💥Join UPSC 2027,2028 Mentorship (August Batch) + XFactor Notes & Microthemes PDF
Talk to Mentor

Civilsdaily

Login

GS Paper: GS1

  • Places in news: Majuli River Island

    Soil erosion, coupled with changing climatic conditions, has been writing a cruel destiny for the inhabitants of Majuli in Assam, the largest river island in the world.

    About Majuli Island

    • Majuli is a riverine island in the Brahmaputra River, Assam and in 2016 it became the first island to be made a district in India.
    • Majuli has shrunk as the river surrounding it has grown.
    • It had an area of 880 square kilometers (340 sq mi) at the beginning of the 20th century but having lost significantly to erosion it covers 553 square kilometers as at 2014.
    • It is the abode of the Assamese neo-Vaishnavite culture.

    Its formation

    • The island is formed by the Brahmaputra River in the south and the Kherkutia Xuti, an anabranch of the Brahmaputra, joined by the Subansiri River in the north.
    • It was formed due to course changes by the river Brahmaputra and its tributaries, mainly the Lohit.

     

    UPSC 2022 countdown has begun! Get your personal guidance plan now! (Click here)

  • Puri Heritage Corridor Project

    Odisha CM will lay the foundation stone of the much-awaited Puri Heritage Corridor.

    Puri Heritage Corridor Project

    • Conceived in 2016, the Puri Heritage Corridor Project was unveiled in December 2019 to transform the holy town of Puri into an international place of heritage.
    • The project includes redeveloping major portions of the holy town and in the vicinity of the temple for visitors and tourists.

    About Jagannath Temple

    • The Jagannath Temple is an important Vaishnavite temple dedicated to Jagannath, a form of Sri Krishna in Puri in Odisha.
    • The present temple was rebuilt from the 10th century onwards, on the site of an earlier temple, and begun by Anantavarman Chodaganga Deva, the first king of the Eastern Ganga dynasty.
    • The Puri temple is famous for its annual Ratha Yatra, or chariot festival, in which the three principal deities are pulled on huge and elaborately decorated temple cars.

    Its architecture

    • With its sculptural richness and fluidity of the Oriya style of temple architecture, it is one of the most magnificent monuments of India.
    • The huge temple complex covers an area of over 400,000 square feet and is surrounded by a high fortified wall.
    • This 20 feet high wall is known as Meghanada Pacheri.
    • Another wall known as kurma bedha surrounds the main temple.

    The temple has four distinct sectional structures, namely:

    1. Deula, Vimana or Garba griha (Sanctum sanctorum) where the triad deities are lodged on the ratnavedi (Throne of Pearls). In Rekha Deula style;
    2. Mukhashala (Frontal porch);
    3. Nata mandir/Natamandapa, which is also known as the Jagamohan (Audience Hall/Dancing Hall), and
    4. Bhoga Mandapa (Offerings Hall)

     

    UPSC 2022 countdown has begun! Get your personal guidance plan now! (Click here)

  • Pochampally makes it to list of best tourism villages in the world

    Pochampally village in Telangana is set to be named as one of the best Tourism Villages by the United Nations World Tourism Organisation.

    Best Tourism Villages Initiative

    • The Best Tourism Villages by UNWTO Pilot initiative aims to award those villages which are outstanding examples of rural destinations and showcase good practices in line with its specified nine evaluation areas.
    • It also aims to support villages to enhance their rural tourism potential through training and access to opportunities for improvement.

    Key objectives

    • Reduce regional inequalities in income and development
    • Fight rural depopulation
    • Progress gender equality and women’s and youth empowerment
    • Enhance education and skills development

    About Pochampally

    • Pochampally, 50 Kms from Hyderabad, is a town in Nalgonda district of Telangana.
    • It is often referred to as the Silk City of India for the exquisite sarees that are woven through a unique style called Ikat.
    • It is also known as Bhoodan Pochampally to commemorate the Bhoodan Movement that was launched by Acharya Vinobha Bhave from this village on April 18th, 1951.
    • Currently, a two-room Vinobha Bhave Mandir exists within the village which was earlier the place where Vinobha Bhave resided during his visit to the village.

    What is Pochampally Ikat?

    • Ikat is a Malaysian, Indonesian word that means “Tie and Dye”.
    • For this style, Pochampally Ikat, received a Geographical Indicator (GI Status) in 2004.
    • Ikat involves the process of wrapping (or tying) and dyeing sections of bundled yarn to a predetermined colour pattern before they are woven.
    • The dye penetrates into exposed sections while the wrapped section remains undyed.
    • This pattern formed by the yarn in this process is woven into fabric.

    Back2Basics: Bhoodan Movement

    • The Bhoodan movement (Land Gift movement), also known as the Bloodless Revolution, was a voluntary land reform movement.
    • It was initiated by Vinoba Bhave, a staunch Gandhian in 1951 at Pochampally village, which is now in Telangana, and known as Bhoodan Pochampally.
    • The movement attempted to persuade wealthy landowners to voluntarily give a percentage of their land to landless people.
    • Philosophically, Bhave was influenced by Mahatma Gandhi’s Sarvodaya movement and Gram Swarajya.
    • Landless laborers were given small plots that they could settle and grow their crops on.
    • Bhoodan Acts were passed that stated that the beneficiary had no right to sell the land or use it for non-agricultural purposes or for forestry.

     

    Try this PYQ:

    Q. With reference to land reforms in independent India, which one of the following statements is correct?

    (a) The ceiling laws were aimed at family holdings and not individual holdings

    (b) The major aim of land reforms was providing agricultural land to all the landless

    (c) It resulted in cultivation of cash crops as a predominant form of cultivation

    (d) Land reforms permitted no exemptions to the ceiling limits

     

    [wpdiscuz-feedback id=”pn3rq4x8xu” question=”Please leave a feedback on this” opened=”1″]Post your answers here.[/wpdiscuz-feedback]

     

    UPSC 2022 countdown has begun! Get your personal guidance plan now! (Click here)

  • Glasgow Climate Pact (COP26)

    The Glasgow Agreement was finally adopted after a last-minute intervention by India to water down language on “phasing out” coal to merely “phasing down”.

    Glasgow Agreement

    • The Glasgow meeting was the 26th session of the Conference of Parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change, or COP26.
    • These meetings are held every year to construct a global response to climate change.
    • Each of these meetings produce a set of decisions which are given different names.
    • In the current case, this has been called the Glasgow Climate Pact.
    • Earlier, these meetings have also delivered two treaty-like international agreements, the Kyoto Protocol in 1997 and the Paris Agreement in 2015.

    What was achieved?

    [1] Mitigation:

    • The Glasgow agreement has emphasised that stronger action in the current decade was most critical to achieving the 1.5-degree target.
    • Accordingly, it has asked/decided:
    1. To strengthen their 2030 climate action plans, or NDCs (nationally-determined contributions), by next year
    2. Establish a work programme to urgently scale-up mitigation ambition and implementation
    3. To convene an annual meeting of ministers to raise ambition of 2030 climate actions
    4. Annual synthesis report on what countries were doing
    5. To convene a meeting of world leaders in 2023 to scale-up ambition of climate action
    6. Countries to make efforts to reduce usage of coal as a source of fuel, and abolish “inefficient” subsidies on fossil fuels
    7. Phase-down of coal, and phase-out of fossil fuels. This is the first time that coal has been explicitly mentioned in any COP decision.

    [2] Adaptation:

    • Most of the countries, especially the smaller and poorer ones, and the small island states, consider adaptation to be the most important component of climate action.
    • They have been demanding that at least half of all climate finance should be directed towards adaptation efforts.
    • As such, the Glasgow Climate Pact has:
    1. Asked the developed countries to at least double the money being provided for adaptation by 2025 from the 2019 levels.
    2. Created a two-year work programme to define a global goal on adaptation.

    [3] Finance:

    • Every climate action has financial implications. It is now estimated that trillions of dollars are required every year to fund all the actions necessary to achieve the climate targets.
    • Developed countries are under an obligation, due to their historical responsibility in emitting greenhouse gases.
    • They need to provide finance and technology to the developing nations to help them deal with climate change.
    • In 2009, developed countries had promised to mobilise at least $100 billion every year from 2020.
    • The 2020 deadline has long passed but the $100 billion promise has not been fulfilled.
    • The developed nations have now said that they will arrange this amount by 2023.

    [4] Accounting earlier failures

    The pact has:

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

    [5] Loss and Damage:

    The frequency of climate disasters has been rising rapidly, and many of these caused largescale devastation.

    • There is no institutional mechanism to compensate these nations for the losses, or provide them help in the form of relief and rehabilitation.
    • The loss and damage provision in the Paris Agreement seeks to address that.
    • Thanks to a push from many nations, substantive discussions on loss and damage could take place in Glasgow.
    • One of the earlier drafts included a provision for setting up of a facility to coordinate loss and damage activities.

    [6] Carbon Markets:

    • Carbon markets facilitate the trading of emission reductions.
    • They are considered a very important and effective instrument to reduce overall emissions.
    • A carbon market existed under Kyoto Protocol but is no longer there because the Protocol itself expired last year.
    • Developing countries like India, China or Brazil have large amounts of carbon credits left over because of the lack of demand as many countries abandoned their emission reduction targets.
    • The Glasgow Pact has offered some reprieve to the developing nations.
    • It has allowed these carbon credits to be used in meeting countries’ first NDC targets.

    Parallel Processes announced

    A lot of substantial action in Glasgow happened in parallel processes that were not a part of the official COP discussions.

    • India announced a Panchamrita (a mixture of five elements) of climate actions.
    • Brazil would advance its net-zero target year from 2060 to 2050.
    • China promised to come out with a detailed roadmap for its commitment to let emissions peak in 2030, and also for its 2060 net-zero target. Israel announced a net zero target for 2050.
    • Over 100 countries pledged to reduce methane emissions by at least 30 per cent from present levels by 2030.
    • Another set of over 100 countries promised to arrest and reverse deforestation by 2030.
    • Over 30 countries signed on to a declaration promising to work towards a transition to 100 percent zero-emission cars by the year 2040, at least in the leading car markets of the world.

     

    UPSC 2022 countdown has begun! Get your personal guidance plan now! (Click here)

  • Mosques to honour 1921 Malabar Rebellion martyrs

    Granite plaquettes featuring the names of Variamkunnathu Kunjahamad Haji, Ali Musliyar, and other martyrs of the 1921 Malabar Rebellion will be put up at the precincts of a few mosques in Ernakulam.

    Malabar Rebellion

    • The Malabar Rebellion in 1921 started as resistance against the British colonial rule and the feudal system in southern Malabar but ended in communal violence between Hindus and Muslims.
    • There were a series of clashes between Mappila peasantry and their landlords, supported by the British, throughout the 19th and early 20th centuries.
    • It began as a reaction against a heavy-handed crackdown on the Khilafat Movement, a campaign in defence of the Ottoman Caliphate by the British authorities in the Eranad and Valluvanad taluks of Malabar.
    • The Mappilas attacked and took control of police stations, British government offices, courts and government treasuries.

    Who was Variyankunna Kunjahammed Haji?

    • He was one of the leaders of the Malabar Rebellion of 1921.
    • He raised 75000 natives, seized control of large territory from the British rule and set up a parallel government.
    • In January 1922, under the guise of a treaty, the British betrayed Haji through his close friend Unyan Musaliyar, arresting him from his hideout and producing him before a British judge.
    • He was sentenced to death along with his compatriots.

     

    UPSC 2022 countdown has begun! Get your personal guidance plan now! (Click here)

  • Earth’s first landmass emerged in Singhbhum: Study

    A new study has challenged the widely accepted view that the continents rose from the oceans about 2.5 billion years ago.

    About Singhbhum

    • Singhbhum district of Jharkhand is part of the Chhota Nagpur Division.
    • It is one of the leading producers of copper in India.

    First landmass to emerge

    • The study suggests that the earliest continental landmass to emerge may have been Jharkhand’s Singhbhum region.
    • Scientists have found sandstones in Singhbhum with geological signatures of ancient river channels, tidal plains and beaches over 3.2 billion years old.
    • They somewhat represent the earliest crust exposed to air.

    Studying the sandstones

    • The research studies a sedimentary rock, called granite. They tried to find their age and in which conditions they have formed.
    • They found the age by analysing the uranium and lead contents of tiny minerals.
    • These rocks are 3.1 billion years old, and were formed in ancient rivers, beaches, and shallow seas.
    • All these water bodies could have only existed if there was continental land.
    • Thus, they inferred that the Singhbhum region was above the ocean before 3.1 billion years ago.

    How did they analyse?

    • The researchers studied the granites that form the continental crust of Singhbhum region.
    • These granites are 3.5 to 3.1 billion years old and formed through extensive volcanism that happened about 35-45 km deep inside the Earth.
    • This process continued on-and-off for hundreds of millions of years until all the magma solidified to form a thick continental crust in the area.
    • Due to the thickness and less density, the continental crust emerged above surrounding oceanic crust owing to buoyancy.

    Back2Basics: Emergence of Landmass

    • In the beginning, more than 4.6-billion years ago, the world was a ball of burning gas, spinning through space.
    • It took hundreds of millions of years for the first land masses to emerge.
    • About 250-million years ago, long, long after the Earth had formed, all the continents of the time had joined together to form a super-continent called Pangaea.
    • This super-continent broke up about 200-million years ago to form two giant continents, Gondwana and Laurasia.
    • Gondwana comprised what is now Africa, South America, Australia, Antarctica and India.
    • The Indian sub-continent lay off the east coast of Africa, before it broke off and moved north rapidly.

    Isostacy

    • Huge plates of crustal and upper mantle material (lithosphere) “float” on more dense, plastically flowing rocks of the asthenosphere.
    • The “depth” to which a plate, or block of crust, sinks is a function of its weight and varies as the weight changes.
    • This equilibrium, or balance, between blocks of crust and the underlying mantle is called isostasy.
    • The taller a block of crust is, the deeper it penetrates into the mantle because of its greater mass and weight. Isostasy occurs when each block settles into an equilibrium with the underlying mantle.
    • Blocks of crust that are separated by faults will “settle” at different elevations according to their relative mass.

     

    UPSC 2022 countdown has begun! Get your personal guidance plan now! (Click here)

  • Birsa Munda Jayanti to be celebrated as Janjatiya Gaurav Divas

    The Union Cabinet has decided to declare November 15 as ‘Janjatiya Gaurav Divas’ to mark the birth anniversary of revered tribal leader and freedom fighter Birsa Munda.

    Who was Birsa Munda (1875-1900)?

    • Birsa Munda was an Indian tribal freedom fighter, religious leader, and folk hero who belonged to the Munda tribe.
    • He spearheaded a tribal religious millenarian movement that arose in the Bengal Presidency (now Jharkhand) in the late 19th century, during the British Raj.

    His legacy

    (A) Birth and early childhood

    • Born on November 15, 1875, Birsa spent much of his childhood moving from one village to another with his parents.
    • He belonged to the Munda tribe in the Chhotanagpur Plateau area.
    • He received his early education at Salga under the guidance of his teacher Jaipal Nag.
    • On the recommendation of Jaipal Nag, Birsa converted to Christianity in order to join the German Mission school.
    • He, however, opted out of the school after a few years.

    (B) New faith ‘Birsait’ against religious conversion

    • The impact of Christianity was felt in the way he came to relate to religion later.
    • Having gained awareness of the British colonial ruler and the efforts of the missionaries to convert tribals to Christianity, Birsa started the faith of ‘Birsait’.
    • Soon members of the Munda and Oraon community started joining the Birsait sect and it turned into a challenge to British conversion activities.
    • The Mundas called him Dharati Aaba, the father of earth.

    (C) The Ulgulan

    • The Great Tumult or Ulgulan was a movement started by Birsa Munda against the exploitation and discrimination against tribals by the local authorities.
    • Although the movement failed, it did result in the Chotanagpur Tenancy Act which forbade tribal lands passing to non-tribals, protecting their land rights for the foreseeable future.

    (D) Death

    • On March 3, 1900, Birsa Munda was arrested by the British police while he was sleeping with his tribal guerilla army at Jamkopai forest in Chakradharpur.
    • He died in Ranchi jail on June 9, 1900, at the young age of 25.

    (E) Creation of Jharkhand

    • Birsa Munda’s achievements are known to be even more remarkable by virtue of the fact that he came to acquire them before he was 25.
    • In recognition of his impact on the national movement, the state of Jharkhand was created on his birth anniversary in 2000.

    Try this PYQ from CSP 2020

    Q. With reference to the history of India, “Ulgulan” or the Great Tumult is the description of which of the following event?

     

    (a) The Revolt of 1857

    (b) The Mappila Rebellion of 1921

    (c) The Indigo Revolt of 1859-60

    (d) Birsa Munda’s Revolt of 1899-1900

     

    [wpdiscuz-feedback id=”ok4dlnd0am” question=”Please leave a feedback on this” opened=”1″]Post your answers here.[/wpdiscuz-feedback]

     

     

    UPSC 2022 countdown has begun! Get your personal guidance plan now! (Click here)

  • Climate Change Performance Index, 2021

    The 17th edition of the Climate Change Performance Index (CCPI) 2021 was released recently.

    It’s a very rare feat that India has performed so better in any climate-related index. We can use this data to highlight India’s dedicated efforts for Paris Agreement.

    About CCPI

    • The CCPI is an independent monitoring tool for tracking countries’ climate protection performance. It has been published annually since 2005.
    • It is compiled by Germanwatch, the New Climate Institute, and the Climate Action Network.
    • It evaluates 57 countries and the European Union, which together generate 90%+ of global greenhouse gas emissions.

    Parameters of the index

    • The CCPI looks at four categories, with 14 indicators: Greenhouse Gas Emissions (40% of the overall score), Renewable Energy (20%), Energy Use (20%), and Climate Policy (20%).
    • The CCPI’s unique climate policy section evaluates countries’ progress in implementing policies working towards achieving the Paris Agreement goals.

    Highlights of the 2021 report

    • The first three ranks of the overall rankings were kept empty because no country had performed well enough in all index categories to achieve an overall very high rating.
    • The 2021 report places Sweden on top, while countries such as Morocco and the UK are also ranked high.
    • The bottom-ranked country, the United States, therefore, was placed at 61.

    Low performers

    • Iran and Russia are ranked the lowest in this category.
    • Overall, Australia, South Korea and Russia are among the lowest performing countries along with Kazakhstan and Saudi Arabia.
    • China is ranked 33 overall and has an overall rating of “low”.

    India’s performance

    • In the overall rankings, India is at number 10 with a score of 63.98.
    • It is a high performer except in the renewable energy category, in which it is ranked “medium”.
    • The report says that India is benefiting from its relatively low per-capita emissions.
    • In terms of greenhouse gas emissions, Sweden, Egypt, Chile and the UK are in the top 7. India is ranked 12.

     

    UPSC 2022 countdown has begun! Get your personal guidance plan now! (Click here)

  • The long road to Net Zero

    India has joined a high-profile group of countries pledging for net-zero target by 2070.

    What does Net-Zero mean?

    • Net-zero, which is also referred to as carbon-neutrality, does not mean that a country would bring down its emissions to zero.
    • That would be gross-zero, which means reaching a state where there are no emissions at all, a scenario hard to comprehend.
    • Therefore, net-zero is a state in which a country’s emissions are compensated by absorption and removal of greenhouse gases from the atmosphere.

    What’s the difference between gross zero and net-zero?

    • Gross zero would mean stopping all emissions, which isn’t realistically attainable across all sectors of our lives and industry.
    • Even with best efforts to reduce them, there will still be some emissions.
    • Net-zero looks at emissions overall, allowing for the removal of any unavoidable emissions, such as those from aviation or manufacturing.
    • Removing greenhouse gases could be via nature, as trees take carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, or through new technology or changing industrial processes.

    What is carbon negativity?

    • It is even possible for a country to have negative emissions if the absorption and removal exceed the actual emissions.
    • *Bhutan has negative emissions because it absorbs more than it emits.

    What is the outlook for India’s emissions?

    • Analysis of India’s growth path points to rising GDP per capita, with a rise in carbon emissions in the short term, primarily from energy.
    • There is pressure from absolute increase in population and consumption, but population growth is slowing.

    India’s major emission sources

    • In terms of sectoral GHG emissions, data from 2016 show that electricity and heat account for the highest share (1.11 billion tonnes).
    • It is followed by agriculture (704.16 million tonnes), manufacturing and construction (533.8 million tonnes), transport (265.3 million tonnes), industry (130.61 million tonnes).
    • Land-use change and forestry (126.43 million tonnes) is also a major source.
    • Other fuel use (119.04 million tonnes), buildings (109.2 million tonnes), waste (80.98 million tonnes), fugitive emissions (54.95 million tonnes) accounts for major urban sources.
    • Aviation and shipping (20.4 million tonnes) accounts for the least source of emission.

    Immediate interventions that can be made

    • Legal mechanism: India needs to create a legal mandate for climate impact assessment of all activities.
    • Investment: This can facilitate investment by dedicated green funds.
    • Wholistic participation: Public sector institutions promoted by the government, co-operatives and even market mechanisms will participate.
    • Renewable energy: The 500 GW renewables target needs a major boost, such as channeling more national and international climate funding into decentralized solar power.
    • Hydrogen economy: Another emerging sector is green hydrogen production because of its potential as a clean fuel. India has a National Hydrogen Mission now in place.
    • Waste Management: India’s urban solid waste management will need to modernise to curb methane emissions from unscientific landfills.
    • Stored carbon mitigation: Preventing the release of stored carbon in the environment, such as trees and soil, has to be a net zero priority.

    Role of developed countries

    • India’s argument is that it has historically been one of the lowest emitters of GHGs.
    • The impetus has to come from the developed economies that had the benefit of carbon-intensive development since the Industrial Revolution.

    Way forward

    • These plans need a political consensus and support from State governments.
    • Net-zero will involve industrial renewal using green innovation, green economy support and supply chains yielding new jobs.
    • It also needs low carbon technologies, zero-emission vehicles, and renewed cities promoting walking and cycling.
    • The industry will need to make highly energy-efficient goods that last longer, and consumers should be given a legal right to repair goods they buy.

     

    UPSC 2022 countdown has begun! Get your personal guidance plan now! (Click here)

  • UNESCO picks Srinagar as ‘Creative City’

    The UNESCO has picked up Srinagar among 49 cities as part of the UNESCO Creative Cities Network (UCCN) under the Crafts and Folk Arts category.

    What is UCCN?

    • UCCN created in 2004, is a network of cities that are thriving, active centers of cultural activities in their respective countries.
    • These cities can be from all continents with different income levels or with different levels of populations.
    • UCCN believes that these cities are working towards a common mission by placing creativity at the core of their urban development plans to make the region resilient, safe, inclusive and sustainable.
    • Ministry of Culture is the nodal Ministry of the Government of India for all matters in UNESCO relating to culture.

    Objective of UCCN

    • Placing creativity and the creative economy at the core of their urban development plans to make cities safe, resilient, inclusive and sustainable, in line with the UN 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development

    The 7 categories for recognition under UCCN are as follows:

    • Crafts and Folk Arts
    • Design
    • Film
    • Gastronomy (food)
    • Music
    • Media Arts
    • Literature

    Previously, 3 Indian cities were recognized as members of UCCN namely-

    • Jaipur-Crafts and Folk Arts (2015)
    • Varanasi-Creative city of Music (2015)
    • Chennai-Creative city of Music (2017)
    • Mumbai-Film (2019)
    • Hyderabad- Gastronomy (2019)

     

    UPSC 2022 countdown has begun! Get your personal guidance plan now! (Click here)