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Type: PIB

  • Modern Indian History-Events and Personalities

    [pib] Who was Sant Ravidas?

    22 February 2021 | PIBPrelims Only | History
    Mains Paper 1: GS1-01.Indian Culture- Salient aspects of Art Forms, Literature and Architecture from ancient to modern times.

    Note4Students

    From UPSC perspective, the following things are important:

    Prelims level: Sant Ravidas

    Mains level: Bhakti Saints and their contribution

    The President of India recently addressed the ‘Shri Guru Ravidas Vishva Mahapeeth Rashtriya Adhiveshan-2021’ in New Delhi.

    Try this PYQ from CSP 2019:

    Q.Consider the following statements:

    1.Saint Nimbarka was a contemporary of Akbar.

    2.Saint Kabir was greatly influenced by Shaikh Ahmad Sirhindi.

    Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

    (a) 1 only

    (b) 2 only

    (c) Both 1 and 2

    (d) Neither 1 nor 2

    Who was Sant Ravidas?

    • Ravidas was an Indian mystic poet-saint of the Bhakti movement and founder of the Ravidassia religion during the 15th to 16th century CE.
    • Venerated as a guru (teacher) in the region of Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh and mainly Punjab and Haryana. He was a poet-saint, social reformer and spiritual figure.
    • The life details of Ravidas are uncertain and contested. Scholars believe he was born in 1450 CE, in the cobbler caste.
    • Ravidas’s devotional Verses were included in the Sikh scriptures known as Guru Granth Sahib.
    • The Panch Vani text of the Dadupanthi tradition within Hinduism also includes numerous poems of Ravidas.
    • He taught the removal of social divisions of caste and gender and promoted unity in the pursuit of personal spiritual freedoms.

    Why his preaching is important?

    • Philosophy and values of Sant Ravidas like social justice, equality and fraternity have been imbued in our constitutional values.
    • He had envisaged a society that is based on equality and free from any kind of discrimination.
    • He gave it the name ‘Be-gampura’ (a city near Lahore) where there is no place for any kind of grief or fear.
    • Such an ideal city would be bereft of fear, vulnerability or scarcity. Rule of law based on the right ideas like equality and welfare of all would be the principle for governance.

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  • [pib] Draft Blue Economy Policy of India

    19 February 2021 | PIB | Economics
    Mains Paper 3: Indian Economy

    Note4Students

    From UPSC perspective, the following things are important:

    Prelims level: Blue Economy

    Mains level: Blue Economy and its contribution to GDP

    The Ministry of Earth Sciences (MoES) has rolled out the Draft Blue Economy policy for India in the public domain inviting suggestions and inputs from various stakeholders.

    Blue Economy Policy

    • India’s draft blue economy policy is envisaged as a crucial framework towards unlocking country’s potential for economic growth and welfare.
    • The draft policy outlines the vision and strategy that can be adopted by the govt to utilize the plethora of oceanic resources available in the country.

    Objectives:

    The policy aims to-

    • Enhance the contribution of the blue economy to India’s GDP
    • Improve the lives of coastal communities
    • Preserve marine biodiversity and
    • Maintain the national security of marine areas and resources

    What comprises India’s blue economy?

    • India’s blue economy is understood as a subset of the national economy.
    • It comprises an entire ocean resources system and human-made economic infrastructure in marine, maritime, and onshore coastal zones within the country’s legal jurisdiction.
    • It aids the production of goods and services that have clear linkages with economic growth, environmental sustainability, and national security.
    • The blue economy is a vast socio-economic opportunity for coastal nations like India to utilize ocean resources for societal benefit responsibly.

    Need for such policy

    • With a coastline of nearly 7.5 thousand kilometres, India has a unique maritime position.
    • Nine of its 29 states are coastal, and the nation’s geography includes 1,382 islands.
    • There are nearly 199 ports, including 12 major ports that handle approximately 1,400 million tons of cargo each year.
    • Moreover, India’s Exclusive Economic Zone of over 2 million square kilometres has a bounty of living and non-living resources with significant recoverable resources such as crude oil and natural gas.
    • Also, the coastal economy sustains over 4 million fisherfolk and coastal communities.

    Key areas

    The policy recognizes the following seven thematic areas.

    1. National accounting framework for the blue economy and ocean governance.
    2. Coastal marine spatial planning and tourism.
    3. Marine fisheries, aquaculture, and fish processing.
    4. Manufacturing, emerging industries, trade, technology, services, and skill development.
    5. Logistics, infrastructure and shipping, including trans-shipments.
    6. Coastal and deep-sea mining and offshore energy.
    7. Security, strategic dimensions, and international engagement.

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  • North-East India – Security and Developmental Issues

    [pib] Mahabahu-Brahmaputra

    17 February 2021 | PIB | Economics
    Mains Paper 3: GS3-13.Infrastructure: Energy, Ports, Roads, Airports, Railways etc:

    Note4Students

    From UPSC perspective, the following things are important:

    Prelims level: Mahabahu-Brahmaputra

    Mains level: Infrastructure in NE

    PM will launch the ‘Mahabahu-Brahmaputra’, lay the foundation stone of Dhubri Phulbari Bridge and perform Bhumi Pujan for construction of Majuli Bridge Assam.

    Click here to read all North-East related news.

    Mahabahu-Brahmaputra

    • The program is aimed at providing seamless connectivity to the Eastern parts of India and includes various development activities for the people living around River Brahmaputra and River Barak.
    • It will consist of the Ro-Pax vessel operations between Neamati-Majuli Island, North Guwahati-South Guwahati and Dhubri-Hatsingimari.
    • The Ro-Pax services will help in reducing the travel time by providing connectivity between banks and thus reducing the distance to be travelled by road.
    • PANI (Portal for Asset and Navigation Information) will act as a one-stop solution for providing information about river navigation and infrastructure.

    Dhubri Phulbari Bridge

    • PMwill lay the foundation stone for the four-lane bridge over the Brahmaputra between Dhubri (on North Bank) and Phulbari (on South Bank).
    • The proposed Bridge will be located on NH-127B, originating from Srirampur on NH-27 (East-West Corridor), and terminating at Nongstoin on NH-106 in the State of Meghalaya.
    • It will connect Dhubri in Assam to Phulbari, Tura, Rongram and Rongjeng in Meghalaya.
    • It will reduce the distance of 205 Km to be travelled by Road to 19 Km, which is the total length of the bridge.

    Majuli Bridge

    • PM will perform Bhumi Pujan for the two-lane Bridge on the Brahmaputra between Majuli (North Bank) and Jorhat (South Bank).
    • The bridge will be located on NH-715K and will connect Neematighat (on Jorhat side) and Kamalabari (on Majuli side).
    • The Construction of the bridge has been a long demand of the people of Majuli who for generations have been dependent on the ferry services to connect with the mainland of Assam.

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  • Roads, Highways, Cargo, Air-Cargo and Logistics infrastructure – Bharatmala, LEEP, SetuBharatam, etc.

    [pib] FASTag declared mandatory

    15 February 2021 | PIB | Science and Technology
    Mains Paper 3: GS3-17.Awareness in the fields of IT, Space, Computers, Robotics, Nano-technology, Bio-technology and issues relating to Intellectual Property Rights.

    Note4Students

    From UPSC perspective, the following things are important:

    Prelims level: Fastag

    Mains level: Fastag and its benefits for speedy transport

    Ministry of Road Transport & Highways has decided that all lanes in the fee plazas on National Highways shall be declared as “FASTag lane of the fee plaza”.

    Fastag went unnoticed this year. The RFID technology deployed in this holds an intuition for its relevance in CS prelims and many forthcoming exams.

    What is ‘FASTag’?

    • FASTags are stickers that are affixed to the windscreen of vehicles and use Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) technology to enable digital, contactless payment of tolls without having to stop at toll gates.
    • The tags are linked to bank accounts and other payment methods.
    • As a car crosses a toll plaza, the amount is automatically deducted, and a notification is sent to the registered mobile phone number.

    How does it work?

    • The device employs Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) technology for payments directly from the prepaid or savings account linked to it.
    • It is affixed on the windscreen, so the vehicle can drive through plazas without stopping.
    • RFID technology is similar to that used in transport access-control systems, like Metro smart card.
    • If the tag is linked to a prepaid account like a wallet or a debit/credit card, then owners need to recharge/top up the tag.
    • If it is linked to a savings account, then money will get deducted automatically after the balance goes below a pre-defined threshold.
    • Once a vehicle crosses the toll, the owner will get an SMS alert on the deduction. In that, it is like a prepaid e-wallet.

    Must read:

    [Burning Issue] Implementation of FASTags

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  • Mother and Child Health – Immunization Program, BPBB, PMJSY, PMMSY, etc.

    [pib] National Creche Scheme

    13 February 2021 | PIBSchemes | Governance
    Mains Paper 2: Government Scheme/Policies

    Note4Students

    From UPSC perspective, the following things are important:

    Prelims level: Creche scheme

    Mains level: Maternity benefits act

    The Union Minister of Women and Child Development have given information about the National Creche Scheme to the Lok Sabha.

    Try this PYQ:

    Q.Which of the following statements is/are correct regarding the Maternity Benefit (Amendment) Act, 2017?

    1. Pregnant women are entitled to three months pre-delivery and three months post-delivery paid leave.
    2. Enterprises with creches must allow the mother a minimum of six crèche visits daily.
    3. Women with two children get reduced entitlements.

    Select the correct answer using the code given below.

    (a) 1 and 2 only

    (b) 2 only

    (c) 3 only

    (d) 1, 2 and 3

    National Creche Scheme

    • The Ministry of WCD implements the NCS for the children of working mothers as a Centrally Sponsored Scheme through States/ UTs with effect from 01.01.2017.
    • It aims to provide daycare facilities to children (age group of 6 months to 6 years) of working mothers.

    The Scheme provides an integrated package of the following services:

    • Daycare facilities including sleeping facilities.
    • Early stimulation for children below 3 years and pre-school education for 3 to 6 years old children
    • Supplementary nutrition (to be locally sourced)
    • Growth monitoring
    • Health check-up and immunization

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  • Modern Indian History-Events and Personalities

    [pib] Swami Dayanand Saraswati

    13 February 2021 | PIBPrelims Only |
    Mains Paper 1: GS1-02.Modern Indian History- Mid-18th century – Present (significant events, personalities, issues);

    Note4Students

    From UPSC perspective, the following things are important:

    Prelims level: Dayanand Saraswati

    Mains level: Not Much

    Information and Broadcasting Minister paid his tributes to Swami Dayanand Saraswati on his birth anniversary.

    Dayanand Saraswati (1824-1883)

    • Swami Dayanand Saraswati was a philosopher, social leader and founder of the Arya Samaj, a reform movement of the Vedic dharma.
    • He was the first to give the call for Swaraj as “India for Indians” in 1876, a call later taken up by Lokmanya Tilak.
    • Denouncing the idolatry and ritualistic worship, he worked towards reviving Vedic ideologies.
    • Subsequently, the philosopher and then President, S. Radhakrishnan called him one of the “makers of Modern India”, as did Sri Aurobindo.

    Try this PYQ:

    Q.Which among the following event happened earliest?

    (a) Swami Dayanand established Arya Samaj

    (b) Dinabandhu Mitra wrote Neeldarpan

    (c) Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay wrote Anandmath

    (d) Satyendranath Tagore became the first India to succeed in the Indian Civil Services Examination

    His influence

    • Those who were influenced by and followed him included Madam Cama, Shyamji Krishna Varma, Kishan Singh, Bhagat Singh, VD Savarkar, Bhai Parmanand, Lala Hardayal, Madan Lal Dhingra, Ram Prasad Bismil, MG Ranade, Ashfaq Ullah Khan, , Lala Lajpat Rai etc.

    Philosophy

    • He was ascetic from boyhood and a scholar.
    • He believed in the infallible authority of the Vedas.
    • He advocated the doctrine of Karma and Reincarnation.
    • He emphasized the Vedic ideals of Brahmacharya, including celibacy and devotion to God.

    His contribution

    • Among Dayananda’s contributions were his promoting of the equal rights for women, such as the right to education and reading of Indian scriptures.
    • He wrote his commentary on the Vedas from Vedic Sanskrit in Sanskrit as well as in Hindi.

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  • Child Rights – POSCO, Child Labour Laws, NAPC, etc.

    [pib] Child Beggars and their protection

    13 February 2021 | PIB | Polity
    Mains Paper 2: Laws, Institutions & Bodies Constituted For The Vulnerable Sections

    Note4Students

    From UPSC perspective, the following things are important:

    Prelims level: Various provisions of the Juvenile Justice Act

    Mains level: Child rights and their protection

    The Union Minister of Women and Child Development has given important information regarding the protection of child beggars in India under various acts and ministries.

    Q.What are the various legislatures aimed at protecting Child Beggars in India? Discuss their efficacy in the prevention of child begging as well as abuse.

    Protection of Child Beggars

    (A) JJ Act, 2015

    • The Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2015 (JJ Act) is the primary law for children in the country.
    • The Section 2 (14) (ii) of the Act, 2015, considers a child being in force or is found begging, or living on the street as a “child in need of care and protection”.
    • As per Section 76 of JJ Act, whoever employs or uses any child for the purpose of begging or causes any child to beg shall be punishable with imprisonment.
    • The Act provides a security net of service delivery structures along with measures for institutional and non-institutional care, to ensure the comprehensive well being of children in distress situations.
    • The primary responsibility of execution of the Act rests with the States/UTs.

    (B) Child Protection Services (CPS)

    • The Ministry implements a centrally sponsored scheme CPS under the umbrella Integrated Child Development Services scheme.
    • It supports the children in difficult circumstances including child beggars and destitute children.
    • Under the scheme, institutional care is provided through Child Care Institutions (CCIs), as a rehabilitative measure.
    • The programmes and activities in CCIs inter-alia include age-appropriate education, access to vocational training, recreation, health care, counselling etc.
    • The scheme supports 24×7 emergency outreach/ helpline service for children in distress conditions.
    • The service is accessible through a dedicated toll-free number, 1098 from anywhere in India.

    (C) Rehabilitation measures

    • The Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment, has undertaken a pilot project for Comprehensive Rehabilitation of Persons engaged in the act of begging.
    • It is currently held in ten (10) cities; namely Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai, Ahmadabad, Hyderabad, Bangalore, Lucknow, Patna, Nagpur and Indore.
    • The initiative aims for identification, rehabilitation, counselling, skill development of beggars.
    • It includes education of children engaged in begging/children of persons engaged in the begging.

    The children of today are assets of tomorrow. Yet education, which is a fundamental right to every child in our country, is still a dream for many children in India, especially the ones who are poor, downtrodden and in dire need.

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  • [pib] Seaweeds Mission

    12 February 2021 | PIB | Environment
    Mains Paper 3: GS3-18.Conservation, Environmental Pollution and Degradation, Environmental Impact Assessment.

    Note4Students

    From UPSC perspective, the following things are important:

    Prelims level: Seaweed Mission

    Mains level: Seaweed economy

    TIFAC has unveiled a Seaweed Mission for commercial farming of seaweeds and its processing for value addition.

    Note the species of edible seaweeds mentioned in the newscard.

    Seaweed Mission

     

    The Mission envisages the following activities:

    • establishing model demonstration farms over one hectare for the cultivation of economically important seaweeds in nearshore and onshore along the Indian coast
    • Kappaphycus all over Indian coast
    • Gracilaria dura in Gujarat
    • Gracilariaverrucosa in Chilika Lake (Odisha)
    • Ulva Linza or Ulva prolife rain Chilika Lake (Odisha)
    • Ulva Lactuca or Ulva fasciata or Ulva indica all over India coast

    Proposed Sites: Gujarat / Tamil Nadu / Andhra Pradesh / Odisha / Karnataka

    Seaweed production in India

    • Out of the global seaweed production of ~ 32 million tons fresh weight valued around 12 billion US dollars. China produces ~57 %, Indonesia ~28% followed by South Korea.
    • India is having a mere share of ~0.01-0.02%.
    • Despite several advantages, commercial seaweeds cultivation has not been taken place in the country at an appropriate scale, as being practised in South-East Asian countries.
    • By an estimate, if cultivation is done in ≈10 million hectares or 5% of the EEZ area of India, it can provide employment to ~ 50 million people.
    • Seaweed cultivation also enhances ocean productivity, abates algal blooms and sequesters millions of tons CO2.

     

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  • Labour, Jobs and Employment – Harmonization of labour laws, gender gap, unemployment, etc.

    [pib] SAKSHAM Portal

    12 February 2021 | PIB | Economics
    Mains Paper 3: Issues relating growth and development, employment

    Note4Students

    From UPSC perspective, the following things are important:

    Prelims level: SAKSHAM portal

    Mains level: MSMS sector and its job potential

    The Technology Information, Forecasting and Assessment Council (TIFAC) has launched SAKSHAM, a dynamic job portal for mapping the skills of Shramiks.

    The name SAKSHAM closely leans towards HRD, Employment and Entrepreneurship developments.  Make a note of it. It can create confusion while revision.

    SAKSHAM

    • SAKSHAM is an acronym for Shramik Shakti Manch.
    • The portal with the demand and supply data uses an algorithm and AI tools, for geospatial information on demand and availability of Shramiks, and also provides analysis on skill training programmes of Shramiks.
    • It would directly connect Shramiks with MSMEs and facilitate placement of blue-collar jobs.
    • The pilot portal originally initiated with two districts is now being launched as an all India portal.

    Key features

    • A dynamic job portal – an opportunity for Shramiks and MSMEs
    • Facilitate the creation of 10 lakh blue-collar jobs
    • Direct connect between Shramiks and MSMEs, no middleman in between
    • Minimise migration of Shramiks – job opportunity in proximate MSMEs

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  • Monsoon Updates

    [pib] National Monsoon Mission

    11 February 2021 | PIB | Science and Technology
    Mains Paper 3: GS3-17.Awareness in the fields of IT, Space, Computers, Robotics, Nano-technology, Bio-technology and issues relating to Intellectual Property Rights.

    Note4Students

    From UPSC perspective, the following things are important:

    Prelims level: National Monsoon Mission

    Mains level: Determinants of Indian Monsoon

    Under the National Monsoon Mission (NMM), Ministry of Earth Sciences has developed the state-of-the-art weather and climate prediction models, which are now in operational use.

    Tap to read about the mechanism of Indian Monsoon System at:

    The Southwest Monsoon Season (Jun – Sep) | Part 1

    National Monsoon Mission (NMM)

    • Ministry of Earth Sciences (MoES) had launched NMM in 2012 with a vision to develop a state-of-the-art dynamical prediction system for monsoon rainfall on different time scales.
    • The responsibility of execution and coordination of this mission is vested to the Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology (IITM), Pune.
    • Climate Forecast System (CFS) of USA has been identified as the basic modelling system for the above purpose, as it is one of the best among the currently available coupled models.

    Targets of NMM

    • Development of a seamless prediction system using monsoon mission model, on different time scales, like Seasonal (for whole Monsoon season), extended-range (upto 4 weeks), short-range prediction (up-to 5days).
    • Initiate and coordinate the working partnership between Indian and foreign institutes to develop a system for prediction of extremes and climate applications
    • Develop and implement the system for climate applications having social impacts (such as agriculture, flood forecast, extreme events forecast, wind energy, etc.
    • Advanced data assimilation system for preparing high-quality data for model predictions.

    Achievements of NMM during the last 3 years

    • Setting up of an advanced prediction system for Seasonal prediction; Extended range prediction and Very high-resolution Short-range prediction.
    • Commissioning of a Global Ensemble Forecast System (GEFS) for short and medium-range prediction at 12km.
    • The Cyclone track and intensity prediction has also shown a steady improvement over the last three years.
    • The operationalization of Monsoon Mission dynamical model (MMCFS) to prepare operational seasonal forecast of monsoon rainfall and temperatures during the hot and cold weather seasons over India.
    • Development of an algorithm to monitor and predict the Monsoon Intra-seasonal Oscillations (MISO) and Madden-Julian Oscillation (MJO) on the extended range.
    • Development of an index to predict the genesis and evolution of tropical cyclones and other cyclonic disturbances over the north Indian Ocean.

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