Every Monday, UPSC Current Affairs Pointers in UPSC Essentials aim to go beyond the headlines and provide content relevant to your UPSC Prelims, State PCS, and other competitive examinations. If you missed the UPSC Current Affairs Pointers of the past week | February 17 To February 23, 2025, from the Indian Express, read it here. Reports/Indices (FYI: The purpose of these extensive reports is to give you a broad understanding of the topic. The data provided can be used to substantiate your Mains answer. PRIs are important for your UPSC exam and these reports are important in that regard.) Panchayat Devolution Index — The Union Ministry of Panchayati Raj has released the Panchayat Devolution Index, which is based on a study conducted by the Indian Institute of Public Administration (IIPA). — The IIPA studied 172 panchayats in 68 districts across India to measure the performance of the panchayat system on six parameters: framework, functions, finances, functionaries, capacity building, and accountability. It scales state on a scale of 0 to 100. — The index was last published in 2014 and, over the past decade, the national average score rose from 39.92 to 43.89. — Karnataka, Kerala, and Tamil Nadu topped the index and Uttar Pradesh and Bihar recorded the biggest improvement. — In the index, Manipur, Arunachal Pradesh, and Jharkhand are the lowest-scoring states, while Manipur, Arunachal and Haryana have seen the biggest declines in the past decade. — As of 2024, there are 2.62 lakh panchayats in India, up from 2.48 lakh in 2013-14. — In terms of average rural population per panchayat, while the national average in 2024 was 4,669 (up from 3,087 in 2013-14), West Bengal, Assam and Bihar had the most densely populated panchayats. — The national average proportion of women representatives is 46.44%, marginally up from 45.9% in 2013-14. — Odisha has the highest proportion of women among panchayat representatives at 61.51%, followed by Himachal Pradesh at 57.5%, and Tamil Nadu at 57.32%. Among the states, UP has the lowest proportion of women representatives at 33.33% but the state’s rules provide for only one-third reservation for women. Government panel proposal on transforming Women’s Representation in PRIs — A committee headed by former mines secretary Sushil Kumar submitted its report ‘Transforming Women’s Representation and Roles in Panchayati Raj Systems and Institutions: Eliminating Efforts for Proxy Participation’ to the Ministry of Panchayati Raj (MoPR). — It has recommended “exemplary penalties” for proven cases of proxy leadership as a measure to curb the practice of ‘Pradhan Pati’, ‘Sarpanch Pati’ or ‘Mukhiya Pati’ in Gram Panchayats across the country. — Important recommendations of the committee: → Gender-exclusive quotas in some panchayat subject committees and ward-level committees (like Kerala) → Annual award for Anti-Pradhan Pati champions → Appointing women’s ombudspersons → Public swearing-in of women pradhans in Gram Sabhas → Creating a federation of women panchayat leaders Additional Insights Status of three-tier government in India: India has about 2.63 lakh panchayats in all three tiers – Gram Panchayat (at village level), Panchayat Samiti (at block level) and Zila Parishad (at district level) – with 32.29 lakh elected representatives, of which 15.03 lakh (46.6 per cent) are women. India Philanthropy Report 2025 — The Indian Philanthropy Report 2025 was published by Dasra, a strategic philanthropy foundation, in collaboration with Bain & Company. — According to the report, public spending accounted for 95% of total funding at Rs 23 lakh crore, including schemes such as MGNREGS and the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana. — The report highlighted that over the next five years, private funding in India’s social sector is expected to see a 10%–12% annual growth, largely driven by family philanthropy from high-net-worth individuals (HNIs). Time Use Survey — The National Statistics Office (NSO) under the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MoSPI) has released the second All-India Time Use Survey for the period January-December 2024. This is the second survey, the first was conducted during January – December 2019. — It measures time dispositions by the population on different activities. The primary objective of the Survey is to measure the participation of men and women in paid and unpaid activities. — Females spent 201 more minutes in a day in unpaid domestic services for household members than their male counterparts last year. — For employment and related activities, however, men spent 132 minutes more than females (341 minutes by females, 473 minutes by males). Art & Culture Nyokum Yullo festival — The Nyokum Yullo festival is celebrated by the Nyishi community in the state of Arunachal Pradesh. — The Word Nyokum has been derived from the combination of two words – Nyok means land (earth) and Kum means collectiveness or togetherness. — It is commonly celebrated by people from all class and walk of life for better productivity, prosperity and happiness of all human beings on earth. (Source: kradaadi.nic.in) Jhumur dance — In honour of Assam’s oldest industry and the workers who made it flourish, over 8,600 women and men from the state’s “tea tribes” performed their traditional ‘jhumoir’ (also spelt ‘jhumur’ or ‘jhumair’) dance in the presence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. — The term “tea tribe” loosely refers to a multi-cultural, multi-ethnic community of tea garden workers and their descendants. — These people came from Central India — mostly from present-day Jharkhand, Odisha, Chhattisgarh, and West Bengal — and settled in Assam in the 19th century to work in the tea gardens that the British were setting up. — Jhumur is the folk dance of the Sadan ethnolinguistic group, who trace their origins to the Chotanagpur region. — Women are the main dancers and singers, while men play traditional instruments such as madal, dhol, or dhak (drums), cymbals, flutes, and shehnai. — The attire worn varies from community to community, although red and white sarees are particularly popular among women. — Dancers stand shoulder-to-shoulder and move in coordinated patterns with precise footwork while singing couplets in their native languages — Nagpuri, Khortha and Kurmali. These have evolved in Assam to borrow heavily from Assamese. Polity NAKSHA Scheme — On February 18, Union Rural Development Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan launched the Central government’s new initiative—‘NAtional geospatial Knowledge-based land Survey of urban HAbitations’ (NAKSHA). — NAKSHA is a city survey initiative under the existing Digital India Land Records Modernization Programme (DILRMP). It is spearheaded by the Department of Land Resources (DoLR), under the Ministry of Rural Development. — It aims to create a comprehensive and accurate geospatial database for urban land records. By integrating aerial and field surveys with advanced GIS technology, the program enhances efficiency in land governance, streamlines property ownership records, and facilitates urban planning. — The survey will be done through aerial photography using two types of cameras— simple cameras and oblique angle cameras (having 5 cameras) with LiDAR sensors. ASHA (Accredited Social Health Activist) — A section of ASHA workers have been protesting in Kerala demanding that their honorarium be increased to Rs 21,000 a month. — ASHA workers are volunteers from within the community who are trained to provide information and aid people in accessing benefits of various healthcare schemes of the government. — In 2022, the one million ASHA (Accredited Social Health Activist) workers, who were at the forefront of healthcare delivery in India, received the Global Health Leaders Award-2022 in the backdrop of the 75th World Health Assembly. International Cooperation EU-India Trade and Technology Council (TTC) — The European Union and India concluded their second ministerial meeting of the Trade and Technology Council (TTC) on 28th February 2025. — European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and Prime Minister Narendra Modi established the EU-India TTC in April 2022 as a key bilateral platform to address challenges at the confluence of trade, trusted technology, and security. UN Security Council Resolution 1325 — Speaking at the inaugural session of the ‘Conference for Women Peacekeepers from the Global South’, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar said India has also been at the forefront of deploying women in peacekeeping operations. — The conference — the two-day event was held to mark the 25th anniversary of the adoption of UN Security Council Resolution 1325 on Women, Peace and Security — brought together women peacekeepers from 35 countries to explore the evolving role of women in peacekeeping operations and discuss strategies to enhance their participation. — India ranks among the top contributors to UN peacekeeping missions with 5,384 personnel, including 153 women, across 10 missions as of September 2024. — India deployed the first all-female Formed Police Unit (FPU) to Liberia in 2007. Today, 20.45% of its deployed military observers and staff officers are women. CBAM or carbon tax — India is set to raise concerns over the European Union’s controversial carbon tax during the two-day visit by the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, and 21 EU Commissioners. — The Indian government, on multiple occasions, called the Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) or carbon tax an “unfair” measure and a violation of the “common but differentiated responsibilities” (CBDR) provision of multilateral climate negotiations. — CBAM taxes certain products coming in from other countries based on their emissions footprint in their production process. For instance, if the imported steel was produced through a process that entailed higher emissions than the emissions standards for that product in Europe, it would be taxed. Environment Avalanche — An avalanche hit a Border Roads Organisation (BRO) project site near Mana — India’s “first” village — in Uttarakhand’s Chamoli district. — According to the World Meteorological Organisation, an avalanche is a mass of snow and ice falling suddenly down a mountain slope and often taking with it earth, rocks, and rubble of every description. Gharials — Recently, Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Mohan Yadav released 10 gharials into the Chambal river at the National Chambal Gharial Sanctuary in Morena. — Madhya Pradesh’s decades-long conservation efforts have earned it the title of a “gharial state,” hosting over 80 per cent of India’s gharials. — The gharial is a species of Gavialis gangeticus—long-snouted, fish-eating crocodilians. The name ‘gharial’ comes from the Hindi word ghara, meaning pot or vessel, referring to the bulbous snout tip of adult males, which resembles an inverted pot. — Males grow from 3-6 meters, and females 2.6–4.5 meters. Gharials mate during November, December, and January. Sandbanks, sandbars, and islands are critical to their ecology, serving as preferred sites for basking and nesting. — It is listed in Schedule I of the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972, and as Critically Endangered on the IUCN Red List. — Today, the species survives primarily in five refuges: National Chambal Sanctuary (NCS), Katerniaghat Sanctuary, Chitwan National Park, Son River Sanctuary, and Satkosia Gorge Sanctuary. Black Plastic — According to a study published in the journal Chemosphere in October last year, found that black plastic household products contained a flame-retardant chemical called decabromodiphenyl ether (BDE-209) that had been linked to potential human health risks. However, it was later found that they overestimated the chemical exposure. — Black plastic is often made from recycled electronic waste such as computers, TVs, and appliances. The issue is that these electronics typically contain substances such as the flame retardant bromine; antimony; and heavy metals such as lead, cadmium, and mercury. These electronics comprise flame retardants in a bid to prevent fire hazards. Olive ridley turtles — Nearly seven lakh Olive ridley turtles laid eggs at the Rushikulya ‘rookery’ or nesting ground in Odisha’s Ganjam district during a mass nesting between February 16 and February 25. — Olive ridley turtles (Lepidochelys olivacea) are the smallest and most abundant of all sea turtles in the world. They get their name from the olive green colour of their heart-shaped shell, and inhabit warm waters of the Pacific, Atlantic, and Indian oceans. — Olive ridleys can grow about two feet in length, and 50 kg in weight. — During nesting, more than 600,000 females emerge from the waters, over a period of five to seven days, to lay eggs. They lay their eggs in conical nests which they dig with their hind flippers and are one and a half feet deep. — While solitary nesting by Olive ridleys is known to take place in approximately 40 countries worldwide, arribada nesting occurs on only a few beaches. — The coast of Odisha (where Rushikulya and Gahirmatha rookeries are situated) is the largest mass nesting site for the Olive ridley, followed by the coasts of Mexico and Costa Rica. Economy Fertilizers — Capping or even reducing the consumption of urea, di-ammonium phosphate (DAP) and muriate of potash (MOP) has become a strategic imperative of sorts for India. — MOP is wholly imported from countries such as Canada, Russia, Jordan, Israel, Turkmenistan and Belarus, as India has no mineable potash reserves. — In urea, India’s production meets over 85% of its consumption demand, but the plants mostly run on liquefied natural gas imported from Qatar, US, UAE, or Angola. — DAP is imported in the form of finished fertiliser (mainly from Saudi Arabia, China, Morocco, Russia, and Jordan) as well as raw material (rock phosphate from Jordan, Morocco, Togo, Egypt and Algeria; sulphur from UAE, Qatar and Oman). SWAP mechanism of RBI — RBI has announced another $10 billion dollar-rupee buy-sell swap arrangement to provide a durable solution to the system’s liquidity requirements. — The swap is in the nature of a simple buy-sell foreign exchange swap from the Reserve Bank side. A bank will sell US dollars to the Reserve Bank and simultaneously agrees to buy the same amount of US dollars at the end of the swap period. — The RBI has been selling dollars to stabilise the rupee, thereby sucking out an equivalent amount in rupee from the system. Science and Technology SPHEREx — NASA has successfully launched a new space telescope, called Spectro-Photometer for the History of the Universe, Epoch of Reionization and Ices Explorer (SPHEREx) in space. — SPHEREx will map the universe while detecting two kinds of cosmic light, optical and infrared — One of the primary aims of SPHEREx will be to measure something called cosmic inflation. It refers to a period which took place around 14 billion years ago, during which the universe expanded faster than the speed of light for a fraction of a second. — Scientists suggest that inflation explains many aspects of the universe such as its flatness, or lack of curvature, on the largest scales. — SPHEREx will identify water- and life-forming molecules, also known as biogenic molecules (such as carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen), in the Milky Way galaxy, where the Earth is located. Diseases (Just FYI: UPSC has consistently included questions on health and diseases in its examinations over the years. For instance, in 2014, a question about the Ebola virus appeared in the Prelims, and in 2017, a question about the Zika virus was featured. Therefore, it is crucial to stay updated on diseases that are currently in the news.) Spinal Muscular Atrophy (SMA) — The Supreme Court has stayed a Kerala High Court order asking the Centre to provide medicines worth Rs 18 lakh to a 24-year-old suffering from a Group III rare disease — Spinal Muscular Atrophy (SMA). — SMA is a debilitating genetic condition that affects motor neurons that control movement and leads to progressive muscle weakening. “About one in every 10,000 births have some form of the condition — making it a leading genetic cause of death in infants and children,” according to a report in Nature. — The condition is caused by mutations in the survival motor neuron gene (SMN1) which causes a deficiency of a protein crucial for the survival of motor neurons in the spinal cord. — The World Health Organisation (WHO) has defined rare diseases as a debilitating, lifelong condition that affects 1 or fewer people in 1,000. Around 6% to 8% of the population is estimated to have a rare disease. — In India, rare diseases are categorised into three groups based on the nature and complexity of available treatment options. → Group 1 includes diseases that can be treated with a one-time curative procedure. → Group 2 diseases require long-term or lifelong treatment which are relatively less costly and have shown documented benefits, but patients need regular check-ups. → Group 3 diseases are those for which effective treatments are available, but they are expensive and must often continue lifelong. There are challenges in selecting the right beneficiaries for these treatments. Terms making buzz — Gold Visa: America has launched a new Gold Visa for foreign investors seeking permanent residency in the United States, and ultimately American citizenship. — Solarpunk: It is a literary and art movement rooted in science fiction that evaluates what a sustainable civilisation may look like and how we can achieve it. — PKK: Kurdistan Workers’ Party, or PKK, launched an armed insurgency against the Turkish state in the early 1980s, originally seeking independence for the Kurds, who are believed to make up about 15% or more of Turkey’s population. Test Your Knowledge (Note: The best way to remember facts for UPSC and other competitive exams is to recall them through MCQs. Try to solve the following questions on your own.) A. Which of the following statements best describes Carbon tax? (a) Tax imposed by WTO on the export and import of coal (b) Tax imposed by UNFCCC on the production of plastic below 120 microns (c) Tax imposed by the EU on goods based on their emissions footprint in their production process (d) Tax imposed by America on the goods imported from China with a high carbon footprint B. Consider the following statements: 1. The NAKSHA initiative of the Agriculture Ministry provides agricultural land details on the mobile app. 2. It is part of the existing Digital India Land Records Modernization Programme (DILRMP). Which of the following statements is/are correct? (a) 1 only (b) 2 only (c) Both 1 and 2 (d) Neither 1 nor 2 C. Nyokum Yullo festival is celebrated in which of the following states? (a) Arunachal Pradesh (b) Assam (c) Manipur (d) Tripura Previous Articles UPSC Current Affairs Pointers of the past week | February 17 To February 23, 2025 UPSC Current Affairs Pointers of the past week | February 10 to February 16, 2025 UPSC Current Affairs Pointers of the past week | February 3 to February 9, 2025 UPSC Current Affairs Pointers of the past week | January 27 to February 2, 2025 For your answers, queries and suggestions write at khushboo.kumari@indianexpress.com 🚨Your Feedback Matters: Click here to share your views on our UPSC Essentials Quiz. 🚨 Subscribe to our UPSC newsletter. Stay updated with the latest UPSC articles by joining our Telegram channel – IndianExpress UPSC Hub, and follow us on Instagram and X. 🚨Union Budget 2025 special: Click Here to read the February 2025 issue of the UPSC Essentials monthly magazine. Share your views and suggestions in the comment box or at manas.srivastava@indianexpress.com🚨
