Important topics and their relevance in UPSC CSE exam for February 23, 2023. If you missed the February 22, 2023 UPSC key from the Indian Express, read it here FRONT PAGE First since stand-off, Delhi envoy travels to Beijing for border talks Syllabus: Preliminary Examination: Current events of national and international importance. Mains Examination: General Studies II: India and its neighborhood- relations. Key Points to Ponder: • What’s the ongoing story- For the first time since the India-China border stand-off began in 2020, India’s top official in the Ministry of External Affairs dealing with China travelled to Beijing for the 26th meeting of the Working Mechanism for Consultation & Coordination on India-China Border Affairs (WMCC). This was the first in-person WMCC meeting since the 14th meeting held in July 2019. • What is the working mechanism for consultation and coordination? • For Your Information-The “Working Mechanism for Consultation & Coordination on India-China Border Affairs (WMCC)” was established in January 2012 after border talks between then National Security Adviser (NSA) Shivshankar Menon and his Chinese counterpart Dai Bingguo, and is headed by joint secretary-level officials from both sides. They are entrusted to help the special representative for boundary talks. The last meeting of the WMCC took place in October last year, a month after the disengagement at the Gogra-Hot Springs. • ‘New Delhi’s move to send in a top official to Beijing, albeit for the border talks is certainly a significant step’-Discuss further • How are relations between China and India currently? • ‘China-India relations have been worse over recent months. Along their contentious border in the Himalayan area, the two nations are at odds with one another’-Discuss Other Important Articles Covering the same topic: 📍Chinese order of battle in Aksai Chin: What are we up against? 📍Understanding Sino-Indian border issues: An analysis of incidents reported in the Indian media Previous Year Mains Questions Based on Similar theme: 📍With respect to the South China sea, maritime territorial disputes and rising tension affaire the need for safeguarding maritime security to ensure freedom of navigation and ever flight throughout the region. In this context, discuss the bilateral issues between India and China. (UPSC GS2 Mains, 2014) 📍’China is using its economic relations and positive trade surplus as tools to develop potential military power status in Asia’, In the light of this statement, discuss its impact on India as her neighbour. (UPSC GS2 Mains, 2017) Kyiv seeks Delhi support for UN peace resolution Syllabus: Preliminary Examination: Current events of national and international importance. Mains Examination: General Studies II: Effect of policies and politics of developed and developing countries on India’s interests Key Points to Ponder: • What’s the ongoing story-With Friday marking one year of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Kyiv has reached out to Delhi for support on a resolution at the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) underlining the urgency to find “lasting peace” in the country. The call for support was made by Andriy Yermak, who heads the office of Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, in a phone conversation with National Security Advisor Ajit Doval. The move comes less than two weeks after Doval met Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow. • Russia-Ukraine Crisis and India-Connect the dots • What are the key takeaways from the ongoing Ukraine crisis? • Russia and Ukraine-Historic relations • Know about 1991 Crimean sovereignty referendum • India’s stand in Current Ukraine Crisis-Discuss • How India can help US and Russia to maintain ‘Peace’ in this Conflict? • Understand the quote- “war (or the threat of war) is a continuation of politics (by other means)”. • How has India responded to international crises previously? • Role of United Nations in Ukraine-Russia Crisis-Analyse • Ukraine-Russia War-Try to understand the changing dynamics in diplomatic relations and its impact on India Other Important Articles Covering the same topic: 📍One year of war in Ukraine: How West, Russia are placed; India’s concerns EXPRESS NETWORK Noted dancer Kanak Rele, who gave academic status to Mohiniyattam, dies Syllabus: Preliminary Examination: Current events of national and international importance and 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- Known as one of India’s most inventive classical dancers and pioneering dance educationists, Mohiniyattam exponent Kanak Rele, who played a significant role in bringing a systematic structure, academic veracity and much currency to Mohiniyattam, besides propagating female roles in Kathakali, died morning in Mumbai. She was 85. Rele, conferred with the Padma Bhushan in 2013, is survived by husband Yatindra Rele, son Rahul, daughter-in-law and Bharatanatyam exponent Uma, and two grandchildren. • Personality in News- Kanak Rele • Mohiniyattam dance is performed in which state? • Indian classical dance forms-Know in detail • There exists eight classical dance forms in India-Know them • Mohiniyattam and Bharatnatyam-how they are different from each other? • What are the key features of Mohiniyattam • Mohiniyattam generally narrates the story of the feminine dance of Vishnu-True or false Other Important Articles Covering the same topic: 📍Mohiniattam: A unique method to make a lesser known classical dance form popular Previous Year prelims Questions Based on Similar theme: 📍Consider the following pairs (Please refer Prelims GS-1 2014 question Paper for complete question) a) Garba: Gujarat b) Mohiniyattam: Odisha c) Yakshagana: Karnataka 📍In the context of cultural history of India, a pose in dance and dramatics called ‘Tribhanga’ has been a favourite of Indian artists from ancient times till today. Which one of the following statements best describes this pose? (Please refer Prelims GS-1 2013 question Paper for complete question) THE EDITORIAL PAGE Giving data its due Syllabus: Preliminary Examination: Current events of national and international importance Main 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-Parameswaran Iyer and V Anantha Nageswaran writes: The oft-used phrase “data is the new oil” has almost become a cliché. The world’s ability to generate data is now increasing exponentially. Every minute, servers log information on all aspects of society, from consumer and industry behaviour to the delivery of government programmes. In many respects, the Government of India is not only leading this drive but also creating new roadmaps by enabling the development of a rich data ecosystem. • In May 2022, the NITI Aayog, in collaboration with ministries and state governments, endeavoured to fill this need by launching a transformational open data platform called the National Data and Analytics Platform (NDAP)-What is National Data and Analytics Platform (NDAP)? • Data is the new oil-Decode • Why does data matter? • What is Data Protection? • What is personal data? • What is non-personal data? • Personal data and Non-personal data-compare • Do You Know-National Data and Analytics Platform aims to democratize access to public government data by making data accessible, interoperable, interactive, and available on a user-friendly platform. It hosts foundational datasets from various government agencies, presents them coherently, and provides tools for analytics and visualization. This public launch follows a beta release of the platform in August 2021 that had provided access to a limited number of users for testing and feedback. NDAP follows a use-case based approach to ensure that the datasets hosted on the platform are tailored to the needs of data users from government, academia, journalism, civil society, and the private sector. All datasets are standardized to a common schema, which makes it easy to merge datasets and do cross-sectoral analysis. Other Important Articles Covering the same topic: 📍How data can empower MPs to serve people better THE IDEAS PAGE Storage hurdle on net zero track Syllabus: Preliminary Examination: General issues on Environmental ecology, Bio-diversity and Climate Change - that do not require subject specialization. Mains Examination: General Studies III: Conservation, environmental pollution and degradation, environmental impact assessment. Key Points to Ponder: • What’s the ongoing story- Somit Dasgupta Writes: India’s push towards decarbonisation has to be backed with adequate storage facilities, without which it clearly cannot go forward beyond a point. This is because of two reasons. The first is that the storage will handle the intermittency problem (due to sudden cloud cover or drop in wind velocity) of renewables. Second, coal-based generation cannot be phased out till such time as we can rely on stored energy to provide electricity in the non-solar hours. • What percentage of India's power is renewable? • “India’s push towards decarbonisation has to be backed with adequate storage facilities, without which it clearly cannot go forward beyond a point”-Analyse • “India’s growth in renewable capacity is likely to hit a roadblock after some time due to inadequate storage capacity”-Elaborate further • “The lack of storage capacity is likely to affect our resolve to go net zero by 2070 unless battery costs go down in the years to come”-Critically Analyse India’s storage capacity Other Important Articles Covering the same topic: 📍Explained: Reading India’s announcement on climate targets EXPLAINED The Feed Back Unit case, in which Sisodia can now be prosecuted Syllabus: Preliminary Examination: Current events of national and international importance Mains Examination: General Studies II: Important aspects of governance, transparency and accountability, e-governance applications, models, successes, limitations, and potential; citizens charters, transparency & accountability and institutional and other measures Key Points to Ponder: • What’s the ongoing story-The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) has given the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) its nod to prosecute Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia in a prevention of corruption case related to a ‘Feed Back Unit’ (FBU) created in 2015. The CBI had sought sanction to prosecute Sisodia, who presides over the Delhi government’s vigilance department. It was under this department that the ‘extra-constitutional, extra-judicial Intelligence Agency’ manned by retired intelligence, police and paramilitary officials armed with hidden cameras to gather ‘actionable feedback’ on the goings-on in government departments – and ‘do trap cases’ where necessary – came up. • What is the Feed Back Unit; is it still operational? • For Your Information- Feed Back Unit was setup in September 2015 with approval from the Delhi Cabinet of Ministers, the ‘Feed Back Unit’ was tasked with gathering ‘relevant information and actionable feedback’ regarding the working of government departments, autonomous bodies, institutions and entities under the jurisdiction of the Delhi government. Its mandate also included conducting sting operations, or ‘trap cases’, by its personnel, dubbed intelligence ‘assets’, on ‘targets’ or subjects – mainly individuals – under the Secretary of the Vigilance department but the ‘direct control of the Chief Minister’s Office.’ • What was the organizational setup of the FBU? • What were the finances of the FBU like? • What is the Secret Service Fund? • What work did the FBU undertake? • What are the charges against the FBU? Other Important Articles Covering the same topic: 📍BJP demands Manish Sisodia’s immediate arrest in ‘snooping case’; he calls case false The higher pension options Syllabus: Preliminary Examination: Economic and Social Development-Sustainable Development, Poverty, Inclusion, Demographics, Social Sector Initiatives, etc. 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-The Employees’ Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) has issued guidelines to allow a section of its older members to opt for higher pension under the Employees’ Pension Scheme (EPS). The EPFO instructions came on Monday, 12 days before the end of the four-month window allowed to employees by the Supreme Court in its November 4, 2022 ruling that upheld the Employees’ Pension (Amendment) Scheme, 2014. • What is Employees’ Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO)? • Employees now get a new set of instructions from the EPFO. What specifically is included in the instruction manual? • What is the pension structure that exists currently? • Who gets pension under the EPS, and how much? • What were the 2014 amendments in EPS? • What did the Supreme Court say in its November 2022 judgment? • What has the EPFO said in its February 20 circular? • What does this mean for EPFO and members of EPS? • For Your Information-AN employee and an employer can together sign up in the coming days requesting the EPFO to deduct 8.33 per cent of the higher monthly actual salary (as against the ceiling of Rs 15,000) towards the Employees’ Pension Scheme, ensuring larger accumulation towards pension over their work life. • What is Social Security to employees? • What is the need of Social Security to employees? • What are the famous social security schemes in India? Other Important Articles Covering the same topic: 📍EPFO allows employees to now opt for higher pension What is a ‘corrupt practice’ under representation of the people act, what the supreme court has said Syllabus: Preliminary Examination: Indian Polity and Governance-Constitution, Political System, Panchayati Raj, Public Policy, Rights Issues, etc. Mains Examination: General Studies II: Salient features of the Representation of People’s Act. Key Points to Ponder: • What’s the ongoing story-On February 20, the Supreme Court observed that no one in India votes for a candidate based on their educational qualifications and, thus providing false information about an electoral candidate’s qualifications cannot be considered a “corrupt practice” under Sections 123 (2) and Section 123 (4) of the Representation of People’s Act, 1951. • What happened in the present case? • What are ‘corrupt practices’ under the RPA, 1951? • What practices has the court held as corrupt practices in the past? Other Important Articles Covering the same topic: 📍Fine-tuning democracy Seattle bans caste discrimination: the law and its significance Syllabus: Preliminary Examination: Current events of national and international importance. Mains Examination: General Studies II: Effect of policies and politics of developed and developing countries on India’s interests, Indian diaspora. Key Points to Ponder: • What’s the ongoing story-Seattle became the first US city to outlaw caste discrimination on Tuesday (February 21), after its local council voted to add caste to the city’s anti-discrimination laws, reported Reuters. The resolution was moved by Kshama Sawant, Seattle City council member and upper-caste Hindu, and was approved by the Council by six to one vote. “It’s official: our movement has won a historic, first-in-the-nation ban on caste discrimination in Seattle! Now we need to build a movement to spread this victory around the country,” tweeted Sawant after the resolution was passed. • What exactly does the resolution say? • What would this mean? • Just why exactly are some groups opposing the resolution? • Why this move? Why now? Other Important Articles Covering the same topic: 📍In first for a US city, Seattle bans caste discrimination For any queries and feedback, contact priya.shukla@indianexpress.com The UPSC KEY Indian Express is now on Telegram. Click here to join our channel and stay updated with the latest Updates.
