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Type: Prelims Only

  • North-East India – Security and Developmental Issues

    50th anniversary of Meghalaya’s Statehood

    Prelims Only | Polity | Mains Paper 2: Federalism

    Note4Students

    From UPSC perspective, the following things are important:

    Prelims level: States reorganization

    Mains level: Not Much

    The Meghalaya Assembly has given an indigenous touch to the National Anthem ahead of the 50th anniversary of Meghalaya’s Statehood in 2022.

    About Meghalaya

    • Meghalaya meaning “abode of clouds” was formed by carving out two districts from the state of Assam: the United Khasi Hills and Jaintia Hills, and the Garo Hills on 21 January 1972.
    • It was previously part of Assam, but on 21 January 1972, the districts of Khasi, Garo and Jaintia hills became the new state of Meghalaya.
    • It is the wettest region of India, with the wettest areas in the southern Khasi Hills recording an average of 12,000 mm (470 in) of rain a year.
    • About 70 percent of the state is forested.
    • The Meghalaya subtropical forests ecoregion encompasses the state; its mountain forests are distinct from the lowland tropical forests to the north and south.

    Note the chronology of reorganization states in India

    State Formation Year Status prior to the formation
    Andhra 1953 Part of the state of Madras
    Gujarat 1960 Part of the state of Bombay
    Maharashtra 1960 Part of the state of Bombay
    Kerala 1956 State of Travancore and Cochin
    Nagaland 1963 Union territory
    Haryana 1966 Part of Punjab
    Karnataka 1956 State of Mysore was formed in 1953, enlarged Mysore in 1956 which was renamed in 1973.
    Himachal Pradesh 1971 Union Territory
    Manipur, Tripura 1972 Union Territories
    Meghalaya 1972 Autonomous state within state of Assam
    Sikkim 1975 Associate state since 1974 and a protectorate of India before that.
    Mizoram 1987 District of Assam till 1972 and Union Territory from 1972 to 1987.
    Arunachal Pradesh 1987 Union Territory
    Goa 1987 Union Territory
    Uttarakhand 2000 Part of Uttar Pradesh
    Chhattisgarh 2000 Part of Madhya Pradesh
    Jharkhand 2000 Part of Bihar
    Telangana 2014 Part of Andhra Pradesh

     

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  • Capital Markets: Challenges and Developments

    National Financial Reporting Authority (NFRA)

    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: NFRA

    Mains level: Not Much

    Audit regulator National Financial Reporting Authority (NFRA) wants to be positioned as a regulator for the entire gamut of financial reporting, covering all processes and participants in the financial reporting chain.

    What is NFRA?

    • NFRA is an independent regulator to oversee the auditing profession and accounting standards in India under Companies Act 2013.
    • It came into existence in October 2018.
    • After the Satyam scandal took place in 2009, the Standing Committee on Finance proposed the concept of the National Financial Reporting Authority (NFRA) for the first time in its 21st report.
    • Companies Act, 2013 then gave the regulatory framework for its composition and constitution.

    Functions

    • NFRA works to improve the transparency and reliability of financial statements and information presented by listed companies and large unlisted companies in India.

    Powers & duties

    • NFRA is responsible for recommending accounting and auditing policies and standards in the country.
    • It may undertake investigations, and impose sanctions against defaulting auditors and audit firms in the form of monetary penalties and debarment from practice for up to 10 years.
    • Since 2018, the powers of the NFRA were extended to include the governing of auditors of companies listed in any stock exchange, in India or outside of India, unlisted public companies above certain thresholds.

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  • Modern Indian History-Events and Personalities

    [pib] Who was Raja Mahendra Pratap Singh?

    Prelims Only | | Mains Paper 1: Modern Indian History

    Note4Students

    From UPSC perspective, the following things are important:

    Prelims level: Social reformers in Colonial India

    Mains level: Not Much

    The PM has laid the foundation stone of Raja Mahendra Pratap Singh State University in Aligarh, Uttar Pradesh.

    UPSC is exploring deeper for social reformers involved in the freedom struggle. This is very much visible from the questions based on Rakhmabai, Gopal Baba Walangkar, Sakharam Deuskar etc. in CS Prelims 2020.

    Raja Mahendra Pratap Singh (1886-1979)

    • Raja Mahendra Pratap Singh was an Indian freedom fighter, journalist, writer and a revolutionary.
    • He was President in the Provisional Government of India, which served as the Indian Government in exile during World War I from Kaabul in 1915.
    • He also formed the Executive Board of India in Japan in 1940 during the Second World War.
    • He also took part in the Balkan War in the year 1911 along with his fellow students of Muhammedan Anglo College.
    • In recognition of his services, the government of India issued postage stamps in his honor. He is popularly known as “Aryan Peshwa”.
    • He was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize in 1932.

    Involvement in Swadeshi Movement

    • He met several leaders involved in the Swadeshi movement, deciding to promote small industries with indigenous goods and local artisans.
    • He was influenced by the speeches of Dadabhai Naoroji, Bal Gangadhar Tilak, Maharaja of Baroda, and Bipin Chandra Pal, helping to make him a patriot who turned Swadeshi.

    Formation of provisional govt in exile

    • On 1 December 1915 during World War I Pratap established the first Provisional Government of India at Kabul in Afghanistan as a government-in-exile of Free Hindustan, with himself as President, Maulavi Barkatullah as Prime Minister, and Maulana Ubaidullah Sindhi as Home Minister, declaring jihad on the British.
    • Due to his revolutionary ideas Pratap had a good relationship with Lenin, who invited him to Russia after its liberation and welcomed him.
    • By this time, the British had noticed his activities, and the British Government of India put a bounty on his head, attached/confiscated his entire estate, and declared him a fugitive, causing him to flee to Japan in 1925.

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  • Modern Indian History-Events and Personalities

    124 years of the Battle of Saragarhi

    Prelims Only | | Mains Paper 1: Modern Indian History

    Note4Students

    From UPSC perspective, the following things are important:

    Prelims level: Battle of Saragarhi

    Mains level: Anglo-Afghan Wars

    This September 12 marks the 124th anniversary of the Battle of Saragarhi that has inspired a host of armies, books and films, both at home and abroad.

    What is the Battle of Saragarhi?

    • The Battle of Saragarhi is considered one of the finest last stands in the military history of the world.
    • Twenty-one soldiers were pitted against over 8,000 Afridi and Orakzai tribals but they managed to hold the fort for seven hours.
    • Though heavily outnumbered, the soldiers of 36th Sikhs (now 4 Sikhs), led by Havildar Ishar Singh, fought till their last breath, killing 200 tribals and injuring 600.

    What was Saragarhi, and why was it important?

    • Saragarhi was the communication tower between Fort Lockhart and Fort Gulistan.
    • The two forts in the rugged North-West Frontier Province (NWFP), now in Pakistan. were built by Maharaja Ranjit Singh but renamed by the British.
    • Though Saragarhi was usually manned by a platoon of 40 soldiers, on that fateful day, it was being held by only 21 soldiers from 36th Sikh (now 4 Sikh) and a non-combatant called Daad, a Pashtun who did odd jobs for the troops.
    • Saragarhi helped to link up the two important forts which housed a large number of British troops in the rugged terrain of NWFP.
    • Fort Lockhart was also home to families of British officers.

    What transpired on that day?

    • Around 9 am that day, the sentry at Saragarhi saw a thick haze of dust and soon realized that it was caused by a large army of tribals marching towards the fort.
    • The 8,000 and 15,000 tribals wanted to isolate the two forts by cutting off the lines of communication between them.
    • Unfortunately, the Pathans had cut the supply route between Fort Lockhart and Saragarhi.

    Who was Havildar Ishar Singh who led the troops?

    • Havildar Ishar Singh was born in a village near Jagraon.
    • He joined the Punjab Frontier Force in his late teens after which he spent most of his time on various battlefields.
    • Soon after it was raised in 1887, Ishar was drafted into the 36th Sikhs.
    • He was in his early 40s when he was given independent command of the Saragarhi post.
    • Ishar Singh was quite a maverick who dared to disobey his superiors but he was loved by his men for whom he was always ready to go out on a limb.

    How was the news of the battle received in Britain?

    • Making a departure from the tradition of not giving gallantry medals posthumously, Queen Victoria awarded the 21 dead soldiers — leaving out the non-combatant/
    • They were awarded the Indian Order of Merit (comparable with the Victoria Cross) along with two ‘marabas’ (50 acres) and Rs 500 each.

    How are the slain soldiers remembered?

    • In 2017, the Punjab government decided to observe Saragarhi Day on September 12 as a holiday.
    • Even today the Khyber Scouts regiment of the Pakistani army mounts a guard and salutes the Saragarhi memorial close to Fort Lockhart.

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  • Historical and Archaeological Findings in News

    Thamirabarani Civilization is 3200 years old

    India MappingPrelims Only | History | Mains Paper 1: Arts & Culture

    Note4Students

    From UPSC perspective, the following things are important:

    Prelims level: Thamirabarani Civilization

    Mains level: Ancient Indian Civilizations

     

    A carbon dating analysis of rice with soil, found in a burial urn at Sivakalai in Thoothukudi district of Tamil Nadu has yielded the date of 1155 BC, indicating that the Thamirabarani civilization dates back to 3,200 years.

    About Thamirabarani River

    • The Thamirabarani or Tamraparni or Porunai is a perennial river that originates from the Agastyarkoodam peak of the Pothigai hills of the Western Ghats.
    • It flows through the Tirunelveli and Thoothukudi districts of the Tamil Nadu state of southern India into the Gulf of Mannar.
    • It was called the Tamraparni River in the pre-classical period, a name it lent to the island of Sri Lanka.
    • The old Tamil name of the river is Porunai.

    Its history

    • Its many name derivations of Tan Porunai include Tampraparani, Tamirabarni, Tamiravaruni.
    • Tan Porunai nathi finds mention by classical Tamil poets in ancient Sangam Tamil literature Purananuru.
    • Recognised as a holy river in Sanskrit literature Puranas, Mahabharata and Ramayana, the river was famed in the Early Pandyan Kingdom for its pearl and conch fisheries and trade.
    • The movement of people, including the faithful, trade merchants and toddy tapers from Tamraparni river to northwestern Sri Lanka led to the shared appellation of the name for the closely connected region.
    • One important historical document on the river is the treatise Tamraparni Mahatmyam.
    • It has many ancient temples along its banks. A hamlet known as Appankoil is located on the northern side of the river.

    Significance of the carbon dating

    • This has provided evidence that there was a city civilisation in south India as long back as 3,200 years ago, the later part of the Indus Valley Civilisation.
    • Vicinity to the ancient port of Muziris, now known as Pattanam, in Kerala add another significance to the trade history of this site.
    • Now, research would be conducted at Quseir al-Qadim and Pernica Anekke in Egypt, which were once part of the Roman empire, as well as in Khor Rori in Oman, to establish the Tamils’ trade relations with these countries.
    • Potsherds bearing Tamil scripts have been found in these countries.
    • Studies would also be conducted in Southeast Asian countries, such as Indonesia, Thailand, Malaysia and Vietnam, where King Rajendra Chola had established supremacy.

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    Also read

    https://www.civilsdaily.com/news/sangam-era-older-than-previously-thought-finds-study/

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  • International Space Agencies – Missions and Discoveries

    What is a Solar Storm?

    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: Solar Storm

    Mains level: Not Much

    Studies have found that a powerful solar storm can cause a disruption of the internet, damage submarine cables, and communication satellites.

    What is a Solar Storm?

    • A solar storm or a Coronal Mass Ejection as astronomers call it is an ejection of highly magnetized particles from the sun.
    • These particles can travel several million km per hour and can take about 13 hours to five days to reach Earth.
    • Earth’s atmosphere protects us, humans, from these particles.
    • But the particles can interact with our Earth’s magnetic field, induce strong electric currents on the surface and affect man-made structures.

    History of solar storms

    • The first recorded solar storm occurred in 1859 and it reached Earth in about 17 hours.
    • It affected the telegraph network and many operators experienced electric shocks.
    • A solar storm that occurred in 1921 impacted New York telegraph and railroad systems and another small-scale storm collapsed the power grid in Quebec, Canada in 1989.
    • A 2013 report noted that if a solar storm similar to the 1859 one hit the US today, about 20-40 million people could be without power for 1-2 years, and the total economic cost will be $0.6-2.6 trillion.

    Why is it a cause of concern?

    • The Sun goes through an 11-year cycle – cycles of high and low activity.
    • It also has a longer 100-year cycle.
    • During the last three decades, when the internet infrastructure was booming, it was a low period.
    • And very soon, either in this cycle or the next cycle, we are going towards the peaks of the 100-year cycle.
    • So it is highly likely that we might see one powerful solar storm during our lifetime.

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

    Festival in news: Nuakhai

    Prelims Only | Indian Society | Mains Paper 1: Diversity Of India

    Note4Students

    From UPSC perspective, the following things are important:

    Prelims level: Nuakhai

    Mains level: Not Much

    In Odisha, Nuakhai, an important agrarian festival in the State is being celebrated today.

    Nuakhai

    • Nuakhai or is an agricultural festival mainly observed by people of Western Odisha and Southern Chhattisgarh in India.
    • It is observed to welcome the new rice of the season.
    • As per the customary practice, people offer the new grains of crops to the deities before their own consumption.
    • According to the calendar it is observed on Panchami tithi (the fifth day) of the lunar fortnight of the month of Bhadrapada or Bhadraba (August–September), the day after the Ganesh Chaturthi festival.
    • This is the most important social festival of Western Odisha and adjoining areas of Simdega in Jharkhand, where the culture of Western Odisha is much predominant.
    • It is also a festival of social cohesion as all the members of the family come together to celebrate Nuakhai.

    Try this PYQ:

    Consider the following pairs:

    Tradition                                    State

    1. Chapchar Kut Festival   —  Mizoram
    2. Khongjom Parba ballad —  Manipur
    3. Thang-Ta Dance           —   Sikkim

    Which of the pairs given above is/are correct?

    (a) 1 only

    (b) 1 and 2

    (c) 1 and 2

    (d) 2 and 3

     

    Post your answers here.

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  • Climate Change Impact on India and World – International Reports, Key Observations, etc.

    Places in news: Qeqertaq Avannarleq Island

    India MappingPrelims Only | Enviro & Biodiversity | Mains Paper 1: Important Geophysical Phenomena

    Note4Students

    From UPSC perspective, the following things are important:

    Prelims level: Qeqertaq Avannarleq

    Mains level: Impact of climate change

    A group of researchers who went out to collect samples off the coast of Greenland in July found themselves on a tiny, uninhabited and previously unknown island.

    Qeqertaq Avannarleq

    • Measuring 60×30 metres and with a peak of three metres above sea level, it has now become the new northernmost piece of land on Earth.
    • Before this, Oodaaq was marked as the Earth’s northernmost terrain.
    • The new island is made up of seabed mud and moraine, i.e. soil, rock and other material left behind by moving glaciers, and has no vegetation.
    • The group has suggested the discovery be named ‘Qeqertaq Avannarleq’, which is Greenlandic for “the northernmost island”.

    How this island came to existence?

    Ans. Undoubtedly, climate change in Greenland

    • Global warming has had a severe effect on the ice sheet of Greenland.
    • The new island, which was exposed by shifting pack ice, is, however, not a direct consequence of climate change.

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  • Industrial Sector Updates – Industrial Policy, Ease of Doing Business, etc.

    Govt. mulls allowing local sales by SEZ units sans import tag

    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: SEZs, Baba Kalyani Committee

    Mains level: Read the attached story

    The government is considering a proposal to allow producers in Special Economic Zones (SEZs) to sell their output to the domestic market without treating them as imports.

    What are SEZs?

    • A Special Economic Zone (SEZ) is an area in which the business and trade laws are different from the rest of the country.
    • SEZs are located within a country’s national borders, and their aims include increasing trade balance, employment, increased investment, job creation, and effective administration.
    • To encourage businesses to set up in the zone, financial policies are introduced.
    • These policies typically encompass investing, taxation, trading, quotas, customs, and labor regulations.
    • Additionally, companies may be offered tax holidays, where upon establishing themselves in a zone, they are granted a period of lower taxation.

    SEZs in India

    • The SEZ policy in India first came into inception on April 1, 2000.
    • The prime objective was to enhance foreign investment and provide an internationally competitive and hassle-free environment for exports.
    • The idea was to promote exports from the country and realizing the need for a level playing field must be made available to the domestic enterprises and manufacturers to be competitive globally.
    • Subsequently, the SEZ Act 2005, was enacted to provide the umbrella legal framework, covering all important legal and regulatory aspects of SEZ development as well as for units operating in SEZs.

    Who can set up SEZs? Can foreign companies set up SEZs?

    • Any private/public/joint sector or state government or its agencies can set up an SEZ.
    • Yes, a foreign agency can set up SEZs in India.

    What is the role of state governments in establishing SEZs?

    • State governments will have a very important role to play in the establishment of SEZs.
    • A representative of the state government, who is a member of the inter-ministerial committee on private SEZ, is consulted while considering the proposal.
    • Before recommending any proposals to the ministry of commerce and industry (department of commerce), the states must satisfy themselves that they are in a position to supply basic inputs like water, electricity, etc.

    Are SEZs controlled by the government?

    • In all SEZs, the statutory functions are controlled by the government.
    • The government also controls the operation and maintenance function in the central government-controlled SEZs. The rest of the operations and maintenance are privatized.

    Are SEZs exempt from labor laws?

    • Normal labor laws are applicable to SEZs, which are enforced by the respective state governments.
    • The state governments have been requested to simplify the procedures/returns and for the introduction of a single-window clearance mechanism by delegating appropriate powers to development commissioners of SEZs.

    Who monitors the functioning of the units in SEZ?

    • The performance of the SEZ units is monitored by a unit approval committee consisting of a development commissioner, custom, and representative of the state government on an annual basis.

    What are the special features for business units that come to the zone?

    • Business units that set up establishments in an SEZ would be entitled to a package of incentives and a simplified operating environment.
    • Besides, no license is required for imports, including second-hand machinery.

    How do SEZs help a country’s economy?

    • SEZs play a key role in the rapid economic development of a country.
    • In the early 1990s, it helped China and there were hopes that the establishment in India of similar export-processing zones could offer similar benefits – provided, however, that the zones offered attractive enough concessions.
    • Traditionally the biggest deterrents to foreign investment in India have been high tariffs and taxes, red-tapism, and strict labor laws.
    • To date, these restrictions have ensured that India has been unable to compete with China’s massively successful light-industrial export machine.

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  • Monetary Policy Committee Notifications

    Crypto is not currency, must regulate it as asset: Former RBI DG

    Prelims Only | Economics | Mains Paper 3:

    Note4Students

    From UPSC perspective, the following things are important:

    Prelims level: Cryptocurrencies and Legal Tender Currency

    Mains level: Issues with Cryptocurrencies

    Former RBI Deputy Governor R. Gandhi made a case for treating and regulating crypto as a separate asset class with a view to enabling governments around the world to effectively deal with illegal activities associated with virtual currencies.

    Why in news?

    • After quite a lot of debate over the years, people have fully understood that crypto cannot be a currency because the fundamental element of a currency that it should be a legal tender is missing in this case.
    • The general consensus among many policymakers is that it should be deemed as an asset, not as a currency, not as a payment instrument, and not as a financial instrument as there is no clear identified issuer.

    What are Cryptocurrencies?

    • A cryptocurrency is a digital asset designed to work as a medium of exchange wherein individual coin ownership records are stored in a ledger existing in a form of a computerized database.
    • It uses strong cryptography to secure transaction records, control the creation of additional coins, and verify the transfer of coin ownership.
    • It typically does not exist in physical form (like paper money) and is typically not issued by a central authority.
    • Cryptocurrencies typically use decentralized control as opposed to centralized digital currency and central banking systems.

    How does it work?

    • Cryptocurrencies work using a technology called the blockchain.
    • Blockchain is a decentralized technology spread across many computers that manage and record transactions.

    What is Blockchain Technology?

    • Simply, blockchain is a decentralized, distributed, and public digital ledger.
    • Blockchains are a new type of network infrastructure (a way to organize how information and value move around on the internet) that creates ‘trust’ in networks by introducing distributed verifiability, auditability, and consensus.
    • Blockchains create trust by acting as a shared database, distributed across vast peer-to-peer networks that have no single point of failure and no single source of truth.
    • No individual entity can own a blockchain network, and no single entity can modify the data stored on it unilaterally without the consensus of its peers.

    Also read

    Cryptocurrency and Regulation of Official Digital Currency Bill, 2021

    Back2Basics: Legal Tender Money

    • A legal tender is a coin or a banknote that is legally tenderable for discharge of debt or obligation.
    • Coin of any denomination not lower than one rupee shall be legal tender for any sum not exceeding one thousand rupees.
    • Fifty paise (a half rupee) coins shall be legal tender for any sum not exceeding ten rupees.
    • While anyone cannot be forced to accept coins beyond the limits mentioned above, voluntarily accepting coins for amounts exceeding the limits mentioned above is not prohibited.
    • Every banknote issued by the Reserve Bank of India unless withdrawn from circulation shall be legal tender at any place in India.
    • ₹1 notes issued by the Government of India are also Legal Tender.

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