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Type: Prelims Only

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

    Places in news: Qeqertaq Avannarleq Island

    9 September 2021 | National Parks/WSPrelims Only | Environment
    Mains GS1: GS1-14.Important Geophysical phenomena such as earthquakes, Tsunami, Volcanic activity, cyclone etc.,

    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

    8 September 2021 | Prelims Only | Economics
    Mains GS3: GS3-12.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

    8 September 2021 | Prelims Only | Economics
    Mains GS3

    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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  • Innovations in Biotechnology and Medical Sciences

    [pib] What is Pollen Calendar?

    8 September 2021 | Prelims Only | Science and Technology
    Mains GS3: GS3-17.Awareness in the fields of IT, Space, Computers, Robotics, Nano-technology, Bio-technology and issues relating to Intellectual Property Rights.

    Note4Students

    From UPSC perspective, the following things are important:

    Prelims level: Pollen Calender

    Mains level: NA

    Chandigarh now has its first pollen calendar, which can identify potential allergy triggers and provide a clear understanding for clinicians as well as allergy sufferers about their causes to help limit their exposure during high pollen loads.

    What is a Pollen Calendar?

    • Pollen calendars represent the time dynamics of airborne pollen present in a particular geographical area.
    • They yield readily accessible visual details about various airborne pollen present throughout the year in a single picture.

    Is this a new concept in India? Where else in the west has this calendar been used?

    • Though the concept is not essentially new, this is one of the major environmental concerns that had not been addressed for the Indian cities.
    • Such calendars are location-specific, as pollen concentrations are closely related to locally distributed flora.
    • Europe, UK and the US are using regional pollen calendars in a big way to prevent and diagnose allergic rhinitis/hay fever and predict the timing and severity of the pollen season.

    Why is it important to study pollen?

    • Pollen grains are male biological structures with the primary role of fertilization, but when inhaled by humans, they may strain the respiratory system and cause allergies.
    • Pollen found suspended in air can cause widespread upper respiratory tract and naso-bronchial allergy with manifestations like asthma, seasonal rhinitis, and bronchial irritation.
    • About 20-30 percent of the population suffers from allergic rhinitis/hay fever in India, and approximately 15 percent develop asthma.
    • Pollen is considered a major outdoor airborne allergen responsible for allergic rhinitis, asthma, and atopic dermatitis in humans.

    What were the key findings?

    • The study highlights the variability of crucial pollen types in different seasons.
    • Spring and autumn are two seasons when airborne pollen dominate.
    • The findings will enhance the understanding of pollen seasons, which will in turn help minimize pollen allergies.

    How will a pollen calendar benefit people, especially those who have respiratory issues?

    • A pollen calendar provides a clear understanding for clinicians, as well as people with allergies to identify the potential allergy triggers and help to limit their exposure during high pollen load season.
    • The early advisories can be prepared and disseminated through media channels to the citizens so that they can use protective gear during the period when the concentration of allergic pollen will be high.

    Does the study infer that gardens and parks in the city contribute to the pollen and thus there must be proper scientific tree plantation?

    • It is important to involve experts while designing parks.
    • We should try to plant trees/shrubs that release no or little pollen.
    • Trees such as palms, nettle, safeda, white mulberry (shahtoot), congress grass, pine, have a high incidence of pollen.

    What kind of trees must be grown alongside our roads or in parks?

    • Plant monoecious plants (male and female flowers on the same plant).
    • Hibiscus, lilies, and holly that are grown widely in Chandigarh are examples of such plants.
    • Cucumbers and squashes are also monoecious. Select plants with low to moderate pollen production.
    • Non-allergic or entomophilous plant species should be chosen to provide an allergen-free atmosphere.
    • Examples of such plants include rose, jasmine, salvia, Bougainvillea, Raat Rani, and sunflower.

    With inputs from:

    Indian Express

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  • Oil and Gas Sector – HELP, Open Acreage Policy, etc.

    Places in news: Gulf of Mexico

    8 September 2021 | Prelims Only | Environment
    Mains GS3: GS3-18.Conservation, Environmental Pollution and Degradation, Environmental Impact Assessment.

    Note4Students

    From UPSC perspective, the following things are important:

    Prelims level: Gulf of Mexico

    Mains level: NA

    An oil spill spanning at least 10 miles has been captured by satellite imagery in waters off the Louisiana coast near the Gulf of Mexico.

    Gulf of Mexico

    • The Gulf of Mexico is an ocean basin and a marginal sea of the Atlantic Ocean, largely surrounded by the North American continent.
    • It is bounded on the northeast, north and northwest by the Gulf Coast of the United States; on the southwest and south by the Mexican states of Tamaulipas, Veracruz, Tabasco, Campeche, Yucatan, and Quintana Roo; and on the southeast by Cuba.
    • The US states of Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, and Florida, which border the Gulf on the north, are often referred to as the “Third Coast” of the United States (in addition to its Atlantic and Pacific coasts).
    • It is covered with a tangle of pipes, wells and other energy infrastructure, much of it no longer used, as a result of generations of oil extraction there.

    Its formation

    • The Gulf of Mexico took shape approximately 300 million years ago as a result of plate tectonics.
    • Its floor consists of sedimentary rocks and recent sediments.
    • It is connected to the part of the Atlantic Ocean through the Florida Straits between the US and Cuba, and with the Caribbean Sea via the Yucatán Channel between Mexico and Cuba.
    • Because of its narrow connection to the Atlantic Ocean, the Gulf experiences very small tidal ranges.

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  • International Space Agencies – Missions and Discoveries

    Inspiration4: SpaceX’s first all-civilian space mission

    7 September 2021 | Prelims Only | Science and Technology
    Mains GS3: GS3-17.Awareness in the fields of IT, Space, Computers, Robotics, Nano-technology, Bio-technology and issues relating to Intellectual Property Rights.

    Note4Students

    From UPSC perspective, the following things are important:

    Prelims level: Inspiration4 Mission

    Mains level: Human spaceflights

    SpaceX has announced its ‘Inspiration4’ mission, the first all-civilian, non-governmental spaceflight, for launch.

    What is Inspiration4?

    • Inspiraton4 is a part of an effort to raise funds for pediatric treatment and research facility that focuses on children’s catastrophic diseases, particularly leukemia and other cancers.
    • The mission involves circling the Earth for three days and then splashing down into the Atlantic Ocean.
    • Inspiration4 will orbit the Earth at 575km, higher than the International Space Station (408km) and the Hubble space telescope (547km).
    • This will be the farthest distance travelled by a crewed mission since 2009, when astronauts last went to repair the Hubble.
    • The Dragon module that the group will be using has also been modified for the mission.
    • Usually, the SpaceX module is used for travelling to the ISS, where it has to dock or join the floating laboratory.

    UPSC may ask an MCQ asking: Which of the following is/are the space missions related to human flights? It may throw up 4-5 options (which we all get confused at after few months) like Cassini , InSight , Messanger, Voyager etc.

    Key feature: Dome window

    • Since Inspiration4 is not going to the ISS, the docking port has been removed and has been replaced with a dome window instead.
    • This dome window will offer breath-taking views of the Earth for the four travellers.
    • The window has been inspired by the Cupola, a module on the ISS used to make observations about our planet.

    Why is the mission significant?

    • According to a report in the Independent, the journey will present an opportunity for collecting large amounts of health data that will aid in planning future crewed space missions.
    • As per the report, they will collect data on ECG (electrocardiograph) activity, movement, sleep, heart rate, and rhythm, blood oxygen saturation, cabin noise and light intensity, which will help in assessing behavioral and cognitive changes over the journey.
    • The travelers will undergo balance and prescription tests just before and after their journey to assess their response to the change in gravity.
    • The immune system function will also be monitored by collecting blood. Their organ systems will also be monitored by an AI-powered ultrasound device.

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  • Animal Husbandry, Dairy & Fisheries Sector – Pashudhan Sanjivani, E- Pashudhan Haat, etc

    Odisha’s Manda buffalo gets unique, indigenous tag

    7 September 2021 | Prelims Only | Agriculture
    Mains GS3: GS3-09.Economics of Animal Rearing

    Note4Students

    From UPSC perspective, the following things are important:

    Prelims level: Indigenous bovine species

    Mains level: Not Much

    The National Bureau of Animal Genetic Resources (NBAGR) has recognized the Manda buffalo, found in the Eastern Ghats and plateau of Koraput region of Odisha, as the 19th unique breed of buffaloes found in India.

    Manda Buffalo

    • The Manda are resistant to parasitic infections, less prone to diseases and can live, produce and reproduce at low or nil input systems.
    • These buffaloes have ash grey and grey coat with copper-coloured hair.
    • The lower part of the legs up to the elbow is light in colour with copper colour hair at the knee. Some animals are silver-white in colour.
    • Four breeds of cattle — Binjharpuri, Motu, Ghumusari and Khariar — and two breeds of buffalo — Chilika and Kalahandi — and one breed of sheep, Kendrapada, have already received NBAGR recognition.

    Their economic significance

    • The small, sturdy buffaloes are used for ploughing in their native habitat of the Koraput, Malkangiri and Nabarangpur districts.
    • There are around 1,00,000 buffaloes of this breed in the native tract mostly contributing to the family nutrition of households and assisting in all the agricultural operations in the undulated hilly terrain for generations.
    • The average milk yield of these buffaloes is 2 to 2.5 litres in single milking with more than 8% fat. However, a few of those yield up to 4 litres.
    • After going through the findings, the NBAGR made an assessment and recognised it as an indigenous and unique buffalo.

    Now pls do not ignore this PYQ:

    Q.What is/are unique about ‘Kharai Camel’, a breed found in India?

    1. It is capable of swimming up to three kilometres in seawater.
    2. It survives by grazing on mangroves.
    3. It lives in the wild and cannot be domesticated.

    Select the correct answer using the code given below:

    (a) 1 and 2 only

    (b) 3 only

    (c) 1 and 3 only

    (d) 1, 2 and 3

     

    [wpdiscuz-feedback id=”7b5fqwlhhm” question=”Please leave a feedback on this” opened=”1″]Post your answers here.[/wpdiscuz-feedback]

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  • RBI Notifications

    Indian Banks join ‘Account Aggregators Network’

    6 September 2021 | Prelims Only | Economics
    Mains GS3: Indian Economy

    Note4Students

    From UPSC perspective, the following things are important:

    Prelims level: Account Aggregators

    Mains level: Read the attached story

    Eight of India’s major banks — State Bank of India, ICICI Bank, Axis Bank, IDFC First Bank, Kotak Mahindra Bank, HDFC Bank, IndusInd Bank and Federal Bank has joined the Account Aggregator (AA) network that will enable customers to easily access and share their financial data.

    What is an Account Aggregators (AA)?

    • According to the RBI, an AA is a non-banking financial company engaged in the business of providing, under a contract, the service of retrieving or collecting financial information pertaining to its customer.
    • It is also engaged in consolidating, organizing, and presenting such information to the customer or any other financial information user as may be specified by the bank.
    • The AA framework was created through an inter-regulatory decision by RBI and other regulators.
    • These regulators include SEBI, Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority, and Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority (PFRDA) through an initiative of the Financial Stability and Development Council (FSDC).
    • The license for AAs is issued by the RBI, and the financial sector will have many AAs.
    • The framework allows customers to avail themselves of various financial services from a host of providers on a single portal based on a consent method, under which the consumers can choose what financial data to share and with which entity.

    What does an AA do?

    • Reduce bank traffic: It reduces the need for individuals to wait in long bank queues, use Internet banking portals, share their passwords, or seek out physical notarization to access and share their financial documents.
    • Data security: An AA is a financial utility for the secure flow of data controlled by the individual.
    • Data flow: AA is an exciting addition to India’s digital infrastructure as it will allow banks to access consented data flows and verified data.
    • Reduced cost: This will help banks reduce transaction costs, which will enable us to offer lower ticket size loans and more tailored products and services to our customers.
    • Transaction security: It will also help us reduce fraud and comply with upcoming privacy laws.

    How does it work?

    • It has a three-tier structure:
    1. Account Aggregator
    2. FIP (Financial Information Provider) and
    3. FIU (Financial Information User)
    • A FIP is the data fiduciary, which holds customers’ data. It can be a bank, NBFC, mutual fund, insurance repository, or pension fund repository.
    • An FIU consumes the data from a FIP to provide various services to the consumer.
    • An FIU is a lending bank that wants access to the borrower’s data to determine if the borrower qualifies for a loan.
    • Banks play a dual role – as a FIP and as an FIU.
    • An AA should not support transactions by customers but should ensure appropriate mechanisms for proper customer identification.
    • An AA should share information only with the customer to whom it relates or any other financial information user as authorized by the customer

    What purpose does it serve?

    • AA creates secure, digital access to personal data at a time when Covid-19 has led to restrictions on physical interaction.
    • It reduces the fraud associated with physical data by introducing secure digital signatures and end-to-end encryption for data sharing.
    • These capabilities in turn open up many possibilities.
    • For instance, whereas physical collateral is usually required for an MSME loan, with secure data sharing via AA, ‘information collateral’ (or data on future MSME income) can be used to access a small formal loan.
    • HDFC Bank and Axis Bank have been using AA for auto loans, Lending Kart for MSME loans, and IndusInd Bank for personal finance management.

    What data can be shared?

    • An Account Aggregator allows a customer to transfer his financial information pertaining to various accounts such as banks deposits, equity, mutual fund, and pension funds to any entity requiring access to such information.
    • There are 19 categories of information that fall under ‘financial information, besides various other categories relating to banking and investments.
    • For sharing of such information, the FIU is required to initiate a request for consent by way of any platform/app run by the AA.
    • Such a request is received by the individual customer through the AA, and the information is shared by the AA, after consent is obtained.
    • The AA framework is an excellent initiative that will compile all the digital footprints of the customer in one place and make it easy for lenders like us to access it.
    • It will enable us to provide very quick turnarounds to our customers.

    Can an AA see or store data?

    • Data transmitted through the AA is encrypted. AAs are not allowed to store, process and sell the customer’s data.
    • No financial information accessed by the AA from a FIP should reside with the AA.
    • It should not use the services of a third-party service provider for undertaking the business of account aggregation.
    • User authentication credentials of customers relating to accounts with various FIPs shall not be accessed by the AA.

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  • Innovations in Biotechnology and Medical Sciences

    What is Wood Wide Web?

    6 September 2021 | Prelims Only | Science and Technology
    Mains GS3: GS3-18.Conservation, Environmental Pollution and Degradation, Environmental Impact Assessment.

    Note4Students

    From UPSC perspective, the following things are important:

    Prelims level: Wood wide web

    Mains level: Not Much

    Plants appear to be simple enough in their organization. Whether small shrubs or tall trees, all they seem to be made up of is leaves, flowers, fruits, stems, and roots. But simple they are not. Being rooted in one spot has required very special personality traits.

    Wood Wide Web

    • Trees in the forest share resources by using an underground network.
    • A scientist from the University of British Columbia, Dr. Suzanne Simard, revealed this network and called it the wood wide web.
    • In the wood wide web, mycorrhizal fungi colonize the plant roots, and their tiny fungal filaments, or mycelia, connect hairy root tips of different trees together.
    • Mycorrhizal fungi refer to the role they play in the plant’s root system—as symbionts.
    • These root-associated fungi are harmless to plants. Instead, they form harmonious symbiotic relationships with plants.

    An ancient association

    • The association between plants and fungi is ancient.
    • Fossils of plants from about 400 million years ago show the first evidence of roots, and these roots are fungus associations – rhizoids – suggesting that roots co-evolved with fungi.
    • One good example is species of Penicillium, the fungus from which Alexander Fleming isolated the antibiotic penicillin.
    • Fungus–root associations, called mycorrhizae, appear at first glance to be simple mutualisms that are beneficial to both.
    • The root-invading fungus gains nutrients made by the plant, and the plants get difficult-to-find minerals like phosphorus from the microbe. But the association is deeper.

    How does it work?

    • The wood wide web works by offering a win-win situation for all parties: mycorrhizal fungi and trees.
    • The fungal filaments transport nitrogen, phosphorous, water, and other hard-to-capture nutrients from the soil to the trees, in exchange for carbon-rich sugars made by the plants.
    • The fungi also help deliver substances from one tree to its neighboring trees.
    • By using the network, mature trees feed their seedlings with nutrients to boost their survival.
    • When a plant is sick or dying, it can allocate its nutrients to the other plants nearby through the wood wide web.

    Benefits offered

    • Bacteria that associate with roots are called rhizobacteria, and a very wide range of these species are plant growth promoters.
    • Like the fungi, mutualism operates in these relationships too. In exchange for sugars, these bacteria offer plants a wide range of benefits.
    • They may help plants ward off pathogens that cause diseases of the root. They may even trigger systemic resistance to a pathogen throughout the plant.

    Back2Basics: Symbiotic Relationship

    Parasitism

    • It is a type of interaction between two species that results in damage and harm to one member and benefit to another member.
    • Ex. As in the case of the tick-host relationship, the tick gains benefit by sucking blood while the host is harmed as it loses blood.

    Commensalism

    • In this type of relationship one species benefits without affecting the other.
    • Barnacles growing on the back of the whale, orchids growing as an epiphyte on some mango branch, cattle egret and grazing cattle in close association, Sea anemone, and the Clown Fish are some of the classic examples of Commensalism.

    Amensalism

    • In this relationship, one species is harmed while the other is neither harmed nor benefitted and remains unaffected.
    • When an organism excretes the chemicals as a part of the normal metabolism of its own, but which may severely impact other nearby species, this kind of relationship is seen.

    Mutualism

    • In this type of relationship both the partners benefit from one another. When similar interaction occurs within a species, it is known as cooperation.
    • Lichens a mutual relationship between algae and fungus. In this mutual cooperation, fungus gives protection and raw material for the preparation of the food while Green Algae synthesizes the food for both.

    Saprophytism

    • In this kind of biotic interaction, certain organisms live on dead and decaying organic matter.
    • Dung Beetles, Vultures, Fungi, Bacteria, Protozoa are the example of Saprophytism.

    Predation

    • In this type of biological interaction, a predator feeds upon its prey and in this type of relationship, one species is benefitted while the other is harmed.

    Competition

    • In this type of interaction both the species compete with each other for the resources like food, shelter, mating, and both the species get harmed out of the process of competition.

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  • Historical and Archaeological Findings in News

    Visva-Bharati University

    6 September 2021 | Prelims Only |
    Mains GS1: GS1-02.Modern Indian History- Mid-18th century – Present (significant events, personalities, issues);

    Note4Students

    From UPSC perspective, the following things are important:

    Prelims level: Vishwa Bharati University

    Mains level: Not Much

    The Calcutta High Court has directed that there can be no protest by the students within 50 meters of academic buildings at Visva-Bharati University.

    Visva-Bharati

    • Visva-Bharati is a central research university and an Institution of National Importance located in Shantiniketan, West Bengal, India.
    • It was founded by Rabindranath Tagore who called it Visva-Bharati, which means the communion of the world with India.
    • Until independence, it was a college.
    • Soon after independence, the institution was given the status of a central university in 1951 by an act of the Parliament.

    Its history

    • The origins of the institution date back to 1863 when Debendranath Tagore was given a tract of land by the zamindar of Raipur, zamindar of Kirnahar.
    • He set up an ashram at the spot that has now come to be called chatim tala at the heart of the town.
    • The ashram was initially called Brahmacharya Ashram, which was later renamed Brahmacharya Vidyalaya.
    • It was established with a view to encouraging people from all walks of life to come to the spot and meditate.
    • In 1901 his youngest son Rabindranath Tagore established a co-educational school inside the premises of the ashram.
    • From 1901 onwards, Tagore used the ashram to organize the Hindu Mela, which soon became a center of nationalist activity.

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