and making visibility of Indian research to other countries.

25. Vidya Virta Abhiyan-

• It is to encourage varsities to display portraits of Param Veer Chakra-decorated soldiers.
• The objective is to instil a sense of nationalism and patriotism among the students
• Universities and educational institutions across the country will have a wall of heroes, depicting portraits of soldiers who showed extraordinary courage in defending the nation.

26. Diksha Portal-

• HRD ministry has launched Diksha Portal (diksha.gov.in) for providing a digital platform to a teacher to make their lifestyle more digital.
• It will serve as National Digital Infrastructure for Teachers.
• Diksha portal will enable, accelerate and amplify solutions in the realm of teacher education. It will aid teachers to learn and train themselves for which assessment resources will be available.

27. Margadarshan-

• The scheme aims to provide mentoring to institutes by a well-performing Institute.
• Institutions of repute will act as a mentor with its existing facilities to serve as the hub to guide and disperse knowledge to 10 technical institutions.
• It is under the purview of All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE), a national-level apex advisory body under the Ministry of Human Resource and Development.
• Mentor institute also provides services to faculty for self-improvement.
• Government-owned, aided and self-financed institutes and universities approved by AICTE can participate.

28. JIGYASA-

• It is a student- scientist connect programme by the Ministry of HRD and Ministry of S&T.
• It focuses on connecting school students and scientists so as to extend student‘s classroom learning to research laboratory based learning by visiting CSIR laboratories and by participating in mini-science projects.
• CSIR and Kendriya Vidyalaya Sangathan (KVS) are collaborating to implement this programme.

29. Maitreyi Yatra-

• It is an exclusive student exchange programme for J&K organized by Ministry of Human Resource development.
• It provides a good opportunity for the youth of J&K to be acquainted with culture, language and development story of different parts of the country.

30. Madhyamik and Ucchatar Shiksha Kosh (MUSK)-

• It is a non-lapsable pool in the Public Account for secondary and higher, education known as “Madhyamik and Uchchtar Shiksha Kosh” (MUSK) into which all proceeds of “Secondary and Higher Education Cess” will be credited.
• The funds arising from the MUSK would be utilized for schemes in the education sector which would be available for the benefit of students of secondary and higher education, all over the country.
• The MUSK would be maintained as a Reserve Fund in the non-interest bearing section of the Public Accounts of India.
• The major benefit will be enhancing access to secondary and higher education through the availability of adequate resources while ensuring that the amount does not lapse at the end of the financial year.

31. National Testing Agency (NTA)-

• It has been established as a premier, specialist, autonomous and self-sustained testing organization to conduct entrance examinations for admission/fellowship in higher educational institutions.
• It will be registered as a society under the Indian Societies Registration Act.
• It will act an autonomous and self-sustained premier testing organization chaired by an eminent educationist appointed by Ministry of HRD.
• It would conduct those entrance examinations which are currently being conducted by the CBSE (NEET, JEE), AICTE etc, thereby relieving them of this responsibility.

 

 

Prelims Spotlight is a part of “Nikaalo Prelims 2020” module. This open crash course for Prelims 2020 has a private telegram group where PDFs and DDS (Daily Doubt Sessions) are being held. Please click here to register.

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11th March 2020

Tasman Sea

The Tasman Sea is a marginal sea of the South Pacific Ocean, situated between Australia and New Zealand. It measures about 2,000 kilometres (1,200 mi) across and about 2,800 kilometres (1,700 mi) from north to south. The sea was named after the Dutch explorer Abel Janszoon Tasman, who was the first recorded European to encounter New Zealand and Tasmania. The British explorer Captain James Cook later extensively navigated the Tasman Sea in the 1770s as part of his first voyage of exploration.

Persian Gulf

This inland sea of some 251,000 square kilometres (96,912 sq mi) is connected to the Gulf of Oman in the east by the Strait of Hormuz; and its western end is marked by the major river delta of the Shatt al-Arab, which carries the waters of the Euphrates and the Tigris. Its length is 989 kilometres (615 miles), with Iran covering most of the northern coast and Saudi Arabia most of the southern coast. The Persian Gulf is about 56 km (35 mi) wide at its narrowest, in the Strait of Hormuz. The waters are overall very shallow, with a maximum depth of 90 metres (295 feet) and an average depth of 50 metres (164 feet).

Countries with a coastline on the Persian Gulf are (clockwise, from the north): Iran; Oman’s exclave Musandam; the United Arab Emirates; Saudi Arabia; Qatar, on a peninsula off the Saudi coast; Bahrain, on an island; Kuwait; and Iraq in the northwest. Various small islands also lie within the Persian Gulf, some of which are the subject of territorial disputes between the states of the region.

Mediterranean Sea
The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean Basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Southern Europe and Anatolia, on the south by North Africa, and on the east by the Levant. The sea is sometimes considered a part of the Atlantic Ocean, although it is usually identified as a separate body of water.

The countries with coastlines on the Mediterranean Sea are

1. Albania
2. Algeria
3. Bosnia and Herzegovina
4. Croatia
5. Cyprus
6. Egypt
7. France
8. Greece
9. Israel
10. Italy
11. Lebanon
12. Libya
13. Malta
14. Morocco
15. Monaco
16. Montenegro
17. Slovenia
18. Spain
19. Syria
20. Tunisia
21. Tukey

In addition, the Gaza Strip (“Palestine” has been associated with the geographical area that currently covers the State of Israel, the West Bank and the Gaza Strip) and the British Overseas Territories of Gibraltar and Akrotiri and Dhekelia have coastlines on the sea.

Black Sea

The Black Sea is a marginal sea of the Atlantic Ocean. It has an area of 436,400 km² (168,500 sq mi) (not including the Sea of Azov). The roughly oval-shaped Black Sea occupies a large basin strategically situated at the southeastern extremity of Europe but connected to the distant waters of the Atlantic Ocean by the Bosporus (which emerges from the sea’s southwestern corner), the Sea of Marmara, the Dardanelles, the Aegean Sea, and the Mediterranean Sea.

Countries bordering the Black Sea are-

1. Ukraine
2. Russia
3. Georgia
4. Turkey
5. Bulgaria
6. Romania

 

Caspian Sea

The Caspian Sea is the largest enclosed inland body of water on Earth by area, variously classed as the world’s largest lake or a full-fledged sea. It is in an endorheic basin (a basin without outflows) located between Europe and Asia.

The Caspian Sea is bordered on the northwest by Russia, on the northeast by Kazakhstan, on the west by Azerbaijan, on the southeast by Turkmenistan, and on the south by Iran. It is classified as both a sea and a lake, and it is the largest enclosed inland body of water in the world.

1. Azerbaijan
2. Iran
3. Kazakhstan
4. Russia
5. Turkmenistan

 

Red Sea

The Red Sea (also the Erythraean Sea) is a seawater inlet of the Indian Ocean, lying between Africa and Asia. The connection to the ocean is in the south through the Bab el Mandeb strait and the Gulf of Aden. To the north lie the Sinai Peninsula, the Gulf of Aqaba, and the Gulf of Suez (leading to the Suez Canal). The sea is underlain by the Red Sea Rift which is part of the Great Rift Valley.

The salinity of the Red Sea is greater than the world average, approximately 4 percent. This is due to several factors:

• Lack of significant rivers or streams draining into the sea.
• Limited connection with the Indian Ocean, which has lower water salinity.
• High rate of evaporation and very little precipitation.

The six countries bordering the Red Sea proper are:

 

Eastern shore:

• Saudi Arabia
• Yemen

• Western shore:
  • Egypt
  • Sudan
  • Eritrea
  • Djibouti

Aral Sea

The Aral Sea was an endorheic lake lying between Kazakhstan (Aktobe and Kyzylorda Regions) in the north and Uzbekistan (Karakalpakstan autonomous region) in the south. The name roughly translates as “Sea of Islands”, referring to over 1,100 islands that once dotted its waters; in the Turkic languages aral means “island, archipelago”.

 

South China Sea

The South China Sea is a marginal sea that is part of the Pacific Ocean, encompassing an area from the Karimata and Malacca Straits to the Strait of Taiwan of around 3,500,000 square kilometres (1,400,000 sq mi). The area’s importance largely results from one-third of the world’s shipping sailing through its waters and that it is believed to hold huge oil and gas reserves beneath its seabed.

It is located

• south of China;
• east of Vietnam and Cambodia;
• northwest of the Philippines;
• east of the Malay peninsula and Sumatra, up to the Strait of Malacca in the western, and
• north of the Bangka–Belitung Islands and Borneo

Ross sea

The Ross Sea is a deep bay of the Southern Ocean in Antarctica, between Victoria Land and Marie Byrd Land. It derives its name from the British explorer James Ross who visited this area in 1841. To the west of the sea lies Ross Island and to the east Roosevelt Island, while the southernmost part is covered by the Ross Ice Shelf, and is about 200 miles (320 km) from the South Pole.

Weddel sea

The Weddell Sea is part of the Southern Ocean and contains the Weddell Gyre. Its land boundaries are defined by the bay formed from the coasts of Coats Land and the Antarctic Peninsula. The easternmost point is Cape Norvegia at Princess Martha Coast, Queen Maud Land. To the east of Cape Norvegia is the King Haakon VII Sea. Much of the southern part of the sea is covered by a permanent, massive ice shelf field, the Filchner-Ronne Ice Shelf .
The sea is named after the Scottish sailor James Weddell, who entered the sea in 1823 and originally named it after King George IV; it was renamed in Weddell’s honour in 1900.

 

Mountain Ranges

Sr. No.	Mountain Range	Important/Highest Peaks	Location	Description
1	Rocky Mountains	Mt. Elbert (highest peak in the Rockies)	North America	It is one of the longest fold mountains in the world and extends from Canada to Western US (New Mexico State)
2	Appalachian Mountains	Mt. Mitchell, North Carolina, US (highest peak of Appalachian Mountains)	North America	It is a fold mountain with rich in mineral resources
3	Alps	Mont Blanc (French –Italian border)	Europe	It is a folded mountain and source for rivers like Danube, Rhine, etc.
4	Sierra Nevada	Mt. Whitney	California, USA	Habitat for many Red Indian tribes
5	Alaska Range	Mt. McKinley	North America	Mt. McKinley highest peak in North America
6	Altai Mountains	Belukha mountain	Central Asia	Young folded mountain which extends from Kazakhstan to northern China.
7	Andes Mountains	Mt. Aconcagua	South America	Longest mountain chain in the world
8	Atlas Mountains	Mt. Toubkal	Northwestern Africa	Young fold mountain spreading over Morocco and Tunisia.
9	Drakensberg Mountains	Mt. Lesotho	South Africa	Young folded mountain
10.	Caucasus Mountain	Mt. Elbrus	Europe	Located between the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea
11.	Ural Mountains	Mt. Narodnaya	Russia	This mountain range act as a boundary between Europe and Asia.
12.	Hindukush Mountains	Mt. Trich Mir	Pakistan and Afghanistan	Folded mountain with rugged topography which makes it difficult for transportation.
13.	Himalayas	Mt. Everest	Asia	Young fold mountains in Asia which separates Indian sub-continent from Asian plains
14.	Arakan Yoma	Mt. Kennedy peak	Myanmar	It extends from north to south direction. Shifting cultivation is practised.
15.	Kunlun Mountains	Mt. Muztag	North of Tibetan plateau and western China	It is one of the young folded mountains.
16.	Vosges	Mt. Grand Ballon	Eastern France, Europe	Famous for the cultivation of grapes and manufacture of wines.
17.	Great Dividing Range	Mt. Kosciuszko	Australia	This range is the source for the rivers Darling and Murray.

 

 

Prelims Spotlight is a part of “Nikaalo Prelims 2020” module. This open crash course for Prelims 2020 has a private telegram group where PDFs and DDS (Daily Doubt Sessions) are being held. Please click here to register.

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9th March 2020

With almost absolute power the Governor-General and viceroy played a significant role in the shaping history of the country. Following are some of these important figures and significant events and major reforms carried out by them.

Governor Generals of                            Bengal/India                     (Period)	Important events/Reforms
Warren Hastings (1773-1785)	Regulating Act of 1773. First Governor-General of Bengal. End of the dual system of administration (1765-1772). Supreme Court at Calcutta. Wrote Introduction to the first English translation of Gita. Founded Madarasa Aliya at Calcutta.
Lord Cornwallis (1786-1793)	Separation of three branches of service: commercial, judicial and revenue. Permanent Land Revenue Settlement of Bengal-1793. Reformed, modernised and rationalised the civil service. Introduced the Cornwallis Code. Sanskrit College, Varanasi.
Lord Wellesley (1797-1805)	Introduction of Subsidiary Alliance System. Fourth Anglo-Mysore war. Fort William College, Calcutta.
Lord Hastings (1813-1823)	Anglo-Nepal War-(1814-16) Third Anglo-Maratha War-(1817-19) and dissolution of Maratha confederacy. Introduction of Ryotwari System of Thomas Munro, Governor of Madras-1820.
Lord William Bentinck (1828-1835)	Charter Act of 1833. Abolition of Sati-1829. Resolution of 1835 and Education reforms and introduction of English as the official language. The annexation of Mysore-1831, Coorg, and Central Cachar-1831.
Lord Dalhousie (1848-1856)	Introduction of the Doctrine of Lapse and annexations of Satara-1848, Jaitpur and Sambhalpur-1849, Udaipur-1852, Jhansi-1853, Nagpur-1854 and Awadh-1856. Wood’s Dispatch of 1854. Railway Minute of 1853. Telegraph and Postal reforms. Widow Remarriage Act-1856.
Lord Canning (1856-1857)	Establishment of universities at Bombay, Madras and Calcutta. Mutiny of 1857.

 

 

Governor-General                            and          Viceroy of India                 (Period)	Important events/Reforms
Lord Canning (1858-1862)	Transfer of control from East India Company to the Crown by the Government of India Act 1858 Indian Councils Act-1861
Lord Mayo (1869-1872)	Opening of Rajkot College in Kathiawad and Mayo College at Ajmer for political training of Indian Princes. Statistical Survey of India was established. Department of Agriculture and Commerce was established. Introduction of state railways.
Lord Lytton (1876-1880)	The great famine of 1876 affecting Bombay, Madras, Mysore, Hyderabad, Central India and Punjab. Appointment of Famine Commission under the presidency of Richard Strachey. Vernacular Press Act was passed- 1878. The Arms Act-1878.
Lord Ripon (1880-1884)	Education Commission 1882 under William Hunter-1882. Ilbert Bill controversy. Repeal of Vernacular Press Act in 1882. The First Factory Act in 1881 to improve labour conditions. Government resolution on local self government-1882.
Lord Dufferin (1884-1888)	Establishment of Indian National Congress.
Lord Lansdowne (1888-1894)	The categorisation of civil services into imperial, provincial and subordinate. Indian Councils Act-1892 Durand Commission (1893) was set up to define the Durand Line between India and Afghanistan.
Lord Curzon (1899-1905)	Police Commission (1902) was appointed under Sir Andrew Frazer. University Commission (1902) was appointed and Universities Act (1904) was passed. Department of Commerce and Industry was established. Calcutta Corporation Act-1899 Partition of Bengal (1905).
Lord Minto-II (1905-1910)	Popularisation of anti-partition and Swadeshi Movements. Split in Indian National Congress at Surat in 1907. Indian Muslim League was established by Aga Khan (1907) Morley-Minto reforms or Indian Councils Act 1909.
Lord Hardinge-II (1910-1916)	Transfer of capital from Calcutta to Delhi (1911). Establishment of Hindu Mahasabha (1915) by Madan Mohan Malviya.
Lord Chelmsford (1916-1921)	Home Rule League was formed by Annie Besant and Tilak (1916) Lucknow session of Congress (1916). Lucknow Pact between Congress and Muslim League (1916). Champaran Satyagraha (1918), and Satyagraha at Ahmadabad (1918). Montague’s August Declaration. Government of Indian Act- 1919 Jallianwalla Bagh massacre (1919). Non-Cooperation and Khilafat Movements were launched. Foundation of Women’s University at Poona (1916) and Saddler’s Commission was appointed for reforms in educational policy. Appointment of S. P. Sinha as governor of Bihar first Indian to do so.
Lord Reading (1921-1926)	The Chaura-Chauri Incident-Feb5, 1922 and withdrawal of Non-Cooperation movement. Moplah rebellion in Kerala (1921). Repeal of the Press Act of 1910 and Rowlatt Act of 1919. Kakori train robbery (1925) Establishment of Swaraj Party (1922). The decision to hold a simultaneous examination for ICS in Delhi and London with effect from 1923.
Lord Irwin (1926-1931)	Simon Commission-1928 Appointment of the Harcourt Butler Indian States Commission (1927) Murder of Saunders and Bomb blast in the Assembly Hall of Delhi-1929 Lahore session of Congress 1929 and Purna Swaraj Resolution. Dandi March (12 March, 1929) and launch of Civil Disobedience Movement.
Lord Willingdon (1931-1936)	Second Round Table Conference and failure of the conference, resumption of the Civil Disobedience Movement. Announcement of the Communal Award (1932). Poona Pact (1932) Third Round Table Conference 1932. The Government of India 1935. Establishment of All India Kisan Sabha 1936. Establishment of Congress Socialist Party by Acharya Narendra Dev and Jayaprakash Narayan (1934)
Lord Linlithgow (1936-1944)	First general elections were held and Congress attained absolute majority (1936-1937). Congress ministers resigned (1937) after the outbreak of WW-II Subhash Chandra Bose elected as the president of Congress-1938. Lahore Resolution by Muslim League for the demand of separate state for Muslims. August Offer by the viceroy-1940. Cripp’s Mission to India Passing of the Quit India Resolution by Congress-1942
Lord Wavell (1944-1947)	C Rajgopalachari’s CR Formula (1944) and Gandhi-Jinnah Talks failed. Wavell Plan and the Shimla Conference (1942) Cabinet Mission and Congress accepted its plan 1946 Observance of the ‘Direct Action Day’ (16 August 1946) by the Muslim League. Elections to the Constituent Assembly and formation of Interim Government by the Congress (September 1946). Announcement of the end of British rule in India by Clement Attlee on February 20, 1946
Lord Mountbatten (1947-48)	June Third Plan (June 3, 1947) announced. Introduction of Indian Independence Bill in the House of Commons. Appointment of two boundary commissions under Sir Cyril Radcliff for the partition of Bengal and Punjab.

 

 

Prelims Spotlight is a part of “Nikaalo Prelims 2020” module. This open crash course for Prelims 2020 has a private telegram group where PDFs and DDS (Daily Doubt Sessions) are being held. Please click here to register.

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7th March 2020

Various Defence Exercises in News

The defence is a major part of any country. Thus, every country tries and devotes half of its budget in defence. So, there are joint military exercises happening which benefits both the participating nations. Thus, in this article, we will discuss some of the important joint exercises in India like Indra and Maitree. Also, these exercises are important from learning as well as the strategic point of view for both the nations.

India + XYZ	Army	Navy	Air Force
ASEAN +	Force 18
Australia	AUSTRA HIND	AUSINDEX / KAKADU
Bangladesh	Sampriti	CORPAT
China	Hand in hand		Chang Thang
France	Shakti	Varuna	GARUDA
Indonesia	GARUDA SHAKTI	IND-INDO CORPAT And Samudra Shakti
Japan	Dharma Guardian	Malabar (India, Japan, and the USA), Sahyog-Kaijin	SHINYUU MAITRI
Kazakhstan	Prabal Dostyk and KAZIND
Kyrgyzstan	Khanjar
Maldives	Ekuverin
Mongolia	Nomadic Elephant / KHAN QUEST
Nepal	Surya Kiran (BIANNUAL)
Oman	AL NAGAH (SUCCESS)	Naseem Al Bahr	Eastern Bridge-IV
Russia	Indra	INDRA NAVY	AVIAINDRA-14
Seychelles	LAMITYE
Singapore	Ex AGNI WARRIOR and Ex BOLD KURUKSHETRA	SIMBEX	JOINT MILITARY TRAINING
South Africa, Brazil		IBSAMAR
Sri Lanka	Mitra Shakti	SLINEX
Thailand	Maitree /  COBRA GOLD (Observer Plus)	INDO-THAI CORPAT (Bi-annual)	SIAM BHARAT
UAE			Desert Eagle-II
UK	Ajeya Warrior	Konkan	IndraDhanush -IV
			or “Rainbow”.
USA	YudhAbhyas/ Cope/ Tiger Triumph VAJRA PRAHAR	Malabar RIMPAC (Multilateral)	Red Flag
Brunei		ADMM+ Exercise (Multilateral)
Malaysia	MAITREE	ARF DIREx
Myanmar	IMBEX	IMCOR
Qatar	Za’ir-Al-Bahr (Roar of the Sea)
Uzbekistan	Dustlik

 

Other Important Exercise

Exercise TSENTR 2019

China, Tajikistan, India, Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan, Pakistan and Uzbekistan

Russia(Host)

Prelims Spotlight is a part of “Nikaalo Prelims 2020” module. This open crash course for Prelims 2020 has a private telegram group where PDFs and DDS (Daily Doubt Sessions) are being held. Please click here to register.

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6th March 2020 

Important Articles / Schedules of the Constitution.

The Constitution of India is the supreme law of India. The document lays down the framework demarcating fundamental political code, structure, procedures, powers, and duties of government institutions and sets out fundamental rights, directive principles, and the duties of citizens. 

It was adopted by the Constituent Assembly of India on 26 November 1949 and became effective on 26 January 1950. The constitution replaced the Government of India Act 1935 as the country’s fundamental governing document, and the Dominion of India became the Republic of India. To ensure constitutional autonomy, its framers repealed prior acts of the British parliament in Article 395. 

The constitution declares India a sovereign, socialist, secular, democratic republic, assuring its citizens justice, equality and liberty, and endeavours to promote fraternity. The original 1950 constitution is preserved in a helium-filled case at the Parliament House in New Delhi. The words “secular” and “socialist” were added to the preamble in 1976 during the emergency.

The Indian constitution is the world’s longest for a sovereign nation. At its enactment, it had 395 articles in 22 parts and 8 schedules. At about 145,000 words, it is the second-longest active constitution – after the Constitution of Alabama – in the world.

Articles in Indian Constitution: As the written constitution is a compact document like a book, it has various parts, parts have various chapters, chapters have various articles.

The constitution has a preamble and 395 articles, which are grouped into 25 parts. With 12 schedules and five appendices, it has been amended 103 times; the latest amendment became effective on 14 January 2019. Despite various amendments, the number of articles in the Constitution still remains 395. There is nothing like Article 396. The new articles are always inserted in between i.e. Article 31A.

IMPORTANT TITBIT:  If counted separately there are 444 Articles but in the Constitution of India there are only 396 Articles. The rest are merely clauses or sub-clauses added later. The reason behind this is that there is a rule that no one can alter the basic structure of the COI. Now a problem came up, which was how to include more articles as you cannot add a 397th article as it would be against the Basic Structure Doctrine, so a solution that came up, which was that to include the new articles in clauses or sub-clauses of the existing articles.

Here are the lists of various important Articles of the Indian Constitution. 

S.No	Article	Deals with
1	1	Name and Territory of Union
2	3	New States Formation, Alteration of Boundaries, etc.
3	13	Laws inconsistent with or in derogation of the Fundamental Rights
4	14	Equality before Law (popularly known as Right to Equality)
5	15	Prohibition of Discrimination (on basis of religion, race, caste, sex or place of birth)
6	16	Equality in case of Public Employment
7	17	Abolition of Untouchability
8	18	Abolition of Titles
9	19	Protection of Certain Rights to Freedom (popularly known as Right to Freedom)
10	19a	Freedom of Speech & Expression
11	19b	Right to Peaceful Assembly
12	19c	Freedom of Association
13	19d	Right to Move Freely through India
14	19e	Freedom of Settlement & Residence
15	19f	(Omitted as a fundamental right – governed by article 300A.) Right to Own Personal Property.
16	19g	Freedom to Practise any Profession, Occupation, Trade or Business
17	21	Right to Life and Personal Liberty
18	21A	Right to Education
19	23	Prohibition of Human Trafficking and Forced Labour
20	24	Prohibition of Child Labour
21	25	Freedom to Practise & Propagate Religion Freely
22	29	Protection of Interests of Minorities
23	32	Remedies for enforcement of Fundamental Rights including writs
24	44	Uniform Civil Code
25	50	Separation of Judiciary from Executive
26	51	Promotion of International Peace and Security
27	51A	Fundamental Duties
28	72	Powers of President to Grant Pardons etc.
29	76	Attorney-General of India
30	78	Duties of Prime Minister
31	85	Sessions of Parliament, Prorogation and Dissolution
32	93	The Speaker & Deputy Speaker of Lok Sabha
33	100	Voting in Houses
34	105	Powers, Privileges, etc. of Members of Parliament
35	106	Salaries and Allowances of Members of Parliament
36	108	Joint Sitting of both Houses of Parliament
37	109-110	Money Bills
38	112	Budget
39	123	President’s Power to Promulgate Ordinance while Parliament in Recess
40	127	Appointment of ad hoc Judges in the Supreme Court
41	139	Supreme Court’s Powers to Issue Certain Writs
42	141	Supreme Court’s Law Binding on All Courts
43	148-149	Comptroller and Auditor-General of India
44	155	Appointment of Governor
45	161	Power of Governors to Grant Pardon etc.
46	165	Advocate-General for the State
47	167	Duties of Chief Minister
48	224	Appointment of Additional & Acting Judges in High Courts
49	224A	Appointment of Retired Judges in High Courts
50	226	Power of High Courts to issue writs
51	280	Finance Commission
52	312	All India Services
53	324	Election Commission
54	335	SCs and STs claim to Services and Posts
55	343	Official Language
56	352	National Emergency
57	356	President’s Rule in case of Failure of Constitutional Machinery in States
58	360	Financial Emergency
59	368	Power of Parliament to Amend the Constitution
60	370	Temporary provisions with respect to the state of Jammu and Kashmir
61	392	Power of the President to remove difficulties

 

Schedules of the Indian Constitution:

Like a book contains appendices to explain things and provide extra info, the constitution contains various schedules. They are Lists that categorize and tabulate bureaucratic activity and policy of the Government. They are kept separate because it is a lengthy document and hence, not included in the original text of constitution but they are very much part of the constitution. 

 

Important Titbits:

1. Originally they were 8 in number, now they are 12. 
2. The 4 new schedules were added: IX through the 1st Constitution Amendment Act 1951); X through Anti-Defection Law 52nd CAA 1985; XI through the 73rd CAA Panchayati Raj 1992 and XII through the 74th CAA Municipality 1992.
3. Matters added to the 9th schedule after 24th April 1973 (Kesavananda Bharati Case) are not immune to judicial review (I.R. Coelho case)

 

Schedules of Indian Constitution

 

Numbers	Subject Matter
First Schedule	Names of the States and their territorial jurisdiction. Names of the Union Territories and their extent.
Second Schedule	Provisions relating to the emoluments, allowances, privileges and so on of: The President of India The Governors of States The Speaker and the Deputy Speaker of the Lok Sabha The Chairman and the Deputy Chairman of the Rajya Sabha The Speaker and the Deputy Speaker of the Legislative Assembly in the states The Chairman and the Deputy Chairman of the Legislative Council in the states The Judges of the Supreme Court The Judges of the High Courts The Comptroller and Auditor-General of India
Third Schedule	Forms of Oaths or Affirmations for: 1. The Union ministers 2. The candidates for election to the Parliament 3. The members of Parliament 4. The judges of the Supreme Court 5. The Comptroller and Auditor-General of India 6. The state ministers 7. The candidates for election to the state legislature 8. The members of the state legislature 9. The judges of the High Courts
Fourth Schedule	Allocation of seats in the Rajya Sabha to the states and the union territories.
Fifth Schedule	Provisions relating to the administration and control of scheduled areas and scheduled tribes.
Sixth Schedule	Provisions relating to the administration of tribal areas in the states of Assam, Meghalaya, Tripura and Mizoram.
Seventh Schedule	Division of powers between the Union and the States in terms of List I (Union List), List II (State List) and List III (Concurrent List). Presently, the Union List contains 100 subjects (originally 97), the state list contains 61 subjects (originally 66) and the concurrent list contains 52 subjects (originally 47).
Eighth Schedule	Languages recognized by the Constitution. Originally, it had 14 languages but presently there are 22 languages. They are: Assamese, Bengali, Bodo, Dogri (Dongri), Gujarati, Hindi, Kannada, Kashmiri, Konkani, Mathili (Maithili), Malayalam, Manipuri, Marathi, Nepali, Oriya, Punjabi, Sanskrit, Santhali, Sindhi, Tamil, Telugu, and Urdu. Sindhi was added by the 21st Amendment Act of 1967; Konkani, Manipuri and Nepali were added by the 71 st Amendment Act of 1992; and Bodo, Dongri, Maithili and Santhali were added by the 92nd Amendment Act of 2003.
Ninth Schedule	Acts and Regulations (originally 13 but presently 282) 19 of the state legislatures dealing with land reforms and the abolition of the zamindari system and of the. Parliament dealing with other matters. This schedule was added by the 1st Amendment (1951) to protect the laws included in it from judicial scrutiny on the ground of violation of fundamental rights. However, in 2007, the Supreme Court ruled that the laws included in this schedule after April 24, 1973, are now open to judicial review.
Tenth Schedule	Provisions relating to the disqualification of the members of Parliament and State Legislatures on the ground of defection. This schedule was added by the 52nd Amendment Act of 1985, also known as Anti-defection Law.
Eleventh Schedule	Specifies the powers, authority and responsibilities ofPanchayats. It has 29 matters. This schedule was added by the 73rd Amendment Act of 1992.
Twelfth Schedule	Specifies the powers, authority, and responsibilities of Municipalities. It has 18 matters. This schedule was added by the 74th Amendment Act of 1992.

 

Dear students,

We understand that the UPSC exam is a generalist exam. It’s more important to cover more issues than to cover one issue in more depth. Hence, through Samachar Manthan, we are trying to maintain a fine balance of covering many important news items and having a detailed discussion on selected topics which require the same. On daily basis a news gets repeated multiple times. Scattered knowledge is not adequately useful when you have to write a 200 words answer within 6-7 minutes. To handle this, Samachar manthan covers such issues in a comprehensive and consolidated manner which is the smart strategy.

Benefits of Samachar Manthan

• Packed 3 – 3.5 hours Weekly videos will focus on news and its importance from both prelims and mains perspective.
• This program will also help you understand how to utilize current affairs in all your prelims and mains papers.
• This ideology makes this course the best utilization of your time.
• Detailed coverage would mean analysis from all the angles like background or history, features, significance, challenges and way forward. Also, multiple sources like epw, diplomat magazine etc will be referred to in the video lectures.
• Such an approach will help in writing multidimensional answers.
• Also which part of the topic is important from mains and prelims perspective will also be discussed.
• Audio Visual Learning is more impactful than simply glancing through the material. So that you are able to retain information for long also interlink with any new information you get.
• 4 stage structure of Video->Notes->testing->review to perfect your preparation
• The sequence of video->Notes->testing->review is the best way to ensure maximum retention and a rock solid preparation. Each component of the program has been meticulously crafted.

For example this week, we will be covering the following issues;

Economics
Utkarsh 2022
[op-ed snap] Diluting the code
Basel Norms
[op-ed snap] Caution on spectrum
[pib] Indian Nuclear Insurance Pool
Merchant Discount Rate

Enviro & Biodiversity
Zero based natural farming
Explained: Where to plant a trillion trees to save planet Earth?
Plan Bee
[op-ed snap] Turning down the heat
Desert Locusts incursion in India
Bengal port records country’s highest sea level rise in 50 years
[op-ed snap] picking out plastic

Governance 
Coffee Table Book for partnership between India and the UN World Food Programme
Generic Drugs
Feminization of Agriculture
Automated facial recognition: what NCRB proposes, what are the concerns
[op-ed snap] One more quota
Witness Protection Scheme
The Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (Amendment) Bill, 2019
Death Penalty provisions for Sexual offences against Children
Single Tribunal for hear water disputes
Explained: How PIB accreditation helps journalists
[op-ed of the day] The Malaise of malnutrition
[op-ed of the day] A demographic window of opportunity
Study in India’ programme
Model Tenancy Act
Lifting 271 mn out of poverty in 10 yrs, India fastest, Jharkhand No. 1 area: UN
[op-ed of the day] A welcome debate on electoral reforms
LaQshya Initiative
Private member’s Bill calls for two-child norm
[op-ed snap] Law and beyond

International Relations 
[op-ed of the day] A shot at economic logic
[op-ed of the day] Game of chicken that can end in disaster

Polity 
Human Rights Courts in India
Explained: Anti-Defection Law

Science Tech 
Black Gold 50

Internal security
Automated facial recognition: what NCRB proposes, what are the concerns

And these issues will be covered in detail

• Human Rights Courts in India
•  Anti-Defection Law
• Feminization of Agriculture
• Merchant Discount Rate
• Electoral reforms

So to be thorough in your preparation and to have an integrated approach, join Samachar Manthan here.