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  • OPEC+ seeks consensus on oil output

    OPEC+ has failed to reach a deal on oil output policy because the United Arab Emirates blocked some aspects of the pact.

    About OPEC

    • OPEC is a permanent, intergovernmental organization, created at the Baghdad Conference in 1960, by Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, and Venezuela.
    • It aims to manage the supply of oil in an effort to set the price of oil in the world market, in order to avoid fluctuations that might affect the economies of both producing and purchasing countries.
    • It is headquartered in Vienna, Austria.
    • OPEC membership is open to any country that is a substantial exporter of oil and which shares the ideals of the organization.
    • Today OPEC is a cartel that includes 14 nations, predominantly from the middle east whose sole responsibility is to control prices and moderate supply.

    What is OPEC+?

    • The non-OPEC countries which export crude oil along with the 14 OPECs are termed as OPEC plus countries.
    • OPEC plus countries include Azerbaijan, Bahrain, Brunei, Kazakhstan, Malaysia, Mexico, Oman, Russia, South Sudan, and Sudan.
    • Saudi and Russia, both have been at the heart of a three-year alliance of oil producers known as OPEC Plus — which now includes 11 OPEC members and 10 non-OPEC nations — that aims to shore up oil prices with production cuts.

    Must read:

    [Burning Issue] Oil Prices and OPEC+

    Concerns for India

    • Rising oil prices are posing fiscal challenges for India, where heavily-taxed retail fuel prices have touched record highs, threatening the demand-driven recovery.
    • India imports about 84% of its oil and relies on West Asian supplies to meet over three-fifths of its demand.
    • As one of the largest crude-consuming countries, India is concerned that such actions by producing countries have the potential to undermine consumption-led recovery.
    • This would hurt consumers, especially in our price-sensitive market.

    Answer this PYQ in the comment box:

    Q.The term ‘West Texas Intermediate’, sometimes found in news, refers to a grade of (CSP 2020):

    (a) Crude oil

    (b) Bullion

    (c) Rare earth elements

    (d) Uranium

  • Black Hole swallows Neutron Star

    In an entirely strange phenomenon, astronomers have spotted two neutron stars being swallowed by different black holes.

    What are Black Holes?

    • A black hole is a region of spacetime where gravity is so strong that nothing—no particles or even electromagnetic radiation such as light—can escape from it.
    • Neutron stars and black holes are among the most extreme objects in the universe. They are the fossil relics of massive dead stars.
    • When a star that is more than eight times as massive as the Sun runs out of fuel, it undergoes a spectacular explosion called a supernova.
    • What remains can be a neutron star or a black hole.

    There is no upper limit to how massive a black hole can be, but all black holes have two things in common: a point of no return at their surface called an “event horizon”, from which not even light can escape and a point at their centre called a “singularity”, at which the laws of physics as we understand them break down.

    What about Neutron stars?

    • Neutron stars are typically between 1.5 and two times as massive as the Sun but are so dense that all their mass is packed into an object the size of a city.
    • At this density, atoms can no longer sustain their structure and dissolve into a stream of free quarks and gluons: the building blocks of protons and neutrons.

    What is the news observation?

    • Gravitational waves are produced when celestial objects collide and the ensuing energy creates ripples in the fabric of space-time which carry all the way to detectors on Earth.
    • The reverberations from the two celestial objects were picked up using a global network of gravitational wave detectors.

    What makes this strange phenomenon?

    • This is the first time scientists have seen gravitational waves from a neutron star and a black hole.
    • Previous gravitational wave detections have spotted black holes colliding, and neutron stars merging but not one of each.

    Why study this?

    • Neutron star-black hole systems allow us to piece together the evolutionary history of stars.
    • Gravitational-wave astronomers are like stellar fossil-hunters, using the relics of exploded stars to understand how massive stars form, live and die.

    Answer this PYQ in the comment box:

    Q.“Event Horizon” is related to (CSP 2018):

    (a) Telescope

    (b) Black hole

    (c) Solar glares

    (d) None of the above

  • [pib] Project BOLD

    The Khadi and Village Industries Commission (KVIC) has launched the unique Project Bamboo Oasis on Lands in Drought (BOLD) in Rajasthan.

    Project BOLD

    • Project BOLD seeks to create bamboo-based green patches in arid and semi-arid land zones.
    • It is a unique scientific exercise serving the combined national objectives of reducing desertification and providing livelihood and multi-disciplinary rural industry support.
    • 5000 saplings of special bamboo species: Bambusa-Tulda and Bambusa-Polymorpha specially brought from Assam – have been planted over 25 bigha (16 acres approx) of vacant arid Gram Panchayat land.
    • KVIC has thus created a world record of planting the highest number of bamboo saplings on a single day at one location.

    Why Bamboo?

    • KVIC has judiciously chosen bamboo for developing green patches.
    • Bamboos grow very fast and in about three years’ time, they could be harvested.
    • Bamboos are also known for conserving water and reducing evaporation of water from the land surface, which is an important feature in arid and drought-prone regions.

    Significance of the move

    • The project will help in reducing the land degradation percentage of the country, while on the other hand, they will be havens of sustainable development and food security.
    • The bamboo plantation program will boost self-employment in the region.
    • It will benefit a large number of women and unemployed youths in the region by connecting them to skill development programs.

    Answer this PYQ in the comment box:

    Q. Consider the following statements:

    1. As per recent amendment to the Indian Forest Act, 1927, forest dwellers have the right to fell the bamboos grown on forest areas.
    2. As per the Scheduled Tribes and Other Traditional Forest Dwellers (Recognition of Forest Rights) Act, 2006, bamboo is a minor forest produce.
    3. The Scheduled Tribes and Other Traditional Forest Dwellers (Recognition of Forest Rights) Act, 2006 allows ownership of minor forest produce to forest dwellers.

    Which of the statements given above is/are correct? (CSP 2019)

    (a) 1 and 2 only

    (b) 2 and 3 only

    (c) 3 only

    (d) 1, 2 and 3

    Back2Basics: Bamboo in India

    • Bamboos are tall treelike grasses.
    • With an amendment in 2017 in the Indian Forest Act 1927, the Bamboo has ceased to be a tree anymore.
    • Earlier, the definition of tree in the law included palm, bamboo, brushwood and cane.
    • The move aims to promote cultivation of bamboo in non-forest areas to achieve the “twin objectives” of increasing the income of farmers and also increasing the green cover of the country.
    • Bamboo grown in the forest areas would continue to be governed by the provisions of the Indian Forest Act.

  • Failure to comply with international judicial rulings hurts India’s image as an investment destination

    The article highlights the lack of immediate compliance by the Indian government in awards involving foreign investors.

    Why honouring award is important

    • An important factor that propels investors to invest in foreign lands is that the host state will honour contracts and enforce awards even when it loses.
    • But when the host state refuses to do so, it shakes investors’ confidence in the host state’s credibility towards the rule of law, and escalates the regulatory risk enormously.
    • To an extent, this has been India’s story over the last few years
    • Last year, India lost two high-profile bilateral investment treaty (BIT) disputes to two leading global corporations — Vodafone and Cairn Energy — on retrospective taxation.
    •  India has challenged both the awards at the courts of the seat of arbitration.
    • As India drags its feet on the issue of compliance, it harms India’s reputation in dealing with foreign investors.

    Antrix-Devas agreement cancellation dispute

    • The other set of high-profile BIT disputes involve the cancellation of an agreement between Antrix, a commercial arm of the Indian Space Research Organisation, and Devas Multimedia.
    • This annulment led to three legal disputes — a commercial arbitration between Antrix and Devas Multimedia at the International Chambers of Commerce (ICC), and two BIT arbitrations brought by the Mauritius investors and German investors.
    • India lost all three disputes. 
    • The ICC arbitration tribunal ordered Antrix to pay $1.2 billion to Devas after a U.S. court confirmed the award earlier this year.
    • After the ICC award, Indian agencies started investigating Devas accusing it of corruption and fraud.
    • Last month, the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) ordered the liquidation of Devas on the ground that the affairs of the company were being carried on fraudulently.
    • This has led to Devas issuing a notice of intention to initiate a new BIT arbitration against India, sowing the seeds for complex legal battles again.

    Implications for investment in India

    • A closer reading of these cases reveals that whenever India loses a case to a foreign investor, immediate compliance rarely happens.
    • Instead, efforts are made to delay the compliance as much as possible.
    • While these efforts may be legal, it sends out a deleterious message to foreign investors.
    • It shows a recalcitrant attitude towards adverse judicial rulings.
    • This may not help India in attracting global corporations to its shores to ‘make for the world’.

    Consider the question “What are the factors that are leading to more Indian business disputes being settled elsewhere? What are the implications of delay by the government in honouring the awards of the disputes?” 

    Conclusion

    As India aspire to be the global destination of FDI, it needs to burnish its image on the dispute resolution front by honouring the awards.

  • 5th July 2021 | Prelims Daily with Previous Year Questions

    [WpProQuiz 694]

    [WpProQuiz_toplist 694]

  • Four years of GST Regime

    The Prime Minister has lauded Goods and Services Taxes (GST) on its completion of 4 years and said it has been a milestone in the economic landscape of India.

    What is GST?

    • GST is an indirect tax that has replaced many indirect taxes in India such as excise duty, VAT, services tax, etc.
    • The Goods and Service Tax Act was passed in Parliament on 29th March 2017 and came into effect on 1st July 2017. It is a single domestic indirect tax law for the entire country.
    • It is a comprehensive, multi-stage, destination-based tax that is levied on every value addition.
    • Under the GST regime, the tax is levied at every point of sale. In the case of intra-state sales, Central GST and State GST are charged. All the inter-state sales are chargeable to the Integrated GST.

    Answer this PYQ in the comment box:

    Q.All revenues received by the Union. Government by way of taxes and other receipts for the conduct of Government business are credited to the (CSP 2015):

    (a) Contingency Fund of India

    (b) Public Account

    (c) Consolidated Fund of India

    (d) Deposits and Advances Fund

    What are the components of GST?

    There are three taxes applicable under this system:

    1. CGST: It is the tax collected by the Central Government on an intra-state sale (e.g., a transaction happening within Maharashtra)
    2. SGST: It is the tax collected by the state government on an intra-state sale (e.g., a transaction happening within Maharashtra)
    3. IGST: It is a tax collected by the Central Government for an inter-state sale (e.g., Maharashtra to Tamil Nadu)

    Advantages Of GST

    • GST has mainly removed the cascading effect on the sale of goods and services.
    • Removal of the cascading effect has impacted the cost of goods.
    • Since the GST regime eliminates the tax on tax, the cost of goods decreases.
    • Also, GST is mainly technologically driven.
    • All the activities like registration, return filing, application for refund and response to notice needs to be done online on the GST portal, which accelerates the processes.

    Issues with GST

    • High operational cost
    • GST has given rise to complexity for many business owners across the nation.
    • GST has received criticism for being called a ‘Disability Tax’ as it now taxes articles such as braille paper, wheelchairs, hearing aid etc.
    • Petrol is not under GST, which goes against the ideals of the unification of commodities.

  • 5th July 2021| Daily Answer Writing Enhancement(AWE)

    Topics for Today’s questions:

    GS-1   Geographical features and their location-changes in critical geographical features (including water-bodies and ice-caps) and in flora and fauna and the effects of such changes.

    GS-2 Functions and responsibilities of the Union and the States, issues and challenges pertaining to the federal structure

    GS-3  Indian Economy and issues relating to planning, mobilization, of resources, growth, development and employment. 

    GS-4  Probity in Governance: Information sharing and transparency in government, Right to Information, Codes of Ethics, Codes of Conduct, Citizen’s Charters, Work culture, Quality of service delivery, Utilization of public funds, challenges of corruption.

     

    Questions:

    Question 1)

     

    Q.1) Recently countries like Australia, Cyprus witnessed the most destructive forest fires ever. Are forest fires inherently bad ? What are the causes of uncontrolled forest fire? Discuss their the ecological, economic and social impacts. (15 marks)

     

    Question 2)

    Q. 2) The federal model in Delhi is different from other states-Centre relations. Do you think it requires and any changes? (10 Marks)

    Question 3)

    Q.3) What is middle income trap? How India can escape it by focusing on increasing productivity? (10 marks)

    Question 4)  

    Q.4) What do you understand by citizen charter? What important aspects should be included in a citizen charter to make it effective? (10 Marks)

     

    HOW TO ATTEMPT ANSWERS IN DAILY ANSWER WRITING ENHANCEMENT(AWE)?

    1. Daily 4 questions from General studies 1, 2, 3, and 4 will be provided to you.

    2. A Mentor’s Comment will be available for all answers. This can be used as a guidance tool but we encourage you to write original answers.

    3. You can write your answer on an A4 sheet and scan/click pictures of the same.

    4.  Upload the scanned answer in the comment section of the same question.

    5. Along with the scanned answer, please share your Razor payment ID, so that paid members are given priority.

    6. If you upload the answer on the same day like the answer of 1st June is uploaded on 1st June then your answer will be checked within 72 hours. Also, reviews will be in the order of submission- First come first serve basis

    7. If you are writing answers late, for example, 1st June is uploaded on 3rd June, then these answers will be evaluated as per the mentor’s schedule.

    8. We encourage you to write answers on the same day. However, if you are uploading an answer late then tag the mentor like @Swatantra so that the mentor is notified about your answer.

    *In case your answer is not reviewed, reply to your answer saying *NOT CHECKED*. Swatantra Sir’s tag is available, tag him.

    For the philosophy of AWE and payment: 

    CLICK HERE To join Daily AWE

  • Webinar Starts in 30 mins || How to Score 130+ with 90 days Complete plan || UPSC 2021 Prelims Preparation under the Mentorship of an in-Service Officer

    Register for a Live Webinar with Me – Date: 04 July 2021, Time: 3 PM

    Click here to register for the webinar

    In the great war of Mahabharata between Kaurava and Pandava, both wanted Krishna on their side. He gave both of them the choice of either his entire army, or himself as charioteer on a condition that he would neither fight nor hold any weapon. Duryodhana happily chose his army while Arjuna his guidance by choosing him as his charioteer.  

    There was a reason why Arjun chose Krishna, he was the person who provided the intelligence, the guidance, and knew the strength and weaknesses of Arjuna. We know the result of the Kurushetra war, which was won by Arjuna under his guidance. He guided Arjuna to avoid mistakes and strive for his best towards victory.

    Similarly, for UPSC aspirants those who have right guidance to clear Prelims, while others often commit mistakes that cost them success even at the first level i.e. the UPSC prelims. Around 95% fail at this level only. 

    There are Three mistakes of UPSC preparation- the mistakes which cost attempts and dreams:

    #Mistake No-1: Relying on short cuts and long cuts:

    #Mistake No- 2: Not developing conceptual understanding and interlinking: 

    #Mistake-No 3. Poor Assessment of own preparation i.e. Practice tests

    It is said that Insanity is doing the same thing again and again and expecting different results. Let’s do that differently this time.

    Understanding those mistakes and rectifying it helped me to score 145.34 and 142 in UPSC prelims GS paper when the cutoffs were 102 and 98 respectively and always above 120 plus in all attempts. 

    Fortunately, there is still around 100 days before you sit in Prelims- 2021. All you need is a mentor and a guide who understands your preparation as Krishna and helps you hit only the TARGET nothing else. Someone who himself has scored 120 plus always Prelims and understands part and parcel of the exam process.

    If you are willing to give your 110%, I will be available to ensure in the next 90 days  that you will come out of the examination hall with confidence and not with borderline cases, who waste next month in anticipation of prelims results, which could utilised for mains.

    So if you are determined and willing to work hard, then only you are welcome to webinar on this Sunday (04.07.2021) at 3PM. 

    Click here to register for the webinar

    In this webinar, you can expect to learn about:

    # 90 days concrete plan for Prelims-2021

    #Changed pattern of prelims- overall change and subject wise change

    #Subject specific focus : Polity, economy, ecology, history, geography, art and culture, S&T and IR: resources, methods, scope and utility in pre and mains

    #Current affairs: Learn keywords approach

    #How to revise effectively and not merely review?

    #Time Management skills and optimal utilisation of resources

    # Maximum benefit from Test series: Learn 3 fold approach to solve questions 

    #An interactive Q&A session with Santosh Gupta sir. 

    #Important Civilsdaily softcopies takeaway for exam preparation.

    -Not only ideas, but a concrete 90 days plan of execution.

    See you soon!

    A quick bit about Santosh Gupta:

    Santosh Gupta sir has scored above 140 twice in UPSC prelims and always 120 plus in all 6 attempts. He wrote all 6 mains and appeared for Interview 3 times. He has qualified UPSC EPFO and BPSC 56-59th also. He is presently working as Assistant Commissioner in Commercial Tax Department in Government of Bihar. He has been teaching and mentoring UPSC aspirants for the last 5 years with tremendous interest in environment and ecology and Polity.

    Click here to register for the webinar

  • Last Couple of Hours Left || How to Score 130+ with 90 days Complete plan || UPSC 2021 Prelims Preparation under the Mentorship of an in-Service Officer

    Register for a Live Webinar with Me – Date: 04 July 2021, Time: 3 PM

    Click here to register for the webinar

    In the great war of Mahabharata between Kaurava and Pandava, both wanted Krishna on their side. He gave both of them the choice of either his entire army, or himself as charioteer on a condition that he would neither fight nor hold any weapon. Duryodhana happily chose his army while Arjuna his guidance by choosing him as his charioteer.  

    There was a reason why Arjun chose Krishna, he was the person who provided the intelligence, the guidance, and knew the strength and weaknesses of Arjuna. We know the result of the Kurushetra war, which was won by Arjuna under his guidance. He guided Arjuna to avoid mistakes and strive for his best towards victory.

    Similarly, for UPSC aspirants those who have right guidance to clear Prelims, while others often commit mistakes that cost them success even at the first level i.e. the UPSC prelims. Around 95% fail at this level only. 

    There are Three mistakes of UPSC preparation- the mistakes which cost attempts and dreams:

    #Mistake No-1: Relying on short cuts and long cuts:

    #Mistake No- 2: Not developing conceptual understanding and interlinking: 

    #Mistake-No 3. Poor Assessment of own preparation i.e. Practice tests

    It is said that Insanity is doing the same thing again and again and expecting different results. Let’s do that differently this time.

    Understanding those mistakes and rectifying it helped me to score 145.34 and 142 in UPSC prelims GS paper when the cutoffs were 102 and 98 respectively and always above 120 plus in all attempts. 

    Fortunately, there is still around 100 days before you sit in Prelims- 2021. All you need is a mentor and a guide who understands your preparation as Krishna and helps you hit only the TARGET nothing else. Someone who himself has scored 120 plus always Prelims and understands part and parcel of the exam process.

    If you are willing to give your 110%, I will be available to ensure in the next 90 days  that you will come out of the examination hall with confidence and not with borderline cases, who waste next month in anticipation of prelims results, which could utilised for mains.

    So if you are determined and willing to work hard, then only you are welcome to webinar on this Sunday (04.07.2021) at 3PM. 

    Click here to register for the webinar

    In this webinar, you can expect to learn about:

    # 90 days concrete plan for Prelims-2021

    #Changed pattern of prelims- overall change and subject wise change

    #Subject specific focus : Polity, economy, ecology, history, geography, art and culture, S&T and IR: resources, methods, scope and utility in pre and mains

    #Current affairs: Learn keywords approach

    #How to revise effectively and not merely review?

    #Time Management skills and optimal utilisation of resources

    # Maximum benefit from Test series: Learn 3 fold approach to solve questions 

    #An interactive Q&A session with Santosh Gupta sir. 

    #Important Civilsdaily softcopies takeaway for exam preparation.

    -Not only ideas, but a concrete 90 days plan of execution.

    See you soon!

    A quick bit about Santosh Gupta:

    Santosh Gupta sir has scored above 140 twice in UPSC prelims and always 120 plus in all 6 attempts. He wrote all 6 mains and appeared for Interview 3 times. He has qualified UPSC EPFO and BPSC 56-59th also. He is presently working as Assistant Commissioner in Commercial Tax Department in Government of Bihar. He has been teaching and mentoring UPSC aspirants for the last 5 years with tremendous interest in environment and ecology and Polity.

    Click here to register for the webinar

  • || How to Score 130+ with 90 days Complete plan || UPSC 2021 Prelims Preparation under the Mentorship of an in-Service Officer

    Register for a Live Webinar with Me – Date: 04 July 2021, Time: 3 PM

    Click here to register for the webinar

    In the great war of Mahabharata between Kaurava and Pandava, both wanted Krishna on their side. He gave both of them the choice of either his entire army, or himself as charioteer on a condition that he would neither fight nor hold any weapon. Duryodhana happily chose his army while Arjuna his guidance by choosing him as his charioteer.  

    There was a reason why Arjun chose Krishna, he was the person who provided the intelligence, the guidance, and knew the strength and weaknesses of Arjuna. We know the result of the Kurushetra war, which was won by Arjuna under his guidance. He guided Arjuna to avoid mistakes and strive for his best towards victory.

    Similarly, for UPSC aspirants those who have right guidance to clear Prelims, while others often commit mistakes that cost them success even at the first level i.e. the UPSC prelims. Around 95% fail at this level only. 

    There are Three mistakes of UPSC preparation- the mistakes which cost attempts and dreams:

    #Mistake No-1: Relying on short cuts and long cuts:

    #Mistake No- 2: Not developing conceptual understanding and interlinking: 

    #Mistake-No 3. Poor Assessment of own preparation i.e. Practice tests

    It is said that Insanity is doing the same thing again and again and expecting different results. Let’s do that differently this time.

    Understanding those mistakes and rectifying it helped me to score 145.34 and 142 in UPSC prelims GS paper when the cutoffs were 102 and 98 respectively and always above 120 plus in all attempts. 

    Fortunately, there is still around 100 days before you sit in Prelims- 2021. All you need is a mentor and a guide who understands your preparation as Krishna and helps you hit only the TARGET nothing else. Someone who himself has scored 120 plus always Prelims and understands part and parcel of the exam process.

    If you are willing to give your 110%, I will be available to ensure in the next 90 days  that you will come out of the examination hall with confidence and not with borderline cases, who waste next month in anticipation of prelims results, which could utilised for mains.

    So if you are determined and willing to work hard, then only you are welcome to webinar on this Sunday (04.07.2021) at 3PM. 

    Click here to register for the webinar

    In this webinar, you can expect to learn about:

    # 90 days concrete plan for Prelims-2021

    #Changed pattern of prelims- overall change and subject wise change

    #Subject specific focus : Polity, economy, ecology, history, geography, art and culture, S&T and IR: resources, methods, scope and utility in pre and mains

    #Current affairs: Learn keywords approach

    #How to revise effectively and not merely review?

    #Time Management skills and optimal utilisation of resources

    # Maximum benefit from Test series: Learn 3 fold approach to solve questions 

    #An interactive Q&A session with Santosh Gupta sir. 

    #Important Civilsdaily softcopies takeaway for exam preparation.

    -Not only ideas, but a concrete 90 days plan of execution.

    See you soon!

    A quick bit about Santosh Gupta:

    Santosh Gupta sir has scored above 140 twice in UPSC prelims and always 120 plus in all 6 attempts. He wrote all 6 mains and appeared for Interview 3 times. He has qualified UPSC EPFO and BPSC 56-59th also. He is presently working as Assistant Commissioner in Commercial Tax Department in Government of Bihar. He has been teaching and mentoring UPSC aspirants for the last 5 years with tremendous interest in environment and ecology and Polity.

    Click here to register for the webinar

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