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  • Punjab farmers create Bio-Enzymes from Kinnow

    Some farmers in Punjab, especially in the Kinnow belt, have started making Bio-Enzymes (BEs) from this waste fruit — peel and ‘D’ grade, very small kinnows.

    What is a Kinnow?

    • The ‘Kinnow’ is a high yield citrus fruit cultivated extensively in the wider Punjab region of India and Pakistan.
    • It is a year-long duration crop and the main harvesting period is from November-end to March.
    • It looks similar to orange but is smaller in size.

    Agricultural significance of Kinnows

    • Fallen fruit is a major challenge for kinnow farmers in the state as one needs to dig up small pits to bury them, otherwise the fallen fruit rot and invite a fly attack on the healthy fruit still on the plants.
    • But now, some farmers are using this waste kinnow to improve the pH level and soil fertility of their land by making BEs from this waste fruit.

    What are Bio-Enzymes?

    • Chemically, the Bio Enzymes are a mixture of complex organic substances such as proteins, salts and other materials that are by-products of the bacteria/yeast.
    • They produced through fermentation of organic waste including various fruits, vegetable peels and flowers, by mixing in sugar, jaggery/molasses and water.
    • BE’s also have a lot of usage in our daily lives. They can be used as natural cleansers.

    Benefits offered by BEs

    • BEs have a lot of good microbes and one of the major methods which helps overall improvement of our ecology.
    • It helps in mitigating the imbalance occurred due to overuse of chemicals, in our soil, air and water.
    • In a state like Punjab where water table is depleting fast and water contamination is also major issue, BEs can bring the soil back to life.
    • It helps in better water recharging and also stops the contamination of water by improving the health of soil.

     

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  • What is the Lucy Mission?

    The NASA has launched Lucy, the spacecraft on a 12-year cruise to look back into the origins of the solar system through Trojans.

    Lucy Mission

    • Lucy will fly by eight Jupiter asteroids—seven Trojans and one main-belt asteroid — over the next 12 years.
    • It is NASA’s first single spacecraft mission in history to explore so many different asteroids.
    • Lucy will run on solar power out to 850 million kilometers away from the Sun.
    • This makes it the farthest-flung solar powered spacecraft ever, according to NASA.

    What is Jupiter Trojan Asteroids?

    • Simply known as Trojans, they are a large group of asteroids that share Jupiter’s orbit around the Sun.
    • Thousands of such asteroids exist in a gravitationally stable space.
    • The swarms lead and follow the planet Jupiter along its orbit around the Sun.

    What exactly are Trojans?

    • Lucy’s Trojan destinations are trapped near Jupiter’s Lagrange (L) points, which are gravitationally stable locations — it is where the gravity from the Sun and from Jupiter cancel each other out.
    • This means their orbits are stable and the Trojans are trapped in the space between.
    • This also means that asteroids are as far away from Jupiter as they are from the Sun.
    • Jupiter’s leading and trailing Lagrangian points (L4 and L5) have been stable over the age of the solar system.
    • This means that their orbits have accumulated many, many asteroids.
    • It makes sense to call a Trojan a co-orbital object, which moves around one of the two stable Lagrangian points.

    When and how were they discovered?

    • It took many a scientist to understand Trojans, and subsequently, name them so.
    • A German astro-photographer in 1906 made an important discovery: An asteroid with a particularly unusual orbit. As Jupiter moved, this asteroid remained ahead of Jupiter.
    • It was observed that the asteroid was nearly 60 degrees in front of Jupiter.

    Students with engineering background would better understand who Lagrange was. Rest need not care.

    Lagrange’s propositions

    • This specific position of a peculiar behaviour was predicted by the Italian-French mathematician Joseph-Louis Lagrange over 100 years earlier.
    • Lagrange had argued that if a small celestial body is placed at one of two stable points in a planet’s orbit around the Sun (the L4 and L5), the asteroid would remain stationary from the planet’s perspective.
    • This is due to the combined gravitational forces of the planet and the Sun.
    • Thus, Lagrange’s prediction acquired credibility. More such asteroids were discovered over subsequent months in Jupiter’s Lagrange point L5.

    Behind the name: Lucy

    • It is the fossil of a hominin that lived 3.2 million years ago.
    • She is known to be one of the most famous pre-human fossil in history.
    • Nearly 40 per cent of the fossilised skeleton of this hominin was discovered in 1974 by a team of paleoanthropologists led by Donald Johanson.
    • The name was inspired from the famous Beatles song “Lucy in the Sky With Diamonds,” which Johanson’s team listened to at camp the night of their discovery.

     

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    Back2Basics: Lagrange Points

    • Lagrange points are positions in space where objects sent there tend to stay put.
    • They are named after Italian-French mathematician Josephy-Louis Lagrange.
    • At Lagrange points, the gravitational pull of two large masses precisely equals the centripetal force required for a small object to move with them.
    • These points in space can be used by spacecraft to reduce the fuel consumption needed to remain in position.
    • There are five special points where a small mass can orbit in a constant pattern with two larger masses.

     

  • Places in news: Mawsmai Cave

    A micro snail species named Georissa mawsmaiensis has recently been discovered from Mawsmai, a limestone cave in Meghalaya, 170 years after the last such discovery was made.

    Georissa mawsmaiensis

    • Georissa is found in soil or subterranean habitats in lowland tropical forest as well as high altitude evergreen forests or on rock surfaces rich in calcium.
    • The members of the Georissa genus are widely distributed across and reported from Africa, Asia, and the Pacific.
    • However, they are confined to microhabitats consisting of limestone caves or karst landscapes formed by the dissolution of limestone.

    About Mawsmai Cave

    • The Mawsmai cave is situated in the small village of Mawsmai, around four kilometres from Cherrapunjee (Sohra) in the East Khasi Hills district of Meghalaya.
    • It is located at an altitude of 1,195 metres above sea level and is indirectly influenced by the streams of the Kynshi river originating from the East Khasi Hills.
    • The term ‘Mawsmai’ means ‘Oath Stone’ in the Khasi language. The Khasi people use the local term ‘Krem’ for the cave.
    • It is famous for its fossils, some which can be spotted looking at the walls and formations inside.
    • The longest is Krem Liat Prah in the Jaintia Hills, which is 30,957 m (31 km approx.)

     

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  • The outlines of a national security policy

    Context

    National security concepts have, in the two decades of the 21st century, undergone fundamental changes. Cyberwarfare has vastly reduced the deterrent value of conventional deterrents.

    Emergence of cyberwarfare

    • In the 21st century, after cybertechnology enters as an important variable in nations’ defence policies.
    • Geographical land size or GDP size will be irrelevant in war-making capacity or deterrence.
    • These fundamental changes are entirely due to the earlier 20th century innovations in cybertechnology and software developments.
    • Drones, robots, satellites and advanced computers as weapons are already in use.
    • Some examples of further innovations are artificial intelligence and nanotechnology.
    • Tracking those cyber warfare threat will need a new national security policy.
    • By credible accounts, China, recently, publicly cautioned Indians to sit up and take notice by using cybertechnology to shut down Mumbai’s electric supply in populated areas of the city, for a few hours.

    Four dimensions of national security policy

    • Objectives: the objective of the National Security Policy in the 21st century is to define what assets are required to be defended, the identity of opponents.
    • Although the novel coronavirus is perhaps accidental, it has completely destabilised peoples globally and their governments in all nations of the world over.
    • This is a preview of the kinds of threats that await us in the coming decades which a national security policy will have to address by choosing a nation’s priorities.
    • Priorities: National security priorities will require new departments for supporting several frontiers of innovation and technologies such as hydrogen fuel cells, desalination of seawater, thorium for nuclear technology, anti-computer viruses, and new immunity-creating medicines.
    • This focus on a new priority will require compulsory science and mathematics education, especially in applications for analytical subjects.
    • Strategy: The strategy required for this new national security policy will be to anticipate our enemies in many dimensions and by demonstrative but limited pre-emptive strikes by developing a strategy of deterrence of the enemy.
    • For India, it will be the China cyber capability factor which is the new threat for which it has to devise a new strategy.
    • Resource mobilisation: The macroeconomics of resource mobilisation depends on whether a nation has ‘demand’ as an economic deficit or not.
    • If demand for a commodity or service is in deficit to clear the market of the available supply of the same, then liberal printing of currency and placing it in the hands of consumers is recommended for the economy to recover the demand-supply parity.
    • A way to increase demand is by lowering the interest rate on bank loans or raising the rates in fixed deposits which will enable banks to obtain liquidity and lend liberally for enhancing investment for production.
    • If it is ‘supply’ that is short or in deficit compared to demand, then special measures are required to incentivise to encourage an increase in supply.

    Conclusion

    National security at its root in the 21st century will depend on mind-boggling skills in the four dimensions mentioned above.

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  • 21st October 2021| Daily Answer Writing Enhancement(AWE)

    Topics for Today’s questions:

    GS-1    Social empowerment, communalism, regionalism and secularism

    GS-2   Bilateral, Regional and Global Groupings and Agreements involving India and/or affecting India’s interests.

    GS-3    Science and Technology- Developments and their Applications and Effects in Everyday Life.

    GS-4    Case Studies

    Questions:

    Question 1)

     

    Q.1 In India, geography, identity and a sense of deprivation have historically combined to drive regionalism. Elaborate. (15 Marks)

     

    Question 2)

    Q.2 In terms of partnerships, India does not figure very prominently in the recently released “EU strategy for cooperation in the Indo-Pacific”. In the context of this, examine the strategy and its implications for India. (10 Marks)

    Question 3)

    Q.3 Explain the types of technologies and their advantages used in the manufacturing of solar cells. (10 Marks)

    Question 4)  

    Q.4 You come across a report in the newspaper wherein during the drive undertaken by a Municipality to demolish dilapidated buildings one of the government servants has been assaulted publicly by the local MLA. The MLA belongs to the ruling party in the state. The MLA has blamed the official for taking bribes to illegally demolish houses, which are in good condition in the pretext of the drive to demolish dilapidated buildings. The MLA has claimed that few families were living in the houses and that the demolition drive was at the behest of some vested interests to grab the land. (a) What are the issues involved in the case in your opinion? (b) What are the options available in your view with the relevant actors to redress their concerns? (20 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 11th  October is uploaded on 11th October 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, 11th October is uploaded on 13th October, 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 @Staff so that the mentor is notified about your answer.

    *In case your answer is not reviewed, reply to your answer saying *NOT CHECKED*. 

    For the philosophy of AWE and payment: 

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  • 21st October 2021 | Prelims Daily with Previous Year Questions

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    [WpProQuiz 815]

    [WpProQuiz_toplist 815]

  • UPSC Prelims-2021 || Topic wise Micro analysis & Cutoff || by Santosh Gupta

    UPSC Prelims-2021 || Topic wise Micro analysis & Cutoff || by Santosh Gupta

    Have you appeared Prelims-2021 and worried about the results? Santosh Gupta Sir does a hard hitting analysis of topics and subtopics by dissecting the entire paper. It will not only help you understand the mind of UPSC but also help you to be ready for the 2022 prelims.

    He will also be mentoring 2022 aspirants through his mentorship program #Smash Prelims-2022.

    Fill the google form here to get a call from mentor to help your issues here:-

    https://forms.gle/hUeBLuLD89MvCA4X6

    For any further details about his mentorship, reach out to him: 88829 14738

    He has mentored 25 students for prelims-2021 under Super-25 program out of 15 aspirants are scoring above 95 and expected to qualify for Mains.

    About Santosh Gupta sir:-
    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 Interviews 3 times. He has qualified UPSC EPFO and BPSC 56-59th also.

    He has been teaching and mentoring UPSC aspirants for the last 5 years with tremendous interest in environment and ecology and Polity.

  • [Yojana Archive] Gender Justice

    September 2021: “Nari Shakti”

    • In the mid-twentieth century, the French social philosopher Simone de Beauvoir wrote the magnum opus ‘Second Sex’.
    • Here she elaborated the secondary position of the women because of social-cultural factors.
    • She famously written that ‘one is not born, but rather becomes, a woman.’
    • She mentions that the ‘sex’ (biological difference between male and female) in the course of time becomes ‘gender’ (a socio-cultural construct).
    • It happens due to primary (family peer groups, community) and secondary (school, college, club, public library, offices, sports, etc.) socialisation.

    Recent Judicial Orders for Gender Justice

    • Marriage of IFS Officers: In IFS Services Rules, the permission of Govt. was required before the marriage of women officers, and married women were not allowed to join IFS. Hence, the Supreme Court (SC) quashed it outright.
    • Quashing of punishment for adultery: In Joseph Shine v Union of India case, the Section 497 of IPC (punishment for adultery) was struck down as unconstitutional, being violative of Articles 14, 15, and 21.
    • Ban on Triple Talaq: The SC had declared Talaq-e-biddar (triple talaq at the same time) unconstitutional & arbitrary (violative of fundamental right to equality).

    Factors attributing Empowerment of Women

    The Fifth National Family Health Survey (2019-20) talks of the following factors for the empowerment of women:

    • Ownership of physical assets: Mobile phones, bank accounts, land & housing;
    • Access to menstrual hygiene: Products such as sanitary napkins etc.
    • Participation in household decisions: Healthcare for herself, household purchases, visits to family relatives)
    • Employment: in formal sector
    • Gender violence: Emancipation from femicide
    • Marriage: under the age of 18 years
    • Educational attainment: More than 10 years

    Success of Policy Imperatives in this direction

    Sex Ratio: at birth in 2020 increased to 942

    Hygienic methods: Share of women using hygienic methods increased from 60% to 78% (2015-2020).

    Access to banking facilities: Due to PMJDY, women’s bank accounts increased by 28% (2015- 2020).

    Decision making: Participation in household decision-making increased marginally to 85%.

    Child marriage prevention: Share of women marrying before 18 years is about 30% (both in 2015 and 2020).

    Domestic violence: Domestic violence stagnating but during the Covid-19 lockdown it surged to 60%.

    Budgetary grant: Share of Union Budget spent on women-related schemes has stagnated at about 5.5% since 2009, and less than 30% of which is being spent on 100% women-focused schemes.

    Enhanced the maternity period: The Govt has increased the maternity period to 26 weeks under the Maternity Benefit (Amendment) Act, 2017 to benefit 18 lakh women workers in the organized sector.

    Conclusion

    • Sometimes economic development leads to gender equality but other times, empowerment (especially in decision-making) leads to gender equality, hence both are necessary.
    • However, as the Nobel Laureate Esther Duflo rightly points out, there should be a continuous policy commitment to equality for its own sake.
    • Hence, multidimensional efforts are needed.

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  • Is the Indian foreign-policy ship changing course?

    Context

    India plans to host an international conference on Afghanistan in the second week of November.

    Is the Indian foreign policy changing course?

    • All signs point towards a major calibration of the foreign-policy compass in recent weeks since the tumultuous events in Kabul two months ago culminated in the formation of an interim government by the Taliban.
    • As regards the way forward in Afghanistan, India has opted to align with the Anglo-American camp in the international line-up arrayed against the Eurasian axis of Russia, China and Iran.
    • While the US has an attitude of “You’re either with us, or against us”, vis-a-vis the Taliban, Russia, China, Iran and other neighbouring states give primacy to stability and security of Afghanistan.
    • Being a discontented party, unsurprisingly, India would have more in common with the revisionist powers — the US and the UK.
    • While the stated purpose of the participating countries is marking Afghanistan, it is the future that matters, being an epochal one that would transform the geopolitics of the region.
    • Thus, Delhi has moved up to the centrestage of the Quad.
    • In turn, the US accepts that the Quad ought to be “inclusive”. Global Britain is knocking at the door.
    • On its part, Delhi has displayed its comfort level with the AUKUS.
    • The historical Western experience of the EU and NATO moving in tandem to weaken a common enemy is being replicated with Asian characteristics.
    • A dual containment strategy is unfolding against China and Russia.
    • Thus, its short-lived dalliance with Iran is losing its gravitas and India has swung to the other extreme to identify with a new quadrilateral platform in West Asia, with Israel, UAE and the US.
    • India shrugs its shoulders as its “time-tested” friend, Moscow, bemoans the Quad and AUKUS.
    • This astonishing zigzagging in India’s regional policy takes the breath away.

    Challenges for India

    • India lives in its region and the Quad and AUKUS are of no help when it comes to Afghanistan.
    • Pakistan and China are riding high in the Hindu Kush; Moscow and Beijing have moved close in Central Asia which Washington is having a hard time in dealing with.
    • India’s much-touted “influence” in Kabul has turned out to be delusional.
    • Its own capacity to shape future events is virtually nil. These are the hard realities.

    Conclusion

    With the conference where India hopes to create an equivalent of the vajrayudha of the ancient Vedas which would allow India to reclaim its rightful place in the Afghan pantheon of gods and demi-gods.

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  • How to write the Perfect Essay for Mains? || Register for Free Webinar by Arpit Sir || Limited slots available

    How to write the Perfect Essay for Mains? || Register for Free Webinar by Arpit Sir || Limited slots available

    REGISTER HERE FOR FREE ESSAY ORIENTATION WEBINAR

    The Essay Paper in Mains makes or breaks your dream of becoming an IAS officer. Do you know a well-structured essay uplifts your rank by more than a 100 notches?

    While the performance of students is more or less the same in GS papers (especially 1,2,3), but in the case of essay the variation of marks is rather huge (in 60s to 160). Yes, a single Essay paper can create a gulf of 100 marks. 

    If you have not yet started writing essays or if you’re confused on how to write quality answers within a short duration, then this webinar is for you!

    Open to All, Attend the Webinar Essay FLT.

    The orientation session is about learning the basics of essay writing. We welcome all the sincere and serious aspirants who understand the value of scoring 120+ in the essay paper. This is the only paper where mere management of time and thoughts will fetch you marks more than any other paper. 

    Who must join the webinar?

    • One who is attempting Mains in 2021.
    • One who is going to attempt Prelims 2022.
    • Anyone who has a basic understanding of the UPSC syllabus.

    What can you learn from this webinar?

    1. Right sources to prepare Essay Paper for Mains. Is just reading GS Subjects and Current Affairs enough for Essay Paper?

    2. Understanding the type of questions asked. What are the 8 broad themes of essay?

    3. Brainstorming the topic before writing. What are the 10 parameters by which your essay will be evaluated?

    4. Organising your thoughts into paragraphs. How to divide the 1200 word essay into well-structured paragraphs?

    5. Framing the correct thesis statement. How to sound persuasive yet logical?

    6. Different types of introduction you can write for your essay. What kind of anecdotes work?

    7. Developing balanced main body arguments. How to be less biased with an interdisciplinary approach?

    8. Concluding the essay perfectly. How can you score additional marks over here?

    Arpit Sir will also hold a Q&A Session where beginners and veterans can clarify their doubts.

    REGISTER HERE FOR FREE ESSAY ORIENTATION WEBINAR

    So attend this webinar and start the very first step of essay writing in the right direction!

    Webinar Details

    Date – 22nd October 2021(Friday)

    Time – 4:00PM-5:00PM

    About Arpit Sir

    Arpit Sir has the experience of attending all the stages of UPSC CSE – prelims, mains and interview. He has been mentoring aspirants for the last 8 years. According to him, enjoying the process of preparation will prevent the fear of the end result.

    Register here for free ESSAY orientation webinar

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