UPSC Key—21 August, 2023: Lunar economy, Ashoka’s policy of dhamma and Cauvery River Dispute

Russia’s Moon craft crashes, Chandrayaan-3 set for landing

Syllabus:

Preliminary Examination: Current events of national and international importance.

Mains Examination: General Studies III: Achievements of Indians in science & technology; indigenization of technology and developing new technology.

Key Points to Ponder:

• What’s the ongoing story- Russia’s Luna-25 has crashed on the Moon’s surface, the country’s space agency said Sunday in a disappointing end to its first mission to the lunar surface 47 years after the last landing by the former Soviet Union. This leaves India’s Chandrayaan-3 on course to become the first spacecraft to land near the lunar south pole.

• What happened to Luna-25?

• What is Russia’s Luna 25?

• What do you understand by lunar economy?

• For Your Information-Luna-25 was modern Russia’s first Moon mission. The erstwhile Soviet Union’s last lunar mission was way back in 1976, with a successful landing by Luna-24. In fact, that was the last spacecraft to land on the Moon, until China’s Chang’e-3 reached there 37 years later in 2013. Chang’e-4 and Chang’e-5 are the only other spacecraft to have landed on the Moon since then – Chang’e 4 touched down in January 2019 and Chang’e-5, a sample return mission, in December 2020.

• What caused Russia to launch Luna 25?

• Luna 25 and Chandrayaan 3-Competition or Co-incidence?

• After Luna 25, what next for Roscosmos, and Russia?

• Do You Know- In the past four years, government and private space agencies from four countries — India, Israel, Japan and now Russia — have tried to land their spacecraft on the Moon, and failed. Each of these missions encountered problems in the very last stage — during the landing process — and crashed on the Moon’s surface. Ahead of the Chandrayaan-2 mission in 2019, the then chairman of Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), K Sivan, had referred to the final phase of landing as “15 minutes of terror”. That remark captures the essence of the complexity involved in making a descent from the lunar orbit to the Moon’s surface. Quite clearly, this is the most difficult part of the Moon mission. The exact problem with Luna-25 is not yet known, though the statement from Roscosmos said that the change in momentum that the spacecraft had experienced while moving into the pre-landing orbit was different from what it should have been. In the case of the other three — ISRO’s Chandrayaan-2, Beresheet from Israel, and Hakuto-R from Japan — different kinds of malfunctions resulted in desired levels of speed not being achieved. China has been the sole exception in this, having landed on its very first attempt in 2013 with Chang’e-3. It has repeated the feat with Chang’e-4 in 2019 and Chang’e-5, a sample return mission, in 2020. Among the countries that have tried and failed, India is the only one which is already in the process of making a second attempt. Having learnt from its previous failure, it has incorporated several safety features in Chandrayaan-3, and added layers of redundancy so that if one particular feature develops problems, something else will work. Luna-25 was just the resumption of Russian interest in the Moon. It was named to signify the continuation of the Luna series which the then Soviet Union used to reach the Moon 50 years ago. Luna-24, launched in 1976, was the last spacecraft to land on the Moon’s surface, before lunar missions came to an abrupt halt and remained suspended for almost two decades. Russia has already announced that there are more lunar missions to follow Luna-25. At least three more in the Luna series are planned in this decade.

• What is Chandrayaan-3 mission?

• What is the name of Chandrayaan-3 lander Rover?

• Has the Chandrayaan-2 mission encountered failure?

• What was the Chandrayaan-2 mission?

• What went wrong with the Chandrayaan-2’s Vikram lander?

• What was missed because of the crash landing?

• How Chandrayaan-3 mission is different from Chandrayaan-1 and Chandrayaan-2?

• What is Low Earth Orbit (LEO)?

Other Important Articles Covering the same topic:

📍What the Luna-25 crash tells us about Moon landings

Previous year UPSC Mains Question Covering similar theme:

📍India has achieved remarkable successes in unmanned space missions including the Chandrayaan and Mars Orbiter Mission, but has not ventured into manned space missions, both in terms of technology and logistics? Explain critically (UPSC GS3, 2017)

📍Discuss India’s achievements in the field of Space Science and Technology. How the application of this technology has helped India in its socio-economic development? (UPSC GS3, 2016)

THE CITY

A rock & two pillars: How 3 Ashokan-era edicts found their place in Delhi

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:

• What’s the ongoing story- In the heart of South Delhi, near Kalkaji temple in East of Kailash, one can find a piece of history that pre-dates the Chahamanas, Lodhis, and Khiljis, by several centuries. The rock edict, one among several scattered in different parts of the country, narrates emperor Ashoka’s policy of Dhamma, which he began to disseminate after embracing Buddhism and ahimsa (non-violence) following his conquest in the bloody battle for Kalinga.

• What do understand by edicts of Ashoka?

• What are the edicts and inscriptions of Ashoka?

• Who first deciphered Ashoka edicts?

• Map Work- Major rock edicts and Minor Rock Edicts sites

• Map Work-Sketch Mauryan Empire

• First of all, what is the difference between edicts and inscriptions?

• What were the major rock edicts of Ashoka?

• Which empire did Ashoka, often known as Ashoka the Great, belong to?

• What you know about Mauryan architecture?

• Historians categorises Mauryan architecture into Court Art and Popular Art-what are these?

• Court Art and Popular Art-Compare and Contrast

• Ashoka’s policy of dhamma-what you know about the same?

• What are the reasons for the formulation of policy of dhamma by the emperor Ashoka?

• For Your Information-According to Historians, the principles of Dhamma were so formulated as to be acceptable to people belonging to different communities and following any religious sect. Dhamma was not given any formal definition or structure. It emphasised on toleration and general behaviour. Dhamma stressed on dual toleration-it emphasised on toleration of people themselves and also an toleration of their various beliefs and ideas. There is a stress on the notion of showing consideration towards slaves and servants; there is stress also on obedience to elders; generosity towards the needy, Brahmanas and Sramanas, etc. Asoka also pleaded for tolerance of different religious sects in an attempt to create a sense of harmony. The policy of Dhamma also laid stress on non-violence. Non-violence was to be practised by giving up war and conquests and also as a restraint on the killing of animals. However, Asoka realized that a certain display of his political might may be necessary to keep the primitive forest tribes in check. The policy of Dhamma also included certain welfare measures, like planting of trees, digging of wells, etc. Asoka attacked ceremonies and sacrifices practised regularly on various occasions as meaningless. A group of officers known as the Dhamma mahamattas were instituted to implement and publicise the various aspects of Dhamma. Asoka thrust a very heavy responsibility on them to carry his message to the various sections of the society. However, they seem gradually to have developed into a type of priesthood of Dhamma with great powers and soon began to interfere in politics as well.

Other Important Articles Covering the same topic:

📍How dhamma influenced the dome and design of the Rashtrapati Bhavan

Previous year UPSC Prelims Question Covering similar theme:

📍Who among the following rulers advised his subjects through this inscription?
“Whosoever praises his religious sect or blames other sects out of excessive devotion to his own sect, with the view of glorifying his own sect, he rather injures his own sect very severely.” (UPSC GS1, 2020)
(a) Ashoka
(b) Samudragupta
(c) Harshavardhana
(a) Krishnadeva Raya

📍In which of the following relief sculpture inscriptions is ‘Ranyo Ashoka’ (King Ashoka) mentioned along with the stone portrait of Ashoka? (UPSC GS1, 2019)
(a) Kanganahalli
(b) Sanchi I
(c) Shahbazgarhi
(d) Sohgaura

Previous year UPSC Mains Question Covering similar theme:
📍The rock-cut architecture represents one of the most important sources of our knowledge of early Indian art and history. Discuss. (UPSC GS1, 2020)

📍Indian Philosophy and tradition played a significant role in conceiving and shaping the monuments and their art in India. Discuss. (UPSC GS1, 2020)

GOVT & POLITICS

Shah targets Cong in MP: Under BJP, state shed its BIMARU tag

Syllabus:

Preliminary Examination: Economic and Social Development-Sustainable Development, Poverty, Inclusion, Demographics, Social Sector Initiatives, etc.

Mains Examination: 

• General Studies II: Important aspects of governance

• General Studies III: Inclusive growth and issues arising from it.

Key Points to Ponder:

• What’s the ongoing story- Releasing a 20-year report card for Madhya Pradesh, Union Home Minister Amit Shah said in Bhopal Sunday that the state had undergone a golden period of poverty alleviation under the BJP government and that it has shed its “BIMARU” tag.

• What do BIMARU states mean, who coined the term?

• What is the role of BIMARU states in population growth?

• How has BIMARU been used over time?

• What are the alternatives to ‘BIMARU’?

• What exactly is the Aspirational Districts Program?

• For Your Information-Ashish Bose, the late demographer (someone who studies a population and changes within it), coined this term in a paper presented to then-Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi. At this point in time, the states of Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh and Uttarakhand were not separate states and were part of the grouping. BIMARU means “sickly” in Hindi. In an Economic and Political Weekly article in 2007, Bose explained, “I had coined the term…to pinpoint India’s demographic malady as far back as 1985 when I was asked to brief the then prime minister on India’s family planning programme. It is unfortunate that the BIMARU states continue to be BIMARU even today and what is worse, these states will continue to be BIMARU even after 25 years, as per the registrar general’s projections.” Bose mainly argued that from a family planning and population control perspective, these four states – with their high population growth rates – were likely to offset the gains made elsewhere in the country. The national goal of reaching a “stabilising population”, meaning where the Total Fertility Rate (TFR) of 2.1 was achieved, was more difficult to achieve, therefore. TFR estimates the number of children each woman bears in her lifetime, on average. “The good progress in family planning in the southern states cannot compensate for the slow progress of family planning in the northern states in bringing about population stabilisation. This will considerably delay the target date for population stabilisation,” Bose wrote. He cited provisional data from the 3rd round of the National Family Health Survey (NFHS) conducted in 2005-06. The BIMARU tag has been used to criticise the parties in power in these states, and also to showcase success in achieving some progress. In 2012, then Prime Minister Manmohan Singh remarked, “States that used to grow slowly in earlier periods have done much better. The average growth rate of the five poorest states exceeds the national average for the first time in any Plan period. I think we may be reaching the stage when the term “BIMARU States” can be relegated to history.”

Other Important Articles Covering the same topic:

📍PM Modi mentions ‘BIMARU’ tag in Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan: What does this term mean?

Karnataka govt to seek review of Cauvery panel decision: Shivakumar

Syllabus:

Preliminary Examination: Indian Polity and Governance-Constitution, Political System, Panchayati Raj, Public Policy, Rights Issues, etc.

Mains Examination: General Studies II: Functions and responsibilities of the Union and the States, issues and challenges pertaining to the federal structure, devolution of powers and finances up to local levels and challenges therein.

Key Points to Ponder:

• What’s the ongoing story-The Karnataka government will urge the Cauvery Water Management Authority (CWMA) to review its decision of releasing Cauvery water to Tamil Nadu. It will also petition the Supreme Court in connection with the same, deputy CM D K Shivakumar said Sunday. The government will also convene an all party meeting on Wednesday, August 23 to discuss Cauvery, Mahadayi and Krishna water sharing disputes, said Shivakumar, who also handles the Major Irrigation portfolio, told reporters.

• Why is the Cauvery water-sharing dispute resurfacing?

• Cauvery Water Management Authority (CMA)-Know in brief

• Why the Tamil Nadu government sought the Supreme Court’s intervention recently in Cauvery water-sharing?

• How is the Cauvery water being shared?

• What is the Cauvery River Dispute?

• Map Work- Cauvery River (Source, drainage pattern, tributaries, distributaries, delta etc.)

• What does the Indian Constitution say about the water?

• What is interstate water dispute?

• Interstate water dispute-give some example

• What are the major causes of conflicts over water?

• How many interstate water disputes Tribunal are there in India?

• The resolution of water dispute is governed by which act?

• Inter-State River Water Disputes (ISRWD) Act, 1956-Know the highlight

Other Important Articles Covering the same topic:

📍Cauvery water dispute: All you need to know

📍Cauvery verdict today: What is this dispute?

Previous year UPSC Prelims Question Covering similar theme:

📍Which of the following Protected Areas are located in Cauvery basin? (UPSC GS1, 2020)
1. Nagarhole National Park
2. Papikonda National Park
3. Sathyamangalam Tiger Reserve
4. Wayanad Wildlife Sanctuary
Select the correct answer using the code given below:
(a) 1 and 2 only
(b) 3 and 4 only
(c) 1, 3 and 4 only
(d) 1, 2, 3 and 4

THE EDITORIAL PAGE

The hunger challenges

Syllabus:

Preliminary Examination: Indian Polity and Governance

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:

• What’s the ongoing story-Ashok Gulati Writes: On the country’s 77th Independence Day, from the ramparts of the historic Red Fort in Delhi, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said that in the last five years, from 2015-16 to 2019-21, his government lifted 135 million people out of poverty. This is a commendable achievement based on the Multi-dimensional Poverty Index (MDPI) prepared by the NITI Aayog. The UNDP had earlier estimated that India lifted 415 million people out of poverty (MDPI) over the period 2005-06 to 2019-21. I think this has been the biggest lift-off so far in independent India’s history.

• What is the Multidimensional Poverty Index (MPI), and how does it estimate poverty?

• National Multidimensional Poverty Index: A Progress Review 2023-What are the key takeaways?

• MPI uses three dimensions and ten indicators-Know in detail the dimensions, indicators, deprivation cutoffs, and weights of the global Multidimensional Poverty Index

• The year 1991 was a watershed moment in India’s economic history-Why?

• “India seems to be on track to almost abolish poverty in the next five to 10 years”-Do you agree with the author?

• Malnutrition and hunger-Connect the dots

• How World Health Organisation (WHO) defines ‘Malnutrition’ in Children?

• What is wasting and stunting?

• What are the Various forms of malnutrition?

• Salient features of the National Food Security Act, 2013

• What is National Food Security Act, 2013 (NFSA) eligibility?

• What Schedule II of the National Food Security Act says?

• The National Family Health Survey-5 (NFHS-5) on malnutrition in children-know in detail

• Who are the beneficiaries under the Integrated Child Development Service (ICDS) Scheme?

• For Your Information-According to the author, “but malnutrition is still on the table, especially amongst children below the age of five. As per NFHS-5 (2019-21), 32 per cent of children were underweight, 35 per cent stunted, and 19 per cent wasted. Although India made reasonably good progress in reducing infant mortality from 57 per 1,000 in 2005-06 to 35 per 1,000 in 2019-21, the progress on other indicators of malnutrition is not very satisfactory. This is a real challenge for the Modi government”. On top of this, climate change and the increasing frequency of extreme weather events, from heat waves to flash floods, pose a big challenge not only to India’s food system but also to poverty alleviation – gains could reverse with these shocks.

• How can one deal with all these challenges that relate to a large segment of the population at the bottom of the economic pyramid?

• Way Ahead-The upshot of all this for policymakers is the following: Incentivise and improve the access and quality of education for women through liberal scholarships, especially after 10th grade to Master’s level. This can give high returns, limiting family size and contributing significantly to the nation’s growth story. Next focus on improving productivity in agriculture while making food more nutritious and the food system more climate resilient. This will require doubling or even tripling R&D expenditures in agriculture to make abundant food available at reasonably competitive prices. Putting export controls and stocking limits to push prices down is no solution. These are defunct policies of the Socialist Raj of the 1960s when India did not have foreign exchange to buy food. The Punjab Agriculture University which played a yeoman’s role in spreading the Green Revolution, and still ranks at the top, can be roped in to usher in a new revolution of sustainable growth and more nutritious food in agriculture.

Other Important Articles Covering the same topic:

📍The worsening hunger problem of India’s poor

EXPLAINED

WHY HURRICANE HILARY, HEADING TOWARDS CALIFORNIA, IS A RARESTORM

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 and in flora and fauna and the effects of such changes.

Key Points to Ponder:

• What’s the ongoing story- The United States sees its fair share of hurricanes. As per the country’s National Weather Service (NWS), in an average 3-year period, roughly five hurricanes strike the US coastline – but never in the west coast. This is why Hurricane Hilary, which is currently racing towards Southern California and Mexico, is so out of the ordinary. Though California, in the past, has felt the effects of hurricanes, they typically remain well offshore and subside to become tropical storms by the time they hit they make landfall.

• Why hurricane Hilary is rare and unprecedented in the modern record?

• Why this is so rare

• For Your Information-The primary reason why the Pacific coast seldom sees such tropical storms and hurricanes is the nature of the ocean itself. As per NWS, the first condition for the formation of hurricanes is that ocean waters must be above 26 degrees Celsius. Below this threshold temperature, hurricanes will not form or will weaken rapidly once they move over water below this threshold. While high temperatures are common during hurricane season along the US east coast, the west coast is much colder. In the Atlantic, warm, equatorial waters are transported north to higher latitudes along the US coast via the Gulf Stream but along the west coast, in the Pacific, cold current steers colder water from higher latitudes toward equatorial regions. This makes hurricanes highly unlikely. While high temperatures are common during hurricane season along the US east coast, the west coast is much colder. In the Atlantic, warm, equatorial waters are transported north to higher latitudes along the US coast via the Gulf Stream but along the west coast, in the Pacific, cold current steers colder water from higher latitudes toward equatorial regions. This makes hurricanes highly unlikely. Another factor is the vertical wind shear — a term used to describe the change in wind speed as one travels up from the Earth’s surface — especially in the upper level of the atmosphere. It is an important ingredient in formation of hurricanes as they can extend up to 16 km into the atmosphere. Hurricanes can’t emerge if the upper level winds are strong as they “destroy the storms structure by displacing the warm temperatures above the eye and limiting the vertical accent of air parcels,” according to the NWS. Usually, wind shear in the eastern Pacific is much stronger than the Gulf of Mexico, causing less frequent hurricanes along the western coast.
Lastly, the rarity of west coast hurricanes is the influence of wind steering patterns. Trade winds play a crucial role in directing hurricanes towards the east coast. The same winds divert them away from the west coast. Hurricanes originating in the eastern Pacific, often near the central Mexico coastline, generally follow a west-northwest trajectory that take them away from the coast.

• Is climate change the culprit?

• Typhoons, hurricanes, tornados, willy-willies and tropical cyclones-Know the difference

Other Important Articles Covering the same topic:

📍Climate change is altering the colour of the oceans: What a new study says

For any queries and feedback, contact priya.shukla@indianexpress.com
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