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DAILY CURRENT AFFAIRS IAS | UPSC Prelims and Mains Exam – 5th January 2022

Archives (PRELIMS + MAINS FOCUS) Multi Agency Centre (MAC) Part of: Prelims and GS-III -Security Context The Union government has asked the States to share more intelligence inputs through the Multi Agency Centre (MAC). It is a common counter-terrorism grid under the Intelligence Bureau that was made operational in 2001 following the Kargil War. As many as 28 organisations, including the Research and Analysis Wing (R&AW), armed forces and State police, are part of the platform.  Various security agencies share real-time intelligence inputs on the MAC. About the Centre MAC was formed in December 2001 following the Kargil intrusion and the subsequent overhaul of the Indian national security apparatus suggested by the Kargil Review Committee report and GoM report.  Accordingly, the Intelligence Bureau (IB) was authorized to create a multi-agency centre (MAC) in New Delhi.  Now functioning 24/7 as the nodal body for sharing intelligence inputs, MAC coordinates with representatives from numerous agencies, different ministries, both central and state. As noted in a 2016 parliamentary report the major contributors of intelligence inputs to the MAC were the Defence Intelligence Agency (DIA) and the Research and Analysis Wing (R&AW).  OmiSure Part of: Prelims and GS-II Health and GS-III Sci and Tech Context The Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) has approved a testing kit for detecting the Omicron variant of SARS-CoV-2. The kit is manufactured by Tata Medical and Diagnostics and is named OmiSure. The kit will be used to confirm Omicron in patients with its S-Gene Target Failure (SGTF) strategy. What is the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) ICMR, New Delhi is the apex body in India for the formulation, coordination, and promotion of biomedical research.  Ministry: Ministry of Health & Family Welfare.  It is funded by the Government of India  The Governing Body of ICMR is presided over by the Union Health Minister. Airtel Payments Bank designated as scheduled bank Part of: Prelims and GS-III - Banking Context  The Reserve Bank of India (RBI)  said Airtel Payments Bank Ltd. has been included in the Second Schedule to the Reserve Bank of India Act, 1934. With this, the bank can now pitch for government-issued Requests for Proposals (RFP) and primary auctions and undertake both Central and State Government business. What is a Schedule Bank? Scheduled Banks in India refer to those banks which have been included in the Second Schedule of Reserve Bank of India Act, 1934.  Reserve Bank of India (RBI) in turn includes only those banks in this Schedule which satisfy the criteria laid down vide section 42(6)(a) of the said Act.  Banks not under this Schedule are called Non-Scheduled Banks. Every Scheduled bank enjoys two types of principal facilities: it becomes eligible for debts/loans at the bank rate from the RBI; and, it automatically acquires the membership of clearing house. NEAT 3.0 Part of: Prelims and GS II - Education  Context Union Education Minister and Skill Development Minister launched NEAT 3.0, a single platform to provide the best-developed ed-tech solutions and courses to students of the country. Key takeaways  NEAT will be a game-changer in bridging the digital divide, especially among the economically disadvantaged students and also in fulfilling the knowledge-based requirement of India and the world. National Educational Alliance for Technology (NEAT) is an initiative to provide the use of best-developed technological solutions in the education sector to enhance the employability of the youth on a single platform for learners' convenience. These solutions use artificial intelligence for a personalised and customised learning experience for better learning outcomes and skill development in the niche areas. The minister informed that 58 global and Indian start-up ed-tech companies are onboard NEAT and are offering 100 courses and e-resources for bettering learning outcomes, developing employable skills and overcoming learning loss. The minister expressed his happiness that, more than 12 lakh socially and economically disadvantaged students have received free ed-tech course coupons worth over Rs 253 crore under NEAT 3.0. Automatic Generation Control (AGC) Part of: Prelims and GS-III Economy Context: Union Minister of Power dedicated Automatic Generation Control (AGC) to the nation. Key takeaways  This is expected to facilitate achieving the government’s ambitious target of 500 GW non-fossil fuel-based generation capacity by 2030. The AGC is being operated by Power System Operation Corporation (POSOCO) through National Load Despatch Centre. Through AGC, NLDC (National Load Despatch Centre) sends signals to more than 50 power plants in the country every 4 seconds to maintain the frequency and reliability of the Indian Power System.  This will ensure more efficient and automatic frequency control for handling variable and intermittent renewable generation. Shri R.K. Singh also released a report titled “Assessment of Inertia in Indian Power System” which has been prepared by POSOCO in collaboration with IIT Bombay. Power System Operation Corporation (POSOCO) It comes under Ministry of Power as one of the Power PSUs after separating from POWERGRID as its subsidiary organization. It is responsible to ensure the integrated operation of the Grid in a reliable, efficient, and secure manner. It consists of 5 Regional Load Despatch Centres (RLDCs) and the National Load Despatch Centre (NLDC). (News from PIB) Year End Review: Legislative Department Part of: Prelims  The Legislative Department plays an important role in assisting the Ministries/Departments of the Government to achieve the policy objectives through legislation. Legislative Department provides assistance to State Governments in translation of Central Laws into the languages mention in the Eighth Schedule to the Constitution. Election Laws and Electoral Reforms: To amend the Representation of the People Act, 1950 and the Representation of the People Act, 1951, the Election Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2021 has been passed by Parliament. The said Bill envisages the following: Linking of Electoral Roll with Aadhaar System will curb the menace of multiple enrolment of the same person in different places; Multiple qualifying dates for enrolment in the electoral roll will expand the voter base and consequently greater participation of eligible voters in the electoral process; Making the statutes gender neutral in line with the avowed policy of gender equality and inclusiveness vis-à-vis conduct of our elections; and Streamlining the process of conduct of elections with reference to requisition of staff or premises, etc. India Code Information System (ICIS) Each year number of legislations (both principal Acts and Amending Acts) are passed by the legislature and it is difficult for judiciary, lawyers as well as citizens to refer relevant and up to date Acts when required.  Keeping all these aspects in view, India Code Information System (ICIS), a one stop digital repository of all the Central and State Legislation including their respective subordinate legislations has been developed with the help of NIC under the guidance of Ministry of Law and Justice (Legislative Department).  It is an important step in ensuing legal empowerment of all citizens as well as the object of ONE NATION — ONE PLATFORM.  Till date, Central Acts from the  years 1838 to 2021 total 823 Central Acts have been updated and uploaded (in ICIS) for general public. Official Language Wing has published the Constitution of India. In this edition, the text of the Constitution of India has been brought up-to-date by incorporating therein all the amendments up the Constitutional (One Hundred and Fifth Amendment) Act, 2021. News Source: PIB Year End Review 2021: Ministry of Housing & Urban Affairs Part of: Prelims  Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana-Urban (PMAY-U) To address urban housing shortage including the slum dwellers by ensuring a pucca house to eligible urban households by the year 2022 The technology used to build the houses at faster speed was innovative, specially the Light House projects as part of Global Housing Technology Challenge – India (GHTC -India) initiative, in six States The initiative led to a new era in the construction technology in India, thus giving impetus to Make in India initiative.   Bringing people and technology together, LHPs will pave the way for a new eco- system where globally proven technologies will be adopted for cost-effective, environment friendly and speedier construction.  Advantages of these LHPs are many, the primary ones being durability, climate-resilient, affordability, safety and speed. Technology Sub-Mission (TSM) Set up to facilitate the adoption of innovative, sustainable, eco-friendly and disaster-resilient technologies and building materials for low-cost, speedier and quality construction of houses.  Has the potential to bring a paradigm shift in the overall housing construction sector in the country. Affordable Rental Housing Complexes (ARHC) Scheme To achieve overall objective of “Housing for All” encompassing the need of affordable rental housing for urban migrants/poor.  ARHCs will provide them dignified living with necessary civic amenities near their place of work. City Innovation Exchange (CiX) platform Launched under Smart Cities Mission (SCM), the platform focuses on fostering innovative practices in cities. CiX, through an ‘open innovation’ process, engages with innovators to design-test-deliver on solutions to pressing urban challenges.  SmartCode  A SmartCode is a platform was launched by MoHUA that enables all ecosystem stakeholders to contribute to a repository of open-source code for various solutions and applications for urban governance.  It is designed to address the challenges that ULBs face in the development and deployment of digital applications to address urban challenges, by enabling cities to take advantage of existing codes and customising them to suit local needs, rather than having to develop new solutions from scratch.  The India Urban Data Exchange has been developed  A New smart cities website & Geospatial management information system GMIS for project monitoring was also developed to implement and proper scrutiny of the projects under SCM. Transport4All Aiming to bring together cities, citizen groups, and start-ups to develop solutions that improve public transport to better serve the needs of all citizens.  Started the EatSmart Cities Challenge which aimed to motivate Smart Cities to develop a plan that supports a healthy, safe and sustainable food environment supported by institutional, physical, social, and economic infrastructure along with the application of ‘smart’ solutions to combat food related issues. National Urban Digital Mission (NUDM)  Will create a shared digital infrastructure for urban India, working across the three pillars of people, process, and platform to provide holistic support to cities and towns.  It will institutionalise a citizen-centric and ecosystem-driven approach to urban governance and service delivery in 2022 cities by 2022, and across all cities and towns in India by 2024. Prime Minister Street Vendor’s AtmaNibhar Nidhi (PM SVANidhi) Scheme Has given street food vendors online access to thousands of consumers and help these vendors grow their businesses.  MoHUA launched the Mobile Application for PM SVANidhi se Samriddhi- Socio-economic profiling of PM SVANidhi beneficiaries and their families to link them to various Central Government Schemes Deendayal Antyodaya Yojana –National Urban Livelihoods Mission (DAY-NULM) scheme  A flagship scheme which aims towards alleviating urban poverty through building strong community institutions, providing skill training, access to affordable credit for self-employment, support for street vendors and shelters for the urban homeless. Has focussed on equipping the urban poor women with adequate skills and opportunities, and to enable them to promote sustainable micro enterprises.  It mobilises women from urban poor households into SHGs and their federations to create a support system for these women. News Source: PIB (Mains Focus) SOCIETY/ ECONOMY/ GOVERNANCE GS-1: Social Empowerment GS-3: Indian Economy and issues relating to planning, mobilization, of resources, growth, development and employment. Recognising the Value of Housework Context: With elections set to be held in Punjab, both the AAP and the Punjab Congress have promised various sums of money to homemakers if they are elected to power.  Political parties are promising to recognise housework as a salaried profession by paying homemakers ‘hitherto unrecognized and unmonetized’ for their work at home. What is the origin of the demand? The demand for ‘wages for housework’ arose in the context of struggle and consciousness-raising associated with the Second Wave of the women’s movement in North America and Europe.  Alongside other demands for social and political equality, women’s rights campaigners politicised women’s everyday experience of housework and child care in the ‘private’ realm of the household.  In doing this, they challenged the assumption that a ‘natural’ affinity for housework was rooted in the essential nature of women who were performing a ‘labour of love’.  For leading women’s rights activists of the 1960s and 1970s, it was important to bust the myth that women’s work at home was a personal service with no links to capitalist production.  In a concrete sense, this meant linking the exploitation of the worker in the factory to women’s work at home. As Mariarosa Dalla Costa and Selma James wrote in their seminal piece in 1972 , the woman working at home produced ‘the living human being — the labourer himself.’  By providing free services in the home,women made possible the survival of working-class households at subsistence-level wages, with obvious benefits for industry and capital. Housework had come to define the very nature of a woman that disallowed women from seeing it as ‘real work’ or as a social contract. More fundamentally, the very demand for a wage was a repudiation of housework as an expression of women’s nature. It was a revolt against the assigned social role of women. Therein lay the radical nature of the demand for wages, not in the money itself. For the advocates of ‘wages for housework’, the wage that the state ought to pay women would make them autonomous of the men on whom they were dependent.  What are some of the challenges in implementing the proposal?  There was disagreement among the women ideologues of the Second Wave on what payment of a wage would actually mean for women.  The sociologist, Ann Oakley, believed that ‘wages for housework’ would only imprison women further within the household, increase their social isolation and dissuade men from sharing housework.  Others too argued that the goal of the women’s movement must be, to not ask for wages, but to free women from the daily routine domestic chores and enable them to participate fully in all spheres of social life, including paid employment outside the household.  The debate around monetary remuneration for housework remained unresolved within the women’s movement, even as the tools to measure the value that women’s unpaid work adds to national economies have grown more sophisticated. There are also inclusion & exclusion issues (full time homemaker & working woman who also handles household work) that cannot be easily resolved. It would be better to strengthen the demand for a universal basic income for income-poor households and make sure that the cash transfer to the family reaches women directly, whether or not they combine household work with paid work. Struggle for legislation However, the demand that the state recognise housework is significant and its radical core must not be missed, as the historical experience of the women’s movement shows us.  In this context, it is worth mentioning that an important campaign on the question of household labour has been taking place in India. This is the ongoing struggle for national legislation for domestic workers.  These are predominantly women who perform ‘women’s work’ but in other people’s homes. They are, therefore, uniquely positioned to make this work visible and demand that its conditions be regulated, minimum wages guaranteed, and the workers’ status and rights protected.  Conclusion If domestic workers emerge as a strong force that succeeds in asserting the dignity of housework and making it a visible and valued form of labour, this can only be a good thing for all women performing housework in the long run. Connecting the dots: COVID-19 and Domestic Violence  Impact of Lockdown on women & children ECONOMY/ GOVERNANCE GS-3: Indian Economy and issues relating to planning, mobilization, of resources, growth, development and employment.  GS-2: Government policies and interventions for development in various sectors and issues arising out of their design and implementation Financial Stability Report (FSR)- Jan 2022 Context: Recently, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) released its latest Financial Stability Report (FSR).  What is the significance of Financial Stability Report (FSR)? FSR is published twice each year by the RBI that presents an assessment of the health of the financial system. The RBI also conducts a Systemic Risk Survey (SRS), wherein it asks experts and market participants to assess the financial system on five different types of risks  Global Financial Macroeconomic Institutional General FSR details the current status of different financial institutions such as all the different types of banks and non-banking lending institutions.  It also maps the state of credit growth and the rate at which borrowers are defaulting on paying back loans. Reading the FSR tells us how robust or vulnerable our financial system — especially our banking system — is to the changes in the economy.  As a corollary, it also tells us whether and to what extent will our banks and other lending institutions (such as Non-Banking Finance Companies and Housing Finances Companies) be able to support future growth. What are the important takeaways from the recently released FSR? Since this is a biannual publication, the default comparison is to the last FSR. Global growth has started to falter Since the July 2021 issue of the FSR, the rejuvenation of the global recovery in the first half of 2021 has started losing momentum, impacted by Resurgence of infections in several parts of the world Supply disruptions and bottlenecks  Persistent inflationary pressures  The Goods Trade Barometer of the WTO shows that the World merchandise trade volumes, which had risen 22.4% year-on-year in Q2 of 2021, have been slowing in the second half of the year.  The Baltic Dry Index, which is a measure of shipping charges for dry bulk commodities, crossed its highest mark in more than a decade in October 2021, but it recorded a sudden drop after that.  The Global Economic Surprise Index (GESI), which compares incoming data with economists’ forecasts to capture the surprise element, went into negative territory during Q3 of 2021. The slowdown in activity is occurring even in countries with relatively high vaccination rates Disconnect between real economy and India’s equity markets  Lifted by the bull run in equity markets across the globe, the Indian equity market surged and strong investor interest has driven up price-earnings (P/E) ratios substantially. Bank credit growth is improving, but not fast enough The banking stability indicator (BSI), which indicates the changes in underlying conditions and risk factors of India’s commercial banks, showed improvement in soundness, asset quality, liquidity and profitability parameters. There is an improvement in the credit growth rate as it forms a “U-shaped” recovery but still there are some matters of concern.  The growth rate is still far off the ideal level.  Retail credit (less than Rs 5 crore) is growing at a decent clip but the wholesale credit (Rs 5 crore and above) growth continues to struggle.  Most of the wholesale credit is being picked up by public sector undertakings while the private sector is holding back from raising fresh funding. Non Performing Assets (NPAs) may rise by September 2022 The latest FSR pegs the NPA of India’s Scheduled Commercial Banks (SCBs) at 6.9% at September 2021. Stress tests indicate that the Gross NPA ratio of all SCBs may increase to 8.1% by September 2022 under the baseline scenario and further to 9.5% under severe stress. Within the bank groups, public sector banks’ GNPA ratio of 8.8% in September 2021 may deteriorate to 10.5% by September 2022 under the baseline scenario. Banking prospects improve Almost 64% of respondents expect the economy to recover fully in the next 1-2 years while 22% believe it may take up to 3 years. The latest FSR’s analysis suggests that India’s banking and financial system has largely improved since the July 2021 report. But with global growth faltering, monetary tightening in the developed countries as well as the rise of omicron, the risks are evenly balanced. Connecting the dots: Financial Stability Report July 2021 Financial Stability Report of Jan 2021 (Sansad TV: Perspective) Jan 1: 160 years of Indian Penal Code-  https://youtu.be/UG6hU18noVM  TOPIC: GS-2- Indian Constitution—historical underpinnings, evolution, features GS-2- Parliament and State legislatures— functioning  GS-2- Government policies and interventions for development in various sectors 160 years of Indian Penal Code Context: Formed in 1862, the Indian Penal Code completes 160 years of its existence. The Indian Penal Code, the legislation that an ordinary citizen arguably interacts with the most, and which governs his relationship with the state, is still rooted in colonial ideas.  Although some changes have been made through amendments and judicial pronouncements, the laws do not reflect the aspirations of a Constitution that gives primacy to liberty and equality. Case in point - it took 158 years for the courts to decriminalise homosexuality and adultery  Why there is a need to reform Criminal Laws? Long Pending: The Indian Penal Code and its corollary laws, the Indian Evidence Act and the Code of Criminal Procedure, were all first enacted in the late 19th-century that have not undergone comprehensive revision Colonial Hangover: IPC & CrPC were largely formalised to aid the colonial government in India, over 150 years ago. They are still rooted in colonial ideas despite amendments & judgements. Lacks adequate recognition of Individual agency: IPC do not reflect the aspirations of a Constitution that gives primacy to liberty and equality.  Still represent Victorian Morality: While it took 158 years for the courts to decriminalise homosexuality (section 377 of IPC) and adultery, there exist many provisions in the IPC that still echoes Victorian morality, which is especially true for women. Ignorant of modern-age crimes: New crimes need to be defined and addressed in IPC, especially concerning technology and sexual offences. Ex: digital technology facilitating gambling and betting The Way Ahead The government must cover a large and diverse landscape of ‘offences’ and criminal procedure to craft a criminal law system that is truly in tune with the times. Ex: Contempt of Court, marital rape, acid attacks, hate crimes etc Government should not give in to populist demands and run the risk of excessive policing and over-criminalising  Death Penalty needs a legislative approach and not just passing the buck to the judiciary. On procedural aspects of criminal law, there is a need to harmonise the statute books with court rulings Victim who are often on the margins of the justice process should not be burdened with institutional delays Accountability, above all, must guide the balance between the rights of the citizen and imperatives of state. Conclusion Macaulay had himself favoured regular revision of the code whenever gaps or ambiguities were found or experienced. The IPC’s original architect cannot be blamed for the current dismal state.  Even though the IPC has been haphazardly amended more than 75 times, no comprehensive revision has been undertaken. As a result, largely the courts have had to undertake this task, with unsatisfactory outcomes at times.  Most amendments have been ad hoc and reactive, in response to immediate circumstances like the 2013 amendment after the Delhi gangrape case. There is thus, a need to weed out outdated provisions, and update IPC to include modern day/hitherto excluded offences. Note Charter Act of 1833 that established First law commission in 1834 under the Chairmanship of Lord Macaulay – recommendations led to drafting of IPC Can you answer the following questions? Has IPC served Indian society according to its needs? Or does it still have a colonial hangover? Examine. Has IPC been able to keep pace with the changing face of crime? Discuss. (TEST YOUR KNOWLEDGE) Model questions: (You can now post your answers in comment section) Q.1 Consider the following statements regarding Automatic Generation Control (AGC): This is expected to facilitate achieving the government’s ambitious target of 500 GW non-fossil fuel-based generation capacity by 2030. Through AGC, NLDC (National Load Despatch Centre) sends signals to more than 50 power plants that will ensure more efficient and automatic frequency control for handling variable and intermittent renewable generation. Which of the above is or are correct?  1 only  2 only  Both 1 and 2  Neither 1 nor 2  Q.2 Consider the following statements: Scheduled Banks in India refer to those banks which have been included in the Second Schedule of Reserve Bank of India Act, 1934.  Recently, Airtel Payments Bank Ltd. was designated as a Schedule Bank Which of the above is or are correct?  1 only  2 only  Both 1 and 2  Neither 1 nor 2  Q.3 NEAT 3.0 was recently launched by Which of the following Ministry? Ministry of Environment  Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs  Ministry of Finance  Ministry of Education ANSWERS FOR 5th Jan 2022 TEST YOUR KNOWLEDGE (TYK) 1 C 2 C 3 D Must Read On income criteria to identify EWS quota:  The Hindu On military crackdown in Sudan: The Hindu On Haridwar Hate Speech: Indian Express

UPSC हिन्दी Quiz– 2021: IASbaba Daily Current Affairs Quiz 5th January 2022

For Previous Daily Quiz (ARCHIVES) - CLICK HERE करेंट अफेयर्स के प्रश्न 'द हिंदू', 'इंडियन एक्सप्रेस' और 'पीआईबी' जैसे स्रोतों पर आधारित होते हैं, जो यूपीएससी प्रारंभिक परीक्षा के लिए बहुत महत्वपूर्ण स्रोत हैं। प्रश्न अवधारणाओं और तथ्यों दोनों पर केंद्रित हैं। दोहराव से बचने के लिए यहां कवर किए गए विषय आम तौर पर 'दैनिक करंट अफेयर्स / डेली न्यूज एनालिसिस (डीएनए) और डेली स्टेटिक क्विज' के तहत कवर किए जा रहे विषयों से भिन्न होते हैं। प्रश्न सोमवार से शनिवार तक दोपहर 2 बजे से पहले प्रकाशित किए जाएंगे। इस कार्य में आपको 10 मिनट से ज्यादा नहीं देना है। इस कार्य के लिए तैयार हो जाएं और इस पहल का इष्टतम तरीके से उपयोग करें। याद रखें कि, "साधारण अभ्यर्थी और चयनित होने वाले अभ्यर्थी के बीच का अंतर केवल दैनक अभ्यास है !!" Important Note: Comment अनुभाग में अपने अंक पोस्ट करना न भूलें। साथ ही, हमें बताएं कि क्या आपको आज का टेस्ट अच्छा लगा । 5 प्रश्नों को पूरा करने के बाद, अपना स्कोर, समय और उत्तर देखने के लिए ‘View Questions’ पर क्लिक करें। उत्तर देखने के लिए, इन निर्देशों का पालन करें: 1 - 'स्टार्ट टेस्ट/ Start Test' बटन पर क्लिक करें प्रश्न हल करें 'टेस्ट सारांश/Test Summary'बटन पर क्लिक करें 'फिनिश टेस्ट/Finish Test'बटन पर क्लिक करें अब ‘View Questions’बटन पर क्लिक करें - यहां आपको उत्तर और लिंक दिखाई देंगे। To take the Test - Click Here

Daily Prelims CA Quiz

UPSC Quiz – 2021 : IASbaba’s Daily Current Affairs Quiz 5th January 2022

For Previous Daily Quiz (ARCHIVES) - CLICK HERE The Current Affairs questions are based on sources like ‘The Hindu’, ‘Indian Express’ and ‘PIB’, which are very important sources for UPSC Prelims Exam. The questions are focused on both the concepts and facts. The topics covered here are generally different from what is being covered under ‘Daily Current Affairs/Daily News Analysis (DNA) and Daily Static Quiz’ to avoid duplication. The questions would be published from Monday to Saturday before 2 PM. One should not spend more than 10 minutes on this initiative. Gear up and Make the Best Use of this initiative. Do remember that, “the difference between Ordinary and EXTRA-Ordinary is PRACTICE!!” Important Note: Don't forget to post your marks in the comment section. Also, let us know if you enjoyed today's test :) After completing the 5 questions, click on 'View Questions' to check your score, time taken, and solutions. To take the Test - Click Here

DAILY CURRENT AFFAIRS IAS | UPSC Prelims and Mains Exam – 4th January 2022

Archives (PRELIMS + MAINS FOCUS) Pangong Tso (lake) Part of: Prelims and GS-II -International relations Context China is constructing a bridge in eastern Ladakh connecting the north and south banks of Pangong Tso (lake), which will significantly bring down the time for the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) to move troops and equipment between the two sectors. The bridge is in China’s territory and the Indian Army would have to factor this in its operational plans. About the lake Pangong Tso or Pangong Lake is an endorheic lake spanning eastern Ladakh and West Tibet.  It is divided into five sublakes, called Pangong Tso, Tso Nyak, Rum Tso (twin lakes) and Nyak Tso.  Approximately 50% of the length of the overall lake lies within Tibet China, 40% in Ladakh India and the rest is disputed and is a de-facto buffer zone between India and China.  During winter the lake freezes completely, despite being saline water.  It has a land-locked basin separated from the Indus River basin by a small elevated ridge, but is believed to have been part of the latter in prehistoric times. Small-Value Digital Payments in Offline Mode  Part of: Prelims and GS-III Economy  Context The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has come out with the framework for facilitating small-value digital payments in offline mode, a move that would promote digital payments in semi-urban and rural areas. Key takeaways  The framework incorporates feedback received from the pilot experiments on offline transactions conducted in different parts of the country between September 2020 and June 2021. An offline digital payment does not require Internet or telecom connectivity. Under this new framework, such payments can be carried out face-to-face (proximity mode) using any channel or instrument like cards, wallets and mobile devices. Such transactions would not require an Additional Factor of Authentication.  Since the transactions are offline, alerts (by way of SMS and / or e-mail) will be received by the customer after a time lag. There is a limit of ₹200 per transaction and an overall limit of ₹2,000 until the balance in the account is replenished. The RBI said the framework took effect ‘immediately’. Nuclear Weapons Part of: Prelims and GS-II - International Relations Context  Five global nuclear powers pledged to prevent atomic weapons spreading and to avoid nuclear conflict, in a rare joint statement ahead of a review of a key nuclear treaty later this year. Key takeaways  The permanent UN Security Council members - China, France, Russia, the U.K. and U.S have said that they strongly believed that the further spread of such weapons must be prevented. The statement was issued after the latest review of the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT) which first came into force in 1970.  The statement comes as tensions between Russia and the United States have reached heights rarely seen since the Cold War over a troop build-up by Moscow close to the Ukrainian border. That has raised fears that Russia is planning a new attack on its pro-Western neighbour. The rise of China meanwhile has also raised concerns that tensions with USA could lead to conflict, notably over the island of Taiwan.  Fimbristylis Sunilii; Neanotis Prabhuii  Part of: Prelims and GS III - Biodiversity  Context Researchers have reported two new plant species from the biodiversity-rich Western Ghats regions in Thiruvananthapuram and Wayanad districts of Kerala. They have been named Fimbristylis sunilii and Neanotis prabhuii. Fimbristylis sunilii: Collected from the grasslands of Ponmudi hills, Thiruvananthapuram, Fimbristylis sunilii has been named after plant taxonomist C.N. Sunil, retired professor and research guide of Botany, SNM College. A perennial plant of the Cyperaceae family, it stands 20-59 cm tall and was collected from an elevation of 1,100 metres. Fimbristylis sunilii has been provisionally assessed as data deficient (DD) under the IUCN Red List categories. Neanotis prabhuii: Neanotis prabhuii is a prostrate perennial herb named after K.M. Prabhukumar, Senior Scientist at CSIR-NBRI, Lucknow, in recognition of his research on flowering plants of the Western Ghats. Discovered in the Chembra Peak grasslands of Wayanad, it hails from the family Rubiaceae and grows on high-altitude grasslands. Neanotis prabhuii grows up to 70 cm in length and is many-flowered with the petals pale pink in colour. GitHub Part of: Prelims  Context: The open-source software repository service GitHub is in the news after it was used to create and share an offensively named app that sexually harassed Muslim women in India. What is GitHub? GitHub is the world’s largest open-source developer community platform where users upload their projects and code for others to view, edit, and tweak. The idea of GitHub: any developer can upload whatever software code or app code or software idea they have on the platform, and have others collaborate with them to help improve it, find errors, and fix problems. The platform uses the software Git, which was created in 2005 by Linus Trovalds, the developer of the open-source operating system Linux, to track changes in a set of files and for coordination in software development (News from PIB) Birth Anniversary of Rani Velu Nachiyar Part of: Prelims  The first queen to fight against the British colonial power in India Known by Tamils as Veeramangai The princess of Ramanathapuram and the only child of Raja Chellamuthu vijayaragunatha Sethupathy and Rani Sakandhimuthal of the Ramnad kingdom. Trained in war match weapons usage, martial arts like Valari, Silambam (fighting using stick), horse riding and archery A scholar in many languages and she had proficiency with languages like French, English and Urdu Married the king of Sivagangai, with whom she had a daughter. When her husband, Muthuvaduganathaperiya Udaiyathevar, was killed by British soldiers and the son of the Nawab of Arcot, she was drawn into battle. She escaped with her daughter and lived under the protection of Palayakaarar Kopaala Naayakkar at Virupachi near Dindigul for eight years. Frustrated by the joining of forces against him, the Nawab ordered that Velu Nachiar and Marudhu Brothers were permitted to return to Sivaganga and rule the country subject to payment of Kist to the Nawab.  Abiding by this Order, Rani Velu Nachiar accompanied by Marudu brothers and Vellachi Nachiar entered Sivaganga. An agreement was reached where by Rani Velu Nachiar was permitted to govern the Sivaganga Country and Chinna Marudu, the younger was appointed her minister and the elder Vellai Marudu as the Commander-in-chief. Thus the widow Queen Velu Nachiar succeeded her husband in 1780. Rani Velu Nachiyar was the first queen to fight for the freedom from the British in India. She granted powers to the Marudu brothers to administer the country in 1780.  News Source: PIB Efforts to Attain Self –reliance in Critical & Strategic Mineral Requirements  Part of: Prelims  In News: In order to ensure mineral security of the nation and to attain self-reliance in the area of critical & strategic minerals, the Ministry of Mines has created a Joint Venture company namely Khanij Bidesh India Ltd (KABIL) with participating interest of National Aluminium Company Ltd (NALCO), Hindustan Copper Ltd (HCL) and Mineral Exploration Corporation Ltd (MECL).  Mandated to identify and acquire overseas mineral assets of critical and strategic nature such as Lithium, Cobalt etc.  Aims at giving further fillip to Atma Nirbhar Bharat that will cater to the requirements of crucial sectors such as e-mobility, renewable energy, medicine, aerospace, aviation etc. Engagement of KABIL is under way with source countries like Australia, Argentina, Bolivia and Chile which are endowed with cited critical and strategic minerals.  News Source: PIB (Mains Focus) POLITY/ ECONOMY GS-2: Federalism and its challenges GS-3: Indian Economy and issues relating to planning, mobilization, of resources, growth, development and employment. Extending the GST compensation Context: Just a day ahead of the 46th meeting of the GST Council on December 31, the Finance Ministers of several States had a pre-Budget interaction with the Union Finance Minister and demanded that the GST compensation scheme be extended beyond June 2022, when it is set to expire What is the GST compensation? The Constitution (One Hundred and First Amendment) Act, 2016, was the law which created the mechanism for levying a common nationwide Goods and Services Tax (GST).  The adoption of GST was made possible by States ceding almost all their powers to impose local-level indirect taxes and agreeing to let the prevailing multiplicity of imposts be subsumed into the GST.  While States would receive the SGST (State GST) component of the GST, and a share of the IGST (integrated GST), it was agreed that revenue shortfalls arising from the transition to the new indirect taxes regime would be made good from a pooled GST Compensation Fund for a period of five years from 2017.  This corpus in turn is funded through a compensation cess that is levied on so-called ‘demerit’ goods.  The computation of the shortfall is done annually by projecting a revenue assumption based on 14% compounded growth from the base year’s (2015-2016) revenue and calculating the difference between that figure and the actual GST collections in that year. However, over the last five years, there had been a widening gap between the actual revenues realised and the protected revenues guaranteed. While the trend had been visible even before the pandemic, the gap had widened ever since. What is the shortfall for the current fiscal year ending on March 31? After taking into account earlier releases amounting to ₹1,15,000 crore, the total amount released in the current financial year as back-to-back loan in-lieu of GST compensation was ₹1,59,000 crore, it added at the time.  The Centre clarified that this sum was in addition to normal GST compensation “being released every 2 months out of actual cess collections” that is estimated to exceed ₹1 lakh crore. The sum total of ₹2.59 lakh crore is expected to exceed the amount of GST compensation accruing in FY 2021-22, the Union Ministry of Finance said at the time. It also explained that the decision for the Union government to borrow the ₹1.59 lakh crore and release it to the States and UTs, which had been taken in the 43rd GST Council Meeting held on May 25, 2021, was aimed at bridging the resource gap. Can the deadline be extended? If so, how? The deadline for GST compensation was set in the original legislation and so in order to extend it, the GST Council must first recommend it and the Union government must then move an amendment to the GST law allowing for a new date beyond the June 2022 deadline at which the GST compensation scheme will come to a close. Interestingly, even now the compensation cess will continue to be levied well beyond the current fiscal year since the borrowings made in lieu of the shortfalls in the compensation fund would need to be met.  In September, the GST Council decided to extend the compensation cess period till March 2026 “purely to repay the back-to-back loans taken between 2020-21 and 2021-22”. Connecting the dots: Competitive and Cooperative Federalism 15th Finance Commission SOCIETY/ GOVERNANCE/ ETHICS GS-1: Society; Women Empowerment Female Leadership Context: The lack of representation of women in a parliamentary panel examining a bill to increase the legal age of marriage for women from 18 to 21 years has come under scrutiny following the comments of Rajya Sabha MP Priyanka Chaturvedi.  This shows how prejudices about the efficacy of women in key political roles need to be systemically eradicated. What do Germany, Taiwan and New Zealand have in common?  These are all countries that have women heading their governments.  And although they are located in three different continents, the three countries seem to have managed the pandemic much better than their neighbours.  Much along the same lines, a detailed recent study by researchers in the United States reports that States which have female governors had fewer COVID-19 related deaths, perhaps partly because female governors acted more decisively by issuing earlier stay-at-home orders.  However, there were criticisms by pointing out deficiencies in the data — admittedly somewhat limited — or the econometric rigour of the analysis. Many will also point out that it is dangerous to make sweeping generalisations based on one study. What is the important takeaway from such studies?  The point about the danger of making sweeping generalisations is valid. Of course, studies such as these do not establish the superiority of all female leaders over their male counterparts.  All female leaders are not necessarily efficient, and there are many men who have proved to be most effective and charismatic leaders. The important takeaway from the recent experience and such studies is the necessity of getting rid of inherent biases and perceptions about female effectiveness in leadership roles. What is the experience with India’s gram panchayats? Importantly, female leaders also bring something quite different to the table. In particular, they perform significantly better than men in implementing policies that promote the interests of women.  This was demonstrated in another study conducted by Nobel Laureate Esther Duflo and co-author Raghabendra Chattopadhyay, who used the system of mandated reservations of pradhans in gram panchayats to test the effectiveness of female leadership. Their study was made possible by the 1993 amendment of the Indian Constitution, which mandated that all States had to reserve one-third of all positions of pradhan for women.  Chattopadhyay and Duflo concluded that pradhans invested more in rural infrastructure that served better the needs of their own gender. For instance, women pradhans were more likely to invest in providing easy access to drinking water since the collection of drinking water is primarily, if not solely, the responsibility of women. In addition to the instrumental importance of promoting more space for women in public policy, this is also an important goal from the perspective of gender equality.  What is the situation with suffrage and participation? The right to vote is arguably the most important dimension of participation in public life. There are others. Independent India can rightly be proud of its achievement in so far as women’s suffrage is concerned. Women were allowed to vote from 1950 onwards and so could participate on an equal footing with men from the first general election of 1951-52. This is in striking contrast to the experience in the so-called “mature democracies” of western Europe and the United States.  In the U.S., it took several decades of struggle before women were allowed to vote in 1920.  Most countries in Europe also achieved universal suffrage during the inter-war period.  Since most able- bodied men went away to the battlefields during the First World War, increasing numbers of women had the opportunity to show that they were adequate substitutes in activities that were earlier the sole preserve of men. This, it is suggested, mitigated the anti-female bias and earned women the right to vote in European countries. The female representation in the current National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government at the Centre is probably not very far from the typical gender composition in Indian central and State governments. Female members make up only about 10% of the total ministerial strength.  The underrepresentation of female Ministers in India is also reflected in the fact that Ms. Mamata Banerjee is currently the only female Chief Minister. The underrepresentation of women in Indian legislatures is even more striking. For instance, the 2019 election sent the largest number of women to the Lok Sabha. Despite this, women constitute just over 14% of the total strength of the Lok Sabha.  Tiny Rwanda comes out on top with a staggering 60% of seats in its lower house occupied by women. Attempts have also been made to extend quotas for women in the Lok Sabha and State Assemblies through a Women’s Reservation Bill.  The Bill was first presented to the Lok Sabha by the H.D. Deve Gowda government in 1996. Male members from several parties opposed the Bill on various pretexts.  Subsequently, both the NDA and UPA governments have reintroduced the Bill in successive Parliaments, but without any success.  Although the Rajya Sabha did pass the bill in 2010, the Lok Sabha and the State legislatures are yet to give their approval — despite the 24 years that have passed since it was first presented in the Lok Sabha. What can be the steps to reduce prejudice? Of course, there is a simple fix to the problem.  The major party constituents of the NDA and UPA alliances can sidestep the logjam in Parliament by reserving say a third of party nominations for women.  This will surely result in increasing numbers of women in legislatures and subsequently in cabinets.  There is substantial evidence showing that increased female representation in policy making goes a long way in improving perceptions about female effectiveness in leadership roles.  This decreases the bias among voters against women candidates, and results in a subsequent increase in the percentage of female politicians contesting and winning elections.  So, such quotas have both a short-term and long-term impact.  Indeed, voter perceptions about the efficacy of female leadership may change so drastically in the long run that quotas may no longer be necessary! Connecting the dots: Role of Women in Armed Forces Women Issues (Sansad TV: Perspective) Dec 27: Fighting Epidemics - https://youtu.be/eEcH4yNdVL0  TOPIC: GS-2- Health GS 3 – Economy; Disaster Management Fighting Epidemics Context: 27th December marked the second International Day of Epidemic Preparedness – aims to promote international awareness and action on the prevention of, preparedness for and partnership against epidemics.  This year would mark the second year that this day is observed, after the first International Day of Epidemic Preparedness was marked in 2020 based on a call for it made by the United Nations General Assembly.  It is important for us to stay aware of the fact how infectious diseases can sweep across the world, push health systems to the brink and devastate lives and families.  The havoc caused by Covid-19 reflects that the world learnt no lessons from outbreaks like Ebola, Zika, SARS and others.  Major Epidemics   A glimpse through major pandemics of the world which caused huge loss to life: The Plague of Justinian It killed between 30 million and 50 million people. The cause of the Plague of Justinian was infectious fever caused by Yersinia pestis. Black death Between 1347 and 1351, it spread throughout Europe, killing approximately 25 million people.  It is believed to have been the result of plague – an infectious fever caused by bacterium Yersinia pestis.  It was likely transmitted from rodents to humans by the bite of infected fleas. Smallpox (15th – 17th centuries) Smallpox claimed the lives of approximately 20 million people, close to 90% of the population, in the Americas.  The pandemic helped Europeans colonize and develop the newly vacated areas. Smallpox is caused by infection with the variola virus transmitted through various ways. Cholera (1817 – 1823) The first cholera pandemic began in Jessore, India. It was the first of 7 major cholera pandemics that have killed millions of people.  The World Health Organization has called cholera “the forgotten pandemic”. Its seventh outbreak, which began in 1961, continues to this day. It is caused by eating food or drinking water contaminated with a bacterium called Vibrio cholera. Spanish Flu or H1N1 (1918 – 1919) It is caused due to H1N1 virus. It infected around 500 million people, or a third of the world’s population, of that time.  The pandemic was responsible for killing over 50 million people globally. Hong Kong Flu or H3N2 (1968 – 1970) Global fatalities were around one million. It was caused by an H3N2 strain of the influenza A virus. It is believed that the virus responsible for the Asian flu evolved and re-emerged 10 years later into this so-called “Hong Kong flu”. H3N2 was exceptionally contagious. HIV/AIDS (1981 – present) Since 1981, 75 million people have had the HIV virus and approximately 32 million have died as a result. HIV/AIDS is a persistent epidemic that continues to impact millions of people every year.  The HIV infection is caused by the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). The virus can be transmitted through contact with infected blood, semen or vaginal fluids. SARS (2002 – 2003) SARS, or severe acute respiratory syndrome, is an illness caused by one of the 7 coronaviruses that can infect humans.  In 2003, an outbreak that originated in the Guangdong province of China became a global pandemic. It infected around 8,000 people and killing 774 of them. The consequences of the 2003 SARS pandemic were largely limited due to an intense public health response by global authorities. Swine Flu or H1N1 (2009 – 2010) It was a new form of the influenza virus which emerged in 2009. It infected approximately millions of people with global deaths in the range of 151,700 to 575,400.  It is called the “swine flu” because it appeared to cross over from pigs to humans in transmission. 80% of the virus-related deaths occured in people younger than 65. Ebola (2014 – 2016) It began in a small village in Guinea in 2014 and spread to a handful of neighbouring countries in West Africa. It is caused by infection with a virus of the Filoviridae family, genus Ebolavirus. The virus killed 11,325 of the 28,600 infected people, with most cases occurring in Guinea, Liberia, and Sierra Leone. Coronavirus, or COVID-19 (2019 – present) Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) is an infectious disease caused by a newly discovered coronavirus. Worldwide cases have surpassed 500,000 with more than 24,000 deaths globally.  It is believed to be transmitted from animals to humans. The vast majority of cases are reported from USA now.  On March 11, the WHO characterized the outbreak as a pandemic. Estimates indicate that Coronavirus could eventually infect 40% to 70% of the global population. Practicing social distancing is recommended. The damage to the world economy threaten the worst recession since the Great Depression or the “panics” of the 1800s, depending on the scale of government responses.   Prevention of, preparedness for and partnership against epidemics A lack of international attention on this need would result in future pandemics surpassing previous outbreaks in terms of intensity and gravity. Preparedness for epidemics is important to prevent the healthcare structures across the world from collapsing under the increased burden that usually accompanies epidemics. Conduct surveillance at points of entry into the country, like border crossings, ports and airports to identify people coming from affected countries and suffering from fever or any other symptom of the disease in question. Such people should be then sent to the nearest health unit. The health authorities to prepare personnel and Rapid Response teams to undertake surveillance within the community and investigate any outbreak ICMR (Indian Council of Medical Research) and its designated labs to test predetermined clinical samples of fever cases to be tested for COVID.  Strengthen the infrastructure needed to develop vaccines via academia-industry interface, while also supporting skill development as well as capacity building. Strengthening internal inter-ministerial co-ordination for rapid vaccine development and testing to address known and unknown infectious disease threats Strengthening of development frameworks, surveillance and logistics for use of new vaccines, where appropriate. India has been able to delay, if not entirely defy, a third wave of the pandemic with the help of a strong vaccination drive across the country, and is hoping to ensure that such quick vaccine development can be undertaken for any potential epidemic at a later stage as well, which can be a strong point in India’s epidemic preparedness. On the other hand, the second wave of coronavirus exposed several shortcomings of the healthcare sector in the country, with beds, medicines as well as oxygen falling short of the demand. Though it is true that the magnitude of the second wave was unprecedentedly high, it is also true that healthcare systems across the country fell short by a wide margin. As we respond to this health crisis, we need to prepare for the next one. Scaling-up investments in better monitoring, early detection and rapid response plans in every country — especially the most vulnerable Strengthening primary health care at the local level to prevent collapse Ensuring equitable access to lifesaving interventions like vaccines for all people Achieving Universal Health Coverage Building global solidarity to give every country a fighting chance to stop infectious diseases in their tracks. Conclusion The coronavirus pandemic will not be the last one that humanity will face; therefore there is a need for immediate, coordinated action by the world to prepare for future health emergencies.  Can you answer the following questions? Is the learning curve for India over? Is India prepared to handle the third wave?  Discuss the shortcomings that India experienced while dealing with the second wave of Covid-19. (TEST YOUR KNOWLEDGE) Model questions: (You can now post your answers in comment section) Q.1 Consider the following statements regarding Pangong Tso: It lies entirely in India It has a land-locked basin separated from the Indus River basin by a small elevated ridge Which of the above is or are correct?  1 only  2 only  Both 1 and 2  Neither 1 nor 2  Q.2 Consider the following statements regarding small-value digital payments in offline mode:  An offline digital payment does not require Internet or telecom connectivity. Such transactions would require an Additional Factor of Authentication.  Which of the above is or are correct?  1 only  2 only  Both 1 and 2  Neither 1 nor 2  Q.3 Fimbristylis sunilii and Neanotis prabhuii are associated with Which of the following? Pesticide-resistant species of rice Invasive species of Eastern Ghats Newly discovered butterfly species in the Himalayas New plant species from the Western Ghats ANSWERS FOR 4th Jan 2022 TEST YOUR KNOWLEDGE (TYK) 1 B 2 A 3 D Must Read On implementation of safety protocols in fireworks industry:   The Hindu On 21st century challenge for democracy: Indian Express

UPSC हिन्दी Quiz– 2021: IASbaba Daily Current Affairs Quiz 4th January 2022

For Previous Daily Quiz (ARCHIVES) - CLICK HERE करेंट अफेयर्स के प्रश्न 'द हिंदू', 'इंडियन एक्सप्रेस' और 'पीआईबी' जैसे स्रोतों पर आधारित होते हैं, जो यूपीएससी प्रारंभिक परीक्षा के लिए बहुत महत्वपूर्ण स्रोत हैं। प्रश्न अवधारणाओं और तथ्यों दोनों पर केंद्रित हैं। दोहराव से बचने के लिए यहां कवर किए गए विषय आम तौर पर 'दैनिक करंट अफेयर्स / डेली न्यूज एनालिसिस (डीएनए) और डेली स्टेटिक क्विज' के तहत कवर किए जा रहे विषयों से भिन्न होते हैं। प्रश्न सोमवार से शनिवार तक दोपहर 2 बजे से पहले प्रकाशित किए जाएंगे। इस कार्य में आपको 10 मिनट से ज्यादा नहीं देना है। इस कार्य के लिए तैयार हो जाएं और इस पहल का इष्टतम तरीके से उपयोग करें। याद रखें कि, "साधारण अभ्यर्थी और चयनित होने वाले अभ्यर्थी के बीच का अंतर केवल दैनक अभ्यास है !!" Important Note: Comment अनुभाग में अपने अंक पोस्ट करना न भूलें। साथ ही, हमें बताएं कि क्या आपको आज का टेस्ट अच्छा लगा । 5 प्रश्नों को पूरा करने के बाद, अपना स्कोर, समय और उत्तर देखने के लिए ‘View Questions’ पर क्लिक करें। उत्तर देखने के लिए, इन निर्देशों का पालन करें: 1 - 'स्टार्ट टेस्ट/ Start Test' बटन पर क्लिक करें प्रश्न हल करें 'टेस्ट सारांश/Test Summary'बटन पर क्लिक करें 'फिनिश टेस्ट/Finish Test'बटन पर क्लिक करें अब ‘View Questions’बटन पर क्लिक करें - यहां आपको उत्तर और लिंक दिखाई देंगे। To take the Test - Click Here

Daily Prelims CA Quiz

UPSC Quiz – 2021 : IASbaba’s Daily Current Affairs Quiz 4th January 2022

For Previous Daily Quiz (ARCHIVES) - CLICK HERE The Current Affairs questions are based on sources like ‘The Hindu’, ‘Indian Express’ and ‘PIB’, which are very important sources for UPSC Prelims Exam. The questions are focused on both the concepts and facts. The topics covered here are generally different from what is being covered under ‘Daily Current Affairs/Daily News Analysis (DNA) and Daily Static Quiz’ to avoid duplication. The questions would be published from Monday to Saturday before 2 PM. One should not spend more than 10 minutes on this initiative. Gear up and Make the Best Use of this initiative. Do remember that, “the difference between Ordinary and EXTRA-Ordinary is PRACTICE!!” Important Note: Don't forget to post your marks in the comment section. Also, let us know if you enjoyed today's test :) After completing the 5 questions, click on 'View Questions' to check your score, time taken, and solutions. To take the Test - Click Here

UPSC हिन्दी Quiz– 2021: IASbaba Daily Current Affairs Quiz 3rd January 2022

For Previous Daily Quiz (ARCHIVES) - CLICK HERE करेंट अफेयर्स के प्रश्न 'द हिंदू', 'इंडियन एक्सप्रेस' और 'पीआईबी' जैसे स्रोतों पर आधारित होते हैं, जो यूपीएससी प्रारंभिक परीक्षा के लिए बहुत महत्वपूर्ण स्रोत हैं। प्रश्न अवधारणाओं और तथ्यों दोनों पर केंद्रित हैं। दोहराव से बचने के लिए यहां कवर किए गए विषय आम तौर पर 'दैनिक करंट अफेयर्स / डेली न्यूज एनालिसिस (डीएनए) और डेली स्टेटिक क्विज' के तहत कवर किए जा रहे विषयों से भिन्न होते हैं। प्रश्न सोमवार से शनिवार तक दोपहर 2 बजे से पहले प्रकाशित किए जाएंगे। इस कार्य में आपको 10 मिनट से ज्यादा नहीं देना है। इस कार्य के लिए तैयार हो जाएं और इस पहल का इष्टतम तरीके से उपयोग करें। याद रखें कि, "साधारण अभ्यर्थी और चयनित होने वाले अभ्यर्थी के बीच का अंतर केवल दैनक अभ्यास है !!" Important Note: Comment अनुभाग में अपने अंक पोस्ट करना न भूलें। साथ ही, हमें बताएं कि क्या आपको आज का टेस्ट अच्छा लगा । 5 प्रश्नों को पूरा करने के बाद, अपना स्कोर, समय और उत्तर देखने के लिए ‘View Questions’ पर क्लिक करें। उत्तर देखने के लिए, इन निर्देशों का पालन करें: 1 - 'स्टार्ट टेस्ट/ Start Test' बटन पर क्लिक करें प्रश्न हल करें 'टेस्ट सारांश/Test Summary'बटन पर क्लिक करें 'फिनिश टेस्ट/Finish Test'बटन पर क्लिक करें अब ‘View Questions’बटन पर क्लिक करें - यहां आपको उत्तर और लिंक दिखाई देंगे। To take the Test - Click Here

DAILY CURRENT AFFAIRS IAS | UPSC Prelims and Mains Exam – 3rd January 2022

Archives (PRELIMS + MAINS FOCUS) EWS Quota Part of: Prelims and GS-II -Policies and interventions  Context A government committee report in the Supreme Court has said that “income” is a “feasible criterion” for defining the “Economically Weaker Sections” (EWS) in society. key takeaways  The committee did not agree with the notion that the Union government had “mechanically adopted” ₹8 lakh as a number because it was also used for the OBC creamy layer cut-off. It said the income criterion for EWS was “more stringent” than the one for the OBC creamy layer. Firstly, EWS’s criteria relates to the financial year prior to the year of application whereas the income criterion for the creamy layer in OBC category is applicable to gross annual income for three consecutive years. Secondly, in case of OBC creamy layer, income from salaries, agriculture and traditional artisanal professions are excluded from the consideration whereas the ₹8 lakh criteria for EWS includes all sources, including farming. Background: The report is the result of the Supreme Court’s repeated grilling of the government, since October, to explain how it zeroed in on the figure of ‘₹8 lakh’ as the annual income criterion to identify EWS among forward classes of society for grant of 10% reservation in National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test (NEET) medical admissions under the All India Quota (AIQ) category. Kaziranga National Park and Tiger Reserve Part of: Prelims and GS-III Environment  Context The Assam government is awaiting the Centre’s clearance for an elevated road over nine corridors used by the animals of the Kaziranga National Park and Tiger Reserve usually during high floods. The 35-km elevated road will run along an existing arterial highway. The “Kaziranga project” will have two tunnels — one with an estimated length of 1.5 km and the other of 600 metres. Kaziranga National Park  It is a national park in the Golaghat and Nagaon districts of Assam.  The sanctuary, which hosts two-thirds of the world’s great one-horned rhinoceroses, is a World Heritage Site.  Kaziranga is recognized as an Important Bird Area by BirdLife International for conservation of avifaunal species.  Kaziranga has the largest population of the Wild water buffalo anywhere accounting for about 57% of the world population. Indravati Tiger Reserve Part of: Prelims and GS-III - Environment  Context  For the first time, a large area (400 square kilometers) of the Indravati Tiger Reserve which is a Maoist-affected area, has been covered in tiger census work. About the tiger reserve The tiger reserve is located in the Bijapur district, Chhattisgarh. The perennial river ‘Indravati’ forms the boundary of the reserve on the Northern and Western side It is one of three Project Tiger sites in Chhattisgarh, along with Udanti-sitanadi. It is home to one of the last remaining populations of the endangered wild water buffalo.  Indravati attained the status of a national park in 1981 and a tiger reserve in 1983.  The topography of the park mainly comprises undulating hilly terrain. The vegetation is mainly of the tropical moist and dry deciduous type with predominance of bamboo, sal and teak. The most common trees are teak, lendia, salai, mahua, tendu, semal, haldu, ber and jamun. It is home to  gaur (Indian bison), nilgai, blackbuck, chausingha (four-horned antelope), sambar, chital, Indian muntjac, Indian spotted chevrotain, wild boar,  tigers, leopards, sloth bears, dholes (wild dog) and striped hyenas. The reserve had three tigers in 2018-19, when the last census took place. Arc De Triomphe Monument Part of: Prelims and GS II - International relations Context French authorities took down a temporary installation of the European Union flag from the Arc de Triomphe monument in Paris, after rightwing opponents of President Emmanuel Macron accused him of “erasing” French identity. Key takeaways  The giant blue flag was raised in place of a French flag on New Year’s Eve to mark France’s turn at the rotating presidency of the EU Council. The Arc de Triomphe de l'Étoile ( 'Triumphal Arch of the Star') is one of the most famous monuments in Paris, France. It honours those who fought and died for France in the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars, with the names of all French victories and generals inscribed on its inner and outer surfaces. The arch, a monument to war dead, and other landmarks including the Eiffel Tower and the Pantheon are also being illuminated with blue lights for the remainder of this week. (News from PIB) J&K to have district level Governance Index Part of: Prelims  In News: Jammu & Kashmir will soon become the first Union Territory in the country to have a district level Good Governance Index. Good Governance Index at the district level will enable each of the 20 districts of Jammu & Kashmir to rise to the level of some of the best administered districts of the country, with time bound disposal of office files and other matters, increased transparency, increased accountability and increased citizen participation.  The DGGI Framework has 58 Indicators drawn from different aspects of development and district administration distributed in all-encompassing 10 sectors such as Agriculture & allied sector, Commerce & Industry, Human Resource Development, Public Health, Public Infrastructure & Utilities, Economic Governance, Welfare & Development, Public Safety & Judiciary and Citizen Centric Governance. News Source: PIB Release of 10th instalment of PM-KISAN Part of: Prelims and Mains GS-III: Agriculture In News: In line with the continued commitment and resolve to empower grassroot level farmers, the government released 10th installment of financial benefit under Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi (PM-KISAN) scheme Enabled the transfer of an amount of more than Rs. 20,000 crore to more than 10 crore beneficiary farmer families Released equity grant of more than Rs. 14 crore to about 351 Farmer Producer Organizations (FPOs), which will benefit more than 1.24 lakh farmers. (Five benefits of FPOs for small farmers. These benefits are increased bargaining power, scale, innovation, risk management and adaptability to the market conditions) Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi (PM-KISAN): To provide income support to all farmers’ families across the country, to enable them to take care of expenses related to agriculture and allied activities as well as domestic needs Milestones that were achieved in the agriculture sector in the recent years- Food grain production touched 300 million tonnes Horticulture and floriculture production reached 330 million tonnes Milk production also increased almost 45 per cent in last 6-7 years. About 60 lakh hectare land was brought under micro irrigation; more than 1 lakh crore were given in compensation under Prime Minister FasalBimaYojna, whereas premium received was just 21 thousand crores.  Ethanol production increased from 40 crore litres to 340 crore litres in just seven years.  News Source: PIB INS Vikrant, India’s indigenous aircraft carrier Part of: Prelims and GS III – Defence and Security INS Vikrant is a realisation of the nation's dream of an indigenous carrier - a ‘great icon for our drive towards Atma Nirbhar Bharat’.  Vikrant is India’s most complex warship to have been indigenously built by Cochin Shipyard for the Indian Navy.  Cochin Shipyard Limited is the largest public sector shipyard and the only shipyard under the Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways.  At present, India has only one aircraft carrier, the Russian-origin INS Vikramaditya. About iNS Vikrant (IAC-1) The vessel, to be named Vikrant after the decommissioned maiden carrier of the Navy. It will have an air component of 30 aircraft, comprising MiG-29K fighter jets, Kamov-31 airborne early warning helicopters and the soon-to-be-inducted MH-60R multi-role helicopter, besides the indigenous Advanced Light Helicopters. The shipborne weapons include Barak LR SAM and AK-630, while it has MFSTAR and RAN-40L 3D radars as sensors.  It has a pair of runways and a ‘short take off but arrested recovery’ system to control aircraft operations. Significance The combat capability, reach and versatility of the aircraft carrier will add formidable capabilities in the defence and help secure India’s interests in the maritime domain. It would offer an incomparable military instrument with its ability to project air power over long distances. News Source: PIB (Mains Focus) INTERNATIONAL/ SECURITY GS-2: Effect of policies and politics of developed and developing countries on India’s interests GS-2: India and its neighbourhood China’s border law and India Context: China’s new law on land borders, passed on October 23, came into effect on January 1.  This has happened at a time when the border standoff in eastern Ladakh remains unresolved, when China has renamed several places in Arunachal Pradesh as part of its claim on the Indian state. What is the new law? The Standing Committee of China’s National People’s Congress passed the law for the “protection and exploitation of the country’s land border areas”. Under the law, “the sovereignty and territorial integrity of… China are sacred and inviolable”, and the state needs to “take measures to safeguard territorial integrity and land boundaries and guard against and combat any act that undermines these”. It mandates the state to take measures “to strengthen border defence, support economic and social development as well as opening-up in border areas, encourage and support people’s life and work there, and promote coordination between border defence and social, economic development in border areas”.  This means that it is encouraging the development of villages for civilians in the border areas. However, the law also asks the state to follow the principles of equality, mutual trust, and friendly consultation, handle land border related-affairs with neighbouring countries through negotiations to properly resolve disputes and longstanding border issues. The law lays down four conditions under which the state can impose emergency measures, including border shutdown. Why did China bring it? This law reflects Beijing’s renewed concerns over the security of its land border while it confronts a number of unsettled disputes on its maritime front. The confrontations on the Sino-Indian borders in recent years may have reminded Beijing that as a classic land-sea power China must always ready itself to cope with threats in both the continental and maritime domains. The Covid-19 pandemic also underscores the imperative for Beijing to exert greater control over its somewhat porous land border.  Also, the law reflects Beijing’s worries about the stability of its hinterland bordering Central Asia as the withdrawal of the US forces and Taliban takeover of Afghanistan that may become a hotbed for terrorism and extremism that could spread to Xinjiang Does it concern India? Although the law is not meant specifically for India, it is bound to have some impact.  China and India share a disputed 3,488-km boundary, the third longest among China’s 22,457-km land boundaries with 14 countries, after the borders with Mongolia and Russia.  Besides India, Bhutan (477 km) is the only other country with which China has a disputed land border. There is a growing suspicion that China may have been stalling further negotiations on the standoff in eastern Ladakh for this new law to come into force.  India had hoped that China would agree to disengage from Patrolling Point 15 in Hot Springs, which it did not. It is seen in the context of Chinese delegation trying to use the new law to bolster their existing positions. Another sticking point could be that the new law prohibits construction of permanent infrastructure close to the border without China’s permission. Both, India and China have been building new roads, bridges and other facilities faster since the standoff began; in fact, China had objected to India’s workers even before. What impact can it have on India-China relations? The view is still divided. Much depends on China’s actions, regardless of the new law. Some experts feel the new law will make China work towards the ongoing standoff as well as for resolution of the larger boundary issue.  It is said “Beijing appears to be signaling determination to resolve the border disputes on its preferred terms. The law sets an overall tone of resolve upfront.” Others feel the new law is only a tool China government will use if it wants, as its actions have been aggressive even before this law. It is viewed that the law has created conditions for a ‘militarised solution’ to the boundary issue. Gautam Bambawale, who was India’s ambassador to China in 2017-18 says that the law only states the obvious and that the Chinese are clearly indicating that they are tired of trying to resolve the boundary or the LAC through negotiations; they’re indicating they’ll do it through use of force.” China has been building “well-off” border defence villages across the LAC in all sectors, which the new law encourages. As a result, when India starts discussing the border between the two sides, they will say we [China] have settled population in this area thus making the claim much stronger. SCIENCE & TECH/ ECONOMY GS-3: Science and Technology- developments and their applications and effects in everyday life.  GS-3: Economy and issues relating to planning, mobilization, of resources Breakthrough in battery tech Context: Shareholders of California-based QuantumScape Corp, a battery startup backed by Volkswagen AG, have approved a multibillion-dollar pay package for CEO Jagdeep Singh, who could receive stock options potentially valued at $2.3 billion, subject to the company meeting some performance milestones. A quantum leap QuantumScape’s solid-state battery — lithium metal with a solid electrolyte separating the two electrodes — is seen as an exceptionally bright prospect in an increasingly crowded space.  The company, which was co-founded by Singh a decade ago was valued at almost $50 billion on the promise that its novel battery technology could offer a safer, cheaper alternative to lithium-ion batteries. Earlier efforts to build a solid-state separator (electrolyte) capable of working with lithium metal had to compromise on aspects such as the cycle life and operating temperature of the battery, and the issue of excess lithium deposits on the anode.  QuantumScape claims to have circumvented this: its use of a solid state separator technology eliminates the side reaction between the liquid electrolyte and the carbon/graphite in the anode of conventional lithium-ion cells. This technology could make car batteries cheaper, more reliable and quicker to recharge. Volkswagen plans to have production running for solid-state batteries by 2025 via the partnership with QuantumScape. What are the challenges with lithium-ion batteries? The energy density of lithium-ion cells used in today’s mobile phones and electric vehicles is nearly four times higher than that of older-generation nickel-cadmium batteries.  Lithium-ion batteries use aqueous electrolyte solutions, where ions transfer to and fro between the anode (negative electrode generally made of graphite) and cathode (positive electrode made of lithium), triggering the recharge and discharge of electrons.  Despite improvements in technology over the last decade, issues such as long charging times and weak energy density persist.  While lithium-ion batteries are seen as sufficiently efficient for phones and laptops, they still lack the range that would make EVs a viable alternative to internal combustion engines. One major problem is that lithium metal is extremely reactive. The main form of lithium corrosion are dendrites, which are branched lithium structures that grow out from the electrode and can potentially pierce through the separator and on to the other end, short-circuiting the cell. In current lithium-ion batteries, in which the electrolyte is a flammable liquid, dendrite formation can trigger a fire. What is the innovation in Solid-State battery developed by QuantumScape? QuantumScape says its solid-state lithium-metal battery replaces the polymer separator used in conventional lithium-ion batteries with a solid-state separator.  The replacement of the separator enables the use of a lithium-metal anode in place of the traditional carbon/graphite anode. The lithium metal anode is more energy-dense than conventional anodes, which allows the battery to store more energy in the same volume. What are the advantages of Solid-State batteries? The advantages of the solid-state battery technology include  Higher cell energy density (by eliminating the carbon anode) Lower charge time (by eliminating the need to have lithium diffuse into the carbon particles in conventional lithium-ion cells), Ability to undertake more charging cycles and thereby a longer life,  Improved safety. Lower cost could be a game-changer, given that at 30 per cent of the total cost, battery expenses are a key driver of the vehicle costs. Lithium-ion battery costs are currently about $137 per kWh, and are expected to reach $101/kWh by 2023. QuantumScape claims it is targeting to lower battery cost by 15-20% relative to the cost of lithium-ion batteries in several years. SCIENCE & TECH/ ECONOMY GS-3: Science and Technology- developments and their applications and effects in everyday life.  GS-3: Economy and issues relating to planning, mobilization, of resources Shortage of Computer Chips Context: Carmakers slashed production. Broadband providers faced monthslong delays for internet routers. All of these phenomena and more had a similar cause: an abrupt and cascading shortage of semiconductors.  Also known as integrated circuits or more commonly just chips, they may be the tiniest yet most exacting product ever manufactured on a global scale. The combination of cost and difficulty in producing them has fostered a worldwide reliance on two Asian powerhouses — Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (TSMC) and South Korea’s Samsung Electronics Co. That dependence was brought into stark relief when the Covid-19 pandemic and rising U.S.-China tensions made chips scarce.  Hundreds of billions of dollars will be spent in the coming years in a global race to expand production, with geopolitical as well as economic implications. What is a chip? It’s the thing that makes electronic items smart.  Made from a material, usually silicon, that “semi-conducts” electricity, the chip performs a variety of functions.  Memory chips, which store data, are relatively simple and are traded like commodities.  Logic chips, which run programs and act as the brains of a device, are more complex and expensive. These often carry names like Apple or Nvidia, but those companies are actually just the designers of the semiconductors, which are manufactured in factories called foundries. Why is it so hard to produce chips? Manufacturing advanced logic chips requires extraordinary precision, along with huge long-term bets in a field subject to rapid change.  Plants cost billions of dollars to build and equip, and they have to run flat-out 24/7 to recoup the investment.  Also, factory also gobbles up enormous amounts of water and electricity and is vulnerable to even the tiniest disruptions, whether from dust particles or distant earthquakes. Who are the major players in chip manufacturing? TSMC (Taiwan company) pioneered the foundry business — purely manufacturing chips for others — with government support in the 1980s. Its share of the global foundry market is larger than its next three competitors combined. Samsung dominates in memory chips and is trying to muscle in on TSMC’s gold mine.  Intel Corp. is the last U.S. heavyweight in the field, but its business is heavily concentrated in manufacturing its own-brand chips that serve as the central processing unit (CPU) for laptops and desktop computers. Why are there shortages? The stay-at-home shift: This pushed chip demand beyond levels projected before the pandemic. Lockdowns spurred growth in sales of laptops to the highest in a decade. Home networking gear, webcams and monitors were snapped up as office work moved out of the office. Sales also jumped for home appliances, from TVs to air purifiers, that now come with customized chips. Fluctuating forecasts: Automakers that cut back drastically early in the pandemic underestimated how quickly car sales would rebound. They rushed to re-up orders late in 2020 which caused mismatches in production & demand. Stockpiling: PC makers began warning about tight supplies early in 2020. Then around the middle of that year, Chinese company Huawei Technologies Co (dominates the global market for 5G networking gear) began building up inventory to ensure it could survive U.S. sanctions that were set to cut it off from its primary suppliers. Other companies followed suit and China’s chip imports climbed to almost $380 billion in 2020, up from about $330 billion the previous year. Disasters: A bitter cold snap in Texas in February led to power outages that shut semiconductor plants clustered around it; it was late March before Samsung’s facilities there were back to normal. A plant in Japan belonging to Renesas Electronics Corp., a major provider of automotive chips, was damaged by fire in March, disrupting production for months. Who is affected? Chip shortages are expected to wipe out $210 billion of sales for carmakers this year, with production of 7.7 million vehicles lost. Toyota Motor Corp. suspended output at 14 plants in September. Samsung warned that it saw a “serious imbalance” in supply and demand globally. It is forecasted that the shortages could extend into 2022.  Some broadband providers were facing delays of more than a year when ordering internet routers.  Apple said in April that supply constraints were crimping sales of iPads and Macs, which it said would knock $3 billion to $4 billion off its third-quarter revenue.  (All India Radio) Jan 2: Civil Aviation Ministry releases draft National Air Sports Policy for public feedback- https://newsonair.gov.in/News?title=Civil-Aviation-Ministry-releases-draft-National-Air-Sports-Policy-for-public-feedback&id=432587  TOPIC: GS-3: Government schemes and policies Draft National Air Sports Policy In News: The Government of India plans to promote the country’s air sports sector, by way of making it safe, affordable, accessible, enjoyable and sustainable. The draft National Air Sports Policy (NASP 2022) is a step in this direction. It has been drafted on the basis of the inputs received from policy makers, air sports practitioners and public at large.   World of Air Sports: India has the potential to be among the leading nations in the world of air sports. It has a large geographical expanse, diverse topography and fair weather conditions. It has a large population, especially the youth. It has a growing culture for adventure sports and aviation. Other than the direct revenue from air sports activities, the multiplier benefits in terms of growth of travel, tourism, infrastructure and local employment, especially in hilly areas of the country, are several times greater.  Creation of air sports hubs across the country will also bring in air sports professionals and tourists from across the world. Systems and processes need to be simplified and made more transparent; focus on quality, safety and security needs to be enhanced; and investments in infrastructure, technology, training and awareness building need to be facilitated. The key features of the Draft National Air Sports Policy are: NASP 2022 covers sports like aerobatics, aeromodelling, amateur-built and experimental aircraft, ballooning, drones, gliding, hang gliding and paragliding; microlighting and paramotoring; skydiving and vintage aircraft. The vision is to make India one of the top air sports nations by 2030. The mission is to provide a safe, affordable, accessible, enjoyable and sustainable air sports ecosystem in India. NASP 2022 seeks to leverage India’s huge potential for air sports given its large geographical expanse, diverse topography and fair weather conditions.  An Air Sports Federation of India (ASFI) will be established as the apex governing body.  Associations for each air sport will handle day to day activities e.g. Paragliding Association of India or Skydiving Association of India etc. The air sports associations shall be accountable to ASFI with respect to the regulatory oversight and for providing safe, affordable, accessible, enjoyable and sustainable conduct of their respective air sport. ASFI shall represent India at FAI and other global platforms related to air sports. Greater participation and success of Indian sportspersons in global air sports events will be facilitated. Domestic design, development and manufacturing of air sports equipment will be promoted in line with the Atmanirbhar Bharat Abhiyan. The Fédération Aéronautique Internationale (FAI), headquartered in Lausanne, Switzerland is the world governing body for air sports.  All competitions in India will be conducted as per the guidelines laid down by FAI. Air sports by their very nature involve a higher level of risk than flying a regular aircraft. NASP 2022 places strong focus on ensuring international best practices in safety. Inability to enforce safety standards by an air sports association may lead to penal action by the ASFI against such association including financial penalties, suspension or dismissal. All persons and entities providing air sports services shall be required to register as members of the respective air sports associations. Key equipment used for air sports shall be registered with the respective air sports association, till such equipment is decommissioned, damaged beyond repair or lost. An airspace map of India has been published on DGCA’s DigitalSky Platform. The map segregates the entire airspace of India into red zone, yellow zone and green zone.  Air sports practitioners may rely on this easily accessible map for guidance. Operation in red and yellow zones requires permission from Central Government and the concerned Air Traffic Control authority respectively.  Operation in green zones for aircraft with all-up weight up to 500 kg does not require any permission.  For air sports centred around a fixed location – for instance, Bir-Billing in Himachal Pradesh, Gangtok in Sikkim, Hadapsar in Maharashtra or Vagamon in Kerala – the said location can be declared as a ‘Control zone’ for air sports with necessary permissions from the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA), Ministry of Defence (MoD), State Government and the local Air Traffic Control authority. This will enable hassle-free flying by air sports enthusiasts in such control zones without creating any risk to national security or safety of other manned aircraft. During peak winters, the level of air sports reduces in Europe and North America and the air sports aficionados migrate to milder climates.  ASFI and the air sports associations will work towards developing a hassle-free process to enable their movement to India.  This will enable Indian air sports enthusiasts to learn from the experience of the visiting professionals, get exposed to global best practices and create opportunities to host global competitions in India. The Government will consider allowing import of air sports equipment without any import duty for a particular number of years.  Import of previously used air sports equipment may also be allowed free import, subject to laid down norms of airworthiness.  Schools, colleges and universities will be encouraged to have air sports included in their curriculum.  Long term funding for development of air sports in India shall come from corporate investors, sponsors, membership fees, events and media rights.  ASFI may seek financial support from Government of India for promotion of air sports, especially in the initial years.  To make air sports affordable to the common public, the Government will request the GST Council to consider rationalising the GST rate on air sports equipment to 5% or less. Can you answer the following questions? India has the potential to be among the leading nations in the world of air sports. Discuss (TEST YOUR KNOWLEDGE) Model questions: (You can now post your answers in comment section) Q.1 Consider the following statements regarding Kaziranga National Park:  The sanctuary, which hosts two-thirds of the world’s great one-horned rhinoceroses, is a World Heritage Site.  Kaziranga has the largest population of the Wild water buffalo anywhere accounting for about 57% of the world population. Which of the above is or are correct?  1 only  2 only  Both 1 and 2  Neither 1 nor 2  Q.2 Indravati Tiger reserve is located in? Chhattisgarh  Jharkhand Madhya Pradesh Uttar Pradesh Q.3 Arc De Triomphe Monument, recently seen in news, is one of most important monuments of Which of the following country? France Netherlands Germany Belarus ANSWERS FOR 3rd Jan 2022 TEST YOUR KNOWLEDGE (TYK) 1 C 2 A 3 A Must Read On the crypto assets conundrum:   The Hindu On GST rates on textiles: The Hindu On Education: Indian Express

Daily Prelims CA Quiz

UPSC Quiz – 2021 : IASbaba’s Daily Current Affairs Quiz 3rd January 2022

For Previous Daily Quiz (ARCHIVES) - CLICK HERE The Current Affairs questions are based on sources like ‘The Hindu’, ‘Indian Express’ and ‘PIB’, which are very important sources for UPSC Prelims Exam. The questions are focused on both the concepts and facts. The topics covered here are generally different from what is being covered under ‘Daily Current Affairs/Daily News Analysis (DNA) and Daily Static Quiz’ to avoid duplication. The questions would be published from Monday to Saturday before 2 PM. One should not spend more than 10 minutes on this initiative. Gear up and Make the Best Use of this initiative. Do remember that, “the difference between Ordinary and EXTRA-Ordinary is PRACTICE!!” Important Note: Don't forget to post your marks in the comment section. Also, let us know if you enjoyed today's test :) After completing the 5 questions, click on 'View Questions' to check your score, time taken, and solutions. To take the Test - Click Here

[FULL COMPILATIONS] IASbaba’s TLP 2021 (Phase 2 - ENGLISH & हिंदी): UPSC Mains 2021 Answer Writing!

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