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  • Reciprocal Exchange of Logistics Agreement (RELOS)

    India is all set to conclude the bilateral logistics agreement with Russia soon while the agreement with the U.K. is in the final stages of conclusion.

    What is Logistics Agreement?

    • The agreements are administrative arrangements facilitating access to military facilities for exchange of fuel and provisions on mutual agreement simplifying logistical support and increasing operational turnaround of the military when operating away from India.
    • India has signed several logistics agreements with all Quad countries, France, Singapore and South Korea beginning with the Logistics Exchange Memorandum of Agreement (LEMOA) with the U.S. in 2016.

    Reciprocal Exchange of Logistics Agreement (RELOS)

    • RELOS gives India access to Russian facilities in the Arctic region which is seeing increased global activity as new shipping routes open up and India’s own investments in the Russian Far East.
    • In addition, it comes at a time when both nations are looking at significantly scaling up the already broad military-to-military cooperation.

    The RELOS is likely to be signed in a month or two while the one with the U.K. is in the final stages and should see a conclusion soon.

    Foundational agreements with the US

    • India has now signed all four foundational agreements with the US, LEMOA in 2016, Communications Compatibility and Security Agreement (COMCASA) in 2018 and Basic Exchange and Cooperation Agreement for Geo-Spatial Cooperation (BECA)in 2020.
    • While the General Security of Military Information Agreement (GSOMIA) was signed a long time ago, an extension to it, the Industrial Security Annex (ISA), was signed in 2019.
    • India now has access to encrypted communication systems from the U.S. under COMCASA and to geospatial information through BECA which cumulatively have been beneficial.
    • The agreements with the US and those with Australia and Japan have been especially beneficial as they also operate several common military platforms along with India’s increasing share of U.S. origin platforms.

    Back2Basics:

    BECA

    • BECA will help India get real-time access to American geospatial intelligence that will enhance the accuracy of automated systems and weapons like missiles and armed drones.
    • Through the sharing of information on maps and satellite images, it will help India access topographical and aeronautical data, and advanced products that will aid in navigation and targeting.

    LEMOA

    • LEMOA was the first of the three pacts to be signed in August 2016.
    • LEMOA allows the militaries of the US and India to replenish from each other’s bases, and access supplies, spare parts and services from each other’s land facilities, air bases, and ports, which can then be reimbursed.
    • LEMOA is extremely useful for India-US Navy-to-Navy cooperation since the two countries are cooperating closely in the Indo-Pacific.

    COMCASA

    • COMCASA was signed in September 2018, after the first 2+2 dialogue during Mrs. Swarajs’ term as EAM.
    • The pact allows the US to provide India with its encrypted communications equipment and systems so that Indian and US military commanders, and the aircraft and ships of the two countries, can communicate through secure networks during times of both peace and war.
    • The signing of COMCASA paved the way for the transfer of communication security equipment from the US to India to facilitate “interoperability” between their forces.

  • What is Wood Wide Web?

    Plants appear to be simple enough in their organization. Whether small shrubs or tall trees, all they seem to be made up of is leaves, flowers, fruits, stems, and roots. But simple they are not. Being rooted in one spot has required very special personality traits.

    Wood Wide Web

    • Trees in the forest share resources by using an underground network.
    • A scientist from the University of British Columbia, Dr. Suzanne Simard, revealed this network and called it the wood wide web.
    • In the wood wide web, mycorrhizal fungi colonize the plant roots, and their tiny fungal filaments, or mycelia, connect hairy root tips of different trees together.
    • Mycorrhizal fungi refer to the role they play in the plant’s root system—as symbionts.
    • These root-associated fungi are harmless to plants. Instead, they form harmonious symbiotic relationships with plants.

    An ancient association

    • The association between plants and fungi is ancient.
    • Fossils of plants from about 400 million years ago show the first evidence of roots, and these roots are fungus associations – rhizoids – suggesting that roots co-evolved with fungi.
    • One good example is species of Penicillium, the fungus from which Alexander Fleming isolated the antibiotic penicillin.
    • Fungus–root associations, called mycorrhizae, appear at first glance to be simple mutualisms that are beneficial to both.
    • The root-invading fungus gains nutrients made by the plant, and the plants get difficult-to-find minerals like phosphorus from the microbe. But the association is deeper.

    How does it work?

    • The wood wide web works by offering a win-win situation for all parties: mycorrhizal fungi and trees.
    • The fungal filaments transport nitrogen, phosphorous, water, and other hard-to-capture nutrients from the soil to the trees, in exchange for carbon-rich sugars made by the plants.
    • The fungi also help deliver substances from one tree to its neighboring trees.
    • By using the network, mature trees feed their seedlings with nutrients to boost their survival.
    • When a plant is sick or dying, it can allocate its nutrients to the other plants nearby through the wood wide web.

    Benefits offered

    • Bacteria that associate with roots are called rhizobacteria, and a very wide range of these species are plant growth promoters.
    • Like the fungi, mutualism operates in these relationships too. In exchange for sugars, these bacteria offer plants a wide range of benefits.
    • They may help plants ward off pathogens that cause diseases of the root. They may even trigger systemic resistance to a pathogen throughout the plant.

    Back2Basics: Symbiotic Relationship

    Parasitism

    • It is a type of interaction between two species that results in damage and harm to one member and benefit to another member.
    • Ex. As in the case of the tick-host relationship, the tick gains benefit by sucking blood while the host is harmed as it loses blood.

    Commensalism

    • In this type of relationship one species benefits without affecting the other.
    • Barnacles growing on the back of the whale, orchids growing as an epiphyte on some mango branch, cattle egret and grazing cattle in close association, Sea anemone, and the Clown Fish are some of the classic examples of Commensalism.

    Amensalism

    • In this relationship, one species is harmed while the other is neither harmed nor benefitted and remains unaffected.
    • When an organism excretes the chemicals as a part of the normal metabolism of its own, but which may severely impact other nearby species, this kind of relationship is seen.

    Mutualism

    • In this type of relationship both the partners benefit from one another. When similar interaction occurs within a species, it is known as cooperation.
    • Lichens a mutual relationship between algae and fungus. In this mutual cooperation, fungus gives protection and raw material for the preparation of the food while Green Algae synthesizes the food for both.

    Saprophytism

    • In this kind of biotic interaction, certain organisms live on dead and decaying organic matter.
    • Dung Beetles, Vultures, Fungi, Bacteria, Protozoa are the example of Saprophytism.

    Predation

    • In this type of biological interaction, a predator feeds upon its prey and in this type of relationship, one species is benefitted while the other is harmed.

    Competition

    • In this type of interaction both the species compete with each other for the resources like food, shelter, mating, and both the species get harmed out of the process of competition.

  • Visva-Bharati University

    The Calcutta High Court has directed that there can be no protest by the students within 50 meters of academic buildings at Visva-Bharati University.

    Visva-Bharati

    • Visva-Bharati is a central research university and an Institution of National Importance located in Shantiniketan, West Bengal, India.
    • It was founded by Rabindranath Tagore who called it Visva-Bharati, which means the communion of the world with India.
    • Until independence, it was a college.
    • Soon after independence, the institution was given the status of a central university in 1951 by an act of the Parliament.

    Its history

    • The origins of the institution date back to 1863 when Debendranath Tagore was given a tract of land by the zamindar of Raipur, zamindar of Kirnahar.
    • He set up an ashram at the spot that has now come to be called chatim tala at the heart of the town.
    • The ashram was initially called Brahmacharya Ashram, which was later renamed Brahmacharya Vidyalaya.
    • It was established with a view to encouraging people from all walks of life to come to the spot and meditate.
    • In 1901 his youngest son Rabindranath Tagore established a co-educational school inside the premises of the ashram.
    • From 1901 onwards, Tagore used the ashram to organize the Hindu Mela, which soon became a center of nationalist activity.

  • 6th September 2021 | Prelims Daily with Previous Year Questions

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  • Destroy Geography in Prelims 2021 And Kick-start Geography for 2022 || One session can transform your Geography preparation

    Destroy Geography in Prelims 2021 And Kick-start Geography for 2022 || One session can transform your Geography preparation

    Dear aspirants,

    You may be gearing up for Prelims 2021 or beginning your preparation for UPSC 2022, either way, one free session with Vikash Sir can transform your Geography preparation completely. 

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    Here’s what you can expect from the webinar:

    1. Don’t feel confident in Geography for Prelims 2021: You can excel in 5 days by cracking the nerve of all topic – The physicals of Geography
    2. Live solution and answering techniques for 2015-2020 Geography questions.
    3. Want to start GS Geography Pre+Mains 2022? Crack the syllabus with Vikash sir
    4. Live answer writing session for UPSC mains on Geography
    5. Know your allies in the UPSC battle – Focused resource exploration of NCERT, G.C. Leong (Ch 15-25), and Maps (Static + Places in news)

    Do not miss this opportunity to destroy Geography in your exam and score above the cut-off. The webinar is absolutely free. 

    Date: 5/9/2021 (Sunday)

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  • Cropping Patterns in India

    04th Sept 2021

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    Cropping Pattern in India

    Back to Basics: Cropping Pattern mean the proportion of area under different crops at a point of time, changes in this distribution overtime and factors determining these changes.

    Cropping pattern in India is determined mainly by rainfall, climate, temperature and soil type.

    Technology also plays a pivotal role in determining crop pattern. Example, the adoption of High Yield Varieties Seeds along with fertilisers in the mid 1960’s in the regions of Punjab, Haryana and Western Uttar Pradesh increased wheat production significantly.

    The multiplicity of cropping systems has been one of the main features of Indian agriculture. This may be attributed to following two major factors:

    1. Rainfed agriculture still accounts for over 92.8 million hectares or 65 percent of the cropped area. A large diversity of cropping systems exists under rainfed and dryland areas with an overriding practice of intercropping, due to greater risks involved in cultivating larger area under a particular crop.
    2. Due to prevailing socio-economic situations (such as; dependency of large population on agriculture, small land-holding size, very high population pressure on land resource etc.), improving household food security has been an issue of supreme importance to many million farmers of India, who constitute 56.15 million marginal (<1.0 hectare), 17.92 million small (1.0-2.0 hectare) and 13.25 million semi-medium (2.0-4.0 hectare) farm holdings, making together 90 percent of 97.15 million operational holdings.
    3. An important consequence of this has been that crop production in India remained to be considered, by and large, a subsistence rather than commercial activity.

    What are the types of cropping System?

    Different types of cropping systems are adopted on farms depending on the resources and technology available. The different & basic types of cropping System is explained below:

    Mono-cropping: If only one crop is grown in the land season after season, it is referred to as Monocropping. Example: Wheat will be planted year after year in the same field. 

    Crop Rotation: In this method, the type of crops grown in the field is changed each season or each year. farmers also change from crops to fallow. Example: Maize will be planted in the first year and beans in the second year. This Crop rotation system is a key principle of agriculture conservation as it improves the soil structure and fertility. It also helps to control weeds, pests, and diseases.

    Sequential Cropping: This system involves growing two crops in the same field, one after the other in the same year. Example: Planting maize during long rains, then beans during the short rains. 

    Inter-cropping: Growing two or more crops in the same field at the same time is called Intercropping. Examples: Planting alternating rows of maize and beans, or growing a cover crop in between the rows. 

    Mixed Intercropping: In this method, seeds of two crops are distributed or dibbling the seeds without any row arrangement. This method is called mixed intercropping. This method is easy to sow but makes weeding, fertilization, and harvesting difficult. 

    Multiple-Cropping: In this cropping system, farmers grow two or more crops on farmland in one year with intensive input management practices. It includes inter-cropping, mixed-cropping, and sequence cropping.

    Row Intercropping: In this method, both the main crop and the intercrop in rows are planted. The row intercropping makes weeding and harvesting easier than with mixed intercropping.

    Stir Cropping: This type of cropping involves planting broad strips of several crops in the field. Each strip will be 3–9 m wide. On slopes, the strips are laid out along the contour to prevent erosion. The farmer can rotate crops by planting each strip with a different crop in the next year. Example: Alternating strips of maize, soybean, and finger millet are planted. 

    Relay Cropping: In this method, one crop is planted and another crop, usually a cover crop, is planted in the same field before harvesting the first. It avoids competition between the main crop and the intercrop. Relay cropping uses the field for a long time since the cover crop usually continues to grow after the main crop is harvested.

    In Indian agriculture, three types of Cropping System is used. They are:

    • Mono-Cropping

    • Inter-cropping

    • Multiple-Cropping

    Factors Determining Cropping Pattern in India

    Cropping Pattern in India

    30 most important cropping patterns in India

    Specific Issues Related to the Cropping Pattern

    Crop Pattern Region/State Issues Related to Crop Pattern
    Rice-Wheat UP, Punjab, Haryana, Bihar, West Bengal, Madhya Pradesh. Over the years there is stagnation in the production and productivity loses.

     

    The main reasons for stagnation are:

    Over Mining of Nutrients from the soil.

    Declining Ground Water Table.

    Increase Pest Attacks and Diseases.

    Shortages of Labour.

    Inappropriate use of Fertilizers.
    Rice-Rice Irrigated and Humid coastal system of Orrisa, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka and Kerala. The major issues in sustaining the productivity of rice-rice system are:

     

    Deterioration in soil physical conditions.

    Micronutrient deficiency.

    Poor efficiency of nitrogen use. Imbalance in use of nutrients. Non-availability of appropriate trans planter to mitigate labour shortage during the critical period of transplanting.
    Rice- Groundnut Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Orrisa and Maharashtra. The major issues in the pattern are:

     

    Excessive Rainfall and Water Logging.

    Non-availability of quality seeds.

    Limited expansion of Rabi Groundnut in Rice grown areas.
    Rice-Pulses Chhattisgarh, Orrisa and Bihar. Factors limiting Productivity are:

     

    Droughts and Erratic Rainfall distribution.

    Lack of Irrigation.

    Low coverage under HYV Seeds.

    Weed Attacks.

    Little attention to pest attacks and diseases.

    Marginalisation of land and Removal of Tribal from their own land.
    Maize-Wheat UP, Rajasthan, MP and Bihar The Reason for Poor Yields are:

     

    Sowing Timing.

    Poor Weed Management.

    Poor Plant Varieties.

    Poor use of organic and inorganic fertilizers.

    Large area under Rain Fed Agriculture.
    Sugarcane-Wheat UP, Punjab and Haryana accounts for 68% of the area under sugarcane.

     

    The other states which cover the crops are; Karnataka and MP.

    		 Problems in Sugarcane-Wheat system are:

     

    Late Planting.

    Imbalance and inadequate use of nutrients.

    Poor nitrogen use efficiency in sugarcane.

    Build-up of Trianthema partu lacastrum and Cyprus rotundus in sugarcane.

    The stubble of sugarcane pose tillage problem for succeeding crops and need to be managed properly.
    Cotton-Wheat Punjab, Haryana, West UP, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu. Problems in Cotton-Wheat system are:

     

    Delay Planting.

    Stubbles of cotton create the problem of tillage operations and poor tilth for wheat.

    Cotton Pest like Boll Worm and White Fly.

    Poor nitrogen use efficiency in cotton.
    Soya bean-Wheat Maharashtra, MP and Rajasthan Constraints limiting the soybean production and productivity are:

     

    A relatively recent introduction of soybean as a crop.

    Limited genetic diversity.

    Short growing period available in Indian latitudes.

    Hindered agronomy/availability of inputs at the farm level.

    Rainfed nature of crop and water scarcity at critical stage of plant growth.

    Insect pests and diseases, Quality improvement problems.

    Inadequate mechanization and partial adoption of technology by farmers have been identified.
    Legume Based Cropping Systems (Pulses-Oilseeds) MP, Gujarat, Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka. The major issues in Legume based system are:

     

    Lack of technological advancement.

    Loses due to erratic weather and waterlogging.

    Diseases and Pests.

    Low harvest index, flower drop, indeterminate growth habit and very poor response to fertilizers and water in most of the grain legumes.

    Nutrient needs of the system have to be worked out considering N-fixation capacity of legume crops.

    Horticulture Crops in India

    India has made a good place for itself on the Horticulture Map of the World with a total annual production of horticultural crops touching over 1490 million tones during 1999-00.

    The horticultural crops cover about 9 percent of the total area contributing about 24.5 percent of the gross agricultural output in the country. However, the productivity of fruits and vegetables grown in the country is low as compared to developed countries.

    Vegetable Crops

    Vegetable crops in India are grown from the sea level to the snowline. The entire country can broadly be divided into six vegetable growing zones:

    Low productivity is the main feature of vegetable cultivation in India as farm yields of most of the vegetables in India are much lower than the average yield of the world and developed countries.

    The productivity gap is more conspicuous in tomato, cabbage, onion, chilli and peas. The preponderance of hybrid varieties and protected cultivation are mainly responsible for high productivity in the developed countries.

    Constraints in vegetable production:

    1. Lack of planning in Production

    2. Non-availability of seeds of improved varieties.

    3. High cost of basic production elements

    4. Inadequate plant protection measures and non-availability of resistant varieties.

    5. Weak marketing facilities

    6. Transportation limits

    7. Post-harvest losses

    8. Abiotic stresses.

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  • Destroy Geography in Prelims 2021 And Kick-start Geography for 2022 || One session can transform your Geography preparation

    Destroy Geography in Prelims 2021 And Kick-start Geography for 2022 || One session can transform your Geography preparation

    Dear aspirants,

    You may be gearing up for Prelims 2021 or beginning your preparation for UPSC 2022, either way, one free session with Vikash Sir can transform your Geography preparation completely. 

    click here to register now

    Here’s what you can expect from the webinar:

    1. Don’t feel confident in Geography for Prelims 2021: You can excel in 5 days by cracking the nerve of all topic – The physicals of Geography
    2. Live solution and answering techniques for 2015-2020 Geography questions.
    3. Want to start GS Geography Pre+Mains 2022? Crack the syllabus with Vikash sir
    4. Live answer writing session for UPSC mains on Geography
    5. Know your allies in the UPSC battle – Focused resource exploration of NCERT, G.C. Leong (Ch 15-25), and Maps (Static + Places in news)

    Do not miss this opportunity to destroy Geography in your exam and score above the cut-off. The webinar is absolutely free. 

    Date: 5/9/2021 (Sunday)

    Time: 7:00 P.M.

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  • Destroy Geography in Prelims 2021 And Kick-start Geography for 2022 || One session can transform your Geography preparation

    Destroy Geography in Prelims 2021 And Kick-start Geography for 2022 || One session can transform your Geography preparation

    Dear aspirants,

    You may be gearing up for Prelims 2021 or beginning your preparation for UPSC 2022, either way, one free session with Vikash Sir can transform your Geography preparation completely. 

    click here to register now

    Here’s what you can expect from the webinar:

    1. Don’t feel confident in Geography for Prelims 2021: You can excel in 5 days by cracking the nerve of all topic – The physicals of Geography
    2. Live solution and answering techniques for 2015-2020 Geography questions.
    3. Want to start GS Geography Pre+Mains 2022? Crack the syllabus with Vikash sir
    4. Live answer writing session for UPSC mains on Geography
    5. Know your allies in the UPSC battle – Focused resource exploration of NCERT, G.C. Leong (Ch 15-25), and Maps (Static + Places in news)

    Do not miss this opportunity to destroy Geography in your exam and score above the cut-off. The webinar is absolutely free. 

    Date: 5/9/2021 (Sunday)

    Time: 7:00 P.M.

    Limited slots are available. Please register immediately.

    Click here to register now
  • 30 Day Complete Revision Program To Crack UPSC Prelims 2021 with Personal Mentorship by Parth Sir || 20 Tests + Study material + Exclusive Tikdam Video + Zoom Calls

    30 Day Complete Revision Program To Crack UPSC Prelims 2021 with Personal Mentorship by Parth Sir || 20 Tests + Study material + Exclusive Tikdam Video + Zoom Calls

    Dear aspirants,

    What you do in the next 30 days can make or break or career so it is important to make the right decisions, pick the right revision materials, and learn the right answering techniques. With these right choices our students have been able to score 130+ in Prelims and you can do the same!

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    11th SeptFLT 2 – Important Organizations, Agreements, Summits, Reports and Declarations of National and International importance.
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    16th SeptFLT 4 – Special focus on latest Schemes/Acts/Policies – II
    17th SeptCSAT Test 1
    18th SeptCSAT Test 2
    19th SeptCA Test 7 – January Current Affairs
    20th SeptCA Test 8 – February Current Affairs
    21st SeptCA Test 9 – March Current Affairs
    22nd SeptFLT 5 – Full Syllabus
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  • Why India’s Steady Exports Are At A Record High?

    Context

    First-quarter growth in India’s gross domestic product (GDP) stands at 20.1 %. This however still means that GDP in the first quarter was 9.2 % below its level two years ago.

    Export: Challenges

    • The key driver of growth in the coming quarters will be exports riding on the rapidity of recovery in major markets.
    • There are two serious worries here.
    • 1) Bullwhip element: This could cause an immediate ramp-up in demand for steel and other such upstream elements in global supply chains, with a corresponding damp down in the months to come.
    • In this connection, although the rates under the scheme for remission of duties and taxes on exported products (RODTEP) were finally notified in mid-August.
    • Steel, pharma and chemicals get no rebate at all, although many products using these inputs do.
    • The scheme looks like a subsidy to selected sectors disguised as duty rollback, which can get India into trouble at the World Trade Organization (WTO).
    • These excluded products need the rebate if they are to survive in a fiercely price-competitive global market in the months to come.
    • 2) Container shortage: A crippling shortage of sea-borne containers has afflicted key large-volume products in the Indian export basket (tea, basmati rice, furniture, garments).
    • Sea-freight subsidy: At a time when container rates have shot up, there is surely a case for a sea-freight subsidy (for a limited period).
    • Even more urgently, the estimated 25,000-30,000 containers locked up at different ports owing to customs disputes need to be unloaded into warehouses and these containers freed.

    Can National Monetisation Pipeline (NMP) spur growth?

    • Even if the expected ₹88,000 crore of revenue under NMP is realized during the current year, it is intended to feed only a small part of the infrastructure expenditure budgeted for the year.
    • It is the latter that will have to drive growth. Monetization is merely a funding source.
    • The scheme offers a participation incentive to states with a 33% matching transfer from the Centre for revenues that states realize under the scheme.
    • This matching transfer could well have the perverse consequence of states under-achieving the potential value realizable. 
    • Volume II of the NMP document refers to the Scheme for Special Assistance to States for Capital Expenditure announced in October 2020.
    • It offered states an interest-free loan with bullet repayment after 50 years to complete stalled capital projects, or settle the outstanding bills of contractors.
    • The NMP demands clear and well-thought-through processes, with sufficient transparency and safeguards in the form of regulatory structures.

    Conclusion

    For now, the need of the hour is export facilitation.

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