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  • Logistics Ease Across Different States (LEADS) Report, 2021

    The Logistics Ease Across Different States (LEADS) 2021 Index Rankings has been recently released.

    About LEADS

    • The LEADS index was launched in 2018 by the Commerce and Industry Ministry and Deloitte.
    • It ranks states on the score of their logistics services and efficiency that are indicative of economic growth.
    • States are ranked based on quality and capacity of key infrastructure such as road, rail and warehousing as well as on operational ease of logistics.

    Highlights of the 2021 report

    • India’s logistics costs account for 13-14 per cent of GDP, compared to 7-8 per cent in developed countries.
    • Gujarat, Haryana and Punjab have emerged as the top performers in the LEADS 2021 index respectively.
    • West Bengal, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Goa, Bihar, Himachal Pradesh and Assam were ranked 15th, 16th, 17th, 18th, 19th, 20th and 21st respectively.
    • North Eastern States, and J&K and Ladakh have been considered a separate group for LEADS rankings.

     

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  • 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.

     

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  • What is Leonid’s Meteor Shower?

    The annual Leonid’s Meteor Shower has begun.

    Try this question from CSP 2014:

    Q.What is a coma, in the content of astronomy?

    (a) Bright half of material on the comet

    (b) Long tail of dust

    (c) Two asteroids orbiting each other

    (d) Two planets orbiting each other

     

    Post your answers here.

    What is Leonid Meteor Shower?

    • Meteor showers are named after the constellation they appear to be coming from.
    • The Leonids originate from the constellation Leo the Lion– the groups of stars that form a lion’s mane.
    • They emerge from the comet Tempel-Tuttle, which requires 33 years to revolve once around the Sun.
    • These meteors are bright and among the fastest moving– travelling at speeds of 71 km per second.
    • During this year’s showers, peaks of around 10 to 15 meteors are expected to be seen every hour.
    • The Leonid showers include fireballs– bright and large meteors than can last longer than average meteors, and “earthgazers”– meteors which appear close to the horizon with colourful and long tails.

    What is a meteor shower?

    • On its journey around the Sun, the Earth passes through large swathes of cosmic debris.
    • The debris is essentially the remnants of comets — great frigid chunks of matter that leave behind dirty trails of rocks and ice that linger long after the comets themselves have passed.
    • As the Earth wades through this cloud of comet waste, the bits of debris create what appears from the ground to be a fireworks display in the sky — known as a meteor shower.
    • Several meteor showers can be seen around the year. According to NASA, over 30 meteor showers occur annually and are observable from the Earth.

    Back2Basics:

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  • Froth formation in Yamuna

    The visuals of devotees taking a dip in the froth-filled waters of the Yamuna River sent chills down the spine of the residents of Delhi.

    What is Froth Formation?

    • This is a phenomenon that takes place on many lakes and streams.
    • Foam bubbles are produced when organic matter decomposes.
    • These foam-producing molecules have one end that repels water and another that attracts water and they work to reduce the surface tension on the surface of the water.
    • These foam bubbles are lighter than water, so they float on the surface as a thin film that gradually accumulates.

    What causes the froth?

    • The presence of phosphates and surfactants in untreated sewage from Delhi, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh is a major reason behind frothing.
    • While these two components comprise of 1 per cent, the remaining 99 percent is air and water.

    What are the sources of pollution that cause foam formation?

    • Untreated sewage may contain soap-detergent particles.
    • The other sources are industrial effluents, organic matter from decomposing vegetation, and the presence of filamentous bacteria.
    • The pollution from the sugar and paper industries in Uttar Pradesh also causes pollution in the Yamuna.

    What are its health hazards?

    • Short-term exposure can lead to skin irritation and allergies.
    • If ingested, these chemicals may cause gastrointestinal problems and diseases like typhoid.
    • Long-term exposure to heavy metals in industrial pollutants can cause neurological issues and hormonal imbalances.

     

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  • 10th November 2021 | Prelims Daily with Previous Year Questions

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    [WpProQuiz 830]

    [WpProQuiz_toplist 830]

  • Starting Today @ 3PM || Beyond the Basics: How to Write Above-Average Answers for GS4 Ethics?|| Free Webinar By 140 scorer Sukanya Rana Ma’am || Register Now

    Starting Today @ 3PM || Beyond the Basics: How to Write Above-Average Answers for GS4 Ethics?|| Free Webinar By 140 scorer Sukanya Rana Ma’am || Register Now

    enroll here to attend free ethics webinar by sukanya rana maam

    Every aspirant studies the same standard book for Ethics and gets the same time during exam. And yet, only a few score above 110+ while others don’t. Why? 

    Answer writing for GS4 Ethics is not an inborn talent, it is a skill you can master with the right approach and guidance.

    Join Sukanya Rana Ma’am as she takes you through the advanced nuances of GS4 Ethics and solves a few case studies in the free webinar on 10 November (Wednesday)

    Why Should you Attend this Webinar?

    Every time and every year almost 90% of the GS4 questions come from topics covered in standard books. This is unlike your GS2 and GS3 papers. Hence, it has the least syllabus out of all the papers. The challenges faced by most aspirants in Ethics is not syllabus coverage.

    But writing what is covered in the standard books alone won’t fetch you extra marks. Do you think most of your time is spent understanding the case study than framing an answer for it? Do you want ready-made answers in your mind and write as you go?

    Then this free webinar is the for you! Advance your possibility of success by learning from Sukanya Rana Ma’am who scored 140 in 2019 Ethics paper.

    What will you Learn in this Webinar?

    1. Five years paper analysis of Ethics. What are the trends you shouldn’t miss?

    2. Get an extra edge in your answers. How to have an analytical approach in your answers?

    3. The 3 common types of questions asked in the exam. What are they?

    4. The trickier aspects of the exam. How to answer quote based questions?

    5. Time-management techniques for GS4 Ethics. How not to compromise quality in your answers?

    ENROLL HERE TO ATTEND FREE ETHICS WEBINAR BY SUKANYA RANA MAAM

    Webinar Details

    All aspirants are welcome to interact with Sukanya Ma’am and clear their doubts in the Q&A session. This webinar is absolutely free and only requires prior registration.

    Date: 10 November (Wednesday)

    Time: 3 P.M

    About Sukanya Rana Ma’am

    Sukanya ma’am has the experience of 4 mains and 2 interviews in UPSC. She has also appeared in the State PCS interview. Before being a mentor at Civilsdaily, she worked as an officer in a public sector bank. Sukanya Rana Ma’am is passionate about guiding future officers in finding success.

    As an aspirant, she consistently scored 100+ marks in Ethics paper. Notably, in 2019 her marks were 140 in GS 4. Under her mentorship, many Smash Mains 2020 students were able to secure 110+ marks.

    ENROLL HERE TO ATTEND FREE ETHICS WEBINAR BY SUKANYA RANA MAAM

  • [Yojana Archive] Energy Security: Nuclear Power

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    October 2021: Science and Technology

    Aspects of Energy Security

    • Energy security means consistent availability of sufficient energy in various forms at affordable prices.
    • These conditions must prevail over a longer period of time if energy is to contribute to sustainable development.
    • India is one of the world’s largest energy consumers and currently relies on importing fuels to a significant extent.

    India’s energy mix

    • The major fuel in India’s energy mix is coal 55%, a major portion of which is produced domestically.
    • Nuclear energy makes up about 3%, and renewable energy sources about 20%.

    Why focus on nuclear energy?

    • There is a huge gap between energy demand and energy supply in India, due to its rapidly growing economy.
    • Nuclear energy is considered by many as being the only source of energy suitable to support continuous industrialization and urbanization.

    India’s Nuclear Program

    • India embarked on its commercial nuclear power production in 1969 with the commissioning of two boiling water reactors (BWR) of 210 MWe capacities each.
    • India’s nuclear power program was conceived to be a closed fuel cycle, to be achieved in three sequential stages.
    • Dr Homi J Bhabha, who is regarded as the father of the Indian nuclear power programme, who envisioned the roadmap of the three-stage nuclear energy:

    First stage: Pressurized Heavy Water Reactors (PHWRs) will be used to produce energy from natural uranium. Besides producing energy, it will produce fissile plutonium (Pu)-239.

    Second stage: It involves using the indigenous Fast Breeder Reactor technology fuelled by Pu-239 to produce energy and more of Pu-239.  By the end of the second stage of the cycle, the reactor would have produced more fissile material than it would have consumed, thus earning the name “Breeder.”

    Third stage: It would involve the use of Pu-239 recovered from the second stage, in combination with thorium-232, to produce energy and U-233 — another fissile material — using Thermal Breeders. This production of U-233 from thorium-232 would complete the cycle.

    Why was 3 stage program envisaged?

    • These stages feed into each other in such a way that the spent fuel generated from one stage of the cycle is reprocessed and used in the next.  
    • It was designed to breed fuel and to minimize the generation of nuclear waste.
    • The ultimate objective is to utilize the country’s vast reserves of thorium-232. India has the world’s third-largest reserves of thorium.
    • Thorium, however, cannot be used as a fuel in its natural state. It needs to be converted into its usable “fissile” form after a series of reactions.
    • Hence, to eventually produce nuclear power from its thorium reserves, three-stage nuclear program was envisioned.

    Nuclear Reactors in India

    Nuclear Power Corporation of India Ltd is the public sector enterprise, under the Department of Atomic Energy, entrusted with the task of nuclear power generation in the country.

    Currently, there are 22 operational nuclear reactors in India with a total installed capacity of 6780 Mwe. These are:

    • Tarapur 1 & 2 (BWR) – 2X160 MW;
    • Rajasthan 1 to 6 (PHWR) – 100 +200 + 4X220 MW
    • Madras 1 & 2 (PHWR) – 2X220 MW;
    • Kudankulam 1 & 2 (PWR) – 2X1000 MW
    • Narora 1 & 2 (PHWR) – 2X220 MW;
    • Tarapur 3 & 4 (PHWR) – 2X540 MW
    • Kaiga 1 to 4 ((PHWR) – 4X220 MW;
    • Kakrapar 1 & 2 (PHWR) – 2X220 MW

    Projects under construction

    Relevance of Nuclear Energy

    • Non-renewable sources: Currently, India draws nearly 63 per cent of its total energy generation from thermal sources. Of this, nearly 55 per cent is met from coal and the rest from gas, with a minuscule amount from oil-fired plants.
    • Import dependence: India imports a significant part of its fossil fuels which raises economic and strategic vulnerabilities.
    • Emission reduction: India’s per capita carbon emissions stand at 1-1.2 tons, compared to 20 tons per capita of the US. If a growing Indian economy continues to rely on coal, carbon emissions are bound to rise.
    • Limitations of Renewable Energy: Solar and wind energy generation is land-intensive. Solar plants carry a dependence on imported technology.  Another solar and wind power generation related handicap is in energy storage, which makes them unsuitable as a baseload source of electricity.

    Conclusion

    • India is a developing nation and its economy is dominated by the manufacturing and service sectors which are energy-intensive.
    • Its power generation capacity has increased a hundred-fold since independence, and it is today the third-largest producer of electricity in the world, are applaudable developments.
    • India needs to scale up electricity production to assure a reasonable quality of life for citizens.
    • Such requirements make the choice for India, not between nuclear and renewable, but to include all available sources.

  • International law as a means to advance national security interests

    Context

    Military experts, international relations academics, and practitioners like retired diplomats dominate the debates on global security in India. International lawyers are largely absent in these debates despite security issues being placed within the framework of international law.

    Using international law to further security interests

    In recent times, several examples demonstrate India’s failure to use an international law-friendly vocabulary to articulate its security interests.

    • First, India struck the terror camps in Pakistan in February 2019, after the Pulwama attack India did not invoke the right to self-defence; rather, it relied on a contested doctrine of ‘non-military pre-emptive action’.
    • Second, after the Pulwama attack, India decided to suspend the most favoured nation (MFN) status of Pakistan.
    • Under international law contained in the General Agreements on Tariffs and Trade, countries can deviate from their MFN obligations on grounds of national security.
    • Instead of suspending the MFN obligation towards Pakistan along these lines, India used Section 8A(1) of the Customs Tariff Act, 1975, to increase customs duties on all Pakistani products to 200%.
    • The notification on this decision did not even mention ‘national security’.
    • Third, India wishes to deport the Rohingya refugees who, it argues, pose a security threat.
    • India’s argument to justify this deportation is that it is not a signatory to the Refugee Convention.
    • This is a weak argument since India is bound by the principle of non-refoulment.
    • National security is one of the exceptions to the non-refoulment principle in international refugee law.
    • If India wishes to deport the Rohingya, it should develop a case on these lines showing how they constitute a national security threat.
    • Fourth, to put pressure on the Taliban regime to serve India’s interest, India has rarely used international law.
    •  India could have made a case for the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) using its implied powers under international law to temporarily suspend Afghanistan from SAARC’s membership.

    Reasons for international law remaining at the margins

    • First, there is marginal involvement of international lawyers in foreign policymaking.
    • The Legal and Treaties Division of the Ministry of External Affairs, which advises the government on international law matters, is both understaffed and largely ignored on policy matters.
    • Second, apart from the External Affairs Ministry, there are several other Ministries like Commerce and Finance that also deal with different facets of international law.
    • They have negligible expertise in international law.
    • Third, there has been systemic neglect of the study of international law.
    • Fourth, many of the outstanding international law scholars that India has produced prefer to converse with domain experts only.

    Way forward

    • If India wishes to emerge as a global power, it has to make use of ‘lawfare’ i.e., use law as a weapon of national security.
    • To mainstream international law in foreign policymaking, India should invest massively in building its capacity on international law.

    Conclusion

    Notwithstanding the central role that international law plays in security matters, India has failed to fully appreciate the usage of international law to advance its national security interests.

     

    Back2Basics: Non-refoulement principle

    • The principle of non-refoulement constitutes the cornerstone of international refugee protection.
    • It is enshrined in Article 33 of the 1951 Convention, which is also binding on States Party to the 1967 Protocol.
    • Article 33(1) of the 1951 Convention provides:

    “No Contracting State shall expel or return (“refouler”) a refugee in any manner whatsoever to the frontiers of territories where his [or her] life or freedom would be threatened on account of his [or her] race, religion, nationality, membership of a particular social group or political opinion.”

  • Beyond the Basics: How to Write Above-Average Answers for GS4 Ethics?|| Free Webinar By 140 scorer Sukanya Rana Ma’am || Limited Seats Only, Reserve Your Spot Now

    Beyond the Basics: How to Write Above-Average Answers for GS4 Ethics?|| Free Webinar By 140 scorer Sukanya Rana Ma’am || Limited Seats Only, Reserve Your Spot Now

    enroll here to attend free ethics webinar by sukanya rana maam

    Every aspirant studies the same standard book for Ethics and gets the same time during exam. And yet, only a few score above 110+ while others don’t. Why? 

    Answer writing for GS4 Ethics is not an inborn talent, it is a skill you can master with the right approach and guidance.

    Join Sukanya Rana Ma’am as she takes you through the advanced nuances of GS4 Ethics and solves a few case studies in the free webinar on 10 November (Wednesday)

    Why Should you Attend this Webinar?

    Every time and every year almost 90% of the GS4 questions come from topics covered in standard books. This is unlike your GS2 and GS3 papers. Hence, it has the least syllabus out of all the papers. The challenges faced by most aspirants in Ethics is not syllabus coverage.

    But writing what is covered in the standard books alone won’t fetch you extra marks. Do you think most of your time is spent understanding the case study than framing an answer for it? Do you want ready-made answers in your mind and write as you go?

    Then this free webinar is the for you! Advance your possibility of success by learning from Sukanya Rana Ma’am who scored 140 in 2019 Ethics paper.

    What will you Learn in this Webinar?

    1. Five years paper analysis of Ethics. What are the trends you shouldn’t miss?

    2. Get an extra edge in your answers. How to have an analytical approach in your answers?

    3. The 3 common types of questions asked in the exam. What are they?

    4. The trickier aspects of the exam. How to answer quote based questions?

    5. Time-management techniques for GS4 Ethics. How not to compromise quality in your answers?

    ENROLL HERE TO ATTEND FREE ETHICS WEBINAR BY SUKANYA RANA MAAM

    Webinar Details

    All aspirants are welcome to interact with Sukanya Ma’am and clear their doubts in the Q&A session. This webinar is absolutely free and only requires prior registration.

    Date: 10 November (Wednesday)

    Time: 3 P.M

    About Sukanya Rana Ma’am

    Sukanya ma’am has the experience of 4 mains and 2 interviews in UPSC. She has also appeared in the State PCS interview. Before being a mentor at Civilsdaily, she worked as an officer in a public sector bank. Sukanya Rana Ma’am is passionate about guiding future officers in finding success.

    As an aspirant, she consistently scored 100+ marks in Ethics paper. Notably, in 2019 her marks were 140 in GS 4. Under her mentorship, many Smash Mains 2020 students were able to secure 110+ marks.

    ENROLL HERE TO ATTEND FREE ETHICS WEBINAR BY SUKANYA RANA MAAM

  • India-Eurasia Relations

    Context

    Delhi’s Indo-Pacific strategy has acquired political and institutional traction, thanks to intensive Indian diplomacy in recent years. It must now devote similar energy to the development of a “Eurasian” policy.

    Need for Eurasian strategy and challenges

    • This week’s consultations in Delhi on the crisis in Afghanistan among the region’s top security policymakers is part of developing a Eurasian strategy.
    • National Security Advisor Ajit Doval has invited his counterparts from Pakistan, Iran, Central Asia, Russia, and China to join this discussion on Wednesday.
    • Pakistan has declined to join.
    • Pakistan’s reluctance to engage with India on Afghanistan reveals Delhi’s persisting problem with Islamabad in shaping a new Eurasian strategy.
    • But it also reinforces the urgency of an Indian strategy to deal with Eurasia.

    Factors shaping India’s Eurasian policy

    • The most important development in Eurasia today is the dramatic rise of China and its growing strategic assertiveness, expanding economic power and rising political influence.
    • Beijing’s muscular approach to the long and disputed border with Bhutan and India, its quest for a security presence in Tajikistan, the active search for a larger role in Afghanistan, and a greater say in the affairs of the broader sub-Himalayan region are only one part of the story.
    • Physical proximity multiplies China’s economic impact on the inner Asian regions.
    •  These leverages, in turn, were reinforced by a deepening alliance with Russia that straddles the Eurasian heartland. Russia’s intractable disputes with Europe and America have increased Moscow’s reliance on Beijing.
    • Amidst mounting challenges from China in the Indo-Pacific maritime domain, Washington has begun to rethink its strategic commitments to Eurasia. 
    • Whether defined as “burden-sharing” in Washington or “strategic autonomy” in Brussels, Europe must necessarily take on a larger regional Eurasian security role.
    • More broadly, regional powers are going to reshape Eurasia.

    What should be India’s approach to Eurasia

    • Like the Indo-Pacific, Eurasia is new to India’s strategic discourse.
    • To be sure, there are references to India’s ancient civilisational links with Eurasia.
    • While there are many elements to an Indian strategy towards Eurasia, three of them stand out.
    • Put Europe back into India’s continental calculus: As India now steps up its engagement with Europe, the time has come for it to begin a strategic conversation with Brussels on Eurasian security.
    • This will be a natural complement to the fledgling engagement between India and Europe on the Indo-Pacific.
    • India’s Eurasian policy must necessarily involve greater engagement with both the European Union and the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation.
    • Intensify the dialogue on Eurasian security with Russia: While Indo-Russian differences on the Indo-Pacific, the Quad, China, and the Taliban are real, Delhi and Moscow have good reasons to narrow their differences on Afghanistan and widen cooperation on continental Eurasian security.
    • Indian collaboration with both Persia and Arabia: If Persia’s location makes it critical for the future of Afghanistan and Central Asia, the religious influence of Arabia and the weight of the Gulf capital are quite consequential in the region.
    • India’s partnerships with Persia and Arabia are also critical in overcoming Turkey’s alliance with Pakistan that is hostile to Delhi.

    Challenges

    • Contradictions: India will surely encounter many contradictions in each of the three areas — between and among America, Europe, Russia, China, Iran, and the Arab Gulf.
    • As in the Indo-Pacific, so in Eurasia, Delhi should not let these contradictions hold India back.

    Consider the question ” Eurasia involves the recalibration of India’s continental strategy. India has certainly dealt with Eurasia’s constituent spaces separately over the decades. What Delhi now needs is an integrated approach to Eurasia. In the context of this, examine the challenges in India’s engagement with Eurasia and suggest the elements that should form part of India’s strategy towards Eurasia.”

    Conclusion

    The current flux in Eurasian geopolitics will lessen some of the current contradictions and generate some new antinomies in the days ahead. The key for India lies in greater strategic activism that opens opportunities in all directions in Eurasia.

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