Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Beypore Uru, GI Tags in news
Mains level: Not Much
The District Tourism Promotion Council, Kozhikode has applied for a Geographical Indication (GI) tag for the famous Beypore Uru (boat).
Beypore Uru
- Beypore Uru is a wooden dhow (ship / sailing boat / sailing vessel) handcrafted by skilled artisans and carpenters in Beypore, Kerala.
- They are a symbol of Kerala’s trade relations and friendship with the Gulf countries.
- It is purely made of premium wood, without using any modern techniques.
- The wood used is still sawed the traditional way which requires immense expertise.
- It takes anywhere between 1-4 years to build each Uru and the entire process is done manually.
Its historic significance
- Historical records show that Beypore has been a legendary maritime hub for traders from across the world since the 1st Century C.E.
- The iconic Uru ships have been in high demand for around 2000 years.
- The history of Khalasis, skilled natives engaged in launching the Uru boats at Beypore, dates back to 2000 years.
- The prominent people among them are Odayis. They manage the technical matters of ship building.
- Their family name comes from Odam (a type of small ship previously used in interactions/trade between the Malabar coast and Lakshadweep).
- They are also referred to as Mappila Khalasis as majority of them are Mappila Muslims.
Try this PYQ:
Q.With reference to ‘Changpa’ community of India, consider the following statement:
- They live mainly in the State of Uttarakhand.
- They rear the Pashmina goats that yield fine wool.
- They are kept in the category of Scheduled Tribes.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
(a) 1 only
(b) 2 and 3 only
(c) 3 only
(d) 1, 2 and 3
Post your answers here.
Back2Basics: Geographical Indication (GI)
- A GI is a sign used on products that have a specific geographical origin and possess qualities or a reputation that are due to that origin.
- Nodal Agency: Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT), Ministry of Commerce and Industry
- India, as a member of the World Trade Organization (WTO), enacted the Geographical Indications of Goods (Registration and Protection) Act, 1999 w.e.f. September 2003.
- GIs have been defined under Article 22 (1) of the WTO Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) Agreement.
- The tag stands valid for 10 years.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: OIC
Mains level: Pakistani narrative for Kashmir
India strongly condemned the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation chief’s visit to Line of Control (LoC) from the Pakistani side.
What is OIC?
- The OIC — formerly Organisation of the Islamic Conference — is the world’s second-largest inter-governmental organization after the UN, with a membership of 57 states.
- The OIC’s stated objective is “to safeguard and protect the interests of the Muslim world in the spirit of promoting international peace and harmony among various people of the world”.
- OIC has reserved membership for Muslim-majority countries. Russia, Thailand, and a couple of other small countries have Observer status.
India and OIC
- At the 45th session of the Foreign Ministers’ Summit in 2018, Bangladesh suggested that India, where more than 10% of the world’s Muslims live, should be given Observer status.
- In 1969, India was dis-invited from the Conference of Islamic Countries in Rabat, Morocco at Pakistan’s behest.
- Then Agriculture Minister Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed was dis-invited upon arrival in Morocco after Pakistan President Yahya Khan lobbied against Indian participation.
Recent developments
- In 2019, India made its maiden appearance at the OIC Foreign Ministers’ meeting in Abu Dhabi, as a “guest of honor”.
- This first-time invitation was seen as a diplomatic victory for New Delhi, especially at a time of heightened tensions with Pakistan following the Pulwama attack.
- Pakistan had opposed the invitation to Swaraj and it boycotted the plenary after the UAE turned down its demand to rescind the invitation.
- Earlier this year, the ousted Pakistani PM called a OIC summit which ended up without any remarks.
What is the OIC’s stand on Kashmir?
- It has been generally supportive of Pakistan’s stand on Kashmir and has issued statements criticizing India.
- Last year, after India revoked Article 370 in Kashmir, Pakistan lobbied with the OIC for their condemnation of the move.
- To Pakistan’s surprise, Saudi Arabia and the UAE — both top leaders among the Muslim countries — issued nuanced statements, and were not as harshly critical of New Delhi as Islamabad had hoped.
- Since then, Islamabad has tried to rouse sentiments among the Islamic countries, but only a handful of them — Turkey and Malaysia — publicly criticized India.
How has India been responding?
- India has consistently underlined that J&K is an integral part of India and is a matter strictly internal to India.
- The strength with which India has made this assertion has varied slightly at times, but never the core message.
- It has maintained its “consistent and well known” stand that the OIC had no locus standi.
- India asserts that- OIC has become a “mouthpiece” of Pakistan and that the organisation has been taking “blatantly communal, partisan and factually incorrect approach to issues”.
OIC members and India
- Individually, India has good relations with almost all member nations. Ties with the UAE and Saudi Arabia, especially, have looked up significantly in recent years.
- The OIC includes two of India’s close neighbors, Bangladesh and Maldives.
- Indian diplomats say both countries privately admit they do not want to complicate their bilateral ties with India on Kashmir but play along with OIC.
Way ahead
- India now sees the duality of the OIC as untenable, since many of these countries have good bilateral ties and convey to India to ignore OIC statements.
- But these countries sign off on the joint statements which are largely drafted by Pakistan.
- India feels it important to challenge the double-speak since Pakistan’s campaign and currency on the Kashmir issue have hardly any takers in the international community.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Loan Write-Off
Mains level: NPAs
Banks have written off bad loans worth ₹10,09,511 crore during the last five financial years, finance minister informed the Parliament.
What is a loan write-off?
- Writing off a loan essentially means it will no longer be counted as an asset.
- By writing off loans, a bank can reduce the level of non-performing assets (NPAs) on its books.
- The bank moves the defaulted loan, or NPA, out of the assets side and reports the amount as a loss.
- An additional benefit is that the amount so written off reduces the bank’s tax liability.
- The loans written off by the banks are the depositors’ money.
Why do banks resort to write-offs?
- Recovery issues: The bank writes off a loan after the borrower has defaulted on the loan repayment and there is a very low chance of recovery. However, the chances of recovery from written-off loans are very low.
- Provisioning: After the write-off, banks are supposed to continue their efforts to recover the loan using various options. They have to make provisioning as well.
- Reduce tax liability: The tax liability will also come down as the written-off amount is reduced from the profit.
Who is at the forefront of write-offs?
- Public sector banks reported the lion’s share of write-offs at Rs 734,738 crore accounting for 72.78 per cent of the exercise.
- Among individual public sector banks, reduction in NPAs due to write-offs in the case of State Bank of India Rs 204,486 crore in the last five years.
- Among private banks, ICICI Bank’s reduction in NPAs due to write-offs was Rs 50,514 crore in the last five years.
- Axis Bank wrote off Rs 49,715 crore and HDFC Bank Rs 34,782 crore during the period, according to the RBI.
What about recovery of such loans?
- Since the loan account is not closed in write-off, the right to recovery of the amount is not waived by the lender or the bank.
- The bank or lender can try to recover the loan amount from the loan defaulter.
Back2Basics: Non-Performing Assets (NPAs)
- A NPA is a loan or advance for which the principal or interest payment remained overdue for a period of 90 days.
- Banks are required to classify NPAs further into Substandard, Doubtful and Loss assets.
- Substandard assets: Assets which has remained NPA for a period less than or equal to 12 months.
- Doubtful assets: An asset would be classified as doubtful if it has remained in the substandard category for a period of 12 months.
- Loss assets: As per RBI, “Loss asset is considered uncollectible and of such little value that its continuance as a bankable asset is not warranted, although there may be some salvage or recovery value.”
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Fusion Energy
Mains level: Clean energy developments
US announced a “major scientific breakthrough” in the decades-long quest to harness fusion, the energy that powers the sun and stars.
What is Fusion?
- Fusion works by pressing hydrogen atoms into each other with such force that they combine into helium, releasing enormous amounts of energy and heat.
- This process occurs in our Sun and other stars.
- Creating conditions for fusion on Earth involves generating and sustaining a plasma.
- Plasmas are gases that are so hot that electrons are freed from atomic nuclei.
How is it carried out?
- Three conditions must be fulfilled to achieve fusion in a laboratory:
- Very high temperature (on the order of 150,000,000° Celsius);
- Sufficient plasma particle density (to increase the likelihood that collisions do occur); and
- Sufficient confinement time (to hold the plasma, which has a propensity to expand, within a defined volume).
- At extreme temperatures, electrons are separated from nuclei and a gas becomes a plasma—often referred to as the fourth state of matter.
- Fusion plasmas provide the environment in which light elements can fuse and yield energy.
Fusion Energy
- The process releases energy because the total mass of the resulting single nucleus is less than the mass of the two original nuclei.
- The leftover mass becomes energy.
What did the US achieve?
- The US experiment uses a process called inertial confinement fusion.
- It involved bombarding a tiny pellet of hydrogen plasma with the world’s biggest laser.
Why is it perceived as energy of the future?
- Carbon free: Fusion Reactions could one day produce nearly limitless, carbon-free energy, displacing fossil fuels and other traditional energy sources.
- Efficient: Net energy gain has been an elusive goal because fusion happens at such high temperatures and pressures that it is incredibly difficult to control.
- Clean: Unlike other nuclear reactions, it doesn’t create radioactive waste.
Fusion still far from reality. Why?
- Significant though the achievement is, it does little to bring the goal of producing electricity from fusion reactions any closer to reality.
- By all estimates, use of the fusion process for generating electricity at a commercial scale is still two to three decades away.
- The technology used in the US experiment might take even longer to get deployed.
India’s progress: ITER project
- International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor (ITER) is one of the most ambitious energy projects in the world today.
- The idea for an international joint experiment in fusion was first launched in 1985.
- In southern France, 35 nations* are collaborating to build the world’s largest tokamak, a magnetic fusion device that has been designed to prove the feasibility of fusion.
- ITER is funded and run by seven member parties: China, the European Union, India, Japan, Russia, South Korea and the United States.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Base Editing
Mains level: Not Much
A teenage cancer patient suffering from T-cell acute lymphoblastic leukaemia (T-ALL) has defeated her seemingly incurable cancer with the help of base editing technique.
Base Editing
- Bases are the language of life. The four types of base – adenine (A), cytosine (C), guanine (G) and thymine (T) – are the building blocks of our genetic code.
- Just as letters in the alphabet spell out words that carry meaning, the billions of bases in our DNA spell out the instruction manual for our body.
- Base editing allows scientists to zoom to a precise part of the genetic code and then alter the molecular structure of just one base, converting it into another and changing the genetic instructions.
- The large team of doctors and scientists used this tool to engineer a new type of T-cell that was capable of hunting down and killing cancerous T-cells.
What is T-Cell?
- T (thymus) cells are type of white blood cell.
- They are part of the immune system and develop from stem cells in the bone marrow.
- They help protect the body from infection and may help fight cancer.
- Also called T lymphocyte and thymocyte.
How base editing helped this teenage cancer patient?
- Doctors started with healthy T-cells that came from a donor and set about modifying them.
- The first base edit disabled the T-cells targeting mechanism so they would not assault patient’s body.
- The second removed a chemical marking, called CD7, which is on all T-cells.
- The third edit was an invisibility cloak that prevented the cells being killed by a chemotherapy drug.
- The final stage of genetic modification instructed the T-cells to go hunting for anything with the CD7 marking on it so that it would destroy every T-cell in patient’s body – including the cancerous ones.
- That’s why this marking has to be removed from the therapy – otherwise it would just destroy itself.
- If the therapy works, the patient’s immune system – including T-cells – will be rebuilt with the second bone-marrow transplant.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Geminids meteoric shower
Mains level: Not Much
Bengalurians are all set to witness the annual Geminids meteor shower.
What are meteor showers?
- Meteors are usually fragments of comets.
- As they enter the Earth’s atmosphere at high speed, they burn up, creating a spectacular “shower”.
- Meteors come from leftover comet particles and bits from asteroids.
- When these objects come around the Sun, they leave a dusty trail behind them.
- Every year Earth passes through these debris trails, which allows the bits to collide with our atmosphere where they disintegrate to create fiery and colorful streaks in the sky.
What makes the Geminids unique?
- Geminids is one of the brightest and most reliable annual meteor showers.
- They are unique because unlike most meteor showers, they originate not from a comet, but from an asteroid, the 3200 Phaethon.
- The 3200 Phaethon was discovered on October 11, 1983.
- It is named after the Greek mythology character Phaethon, son of the Sun God Helios.
- It takes 1.4 years to complete one round of the Sun.
- As the 3200 Phaethon moves close to the Sun while orbiting it, the rocks on its surface heat up and break off.
- When the Earth passes through the trail of this debris, the Geminids are caused.
Why are they called Geminids?
- That comes from the constellation Gemini, from whose location in the sky the meteor shower appears to originate.
- The constellation for which a meteor shower is named only serves to aid viewers in determining which shower they are viewing on a given night.
- The constellation is not the source of the meteors.
Back2Basics:
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Western Disturbances
Mains level: Not Much
The days have been unusually warm for winter in New Delhi with the maximum temperature remaining above normal mostly on account of fewer western disturbances affecting this year.
Western Disturbances
- A western disturbance is an extratropical storm originating in the Mediterranean region that brings sudden winter rain to the northwestern parts of the Indian subcontinent.
- They are labelled as an extra-tropical storm originating in the Mediterranean, is an area of low pressure that brings sudden showers, snow, and fog in northwest India.
- In the term “extra-tropical storm”, storm refers to low pressure. “Extra-tropical” means outside the tropics. As the WD originates outside the tropical region, the word “extra-tropical” has been associated with them.
- It is a non-monsoonal precipitation pattern driven by the westerlies.
- The moisture in these storms usually originates over the Mediterranean Sea, the Caspian Sea and the Black Sea.
- Extratropical storms are global phenomena with moisture usually carried in the upper atmosphere, unlike their tropical counterparts where the moisture is carried in the lower atmosphere.
- In the case of the Indian subcontinent, moisture is sometimes shed as rain when the storm system encounters the Himalayas.
- Western disturbances are more frequent and strong in the winter season.
Impact: Winter Rainfall and Extreme Cold
- Western disturbances, specifically the ones in winter, bring moderate to heavy rain in low-lying areas and heavy snow to mountainous areas of the Indian Subcontinent.
- They are the cause of most winter and pre-monsoon season rainfall across northwest India.
- An average of four to five western disturbances forms during the winter season.
Its significance
- Precipitation during the winter season has great importance in agriculture, particularly for the rabi crops.
- Wheat among them is one of the most important crops, which helps to meet India’s food security.
Try this PYQ:
Consider the following statements:
- The winds which blow between 30°N and 60°S latitudes throughout the year are known as westerlies.
- The moist air masses that cause winter rains in the North-Western region of India are part of westerlies.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
(a) Only 1
(b) Only 2
(c) Both 1 and 2
(d) Neither 1 nor 2
Post your answers here.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Sri Aurobindo Ghosh
Mains level: NA
PM will participate in a program commemorating Sri Aurobindo’s 150th birth anniversary.
Sri Aurobindo (1872 –1950)
- Sri Aurobindo Ghose was a philosopher, yogi, maharishi, poet, and Indian nationalist.
- He was also a journalist, editing newspapers such as Vande Mataram.
- He joined the Indian movement for independence from British colonial rule, until 1910 was one of its influential leaders.
Major activities
- Aurobindo studied for the Indian Civil Service at King’s College, Cambridge, England.
- After returning to India he took up various civil service works under the Maharaja of the Princely state of Baroda.
- He became increasingly involved in nationalist politics in the Indian National Congress and the nascent revolutionary movement in Bengal with the Anushilan Samiti.
- He was arrested in the aftermath of a number of bombings linked to his organization in a public trial where he faced charges of treason for Alipore Conspiracy.
- However, Sri Aurobindo could only be convicted and imprisoned for writing articles against British colonial rule in India.
Try this PYQ:
Q. What was the main reason for the split in the Indian National Congress at Surat in 1907?
(a) Introduction of communalism into Indian politics by Lord Minto
(b) Extremists’ lack of faith in the capacity of the moderates to negotiate with the British Government
(c) Foundation of Muslim League
(d) Aurobindo Ghosh’s inability to be elected as the President of the Indian national Congress
Post your answers here.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Cyclone Mandous
Mains level: Tropical Cyclones
Cyclone Mandous crossed the north Tamil Nadu coast with fierce winds and heavy downpour.
Cyclone Mandous
- ‘Mandous’ was a name submitted by WMO member United Arab Emirates and is pronounced as ‘Man-Dous.’
- It means ‘treasure box’ in Arabic.
What are Tropical Cyclones?
- A tropical cyclone is an intense circular storm that originates over warm tropical oceans and is characterized by low atmospheric pressure, high winds, and heavy rain.
- Cyclones are formed over slightly warm ocean waters. The temperature of the top layer of the sea, up to a depth of about 60 meters, need to be at least 28°C to support the formation of a cyclone.
- This explains why the April-May and October-December periods are conducive for cyclones.
- Then, the low level of air above the waters needs to have an ‘anticlockwise’ rotation (in the northern hemisphere; clockwise in the southern hemisphere).
- During these periods, there is an ITCZ in the Bay of Bengal whose southern boundary experiences winds from west to east, while the northern boundary has winds flowing east to west.
- Once formed, cyclones in this area usually move northwest. As it travels over the sea, the cyclone gathers more moist air from the warm sea which adds to its heft.
Requirements for a Cyclone to form
There are six main requirements for tropical cyclogenesis:
- Sufficiently warm sea surface temperatures
- Atmospheric instability
- High humidity in the lower to middle levels of the troposphere
- Enough Coriolis force to develop a low-pressure centre
- A pre-existing low-level focus or disturbance
- Low vertical wind shear
How are the cyclones named?
- In 2000, a group of nations called WMO/ESCAP (World Meteorological Organisation/United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific) decided to name cyclones.
- It comprised Bangladesh, India, the Maldives, Myanmar, Oman, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Thailand, decided to start naming cyclones in the region.
- After each country sent in suggestions, the WMO/ESCAP Panel on Tropical Cyclones (PTC) finalized the list.
- The WMO/ESCAP expanded to include five more countries in 2018 — Iran, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates and Yemen.
Basics
Cyclones
- The atmospheric disturbances which involve a closed circulation of air around a low pressure at the center and high pressure at the periphery, rotating anti-clockwise in the northern hemisphere and clockwise in the southern hemisphere (due to the Coriolis force) are called “cyclones”.
Cyclones are broadly classified into two types based on the latitudes of their origin-
- Tropical cyclones
- Temperate/Extra-tropical cyclones
Tropical Cyclones
- Tropical cyclones develop in the region between the tropics of Capricorn and Cancer. These are violent storms that originate over oceans in tropical areas and move on to the coastal regions bringing large-scale destruction caused by violent winds, very heavy rainfall and storm surges. These cyclones are one of the most devastating natural calamities.
- Tropical cyclones mostly move along with the direction of trade winds, so they travel from east to west and make landfall on the eastern coasts of the continents.
- Tropical cyclones are known by different names depending on the regions of the world. They are known as Hurricanes in the Atlantic, Typhoons in the Western Pacific and South China Sea, Willy-willies in Western Australia and Cyclones in the Indian Ocean.
Temperate Cyclones/Extra-Tropical Cyclones
- It occurs between 30°-60° latitude in both hemispheres (in between the Tropic of Cancer and the Arctic circle in the northern hemisphere and in between the Tropic of Capricorn and the Antarctic Circle in the southern hemisphere).
- These cyclones move with the westerlies and are therefore oriented from west to east.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Badri Cow
Mains level: Not Much
To increase the productivity of its indigenous petite Badri cow that grazes on the medicinal herbs of the Himalayas, Uttarakhand is now planning for its genetic enhancement.
Badri Cow
- Badri/Pahari desi cow is a native cow species of Uttarakhand.
- This cow grazes in the Himalayas on native herbs and shrubs and hence its milk has high medicinal value.
- These cattle are well adapted to the hilly terrain and the climatic conditions of Uttarakhand.
- This sturdy and disease-resistant breed is found in hilly regions of the Almora and Pauri Garhwal districts of Uttarakhand.
- Disease resistance is a very important characteristic of this breed as it rarely gets any disease.
Medicinal benefits
- This breed is blessed with strong immunity.
- The milk of the Badri cow contains almost 90% A2 beta-casein proteins – and is one of the highest in any indigenous varieties.
- Antioxidants in pure desi ghee help the body better absorb vitamins and minerals, thus boosting immunity.
- Butyric acid in Badri cow ghee helps strengthen immunity by increasing T-cell production in the gut which helps fight against allergens.
Why in news?
- The State authorities proposed to use sex-sorted semen technology to improve production of Badri cattle.
- They also proposed to opt for the embryo transfer method in order to produce more cattle of high genetic stock.
Economic significance of Badri cow
- The Badri ghee is available at the rate of ₹3,000 to ₹5,000 per kg.
- There is a huge marketing potential for gaumutra ark (distilled cow urine), cow dung, and Panchgavya (the five products of the cow, including milk, curd, ghee, dung and urine).
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Hornbill Festival
Mains level: NA
The logo for India’s upcoming G20 presidency was officially unveiled recently at the Hornbill festival in Nagaland.
What is Hornbill Festival?
- The Hornbill Festival is a celebration held every year from 1 – 10 December, in Kohima, Nagaland.
- The festival was first held in the year 2000.
- It is named after the Indian hornbill, the large and colourful forest bird which is displayed in the folklore of most of the state’s tribes.
- Festival highlights include the traditional Naga Morungs exhibition and the sale of arts and crafts, food stalls, herbal medicine stalls, flower shows and sales, cultural medley – songs and dances, fashion shows etc.
About Great Indian Hornbill
IUCN status: Vulnerable (uplisted from Near Threatened in 2018), CITES: Appendix I
- The great hornbill (Buceros bicornis) also known as the great Indian hornbill or great pied hornbill, is one of the larger members of the hornbill family.
- The great hornbill is long-lived, living for nearly 50 years in captivity.
- It is predominantly fruit-eating, but is an opportunist and preys on small mammals, reptiles and birds.
- Its impressive size and colour have made it important in many tribal cultures and rituals.
- A large majority of their population is found in India with a significant proportion in the Western Ghats and the Nilgiris.
- The nesting grounds of the birds in the Nilgiris North Eastern Range are also believed to support some of their highest densities.
Their ecological significance
- Referred to as ‘forest engineers’ or ‘farmers of the forest’ for playing a key role in dispersing seeds of tropical trees, hornbills indicate the prosperity and balance of the forest they build nests in.
Threats
- Hornbills used to be hunted for their casques — upper beak — and feathers for adorning headgear despite being cultural symbols of some ethnic communities in the northeast, specifically the Nyishi of Arunachal Pradesh.
- Illegal logging has led to fewer tall trees where the bird’s nest.
Try this PYQ:
In which of the following regions of India are you most likely to come across the ‘Great Indian Hornbill’ in its natural habitat? (CSP 2016)
(a) Sand deserts of northwest India
(b) Higher Himalayas of Jammu and Kashmir
(c) Salt marshes of western Gujarat
(d) Western Ghats
Post your answers here.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Ramjet, Scramjet Engine
Mains level: Not Much
The ISRO successfully conducted test for credible next-generation air-breathing scramjet engines, in order to launch satellites in a predetermined orbit at a low cost.
What is a jet engine?
- A jet engine is a machine that converts energy-rich, liquid fuel into a powerful pushing force called thrust.
- The thrust from one or more engines pushes a plane forward, forcing air past its scientifically shaped wings to create an upward force called lift that powers it into the sky.
Ramjet vs. Scramjet Engine
- Both scramjet and Ramjet are types of jet engines.
- A ramjet is an air breathing jet engine which is usually associated with supersonic transport.
- Ramjets can start at supersonic speeds only, so as a result they cannot be started at zero velocity and cannot produce thrust as there is a lack of airspeed.
- Hence assisted take off flights or rockets are needed to or accelerate it to a supersonic speed from which it starts producing thrust.
- This makes ramjet engine to be efficient only at supersonic speeds as it can accelerate to speeds of about Mach 6.
- Ramjet has revolutionized Rocket Propulsion and Missile Technology over the years.
How different is Scramjet?
- The Scramjet or the Supersonic Combustion Ramjet is a further complex model and is efficient at hypersonic speeds, usually upwards of Mach 6.
- They do not have any moving parts to compress the air as the air entering is already at high pressure.
- Scramjets have a very similar working to that of the ramjet except the fact that combustion also takes place at supersonic speed.
- This means that the air being compressed does not slow down as it enters the combustion chamber.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Trisonic Wind Tunnel
Mains level: Not Much
The new trisonic wind tunnel at the Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre (VSSC) was inaugurated by conducting the first blow-down test successfully.
What is a Wind Tunnel?
- Wind tunnels are large tubes with air moving inside.
- The tunnels are used to copy the actions of an object in flight.
- Researchers use wind tunnels to learn more about how an aircraft will fly.
- Space agencies uses wind tunnels to test scale models of aircraft and spacecraft. Some wind tunnels are big enough to hold full-size versions of vehicles.
- The wind tunnel moves air around an object, making it seem like the object is really flying.
How do Wind Tunnels work?
- Most of the time, powerful fans move air through the tube.
- The object to be tested is fastened in the tunnel so that it will not move.
- The object can be a small model of a vehicle. It can be just a piece of a vehicle.
- It can be a full-size aircraft or spacecraft. It can even be a common object like a tennis ball.
- Smoke or dye can be placed in the air and can be seen as it moves. Threads can be attached to the object to show how the air is moving.
- Special instruments are often used to measure the force of the air on the object.
About Trisonic Wind Tunnel at VSCC
- ‘Trisonic’ refers to the tunnel’s capability to test in three speed regimes—below the speed of sound (subsonic), at the speed of sound (transonic), and above the speed of sound (supersonic).
- Its parts include air storage vessels, a settling chamber where the airflow is ‘smoothened’ out, and nozzles for releasing the air into the test section.
- It is about 160 metres long and measures 5.4 metres at its widest part.
- In a ‘blow down test’, stored gases are released and blown through the tunnel’s test section, simulating flight conditions.
- The tunnel can simulate flight conditions from 0.2 times the speed of sound (68 metres per second) to four times the speed of sound (1,360 metres per second), according to the space agency.
- Commissioned in 2017, this tunnel can simulate flow speeds up to Mach 12.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Election Deposit
Mains level: Not Much
A political party based in New Delhi lost its election deposit for most of its candidates in the assembly elections in Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh.
Do you know?
In the first Lok Sabha elections in 1951-52, almost 40 per cent of the total candidates lost their deposits. Nearly 86 per cent of the candidates contesting Lok Sabha elections in 2019 lost deposits, according to a report released by the Election Commission of India.
What is an Election Security Deposit?
- An election security deposit is an amount that is to be deposited with the Returning Officer when a candidate files their nomination.
- This is to be submitted either in cash, or a receipt must be enclosed with the nomination paper.
- It mentions that the said sum has been deposited on the candidate’s behalf in the Reserve Bank of India or in a Government Treasury.
- The main purpose of this practice is to ensure that only genuinely intending candidates end up filing the nomination to be a part of the electoral process.
Is the amount same for all elections?
- No, it depends on the particular election being conducted, and the Representation of the People Act of 1951 mentions different amounts depending on the level of election:
- In the case of an election from a Parliamentary constituency, meaning a Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha seat, the amount is Rs 25,000 and Rs 12,500 for a Scheduled Caste (SC) or Scheduled Tribe (ST) candidate.
- In the case of an election from an Assembly or Council constituency, meaning at the level of legislative bodies in the states, it is Rs 10,000 and Rs 5,000 for an SC/ST candidate.
- Even in the case of Presidential and Vice-Presidential elections, a deposit of Rs 15,000 is to be made.
Losing the deposits
- As per the same Act, the deposit has to be forfeited at an election if the number of valid votes polled by the candidate is less than 1/6th of the total number of valid votes polled.
- Or, in the case of the election of more than one member, it would be 1/6th of the total number of valid votes so polled divided by the number of members to be elected.
- This refers to elections by proportional representation method, as is the case in Rajya Sabha.
- If the candidate does meet the threshold, “the deposit shall be returned as soon as practicable after the result of the election is declared.”
- If a candidate withdraws their nomination or passes away before the polls, the amount is returned.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: State and National Party
Mains level: Read the attached story
A political party (revived from the anti-corruption movement) is on track to be recognized as a 9th national party by the Election Commission of India (ECI).
What is a national party?
- The name suggests that a national party would be one that has a presence ‘nationally’, as opposed to a regional party whose presence is restricted to only a particular state or region.
- National parties are usually India’s bigger parties.
- However, some smaller parties, like the communist parties, are also recognised as national parties.
- A certain stature is sometimes associated with being a national party, but this does not necessarily translate into having a lot of national political clout.
So how is a political party defined?
The ECI’s Political Parties and Election Symbols, 2019 handbook species following criteria:
For recognition as a NATIONAL PARTY, the conditions specified are:
- a 6% vote share in the last Assembly polls in each of any four states, as well as four seats in the last Lok Sabha polls; or
- 2% of all Lok Sabha seats in the last such election, with MPs elected from at least three states; or
- recognition as a state party in at least four states.
For recognition as a STATE PARTY, any one of five conditions needs to be satisfied:
- two seats plus a 6% vote share in the last Assembly election in that state; or
- one seat plus a 6% vote share in the last Lok Sabha election from that state; or
- 3% of the total Assembly seats or 3 seats, whichever is more; or
- one of every 25 Lok Sabha seats (or an equivalent fraction) from a state; or
- an 8% state-wide vote share in either the last Lok Sabha or the last Assembly polls.
Benefits for recognized parties
- This is subject to the fulfillment of the conditions prescribed by the Commission in the Election Symbols (Reservation and Allotment) Order, 1968.
(a) Reserved Sybol
- If a party is recognised as a ‘state party’, it is entitled for exclusive allotment of its reserved symbol to the candidates set up by it in the state in which it is so recognised.
- If a party is recognised as a ‘national party’ it is entitled for exclusive allotment of its reserved symbol to the candidates set up by it throughout India.
(b) Proposer for nomination
- Recognised ‘state’ and ‘national’ parties need only one proposer for filing the nomination.
(c) Campaigning benefits
- They are also entitled for two sets of electoral rolls free of cost and broadcast/telecast facilities over state-owned Akashvani/Doordarshan during the general elections.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: NRI, OCI, PIO
Mains level: Not Much
The Delhi High Court has sought a response from the central government on a petition against the cancellation of a person’s Overseas Citizenship of India (OCI) card.
Who is an Overseas Citizen?
- An OCI is a category introduced by the government in 2005.
- Persons of Indian Origin (PIOs) of certain categories as specified in the Citizenship Act, 1955 are eligible for being OCI cardholders.
- Some of the benefits for PIO and OCI cardholders were different until 2015 when the government merged these two categories.
- The MHA defines an OCI as a person who was a citizen of India on or after January 26, 1950; or was eligible to become a citizen of India on that date; or who is a child or grandchild of such a person, among other eligibility criteria.
- According to Section 7A of the OCI card rules, an applicant is not eligible for the OCI card if he, his parents or grandparents have ever been a citizen of Pakistan or Bangladesh.
Privileges to an OCI
- OCI cardholders can enter India multiple times, get a multipurpose lifelong visa to visit India, and are exempt from registering with Foreigners Regional Registration Office (FRRO) no matter how long their stay.
- If an individual is registered as an OCI for a period of five years, he/she are eligible to apply for Indian citizenship.
- At all Indian international airports, OCI cardholders are provided with special immigration counters.
- OCI cardholders can open special bank accounts in India, they can buy the non-farm property and exercise ownership rights and can also apply for a driver’s license and PAN card.
- However, OCI cardholders do not get voting rights, cannot hold a government job and purchase agricultural or farmland.
- They cannot run for public office either, nor can they travel to restricted areas without government permission.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: MSCS Act, 2002
Mains level: Cooperatives in India
The Multi-State Cooperative Societies (Amendment) Bill, 2022, aimed at bringing in transparency in the sector, was introduced in the Lok Sabha.
What is MSCS Act, 2002?
- Cooperatives are a state subject, but there are many societies such as those for sugar and milk, banks, milk unions etc. whose members and areas of operation are spread across more than one state.
- The MSCS Act was passed to govern such cooperatives.
- For example, most sugar mills along the districts on the Karnataka-Maharashtra border procure cane from both states.
What are Multi-State Cooperatives?
- They draw their membership from two or more states, and they are thus registered under the MSCS Act.
- Their board of directors has representation from all states they operate in.
- Administrative and financial control of these societies is with the central registrar, with the law making it clear that no state government official can wield any control on them.
Why does the government plan to amend the Act?
(1) Issues with Central Registrar
- The exclusive control of the central registrar, who is also the Central Cooperative Commissioner, was meant to allow smooth functioning of these societies.
- The central Act cushions them from the interference of state authorities so that these societies are able to function in multiple states.
- What was supposed to facilitate smooth functioning, however, has created obstacles.
- For state-registered societies, financial and administrative control rests with state registrars who exercise it through district- and tehsil-level officers.
(2) Multiple checks and balances
- Thus if a sugar mill wishes to buy new machinery or go for expansion, they would first have to take permission from the sugar commissioner for both.
- Post this, the proposal would go to the state-level committee that would float tenders and carry out the process.
- While the system for state-registered societies includes checks and balances at multiple layers to ensure transparency in the process, these layers do not exist in the case of multistate societies.
- Instead, the board of directors has control of all finances and administration.
(3) Lack of govt control
- There is an apparent lack of day-to-day government control on such societies.
- Unlike state cooperatives, which have to submit multiple reports to the state registrar, multistate cooperatives need not.
- The central registrar can only allow inspection of the societies under special conditions — a written request by one-third of the members of the board.
- Inspections can happen only after prior intimation to societies.
(4) Lack of infrastructure
- The on-ground infrastructure for central registrar is thin — there are no officers or offices at state level, with most work being carried out either online or through correspondence.
- For members of the societies, the only office where they can seek justice is in Delhi, with state authorities expressing their inability to do anything.
(5) Ponzi schemes functioning as MCS
- There have been instances across the country when credit societies have launched ponzi schemes taking advantage of these loopholes.
- Such schemes mostly target small and medium holders with the lure of high returns.
- Fly-by-night operators get people to invest and, after a few instalments, wind up their operations.
Need for Amendment
- At present, India has more than 1,500 multi-State cooperative societies.
- The Bill seeks to strengthen governance, reform the electoral process, improve the monitoring mechanism, and ensure ease of doing business in multi-State cooperative societies.
- It also aims to improve the composition of boards and ensure financial discipline, besides enabling the raising of funds in multi-State cooperative societies.
Key establishments under the Amendment Bill
- In order to make the governance of multi-State cooperative societies more democratic, transparent and accountable, the Bill has provisions for setting up of –
- Cooperative Election Authority,
- Cooperative Information Officer and
- Cooperative Ombudsman.
Other features
- Constitution of interim board: The Bill allows the central registrar to declare any multi-state cooperative society as sick. The Central government may, on the recommendation of the registrar, appoint an interim board for a maximum of five years. The central registrar can also declare a cooperative to be viable within the five years. The board of directors before the cooperative was declared sick shall be reinstated.
- Elections: The Act states that elections shall be conducted by the existing board. The Bill amends this to state that the Central government may appoint a Cooperative Election Authority to conduct elections in cooperative societies to be prescribed.
- Constitution of Fund: The Bill states that the central government shall set up the Cooperative Rehabilitation and Reconstruction Fund. A cooperative society shall credit 0.005% to 0.1% of its turnover to the fund, provided it does not exceed Rs 3crores per year.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Vote counts
Mains level: Not Much
For a country like India where each individual constituency can have lakhs of voters, counting votes is a complex process that requires both pace and precision.
Where are the Votes counted?
- Ideally, all votes should be counted in one location in the constituency.
- However, during General Elections, when seats are larger with multiple Assembly constituencies, many counting centres can be appointed, depending on the number of votes that need to be counted.
- The location(s) for counting votes is decided by the Returning Officer (RO), with multiple centres in assembly segments being under the supervision of the Assistant Returning Officers (ARO).
- In counting centres, ideally all votes are counted in one big hall having multiple tables.
- However, if the RO feels there is a risk of overcrowding, more rooms may be opened up after permission from the Election Commission (EC).
Role of Returning Officer
- The RO is appointed for each constituency by the Election Commission.
- During the duration of the election, the RO is the highest authority in the constituency having a wide range of powers in order to peacefully and impartially conduct elections.
- With respect to counting of votes, the RO has the following duties:
- To designate the counting centres and get them approved by the Commission well in advance;
- To send notice to the candidates about the place, date and time of counting of votes;
- To appoint and train counting staff;
- To count the votes and declare the result.
- ROs themselves do not count all votes but verify the counting at multiple stages and announce the results.
- They are the final authority in the matter of vote counting in an election.
Supervision of the process
- A counting room will have multiple counting tables with each counting a set number of postal ballots/EVMs on a round-to-round basis.
- On each table, there is a counting supervisor and up to two assistants who do the actual counting.
- They should be gazetted officers and are appointed by the RO.
- They receive specific training pertaining to the tasks they are expected to undertake.
- For instance, for those counting postal ballots, the training is different from that received for counting EVM votes.
Observers in the counting process
- The EC appoints observers at each counting room, who are supposed to record the proceedings and file a report.
- They are generally employees of the GoI, and are tasked with the duty to oversee overall functioning of the election apparatus.
- Candidates who were on the ballot are also allowed in the counting room along with their representatives.
- All parties and candidates send counting agents in order to ensure that votes are counted fairly and according to procedure, and lodge complaints, if any.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: SpaceTech Innovation Network (SpIN)
Mains level: Commercial space activities in India
The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) has signed a MoU with Social Alpha, a multistage innovation curation and venture development platform, to launch SpaceTech Innovation Network (SpIN).
SpaceTech Innovation Network (SpIN)
- SpIN is India’s first dedicated platform for innovation, curation, and venture development for the burgeoning space entrepreneurial ecosystem.
- SpIN will primarily focus on facilitating space tech entrepreneurs in three distinct innovation categories:
- Geospatial Technologies and Downstream Applications;
- Enabling Technologies for Space & Mobility; and
- Aerospace Materials, Sensors, and Avionics.
Key initiative
- SpIN has launched its first innovation challenge for developing solutions in areas of maritime and land transportation, urbanization, mapping, and surveying.
- The selected start-ups and innovators will be able to access both Social Alpha’s and ISRO’s infrastructure and resources as per the prevailing guidelines.
- They will be provided active hand-holding in critical areas, including access to product design, testing and validation infrastructure, and intellectual property management.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: CARA
Mains level: Child Adoption
The pendency in the adoption of children has come down to 644 from 905 over the last two months since the new Adoption Regulations were notified.
What is the news?
- The Rules for the adoption of the Juvenile Justice Act were notified in September this year.
Adoption Regulations, 2022
- The new rules empower District Magistrates to issue adoption orders.
- Earlier, this power was exercised by the judiciary.
- Changes have also been made to the Child Adoption Resource Information and Guidance System (CARINGS) online platform for adoption.
- In accordance with the new rules, prospective adoptive parents can now opt from their home State or region.
- This has been mandated to ensure that the child and the family adjust well with each other, belonging to the same socio-cultural milieu.
Adoption in India: A backgrounder
- In 2015, the then Minister for Women and Child Development centralised the entire adoption system by empowering Central Adoption Resource Authority (CARA).
- CARA is an autonomous and statutory body of Ministry of Women and Child Development set up in 2015.
- It was empowered to maintain in various specialised adoption agencies, a registry of children, prospective adoptive parents as well as match them before adoption.
- This was aimed at checking rampant corruption and trafficking as child care institutions and NGOs could directly give children for adoption after obtaining a no-objection certificate from CARA.
Why is there concern over the revised rules?
- Parents, activists, lawyers and adoption agencies will have to be transferred and the process will have to start afresh.
- A delay in such an order can often mean that a child can’t get admission into a school because parents don’t yet have a birth certificate.
- Parents and lawyers also state that neither judges, nor DMs are aware about the change in the JJ Act leading to confusion in the system and delays.
- DMs don’t handle civil matters that bestow inheritance and succession rights on a child.
- If these rights are contested when a child turns 18, a judicial order is far more tenable to ensure the child is not deprived of his or her entitlements.
Is it such a big issue?
- The Central Adoption Resource Authority (CARA) says there are nearly 1,000 adoption cases pending before various courts in the country.
- This is not such a huge burden.
What is the adoption procedure in India?
- Adoptions in India are governed by two laws:
- Hindu Adoption and Maintenance Act, 1956 (HAMA): It is a parent-centric law that provides son to the son-less for reasons of succession, inheritance, continuance of family name and for funeral rights and later adoption of daughters was incorporated because kanyadaan is considered an important part of dharma in Hindu tradition.
- Juvenile Justice Act, 2015: It handles issues of children in conflict with law as well as those who are in need of care and protection and only has a small chapter on adoptions.
- Both laws have their separate eligibility criteria for adoptive parents.
- Those applying under the JJ Act have to register on CARA’s portal after which a specialised adoption agency carries out a home study report.
- After it finds the candidate eligible for adoption, a child declared legally free for adoption is referred to the applicant.
- Under HAMA, a “dattaka hom” ceremony or an adoption deed or a court order is sufficient to obtain irrevocable adoption rights.
Issues with child adoption in India
- Parent-centrism: The current adoption approach is very parent-centred, but parents must make it child-centred.
- Age of child: Most Indian parents also want a child between the ages of zero and two, believing that this is when the parent-child bond is formed.
- Institutional issues: Because the ratio of abandoned children to children in institutionalised care is lopsided, there are not enough children available for adoption.
- Lineage discrimination: Most Indians have a distorted view of adoption because they want their genes, blood, and lineage to be passed down to their children.
- Red-tapism: Child adoption is also not so easy task after the Juvenile Justice Rules of 2016 and the Adoption Regulations of 2017 were launched.
Practical issues in adoption
- There are no rules for monitoring adoptions and verifying sourcing of children and determining whether parents are fit to adopt.
- There are many problems with the adoption system under CARA but at the heart of it is the fact that there are very few children in its registry.
- According to the latest figures there are only 2,188 children in the adoption pool, while there are more than 31,000 parents waiting to adopt a child.
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