UPSC Key-September 1, 2022: Why you should read ‘State and Religion’ or ‘Virtual School and Right to Education’ or ‘Mikhail Gorbachev’ for UPSC CSE

Gorbachev, who oversaw end of the USSR & Cold War, dies at 91

Syllabus:

Preliminary Examination: Current events of national and international importance.

Mains Examination:

• General Studies I: History of the world

• 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-Mikhail Gorbachev, who ended the Cold War without bloodshed but failed to prevent the collapse of the Soviet Union, died on Tuesday at the age of 91, hospital officials in Moscow said.

• Personality in News-Mikhail Gorbachev

• Mikhail Gorbachev-Know the related Facts

• Why the world knows Mikhail Gorbachev then and now?

• How did Mikhail Gorbachev become president of the Soviet Union?

• What is the Soviet Union known as today?

• What were the Policies of Mikhail Gorbachev?

• What is Perestroika and why USSR needed “perestroika”?

• What is Glasnost?

• What did Mikhail Gorbachev do after the fall of the Soviet Union?

• How was the bilateral ties of Russia (Erstwhile USSR) and western nations during Mikhail Gorbachev’s tenure?

• Why Mikhail Gorbachev is widely seen in Russia as the man responsible for the collapse of the Soviet Union?

• In 2005, Putin called the collapse of the Soviet Union the “greatest geopolitical catastrophe”

• How was the bilateral ties of Russia (Erstwhile USSR) and India during Mikhail Gorbachev’s tenure?

• “Between 1985 and 1989, Rajiv Gandhi and Mikhail Gorbachev found enough common ground to mark a high point in India-Soviet relations”- Know in detail the high and low point in India-Soviet relations

• Map Work-Member Countries of Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR)

Other Important Articles Covering the same topic:

📍They unfollowed the leader

📍TRAGIC HERO

📍Gorbachev was lionised by the West, reviled by some in Russia

📍Gorbachev and India

📍Explained: Perestroika and Glasnost – Gorbachev’s reform mantras

First-quarter GDP up13.5%, lower than RBI estimate

Syllabus:

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

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

Key Points to Ponder:

• What’s the ongoing story– India’s economy grew 13.5 per cent from a year ago in the April-June quarter this fiscal, its fastest year-on-year growth rate in four quarters. It was led by higher household consumption, especially of contact-intensive services, and buoyant investment activity, as compared to the same quarter of the last fiscal that bore the brunt of the second Covid-19 wave.

• First of all, what is Gross domestic product (GDP)?

• GDP-How it is Calculated?

• Gross domestic product (GDP) and Gross National Product (GNP)-Key Differences

• ‘Nominal’ GDP and ‘Real’ GDP-What is the difference?

• “Data released by the National Statistical Office showed that even though the revival of economic activity has pushed the gross domestic product (GDP) of Rs 36.85 lakh crore for the June-quarter past the pre-Covid levels, it is only 3.8 per cent higher than the economic output of the corresponding quarter in 2019-20 (pre-Covid)”-why marginal increment?

• What are the factors which helped in the growth of GDP?

• What do understand by ‘Private final consumption expenditure and Gross fixed capital formation’?

• How private final consumption expenditure and gross fixed capital formation helped in the growth of GDP?

• “The government is focusing on higher capEx even as revenue expenditure remains proportionately lower”-What is CapEx or Capital Expenditure?

• What Are Capital Expenditures (CapEx)?

• Many different types of assets can attribute long-term value to an economy. Therefore, there are certain types of CapEx-What are they?

• How does capital expenditure affect the economy?

• What does headwind mean in Economics?

• What is Revenue Expenditure?

• Capital Expenditures and Revenue Expenditures-What’s the Difference?

Other Important Articles Covering the same topic:

📍Understanding Capital Expenditures (CapEx)

📍Indian economy’s mixed signals

THE CITY

Rubble to tiles and bricks — how Supertech twin tower debris will be recycled

Syllabus:

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

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

Key Points to Ponder:

• What’s the ongoing story– The demolition of Supertech twin towers left behind 80,000 tonnes of debris, of which 28,000 tonnes will be scientifically processed at a concrete & demolition (C&D) waste plant in Noida by Re Sustainability and Recycling Private Ltd, formerly known as Ramky Reclamation and Recycling Private Ltd.

• How debris collected from the demolition site will be recycled?

• How much rubble or debris are we talking about?

• What will be done with this small mountain of debris?

• Who will manage the cleaning-up operation, and how long will it take?

• What had happened in the 2020 Maradu demolition case?

• How dust after and during demolition impacted surroundings and the environment?

• What are the harmful effects of demolition in the long run?

Other Important Articles Covering the same topic:

📍Explained: Noida Supertech twin towers gone, what happens to the debris that is left?

📍Environmental impact of demolition waste — An overview on 10 years of research and experience

‘Virtual school’ to make education accessible to all, says CM Kejriwal

Syllabus:

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

Mains Examination: General Studies I: 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- Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal Wednesday launched the Delhi Model Virtual School, which he said was India’s first, and said it will bring “revolutionary changes” in the field of education not only in the national capital but across the country. The school will be for classes IX to XII and will be affiliated to the Delhi Board of School Education.

• What do you mean by virtual school?

• The Delhi Model Virtual School-Know the key features

• Can virtual school replace traditional Schools?

• What are the basic infrastructure required for the Virtual Schools?

• But Virtual Schools are not for poor strata of society-do you agree?

• The Centre-run National Institute of Open Schooling’s virtual school and The Delhi Model Virtual School-know the difference

• But the Annual Status of Education Report (ASER) 2020 highlighted the digital pivot in India’s schooling system risks pushing it into deeper inequality. So in this scenario how Delhi Model Virtual School will ensure education for all?

• Why Right to Education is fundamental right?

• Right to Education and Pandemic-Connect the dots

Other Important Articles Covering the same topic:

📍One in three students of Classes 1 and 2 never attended in-person classes: ASER survey 2021

📍Last child matters

EXPRESS NETWORK

Only 16% of human trafficking cases in 2021 saw convictions: NCRB data

Syllabus:

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

Mains Examination: General Studies II: Welfare schemes for vulnerable sections of the population by the Centre and States and the performance of these schemes; mechanisms, laws, institutions and Bodies constituted for the protection and betterment of these vulnerable sections.

Key Points to Ponder:

• What’s the ongoing story- The Conviction rate in human trafficking cases across the country continues to be low, according to the latest report of the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB). While police filed chargesheets in 84.7 per cent of the 2,189 cases registered under the Anti-Human Trafficking Units (AHTUs) across the country in 2021, only 16 per cent of the cases saw convictions.

• What is National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB)?

• What do you understand by the term ‘human trafficking’?

• What do you understand by ‘the act of trafficking, the means of trafficking and the purpose of trafficking’?

• Human Trafficking and Migrant Smuggling-compare and contrast

• What are the most common types of human trafficking?

• What are the Constitutional, Legislative and Legal provisions related to human trafficking in India?

• What National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) says on human trafficking in India?

Other Important Articles Covering the same topic:

📍Explained: What is the NCRB’s ‘Crime in India’ report, and how to read its findings

THE IDEAS PAGE

Let Ganpati come to Idgah

Syllabus:

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

Mains Examination:

• General Studies I: Communalism, Regionalism & Secularism.

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

Key Points to Ponder:

• What’s the ongoing story- Faizan Mustafa writes: A Muslim initiative to permit pooja at the maidan in Bengaluru would have been a fitting reply to those who want to take political advantage of people’s religious sentiments. Inter-religious disputes are best resolved by the faith communities themselves.

• First of all, what is Idgah Maidan?

• What is the background of this whole issue?

• What was the Supreme Court order in 2010 related to Idgah maidan and Hubbali-Dharwad Municipal Corporation?

• What is the present case about?

• Decode the Quote-“God is dead. God remains dead. And we have killed him. Yet his shadow still looms”.

• According to the Author, “Religion is, has always been, an indispensable and ineffaceable part of human civilisation”-Establish the relationship between man and the religion

• What is the religion-state relationship under the Constitution of India?

• What kind of freedom of religion has the constitution guaranteed?

• What is the history of Ganesh Chaturthi?

• Ganesh Chaturthi and Bal Gangadhar Tilak-Connect the dots

• Why should faith communities, rather than the state, come forward to resolve such disputes?

• “Freedom of religion can be best described as the relationship between religion and the individual from which the state is completely excluded”-Why state should be excluded from religion?

• “Coercion and use of state power in such contentious matters not only goes against the neutrality principle but also undermines the lofty ideal of “fraternity” mentioned in the preamble of our constitution”-Describe fraternity from Indian Society’s perspective

• Describe each of them and what it means to you–JUSTICE, social, economic and political, LIBERTY of thought, expression, belief, faith and worship, EQUALITY of status and of opportunity, FRATERNITY assuring the dignity of the individual and the unity and integrity of the Nation

• Case Study-How as an administrator, you will ensure JUSTICE, LIBERTY EQUALITY and FRATERNITY in your day today work life?

Other Important Articles Covering the same topic:

📍Bengaluru Idgah row: A pot kept on steady simmer ahead of 2023 polls

📍Explained: A short history of the Hubbali-Dharwad Idgah controversy

Power and its discontents

Syllabus:

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

Main Examination: General Studies III: Infrastructure-Energy, Ports, Roads, Airports, Railways etc.

Key Points to Ponder:

• What’s the ongoing story- – The government introduced the Electricity Amendment Bill 2022 in the Lok Sabha recently, and, as expected, the proceedings were not smooth. Though the Bill has been referred to the Parliamentary Standing Committee for Energy, states fear that the Centre is encroaching into their domain in power sector governance.

• The Electricity (Amendment) Bill, 2022-Know the key highlights

• The Electricity (Amendment) Bill, 2022-What is the Bill, why are there protests against it?

• What is the opposition to the Electricity (Amendment) Bill 2022?

• What are the Bill’s implications, as per protestors?

• How is it expected to impact power employees and consumers?

• Electricity is in Union, State or Concurrent list?

• “Some provisions in the Bill do give an impression that the Centre is attempting to undermine the states. Amongst them is the clause pertaining to applicants seeking a distribution licence in more than one state”-How Centre is encroaching the state’s domain in this scenario?

• Central Electricity Regulatory Commission (CERC) and State Electricity Regulatory Commission (SERC)-know about them

• What are the Bill’s implications, as per protestors?

• How is it expected to impact power employees and consumers?

Other Important Articles Covering the same topic:

📍Explained: Why has the Electricity Amendment Bill led to protests in Punjab?

📍Explained: Electricity Bill – promise, problems

 

EXPLAINED

Bhang, ganja, and criminality in the NDPS Act

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.

• 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- While granting bail to a man arrested on June 1 for possessing 29 kg of bhang and 400 g of ganja, Karnataka High Court recently observed that nowhere in the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act is bhang referred to as a prohibited drink or prohibited drug. Since the ganja recovered was below commercial quantity, the accused was given bail on a personal bond of Rs 2 lakh.

• What is bhang?

• How the NDPS Act defines cannabis (hemp)?

• The Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (Amendment) Ordinance, 2021 and Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, 1985

• Essential Narcotic Drugs (ENDs)

• Narcotics Control Bureau- Role and mandate

• What is Cannabis or Marijuana?

• What is the main psychoactive component of Charas and Ganja?

• What is Tetrahydrocannabinol and how it works in Human Body?

• In India, how does the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, 1985 define cannabis, Charas and Ganja?

• United Nations Convention Against Illicit Traffic in Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances and India-Know in detail

• Golden Crescent and Golden Triangle regions-what are they?

• Map work-‘Golden Crescent’ and ‘Golden Triangle’

• Global drug Trade and Impact on India

Other Important Articles Covering the same topic:

📍The Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (Amendment) Ordinance, 2021

📍UPSC Essentials: Case Study of the week- Fight for a drug-free community

ANTI-RADIATION PILLS

Syllabus:

Preliminary Examination: Current events of national and international importance.

Mains Examination: Effect of policies and politics of developed and developing countries on India’s interests

Key Points to Ponder:

• What’s the ongoing story- With fears of a nuclear disaster at Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhia power plant growing, the European Union has decided to pre-emptively supply 5.5 million anti-radiation pills to be distributed among residents in the vicinity.

• What is a radiation emergency?

• What are anti-radiation pills?

• How do these pills work?

• Is the method fool-proof?

• Map Work-Zaporizhzhia

• Ukraine has four nuclear power stations comprising 15 reactors but what makes the plant at Zaporizhzhia important and extremely volatile?

• What are the Cooling systems and why they are extremely crucial to the safe operations of nuclear reactors?

Other Important Articles Covering the same topic:

📍Explained: How fighting in Ukraine has put an active nuclear plant at grave risk

📍Explained: How is Russia’s war in Ukraine going?

ECONOMY

Urban joblessness declines to 7.6% in Apr-Jun 2022: NSO

Syllabus:

Preliminary Examination: Economic and Social Development

Main Examination:

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

• General Studies III: Inclusive growth and issues arising from it

Key Points to Ponder:

• What’s the ongoing story– Urban unemployment rate, in current weekly status (CWS), for all ages stood at 7.6% in the first quarter of current fiscal, lower than 12.7% recorded in corresponding quarter last fiscal and 7.8% in the preceding January-March period of the last fiscal. Urban unemployment rate was 20.9% in the April-June 2020 period when the first wave of the pandemic hit hard on the country.

• What is rural and urban unemployment?

• What Is the Unemployment Rate? How it is Calculated by CMIE?

• Centre for Monitoring Indian Economy (CMIE)-Role and Under which Ministry/Organisation?

• India’s unemployment rate in Urban and Rural Areas-Present Status

• Why unemployment is more in the urban areas as compared to the rural areas?

• What do you understand by Labour Force and Labour Force participation rate (LFPR)?

• What do you understand by Labour Force and Labour Force participation rate (LFPR)?

• Female Labour Force Participation Rate-Know about this in detail

• Employment Rate (ER) and Unemployment Rate (UER)-Know in Detail

• Unemployment in India-Types (Open Unemployment, Disguised Unemployment, Seasonal Unemployment, Cyclical Unemployment etc.)

• Know the Basics-Demography, Demographic characteristics, Demographic potential, Demographic Transition, Demographic Dividend and India’s Demographic Dividend

Other Important Articles Covering the same topic:

📍State of (un)employment in India

 

 

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.