UPSC Key | Sanchi Stupa, AB PM-JAY, Mission Mausam, and more

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Explained

From Ashokan times to now, Sanchi to Europe, story of the Great Stupa

UPSC Syllabus:

Preliminary Examination: History of India and Indian National Movement

Mains Examination: GS-I: Indian culture will cover the salient aspects of Art Forms, literature and Architecture from ancient to modern times.

What’s the ongoing story- External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Wednesday stopped by the replica of the East Gate of Sanchi’s Great Stupa standing in front of Humboldt Forum museum in Berlin. The ornate red sandstone gateway, which was unveiled in December 2022, is a 1:1 reproduction of the original structure standing at almost 10 metres high and 6 metres wide, and weighing roughly 150 tonnes.

Prerequisites:

— What is the significance of the stupa in Buddhism?

— What are toranas?

— Read about  16 Mahajanapadas and Mauryan Dynasty

Key takeaways: 

— A stupa is a Buddhist commemorative monument usually containing sacred relics of the Buddha or other venerable saints. The archetypal stupa is a hemispherical structure, whose origins can be traced to pre-Buddhist burial mounds found in India.

— The Great Stupa of Sanchi exemplifies this form. Commissioned in the third century BCE by Emperor Ashoka, it is the largest and oldest structure in a complex of Buddhist monuments comprising numerous other stupas, temples, and monasteries.

Source: Sahapedia

— The Great Stupa is one of the oldest standing stone structures in India, believed to have been built over the Buddha’s relics. Its construction was overseen by Ashoka’s wife Devi, who hailed from the nearby trading town of Vidisha. The development of the Sanchi complex was supported by patronage from Vidisha’s mercantile community.

— The four toranas, oriented to the four cardinal directions, were constructed in the first century BCE, likely within a few decades of each other during the reign of the Satavahana dynasty.

— In Europe, the East Gate is the most famous of the Sanchi toranas. There is a historical reason behind this.

— The Sanchi complex was in abject ruins when it was “discovered” by British officer Henry Taylor in 1818. Alexander Cunningham, who later founded the ASI, led the first formal survey and excavations at Sanchi in 1851. The site was restored to its present condition by ASI director-general John Marshall in the 1910s with funding from the begums of nearby Bhopal.

— The East Gate was cast in plaster by Lieutenant Henry Hardy Cole for the Victoria and Albert Museum in the late 1860s. Multiple copies of this cast were later made…

— The upper architrave of the gate represents the seven Manushi Buddhas (previous Buddhas, with the historical Buddha being  the latest incarnation).

— The middle architrave depicts the scene of the Great Departure, when prince Siddhartha leaves Kapilavastu to live as an ascetic in search of enlightenment.

— The lower architrave depicts Emperor Ashoka visiting the Bodhi tree under which the Buddha attained enlightenment.

— Other decorative elements include the shalabhanjika (a fertility emblem represented by a yakshi grasping the branch of a tree), elephants, winged lions, and peacocks.

For Your Information:

— Buddhism emerged in the fifth century BCE in the ancient kingdom of Magadh, located in the eastern Ganges plain of Southern Bihar.

— The real impetus to Andhra Buddhism though, came in the 3rd century BCE when the emperor Ashoka set up an inscription in the region. Thereafter, Buddhism had thrived in the region for almost six centuries till about the 3rd century CE.

Points to Ponder: 

— What are the important Buddhist stupas?

— Why stupas were constructed?

— Read about these: Various sects of Buddhism, spread of Buddhism, Decline of Buddhism

Post Read Question:

(1) With reference to ancient India, consider the following statements: (UPSC CSE 2023)

1. The concept of Stupa is Buddhist in origin.

2. Stupa was generally a repository of relics.

3. The stupa was a votive and commemorative structure in Buddhist tradition.

How many of the statements given above are correct?

(a) Only one

(b) Only two

(c) All three

(d) None

Other Important Articles Covering the same topic:

Amaravathi: The rise and fall of one of the greatest Buddhist sites in India

Know Your Monument: Sanchi Stupa’s contribution to Indian architecture

Health cover for elderly

UPSC Syllabus:

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

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

What’s the ongoing story-  A day after the Union cabinet approved the expansion of the Ayushman Bharat Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (AB PM-JAY) health cover to all Indians of age 70 years and older irrespective of their income, officials on Thursday said registration for the expanded insurance scheme was likely to begin within a week.

Prerequisites:

— What is the Ayushman Bharat Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (AB PM-JAY)?

— What is the Central Government Health Scheme (CGHS)?

— What is universalising of healthcare?

— What is out-of-pocket expenditure (OOPE)?

Key takeaways: 

— AB PM-JAY is already the world’s largest public health insurance scheme. It provides free cover upto Rs 5 lakh annually to all members of eligible families — estimated to comprise the bottom 40% of the population economically irrespective of age.

— Anyone who has turned 70 as per their Aadhaar can register for the new health cover. There will be no exclusions or waiting period of pre-existing conditions.

— Everyone of age 70 or more will be entitled to a cover of Rs 5 lakh annually, shared within the family. This means if there are two elderly beneficiaries in the household, the cover will be split among them.

— Elderly members (age 70 and more) of families that are already covered in accordance with their economic status will get a top-up cover of Rs 5 lakh — to be used only for the elderly.

— The scheme will cover almost 6 crore individuals (from 4.5 crore families), of whom 1.78 crore are already covered by the scheme.

— Some 80 lakh people are separately covered under various government health schemes — the Central Government Health Scheme (CGHS), Ex-Servicemen Contributory Health Scheme, or cover provided to family members of defence and railway personnel, etc.

— Those who are covered under these government health schemes will have the option of choosing either Ayushman Bharat or continuing with their existing coverage.

— People who are covered under the Employees State Insurance Corporation (ESIC), however, will be eligible to have both their existing cover and Ayushman Bharat. This is because premiums for ESIC are paid by the insured and their employer, not the government.

— Ayushman Bharat has not been implemented by Delhi, West Bengal, and Odisha. Officials said that Odisha is currently in talks with the Centre to launch the scheme.

— Making health cover universal over the age of 70 is very significant as India’s population ages. More Indians are likely to need health facilities in the coming years, and much of the population is currently under-covered by health schemes.

For Your Information:

— Since 2018, the AB-PMJAY has covered 7.37 crore hospital admissions. This is a significant achievement in a country where out-of-pocket expenditure (OOPE) on health is often a reason for crushing poverty.

— Yet, the fact that OOPE constitutes 50 per cent of all health expenses, more than two-and-half times the global average, underlines unfinished tasks.

— At the time of the 2011 census, only 8.6% of India’s population was over the age of 60 years. This is expected to increase to 19.5% by 2050, according to the government’s Longitudinal Ageing Study in India (LASI).

— Older Indians are much more likely to be hospitalised and to stay in hospitals for longer.

— An analysis of Ayushman Bharat data by The Indian Express earlier had shown that almost 12% of all admissions and 14% of the money reimbursed under the scheme was for those who were of age 70 years or older.

— The elderly remain largely uncovered by any health scheme. Just over 20% of India’s population above the age of 60 is currently covered by any government, employer-provided, or personal insurance scheme, according to the India Ageing Report 2023.

— Women make up the larger share of the elderly population — a survey by NITI Aayog found that 58% of the elderly are women, and 54% among them are widows…

Points to Ponder: 

— What is the significance of increasing the coverage for the elderly in the AB PM-JAY?

— What is the population status of the elderly in India?

— What are the challenges faced by the elderly in India?

Post Read Question:

Prelims

(2) With reference to the Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission, consider the following statements: (UPSC CSE 2022)

1. Private and public hospitals must adopt it.

2. As it aims to achieve universal, health coverage, every citizen of India should be part of it ultimately.

3. It has seamless portability across the country.

Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

(a) 1 and 2 only

(b) 3 only

(c) 1 and 3 only

(d) 1, 2 and 3

Mains

Appropriate local community-level healthcare intervention is a prerequisite to achieve ‘Health for All’ in India. Explain. (UPSC CSE 2018)

Other Important Articles Covering the same topic:

Ayushman Bharat health insurance for senior citizens: A wider net

Recalling epic last stand of Saragarhi, 1897

UPSC Syllabus:

Preliminary Examination: History of India and Indian National Movement

Mains Examination: GS-I: Modern Indian history from about the middle of the eighteenth century until the present – significant events, personalities, issues

What’s the ongoing story- September 12 marks the 127th anniversary of the Battle of Saragarhi, regarded today as one of the finest last stands in global military history.

Prerequisites:

— What was the Pashtun revolt of 1897?

— Location of Saragarhi

Key takeaways: 

— On this day in 1897, 21 soldiers were pitted against over 8,000 Afridi and Orakzai tribal militants and managed to hold down the fort for seven hours.

— Though heavily outnumbered, the soldiers of 36th Sikhs (now 4 Sikh) regiment, led by Havildar Ishar Singh, fought till their last breath, killing 200 militants and injuring 600.

— Saragarhi was the communication tower between Fort Lockhart and Fort Gulistan. The two forts in the rugged North West Frontier Province (NWFP), now in Pakistan. were built by Maharaja Ranjit Singh but renamed by the British.

— Though Saragarhi was usually manned by a platoon of 40 soldiers, on that fateful day, it was being held by only 21 soldiers from the 36th Sikh (now 4 Sikh) and a non-combatant called Daad, a Pashtun who did odd jobs for the troops.

— Saragarhi helped to link up the two important forts which housed a large number of British troops in the rugged terrain of NWFP. Fort Lockhart was also home to families of British officers…

— Around 9 am that day, the sentry at Saragarhi saw a thick haze of dust and soon realised that it was caused by a large army of tribal people marching towards the fort. He estimated their number between 8,000 and 15,000…

— The tribal folk wanted to isolate the two forts by cutting off the lines of communication between them…

— Making a departure from the tradition of not giving gallantry medals posthumously, Queen Victoria awarded the 21 dead soldiers…

— In 2017, the Punjab government decided to observe Saragarhi Day on September 12 as a holiday.

— Even today the Khyber Scouts regiment of the Pakistani army mounts a guard and salutes the Saragarhi memorial close to Fort Lockhart.

For Your Information:

— Considered as one of history’s greatest last stands, the epic ‘Battle of Saragarhi’ has been listed as one of the top eight battles of bravery by UNESCO.

Points to Ponder: 

— Read about the Anglo-Sikh war

— Significance of the North West Frontier Province (NWFP) for the British Empire

— What were the administrative changes in the military after 1857?

Post Read Question:

(3) Consider the following statements about the Battle of Saragarhi:

1. Saragarhi was a post that was originally built by Ranjit Singh of Punjab during his western expedition.

2. The soldiers of the 37th Sikh Regiment fought the Battle of Saragarhi.

Which of the following statements is/are correct?

(a) 1 only

(b) 2 only

(c) Both 1 and 2

(d) Neither 1 nor 2

Other Important Articles Covering the same topic:

Explained: Why the Battle of Saragarhi continues to inspire India & world

Govt & Politics

Putin proposes bilateral with Modi during BRICS summit on Oct 22

UPSC Syllabus:

Preliminary Examination: Current events of national and international importance

Mains Examination: GS-II: India and its neighbourhood- relations, Bilateral, regional and global groupings and agreements involving India and/or affecting India’s interests.

What’s the ongoing story- Two months after they met in Moscow, Russian President Vladmir Putin on Thursday proposed a bilateral meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the sidelines of the BRICS summit in Kazan next month when NSA Ajit Doval called on him in St Petersburg.

Prerequisites:

— What is the role of the National Security Advisor (NSA)?

— Why BRICS was formed?

Key takeaways: 

— The Putin-Doval meeting took place about three weeks after Modi travelled to Kyiv on August 23 and held talks with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

— Doval is in St Petersburg to attend a conclave of national security advisors of the BRICS (Brazil-Russia-India-China-South Africa) nations.

— The summit of the grouping will be held in the Russian city of Kazan from October 22-24. Modi is likely to attend the summit.

— On Wednesday, the NSA held talks with his Russian counterpart Sergei Shoigu focusing on important issues of “mutual interests”.

For Your Information:

— Stressing that the Ukraine conflict cannot be resolved on the battlefield, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar said on Tuesday that Russia and Ukraine have to negotiate and if they want advice, India is always willing to give it.

— Jaishankar’s comments on the Ukraine war are a reiteration of what PM Narendra Modi said in Kyiv on August 23 — that India is willing to play “an active role” in the peace process between Russia and Ukraine.

Points to Ponder: 

— What is the significance of BRICS for Russia and India?

— What are the areas of cooperation and conflict between India and Russia?

— How is India trying to balance its relationship with Russia and Ukraine?

Post Read Question:

Prelims

(4) With reference to the BRICS grouping, consider the following statements:

1. It represents around 65 per cent of the world’s population.

2. The decision among the BRICS grouping are unanimous.

3. Argentina became the latest country to be added to the group.

How many of the statements given above are correct?

(a) Only one

(b) Only two

(c) All three

(d) None

Mains

What is the significance of Indo-US defence deals over Indo-Russian defence deals? Discuss with reference to stability in the Indo-Pacific region. (UPSC CSE 2020)

Other Important Articles Covering the same topic:

C Raja Mohan writes: India’s role in peacemaking in Ukraine

Russia, Ukraine have to negotiate, India willing to advise: Jaishankar

 

The Ideas Page

What Centre can learn from states

UPSC Syllabus:

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

Mains Examination: GS-II: Government policies and interventions for development in various sectors and issues arising out of their design and implementation

What’s the ongoing story- Derek O’Brien writes: Let me begin by sharing a few startling statistics. India’s female labour force participation rate is just 28 per cent. One out of three young people is not engaged in education, employment or training, with women making up 95 per cent of this group. For every five men in managerial positions, only one is a woman.

Prerequisites:

— What is the female labour force participation rate?

— What are direct benefit transfers (DBT)?

— What is the Pradhan Mantri Matru Vandana Yojana?

Key takeaways: 

— India ranked 127th out of 146 countries in the Global Gender Gap Index 2023. Three out of 10 women in the age group of 18-49 years have experienced violence from their spouses as per a survey by Niti Aayog.

— One important trend: Much of the income that comes through DBT is spent by the woman at her own discretion. Targeting low-income households through these schemes is especially beneficial as these households allocate a larger proportion of their income to basic necessities like food and fuel.

— This is evident from the fact that the bottom 20 per cent of rural households spend 53 per cent of their income on food, while urban households in the same bracket allocate 49 per cent. Given these patterns of high consumption, much of the money provided through DBT circulates back into the economy.

— Besides Maharashtra, NDA states like Assam and Madhya Pradesh run similar schemes. Opposition states running DBT schemes for women are Tamil Nadu, Himachal Pradesh, Karnataka and Punjab. West Bengal has Lakshmir Bhandar.

— All these schemes are fully sponsored by the states. Then there are 53 ministries under the Union government that run 315 DBT schemes. Of these, 13 are related to the Ministry of Women and Child Development. The ministry has an abysmal track record in implementing the schemes and ranks 31 in the DBT Performance Rankings.

For Your Information:

— In 2022, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) lauded India’s Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) Scheme as a “logistical marvel” that has reached hundreds of millions of people and specifically benefitted women, the elderly and farmers.

— DBT has also been used for in-kind transfers to provide subsidised grains via the public distribution system to poor households. Even though the DBT was initiated in 2013, its full potential was realised with the JAM Trinity (Jan Dhan, Aadhaar, and Mobile) post-2017-18. — Most discussions on the benefits of DBT have focused on its impact on curbing corruption or reducing leakages, or increasing coverage. It is estimated that DBT has resulted in savings of 1.14 per cent of GDP.

Points to Ponder: 

— What is the significance of DBT to women?

— What are the pros and cons of the DBT?

— What are the challenges of DBT in India?

Post Read Question:

Reforming the government delivery system through the Direct Benefit Transfer Scheme is a progressive step, but it has its limitations too. Comment. (UPSC CSE 2022)

Other Important Articles Covering the same topic:

For government schemes, a path to dignity for the poor

How Direct Benefit Transfer scheme has transformed social welfare in India

Economy

PM Modi: India has become ‘aviation inclusive’ in past decade

UPSC Syllabus:

Preliminary Examination: Current events of national and international importance 

Mains Examination: GS-II,III: Infrastructure- Government policies and interventions for development in various sectors and issues arising out of their design and implementation and Energy, Ports, Roads, Airports, Railways etc.

What’s the ongoing story- India is moving forward to become a leading aviation hub by the end of the decade and will be among the most well-connected regions in the coming years, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said Thursday.

Prerequisites:

— What is the significance of the civil aviation sector?

— What is Ude Desh ka Aam Naagrik (UDAN) scheme?

— What is the Buddhist circuit?

Key takeaways: 

— “The number of airports has doubled in India in the past 10 years…” the Prime Minister said in his address to the International Civil Aviation Organization Agency’s (ICAO) Second Asia Pacific Ministerial Conference on Civil Aviation.

— India is now the world’s third-largest aviation market and is also among the fastest-growing major aviation markets globally.

— “India is moving ahead with an aim to become a leading aviation hub by the end of the decade where the MRO (maintenance, repair, and overhaul) industry alone would be worth $4 billion.”

— Modi credited the government’s policy measures and initiatives like regional connectivity scheme— Ude Desh ka Aam Naagrik (UDAN)—for making air travel affordable and accessible for the common Indian, and called upon the visiting delegates to study the scheme.

— The Prime Minister also pitched the development of an international Buddhist circuit.

— Modi also announced the formal adoption of the Delhi Declaration—a comprehensive framework aimed at enhancing regional cooperation, addressing emerging challenges, and fostering sustainable growth within the civil aviation sector in the Asia Pacific region.

For Your Information:

— Many private airlines have attempted to attract India’s large middle class into becoming commercial air travellers by offering no-frills, cost-effective services. Central to this strategy was to make flight operations to Tier-2 and Tier-3 cities commercially viable.

— To accelerate this, in 2017, the Government of India approved a budget of Rs 4,500 crore for the revival of existing unserved and underserved airports and airstrips through the Regional Connectivity Scheme (RCS).

— Since then, UDAN — Ude Desh ka Aam Nagrik — has expedited connectivity to non-metros. Left to private enterprise alone, connectivity to Tier-2 and Tier-3 cities in India would have taken a very long time.

Points to Ponder: 

— What are the challenges faced by the variation sector in India?

— How can India become a leading aviation hub?

— What are the various schemes of the government related to the aviation industry?

Post Read Question:

Examine the development of Airports in India through joint ventures under Public–Private Partnership (PPP) model. What are the challenges faced by the authorities in this regard? (UPSC CSE 2017)

Other Important Articles Covering the same topic:

Flying high into Amrit Kaal

What makes long-haul, low-cost air travel a tough nut to crack?

Express Network

Under Mission Mausam, need-based enhanced rain, radar cover by 2026

UPSC Syllabus:

Preliminary Examination: 

Mains Examination: GS-II, III: Government policies and interventions for development in various sectors and issues arising out of their design and implementation, Achievements of Indians in science & technology; indigenization of technology and developing new technology.

What’s the ongoing story- The newly-launched Mission Mausam will not just help in improving weather forecasts in the country but also enable the Met department to develop capabilities to ‘manage’ certain weather events, like enhancing or suppressing rainfall over an area according to requirements, a top government official said on Thursday.

Prerequisites:

— What is cloud-seeding?

— What are the shortcomings of weather forecasting in India?

— What is Monsoon Mission?

Key takeaways: 

— Mission Mausam, which was approved by the union Cabinet on Wednesday, is aimed at improving India’s weather forecasting capabilities, by upgrading the weather monitoring infrastructure, investing in scientific research, and improving the skills of the scientists.

— The Mission has been allocated Rs 2,000 crore for the next two years. Ravichandran said the Mission would be implemented over a five-year period, with the budget for the second half to be decided at a later stage.

— An important task under the would be intensifying the weather observation network in the country, not just over land, but also on sea and the sky. This would directly help improve the weather model accuracy and also facilitate studies paving the way for having better understanding of climate sciences, he said.

For Your Information:

— Though the IMD’s weather forecasts have increased significantly over the past decade, it has struggled to provide accurate predictions at the local level. A recent report by The Indian Express showed how the IMD’s rainfall forecasts for Mumbai were way off the mark on about 40 per cent of the days in July.

— The science of weather forecasting has uncertainties built into it. The more specific a forecast — either over a small area, or during a small time-window — the greater is the uncertainty. Some of these uncertainties can be offset by installing denser network of measuring instruments, collecting more data, doing more computations and developing better simulation models.

— Extreme weather events are even more difficult to predict. In the last decade or so, extreme events, under the influence of climate change, have become more frequent and intense, and also more erratic. Events expected to occur only once in 50 or 100 years, have been happening with far greater regularity.

Points to Ponder: 

— What is the role and function of the IMD?

— What are the dedicated weather satellites deployed by India?

— How Mission Mausam aims to overcome the challenges faced by IMD?

Post Read Question:

(5) Which of the following statements are correct about the INSAT-3D?

(a)  First dedicated polarimetry mission to investigate the behaviour of intense astronomical X-ray sources in harsh conditions.

(b) It is the first of several second-generation satellites planned for Navigation with Indian Constellation (NavIC) services.

(c) It is an exclusive meteorological satellite of ISRO which is developed out of a small I-1000 bus made of carbon fibre re-enforced plastic light weight structure.

(d)  Improve meteorological observations and monitoring of land and ocean surfaces for weather forecasting and disaster warning.

Other Important Articles Covering the same topic:

Why India Meteorological Department (IMD) needs an upgrade, with climate change impacting weather

UPSC Essay and Ethics Snippets

‘Wordly Wise’ from The Editorial Page

“Only those who dare to fail greatly can ever achieve greatly.” 

– Robert F Kennedy

(Thought Process: What do you understand by ‘dare to fail’? Is it related to the risk-taking ability? Is taking that chance to fail an act of bravery? Can you succeed without the risk of failure? How can one develop this attitude? What is the importance of this attitude for a civil servant? Connect the dots: William Whewell wrote- “Every failure is a step to success. Every detection of what is false directs us towards what is true: every trial exhausts some tempting form of error.” )

 

ALSO READ
‘Each day’s delay matters’: Supreme Court quashes detention over communication ‘failure’	Underlining that “each day’s delay matters” in cases of personal liberty, the Supreme Court on Thursday reiterated that in cases of preventive detention, the detaining authority must furnish to the detenu copies of all documents which are relied upon by it and failure to do so would vitiate the detention.

 

PRELIMS ANSWER KEY

1. (b)   2. (b)   3. (a)  4. (a)  5. (d)

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