UPSC Key- March 6, 2023: Know about Hindu rate of growth, Lokayukta and Doubling farmers income

Govt putting in place protocols to tackle threat of spy balloons

Syllabus:

Preliminary Examination: Current events of national and international importance.

Main Examination: 

• General Studies II: Effect of policies and politics of developed and developing countries on India’s interests

• General Studies III: Challenges to internal security through communication networks

Key Points to Ponder:

• What’s the ongoing story-FROM DETECTION using drones and aircraft to targeting and analysis of remnants, the Indian military has drafted a set of basic protocols to tackle newer threats like surveillance balloons or other unidentified objects in the sky after a similar entity was spotted a year ago over the strategic Andaman and Nicobar Islands, top officials told The Indian Express.

• Why a set of basic protocols drafted by the Indian military?

• For Your Information-The protocols detail the sequence of action in case an unidentified slow-moving aerial object is spotted. This includes detection, positive identification, verification and targeting using a suitable platform and weapon system, followed by detailed photography of the target, a comprehensive report on it and analysis of remnants, if recovered.

• What’s a surveillance balloon or ‘Spy balloon’?

• Quick Recall-The United States has accused China of flying a “spy balloon” in its airspace. Beijing has responded, calling the object “a civilian airship used for meteorological research”. The incident has caught public imagination and set off a political row in Washington after it was seen floating over sensitive areas of Montana in the US. Officials claim the white balloon is the size of three buses and is carrying a “large” payload.

• What is the use of ‘Spy balloon’?

• What do we know about the balloon floating over the US?

• Is the balloon a security threat?

• Why has China sent the balloon up now?

• Why hasn’t the Pentagon shot the balloon down?

• How has the US responded?

• Why was the F-22 used to shoot down a spy balloon?

• What are the capabilities of the F-22 Raptor?

• How expensive is the F-22 Raptor?

• Strategic importance of Andaman and Nicobar-Know in detail

• Map Work-Andaman and Nicobar, Great Nicobar Island, Barren Island, Ross Island, Eastern most and southern most point

• How many islands are there in Andaman and Nicobar?

• Know the names of Eastern most and southern most point in the Andaman and Nicobar island?

• Name the water body that separates Andaman Islands from the Nicobar Islands

• What is special about Barren Island?

• What is special about Ross Island?

Other Important Articles Covering the same topic:

📍Downing of Chinese spy balloon ends chapter in a diplomatic crisis

📍What you need to know about the Chinese spy balloon floating over the US

📍Why the US used an F-22 aircraft to shoot down the alleged spy balloon from China

Chairperson of NAAC resigns to ‘safeguard sanctity of post’

Syllabus:

Preliminary Examination: Current events of national and international importance

Mains Examination: General Studies II: Issues relating to development and management of Social Sector/Services relating to Health, Education, Human Resources.

Key Points to Ponder:

• What’s the ongoing story-NATIONAL ASSESSMENT and Accreditation Council (NAAC) chairperson Bhushan Patwardhan tendered his resignation on Sunday, days after alleging in a letter to the University Grants Commission (UGC) that universities were obtaining “questionable grades” through unfair means. Patwardhan had first raised questions over accreditation processes and expressed a desire to resign on February 26, following which UGC chairman M Jagadesh Kumar appointed former AICTE chairperson Anil Sahasrabudhe to the post on March 3.

• What is National Assessment and Accreditation Council (NAAC)?

• National Assessment and Accreditation Council (NAAC) Procedure?

• How many institutions in India are accredited?

• Can all higher educational institutes apply for accreditation?

• How NAAC helps an educational institution and its students?

• How many institutions in India are accredited?

• Why are so few institutes accredited?

• What is Paramarsh Scheme?

• What NAAC examines for provisional accreditation for colleges (PAC)?

• National Education Policy (NEP) 2020-Highlights

Other Important Articles Covering the same topic:

📍 National Assessment and Accreditation Council (NAAC)

Too many deer at Delhi park, some may be moved to leopard territory

Syllabus:

Preliminary Examination: General issues on Environmental ecology, Bio-diversity and Climate Change – that do not require subject specialization

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

Key Points to Ponder:

• What’s the ongoing story-Delhi’s Forest Department wants to move the deer from the Deer Park in Hauz Khas to the Asola Bhatti Wildlife Sanctuary — which is currently home to at least eight leopards — The Indian Express has learnt. The Chief Wildlife Warden wrote to the Central Zoo Authority (CZA) in February seeking approval for the move.

• Map Work-Asola Bhatti Wildlife Sanctuary

• What is Central Zoo Authority?

• Is zoo example of ex-situ conservation?

• What is In-situ conservation and ex-situ conservation?

• For Your Information-According to a report by the Forest Department and the Bombay Natural History Society last year, data collected through camera traps showed the presence of at least eight leopards at Asola sanctuary. The report also mentioned the presence of spotted deer, black buck, sambar deer and hog deer at the sanctuary. It found that sambar deer and black buck were the least abundant species there.

• What is the IUCN status of leopard?

• What are features of leopard?

• Know the difference between cheetah and Leopard and African cheetah and Asiatic cheetah

• Know the Difference between Extinct, Extinct in the Wild and Critically Endangered

• What is a carnivore food chain?

• What trophic level does the leopard inhabit in the food chain, and what is its ecological function?

Other Important Articles Covering the same topic:

📍Cheetahs and others: know the 7 big cats

THE CITY

At Kashmere Gate, cemetery with roots in the 1857 mutiny

Syllabus:

Preliminary Examination: History of India and Indian National Movement.

Mains Examination: General Studies I: Modern Indian history from about the middle of the eighteenth century until the present significant events, personalities, issues.

Key Points to Ponder:

• What’s the ongoing story-Nestled amidst patches of dry grass and bare trees are several graves of colonial-era soldiers and civilians, some dating back to the 1800s. Foremost among these is that of British soldier and administrator Brigadier-General John Nicholson — also among the first to be buried here. Named after the brigadier, who played a pivotal role in containing the Revolt of 1857, the Nicholson Cemetery, formerly known as the Old Delhi Military Cemetery, is the capital’s oldest Christian burial site established in 1857 at Kashmere Gate.

• Personality in News-Brigadier-General John Nicholson

• Brigadier-General John Nicholson and revolt of 1857-connect the dots

• Do You Know-Nicholson was born on December 11, 1821, in Dublin. His father, a doctor, died when he was eight. He set sail for India at the age of 17 in 1839 to join the Bengal Infantry as a direct cadet. He fought at Ghazni during the first Afghan War, held political posts in Kashmir and the Punjab and took part in the Second Sikh War. In 1857, during the mutiny, he was promoted to Brigadier-General after pacifying the Punjab — he had led a movable column, a military force set up to chase down the rebels. His arrival in Delhi early in August and his victory at Najafgarh inspired the besieged British troops outside the city. On September 14, he led an attacking column against the Kashmere Gate. The gate was taken, but he was wounded in battle and died shortly thereafter.

• 1857 Revolt-Background

• Difference between the Revolt of 1857 from the earlier uprisings

• Nature of Revolt and Protest before 1857

• Significance of Revolts before 1857 and its impact on 1857 Revolt

• Regions/People affected by the Revolt of 1857

• Causes of the Revolt-Economic Causes, Political Causes, Administrative Causes and Socio-Religious Causes

• Immediate Causes of the Revolt-Discontent among Sepoys and other reasons

• Prominent Leaders of the Revolts-General Bakht Khan, Nana Saheb, Begum Hazrat Mahal, Khan Bahadur, Kunwar Singh, Maulvi Ahmadullah of Faizabad and Rani Laxmibai

• Suppression of the 1857 Revolt-Role of Zamindars and Princely States

• Reasons for the failure of 1857 Revolt-Brainstorm

• Changes Introduced after the Revolt-Administration, Military and Socio-religious Consequences

• Significance of the 1857 Revolt

Other Important Articles Covering the same topic:  

📍How Delhi was destroyed and rebuilt after the revolt of 1857

📍In memory of soldiers who died, Mutiny Memorial tells story of 1857 Revolt

EXPRESS NETWORK

Govt’s millet procurement to fall short of target — by 40%

Syllabus:

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

Mains Examination: General Studies III: Major crops-cropping patterns in various parts of the country, – different types of irrigation and irrigation systems storage, transport and marketing of agricultural produce and issues and related constraints; e-technology in the aid of farmers.

Key Points to Ponder:

• What’s the ongoing story-The Centre’s millet procurement in the 2022-23 Kharif Marketing Season (October-September) may fall well short of its intended target of 13.28 lakh metric tonnes, it is learnt. The government has procured only 17% of the approved quantity of millets and coarse grains so far. According to sources, the figure will rise by the end of the marketing season but not above 7.43 lakh metric tonnes (LMT) — or 60% of the target. In the last KMS (2021-22), millet procurement stood at 6.3 LMT, against the overall production of 511.01 LMT.

• Why Centre’s millet procurement in the 2022-23 Kharif Marketing Season (October-September) may fall short?

• What is Millet?

• For Your Information-The word millets is used to describe small-grained cereals like sorghum (jowar), pearl millet (bajra), foxtail millet (kangni/ Italian millet), little millet (kutki), kodo millet, finger millet (ragi/ mandua), proso millet (cheena/ common millet), barnyard millet (sawa/ sanwa/ jhangora), and brown top millet (korale).

• Where millets lag?

• Can robust cereals like millets offer a cheap and nourishing alternative as the global agrifood systems struggle to feed a population that is constantly expanding?

• How the IYM 2023 will contribute to the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development?

• Map Work- The major millet producing countries

• What geographical parameters are necessary for millets?

• India and Millets-Know in detail

• Do You Know-With 2023 declared as the International Year of Millets by the UN, the Food Ministry has taken several initiatives to promote millets and coarse grains under the Public Distribution System (PDS), including enhancement of the distribution period/ shelf life upto six months for maize, nine months for jowar/ bajra and ten months for ragi from the earlier three months.

Other Important Articles Covering the same topic:

📍All you need to know about MIIRA, India’s proposed global intitiative to promote millets

THE EDITORIAL PAGE

Stopping the war

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-Vikram S Mehta writes: Is there not a threshold beyond which the severity of human suffering renders meaningless words like “political sovereignty”, “national security” and “territorial integrity”? There are examples from recent history that show the way to de facto peace, even while the political disagreement continues

• Russia Ukraine war and humanitarian tragedy-Know in detail

• For Your Information-The UNHCR has estimated that 13 million Ukrainians – one-third of Ukraine’s population – have been displaced over the past year; 8 million are refugees outside Ukraine; another 5 million are camped in Ukraine. A different agency has estimated that approximately 2,00,000 civilian and military personnel have been killed or wounded during this period.

• “The hard truth is that Ukraine cannot push Russia off its territory and Russia does not have the conventional capability to defeat Ukraine, at least not so long as the West provides it “blank cheque” support”-Elaborate

• Is there not a threshold beyond which the severity of human suffering renders meaningless words like “political sovereignty”, “national security” and “territorial integrity”?

• Has this threshold not been crossed in Ukraine?

• Russia and Ukraine war-What is the way ahead?

• What is India’s Stand on Russia-Ukraine War?

• India-Russia Relations-Know the background

• How is New Delhi positioning itself as a player with credibility in the Russia-Ukraine conflict?

• India and China have been consistently calling for a diplomatic settlement but at this historical juncture, India and China are the obstacle to a possible diplomatic solution-Critically analyse India’s stand over Russia-Ukraine Crisis.

• How has India responded to international crises previously?

• How India can help to maintain ‘Peace’ in Ukraine-Russia Conflict?

• Indian stance on Ukraine-Analyse India’s Stand on Ukraine-Russia Conflict

• 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:  

📍Xi, Modi and peace in Ukraine

THE IDEAS PAGE

Revisiting a dream

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:

• What’s the ongoing story-Ashok Gulati Writes: On February 28, 2016, Prime Minister Narendra Modi shared his dream of doubling farmers’ incomes in the year when India completes 75 years of Independence and enters Amrit Kaal. Now that we have entered Amrit Kaal, it is a good time to revisit that dream and see if it has been fulfilled, and if not, how best it can be done.

• What is the significance of ‘Amrit Kaal’?

• ‘The fundamentals of the Indian economy are sound as it enters its Amrit Kaal’-What is Amrit Kaal?

• Recommendation of Ashok Dalwai Committee and M. S. Swaminathan Committee on doubling farmers income-Key Highlights

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

• “Unless the incomes of farmers go up, we cannot have sustained high growth of overall GDP”-Discuss

• ‘The government is already giving a lot of subsidies to farmers’ and Farmers income-connect the dots

• “While input subsidies do help raise farmers’ incomes on one hand, there could be output trade and marketing policies adopted by the government that suppress farmers’ incomes”-Analyse

• “The policy of heavy subsidisation of input subsidies, especially fertilisers and power, along with assured and open-ended procurement of paddy and wheat at least in some selected states, is playing havoc with the environment. They are all crying out for rationalisation”-Elaborate Further

Other Important Articles Covering the same topic:

📍Ashok Gulati writes | Budget 2023: FM Sitharaman does well to hold back on revdis – but there is little for farmers to celebrate

EXPLAINED

Agriculture and employment

Syllabus:

Preliminary Examination: Economic and Social Development and Indian Polity and Governance

Mains Examination: 

• General Studies II: Issues relating to poverty and hunger.

• 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-Two recent sets of data released by the National Sample Survey Office (NSSO) and the National Statistical Office (NSO) offer insights into the process of structural transformation in the Indian economy, especially in relation to the agriculture and manufacturing sectors. Economists refer to structural transformation as basically a compositional shift that entails the transfer of surplus labour from agriculture to sectors where productivity (output per worker) and average incomes are higher — particularly manufacturing and modern services.

• Two recent sets of data released by the National Sample Survey Office (NSSO) and the National Statistical Office (NSO) offer insights into the process of structural transformation in the Indian economy-What structural transformation in the Indian economy?

• Economists refer to structural transformation as what?

• The NSSO’s latest annual Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS) report for 2021-22 (July-June) shows the farm sector’s share in the country’s employed labour force at 45.5 percent-What does it mean?

• What is labour force participation rate?

• What is Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS)?

• Who publishes Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS)?

• What are the key employment and unemployment indicators used in Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS)?

• NSO’s first revised estimates of national income for 2021-22, released on February 28 contains estimates of ‘output’ and ‘value-added’ by different sectors of the economy- What is ‘output’ and ‘value-added’?

Other Important Articles Covering the same topic:  

📍Don’t compare apples to oranges: how Govt is defending Q3 GDP data

WHISKEY FUNGUS, SPREADING FAST AROUND A JACKDANIEL’S FACILITY

Syllabus:

Preliminary Examination: Current events of national and international importance

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

Key Points to Ponder:

• What’s the ongoing story- A local court in Lincoln county, Tennessee, recently stopped the construction of a new barrel warehouse (also called a barrelhouse) for Jack Daniel’s, the world’s biggest-selling brand of American whiskey. The order came after a resident named Christi Long, who lives close to the company’s barrelhouses, filed a suit against the county claiming that a black, sooty fungus — known as whiskey fungus, which is commonly found near bakeries and distilleries around the world — has spread uncontrollably and covered cars, homes and trees.

• What is whiskey fungus?

• For Your Information- Whiskey fungus, or Baudoinia compniacensis, feeds on these alcoholic vapours and is velvety or crust-like — it can reach one or two centimetres in thickness. The fungus tends to spread to nearby surfaces, blanketing almost everything that comes in its way. According to the Indiana State Department of Health, it is found across North America, Europe and Asia and thrives where fermentation occurs, like in bakeries and distilleries. “Baudoinia compniacensis uses the ethanolic vapour to initiate germination and to express proteins in the fungus that allow the fungus to tolerate high temperatures,” the department said. It was first discovered in the 1870s, when Antonin Baudoin, the director of the French Distillers’ Association, saw a “plague of soot” around the distilleries in the Cognac region of France, the NYT reported.

• How dangerous is whiskey fungus?

• What are the different cases against distilleries?

Other Important Articles Covering the same topic:

📍What are the different cases against distilleries?

Karnataka MLA accused of graft: powers, functioning of state Lokayukta

Syllabus:

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

Mains Examination: General Studies IV: Probity in Governance: Challenges of corruption.

Key Points to Ponder:

• What’s the ongoing story- Ahead of the Assembly Elections in Karnataka, the Lokayukta has seized over Rs 8 crore of unaccounted cash from the residence and office of Channagiri BJP MLA Madal Virupakshappa, who was also serving as the chairman of the Public Sector Undertaking (PSU) Karnataka Soaps and Detergents Ltd (KS&DL). The absconding MLA and five others, including his son, Prashanth Madal, the financial advisor of the Bangalore Water Supply and Sewerage Board (BWSSB), are now accused in a bribery case filed under Section 7 (a) (b) (public servant taking gratification other than legal remuneration in respect of an official act) of the Prevention of Corruption Act. The amount was recovered subsequent to searches conducted at Prashant’s residence after he was caught accepting a bribe of Rs 41 lakh at his father’s office.

• What are some Anti-corruption initiatives taken by Government of India?

• What is the Lokayukta?

• What is the central Lokpal Act of 2013?

• What are Lokpal and Lokayukta?

• The Lokpal and Lokayuktas (Amendment) Bill, 2016-Know key highlights

• Structure of Lokpal-Know key details

• Know the Jurisdiction and Powers of Lokpal

• Karnataka’s history of “Lokayukta”-Know in brief

• What kind of cases can be investigated under Karnataka’s Lokayukta Act?

• How are complaints made under Karnataka’s Lokayukta Act?

• What happens after a complaint is admitted?

• What is Bribery and Corruption?

• What are the types of corruption?

• What are the reasons for corruption in India?

• Implication of corruption-Know in detail

• ‘Transparency International’-Have you heard this organisation’s name?

• Who publishes Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI)?

Other Important Articles Covering the same topic:

📍Lokpal gets 5,680 corruption complaints during 2021-22

📍India ranks 85 in Transparency International’s corruption index

ECONOMY

‘India dangerously close to Hindu rate of growth’

Syllabus:

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

Main 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-On Sunday, PTI reported that former Reserve Bank of India Governor Raghuram Rajan feels India is “dangerously close” to the “Hindu rate of growth”. Rajan was reportedly responding to the latest GDP data released by the government. According to the PTI report, he stated that the sequential slowdown in the quarterly growth, as revealed by the latest estimate of national income released by the National Statistical Office (NSO) last month, was worrying. The data in question pertains to India’s GDP growth in the third quarter (October to December, 2022) of the current financial year (2022-23). You can read a detailed explanation on it by clicking here. A key takeaway was that India’s GDP grew at just 4.4% in the quarter ending December 2022.

• What is “Hindu rate of growth”?

• Who coined the phrase Hindu rate of growth?

• For Your Information-The first thing to know is that contrary to what many readers might believe, the term “Hindu rate of growth” has been in use in India’s economic history literature since 1982 when an Indian economist, Raj Krishna, coined it. To be sure, Krishna was not someone who aligned with the ideologies of the Congress-led governments of that time. “Chicago-trained and, in the political climate of the time, with a reputation for being somewhat of a right-winger, he (Krishna) was perhaps a more acute observer of the Indian economy than most of his peers,” states Pulapre Balakrishnan, professor of economics at Ashoka University, in his piece titled “The recovery of India: Economic growth in the Nehru era”.

• So what was Raj Krishna trying to convey when he used the term “Hindu rate”?

• Was the Hindu rate of growth Nehru’s fault?

• Anyhow, when did India outgrow the Hindu rate of growth?

• So, is India reverting to the Hindu rate of growth?

• But what about the claims by the CEAs that India’s growth is higher if one does not count the revisions of past GDP levels?

• What is the upshot?

Other Important Articles Covering the same topic:

📍ExplainSpeaking | Is India reverting to the Hindu rate of growth?

📍Worse than Hindu rate of growth

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