UPSC Key-June 13, 2022: Why and What to know about ‘Article 80 of the Constitution’ to ‘Ramsay Hunt Syndrome’ for UPSC CSE?

14 of 15 states had asked for higher MSP for paddy than what Centre announced

Syllabus:

Preliminary Examination: Economic and Social Development

Mains Examination: General Studies III: Issues related to direct and indirect farm subsidies and minimum support prices

Key Points to Ponder:

• Paddy is kharif or Rabi crop?

• Which is the main paddy growing states in India?

• Kharif and Rabi Crops-Compare and Contrast

• The Commission for Agricultural Costs & Prices (CACP)-Know in detail

• Why the Central Government hiked Kharif MSP 4-9% for 2022-23 season?

• Why some states are asking for a higher MSP than the one declared by the Union government?

• How MSP for any crop is decided? What are the determinants of MSP?

• Which all Crops are covered by MSPs?

• What do you understand by the term ‘comprehensive cost of production of a crop’?

• Minimum support price (MSP) and effectiveness of MSP implementation-Connect the dots

• Legal backing for minimum support prices (MSP)-Know in detail

• “Right to MSP”-is it possible to implement and if not, then what are the issues and Challenges?

• MSP and Doubling Farmers Income-How they are interconnected?

• Recommendation of Ashok Dalwai Committee and M. S. Swaminathan Committee-Key Highlights

• The Commission for Agricultural Costs & Prices (CACP)-Know in Detail

• The Commission for Agricultural Costs & Prices (CACP) and Minimum support prices (MSP)-Connect the dots

• How Government fix MSPs of crops before every planting season?

Other Important Articles Covering the same topic:

📍Swaminathan Report: National Commission on Farmers

📍MSP is not the way to increase farmers’ income

📍Explained: The cost of guaranteed minimum support price (MSP)

Question mark on Russia inputs, India evaluates French push at Jaitapur

Syllabus:

Preliminary Examination: Current events of national and international importance and General Science

Mains Examination: General Studies III: Science and Technology- developments and their applications and effects in everyday life.

Key Points to Ponder:

• A nuclear reactor is a device used to initiate and control a fission nuclear chain reaction or nuclear fusion reactions-True or False?

• How does a nuclear reactor work?

• What are the Components of a nuclear reactor?

• What are the types of nuclear reactor?

• Pressurised water reactor (PWR) and Boiling water reactor (BWR)-Compare and Contrast

• What is European Pressurized Water Reactor?

• How European Pressurized Water Reactor is different from Pressurised water reactor (PWR)?

• Jaitapur Nuclear power Project-Key Highlights

• Jaitapur Nuclear power Project and French Connection-Know in detail

• What is the current Status of Nuclear Energy and Nuclear power plants in India?

• Map Work-Mark Nuclear power plants

• Issues and Challenges with Jaitapur Nuclear power Plant-Brainstorm

• The Department of Atomic Energy (DAE) is under the direct charge of the Prime Minister through a Presidential Order-True or False?

• What is Nuclear Energy? Why Nuclear Energy is required?

Other Important Articles Covering the same topic:

📍Govt: ‘In-principle’ nod for 6 nuclear reactors in Jaitapur

THE CITY

Delhi’s Driest Summer

Syllabus:

Preliminary Examination: Current events of national and international importance.

Mains Examination: General Studies I: Urbanisation, 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

THE EDITORIAL PAGE

Upper House, a question

Syllabus:

Preliminary Examination: Indian Polity and Governance

Mains Examination: General Studies II: Parliament and State legislatures

Key Points to Ponder:

• What was the Constituent assembly debate on creation of Rajya Sabha?

• What is Article 80 of the Constitution of India?

• Know about Council of States or Rajya Sabha

• Why are Rajya Sabha elections important?

• How often are Rajya Sabha elections held?

• Rajya Sabha polls-Who votes, and how?

• What is a maximum strength of the Rajya Sabha?

• How are the votes counted?

• How many seats are being contested in the current elections?

• Montague-Chelmsford Report of 1918, The Government of India Act, 1919, The Government of India Act, 1935 and Rajya Sabha-Connect the Dots

• Constitutional Provisions relating to Rajya Sabha-Maximum strength, Allocation of Seats

• Nominated and Elected Members of Rajya Sabha-Know the procedure of Nomination and Election in the Rajya Sabha

• Members of Rajya Sabha-Eligibility, Qualification (Article 84), Disqualification (Article 102)

• Type of Voting to Elect members in the Rajya Sabha-is it First-past-the-post-system or is it through proportional representation by means of the single transferable vote?

• Presiding Officers – Chairman and Deputy Chairman of Rajya Sabha

• Vice-President of India and Rajya Sabha-Connect the dots

• Special Powers of Rajya Sabha (Article 249 and Article 312)

• Significance of Rajya Sabha in Indian Parliamentary System-Brainstorm

• Rajya Sabha has special powers that are not at all shared with the Lok Sabha-What are they?

• The Constitutional position of the Rajya Sabha (as compared with the Lok Sabha) Where Rajya Sabha is equal to Lok Sabha-know in detail

Other Important Articles Covering the same topic:

📍In EC’s court

📍Council of States (Rajya Sabha)

Pursuit Of Justice

Syllabus:

Preliminary Examination: Indian Polity and Governance

Mains Examination: 
• General Studies II: Functions and responsibilities of the Union and the States, issues and challenges pertaining to the federal structure

• General Studies III: Security challenges and their management in border areas – linkages of organized crime with terrorism

Key Points to Ponder:

• Nagaland Insurgency-Know in Detail

• Who are Niki Sumi faction and Yung Aung faction of NSCN (K)?

• Konyak Tribe-Know in detail

• Assam Rifles-Know in detail

• Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA), 1958

• Why AFSPA is Controversial?

• AFSPA and Framework agreement of 2015-Know the key Highlights

• What is a “Disturbed Area”?

• The power to declare “Disturbed Area” lies with whom?

• Other States under AFSPA and why?

• Recommendation of Justice B.P. Jeevan Reddy Committee in 2005, Administrative Reforms Commission (ARC) in 2007 and Santosh Hegde Committee appointed by Supreme Court in 2013

• The Supreme Court guidelines for the use of AFSPA in 1997

• Supreme Court on AFSPA (Naga People’s Movement of Human Rights v. Union of India 1998)-Key Highlights

Other Important Articles Covering the same topic:

📍AFSPA and the Northeast

📍Why AFSPA exists

THE IDEAS PAGE

A biased benchmark

Syllabus:

Preliminary Examination: Current events of national and international importance.

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

Key Points to Ponder:

• What author is trying to say in the statement “Indexes are inherently problematic, especially when applied to something as multi-dimensional and complex as environmental performance”?

• “The index is severely compromised by how it incorporates action on climate change mitigation”-What do you understand by this statement?

• The Yale-Columbia approach ignores the fact that countries have different responsibilities for past accumulations and are at different levels of emissions and energy use-How far you agree with this statement?

• What is Government of India’s Stand on Environmental Performance Index (EPI)?

• Why Government of India rebutted on findings of the biennial Environmental Performance Index 2022?

• What is Environmental Performance Index (EPI)?

• Environmental Performance Index is a biennial index-True or False?

• Environmental Performance Index is prepared by Yale University and Columbia University in collaboration with the World Economic Forum-True or False?

• Environmental Performance Index 2022-Know the key Highlights

• How did the COVID-19 pandemic impact the 2022 Environmental Performance Index?

• What are the sources of data for the Environmental Performance Index?

• India scored the lowest among 180 countries in the 2022 Environment Performance Index (EPI), Why?

• Do you Know-Using 40 performance indicators across 11 issue categories, the EPI ranks 180 countries on climate change performance, environmental health, and ecosystem vitality.

Other Important Articles Covering the same topic:

📍About the EPI

📍The missing green 

📍Centre issues rebuttal on Environmental Performance Index 2022: ‘Biased metrics, biased weights’

EXPLAINED

RAMSAY HUNT SYNDROME

Syllabus:

Preliminary Examination: Current events of national and international importance.

Key Points to Ponder:

• What is Ramsay Hunt Syndrome?

• What are the symptoms of Ramsay Hunt Syndrome?

• What is the virus that causes Ramsay Hunt Syndrome?

• What is the virus that causes Ramsay Hunt Syndrome?

• How is Ramsay Hunt Syndrome treated?

• Is Ramsay Hunt Syndrome contagious?

• Do patients recover fully from Ramsay Hunt Syndrome?

Other Important Articles Covering the same topic:

📍Ramsay Hunt Syndrome

BrahMos, 21 and developing

Syllabus:

Preliminary Examination: Current events of national and international importance.

Mains Examination:  General Studies III: Science and Technology

Key Points to Ponder:

• The BrahMos supersonic cruise missile-Background and development

• BrahMos is a two-stage missile with a solid propellant booster engine-Know its Strategic significance

• Know the different version of BrahMos like Land-based BrahMos, Ship-Based BrahMos, Air BrahMos and Submarine-Launched BrahMos

• BrahMos supersonic cruise missile -Key Features

• Know the terms and Difference between-Infra Sonic, Subsonic, Super Sonic, Ultra Sonic etc.

• What are Cruise Missiles?

• What do you understand by Stealth technology?

• What speed is a Mach?

• What is Ramjet?

• What is the difference between a ramjet and scramjet?

• Missile Technology Control Regime and India-Know in detail

Other Important Articles Covering the same topic:

📍In a first, India successfully launches Extended Range Version of BrahMos missile from Sukhoi

📍Missile Technology Control Regime welcomes India as full member

Food safety index: how it is worked out, how the states have performed

Syllabus:

Preliminary Examination: Economic and Social Development

Mains Examination: General Studies II: Statutory, regulatory and various quasi-judicial bodies.

Key Points to Ponder:

• What is State Food Safety Index (SFSI)?

• Know the key highlights of State Food Safety Index (SFSI) 2021-22

• The State Food Safety Index (SFSI) takes into account the performance of the states on five key parameters-What are they?

• How are the states and UTs assessed?

• How have the states and UTs performed this year?

Other Important Articles Covering the same topic:

📍State Food Safety list: Tamil Nadu tops big states, Goa smaller ones

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