Dec 2, 2020 IASbaba's Daily Current Affairs

DAILY CURRENT AFFAIRS IAS | UPSC Prelims and Mains Exam – 2nd December 2020

Archives (PRELIMS + MAINS FOCUS) C32-LH2 Tank: Biggest cryogenic propellant tank delivered to ISRO Part of: GS Prelims and GS-III – Sci & Tech In news The public sector aerospace manufacturing company, the Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) delivered the biggest cryogenic propellant tank C32-LH2 to the Indian Space Research Organisation. Key takeaways The C32-LH2 tank is a developmental cryogenic propellant tank of aluminium alloy. It is designed for improving the payload capability of GSLV MK-III launching vehicle of ISRO. The tank can load 5755 kg propellant fuel.  Important value addition Cryogenic fuels Cryogenic fuels are fuels that require storage at extremely low temperatures in order to maintain them in a liquid state. These fuels are used in machinery that operates in space because ordinary fuel cannot be used there due to the very low temperatures often encountered in space, and due to absence of an environment that supports combustion. Cryogenic fuels most often constitute liquefied gases such as liquid hydrogen. Annapurna Idol to be brought back from Canada Part of: GS Prelims and GS-I – Culture & GS-II – International Relations In news An ancient idol of the goddess Annapurna, stolen from India about a century ago, is being brought back from Canada. Annapurna is the goddess of food.  The 18th-century idol, carved in the Benares style, is part of the University of Regina, Canada’s collection at the MacKenzie Art Gallery. Do you know? A few weeks ago, 13th-century old bronze idols of Lord Rama, Lakshmana and goddess Sita were handed to the Tamil Nadu government from the UK recently,. Between 2014 and 2020, the government has been able to retrieve 40 antiquities from various countries. Between 1976 and 2014, as per ASI records, 13 antique pieces had been repatriated to India. Zebrafish being used as a research model to promote heart regeneration Part of: GS Prelims and GS-III – Environment; Biodiversity In news Recently, Scientists at Pune-based Agharkar Research Institute have used the Zebrafish as a research model and identified genes that can promote heart regeneration. Important value addition Zebrafish is a tiny freshwater fish barely 2-3 cm long.  It can efficiently regenerate its damaged heart within a short time period. Zebrafish is found in the tropical and subtropical regions.  The fish is native to South Asia’s Indo-Gangetic plains, where they are mostly found in the paddy fields and even in stagnant water and streams. It is a popular aquarium fish, frequently sold under the trade name Danio. The zebrafish is an important and widely used vertebrate model organism in scientific research, for example in drug development, in particular pre-clinical development. It is also notable for its regenerative abilities and has been modified by researchers to produce many transgenic strains. World AIDS Day 2020 Part of: GS Prelims and GS-II – Health In news The World AIDS Day is observed on 1st December every year all over the world. Key takeaways It was founded in 1988 by the World Health Organization (WHO). Theme for 2020: “Global solidarity, resilient HIV services.” In 2019, 6,90,000 people died from HIV-related causes and 1.7 million people were newly infected, with nearly 62% of these new infections occurring among key populations and their partners. Important value addition AIDS is a pandemic disease caused by the infection of Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV), which damages the human immune system. It is a chronic, potentially life-threatening condition. By damaging immune system, HIV interferes with the body's ability to fight infection and disease. The virus can be transmitted through contact with infected blood, semen or vaginal fluids. AIDS symptoms include weight loss, fever or night sweats, fatigue and recurrent infections. No cure exists for AIDS. Strict adherence to antiretroviral regimens (ARVs) can slow the disease's progress and prevent secondary infections and complications. Kiwis Of Ziro Valley Part of: GS Prelims and GS-III – Agriculture In news The kiwis that grow wild in Arunachal Pradesh’s Ziro Valley are the only certified organic fruit of their kind in India. Arunachal Pradesh is the first State in India to obtain Organic Certification for Kiwi under Mission Organic Value Chain Development for North East Region (MOVCD-NER). Ziro Valley is located in Lower Subansiri district. Important value addition Mission Organic Value Chain Development for North East Region (MOVCD-NER)  It is a Central Sector Scheme. It is a sub-mission under National Mission for Sustainable Agriculture (NMSA). Launched by: Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare  Implementation in: Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, Sikkim and Tripura,  Do you know? An agricultural practice/product is considered organic when there are no chemical fertilisers or pesticides involved in its cultivation process. Such certifications in India can be obtained after strict scientific assessment done by the regulatory body, Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority (APEDA). China gives ‘go ahead’ for New Dam on Brahmaputra Part of: GS Prelims and GS-II – International Relations In news Recently, China has given the go ahead for a Chinese hydropower company to construct the first downstream hydropower project on the lower reaches of the river Brahmaputra. Key takeaways The state-owned hydropower company signed a strategic cooperation agreement with the Tibet Autonomous Region (TAR) government to implement hydropower exploitation in the downstream of the Yarlung Zangbo river as part of the new Five Year Plan (2021-2025). This will be the first time the downstream sections of the river will be tapped. The location of the planned project has not been mentioned anywhere. This 50 km section alone offers a potential of developing 70 million kilowatt hours (Kwh). Important value addition Brahmaputra It originates under the name of Siang or Dihang, from the Chemayungdung glacier of the Kailash range near the Mansarovar lake.  It enters India west of Sadiya town in Arunachal Pradesh. Tributaries: Dibang, Lohit, Siang, Burhi Dihing, Tista, and Dhansari. It is a perennial river. It has several peculiar characteristics due to its geography and prevailing climatic conditions. It is flooded twice annually.  One flood is caused by the melting of the Himalayan snow in summer and the other due to the monsoon flows. The frequency of these floods has increased. These floods are devastating due to climate change and its impact on high and low flows. These pose a concern for the population and food security in the lower riparian states of India and Bangladesh. The river is in itself dynamic as frequent landslides and geological activity force it to change course very often. Miscellaneous Cyclonic storm ‘Burevi’ The Deep Depression over southwest Bay of Bengal recently intensified into Cyclonic Storm ‘Burevi’. The India Meteorological Department (IMD) announced that a cyclone brewing in the Bay of Bengal is likely to affect Tamil Nadu and Kerala, less than a week after cyclone Nivar wreaked havoc in the southern states. The cyclone will cross the Sri Lanka coast on December 2 and bring heavy rain over Tamil Nadu and Kerala. Aadi Mahotsav Union Minister for Tribal Affairs launched the Aadi Mahotsav is a national tribal festival. It is a joint initiative of Ministry of Tribal Affairs, Government of India & Tribal Cooperative Marketing Development Federation of India (TRIFED). The Aadi Mahotsav initiative was commenced in 2017. The festival showcases traditional art and handicrafts and cultural heritage of the country.  It is an attempt to familiarise the people with the rich and diverse craft, culture of the tribal communities across the country, in one place. Virtual edition of Aadi Mahotsav- Madhya Pradesh was recently launched.  Ramayan Cruise Tour  ‘Ramayan Cruise Tour’ on the Saryu river in Ayodhya will be launched soon. Ministry: Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways The Sarayu is a river that originates in Uttarakhand.  It flows through Uttar Pradesh in India.  It is a tributary of the Sharda River. (Mains Focus) INTERNATIONAL / SECURITY Topic: General Studies 2: India and its neighborhood- relations Effect of policies and politics of developed and developing countries on India’s interests Assassination of Iranian Nuclear Scientist Context: The brazen murder of a top Iranian nuclear scientist, Mohsen Fakhrizadeh, outside Tehran during November last week. Fakhrizadeh was widely regarded as a key figure in Iran’s nuclear weapons programme and his assassination — for which no one has yet claimed responsibility — will have serious geopolitical implications in West Asia and beyond Critical Analysis of the killing It highlights Iran’s growing strategic vulnerabilities This is second such high profile killing during 2020. General Qasem Soleimani, the Iranian general in charge of the Quds Force of the Revolutionary Guard was killed by a US drone strike in January. The frequent attacks on high-profile Iranian targets raise questions about the hostile penetration of its society.  There has been speculation that the assassins may have had help from locals on the ground. Killing was done to sabotage the renewal of Iran Nuclear Deal In 2015, Iran agreed a long-term deal on its nuclear programme with a group of world powers known as the P5+1 - the US, UK, France, China, Russia and Germany Under the accord, Iran agreed to limit its sensitive nuclear activities and allow in international inspectors in return for the lifting of crippling economic sanctions that was imposed on Iran by US, UN and EU. However, in May 2018, US President Donald Trump abandoned the deal and reinstated sanctions targeting both Iran and states that trade with it.  Subsequently in 2019, Iran also suspended commitments under the agreement. This made that the landmark deal dead. However, President elect Joe Biden has talked about restarting the negotiation with Iran after he assumes Presidency after Jan 20.  For Trump Administration, Israel and Saudi Arabia — Iran’s rival in the Great Game in West Asia and North Africa — such a rapprochement would be detrimental to their interests. The assassination of Fakhrizadeh is about achieving that political objective. If Iran retaliates vigorously, it will invite an all-out confrontation with Israel and the US and kill the prospects for a productive engagement with the Biden administration.  Holding back will expose Iran’s weakness and sharpen internal divisions between pragmatists who want to engage the US and the hardliners who are itching for a confrontation. Rapid transformation of Arab relations with Israel.  The fear of Iran has been driving Gulf Arabs to embrace Israel.  In the last few months, Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates have normalised ties with Israel (Abraham Accords) There is also speculation of an impending normalisation of ties between Israel and Saudi Arabia — the ideological core of the Islamic and Arab world. Iran has much goodwill in South Asia, but India and its neighbours have no desire to get sucked into Tehran’s conflicts with the Arabs or the US. All this will further widen the gap between Iran and rival Arab Camp (led by Saudi Arabia, supported by US & now Israel) Deepening rivalry between Saudi Arabia and Turkey for the leadership of the Muslim world Saudi Arabia, Egypt, and the UAE want to return the Middle East towards political and religious moderation. However, the once secular Turkey under Recep Tayyip Erdogan has become the new champion of political Islam.  Turkey’s new religious zeal provides a good ideological cover for Erdogan’s ambitions to expand its geopolitical influence in the Middle East. The recent developments might change the geopolitical alignments in the region with Turkey playing a more aggressive role in the conflicts of the region Conclusion Although India has made some important adjustments to its engagement with the Middle East in recent years, Delhi can’t take its eyes off the rapid changes in the region. New Delhi has thus far managed to maintain strong ties across the Middle East. This is a time to wait and watch, while continuing the policy of bipartisan friendship. Connecting the dots: India’s Chabahar Project and consequent changes: Click here & here INTERNATIONAL/ SECURITY Topic: General Studies 2: Important International institutions, agencies and fora- their structure, mandate.  Bilateral, regional and global groupings and agreements involving India and/or affecting India’s interests Regional priorities: On the SCO summit Context: Three years after joining the eight-nation Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO), India hosted the SCO heads of governments (HoG) meeting for the first time. For a brief background on SCO, Click here Although the HoG Council consists of the Prime Ministers of all SCO countries, neither Prime Minister Narendra Modi nor Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan attended the meet, ostensibly due to a protocol mismatch between the position of PMs in parliamentary democracies versus those in the former Soviet bloc and China Key Takeaways from the 2020 Meeting (Virtual)  Response to COVID-19: Need for developing a “Plan of Priority Practical Measures for 2021-2022 to overcome the socio-economic, financial and food consequences of COVID-19 in the region”. Multilateralism: Members committed to strengthening multilateralism and the UN charter while welcoming the fact that the grouping is now being seen as an “influential and responsible participant in the modern system of international relations”. India-Pakistan Differences: PM Modi was represented by Vice-President Venkaiah Naidu, who made strong observations on cross-border terrorism; he called it the SCO region’s “biggest challenge”, in comments aimed at Pakistan. Pakistan’s representative too spoke of the need to combat what she called “state terrorism” in disputed areas, in a reference to Jammu and Kashmir. Neither statement on terrorism was reflected in the final joint statement, which focused on trade and economic issues. India- China Differences: India also marked its differences with China over the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) by not joining other SCO members in a paragraph endorsing the BRI What is the importance of SCO going forward? Regardless of the differences, Indian government has consistently maintained the importance of the SCO grouping, referred to as the “Asian NATO” although it does not mandate security alliances Regional Engagement: The SCO is one of the few regional structures India is a part of now, given a decline in its engagement with SAARC, BBIN and the RCEP. Connect with Central Asia: The SCO provides India a convenient channel for its outreach — trade and strategic ties — to Central Asian countries.  Platform to solve tense bilateral issues: SCO has afforded a platform, when needed, for bilateral discussions with the two countries India has the most tense ties with: China and Pakistan. While the government has eschewed meetings with Pakistan for the last five years, it has used the SCO for talks with China, including this year amidst the LAC stand-off. Geopolitical Balance: SCO has been seen as a grouping worth pursuing as it retains India’s geopolitical balance, a useful counterpoint to India’s otherwise much more robust relations with the western world. Conclusion The SCO serves India’s quest for geopolitical balance and regional engagement Connecting the dots: Future of SAARC and BIMSTEC India’s Non-Alignment Policy in the times of increasing Polarisation in world (TEST YOUR KNOWLEDGE) Model questions: (You can now post your answers in comment section) Note:  Correct answers of today’s questions will be provided in next day’s DNA section. Kindly refer to it and update your answers.  Comments Up-voted by IASbaba are also the “correct answers”. Q.1 Ordinary fuel cannot be used in machinery that operates in space due to which of the following reasons:  Low temperatures encountered in space.  Absence of an environment that supports combustion. Which of the above is/are correct? 1 only 2 only Both 1 and 2 Neither 1  nor 2 Q.2 Consider the following statements regarding zebrafish:  It is a large freshwater fish.  It is found in the tropical and subtropical regions.  It is widely used in scientific research.  Which of the above is/are correct?  1 and 2 only  2 and 3 only  2 only  1 and 3 only Q.3 Sarayu river originates in which of the following state of India?  Uttrakhand  Uttar Pradesh  Maharashtra  Madhya Pradesh ANSWERS FOR 1st December 2020 TEST YOUR KNOWLEDGE (TYK) 1 A 2 D 3 D 4 B Must Read AboutCorporates as Bank: The Hindu About rights of prisoners with disabilities: The Hindu About Dilli Chalo Farmer’s protest and need for government to resolve it: The Indian Express

Dec 2, 2020 TLP Mains 2020

SYNOPSIS [30th NOVEMBER,2020] Day 43: IASbaba’s TLP (Phase 2): UPSC Mains Answer Writing (General Studies)

For Previous TLP (ARCHIVES) - CLICK HERE SYNOPSIS [30th NOVEMBER,2020] Day 43: IASbaba’s TLP (Phase 2): UPSC Mains Answer Writing (General Studies)   1. The disintegration of the Ottoman Empire created many fault lines for Europes’s future. Do you agree? Substantiate. Approach: As the directive here is substantiating it is necessary to give examples while giving an argument. In the introduction you can explain about how and when the disintegration of ottoman empire took place. In the main body part, it is necessary to explain what kind of effects it created citing Europe's future. While concluding it is necessary to connect it with the recent developments.  Introduction:  At the start of World War, I, the Ottoman Empire was already in decline. The Ottoman army entered the war in 1914 on the side of the Central Powers (including Germany and Austria-Hungary) and were defeated in October 1918. Following the Armistice of Mudros, most Ottoman territories were divided between Britain, France, Greece and Russia. Body: Disintegration of the Ottoman Empire and fault lines for Europe's future: The Ottoman empire officially ended in 1922 when the title of Ottoman Sultan was eliminated. Turkey was declared a republic on October 29, 1923, when Mustafa Kemal Atatürk (1881-1938), an army officer, founded the independent Republic of Turkey. He then served as Turkey’s first president from 1923 until his death in 1938, implementing reforms that rapidly secularized and westernized the country. Following the Armistice of Mudros, most Ottoman territories were divided between Britain, France, Greece and Russia.  The Aftermath of dissolution of ottoman empire drastic political, cultural, economic, and social changes across Europe observed.  The former empire of Austria-Hungary was dissolved, and new nations were created from its land such as Austria, Hungary, Czechoslovakia, and Yugoslavia. In Europe, they retained only the country of Turkey. Poland, which had long been divided among Germany, Russia, and Austria-Hungary, was reconstituted. Within the British Empire too, disaffected nations fought for independence.  Hence, in geographical sense it completely changed the political map of Europe by creating or dividing the nations. However, it was not just the effect of the fall of ottoman empire but also the impact of end of first world war which changed the political discourse across Europe.  The harsh conditions forced upon Germany after the end of world war I actually supplemented the anger of Germans, thereby it supplemented rise of Hitler, who became the prominent figure for World War II. Besides it also increased the ideological debate between Western thinkers and Eastern thinkers. As a result, two polar opposite ideologies as communism and liberalism gained prominence in Europe. Which in fact led to creation of Berlin wall in 1961. It not only affected the political sphere but it also affected the economic sphere too. For instance, after disintegration of ottoman empire, we can easily observe economic hardships of many European countries.  For instance, around in 1923, 42 billion German marks were worth the equivalent of one American cent. The effects of disintegration of ottoman empire are not just limited to supplement the impact of World war I and World War II but they are impacting even today's world too. For instance, UK left European Union i.e. Brexit.   Conclusion: The aftermath effects of disintegration of ottoman empire are still visible today. However, Europe due to its strategic location suffered the most after disintegration of ottoman empire. The effects are still relevant today as many nations are asking to come out of European Union. However, Europe needs to understand the rise of China and should have foresight to tackle this challenges, else it might culminate in to world war III or new imperialism.  2. Industrial revolution became the engine of European colonialism in the 19th century. Comment. Approach: As the directive here is comment, it is necessary to give different viewpoints and then own opinion. You can start in introduction by telling what is industrial revolution and when it started. In the first half of main body part you are expected to show how Industrial revolution gave impetus to European colonialism in the 19th century. In the conclusion, you can show how it affected the history of colony and changed the course of world history.  Introduction: The Industrial Revolution, now also known as the First Industrial Revolution, was the transition to new manufacturing processes in Europe and the United States, in the period from about 1760 to sometime between 1820 and 1840. This transition included going from hand production methods to machines which led to the rise of the mechanized factory system.  Body: Industrial revolution became the engine of European colonialism in the 19th century:  European power acquired colonies which ensured a regular supply of raw materials. In return the countries which were industrially advanced took this raw material, processed it and sold the manufactured products in to the colonies itself.  European powers overseas colonies were the captive market for the goods it produced now. Textile industry and the iron industry adopted some innovations of its own as well. Hence, it led to colonies being the backyard as well as market for the European countries. Innovated machines like the flying shuttle, spinning jenny and power loom, made the production much easier and faster, while at the same time requiring less human capital.  It resulted in large scale production of manufactured goods. However, the market in Europe was not that much developed to assimilate such huge quantity of product. Hence, Europeans tried to expand their market in the colonies.  It led to flourishment of trade, market, and communication across the world. Due to industrial revolution shipping industry also got developed. Which led to transport revolution. To expand facilities for transport by water much cheaper than overland, European countries began connecting rivers and lakes with canals. Canal building spread to Europe and America and was a big help in providing cheaper transportation, especially after steam boats came into use. It not only led to market expansion in colonial countries but it also led to local market destruction in colonies too. For instance, the large quantities of European produce in the market side-lined locally produced handicrafts in India.  It resulted in following effects:  It strengthened the roots of colonialism by capturing the markets of colonised countries.  It also strengthened the expansionist policies of European colonial countries.  It increased the settler colonialism, i.e. foreign citizens move into a region and create permanent or temporary settlements called colonies.  It is exemplified in the colonies established in what became the United States, New Zealand, Namibia, South Africa. However, it also led to exploitative colonialism, where foreign armies conquer a country in order to control and capitalize on its natural resources and indigenous population. Europeans established authoritarian regimes in these colonies, which had no limits on state power. For instance, in Congo Basin.  Hence, it can be said that, Industrial revolution led to dominance of European countries over colonies they captured and after that they settled down there. It resulted in expansion of European colonialism. Conclusion:  Industrial Revolution observed the emergence of modern capitalist economies around the world at this time as the GDP per capita saw an exponential rate of growth around this time. Economic historians regard the Industrial Revolutions as the most important moment in human history since the domestication of animals and plants and hence it can be said that Industrial revolution became the engine of European colonialism in the 19th century. 3. How did ideas of enlightenment affect the European history? Briefly describe. Approach: It expects students to write about enlightenment and how enlightenment ideas affected the European history. Introduction The Enlightenment was a period from the late 17th century into the 18th century were new ideas about government, personal freedom and religious beliefs began to develop in Europe. Each of them had their specific ideas and views about what made themselves and their age different from the previous people and their ages. However, all of them strongly believed in certain major concepts & ideas.  These are faith in reason, belief in change & progress and finally faith in the concept of nature. Body Characteristics of enlightenment: Reason Empiricism Science Universalism Individualism Toleration Uniform human nature Secularism Ideas of enlightenment affected European history in the following ways: Degeneration of the Absolute Monarchy: Absolute monarchy reached its peak under Louis XIV, and began to degenerate during his lifetime. Refusal of Louis XV to remedy the abuses of the old order, inefficiency of Louis XVI, all added to the initiation of the process of French revolution. Hegemony of the ideology of profiteering: There were some historical events also which intensified the process of modernity. In Western Europe industrialisation had come with the ideology of capitalism. The desire for mass production urged the mercantile community to find out new markets for the sale of their product. For example, East India company in India. Process of different revolutions: The economic (the global capitalist economy), the social (formation of classes and an advanced sexual and social division of labour), the cultural (the transition from a religious to a secular culture) and political (the rise of the secular state and polity). Spread of modern ideas: During the 18th-century people began to look at the whole world and the role of people in a different way. The French Philosopher and writer Francois Marie Voltaire attacked the authority of the religious institutions and the governments of the day. Jean-Jacques Rousseau criticised civilisation itself saying that people should not obtain more possession or power than needed. The triumph of liberalism: The objective of enlightenment was to attain social justice for the mankind as a whole. This justice could be materialised by development. Thus, liberalism triumphed over feudalism and created a model of social justice and progress. As a matter of fact, liberation is the dominant ideology of the western democracies, with its roots in enlightenment thought. Modern capitalism: There was capitalism in some form or the other before the advent of enlightenment. But, in the aftermath of urbanisation, industrialisation, colonialism and democracy, capitalism took a modern form. Enlightenment made capitalism an international affair. There emerged capitalist market relations at a global scale. Birth of modernity: Modernity thus created the institution of nation-state and an international system of states, a dynamic and expansionist capitalist economic order based on private property, industrialism, the growth of large-scale administrative and bureaucratic systems of social organisation and regulation, the dominance of secular, materialist, rationalist and individualist cultural values, and the formal separation of the ‘private’ from the ‘public’. Affected legal codes and governmental structures: The Age of Enlightenment influenced many legal codes and governmental structures that are still in place today. Montesquieu a huge proponent of the Enlightenment, Montesquieu suggested the theory of the separation of powers in order to obtain a political system of checks and balances, promoting order and equality. Principles of the Enlightenment also featured heavily in the Bill of Rights and the Declaration of Independence. Conclusion The old way of life was represented by superstition, an angry God, and absolute submission to authority. The thinkers of the Age of Reason ushered in a new way of thinking. This new way championed the accomplishments of humankind. Individuals did not have to accept despair. Science and reason could bring happiness and progress. Kings did not rule by divine right. They had an obligation to their subjects. Europeans pondered the implications for nearly a century. 4. The history of African decolonisation is sharply contrasted from its Asian counterparts. Elucidate.   Approach:  It expects students to write about African decolonization and how its sharply contrasted from its Asian counterparts. Introduction: The decolonisation of Africa took place in the mid-to-late 1950s to 1975. The changes that came during the process was sudden and radical as the colonies made their transition towards independence at times marred by political violence. The decolonisation of Asia was the gradual growth of independence movements in Asia, leading ultimately to the retreat of foreign powers and the creation of a number of nation-states in the region. Body: Decolonisation of Africa sharp contrast from its Asian counterparts: Neo-Colonialism: The old European powers sought to exert influence in newly independent trades through biased trade policies. Colonial powers were technologically advanced. So they used it as a leverage in directing foreign investment and hence controlling the new states. This came to be known as Neo-Colonialism. This was dominant in African decolonising countries whereas Asian countries were free to decide their own economic and trade policies. Nature of Discrimination: Religious and Caste based discrimination was highlight of Asia. In Africa it is racial Discrimination which was dominant.  Pan-Africanism: A feeling of brotherhood was growing within the indigenous people of Africa. This meant a pooling of resources and external support in the struggle for independence. As more and more countries attained freedom, the entire process was hastened. This type of pan regional phenomenon was missing in Asian decolonisation process. Democratic System: In Asia after independence, democracy prevailed but most of former colonies of Africa fell into Dictatorship. Tribal differences: Many countries were brought together by the sheer military forces of the colonisers. Lack of a common cultural past and tribal belligerence meant that they slaughtered each other inside these artificial boundaries imposed upon them. This led to worst genocides in Nigeria, Congo (Zaire), Burundi and Rwanda. Asian countries lacked such tribal dominance and were divided on natural cultural boundaries. Border Demarcation: National boundaries were demarcated based on Religious and Geographical lines but it was absent in Africa where still Civil war is going on for nation based on Ethnicity. Ethnic conflict: In some countries with an influential white settler population, Decolonisation was a more complex affair. They offered firm resistance because they were privileged under the old system. E.g. Rhodesia (Zimbabwe) and the erstwhile Apartheid regime of South Africa. Sometimes, as in Zimbabwe, forced taking away of estates from the white minority led to an overall fall in productivity and caused economic crises. Such influential white settlers were minute in Asian countries and had very much limited influence. Spill over effect: In Asia starting from India, majority of nation got independent within few years but in Africa it continued for decades. Aftermath of Decolonisation: Army coups were common in countries with weak leadership and limited mass base in democratic processes. For example, Ghana, Nigeria, Uganda, Burundi, Rwanda, Congo etc. Sovereignty: Most of Asia gained sovereignty in its external and internal matters but still Colonial influence exists in Africa. Ex: French intervention in Chad, Mali etc. There are certain similarities in both of their struggles: Inspirations: Both continents derived inspiration from Western Educated elites like Mahatma Gandhi, Nehru, Sardar Patel, Dr. Kwame Nkrumah etc. Administration: Both country still follows European institutional systems in Administration like Bureaucracy and Judiciary. War: War followed in both continents after independence like Indo-Pak wars, Vietnam Wars, Arab-Israel wars, Algerian wars etc. Role of India: After Indian independence, India supported Decolonisation strongly in International fora through the leadership of Non-Alignment movement. India actively mobilised international opinion in favour of Decolonisation. In Indonesia and Africa, it was vocal in support. It also sent troops to solve the Congo Crisis of the 1960s. Besides, India contributes actively to the UN peacekeeping forces that operate in different parts of Africa. Conclusion: Decolonisation was a force of good that helped liberate billions of people across the globe from exploitation under an oppressive foreign rule. As a cultural process, it is continuing to date. It ended up with the majority of the world achieving self-determination and self-rule. Majority of the so-called “Third world” is still mired in extreme poverty. The way forward is through human development, the spread of education and building of institutions through regional Pan-African, Pan-South Asian cooperation. The democratisation of international order will help the third world more in getting its grievances addressed and in building a more equitable world. 5. Do you agree with the assertion that capitalism had triumphed with the disintegration of the USSR? Critically comment. Approach: As the directive here is critically comment, it is necessary to give both sides views and then put forth your own opinion. In the introduction you can start by giving how and when does the disintegration took place. In the first half of main body part it is necessary to give views in support of triumph of capitalism. In the next half give arguments in against triumph of capitalism. You can conclude by showing how it is still relevant this debate is still relevant today.  Introduction: The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR) was a loose confederation of 15 republics with Russia as the leader. USSR was a strong bloc with great control over global politics from 1922 to 1991, when it was disintegrated into smaller units. However, it is asserted by the western countries that capitalism had triumphed with the disintegration of the USSR. Body: Capitalism had triumphed with the disintegration of the USSR: The disintegration of USSR brought at the forefront the lacunae of socialistic model of economic governance to the developing world. It was seen as a victory of capitalism over socialism, often termed as 'end of ideology' thesis. Western institutions like IMF and World Bank in the global economic governance pushed developing countries to adopt neo-liberal economic policies. Hence, rise of free economic market took place.  Changes in politics of Europe led to disappearance of division between Western and Eastern Europe. Demolition of the Berlin wall, the unification of Germany, the end of the Warsaw Pact and rise of democratic regimes changed the politics of Europe. Disintegration of USSR also affected the relations with the other countries. For instance, financial aid from the Soviet Union to India was significantly reduced.  Rise of free market economy, fall of Berlin wall, increased globalisation, and wide spread of liberal ideology supplemented the triumph of capitalism.  As a result, the disintegration of the USSR resulted in USA’s dominance along the world politics table. However, it can't be exactly said that capitalism triumphed across the globe. As many of the countries across the globe were following their own policies.  Survival of parallel ideologies/flows after disintegration of USSR:  The Non-Aligned Movement was formed during the Cold War as an organization of States that did not seek to formally align themselves with either the United States or the Soviet Union, but sought to remain independent or neutral. One of the biggest challenge to capitalism came from Vietnam. The Democratic Republic of Vietnam (DRV) in the north was supported by the Soviet Union, China, and other communist countries, while the United States and its anti-Communist allies backed the Republic of Vietnam (ROV) in the south. The Socialist Republic of Vietnam was formally established on July 2, 1976 and the loss of USA in Vietnam war still persists as a 'Vietnam Syndrome' in every western thinker’s mind who thought that Capitalism has triumphed.  Besides Rise of China posed greatest challenge to capitalism. It literally overshadowed the assertion that capitalism has triumphed. For instance, current trade war between USA and China.  It's not just about the Asian countries, but communism also spread in the backyard of USA, i.e. in Cuba.  Also USA's invasion in Afghanistan, Iraq shows that, capitalism triumph after disintegration of USSR is just an illusion, and USA is still trying to gain dominance over middle-east Asian countries through capitalism. It's actually an endeavour to assert capitalism in an attempt to capture the oil resources and strategic locations.  Conclusion: It is of no doubt that after the disintegration of USSR, power equations across the world changed. It led to rise of USA and made the world a uni-polar world on political scale. However, different ideological flows still persisted which overshadowed the assertion of triumph of capitalism.  The attempt of USA to pose capitalism as a triumphed ideology is still continuing. However, other ideological flows also have maintained their stronghold in their respective spheres.   TLP HOT Synopsis Day 43 PDF

Dec 2, 2020 Daily Prelims CA Quiz

UPSC Quiz - 2020 : IASbaba's Daily Current Affairs Quiz 2nd Dec 2020

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. This is a part of our recently launched, NEW INITIATIVE IASbaba’s INTEGRATED REVISION PLAN (IRP) 2020 – Road Map for the next 100 Days! FREE INITIATIVE! We will make sure, in the next 4 months not a single day is wasted. All your energies are channelized in the right direction. Trust us! This will make a huge difference in your results this time, provided that you follow this plan sincerely every day without fail. Gear up and Make the Best Use of this initiative. Do remember that, “the difference between Ordinary and EXTRA-Ordinary is PRACTICE!!” To Know More about the Initiative -> CLICK HERE SCHEDULE/DETAILED PLAN – > CLICK HERE 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

Dec 2, 2020 TLP Mains 2020

IASbaba’s TLP (Phase 2 - ENGLISH & हिंदी): UPSC Mains Answer Writing - General Studies Paper 3 Questions[2nd DECEMBER,2020] - Day 45

For Previous TLP (ARCHIVES) - CLICK HERE Hello Friends, Welcome to IASbaba’s TLP (Phase 2 - ENGLISH & हिंदी): UPSC Mains Answer Writing - General Studies Paper 3 Questions[2nd DECEMBER,2020] - Day 45   We will make sure, in the next 3 months not a single day is wasted. All your energies are channelized in the right direction. Trust us! This will make a huge difference in your results this time, provided that you follow this plan sincerely every day without fail. Gear up and Make the Best Use of this initiative. We are giving 5 Mains Questions on Daily basis so that every student can actively participate and keep your preparation focused. Do remember that, “the difference between Ordinary and EXTRA-Ordinary is PRACTICE!!” To Know More about the Initiative -> CLICK HERE SCHEDULE/DETAILED PLAN – > CLICK HERE   Note: Click on Each Question (Link), it will open in a new tab and then Answer respective questions! 1. What is the CRISPR-Cas9 technique? What are its potential applications. Examine. CRISPR-Cas9 तकनीक क्या है? इसके संभावित अनुप्रयोग क्या हैं। जांच करें। 2. What are the commercial prospects of IoT in India? What are the challenges in its adoption? Discuss.  भारत में IoT की व्यावसायिक संभावनाएँ क्या हैं? इसके अपनाने में क्या चुनौतियाँ हैं? चर्चा करें। 3. What are the challenges posed by deepfakes? What can be the possible strategy to counter it? Suggest. डीपफेक से उत्पन्न चुनौतियाँ क्या हैं? इसका मुकाबला करने के लिए संभावित रणनीति क्या हो सकती है? सुझाव दें। 4. What are the applications of big data in governance? In this regard, discuss the recommendations of Kris Gopalan panel. शासन में बड़े डेटा के अनुप्रयोग क्या हैं? इस संबंध में, क्रिस गोपालन पैनल की सिफारिशों पर चर्चा करें। 5. What is the Global Partnership on Artificial Intelligence (GPAI) ?What are its objectives? आर्टिफिशियल इंटेलिजेंस (GPAI) पर ग्लोबल पार्टनरशिप क्या है? इसके उद्देश्य क्या हैं? P.S: The review from IASbaba will happen from the time the question is posted till 10 pm everyday. We would also encourage peer reviews. So friends get actively involved and start reviewing each others answers. This will keep the entire community motivated. All the Best :)

Dec 1, 2020 RSTV Video

Herd immunity- How feasible? – India Fights Back – RSTV IAS UPSC

Herd immunity- How feasible? Archives Topic: General Studies 2,3: Issues relating to development and management of Social Sector/Services relating to Health In News: WHO has strongly refuted the idea of herd immunity to fight covid-19 saying that it has never been used as a strategy to respond to an outbreak in the history of public health, let alone a pandemic. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Director-General of WHO has termed herd immunity as scientifically and ethically problematic. What is Herd Immunity? Herd immunity is a form of indirect protection from infectious disease that occurs when a large percentage of a population has become immune to an infection, thereby providing a measure of protection for individuals who are not immune. Initially, herd immunity, an important tool in epidemic control, was proposed as a means to overcome the pandemic.  Only a certain proportion of the population needs to be infected in order to stop large outbreaks, either through naturally-acquired disease, or through vaccination.  Since a vaccine is not available for COVID-19 yet, some people advocated that the infection be allowed to spread in the community until herd immunity is achieved. Why is this being stoutly opposed? The SARS-CoV-2 virus is easily transmissible and would require around 60-70% of the population to be infected to acquire herd immunity. If we allow this to happen naturally, it will take a long time, of course, but more importantly, it is going to do a lot of collateral damage So, even if 1 % of people who get infected are ultimately going to die, then this can add up to a huge number of people, if we look at the global population Herd immunity is not a strategy or a solution by some but is considered as surrender to a preventable virus How and when will herd immunity be achieved in this pandemic? Herd immunity is achieved when one infected person in a population generates less than one secondary case on an average  This corresponds to the effective reproduction number R (that is, the average number of persons infected by a case) dropping below 1 in the absence of interventions With flu pandemics, herd immunity is usually attained after two to three epidemic waves, each interrupted by the typical seasonality of influenza virus, and more rarely, by interventions Currently, there is insufficient confirmed information on re-infection to determine how that will influence the pandemic’s course. What does the sero-prevalence study in India say? A measure of the infection levels in the population is provided through the sero-surveys conducted by the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR).  The second study was done between August 17 and September 22, 2020, and found the prevalence at 15.6% of the population in urban slums and at 8.2% in non-slum areas. The hotspots were not included this time. In Delhi, the second round estimated a sero-prevalence of 29.1%. The study revealed that for every reported COVID-19 case, there were 26-32 infections, down from 81-130 infections per reported case in May However, it doesn’t always guarantee protection against any disease- It was mistakenly assumed that as this disease spreads across the world, only the severe cases become apparent while most people would indeed be infected as reflected in sero epidemiology results. Greater proportion of people getting infected would mean that the pandemic will be over soon and people can go back to normal business.  But the preliminary results from in sero epidemiology studies are showing the opposite. The proportion of people with significant clinical illnesses is a higher proportion of all those who have been infected. This is because the number of people infected in the total population is probably much lower than we expected as per World Health Organisation.  Other challenges like some people do not seem to develop a humoral immune response, relationship between antibody response and clinical improvement is still not clear, mild infections can resolve even before detectable antibodies are produced, how long neutralising antibodies against the virus would last is currently not known. What is “Focussed Protection”? Based on the concept of herd immunity The most compassionate approach that balances the risks and benefits of reaching herd immunity, is to allow those who are at minimal risk of death to live their lives normally to build up immunity to the virus through natural infection, while better protecting those who are at highest risk. World Health Organisation said herd immunity was “scientifically and ethically problematic”. It said countries must continue to do what they have been doing to deal with the pandemic, only more effectively.  Conclusion In the absence of a vaccine or drug, and without a clear understanding of the disease pathology, seeking to achieve herd immunity through infection is a dangerous strategy. Allow the disease to spread too quickly, it overwhelms the health system and causes many people to die “unnecessarily”; do it too slowly, and it takes that much longer for life to come back to “normal”. Therefore, for almost all countries, at this juncture, it is a cruel choice between saving lives and saving livelihoods. Note: The prominent novel coronavirus subtype found in India: A2a strain of SARS-CoV-2 MUST READ: Vaccine Nationalism Connecting the Dots: What is herd immunity? How does it get developed? How does it provide protection from viral infections? Illustrate. Herd Immunity is scientifically and ethically problematic. Why? Essay: Herd Masking and Herd Immunity

Dec 1, 2020 IASbaba's Daily Current Affairs

DAILY CURRENT AFFAIRS IAS | UPSC Prelims and Mains Exam – 1st December 2020

Archives (PRELIMS + MAINS FOCUS) India-Vietnam Talks held Part of: GS Prelims and GS-II – International Relations In news Recently, Defence Ministers of India and Vietnam discussed collaboration in defence industry capability building, training and cooperation in United Nations (UN) peacekeeping operations, etc. Key takeaways Both countries reaffirmed the strong India-Vietnam Defence cooperation which is a key pillar of Comprehensive Strategic Partnership (2016). India emphasised on closer defence industry cooperation by concluding an institutionalised framework agreement in the near future. Vietnam thanked India for the assistance by Indian Armed Forces in capacity building of Vietnamese Defence Forces especially in the field of Human Resource development. India is also willing to enhance the scope and level of training for all three services of Vietnam Defence forces in Indian Defence Institutes. The two nations Discussed cooperation in UN peacekeeping operations.  They discussed cooperation in the field of Hydrography which will enable sharing of Hydrographic data and assist in production of navigational charts. Do you know? Vietnam has also invited India for ASEAN Defence Ministers’ Meeting-Plus (ADMM Plus) being hosted by Vietnam in December 2020. The ADMM-Plus is a platform for the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and its eight Dialogue Partners - Australia, China, India, Japan, New Zealand, Republic of Korea, Russia and the USA - to strengthen security and defence cooperation for peace, stability, and development in the region. Pilibhit Tiger Reserve bags international award TX2  Part of: GS Prelims and GS-III – Tiger Reserves; Wildlife Conservation In news The Pilibhit Tiger Reserve (PTR - Uttar Pradesh) recently bagged international award TX2 for doubling the number of tigers in the past four years. TX2 Award goes to one site that has achieved remarkable and measurable increase in its tiger population since 2010. Important value addition Pilibhit Tiger Reserve (PTR) PTR is located in Uttar Pradesh. The northern edge of the reserve lies along the Indo-Nepal border while the southern boundary is marked by the river Sharada and Khakra. PTR is one of the finest examples of the exceedingly diverse and productive Terai ecosystems. It is home to a habitat for over 127 animals, 326 bird species and 2,100 flowering plants. Wild animals include tiger, swamp deer, Bengal florican, hog deer, leopard, etc. It has high sal forests, plantation and grasslands with several water bodies. TX2 Goal The TX2 goal is a global commitment to double the world's wild tigers by 2022. The goal has been set by the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) through the Global Tiger Initiative, Global Tiger Forum and other critical platforms. Tiger Range Countries: India, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Cambodia, China, Indonesia, Lao PDR, Malaysia, Myanmar, Nepal, Russia, Thailand and Vietnam. IUCN Red List Status of Tiger (Panthera Tigris): Endangered It is listed under Appendix I of CITES. It has been listed under ‘Schedule I’ of the Wildlife Protection Act, 1972. The Transboundary Manas Conservation Area receives the Conservation Excellence Award, 2020 Part of: GS Prelims and GS-III – Tiger Reserves; Wildlife Conservation In news Recently, The Transboundary Manas Conservation Area receives the Conservation Excellence Award, 2020. Key takeaways Conservation Excellence Award recognises one site that has achieved excellence in two or more of these five themes: (1) Tiger and prey population monitoring and research; (2) Effective site management; (3) Enhanced law enforcement & protection & ranger welfare improvement; (4) Community based conservation, benefits and human-wildlife conflict mitigation; (5) Habitat and prey management. Important value addition Transboundary Manas Conservation Area (TraMCA) It was established in 2011.  Vision: To jointly develop and manage a transboundary conservation area between Bhutan and India, for the benefit of people and wildlife. The TraMCA landscape forms a vital mosaic of conservation spaces across the Eastern Himalayas. It covers the entire Manas Tiger Reserve in India, four protected areas in Bhutan and also two biological corridors. The Manas Tiger Reserve in India and Royal Manas National Park in Bhutan form the core of this biologically outstanding trans-boundary region.  It is home to tigers, elephants, rhinos and more than 1,500 species of mammals, birds and vascular plants. The Manas River also flows through them.  The number of Tigers in the Indian Manas increased from 9 in 2010 to 25 in 2018  In the Bhutan Manas, the number more than doubled from 12 in 2008 to 26 in 2018. Honey FPO Programme inauguarated under NAFED Part of: GS Prelims and GS-III – Agriculture In news Recently, the Honey Farmer Producer Organisation (FPO) Programme of the National Agricultural Cooperative Marketing Federation of India Limited (NAFED) was virtually inaugurated. Inauguarted by: Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare. Key takeaways The programme has been launched under the Formation and Promotion of FPOs. It is a new Central Sector Scheme for the promotion of 10,000 new FPOs. Under it, the National Level Project Management Advisory and Fund Sanctioning Committee (N-PMAFSC) had allocated FPO clusters for 2020-21 to all implementing agencies. FPOs will be developed by specialist Cluster Based Business Organizations (CBBOs) engaged by implementing agencies. NAFED has initiated the formation and promotion of FPOs of beekeepers and honey collectors in 5 states of India. 5 locations: East Champaran (Bihar), Morena (Madhya Pradesh), Bharatpur (Rajasthan), Mathura (Uttar Pradesh) and Sunderbans (West Bengal). The first Honey FPO has been registered in the state of Madhya Pradesh. Benefits: (1) Skill Upgradation in scientific beekeeping; (2) State of the art infrastructural facilities for processing honey and allied beekeeping products; (3) Quality upgradation by quality control laboratories; (4) Better supply chain management  Important value addition National Agricultural Cooperative Marketing Federation of India Ltd (NAFED) It is an apex organization of marketing cooperatives for agricultural produce in India. It was founded on 2nd October 1958. It is registered under the Multi-State Co-operative Societies Act, 2002. NAFED is now one of the largest procurement as well as marketing agencies for agricultural products in India. Objectives: (1) To organize, promote and develop marketing, processing and storage of agricultural, horticultural and forest produce; (2) To distribute agricultural machinery, implements and other inputs; (3) To act and assist for technical advice in agricultural production Do you know? Apiculture or beekeeping is the care and management of honey bees for the production of honey and wax. In this method, bees are bred commercially in apiaries, an area where a lot of beehives can be placed. CSIR-CCMB gets permission for Dry Swab RT-PCR Covid-19 Test Part of: GS Prelims and GS-II – Health & GS-III – Sci & Tech In news Recently, the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research-Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology (CSIR-CCMB) has got the permission of the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) to commercially use the dry swab RNA-extraction free testing method for the Covid-19. Key takeaways Dry swab method has a consistency of 96.9%. Dry swabs eluted directly into a simple buffered solution can support molecular detection of SARS-CoV-2 via endpoint RT-PCR without substantially compromising sensitivity. Dry swab technique does not require VTM and RNA extraction process.  It can be directly used for RT-PCR testing. It has the potential of bringing down the costs and time of testing by 40-50%. The screening can also be enhanced several-fold with immediate effect  The whole process is safer as well. It is easy to implement with no requirement of new kits. Existing manpower can perform this with no additional training. Important value addition RT-PCR Test Kary Mullis, the American biochemist invented the PCR technique.  He was awarded the Nobel Prize for Chemistry in 1993. Under the test, copies of a segment of DNA (deoxyribonucleic acid) are created using an enzyme called Polymerase. The ‘chain reaction’ signifies how the DNA fragments are copied exponentially, where one is copied into two, the two are copied into four, and so on. A fluorescent DNA binding dye called the “probe” is added to DNA, which shows the presence of the virus on a fluorometer. Covid-19 is made of RNA (ribonucleic acid).  In order to detect it, RNA is converted into DNA using a technique called reverse transcription. The copies of the DNA are then made and amplified. (Mains Focus) AGRICULTURE / GOVERNANCE/ FEDERALISM Topic: General Studies 2,3: Issues and challenges pertaining to the federal structure  Government policies and interventions for development in various sectors and issues arising out of their design and implementation. Dilli Chalo Farmers Protest: The perils of deregulated imperfect agrimarkets Context: Farmers from Punjab, Haryana and other states are protesting at the gates of Delhi seeking repeal of the new farm laws. Brief Background of the protests The new farm bills will enable, according to the government, many private markets to be established and middlemen to disappear. Thus, farmers would be free to sell to any buyer and farmgate prices would rise.  But the protesting farmers do not accept these claims. They believe that farmgate prices would fall with the intensification of a corporate presence in agricultural markets. They also believe that the government, ultimately, wants to phase out the Minimum Support Price (MSP) system Let us look at the major claims and their merits with focus on Farmers’ Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Act, 2020 (FPTC Act). Monopoly of Mandis over farmer produce An important assumption behind the FPTC Act is that mandis controlled by Agricultural Produce Marketing Committees (APMC) are monopsonies in rural areas This assumption itself is specious.  First, official data show that even for paddy and wheat, respectively, only 29% and 44% of the harvest is sold in a mandi, while 49% and 36% is sold to either a local private trader or an input dealer.  There are only 6,630 mandis in 2019 with an average area served of 463 km2. The National Commission on Agriculture (NCA) had recommended 41,000 mandis serving 80 km2 so that every Indian farmer should be able to reach a mandi in one hour by a cart. Thus, India needs not less but more mandis. Additionally, most small and marginal farmers, given their small marketable surplus, do not find it economical to bear the transport costs to take their harvests to mandis. Thus, they end up selling their harvest to a village trader even if at a lower price. In other words, de facto, a large proportion of Indian harvest is not directly sold in a mandi due to structural reasons - less mandis & high cost- and not due to exploitation by APMC Mandis Therefore, the argument that APMC mandis have monopoly over farmer’s produce is wrong one. Presence of Private Players will improve market efficiency De jure, the freedom to sell outside mandis already exists in many States.  Already, 18 States have allowed the establishment of private markets outside the APMC; 19 States have allowed the direct purchase of agricultural produce from farmers; and 13 States have allowed the establishment of farmer’s markets outside the APMC.  Despite such legislative changes, no significant private investment has flowed in to establish private markets in these States.  Private markets have emerged in some pockets for some crops, but these are by no means widespread. The reason for poor private investment in markets is the presence of high transaction costs in produce collection and aggregation (cost incurred in opening centres of collection, salaries, grading, storage etc) The more the number of small and marginal farmers are, the higher will these costs be. This is why many retail chains prefer purchasing bulk quantities of fruits and vegetables from mandis rather than directly from farmers. Taxes in mandis are wasteful It is being argued by many that taxes in mandis as wasteful and thus the elimination of mandi tax (by new FPTC Act) will help farmers get better price. Even if private markets emerge, the size of transaction costs are likely to offset any decline in mandi taxes. As a result, there is no assurance that farmers would receive a higher price in private markets Mandi taxes are wasteful is not fully true. Much of the mandi taxes are reinvested by APMCs to improve market infrastructure and rural infrastructure. Such rural investments will also be adversely affected if mandis are weakened. What is the farmer’s fear with regard to MSP? The core demand of farmer groups protesting is to safeguard the mechanism of MSP which they fear will be weakened by new farm bills. They are demanding for a legal right to MSP Without doubt, MSPs would continue to survive on paper as the government will have to procure to maintain a minimum buffer stock. However, many policy signals point to a strategic design to weaken the MSPs MSPs are rising at a far slower rate over the past five to six years than in the past The government has not yet agreed to fix MSPs at 50% above the C2 cost of production leading to price loss of ₹200 to ₹500 per quintal in many crops Recommendation of CACP to stop open-ended procurement of food grains In Punjab, Haryana and western Uttar Pradesh, most crop sales are at the MSP through procurement centres including the mandis. If mandis weaken and private markets do not sufficiently replace them, they fear that the void would be filled by unscrupulous and unregulated traders.  What Steps needs to be taken? Discussions between the government and the farmers can be structured using a broad framework based on two focus points. First, India needs an increase in the density of mandis, expansion of investment in mandi infrastructure and a spread of the MSP system to more regions and crops.  Second, we need not just more mandis, but also better mandis. APMCs need internal reform to ease the entry of new players, reduce trader collusion and link them up with national e-trading platforms The introduction of unified national licences for traders and a single point levy of market fees are also steps in the right direction. Conclusion The Farm Acts were legislative measures that were passed without elaborate discussion with stakeholders. Thus, government has to take steps to address the genuine fears of farmers. ECONOMY/ GOVERNANCE Topic: General Studies 2: Indian Economy and issues relating to planning, mobilization, of resources, growth, development and employment.  Historic Recession: On India’s GDP slump Context: Provisional estimates of GDP for the second quarter of the 2020-21 show economic output shrank by 7.5%, following the 23.9% contraction in the first quarter. The economy shrunk for a second successive quarter, marking a recession for the first time in independent India’s history. Key Statistics The overall GDP figure of ₹33,14,167 crore (at 2011-12 prices) reveals output has slid back to the lowest level in 12 quarters.   Private consumption expenditure — the single biggest component propelling GDP with a share exceeding 50% at constant prices and edging toward 60% in current prices — continued to shrink (-11.3%), reflecting both consumer wariness to spend amid the pandemic and the impact of lost jobs and reduced incomes.  Government consumption spending that was hitherto a bulwark contracted by 22% revealing the precarious state of public finances.  In the real economy, electricity and other utility services joined agriculture in posting growth, expanding 4.4%, as the post-lockdown resumption of industrial activity lifted power and water consumption. Financial, real estate and professional services, which contribute about a fourth of the GVA, widened contraction from the first quarter, shrinking 8.3% Figure 2: Source: Indian Express However, the 7.5% decline data has been met with all-round cheers. That is counter-intuitive but not without justification.  Better than expected results: The -7.5% figure is decidedly lower than most street estimates. The sharper-than-expected economic “recovery” —Q1 was 23.9% decline— has substantially changed how the Indian economy is being viewed.  Better recovery than Global average: According to an analysis by the State Bank of India’s research team, 49 countries have declared GDP data for the July-Sept quarter. The average decline of these 49 countries is 12.4%. In comparison, India’s 7.5% looks much better. Economic recovery is fairly broad-based: Looking at the Gross Value Addition of each sector, as show in the figure 2, we see that as compared to just one sector adding positive value in Q1, three sectors added positive value in Q2 (green circles). Moreover, in three of the remaining five sectors, the rate of decline decelerated — highlighted in green boxes. Positive growth registered by India’s manufacturing industry: Part of this can be explained by a weak base — check out the minus 0.6% in Q2 of 2019-20. IIP manufacturing declined by 6.7% (average of Jul/Aug/Sep) while manufacturing GVA grew by 0.6%. This incongruence can be explained by companies increasing their incomes not by selling more but by ruthlessly getting rid of employees, which is not healthy sign and could undermine future demand. Hope of Positive growth rate by Q4: Most experts now expect that by Q4, the nominal GDP growth rate will recover so far that even after subtracting inflation rate, India would register positive real growth in at least the fourth quarter. Conclusion Government has to revive demand by enabling more money into the hands of consumers (cutting taxes, increasing subsidies) so as to bring back growth in the economy. (TEST YOUR KNOWLEDGE) Model questions: (You can now post your answers in comment section) Note:  Correct answers of today’s questions will be provided in next day’s DNA section. Kindly refer to it and update your answers.  Comments Up-voted by IASbaba are also the “correct answers”. Q.1 Which of the following countries are dialogue partners of ASEAN Defence Ministers’ Meeting – Plus?  Australia  Japan  India  USA  South Africa  Select the correct code:  1, 2, 3 and 4 only  2, 3 and 5 only 1 and 2 only  2 and 4 only Q.2 Pilibhit tiger reserve is situated in which of the following state of India?  Madhya Pradesh  Rajasthan  Uttarakhand  Uttar Pradesh Q.3 Which of the following is not a tiger range country?  India  Bangladesh  Bhutan  Pakistan Q.4 The first Honey Farmers Producer Organisation has been registered in which of the following state of India?  Bihar  Madhya Pradesh  Rajasthan  West Bengal ANSWERS FOR 30th November 2020 TEST YOUR KNOWLEDGE (TYK) 1 D 2 D Must Read About recalibrating India-Nepal ties: The Hindu About allowing Ayurveda doctors to perform surgery: The Hindu About murder of a top Iranian nuclear scientist outside Tehran: The Indian Express

Dec 1, 2020 Daily Prelims CA Quiz

UPSC Quiz - 2020 : IASbaba's Daily Current Affairs Quiz 1st Dec 2020

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. This is a part of our recently launched, NEW INITIATIVE IASbaba’s INTEGRATED REVISION PLAN (IRP) 2020 – Road Map for the next 100 Days! FREE INITIATIVE! We will make sure, in the next 4 months not a single day is wasted. All your energies are channelized in the right direction. Trust us! This will make a huge difference in your results this time, provided that you follow this plan sincerely every day without fail. Gear up and Make the Best Use of this initiative. Do remember that, “the difference between Ordinary and EXTRA-Ordinary is PRACTICE!!” To Know More about the Initiative -> CLICK HERE SCHEDULE/DETAILED PLAN – > CLICK HERE 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

Dec 1, 2020 TLP Mains 2020

IASbaba’s TLP (Phase 2 - ENGLISH & हिंदी): UPSC Mains Answer Writing - General Studies Paper 2 Questions[1st DECEMBER,2020] - Day 44

For Previous TLP (ARCHIVES) - CLICK HERE Hello Friends, Welcome to IASbaba’s TLP (Phase 2 - ENGLISH & हिंदी): UPSC Mains Answer Writing - General Studies Paper 2 Questions[1st DECEMBER,2020] - Day 44   We will make sure, in the next 3 months not a single day is wasted. All your energies are channelized in the right direction. Trust us! This will make a huge difference in your results this time, provided that you follow this plan sincerely every day without fail. Gear up and Make the Best Use of this initiative. We are giving 5 Mains Questions on Daily basis so that every student can actively participate and keep your preparation focused. Do remember that, “the difference between Ordinary and EXTRA-Ordinary is PRACTICE!!” To Know More about the Initiative -> CLICK HERE SCHEDULE/DETAILED PLAN – > CLICK HERE   Note: Click on Each Question (Link), it will open in a new tab and then Answer respective questions! 1. What are the key features of the New Education Policy (NEP)? What are your thoughts on NEP? Discuss.  नई शिक्षा नीति (एनईपी) की प्रमुख विशेषताएं क्या हैं? NEP पर आपके क्या विचार हैं? चर्चा करें। 2. What are the factors contributing to India’s below par performance on addressing hunger and malnutrition despite having adequate food stocks? Examine.   पर्याप्त खाद्य स्टॉक होने के बावजूद भूख और कुपोषण को दूर करने में भारत के असंतोषजनक प्रदर्शन में योगदान देने वाले कारक क्या हैं? जांच करें। 3. Examine the factors that ail the primary healthcare system in India. Why is there a wide variance in the performance of states? Analyse.  भारत में प्राथमिक स्वास्थ्य प्रणाली को नकारात्मक रूप से प्रभावित करने वाले कारकों की जाँच करें। विभिन्न राज्यों के प्रदर्शन में व्यापक अंतर क्यों है? विश्लेषण करें। 4. India suffers from the twin challenges of unemployment and skill gap. Do you agree? Examine the recent initiatives taken by the government to address those.  भारत बेरोजगारी और कौशल अंतर की दोहरी चुनौतियों से ग्रस्त है। क्या आप सहमत हैं? उनको संबोधित करने के लिए सरकार द्वारा की गई हालिया पहलों की जाँच करें। 5. India’s social security infrastructure has created some wonderful frameworks. Do you agree? Substantiate your views.  भारत के सामाजिक सुरक्षा ढांचे ने कुछ अद्भुत तंत्र बनाए हैं। क्या आप सहमत हैं? अपने विचारों की पुष्टि करें। P.S: The review from IASbaba will happen from the time the question is posted till 10 pm everyday. We would also encourage peer reviews. So friends get actively involved and start reviewing each others answers. This will keep the entire community motivated. All the Best :)

Dec 1, 2020 TLP Mains 2020

SYNOPSIS [27th NOVEMBER,2020] Day 41: IASbaba’s TLP (Phase 2): UPSC Mains Answer Writing (General Studies)

For Previous TLP (ARCHIVES) - CLICK HERE SYNOPSIS [27th NOVEMBER,2020] Day 41: IASbaba’s TLP (Phase 2): UPSC Mains Answer Writing (General Studies)   1. What do you understand by self-awareness? Why is it important? Discuss. Approach: In the introduction you can start by explaining what is self awareness. In the first half of main body part it is expected here to explain in detail about self awareness. In the next half of main body part it is expected to give significance of self-awareness. Student can explain the significance from two perspectives i.e. from individual perspective and a civil servants perspective.  To enrich your answer it is necessary to give examples.  Introduction:  In philosophy of self, self-awareness is the experience of one's own personality or individuality. Self-awareness is how an individual consciously knows and understands their own character, feelings, motives, and desires. It is the prime element of emotional intelligence.  Body: Self Awareness:  It is the skill of being aware of and understanding one's emotions as they occur and as they evolve.  For instance, if a person gets angry easily and realises it that she is angry, then she can try to get control on it. Here, self awareness helped her to control the anger.  A person with self-awareness possess high emotional intelligence which is a prerequisite for success. For instance, as David Goleman defines self-awareness as "knowing one's internal states, preference, resources, and intuitions". Which helps a person to make right choices and take wise decisions.  Importance of Self Awareness:  Controls actions of oneself: Self-awareness helps in taking effective decisions with awareness about good and bad for oneself. For instance, Though watching movies is relaxing, marathon watching is harmful. A self-aware person knows when to stop. Regulating own emotions: Self-aware people tend to act consciously. When one is aware of the emotions which make him/her weak , he/she can control the same and act consciously. For instance,  a civil servant/ a celebrity not losing temper on provoking questions by media. Helps in SWOT analysis: Self-awareness helps an individual in picking up the tasks analyzing one's capacity to deliver. For instance,  a child picking up his talent such as Sachin Tendulkar knew cricket was his strength rather than studies. Anticipation of situations and influence: A higher level of self-awareness enables us to better predict how certain future situations will influence our state of mind. For instance, if one is aware that flattery excites him/her, actions out of excitement can be controlled beforehand. Better deal with the external factors which can’t be controlled: Self-awareness helps one to embrace the reality and helps in maintaining optimism and keep away negative influences. For instance, a person struck in heavy traffic on which he/she can do nothing about it be at least stay calm instead of being agitated or frustrated which might ruin his/her day. Better understanding the emotions of people around: It helps us in grasping the emotions of the persons we know. This also have positive influence on people around us. Thus, the situations are better handled. For instance, anticipating the reaction of public after the repeal of Article 370 and taking appropriate measures.  Self awareness built the capacity to learn from one's own mistakes. It enables a person to keep  growing.   Conclusion: In our day to day life being self aware benefits us the most in one way or other. A self aware person can do a particular work much better than the person who is not self aware. In the same way, Self-awareness is advantageous for a civil servant to handle media, handle petition-givers, protestors, elected representatives and so on and hence it forms an essential component of emotional intelligence. 2. The ability to manage emotions help attain specific goals. Do you agree? Substantiate. Approach - It expects students to write about emotions and how it help in attaining specific goal with different examples. Introduction The ability to realise, readily accept, as well as successfully control feelings in oneself and sometimes others is known as the emotion management skill. Very simply, emotion management skills refer to the ability to master your own emotions. It is not always virtuous and can be used as a tool for positive and negative goals. Body Ability in managing emotions helps in attaining specific goals as can be seen from the points given below: Conflict resolution: Emotional Management skill help people to influence and mentor others and help in resolving conflict effectively. Thus it helps in attaining goal. Motivation: Emotionally managed person work consistently toward their goals, and establish extremely high standards for the quality of their work. This drive and motivate other teammates to achieve these standards and goals. For example, when an employee’s cannot do his well in his work, the leader cannot angry with the employees; in contrast the leader should motivate or encourage his worker to make their work more efficiency. Targeting Policies better: Bureaucrats need to know emotions, moods and drives of persons at whom public policy is targeted for better acquaintance with the nature of problems in society and their possible solutions. For example Work of former IAS officer Shri O P Chaudhary in establishing an Education City in Dantewada district, Chhattisgarh was made possible only by winning the confidence of the tribals. Decision making: Emotional management skill helps in recognising such emotions that are unrelated to any specific problem and not allowing them to be influential to the final result. Managing family and work life: A civil servant with balanced family and work life can contribute more to the system due to a relaxed state of mind owing to Emotional management can help achieve specific goals in administration. Repose trust in the system: Listening attentively to the problems of people, empathising with their situation and bringing positive change in the work attitude of bureaucracy, it can help in making the system more trustworthy in the eyes of citizens and achieve citizen centric goals. For example giving priority to women, senior citizens, differently-abled in any welfare scheme thereby ensuring administrative justice and good governance. Peer relationships: Good networking skills are a staple of job effectiveness for the average worker. Networking has too often been associated with “using” other people, but well managed emotional skill help drive specific goals. For example ISRO is known not only for its technical competence but also as an organisation which is outcome oriented, change oriented and seen as pride of the nation. It is also known for ensuring friendly work environment for female employees during pregnancy. Negotiation: Whether you’re dealing with a trading partner, competitor, customer or colleague, being able to empathise and be creative in finding win-win solutions will consistently pay off in attaining goals. For example, when people are allowed to speak, and others listen, without constant interruptions, it’s a good sign. It shows a mutual respect between parties and is more likely to lead to a constructive conclusion in meetings. Self-confidence and control: This relates to complete affirmation of one’s worth and abilities. They are usually more confident and are able to make sound decisions despite any uncertainties or pressures. Realistic Goal setting: Self-awareness ability allow a person to not only know strengths and weaknesses, but also strength and weaknesses of his team members. This help a leader in setting realistic achievable goals and in managing team through using strengths. This also help in delegation of work based on strengths of team. Emotional management enable a person to work teammate’s weaknesses while using strengths optimally toward achieving a goal. Using both logic and emotion: If you only use one or the other, your decisions may either not be very balanced, or not support your emotional needs. Instead, you need to combine your emotional response with more rational consideration to attain specific goals in life. For example IPS Ms. Kiran Bedi as Inspector General of Tihar jail worked to reform the prison into a model jail where prisoners learn new life skills and later merge with the mainstream. Conclusion Poor emotional management can destroy a person’s personal and professional life. A person who doesn’t possess a well-kept check on his or her emotions is seldom well-liked or respected. We cannot respect those who cannot control themselves emotionally in life or in profession. If we have poor emotional management skills our egos and pride trump our intelligence and knowledge every time. How we manage ourselves emotionally is of even greater importance in the professional world than our skill or talent. 3. How does lack of emotional intelligence affect one’s ability to perform his/her duties? Illustrate.  Approach:  It expects students to write about emotions intelligence and how emotional intelligence affect one’s ability to perform duties with different examples. Introduction Emotional intelligence or EI is the ability to understand and manage your own emotions, and those of the people around you. Emotional intelligence is the ability to perceive emotions, to access and generate emotions so as to assist thought, to understand emotions and emotional knowledge, and to reflectively regulate emotions so as to promote emotional and intellectual growth. Body Lack of emotional intelligence affecting one’s ability to perform duties: Low motivation: The ability to self-motivate, with a focus on achieving internal or self-gratification as opposed to external praise or reward. Individuals who are able to motivate themselves in this way have a tendency to be more committed to perform duties and goal focused. Lack of Self-regulation: The ability to manage one’s negative or disruptive emotions, and to adapt to changes in circumstance affect performance. Those who are skilled in self-regulation excel in managing conflict, adapt well to change and are more likely to take responsibility. Lack of peer relationship: People with lack of emotional intelligence often make the mistake of only recognising and exercising their own emotional strengths. As a result, they fail to truly connect with their environment and the people around them and it always backfires in performing duties. Making assumptions quickly and defend them vehemently: People who lack EQ form an opinion quickly and then succumb to confirmation bias, meaning they gather evidence that supports their opinion and ignore any evidence to the contrary. For example this is especially dangerous for leaders, as their under thought out ideas become the entire team’s strategy. Lack of Empathy: The ability to recognise and understand how others are feeling and consider those feelings before responding in social situations. Empathy also allows an individual to understand the dynamics that influence relationships, both personal and in the workplace. With lack of empathy it spoils the work culture and affect performing duties. For example nurse’s love for babies, soldier’s love for country are essential in proper functioning of their duties. High stress: To stay focused, stress should be managed and it involves own reactions to stress or the reactions of others to the stress. For example High stress level affect our lifestyle, our working pattern and mental health problems. A civil servant with balanced family and work life can contribute more to the system due to a relaxed state of mind owing to EI. Lack of Social skills: Lack of social skill affect the ability to manage the emotions of others through emotional understanding and using this to build rapport and connect with people through skills such as active listening, verbal and nonverbal communication. Thus to perform duties emotional intelligence is required for social skill. For example Gandhi inspired people, rallied them up for freedom struggle, because he knew what people think, how they react, how to handle diversity, what is the endurance level of people in any civic-movement. Often feel misunderstood: When you lack emotional intelligence, it’s hard to understand how you come across to others. You feel misunderstood because you don’t deliver your message in a way that people can understand this snap relationship with people and teamwork which is essential for performing duties. Lack of Better Communication: An Emotionally Intelligent civil servant will be able to communicate and target policies better. Also, the person will be able to foster a healthy relationship with subordinates with lack of better communication he/she cannot build team to attain the goals and perform duties. Inaccurate self-assessment: Self assessment involves being aware of one’s strengths and weaknesses. One is open to feedbacks, new viewpoints low and lack of self assessment can affect achieving goals in life and narrow down our ability to perform. Migrant labour crisis due to pandemic exposed the inadequate emotional intelligence of the Indian bureaucracy towards performing the duties and welfare of the migrant labourers. Recent farmer protest and rallies obstructed by government on state borders highlights the inadequate communication and emotions with farmer this affects the trust towards system and working of bureaucracy. Conclusion The value and benefits of emotional intelligence are vast in terms of personal and professional success. It is a core competency in many vocations, can support the advancement towards academic and professional success, improve relationships, and boost communication skills, the list goes on. 4. Leadership is all about emotional intelligence. Management is taught, while leadership is experienced. Comment. Approach: It is straightforward question where it expects students to write about - in first part write about importance of emotional intelligence in leadership - while in second part write how management is taught, while leadership is experienced. Introduction: Emotional Intelligence is the ability to “Recognize, understand and manage our own emotions Recognize, understand and influence the emotions of others In practical terms, this means being aware that emotions can drive our behaviour and impact people (positively and negatively), and learning how to manage those emotions — both our own and others — especially when we are under pressure.” Body: Leadership is all about emotional intelligence: Emotional Intelligence help leaders to influence and mentor others and help in resolving conflict effectively. Emotionally Intelligent leaders work consistently toward their goals, and establish extremely high standards for the quality of their work. This drive and motivate other teammates to achieve these standards and goals. Emotionally intelligent leaders are great communicators. They know what to say and when to say. An effective communication in a team help them to develop better strategies and increase their efficiency by synchronising their efforts. Leaders should be able to adapt to changing circumstances in their workplaces. E.g if a teammate leaves, an emotionally intelligent leader will try to find a suitable replacement and know how to keep his team motivated. Ability to understand and manage their emotions and of those around them help emotionally intelligent leaders to navigate through difficult circumstances. Emotionally Intelligent leader focus on collaboration between team members, which creates synergy and a better experience for employees. They support others and always celebrate the successes of their employees and encourage them to learn more and develop their skills. This lead to confidence building and better team performance. Emotionally Intelligent leaders make objective decisions based on accumulated wisdom and understanding with time. A leader who manages his or her emotions will take quick and strong decisions without emotions being involved after proper cost-benefit analysis. Emotional Intelligence help leaders to bounce back quickly after a setback. It helps them to manage their and their teammates’ emotions motivating them to the next goal. Management is taught, while leadership is experienced: Management is more of bookish knowledge, it can be taught in school, colleges, academy. - e.g.: In training in NPA Hyderabad they can taught management but not leadership. Management only teaches how to effectively manage people as head, but apart from managing a leader needs trust of its employees and play to them with their strengths, which can be learn only from experience. Leadership needs management of emotions which is a long term achievement. Leadership is all about practice experiences which can be experienced only after long term observance. This experience includes becoming sound listener, having empathy towards people suffering, understanding one's sorrow, quick decision making depending on situation. Conclusion: Emotional intelligence in the leadership is critical for team’s effectiveness. It plays an important role in driving team and organisation together towards a goal and help in conflict resolution. It enables a leader to be more empathetic, professional, understanding and goal oriented. 5. What are the main components of emotional intelligence? Explain with the help of suitable examples. Approach: It is straightforward question where it expects students to write about different components of emotional intelligence and substantiate them with examples. Introduction: Emotional intelligence (EI) is the capability of individuals to recognize their own emotions and those of others, discern between different feelings and label them appropriately, use emotional information to guide thinking and behavior, and manage and/or adjust emotions to adapt to environments or achieve one's goal Body: Components of emotional intelligence: Self-Awareness: This is the ability to recognize and understand one’s moods, motivations, and abilities. Also understanding the effects, they have on others.  Goleman says to achieve a state of complete self-awareness, an individual must be able to monitor their emotional state and identify their emotions. Traits that prove an individual as emotionally mature include: confidence, the ability to laugh at one’s self and their mistakes, and the awareness of how you are perceived by others. Example: By reading the reaction of someone else, you know how you are perceived by them. Self-Regulation: This is the ability to control one’s impulses, the ability to think before you speak/react, and the ability to express yourself appropriately. Goleman defines emotional maturity in this component as being able to take responsibility for your actions, being able to adapt to change, and the ability to respond appropriately to other people’s irrational emotions or behaviour.  Example: If someone is screaming at you, you know that they are not always angry at you. You have the ability to understand they may be angry at a particular situation and feel they need to take it out on someone. You do not take this personally or react angry back. Motivation: This is having an interest in learning and self-improvement. It is having the strength to keep going when there are obstacles in life. It is setting goals and following through with them. Goleman would define an emotional mature individual in this category to have traits such as having initiative and the commitment to complete a task, and having perseverance in the face of adversity. Example: One who chooses internal motivation driven goals instead of exterior motivation driven goals. Internal motivation driven goals are things such as earning a college degree or becoming a healthier person; things that show self-improvement. Exterior motivation driven goals are things that flaunt wealth or status. This is setting goals such as having the next newest and nicest car.  Example: If a student fails a class, they see this as an opportunity to learn and retake the class without self-doubt. They do not let failure get in the way of their goal. Empathy: This is the ability to understand other people’s emotions and reactions. Empathy can only be achieved if self-awareness is achieved. Goleman believes that one must be able to understand themselves before they can understand others. Emotional maturity in this category includes people having traits such as perception of others, being interested in other peoples worries and concerns, the ability to anticipate someone’s emotional response to a problem or situation, and the understanding of societies norms and why people act the way they do.  Example: Being able to understand cope with someone else’s hardships or sadness. When you fully understand yourself and why you feel the things you feel, you can understand other peoples even if they are different than you.  Social Skills: This is the ability to pick up on jokes, sarcasm, customer service, maintaining friendships and relationships, and finding common ground with others. Goleman states that emotional maturity in this component defines someone who has good communication skills, good time management, the ability to be a leader or manage a group of people, and the ability to resolve difficult situations or conflicts using negotiation or persuasion.  Example: Someone in a "boss" position usually has a good grasp on handling all different types of personalities. If two of their employees are having a conflict, they can find common ground and resolve the issue in a civilized and fair manner. Conclusion: When it comes to happiness and success in life and work, emotional intelligence matters just as much as intellectual ability. Emotional intelligence helps people build stronger relationships, succeed at work, and achieve their career and personal goals, which makes it different from other aspects. TLP HOT Synopsis Day 41 PDF

Nov 30, 2020 TLP Mains 2020

SYNOPSIS [26th NOVEMBER,2020] Day 40: IASbaba’s TLP (Phase 2): UPSC Mains Answer Writing (General Studies)

For Previous TLP (ARCHIVES) - CLICK HERE   SYNOPSIS [26th NOVEMBER,2020] Day 40: IASbaba’s TLP (Phase 2): UPSC Mains Answer Writing (General Studies)   1. What are the most critical impediments to scientific innovation and indigenisation in India? Examine.   Approach: As the directive here is examine, it is necessary to establish a cause effect relationship besides covering various angles of the topic. In the introduction you can talk about the culture of scientific innovation and indigenisation in India. In the first half of main body part you need to explain about the challenges to scientific innovation and indigenisation in India. In the next half you need to suggest solutions. Giving government initiatives to promote innovation and indigenisation culture will fetch you more marks.  Introduction: India has an impressive scientific heritage in terms of  innovation-in fields such as mathematics, astronomy, medicine and material science which has been carried out in the Indian sub-continent since ancient times. However, in today's time a remarkable gap exist between this scientific knowledge and the 'common' man and woman, until recently, few efforts have been made by the government  to bridge this gap. Body: Critical Impediments to Scientific innovation and indigenisation in India: Institutional problems: Our educational institutions are heavily exam oriented and thus lack in focusing on creativity, critical thinking, and open-mindedness. Which hampers the innovative and indigenisation spirit.  Poor university-industry linkage: This leads to limited application oriented R&D. For instance, as per 'Quacquarelli Symonds (QS) world ranking of institutes, 2019' only three Indian institutes were placed in the top 200 universities of the world. The curriculums are outdated and they lack  focus on skill development and employability potential. Administrative bottlenecks: Dominance of bureaucratic administrative structure in Indian research units and political interference in day to day activities of research institutions by government is in conflict with intellectual sum. Public access to science and scientists is limited.  No cordial  interaction between interaction of the scientific community with administrators and lawmakers for public engagement and societal support for science and the scientific activity. Funding Issues: India (Public and Private) spends only 0.82% of GDP on R&D, Private sector spends less than 0.2% of GDP on R&D, India attracts only 2.7% of global spending in R&D whereas China attracts 17.5%. Lack of curiosity-driven research and role of indigenous knowledge or "folk science" in a diverse bio and geo sphere has pushed India backwards. There is no proper networking between practitioners and experts from diverse field into a national platform and share the same with scientific community and students. Weak IPR regime of patents and trademarks reduces incentives for entrepreneurs to invest in innovation and research.  Reducing Fiscal Deficit: For instance, India is the second largest arms importer in the world (after Saudi Arabia). Higher import dependency leads to increase in the fiscal deficit. Despite having the fifth largest defence budget in the world, India procures 60% of its weapon systems from foreign markets. World Economic Forum survey says that only 17% of Indian respondents stated that the so-called "cultural support pillar" was available in the country. Thus it hinders people from taking up research and other activities which have uncertain outcomes. It has created a cultural affinity for stability and job security over risk-taking. Large country, Diverse issues: While literacy levels are increasing, scientific literacy is still drastically low. Given India’s large population, limited resources and multitude of languages, mass science education faces particularly great challenges. Without more attention on local languages, much of the population will miss out on science communication efforts.  India’s innovation policy has to shift beyond a mere focus on R&D spending to transforming the ecosystem. Our innovation policy has to shift beyond a focus on increasing R&D spending to inculcating a mindset of "out-of-the-box" thinking in our universities, start-ups and corporate. Steps needed to be taken up:  Elimination of rote learning: India’s educational policies need to be redesigned, with a focus on building cognitive abilities, beyond rote learning and focus on quantitative subjects. For instance, recent New Education Policy is a step in such a direction.  Need to use Data analytics boom: Need to focus on taking advantage of the data analytics boom, improving educational qualities beyond our existing islands of excellence to the whole university system Greater access to public data to build innovative applications: A supporting ecosystem for this will require providing greater access to public data, through the Right to Information Act and a push to providing public data (for example, on train punctuality, water scarcity, air pollution metrics) for building innovative applications on a real-time basis. The Economic Survey 2017-18 recommends doubling national expenditures on R&D with most of the increase coming from the private sector and universities. There is a need to encourage investor-led research. In this direction, the Science and Engineering Research Board (SERB) has already been established. It is a promising start that needs to expand with more resources and creative governance structures. Impetus to various indigenous start-ups under Make in India. Stand-up India is the need of the hour.  As a supplement to these steps following government initiatives also need to be implemented in their letter and spirit to inculcate culture of scientific innovation and indigenisation. Atal Innovation Mission: It was launched by the NITI Ayog as an innovation promotion platform involving academics, entrepreneurs, and researchers utilizing national and international experience to promote the culture of innovation, R&D in India particularly in technology-oriented areas. India Innovation Growth programme (IIGP) 2.0: The programme provides funding, capacity building, mentoring, incubation and business development support to the innovators.  Defence Procurement Policy: Based on the recommendations of the Dhirendra Singh committee, Defence Procurement Procedure 2016 (replaced DPP 2013) added an additional category "Buy (Indian-IDDM)" i.e. Indigenously Designed, Developed and Manufactured, as the most preferred way of defence goods acquisition. Conclusion: With globalisation, it is easier to notice the growing contrast between the designs for promoting innovation and indigenisation in the western world and in India.  Having a young population and a strong Diaspora that is more affluent than any other country, India has the potential pioneering high-tech innovation and indigenisation. If necessary steps are implemented in letter and spirit will definitely India to be a 'Vishwaguru' in modern technological developments and their indigenisation.   2. What do you understand by intelligent transportation system? What role can they play at a time of rising population and congestion? Illustrate. Approach - It expects students to write about intelligent transport system. And highlight on role of intelligent transportation system in the time of rising population and congestion with various examples and analysis. Introduction With the conception of smart city transmuting cities into digital societies, making the life of its citizens easy in every facet, Intelligent Transport System becomes the indispensable component among all. In any city mobility is a key concern be it going to school, college and office or for any other purpose citizens use transport system to travel within the city in the time of rising population and congestion.  Body Intelligent transportation system - An intelligent transportation system is an advanced application which aims to provide innovative services relating to different modes of transport and traffic management and enable users to be better informed and make safer, more coordinated, and 'smarter' use of transport networks. How Intelligent Transport System works? Traffic Management Centre (TMC) is the vital unit of ITS. It is mainly a technical system administered by the transportation authority. Here all data is collected and analysed for further operations and control management of the traffic in real time or information about local transportation vehicle. Well-organised and proficient operations of Traffic Management Centre depends on automatised data collection with precise location information than analysis of that data to generate accurate information and then transmitting it back to travellers. Role of the Intelligent transportation system at a time of rising population and congestion in transport - Data collection: Strategic planning needs precise, extensive and prompt data collection with real-time observation. So the data here is collected via varied hardware devices that lay the base of further ITS functions. These devices are Automatic Vehicle Identifiers, GPS based automatic vehicle locators, sensors, camera etc. The hardware mainly records the data like traffic count, surveillance, travel speed and travel time, location, vehicle weight, delays etc.  Data Transmission: Rapid and real-time information communication is the Key to proficiency in ITS implementation so this aspect of ITS consists of the transmission of collected data from the field to TMC and then sending back that analysed information from TMC to travellers. Traffic-related announcements congestion, accidents and any work of construction are communicated to the traveler through internet, SMS or onboard units of Vehicle and infra-red links. Data Analysis: The data that has been collected and received at TMC is processed further in various steps. These steps are error rectification, data cleaning, data synthesis, and adaptive logical analysis. Inconsistencies in data are identified with specialised software and rectified. After that data is further altered and pooled for analysis. This mended collective data is analysed further to predict traffic scenario which is available to deliver appropriate information to users. Traveler Information: Travel Advisory Systems (TAS) is used to inform transportation updates to the traveling user. The system delivers real-time information like travel time, travel speed, delay, accidents on roads, change in route, diversions, work zone conditions etc. This information is delivered by a wide range of electronic devices like variable message signs, highway advisory radio, internet, SMS, automated cell. Why Intelligent transport system is need in congestion areas and high populations areas: Improve attractiveness of public transport system. Tackling rising congestion which increases industry cost, travel time and life style problems. Low speed and increased accident can be tackled. Reduce environment impact of transport. For Capacity and security management. Incident management. Advantage of the Intelligent transport system: Make transportation more efficient, secure, safe, affordable and reduce traffic related stress in life. Travel time improvement Speed control and improvement. Reduction in stops and delays at intersections. Conclusion With urbanisation expanding with speedy stride, number of vehicles on road is also increasing. Combination of both in return puts enormous pressure on cities to maintain a better traffic system so that the city keeps on moving without any hassle. For the purpose application of Intelligent Transport System is the only solution. ITS a win-win situation for both citizens and city administrators where it provides safety and comfort to citizens and easy maintenance and surveillance to city administrators. 3. What are the current issues related to GM crops in India? What are your views on adoption of GM technologies? Substantiate. Approach: Students are expected to write about the current issues of GM crops in India in first part, substantiate the views on adoption of GM technologies in second part. Introduction: GM crops are those crops whose DNA has been modified by introducing alien genes in the seeds to get desired effects such as resistance to pest attacks. Genes from any living organism, be it plants, or animals, is used to arrive at the desired traits. GM technology is often called “modern biotechnology” or “genetic engineering”. It allows selected individual genes to be transferred from one organism into another, also between nonrelated species. Body: Recently farmers in Maharashtra were protesting the central government’s move which bans the cultivation of GM crops and they would undertake mass sowing of GM seeds for maize, soyabean, mustard, brinjal and herbicide tolerant (Ht) cotton, although these are not approved. Issues related to GM crops: Cost effective variety of Cotton: Bt cot is the only GM crop that is allowed in India. currently farmers cite the high cost of weeding of it, which goes down considerably if they grow Ht Bt cotton and use glyphosate against weeds.  New variety of Brinjal: Brinjal growers in Haryana have rooted for Bt brinjal as it reduces the cost of production by cutting down on the use of pesticides. To challenge Government for change its regulations: This action of defying government regulations by growing unapproved Bt varieties will draw attention of authorities to the need for introduction of the latest technology in the fields as the approval process of GM seeds is lengthy, opaque and often excludes farmers. This is opposed by farmers who want access to better technology. Huge benefits of GM crops: Because of the modification in genes, GM crops has huge benefits like Increased crop yields, Reduced costs for food or drug production, Reduced need for pesticides, Enhanced nutrient composition, Resistance to pests and disease, Increased shelf life etc. hence its attracts farmers to enhance their revenue. In 2002 Genetic Engineering Appraisal Committee (GEAC) allowed Bt cotton, since then 95 per cent of the country’s cotton area has under Bt cotton.  Concerns over the use of genetically modified (GM) technology: Ecological Balance: The capability of the GMO to escape and potentially introduce the engineered genes into wild populations thus disturbing the fragile ecological balance. Danger of Permanence: The persistence of the gene after the GMO has been harvested. The susceptibility of non-target organisms (e.g. insects which are not pests) to the gene product will be in danger. Also, the stability of the gene is another cause of worry which will Increase use of chemicals in agriculture. Health: Genetic modification brings about changes that can be harmful to humans in the long run. Awareness and Labelling issues: Manufacturers do not mention on the label that foods are developed by genetic manipulation considering it may affect their business. However, this is harmful practice. Religious issues: Many religious and cultural communities are against such foods because they see it as an unnatural way of producing foods. Views on adoption of GM technologies: Medicinal Benefits of GM technologies: GM technologies have emerged as one of the mainstays of biomedical research since the 1980. Pharmaceutical products such as hepatitis B vaccine, injectable insulin produced through GM technology.  Genetic modification of insects: GM mosquitoes have been developed that express a small protein called SM1, which blocks entry of the malaria parasite, Plasmodium, into the mosquito’s gut. Introduction of these GM mosquitoes into the wild could help reduce transmission of the malaria parasite. Also, male Aedes aegypti mosquitoes engineered so it transmits a gene to their offspring that causes the offspring to die before becoming sexually mature. Genetic modification of humans is becoming a treatment option: Genetic modification via gene therapy is becoming a treatment option for diseases ranging from rare metabolic disorders to cancer. Coupling stem cell technology with recombinant DNA methods allows stem cells derived from a patient to be modified in the laboratory to introduce a desired gene. introduction of these GM cells into the patient could cure the disease without  the need for a matched donor.  No Harm from GM Food recorded: There is a scientific consensus that currently available food derived from GM crops poses no greater risk to human health than conventional food, but that each GM food needs to be tested on a case-by-case basis before introduction. Considering all modern medicinal benefits of GM technology, introduction and responsible use of it is necessary for mankind.  Conclusion: Though there is a ban on other GM crops, cases of cultivation of GM Crops not approved by the government indicate that there may be an illegal supply of GM seeds in the country. With growing agrarian distress there is a need for innovation in agriculture that balances interests of humans and that of environment. Given the increased growth of global population and increased urbanisation, GM crops offer one of the promising solutions to meet the world’s food security needs which ultimately meet the SDG zero hunger target by 2030. Hence the government must take steps carefully keeping in the mind of interests of farmers, national biosafety and biosecurity. 4. What are the potential applications of 5G technology? How can it contribute to the vision of Digital India? Discuss. Approach: It expects students to write - in first part write about potential application of 5G - in second part write how it can contribute to vision of digital India - in end write few challenges before it. Introduction: 5G is next generation wireless network technology that's expected to change the way people live and work. It will be faster and able to handle more connected devices than the existing 4G LTE network, improvements that will enable a wave of new kinds of tech products. Body: Potential application of 5G: Workspaces: The first use cases based on 5G will pertain to company workspaces, whether they are physical or virtual. The capacities of 5G will enable a wider use of video and the manipulation of large files on the go (architectural plans for example), as well as a shift towards greater use of virtual, augmented or mixed reality. Industry 4.0: A majority of analysts believe that Industry 4.0 will emerge as one of the first concrete applications of 5G and specialized services. Customers have already shown high expectations in this sector. However, the goal is not simply to connect a factory to the web, it is also about transforming business models, production methods, processes, etc. The densification of connected objects and real-time data analysis will play an essential part in environments where autonomous machines, humans and robots will work side by side. Sales: 5G will also make it possible to manage orders in a very precise way. In the event of a problem on a production line, immediate feedback will recalculate the production plan right away and automatically inform the end customer of a possible delivery delay. It will also become possible to integrate connectivity into the product itself. In this way, it will communicate with artificial intelligence and offer predictive maintenance. It will also become possible to guide applications remotely via a hologram, showing the user exactly how to use the product and thus multiply the examples. In all these situations, it is truly a whole new field of possibility that opens up with 5G. Transport: The rising number of connected vehicles is another important issue pertaining to 5G. With communication between vehicles, as well as other road users (pedestrians, cyclists, etc.) and even infrastructure (roads, traffic signals and traffic lights, for example), new applications may be developed to reduce accident rates and journey times in order to improve the flow of traffic. 5G will also enhance operational efficiency for transport professionals. The ability to download a large amount of content in near real time will enable ships, trains and aircraft to quickly retrieve navigation information and share refuelling and predictive maintenance data when docking, landing or arriving at stations. Critical communications: In the future, it will be possible to host a vast range of critical communications in order to secure processes, goods and people. 5G will help facilitate enterprise security applications by powering connected security teams capable of responding to emergencies in real time. 5G will also improve fixed network performance until fiber is rolled out everywhere. Why not also secure fiber in 5G? This is the type of hybrid installation we are now exploring. It can contribute to vision of digital India as follows: Smart cities Video surveillance and analytics Intelligent transport and traffic management  Smart grids and metering systems with smart street light  Solid waste management  Government This revolution also provides an opportunity for the government to improve its connect with the citizens. Digitalisation could help improve delivery of government services to citizens and also lower transaction costs for citizens Public protection and disaster relief National authorities or relevant operators use Public Protection and Disaster Relief (PPDR) radio communications for managing services with regards to public safety, security, defense and emergency. To further modernise and enable reliability over critical communications, the use of 5G network is expected to be supportive in addressing the requirements. Sensors, cameras and other automated devices are significant sources of information to ensure public safety. Through building synergies across such source feeds, 5G networks could also support integrating information from diverse source feeds or devices into Public Safety operations, enabling it to become less reactive and more proactive. Manufacturing Enhance efficiency through robotics Automation through Internet of Things (IoT) Effective operations through Augmented Reality (AR) Agriculture and allied industry Soil and crop monitoring Precision farming Smart irrigation & climate change alignment Livestock monitoring Agricultural drones Energy and utilities Distribution of energy within a smart-grid Smart meters for the smart homes Remote monitoring of energy sites Energy efficiency and reducing the effects of climate change Smart Power generation, Green energy and distribution automation  Healthcare industry Mobility Monitor Health Automation Online consultations Data Management Media and entertainment Immersive experiences Enriching gaming experience User/machine generated content from smart devices Retail In-store analytics Interactive storefront windows Handheld devices However, it faces following challenges: Problem of network coverage Lack of 5G devices Lack of digital inclusion Lack of uniform policy framework Industry crippling under margin pressure Network modernisation and densification will be complex Strengthening the security apparatus with evolving technologies Conclusion: Regulatory support from the government providing the right ecosystem for research and development, regulatory framework for spectrum, data and information security, IoT, digital as well as inclusive business environment to encourage domestic and international players to invest in the technology would be key to technology implementation. 5. Innovation should be made public in exchange for a limited monopoly. Do you agree? Substantiate your views. Approach: Question is asked in context of COVID pandemic. It expects student to write about - in first part write about need for innovation to be made public - in second part write about how innovation could be made public in exchange for a limited monopoly - in end write way forward. Introduction: With the outbreak of COVID-19, there are several innovations. All these innovations may be the subject matter of patent applications around the world. It will be a few years before patents are even granted. However, friction already exists among various stakeholders. For instance, one country made attempts to obtain exclusive rights to a vaccine being developed. On the other hand, there are also collaborations taking place. Body: Need for innovation to be made public: Pandemics need disruptive solutions. Governments and international organisations need to arrive at a consensus in advance to ensure that the system is ready. Procrastination would be disastrous. Creating hindrances through exclusivity claims, in the wake of a pandemic, will result in dividing countries, corporations and international organisations. This will not benefit patients and the world as a whole. If patent owners create impediments on the strength of patent rights, the world will start despising patents and that is not a situation IP owner ought to be in. Under the TRIPS (Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights) regime, there are several tools such as compulsory licensing that are available to ensure access to medicines. However, beyond the laws, society needs to respect innovation. To protect the sanctity and integrity of patent systems, and in order to ensure that an anti-IP sentiment is not generated globally, answers need to be found within the existing regime. In exceptional circumstances such as these, there is a likelihood that societies may resort to extreme steps to protect themselves. Before such ideas are floated, solutions should be created. Innovation could be made public in exchange for a limited monopoly by: One method by which aggregation and dissemination of innovative products can be ensured is by creating a patent pool. Patent pools are usually effective in aggregating, administering and licensing patents related to specific areas of technology. Such pools are usually managed by a central agency and the patents which become part of the pool are readily made available for licensing. Some pools even publish the royalty rates payable for such licences. Anyone who wishes to obtain a licence will be able to approach the pool, agree to the terms, and begin to manufacture and sell the products. Such pools are prevalent in, for instance, standard essential patents related to telecom and digital innovations. At the moment, individual efforts are being made by research organisations to create their own pools. A more fruitful endeavour would be to create a global pool of COVID-19-related innovations, or innovations related to rare pandemics, in respect of vaccines and medicines. This could be managed by a trustworthy international organisation. All countries ought to have the right to implement these innovations without further permission from the patent-holders and without resorting to provisions such as compulsory licensing, state acquisition, etc. Even if royalties are at a minimal level, the revenues would still be in billions of dollars owing to the large swathes of the population affected by the pandemic, who will need to be administered these products. Way forward: The purpose of creating and recognising patent rights is for the common public good, i.e., innovation should be made public in exchange for a limited monopoly. Thus, patents need to be disclosed to the public in order to enable further research. Public-private partnerships (PPP) need to be scaled up. Creation of the ‘PPP-pandemic patent pool’ at a global level, to pool all innovations, is the way forward.  Pooling of patent resources is also in line with the Doha Declaration on Public Health which is a part of the TRIPS agreement. This declaration recognises the need for taking measures to ‘protect public health’ and ‘promote access to medicines’. Conclusion: Concerns relating to patents and profits to be earned therefrom should be put aside. The world has to come out of this crisis quickly and patents ought to accelerate rather than impede the path. Combating the crisis and earning collectively is the need of the hour. TLP HOT Synopsis Day 40 PDF