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Type: Prelims Only

  • Primary and Secondary Education – RTE, Education Policy, SEQI, RMSA, Committee Reports, etc.

    Population criteria for new Eklavya schools ‘impractical’: Parliamentary Panel

    Prelims Only | Governance | Mains Paper 2: Health & Education

    Note4Students

    From UPSC perspective, the following things are important:

    Prelims level: Eklavya Model School

    Mains level: Not Much

    A Parliamentary panel has refuted that 20,000 ST people, who make up at least 50% of the total population criteria is “impractical” to build new Eklavya Model Residential Schools (EMRS).

    What are Eklavya Schools?

    • EMRS started in the year 1997-98 to impart quality education to Scheduled Tribes (ST) children in remote areas in order.
    • It aims to enable them to avail of opportunities in high and professional educational courses and get employment in various sectors.
    • The schools focus not only on academic education but on the all-round development of the students.
    • Each school has a capacity of 480 students, catering to students from Class VI to XII.
    • Hitherto, grants were given for construction of schools and recurring expenses to the State Governments under Grants under Article 275 (1) of the Constitution.
    • Eklavya schools are on par with Navodaya Vidyalaya and have special facilities for preserving local art and culture besides providing training in sports and skill development.

    Features of Eklavya Schools

    • Admission to these schools will be through selection/competition with suitable provision for preference to children belonging to Primitive Tribal Groups, first-generation students, etc.
    • Sufficient land would be given by the State Government for the school, playgrounds, hostels, residential quarters, etc., free of cost.
    • The number of seats for boys and girls will be equal.
    • In these schools, education will be entirely free.

    What is the population-based criteria?

    • The Tribal Affairs Ministry plans to build EMRS on 15 acres of land in all sub-districts which have ST communities of more than 20,000 people, who make up at least 50% of their total population.
    • Wherever density of ST population is higher in identified Sub-Districts (90% or more), it is proposed to set up Eklavya Model Day Boarding School (EMDBS) on an experimental basis.

    Issues with this criteria

    • There are difficulties in identifying and acquiring lands in several tribal districts.
    • Especially in forested or hilly areas, a contiguous 15-acre plot is hard to find.
    • This criterion would also deprive scattered ST populations of the benefit of the Eklavya schools.
    • For most of the places for EMRSs, there is no land available inside the village or the block.

     

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  • Trade Sector Updates – Falling Exports, TIES, MEIS, Foreign Trade Policy, etc.

    US removes India from its Currency Monitoring List

    Prelims Only | Economics | Mains Paper 3: Indian Economy

    Note4Students

    From UPSC perspective, the following things are important:

    Prelims level: Currency Manipulation

    Mains level: Read the attached story

    The United States’ Department of Treasury has removed India from its Currency Monitoring List. India had been on the list for the last two years for alleged manipulation of Rupee.

    What is Currency Manipulation?

    • Currency manipulation refers to actions taken by governments to change the value of their currencies relative to other currencies in order to bring about some desirable objective.
    • It is a designation applied by the US Department of the Treasury, to countries that engage in what is called “unfair currency practices” that give them a trade advantage.
    • The typical claim – often doubtful – is that countries manipulate their currencies in order to make their exports effectively cheaper on the world market and in turn make imports more expensive.

    Why do countries manipulate their currencies?

    • In general, countries prefer their currency to be weak because it makes them more competitive on the international trade front.
    • A lower currency makes a country’s exports more attractive because they are cheaper on the international market.
    • For example, a weak Rupee makes Indian exports less expensive for offshore buyers.
    • Secondly, by boosting exports, a country can use a lower currency to shrink its trade deficit.
    • Finally, a weaker currency alleviates pressure on a country’s sovereign debt obligations.
    • After issuing offshore debt, a country will make payments, and as these payments are denominated in the offshore currency, a weak local currency effectively decreases these debt payments.

    US treasury’s criteria for currency monitoring

    To be labelled a manipulator by the U.S. Treasury:

    • Countries must at least have a $20 billion-plus bilateral trade surplus with the US
    • foreign currency intervention exceeding 2% of GDP and a global current account surplus exceeding 2% of GDP

    Which are the countries under this list?

    • China, Japan, Korea, Germany, Malaysia, Singapore, and Taiwan are the seven economies that are a part of the current Currency Monitoring List.
    • China’s failure to publish foreign exchange intervention and broader lack of transparency around key features of its exchange rate mechanism.

     

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  • Modern Indian History-Events and Personalities

    Who was Nadaprabhu Kempegowda?

    Prelims Only | History | Mains Paper 1: Arts & Culture

    Note4Students

    From UPSC perspective, the following things are important:

    Prelims level: Nadaprabhu Kempegowda

    Mains level: Not Much

    kempegowda

    PM unveiled a 108-feet tall bronze statue of ‘Nadaprabhu’ Kempegowda in Bengaluru, credited to be the city’s founder.

    Who was Nadaprabhu Kempegowda?

    • Nadaprabhu Kempegowda, a 16th century chieftain of the Vijayanagara empire, is credited as the founder of Bengaluru.
    • It is said that he conceived the idea of a new city while hunting with his minister, and later marked its territory by erecting towers in four corners of the proposed city.
    • Kempegowda is also known to have developed around 1,000 lakes in the city to cater to drinking and agricultural needs.
    • He was from the dominant agricultural Vokkaliga community in south Karnataka.

    Political motives behind

    • Kempegowda is an iconic figure among Karnataka’s second most dominant Vokkaliga community after Lingayats.
    • Political parties plan to woo the Vokkaliga community by honoring Kempegowda.
    • The statue would be known as the ‘Statue of Prosperity’.

     

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  • Kerala govt. moves to divest Governor of Chancellor Role

    Prelims Only | Polity | Mains Paper 2: Governance, Transparency & Accountability, Citizens Charters

    Note4Students

    From UPSC perspective, the following things are important:

    Prelims level: Chancellor

    Mains level: States vs Governor at crossroads

    chancellor

    In the latest escalation of its running battle with Governor, the Kerala government has decided to remove him as Chancellor of State universities, seeking to replace him with “renowned academic experts”.

    Who is a Chancellor of a University?

    • In India, almost all universities have a chancellor as their titular head whose function is largely ceremonial.
    • The governor of the state, appointed as the union’s representative of state by the president, is the honorary chancellor of all State owned universities.
    • The de facto head of any government university is the vice-chancellor.
    • In private non-profit universities, normally the head of the foundation who has established the university is the chancellor of the university and is the head of the university.

    Role of Governors in State Universities

    • In most cases, the Governor of the state is the ex-officio chancellor of the universities in that state.
    • Its powers and functions as the Chancellor are laid out in the statutes that govern the universities under a particular state government.
    • Their role in appointing the Vice-Chancellors has often triggered disputes with the political executive.

    What about Central Universities?

    • Under the Central Universities Act, 2009, and other statutes, the President of India shall be the Visitor of a central university.
    • With their role limited to presiding over convocations, Chancellors in central universities are titular heads, who are appointed by the President in his capacity as Visitor.
    • The VCs too are appointed by the Visitor from panels of names picked by search and selection committees formed by the Union government.
    • The Act adds that the President, as Visitor, shall have the right to authorize inspections of academic and non-academic aspects of the universities and also to institute inquiries.

    What is Kerala attempting to do?

    • Education comes under the Concurrent List.
    • In an official statement, the Kerala Cabinet noted the M.M. Punchhi Commission had vouched against granting Governors the power of Chancellors.
    • In many states, the elected governments have repeatedly accused the Governors of acting at the behest of the Centre on various subjects, including education.

     

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  • GI(Geographical Indicator) Tags

    In news: Pashmina Wool

    Prelims Only | Economics | Mains Paper 3: Intellectual Property Rights

    Note4Students

    From UPSC perspective, the following things are important:

    Prelims level: Pashmina Wool

    Mains level: Not Much

    pashmina

    Traders of Pashmina shawls are complaining that “obsolete testing methods” have resulted in many of their export consignments being flagged for the presence of ‘Shahtoosh’ guard hair, which is obtained from endangered Tibetan antelopes.

    Shahtoosh, on the other hand, is the fine undercoat fibre obtained from the Tibetan Antelope, known locally as ‘Chiru’, a species living mainly in the northern parts of the Changthang Plateau in Tibet.  

    What is Pashmina?

    • Pashmina is a fine type of cashmere wool. The textiles made from it were first woven in Kashmir.
    • The wool comes from a number of different breeds of the cashmere goat; such as the changthangi or Kashmir pashmina goat from the Changthang Plateau in Tibet and part of the Ladakh region and few parts of Himachal Pradesh.
    • Often shawls called shahmina are made from this material in Kashmir and Nepal; these shawls are hand spun and woven from the very fine cashmere fibre.
    • Traditional producers of pashmina wool are people known as the Changpa.
    • Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) has published an Indian Standard for identification, marking and labelling of the already GI tagged Pashmina products to certify its purity.

    About Pashmina goat

    • The Changthangi or Pashmina goat is a special breed of goat indigenous to the high altitude regions of Ladakh in Jammu and Kashmir.
    • They are raised for ultra-fine cashmere wool, known as Pashmina once woven. The Textiles are handspun and were first woven in Kashmir.
    • The Changthangi goat grows a thick warn undercoat which is the source of Kashmir Pashmina wool – the world’s finest cashmere measuring between 12-15 microns in fiber thickness.
    • These goats are generally domesticated and reared by nomadic communities called the Changpa in the Changthang region of Greater Ladakh.
    • The Changthangi goats have revitalized the economy of Changthang, Leh and Ladakh region.

     

    Try this PYQ:

    Q.With reference to ‘Changpa’ community of India, consider the following statement:

    1. They live mainly in the State of Uttarakhand.
    2. They rear the Pashmina goats that yield fine wool.
    3. 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.

     

     

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  • Wildlife Conservation Efforts

    Species in news: Snow Leopard

    Prelims Only | Enviro & Biodiversity | Mains Paper 3: Conservation, Environmental Pollution & Degradation, Eia

    Note4Students

    From UPSC perspective, the following things are important:

    Prelims level: Snow Leopard

    Mains level: Not Much

    leopard

    The first-ever recording of the snow leopard from the Baltal-Zojila region has renewed the hope for the elusive predator in the higher altitudes of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh.

    Why in news?

    • Not much is known about the number of snow leopards in J&K and Ladakh.
    • The Snow Leopard Population Assessment of India (SPAI) has been concluded so far in Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand.
    • The estimated population of the great cat is 50 and 100 in these two States respectively.

    Snow Leopard

    • Snow leopards live in the mountainous regions of Central and Southern Asia.
    • In India, their geographical range encompasses a large part of the western Himalayas, including the UTs of J&K and Ladakh, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand and Sikkim and Arunachal Pradesh in the eastern Himalayas.
    • Project Snow Leopard was launched in 2009 for strengthening wildlife conservation in the Himalayan high altitudes.
    • It aims at promoting a knowledge-based and adaptive conservation framework that fully involves the local communities, who share the snow leopard’s range, in conservation efforts.

    Conservation status

    • In the IUCN- Red List, the snow leopard is listed as Vulnerable.
    • In addition, the snow leopard, like all big cats, is also listed in Appendix I of the Convention on International Trade of Endangered Species (CITES).
    • In India, the snow leopard is listed under Schedule I of the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972, giving it the highest protection status under the country’s laws.

    Conservation Efforts by India

    • The Government of India has identified the snow leopard as a flagship species for the high altitude Himalayas.
    • India is also party to the Global Snow Leopard and Ecosystem Protection (GSLEP) Programme since 2013.
    • HimalSanrakshak: It is a community volunteer programme, to protect snow leopards, launched in October 2020.
    • In 2019, First National Protocol was also launched on Snow Leopard Population Assessment which has been very useful for monitoring populations.
    • SECURE Himalaya: Global Environment Facility (GEF)-United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) funded the project on conservation of high altitude biodiversity and reducing the dependency of local communities on the natural ecosystem.
    • Project Snow Leopard (PSL): It was launched in 2009 to promote an inclusive and participatory approach to conserve snow leopards and their habitat.
    • Snow Leopard is on the list of 21 critically endangered species for the recovery programme of the Ministry of Environment Forest & Climate Change.
    • Snow Leopard conservation breeding programme is undertaken at Padmaja Naidu Himalayan Zoological Park, Darjeeling, West Bengal.

    Global Snow Leopard and Ecosystem Protection (GSLEP) Programme

    • The GSLEP is a high-level inter-governmental alliance of all the 12 snow leopard range countries.
    • The snow leopard countries namely, India, Nepal, Bhutan, China, Mongolia, Russia, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan.
    • It majorly focuses on the need for awareness and understanding of the value of Snow Leopard for the ecosystem.

    Living Himalaya Network Initiative

    • Living Himalayas Initiative (LHI) is established as one of WWF’s global initiatives to bring about transformational conservation impact across the three Eastern Himalayan countries of Bhutan, India (North-East) and Nepal.
    • Objectives of LHI include adapting to climate change, connecting to habitat and saving iconic species.

     

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  • Festivals, Dances, Theatre, Literature, Art in News

    In news: Wangala Dance of Garo Tribe

    Prelims Only | History | Mains Paper 1: Arts & Culture

    Note4Students

    From UPSC perspective, the following things are important:

    Prelims level: Wangala Dance, Harvest festivals of India

    Mains level: Not Much

    wangala

    This newscard is an excerpt from a picture in the print edition of TH.

    Wangala Dance

    wangala

    • Wangala is also called the festival of “The Hundred Drums“.
    • It is a harvest festival celebrated by the Garo tribe in Meghalaya, Nagaland and Assam and Greater Mymensingh in Bangladesh.
    • In this post-harvest festival, they give thanks to Misi Saljong the sun god, for blessing the people with a rich harvest.
    • Wangala is celebrated in the months from September to December, with different villages setting different dates for the occasion.

    Course of celebration

    • The ceremony performed on first day is known as “Ragula” is performed inside the house of the chief.
    • On the second day is known as “Kakkat“.
    • Folks dressed in their colorful costumes with feathered headgears dance to the tune of music played on long oval-shaped drums.
    • While the men beat the drums, the line moves forward in rhythmic accord.
    • The ‘orchestra’ of men includes drums, gong and flutes, punctuated by the sonorous music of an primitive flute made of buffalo horn.

     

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  • Defence Sector – DPP, Missions, Schemes, Security Forces, etc.

    Make-II Route of Defence Procurement

    Prelims Only | Economics | Mains Paper 3: Effects Of Liberalization On The Economy, Changes In Industrial Policy and their effects on Industrial Growth

    Note4Students

    From UPSC perspective, the following things are important:

    Prelims level: Make-II Project

    Mains level: Make in India in defense

    The Army has approved sanction orders for the development of niche technology by the Indian industry under the Make-II route of defence procurement.

    What are Make-Category Projects?

    • The provision of ‘Make’ category of capital acquisition in Defence Procurement Procedure (DPP) is a vital pillar for realising the vision behind the ‘Make in India’ initiative.
    • It aims to foster indigenous capabilities through design & development of required defence equipment/product/systems or upgrades/ sub-systems/components /parts by both public and private sector in a faster time frame.

    ‘Make’ Procedure has following two sub-categories:

    1. Make-I (Government Funded): Projects under ‘Make-I’ sub-category will involve Government funding of 90%, released in a phased manner and based on the progress of the scheme, as per terms agreed between MoD and the vendor.
    2. Make-II (Industry Funded): Projects under ‘Make-II’ category will involve prototype development of equipment/ system/ platform or their upgrades or their sub-systems/ sub-assembly/assemblies/ components. They aim primarily for import substitution/innovative solutions, for which no Government funding will be provided for prototype development purposes.

     

    Tap to read more about- Self Reliance in Defence

     

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  • Modern Indian History-Events and Personalities

    Person in news: Dadabhai Naoroji

    Prelims Only | | Mains Paper 1: Modern Indian History

    Note4Students

    From UPSC perspective, the following things are important:

    Prelims level: Dadabhai Naoroji

    Mains level: Not Much

    dadabhai

    This year, 2022, marks the 130th anniversary of the election, in 1892, of the first person of Indian origin, Dadabhai Naoroji to the House of Commons.

    Why in news?

    • Election of Rishi Sunak as British PM with a narrow majority has brought to focus Naoroji.
    • He too had won Finsbury seat as a MP with a three vote’s majority.

    Dadabhai Naoroji (1825-1917)

    • Dadabhai Naoroji is well known as the “Grand Old Man of India” and “Unofficial Ambassador of India”.
    • He was a Liberal Party Member of Parliament in the British House of Commons, represnting Finsbury Central between 1892 and 1895.
    • He was the second person of Asian descent to be a British MP, the first being Anglo-Indian MP David Ochterlony Dyce Sombre.
    • He was an Indian political leader, merchant, scholar and writer who was served as 2nd, 9th, and 22nd President of the Indian National Congress from 1886 to 1887, 1893 to 1894 & 1906 to 1907.
    • His book Poverty and Un-British Rule in India brought attention to his theory of the Indian “wealth drain” into Britain.
    • He was also a member of the Second Communist International (1889).

    Other works

    • Started the Rast Goftar Anglo-Gujarati Newspaper in 1854.
    • The manners and customs of the Parsees (Bombay, 1864)
    • The European and Asiatic races (London, 1866)
    • Admission of educated natives into the Indian Civil Service (London, 1868)
    • The wants and means of India (London, 1876)
    • Condition of India (Madras, 1882)

    Influence on Gandhi and Jinnah

    • Before his Finsbury win, Naoroji met a young student of law in Inner Temple, 23-year-old Mohandas K Gandhi, and left an everlasting impact on the future leader.
    • He also met another aspiring lawyer then enrolled at Lincoln’s Inn — 16-year-old Mohammed Ali Jinnah, who was to serve for a while as Naoroji’s secretary.
    • Jinnah had the distinction of hearing Naoroji’s maiden speech in the House of Commons from the Visitors’ Gallery.

     

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  • Innovations in Biotechnology and Medical Sciences

    Gold-Mushroom Nanoparticle to ease Drug Delivery

    Prelims Only | Science Tech | Mains Paper 3: Awareness in various sc and tech fields

    Note4Students

    From UPSC perspective, the following things are important:

    Prelims level: Gold Nanoparticle

    Mains level: Not Much

    gold

    Cordy gold nanoparticles (Cor-AuNPs), the outcome of a collaborative experiment by scientists from four Indian institutions, has earned an international patent from Germany.

    What is Cordy gold nanoparticles ?

    • Cordy gold nanoparticles (Cor-AuNPs) are derived from the synthesis of the extracts of Cordyceps militaris and gold salts.
    • They could make drug delivery in the human body faster and surer.
    • Cordyceps militaris is a high-value parasitic fungus, lab-grown at the Department of Biotechnology’s Technology Incubation Centre (TIC) in Bodoland University.
    • Gold salts are ionic chemical compounds of gold generally used in medicine.

    Benefits offered by this nanoparticle

    • Penetration in the cells is more when the drug particles are smaller.
    • Cordyceps militaris adds bioactive components to the synthesis of gold nanoparticles for better penetration.
    • It can be delivered as ointments, tablets, capsules, and in other forms.

    Back2Basics: Gold Nanoparticles for Medicines

    • Gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) are small gold particles with a diameter of 1 to 100 nm which, once dispersed in water, are also known as colloidal gold.
    • Functionalized gold nanoparticles with controlled geometrical and optical properties are the subject of intensive studies and biomedical applications.
    • They find applications in genomics, biosensorics, immunoassays, clinical chemistry, laser phototherapy of cancer cells and tumors, the targeted delivery of drugs etc.

     

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