UPSC Key 2022: Here's what you should be reading from the May 31, 2022 edition of The Indian Express.Important topics and their relevance in UPSC CSE exam for May 16, 2022. If you missed the May 13, 2022 UPSC CSE exam key from the Indian Express, read it here
FRONT PAGE
Team India scales the peak with first ever Thomas Cup
Syllabus:
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Preliminary Examination: Current events of national and international importance.
Mains Examination: General Studies II: Government policies and interventions for development in various sectors and issues arising out of their design and implementation.
Key Points to Ponder:
• Thomas Cup competition and Sir George Alan Thomas-Connect the dot
• Uber Cup and Betty Uber-Connect the dot
• Who was Sir George Alan Thomas?
• Who was Betty Uber?
• How Thomas Cup is different from Uber Cup?
• Which Country has won maximum Thomas Cup title?
• Badminton World Federation (BWF)-About and Headquarters
• Other major international badminton events-Know the Names
• Sports Personality in News-Lakshya Sen, Kidambi Srikanth Chirag Shetty and Satwiksairaj Rankireddy
• Thomas Cup and India-Why the Thomas Cup 2022 is Historic for India?
• Thomas Cup is Conducted every Year-True or False?
• Sports Authority of India (SAI)-Independent body or under Ministry?
Other Important Articles Covering the same topic:
📍 India Thomas Cup champs: Who would have thought? The Team
📍 THE HISTORIC JOURNEY OF THE THOMAS CUP & UBER CUP
Previous Year Prelims Questions Based on Sports theme:
📍 Consider the following statements in respect of the Laureus World Sports Award which was instituted in the year 2000 (Please refer Prelims 2021 GS question Paper for complete question)
1. American golfer Tiger Woods was the first winner of this award.
2. The award was received mostly by ‘Formula One’ players so far.
3. Roger Federer received this award maximum number of times compared to others.
📍 Consider the following statements in respect of the 32nd Summer Olympics: (Please refer Prelims 2021 GS question Paper for complete question)
1. The official motto for this Olympics is ‘A New World’.
2. Sport Climbing, Surfing, Skateboarding, Karate and Baseball are included in this Olympics.
📍 Consider the following statements in respect of the ICC World Test Championship (Please refer Prelims 2021 GS question Paper for complete question)
1. The finalists were decided by the number of matches they won.
2. New Zealand was ranked ahead of England because it won more matches than England.
Previous year UPSC Mains Question Covering Sports Theme:
📍 An athlete participates in Olympics for personal triumph and nation’s glory; victors are showered with cash incentives by various agencies, on their return. Discuss the merit of state sponsored talent hunt and its cultivation as against the rationale of a reward mechanism as encouragement. (GS-2, 2014)
With Buddhist centre, India looks to bolster cultural ties to Nepal
Syllabus:
Preliminary Examination: History of India
Mains Examination: General Studies I: Indian culture will cover the salient aspects of Art Forms, literature and Architecture from ancient to modern times.
Key Points to Ponder:
• India-Nepal Bilateral Relations and Shared Heritage-Know in detail
• The rising role of Buddhism in India’s Bilateral Relations and in soft power strategy-Know in Detail
• Lumbini and Kushinagar-What is the importance of this place in Buddhism?
• Rise of Buddhism in India and Gautam Buddha or Siddharth-Know in detail
• Know in detail about Doctrines of Buddhism, the Four noble truths, The Five Precepts and Eight-fold Path
• What are the special features of Buddhism and why it spread rapidly and widely?
• When, where and under which King’s Patronage the first, Second, Third and fourth Buddhist Council held?
• Know about the two main schools of Buddhism-Mahayana and Hinayana
• Rajgriha, Vaishali Patliputra, Kundalvana-Know the Importance of these place in Buddhism
• Know the important Buddhist Mudras-Dhyani Mudra, (gesture of meditation), Vitarka Mudra, (teaching gesture), Dharmachakra Mudra, (gesture of turning the wheel of the teaching), Bhumisparsha Mudra, (gesture of touching the earth), Abhaya Mudra, (gesture of fearlessness and granting protection), Varada Mudra, (gesture of granting wishes), Uttarabodhi Mudra, (gesture of supreme enlightenment), Anjali Mudra, (gesture of greeting and veneration) and Vijrapradama Mudra, (gesture of unshakable confidence)
• Map work-Mark Important Buddhist Sites in India
• Account for the decline of Buddhism in India
Other Important Articles Covering the same topic:
📍 INDIA-NEPAL BILATERAL RELATIONS
📍 The rising role of Buddhism in India’s soft power strategy
📍 Buddhism
Previous Year Prelims Questions Based on Buddhism theme:
📍 Which one of the following statements is correct? (Prelims 2021 GS question Paper)
(a) Ajanta Caves lie in the gorge of the Waghora river.
(b) Sanchi Stupa lies in the gorge of the Chambal river.
(c) Pandu – lena cave shrines lie in the gorge of the Narmada river.
(d) Amaravati Stupa lies in the gorge of the Godavari river.
📍 Lord Buddha’s image is sometimes shown with the hand gesture called ‘Bhumisparsha Mudra’. It symbolizes (Prelims 2012 GS question Paper)
(a) Buddha’s calling of the Earth to watch over Mara and to prevent Mara from disturbing his meditation
(b) Buddha’s calling of the Earth to witness his purity and chastity despite the temptations of Mara
(c) Buddha’s reminder to his followers that they all arise from the Earth and finally dissolve into the Earth, and thus this life is transitory
(d) Both the statements (a) and (b) are correct in this context
📍 Which of the following kingdoms were associated with the life of the Buddha?
1. Avanti
2. Gandhara
3. Kosala
4. Magadha
Select the correct answer using the code given below: (Please refer Prelims 2015 GS question Paper for complete question)
Previous year UPSC Mains Question Covering Buddhism Theme:
📍 Early Buddhist Stupa-art, while depicting folk motifs and narratives successfully expounds Buddhist ideals. Elucidate (2016)
THE CITY
Near site of Mundka fire, a colony united in grief
Syllabus:
Preliminary Examination: Current events of national and international importance.
Mains Examination: General Studies III: Disaster and disaster management
Key Points to Ponder:
• Mundka Fire Tragedy-Know the Story so far
• Mundka tragedy and other major fire tragedy in India like Uphhar Cinema fire tragedy- Know the Causes of Fire Accidents in India
• Facts and Data’s given on Fire Safety in India by Ministry of Home Affairs, National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) and India Risk Surveys-Know the facts
• Fire Services is a State subject or Concurrent Subject or Union Subject?
• National Building Code (NBC) of India, 2016 and Fire and Life Safety-Know the provisions
• Ministry of Urban Development, Model Building by Laws 2016 and Fire Safety-Connect the dot
• What National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) says on Fire and Fire Safety?
• Supreme Court of India’s Guidelines on Fire Safety-Know in Detail
Other Important Articles Covering the same topic:
📍 Uphaar fire tragedy: Here’s a timeline of what happened in nearly two-decade long case
EXPLAINED
The impact of price volatility
Syllabus:
Preliminary Examination: Economic and Social Development
Mains Examination: General Studies III: Indian Economy and issues relating to planning, mobilization, of resources, growth, development and employment.
Key Points to Ponder:
• The word ‘Inflation’ is now days very often in News. What do you understand by this term?
• Know about Palm Oil and its Uses
• India’s Import of Palm Oil-Know about it
• National Edible Oil Mission-Oil Palm (NMEO-OP)-Key Highlights
• Why Inflation holds so much importance for an Economy?
• The term ‘Price’ is almost familiar to all of us. What do you understand by the term ‘price’ and ‘Price Level’?
• How price level is Measured?
• What is Price Index? Which are the two most important Price indices?
• What do you understand by Wholesale Price Index (WPI) and Consumer Price Index? WPI and CPI is published by whom?
• What is CPI-based Inflation or Retail Inflation? Both are same?
• The base year of Wholesale Price Index (WPI)?
• Base Year for Consumer Price Index (CPI)?
• Know the Types of Inflation like Moderate Inflation, Galloping Inflation, Hyper-Inflation, Stagflation, Deflation, Core Inflation etc.
• Know the Causes of Inflation like Demand-Pull or Demand-Side inflation and Cost-Push or Supply-Side Inflation.
• There are two economic groups in every society including India i.e. the fixed income group and the variable income group. How Inflation effects these economic group?
• What is the Long term, Medium Term and Short-term impact of Inflation?
• How Inflation is Measured in India?
• Steps or Measures Taken by GOI to Control Inflation
• National Statistical Office (NSO)-About, Vision, Mandate and Role
Other Important Articles Covering the same topic:
📍 What is the significance of wholesale and retail inflation rates diverging
📍 Rising inflation: cause, effect
Google’s innovation aimed at inclusiveness
Syllabus:
Preliminary Examination: Current events of national and international importance.
Mains Examination: General Studies III: Awareness in the fields of IT, Space, Computers, robotics, nano-technology, bio-technology and issues relating to intellectual property rights.
Key Points to Ponder:
• What is the Monk Skin Tone Scale?
• How Monk Skin Tone Scale will work?
• What is Computer vision (CV) and how Monk Skin Tone (MST) Scale can improve Computer Vision?
• Are there similar developments elsewhere?
• Artificial Intelligence (AI) given the tag of a Sunrise Technology-why?
• What is Artificial Intelligence?
• Artificial Intelligence (AI)-Pros, Cons and Future ahead
• Monk Skin Tone (MST) Scale can have a broader sociological significance-How?
Other Important Articles Covering the same topic:
📍 Improving skin tone evaluation in machine learning
📍 Artificial intelligence solutions built in India can serve the world
THE EDITORIAL PAGE
Syllabus:
Preliminary Examination: Economic and Social Development
Mains Examination: General Studies III: Indian Economy and issues relating to planning, mobilisation of resources, growth, development and employment, Major crops-cropping patterns in various parts of the country
Key Points to Ponder:
• The Government of India has banned wheat exports with effect from May 13, 2022-why?
• What happened between April 11 and May 13 that such a drastic decision had to be taken?
• What could have been done even when wheat production and procurement are down?
• From an all-time high last year, procurement of wheat is set to hit a 15-year low this season, falling below existing stocks for the first time. What are the main reasons for procurement plunging to a 15-year-low this time?
• Wheat Production in India-Know all the facts like Highest producing States, Geography and Environment associated with Wheat Production like Soil, temperature, Rainfall and Humidity etc.
• Wheat Production in India-Wheat is a Rabi or Kharif Crop?
• How does the government procure wheat-Know about government’s wheat procurement policy
• What is the procurement scale against the total production of wheat in India?
• From how many states is wheat procured for the central pool?
• How much wheat is procured for the central pool by the FCI every year?
• What is the procurement scale against the total production of wheat in India?
• What is the share of wheat contribution of various states to the central pool?
• Wheat production in India-Know the statistics
• MSP (minimum support price) and effectiveness of MSP implementation
• How MSP is calculated (paid out costs, labour etc.) and Crops covered under the MSP
• Food Corporation of India (FCI)-About, Role, Functions
Other Important Articles Covering the same topic:
📍 Behind low wheat procurement
ECONOMY
Logistics overhang: Rupee fall unlikely to boost exports
Syllabus:
Preliminary Examination: Current events of national and international importance.
Mains Examination: General Studies III: Indian Economy and issues relating to planning, mobilization, of resources, growth, development and employment.
Key Points to Ponder:
• What is Currency depreciation?
• What do you understand by Rupee depreciation?
• Appreciation vs Depreciation of Currency-Compare and Contrast
• What is Devaluation of Currency? Depreciation and Devaluation both are same?
• What are the reasons for Current Depreciation of Indian Rupee?
Other Important Articles Covering the same topic:
📍 What Is Currency Depreciation?
IMF lifts weighting of dollar, Chinese yuan in SDR basket
Syllabus:
Preliminary Examination: Current events of national and international importance.
Mains Examination: General Studies II: Important International institutions, agencies and fora- their structure, mandate.
Key Points to Ponder:
• What do you know about Special Drawing Rights (SDR)?
• A basket of currencies determines the value of the SDR-Name those Currencies which are in SDR Basket
• Currencies included in the SDR basket have to meet certain criteria-What are they?
• International Monetary Fund (IMF)-Objective, History, Role and Functions
• What do you know about IMF’s ‘Rapid Credit Facility and Rapid Financing Instrument’?
Other Important Articles Covering the same topic:
📍 Special Drawing Rights (SDR)
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