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  • 6th January 2020 | Prelims Daily with Previous Year Questions

    [WpProQuiz 330]

  • Miyawaki Method

    Kerala Forest Dept. has adopted Miyawaki afforestation concept to be used in govt. offices, schools and puramboke land.

    Miyawaki Method

    • Miyawaki method is a method of urban afforestation by turning backyards into mini-forests.
    • It includes planting trees as close as possible in the same area which not only saves space, but the planted saplings also support each other in growth and block sunlight reaching the ground, thereby preventing the growth of weed.
    • Thus the saplings become maintenance-free (self sustainable) after the first three years.
    • It helps to create a forest in just 20 to 30 years while through conventional methods it takes anywhere between 200 to 300 years.

    The technique

    • The native trees of the region are identified and divided into four layers — shrub, sub-tree, tree, and canopy.
    • The quality of soil is analysed and biomass which would help enhance the perforation capacity, water retention capacity, and nutrients in it, is mixed with it.
    • A mound is built with the soil and the seeds are planted at a very high density — three to five sapling per square meter.
    • The ground is covered with a thick layer of mulch.

  • Smog Tower

    Recently New Delhi got its first smog tower (a prototype air purifier). In November, the Supreme Court had directed the Centre and the Delhi government to prepare a plan to install ‘smog towers’ across the capital to deal with air pollution.

    What is a ‘Smog Tower’?

    • Smog towers are structures designed to work as large-scale air purifiers.
    • They are usually fitted with multiple layers of air filters, which clean the air of pollutants as it passes through them.
    • The smog tower installed at Lajpat Nagar is capable of treating 6,00,000 cubic metres of air per day and can collect more than 75 per cent of particulate matters (PM) 2.5 and 10.
    • After the cleaning, the tower releases clean air.
    • The project is collaboration between the IIT Bombay, IIT-Delhi and the University of Minnesota, the latter having helped design a similar tower of over 100 metres in China’s Xi’an city.
    • The Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) will also be involved with the project.

    How it works?

    • The 20-metre (65 feet) high tower will trap particulate matter of all sizes suspended in the air.
    • Large-scale air filters shall draw in the air through fans installed at the top before passing it through the filters and releasing it near the ground.
    • The filters installed in the tower will use carbon nanofibres as a major component and will be fitted along its peripheries. The tower will focus on reducing particulate matter load.

    Other examples in the world

    • China, which has been battling air pollution for years, has two smog towers — in its capital Beijing and in the northern city of Xi’an.
    • The Xi’an tower is dubbed the world’s largest, and has reportedly brought down PM 2.5 by 19% in an area of around 6 sq km in its vicinity.
    • The 100-metre (328 feet) high tower has produced 10 million cubic metres of clean air every day since its launch.
    • On severely polluted days the tower is able to bring down smog close to moderate levels.

  • Drosophila

    Pune is set to host the fifth edition of the Asia Pacific Drosophila Research Conference (APDRC5) is being organised in the country for the first time by the Indian Institute of Science Education and Research (IISER).

    Drosophila

    • Drosophila is a genus of two-winged flies commonly known as fruit flies that are used in evolutionary and developmental studies.
    • It is a genus of flies, belonging to the family Drosophilidae, whose members are often called “small fruit flies” or pomace flies, vinegar flies, or wine flies, a reference to the characteristic of many species to linger around overripe or rotting fruit.
    • It is one of the most widely-used and preferred model organisms in biological research across the world for the last 100 years.
    • Several discoveries in biology have been made using this. Its genome is entirely sequenced and there is enormous information available about its biochemistry, physiology and behaviour.

  • Carbon Stock in Indian forests

    • The State of Forest Report (SFR) 2019 has shown an increase in the carbon stock trapped in Indian forests in the last two years.
    • However it shows why it is going to be an uphill task for India in meeting one of its international obligations on climate change.

    India’s carbon commitment

    • India, as part of its contribution to the global fight against climate change, has committed itself to creating an “additional carbon sink of 2.5 to 3 billion tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent” by 2030.
    • That is one of the three targets India has set for itself in its climate action plan, called Nationally Determined Contributions, or NDCs, that every country has to submit under the 2015 Paris Agreement.
    • The other two relate to an improvement in emissions intensity and an increase in renewable energy deployment.
    • India has said it would reduce its emissions intensity (emissions per unit of GDP) by 33% to 35% by 2030 compared to 2005.
    • It has also promised to ensure that at least 40% of its cumulative electricity generation in 2030 would be done through renewable energy.

    What is the relationship between forests and carbon?

    • Forests, by absorbing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere for the process of photosynthesis, act as a natural sink of carbon.
    • Together with oceans, forests absorb nearly half of global annual carbon dioxide emissions.
    • In fact, the carbon currently stored in the forests exceeds all the carbon emitted in the atmosphere since the start of the industrial age.
    • An increase in the forest area is thus one of the most effective ways of reducing the emissions that accumulate in the atmosphere every year.

    How do the latest forest data translate into carbon equivalent?

    • The latest forest survey shows that the carbon stock in India’s forests (not including tree cover outside of forest areas) have increased from 7.08 billion tonnes in 2017.
    • This translates into 26.14 billion tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent as of now.
    • It is estimated that India’s tree cover outside of forests would contribute another couple of billion of tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent.

    How challenging does this make it for India in meeting its target?

    • An assessment by the Forest Survey of India (FSI) last year had projected that, by 2030, the carbon stock in forests as well as tree cover was likely to reach 31.87 billion tonnes of CO2 equivalent.
    • An additional 2.5 to 3 billion tonnes of sink, as India has promised to do, would mean taking the size of the sink close to 35 billion tonnes of CO2 equivalent.
    • Considering the rate of growth of the carbon sink in the last few years, that is quite a stiff target India has set for itself.
    • In the last two years, the carbon sink has grown by just about 0.6%%. Even compared to 2005, the size of carbon sink has increased by barely 7.5%.
    • To meet its NDC target, even with most optimistic estimates of carbon stock trapped in trees outside of forest areas, the sink has to grow by at least 15% to 20% over the next ten-year period.

    Way Forward

    • There are two key decisions to be made in this regard — selection of the baseline year, and addition of the contribution of the agriculture sector to carbon sink.
    • When India announced its NDC in 2015, it did not mention the baseline year.
    • India’s emissions intensity target uses a 2005 baseline, so there is an argument that the forest target should also have the same baseline.
    • But there is a strong demand for a 2015 baseline as well, so that it results in some concrete progress in adding new forest cover.
    • The NDC specifically mentions that and “additional” 2.5 to 3 billion tonnes of carbon sink would be created through additional forest and tree cover by 2030 MoEFCC insist that tree cover outside forest areas must include agriculture as well.
    • India would also have to specify whether it wants to count the carbon sink in the agriculture sector in its target.

  • WHO prequalifies Serum’s low-cost Pneumococcal Vaccine

    Pneumococcal vaccine developed by the Pune-based Serum Institute of India has been pre-qualified by the World Health Organisation (WHO).

    Pneumococcal Vaccine

    • Pneumococcal vaccination is a method of preventing a specific type of lung infection (pneumonia) that is caused by the pneumococcus (Streptococcus pneumonia) bacterium.
    • There are more than 80 different types of pneumococcus bacteria – 23 of them covered by the vaccine.
    • The vaccine is injected into the body to stimulate the normal immune system to produce antibodies that are directed against pneumococcus bacteria.
    • This method of stimulating the normal immune system to be directed against a specific microbe is called immunization.
    • It does not protect against pneumonia caused by microbes other than pneumococcus bacteria, nor does it protect against pneumococcal bacterial strains not included in the vaccine.

    About the Vaccine

    • The pneumococcal vaccine PNEUMOSIL is a conjugate vaccine to help produce stronger immune response to a weak antigen.
    • Serum Institute had optimized an efficient conjugate vaccine manufacturing processes for its meningitis A vaccine (MenAfriVac).
    • It was used for manufacturing the pneumococcal vaccine. This helped the company reduce the manufacturing cost of pneumococcal vaccine.

    Why?

    • It pneumonia caused 1,27,000 deaths in India in 2018, the second highest number of child mortality under the age of five in the world.
    • In India, pneumonia and diarrhoea cause the most deaths in children under five years.
    • In 2017, pneumococcal conjugate vaccine was included in the under India’s Universal Immunisation Programme (UIP).
    • It has been introduced in a phased manner starting with Himachal Pradesh, parts of Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan.
    • The efficacy of the Serum vaccine was tested against an already approved pneumococcal vaccine (Synflorix).

  • [pib] UJALA & Street Lighting National Programme

    The Unnat Jyoti by Affordable LEDs for All (UJALA) and LED Street Lighting National Programme (SLNP) has completed five years of successful implementation.

    UJALA and SLNP

    • SLNP is the world’s largest streetlight replacement programme and UJALA is the world’s largest domestic lighting project.
    • Both have been spearheaded and implemented by Energy Efficiency Services Limited (EESL), a joint venture of PSUs under the Ministry of Power.

    Major accomplishments

    UJALA

    • UJALA project brought the market transformation in energy efficiency sector.
    • Prices of LED bulbs being distributed under UJALA programme have fallen to one-tenth of their rates in 2015 from INR. 310 to INR 38 in 2018.
    • The switch from inefficient incandescent bulbs to LEDs is helping families reduce their electricity bills while also enabling them to access better brightness in homes.
    • Through the UJALA over 36.13 crore LED bulbs have been distributed across India.
    • This has resulted in estimated energy savings of 46.92 billion kWh per year, avoided peak demand of 9,394 MW, and an estimated GHG emission reduction of 38 million t CO2 annually.

    SLNP

    • Under the SLNP programme, over 1.03 crore smart LED streetlights have been installed till date, enabling an estimated energy savings of 6.97 billion kWh per year with an avoided peak demand of 1,161 MW and an estimated GHG emission reduction of 4.80 million tonnes CO2 annually.
    • LED streetlights have been installed in various states across the country, helping generate approximately 13,000 jobs to support Make in India initiative.
    • This has enabled citizens to increase productivity at night and made roads safer for pedestrians and motorists due to enhanced brightness and reduced dark spots.
    • As these lights are automated, they switch on and off at sunrise and sunset thereby reducing wastage.
    • In the last five years, the LED streetlights installed have illuminated 3,00,000 km of roads in India, enabling public safety and energy efficient lighting.

  • 6th January 2020| Daily Answer Writing Enhancement

    The topics covered in the upcoming AWE on 7th January are:

    Q.1) Urbanization, their problems, and their remedies.

    Q.4) Case Studies

     

    Question 1)

    Reduced fertility and mortality rate leading to a rapid increase in working-age population poses several challenges. Discuss while suggesting a way forward. (15 Marks)

    Question 2)

    In India, debate on secularism often degenerates into a polarising polemic from both the sides- its defenders and opponents. In the light of the statement above, discuss the arguments made by the supporters of secularism and problems associated with it. (15 Marks)

    Question 3)

    Despite the reformative steps taken by the Government, there is still a large scope for improving the efficiencies in the grain management system under the National Food Security Act(NFSA). Elaborate. (15 Marks)

    Question 4)

    Developing countries are often very vulnerable to exploitation by multinational corporations. They support industrialization but lack of infrastructure is a major limiting factor. Further, without suitable laws and regulations, developing nations are ill-prepared for such endeavours. In their efforts to attract business, these nations often overlook the health and safety violations by the corporations doing business within their borders. Drawn by low-cost labour, new markets, and lower operation costs, corporations have little incentive to address environmental and human risks once they are entrenched. In this situation, there is an imminent threat of disaster. Discuss some feasible strategies to balance economic development and safety and security of people at large in developing countries with special emphasis on India. (15 Marks)

    Reviews will be provided in a week. (In the order of submission- First come first serve basis). In case the answer is submitted late the review period may get extended to two weeks.

    *In case your answer is not reviewed in a week, reply to your answer saying *NOT CHECKED*. If Parth Sir’s tag is available then tag him.

    For the philosophy of AWE and payment, check  here: Click2Join

  • Failed Prelims 2019! Don’t Worry CD Prelims Test Series 2020 can help you to rectify your Fundamental weakness

    Failed Prelims 2019! Don’t Worry CD Prelims Test Series 2020 can help you to rectify your Fundamental weakness

    Here’s the link to the Prime Prelims TS brochure. Click2download | To understand the points in depth, we recommend you download and read before joining us.

    Dear Students,

    Prime TS, being our legacy product always gets the best from us. Our oldest & most loved offering takes a giant leap this year with 6 key differentiators and 3 ‘exclusive’ features.

    We started way back in 2015 with Dr. Vipin Garg (then an AIIMS graduate, member of the founding team @Civilsdaily and now an IAS officer in Gujarat) working hand in hand with us on defining the key features of our Prelims Test Series. Over the years, Prime TS has evolved into a comprehensive learning & assessment companion for aspirants of all stages and preparation style.

    Mastering Prelims by Guided yet Flexible Goal Setting

    Here’s the question we have always challenged ourselves with: 

    What good is a test series if all it does is give you a set of 100 questions and backs them up with explanations? As good as the xerox version of the same, right?

    Why do most of us find it hard to make a cut at UPSC Prelims (in spite of the abundance of pirated versions of high-quality test series)?

    Short Answer: Lack of a goal based mentoring to ensure that you tie up your loose ends in a time-bound manner before going to the next mock

    Long Answer: The misconception that reverse engineering (learning theory from solutions) & recursive learning (solving the wrong questions again & again till you get them right) alone is enough for a rewarding mock practice is LETHAL. What you need is a way to correct your fundamental learning errors. You need to analyse what went wrong in the learning process (which can potentially wreck 5 similar questions in the future). You need someone to motivate you and take you back to the basics to correct the identified gaps. Right about that very moment. Not after the whole subject is done. Not after the prelims is lost!

    This answer defines the very foundation of our Prime Prelims Test series and here’s how we solve this problem for YOU:

    1. Evidence-based question making: The 3600 questions you face in our mocks have their relevance established in UPSC’s trend analysis. We focus on themes that are important as per UPSC so that we maximise your chances of questions overlap with the actual UPSC Prelims.

    2. Standardising & Tagging those evidence backed questions: Even for the most serious student, judging the quality of any TS is a difficult proposition. To ensure that we hold the end of our bargain, we have introduced 3 layers of tagging:

      1. Difficulty Level Tags: Level 1, 2, 3

      2. Subject/ sub-subject Tags: To ensure that your revision is focussed, we tag questions at deeper layers so that you discover your subject specific blindspots and rectify them

      3. Question Type Tags: Helps you understand the mix of questions and equip yourself in multifaceted question forming. Eg: Consolidation Questions, Comparative Questions, Interactive Questions*

    3. Tikdams for mastering the art of intelligent guesstimates: Think of तिकड़म as a more refined version of the oft-quoted word Jugaad. UPSC is an intelligent test taker. It not only wants to test your comprehension (of syllabus) but also your ability to perform under pressure (& lack of information). How would you solve a “factual” question which gives an illusion of the necessity of “rote-learning”? By ensuring that your core fundamentals are strong and then using the Art of Tikdams to go for the best approximation among the answer choices! We are the only test series which trains you on that!*

    4. SAMANVAYA – 1<>1 Mentoring for Goal Setting: SAMANVAYA adds the much-needed layer of mentor intervention to help you with personalised mini-goals to fortify the defenses in a time-bound manner. It takes help from point #1 & #2 to understand your preparation timeline and then works with you.

    5. CD’s Monthly Magazines: We walk the extra mile with Monthly Magazine Combo (12 months of all good content at CD). These magazines are a brand in themselves and have been a preference of Toppers for years. The monthly package contains curated information from these 6 areas :
      1. News + PIB (without oped),
      2. Op-eds
      3. SC Judgements
      4. Govt. Schemes in News
      5. Intl Org + Domestic Org
      6. Prelims Daily Compilations

    6. Advanced Lecture Series: PRIME TS, being our legacy product gets the best of us. While we leave no stones unturned to build your assessment profile, we also provide you with this crucial & independent module as a part of the package.

      ALS is yet another nifty way of revisiting the tricky, factual and sometimes technical aspects of the static syllabus. 60+ hours of videos – most helpful when you advance to the L2 & L3 tests and very rewarding for senior UPSC students.

    We have kept our pricing similar to previous year’s. The idea is to make it affordable for every single aspirant without compromising the quality & promise which comes with our name.

    It doesn’t matter if you plan to join an offline coaching institute or go on the self-study route, Prime Prelims is an investment worth making to ensure that your learning curve gets shortened and your test-taking skills delight you with a positive result 🙂

    Here’s the link to the Prime Prelims TS brochure. Click2download

    Click here to enroll for the Prime Prelims TS

    PS: We are in the process of preparing an updated dossier on the Art of Tikdams and will make it available for a free download soon. If you wish to download an older version of the document, pls click here.

    PS2: Once you join the programme, you will get a detailed time table on how to go about the reading material and how to space your assessment routine. Everything is planned out for you!

    If you wish to do a direct bank transfer, here are the details.

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    NOTE #1: BEFORE MAKING A DIRECT BANK TRANSFER, PLS CHECK THE FULL AMOUNT (INCLUSIVE OF TAXES). ONCE THE PAYMENT IS DONE, DROP A MAIL TO HELLO@CIVILSDAILY WITH YOUR TRANSACTION ID AND COURSE JOINED
    NOTE #2: CIVILSDAILY’S PARENT COMPANY NAME IS APEIROGON TECHNOLOGIES. DON’T PANIC!

  • [op-ed snap] Horror in Kota

    Context

    Death of 100 children in the month of December at a Government Hospital in Kota highlights the state of the public health system in India.

    Public health as a political agenda

    • After the incident of a large number of children in such a short span, Rajasthan CM appealed not to politicise the issue.
    • But it is high time the issue is in fact politicised.
    • The issue of public health needs to be pushed at the top of the political agenda.
    • Citizens must hold political parties accountable for the state of healthcare in the country.

    Poor infrastructure

    • Until the number of deaths crosses a certain threshold the poor state of infrastructure fails to attract the attention of the authorities.
    • This hospital came to light like Gorakhpur Medical college where scores of children had died only after media reports of 963 child deaths.

    Conclusion

    Every single death in a hospital ought to be seen as a failure that needs to be addressed urgently. For that, the government needs to make public health a priority.

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