Festivals in news: Kheer Bhawani Mela

In the UT of Jammu and Kashmir, the Annual Kheer Bhawani Mela in Tulmulla village of Ganderbal district has been cancelled by its religious trust. Match the pair based question can be asked from festivals as such. Recently, the following festivals were in the news: Ambubachi Mela, Thrisoor Puram, Meru Jatara, Nagoba Jatara etc. Try… Continue reading

The perils of the liquidity push

Whether to focus on demand side or supply side is the dilemma policymakers dealing with the financial crises have always faced. If we look closely, the focus of the package announced by the government is on the supply side and pushing liquidity in the economy. This article examines the various measure announced in the package… Continue reading

Analysing three-pronged strategy of China in Ladakh

The article gives an in-depth analysis of the current border dispute between India and China in Ladakh. But the present dispute follows the pattern. China has been encroaching and gaining control over the disputed territory since the 1980s. And this dispute also fits into that pattern. China acting strategically in Ladakh While India has pursued… Continue reading

CoAST India (Collaboration/Covid Action Support Group) Platform

India Observatory has come up with a GIS-enabled dashboard called CoAST India to monitor migrants in India. Here, UPSC may create an illusion on: India Observatory – open-source database (misleading name): It may be asked in relation to some ISRO project. CoAST India – COVID related info (again misleading): UPSC may ask it in context… Continue reading

Purandara Dasa and his legacy

The Department of Archaeology, Karnataka has commenced field research work regarding the birthplace of Purandara Dasa who is held as the father figure of Carnatic music. Recently there was a news on Lord Basaveshwara. Now comes the other popular saint. Vaishnavism and Shaivism are the two most profound strands of Bhakti Movement in Indian history.… Continue reading

Rail adukku pathiram Utensils of Tamil Nadu

The rail adukku pathiram a traditional set of kitchen utensils in Tamil Nadu has become the gathered attention of all over the past few days. The traditional ‘rail adukku pathiram’ set of utensils are very unique in itself. However, one must note that it does NOT carry any GI tag and is completely out of… Continue reading

[Burning Issue] Rise of Economic Nationalism

“Globalization presumes sustained economic growth. Otherwise, the process loses its economic benefits and political support.” Paul Samuelson Context Guess what Corona virus pandemic did that even Soviet union could not? It has shown the world decaying of the capitalist system. Spread of the virus has lead to various forms of lock downs across the globe.… Continue reading

Person in news: Ramkinkar Baij

Ministry of Culture’s has organised virtual tour titled “Ramkinkar Baij | Journey through silent transformation and expressions” to commemorate his 115th Birth Anniversary. We can expect a description based question in prelims like- Q. “In 1925, he made his way to Kala Bhavana, the art school at Santiniketan and was under the guidance of Nandalal… Continue reading

Examining role played by Civil Society and NGOs in fight against Covid-19

Social capital is what civil societies are known as. The article highlights the valuable role played by the civil society, and NGO in the pandemic. They constitute the backbone of the collective expression of citizen interest in a democracy. So, read about the ways in which they can contribute in dealing with destruction due to… Continue reading

What is a Parallel Universe?

Twitter and other social media platforms are abuzz with the so-called ‘parallel universe’ that NASA has discovered. According to the claims, NASA has detected a parallel universe in Antarctica, where time runs backwards. ANITA experiment is significant for prelims. It can be asked in prelims in such match the pair questions- Q. Consider the… Continue reading

Importance of the Pangong Tso Lake

(Note: No higher resolution is available for the image) The recent incidents at the Pangong Tso lake area between Indian and Chinese soldiers on the LAC involve a picturesque lake, mountains, helicopters, fighter jets, boats, eyeball-to-eyeball confrontation, fisticuffs and injuries. Apart from the geo-physical significance of the Pangong Tso for prelims, other general information should… Continue reading

Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam on Nile and Various Issues

Africa’s longest river, the Nile, has been at the centre of a decade-long complex dispute involving several countries in the continent who are dependent on the river’s waters. At the forefront of this dispute, however, are Ethiopia and Egypt. Note: You never know when UPSC might switch map based questions away from the Middle East… Continue reading

Hardly the 1991 moment for agriculture

Reforms in agri-marketing has been long overdue. So, the government recently announced three reforms in this regard. This article examines the problems of agri-marketing. And it concludes that the said reforms are far from being the silver bullet for these problems. So, why these reforms are not going to be effective? Does demand play any… Continue reading

[pib] L7 Quadricycle category for BS VI

The Ministry of Road Transport and Highways has issued a notification regarding the emission norms for L7 (Quadricycle) category for BS-VI. Practice question for Mains: Q. What are Bharat Stage Emission Standards (BSES)? Discuss how the early implementation of BS-VI norms will help curb vehicular pollution in India. What is Quadricycle Vehicle verification? The quadricycle… Continue reading

[pib] Shahapur’s Katkari Tribe

The newscard is based on the PIB news which discusses the success story of Katkari Tribe, a PVTG in Maharashtra regarding the implementation of Van Dhan Yojana. Try this: Consider the following statements about Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Groups (PVTGs) in India: 1) PVTGs reside in 18 States and one Union Territory. 2) A stagnant or… Continue reading

Western Ghats yield 3 new plant species

A team of scientists of the Botanical Survey of India (BSI) have reported the discovery of three new plant species from the evergreen forest patches of the southern end of the Western Ghats in Kerala and Tamil Nadu. One may get carried away from the heavy botanical names. But UPSC is known for asking ruthless… Continue reading

Neglect of demand side

What should the government focus on first: increasing demand or streamlining the supply side. This question is at the heart of the debate that has been going on after the government announced the stimulus package. This article argues on two lines- Inadequate size of the package and the neglect of the demand side in the… Continue reading

U.S. set to exit the ‘Open Skies Treaty’ Copy

The U.S. has given notice that it will exit the Open Skies Treaty (OST) in response to Russia who had allegedly violated the treaty. The New START, INF and now the OST …. Be clear about the differences of these treaties. For example- to check if their inception was during cold war era etc. Open… Continue reading

[pib] UMANG Mobile App

To further enhance the initiatives of Digital India Programme, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) services have been brought on the “UMANG App”. UPSC may puzzle you by asking a question such as: Which of the following services are included under UMANG App? It would provide some ambiguous 5-6 options. UMANG App The UMANG is an… Continue reading

[pib] Initiatives launched on International Day of Biodiversity

In a virtual celebration of the International Day for Biological Diversity 2020, Union Minister of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC) has launched key initiatives towards conservation of biodiversity. Possible prelim question: The ‘Not all Animals Migrate by Choice’ campaign recently seen in news is an initiative by __________. About the International Day for Biological… Continue reading

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