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Type: Prelims Only

  • e-Commerce: The New Boom

    ‘BharatMarket’: An e-commerce platform for retail traders

    Prelims Only | Economics | Mains Paper 3: Infrastructure: Energy, Ports, Roads, Airports, Railways Etc.

    Note4Students

    From UPSC perspective, the following things are important:

    Prelims level: BharatMarket

    Mains level: Not Much

    Traders’ body Confederation of All India Traders (CAIT) said that it will soon launch a national e-commerce marketplace ‘BharatMarket’ for all retail traders in collaboration with several technology partners.

    A prelims question with tricky options to throw you off track-

    The BharatMarket initiative recently seen in news is-

    A. Trade of Bharat-22 Exchange Traded Fund (ETF)

    B. Platform for farmer to sell their produce

    C. Initiative in power sector

    D. e-commerce platform

    Here you have to play safe…..

    BharatMarket

    • The marketplace will integrate the capabilities of various technology companies to provide end-to-end services in the logistics and supply chains from manufacturers to end consumers, including deliveries at home.
    • It will include nationwide participation by retailers and aims to bring 95 per cent of retail traders onboard the platform, who would exclusively run the portal.
    • It has been already started as a pilot project, initially with a limited number of essential commodities, in six cities — Prayagraj, Gorakhpur, Varanasi, Lucknow, Kanpur and Bengaluru.
    • This will be an effective way to get essential commodities to consumers during the lockdown period and within containment zones.

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  • Blockchain Technology: Prospects and Challenges

    E-Renminbi: China’s Official Digital Currency

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

    Note4Students

    From UPSC perspective, the following things are important:

    Prelims level: e-RMB

    Mains level: Cryptocurrency and its feasiblity

    China in a significant move has launched a trial of digital yuan in four urban centres of the country for specific services even as the world grapples with the containment of Covid.

    What is a cryptocurrency? Discuss how a vibrant cryptocurrency segment could add value to India’s financial sector. (250 W)

    Prelims Perspective:-

    1. Subtle differences btn digital and virtual currency – e.g. Regulatory issues

    2. Which countries have official virtual currency – e.g. Petro of Venezuela

    e-RMB

    • It will be the electronic form of the renminbi, with a value equivalent to the paper notes and coins in circulation.
    • The People’s Bank of China, the country’s central bank, will be the sole issuer of the digital yuan, initially offering the digital money to commercial banks and other operators.
    • It will be launched in major cities of Shenzhen, Suzhou and Chengdu, as well as the Xiong’an New Area.
    • It aims to change the financial system in big ways — by cutting costs and making transactions easier, more convenient and more transparent.
    • The public would be able to convert money in their bank accounts to the digital version and make deposits via electronic wallets.

    Back2Basics: Cryptocurrency

    • A Cryptocurrency is an internet-based medium of exchange which uses cryptographical functions to conduct financial transactions.
    • It leverages blockchain technology to gain decentralization, transparency, and immutability.
    • The most important feature of a cryptocurrency is that it is not controlled by any central authority: the decentralized nature of the blockchain makes cryptocurrencies theoretically immune to the old ways of government control and interference.
    • It can be sent directly between two parties via the use of private and public keys.
    • Unlike decentralized cryptocurrencies, such as bitcoin, that allow users to transfer value with no central authority or third party involved, the government-backed digital currency is preferred.

    What are Blockchains?

    • Blockchain, sometimes referred to as Distributed Ledger Technology (DLT), makes the history of any digital asset unalterable and transparent through the use of decentralization and cryptographic hashing.
    • Blockchain consists of three important concepts: blocks, nodes and miners.
    • Nodes can be any kind of electronic device that maintains copies of the blockchain and keeps the network functioning.
    • Miners create new blocks on the chain through a process called mining.

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  • Modern Indian History-Events and Personalities

    Significance of UK labor party’s remarks on Kashmir

    Prelims Only | International Relations | Mains Paper 2: Effect Of Policies & Politics Of World On India’S Interests

    Note4Students

    From UPSC perspective, the following things are important:

    Prelims level: India in Labour Party (UK) manifestos

    Mains level: Not Much

    The UK Labour party’s newly appointed leader Keir Starmer said Kashmir was a bilateral issue for India and Pakistan to resolve peacefully. These remarks were seen as an attempt to re-position his party’s stance on Kashmir and reach out to the Indian community in Britain.

    What was the Labour party’s stance before?

    • The party’s relations with the Indian diaspora have been strained, especially after its delegates passed an emergency policy motion in September 2019 criticizing India’s decision to revoke Article 370.
    • It maintained that the people of Kashmir should have self-determination rights.

    Why is the Labour Party’s relationship with the Indian diaspora important?

    • Indians are the largest ethnic community in the UK, numbering over 1.5 million people or accounting for over 2.3 per cent of the country’s population.
    • Therefore, they form a significant vote share for any party.
    • In the 2017 general elections, 50 per cent of the Indians living in the UK had voted for Labour.

    India in Labour Party (UK) manifestos

    Over the years, issues relating to India have found various mention in many election manifestos in the UK:

    • 1945: India’s freedom had been a campaign promise of the Labour party, its manifesto pledging “the advancement of India to responsible self-government”.
    • 1947: The Indian Independence Act, 1947, was passed when Attlee was Prime Minister.
    • 1949: all the Commonwealth Prime Ministers welcomed the free choice of India, Pakistan and Ceylon to join the Commonwealth as full and equal members.
    • 2019: Issue a formal apology for the Jallianwala Bagh massacre.

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  • Wildlife Conservation Efforts

    Back in news: International Whaling Commission (IWC)

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

    Note4Students

    From UPSC perspective, the following things are important:

    Prelims level: International Whaling Commission (IWC)

    Mains level: Not Much

    Iceland will not be hunting any whales in 2020. Iceland, alongside Norway and Japan, has frequently broken the International Whaling Commission’s 1986 worldwide moratorium, which indefinitely “paused” commercial whaling.

    Regarding IWC, we can expect a statement based prelim question asking-

    1) If IWC has a UN or any other parent organization

    2) If India is a member/observer etc.

    About International Whaling Commission (IWC)

    • The IWC is an Inter-Governmental Organisation set up by the terms of the International Convention for the Regulation of Whaling (ICRW) signed in Washington, D.C in 1946.
    • It aims to provide for the proper conservation of whale stocks and thus make possible the orderly development of the whaling industry.
    • The main duty of the IWC is to keep under review and revise as necessary the measures laid down in the Schedule to the Convention which governs the conduct of whaling throughout the world.
    • The body is the first piece of International Environmental Legislation established in 1946.
    • Commercial whaling was banned by the IWC in 1986 after some species were almost driven to extinction.
    • 89 countries have the membership of in IWC and all the member countries are signatories to this convention.
    • India is a member state of the IWC.

    Earlier reference

    • Japan has last year withdrawn from the IWC citing domestic reasons.
    • Thus, it resumed commercial whaling after 31 years, meeting a long-cherished goal of its traditionalists.

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  • GI(Geographical Indicator) Tags

    GI tag to Manipur black rice, Gorakhpur terracotta and Kovilpatti kadalai mittai

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

    Note4Students

    From UPSC perspective, the following things are important:

    Prelims level: GI mentioned in the news

    Mains level: Not Much

    Chak-Hao, the black rice of Manipur and the Gorakhpur terracotta and the Kovilpatti kadalai mittai of Tamil Nadu have bagged the Geogrphical Indication (GI) tag.

    Must read: GI Tags in news for 2020 Prelims

    Chak-Hao

    • Chak-Hao, the scented glutinous rice which has been in cultivation in Manipur over centuries.
    • It is characterized by its special aroma. It is normally eaten during community feasts and is served as Chak-Hao kheer.
    • The application for Chak-Hao was filed by the Consortium of Producers of Chak-Hao (Black Rice), Manipur and was facilitated by the Department of Agriculture.
    • Chak-Hao has also been used by traditional medical practitioners as part of traditional medicine.
    • According to the GI application filed, this rice takes the longest cooking time of 40-45 minutes due to the presence of a fibrous bran layer and higher crude fibre content.
    • At present, the traditional system of Chak-Hao cultivation is practised in some pockets of Manipur.
    • Direct sowing of pre-soaked seeds and also transplantation of rice seedlings raised in nurseries in puddled fields are widely practised in the State’s wetlands.

    Gorakhpur terracotta

    • The terracotta work of Gorakhpur is a centuries-old traditional art form, where the potters make various animal figures like, horses, elephants, camel, goat, ox, etc. with hand-applied ornamentation.
    • The application was filed by Laxmi Terracotta Murtikala Kendra in Uttar Pradesh.
    • Some of the major products of craftsmanship include the Hauda elephants, Mahawatdar horse, deer, camel, five-faced Ganesha, singled-faced Ganesha, elephant table, chandeliers, hanging bells etc.
    • The entire work is done with bare hands and artisans use natural colour, which stays fast for a long time.
    • There are more than 1,000 varieties of terracotta work designed by the local craftsmen.
    • The craftsmen are mainly spread over the villages of Aurangabad, Bharwalia, Langadi Gularia, Budhadih, Amawa, Ekla etc. in Bhathat and Padri Bazar, Belwa Raipur, Jungle Ekla No-1, Jungle Ekla No-2 in Chargawan block of Gorakhpur.

    Kovilpatti kadalai mittai

    • It is a candy made of peanuts held together with glistening syrup, and topped with wisps of grated coconut dyed pink, green and yellow.
    • It is made using all natural ingredients such as the traditional and special ‘vellam’ (jaggery) and groundnuts and water from the river Thamirabarani is used in the production, which enhances the taste naturally.
    • It is manufactured in Kovilpatti and adjacent towns and villages in Thoothukudi district.
    • It is produced by using both groundnuts and jaggery (organic jaggery), in carefully selected quantities from selected specific locations in Tamil Nadu.

    Back2Basics: Geographical Indications in India

    • A Geographical Indication is used on products that have a specific geographical origin and possess qualities or a reputation that are due to that origin.
    • Such a name conveys an assurance of quality and distinctiveness which is essentially attributable to its origin in that defined geographical locality.
    • This tag is valid for a period of 10 years following which it can be renewed.
    • Recently the Union Minister of Commerce and Industry has launched the logo and tagline for the Geographical Indications (GI) of India.
    • The first product to get a GI tag in India was the Darjeeling tea in 2004.
    • The Geographical Indications of Goods (Registration and Protection) Act, 1999 (GI Act) is a sui generis Act for protection of GI in India.
    • India, as a member of the WTO enacted the Act to comply with the Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights
    • Geographical Indications protection is granted through the TRIPS Agreement

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

    Festival in news: Chithirai Festival

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

    Note4Students

    From UPSC perspective, the following things are important:

    Prelims level: Chithirai Festival

    Mains level: Not Much

    For the first time, in place of Madurai’s Chithirai Festival, a simple celestial union is set to take place that will be streamed online.

    Match the pair based question can be asked from festivals as such. Recently, the following festivals were in the news: Ambubachi Mela, Thrisoor Puram, Meru Jatara, Nagoba Jatara etc.

    Chithirai Festival

    • Chithirai Festival or Chithirai Thiruvizha is an annual celebration celebrated in the city of Madurai during the month of April.
    • It is celebrated during the Tamil month of Chithirai.
    • It lasts for one month of which the first 15 days mark the celebrations of the coronation of Goddess Meenakshi and the Marriage of Lord Sundareswara and Goddess Meenakshi.
    • The next 15 days mark the celebrations of the Journey of Lord Alagar from Kallazhagar temple in Alagar Koyil to Madurai.

    About Meenakshi Temple

    • The ancient city of Madurai, more than 2,500 years old, was built by the Pandyan king, Kulashekarar, in the 6th century B.C.
    • But the reign of the Nayaks marks the golden period of Madurai when art, architecture and learning flourished expansively.
    • The most beautiful buildings in the city including its most famous landmark, the Meenakshi temple, were built during the Nayak rule.
    • Located in the heart of the city, the Meenakshi-Sundareshwarar temple is dedicated to goddess Meenakshi, the consort of lord Shiva.
    • The sculpted pillars are adorned with the exquisite murals that celebrate the ethereal beauty of princess Meenakshi and the scenes of her wedding with Lord Shiva.
    • The pillars depict scenes from the wedding of Meenakshi and Sundareswarar. There are 985 richly carved pillars here and each one surpasses the other in beauty.

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

    Raja Ravi Varma, the painter who helped Indians bring their gods home

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

    Note4Students

    From UPSC perspective, the following things are important:

    Prelims level: Europeanized school of painting in India

    Mains level: NA

    April 29 is the birth anniversary of the famed Indian painter Raja Ravi Varma (1848-1906), remembered for giving Indians their western, classical representations of Hindu gods and goddesses.

    Raja Ravi Varma

    • Varma was born into aristocracy at Kilimanoor in the erstwhile Travancore state of present-day Kerala and was closely related to its royal family.
    • At the age of 14, Varma was patronised by Ayilyam Thirunal, the then ruler of Travancore, and went on to receive training in watercolours from Ramaswamy Naidu, the royal painter.
    • Later, Varma studied oil painting with the British painter Theodore Jensen.
    • Apart from Travancore, Varma also worked for other wealthy patrons such as the Gaekwad of Baroda.

    Major works

    • A prolific artist, Varma is believed to have made around 7,000 paintings before his death.
    • Varma worked on both portrait and landscape paintings and is considered among the first Indian artists to use oil paints.
    • Apart from painting Hindu mythological figures, Varma also made portraits of many Indians as well as Europeans.
    • His most famous works include Damayanti Talking to a Swan, Shakuntala Looking for Dushyanta, Nair Lady Adorning Her Hair, and Shantanu and Matsyagandha.

    His legacy

    • He continues to be regarded as the most important representative of the Europeanized school of painting in India.
    • His 1873 painting, Nair Lady Adorning Her Hair, won Varma prestigious awards including Governor’s Gold Medal when it was presented in the Madras Presidency and Certificate of Merit at an exhibition in Vienna.
    • In 1904, the British colonial government awarded Varma with the Kaiser-i-Hind Gold Medal.
    • In 2013, a crater on the planet Mercury was named in his honour.

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  • Gravitational Wave Observations

    GW190412: The first merger of two black holes with unequal masses

    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: General Relativity, Black Holes, Black Holes merger

    For the first time since it started functioning, the gravitational wave observatories at LIGO scientific collaboration have detected a merger of two unequal-mass black holes.

    This newscard contains few basic terms that one must know-

    Gravitational waves

    General Relativity

    Black Holes

    GW190412

    • The event, dubbed GW190412, was detected nearly a year ago, and this is almost five years after the first-ever detection of gravitational-wave signals by these powerful detectors.
    • Subsequent analysis of the signal coming from the violent merger showed that it involved two black holes of unequal masses coalescing.
    • One of them was some 30 times the mass of the Sun and the other which had a mass nearly 8 times the solar mass.
    • The actual merger took place at a distance of 2.5 billion light-years away.

    Significant feature observed

    • The detected signal’s waveform has special extra features in it when it corresponds to the merger of two unequal-sized black holes as compared with a merger of equal-sized black holes.
    • These features make it possible to infer many more things about the characters such as- a more accurate determination of the distance from the event, the spin or angular momentum of the more massive black hole and the orientation of the whole event with respect to viewers on Earth.
    • While the mass of the black hole bends the space-time close to it, the spin or angular momentum of this inscrutable object drags the nearby space-time, causing it to swirl around, along with it.
    • Hence both these properties are important to estimate.

    Confirmed General Relativity

    • An Indian team consisting of researchers verified the consistency of the signal with the prediction of General Relativity.
    • The existence of higher harmonics was itself a prediction of General Relativity.

    Must refer for an easy and illustrated understanding of General Relativity-

     

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

    The Curie Family and its Nobel legacy

    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: Radioactivity

    Mains level: NA

    This newscard is inspired by an article published in the DTE which talks about a family which has received a total of four Nobel prizes, the highest won by a single-family.

    Last year in 2019 CSP, there was a question on pure Biology about Hepatitis and its variants. With such news trending, we can expect a core chemistry or physics based question coupled with a slight Current Affairs blend.

    The ‘Nobel’ family

    • On April 20, 1902, Marie and Pierre Curie successfully isolated radioactive radium salts from pitchblende, a mineral, in a laboratory in Paris, France.
    • They were inspired by French physicist Henri Becquerel’s 1896 experiment on phosphorescence or the phenomenon that allows certain objects to glow in the dark.
    • They were able to find traces of two radioactive elements—polonium (Element 84) and radium (Element 88).
    • Curie shared the 1903 Nobel with her fellow researcher Pierre Currie and Becquerel for their combined work on radioactivity.

    Important facts

    • In 1903, Marie Curie received the Nobel Prize in Physics making her the world’s first woman to win the prize.
    • In 1911, she created history again by becoming the first woman to have won two Nobel awards.
    • The 1911 Nobel Prize in Chemistry was awarded to Marie after she managed to produce radium as a pure metal. This proved the new element’s existence beyond doubt.
    • However, this was not the last Nobel for the Curie family.
    • The 1935 Nobel in Chemistry went to Irène Curie and her husband and co-researcher Frédéric Joliot for their joint work on the artificial creation of new radioactive elements.
    • The Curies have received a total of four of Nobel prizes, the highest won by a single-family. They also have the unique distinction of having three Nobel-prize winning members in the family.

    Birth of Radioactivity

    • While delivering a lecture at the Royal Academy of Sciences in Stockholm, Sweden in 1911, Curie shared some critical details about “radioactive elements” and the phenomenon called “radioactivity”.
    • She also spoke about the chemical properties of radium, the new element that was about a million times more radioactive than uranium.
    • Radium in solid salts was about 5 million times more radioactive than an equal weight of uranium.

    Back2Basics: Radioactivity

    • Radioactivity refers to the particles which are emitted from nuclei as a result of nuclear instability.
    • It is the process by which an unstable atomic nucleus loses energy by radiation.
    • The most common types of radiation are called alpha, beta, and gamma radiation, but there are several other varieties of radioactive decay.
    • Radioactive decay rates are normally stated in terms of their half-lives, and the half-life of a given nuclear species is related to its radiation risk.
    • Examining the amounts of decay products makes possible radioactive dating.

    Its applications

    • Medical use: Many diseases such as cancer are cured by radiotherapy. Sterilization of medical instruments and food is another common application of radiation.
    • Scientific use: Alpha particles emitted from the radioisotopes are used for nuclear reactions.
    • Industrial use: Radioisotopes are used as fuel for atomic energy reactors. Also used in Carbon dating.

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

    Rohtang Pass and its location

    Prelims Only | Enviro & Biodiversity | Mains Paper 3: Infrastructure: Energy, Ports, Roads, Airports, Railways Etc.

    Note4Students

    From UPSC perspective, the following things are important:

    Prelims level: Various passes in news, BRO

    Mains level: NA

    The Border Roads Organisation (BRO) has opened the Rohtang Pass, three weeks in advance, for transporting essential supplies and relief materials to Lahaul and Spiti districts of Himachal Pradesh.

     Rohtang Pass

    • It is a high mountain pass (elevation 3,980 m) on the eastern Pir Panjal Range of the Himalayas around 51 km from Manali.
    • It connects the Kullu Valley with the Lahaul and Spiti Valleys of Himachal Pradesh, India.
    • The pass lies on the watershed between the Chenab and Beas basins.
    • On the southern side of this pass, the Beas River emerges from underground and flows southward and on its northern side, the Chandra River, a source stream of the river Chenab, flows westward.

    Another pass in new:

    https://www.civilsdaily.com/news/sela-pass-tunnel-project/

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