🚨 Attention: UPSC Key is now all 7 Days a Week!🚨 Important topics and their relevance in UPSC CSE exam for May 14, 2024. If you missed the May 13th, 2024 UPSC CSE exam key from the Indian Express, read it here. 🚨 The Indian Express UPSC Essentials brings to you the May edition of its monthly magazine. Click Here to read. Share your views and suggestions in the comment box or at manas.srivastava@indianexpress.com🚨 Explained India’s stakes in Chabahar UPSC Syllabus: Preliminary Examination: Current events of national and international importance. Mains Examination: GS-II: Bilateral, regional and global groupings and agreements involving India and/or affecting India’s interests. What’s the ongoing story- Shubhajit Roy writes- “India and Iran signed a 10-year contract on Monday for the operation of a terminal at the strategically important Chabahar port in Iran.” Prerequisites: — What is the significance of Chabahar Port? — What is the International North-South Transport Corridor (INSTC)? — What is the Belt and Road Initiative? — Map Work: Iran, Chabahar Port, Central Asian countries, Shahid Kalantari Port, Shahid Beheshti Port, Gwadar Port, Persian Gulf, Afghanistan, Delaram, Zaranj, Caspian Sea, Bandar Abbas, Bandar-e-Anzali, Astrakhan. Key takeaways: — “Chabahar is a deep water port in Iran’s Sistan-Baluchistan province. It is the Iranian port that is the closest to India, and is located in the open sea, providing easy and secure access for large cargo ships.” — The contract was signed between India Ports Global Ltd (IPGL) and Ports & Maritime Organisation of Iran (PMO) in Tehran. — “Modern Chabahar came into being in the 1970s, and Tehran realised the strategic importance of the port during the Iran-Iraq war of the 1980s.” — “In January 2003, President Khatami and then Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee signed off on an ambitious roadmap of strategic cooperation. Among the key projects the two countries agreed on was Chabahar, which held the potential to link South Asia with the Persian Gulf, Afghanistan, Central Asia, and Europe.” — “The New Delhi Declaration signed by the two leaders recognised that the countries’ “growing strategic convergence need[ed] to be underpinned with a strong economic relationship”. For India, Chabahar held immense strategic and economic significance, as it provided a route to reach Afghanistan — land access to which had been blocked by a hostile Pakistan.” — “IPGL has been operating Chabahar port through its wholly owned subsidiary, India Ports Global Chabahar Free Zone (IPGCFZ), since December 24, 2018.” — “The port has also facilitated the supply of humanitarian assistance, especially during the Covid-19 pandemic.” — “With the operationalisation of the long-term investment, Chabahar could potentially become an important hub to connect India with the landlocked countries of Central Asia and Afghanistan. However, to better realise its commercial and strategic potential, the development of the port must be integrated with the larger connectivity project of the INSTC.” — The INSTC, which Russia, India, and Iran initiated, is a multi-modal transportation route envisaged to link the Indian Ocean and Persian Gulf to the Caspian Sea via Iran, and onward to northern Europe via St Petersburg in Russia. — “The INSTC envisages the movement of goods from Mumbai to Bandar Abbas in Iran by sea; from Bandar Abbas to Bandar-e-Anzali, an Iranian port on the Caspian Sea, by road; from Bandar-e-Anzali to Astrakhan, a Caspian port in the Russian Federation by ship across the Caspian Sea; and onward to other parts of the Russian Federation and Europe by rail.” Points to Ponder: — India and Iran bilateral relations: know in detail — What is the current state of economic relations between India and Iran? — What is the strategic importance of Iran for India? — What are the major issues between Indo-Iranian Ties? Post Read Question: Prelims What is the importance of developing Chabahar Port by India? (UPSC CSE 2017) (a) India’s trade with African countries will enormously increase. (b) India’s relations with oil-producing Arab countries will be strengthened. (c) India will not depend on Pakistan for access to Afghanistan and Central Asia. (d) Pakistan will facilitate and protect the installation of a gas pipeline between Iraq and India. Mains “INSTC and Chabahar Port will complement each other for optimising Indian connectivity with Russia and Eurasia”. Analyse. Other Important Articles Covering the same topic: The history of Iran’s Chabahar port, and its imperative for India Xenotransplantation UPSC Syllabus: Preliminary Examination: General Science Mains Examination: GS-III: Science and Technology- developments and their applications and effects in everyday life. What’s the ongoing story- The first recipient of a modified pig kidney transplant passed away on Saturday (May 11), around two months after the surgery was carried out. The family members of 62-year-old Richard “Rick” Slayman and the Massachusetts General Hospital, where the procedure was performed, did not link the transplant operation to his death. Prerequisites: — What do you understand by the term “genetic modification”? — What is CRISPR Cas9 technology? Key takeaways: — According to the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA), “Xenotransplantation is any procedure that involves the transplantation, implantation or infusion into a human recipient of either (a) live cells, tissues, or organs from a nonhuman animal source, or (b) human body fluids, cells, tissues or organs that have had ex vivo contact with live nonhuman animal cells, tissues or organs.” — Essentially, it is the use of animal cells and organs to heal humans. Xenotransplantation involving the heart was first tried in humans in the 1980s. The need for such a procedure was felt because of the significant gap between the number of transplantations needed by patients and the availability of donor organs. — In practice, the actual surgery may not be very different from a regular organ transplant. But, the selected animal organ has to undergo genetic modifications, so the human body does not reject it. — Pig heart valves have been used for replacing damaged valves in humans for over 50 years now. The pig’s anatomical and physiological parameters are similar to that of humans, and the breeding of pigs in farms is widespread and cost-effective. — Also, many varieties of pig breeds are farmed, which provides an opportunity for the size of the harvested organs to be matched with the specific needs of the human recipient. — In January 2022, the first xenotransplantation of a genetically-modified pig heart was done. — Complications in xenotransplantation- First, it has to be ensured that the body does not reject the organ. Secondly, there is the possibility of cross-species infection by retroviruses, “which may be latent and lead to disease years after infection.” Points to Ponder: — What is the significance of xenotransplantation? — What are the issues in xenotransplantation? — What is the difference between genome editing and genetic modification? Post Read Question: Prelims What is Cas9 protein that is often mentioned in news? (UPSC CSE 2019) (a) A molecular scissors used in targeted gene editing (b) A biosensor used in the accurate detection of pathogens in patients (c) A gene that makes plants pest-resistant (d) A herbicidal substance synthesized in genetically modified crops Mains What are the research and developmental achievements in applied biotechnology? How will these achievements help to uplift the poorer sections of society? (UPSC CSE 2021) Other Important Articles Covering the same topic: Explained: What is xenotransplantation, the process of using an animal’s organ to keep a human alive? Around a rocky exoplanet, space telescope finds atmosphere UPSC Syllabus: Preliminary Examination: General Science and Geography Mains Examination: GS-I, GS-III: Geography, Awareness in the fields of IT, space, computers, robotics, nano-technology, bio-technology and issues related to intellectual property rights. What’s the ongoing story- The James Web Space Telescope (JWST) has detected evidence of an atmosphere around exoplanet 55 Cancri e, one of the most studied planets outside the solar system. Prerequisites: — What is ‘55 Cancri e’? — What are exoplanets? — Read about the JWST and Earth's atmosphere. Key takeaways: — The exoplanet which is 41 light years away, orbits a Sun-like star and is twice Earth’s radius, and eight times as heavy. — 55 Cancri e was discovered in 2004. At the time scientist thought that it was a gas giant, similar to Jupiter or Saturn. But in 2011, researchers found that it is a lot smaller and denser than a gas giant, meaning it is a rocky exoplanet, much like the Earth. — In 2016, scientists noticed that 55 Cancri e was cooler than what they expected for a planet so close to its star- its dayside is still over 1,500 degrees celsius- indicating that it probably has an atmosphere. — The JSWT data indicate that 55 Cancri e atmosphere is probably rich in carbon dioxide or carbon monoxide and has a thickness that is “up to a few per cent’ of the planet’s radius. — The discovery can have deep implications. Being able to spot such atmospheres on Earth-like planets is an important step in the search for life beyond the solar system. — While 55 Cancri e cannot currently support life as we know it, the presence of an atmosphere provides clues regarding Earth's distant past, when it too was hot and covered with magma oceans. For Your Information: — NASA’s James Webb Telescope: The telescope has been in the works for years. NASA led its development with the European Space Agency (ESA) and the Canadian Space Agency. It was launched aboard a rocket on December 25, 2021. Points to Ponder: — What is the significance of the James Webb telescope? — What are the composition and layers of Earth's atmosphere? — What is the significance of the atmosphere? Post Read Question: Which of the following pairs is/are correctly matched? (UPSC CSE 2014) Spacecraft Purpose Cassini-Huygens : Orbiting the Venus and transmitting data to the Earth Messenger : Mapping and investigating the Mercury Voyager 1 and 2 : Exploring the outer solar system Select the correct answer using the code given below: (a) 1 only (b) 2 and 3 only (c) 1 and 3 only (d) 1, 2 and 3 Other Important Articles Covering the same topic: Explained: NASA’s Webb Telescope Pain from Pak’s economic crisis: why are traders protesting in PoK UPSC Syllabus: Preliminary Examination: Current events of national and international importance. Mains Examination: GS-II: India and its neighbourhood- relations. What’s the ongoing story- Protestors in Pakistan occupied Kashmir (PoK) are raising their voices against the rising costs of food, fuel, and utilities, and a host of other problems that plague the region. Prerequisites: — What is PoK? — What are the major products traded between India and Pakistan? — What Indian products are exported to Pakistan? — What products are imported from Pakistan? Key takeaways: — Pakistan’s economic crisis and high inflation have resulted in hardships for its people, and a section of traders have been additionally hit by the stopping of trade with India. — Pakistan’s economy has been witnessing extremely high inflation and dismal economic growth for more than two years due to rising energy costs. Consumer inflation has been above 20% since May 2022, and touched 38% in May 2023, the Dawn newspaper reported. — Leaders in PoK have been protesting alleged discrimination by the government in Islamabad in the distribution of power to the area. — Traders in PoK were hit hard after India raised customs duty to 200% on Pakistani products such as dry dates, rock salt, cement, and gypsum following the Pulwama terror attack of February 2019. As a result, Pakistan’s exports to India fell from an average of $45 million per month in 2018 to only $2.5 million per month between March and July 2019, Dawn reported. — India-Pakistan trade has shrunk to a low of about $2 billion annually over the last five years, a small fraction of the $37 billion trade potential estimated by the World Bank. — Pakistan’s foreign exchange reserves have fallen drastically ever since global food and fuel prices rose in the aftermath of the Russia-Ukraine war. — Pakistan’s largely aid-dependent economy has an underdeveloped private sector, and its stock market has shown very little growth over the years. The country’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) shrank by 0.17% during FY23. Points to Ponder: — Why was the India-Pakistan trade paused? — What is the current status of India-Pakistan trade ties? — What is the history of India-Pakistan relations? — What are the areas of cooperation and conflict between India and Pakistan? Post Read Question: “Increasing cross-border terrorist attacks in India and growing interference in the internal affairs of several member-states by Pakistan are not conducive for the future of SAARC (South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation).” Explain with suitable. (2016) Other Important Articles Covering the same topic: Explained: PoK and Gilgit Baltistan, parts of J&K under Pak occupation The Editorial Page Pause and Pivot UPSC Syllabus: Preliminary Examination: Economy Mains Examination: GS-III: Indian Economy and issues relating to planning, mobilisation of resources, growth, development and employment. What’s the ongoing story- Retail inflation, as measured by the consumer price index, eased marginally to 4.83 per cent in April, down from 4.85 per cent in March, as per data released by the National Statistical Office. The decline was driven, in part, by a softening of prices in the fuel and light segment. Core inflation remained subdued, while food inflation edged upwards to 8.7 per cent, from 8.52 per cent the month before. At a time when real interest rates are at levels that can be considered as “excessive”, this continuing divergence between food and core inflation presents a dilemma for the monetary policy committee. Prerequisites: — What is retail inflation? — What is the difference between food and core inflation? — What is monetary policy? — Read about the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC), the National Statistical Office, the consumer price index, and the wholesale price index. Key takeaways: — The disaggregated data shows that within the food category, inflation remained elevated across several segments such as cereals, meat and fish, eggs, vegetables and pulses. There are, however, expectations of a good rainfall season this year. This would bode well for agricultural production, and also help keep a lid on prices. — In the non-food category, inflation remained subdued in most of the segments such as clothing and footwear, household goods and services, recreation and amusement. The uncertainty over the trajectory of food inflation weighs heavily on the MPC. — RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das had said that the MPC must remain vigilant “as uncertainties in food prices continue to pose challenges.” A recent study by economists at the RBI has noted that “high food and fuel inflation can get generalised in the system through inflation expectations,” and that if inflation expectations are not anchored then the “impact of a food prices shock may not be transitory”. — Central banks in major developed economies across the world are yet to begin cutting rates. However, recent events point towards the possibility of a divergence in policy across these countries. Points to Ponder: — What are the causes of inflation? — What are the implications of rising inflation? — What are the various methods for containing inflation? — What are the different instruments of Monetary Policy — What are the RBI's policy stances? Post Read Question: Consider the following statements: (UPSC CSE 2020) 1. The weightage of food in Consumer Price Index (CPI) is higher than that in Wholesale Price Index (WPI). 2. The WPI does not capture changes in the prices of services, which CPI does. 3. Reserve Bank of India has now adopted WPI as its key measure of inflation and to decide on changing the key policy rates. Which of the statements given above is/are correct? (a) 1 and 2 only (b) 2 only (c) 3 only (d) 1, 2 and 3 Other Important Articles Covering the same topic: Wholesale price inflation rises to 1.26% in April Real, fake or really fake UPSC Syllabus: Preliminary Examination: Current events of national and international importance, Science and Technology Mains Examination: GS-I, GS-III: Science and Technology- developments and their applications and effects in everyday life, society. What’s the ongoing story- Nishant Shah writes- “The biggest change that deepfakes have introduced is not about the nature of information but about our capability to trust our own judgement of this information. It is important to note that when faced with deepfakes, we are not just being fooled. That would have been an easier thing to deal with…” Prerequisites: — What is deepfake? — What is the Centre’s advisory to social media platforms over deepfakes? Key takeaways: — “With deepfakes, the focus is often on managing the production, circulation and reception of this information. But the real attention has to be given to an extraordinary condition that we have naturalised over time: A condition where we are unable to trust our own decision on whether something is true or not.” — “Deepfakes are obviously sophisticated technological wizardry that allow for non-real things to claim reality. However, what is different in this moment from older histories of information falsification is that we have lost the assurance that what we believe is true.” — “ The emergence of social media as the default platform for consuming information has resulted in two things that have shaken our self-assurance that if we see it, we can believe it. One, is context collapse…..when the context of our information collapses, we can no longer know how to trust that information and it shakes our belief that we have the ability to discern the fake from the not fake.” — “The second thing that we have normalised with digital platforms is information overload. We are so saturated with too much information that we have given up trying to find information on our own terms.” — “As long as we keep on accepting the collapse of context and information overload as our default modes of social media and digital engagement, no amount of regulation is going to stop the circulation of deepfakes.” Points to Ponder: — What are the applications of deepfake technology? — Why the global and local regulation of deepfake technology must be expedited? — What are the implications of misuse of deepfakes? — What measures should be taken to address the menace of Deepfakes? Post Read Question: Prelims With reference to deepfakes, consider the following statements: 1. Deepfakes directly violate the fundamental right to privacy under Article 21 of the Constitution. 2. It is called deepfakes because they use deep learning technology, a branch of machine learning that applies neural net simulation to massive data sets, to create fake content. Which of the statements given above is/are not correct? (a) Only 1 (b) Only 2 (c) Both 1 and 2 (d) Neither 1 Nor 2 Mains What is deepfake and how can it be spotted? What is the Centre’s advisory to social media platforms over deepfakes? Other Important Articles Covering the same topic: Explained: What is deepfake? The Ideas Page The employment stories UPSC Syllabus: Preliminary Examination: Economy Mains Examination: GS-I, GS-III: Indian Economy and issues relating to planning, mobilisation of resources, growth, development and employment, Society and social justice. What’s the ongoing story- Laveesh Bhandari, Amaresh Dubey writes- “Employment numbers have always been surrounded by many disagreements; perhaps more so in recent times as greater research, rising complexity of work and economy, and poor data made consensus and alignment difficult. The problem, at least in the public discourse, is that the ups or downs in employment figures are frequently and wrongly accompanied by opinions rather than robust research that can identify the underlying causality.” Prerequisites: — What is principal employment? — What is Unemployment? What are the different types of unemployment? — What do you understand by the term “jobless growth”? Key takeaways: — “Since 1983 for every sub-period under consideration, principal employment has grown. There has been no period that has seen any jobless growth. Principal employment measures those working for the bulk of the year as opposed to subsidiary employment, which is predominantly part-time, of shorter duration and is in addition to the principal activity of a person.” — “In that period (1983 to 2023), the fastest increase in employment has been from 2017-18 to 2022-23 when about 80 million additional employment was reported. This translates to about 3.3 per cent growth annually, much higher than population growth during the period. We also find that this growth is very well spread — rural and urban sectors, manufacturing, agriculture, construction and services, age segments, women, etc.” — “Interestingly, the growth has been highest for women during this period, by more than 8 per cent annually. Also, we find that older citizens (age 60 plus) are entering employed status in larger numbers, at about 4.5 per cent annually.” — “With falling fertility rates, improved access to water, energy, etc., those involved in care- and home-related work now have greater flexibility if they choose to work.” — “Among economic sectors, though manufacturing and construction grew well at 3.4 and 5.9 per cent annually, higher growth has been achieved in earlier years as well. However, the greatest success has been in agriculture and services.” — “We also find a relative stagnation in aggregate wages and salaries in recent years.” — “Whether it is government welfare programmes, changing economic structure, changing demographic structure, or distress that is causing the surge in employment requires more careful analysis.” Points to Ponder: — What are the major issues related to unemployment in India. — What are the different methods of measuring unemployment? — What are the main causes of unemployment in India? — What have been some of the measures or policy initiatives taken to control unemployment? — What can be some remedies to address unemployment? — How is skill education or skill development and employment connected? Post Read Question: Most of the unemployment in India is structural in nature. Examine the methodology adopted to compute unemployment in the country and suggest improvements. (UPSC CSE 2023) Other Important Articles Covering the same topic: Why youth unemployment is India’s biggest challenge Subscribe to our UPSC newsletter and stay updated with the news cues from the past week.
