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  • Tamil Nadu legislature turns 100

    The Assembly chambers at Fort St. George, the 17th-century vestige of the colonial era, and Tamil Nadu’s seat of power have completed 100 years of existence.

    Do you know?

    Fort St. George is the first English fortress in India, founded in 1639 at the coastal city of Madras, the modern city of Chennai. The construction of the fort provided the impetus for further settlements and trading activity, in what was originally an uninhabited land.

    Elections in Tamil Nadu

    • Tamil Nadu witnessed elections in November 1920 as a result of the Montagu-Chelmsford Report and the Government of India Act of 1919.
    • The electors included only men, accounting for just 3% of the population.
    • The concept of dyarchy came into being with Ministers, who were Indians, gaining limited control over certain subjects, such as local self-government and education.
    • It was then that the office of the Chief Minister, also called Premier, got instituted.

    Key works accomplished

    • Reservations in public employment: For the first time, caste became the basis for appointment to public services. It took over 70 years for the Central government to follow the principle in its institutions for education and employment.
    • Above 50% cap in reservation: In December 1993, the scheme of 69% reservation for Backward Classes, Most Backward Classes, SCs and STs got legal safeguard. The law was subsequently included in the IX Schedule of the Constitution, through an amendment passed in Parliament, so that its validity could not be challenged.

    Other facts

    • Women’s suffrage: In early 1927, Muthulakshmi Reddy, the well-known medical practitioner and social activist, became the first woman member of the Council and, in no time, became the Deputy President of the Council.
    • Gopuram as an emblem: The symbol features a ‘gopuram’ (temple tower) – characteristic of south Indian temples has been adopted as the state emblem.
    • Change of name: During the two-year rule of the DMK founder C.N. Annadurai, the Assembly, in July 1967, adopted a motion renaming Madras State as Tamil Nadu, which later got the approval of Parliament.
    • Social reforms: It has passed several landmark laws for the welfare of women, such as Devadasi abolition, equal rights to women in property and the constitution of the State Commission for Women.

    Back2Basics: Montagu-Chelmsford Reforms

    Central Legislature thereafter called the Indian Legislature was reconstituted on the enlarged and more representative character.

    • Bicameral legislature: The act set up bicameral legislatures at the centre consisting of two houses- the Council of the States (Upper House) and the Central Legislative Assembly (Lower House).
    • Election and nominations: It consisted of the Council of State consisted of 60 members of whom 34 members were elected and the Legislative Assembly consisted of about 145 members, of whom about 104 were elected and the rest nominated.
    • Separation of power: The central and provincial subjects were demarcated and separated.
    • Diarchy: The Provincial subjects were further divided into Transferred Subjects and Reserved Subjects, the legislative council had no say in the latter.
    • Communal representation: The principle of separate electorate was further extended to Sikhs, Indian Christians, Anglo-Indians and Europeans.
    • Working review: It provided for the appointment of a statutory commission to report the working of the act after ten years.

  • Strategic Petroleum Reserves

    Under Phase II of the petroleum reserve program, the Government has approved two additional commercial-cum-strategic facilities at Chandikhol (Odisha) and Padur (TN) on Public-Private Partnership (PPP) model.

    Strategic Petroleum Reserves Programme

    • To ensure energy security, the govt had decided to set up 5 million metric tons (MMT) of strategic crude oil storage at three locations namely, Visakhapatnam, Mangalore, and Padur (near Udupi).
    • These strategic storages would be in addition to the existing storage of crude oil and petroleum products with the oil companies and would serve as a cushion during any supply disruptions.
    • The petroleum reserves established are strategic, and the crude oil stored in these reserves will be used during an oil shortage event, as and when declared so by the Government of India.
    • The construction of the Strategic Crude Oil Storage facilities is being managed by Indian Strategic Petroleum Reserves Limited (ISPRL), a Special Purpose Vehicle.

    Why need SPR?

    • The Gulf War in 1990 caused a sharp rise in oil prices and a massive increase to India’s imports.
    • During the subsequent 1991 Indian economic crisis, foreign exchange reserves could barely finance three weeks’ worth of imports while the government came close to defaulting on its financial obligations.
    • India was able to resolve the crisis through policies that liberalized the economy. However, India continued to be impacted by the volatility of oil prices.
    • In 1998, the AB Vajpayee administration proposed building petroleum reserves as a long-term solution to managing the oil market.
    • Three storage facilities were built in underground locations in Mangalore, Visakhapatnam and Padur.

    Construction of ISPR

    • The crude oil storages are constructed in underground rock caverns and are located on the East and West coasts of India.
    • Crude oil from these caverns can be supplied to the Indian Refineries either through pipelines or through a combination of pipelines and coastal movement.
    • Underground rock caverns are considered the safest means of storing hydrocarbons.

  • NASA-ISRO Synthetic Aperture Radar

    The NASA-ISRO Synthetic Aperture Radar satellite, aimed at making global measurement of land surface changes using advanced radar imaging, is proposed to be launched in early 2023, informed Earth Sciences Minister.

    Note the key features of the Mission. Every statement has a unique information.

    NASA-ISRO SAR

    • NISAR is a joint collaboration for a dual-frequency L and S-band SAR for earth observation.
    • NASA and Bengaluru-headquartered ISRO signed a partnership on September 30, 2014, to collaborate on and launch NISAR.
    • The mission is targeted to launch in early 2022 from ISRO’s Sriharikota spaceport in Andhra Pradesh’s Nellore district, about 100km north of Chennai.
    • It is capable of producing extremely high-resolution images for a joint earth observation satellite mission with NASA.
    • It will be the first satellite mission to use two different radar frequencies (L-band and S-band) to measure changes in our planet’s surface less than a centimeter across.

    Objectives of the NISAR

    • NISAR will observe Earth’s land and ice-covered surfaces globally with 12-day regularity on ascending and descending passes, sampling Earth on average every six days for a baseline three-year mission.
    • It will measure Earth’s changing ecosystems, dynamic surfaces, and ice masses, providing information about biomass, natural hazards, sea-level rise, and groundwater, and will support a host of other applications.
    • It would also provide data on natural hazards including earthquakes, tsunamis, volcanoes, and landslides.

    What are L and S Bands?

    • L band waves are used for GPS units because they are able to penetrate clouds, fog, rain, storms, and vegetation.
    • The S-band is used by airport surveillance radar for air traffic control, weather radar, surface ship radar, and some communications satellites, especially those used by NASA to communicate with the Space Shuttle and the International Space Station.
    • NISAR uses a sophisticated information-processing technique known as SAR to produce extremely high-resolution images.
    • Radar penetrates clouds and darkness, enabling NISAR to collect data day and night in any weather.

    What is collaboration?

    • NASA is providing the mission’s L-band SAR, a high-rate communication subsystem for science data, GPS receivers, a solid-state recorder, and payload data subsystem.
    • ISRO is providing the spacecraft bus, the S-band radar, the launch vehicle, and associated launch services for the mission, whose goal is to make global measurements of the causes and consequences of land surface changes using advanced radar imaging.

  • Stellar Mid-life Crisis: What ails the middle-aged Sun?

    Stars like our Sun can go through a mid-life crisis, according to new research carried out by scientists from IISER Kolkata.

    Stellar Middle Age

    • At about 4.6 billion years of age, the sun is middle-aged, that is, it will continue to live for roughly the same period.
    • There are accurate methods for estimating the age of the Sun, such as by using radioactive dating of very old meteorites that have fallen on the Earth.
    • However, for more distant stars which are similar in mass and age to the Sun, such methods are not possible.
    • One of the methods used is called gyrochronology.
    • There is a relationship between rotation rate and age, that is the rotation rate of a star slows down with age.

    How does it occur?

    • When the stellar wind escapes from the star, it carries away with it a part of the angular momentum of the star, which results in its slowing down.
    • The stellar wind has two drivers: one is the high temperature of the outer atmosphere of stars – the corona – which results in an outward expansion and hence plasma winds that emanate out.
    • The other is the magnetic field.
    • The magnetic field actually heats the corona and so when magnetic activity is strong the winds are strong and since wind carries away the internal (rotational) angular momentum of the star, it slows down its rotation.
    • This is called magnetic braking.
    • As the star ages, due to this mechanism, its rotation slows down and this relationship is used in gyrochronology to estimate the age of the star.

    Impact

    • This can lead to dramatic changes in their activity and rotation rates.
    • The study also provides an explanation for the breakdown of the long-established relation between rotation rate and age in middle-aged sunlike stars.
    • However, there is a breakdown of the gyrochronology relationship, because, after midlife, a star’s rate of spin does not slow down with age as fast as it was slowing down earlier.
    • Another intriguing fact is that the Sun’s activity level has been observed to be much lower than other stars of similar age.

  • [pib] Digital Payment Solution: e-RUPI

    The Prime Minister has launched e-RUPI, a person and purpose-specific digital payment solution.

    What is e-RUPI?

    • e-RUPI is a cashless and contactless instrument for digital payment.
    • It is a QR code or SMS string-based e-Voucher, which is delivered to the mobile of the beneficiaries.
    • The users of this seamless one-time payment mechanism will be able to redeem the voucher without a card, digital payments app, or internet banking access, at the service provider.
    • It has been developed by the National Payments Corporation of India on its UPI platform, in collaboration with the Department of Financial Services, Ministry of Health & Family Welfare, and National Health Authority.

    How does it work?

    • e-RUPI connects the sponsors of the services with the beneficiaries and service providers in a digital manner without any physical interface.
    • It also ensures that the payment to the service provider is made only after the transaction is completed.
    • Being pre-paid in nature, it assures timely payment to the service provider without the involvement of any intermediary.

    Benefits offered

    • It is expected to be a revolutionary initiative in the direction of ensuring a leak-proof delivery of welfare services.
    • Even the private sector can leverage these digital vouchers as part of their employee welfare and corporate social responsibility programs.

    Answer this PYQ in the comment box:

    Q.Which of the following is the most likely consequence of implementing the ‘Unified Payments Interface (UPI)’?

    (a) Mobile wallets will not be necessary for online payments.

    (b) Digital currency will totally replace physical currency in about two decades.

    (c) FDI inflows will drastically increase.

    (d) Direct transfer of subsidies to poor people will become very effective

  • Zoom Link Inside || Join Now || Samarth 2022 – Live Webinar by Ajay Verma || How to crack the UPSC IAS exam on the very first attempt? || Register here

    Webinar Date: 1st August 2021

    Timings: Join Now for Free

    Webinar Joining Link: https://zoom.us/j/94501231468?pwd=eVlUMnhmbnQ2MFhEaVIzdWJWdmpXdz09

    Meeting ID: 945 0123 1468
    Passcode: 632515

    REGISTER FOR THE WEBINAR ( CLICK HERE )

    As complicated as it may appear, the UPSC Civil services exam is more about carrying nerves. It’s also about maintaining discipline for the time being and till you succeed. Nor the subjects are esoteric or unheard of. But the character for one to be able to sacrifice the beauty called life and family is rare. Your stay in the game with the zeal to come out winning is very important.

    Philosophy aside, but keeping the practical elements in mind, let’s dig a little deeper.  Also, find out what it takes for one to jump that threshold and what our toppers have said. Why have they not been able to clear earlier and what changes have they made to succeed?. These are the most sought-after info and are available on the internet. But from an individual’s perspective, one can not ignore his/her inconclusiveness due to lack of a distinct plan or direction.

    Hence, we are coming up with an open session. To counter myths and give some facts which will help you see the light on the other side of the tunnel about the exam.

    In this open session, we are going to give a clear insight which is important for one to save time, energy, and effort. Which might otherwise be getting wasted in the wrong direction? This is important because for an individual the first year is the year with maximum energy, expectation from self, go-getter attitude, etc..

    Register for the webinar ( Click here )

    We tend to get lost in the sea of advice and sources of studies. To save one from such torrents of information, it’s sometimes said that we need to better know “what not to follow than what to follow”.

    Anyways such hypotheses aside, your time in this open session is going to be full of interaction. Some previous year aspirants are also expected to be present. We do expect that all your confusion about the exam will get clear.

    Attendees can expect some takeaways too in the form of softcopies relevant to the exam. They will be available to you via email once you have done the registration for the open session.

    In this webinar, Ajay Verma, Mentor Head at Civilsdaily will give you an overview:

    – What UPSC expects out of you?

    – Avoiding Mistakes that can cost you an attempt?

    – What to do to master the IAS-Exam?

    – How to clear the exam -Step-by-Step learning plan?

    – An interactive Q&A session with Current Students at Civilsdaily

    – How to clear the exam on the very first attempt?

    – Important Civilsdaily softcopies takeaway for exam preparation.

    A quick bit about Ajay :

    Ajay has firsthand experience with 6 Mains and 3 interviews of UPSC. He has gathered experience working as Mentor-Head at CivilsDaily for the past 3 Yrs and helped many cross the threshold.

    REGISTER FOR THE WEBINAR ( CLICK HERE )

  • Registration Closing at 5 PM Today || Samarth 2022 – Live Webinar by Ajay Verma || How to crack the UPSC IAS exam on the very first attempt? || Register here

    Webinar Date: 1st August 2021

    Timings: 7 PM

    REGISTER FOR THE WEBINAR ( CLICK HERE )

    As complicated as it may appear, the UPSC Civil services exam is more about carrying nerves. It’s also about maintaining discipline for the time being and till you succeed. Nor the subjects are esoteric or unheard of. But the character for one to be able to sacrifice the beauty called life and family is rare. Your stay in the game with the zeal to come out winning is very important.

    Philosophy aside, but keeping the practical elements in mind, let’s dig a little deeper.  Also, find out what it takes for one to jump that threshold and what our toppers have said. Why have they not been able to clear earlier and what changes have they made to succeed?. These are the most sought-after info and are available on the internet. But from an individual’s perspective, one can not ignore his/her inconclusiveness due to lack of a distinct plan or direction.

    Hence, we are coming up with an open session. To counter myths and give some facts which will help you see the light on the other side of the tunnel about the exam.

    In this open session, we are going to give a clear insight which is important for one to save time, energy, and effort. Which might otherwise be getting wasted in the wrong direction? This is important because for an individual the first year is the year with maximum energy, expectation from self, go-getter attitude, etc..

    Register for the webinar ( Click here )

    We tend to get lost in the sea of advice and sources of studies. To save one from such torrents of information, it’s sometimes said that we need to better know “what not to follow than what to follow”.

    Anyways such hypotheses aside, your time in this open session is going to be full of interaction. Some previous year aspirants are also expected to be present. We do expect that all your confusion about the exam will get clear.

    Attendees can expect some takeaways too in the form of softcopies relevant to the exam. They will be available to you via email once you have done the registration for the open session.

    In this webinar, Ajay Verma, Mentor Head at Civilsdaily will give you an overview:

    – What UPSC expects out of you?

    – Avoiding Mistakes that can cost you an attempt?

    – What to do to master the IAS-Exam?

    – How to clear the exam -Step-by-Step learning plan?

    – An interactive Q&A session with Current Students at Civilsdaily

    – How to clear the exam on the very first attempt?

    – Important Civilsdaily softcopies takeaway for exam preparation.

    A quick bit about Ajay :

    Ajay has firsthand experience with 6 Mains and 3 interviews of UPSC. He has gathered experience working as Mentor-Head at CivilsDaily for the past 3 Yrs and helped many cross the threshold.

    REGISTER FOR THE WEBINAR ( CLICK HERE )

  • Registration Closing at 5 PM Today || Samarth 2022 – Live Webinar by Ajay Verma || How to crack the UPSC IAS exam on the very first attempt? || Register here

    Webinar Date: 1st August 2021

    Timings: 7 PM

    REGISTER FOR THE WEBINAR ( CLICK HERE )

    As complicated as it may appear, the UPSC Civil services exam is more about carrying nerves. It’s also about maintaining discipline for the time being and till you succeed. Nor the subjects are esoteric or unheard of. But the character for one to be able to sacrifice the beauty called life and family is rare. Your stay in the game with the zeal to come out winning is very important.

    Philosophy aside, but keeping the practical elements in mind, let’s dig a little deeper.  Also, find out what it takes for one to jump that threshold and what our toppers have said. Why have they not been able to clear earlier and what changes have they made to succeed?. These are the most sought-after info and are available on the internet. But from an individual’s perspective, one can not ignore his/her inconclusiveness due to lack of a distinct plan or direction.

    Hence, we are coming up with an open session. To counter myths and give some facts which will help you see the light on the other side of the tunnel about the exam.

    In this open session, we are going to give a clear insight which is important for one to save time, energy, and effort. Which might otherwise be getting wasted in the wrong direction? This is important because for an individual the first year is the year with maximum energy, expectation from self, go-getter attitude, etc..

    Register for the webinar ( Click here )

    We tend to get lost in the sea of advice and sources of studies. To save one from such torrents of information, it’s sometimes said that we need to better know “what not to follow than what to follow”.

    Anyways such hypotheses aside, your time in this open session is going to be full of interaction. Some previous year aspirants are also expected to be present. We do expect that all your confusion about the exam will get clear.

    Attendees can expect some takeaways too in the form of softcopies relevant to the exam. They will be available to you via email once you have done the registration for the open session.

    In this webinar, Ajay Verma, Mentor Head at Civilsdaily will give you an overview:

    – What UPSC expects out of you?

    – Avoiding Mistakes that can cost you an attempt?

    – What to do to master the IAS-Exam?

    – How to clear the exam -Step-by-Step learning plan?

    – An interactive Q&A session with Current Students at Civilsdaily

    – How to clear the exam on the very first attempt?

    – Important Civilsdaily softcopies takeaway for exam preparation.

    A quick bit about Ajay :

    Ajay has firsthand experience with 6 Mains and 3 interviews of UPSC. He has gathered experience working as Mentor-Head at CivilsDaily for the past 3 Yrs and helped many cross the threshold.

    REGISTER FOR THE WEBINAR ( CLICK HERE )

  • STREAK DAILY INITIATIVE Day 6 WRAP UP (Free initiative by CD for UPSC Preparation)

    A dream does not become reality through magic; it takes sweat, determination, and hard work. 

    The Streak Daily Initiative is aimed to help out UPSC aspirants in their day-to-day preparation. You can follow the monthly, weekly, and daily timetables and continue this streak until you find yourself on the final list.

    So, let us look at Today’s activities.

    For full-time Aspirants

    1. Panchayati Raj and Municipalities

    For working Aspirants

    1. Tribunals
    2. Subordinate Courts
    3. Judicial review
    4. PIL
    5. Judicial Activism

    Target Assignment by Ravi Sir:

    Try these Prelims Questions :

    Q1. The fundamental object of the Panchayati Raj system is to ensure which among the following?

    1. People’s participation in development
    2. Political accountability
    3. Democratic decentralization
    4. Financial mobilization

    Select the correct answer using the code given below

    (a) 1, 2, and 3 only

    (b) 2 and 4 only

    (c) 1 and 3 only

    (d) 1, 2, 3 and 4

    Q2. The Government enacted the Panchayat Extension to Scheduled Areas (PESA) Act in 1996. Which one of the following is not identified as its objective?

    (1) To provide self-governance

    (2) To recognize traditional rights

    (3) To create autonomous regions in tribal areas

    (4) To free tribal people from exploitation

    Which of the above statements are true?

    A. 1,2 and 3

    B. 2,3 and 4

    C. 1,2 and 4

    D. all of above

    Q3. Consider the following statements:

    1. MGNREGA has in-built provisions for social audit

    2. Any resident of a panchayat can do a social audit who is part of the gram sabha.

    3. CAG conducts accounting and audit of PRIs by the 73rd amendment of the constitution.

    Which of the above statements is/are correct regarding social audits in India?

    A 1 and 2 only

    B 2 and 3 only

    C 1 and 3 only

    D 1, 2 and 3

    Q4. Which the following statements is/are correct with regards to District Planning Committee?

    1. It is provided by the 74th Constitutional Amendment Act.
    2. It consolidates the plan prepared by the Panchayats and Municipalities of the district.
    3. All its members are elected by the elected members of the Panchayats and Municipalities from amongst themselves.

    Select the correct answer from the codes given below:

    A 1 and 2 only

    B 2 only

    C 1 and 3 only

    D 3 only

    Q5. Consider the following statements about State Election Commission? 

    1. The State Election Commissioner shall be appointed by the Governor of the State.

    2. The State Election Commission shall have the power of even preparing the electoral rolls besides the power of superintendence, direction, and control of election to the panchayats.

    3. The State Election Commissioner cannot be removed in any manner from his office until he demits himself or completes his tenure.

    Which of the above statements is/are correct?

    (a) 1, 2 and 3

    (b) 1 and 2 only

    (c) 2 and 3 only

    (d) 1 only

    Q6. Which of the following statements are correct regarding Cantonment Boards?

    1. A cantonment board is established for municipal administration of defense personnel residing in civilian areas.
    2. The executive officer of the cantonment board belongs to Central Cadre.
    3. A cantonment board is created by the State Government but administered by the Central government on grounds of national security.

    Select the correct answer from the codes given below:

    A 1 and 2 only

    B 2 only

    C 1 and 3 only

    D 3 only

    Video Discussion of Prelims Questions by Santosh Sir:

    Try these Mains Questions :

    Q: Would you say that implementation of the Panchayati system has led to a real restructuring of the Indian polity? (15)

    Q: ‘Although District planning committees and Metropolitan planning committees have been provided, those remain mostly on paper.’ Comment. (10) 

    Video Discussion of Mains Questions by Sukanya Ma’am:

    Stay tuned with us for tomorrow’s targets.

    ——————————————————————————————–

    Visit our course page for further details

    Register on our course page to access Free Streak study material

  • India at 75 is ready for a sedition-less future

    Context

    Chief Justice of India N V Ramana has ignited a passionate debate during a preliminary hearing concerning whether “sedition” should be an offence at all, and how to prevent its misuse or abuse, were it to remain

    Issues with the sedition under Section 124A

    • Against fundamental right: The meandering meanings of expressions such as “disaffection” towards the government, “hatred”, “contempt” etc. constitute an unreasonable restriction on the fundamental right to free expression guaranteed under Article 19(1)(a).
    • Neither the framers of the Constitution nor the authors of the amended Article 19(2) included “sedition” as a ground for “reasonable restriction” to freedom of speech and expression.
    • Colonial past: CJI Ramana in preliminary hearings has pointedly asked the Attorney General whether “sedition under Section 124A of the Indian Penal Code is still required after 75 years of independence from colonial rule.
    • Prone to misuse: The lack of definition of terms used in the section leaves vide the scope for interpretation and thus rampant misuse and abuse.

    Way forward

    • Some law luminaries have found new stirrings of hope in the Supreme Court to strike it down.
    • Find means to prevent misuse and abuse: Alternative way,as the learned attorney general observed is to find constitutional ways and practical means to prevent the abuse and misuse of law.
    • Forbid rampant private complaints:  A most immediate step is to forbid rampant private complaints by citizens and authorise only very senior police officials to take appropriate action.

    Conclusion

    What Gandhiji said — the law may not be used to “manufacture affection” under pain of a penal sanction — was as true then as it remains now. It is high time to realise that the law of “sedition” must go, even when it may strictly not even exist!

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