Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Dickinsonia, Bhimbetka
Mains level: Geological time scale
Bhimbetka, which has yielded a fossil of Dickinsonia dating back about 550 million years, is the first time the particular fossilized organism has been recorded in India.
Why does this fossil matter?
- It dates back to an era regarded as the precursor to the explosion of life on earth during the Cambrian period.
- Thus it puts India firmly on the map for studies of the Ediacaran era along with Australia and Russia.
Hereâs what makes the discovery a global milestone:
(a) Ediacaran Period
- The finding gives lead about the earliest living species during a period of the earthâs history known as the Ediacaran, named after the Ediacara Hills in South Australia.
- This is the period in Earthâs history when Dickinsonia and several multicellular organisms existed.
- It was approximately 635 million years ago (Ma) and 541 Ma, with the living creatures of the era, called vendobionts.
Now take this opportunity to revise the Geological time scale from your NCERTs. Try differentiating between different era, periods and epoch.
(b) Indiaâs Proximity to Australia
- Studies of the rock characteristics in and around Bhimbetka show that they share several characteristics with rocks in Australia.
- Dickinsonia fossils from India were found by the scientists to be identical to the Rawnsley Quartzite in South Australia.
- This provides evidence of their age and the proximity of the two landmasses in Gondwanaland in that era.
- The evidence however did not support reconstructions adjusted for the polar wander phenomenon [which involves motion of continents over geologic time and its impacts].
 Use of Zircon dating
- The age of fossil rock is determined using Zircon isotopes.
- Zircon dating of the youngest Maihar sandstone in Madhya Pradesh puts its age at 548 Ma.
- The lower Bhander group in the Son and Chambal valleys yielded an isotope-derived age for limestones ranging from 978 Ma to 1073 Ma, situating it in the older Tonian period.
- The Ediacaran period was the precursor to the Cambrian (about 541 Ma to 485.4 Ma) when the earth witnessed an explosion of life forms and much of which makes up modern animal life today.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Sandes
Mains level: Secured instant messaging
The National Informatics Centre (NIC) has launched an instant messaging platform called Sandes on the lines of WhatsApp. Â Open initially only to government officers, it has now been released for the common public as well.
Features of Sandes Platform
- The instant messaging app, called Sandes, has an interface similar to many other apps currently available in the market.
- Like WhatsApp, the new NIC platform can be used for all kinds of communications by anyone with a mobile number or email id.
- Although there is no option to transfer the chat history between two platforms, the chats on government instant messaging systems or GIMS can be backed up to a usersâ email.
- It also offers features such as group making, broadcast message, message forwarding and emojis.
- Further, as an additional safety feature, it allows a user to mark a message as confidential, which will allow the recipient to be made aware the message should not be shared with others.
Why need such instant messaging platform?
- Following the nationwide lockdown, the government felt the need to build a platform to ensure secure communication between its employees as they worked from home.
- The idea for a secure communication network dedicated exclusively to government employees has been in the works for the past four years.
- In August 2020, the NIC released the first version of the app, which said that the app could be used by both central and state government officials for intra and inter-organisation communication.
- The app was initially launched for Android users and then the service was extended to iOS users.
Limitations of the app
- The limitation, however, is that the app does not allow the user to change their email id or registered phone number.
- The user will have to re-register as a new user in case they wish to change their registered email id or phone number on the app.
Do you remember?
[Burning Issue] WhatsApp Snooping
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: MapmyIndia, Various tools of ISRO
Mains level: Geospatial data and its utilization
The ISRO has joined hands with MapmyIndia to combine their geospatial expertise and build holistic solutions by leveraging their geoportals.
Note various geo-spatial solutions of ISRO mentioned in the newscard.
What is the Project?
- It combines the power of MapmyIndiaâs digital maps and technologies with ISROâs catalogue of satellite imagery and earth observation data.
- Indian users would not be dependent on foreign organisations for maps, navigation and geospatial services, and leverage made-in-India solutions instead.
Various components
The collaboration will enable them to jointly identify and build holistic geospatial solutions utilising the ISROâs earth observation datasets such as-
- IRNSS (Indian Regional Navigation Satellite System) called NavIC (Navigation with Indian Constellation, is Indiaâs own navigation system, developed by ISRO.
- Bhuvan is the national geo-portal developed and hosted by ISRO comprising geospatial data, services and tools for analysis.
- VEDAS (Visualization of Earth observation Data and Archival System) is an online geo-processing platform using an optical, microwave, thermal and hyperspectral EO data covering applications particularly meant for academia, research and problem solving, according to ISRO.
- MOSDAC (Meteorological and Oceanographic Satellite Data Archival Centre)is a data repository for all the meteorological missions of ISRO and deals with weather-related information, oceanography and tropical water cycles.
About MapmyIndia
- MapmyIndia is an Indian technology company that builds digital map data, telematics services, location-based SaaS (Software as a service) and GIS AI services.
- The company was founded in 1992 and is headquartered at New Delhi with regional offices in Mumbai and Bengaluru and smaller offices across India.
- Its map covers all 7.5 lakh villages, 7500+ cities at street and building-level, connected by all 63 lakh kilometres of road network pan India and within cities, in total providing maps for an unparalleled 3+ crore places across India.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Giant Leatherback Turtle
Mains level: Not Much
Proposals for tourism and port development in the Andaman and Nicobar (A&N) Islands has left conservationists worried over the fate of some of the most important nesting populations of the Giant Leatherback turtle.
What is the news?
- There is concern that at least three key nesting beaches â two on Little Andaman Island and one on Great Nicobar Island â are under threat due to mega âdevelopmentâ plans announced in recent months.
- These include NITI Aayogâs ambitious tourism vision for Little Andaman and the proposal for a mega-shipment port at Galathea Bay on Great Nicobar Island.
Giant Leatherback Turtle
IUCN status: Vulnerable
- The largest of the seven species of sea turtles on the planet and also the most long-ranging, Leatherbacks are found in all oceans except the Arctic and the Antarctic.
- Within the Indian Ocean, they nest only in Indonesia, Sri Lanka and the A&N Islands.
- They are also listed in Schedule I of Indiaâs Wildlife Protection Act, 1972, according it the highest legal protection.
- The population in A&N Islands is among the most important colonies of the Leatherback globally.
About Galathea Bay
- The Galathea Bay is adjacent to Galathea National Park in Great Nicobar Island.
- It was earlier proposed as a wildlife sanctuary in 1997 for the protection of turtles and was also the site of a long-term monitoring programme.
- The monitoring was stopped after the tsunami devastation of 2004, but it provided the first systematic evidence of numbers and importance of these beaches.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Finance Commission and its recommendations
Mains level: Paper 2- Fifteenth Finance Commission report and federalism
The article analyses the recommendations of fifteenth Finance Commission and their implications for the federalism in India.
Major recommendations accepted by the government
- Report of the fifteenth Finance Commission (XVFC) was laid before the Parliament.
- The finance minister announced the acceptance of its recommendation of retaining the share of states in central taxes at 42 per cent.
- She also stated that on its recommendation revenue deficit grants of Rs 1.18 lakh crore to the states have been provided for in the budget.
- Some of the recommendations, however, have far-reaching implications on government finances, both of the Centre and the states.
- Keeping in view the extant strategic requirements for national defence in a global context, XVFC has, in its approach, recalibrated the relative shares of the Union and the states in gross revenues receipts.
Issues with the recalibration for national defence
- Recalibration enables the Union to set aside resources for special funding on defence.
- The states have been made to pay Rs 7,000 crore to bridge [the] Centreâs gap between projected budgetary requirements and budget allocation for defence and internal security defence.
- But this is an expenditure that the Centre is obliged to fund.
- For the first time, a finance commission has carved out resources meant for distributable statutory grants and dipped into the statesâ revenue share, as against the tax share, in order to finance the Centreâs exclusive expenditure obligation.
- What has been done is not in line with the system envisaged in the Constitution.
- This move will eventually put the fiscal federal system under systemic strain.
- In operational terms, too, this move is a significant departure.
- So far, the Centre has been used to pre-empting resources from the kitty to be distributed among the states but only to finance expenditures in areas earmarked for states.
- This was done through the centrally-sponsored schemes, but at least the statesâ money was being used in the states, even if on a discretionary rather than a criteria basis.
- Now, with this move of earmarking and financing of funds for sectors, it is the statesâ money that is being used to finance the Centreâs expenditure.
- This is certainly not cooperative federalism.
Changes in horizontal distribution: More weightage to efficiency and performance
- In horizontal distribution, the criteria used by successive finance commissions for devolving taxes across states have always been linked to need â based on equity, tempered by efficiency.
- From 92.5 per cent of funds to a state being devolved based on need and equity, the XVFC has reduced these two components to 75 per cent.
- The remaining 25 per cent are to be devolved on considerations of efficiency and performance.
- This is the lowest weightage for equity, making the XVFC transfers potentially the least progressive ever.
Structural changes not taken into account
- The Finance Commission has not even made any serious effort to review the existing scheme of transfers in light of the changed federal landscape.
- The existing criteria for the devolution have evolved in, and for, a production-based tax system.
- The XVFC should have reformulated the distributional criteria for a consumption-based tax system [GST].
- The structural change from production to consumption will make a significant difference to distribution as well as the need, nature and distribution of equalising grants.
- This is the same manner in which the revenue deficit grants have been carried forward.
- Ideally, the âgap-fillingâ approach should have been redesigned in light of the compensation law providing a minimum-guaranteed revenue of 14 per cent to every state.
Consider the question “For the first time, a finance commission has carved out resources meant for distributable statutory grants and dipped into the statesâ revenue share, as against the tax share, in order to finance the Centreâs exclusive expenditure obligation. What are the issues with this move?”
Conclusion
The Fifteenth Finance Commission report is not aligned with the new landscape of federalism and does not address the key issues.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Not much
Mains level: Paper 3- Agri-marketing reforms and water accounting to solve the problems of agriculture
China and Israel offer two important lessons for India to transform its agriculture: agri-market reforms and water accounting.
Lessons from Israel and China
- India, China and Israel â started off their new political journey in late 1940s, but today Chinaâs per capita income in dollar terms is almost five times that of India, and Israelâs almost 20 times higher than India.
- China produces three times more agri-output than India from a smaller arable area.
- China started off its economic reforms in 1978 by taking up agriculture first.
- It dismantled its commune system of land holdings and liberated agri-markets that allowed farmers to get much higher prices.
- As a result, in 1978-84, farmersâ incomes in China increased by almost 14 per cent per annum, more than doubling in six years.
- Israel cultivates high-value crops for exports (citrus fruits, dates, olives) by using every drop of water and recycling urban waste water for agriculture, by de-salinisation of sea waters.
- Water accounting in Israel is something exemplary.
Need for agri-reform in India
- The average holding size in China was just 0.9 ha in 2016-18, smaller than Indiaâs 1.08 ha in 2015-16.
- So there is no doubt that small holders can do wonders, if they are given the right incentives, good infrastructure and research support, and the right institutional framework to operate.
- In India, the 1991 reforms did not include agriculture.
- Indian agri-food policies remained more consumer-oriented with a view to protect the poor.
- Export controls, stocking limits on traders, movement restrictions, etc all continued at the hint of any price rise.
- The net result of all this was farmersâ incomes remained low and so did those of landless agri-labourers.
Way forward
- India needs to change its policy framework from being subsidy-led to investment-driven, from being consumer-oriented to producer-oriented, and from being supply-oriented to demand-driven by linking farms with factories and foreign markets, and, finally, from being business as usual to an innovations-centred system.
- Until India breaks away from the policy of free power for agriculture, there would be no incentive for farmers to save water.
- In a state like Punjab where almost 80 per cent of blocks are over-exploited or critical, meaning the withdrawal of water is much more than the recharge.
- Highly subsidised urea and open-ended procurement have become a deadly cocktail that are eating away the natural wealth of Punjab.
- Out-of-box thinking is needed to break this regressive cycle for a brighter future for Punjab, for our own children.
Consider the question “What are the implications of subsidy oriented policies for Indian agriculture.”
Conclusion
Lessons from China and Israel suggest that India need reform in agri-food policies and water accounting to address several issues plaguing agriculture.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Not Much
Mains level: Interstate boundary disputes in India
Andhra Pradesh recently held panchayat elections in three villages in the Kotia cluster, which is at the centre of a dispute between Andhra Pradesh and Odisha.
Do you know?
Sukma district of Chhattisgarh borders with Odisha (Malkangiri district), Telangana (Bhadradri Kothagudem district) and Andhra Pradesh (East Godavari district).
You got it right. Thers’ a junction. AP and Telangana , both borders with Chhattisgarh.
Andhra-Odisha Boundary Dispute
- Prior to April 1, 1936, villages under Kotia panchayat were part of Jeypore Estate.
- In the Constitution of Orrisa Order, 1936, published in the Gazette of India on March 19 that year, the GoI demarcated Odisha from the erstwhile Madras Presidency.
- In 1942, the Madras government contested the boundary and ordered re-demarcation of the two states.
- When the state of Andhra Pradesh was created in 1955, the villages were not surveyed by the state government either.
Details of the villages
- These villages, with a population of nearly 5,000, are located on a remote hilltop on the inter-state border and are inhabited by Kondh tribals.
- The region, once a Maoist hotbed which still reports sporadic incidents of violence, is also rich in mineral resources like gold, platinum, manganese, bauxite, graphite and limestone.
What is the judicial reaction?
- In the early 1980s, Odisha filed a case in the Supreme Court demanding right and possession of jurisdiction over the 21 villages.
- In 2006 the court ruled that disputes belonging to the state boundaries are not within the jurisdiction of the Supreme Court.
- The matter can only be resolved by Parliament and passed a permanent injunction on the disputed area.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Not Much
Mains level: Migration trends in India
This newscard presents data on Indiaâs internal migration considering the mass exodus which was visible during the lockdowns.
The displacement of people during the imposition of lockdown has been described as the second-largest since the Partition of the country.
Also read:
[Burning Issue] Migrant workers amid COVID-19 outbreak
Indiaâs internal migration
(1) Number of migrants
- As of 2020, India has an estimated 600 million migrants. Roughly half of India is living in a place where it wasnât born.
- It would be roughly double the size of the fourth-largest nation on the planet â the United States.
(2) Nature of migration
- The bulk of the internal migration in India is within one district itself. An estimated 400 million Indians âmigrateâ within the district they live in.
- The next 140 million migrate from one district to another but within the same state.
- And only about 60 million â that is, just 10% of all internal migrants â move from one state to another.
(3) Type of Migration
- There are other misconceptions as well. Typically, it is thought that most migration happens when people from rural areas move to urban areas.
- That is incorrect. The most dominant form of migration is from rural to rural areas.
- Only about 20% of the total migration (600 million) is from rural to urban areas.
- In fact, 20% of the total migration is from one urban area to another urban area.
- As such, urban migration (rural to urban as well as urban to urban) accounts for 40% of the total migration.
(4) Comparison with other countries
- Indiaâs proportion of internal migrants (as a percentage of the overall population) is much lower than some of the comparable countries such as Russia, China, South Africa and Brazil.
- All have much higher urbanisation ratios, which is a proxy for migration level.
- In other words, as India adopts a strategy of rapid urbanisation, levels of internal migration will increase further.
Impact of COVID
The reality of a migrant workerâs existence is much more complicated than those sharply defined numbers.
Not all migrants were equally affected
- The worst-hit were a class of migrants that felt under the group âvulnerable circular migrantsâ.
- These are people who are âvulnerableâ because of their weak position in the job market and âcircularâ migrants because even though they work in urban settings, they continue to have a foothold in the rural areas.
- Such migrants work in construction sites or small factories or as rickshaw pullers in the city but when such employment avenues dwindle, they go back to their rural setting.
- In other words, they are part of the informal economy outside agriculture.
“Data insufficient”
- The truth is that even now all the estimates mentioned above are individual estimates.
- The official data â be it the Census or the National Sample Survey â is more than a decade old.
- In fact, Census 2011 migration data was made publicly available only in 2019.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Mechanophotonics, Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM)
Mains level: Not Much
Crystals are normally rigid, stiff structures, but researchers from the University of Hyderabad have shown how crystals can be sliced and even bent using atomic force microscopy. They have named this technique as âmechanophotonicsâ.
The newscard discusses an out of the box technology which if brought to reality in practical use, can create immense disruptions in the technology market.
Manipulating light through crystals
- Manipulating them with precision and control comes in very useful in the field of nanophotonics, a qualitative, emerging field.
- The aim is to go beyond electronics and build-up circuits driven entirely by photons (light).
If the technique can be successfully developed, this can achieve an unprecedented level of miniaturisation and pave the way to all-optical-technology such as pliable, wearable devices operated by light entirely.
What Indian researchers have achieved?
: Bending light path
- Light, when left to itself moves along straight paths, so it is crucial to develop materials and technology that can cause its path to bend along what is required in the circuits.
- This is like using fibre optics, but at the nanoscale level using organic crystals.
- The Hyderabad group has demonstrated how such crystals can be lifted, bent moved, transferred and sliced using atomic force microscopy.
: How?
- Researchers add a crucial piece to the jigsaw puzzle of building an âorganic photonic integrated circuitâ or OPIC.
- Generally, millimetre- to centimetre-long crystals were bent using hand-held tweezers.
- This method lacks precision and control. Also, the crystals used were larger than what was required for miniaturisation.
- The atomic force microscopy (AFM) cantilever tip could be used to lift a crystal, as crystals tend to stick to the tip due to tipâcrystal attractive forces.
- Thus they demonstrated the real waveguiding character of the crystal lifted with a cantilever tip.
In 2014, for the first time, the group led by Rajadurai Chandrasekar of the Functional Molecular Nano/Micro Solids Laboratory in University of Hyderabad demonstrated that tiny crystals could be lifted and moved with precision and control using atomic force microscopy.
What is Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM)?
- AFMs are a type of electron microscope used for the observation at an atomic level.
- It is commonly used in nanotechnology.
- The AFM works by employing an ultra-fine needle attached to a beam.
- The tip of the needle runs over the ridges and valleys in the material being imaged, “feeling” the surface.
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From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: nORF
Mains level: Not Much
A team from the University of Cambridge set out to find whether new genes emerge in the genome of living organisms and if they do, how they do so. They have now catalogued 1,94,000 novel regions.
Genes/Genomes/DNA/RNA is all-time favourite of UPSC. You can easily find 1-2 questions every year since 2017 in Prelims.
Novel genomic regions
- The ânovelâ genomic regions cannot be defined by our current âdefinitionâ of a gene.
- Hence, researchers call these novel regions â novel Open Reading Frames or as nORFs.
- Researchers found that the mutations in nORFs do have physiological consequences and a majority of mutations that are often annotated as benign have to be re-interpreted.
What novel did the researchers find?
- nORF regions were uniquely present in the cancer tissues and not present in the control tissue.
- They found that some nORF disruptions strongly correlated with the survival of patients.
- nORFs proteins can form structures, can undergo biochemical regulation like known proteins and be targeted by drugs in case they are disrupted in diseases.
- The researchers also identified these nORFs in Plasmodium falciparum, the parasite which causes the deadliest form of malaria.
Connected to disease
- The research found that these regions are also broadly involved in diseases.
- The nORFs were seen as dysregulated in 22 cancer types.
- Dysregulated is a term which means that they could either be mutated, upregulated, or downregulated, or they could be uniquely present.
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From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Malwares
Mains level: Cyber attacks and the treats posed to national security
This newscard is an excerpt from the original article published in The Hindu.
Try this question from CSP 2018:
Q.The terms âWannaCry, Petya, Eternal Blueâ sometimes mentioned news recently are related to
(a) Exoplanets
(b) Crypto currency
(c) Cyber attacks
(d) Mini satellites
What is NetWire?
- NetWire, which first surfaced in 2012, is a well-known malware.
- It is also one of the most active ones around.
- It is a remote access Trojan, or RAT, which gives control of the infected system to an attacker. Such malware can log keystrokes and compromise passwords.
Threats posed
- This malware essentially does two things:
- One is data exfiltration, which means stealing data. Most anti-virus software is equipped to prevent this.
- The other involves infiltrating a system, and this has proven to be far more challenging for anti-virus software.
- NetWire is described as an off-the-shelf malware, while something like Pegasus, which used a bug in WhatsApp to infiltrate usersâ phones in 2019, is custom-made and sold to nations.
Back2Basics: Classification of malicious softwares
Viruses
- A computer virus is a type of malware that propagates by inserting a copy of itself into and becoming part of another program.
- It spreads from one computer to another, leaving infections as it travels.
- Viruses can range in severity from causing mildly annoying effects to damaging data or software and causing denial-of-service (DoS) conditions.
- Almost all viruses are attached to an executable file, which means the virus may exist on a system but will not be active or able to spread until a user runs or opens the malicious host file or program.
- When the host code (alternative word for a computer program) is executed, the viral code is executed as well.
Ransomware
- Ransomware is a type of malicious software that threatens to publish the victim’s data or perpetually block access to it unless a ransom is paid.
- While some simple ransomware may lock the system in a way that is not difficult for a knowledgeable person to reverse, more advanced malware uses a technique called cryptoviral extortion.
- This encrypts the victim’s files, making them inaccessible, and demands a ransom payment to decrypt them.
Worms
- Computer worms are similar to viruses in that they replicate functional copies of themselves and can cause the same type of damage.
- In contrast to viruses, which require the spreading of an infected host file, worms are standalone software and do not require a host program or human help to propagate.
- To spread, worms either exploit the vulnerability on the target system or use some kind of social engineering to trick users into executing them.
- A worm enters a computer through a vulnerability in the system and takes advantage of file-transport or information-transport features on the system, allowing it to travel unaided.
- More advanced worms leverage encryption, wipers, and ransomware technologies to harm their targets.
Trojans
- A Trojan is a harmful piece of software that looks legitimate.
- After it is activated, it can achieve any number of attacks on the host, from irritating the user (popping up windows or changing desktops) to damaging the host (deleting files, stealing data, or activating and spreading other malware, such as viruses).
- Trojans are also known to create backdoors to give malicious users access to the system.
- Unlike viruses and worms, Trojans do not reproduce by infecting other files nor do they self-replicate.
- Trojans must spread through user interaction such as opening an email attachment or downloading and running a file from the Internet.
Bots
- “Bot” is derived from the word “robot” and is an automated process that interacts with other network services.
- Bots often automate tasks and provide information or services that would otherwise be conducted by a human being.
- A typical use of bots is to gather information, such as web crawlers, or interact automatically with Instant Messaging (IM), Internet Relay Chat (IRC), or other web interfaces.
- They may also be used to interact dynamically with websites.
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From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Mandarin Duck, Dibru Saikhowa NP
Mains level: Not Much
A rare Mandarin duck was observed floating in the Maguri-Motapung beel (or wetland) in Assamâs Tinsukia district for over a week is spectacular.
Mandarin duck
IUCN status: Least Concerned
- Considered the most beautiful duck in the world, the Mandarin duck, or the (Aix galericulata) was first identified by Swedish botanist, physician and zoologist Carl Linnaeus in 1758.
- The eBird website, a platform that documents birds world over, describes it as a âsmall-exotic looking birdâ native to East Asia.
- Itâs very beautiful, with majestic colours and can be spotted from a distance.
Its habitat and breeding
- The migratory duck breeds in Russia, Korea, Japan and northeastern parts of China. It now has established populations in Western Europe and America too.
- In 2018, when a Mandarin duck was spotted in a pond in New York Cityâs Central Park, it created a flutter among local residents.
- It was recorded in 1902 in Dibru River in the Rongagora area in Tinsukia.
About Maguri beel
- The Maguri Motapung wetland is an Important Bird Area as declared by the Bombay Natural History Society.
- It is located close to the Dibru Saikhowa National Park in Upper Assam.
- The entire ecosystem is very important as it is home to at least 304 bird species, including a number of endemic ones like Black-breasted parrotbill and Marsh babbler.
- In May 2020, the beel was adversely affected by a blowout and fire at an Oil India Limited-owned gas well.
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From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Fastag
Mains level: Fastag and its benefits for speedy transport
Ministry of Road Transport & Highways has decided that all lanes in the fee plazas on National Highways shall be declared as âFASTag lane of the fee plazaâ.
Fastag went unnoticed this year. The RFID technology deployed in this holds an intuition for its relevance in CS prelims and many forthcoming exams.
What is âFASTagâ?
- 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.
Must read:
[Burning Issue] Implementation of FASTags
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From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: RTE, New Education Policy
Mains level: Paper 2- Impact of pandemic on education of the poor
The article highlights the issue of the decrease in allocation for education and two ways in which the government seeks to plug this gap.
Decrease in allocation to education: Two paradoxical axes
- The government allocated Rs 6,000 crore less on education in Budget 2021 as compared to last year.
- Itâs strange that this yearâs budget makes no reference to the pandemic and the multiple challenges it has thrown up for the poor.
- Parents who depend on the lowest rung of free government schools are the ones who need maximum state support.
- More recently, the stateâs position with regard to the provision of education in general and budgetary allocations to education in particular hinges on two paradoxical axes.
1) Supporting community volunteer
- On one axis, is its appreciation of the commitment and passion of the community volunteers to reach out to children who may not be learning for multiple reasons.
- Acknowledging the contribution of such people, the NEP proposes ideas of âpeer-tutoring and trained volunteersâ to support teachers to impart foundational literacy and numeracy skills to children in need of such skills.
- While such efforts need to be applauded, they cannot be regarded as substitutes of the formal state apparatus.
- Such a view also de-legitimises the teaching profession-associated qualifications and the training mandated by the state for people to become teachers.
- Salaries and working conditions of the local community, most of whom are unemployed youth and women, are often compromised.
- This is exploitation and needless to say, it also impacts the quality of education for the poor.
2) Public-Private partnership and issues with it
- On the second axis, is the position advocating partnerships between public and private bodies.
- Not that the involvement of private individuals/organisations/schools in education is anything new in India.
- However, in the past, private schools catered to the relatively better-off but now the poor are being targeted for profit.
- This narrative is based on two sources: Poor learning outcomes of children, particularly those studying in government schools as reported by large scale assessment surveys, and large-scale absenteeism/dereliction of duty on the part of government school teachers.
- Reasons for these are attributed to government school teachers having no accountability.
- NEP 2020 also states that the non-governmental philanthropic organisations will be supported to build schools and alternative models of education will be encouraged by making their requirements for schools as mandated in the RTE less restrictive.
- This is clearly problematic but convenient as the justification underlying this position is that one needs to shift focus from inputs to outputs.
- This also indicate that schools can do with lesser financial resources, and compromised inputs may not necessarily lead to compromised outputs.
- The nature of the partnership between public and private has also changed from the private supporting the public to private jostling for space with the public, even replacing them.
- Itâs a win-win situation for both â the state gets to spend less and private players make profit.
Consider the question “Examine the impact of a covid pandemic on the education of the poor. Suggest the measure need to be taken by the government to mitigate the impact.”
Conclusion
While money may not ensure quality education, lack of adequate resources will only deepen the social divide between people.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Not much
Mains level: Paper 3- Floods in Uttarakhand and its mitigation
The article explains the relationship between development activities in Uttarakhand and the devastating floods.
Cause of recent flash flood in Uttarakhand
- According to Planet Labs, ice along with frozen mud and rocks fell down from a high mountain inside the Nanda Devi Sanctuary, from a height of 5,600 m to 3,300 m.
- This created an artificial lake within the sanctuary in Rontigad, a tributary of Rishi Ganga.
- Within eight hours, this lake burst open and its water, laden with mud and stones, rushed through the Rishi Ganga gorge which opens near Reni.
- Studies say that the current winter season has seen little rain and snow, with temperatures being highest in the last six decades.
- Â So, the effects of chemical weathering were much more active in the higher Himalayas.
- Â There is a possibility of more such events this year.
Factors responsible
1) Development with no regard for the environment
- As a mountain system, the Himalayas have had earthquakes, avalanches, landslides, soil erosion, forest fires and floods, and these are its natural expressions, parts of its being.
- Except for earthquakes, humans have directly contributed towards aggravating all the other phenomena.
- The Ravi Chopra committee formed by the SC recommended closure of all the 24 hydro projects in question by Wildlife Institute of India.
- The SC also formed another committee to look at the impact of the Chaardham road project.
- Road and hydro projects are being operated in the Himalayas with practically no rigorous research on the ecological history of the area, cost-benefit analysis and many other aspects including displacement of communities, destruction of biodiversity, agricultural land, pastures as well as the cultural heritage of the area.
Dilution of Environmental Impact Assessment rules
- Earlier, while independent experts carried out the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA), today it is assigned to a government agency, which does the work for other government departments.
- Furthermore, during the lockdown, the government changed the EIA rules and diluted labour laws (most of the workers in both the affected projects belong to unorganised sector) in the name of pandemic measures.
2) Climate change
- Another factor which cannot be overlooked is that of climate change.
- Studies have suggested that the pace of this change is faster in mountains and fastest in the Himalayas.
- While earthquakes and weathering work at their own pace, climate change can contribute towards altering their natural speed.
Need for studying the 2013 calamity
- Â We can look back at the terrible calamity of 2013, and see how it washed away the encroachments in river areas-dams, barrages, tunnels, buildings, roads.
- The communities paid a much heavier price than what they received in compensation.
- Further, the 2013 calamity has to be studied and understood in all the other regions and river valleys of Uttarakhand, Western Nepal and Himachal.
- It was not specific to Kedarnath, although much of the focus was directed there.
- Till date, we donât have any white paper on this calamity.
- The India Meteorological Department failed in its prediction and wrongly announced at the end of the first week of June that the monsoon will reach Uttarakhand by June 27-28.
- It reached on June 16-17 with 300-400 per cent more rain, a record never heard of before.
- Â 24 big and small hydro projects were destroyed.
- The muck created by these projects was also the cause of their destruction.
- The road debris, always dumped in rivers, was another cause.
- The smaller rivers were more aggressive in 2013.
Consider the question “What are the factors responsible for the devastating floods in the Uttarakhand? Suggest the measures for disaster mitigation.”
Conclusion
The Himalayas have been giving us life through water, fertile soil, biodiversity, wilderness and a feel of spirituality. We cannot and should not try to control or dictate the Himalayas.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Farakkha Barrage, Hilsa fish
Mains level: Not Much
It has been reported that an old project to facilitate the movement of Hilsa upstream along the Ganga to its spawning grounds of yore may come to fruition this year.
What is the news?
- Back in February 2019, the government had unveiled a project to redesign the navigation lock at the Farakka Barrage at a cost of Rs 360 crore to create a âfish passâ for the Hilsa.
Hilsa Fish
- In scientific parlance, the Hilsa (Tenualosa ilisha) is an anadromous fish.
- It lives most of its life in the ocean, but during the rainy season, the Hilsa moves towards the estuary, where the rivers of India and Bangladesh meet the Bay of Bengal.
- A large part of the shoal travels upstream in the Padma and the Ganga â some are known to move towards the Godavari, and there are records of Hilsa migration to the Cauvery.
- Culinary lore has it that the fish that travel the farthest upstream have the best combination of the flavours of the sea and the river.
Try this question from CSP 2019:
Q. Consider the following pairs:
| Wildlife |
Naturally found in |
| 1. Blue-finned Mahseer |
Cauvery River |
| 2. Irrawaddy Dolphin |
Chambal River |
| 3. Rusty-spotted Cat |
Eastern Ghats |
Which of the pairs given above are correctly matched?
a) 1 and 2 only
b) 2 and 3 only
c) 1 and 3 only
d) 1, 2 and 3
Obstructions created by Farakka Barrage
- Historical records also show that until the 1970s, the Hilsa would swim the Ganga upstream to Allahabad â and even to Agra.
- But the Farakka Barrage, which became operational on the Ganga in 1975, disrupted the westward movement of the Hilsa.
- The barrage had a navigation lock that stopped the fish from swimming upstream beyond Farakka.
- In Buxar on the border of Bihar and Uttar Pradesh, the last recorded catch of the Hilsa was made 32 years ago.
- The role of the Farakka Barrage in disrupting the Hilsaâs journey is well documented and has been discussed in Parliament as well.
- On August 4, 2016, then Union Water Resources Minister told Lok Sabha about plans to create âfish laddersâ to help the fish navigate the obstacle posed by the barrage.
Fish ladders/fishways/fish passes
- Fish passes â also known as fish ladders or fishways â aim to assist fish in crossing obstacles presented by dams and barrages.
- They usually consist of small steps that allow the fish to climb over the obstacles and enable them to reach the open waters on the other side.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Creche scheme
Mains level: Maternity benefits act
The Union Minister of Women and Child Development have given information about the National Creche Scheme to the Lok Sabha.
Try this PYQ:
Q.Which of the following statements is/are correct regarding the Maternity Benefit (Amendment) Act, 2017?
- Pregnant women are entitled to three months pre-delivery and three months post-delivery paid leave.
- Enterprises with creches must allow the mother a minimum of six crèche visits daily.
- Women with two children get reduced entitlements.
Select the correct answer using the code given below.
(a) 1 and 2 only
(b) 2 only
(c) 3 only
(d) 1, 2 and 3
National Creche Scheme
- The Ministry of WCD implements the NCS for the children of working mothers as a Centrally Sponsored Scheme through States/ UTs with effect from 01.01.2017.
- It aims to provide daycare facilities to children (age group of 6 months to 6 years) of working mothers.
The Scheme provides an integrated package of the following services:
- Daycare facilities including sleeping facilities.
- Early stimulation for children below 3 years and pre-school education for 3 to 6 years old children
- Supplementary nutrition (to be locally sourced)
- Growth monitoring
- Health check-up and immunization
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Dayanand Saraswati
Mains level: Not Much
Information and Broadcasting Minister paid his tributes to Swami Dayanand Saraswati on his birth anniversary.
Dayanand Saraswati (1824-1883)
- Swami Dayanand Saraswati was a philosopher, social leader and founder of the Arya Samaj, a reform movement of the Vedic dharma.
- He was the first to give the call for Swaraj as “India for Indians” in 1876, a call later taken up by Lokmanya Tilak.
- Denouncing the idolatry and ritualistic worship, he worked towards reviving Vedic ideologies.
- Subsequently, the philosopher and then President, S. Radhakrishnan called him one of the “makers of Modern India”, as did Sri Aurobindo.
Try this PYQ:
Q.Which among the following event happened earliest?
(a) Swami Dayanand established Arya Samaj
(b) Dinabandhu Mitra wrote Neeldarpan
(c) Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay wrote Anandmath
(d) Satyendranath Tagore became the first India to succeed in the Indian Civil Services Examination
His influence
- Those who were influenced by and followed him included Madam Cama, Shyamji Krishna Varma, Kishan Singh, Bhagat Singh, VD Savarkar, Bhai Parmanand, Lala Hardayal, Madan Lal Dhingra, Ram Prasad Bismil, MG Ranade, Ashfaq Ullah Khan, , Lala Lajpat Rai etc.
Philosophy
- He was ascetic from boyhood and a scholar.
- He believed in the infallible authority of the Vedas.
- He advocated the doctrine of Karma and Reincarnation.
- He emphasized the Vedic ideals of Brahmacharya, including celibacy and devotion to God.
His contribution
- Among Dayananda’s contributions were his promoting of the equal rights for women, such as the right to education and reading of Indian scriptures.
- He wrote his commentary on the Vedas from Vedic Sanskrit in Sanskrit as well as in Hindi.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Various provisions of the Juvenile Justice Act
Mains level: Child rights and their protection
The Union Minister of Women and Child Development has given important information regarding the protection of child beggars in India under various acts and ministries.
Q.What are the various legislatures aimed at protecting Child Beggars in India? Discuss their efficacy in the prevention of child begging as well as abuse.
Protection of Child Beggars
(A) JJ Act, 2015
- The Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2015 (JJ Act) is the primary law for children in the country.
- The Section 2 (14) (ii) of the Act, 2015, considers a child being in force or is found begging, or living on the street as a âchild in need of care and protectionâ.
- As per Section 76 of JJ Act, whoever employs or uses any child for the purpose of begging or causes any child to beg shall be punishable with imprisonment.
- The Act provides a security net of service delivery structures along with measures for institutional and non-institutional care, to ensure the comprehensive well being of children in distress situations.
- The primary responsibility of execution of the Act rests with the States/UTs.
(B) Child Protection Services (CPS)
- The Ministry implements a centrally sponsored scheme CPS under the umbrella Integrated Child Development Services scheme.
- It supports the children in difficult circumstances including child beggars and destitute children.
- Under the scheme, institutional care is provided through Child Care Institutions (CCIs), as a rehabilitative measure.
- The programmes and activities in CCIs inter-alia include age-appropriate education, access to vocational training, recreation, health care, counselling etc.
- The scheme supports 24×7 emergency outreach/ helpline service for children in distress conditions.
- The service is accessible through a dedicated toll-free number, 1098 from anywhere in India.
(C) Rehabilitation measures
- The Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment, has undertaken a pilot project for Comprehensive Rehabilitation of Persons engaged in the act of begging.
- It is currently held in ten (10) cities; namely Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai, Ahmadabad, Hyderabad, Bangalore, Lucknow, Patna, Nagpur and Indore.
- The initiative aims for identification, rehabilitation, counselling, skill development of beggars.
- It includes education of children engaged in begging/children of persons engaged in the begging.
The children of today are assets of tomorrow. Yet education, which is a fundamental right to every child in our country, is still a dream for many children in India, especially the ones who are poor, downtrodden and in dire need.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Tholpavakkoothu
Mains level: India's puppetry
A shadow leather puppet in Keralaâs famous temple art Tholpavakkoothu is being animated by a robot in Palakkad.
Tholpavakkoothu
- Tholpavakkoothu or shadow puppetry is a temple art form which is prevalent in the Bhagavathy temples (mother Goddess) in Palakkad district and nearby regions in Kerala.
- Tholppava (Thol means leather, Pava means puppet) are moved with the help of strings, and their shadows are depicted on a screen with the help of a row of oil lamps in the background.
- The story of Tholpavakkoothu performance is from the Indian epic, Ramayana.
- In the olden days, it was performed elaborately over a period of forty-one days.
- The narrative used for the performance is a mixture of prose and poetry called Adalpattu.
Try this PYQ:
Q.With reference to Manipuri Sankirtana, consider the following statements:
- It is a song and dance performance.
- Cymbals are the only musical instruments used in the performance.
- It is performed to narrate the life and deeds of Lord Krishna.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
(a) 1, 2 and 3.
(b) 1 and 3 only
(c) 2 and 3 only
(d) 1 only
Setup of the art
- Tholppavas are made of the skin of deer and the puppet forms are made by making small holes in the leather that is then attached vertically to a bamboo stick.
- Accompanying instruments include Ezhupara, Chenda and Maddalam.
- The artists have to undergo several years of rigorous training to master this art form.
- The puppetry is staged on a special structure in temple premises called Koothumadam.
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