Syllabus

• Prelims & Mains – ECONOMY

Context: Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman presented her seventh Budget in Parliament.

Background:-

• The Union Budget 2024 reflected the changed political landscape, with the BJP no longer enjoying sole majority. Announcements were made for politically significant states such as Andhra Pradesh and Bihar, ruled by major NDA member parties.

Key highlights of the budget

• The government cut the fiscal deficit target to 4.9 per cent of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) for financial year 2024-25 from 5.1 per cent in the interim Budget.
• The Centre’s outgo on subsidies is budgeted to decline to a five-year-low in 2024-25, both in absolute terms and as a percentage of gross domestic product (GDP).The lower spend is on account of two factors :
  • The first is the discontinuation of the free, additional 5-kg grain allocation to the 80 crore-plus PDS beneficiaries under the Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana.
  • The second major driver for the Centre’s lower subsidy provision is fertiliser. At Rs 164,000 crore, the budgeted fertiliser subsidy for 2024-25 is down from the record Rs 251,339 crore of 2022-23, which resulted from high global prices following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
• Finance Minister announced to withdraw the 2 % equalisation levy on the e-commerce supply of goods or services with effect from August 1, 2024.
• In an attempt to counterbalance the variability of renewable energy and strengthen India’s baseload power capacity, budget announced plans to set up the country’s first 800 MW advanced ultra supercritical (AUSC) thermal plant based on indigenous technology.
• Govt announced the setting up of e-commerce export hubs across the country in public private partnership (PPP) mode along the lines of several Southeast Asian countries that are benefiting from the rapid growth of e-commerce exports.
• Budget announced the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana-Urban 2.0, with Rs 2.2 lakh crore central assistance over five years, to construct one crore additional houses.
• With a saturation approach for achieving social justice, FM announced a new scheme for socio-economic development of 63,000 tribal villages that will aim to cover 5 crore people from tribal communities. The government will launch the Pradhan Mantri Janjatiya Unnat Gram Abhiyan for the purpose.
• Twelve new industrial parks will be created under the National Industrial Corridor Development Programme.
• A Package is announced for Vizag-Chennai Industrial corridor. Center will provide Rs 15,000 crore financial assistance for Andhra Pradesh for development of Amaravati.
• Centre to finance and early completion of Polavaram Irrigation project, considered as a lifeline for Andhra Pradesh and its farmers.
• The finance minister announced several schemes for Bihar in her speech. The schemes are a part of a larger plan titled “Purvodaya”, which covers the all-round development of eastern States including Bihar, Jharkhand, West Bengal, Odisha, and Andhra Pradesh.
• The government will support building of expressways in Bihar at a total cost of ₹26,000 crore. Power projects, new airports, medical colleges and sports infra will be also constructed in the state.
• FM announced three new employee-linked incentive schemes. The three schemes will align with enrolment in the Employee Provident Fund Organisation and focus on the recognition of first-time employees, as well as support to both employers and employees.
  • Scheme A will support EPFO enrollments for first-timers in the workforce, with a one month wage payout for all formal sectors in three installments, upto Rs. 15,000 per month, with an eligibility limit of a salary of Rs. 1 lakh per month.
  • Scheme B pertains to the creation of jobs in manufacturing. The scheme will incentivise additional employment in the sector linked to first time employees. An incentive to employee and employer will be provided with respect to EPFO in first 4 years of employment.
  • Scheme C pertains to support to employers. It is to be an employer- focused scheme which will focus on additional employment in all sectors for those earning within a salary of 1 lakh. The government will reimburse employers up to Rs. 3000 per month for two years towards EPFO contribution for each additional employee.

Source: Indian Express

Syllabus

• Prelims & Mains – SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY; ENVIRONMENT

Context: The Supreme Court recently delivered a split decision on the environmental release of genetically modified (GM) mustard DMH -11.

Background:

• Despite the dissent on the environmental release of GM mustard, the two judges were unequivocal in underlining the significance of a national policy on genetically modified organisms (GMOs). It directed the Union government to evolve a national policy on GMOs following appropriate consultations with all the stakeholders.

About Mustard cultivation

• Mustard is one of India’s most important winter crops which is sown between mid-October and late November.
• Mustard is cultivated by around 6 million farmers in around 6.5-7 million hectares of land across the states of Rajasthan, Haryana, Punjab and Madhya Pradesh.
• DMH-11 has been shown to deliver 30 per cent higher yields than existing varieties. The average yield of existing mustard varieties is around 1,000-1,200 kilograms per hectare, while the global average is over 2,000-2,200 kgs.

What is DMH-11?

• DMH-11 is a hybrid variant of mustard developed by researchers at The Centre for Genetic Manipulation of Crop Plants, at the University of Delhi.
• DMH-11 is a result of a cross between two varieties: Varuna and Early Heera-2. Such a cross wouldn’t have happened naturally and was done after introducing genes from two soil bacterium called barnase and barstar. Barnase in Varuna induces a temporary sterility because of which it can’t naturally self-pollinate. Barstar in Heera blocks the effect of barnase allowing seeds to be produced. The result is DMH-11 (where 11 refers to the number of generations after which desirable traits manifest) that not only has better yield but is also fertile.
• DMH-11 is a transgenic crop because it uses foreign genes from a different species.

Concerns

• GM mustard has been a subject of intense political debate in the country with both pro- and anti-GM activists placing their claims and counterclaims vigorously.
• Worried that a genetically modified mustard crop would impact honey production in India, honey cultivators have opposed the GM mustard variety and asked the government not to approve it for commercial cultivation.
• The DMH-11 mustard variety is herbicide tolerant, allowing farmers to spray over the crops with weed killer without harming the crops. This has raised fears that farmers may resort to excessive use of toxic herbicides which can lead to weeds becoming resistant to them and the emergence of so-called super weeds.
• Critics are also concerned about herbicide residue on GM crops.

Source: Hindu

Syllabus

• Prelims – SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY

Context: State-run Coal India has secured a graphite block, a critical mineral asset, in Madhya Pradesh. It would be the company’s first ever non-coal mineral mining venture.

Background:

• India imports about 69 per cent of its graphite needs – natural, synthetic and enduse products. Currently, the graphite mining industry has limited players and this offers space for willing players to venture into this business arena.

About Graphite

• Graphite is a crystalline form of the element carbon. It consists of stacked layers of graphene (graphene is a single layer of carbon atoms, tightly bound in a hexagonal honeycomb lattice).
• Graphite has a greasy feel and leaves a black mark, thus the name from the Greek verb graphein, “to write.” Graphite is dark gray to black, opaque, and very soft.
• Graphite occurs naturally and is the most stable form of carbon under standard conditions.
• Under high pressures and temperatures it converts to diamond.
• Graphite is a non-metal but has many properties of metals. It is a good conductor of both heat and electricity.
• Synthetic and natural graphite are consumed on a large scale (1.3 million metric tons per year in 2022) for uses in pencils, lubricants, and electrodes.
• About 75 percent of graphite is mined in China, with significant amounts mined in Madagascar, Mozambique, and Brazil.

Source: Hindu Businessline

Syllabus

• Prelims – HISTORY

Context: Recently, Prime Minister paid his homage to Chandra Shekhar Azad on his birth anniversary.

Background:

• “If yet your blood does not rage, then it is water that flows in your veins. For what is the flush of youth, if it is not of service to the motherland?” These words echo the spirit of Chandra Shekhar Azad.

About Chandra Shekhar Azad :

• Chandra Shekhar Sitaram Tiwari (23 July 1906 – 27 February 1931), popularly known as Chandra Shekhar Azad, was an Indian revolutionary.
• In 1921, at the peak of the Non-Cooperation Movement, 15-year-old student Chandra Shekhar joined the cause. He was arrested and brought before the district magistrate, where he boldly gave his name as “Azad” (The Free), stated his father’s name as “Swatantrata” (Independence), and his residence as “Jail”. The infuriated magistrate punished him with 15 lashes.
• After the suspension of the non-cooperation movement in 1922 by Mahatma Gandhi, Azad became disappointed. He got associated with Ram Prasad Bismil, who had formed the Hindustan Republican Association (HRA).
• Azad became an active member of the HRA and started to collect funds for HRA. He was involved in the Kakori Train Robbery of 1925.
• In the aftermath of the Kakori train robbery, the British suppressed revolutionary activities. Prasad, Ashfaqulla Khan,Thakur Roshan Singh and Rajendra Nath Lahiri were sentenced to death for their participation. Azad and a few others evaded capture.
• In 1928, along with Bhagat Singh and other revolutionaries he secretly reorganised the Hindustan Republican Association (HRA), renaming it as the Hindustan Socialist Republican Association (HSRA) , so as to achieve their primary aim of an independent socialist
• Azad conspired with revolutionaries like Shivaram Rajguru, Sukhdev Thapar, and Bhagat Singh to assassinate the Superintendent of police, James A. Scott in order to avenge Lala Rajpat Rai’s death. However, in a case of mistaken identity, the plotters shot John P. Saunders, an Assistant Superintendent of Police.
• On 27th Feb, 1931, Police was tipped off by someone that Azad was at Alfred Park, following which the police surrounded the park. After a long shootout, holding true to his pledge to always remain Azad (Free) and never be captured alive, he shot himself in the head with his gun’s last bullet.

Source: News18

Syllabus

• Prelims – GEOGRAPHY

Context: The recent Godavari flood has impacted over 170 villages in the Chintoor Agency of the Alluri Sitharama Raju (ASR) district. Most of these villages are inhabited by the Koya and Konda Reddi tribes along the banks of the Sabari and the Godavari rivers.

Background:

• The Godavari flood was triggered by heavy rainfall in the catchment areas of the Godavari River. The excess water flow led to rising water levels, inundating nearby villages and affecting communities along the riverbanks.

About Godavari river :

• The Godavari River, also known as Dakshina Ganga, is India’s second longest river.
• The Godavari River rises in the Sahyadris, near Trimbakeshwar in the Nashik district of Maharashtra.
• It originates from the Bramhagiri mountains at Trimbakeshwar.

Course:

• The Godavari River flows across the Deccan Plateau from the Western Ghats to the Eastern Ghats.
• It covers approximately 1,465 kilometers (910 miles) in a generally southeast direction, passing through the states of Maharashtra, Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, and Odisha. Eventually, it empties into the Bay of Bengal through an extensive network of distributaries.

Tributaries:

• Right Bank Tributaries: Pravara, Manjira, Maner
• Left Bank Tributaries: Purna, Pranhita, Indravathi, Sabari

Source: Hindu

Syllabus

• Prelims – CURRENT EVENT

Context: A 14-year-old boy succumbed to the Nipah virus in Kerala.

Background:

• Kerala has experienced Nipah outbreaks since 2018, and the state remains at risk due to its fruit bat habitats.

About Nipah Virus :

• The Nipah virus (NiV) is a zoonotic virus, meaning it can be transmitted from animals to humans.
• Fruit bats (particularly species belonging to the Pteropus genus) are natural hosts of the virus, and pigs can also carry it.
• Human transmission occurs through direct contact with infected bats, pigs, or other individuals.
• It was first identified during an outbreak in Malaysia in 1998-1999 among pig farmers and those in close contact with pigs and later spread to Bangladesh and eastern India.
• India experienced outbreaks in Siliguri (2001) and Kerala (since 2018).

Symptoms and Severity:

• The incubation period ranges from 4 to 14 days after exposure.
• Initial symptoms resemble influenza: fever, headache, muscle pain, and sore throat.
• Severe cases can lead to encephalitis (brain inflammation), respiratory issues, seizures, and coma.
• Mortality rates vary (40% to 75%) depending on the outbreak and healthcare infrastructure.

Treatment:

• There is no specific medication or vaccine for Nipah virus.
• Managing symptoms is the primary approach.

Prevention involves:

• Avoiding exposure to sick animals (especially bats and pigs).
• Disinfecting surfaces.
• Taking precautions around infected individuals.

Source: Hindu

Q1.) With reference to the Nipah virus (NiV), consider the following statements:

1. The Nipah virus is a zoonotic virus.
2. Fruit bats are natural hosts of the virus.
3. It was first identified during an outbreak in Bangladesh.
4. There is no specific medication or vaccine for Nipah virus.

How many of the statements given above are correct?

a. Only one
b. Only two
c. Only three
d. All four

Q2.)Identify the non metal among the following:

a. Graphite
b. Manganese
c. Uranium
d. Mercury

Q3.)Consider the following rivers:

1. Purna
2. Pranhita
3. Hemavathi
4. Indravathi
5. Sabari
6. Manjira

How many of the above-mentioned rivers are the left bank tributaries of the river Godavari?

1. Only two
2. Only three
3. Only four
4. Only five

Comment the answers to the above questions in the comment section below!!

ANSWERS FOR ’  24th July 2024 – Daily Practice MCQs’ will be updated along with tomorrow’s Daily Current Affairs

Q.1) –  c

Q.2) – c

Q.3) – d