Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: DART Mission
Mains level: Not Much
NASA will launch the agency’s first planetary defense test mission named the Double Asteroid Redirection Test (DART).
What is DART Mission?
- The main aim of the mission is to test the newly developed technology that would allow a spacecraft to crash into an asteroid and change its course.
- It is a suicide mission and the spacecraft will be completely destroyed.
- The target of the spacecraft is a small moonlet called Dimorphos (Greek for “two forms”).
- It is about 160-metre in diameter and the spacecraft is expected to collide when it is 11 million kilometres away from Earth.
- Dimorphos orbits a larger asteroid named Didymos (Greek for “twin”) which has a diameter of 780 metres.
Is there any threat from this asteroid?
- The asteroid and the moonlet do not pose any threat to Earth and the mission is to test the new technology to be prepared in case an asteroid head towards Earth in the future.
- The spacecraft will navigate to the moonlet and intentionally collide with it at a speed of about 6.6 kilometres per second or 24,000 kilometres per hour.
Why Dimorphos?
- Didymos is a perfect system for the test mission because it is an eclipsing binary which means it has a moonlet that regularly orbits the asteroid.
- It is observable when it passes in front of the main asteroid.
- Earth-based telescopes can study this variation in brightness to understand how long it takes Dimorphos to orbit Didymos.
How big is the spacecraft?
- NASA states that DART is a low-cost spacecraft, weighing around 610 kg at launch and 550 kg during impact.
- The main structure is a box (1.2 × 1.3 × 1.3 metres). It has two solar arrays and uses hydrazine propellant for manoeuvring the spacecraft.
UPSC 2022 countdown has begun! Get your personal guidance plan now! (Click here)
Get an IAS/IPS ranker as your 1: 1 personal mentor for UPSC 2024
Attend Now
Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Project Sampoorna
Mains level: Innovative measures against malnutrition
Project Sampoorna’s success in reducing child malnutrition is a model that can be easily implemented anywhere.
What is Project Sampoorna?
- Project Sampoorna has been implemented in the Bongaigaon district of Assam.
- It aims to target Severe Acute Malnutrition (SAM) and Moderate Acute Malnutrition (MAM).
- It was launched to target the mothers of SAM/ MAM children with the tagline being ‘Empowered Mothers, Healthy Children’.
- It was based on the success of the community-based COVID-19 management model (Project Mili Juli).
Key features of the project
- Under this project, the mother of a healthy child of an Anganwadi Centre was paired with the target mother and they would be Buddy Mothers.
- They were usually neighbours and shared similar socioeconomic backgrounds.
- They were given diet charts to indicate the daily food intake of their children and would have discussions on all Tuesdays at the Anganwadi centres.
- 100 millilitres of milk and an egg on alternate days for the children for the first 3 months were provided so that their mothers could stabilise themselves in the newly found jobs.
- Children who had not improved were checked and treated by doctors under the Rashtriya Bal Swasthya Karyakram (RBSK).
Success of the project
- This project has prevented at least 1,200 children from becoming malnourished over the last year.
- National Nutrition Mission and the State government recognised this project in the ‘Innovation Category’.
- The mothers were enrolled in Self Help Groups (SHGs) under the National Rural Livelihoods Mission (NRLM) and were thus working.
UPSC 2022 countdown has begun! Get your personal guidance plan now! (Click here)
Get an IAS/IPS ranker as your 1: 1 personal mentor for UPSC 2024
Attend Now
Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Climate Change Performance Index (CCPI)
Mains level: Not Much
The 17th edition of the Climate Change Performance Index (CCPI) 2021 was released recently.
It’s a very rare feat that India has performed so better in any climate-related index. We can use this data to highlight India’s dedicated efforts for Paris Agreement.
About CCPI
- The CCPI is an independent monitoring tool for tracking countries’ climate protection performance. It has been published annually since 2005.
- It is compiled by Germanwatch, the New Climate Institute, and the Climate Action Network.
- It evaluates 57 countries and the European Union, which together generate 90%+ of global greenhouse gas emissions.
Parameters of the index
- The CCPI looks at four categories, with 14 indicators: Greenhouse Gas Emissions (40% of the overall score), Renewable Energy (20%), Energy Use (20%), and Climate Policy (20%).
- The CCPI’s unique climate policy section evaluates countries’ progress in implementing policies working towards achieving the Paris Agreement goals.
Highlights of the 2021 report
- The first three ranks of the overall rankings were kept empty because no country had performed well enough in all index categories to achieve an overall very high rating.
- The 2021 report places Sweden on top, while countries such as Morocco and the UK are also ranked high.
- The bottom-ranked country, the United States, therefore, was placed at 61.
Low performers
- Iran and Russia are ranked the lowest in this category.
- Overall, Australia, South Korea and Russia are among the lowest performing countries along with Kazakhstan and Saudi Arabia.
- China is ranked 33 overall and has an overall rating of “low”.
India’s performance
- In the overall rankings, India is at number 10 with a score of 63.98.
- It is a high performer except in the renewable energy category, in which it is ranked “medium”.
- The report says that India is benefiting from its relatively low per-capita emissions.
- In terms of greenhouse gas emissions, Sweden, Egypt, Chile and the UK are in the top 7. India is ranked 12.
UPSC 2022 countdown has begun! Get your personal guidance plan now! (Click here)
Get an IAS/IPS ranker as your 1: 1 personal mentor for UPSC 2024
Attend Now
Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Leonid Meteor Shower
Mains level: Not Much
The annual Leonid’s Meteor Shower has begun.
Try this question from CSP 2014:
Q.What is a coma, in the content of astronomy?
(a) Bright half of material on the comet
(b) Long tail of dust
(c) Two asteroids orbiting each other
(d) Two planets orbiting each other
Post your answers here.
What is Leonid Meteor Shower?
- Meteor showers are named after the constellation they appear to be coming from.
- The Leonids originate from the constellation Leo the Lion– the groups of stars that form a lion’s mane.
- They emerge from the comet Tempel-Tuttle, which requires 33 years to revolve once around the Sun.
- These meteors are bright and among the fastest moving– travelling at speeds of 71 km per second.
- During this year’s showers, peaks of around 10 to 15 meteors are expected to be seen every hour.
- The Leonid showers include fireballs– bright and large meteors than can last longer than average meteors, and “earthgazers”– meteors which appear close to the horizon with colourful and long tails.
What is a meteor shower?
- On its journey around the Sun, the Earth passes through large swathes of cosmic debris.
- The debris is essentially the remnants of comets — great frigid chunks of matter that leave behind dirty trails of rocks and ice that linger long after the comets themselves have passed.
- As the Earth wades through this cloud of comet waste, the bits of debris create what appears from the ground to be a fireworks display in the sky — known as a meteor shower.
- Several meteor showers can be seen around the year. According to NASA, over 30 meteor showers occur annually and are observable from the Earth.
Back2Basics:
UPSC 2022 countdown has begun! Get your personal guidance plan now! (Click here)
Get an IAS/IPS ranker as your 1: 1 personal mentor for UPSC 2024
Attend Now
Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Froth Formation
Mains level: Not Much
The visuals of devotees taking a dip in the froth-filled waters of the Yamuna River sent chills down the spine of the residents of Delhi.
What is Froth Formation?
- This is a phenomenon that takes place on many lakes and streams.
- Foam bubbles are produced when organic matter decomposes.
- These foam-producing molecules have one end that repels water and another that attracts water and they work to reduce the surface tension on the surface of the water.
- These foam bubbles are lighter than water, so they float on the surface as a thin film that gradually accumulates.
What causes the froth?
- The presence of phosphates and surfactants in untreated sewage from Delhi, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh is a major reason behind frothing.
- While these two components comprise of 1 per cent, the remaining 99 percent is air and water.
What are the sources of pollution that cause foam formation?
- Untreated sewage may contain soap-detergent particles.
- The other sources are industrial effluents, organic matter from decomposing vegetation, and the presence of filamentous bacteria.
- The pollution from the sugar and paper industries in Uttar Pradesh also causes pollution in the Yamuna.
What are its health hazards?
- Short-term exposure can lead to skin irritation and allergies.
- If ingested, these chemicals may cause gastrointestinal problems and diseases like typhoid.
- Long-term exposure to heavy metals in industrial pollutants can cause neurological issues and hormonal imbalances.
UPSC 2022 countdown has begun! Get your personal guidance plan now! (Click here)
Get an IAS/IPS ranker as your 1: 1 personal mentor for UPSC 2024
Attend Now
Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Turmeric
Mains level: Not Much
Turmeric (Curcuma longa), native to India, has been studied extensively for its effects against viral diseases in recent decades, but the COVID-19 pandemic has renewed interest.
About Turmeric
- Turmeric (Curcuma longa) is used as a condiment, dye, drug and cosmetic in addition to its use in religious ceremonies.
- India is a leading producer and exporter of turmeric in the world.
- The top five turmeric-producing states of India in 2020-21 are Telangana, Maharashtra, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh.
Climate and Soil
- Turmeric can be grown in diverse tropical conditions from sea level to 1500 m above sea level.
- It requires a temperature range of 20-35 C with an annual rainfall of 1500 mm or more, under rainfed or irrigated conditions.
- Though it can be grown on different types of soils, it thrives best in well-drained sandy or clay loam soils with a pH range of 4.5-7.5 with good organic status.
Varieties
- A number of cultivars are available in the country and are known mostly by the name of locality where they are cultivated.
- Some of the popular cultivars are Duggirala, Tekkurpet, Sugandham, Amalapuram, Erode local, Salem, Alleppey, Moovattupuzha and Lakdong.
Preparation of land
- The land is prepared with the receipt of early monsoon showers.
- The soil is brought to a fine tilth by giving about four deep ploughings.
- Planting is also done by forming ridges and furrows.
Plantation
- Whole or split mother and finger rhizomes are used for planting and well-developed healthy and disease-free rhizomes are to be selected.
Why turmeric?
- Post pandemic, turmeric is one of the fastest-growing dietary supplements.
- The global curcumin market, valued at $58.4 million in 2019, is expected to witness a growth of 12.7 percent by 2027.
- As the world’s largest producer, consumer and exporter of turmeric, India stands to gain from this.
Global standing
- India produces 78 per cent of the world’s turmeric.
- The country’s turmeric production saw a near consistent growth since Independence till 2010-11 after which it started fluctuating.
- The pandemic has given a boost to the crop, with the production witnessing a rise of 23 per cent.
- Though the production and export of turmeric has risen, farmers have not benefitted from its pricing.
Try this PYQ from CSP 2020:
With reference to the current trends in the cultivation of sugarcane in India, consider the following statements:
- A substantial saving in seed material is made when ‘bud chip settlings are raised in a nursery and transplanted in the main field.
- When direct planting of setts is done, the germination percentage is better with single-budded setts as compared to setts with many buds.
- If bad weather conditions prevail when setts are directly planted, single-budded setts have better survival as compared to large setts.
- Sugarcane can be cultivated using settlings prepared from tissue culture.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
(a) 1 and 2 only
(b) 3 only
(c) 1 and 4 only
(d) 2,3 and 4 only
Post your answers here.
UPSC 2022 countdown has begun! Get your personal guidance plan now! (Click here)
Get an IAS/IPS ranker as your 1: 1 personal mentor for UPSC 2024
Attend Now
Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Adi Shankaracharya, Advaita Vedanta Philisophy
Mains level: Indian Schools of Philosophy
PM has unveiled a 12-foot statue of Adi Shankaracharya at Kedarnath, where the acharya is believed to have attained samadhi at the age of 32 in the ninth century.
Adi Shankaracharya (788-820 AD)
- Adi Shankaracharya was an Indian philosopher and theologian whose works had a strong impact on the doctrine of Advaita Vedanta.
- He founded mathas, which are believed to have helped in the historical development, revival and propagation of his philosophy.
- The story recounted today has been reconstructed from multiple Shankaravijayas (Conquests of Shankara) written over the centuries.
Birth and death
- He is said to have been born in Kaladi village on the bank of the Periyar, the largest river in Kerala.
- He is believed to have attained samadhi at Kedarnath; however, Kanchi and Thrissur are also talked about as places where Adi Shankara spent his last days.
His literary works
- Adi Shankara is generally identified as the author of 116 works.
- Among them the celebrated commentaries (bhashyas) on 10 Upanishads, the Brahmasutra and the Gita, and poetic works including Vivekachudamani, Maneesha Panchakam, and Saundaryalahiri.
- He composed the Kanakadhara Stotram, following which there was a rain of golden amlas, which brought prosperity to the household.
- It has also been claimed that Adi Shankara composed texts like Shankarasmrithi, which seeks to establish the social supremacy of Nambuthiri Brahmins.
- His great standing is derived from his commentaries of the prasthanatrayi (Upanishads, Brahmasutra and Gita), where he explains his understanding of Advaita Vedanta.
His philosophy: Advaita Vedanta
- Advaita Vedanta articulates a philosophical position of radical nondualism, a revisionary worldview which it derives from the ancient Upanishadic texts.
- According to this, the Upanishads reveal a fundamental principle of nonduality termed ‘brahman’, which is the reality of all things.
- Advaitins understand brahman as transcending individuality and empirical plurality.
- They seek to establish that the essential core of one’s self (atman) is brahman. It is pure non-intentional consciousness.
- It is one without a second, nondual, infinite existence, and numerically identical with brahman.
- This effort entails tying a metaphysics of brahman to a philosophy of consciousness.
Do you know?
There are six major schools of Vedic philosophy—Nyaya, Vaisheshika, Samkhya, Yoga, Mīmāṃsā and Vedanta, and five major heterodox (sramanic) schools—Jain, Buddhist, Ajivika, Ajñana, and Charvaka.
Shankara’s contested legacy
- Custodians of the caste system cite from Shankara’s commentaries to justify the unequal and unjust social order.
- It is argued that the Advaita Vedanta borrowed the categories of Buddhist thinkers and called him the Prachhanna Buddha (Buddha in disguise).
- Sri Narayana Guru offered a radical reading of Advaita Vedanta to dismantle the theory and praxis of caste.
His political appropriation
- His works transcends the political boundaries of his time.
- The mathas are believed to have established in Sringeri, Dwaraka, Puri, and Joshimath for the spread of Advaita Vedanta.
- They are seen as custodians of Hinduism, and Shankara’s digvijaya (conquest) often interpreted as a near nationalistic project where faith, philosophy and geography are yoked together to imagine a Hindu India.
Try this PYQ:
Q. Which one of the following pairs does not form part of the six systems of Indian Philosophy?
(a) Mimamsa and Vedanta
(b) Nyaya and Vaisheshika
(c) Lokayata and Kapalika
(d) Sankhya and Yoga
Post your answers here.
UPSC 2022 countdown has begun! Get your personal guidance plan now! (Click here)
Get an IAS/IPS ranker as your 1: 1 personal mentor for UPSC 2024
Attend Now
Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: InvITs
Mains level: Not Much
The National Highway Authority of India’s first infrastructure investment trust has raised more than Rs 5,000 crore, informed the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways of India.
What are InvITs?
- InvITs are like a mutual fund, which enables direct investment of small amounts of money from possible individual/institutional investors in infrastructure to earn a small portion of the income as return.
- They work like mutual funds or real estate investment trusts (REITs) in features.
- They can be treated as the modified version of REITs designed to suit the specific circumstances of the infrastructure sector.
How are they notified in India?
- SEBI notified the Sebi (Infrastructure Investment Trusts) Regulations, 2014 on September 26, 2014, providing for registration and regulation of InvITs in India.
- The objective of InvITs is to facilitate investment in the infrastructure sector.
Their structure
- InvITS are like mutual funds in structure. InvITs can be established as a trust and registered with Sebi.
- An InvIT consists of four elements:
- Trustee: He inspects the performance of an InvIT is certified by Sebi and he cannot be an associate of the sponsor or manager.
- Sponsor(s): They are people who promote and refer to any organisation or a corporate entity with a capital of Rs 100 crore, which establishes the InvIT and is designated as such at the time of the application made to SEBI, and in case of PPP projects, base developer.
- Investment Manager: It is an entity or limited liability partnership (LLP) or organisation that supervises assets and investments of the InvIT and guarantees activities of the InvIT.
- Project Manager: It is the person who acts as the project manager and whose duty is to attain the execution of the project and in case of PPP projects.
UPSC 2022 countdown has begun! Get your personal guidance plan now! (Click here)
Get an IAS/IPS ranker as your 1: 1 personal mentor for UPSC 2024
Attend Now
Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Uranium enrichment
Mains level: Not Much
Iran’s atomic agency has said that its stockpile of 20% enriched uranium has reached over 210 kilograms, the latest defiant move ahead of upcoming nuclear talks with the West.
What is Uranium Enrichment?
- It is a process that is necessary to create an effective nuclear fuel out of mined uranium.
- It involves increasing the percentage of uranium-235 which undergoes fission with thermal neutrons.
- Nuclear fuel is mined from naturally occurring uranium ore deposits and then isolated through chemical reactions and separation processes.
- These chemical processes used to separate the uranium from the ore are not to be confused with the physical and chemical processes used to enrich the uranium.
Why is enrichment carried out?
- Uranium found in nature consists largely of two isotopes, U-235 and U-238.
- Natural uranium contains 0.7% of the U-235 isotope.
- The remaining 99.3% is mostly the U-238 isotope which does not contribute directly to the fission process (though it does so indirectly by the formation of fissile isotopes of plutonium).
- The production of energy in nuclear reactors is from the ‘fission’ or splitting of the U-235 atoms since it is the main fissile isotope of uranium.
- Naturally occurring uranium does not have a high enough concentration of Uranium-235 at only about 0.72% with the remainder being Uranium-238.
UPSC 2022 countdown has begun! Get your personal guidance plan now! (Click here)
Get an IAS/IPS ranker as your 1: 1 personal mentor for UPSC 2024
Attend Now
Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Excise duty
Mains level: Petroleum pricing in India
The Government has finally reduced fuel prices by slashing excise duties on petrol and diesel by ₹5 and ₹10 per litre respectively.
What is Excise Duty?
- Excise duty is a form of tax imposed on goods for their production, licensing and sale.
- It is the opposite of Customs duty in sense that it applies to goods manufactured domestically in the country, while Customs is levied on those coming from outside of the country.
- At the central level, excise duty earlier used to be levied as Central Excise Duty, Additional Excise Duty, etc.
- Excise duty was levied on manufactured goods and levied at the time of removal of goods, while GST is levied on the supply of goods and services.
Purview of excise duty
- The GST introduction in July 2017 subsumed many types of excise duty.
- Today, excise duty applies only on petroleum and liquor.
- Alcohol does not come under the purview of GST as exclusion mandated by constitutional provision.
- States levy taxes on alcohol according to the same practice as was prevalent before the rollout of GST.
- After GST was introduced, excise duty was replaced by central GST because excise was levied by the central government.
- The revenue generated from CGST goes to the central government.
Types of excise duty in India
Before GST, there were three kinds of excise duties in India.
(1) Basic Excise Duty
- Basic excise duty is also known as the Central Value Added Tax (CENVAT).
- This category of excise duty was levied on goods that were classified under the first schedule of the Central Excise Tariff Act, 1985.
- This duty applied on all goods except salt.
(2) Additional Excise Duty
- Additional excise duty was levied on goods of high importance, under the Additional Excise under Additional Duties of Excise (Goods of Special Importance) Act, 1957.
- This duty was levied on some special category of goods.
(3) Special Excise Duty
- This type of excise duty was levied on special goods classified under the Second Schedule to the Central Excise Tariff Act, 1985.
- Presently the central excise duty comprises of a Basic Excise Duty, Special Additional Excise Duty and Additional Excise Duty (Road and Infrastructure Cess) on auto fuels.
Present taxation of Fuels
- Currently, taxes on petroleum products are levied by both the Centre and the states.
- While the Centre levies excise duty, states levy value-added tax (VAT).
- For instance, VAT on petroleum products is as high as 40% in Maharashtra, contributing over ₹25,000 crores annually.
- By being able to levy VAT on these products, the state governments have control over their revenues.
- When a national GST subsumed central taxes such as excise duty and state levies like VAT on July 1, 2017, five petroleum goods – petrol, diesel, ATF, natural gas and crude oil – were kept out of its purview.
UPSC 2022 countdown has begun! Get your personal guidance plan now! (Click here)
Get an IAS/IPS ranker as your 1: 1 personal mentor for UPSC 2024
Attend Now
Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Parole and Furlough
Mains level: Prison reforms in India
The Gujarat government has decided to grant 15-day parole to prisoners above 60 years of age and women prisoners, except those booked in serious offences, as a ‘Diwali gift’.
What is Parole?
- Furlough and parole envisage a short-term release from custody, both aimed as reformative steps towards prisoners.
- Parole is granted to meet a “specific exigency” and cannot be claimed as a matter of right.
- Both provisions are subject to the circumstances of the prisoner, such as jail behaviour, the gravity of offences, sentence period and public interest.
How is it different from Furlough?
- Furlough may be granted without any specific reason after a convict spends a stipulated number of years.
- It is a matter of right although cannot be claimed as an ‘absolute legal right’.
Is ‘parole as Diwali gift’ an extraordinary move?
- The state governments often take a compassionate view on applications for parole during festivals of Diwali, Rakshabandhan, etc.
- The legislature/politicians do not have direct powers to grant parole on suo-motu cognizance.
- The announcement only indicates that prisoners will have to make applications to the authorities concerned, which in turn will be considered with leniency and expeditiously.
- The applications will, however, be subject to scrutiny and the prisoners’ conduct and gravity of their offence.
Who can opt for parole and how?
- The provision of parole is available to convicts found guilty by a court and such a prisoner.
- The prisoner’s relative/legal aid may submit an application to the prison superintendent.
- He/she in turn forwards the application to the ‘competent authority’, often under the jurisdiction of district magistrate concerned and comprising prison and police authorities, to sanction release.
- After due verification of reasons and prisoner’s conduct by the competent authority, an order for grant of release on parole will be issued.
- In case of rejection of the said application, a convict may approach the High Court.
Duration of Parole
- The Prison rules state that parole period may be granted for not more than 30 days.
- The competent authority may exercise its discretion in case of serious illnesses or death of “nearest relative such as mother, father, sister, brother, children, spouse of the prisoner, or in case of natural calamity.”
- Parole or extension of parole cannot be granted without a report of the police
- Apart from the remedy to approach a high court for parole in case of a rejected application, a prison can also approach the high court directly in case of an extraordinary emergency.
Try this PYQ from CSP 2021:
Q. With reference to India, consider the following statements:
- When a prisoner makes a sufficient case, parole cannot be out denied to such prisoner because it becomes a matter of his/her right.
- State Governments have their own Prisoners Release on Parole Rules.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
(a) 1 only
(b) 2 only
(c) Both 1 and 2
(d) Neither 1 nor 2
Post your answers here.
UPSC 2022 countdown has begun! Get your personal guidance plan now! (Click here)
Get an IAS/IPS ranker as your 1: 1 personal mentor for UPSC 2024
Attend Now
Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: PCA framework
Mains level: Paper 3- PCA framework
The RBI has issued a revised Prompt Corrective Action (PCA) framework for banks to enable supervisory intervention at “appropriate time” and also act as a tool for effective market discipline.
What is the PCA framework?
- Prompt Corrective Action Framework refers to the central bank’s watchlist of weak banks.
- The regulator imposes restrictions like curbs on lending on such banks.
- The PCA Framework applies only to commercial banks and does not cover cooperative banks and non-banking financial companies.
When was PCA introduced?
- The RBI’s PCA Framework was introduced in December 2002 as a structured early intervention mechanism along the lines of the US Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation’s PCA framework.
- The last PCA Framework was issued by the RBI on April 13, 2017, and implemented with respect to banks’ financials as of March 31, 2017.
Latest PCA norms
- The revised PCA framework will be effective from January 1, 2022.
- Capital, asset quality and leverage will be the key areas for monitoring in the revised framework.
- That apart, RBI has also revised the level of shortfall in total capital adequacy ratio that would push the lender to “risk threshold three” category.
When exactly does a bank fall into this list?
- The RBI has specified certain regulatory trigger points with respect to three parameters for the initiation of the process:
- Capital-to-risk weighted assets ratio (CRAR): It is a measure of a bank’s capital to ensure that it can absorb a reasonable amount of loss and complies with statutory Capital requirements.
- Net Non-Performing Assets (NPA)
- Return on assets (RoA): It is an indicator of how well a company utilizes its assets in terms of profitability.
What are the trigger points on capital and how does a breach invite action?
1. CRAR
- If CRAR falls to less than 9 percent, the RBI asks banks to submit a capital restoration plan, restricts new businesses and dividend payments.
- The RBI also orders recapitalisation, restrictions on borrowings from the inter-bank market, reduction of stake in subsidiaries and reduction of exposure to sensitive sectors.
- Such sectors include the capital markets, real estate or investments in non-statutory liquidity ratio securities.
- If CRAR is less than 6 percent but equal to or more than 3 percent, the RBI could take additional steps if the bank fails to submit a recapitalisation plan.
2. NPA levels
- If net NPAs rise beyond 10 percent but are less than 15 percent, a special drive to reduce bad loans and contain the generation of fresh NPAs begins.
- The RBI reviews the bank’s loan policy and takes steps to strengthen credit-appraisal skills.
3.Return on assets
- If RoA is less than 0.25 percent, restrictions on accessing/renewing costly deposits and CDs kick in and the RBI bars the bank from entering new lines of business.
- The bank’s borrowings from the inter-bank market, making dividend payments and increasing staff will be restricted.
Significance of PCA
- The financial health of a bank: Essentially PCA helps RBI monitor key performance indicators of banks, and taking corrective measures, to restore the financial health of a bank.
- Averting a crisis: PCA is intended to help alert the regulator as well as investors and depositors if a bank is heading for trouble. The idea is to head off problems before they attain crisis proportions.
Get an IAS/IPS ranker as your 1: 1 personal mentor for UPSC 2024
Attend Now
Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Giant Magellan Telescope
Mains level: Paper 3- GMT
In Chile’s dry Atacama Desert, stargazers are scanning the clear night skies to detect the existence of life on other planets and study so-called ‘dark energy’. Central to the race to peer into distant worlds is the GMT.
Giant Magellan Telescope (GMT)
⦁ The GMT is a ground-based extremely large telescope under construction.
⦁ It is US-led in partnership with Australia, Brazil, and South Korea, with Chile as the host country.
⦁ It will consist of seven 8.4 m (27.6 ft) diameter primary segments, that will observe optical and near infrared (320–25000 nm) light.
⦁ It will have the resolving power of a 24.5 m (80.4 ft) primary mirror and collecting area equivalent to a 22.0 m (72.2 ft) one which is about 368 square meters.
⦁ It is expected to have a resolving power 10 times greater than the Hubble Space Telescope.
UPSC 2022 countdown has begun! Get your personal guidance plan now! (Click here)
Bakc2Basics: Hubble Space Telescope
⦁ The Hubble Space Telescope is a space telescope that was launched into low Earth orbit in 1990 and remains in operation.
⦁ It was not the first space telescope, but it is one of the largest and most versatile, renowned both as a vital research tool and as a public relations boon for astronomy.
⦁ It is said to be the “most significant advance in astronomy since Galileo’s telescope.
⦁ It captures images of deep space playing a major role in helping astronomers understand the universe by observing the most distant stars, galaxies and planets.
Get an IAS/IPS ranker as your 1: 1 personal mentor for UPSC 2024
Attend Now
Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Gangetic Dolphin
Mains level: Not Much
The Jal Shakti Ministry has released a guide for the safe rescue and release of stranded Ganges River Dolphins.
Gangetic Dolphin
- The Gangetic river system is home to a vast variety of aquatic life, including the Gangetic dolphin (Platanista gangetica).
- The species, whose global population is estimated at 4,000, are (nearly 80%) found in the Indian subcontinent.
- It is found mainly in the Indian subcontinent, particularly in Ganga-Brahmaputra-Meghna and Karnaphuli-Sangu river systems.
- It is one of five species of river dolphin found around the world.
- Only three species of freshwater dolphins are remaining on the earth after the functional extinction of the Chinese river Dolphin (Baiji) in 2006.
Conservation status
- The GRDs have been designated the National Aquatic Animal of India since 2010.
- Endangered under IUCN Red List
- Schedule I of the Indian Wildlife (Protection) Act (1972)
- Appendix I of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES)
About the guidelines
- The document has been prepared by the Turtle Survival Alliance, India Program and Environment, Forest and Climate Change Department (EFCCD), Uttar Pradesh.
- The guide has been drawn from years of experience of the organization while rescuing 25 Ganges River Dolphins (GRDs) stranded in irrigation canals.
Various threats
- They often accidentally enter canal channels in northern India and are often entrapped, and die as they are unable to swim up against the gradient.
- They are eventually harassed by the locals.
- Opportunistic poaching for meat and oil in certain pockets of the country is another big threat.
UPSC 2022 countdown has begun! Get your personal guidance plan now! (Click here)
Get an IAS/IPS ranker as your 1: 1 personal mentor for UPSC 2024
Attend Now
Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Guru Nanak Dev
Mains level: Not Much
The Punjab Police has proposed that the birth anniversary (Gurpurab) of Sikhism founder Guru Nanak Dev be declared as ‘World Pedestrian Day’.
Why is Guru Nanak Dev considered the world’s most notable and revered pedestrian?
- The founder of Sikhism, Shri Guru Nanak Dev had traveled far and wide during the 15th and 16th centuries.
- It is believed that Nanak Dev, along with his companion Bhai Mardana, undertook most part of his journeys on foot.
- He aimed to spread the message of oneness and to break barriers across faiths by engaging in spiritual dialogues.
Places visited by him
- From Mecca to Haridwar, from Sylhet to Mount Kailash, Guru Nanak visited hundreds of interfaith sites related to Hinduism, Islam, Buddhism, and Jainism.
- His journeys are referred are also called udaasis. At some sites, gurdwaras were constructed to commemorate his visit.
- Later his travels were documented in texts called ‘janamsakhis’.
- These sites are now spread across nine nations as per current geographical divisions — India, Pakistan, Iran, Iraq, China (Tibet), Bangladesh, Saudi Arabia, Sri Lanka, and Afghanistan.
Motive behind Punjab Police’s proposal
- The idea is to spread awareness on road safety for pedestrians by introducing Guru Nanak Dev’s own life as an inspiration.
- The best results are achieved only when the community is mobilized for a cause.
- Walking is a universal form of travel. It is the best way which convey equality amongst all.
Try answering this PYQ:
Q. Consider the following Bhakti Saints:
- Dadu Dayal
- Guru Nanak
- Tyagaraja
Who among the above was/were preaching when the Lodi dynasty fell and Babur took over? (CSP 2018)
(a) 1 and 3
(b) 2 only
(c) 2 and 3
(d) 1 and 2
Post your answers here.
UPSC 2022 countdown has begun! Get your personal guidance plan now! (Click here)
Get an IAS/IPS ranker as your 1: 1 personal mentor for UPSC 2024
Attend Now
Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Types of farming mentioned in news
Mains level: NA
A paper has recently published in the US has found that Integrated farming with intercropping increases food production while reducing environmental footprint.
What is the finding?
This work found that:
- Relay planting enhances yield
- Within-field rotation or strip rotation allowing strips for planting other plants (such as grass, fruits) besides the major crop was more fruitful
- Soil munching that is, available means such as crop straw, in addition to the major crop such as wheat or rice, and
- No-till or reduced tillage, which increases the annual crop yield up by 15.6% to 49.9%, and decreasing the environmental footprint by 17.3%, compared with traditional monoculture cropping
Various terms mentioned
[A] Relay planting
- Relay planting means the planting of different crops in the same plot, one right after another, in the same season.
- Examples of such relay cropping would be planting rice (or wheat), cauliflower, onion, and summer gourd (or potato onion, lady’s fingers and maize), in the same season.
- Benefits: It is less risk since you do not have to depend on one crop alone. It also means better distribution of labour, insects spread less, and any legumes actually add nitrogen to the soil.
[B] Strip cropping
- Strip cropping has been used in the U.S. (where the fields are larger than those in India), where they grow wheat, along with corn and soybean, in the same farm in an alternative manner.
- However, this needs large lands. The land is divided into strips, and strips of grass are left to grow between the crops.
- Benefits: Planting of trees to create shelters has helped in stabilising the desert in Western India.
[C] Soil mulching and no-till
- Soil mulching requires keeping all bare soil covered with straw, leaves, and the like, even when the land is in use.
- Benefits: Erosion is curtailed, moisture retained, and beneficial organisms, such as earthworms, kept in place. The same set of benefits are also offered by not tilling the soil.
Significance of the findings
- This research has led to the conclusion that small farm holders can grow more food and have reduced environmental footprint.
- Current statistics reveal that our country has a significant population of small farmers, many owning less than 2 hectares of land.
- About 70% of its rural households still depend primarily on agriculture for their livelihood, with 82% of farmers being small and marginal.
UPSC 2022 countdown has begun! Get your personal guidance plan now! (Click here)
Get an IAS/IPS ranker as your 1: 1 personal mentor for UPSC 2024
Attend Now
Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: PCV
Mains level: Not Much
Union Health Minister has launched a nationwide expansion of Pneumococcal 13-valent Conjugate Vaccine (PCV) under the Universal Immunisation Programme (UIP).
Why such drive?
- Pneumonia was a leading cause of death among children under five, globally and in India.
- Pneumonia caused by pneumococcus is the most common cause of severe pneumonia in children.
- Around 16% of deaths in children occur due to pneumonia in India.
- The nationwide roll-out of PCV will reduce child mortality by around 60%.
Pneumococcal Conjugate Vaccine (PCV)
- The PCV is a mix of several bacteria of the pneumococci family, which are known to cause pneumonia—hence ‘conjugate’ is included in the name of the vaccine.
- PCV prevents pneumococcal disease. It can protect both children and adults from pneumococcal disease.
- Such conjugate vaccines are made using a combination of two different components.
Pneumonia vs Pneumococcal pneumonia
- Pneumonia is a lung disease.
- Pneumococcal pneumonia, a kind of pneumonia, can infect the upper respiratory tract and can spread to the blood, lungs, middle ear, or nervous system.
- Pneumococcal disease is a name for any infection caused by bacteria called Streptococcus pneumonia or pneumococcus.
- Most people carry pneumococcus in their nose and throat, where the bacteria do not cause any symptoms.
Take this yorker from CSP 2020:
Q.What is the importance of using Pneumococcal Conjugate Vaccines in India?
- These vaccines are effective against pneumonia as well as meningitis and sepsis.
- Dependence on antibiotics that are not effective against drug-resistant bacteria can be reduced.
- These vaccines have no side effects and cause no allergic reactions.
Select the correct answer using the code given below:
(a) 1 only
(b) 1 and 2 only
(c) 3 only
(d) 1, 2 and 3
Post your answers here.
UPSC 2022 countdown has begun! Get your personal guidance plan now! (Click here)
Get an IAS/IPS ranker as your 1: 1 personal mentor for UPSC 2024
Attend Now
Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Not much
Mains level: China's territorial expansionism
China has recently passed a new land law for the “protection and exploitation of the country’s land border areas”.
Land Border Law: Key Takeaways
- The law states that the sovereignty and territorial integrity of China are sacred and inviolable.
- It asks the state to take measures to safeguard territorial integrity and land boundaries and guard against and combat any act that undermines these.
- The state can take measures to strengthen border defence, support economic and social development as well as opening-up in border areas.
- It seeks to improve public services and infrastructure in such areas, encourage and support people’s life and work there.
Other features
- In effect, this suggests a push to settle civilians in the border areas.
- The law also asks the state to follow the principles of equality, mutual trust, and friendly consultation, handle land border related-affairs with neighbouring countries.
China’s land borders
- China shares its 22,457-km land boundary with 14 countries including India, the third-longest after the borders with Mongolia and Russia.
- Unlike the Indian border, however, China’s borders with these two countries are not disputed.
- The only other country with which China has disputed land borders is Bhutan (477 km).
Why is it significant for India?
- China claims up to 90,000 square kilometres in Arunachal Pradesh in the eastern sector.
- It has illegally occupied 38,000 square kilometres of Aksai Chin in the western sector of Jammu and Kashmir.
- While recent tensions in the western sector have been centred on Ladakh, both sides have lately clashed in Uttarakhand as well.
A signal to India
- The law is not meant specifically for the border with India.
- However, this could create hurdles in the resolution of the 17-month-long military standoff at LAC.
- There is also a clear distinction that PLA will do border management but it will make negotiations a little more difficult.
UPSC 2022 countdown has begun! Get your personal guidance plan now! (Click here)
Get an IAS/IPS ranker as your 1: 1 personal mentor for UPSC 2024
Attend Now
Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Khasi Tribe, khatduh
Mains level: Matrilineal society in NE
Matrilineal Meghalaya is set to break the tradition of share of parental property to the khatduh, which means the youngest daughter in the Khasi language.
Matrilineal Society of Meghalaya
- The matrilineal tradition which the Khasi and other subgroups practice in Meghalaya is unique within India.
- Khasi are an ancient tribe said to be the largest surviving matrilineal culture in the world.
- Matrilineal principles among the Khasi are emphasised in myths, legends, and origin narratives.
Their evolution
- Khasi kings embarking on wars left the responsibility of running the family to women and thus their role in society became very deep rooted and respected.
- Reference to Nari Rajya (female kingdom; or land of matriarchy) in the epic Mahabharata likely correlates with the Khasi and Jaintia Hills and Meghalaya’s present-day matrilineal culture.
Property rights
- The youngest daughter of the family, the Ka Khadduh, inherits all ancestral property.
- After marriage, husbands live in the mother-in-law’s home.
- The mother’s surname is taken by children.
- When no daughters are born to a couple, they adopt a daughter and pass their rights to property to her.
- The birth of a girl is celebrated while the birth of a son is simply accepted.
- There is no social stigma attributed to a woman remarrying or giving birth out of wedlock as the “Khasi Social Custom Lineage Act” gives security to them.
- Care of children is the responsibility of mothers or mothers-in-law.
Matrilineal, not matriarchal
- While society is matrilineal, it is not matriarchal. In past monarchies of the state, the son of the youngest sister of the king inherited the throne.
- Even now in the Meghalaya Legislative Assembly or village councils or panchayats the representation of women in politics is minimal.
Issues with the system
- Some Khasi men perceive themselves to be accorded a secondary status.
- They have established societies to protect equal rights for men.
- They express that Khasi men don’t have any security, they don’t own land, they don’t run the family business and, at the same time, they are almost good for nothing.
UPSC 2022 countdown has begun! Get your personal guidance plan now! (Click here)
Get an IAS/IPS ranker as your 1: 1 personal mentor for UPSC 2024
Attend Now
Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Podu, Shifting cultivation
Mains level: Not Much
The Telangana government has decided to move landless, non-tribal farmers engaged in Podu shifting cultivation inside forests to peripheral areas as it looks to combat deforestation.
What is Shifting Cultivation?
- Shifting cultivation is a form of agriculture or a cultivation system, in which, at any particular point in time, a minority of ‘fields’ are in cultivation and a majority are in various stages of natural re-growth.
- Over time, fields are cultivated for a relatively short time, and allowed to recover, or are fallowed, for a relatively long time.
- Eventually, a previously cultivated field will be cleared of the natural vegetation and planted in crops again.
- Fields in established and stable shifting cultivation systems are cultivated and fallowed cyclically.
- This type of farming is also called jhumming in India.
What is Podu?
- Podu is a traditional system of cultivation used by tribes in India, whereby different areas of jungle forest are cleared by burning each year to provide land for crops.
- The word comes from the Telugu language.
- Podu is a form of shifting agriculture using slash-and-burn methods.
Issue in Telangana
- Shifting cultivation continues to be a predominant agricultural practice in many parts of India, despite state discouragement and multipronged efforts.
- Telangana government has red-flagged encroachment of forests by non-tribals, who are indulging in the practice of shifting agriculture (podu).
- Several political leaders have raised the issues of shifting agriculture and deforestation wherein encroachers clear a portion of land.
- The government now wants to shift out all farmers from the forests to the periphery by allotting lands to them for cultivation.
Impact of the move
- Tribal farmers who have been traditionally cultivating for decades will not be affected by this drive against illegal encroachers.
- The government has, in fact, given land ownership titles to tribals.
- Other encroaching farmers will be shifted out.
Back2Basics: Various shifting cultivation in India
| Type |
Place of practice |
| Jhum |
North-eastern India |
| Vevar and Dahiyaar |
Bundelkhand Region (Madhya Pradesh) |
| Deepa |
Bastar District (Madhya Pradesh) |
| Zara and Erka |
Southern States |
| Batra |
South-eastern Rajasthan |
| Podu |
Andhra Pradesh |
| Kumari |
Hilly Region of the Western Ghats of Kerala |
| Kaman, Vinga and Dhavi |
Odisha |
UPSC 2022 countdown has begun! Get your personal guidance plan now! (Click here)
Get an IAS/IPS ranker as your 1: 1 personal mentor for UPSC 2024
Attend Now