UPSC Key-October 6, 2022: Why you should read ‘Committees of Parliament’ or ‘IPOisation of a political manifesto’ or ‘Digital Services Act’ for UPSC CSE

Delhi air quality poor, GRAP measures kick in

Syllabus:

Preliminary Examination: General issues on Environmental ecology, Bio-diversity and Climate Change

Main Examination: 

• General Studies II: Government policies and interventions for development in various sectors and issues arising out of their design and implementation.

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

Key Points to Ponder:

• What’s the ongoing story- Measures under ‘stage-1’ of the Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP) will be enforced in the national capital region with immediate effect, according to an order issued by the Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM) Wednesday. The order comes after the air quality deteriorated to be in the ‘poor’ category in Delhi on Wednesday.

• What is Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP)?

• What are the different Air Quality Index (AQI) categories under Graded Response Action Plan?

• What are the different stages under Graded Response Action Plan?

• Has GRAP helped?

• What was the Supreme court’s verdict in M. C. Mehta vs. Union of India (2016) regarding air quality in the National Capital Region of Delhi?

• Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM)-Know in brief

• Is Commission for air quality Management statutory body?

• System of Air Quality and Weather Forecasting And Research (SAFAR) Project-Know in brief

• What is the framework developed by SAFAR to forecast air quality in Delhi?

• What are the reasons for Air pollution in Delhi?

• Why Delhi pollution is always in News?

• Know the Geographical location of Delhi

• Being landlocked makes Delhi worst in air pollution-How far you agree with this?

• Know the Supreme Courts Judgments on Delhi Air Pollutions

• “Delhi has converted into a gas chamber”-Discuss

• Air Quality Management in NCR Region-Role and Steps Taken so Far

• Know the best International Practices to Curb Air Pollution in Urban Areas

Other Important Articles Covering the same topic:

📍Explained: What the commission for air quality management in NCR aims to achieve and why are some opposing it?

📍Graded Response Action Plan for Delhi & NCR

📍Explained: What is GRAP, Delhi-NCR’s action plan as air pollution increases?

EXPRESS NETWORK

66 children deaths in Gambia, WHO flags 4 syrups made by Haryana-based firm as unsafe

Syllabus:

Preliminary Examination: Current events of national and international importance.

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

Key Points to Ponder:

• What’s the ongoing story– Following the death of 66 children in Gambia, the World Health Organization (WHO) has raised an alert over four fever, cold and cough syrups made by an Indian company, urging people to not use them. All the four syrups — Promethazine Oral Solution, Kofexmalin Baby Cough Syrup, Makoff Baby Cough Syrup and Magrip N Cold Syrup – are made by Haryana-based Maiden Pharmaceuticals.

• What exactly WHO said?

• For Your Information-“Laboratory analysis of samples of each of the four products confirms that they contain unacceptable amounts of diethylene glycol and ethylene glycol as contaminants. To date, these four products have been identified in Gambia, but may have been distributed, through informal markets, to other countries or regions,” the WHO said in the alert.

• Is this incident happened for the first time?

• How is cough syrup manufactured?

• Why is cough syrup restricted?

• What is the role of Central Drugs Standard Control Organization CDSCO?

• What and who is Drugs Controller General of India?

• Central Drugs Standard Control Organization CDSCO and Drugs Controller General of India-Connect the dots

• Do You Know-Under the Drugs and Cosmetics Act, CDSCO is responsible for approval of Drugs, Conduct of Clinical Trials, laying down the standards for Drugs, control over the quality of imported Drugs in the country and coordination of the activities of State Drug Control Organizations by providing expert advice with a view of bring about the uniformity in the enforcement of the Drugs and Cosmetics Act.

• What are diethylene glycol and ethylene glycol?

• Is diethylene glycol the same as ethylene glycol?

Other Important Articles Covering the same topic:

📍WHO warns against Indian cough syrups after 66 children died in Gambia

THE EDITORIAL PAGE

Dear Unknown Friend

Syllabus:

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

Mains Examination: General Studies I: Social Empowerment

Key Points to Ponder:

• What’s the ongoing story- This article is written by Sameena Dalwai and Asmita Singh in the context of recent Supreme Court judgement on safe and legal abortion.

• What the Supreme Court said in its ruling?

• Quick Revision-In a significant ruling on reproductive rights, the Supreme Court extended the right to safe and legal abortion up to 24 weeks of pregnancy to unmarried and single women, saying it is the “right of every woman to make reproductive choices without undue interference from the State”. Now, all women in the country, regardless of marital status, can undergo an abortion up to 24 weeks into pregnancy.

• What does the law on abortion say?

• What Supreme Court said on the marital rape?

• What is the court’s interpretation?

• What is the effect of the judgment?

• Why the authors of this article are delighted and disheartened by the Supreme Court’s ruling?

• What is Medical Termination of Pregnancy (Amendment) Act?

• What Section 3(g) of the Medical Termination of Pregnancy (Amendment) Act says?

• The Supreme Court judgment expands the definition of rape to marital rape for the MTP Act. But, marital rape is still not criminalised-how the courts judgement contradicts ongoing marital rape debate?

Other Important Articles Covering the same topic:

📍What Supreme Court said on abortion rights: Rape must include marital rape for purpose of MTP Act

📍Even single, unmarried women have the right to safe and legal abortion, rules SC

📍Abortion and Supreme Court: A contrast between two democracies

THE IDEAS PAGE

Is a manifesto an IPO?

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- P Vaidyanathan Iyer writes after the Election Commission of India Tuesday wrote to parties proposing that they spell out ways and means of raising additional resources to finance the promises, and the impact it would have on the fiscal sustainability of the state or the Central government.

• Why the author corelates the recent Election Commission of India’s proposal with the “IPO-isation” of a political manifesto ahead of polls?

• What is manifesto?

• Should manifesto be put to regulatory scrutiny in a democracy where entry barriers to politics are already so high?

• The EC’s move drew a sharp reaction from the Opposition-Is this move by Election Commission is overreach?

• What is Model Code of Conduct?

• What is “Freebies”?

• Is there any definition of the term “freebies” given in the existing legal/policy framework?

• What is wrong if political parties are promising freebies?

• Promises made by the political parties, often driven by short-term electoral calculations-Agree or disagree?

• Why the word ‘Freebie’ is almost sounds pejorative especially in political and policy circle?

• The political dialogue built around freebies is fraught with danger. What ‘danger’ is associated with Freebies scheme?

• How Budget is managed for Freebies schemes and Programmes?

• Election Commission of India and Article 324 of the Constitution-Know in detail

• The independent and impartial functioning of the Election Commission-How it is ensured?

• Election Commission of India- Powers and Functions

• Chief Election Commissioner and the two other Election Commissioners have equal powers-True or False?

• In case of difference of opinion amongst the Chief election commissioner and/or two other election commissioners,
the matter is decided by the Supreme Court of India-Right or Wrong?

• Why Independence of the Election Commission from the Executive is Required

• Supreme Court on Independence of EC- TN Seshan v Union of India and Ors (1995)

Other Important Articles Covering the same topic:

📍Election Commission’s political plunge erodes its role as a neutral watchdog

The general’s labyrinth

Syllabus:

Preliminary Examination: Current events of national and international importance

Mains Examination: General Studies III: Various Security forces and agencies and their mandate.

Key Points to Ponder:

• What’s the ongoing story- The appointment of General Anil Chauhan as the second CDS of India is welcome news. The officer assumes his appointment on the back of a solid professional reputation. The second CDS has a few challenging, and complex tasks cut out ahead of him.

•According to the Author, the first major task of national concern is to modify the ill-conceived and poorly planned Agnipath scheme-what is this scheme and what are the drawbacks which the author has highlighted in the article?

• What is ‘Three Star Officers”? Know the ranks in the Indian Army, Indian Airforce and Indian Navy

• Chief of Defence Staff-About, Role and Significance

• Chief of Defence Staff is a three Star Officer or Four-Star Officer?

• Need for Chief of Defence Staff (CDS)- Kargil Review Committee (KRC) 1999, Naresh Chandra Task Force on National Security 2011

• Appointment of Chief of Defence Staff-Who Appoints?

• Office of the Chief of Defence Staff-Role and Functions

• Why Chief of Defence Staff is a ‘dual-hatted role’?

• What are Theatre Commands?

• What work has been done on Theatre commands?

• Chiefs of Staff Committee (COSC)-Role and Importance

• Chiefs of Staff Committee (COSC) and Chief of Defence Staff-Compare and Contrast

• Why did the Government of India amend the Army Rules, 1954, the Naval Ceremonial, Conditions of Service and Miscellaneous Regulations, 1963, and the Air Force Regulations, 1964?

• What will be the upcoming Issues and Challenges for the Chief of Defence Staff?

Other Important Articles Covering the same topic:  

📍Explained: What are role, powers of CDS?

📍The challenge for the new Chief of Defence Staff

EXPLAINED

House panels, their leaders, and role in law-making

Syllabus:

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

Mains Examination: General Studies II: Parliament and State legislatures—structure, functioning, conduct of business, powers & privileges and issues arising out of these.

Key Points to Ponder:

• What’s the ongoing story- A revamp of the Standing Committees of Parliament on Tuesday could potentially worsen the relations between the government and opposition parties. Of the 22 committees announced on Tuesday, the Congress has the post of chairperson in only one, and the second largest opposition party, Trinamool Congress, none. The ruling BJP has the chairmanship of the important committees on Home, Finance, IT, Defence and External Affairs.

• What are Committees of Parliament, and what do they do?

• What are the various Committees of Parliament?

• How do discussions/ debates in the Parliamentary Committees differ from those in Parliament?

• How are the Committees constituted, and how are their chairpersons chosen?

• How important are the recommendations of the Committees?

Other Important Articles Covering the same topic:

📍No seat for Opposition at helm of key Parliamentary committees

ECONOMY

How new EU digital safety law compares with India’s IT Rules

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- The European Union (EU) has given final approval to online safety-focused legislation, which is an overhaul of the region’s social media and e-commerce rules. Called the Digital Services Act (DSA), the law tightly regulates the way intermediaries, especially large platforms such as Google, Meta, Twitter, and YouTube, function in terms of moderating user content.

• What are the key features of the Digital Services Act?

• How does the EU’s DSA compare with India’s online laws?

• The Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021-Key highlights

• Social Media Intermediaries-What is ‘intermediaries’?

• In Shreya Singhal v/s Union of India judgment, Supreme court of India upheld Section 69A and striked down Section 66A of the IT Act-Why?

Other Important Articles Covering the same topic:

📍The Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021

📍Explained: Why Twitter has moved court against govt’s content-blocking orders

OPEC+ agrees deep cuts to oil output despite US pressure

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-OPEC+ agreed its deepest cuts to oil production since the 2020 COVID pandemic at a Vienna meeting on Wednesday, curbing supply in an already tight market despite pressure from the United States and others to pump more.

• Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries plus (OPEC+)-Difference

• What is the OPEC+?

• Why are they slashing production?

• Map Work-Locate OPEC+ Member Countries

• OPEC+ more influential than OPEC?

• What is the NOPEC bill?

Other Important Articles Covering the same topic:

📍What is OPEC+ and why have they slashed oil production?

📍What is NOPEC, the US bill to pressure the OPEC+ oil group?

 

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