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Type: Prelims Only

  • Modern Indian History-Events and Personalities

    Who was freedom fighter Udham Singh?

    Prelims Only | | Mains Paper 1: Modern Indian History

    Note4Students

    From UPSC perspective, the following things are important:

    Prelims level: Udham Singh

    Mains level: Jallianwala Bagh massacre and its aftermath

    December 26 was the birth anniversary of freedom fighter Udham Singh, who is known for avenging the Jallianwala Bagh massacre of 1919.

    Try this PYQ:

    Q.The Ghadr (Ghadar) was a –

    (a) Revolutionary association of Indians with headquarters at San Francisco.

    (b) Nationalist organization operating from Singapore

    (c) Militant organization with headquarters at Berlin

    (d) Communist movement for India’s freedom with head-quarters at Tashkent

    Who was Udham Singh?

    • Singh, born in Sunam in Punjab’s Sangrur district in 1899, was a political activist who got associated with the Ghadar Party while in the US.
    • The multi-ethnic party was believed to have communist tendencies and was founded by Sohan Singh Bhakna in 1913.
    • Headquartered in California, the party was committed to the ouster of the British from India.
    • In 1934, Singh made his way to London with the purpose of assassinating O’Dwyer, who in 1919 had been the Lieutenant Governor of Punjab.

    Why did he consider O’Dwyer responsible for the massacre?

    • O’Dwyer ordered Brigadier Reginald Dyer to Amritsar before the massacre; he was worried that there might be a second Indian mutiny, given the Hindu-Muslim unity and the demonstrations and strikes.
    • Instead of Dyer, O’Dwyer is considered to be the actual perpetrator, since Dyer could not have executed it without his permission.
    • On March 13, 1940, Udham Singh shot O’Dwyer at a meeting of the East India Association and the Royal Central Asian Society at Caxton Hill.
    • He was immediately arrested and held in Brixton prison and was sentenced to death and was hanged on July 31, 1940, at Pentonville Prison.

    A legend in India

    • For avenging the Jallianwala Bagh massacre, Singh is seen by many as a hero. Gandhi, though, had famously called Singh’s revenge as an “act of insanity”.
    • While being on trial, he referred to himself as Mohamed Singh Azad, to symbolize Hindu-Sikh-Muslim unity in the fight for India’s freedom.
    • In 1974, his remains were sent back to India and he was cremated in his village in Sunam.
    • There have been several demands in the past few years for Udham Singh’s statue to be installed in Jallianwala Bagh and the Parliament complex.
    • In 2018, his statue was installed at Jallianwala Bagh during Baisakhi.
    • Udham Singh Nagar district in Uttarakhand is named after the freedom fighter.

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  • Genetically Modified (GM) crops – cotton, mustards, etc.

    IISER scientists identify the gene that greens plants

    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: BBX11 gene

    Mains level: Genetics and its applications

    Researchers at the Indian Institute of Science Education and Research (IISER) have identified a gene that facilitates in the greening of plants.

    It would be no surprise to expect a core Biology question in the coming years, if we look at this PYQ:

    Q. Which of the following statements are correct regarding the general difference between plant cells and animal cells? (CSP 2020)

    1. Plant cells have cellulose cell walls whilst animal cells do not.
    2. Plant cells do not have plasma membrane unlike animals cells which do
    3. Mature plant cell has one large vacuole whilst animal cell has many small vacuoles

    Select the correct answer using the given code below-

    (a) 1 and 2 only

    (b) 2 and 3 only

    (c) 1 and 3 only

    (d) 1, 2 and 3

    BBX11

    • The synthesis of chlorophyll in plants is a lengthy, multi-step process.
    • When a seedling emerges from under the soil it must quickly synthesize chlorophyll to start supporting its own growth.
    • In order to facilitate the quick synthesis of chlorophyll, plants make a precursor of chlorophyll called ‘protochlorophyllide’ in the dark, which glows red when blue light is shone on the plant.
    • As soon as the plant comes out into the light from under the soil, light-dependent enzymes convert protochlorophyllide to chlorophyll.
    • The two proteins oppositely regulate the ‘BBX11’ gene to maintain optimum levels of ‘BBX11’.

    How does it work?

    • It plays a crucial role in regulating the levels of protochlorophyllide — an intermediate in the biosynthesis of the green pigment chlorophyll.
    • The amount of protochlorophyllide synthesized needed to be proportional to the number of enzymes available to convert them to chlorophyll.
    • If there is an excess of free protochlorophyllide, then exposure to light converts it into molecules that cause ‘photobleaching’.
    • Thus, it is very important to regulate the amount of protochlorophyllide synthesized by the plant and here comes the vital plant played by the ‘BBX11’ gene.
    • If it is less, plants are unable to efficiently ‘green’ in order to harvest sunlight.

    Benefits of the research

    • The study could have tremendous implications in the agriculture sector in tropical countries like India and can help provide leads to optimize plant growth under stressful and rapidly changing climatic conditions.
    • Due to the rapidly changing climatic conditions, farmers in several states in India, especially in Maharashtra, are suffering huge losses in crop yields.
    • This often leads to severe distress among the farming community as indicated by the high number of farmer suicides in Maharashtra for the past several years.
    • Severe drought, high temperature and high light are some of the major reasons for crop failure. Young seedlings emerging out of the soil are extremely sensitive to high irradiance of light.
    • This study can provide leads to optimize plant growth under these stressful conditions.

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  • Fertilizer Sector reforms – NBS, bio-fertilizers, Neem coating, etc.

    How dangerous is Ammonia?

    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: Ammoni compounds and its uses

    Mains level: Not Much

    Two persons died and several took ill in a major ammonia gas leakage at a fertilizers unit at Prayagraj.

    Try this PYQ:

    Q. With reference to chemical fertilizers in India, consider the following statements:

    1. At present, the retail price of chemical fertilizers is market-driven and not administered by the Government.
    2. Ammonia, which is an input of urea, is produced from natural gas.
    3. Sulphur, which is a raw material for phosphoric acid fertilizer, is a by-product of all oil refineries.

    Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

    (a) 1 only

    (b) 2 and 3 only

    (c) 2 only

    (d) 1,2 and 3

    Ammonia

    • Ammonia is critical in the manufacturing of fertilizers and is one of the largest-volume synthetic chemicals produced in the world.
    • More than 80 per cent of ammonia made is consumed in the manufacturing of fertilizer, and most of the remainder goes into the production of formaldehyde.
    • A tri-hydroid of nitrogen (NH3), ammonia is a building block for ammonium nitrate (NH4NO3) that is used in agriculture as a high-nitrogen fertilizer.

    Why is it harmful?

    • According to experts in Chemistry, ammonia is stored for industrial use in liquid form under high pressure or in gaseous form at low temperature.
    • In such cases, the cause of death is always suffocation as in the case of Prayagraj incident, the victims must have been very close to the point of a gas leak.

    Effects on the human body

    • Ammonia, even in moderate concentration, can cause irritation to eyes, skin, nose and throat.
    • It interacts immediately upon contact with moisture present in the skin, eyes, oral cavity, and respiratory tract to form ammonium hydroxide.
    • It is very caustic and disrupts the cell membrane lipids, ultimately leading to cellular destruction.
    • As cell proteins break down, water is extracted, resulting in an inflammatory response that causes further damage.

    Secretion in humans

    • Ammonia, which is highly soluble in water, is found in soil, air, and water; it is naturally present in the body.
    • It is secreted by the kidneys to neutralize excess acid.
    • However, it is highly diluted when in the environment and does not affect the human body to a noticeable level.

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  • Modern Indian History-Events and Personalities

    Places in news: Rahim’s Tomb

    National Parks/WSPrelims Only | History | Mains Paper 1: Arts & Culture

    Note4Students

    From UPSC perspective, the following things are important:

    Prelims level: Navratnas of Akbar

    Mains level: Medieval arts and culture

    This newscard is an excerpt from the original article published in The Hindu.

    Try this PYQ:

    Q.With reference to Mian Tansen, which one of the following statements is not correct?

    (a) Tansen was the title given to him by Emperor Akbar.

    (b) Tansen composed Dhrupads on Hindu gods and goddesses.

    (c) Tansen composed songs on his patrons.

    (d) Tansen invented many Ragas.

    Who was Rahim?

    • Dating back to 1598, during the rule of Akbar, Abdur Rahim Khan I Khanan was one of the Navratna in the court.
    • Winning wars with his military training and hearts with his dohas and translated texts — he was a man who survived despite his father Bairam Khan’s assassination when he was just four.
    • Meant to be a dedication of a husband to his wife, the tomb ended up housing his own remains too when he died in 1627.

    His works

    • Apart from writing various dohas, Rahim translated Babar’s memoirs, Baburnama from Chagatai language to the Persian language, which was completed in 998 (1589–90) AD.
    • He had an excellent command over the Sanskrit language.
    • In Sanskrit, he wrote two books on astrology, Khetakautukam and Dwatrimshadyogavali.

    Why in news?

    • The tomb is in a run-down situation but undergoing renovation.
    • The historical and cultural significance is more than the archaeological and architectural significance, so restoring the dignity of the burial place has been very important.

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  • Modern Indian History-Events and Personalities

    History: Visva-Bharati University

    Prelims Only | | Mains Paper 1: Modern Indian History

    Note4Students

    From UPSC perspective, the following things are important:

    Prelims level: Visva-Bharati University

    Mains level: Nationalist education during freedom struggle

    The Visva-Bharati University established by Gurudev Rabindranath Tagore has completed its centenary.

    Do you remember the scheme of education by Gandhi Ji, called Nai Talim?

    Visva-Bharati University

    • The university was set up by Nobel laureate Rabindranath Tagore in 1921 at Santiniketan, Bolpur in West Bengal’s Birbhum district.
    • 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 establishment

    • The origins of the institution date back to 1863 when Debendranath Tagore was given a tract of land by the zamindar of Raipur, the 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.

    What makes it special?

    • Rabindranath Tagore believed in open-air education and had reservations about any teaching done within four walls.
    • This was due to his belief that walls represent the conditioning of the mind.
    • Tagore did not have a good opinion about the Western method of education introduced by the British in India; on this subject, Tagore and Gandhiji’s opinion matched.
    • So he devised a new system of learning in Visva-Bharati. He allowed students to continue their course till the student and his teacher both are satisfied.
    • At Visva-Bharati, if a course demanded by a student is not available, then the university will design a course and bring teachers for that course.
    • The university would not be bothered by the consideration of whether there is a demand for the course.

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  • Roads, Highways, Cargo, Air-Cargo and Logistics infrastructure – Bharatmala, LEEP, SetuBharatam, etc.

    What are Fastags?

    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: Fastag

    Mains level: RFID technology

    From January 1, all lanes of National Highways will accept only electronic payments through FASTag.

    Fastags work on a unique technology called RFID (Radio Frequency Identification). This has gone unnoticed in several competitive exams. Hence it is still relevant for the aspirants.

    Also read

    Fastags

    • As per Central Motor Vehicles Rules, 1989, since 1st December 2017, the FASTag had been made mandatory for all registered new four-wheelers and is being supplied by the Vehicle Manufacturer or their dealers.
    • It has been mandated that the renewal of fitness certificate will be done only after the fitment of FASTag.
    • For National Permit Vehicles, the fitment of FASTag was mandated since 1st October 2019.

    What is ‘FASTag’?

    • FASTags are stickers that are affixed to the windscreen of vehicles and use Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) technology to enable digital, contactless payment of tolls without having to stop at toll gates.
    • The tags are linked to bank accounts and other payment methods.
    • As a car crosses a toll plaza, the amount is automatically deducted, and a notification is sent to the registered mobile phone number.

    How does it work?

    • The device employs Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) technology for payments directly from the prepaid or savings account linked to it.
    • It is affixed on the windscreen, so the vehicle can drive through plazas without stopping.
    • RFID technology is similar to that used in transport access-control systems, like Metro smart card.
    • If the tag is linked to a prepaid account like a wallet or a debit/credit card, then owners need to recharge/top up the tag.
    • If it is linked to a savings account, then money will get deducted automatically after the balance goes below a pre-defined threshold.
    • Once a vehicle crosses the toll, the owner will get an SMS alert on the deduction. In that, it is like a prepaid e-wallet.

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  • Wetland Conservation

    [pib] Tso Kar Wetland Complex

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

    Note4Students

    From UPSC perspective, the following things are important:

    Prelims level: Tso Kar Wetland Complex

    Mains level: Ramsar wetlands in India

    India has added Tso Kar Wetland Complex in Ladakh as its 42nd Ramsar site, which is a second one in the Union Territory (UT) of Ladakh. With this, India now has forty-two Ramsar sites.

    Try this PYQ:

    In which one among the following categories of protected areas in India are local people not allowed to collect and use the biomass?

    (a) Biosphere reserves

    (b) National parks

    (c) Wetlands declared under Ramsar convention

    (d) Wildlife sanctuaries

    Tso Kar Wetland Complex

    • It is a high-altitude wetland complex, consisting of two principal waterbodies, Startsapuk Tso, a freshwater lake of about 438 hectares to the south, and Tso Kar itself, a hypersaline lake of 1800 hectares to the north.
    • It is situated in the Changthang region of Ladakh.
    • It is called Tso Kar, meaning white lake, because of the white salt efflorescence found on the margins due to the evaporation of highly saline water.

    Ecological significance

    • Wetlands provide a wide range of important resources and ecosystem services such as food, water, fibre, groundwater recharge, water purification, flood moderation, erosion control and climate regulation.
    • They are, in fact, a major source of water and our main supply of freshwater comes from an array of wetlands which help soak rainfall and recharge groundwater.
    • The Tso Kar Basin is an A1 Category Important Bird Area (IBA) as per BirdLife International and a key staging site in the Central Asian Flyway.
    • The site is also one of the most important breeding areas of the Black-necked Crane (Grus nigricollis) in India.

    Back2Basics: Wetlands

    • A wetland is a distinct ecosystem that is flooded by water, either permanently or seasonally, where oxygen-free processes prevail.
    • The primary factor that distinguishes wetlands from other landforms or water bodies is the characteristic vegetation of aquatic plants, adapted to the unique hydric soil.
    • Wetlands provide a wide range of important resources and ecosystem services such as food, water, fibre, groundwater recharge, water purification, flood moderation, erosion control and climate regulation.

    What is the Ramsar Convention?

    • The Ramsar Convention on Wetlands of International Importance Especially as Waterfowl Habitat is a treaty for the conservation and sustainable use of such sites.
    • The convention, signed in 1971 in the Iranian city of Ramsar, is one of the oldest inter-governmental accords for preserving the ecological character of wetlands.
    • Also known as the Convention on Wetlands, it aims to develop a global network of wetlands for the conservation of biological diversity and for sustaining human life.
    • Over 170 countries are party to the Ramsar Convention and over 2,000 designated sites covering over 20 crore hectares have been recognised under it.

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  • Wetland Conservation

    Mapping: Caspian Sea

    National Parks/WSPrelims Only | Enviro & Biodiversity | Mains Paper 1: Important Geophysical Phenomena

    Note4Students

    From UPSC perspective, the following things are important:

    Prelims level: Caspian Sea

    Mains level: Ecocides and their impact

    The Caspian is actually a lake, the largest in the world and it is experiencing a devastating decline in its water level that is about to accelerate.

    Note the countries bordering the Caspian Sea: Kazakhstan, Russia, Azerbaijan, Iran and Turkmenistan. Or else remember the acronym ‘TARIK(h)’ (Hindi word for date).

    You can frame a mnemonic statement of your choice. Do similarly for major lakes and inland seas. But dont let it move over TARIK pe TARIK!

    Caspian Sea

    • The Caspian Sea is the world’s largest inland body of water, variously classed as the world’s largest lake or a full-fledged sea.
    • As an endorheic basin, it lies between Europe and Asia.
    • An endorheic basin is a drainage basin that normally retains water and allows no outflow to other external bodies of water, such as rivers or oceans, but converges instead into lakes or swamps, permanent or seasonal that equilibrates through evaporation
    • Its level is the product of how much water is flowing in from rivers, mostly the mighty Volga to the north, how much it rains and how much evaporates away.
    • At the end of the century, the Volga and other northern rivers will still be there.
    • However, a projected temperature rise of about 3℃ to 4℃ in the region will drive evaporation through the roof.

    Now try this PYQ:

    Q.Which of the following has/have shrunk immensely/ dried up in the recent past due to human activities?

    1. Aral Sea
    2. Black Sea
    3. Lake Baikal

    Select the correct option using the code given below:

    (a) 1 only

    (b) 2 and 3 only

    (c) 2 only

    (d) 1 and 3 only

    Why in news?

    • By the end of the century, the Caspian Sea will be nine metres to 18 metres lower. That’s a depth considerably taller than most houses.
    • The Caspian’s surface is already dropping by 7 cm every year, a trend likely to increase.
    • It means the lake will lose at least 25 per cent of its former size, uncovering 93,000 sq km of dry land.
    • If that new land were a country, it would be the size of Portugal.

    Past strides in its level

    • The Caspian Sea has a history of violent rises and falls.
    • In Derbent, on the Caucasus coast of Russia, submerged ancient city walls testify to how low the sea was in medieval times.
    • Around 10,000 years ago, the Caspian was about 100 metres lower.
    • A few thousand years before that it was about 50 metres higher than today and even over spilt into the Black Sea.

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  • Modern Indian History-Events and Personalities

    Significance and History of National Farmers’ Day

    Prelims Only | Agriculture | Mains Paper 3: Agriculture and related issues

    Note4Students

    From UPSC perspective, the following things are important:

    Prelims level: National Farmers’ Day

    Mains level: Not Much

    National Farmers’ Day, or Kisan Diwas, is celebrated across the country on December 23 to honour India’s farmers.

    Do you think that the extraordinary haste with which the farm bills were pushed through both the Houses has created the present crisis?

    National Farmers’ Day

    • It marks the birth anniversary of the nation’s fifth PM Choudhary Charan Singh.
    • In 2001, the government decided to recognise Choudhary Charan Singh’s contribution to the agriculture sector and welfare of farmers by celebrating his birth anniversary as Kisan Diwas.
    • Since then, December 23 has been observed as National Farmers’ Day.
    • Generally, awareness campaigns and drives are organised across the country to educate people on the role of farmers and their contribution to the economy.

    Who was CCS and what was his connection with farmers?

    • Chaudhary Charan Singh, who briefly served as PM between 1979 and 1980, is widely regarded as one of the country’s most famous peasant leaders.
    • He was known for his pioneering work to promote the welfare of farmers and the agricultural sector.
    • Charan Singh was no stranger to the struggles faced by the Indian farmer. He was born into a middle-class peasant family in Uttar Pradesh on December 23, 1902.
    • Greatly influenced by the teachings of Mahatma Gandhi, he took an active part in the fight for independence.
    • After that, his political career largely focused on socialism in rural India.

    Major legislations

    • He was behind several major farmer-forward Bills, including the Land Utilization Bill of 1939 and the Debt Redemption Bill in 1939.
    • While serving as agriculture minister in 1952, he led UP in its efforts to abolish the Zamindari system.
    • In fact, he went on to draft the UP Zamindari and Land Reforms Bill himself.
    • On 23 December 1978, he founded the Kisan Trust — a non-political, non-profit making body — with the aim of educating India’s rural masses against injustice, and fostering solidarity among them.

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  • Innovations in Sciences, IT, Computers, Robotics and Nanotechnology

    Why the universe has less ‘antimatter’ than matter?

    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: Matter, Anti-matter

    Mains level: Formation of the universe and the Big Bang

    This newscard is an excerpt from the original article published in DownToEarth.

    Try this PYQ:

    Q.The known forces of nature can be divided into four classes, viz, gravity, electromagnetism, weak nuclear force and strong nuclear force. With reference to them, which one of the following statements is not correct?

    (a) Gravity is the strongest of the four

    (b) Electromagnetism act only on particles with an electric charge

    (c) Weak nuclear force causes radioactivity

    (d) Strong nuclear force holds protons and neutrons inside the nuclear of an atom.

    What is Antimatter?

    • Antimatter is the opposite of normal matter. More specifically, the sub-atomic particles of antimatter have properties opposite those of normal matter.
    • The electrical charge of those particles is reversed.
    • Antimatter was created along with matter after the Big Bang, but antimatter is rare in today’s universe.
    • To better understand antimatter, one needs to know more about the matter.
    • The matter is made up of atoms, which are the basic units of chemical elements such as hydrogen, helium or oxygen.

    Their existence

    • The existence of antimatter was predicted by physicist Paul Dirac’s equation describing the motion of electrons in 1928.
    • At first, it was not clear if this was just a mathematical quirk or a description of a real particle.
    • But in 1932 Carl Anderson discovered an antimatter partner to the electron — the positron — while studying cosmic rays that rain down on Earth from space.
    • Over the next few decades’ physicists found that all matter particles have antimatter partners.
    • Scientists believe that in the very hot and dense state shortly after the Big Bang, there must have been processes that gave preference to matter over antimatter.
    • This created a small surplus of matter, and as the universe cooled, all the antimatter was destroyed, or annihilated, by an equal amount of matter, leaving a tiny surplus of matter.
    • And it is this surplus that makes up everything we see in the universe today.

    Studying the difference between matter and antimatter

    • A Quark is a type of elementary particle and a fundamental constituent of matter.
    • Quarks combine to form composite particles called hadrons, the most stable of which are protons and neutrons, the components of atomic nuclei.
    • The behaviour of quarks, which are the fundamental building blocks of matter along with leptons, can shed light on the difference between matter and antimatter.
    • Since they are unstable, they will “decay” — fall apart — into other more stable particles at some point during their oscillation.

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