UPSC Key- March 20, 2023: Know about National Security, Yamuna, Kuki, Right of non-refoulement and Sugar exports

Amritpal still on the run, four close aides arrested, flown to Dibrugarh

Syllabus:

Preliminary Examination: Current events of national and international importance.

Mains Examination: General Studies III: Role of external state and non-state actors in creating challenges to internal security.

Key Points to Ponder:

• What’s the ongoing story– A 27-member Punjab police team flew four close aides of Waris Punjab De chief Amritpal Singh to Dibrugarh in Assam on Sunday morning. Among the four lodged in the Dibrugarh Central Jail now is Daljit Singh Kalsi, who is learnt to be Amritpal’s close aide and financier of Waris Punjab De. The other three are Bhagwant Singh, Gurmeet Singh and Pradhanmantri Bajeka.

• What is National Security Act?

• Is National Security Act mentioned in Fundamental rights?

• Are there any mentions of the National Security Act in the fundamental rights?

• Detention is of two types, namely, punitive and preventive-Know them in detail

• Punitive Detention and Preventive Detention-Compare and Contrast

• Article 22 confers certain rights on a person who is arrested or detained under an ordinary law. But what about arrest made under National Security Act?

• What does it mean if someone is declared fugitive?

• What is habeas corpus writ petition?

• Who is Amritpal Singh?

• What does Amritpal say he wants to do?

• Deep Sidhu, Waris Punjab De and Amritpal Singh-Connect the dots

• Waris Punjab De and Khalistan-Connect the dots

• “Punjab appears to be going downhill very fast. It is facing problems on multiple fronts. Criminal gangs have sprung up in different districts and there are frequent reports of gang warfare”-What is happening in Punjab?

• ‘With Waris Punjab de, there is a well-orchestrated plan to revive terrorism in the state’-Attest the statement with some examples

• What is ‘Waris Punjab De’?

• What exactly happened?

• “Khalistan posters and Bhindranwale’s images are openly displayed on the streets of Punjab and in Chandigarh on the anniversary of Operation Blue Star, which is observed as “Ghallughara Day”. The administration has always been turning a Nelson’s eye to these developments. It is politically convenient to do so. But in the long run, such an attitude is always counterproductive. You face the problem in a magnified form one day”-Discuss operation blue star

• What Was the Khalistan Movement?

• What you know about the Khalistan movement?

• What are the Historical events responsible for Khalistan?

• What was the Anandpur Sahib Resolution?

• When did Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale come into the picture?

• What happened in the aftermath of Operation Blue Star?

• What is the status of the Khalistan movement today?

• Is the police capable of dealing with the situation unfolding in Punjab?

Other Important Articles Covering the same topic:

📍India flag taken down in UK, British dy high commissioner summoned

📍Ahead of crackdown, the worry for Centre: Amritpal’s Punjab campaign, private army

Previous Year Mains Questions Based on Similar theme:
📍 Analyse the multidimensional challenges posed by external state and non-state actors, to the internal security of India. Also discuss measures required to be taken to combat these threats. (UPSC GS3 Mains, 2021)

Fears of ripple effect, UBS closer to Credit Suisse deal

Syllabus:

Preliminary Examination: Current events of national and international importance.

Mains Examination: General Studies III: Indian Economy and issues relating to planning, mobilization, of resources, growth, development and employment.

Key Points to Ponder:

• What’s the ongoing story-At the Bundesplatz, the biggest square in Bern’s fabled old town, right opposite two important national institutions – the Swiss Federal Parliament and the Swiss central bank edifice – is the Credit Suisse building, with just a plaza laced with fountains and public chairs separating the Swiss banking regulator and the country’s second-largest bank. So, it was not surprising that the Swiss central bank stepped in with a $54 billion lifeline for Credit Suisse early Thursday after a continuing slide in the lender’s shares triggered growing concerns about a developing bank deposit crisis.

• What is Credit Suisse known for?

• What’s happening to banks across the world?

• What has triggered the concern around Credit Suisse?

• How did it impact Credit Suisse?

• What are Credit Default Swaps (CDS)?

• What has Credit Suisse said?

• How did it impact Credit Suisse?

• What is a credit default swaps?

• How did credit default swaps work?

• Why rise in the spread of Credit Default Swaps is worrisome?

Other Important Articles Covering the same topic:

📍Credit Suisse shares sink: What is happening

📍Credit Suisse sold to UBS: Why are banks in turmoil across the world, what are central banks doing about it

THE CITY

Disquiet flows the Yamuna

Syllabus:

Preliminary Examination: Indian and World Geography

Mains Examination: 

• General Studies I: Distribution of key natural resources across the world (including South Asia and the Indian sub-continent); factors responsible for the location of primary, secondary, and tertiary sector industries in various parts of the world (including India).

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

Key Points to Ponder:

• What’s the ongoing story- The Yamuna, where it runs through Memarpur and Tikola villages in Haryana’s Sonipat district, is only a trickle from a distance, the riverbed entirely dry along some stretches. Not far from it, large mounds of river sand, recently mined, lie alongside the farmland. Earlier this month, Delhi’s newly sworn-in water minister Saurabh Bharadwaj had linked the “unprecedented” drying up of the river even before summer with mining in Haryana. This, he alleged, is resulting in low levels of water in the river at Wazirabad in Delhi, consequently hitting supply to the national capital.

• What is Sand?

• What you understand by the term ‘Sand mining’?

• In India, what are the main sources of sand?

• What Geological survey of India (GSI) says on Sand Mining?

• What are the Steps Taken By Government Of India to curb illegal sand mining?

• Know the Concerns, issues and challenges associated with sand Mining in India

• What is floodplain and how it is formed?

• What are the benefits of floodplains?

• Where are floodplains most often found?

• What are the advantages and disadvantages of floodplains?

• What are the dangers of living on the flood plains?

• How illegal encroachment of Floodplains of Yamuna River affecting the entire ecology?

• Map Work-Yamuna (Source, Major cities, destination and Tributaries)

• What were the National Green Tribunal on Yamuna Flood Plain in the past?

Other Important Articles Covering the same topic:

📍Yamuna drying because of illegal mining in Haryana: DJB

GOVT & POLITICS

Japanese PM arrives today for bilateral talks

Syllabus:

Preliminary Examination: Current events of national and international importance.

Mains Examination: General Studies II: Bilateral, regional and global groupings and agreements involving India and/or affecting India’s interests.

Key Points to Ponder:

• What’s the ongoing story-Exactly a year after Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida came to India in the backdrop of the Russia-Ukraine war, he will be in Delhi on Monday for bilateral talks with Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Sources said that defence, security, economic ties, skill development and clean energy partnership are among the top issues on the agenda.

• Examine India-Japan Bilateral relations

• India-Japan Bilateral Relations-Know the Background and what is the Present Status?

• The Term ‘Indo-Pacific’-What does it mean? Define this term in Geopolitical and in geographical context.

• Know the importance of Indo-Pacific region for India

• India’s Indo-Pacific Strategy-Know in Detail

• ‘Contemporary geopolitical idea of the Indo-Pacific’-What is that?

• India and Japan-Examine both countries geopolitical stature

• India is a nuclear weapon power and Japan is not. But that only presents a partial picture. While Japan does not have nuclear weapons, it relies on the US nuclear umbrella for its security-Compare India and Japan Nuclear power status

• India, Japan and QUAD

• QUAD 22 saw dichotomy among Quad leaders on two pressing challenges-What were those and know each QUAD member’s stand on those pressing challenges

• Do You Know-The Indo-Pacific concept was first proposed by then Japanese PM Shinzo Abe, during his visit to India in 2007, when he delivered “The Confluence of Two Seas” speech in Parliament. Abe was invited as chief guest at the Republic Day celebrations in 2014, and conferred the Padma Vibhushan in 2021 for his contribution to India-Japan ties.

• What is ‘Indo-Pacific Economic Framework (IPEF)’?

• Know the objectives of Indo-Pacific Economic Framework (IPEF)

• Fundamentally, the ‘Indo-Pacific Economic Framework (IPEF) complements the “Quad Plus” process-How far you agree with this statement?

Other Important Articles Covering the same topic:

📍The significance of the Indo-Pacific for India

📍RENEWING A PLEDGE

Why Manipur pulled out of Kuki pact: ‘Migrant influx, drug trade, protests against eviction drive’

Syllabus:

Preliminary Examination: Current events of national and international importance.

Main Examination: General Studies III: Role of external state and non-state actors in creating challenges to internal security.

Key Points to Ponder:

• What’s the ongoing story- The Manipur government’s decision to withdraw from a Suspension of Operation (SoO) agreement with three Kuki-Zomi insurgent groups on March 10 was based on its assessment that these outfits are supporting an influx of Myanmarese immigrants from across the border, encouraging poppy cultivation and the drug trade, and are behind protests against eviction drives in Kuki villages that exist on “encroached forest land”, sources in the state government have said. An umbrella organisation of the Kuki outfits has dismissed the allegations.

• What the state government alleges?

• What are the Kuki tribal bodies saying?

• What are the roots of the Kuki insurgency?

• Who are Kuki-Chins?

• Who are the Chin refugees?

• Where did the Chin people come from?

• What is Mizoram’s refugee problem?

• “While Centre’s approach is security-centric, Mizoram government has a magnanimous, people-centred policy towards Chin refugees from Myanmar”-discuss

• What is the Suspension of Operations pact?

• What are the terms of the SoO pact?

• What is India’s Refugee Policy?

• 1951 Refugee Convention and its 1967 Protocol and India-Know in detail

• What do you understand by expression ‘right of non-refoulement’?

• “One of the spin-offs of the political turmoil in Myanmar has been an unprecedented schism between the Indian government and the Mizoram state government”-How far you agree with this statement?

• What is Government of India stance on this situation?

• What is happening in Mizoram right now, and what is the way forward?

• “Mizos and Chins and the unique social-political realities between the two people at the India-Myanmar international border”-Decode the statement

• Know about United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR)

• What is Global Refugee Forum (GRF)?

Other Important Articles Covering the same topic:

📍Why Manipur govt withdrew from an SoO agreement with two tribal insurgent groups

EXPLAINED

A sweet export story

Syllabus:

Preliminary Examination: Economic and Social Development

Mains Examination: General Studies III: Food processing and related industries in India- scope’ and significance, location

Key Points to Ponder:

• What’s the ongoing story-Building export markets takes effort. Overseas buyers need to be convinced about the price competitiveness, product quality, and reliability of supplies from the exporting country. One not-so-talked-about success story in recent years is of sugar exports from India. Between 2017-18 and 2021-22, these have soared from $810.9 million to $4.6 billion, and could cross $5.5 billion or Rs 45,000 crore in the fiscal year ending March 31

• Sugar exports from India-What data and statistics says?

• Sugarcane Cultivation in India-Know the Geographical Conditions of Growth

• Sugar production and Sugar Cane Policy in India-Know in detail

• What is International Commission for Uniform Methods of Sugar Analysis?

• Till 2017-18, India hardly exported any raw sugar-Why?

• Raw sugar and finished sugar-compare and contrast

• Apart from the time window and freight cost savings, there are two specific advantages of Indian raw sugar-What is that?

• Do You Know-Out of India’s total 110 lt sugar exports in 2021-22, raws alone accounted for 56.29 lt. The biggest importers of Indian raw sugar were Indonesia (16.73 lt), Bangladesh (12.10 lt), Saudi Arabia (6.83 lt), Iraq (4.78 lt) and Malaysia (4.15 lt). The country also exported 53.71 lt of white/ refined sugar, the leading destinations for which included Afghanistan (7.54 lt), Somalia (5.17 lt), Djibouti (4.90 lt), Sri Lanka (4.27 lt), China (2.58 lt), and Sudan (1.08 lt).

• What are the main by-products of the sugarcane industry?

• How Biomass has always been an important energy source?

• What is the current availability of biomass in India?

• What is Bagasse?

• How Bagasse is used for the generation of steam and power required to operate the sugar factory?

• Other top sugar producing states-know in detail

• What are the factors which attributes the record production of sugar in Maharashtra?

• Uttar Pradesh sugar production-know the reasons for decline in production

Other Important Articles Covering the same topic:

📍Sugar output in 2022-23 may dip slightly 355 lakh tonnes: ISMA

RACCOON DOG

Syllabus:

Preliminary Examination: Current events of national and international importance.

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

Key Points to Ponder:

• What’s the ongoing story-A new analysis of genetic data collected from the Huanan Seafood Market in Wuhan, China, has linked coronavirus to raccoon dogs, adding evidence to the belief that the pandemic might have originated from the infected animals sold at the site. An international team of experts said so on March 16, including Michael Worobey, an evolutionary biologist at the University of Arizona; Kristian Andersen, a virus expert at the Scripps Research Institute in California; and Edward Holmes, a biologist at the University of Sydney.

• What are raccoon dogs?

• Where are raccoon dogs found?

• Why were raccoon dogs being sold in Wuhan?

• Have raccoon dogs been linked to other diseases?

• Do You Know-Raccoon dogs are neither dogs nor raccoons. They belong to the canid family and are closely related to foxes. They are the only canids that hibernate during the winter. As per Slate, there are two species of raccoon dogs: “Nyctereutes procyonoides, the common raccoon dog (the species that was in the Wuhan market) and Nyctereutes p. viverrinus, the Japanese raccoon dog.” These animals, weighing around 16 pounds on average, are omnivores and relish food sources such as rodents and berries.”

Other Important Articles Covering the same topic:

📍The key to Covid’s origin lies in Beijing, not Wuhan

20 yrs of Iraq War: Not worth fighting, think Americans

Syllabus:

Preliminary Examination: Current events of national and international importance.

Main Examination: General Studies II: Bilateral, regional and global groupings and agreements involving India and/or affecting India’s interests.

Key Points to Ponder:

• What’s the ongoing story- March 19 marks 20 years of the invasion of Iraq by the United States and its allies, in an attempt to overthrow the country’s dictator Saddam Hussein on the premise that his regime possessed weapons of mass destruction (WMDs). By December 2003, the so-called “liberation” of the people of Iraq was complete. However, even after months of searching, the US and its allies could find no trace of Saddam’s WMDs. Instead of the promised peace and prosperity, the war pushed Iraq into a cycle of brutal violence, heightened sectarianism and political instability that contributed to the rise of the Islamic State (IS) terrorist group.

• So, why did the Iraq invasion happen?

• For Your Information-The roots of the Iraq invasion go back to 1990, when Saddam — a longtime ally of the Americans, especially after the Iranian revolution of the late 1970s — attacked Kuwait under the suspicion that the country was using slant drilling to steal oil out of Iraqi fields. The US government quickly intervened in the war as it feared that a successful invasion of Kuwait might embolden Iraq to further consolidate its power over other nations in West Asia, helping it become the world’s foremost oil power.

• What happened after the invasion of Iraq began?

• How did the Iraq invasion change the world?

Other Important Articles Covering the same topic:

📍Explained: What’s driving the power struggle in Iraq?

What does the ICC’s arrest warrant mean for Vladimir Putin?

Syllabus:

Preliminary Examination: Current events of national and international importance.

Main Examination: General Studies II: Important International institutions, agencies and fora- their structure, mandate.

Key Points to Ponder:

• What’s the ongoing story-The International Criminal Court (ICC) issued an arrest warrant against Russian President Vladimir Putin on March 17, for the alleged war crime of unlawfully deporting and transferring children from occupied areas of Ukraine to the Russian Federation. The crimes were allegedly committed in occupied territory from February 24, 2022. Apart from Putin, an arrest warrant was also issued against Russia’s Commissioner for Child Rights, Maria Lvova-Belova, a press release on the ICC website said.

• Why are the arrest warrants being issued?

• What is the International Criminal Court (ICC)?

• Do You Know-The ICC, headquartered in The Hague, Netherlands, was established under a 1998 treaty called the “Rome Statute” . It “investigates and, where warranted, tries individuals charged with the gravest crimes of concern to the international community: genocide, war crimes, crimes against humanity and the crime of aggression.” Presently, 123 countries are party to the Rome Statute, including Britain, Japan, Afghanistan, and Germany. However, the USA has kept its distance, maintaining that ICC should not exercise jurisdiction over citizens of countries that are not a party to it. Similarly, India and China have also abstained from membership. The ICC was established to prosecute the most heinous offenses only when a country’s own legal machinery fails to act, as was the case in former Yugoslavia and Rwanda. Unlike the International Court of Justice (ICJ), which deals with countries and inter-state disputes, the ICC prosecutes individuals. However, the ICC’s jurisdiction is limited to offences occurring after it came into effect on July 1, 2002.

• Why did the International Criminal Court issue the warrants?

• Does the ICC have the power to prosecute Russia?

• Does Ukraine recognise ICC’s jurisdiction?

• What is the Independent International Commission of Inquiry Report on Ukraine?

• What does the warrant mean for Putin?

• So Putin may never face trial?

• What is International Court of Justice?

• International Criminal Court and International Court of Justice-Compare and Contrast

Other Important Articles Covering the same topic:

📍Everyday Global: What is the International Court of Justice

📍ICC issues arrest warrant for Vladimir Putin for war crimes in Ukraine: What does this mean?

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.