Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Paika Rebellion
Mains level: Peasants uprising in India
The 1817 Paika Rebellion of Odisha would be included as a case study in the Class 8 NCERT history textbook, informed the Union Culture Minister.
Who were the Paiks?
- The Paiks of Odisha were the traditional landed militia and enjoyed rent free land tenures for their military service and policing functions on a hereditary basis.
Paika Rebellion
- When the British started tinkering with the revenue system in 1803, the farming community of Odisha rose in rebellion.
- At that critical juncture, Bakshi Jagabandhu Bidyadhar — the military chief of the King of Khurda — led his army of Paikas forcing the British East India Company forces to retreat.
- The rebellion came to be known as Paika Bidroh (Paika rebellion).
When did it take place?
- The rebellion, by the landed militia of Khurda called Paiks, predates the first war of independence in 1857 but did not get similar recognition.
- It took place when the British East India Company wrested the rent-free land that had been given to the Paiks for their military service to the Kingdom of Khurda.
Try this PYQ from CSP 2020:
Q. With reference to the history of India, ‘ulgulan’ or the great tumult is the description of the which of the following?
(a) The revolt of 1857
(b) The Mappila rebellion of 1921
(c) The Indigo revolt of 1859-1860
(d) Birsa Munda’s revolt of 1899-1900
Post your answers here.
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The James Webb Space Telescope, NASA’s largest space science telescope ever constructed, is scheduled to be sent into orbit in December.
James Webb Space Telescope (JWST)
- It is a space telescope being jointly developed by NASA, the European Space Agency (ESA), and the Canadian Space Agency (CSA).
- It has taken 30 years and $10bn to develop, and is being described as one of the grand scientific endeavors of the 21st Century.
What is the goal of this telescope?
- The telescope will be able to see just about anything in the sky.
- However, it has one overriding objective – to see the light coming from the very first stars to shine in the Universe.
- These pioneer stars are thought to have switched on about 100-200 million years after the Big Bang, or a little over 13.5 billion years ago.
- Webb will be picking out groupings of these stars.
- They are so far away their light – even though it moves at 300,000km per second – will have taken billions of years to travel the cosmos.
JWST mirror
- One of the most important objects it will carry is a large mirror which will help collect light from the objects being observed.
- The primary mirror is made of 18 hexagonal-shaped mirror segments — each 1.32 metre in diameter — stitched together in a honeycomb pattern.
- The primary mirror is a technological marvel.
- The lightweight mirrors, coatings, actuators and mechanisms, electronics, and thermal blankets when fully deployed form a single precise mirror that is truly remarkable.
- Each mirror segment weighs approximately 20 kilograms and is made from beryllium.
Why beryllium?
- NASA explains that beryllium was used as it is both strong and light.
- Beryllium is very strong for its weight and is good at holding its shape across a range of temperatures. Beryllium is a good conductor of electricity and heat and is not magnetic.
- Because it is light and strong, beryllium is often used to build parts for supersonic airplanes and the Space Shuttle.
- It added that special care was taken when working with beryllium because it is unhealthy to breathe in or swallow beryllium dust.
So, it does not have gold?
- After the beryllium mirror segments were polished a thin coating of gold was applied to it. Gold helps improve the mirror’s reflection of infrared light.
- The gold was coated using a technique called vacuum vapour deposition.
- The mirrors are kept inside a vacuum chamber and a small quantity of gold is vapourised and deposited on the mirror.
- The thickness of the gold is just 100 nanometers. So less than 50 grams of gold was used for the entire mirror.
- A thin layer of glass was also deposited on top of the gold layer to protect it from scratches.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: PAT Scheme
Mains level: Schemes for emission control
A recent report by the Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) has attributed the inefficiency of the PAT scheme to non-transparency, loose targets and overlooked deadlines.
PAT Scheme
- Perform Achieve and Trade (PAT) scheme is a flagship program of Bureau of Energy Efficiency under the National Mission for Enhanced Energy Efficiency (NMEEE).
- NMEEE is one of the eight national missions under the National Action Plan on Climate Change (NAPCC) launched by the Government of India in the year 2008
Working of the scheme
- PAT is a market-based compliance mechanism to accelerate improvements in energy efficiency in energy-intensive industries.
- The energy savings achieved by notified industries is converted into tradable instruments called Energy Saving Certificates (ESCerts).
- The ESCerts after issuance by the Bureau of Energy Efficiency are traded at Power Exchanges.
What is PAT cycle?
- The government shortlists industries and restricts the amount of energy they can consume and defines a time limit of three years by when this restriction should be met as part of PAT.
- These three years of time are called one PAT cycle.
- The industries are chosen after in-depth, sector-wise analysis by the government.
- Industries that participate in this scheme are called designated consumers (DC).
- Those that overachieve their targets are issued energy savings certificates (ESCerts) that can be traded with industries that have not achieved their targets.
- Non-achievers have to buy the ESCerts after the three years for compliance.
Various PAT cycles
- PAT covered about 13 energy-intensive sectors
- Sectors included are thermal power plants (TPP), cement, aluminium, iron and steel, pulp and paper, fertilizer, chlor-alkali, petroleum refineries, petrochemicals, distribution companies, railways, textile and commercial buildings (hotels and airports)
- Announcements for six cycles since 2012 have been made so far
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: [pib] Scheme for Protection and Preservation of Endangered Languages of India (SPPEL)
Mains level: Not Much
The Government of India has initiated a Scheme known as “Scheme for Protection and Preservation of Endangered Languages of India” (SPPEL) informed the Minister of Culture and Tourism.
About SPPEL
- The Scheme was instituted by Ministry of Human Resource Development in 2013.
- The sole objective of the Scheme is to document and archive the country’s languages that have become endangered or likely to be endangered in the near future.
- The scheme is monitored by the Central Institute of Indian Languages (CIIL) located in Mysuru, Karnataka.
- The CIIL has collaborated with various universities and institutes across India for this mission.
- University Grants Commission (UGC) is also providing financial assistance for the creation of centres for endangered languages at Central and State Universities.
What are Endangered Languages?
- At the moment, the languages which are spoken by less than 10,000 speakers or languages that are not been linguistically studied earlier are considered endangered language.
Present status of the scheme
- Presently, 117 languages have been listed for the documentation.
- Documentation in the form of grammar, dictionary and ethno-linguistic profiles of about 500 lesser known languages are estimated to be accomplished in the coming years.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: 5G technology
Mains level: Useful data about 5G in India
India 5G subscriptions are set to reach 500 mn by 2027, said Ericsson in its report.
Ericsson Mobility Report
- The report has added that the total number of smartphone subscriptions is expected to be 810 million at the end of 2021.
- It is projected to grow at a compounded annual growth rate of 7%, exceeding 1.2 billion by 2027.
5G penetration in India
- 5G telecom services are likely to account for 39% of mobile subscriptions or about 500 million subscriptions in India at the end of 2027.
- 4G is expected to remain the dominant technology in India in 2027.
- 4G subscriptions are expected to reduce from 68% of mobile subscriptions in 2021 to 55% in 2027 as subscribers migrate to 5G.
- However, 4G subscriptions are forecast to drop from 790 million in 2021 to 710 million in 2027, showing an annual average decline of 2%.
Back2Basics: 5G Technology
- 5G or fifth generation is the latest upgrade in the long-term evolution (LTE) mobile broadband networks.
- It mainly works in 3 bands, namely low, mid and high-frequency spectrum — all of which have their own uses as well as limitations.
Three bands of 5G
- The low band spectrum has shown great promise in terms of coverage and speed of internet and data exchange, the maximum speed is limited to 100 Mbps (Megabits per second).
- This means that while telcos can use and install it for commercial cellphones users who may not have specific demands for very high-speed internet, the low band spectrum may not be optimal for specialised needs of the industry.
- The mid-band spectrum, on the other hand, offers higher speeds compared to the low band but has limitations in terms of coverage area and penetration of signals.
- Telcos and companies, which have taken the lead on 5G, have indicated that this band may be used by industries and specialized factory units for building captive networks that can be molded into the needs of that particular industry.
- The high-band spectrum offers the highest speed of all the three bands, but has extremely limited coverage and signal penetration strength.
- Internet speeds in the high-band spectrum of 5G have been tested to be as high as 20 Gbps (gigabits per second), while, in most cases, the maximum internet data speed in 4G has been recorded at 1 Gbps.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Tundra Satellite, Various types of Orbits
Mains level: Not Much
Russia has successfully placed into orbit a military satellite believed to be part of the Kremlin’s early warning anti-missile system. This launch could be delivering a Tundra satellite.
Tundra Satellite
- The Tundra or EKS (Edinaya Kosmicheskaya Sistema) series of satellites is the next generation of Russian early-warning satellites.
- The development of the EKS started in 2000.
- These satellites carry a secure emergency communications payload to be used in case of a nuclear war.
- They are launched on Soyuz-2-1b Fregat boosters into Molniya-orbits, inclined highly elliptical 12 h orbits.
What are Tundra Orbits?
- A Tundra orbit is a highly elliptical geosynchronous orbit with a high inclination (approximately 63.4°), an orbital period of one sidereal day.
- A satellite placed in this orbit spends most of its time over a chosen area of the Earth, a phenomenon known as apogee dwell.
- It makes satellites particularly well suited for communications satellites serving high latitude regions.
- The ground track of a satellite in a Tundra orbit is a closed figure 8 with a smaller loop over either the northern or southern hemisphere.
- This differentiates them from Molniya orbits designed to service high-latitude regions, which have the same inclination but half the period and do not hover over a single region.
Back2Basics: Types of Orbits
[1] Geostationary orbit (GEO)
- Satellites in geostationary orbit (GEO) circle Earth above the equator from west to east following Earth’s rotation – taking 23 hours 56 minutes and 4 seconds – by travelling at exactly the same rate as Earth.
- This makes satellites in GEO appear to be ‘stationary’ over a fixed position.
- In order to perfectly match Earth’s rotation, the speed of GEO satellites should be about 3 km per second at an altitude of 35 786 km.
- This is much farther from Earth’s surface compared to many satellites.
- GEO is used by satellites that need to stay constantly above one particular place over Earth, such as telecommunication satellites.
- Satellites in GEO cover a large range of Earth so as few as three equally-spaced satellites can provide near-global coverage.
[2] Low Earth orbit (LEO)
- A low Earth orbit (LEO) is, as the name suggests, an orbit that is relatively close to Earth’s surface.
- It is normally at an altitude of less than 1000 km but could be as low as 160 km above Earth – which is low compared to other orbits, but still very far above Earth’s surface.
- Unlike satellites in GEO that must always orbit along Earth’s equator, LEO satellites do not always have to follow a particular path around Earth in the same way – their plane can be tilted.
- This means there are more available routes for satellites in LEO, which is one of the reasons why LEO is a very commonly used orbit.
- It is most commonly used for satellite imaging, as being near the surface allows it to take images of higher resolution.
- Satellites in this orbit travel at a speed of around 7.8 km per second; at this speed, a satellite takes approximately 90 minutes to circle Earth.
[3] Medium Earth orbit (MEO)
- Medium Earth orbit comprises a wide range of orbits anywhere between LEO and GEO.
- It is similar to LEO in that it also does not need to take specific paths around Earth, and it is used by a variety of satellites with many different applications.
- It is very commonly used by navigation satellites, like the European Galileo system of Europe.
- It uses a constellation of multiple satellites to provide coverage across large parts of the world all at once.
[4] Polar Orbit
- Satellites in polar orbits usually travel past Earth from north to south rather than from west to east, passing roughly over Earth’s poles.
- Satellites in a polar orbit do not have to pass the North and South Pole precisely; even a deviation within 20 to 30 degrees is still classed as a polar orbit.
- Polar orbits are a type of low Earth orbit, as they are at low altitudes between 200 to 1000 km.
[5] Sun-synchronous orbit (SSO)
- SSO is a particular kind of polar orbit. Satellites in SSO, travelling over the polar regions, are synchronous with the Sun.
- This means they are synchronised to always be in the same ‘fixed’ position relative to the Sun.
- This means that the satellite always visits the same spot at the same local time.
- Often, satellites in SSO are synchronised so that they are in constant dawn or dusk – this is because by constantly riding a sunset or sunrise, they will never have the Sun at an angle where the Earth shadows them.
- A satellite in a Sun-synchronous orbit would usually be at an altitude of between 600 to 800 km. At 800 km, it will be travelling at a speed of approximately 7.5 km per second.
[6] Transfer orbits and geostationary transfer orbit (GTO)
- Transfer orbits are a special kind of orbit used to get from one orbit to another.
- Often, the satellites are instead placed on a transfer orbit: an orbit where, by using relatively little energy from built-in motors, the satellite or spacecraft can move from one orbit to another.
- This allows a satellite to reach, for example, a high-altitude orbit like GEO without actually needing the launch vehicle.
- Reaching GEO in this way is an example of one of the most common transfer orbits, called the geostationary transfer orbit (GTO).
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Indus valley civilization
Mains level: Not Much
A group of researchers has been able to collect bones and teeth samples of over 2,000 such ancient specimens from regions from where domestic horses could have originated.
Research on horse domestication
- The research has studied fossils from the Iberian Peninsula in the southwestern corner of Europe, or the western-most edge of Eurasia (Spain and its neighbours), Anatolia (modern Turkey), and the steppes of Western Eurasia and Central Asia.
- These collective data have led them to decide that until about 4200 BCE, many distinct horse populations inhabited various regions of Eurasia.
Key findings of the research
- A similar genetic analysis has found that horses with the modern domestic DNA profile lived in the Western Eurasian Steppes, particularly the Volga-Don River region.
- By around 2200–2000 BCE, these horses spread out to Bohemia (the Czech Republic of today and Ukraine), and Central Asia and Mongolia.
- These horses were bred by breeders from these countries to sell them to countries that demanded them.
- Riding on horses became popular in these nations by around 3300 BCE, and armies were built using them, for example, in Mesopotamia, Iran, Kuwait and the ‘Fertile Crescent’ or Palestine.
- The first spoke-wheeled chariots emerged around 2000-1800 BC.
Indian story
- Horses were never native to India.
- The only animals native to India were the Asian elephant, snow leopard, rhinoceros, Bengal tiger, Sloth bear, Himalayan wolf, Gaur bison, red panda, crocodile, and the birds peacock and flamingo.
- Thus, it seems clear from these sources that horse is not native to India.
- Horses must have come into India through inter-regional trading between countries.
- Indians might have traded their elephants, tigers, monkeys, birds to their neighbours and imported horses.
When did India get its horses?
- Horse-related remains and artefacts have been found in Late Harappan sites (1900-1300 BCE).
- Horses did not seem to have played an essential role in the Harappan civilization.
- This is in contrast to the Vedic Period, which is a little later (1500-500 BCE).
- The Sanskrit word for horse is Ashwa, which is mentioned in the Vedas and Hindu Scriptures.
- These are roughly towards the end of the late Bronze Age.
Try this PYQ:
Q. With reference to the difference between the culture of Rigvedic Aryans and Indus Valley people, which of the following statements correct?
- Rigvedic Aryans used the coat of mail and helmet in warfare whereas the people of Indus Valley Civilization did not leave any evidence of using them.
- Rigvedic Aryans knew gold, silver and copper whereas Indus Valley people knew only copper and iron.
- Rigvedic Aryans had domesticated the horse whereas there is no evidence of Indus Valley people having been aware of this animal.
Select the correct answer using the code given below:
(a) Only 1
(b) 2 and 3 only
(c) 1 and 3 only
(d) 1, 2 and 3
Post your answers here.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: COVID mutation
Mains level: Not Much
A new lineage of SARS-CoV-2 has been designated as a Variant of Concern (VoC) by the World Health Organization (WHO) and has been named Omicron.
Behind the name: Omicron
- The WHO has been using Greek letters to refer to the most widely prevalent coronavirus variants, which otherwise carry long scientific names.
- It had already used 12 letters of the Greek alphabet before the newest variant emerged in South Africa this week.
- After Mu, the 12th named after a Greek letter, WHO selected the name Omicron, instead of Nu or Xi, the two letters between Mu and Omicron.
- The WHO said Nu could have been confused with the word ‘new’ while Xi was not picked up following a convention.
Why is the Omicron variant interesting?
- The Omicron variant is interesting due to the fact that it has a large number of mutations compared to other prevalent variants circulating across the world.
- This includes 32 mutations in the spike protein.
- Many of these mutations lie in the receptor-binding domain of the spike protein, a key part of the protein required for binding to the human receptor proteins for entry into the cell.
- It can thus play an important role in recognition by antibodies generated due to a previous infection or by vaccines.
What do spike mutations do?
- Many of the mutations in the spike protein have been previously suggested to cause resistance to antibodies as well as increased transmission.
- Thus, there is a possibility that this variant could be more likely to re-infect people who have developed immunity against previous variants of the virus.
- The behavior of the virus is not yet accurately predictable based on the evidence on individual mutations.
Does the variant result in vaccine breakthrough infections?
- Some of the initial individuals identified to be infected with the variant have been vaccinated for COVID-19 and therefore the variant can indeed cause vaccine breakthrough infections.
- This should not be of concern, since the prevalent variants of concern including Delta have been shown to cause breakthrough infections.
- Whether the variant causes more breakthrough infections than Delta is not currently known.
How can we be prepared for the variant?
- Enhanced surveillance and genome sequencing efforts are essential to detect and track the prevalence of the Omicron variant.
- Rapid sharing of genome sequences of the virus and the epidemiological data linked with it to publicly available databases will help in developing a better understanding of the variant.
- Existing public health and social measures need to be strengthened to control and prevent transmission.
- Enhancing vaccination coverage across different regions along with access to testing, therapeutics and support will be essential for combating the new variant.
- Equitable access to vaccines would be key to controlling the Omicron variant, and slowing down the emergence of any future variants.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Exercise Dosti
Mains level: Not Much
The 15th edition of the biennial trilateral coast guard exercise ‘Dosti’ involving India, the Maldives and Sri Lanka is underway in the Maldives.
Exercise Dosti
- The aim of this exercise is to further fortify the friendship, enhance mutual operational capability, and exercise interoperability and to build cooperation.
- Both the Maldives and Sri Lanka are of strategic importance to New Delhi and to its maritime security interests.
- 2021 marks 30 years since these exercises were first launched.
Significance of the exercise
- These exercises help during joint operations and missions undertaken by countries and also help enhance interoperability.
- Although piracy is not a major issue in this part of the Indian ocean, these kinds of exercises also help coast guards with training for possibilities.
- These exercises help develop a better understanding of the other nation’s coast guard operations and how to enhance coordination during different kinds of missions.
What it involves
- The scope of these exercises are wide-ranging.
- India, Sri Lanka and the Maldives have agreed to work on what they called the “four pillars” of security cooperation.
- These involved the areas of marine security, human trafficking, counter-terrorism and cyber security.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Lachit Borphukan, Battle of Saraighat
Mains level: Not Much
The Prime Minister has paid tributes to Lachit Borphukan on Lachit Diwas.
Who was Lachit Borphukan?
- The year was 1671 and the decisive Battle of Saraighat was fought on the raging waters of the Brahmaputra.
- On one side was Mughal Emperor Aurangzeb’s army headed by Ram Singh of Amer (Jaipur) and on the other was the Ahom General Lachit Borphukan.
- He was a commander in the Ahom kingdom, located in present-day Assam.
- Ram Singh failed to make any advance against the Assamese army during the first phase of the war.
- Lachit Borphukan emerged victorious in the war and the Mughals were forced to retreat from Guwahati.
Lachit Diwas
- On 24 November each year, Lachit Divas is celebrated statewide in Assam to commemorate the heroism of Lachit Borphukan.
- On this day, Borphukan has defeated the Mughal army on the banks of the Brahmaputra in the Battle of Saraighat in 1671.
- The best passing out cadet of National Defence Academy has conferred the Lachit gold medal every year since 1999 commemorating his valour.
Try this PYQ:
Q.What was the immediate cause for Ahmad Shah Abdali to invade and fight the Third Battle of Panipat:
(a) He wanted to avenge the expulsion by Marathas of his viceroy Timur Shah from Lahore
(b) The frustrated governor of Jullundhar Adina Beg khan invited him to invade Punjab
(c) He wanted to punish Mughal administration for non-payment of the revenues of the Chahar Mahal (Gujrat Aurangabad, Sialkot and Pasrur)
(d) He wanted to annex all the fertile plains of Punjab upto borders of Delhi to his kingdom
Post your answers here.
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From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Cooperative Banks
Mains level: Cooperatives banking and its regulation
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has cautioned members of the public not to deal with cooperative societies undertaking banking business by adding ‘bank’ to their names.
What is the news?
- It has also come to the notice of RBI that some co-operative societies are accepting deposits from non-members/nominal members/ associate members.
- This is tantamount to conducting banking business in violation of the provisions.
Who can use ‘Bank’ title?
- The Banking Regulation Act, 1949 was amended by the Banking Regulation (Amendment) Act, 2020, which came into force on September 29, 2020.
- Accordingly, co-operative societies cannot use the words “bank”, “banker” or “banking” as part of their names, except as permitted under the provisions of BR Act, 1949 or by the RBI.
What is Cooperative Banking?
- Cooperatives are people-centred enterprises owned, controlled and run by and for their members to realise their common economic, social, and cultural needs and aspirations.
- Cooperative bank is an institution established on the cooperative basis and dealing in ordinary banking business.
- Like other banks, the cooperative banks are founded by collecting funds through shares, accept deposits and grant loans.
- They are regulated by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) and governed by the
- Banking Regulations Act 1949
- Banking Laws (Co-operative Societies) Act, 1955
Features of Cooperative Banks
- Cooperative banks are generally concerned with the rural credit and provide financial assistance for agricultural and rural activities.
- Such banking in India is federal in structure. Primary credit societies are at the lowest rung.
- Then, there are central cooperative banks at the district level and state cooperative banks at the state level.
- Cooperative credit societies are mostly located in villages spread over the entire country.
History of Cooperative Banking in India:
- The cooperative movement in India was started primarily for dealing with the problem of rural credit.
- The history of Indian cooperative banking started with the passing of Cooperative Societies Act in 1904.
- The objective of this Act was to establish cooperative credit societies “to encourage thrift, self-help and cooperation among agriculturists, artisans and persons of limited means.”
- Many cooperative credit societies were set up under this Act.
- The Cooperative Societies Act, 1912 recognised the need for establishing new organisations for supervision, auditing and supply of cooperative credit.
Structure of Cooperative Banking
- The whole structure of cooperative credit institutions is shown in the chart given.
- There are different types of cooperative credit institutions working in India.
- These institutions can be classified into two broad categories- agricultural and non-agricultural.
- Agricultural credit institutions dominate the entire cooperative credit structure.
Various facets of cooperatives in India
- Cooperatives in India have grown exponentially.
- In the banking sector, according to the RBI, their contribution to rural credit increased from 3.1 percent in 1951 to an impressive 27.3 percent in 2002.
Importance of Cooperative Banks:
- The cooperative banking system has to play a critical role in promoting rural finance and is especially suited to Indian conditions.
- Various advantages of cooperative credit institutions are given below:
(1) Alternative Credit Source: The main objective of the cooperative credit movement is to provide an effective alternative to the traditional defective credit system of the village moneylender.
(2) Cheap Rural Credit: Cooperative credit system has cheapened the rural credit by charging comparatively low-interest rates, and has broken the money lender’s monopoly.
(3) Productive Borrowing: The cultivators used to borrow for consumption and other unproductive purposes. But, now, they mostly borrow for productive purposes.
(4) Encouragement to Saving and Investment: Instead of hoarding money the rural people tend to deposit their savings in cooperative or other banking institutions.
(5) Improvement in Farming Methods: Cooperative credit is available for purchasing improved seeds, chemical fertilizers, modern implements, etc.
(6) Financial Inclusion: They have played a significant role in the financial inclusion of unbanked rural masses. They provide cheap credit to the masses in rural areas.
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From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Rani Gaidinliu
Mains level: Not Much
Union Home Minister has laid the foundation for ‘Rani Gaidinliu Tribal Freedom Fighters Museum’ in Imphal, Manipur.
Rani Gaidinliu
- Gaidinliu (26 January 1915 – 17 February 1993) was a Naga spiritual and political leader who led a revolt against British rule in India.
- At the age of 13, she joined the Heraka religious movement of her cousin Haipou Jadonang.
- The movement later turned into a political movement seeking to drive out the British from Manipur and the surrounding Naga areas.
- Within the Heraka faith, she came to be considered an incarnation of the Goddess Cherachamdinliu.
Meeting with Pt. Nehru
- Gaidinliu was arrested in 1932 at the age of 16, and was sentenced to life imprisonment by the British rulers.
- Jawaharlal Nehru met her at Shillong Jail in 1937 and promised to pursue her release.
- Nehru gave her the title of “Rani” (“Queen”), and she gained local popularity as Rani Gaidinliu.
Her legacy
- She was released in 1947 after India’s independence and continued to work for the upliftment of her people.
- An advocate of the ancestral Naga religious practices, she staunchly resisted the conversion of Nagas to Christianity.
- She was honored as a freedom fighter and was awarded a Padma Bhushan by the Government of India.
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From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Shale Gas and Oil, Fracking processes
Mains level: Shale gas potential of India
Cairn Oil & Gas has announced that it is partnering US-based Halliburton to start shale exploration in the Lower Barmer Hill formation, Western Rajasthan.
What is Shale oil?
- Shale oil is an unconventional oil produced from oil shale rock fragments by pyrolysis, hydrogenation, or thermal dissolution.
- These processes convert the organic matter within the rock (kerogen) into synthetic oil and gas.
- The refined products can be used for the same purposes as those derived from crude oil.
How does it differ from conventional crude oil?
- The key difference between shale oil and conventional crude is that the former, also called ‘tight oil’, is found in smaller batches, and deeper than conventional crude deposits.
- Its extraction requires creation of fractures in oil and gas rich shale to release hydrocarbons through a process called hydraulic fracking.
What is fracking?
- Fracking is the process of drilling down into the earth before a high-pressure water mixture is directed at the rock to release the gas inside.
- Water, sand and chemicals are injected into the rock at high pressure which allows the gas to flow out to the head of the well.
- The process can be carried out vertically or, more commonly, by drilling horizontally to the rock layer, which can create new pathways to release gas or used to extend existing channels.
- The term fracking refers to how the rock is fractured apart by the high-pressure mixture.
Shale production in the world
- Russia and the US are among the largest shale oil producers in the world.
- With a surge in shale oil production in the US, it has played a key role in turning the country from an importer of crude to a net exporter in 2019.
Shale reserves in India
- As per the US EIA 2015 report, India has got technically recoverable shale gas of 96 trillion cubic feet.
- The recoverable reserves are identified in Cambay, Krishna – Godavari, Cauvery, Damodar Valley, Upper Assam, Pranahita – Godavari, Rajasthan and Vindhya Basins.
- The ONGC has drilled the first exploratory shale gas well in Jambusar near Vadodara, Gujarat, in Cambay basin during October 2013.
What are the prospects of shale oil exploration in India?
- Currently, there is no large-scale commercial production of shale oil and gas in India.
- Shale oil and gas exploration faces several challenges other than environmental concerns around massive water requirements for fracking and potential for ground water contamination.
- State-owned ONGC had, in 2013, started exploration and, by the end of FY21, assessed shale oil and gas potential in 25 nomination blocks.
- But it has reduced investments over the past few years after only getting limited success in shale exploration efforts.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Competition Commission of India (CCI), Cartelization
Mains level: Not Much
The Competition Commission of India (CCI) has slapped certain penalties on paper manufacturing companies from agricultural waste and recycled wastepaper against Cartelization.
What is a Cartel?
- According to CCI, a “Cartel includes an association of producers, sellers, distributors, traders or service providers who, by agreement amongst themselves, limit, control or attempt to control the production, distribution, sale or price of, or, trade in goods or provision of services”.
- The International Competition Network, which is a global body dedicated to enforcing competition law, has a simpler definition.
- The three common components of a cartel are:
- an agreement
- between competitors
- to restrict competition
What is Cartelization?
- Cartelization is when enterprises collude to fix prices, indulge in bid rigging, or share customers, etc.
- But when prices are controlled by the government under a law, that is not cartelization.
- The Competition Act contains strong provisions against cartels.
- It also has the leniency provision to incentivise a party to a cartel to break away and report to the Commission, and thereby expect total or partial leniency.
- This has proved a highly effective tool against cartels worldwide.
- Cartels almost invariably involve secret conspiracies.
How do they work?
- According to ICN, four categories of conduct are commonly identified across jurisdictions (countries). These are:
- price-fixing
- output restrictions
- market allocation and
- bid-rigging
- In sum, participants in hard-core cartels agree to insulate themselves from the rigours of a competitive marketplace, substituting cooperation for competition.
How do cartels hurt?
- While it may be difficult to accurately quantify the ill-effects of cartels, they not only directly hurt the consumers but also, indirectly, undermine overall economic efficiency and innovations.
- A successful cartel raises the price above the competitive level and reduces output.
- Consumers choose either not to pay the higher price for some or all of the cartelized product that they desire, thus forgoing the product, or they pay the cartel price and thereby unknowingly transfer wealth to the cartel operators.
Are there provisions in the Competition Act against monopolistic prices?
- There are provisions in the Competition Act against abuse of dominance.
- One of the abuses is when a dominant enterprise “directly or indirectly imposes unfair or discriminatory prices” in purchase or sale of goods or services.
- Thus, excessive pricing by a dominant enterprise could, in certain conditions, be regarded as an abuse and, therefore, subject to investigation by the Competition Commission if it were fully functional.
- However, it should be understood that where pricing is a result of normal supply and demand, the Competition Commission may have no role.
How might cartels be worse than monopolies?
- It is generally well understood that monopolies are bad for both individual consumer interest as well as the society at large.
- That’s because a monopolist completely dominates the concerned market and, more often than not, abuses this dominance either in the form of charging higher than warranted prices or by providing lower than the warranted quality of the good or service in question.
How to stop the spread of cartelization?
- Cartels are not easy to detect and identify.
- As such, experts often suggest providing a strong deterrence to those cartels that are found guilty of being one.
- Typically this takes the form of a monetary penalty that exceeds the gains amassed by the cartel.
- However, it must also be pointed out that it is not always easy to ascertain the exact gains from cartelization.
- In fact, the threat of stringent penalties can be used in conjunction with providing leniency — as was done in the beer case.
Back2Basics: Competition Commission of India (CCI)
- The CCI is the chief national competition regulator in India.
- It is a statutory body within the Ministry of Corporate Affairs.
- It is responsible for enforcing The Competition Act, 2002 in order to promote competition and prevent activities that have an appreciable adverse effect on competition in India.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Jagannath Temple and its architecture
Mains level: Temple architecture of India
Odisha CM will lay the foundation stone of the much-awaited Puri Heritage Corridor.
Puri Heritage Corridor Project
- Conceived in 2016, the Puri Heritage Corridor Project was unveiled in December 2019 to transform the holy town of Puri into an international place of heritage.
- The project includes redeveloping major portions of the holy town and in the vicinity of the temple for visitors and tourists.
About Jagannath Temple
- The Jagannath Temple is an important Vaishnavite temple dedicated to Jagannath, a form of Sri Krishna in Puri in Odisha.
- The present temple was rebuilt from the 10th century onwards, on the site of an earlier temple, and begun by Anantavarman Chodaganga Deva, the first king of the Eastern Ganga dynasty.
- The Puri temple is famous for its annual Ratha Yatra, or chariot festival, in which the three principal deities are pulled on huge and elaborately decorated temple cars.
Its architecture
- With its sculptural richness and fluidity of the Oriya style of temple architecture, it is one of the most magnificent monuments of India.
- The huge temple complex covers an area of over 400,000 square feet and is surrounded by a high fortified wall.
- This 20 feet high wall is known as Meghanada Pacheri.
- Another wall known as kurma bedha surrounds the main temple.
The temple has four distinct sectional structures, namely:
- Deula, Vimana or Garba griha (Sanctum sanctorum) where the triad deities are lodged on the ratnavedi (Throne of Pearls). In Rekha Deula style;
- Mukhashala (Frontal porch);
- Nata mandir/Natamandapa, which is also known as the Jagamohan (Audience Hall/Dancing Hall), and
- Bhoga Mandapa (Offerings Hall)
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Universal Service Obligation Fund (USOF)
Mains level: Not Much
The Union Cabinet has approved the provisioning of mobile services in over 7,000 uncovered villages through the Universal Service Obligation Fund (USOF).
What do you mean by Universal Service?
- In the modern world, universal service refers to having a phone and affordable phone service in every home.
- It means, providing telecommunication service with access to a defined minimum service of specified quality to all users everywhere at an affordable price.
- In 1837, the concept was rolled on by Rowland Hill, a British educator and tax reformer, which included uniform rates across the UK and prepayment by sender via postage stamps.
What is USOF?
- The Universal Service Obligation Fund (USOF) was formed by an Act of Parliament, was established in April 2002 under the Indian Telegraph (Amendment) Act 2003.
- It aims to provide financial support for the provision of telecom services in commercially unviable rural and remote areas of the country.
- It is an attached office of the Department of Telecom, and is headed by the administrator, who is appointed by the central government.
Scope of the USOF
- Initially, the USOF was established with the fundamental objective of providing access to ‘basic’ telecom services to people in rural and remote areas at affordable and reasonable prices.
- Subsequently, the scope was widened.
- Now it aims to provide subsidy support for enabling access to all types of telecom services, including mobile services, broadband connectivity and the creation of infrastructure in rural and remote areas.
Funding of the USOF
- The resources for the implementation of USO are raised by way of collecting a Universal Service Levy (USL), which is 5 percent of the Adjusted Gross Revenue (AGR) of Telecom Service Providers.
Nature of the fund
- USOF is a non-lapsable Fund.
- The Levy amount is credited to the Consolidated Fund of India.
- The fund is made available to USOF after due appropriation by the Parliament.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Langtang Microhydro Electricity Project
Mains level: NA
Langtang Microhydro Electricity Project, Nepal’s first hydropower from a glacial lake has become functional recently.
Langtang Microhydro Electricity Project
- The Project was built three years after the 2015 earthquake-avalanche that devastated the valley, with help from the Hong Kong-based Kadoorie Charitable Foundation.
- It has a weir and spillway at the moraine, and the water is taken through a fibre glass-insulated penstock pipe to a powerhouse that generates 100kW of electricity.
- It seeks to provide 24 hours of electricity to 120 households and tourist lodges in Kyanjin and Langtang.
Uniqueness of the project
- The project is the first-of-its-kind in Nepal to power a village and holds promise for other remote Himalayan valleys where the risk posed by expanding glacial lakes can be mitigated.
- At the same time, it provides electricity to tourism-dependent families.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Taproot upgrade in Bitcoins
Mains level: Cryptocurrencies regulation in India
Bitcoin went through a major upgrade that enables its blockchain to execute more complex transactions, potentially widening the virtual currency’s use cases and making it a little more competitive with Ethereum for processing smart contracts.
What is the new upgrade?
- The enhancement, called Taproot, is the most significant change to the bitcoin protocol since the SegWit (Segregated Witness) block capacity change in 2017.
- SegWit effectively increased the number of transactions that could fit into a block by pulling data on signatures from bitcoin transactions.
- Smart contracts are self-executing transactions whose results depend on pre-programmed inputs.
What is Taproot?
- The Taproot upgrade consists of three separate upgrade proposals.
- However, at its core, the upgrade introduces a new digital signature scheme called “Schnorr” that will help bitcoin transactions become more efficient and more private.
- Schnorr can also be leveraged to let bitcoin users execute more complex smart contracts.
When was Taproot officially activated?
- Taproot was officially activated on block 709,632.
- Blockchains settle transactions in batches or blocks.
- Each block can contain only a certain number of transactions.
What is its impact on Bitcoin?
- The biggest impact would be the bitcoin network’s ability to process more smart contracts, similar to what Ethereum does.
- Bitcoin has historically been much more limited in processing smart contracts compared with Ethereum.
- Taproot increases privacy by obscuring what type of transaction is being executed.
What are the other enhancements?
- The Schnorr signatures can make more complex transactions on the bitcoin protocol, such as those from wallets that require multiple signatures, look like just any other transaction.
- This makes transactions more private and more secure.
- Bitcoin transactions will also become more data-efficient, optimizing block capacity and leading to lower transaction fees.
What does Taproot mean for investors?
- Large-scale upgrades have paved the way for the next phase of innovation in the bitcoin network.
- The last major upgrade in 2017 helped launch the Lightning Network, which facilitated much faster and cheaper bitcoin payments than before.
- Taproot to lead to a similar wave of innovation in bitcoin centered around smart contracts.
Also read:
Cryptocurrency
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Best Tourism Villages Initiative
Mains level: Bhoodan Movement
Pochampally village in Telangana is set to be named as one of the best Tourism Villages by the United Nations World Tourism Organisation.
Best Tourism Villages Initiative
- The Best Tourism Villages by UNWTO Pilot initiative aims to award those villages which are outstanding examples of rural destinations and showcase good practices in line with its specified nine evaluation areas.
- It also aims to support villages to enhance their rural tourism potential through training and access to opportunities for improvement.
Key objectives
- Reduce regional inequalities in income and development
- Fight rural depopulation
- Progress gender equality and women’s and youth empowerment
- Enhance education and skills development
About Pochampally
- Pochampally, 50 Kms from Hyderabad, is a town in Nalgonda district of Telangana.
- It is often referred to as the Silk City of India for the exquisite sarees that are woven through a unique style called Ikat.
- It is also known as Bhoodan Pochampally to commemorate the Bhoodan Movement that was launched by Acharya Vinobha Bhave from this village on April 18th, 1951.
- Currently, a two-room Vinobha Bhave Mandir exists within the village which was earlier the place where Vinobha Bhave resided during his visit to the village.
What is Pochampally Ikat?
- Ikat is a Malaysian, Indonesian word that means “Tie and Dye”.
- For this style, Pochampally Ikat, received a Geographical Indicator (GI Status) in 2004.
- Ikat involves the process of wrapping (or tying) and dyeing sections of bundled yarn to a predetermined colour pattern before they are woven.
- The dye penetrates into exposed sections while the wrapped section remains undyed.
- This pattern formed by the yarn in this process is woven into fabric.
Back2Basics: Bhoodan Movement
- The Bhoodan movement (Land Gift movement), also known as the Bloodless Revolution, was a voluntary land reform movement.
- It was initiated by Vinoba Bhave, a staunch Gandhian in 1951 at Pochampally village, which is now in Telangana, and known as Bhoodan Pochampally.
- The movement attempted to persuade wealthy landowners to voluntarily give a percentage of their land to landless people.
- Philosophically, Bhave was influenced by Mahatma Gandhi’s Sarvodaya movement and Gram Swarajya.
- Landless laborers were given small plots that they could settle and grow their crops on.
- Bhoodan Acts were passed that stated that the beneficiary had no right to sell the land or use it for non-agricultural purposes or for forestry.
Try this PYQ:
Q. With reference to land reforms in independent India, which one of the following statements is correct?
(a) The ceiling laws were aimed at family holdings and not individual holdings
(b) The major aim of land reforms was providing agricultural land to all the landless
(c) It resulted in cultivation of cash crops as a predominant form of cultivation
(d) Land reforms permitted no exemptions to the ceiling limits
Post your answers here.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), IAEA
Mains level: Nuclear disarmament
Iran has invited the head of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) for talks after the UN official expressed concern over a lack of contact with Iranian authorities.
What is IAEA?
- The IAEA is an international organization that seeks to promote the peaceful use of nuclear energy and to inhibit its use for any military purpose, including nuclear weapons.
- As the preeminent nuclear watchdog under the UN, the IAEA is entrusted with the task of upholding the principles of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) of 1970.
- It was established as an autonomous organization on July 29, 1957, at the height of the Cold War between the U.S. and the Soviet Union.
- Though established independently of the UN through its own international treaty, the agency reports to both the UN General Assembly and the UNSC.
IAEA Missions
The IAEA is generally described as having three main missions:
- Peaceful uses: Promoting the peaceful uses of nuclear energy by its member states,
- Safeguards: Implementing safeguards to verify that nuclear energy is not used for military purposes, and
- Nuclear safety: Promoting high standards for nuclear safety
What are its safeguards?
- Safeguards are activities by which the IAEA can verify that a State is living up to its international commitments not to use nuclear programs for nuclear weapons purposes.
- Safeguards are based on assessments of the correctness and completeness of a State’s declared nuclear material and nuclear-related activities.
- Verification measures include on-site inspections, visits, and ongoing monitoring and evaluation.
Basically, two sets of measures are carried out in accordance with the type of safeguards agreements in force with a State.
- Verifying state reports of declared nuclear material and activities.
- Verifying the non-diversion of declared nuclear material and providing assurances as to the absence of undeclared nuclear material and activities in a State.
Try this question from CSP 2020:
Q.In India, why are some nuclear reactors kept under “IAEA Safeguards” while others are not?
(a) Some use Uranium and others use thorium.
(b) Some use imported uranium and others use domestic supplies.
(c) Some are operated by foreign enterprises and others are operated by domestic enterprises.
(d) Some are State- owned and others are privately-owned.
Post your answers here.
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Back2Basics: Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT)
- The NPT is a landmark international treaty whose objective is to prevent the spread of nuclear weapons and weapons technology, to promote cooperation in the peaceful uses of nuclear energy.
- The Treaty represents the only binding commitment in a multilateral treaty to the goal of disarmament by the nuclear-weapon States.
- Opened for signature in 1968, the Treaty entered into force in 1970.
- India is one of the only five countries that either did not sign the NPT or signed but withdrew, thus becoming part of a list that includes Pakistan, Israel, North Korea, and South Sudan.
- India always considered the NPT as discriminatory and had refused to sign it.
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