July 22

- July Current Affairs - August 25, 2023

1. Modi raises aspirations of Tamils with Ranil: The Hindu – Page 1,8

Why is it in news? India expects Sri Lanka to implement the 13th Amendment and ensure a “life of dignity and respect” for its Tamil population, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said.
UPSC SYLLABUS RELEVANCE for prelims and Mains:
Prelims: International Relations.

Mains: General Studies II – India and its neighbourhood- relations.

Important concepts: 13th Amendment to the Sri Lankan Constitution.
Prelims PYQ Exercise-Find answer:
Q. Where is Bundala Biosphere Reserve which has been recently added to the UNESCO’s Man and Biosphere (MAB) network located? (2006)

(a) Russia
(b) India
(c) Sri Lanka
(d) Bangladesh
Today’s prelims practice question:
Q. Consider the following statements about the 13th Amendment to the Sri Lankan Constitution:

1. The Indo-Lanka Accord of July 1987 was signed by then Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi and President J.R. Jayawardene.

2. The 13th amendment was passed in the year 1998. Which among the statements mentioned above is/are correct?

A. 1 only
B. 2 only
C. Both 1 and 2
D. Neither 1 nor 2

Correct answer: A

Explanation: The 13th Amendment to the Sri Lankan Constitution is an outcome of the Indo-Lanka Accord of July 1987, signed by then Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi and President J.R. Jayawardene, in an attempt to resolve Sri Lanka’s ethnic conflict that had aggravated into a full-fledged civil war, between the armed forces and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, which led the struggle for Tamils’ self-determination and sought a separate state. It was passed in 1987.

Mains PYQ exercise:
India is an age-old friend of Sri Lanka.’ Discuss India’s role in the recent crisis in Sri Lanka in the light of the preceding statement. (2022)

Today’s mains practice question:
What do you know about the 13th amendment to the Sri Lankan Constitution? What are the concerns regarding the 13th amendment?

DETAILED EXPLANATION OF IMPORTANT CONCEPTS
13th Amendment to the Sri Lankan Constitution:

• Sri Lanka’s current Constitution, adopted in 1978, has had 21 amendments to date, but arguably, none as controversial as this.

• Passed in November 1987, months after Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi and Sri Lankan President J.R. Jayewardene signed the Indo-Lanka Accord, the 13th Amendment is the only legislative guarantee of a measure of power devolution to the island’s provinces.

• It provided for setting up provincial governments across the country — there are nine provincial councils — and made Tamil, too, an official language, and English, a link language.

• It was, in some measure, an antidote to the ‘Sinhala Only Act’ of 1956, one of the most discriminatory laws passed targeting the island’s Tamil minorities, after the Ceylon Citizenship Act of 1948 that rendered Sri Lanka’s Malaiyaha Tamils of Indian origin stateless.

• It also sought to address the Tamils’ right to self-determination which, by the 1980s, had become a raging political call.
For More Content
Click here
TAGS:

July 13

- July Current Affairs - August 25, 2023

Objections overruled, Forest Bill goes to House unchanged:

Why is it in news?

A parliamentary committee, set up to examine the controversial proposed amendments to the Forest (Conservation) Act, 1980, has endorsed the amendment Bill in its entirety.

UPSC SYLLABUS RELEVANCE for prelims and Mains

Prelims: • Environment and Ecology.

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

Important concepts• Forest (Conservation) Amendment Bill, 2023

PRELIMS PYQ EXERCISE – FIND ANSWER

Q. Consider the following statements:
1. As per recent amendment to the Indian Forest Act, 1927, forest dwellers have the right to fell the bamboo grown in forest areas.
2. As per the Scheduled Tribes and Other Traditional Forest Dwellers (Recognition of Forest Rights) Act, 2006, bamboo is a minor forest produce.
3. The Scheduled Tribes and Other Traditional Forest Dwellers (Recognition of Forests Rights) Act, 2006 allows ownership of minor forest produce to forest dwellers.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
A] 1 and 2 only
B] 2 and 3 only
C] 3 only
D] 1, 2 and 3

TODAY’S PRELIMS PRACTICE QUESTION:
Q. Consider the following statements about the Forest (Conservation) Amendment Bill,
2023:

1. The Bill seeks to amend the Forest (Conservation) Act, 1980, which was enacted to ensure that India’s forest land is not usurped for non-forestry purposes.
2. There is a proposal to change the name of the Forest (Conservation) Act, 1980 to the Van (Sanrakshan Evam Samvardhan) Adhiniyam.
Which among the statements mentioned above is/are incorrect?
a) 1 only
b) 2 only
c) Both 1 and 2
d) Neither 1 nor 2

Correct answer: A

Explanation:

• The Forest (Conservation) Amendment Bill, 2023 seeks to amend the pivotal Forest (Conservation) Act, 1980, which was enacted to ensure that India’s forest land is not wantonly usurped for non-forestry purposes. There is a proposal to change the name of the 1980 law from the Forest (Conservation) Act to the Van (Sanrakshan Evam Samvardhan) Adhiniyam, which translates to Forest (Conservation and Augmentation) Act.

For More Content

Click here
TAGS:

July 06

- July Current Affairs - August 25, 2023

Cabinet gives nod to Data Protection Bill: The Hindu – Page 10

Why is it in news?

The Union Cabinet cleared the Digital Personal Data Protection (DPDP) Bill recently. The clearance paves the way for the Bill to be introduced in Parliament in the Monsoon Session, scheduled to begin on July 20.

UPSC SYLLABUS RELEVANCE for prelims and Mains

Prelims: Indian Polity and Governance

Mains: General Studies II: Important aspects of governance, transparency and accountability, e-governance- applications, models, successes, limitations, and potential; citizens charters, transparency & accountability and institutional

Important concepts: Digital Personal Data Protection (DPDP) Bill

Today’s prelims practice question:

Q. Consider the following statements about the Digital Personal Data Protection (DPDP) Bill:
1. As per the draft bill, courts and law enforcement agencies enjoy wide exemptions from key requirements.
2. In the Shah Bano case, privacy was declared as key to the fundamental right to life and personal liberty under Article 21 of the Constitution.
Which among the statements mentioned above is/are correct?
A. 1 only
B. 2 only
C. Both 1 and 2
D. Neither 1 nor 2
Correct answer: A

Explanation: The Digital Personal Data Protection (DPDP) Bill comes after multiple versions floated by the Union government, a process that was started way back in 2017 with the K.S. Puttaswamy v Union of India judgment, where privacy was declared as key to the fundamental right to life and personal liberty under Article 21 of the Constitution. As per the latest draft, courts and law enforcement agencies enjoy wide exemptions from key requirements, as the Bill’s requirements do not apply when “personal data is processed in the interest of prevention, detection, investigation or prosecution of any offence or contravention of any law” or “the processing of personal data by any court or tribunal or any other body in India is necessary for the performance of any judicial or quasi-judicial function”.

For more content

Click here
TAGS:

July 17

- July Current Affairs - August 25, 2023

  1. Govt. sets up new panel to review all NSO data: The Hindu – Page 1

Why is it in news?

The Union government has constituted a new internal oversight mechanism for official data, revamping a Standing Committee on Economic Statistics (SCES) set up in late 2019, soon after the findings from the last round of household  surveys on consumption expenditure and employment were junked over “data quality issues”.

UPSC SYLLABUS RELEVANCE for prelims and Mains

Prelims: Current events of national and international importance Government Policies.

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

Important concepts

Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation

National Statistical Office (NSO)

National Statistical Commission (NSC)

Today’s prelims practice question:

Consider the following statements:
  1. Standing Committee on Economic Statistics (SCES) will now be replaced by a Standing Committee on Statistics (SCoS).
  2. K.C. Venugopal has been named the chair of the new panel.

which among the statements mentioned above is/are correct?

  1. 1 only
  2. 2 only
  3. Both 1 and 2
  4. Neither 1 nor 2

Correct answer: A

Explanation:

Standing Committee on Economic Statistics (SCES), which was tasked with examining economic indicators only, will now be replaced by a Standing Committee on Statistics (SCoS) which has a broader mandate to review the framework and results of all surveys conducted under the aegis of the National Statistical Office (NSO). Pronab Sen, former Chairman of the National Statistical Commission (NSC), has been named the chair of the new panel

   DETAILED EXPLANATION OF IMPORTANT CONCEPTS

About the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation:

  • The Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation came into existence as an independent Ministry on 15th October 1999 after the merger of the Department of Statistics and the Department of Programme Implementation.
  • The Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation attaches considerable importance to coverage and quality aspects of statistics released in the country.

Wings of MoSPI:

  • The Ministry has two wings, one relating to Statistics and the other relating to Programme Implementation.
  • The Statistics Wing re-designated as National Statistics Office (NSO) consists of the Central Statistics Office (CSO) and National Sample Survey Office (NSSO).
  • CSO is an attached Office and NSSO is subordinate Office under the control of Ministry of S&PI.

National Statistical Organisation (NSO):

  • In pursuance to the decisions of the Union Cabinet on 19.05.2005, the Government, through its resolution dated 01.06.2005, decided to set up the National Statistical Commission.
  • It also decided to merge the Central Statistical Organisation (CSO) and National Sample Survey Organisation (NSSO) into a single entity called the National Statistical Organisation (NSO).

  • The Government followed the due process of inter-ministerial consultation as an integral part of the decision-making process.

For more content

Click here
TAGS:

July 08

- July Current Affairs - August 25, 2023

‘Selective ban’ of messaging apps may be looked at: TRAI: 

Why is it in news?

The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI)put out a consultation paper asking if it would be possible for messaging apps such as WhatsApp to be brought under a licensing framework, and whether such apps can be banned “selectively” in places where an Internet shutdown would otherwise have been imposed.

UPSC SYLLABUS
RELEVANCE for prelims and Mains

Prelims: Current events of national and international importance – Science and Technology.

Mains: General Studies-III: Technology – Science and Technologydevelopments and their applications and effects in everyday life.

Important concepts

Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI)

Today’s prelims practice question:

Q. Consider the following statements:
1. The “OTT communication services” is the term used for such apps that provide only entertainment services.
2. Net neutrality is the concept that all traffic on a network should be treated without discrimination in speed or pricing.
Which among the statements mentioned above is/are incorrect?
A. 1 only
B. 2 only
C. Both 1 and 2
D. Neither 1 nor 2

Correct answer: A

Explanation: “OTT communication services” is the term used for such apps that allow calling and texting over the Internet, often with encryption that makes it difficult for anyone to access the content of a conversation. Net neutrality is the concept that all traffic on a network should be treated without discrimination in speed or pricing.

For More Content

Click here
TAGS:

July 05

- July Current Affairs - August 25, 2023

SCO calls for multipolar world order as Iran joins grouping:

Why is it in news?

The formation of a “more representative” and multipolar world order is in the
global interest, leaders of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation said at a virtual summit chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

UPSC SYLLABUS RELEVANCE for prelims and Mains

Prelims: Current events of National and International Importance.

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

Important concepts

 Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO)

New Delhi Declaration

Today’s prelims practice question:

Q. Consider the following statements about the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO):
1. Iraq has formally become a full member of Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) in 2023.
2. The next meeting of the SCO Council of Heads of State will be held in 2024 in Kyrgyzstan.
Which among the statements mentioned above is/are correct?
A. 1 only
B. 2 only
C. Both 1 and 2
D. Neither 1 nor 2
Correct answer: D
Explanation: Iran, one of India’s neighbours in its extended neighbourhood, has formally become a full member of Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO). Prime Minister Narendra Modi welcomed Iran as the newest member of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) at the virtual summit of the grouping on July 4. Prior to Iran’s joining, the SCO consisted of eight member countries: China, Russia, India, Pakistan, and the four Central Asian countries of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan. The next meeting of the SCO Council of Heads of State will be held in 2024 in the Republic of Kazakhstan.

For more content

Click here
TAGS:

July 04

- July Current Affairs - August 21, 2023

 PM to host Xi, Putin, Sharif virtually for SCO Summit

Why is it in news?

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will “virtually host” Russian President Vladimir Putin, Chinese President Xi Jinping, Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Central Asian Presidents as India chairs the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation’s Council of Heads of State (SCO-CHS), for the first time.

UPSC SYLLABUS RELEVANCE for prelims and Mains

Prelims:

  •   Current events of National and International Importance.

Mains:

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

For more content

Click here
TAGS:

july 03

- July Current Affairs - August 21, 2023

INDIA, CHINA RAMP UP INFRA ON NORTH BANK OF PANGONG LAKE

Why is it in news?

While China is rushing to complete a bridge across the Pangong Tso, connecting the north and south banks, India is also building a black-topped road on its side on the north bank.

UPSC SYLLABUS RELEVANCE for prelims and Mains

Prelims:

  •  Current events of National and International Importance.

Mains:

  •  General Studies-III: Security challenges and their management in border areas – linkages of organized crime with terrorism.

Important concepts

Pangong Lake

                                                      PRELIMS PYQ EXERCISE-FIND ANSWER

Q. Zoji La is a Pass between (1990)
a) Kashmir valley and Ladakh
b) Lahul valley and Spiti
c) Chumbi valley and Sikkim
d) Arunachal Pradesh and Tibet

                                                    TODAY’S PRELIMS PRACTICE QUESTION

Q. Consider the following statements about Pangong Lake:
1. The lake’s water, which is crystal clear, serves as a major source of drinking water.
2. K2, the world’s second highest peak, ends at the south bank of Pangong Tso.
Which among the statements mentioned above is/are incorrect?
A. 1 only
B. 2 only
C. Both 1 and 2
D. Neither 1 nor 2
Correct answer: C
Explanation:

  •  Pangong Tso literally translates into a “conclave lake”. Pangong means conclave in Ladakhi and Tso means lake in Tibetan language. Situated at over 14,000 feet, the Lake is about 135 km long.
  • The lake’s water, while crystal clear, is brackish, making it undrinkable. K2, the world’s second highest peak, ends at the north bank of Pangong Tso.

For more content

Click here
TAGS:

July 01

- July Current Affairs - August 21, 2023

PM launches National Sickle Cell Anaemia Elimination Mission in Shahdol, Madhya Pradesh: PIB

Why is it in news?

The Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi launched the National Sickle Cell Anaemia Elimination Mission in Shahdol, Madhya Pradesh and distributed sickle cell genetic status cards to the beneficiaries

UPSC SYLLABUS RELEVANCE for prelims and Mains

Prelims : current events of National and International Importance.

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

Important concepts

Sickle Cell Anaemia National Sickle Cell Anaemia Elimination Mission

                                                                                                  Prelims PYQ Exercise-Find answer:

Match List-I (Disease) with List-II (Types of disease) and select the correct answer using the
codes given below:
[2000]
         List-I                                                   List-II

    A. Haemophilia                                        1. Deficiency disease
    B. Diabetes                                               2. Genetic disease
    C. Rickets                                                  3. Hormonal disorder
    D. Ringworm                                             4. Fungal infection
(a) A – 2; B – 3; C – 4; D – 1

For more content

Click here
TAGS: