UPSC CSE Key – May 17, 2022: What you need to read today

FRONT PAGE

Varanasi court orders sealing of Gyanvapi mosque spot after Shivling discovery claim

Syllabus:

Preliminary Examination: Current events of national and international importance and History of India

Mains Examination: General Studies II: Structure, organization and functioning of the Executive and the Judiciary

Key Points to Ponder:

• Vishwanath temple-Gyanvapi mosque controversy- What is the issue thus far?

• What are the historical claims made by petitioner with respect to Gyanvapi mosque?

• What are the Historical debates associated with Kashi Vishwanath temple-Gyanvapi mosque?

• Why the Places of Worship (Special Provisions) Act 1991 is in News?

• Under what circumstances was the Places of Worship Act, 1991 law enacted, and how did the government justify it?

• The Places of Worship Act, 1991-Know the Key Provisions

• What Section 3 of the Places of Worship Act, 1991 is all about?

• Section 4(1) and Section 4(2) of the Places of worship act, 1991-Know the provisions

• Ayodhya Ram Janmabhoomi Verdict and Section 5 of the Places of Worship Act, 1991-Connect the Dot

• What did the Supreme Court say about the Places of Worship Act, 1991 in its Ayodhya judgment?

• Gyanvapi Mosque-Know the Style and Architecture

• Kashi Vishwanath Temple Architecture-Know in detail

• Ahilyabai Holkar and Kashi Vishwanath Temple-Connect the dots

• Know about Kashi Vishwanath Corridor Project

Other Important Articles Covering the same topic:

📍 The Places of Worship Act

📍 Court order on Kashi Vishwanath Temple-Gyanvapi Mosque site in Varanasi: history and context

 

Export ban shakes world markets, wheat prices up 6%

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:

• India’s wheat production and wheat exports in Global Scenario-Know the Fact

• The Government of India has banned wheat exports with effect from May 13, 2022-why?

• India defended the decision of Wheat export-what is India’s Stand?

• What happened between April 11 and May 13 that such a drastic decision had to be taken?

• Who are the Biggest Buyer Countries of Wheat from India-Know the top Five

• 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:

📍 Explained: Why ban of wheat exports is knee-jerk reaction, hits farmers and dents policy credibility

📍 Chaos in Kandla after ban: 4,000 wheat trucks in queue, 4 ships half-full

 

India looks at reopening mission in Kabul minus senior diplomats

Syllabus:

Preliminary Examination: Current events of national and international importance.

Mains Examination: General Studies II: Role of civil services in a democracy

Key Points to Ponder:

• What is Embassy?

• What is Consulate?

• What are Key Differences Between Consulate and Embassy?

• Ambassador and High Commissioner-Compare and Contrast

• Why India closed its embassy in Afghanistan?

• A diplomatic mission or foreign mission-Know the Mandate and Role

• What is the difference between Embassies and High Commissions?

• The history of diplomatic missions-Know in detail

• Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations and Vienna Convention on Consular Relations

• Know about Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) and Indian Foreign Service (IFS)

Other Important Articles Covering the same topic:

📍 Embassies, High Commissions and Consulates

 

THE CITY

Yamuna runs dry, water supply in capital to be hit from today

Syllabus:

Preliminary Examination: Current events of national and international importance.

Mains Examination: General Studies I: Urbanization, their problems and their remedies.

Key Points to Ponder:

• Water production and distribution system for domestic consumers in Delhi-How water supply is done in Delhi?

• New Delhi is greatly dependent on which external water resources?

• What the 2030 Water Resources Group’s report “Charting Our Water Future” predicted about Delhi way back in 2009?

• What is the per capita water availability in Delhi?

• Map work-Mark the North India Drainage Basins

• What is the National Water Policy, 2002?

• What do you understand by the term ‘water table’?

• Depleting water levels in the Yamuna-Reason out

• How water table vary in a region-Know the Long-term reasons

• Groundwater Decline and Depletion-Know the reasons

• Map Work-Yamuna, Source point of Yamuna, Important tributaries, Important Dam and water reservoir

Other Important Articles Covering the same topic:

📍 Water Policy for Delhi

📍 Water supply in Delhi: Five key issues

 

EXPRESS NETWORK

Monsoon reaches Andamans

Syllabus:

Preliminary Examination: Indian and World Geography-Physical, Social, Economic Geography of India and the World.

Mains Examination: General Studies I: Important Geophysical phenomena such as earthquakes, Tsunami, Volcanic activity, cyclone etc., geographical features and their location-changes in critical geographical features (including water-bodies and ice-caps) and in flora and fauna and the effects of such changes.

Key Points to Ponder:

• South West Monsoon Season-Why Monsoon here is referred as “Southwest Monsoon”?

• What do you understand by “Onset of monsoons”?

• Monsoon and India-Connect the dots

• Arabian Sea branch of South West Monsoons and Bay of Bengal branch of South West Monsoon-Compare and contrast

• The southwest monsoon season and the retreating monsoon-Know the difference

• The Sea Surface Temperature (SST), Mean Sea Level pressure in east Asia, The surface air temperature over northwest Europe and the warm water volume of the equatorial Pacific Ocean-Impact on Monsoon

• Coriolis Force and role in Monsoon-Know in detail

• What are the Niño and La Niña?

• EL Nino Southern Oscillation or ENSO impact on Monsoon

• Indian Ocean Dipole-Know in Detail

• Factors Influencing South-West Monsoon Formation

• What is Inter Tropical Convergence Zone?

• What do you understand by the expression ‘Onset of the South-West Monsoon’?

• Impact of Monsoons on Life in India-Economical, Cultural and Social

• India Meteorological Department and Monsoon Prediction in India

• How much rainfall does India receive on average in a year?

• When is the Long Period Average (LPA) revised?

• Why has it been downgraded?

• Has the all-India quantitative rainfall reduced?

Other Important Articles Covering the same topic:

📍 What downgrade in average monsoon rainfall means

📍 UNIT IV: CLIMATE (PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY-11TH CLASS NCERT)

📍 UNIT III: Climate, Vegetation and Soil (11th NCERT-INDIA PHYSICAL ENVIRONMENT)

 

Ramgarh sanctuary now a tiger reserve

Syllabus:

Preliminary Examination: General issues on Environmental ecology, Bio-diversity and Climate Change

Mains Examination: General Studies III: Conservation, environmental pollution and degradation, environmental impact assessment.

Key Points to Ponder:

• What is National Park?

• What is Wildlife Sanctuary

• What is Tiger Reserve?

• Know the difference between National Parks, Wildlife Sanctuary & Tiger Reserve

• “Status of Tigers in India” report-Key Highlights

• What is Project Tiger?

• National Tiger Conservation Authority is a statutory body under which Ministry?

• Who is the Chairman of National Tiger Conservation Authority?

• What is Conservation Assured Tiger Standards (CATS)?

• Know about Section 38V (1) of The Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972

• Map Work-Locate Ramgarh Vishdhari Sanctuary and Tiger reserves in India

• Map Work-Locate top five and bottom five states, Tiger Reserves mentioned in IFSR 2021

Other Important Articles Covering the same topic:

📍 Explained: How many tigers are too many

 

THE IDEAS PAGE

Bound by geography

Syllabus:

Preliminary Examination: Current events of national and international importance.

Mains Examination: General Studies II: India and its neighborhood- relations.

Key Points to Ponder:

• “We can choose our friends but not our neighbours”-What is the relevance of this said quote in Geopolitics?

• What are the Recent developments in Sri Lanka, Nepal, and Pakistan and how it impacts India?

• “The current crisis in Sri Lanka raised hopes for transcending the internal ethnic divide in the island nation and rebuilding political confidence between Colombo and Delhi”-What Author is trying to say with this statement?

• India-Nepal, Buddha, Buddhism and “Buddhist circuit”-What is the relevance of Buddha and Buddhism as a diplomacy between India and Nepal?

• Religion and culture in diplomatic and Bilateral Relations-Know the pros and Cons

Other Important Articles Covering the same topic:

📍 Modi in Lumbini: Buddhism provides India a cultural inroad in Nepal – it may not be enough to counter China

📍 Religious tourism as soft power: Strengthening India’s outreach to Southeast Asia

📍 The rising role of Buddhism in India’s soft power strategy

 

The cybersecurity burden

Syllabus:

Preliminary Examination: Current events of national and international importance

Mains Examination: General Studies III: Basics of Cyber Security

Key Points to Ponder:

• What is “Cyber Security”?

• Why Cyber Security is required?

• What kind of devices are vulnerable and What information can be compromised?

• Types of Cyber Attacks-Know in detail

•What are the or what should be the features of Cyber Security?

• What is CERT-In?

• What are the cybersecurity norms announced by the Indian Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT-In) recently?

• What are these norms that CERT-In is clarifying?

• Know Cyber Security initiatives in India- Computer Emergency Response Team – India (CERT-IN), Cyber Surakshit Bharat Initiative, National Cyber Security Coordination Centre (NCCC), Cyber Swachhta Kendra, Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Centre (I4C), Cyberdome (Kerala)

• Global Cyber Security Index (GCI)-Know the facts like who publishes and what are the components of this Index etc.

• Snooping and Surveillance in the name of Cyber and National Security-Where to draw the line?

• Supreme Court of India on snooping and surveillance-People’s Union for Civil Liberties (PUCL) vs Union of India case in 1996, Rule 419A of the Indian Telegraph Rules, 1951

• Justice Raveendran Committee Report-Know in detail

• Personal Data Protection Bill 2019-key Highlights

Other Important Articles Covering the same topic:

📍 Explained: CERT-In’s new cybersecurity norms, and why it is likely to issue a clarification about them

 

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