Type: Prelims Only

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Wildlife Conservation Efforts

Species in news: Great Indian Bustard

Prelims Only | Enviro & Biodiversity | Mains Paper 3: Conservation, Environmental Pollution & Degradation, Eia
Note4Students

From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :

Prelims level: Great Indian Bustard

Mains level: Not Much

The critically endangered Great Indian Bustard (GIB) has adopted an altogether new behaviour of giving clutch of two eggs at a time after getting additional protein diet during the monsoon season.

Great Indian Bustards

  • GIBs are the largest among the four bustard species found in India, the other three being MacQueen’s bustard, lesser florican, and the Bengal florican.
  • GIBs’ historic range included much of the Indian sub-continent but it has now shrunken to just 10 percent of it. Among the heaviest birds with flight, GIBs prefer grasslands as their habitats.
  • GIBs are considered the flagship bird species of grassland.

Protection accorded

  • Birdlife International: uplisted from Endangered to Critically Endangered (2011)
  • Protection under CITES: Appendix I
  • IUCN status: Critically Endangered
  • Protection under Wildlife (Protection) Act: Schedule I

Threats

  • Overhead power transmission
  • Poor vision: Due to their poor frontal vision, can’t detect powerlines in time and their weight makes in-flight quick maneuvers difficult.
  • Windmills: Coincidentally, Kutch and Thar desert are the places that have witnessed the creation of huge renewable energy infrastructure.
  • Noise pollution: Noise affects the mating and courtship practices of the GIB.
  • Changes in the landscape: by way of farmers cultivating their land, which otherwise used to remain fallow due to frequent droughts in Kutch.
  • Cultivation changes: Cultivation of cotton and wheat instead of pulses and fodder are also cited as reasons for falling GIB numbers.

On the brink of extinction

  • The GIB population in India had fallen to just 150.
  • Pakistan is also believed to host a few GIBs and yet openly supports their hunting.

Supreme Court’s intervention

  • The Supreme Court has ordered that all overhead power transmission lines in core and potential GIB habitats in Rajasthan and Gujarat should be undergrounded.
  • The SC also formed a three-member committee to help power companies comply with the order.

Conservation measures

  • In 2015, the Central government launched the GIB species recovery program.
  • Under the program, the WII and Rajasthan Forest departments have jointly set up conservation breeding centers where GIB eggs are harvested from the wild.
  • They have been incubated artificially and hatchlings raised in a controlled environment.

Try this PYQ

Q.Consider the following pairs:

Protected Area: Well-known for

  1. Bhiterkanika, Odisha — Salt Water Crocodile
  2. Desert National Park, Rajasthan — Great Indian Bustard
  3. Eravikulam, Kerala — Hoolock Gibbon

Which of the pairs given above is/are correctly matched? (CSP 2014)

(a) 1 only

(b) 1 and 2

(c) 2 only

(d) 1, 2 and 3

 

Post your answers here.

 

 

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Indian Olympic Association (IOA)

Prelims Only | Governance | Mains Paper 2: Health & Education
Note4Students

From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :

Prelims level: IOC

Mains level: Olympics and India

The Supreme Court has ordered status quo on the implementation of a Delhi High Court order to hand over the affairs of the Indian Olympic Association (IOA) to a Committee of Administrators (CoA).

Why in news?

  • The FIFA had recently gone ahead and suspended the AIFF, citing “third party interference”, leaving an air of uncertainty on the prospect of India hosting the Under-17 Women’s World Cup in October.
  • The governance of the AIFF had similarly been transferred to a CoA by the Supreme Court.

Delhi HC case

  • The high court had passed the order on a petition seeking a direction for redrafting of the IOA constitution in accordance with the National Sports Code, 2021.

Controversy with IOC

  • According to IOC rules, if any national body is governed by a non-elected body, it is seen as interference by a third party.
  • The moment the CoA takes charge, there is 99 per cent chance that India and our sportspersons will get suspended from all international events and Olympic Games.

Olympics and India

  • India first participated in the Olympics in 1900 in Paris.
  • The country was represented by Norman Pritchard, an Anglo Indian who was holidaying in Paris during that time.
  • The seeds for creation of an organisation for coordinating the Olympic movement in India was related to India’s participation in the 1920 and 1924 Olympics.
  • Back then, Sir Dorabji Tata suggested the need for a Sports body at National level for promoting Olympic Sport in united India.
  • After the 1920 Games, the Committee sending the team to these Games met, and, on the advice of Sir Dorabji Tata, invited Dr. A.G. Noehren (Physical Education Director of YMCA India) to also join them.

Establishment of Indian Olympic Association (IOA)

  • Subsequently, in 1923-24, a provisional All India Olympic Committee was set-up, which organised the All India Olympic Games in February 1924.
  • Eight athletes from these Games were selected to represent India at the 1924 Paris Summer Olympics, accompanied by manager Harry Crowe Buck.
  • This gave impetus to the development and institutionalization of sports in India, and, in 1927, the Indian Olympic Association (IOA) was formed, with Sir Dorabji Tata as its founding President and Dr. A.G. Noehren as Secretary.
  • The same year as it was formed, 1927, the Indian Olympic Association was officially recognised by the International Olympic Committee.

Also read

Better time for Sports in India: PM

 

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Financial Inclusion in India and Its Challenges

Centre restores Modified Interest Subvention Scheme (MISS)

Prelims Only | Economics | Mains Paper 3: Inclusive Growth & Issues
Note4Students

From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :

Prelims level: Modified Interest Subvention Scheme (MISS)

Mains level: Not Much

The Union Cabinet has decided to restore the interest subvention on short-term agriculture loans to 1.5% for all financial institutions, including cooperative banks.

What is the news?

  • The Union Cabinet has approved to restore Interest Subvention on short term agriculture loans to 1.5% for all financial institutions.
  • Thus, Interest Subvention of 1.5% will be provided to lending institutions for the financial year 2022-23 to 2024-25 for lending short term agri-loans upto Rs 3 lakh to the farmers.

What is MISS?

  • Kisan Credit Card scheme was introduced for farmers, to empower them to purchase agriculture products and services on credit at any time.
  • To ensure that the farmers have to pay a minimal interest rate to the bank, the GoI introduced Interest Subvention Scheme (ISS), now renamed as Modified Interest Subvention Scheme (MISS).
  • It aims to provide short term credit to farmers at subsidized interest rates.

Features of MISS

  • Under this scheme, short term agriculture loan upto Rs. 3.00 lakh is available to farmers engaged in Agriculture and other allied activities including Animal Husbandry, Dairying, Poultry, fisheries etc. at the rate of 7% p.a.
  • An additional 3% subvention (Prompt Repayment Incentive – PRI) is also given to the farmers for prompt and timely repayment of loans.
  • Therefore, if a farmer repays his loan on time, he gets credit at the rate of 4% p.a.
  • For enabling this facility to the farmers, GoI provides Interest Subvention (IS) to the Financial Institutions offering this scheme.
  • This support is 100% funded by the Centre, it is also the second largest scheme of DA&FW as per budget outlay and coverage of beneficiaries.

Benefits of MISS

  • Ensuring hassle-free credit availability at cheaper rate to farmers has been the top priority of GoI.
  • Increase in Interest Subvention will ensure sustainability of credit flow in the agriculture sector as well as ensure financial health and viability of the lending institutions.
  • Banks will be able to absorb increase in cost of funds and will be encouraged to grant loans to farmers for short term agriculture requirements and enable more farmers to get the benefit of agriculture credit.
  • This will also lead to generation of employment since short term agri-loans are provided for all activities including Animal Husbandry, Dairying, Poultry, fisheries.
  • Farmers will continue to avail short term agriculture credit at interest rate of 4% per annum while repaying the loan in time.

Who gets the subvention?

  • The lending institutions include- Public Sector Banks, Private Sector Bank, Small Finance Banks, Regional Rural Banks, Cooperative Banks and Computerized PACS directly ceded with commercial banks.

 

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Tax Reforms

Centre raises thresholds for prosecution under Customs Act

Prelims Only | Economics | Mains Paper 3: Money-Laundering & Its Prevention
Note4Students

From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :

Prelims level: Custom Duty

Mains level: Customs frauds

The government has raised the thresholds for prosecutions and arrests under the Customs Act to ₹50 lakh from ₹20 lakh for smuggling and illegal imports of goods in baggage, and from ₹1 crore to ₹2 crore for cases involving commercial fraud.

What is Custom Duty?

  • Customs duty refers to the tax imposed on goods when they are transported across international borders.
  • In simple terms, it is the tax that is levied on import and export of goods.
  • Custom duty in India is defined under the Customs Act, 1962, and all matters related to it fall under the Central Board of Excise & Customs (CBEC).
  • The government uses this duty to raise its revenues, safeguard domestic industries, and regulate movement of goods.
  • The rate of Customs duty varies depending on where the goods were made and what they were made of.

Types of custom duty

  • Basic Customs Duty (BCD): It is the duty imposed on the value of the goods at a specific rate at a specified rate of ad-valorem basis.
  • Countervailing Duty (CVD): It is imposed by the Central Government when a country is paying the subsidy to the exporters who are exporting goods to India.
  • Additional Customs Duty or Special CVD: It is imposed to bring imports on an equal track with the goods produced or manufactured in India.
  • Protective Duty: To protect interests of Indian industry
  • Safeguard Duty: It is imposed to safeguard the interest of our local domestic industries. It is calculated on the basis of loss suffered by our local industries.
  • Anti-dumping Duty: Manufacturers from abroad may export goods at very low prices compared to prices in the domestic market. In order to avoid such dumping, ADD is levied.

 

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Uniform Civil Code: Triple Talaq debate, Polygamy issue, etc.

Practice of talaq-e-hasan not so improper: Supreme Court

Prelims Only | Indian Society | Mains Paper 1: Role Of Women & Women Organization
Note4Students

From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :

Prelims level: Talaq-e-hasan

Mains level: Triple talaq and related issue

The Supreme Court has prima facie observed that the Muslim personal law practice of talaq-e-hasan is “not so improper”.

What is Talaq-e-hasan?

  • Talaq-e-hasan is a form of divorce by which a Muslim man can divorce his wife by pronouncing talaq once every month over a three-month period.

Why did the apex court say this?

  • The SC Bench said a Muslim woman has the option to divorce by the process of khula by returning the dower (mahr) or something else that she received from her husband or without returning anything.
  • This can be as per agreed by the spouses or Qadi’s (court) decree depending on the circumstances.

Petitioner’s contention

  • The petitioner argued that talaq-e-hasan and other forms of unilateral extra-judicial divorce is an evil plague similar to sati.
  • Talaq-e-hasan is arbitrary, irrational and contrary to Articles 14, 15, 21 and 25 and international conventions on civil rights and human rights, the petition submitted.
  • There should be a gender neutral, religion neutral, uniform grounds of divorce and uniform procedure of divorce for all citizens, it read.
  • The petitioner argued that the practice in question was “neither harmonious with the modern principles of human rights and gender equality nor an integral part of Islamic faith”.
  • The practice discriminates against Muslim women as they cannot resort to it against their husbands.

Why in news?

  • The apex court, while striking down triple talaq in the Shayara Bano case, did not address the issue of talaq-e-hasan.
  • The unilateral practice of divorce was is definitely defies morality.

 

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Wildlife Conservation Efforts

African cheetahs still stuck in transit

Prelims Only | Enviro & Biodiversity | Mains Paper 3: Conservation, Environmental Pollution & Degradation, Eia
Note4Students

From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :

Prelims level: Asiatic Cheetah

Mains level: Not Much

India’s ambitious project to translocate African cheetahs has missed an unofficial deadline of August 15.

Asiatic Cheetah

  • Cheetah, the world’s fastest land animal was declared extinct in India in 1952.
  • The Asiatic cheetah is classified as a “critically endangered” species by the IUCN Red List, and is believed to survive only in Iran.
  • It was expected to be re-introduced into the country after the Supreme Court lifted curbs for its re-introduction.

Distribution of cheetahs in India

  • Historically, Asiatic cheetahs had a very wide distribution in India.
  • There are authentic reports of their occurrence from as far north as Punjab to Tirunelveli district in southern Tamil Nadu, from Gujarat and Rajasthan in the west to Bengal in the east.
  • Most of the records are from a belt extending from Gujarat passing through Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand and Odisha.
  • There is also a cluster of reports from southern Maharashtra extending to parts of Karnataka, Telangana, Kerala and Tamil Nadu.
  • The distribution range of the cheetah was wide and spread all over the subcontinent. They occurred in substantial numbers.
  • The cheetah’s habitat was also diverse, favouring the more open habitats: scrub forests, dry grasslands, savannahs and other arid and semi-arid open habitats.

What caused the extinction of cheetahs in India?

  • The major reasons for the extinction of the Asiatic cheetah in India:
  1. Reduced fecundity and high infant mortality in the wild
  2. Inability to breed in captivity
  3. Sport hunting and
  4. Bounty killings
  • It is reported that the Mughal Emperor Akbar had kept 1,000 cheetahs in his menagerie and collected as many as 9,000 cats during his half-century reign from 1556 to 1605.
  • The cheetah numbers were fast depleting by the end of the 18th century even though their prey base and habitat survived till much later.
  • It is recorded that the last cheetahs were shot in India in 1947, but there are credible reports of sightings of the cat till about 1967.

Conservation objectives for their re-introduction

  • Based on the available evidence it is difficult to conclude that the decision to introduce the African cheetah in India is based on science.
  • Science is being used as a legitimising tool for what seems to be a politically influenced conservation goal.
  • This also in turn sidelines conservation priorities, an order of the Supreme Court, socio-economic constraints and academic rigour.
  • The issue calls for an open and informed debate.

Issues in re-introduction

  • Experts find it difficult whether the African cheetahs would find the sanctuary a favorable climate as far as the abundance of prey is concerned.
  • The habitat of cheetahs is needed to support a genetically viable population.

 

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Railway Reforms

Super Vasuki: India’s longest train

Prelims Only | Economics | Mains Paper 3: Infrastructure: Energy, Ports, Roads, Airports, Railways Etc.
Note4Students

From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :

Prelims level: Super Vasuki

Mains level: Not Much

The Railways conducted a test run of its longest freight train, Super Vasuki, with 295 loaded wagons carrying over 27,000 tonnes of coal.

Super Vasuki

  • The 3.5-km-long freight train covered the distance of about 267 km between Korba in Chhattisgarh and Rajnandgaon in Nagpur.
  • It was run by the South East Central Railway (SECR).
  • The Railways plans to use this arrangement (longer freight trains) more frequently, especially to transport coal in peak demand season to prevent fuel shortages in power stations.

Feats achieved

  • This is the longest and heaviest freight train ever run by the Indian Railways.
  • The train takes about four minutes to cross a station.
  • The amount of coal carried by Super Vasuki is enough to fire 3,000 MW of power plant for one full day.
  • This is three times the capacity of existing railway rakes (90 cars with 100 tonnes in each) that carry about 9,000 tonnes of coal in one journey.

 

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Judicial Appointments Conundrum Post-NJAC Verdict

Justice Lalit appointed 49th CJI

Prelims Only | Polity | Mains Paper 2: Executive & Judiciary
Note4Students

From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :

Prelims level: Appointment of CJI

Mains level: Not Much

Justice Uday Umesh Lalit was appointed the 49th Chief Justice of India (CJI) after President Droupadi Murmu signed his warrant of appointment.

How is CJI selected?

  • Justice U.U. Lalit is the senior-most judge in the Supreme Court now.
  • The ‘Memorandum of Procedure of Appointment of Supreme Court Judges’ says “appointment to the office of the CJI should be of the seniormost Judge of the SC considered fit to hold the office”.
  • The process begins with the Union Law Minister seeking the recommendation of the outgoing CJI about the next appointment.

What is the time frame?

  • The Minister has to seek the CJI’s recommendation at the “appropriate time”.
  • The Memorandum does NOT elaborate or specify a timeline.

Making final appointment

The Memorandum says:

  1. Receipt of the recommendation of the CJI
  2. The Union Minister of Law, Justice and Company Affairs will put up the recommendation to the PM
  3. PM will advise the President in the matter of appointment
  4. President of India appoints the CJI

Chief Justice of India: A brief background

  • The CJI is the chief judge of the Supreme Court of India as well as the highest-ranking officer of the Indian federal judiciary.

Appointment

  • The Constitution of India grants power to the President to nominate, and with the advice and consent of the Parliament, appoint a chief justice, who serves until they reach the age of 65 or until removed by impeachment.
  • Earlier, it was a convention to appoint seniormost judges.
  • However, this has been broken twice. In 1973, Justice A. N. Ray was appointed superseding 3 senior judges.
  • Also, in 1977 Justice Mirza Hameedullah Beg was appointed as the chief justice superseding Justice Hans Raj Khanna.

Qualifications

The Indian Constitution says in Article 124 (3) that in order to be appointed as a judge in the Supreme Court of India, the person has to fit in the following criteria:

  • He/She is a citizen of India and
  • has been for at least five years a Judge of a High Court or of two or more such Courts in succession; or
  • has been for at least ten years an advocate of a High Court or of two or more such Courts in succession; or
  • is, in the opinion of the President, a distinguished jurist

Functions

  • As head of the Supreme Court, the CJI is responsible for the allocation of cases and appointment of constitutional benches which deal with important matters of law.
  • In accordance with Article 145 of the Constitution and the Supreme Court Rules of Procedure of 1966, the chief justice allocates all work to the other judges.

On the administrative side, the CJI carries out the following functions:

  • maintenance of the roster; appointment of court officials and general and miscellaneous matters relating to the supervision and functioning of the Supreme Court

Removal

  • Article 124(4) of the Constitution lays down the procedure for removal of a judge of the Supreme Court which is applicable to chief justices as well.
  • Once appointed, the chief justice remains in the office until the age of 65 years. He can be removed only through a process of removal by Parliament as follows:
  • He/She can be removed by an order of the President passed after an address by each House of Parliament supported by a majority of the total membership of that House and by a majority of not less than two-thirds of the members of that House present.
  • The voting has been presented to the President in the same session for such removal on the ground of proven misbehavior or incapacity.

 

 

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Coastal Zones Management and Regulations

Coastal ecosystem norms

Prelims Only | Enviro & Biodiversity | Mains Paper 3: Conservation, Environmental Pollution & Degradation, Eia
Note4Students

From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :

Prelims level: CAG Audit, CRZ norms

Mains level: Read the attached story

This week, the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) of India tabled a report in Parliament on whether steps taken by the Union Environment Ministry to conserve India’s coastal ecosystems have been successful.

Why in news?

  • The CAG frequently undertakes ‘performance audits’ of government programmes and ministries.

Centre’s obligations on conserving the coastline

  • The government has issued notifications under the Environment Protection Act, 1986, to regulate activities along India’s coasts particularly regarding construction.
  • The Coastal Regulation Zone Notification (CRZ), 2019 implemented by the Ministry, classifies the coastal area into different zones to manage infrastructure activities and regulate them.

The three institutions responsible for the implementation of the CRZ are:

  1. National Coastal Zone Management Authority (NCZMA) at the Centre,
  2. State/Union Territory Coastal Zone Management Authorities (SCZMAs/UTCZMAs) in every coastal State and Union Territory
  3. District Level Committees (DLCs) in every district that has a coastal stretch and where the CRZ notification is applicable

Functions under CRZ rules

  • These bodies examine if CRZ clearances granted by the government are as per procedure, if project developers are once given the go-ahead are complying with conditions and if the project development objectives under the Integrated Coastal Zone Management Programme (ICZMP) are successful.
  • They also evaluate the measures taken up by the government towards achieving the targets under Sustainable Development Goals.

Why did the CAG undertake this audit?

  • The CAG has a constitutional mandate to investigate and report on publicly funded programmes.
  • The CAG conducted “pre-audit studies” and found that there were large-scale CRZ violations in the coastal stretches.
  • Incidences of illegal construction activities (reducing coastal space) and effluent discharges from local bodies, industries and aquaculture farms had been reported by the media and this prompted it to undertake a detailed investigation.

What did the recent audit find?

The audit pointed out various categories of violations.

  • There were instances of the Expert Appraisal Committees —who evaluate the feasibility of an infrastructure project and its environmental consequences — not being present during project deliberations.
  • There were also instances of the members of the EAC being fewer than half of the total strength during the deliberations.
  • The SCZMA had not been reconstituted in Karnataka and there was delayed reconstitution in the States of Goa, Odisha and West Bengal.
  • The DLCs of Tamil Nadu lacked participation from local traditional communities. In Andhra Pradesh, DLCs were not even established.
  • There were instances of projects being approved despite inadequacies in the Environment Impact Assessment (EIA) reports.

What problems did the CAG find in the States?

  • Lack of strategy: Tamil Nadu didn’t have a strategy in place to conserve the Gulf of Mannar Islands.
  • Lack of monitoring: In Goa, there was no system for monitoring coral reefs and no management plans to conserve turtle nesting sites.
  • No scientific oversight: In Gujarat, instruments procured to study the physiochemical parameters of soil and water of the inertial area of the Gulf of Kutch weren’t used.
  • Monitoring issues: Sea patrolling in Gahirmatha Sanctuary, in Kendrapara, Odisha did not happen.
  • No information in public domain: There was no website to disseminate the information related to the NCZMA, the CAG found, which is a clear violation of the mandated requirements of the Authority.

What lies ahead?

  • These reports are placed before the Standing Committees of Parliament, which select those findings and recommendations that they judge to be the most critical to public interest and arrange hearings on them.
  • In this case, the Environment Ministry is expected to explain omissions pointed out by the CAG and make amends.

Back2Basics: Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) of India

  • The CAG is the Constitutional Authority, established under Article 148 of the Constitution of India.
  • They are empowered to Audit all receipts and expenditure of the GoI and the State Governments, including those of autonomous bodies and corporations substantially financed by the Government.
  • The CAG is also the statutory auditor of Government-owned corporations.
  • It conducts supplementary audit of government companies in which the Government has an equity share of at least 51 per cent or subsidiary companies of existing government companies.
  • The reports of the CAG are laid before the Parliament/Legislatures and are being taken up for discussion by the Public Accounts Committees (PACs) and Committees on Public Undertakings (COPUs).

 

 

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Modern Indian History-Events and Personalities

Who was Kakasaheb Gadgil?

Prelims Only | | Mains Paper 1: Modern Indian History
Note4Students

From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :

Prelims level: Kakasaheb Gadgil

Mains level: Not Much

The Gadgil Wada of Pune was recently lighted into tricolour for the 75th anniversary of Independence.

Gadgil Wada was where plans for the reconstitution of the socialist Rashtra Seva Dal took place in early 1940s, with socialists like S.M. Joshi, N.G. Gore, Shirubhau Limaye and Kakasaheb in the lead.

Kakasaheb Gadgil

  • Gadgil was an Indian freedom fighter and politician from Maharashtra, India.
  • He was also a writer. He wrote in both Marathi and English.
  • Gadgil graduated from Fergusson College in Pune in 1918, and obtained a degree in Law in 1920.
  • In India’s pre-independence days, freedom fighters Lokmanya Tilak, Mahatma Gandhi, Jawaharlal Nehru, and Vallabhbhai Patel influenced Gadgil.
  • He joined the Indian National Congress in 1920, immediately after obtaining his law degree and started his active participation in the national freedom movement.
  • He suffered imprisonment from the ruling British government eight times for the participation.

Notable work during freedom struggle

  • In India’s pre-independence days, Gadgil served as the secretary of Poona District Congress Committee (1921–25), the president of Maharashtra Pradesh Congress Committee (1937–45).
  • He was elected to the central Legislative Assembly in 1934.
  • Gadgil was a pioneer in social reform movements in Maharashtra in the 1930s.
  • During the Civil Disobedience Movement, which began in 1930, Gadgil was listed as a leader for the Maharashtra Civil Disobedience Committee and the Pune War Council.
  • He was associated with several public associations and institutions, including Sarvajanik Sabha, Pune; Young Men’s Association, Pune; Maharashtra Youth League, Bombay; Pune Central Cooperative Bank; and Pune Municipality.

Service after India’s independence

  • Between 1947 and 1952 Gadgil served as a minister in the first central cabinet of independent India.
  • He held the portfolios of Public Works, and Mines and Power.
  • In his first year in the central Cabinet, he initiated the project of building a military-caliber road from Pathankot to Srinagar via Jammu in Kashmir as a part of India’s activities in the 1947 Indo-Pakistan War.
  • As a cabinet minister, he also initiated the important development projects pertaining to Bhakra, Koyna, and Hirakund dams.
  • He was a member of the Congress Working Committee from 1952 to 1955.
  • His son Vitthalrao Gadgil was a veteran congressman and MP from Pune Lok Sabha constituency, and his grandson Anant Gadgil is currently spokesman for Maharashtra Pradesh Congress Committee.

Authorship

  • Gadgil wrote several books and articles on politics, economics, law, and history.
  • The following are some of Gadgil’s books:
  1. Pathik (autobiography)
  2. Rajya Shastra Wichar
  3. Shubha Shastra
  4. Waktrutwa Shastra
  5. Gyanbache Arthashastra
  6. Government from Inside
  7. Shikhancha Itihaas (history of Sikhs)

 

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

Punjab bans use of 10 insecticides

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: Maximum Residue Limit (MRL)

Mains level: Not Much

Amid reports that several samples of basmati rice contained the residue of certain pesticides above the maximum residue level (MRL), the Punjab government has decided to ban the use of 10 formulations.

Which are the chemicals banned?

  • The State government believed that the sale, stock distribution, and use of Acephate, Buprofezin, Chloropyriphos, Methamidophos, Propiconazole, Thiamethoxam, Profenofos, Isoprothiolane, Carbendazim, and Tricyclazole was not in the interest of basmati rice growers.
  • It is said that there is a risk of breaching the MRL fixed by the competent authority for basmati rice.

What is the Maximum Residue Limit (MRL)?

  • MRL is the highest level of pesticide residue that is legally tolerated in or on food or feed when pesticides are applied correctly in accordance with Good Agricultural Practice promulgated by Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO).
  • The MRL is usually determined by repeated (on the order of 10) field trials at an appropriate pre-harvest interval or withholding period has elapsed.
  • For many pesticides, this is set at the Limit of determination (LOD) – since only major pesticides have been evaluated and understanding of acceptable daily intake (ADI) is incomplete.

 

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Modern Indian History-Events and Personalities

Women heroes of India’s freedom struggle, mentioned by PM in his I-Day speech

Prelims Only | | Mains Paper 1: Modern Indian History
Note4Students

From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :

Prelims level: Freedom fighters in news

Mains level: Not Much

In his Independence Day address to the nation the Prime Minister paid tributes to women freedom fighters for showing the world the true meaning of India’s “nari shakti”. A look at the women he named in his speech:

Rani Laxmibai

  • The queen of the princely state of Jhansi, Rani Laxmibai is known for her role in the First War of India’s Independence in 1857.
  • Born Manikarnika Tambe in 1835, she married the king of Jhansi.
  • The couple adopted a son before the king’s death, which the British East India Company refused to accept as the legal heir and decided to annex Jhansi.
  • Refusing to cede her territory, the queen decided to rule on behalf of the heir, and later joined the uprising against the British in 1857.
  • Cornered by the British, she escaped from Jhansi fort. She was wounded in combat near Gwalior’s Phool Bagh, where she later died.
  • Sir Hugh Rose, who was commanding the British army, is known to have described her as “personable, clever…and one of the most dangerous Indian leaders”.

Jhalkari Bai

  • A soldier in Rani Laxmibai’s women’s army, Durga Dal, she rose to become one of the queen’s most trusted advisers.
  • She is known for putting her own life at risk to keep the queen out of harm’s way.
  • Till date, the story of her valour is recalled by the people of Bundelkhand, and she is often presented as a representative of Bundeli identity.
  • According to Ministry of Culture’s Amrit Mahotsav website, “Many Dalit communities of the region look up to her as an incarnation of God and also celebrate Jhalkaribai Jayanti every year in her honour.”

Durga Bhabhi

  • Durgawati Devi, who was popularly known as Durga Bhabhi, was a revolutionary who joined the armed struggle against colonial rule.
  • A member of the Naujawan Bharat Sabha, she helped Bhagat Singh escape in disguise from Lahore after the 1928 killing of British police officer John P Saunders.
  • During the train journey that followed, Durgawati and Bhagat Singh posed as a couple, and Rajguru as their servant.
  • Later, as revenge for the hanging of Bhagat Singh, Rajguru, and Sukhdev, she made an unsuccessful attempt to kill the former Punjab Governor, Lord Hailey.
  • Born in Allahabad in 1907 and married to Hindustan Socialist Republican Association (HSRA) member Bhagwati Charan Vohra, Durgawati, along with other revolutionaries, also ran a bomb factory in Delhi.

Rani Gaidinliu

  • Born in 1915 in present-day Manipur, Rani Gaidinliu was a Naga spiritual and political leader who fought the British.
  • She joined the Heraka religious movement which later became a movement to drive out the British. She rebelled against the Empire, and refused to pay taxes, asking people to do the same.
  • The British launched a manhunt, but she evaded arrest, moving from village to village.
  • Gaidinliu was finally arrested in 1932 when she was just 16, and later sentenced for life. She was released in 1947.
  • Then PM Nehru described Gaidinliu as the “daughter of the hills”, and gave her the title of ‘Rani’ for her courage.

Rani Chennamma

  • The queen of Kittur, Rani Chennamma, was among the first rulers to lead an armed rebellion against British rule.
  • Kittur was a princely state in present-day Karnataka.
  • She fought back against the attempt to control her dominion in 1824 after the death of her young son. She had lost her husband, Raja Mallasarja, in 1816.
  • She is seen among the few rulers of the time who understood the colonial designs of the British.
  • Rani Chennamma defeated the British in her first revolt, but was captured and imprisoned during the second assault by the East India Company.

Begum Hazrat Mahal

  • After her husband, Nawab of Awadh Wajid Ali Shah, was exiled after the 1857 revolt, Begum Hazrat Mahal, along with her supporters, took on the British and wrested control of Lucknow.
  • She was forced into a retreat after the colonial rulers recaptured the area.

Velu Nachiyar

  • Many years before the revolt of 1857, Velu Nachiyar waged a war against the British and emerged victorious. Born in Ramanathapuram in 1780, she was married to the king of Sivagangai.
  • After her husband was killed in battle with the East India Company, she entered the conflict, and won with support of neighbouring kings.
  • She went on to produce the first human bomb as well as establish the first army of trained women soldiers in the late 1700s.
  • Her army commander Kuyili is believed to have set herself ablaze and walked into a British ammunition dump.
  • She was succeeded by her daughter in 1790, and died a few years later in 1796.

 

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Telecom and Postal Sector – Spectrum Allocation, Call Drops, Predatory Pricing, etc

History of the PIN code, which turns 50 this I-Day

Prelims Only | Governance | Mains Paper 2: Governance, Transparency & Accountability, Citizens Charters
Note4Students

From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :

Prelims level: PIN code

Mains level: Not Much

The 75th Independence Day coincides with another milestone in the country’s history — it was on August 15, 1972, that the Postal Index Number (PIN) was introduced in India.

As the PIN code turns 50 on Monday, we look at its history and evolution.

Why was the PIN code introduced?

  • According to the Department of Posts, there were 23,344 post offices, primarily in urban areas, in India at the time of Independence.
  • But, the country was growing rapidly and the postal network had to keep pace.
  • The PIN code was meant to ease the process of mail sorting and delivery in a country where different places, often, have the same or similar names, and letters are written in a wide variety of languages.

How does the PIN code work?

  • The PIN is made up of six digits.
  • The first number indicates the postal region — Northern, Eastern, Western, Southern; and number 9, which signifies the Army Postal Service.
  • The second number denotes a sub-region, and the third represents the sorting district.
  • The remaining numbers narrow the geography further to the specific post office making the delivery.

Who was the person behind the initiative?

  • The person behind the initiative was Shriram Bhikaji Velankar, additional secretary in the Union Ministry of Communications and a senior member of the Posts and Telegraphs Board.
  • Velankar was also a Sanskrit poet of eminence who had been conferred the President’s Award for Sanskrit in 1996, three years before he died in Mumbai.
  • He had set up a cultural group in Mumbai, called the Dev Vani Mandiram, which worked to create awareness about Sanskrit in India and foreign countries.
  • Velankar was also the chairman of the World Philatelic Exhibition, called Indipex, which was held in New Delhi in 1973 and featured 120 countries.
  • He retired from his government service on December 31, 1973.

What are some parallel systems followed world over?

  • Globally, in the US, the Zone Improvement Plan (ZIP) code was introduced July 1, 1963, under the aegis of the Postal Service Nationwide Improved Mail Service plan to improve the speed of mail delivery.
  • Under the old system letters went through about 17 sorting stops – the new system was going to be considerably less time-consuming utilizing newer, more mechanical systems.

Is the PIN code still relevant?

  • With the spread of the Internet, when people are sending fewer letters, it is easy to question the relevance of the PIN code.
  • But try to order food delivery or a parcel over online shopping and the importance of Velankar’s work in India will become evident.

 

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Food Procurement and Distribution – PDS & NFSA, Shanta Kumar Committee, FCI restructuring, Buffer stock, etc.

What is Essential Commodities Act?

Prelims Only | Economics | Mains Paper 3: Agriculture and related issues
Note4Students

From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :

Prelims level: Essential Commodities Act

Mains level: Not Much

The Centre has invoked the Essential Commodities Act of 1955 to ask States to monitor and verify the stocks of Arhar/Tur Dal available with traders.

Essential Commodities Act

  • The ECA, 1955 was established to ensure the delivery of certain commodities or products, the supply of which, if obstructed due to hoarding or black marketing, would affect the normal life of the people.
  • The list of items under the Act includes drugs, fertilizers, pulses, and edible oils, as well as petroleum and petroleum products.
  • The Centre can include new commodities as and when the need arises, and takes them off the list once the situation improves.
  • Additionally, the government can also fix the maximum retail price (MRP) of any packaged product that it declares an “essential commodity”.

How ECA works?

(1) Centre notifying stock limit holding

  • If the Centre finds that a certain commodity is in short supply and its price is spiking, it can notify stock-holding limits on it for a specified period.
  • The States act on this notification to specify limits and take steps to ensure that these are adhered to.
  • Anybody trading or dealing in the commodity, be it wholesalers, retailers or even importers are prevented from stockpiling it beyond a certain quantity.

(2) States can opt-out

  • A State can, however, choose not to impose any restrictions.
  • But once it does, traders have to immediately sell into the market any stocks held beyond the mandated quantity.

What happens for non-compliance?

  • As not all shopkeepers and traders comply, State agencies conduct raids to get everyone to toe the line and the errant are punished.
  • The excess stocks are auctioned or sold through fair price shops.
  • This improves supplies and brings down prices.

Ex: The Union Government has brought masks and hand-sanitizers under the ECA to make sure that these products, key for preventing the spread of Covid-19 infection, are available to people at the right price and in the right quality. Later this move was reverted.

What about Food Items?

(1) Items covered:

Rice, wheat, atta, gram dal, arhar dal, moong dal, urad dal, masoor, dal, tea, sugar, salt, Vanaspati, groundnut oil, mustard oil, milk, soya oil, palm oil, sunflower oil, gur, potato, onion and tomato.

(2) Price Stabilization Fund (PSF):

The government utilizes the buffer of agri-horticultural commodities like pulses, onion, etc. built under Price Stabilization Fund (PSF) to help moderate the volatility in prices.

Recent amendments to the ECA

In 2020, the EC Act was amended for the stock limit to be imposed only under exceptional circumstances such as famine or other calamities.

  • Exceptional circumstances: It allowed the centre to delist certain commodities as essential, allowing the government to regulate their supply and prices only in cases of war, famine, extraordinary price rises, or natural calamities.
  • Commodities de-regulated: The commodities that have been deregulated are food items, including cereals, pulses, potatoes, onion, edible oilseeds, and oils.

Exceptions provided

  • The government regulation of stocks will be based on rising prices, and can only be imposed if there is
  1. A 100% increase in retail price in the case of horticultural produce and
  2. A 50% increase in retail price in the case of non-perishable agricultural food items
  • These restrictions will not apply to stocks of food held for public distribution in India.

 

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Poverty Eradication – Definition, Debates, etc.

SMILE-75 scheme to rehabilitate Beggars

Prelims Only | Governance | Mains Paper 2: Government Scheme/Policies
Note4Students

From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :

Prelims level: SMILE Scheme

Mains level: Read the attached story

The Social Justice and Empowerment Ministry has launched the ‘SMILE-75’ initiative for comprehensive rehabilitation of persons engaged in begging in 75 identified municipalities as a part of the celebrations of 75 years of Independence.

SMILE Scheme

  • SMILE is an acronym for Support for Marginalised Individuals for Livelihood and Enterprise.
  • This scheme is a sub-scheme under the ‘Central Sector Scheme for Comprehensive Rehabilitation of persons engaged in the act of Begging’.
  • It also focuses on rehabilitation, provision of medical facilities and intervention, counselling, education, skill development, economic linkages to transgender persons.
  • It covers several comprehensive measures including welfare measures for persons who are engaged in the act of begging.
  • The focus of the scheme is extensively on rehabilitation, provision of medical facilities, counselling, basic documentation, education, skill development, economic linkages and so on.

Its implementation

  • The scheme would be implemented with the support of State/UT Governments/Local Urban Bodies, Voluntary Organizations, Community Based Organizations (CBOs), institutions and others.
  • The scheme provides for the use of the existing shelter homes available with the State/UT Governments and Urban local bodies for rehabilitation of the persons engaged in the act of Begging.
  • In case of the non-availability of existing shelter homes, new dedicated shelter homes are to be set up by the implementing agencies.

 

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

In news: Ongole Cattle Breed

Prelims Only | Economics | Mains Paper 3: Economics Of Animal-Rearing
Note4Students

From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :

Prelims level: Ongole Cattle

Mains level: Indigenous cattle breedss

Ongole breed of cattle had remained indispensable for all farm operations for centuries in Prakasam district of Andhra Pradesh in view of their draught power.

Ongole Cattle

  • Ongole cattle are an indigenous cattle breed that originates from Prakasam District in the state of Andhra Pradesh.
  • The breed derives its name from the place the breed originates from, Ongole.
  • The Ongole breed of cattle Bos Indicus, has a great demand as it is said to possess resistance to both foot and mouth disease and mad cow disease.

What’s so special about this breed?

  • Cattle breeders use the fighting ability of the bulls to choose the right stock for breeding in terms of purity and strength.
  • Ongole cattle are known for their toughness, rapid growth rate, and natural tolerance to tropical heat and disease resistance.
  • It was perhaps the first Indian breed of cattle to gain worldwide recognition.
  • Ongole milk is rich in A2 (allele of Beta Casein).
  • They fetches a premium price of over ₹150 per litre as it enables consumers build immunity against viral and other diseases.

Global Prominence

  • Ongole bulls have gone as far as America, the Netherlands, Malaysia, Brazil, Argentina, Colombia, Mexico, Paraguay, Indonesia, West Indies, Australia, Fiji, Mauritius, Indo-China and Philippines.
  • The Brahmana bull in America is an off-breed of the Ongole.
  • The population of Ongole off-breed in Brazil is said to number several million.
  • The famous Santa Gertrudis breed developed in Texas, USA have Ongole blood.
  • It has gained global prominence, particularly in Brazil which imported barely hundred animals and produced multiple superior breeds like the world famous Zebu.

 

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Banking Sector Reforms

What happens after a Cooperative Bank to shuts down?

Prelims Only | Economics | Mains Paper 3: Indian Economy
Note4Students

From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :

Prelims level: Deposit Insurance Programme, Banking License

Mains level: Not Much

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) announced it had cancelled the banking licence of a Pune-based Rupee Cooperative Bank, and directed the Registrar of Cooperative Societies to liquidate the bank.

What is a Banking Licence?

  • Financial institutions wishing to carry out banking operations such as accepting deposits or lending have to obtain a licence from India’s central bank.
  • The RBI issues the licence under the Banking Regulation Act of 1949 after carrying out a series of checks about the financial suitability of the applicant institution.
  • Parameters like capital adequacy ratio (CAR) — the ratio of a bank’s available capital to its risk weighted credit exposure — and loan to deposit ratio (LDR) — the ratio of a bank’s total loans to total deposits in the same period — are checked before the licence is granted.
  • The 1949 Act in particular stresses on adequate capital and protection of the public interest before the licence is granted.
  • No company other than one that has been issued a banking licence is allowed to use the word bank in its name while doing business.

Cancelling the licence of a Bank

  • RBI, which issues the licence, has the power to cancel it as well, in case the bank fails to satisfy laid-down conditions.
  • This could mean an increase in bad debts — and if the RBI feels a bank does not have enough capital to cover its exposure and pay its depositors, its licence can be suspended or cancelled.

Why did RBI cancel the licence of Rupee Cooperative Bank?

  • The RBI audits banks every year, and can take action if it notes an increase in bad debts or other suspicious activities in their books.
  • In its press release, the RBI gave the reasons for the cancellation of the bank’s licence:
  1. The bank does not have adequate capital and earning prospects.
  2. The bank has failed to comply with the requirements of certain sections of the Banking Regulation Act, 1949;
  3. The continuance of the bank is prejudicial to the interests of its positions;
  4. The bank with its present financial position would be unable to pay its present depositors in full; and
  5. Public interest would be adversely affected if the bank is allowed to carry on its banking business any further.

Section 22 of the Act deals with “licensing of banking companies”, section 11 is about “requirement as to minimum paid-up capital and reserves”, and section 56 is about the applicability of the Act to cooperative societies, subject to modifications.

Was cancellation of the licence the only option left for RBI?

  • RBI had issued notice to that Cooperative Bank in 2013, and issued directions under the Banking Regulation Act before cancelling its licence.
  • All banking activities like withdrawal were suspended, the then board of directors was superseded.
  • The banker took a number of steps to revive the bank, including filing of criminal cases against defaulting directors, employees, and seizing of their properties.
  • The RBI extended the licence of the bank every three months as these steps were being taken.
  • The administrator also tried to merge the bank with a financially stable bank. But the bad debts scared away most suitors.

What will happen to the depositors’ money in Rupee Cooperative Bank?

  • The limiting of withdrawals by RBI had made things difficult for depositors, especially because cooperative banks are preferred by those from the lower income group.
  • The big question before the over 5.5 lakh depositors now is about the fate of their money.
  • The RBI has said that depositors with Rs 5 lakh or less in the bank, would get back all of their money through the Deposit Insurance and Credit Guarantee Corporation (DICGC).
  • Those who have larger deposits in the bank will not get back their money beyond Rs 5 lakh.
  • In this group are about 4,600 depositors with a total Rs 340 crore in deposits in the bank.
  • These people stand to suffer major losses.

Back2Basics: Deposit Insurance Programme

  • The bank savings are insured under the Deposit Insurance and Credit Guarantee Corporation (DICGC) Act providing full coverage to around 98 per cent of bank accounts.
  • Earlier, account holders had to wait for years till the liquidation or restructuring of a distressed lender to get their deposits that are insured against default.
  • Last year, the government raised the insurance amount to Rs 5 lakh from Rs 1 lakh.
  • Prior to that, the DICGC had revised the deposit insurance cover to Rs 1 lakh on May 1, 1993 — raising it from Rs 30,000, which had been the cover from 1980 onward.

What are new changes?

  • Earlier, out of the amount deposited in the bank, only Rs 50,000 was guaranteed, which was then raised to Rs 1 lakh.
  • Understanding the concern of the poor, understanding the concern of the middle class, we increased this amount to Rs 5 lakh.
  • If a bank is weak or is even about to go bankrupt, depositors will get their money of up to Rs five lakhs within 90 days.

 

 

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Zoonotic Diseases: Medical Sciences Involved & Preventive Measures

What is Langya Virus?

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: Langya virus

Mains level: Zoonotic Diseases

A new virus, Langya henipavirus, is suspected to have caused infections in 35 people in China’s Shandong and Henan provinces over roughly a two-year period to 2021.

Langya Virus

  • It’s related to Hendra and Nipah viruses, which cause disease in humans.
  • However, there’s much we don’t know about the new virus – known as LayV for short – including whether it spreads from human to human.

How sick are people getting?

  • Symptoms reported appeared to be mostly mild – fever, fatigue, cough, loss of appetite, muscle aches, nausea and headache – although we don’t know how long the patients were unwell.
  • A smaller proportion had potentially more serious complications, including pneumonia, and abnormalities in liver and kidney function.
  • However, the severity of these abnormalities, the need for hospitalization, and whether any cases were fatal were not reported.

Where did this virus come from?

  • The authors also investigated whether domestic or wild animals may have been the source of the virus.
  • Although they found a small number of goats and dogs that may have been infected with the virus in the past, there was more direct evidence a significant proportion of wild shrews were harbouring the virus.
  • This suggests humans may have caught the virus from wild shrews.

Does this virus actually cause this disease?

  • The researchers used a modern technique known as metagenomic analysis to find this new virus.
  • Researchers sequence all genetic material then discard the “known” sequences (for example, human DNA) to look for “unknown” sequences that might represent a new virus.
  • This raises the question about how scientists can tell whether a particular virus causes the disease.
  • Researchers used “Koch’s Postulates” to determine whether a particular micro-organism causes disease:
  1. it must be found in people with the disease and not in well people
  2. it must be able to be isolated from people with the disease
  3. the isolate from people with the disease must cause the disease if given to a healthy person (or animal)
  4. it must be able to be re-isolated from the healthy person after they become ill.

What can we learn from related viruses?

  • This new virus appears to be a close cousin of two other viruses that are significant in humans: Nipah virus and Hendra virus.
  • This family of viruses was the inspiration for the fictional MEV-1 virus in the film Contagion.
  • Hendra virus was first reported in Queensland in 1994, when it caused the deaths of 14 horses and the trainer Vic Rail.
  • Nipah virus is more significant globally, with outbreaks frequently reported in Bangladesh.

What lies ahead?

  • Little is known about this new virus, and the currently reported cases are likely to be the tip of the iceberg.
  • At this stage, there is no indication the virus can spread from human to human.
  • Further work is required to determine how severe the infection can be, how it spreads, and how widespread it might be in China and the region.

 

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Health Sector – UHC, National Health Policy, Family Planning, Health Insurance, etc.

Drugs shortage haunts HIV-positive community

Prelims Only | Governance | Mains Paper 2: Health & Education
Note4Students

From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :

Prelims level: ART therapy

Mains level: Not Much

People living with HIV are facing an acute shortage of life-saving drugs, say protesters who have been camping outside the National AIDS Control Organisation (NACO) office.

What is NACO?

  • The NACO established in 1992 is a division of India’s Ministry of Health and Family Welfare.
  • It provides leadership to HIV/AIDS control programme in India through 35 HIV/AIDS Prevention and Control Societies.
  • It is the nodal organisation for formulation of policy and implementation of programs for prevention and control of HIV/AIDS in India.

Functions of NACO

  • Along with drug control authorities and NACO provides joint surveillance of Blood Bank licensing, Blood Donation activities and Transfusion Transmitted infection testing and reporting.
  • NACO also undertakes HIV estimations biennially (every 2 years) in collaboration with the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) – National Institute of Medical Statistics (NIMS).
  • The first round of HIV estimation in India was done in 1998, while the last round was done in 2017.

Why in news?

  • Activists allege rationing of medicines, arbitrary change in the drug regimen and even complete deprivation of life-saving paediatric drugs.
  • They fear that treatment will be interrupted, leading to drug resistance and deaths from AIDS.

NACO stand

  • The protesters noted that the NACO, in its public communication, had claimed that 95% of the recipients had not faced any shortage.
  • Going by the figure, 5% of 14.5 lakh, or 72,500 people, are being affected by the current shortage and stock-out.
  • The impact is severe and far-reaching.

What drugs are protestors talking about?

  • Protestors are for a stock-out of ART (antiretroviral) drugs such as Dolutegravir 50 mg, Lopinavir/Ritonavir (adult and child doses), and Abacavir in several states.

What is ART?

  • The medicines that treat HIV are called antiretroviral drugs.
  • There are more than two dozen of them, and they fall into seven main types.
  • Each drug fights the virus in your body in a slightly different way.
  • Research shows that a combination, or “cocktail,” of drugs is the best way to control HIV and lower the chances that the virus will become resistant to treatment.

Back2Basics: HIV/AIDS

  • HIV (human immunodeficiency virus) is a virus that attacks cells that help the body fight infection, making a person more vulnerable to other infections and diseases.
  • First identified in 1981, HIV is the cause of one of humanity’s deadliest and most persistent epidemics.
  • It is spread by contact with certain bodily fluids of a person with HIV, most commonly during unprotected sex, or through sharing injection drug equipment.
  • If left untreated, HIV can lead to the disease AIDS (acquired immunodeficiency syndrome).
  • The human body can’t get rid of HIV and no effective HIV cure exists.

Treating HIV

  • However, by taking HIV medicine (called antiretroviral therapy or ART), people with HIV can live long and healthy lives and prevent transmitting HIV to their sexual partners.
  • In addition, there are effective methods to prevent getting HIV through sex or drug use, including pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) and post-exposure prophylaxis (PEP).

 

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Foreign Policy Watch: India-United States

In news: Commission of Global Notables

Prelims Only | International Relations | Mains Paper 2: Bilateral, Regional and Global Groupings and agreements involving India
Note4Students

From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :

Prelims level: Commission of Global Notables

Mains level: NA

Mexican President has proposed the setting up of a commission called ‘Commission of Global Notables’ comprising Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Commission of Global Notables

  • Apart from Mr. Modi, the proposed “commission of global notables” includes Pope Francis and the UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres.
  • This is yet a proposal in writing presented to the UN
  • It is understood that the list will find mention during the annual session of the UN General Assembly that will convene in September.
  • PM Modi and other leaders of the Member States are expected to participate in the session when the global body will discuss the crises in Ukraine, Gaza Strip and the regional tension over Taiwan.

Significance for India

  • This shows significance of India under the present regime under PM Modi. We have to admit that India’s soft power is ever increasing.
  • PM Modi has also received high honours from the United Arab Emirates, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Bhutan and several other countries since since the beginning of his first stint in May 2014.
  • That apart, he has also received awards from international non-government organisations.

 

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