Syllabus

• Prelims –Governance

Context: The Central Consumer Protection Authority (CCPA) issued an order against M/s IQRA IAS Institute, to discontinue the false testimonials and misleading claims from their website with immediate effect recently.

Background:-

• The issue came to the notice of CCPA through the website of IQRA IAS Institute established in 2018 deliberately and falsely claimed through the testimonials of top-rank holders of UPSC CSE in 2015 & 2017 as their students which is factually deceiving.
• Therefore, CCPA took Suo-moto cognizance and found that along with the aforesaid false claim the institute claimed itself as the only coaching academy to have the best faculty from all around India for providing the best UPSC online prelims test series 2020, thus making it the top UPSC coaching within a year in Pune.
• Accordingly, the notice was issued to IQRA IAS Institute in view of the violation of the Consumer Protection Act, 2019.

Consumer Protection Act, 2019:-

• Definition of consumer: The act defines a consumer as a person who buys any good or avails a service for consideration.
• Exclusion: It does not include a person who obtains a good for resale or a good or service for commercial purposes.
• It covers transactions through all modes including offline, and online through electronic means, teleshopping, multi-level marketing, or direct selling.
• Definition of misleading advertisement: The Act defines “misleading advertisement” in relation to any product or service as “an advertisement, which:-
• Falsely describes such product or service.
• Gives, a false guarantee to, or is likely to mislead the consumers as to the nature, substance, quantity, or quality of such product or service.
• Conveys an express or implied representation which, if made by the manufacturer or seller or service provider thereof, would constitute an unfair trade practice.
• Deliberately conceals important information.

Rights of consumers:-

• Six consumer rights have been defined in the Act, including:-
• Right to safety, right to be Informed, right to choose, right to be heard, right to seek redressal, and right to consumer education.

About Central Consumer Protection Authority (CCPA):-

• Establishment: 2020.
• Ministry: Ministry of Consumer Affairs.
• HQ: Delhi.
• Objective: To protect the rights of the consumer by cracking down on unfair trade practices, and false and misleading advertisements that are detrimental to the interests of the public and consumers.
• The Central Consumer Protection Authority (CCPA) is an authority constituted under Section 10(1) of The Consumer Protection Act, 2019.

Composition:-

• Head: Chief Commissioner
• Members: two other commissioners as members.
  • One of these will deal with matters relating to goods while the other will look into cases relating to services.
• Investigation Wing: The CCPA will have an Investigation Wing, headed by a Director General.
• District Collectors: They too, will have the power to investigate complaints of violations of consumer rights, unfair trade practices, and false or misleading advertisements.

Powers and Functions of CCPA:-

• Inquire or investigate matters relating to violations of consumer rights or unfair trade practices Suo moto, or on a complaint received, or on a direction from the central government.
• Recall goods or withdrawal of services that are “dangerous, hazardous, or unsafe.
• Pass an order for a refund of the prices of goods or services so recalled to purchasers of such goods or services.
• Impose a penalty of up to Rs 10 lakh, with imprisonment of up to two years, on the manufacturer or endorser of false and misleading advertisements.
  • The penalty may go up to Rs 50 lakh, with imprisonment up to five years, for every subsequent offense committed by the same manufacturer or endorser.
• Ban the endorser of a false or misleading advertisement from making an endorsement of any products or services in the future.
• File complaints of violation of consumer rights or unfair trade practices before the District Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission, State Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission, and the National Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission.

MUST READ: New consumer rights law

SOURCE: PIB

PREVIOUS YEAR QUESTIONS

Q.1) With reference to foreign-owned e-commerce firms operating in India, which of the following statements is/are correct? (2022)

1. They can sell their own goods in addition to offering their platforms as market-places.
2. The degree to which they can own big sellers on their platforms is limited.

Select the correct answer using the code given below:

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

Q.2) Which of the following activities constitute a real sector in the economy? (2022)

1. Farmers harvesting their crops
2. Textile mills converting raw cotton into fabrics
3. A commercial bank lending money to a trading company
4. A corporate body issuing Rupee Denominated Bonds overseas

Select the correct answer using the code given below:

1. 1 and 2 only
2. 2, 3 and 4 only
3. 1, 3 and 4 only
4. 1, 2, 3 and 4

Syllabus

• Prelims – Science and Technology

Context: Meta recently, claimed that it is fighting a Chinese ‘Spamouflage‘ operation.

About Spamouflage:-

• It is an online Chinese spam operation. (Cyberattacks)
• It pushes positive narratives about China and negative commentary about the United States, Western foreign policies, and critics of the Chinese government.
• Origin: China.
• Targets: Taiwan, the United States, Australia, Britain, Japan, and global Chinese-speaking audiences.
• It mimicked websites of mainstream news outlets in Europe and posted stories about Russia’s war on Ukraine and then spread it online. (Cybercrime)
• The accounts in the campaign have a tendency to intersperse political posts.
• It has been active on over 50 platforms and forums, including Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, and X (formerly Twitter).
• Companies involved in the campaign were recently sanctioned by the European Union.

MUST READ: Global Cybersecurity

SOURCE: TIMES OF INDIA

PREVIOUS YEAR QUESTIONS

Q.1) The terms ‘Wanna Cry, Petya, and Eternal Blue’ sometimes mentioned in the news recently are related to (2023)

1. Exo-planets
2. Crypto-currency
3. Cyber attacks
4. Mini satellites

Q.2) With the present state of development, Artificial Intelligence can effectively do which of the following? (2023)

1. Bring down electricity consumption in industrial units
2. Create meaningful short stories and songs
3. Disease diagnosis
4. Text-to-speech conversion
5. Wireless transmission of electrical energy

Select the correct answer using the code given below:

1. 1, 2, 3 and 5 only
2. 1, 3, and 4 only
3. 2, 4, and 5 only
4. 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5

Syllabus

• Prelims –Science and Technology

Context: The Delhi High Court Recently permitted two children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) to undergo stem cell therapy for treatment of their condition.(AUTISM SPECTRUM DISEASE)

About Stem cell therapy:-

IMAGE SOURCE: jointpainclinic.co.uk

• Stem cell therapy is a novel therapeutic approach.
• It utilizes the unique properties of stem cells, to regenerate damaged cells and tissues in the human body or replace these cells with new, healthy, and fully functional cells.
  • Stem cells: cells that have the natural ability to generate new cell types.
  • Apart from stem cells, no other cell in the body has the natural ability to generate new cell types.

Types of stem cells:-

• Embryonic stem cells: These stem cells come from embryos that are 3 to 5 days old.
  • These are pluripotent stem cells, meaning they can divide into more stem cells or can become any type of cell in the body.
• Adult stem cells: These stem cells are found in small numbers in most adult tissues, such as bone marrow or fat.
  • Compared with embryonic stem cells, adult stem cells have a more limited ability to give rise to various cells of the body.
• Induced pluripotent stem cells: These are stem cells that scientists make in the laboratory.
  • They are pluripotent and can develop into any cell type just like embryonic stem cells.

Mechanism:-

• Under the right conditions in the body or a laboratory, stem cells divide to form more cells called daughter cells.
• These daughter cells become either new stem cells or specialized cells (differentiation) with a more specific function, such as blood cells, brain cells, heart muscle cells, or bone cells.

Uses:-

• To treat many human diseases and to repair tissue damage resulting from injury or ageing.
• In Organs transplantation
• Damaged organs can be replaced by obtaining healthy organs from a donor.
• However, donated organs may be rejected by the immune system.
• Induced pluripotent stem cells generated from the patient could be used here to grow new organs that would have a lower risk of being rejected.

Regulations in India:-

• In March 2019, the Union Health Ministry notified the ‘New Drugs and Clinical Trial Rules, 2019’ which state that stem-cell-derived products are to be used as “new drugs”.
• This meant that any doctor who uses stem-cell therapy needs to get permission from the government.
• In India as well as globally, only blood stem cells from bone marrow to treat blood cancers and different blood disorders are permitted. (Base Editing)
• The clinical use in any other disease or use of any stem cells other than these is still in the research stage.

MUST READ: CRISPR bio-technology

SOURCE: THE INDIAN EXPRESS

PREVIOUS YEAR QUESTIONS

Q.1) Consider the following statements: (2023)

Statement-I:

India’s public sector healthcare System largely focuses on curative care with limited preventive, promotive, and rehabilitative care.

Statement-II:

Under India’s decentralized approach to health care delivery, the States are primarily responsible for organizing health services.

Which one of the following is correct in respect of the above statements?

1. Both Statement-I and Statement-II are correct and Statement-II is the correct explanation for Statement-I
2. Both Statement-I and Statement-II are correct and Statement-II is not the correct explanation for Statement-I
3. Statement-I is correct but Statement II is incorrect
4. Statement-I is incorrect but Statement II is correct

Q.2) In the context of hereditary diseases, consider the following statements: (2021)

1. Passing on mitochondrial diseases from parent to child can be prevented by mitochondrial replacement therapy either before or after in vitro fertilization of the egg.
2. A child inherits mitochondrial diseases entirely from the mother and not from the father.

Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

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

Syllabus

• Prelims –Art and Culture

Context: The Pulikkali show was presented during the Onam celebrations, in Thrissur city (Kerala) recently.

Background:-

• Thrissur city turned into a sea of stripes and spots as more than 250 ‘human tigers and leopards’ pranced about the streets in a rollicking show of Pulikkali to lend a carnivalesque finish to Onam celebrations.

About Pulikkali:-

• Place: Kerala.
• Venue: The Swaraj Ground in Thrissur district, Kerala
• Introduced by: Maharaja Rama Varma Sakthan Thampuran(the erstwhile ruler of Cochin)
• Naming: Puli means Leopard/Tiger and Kali means Play in Malayalam.
• Main theme: tiger hunting.
• It is also called the Tiger Dance.
• It is a recreational street folk art.
• It is performed on the fourth day of Onam celebrations.
• Artists paint their bodies like tigers with stripes of yellow, red, and black and dance to the rhythm of traditional percussion instruments such as thakil, udukku, and chenda.
• The participants play the role of tiger and hunter.
  • Onam: It is the biggest and the most important festival in the state of Kerala.
  • It is a harvest festival.
  • It is celebrated at the beginning of the month of Chingam, the first month of the Malayalam Calendar (Kollavarsham).

MUST READ: Kathakali dance

SOURCE: THE HINDU

PREVIOUS YEAR QUESTIONS

Q.1) With reference to Manipuri Sankirtana, consider the following statements: (2017)

1. It is a song and dance performance
2. Cymbals are the only musical instruments used in the performance
3. It is performed to narrate the life and deeds of Lord Krishna

Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

1. 1, 2 and 3
2. 1 and 3 only
3. 2 and 3 only
4. 1 only

Q.2) With reference to the famous Sattriya dance, consider the following statements: (2014)

1. Sattriya is a combination of music, dance and drama
2. It is a centuries-old living tradition of Vaishnavites of Assam
3. It is based on classical Ragas and Talas of devotional songs composed by Tulsidas, Kabir and Mirabai

Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

1. 1 only
2. 1 and 2 only
3. 2 and 3 only
4. 1, 2 and 3

Syllabus

• Prelims –Sports

Context: Prime Minister Narendra Modi congratulated the Indian Men’s Hockey team on winning the Men’s Hockey 5s Asia Cup.

Background:-

• In a social media post, Mr. Modi said, their victory is a testament to the unwavering dedication of the country’s players.

About Men’s Hockey5s Asia Cup 2023:-

• Date: 29 August to 2 September 2023.
• Venue: Salalah, Oman.
• Host nation: Oman.
• It was the first-ever Men’s Hockey5s Asia Cup 2023. (Grand Slam)
• It was a historic event in the world of field hockey. (Sports Code)
• Elite group: India, Malaysia, Pakistan, Japan, Oman, and Bangladesh competed in the
• Challenger group: Hong Kong China, Indonesia, Afghanistan, Kazakhstan, and Iran.
• Significance: This tournament was the qualifier for the FIH Hockey5s World Cup 2024.
  • Three teams got to earn their tickets to the global stage.

MUST READ: Social change through sports

SOURCE: AIR

PREVIOUS YEAR QUESTIONS

Q.1) Consider the following statements in respect of the 44th Chess Olympiad, 2022: (2023)

1. It was the first time that the Chess Olympiad was held in India.
2. The official mascot was named Thambi’.
3. The trophy for the winning team in the open section is the Vera Menchik Cup.
4. The trophy for the winning team in the women’s section is the Hamilton-Russell Cup. ·

How many of the statements given above are correct?

1. Only one
2. Only two
3. Only three
4. All four

Q.2) Consider the following statements in respect of the 32nd Summer Olympics: (2021)

1. The official motto for this Olympics is ‘A New World’.
2. Sports climbing, Surfing, Skateboarding, Karate, and Baseball are included in this Olympics.

Which of the above statements is/are correct?

1. 1 only
2. 2 only
3. Both 1 and 2
4. Neither 1 and 2

Syllabus

• Prelims –International Relations

Context: Prime Minister Narendra Modi will be on a two-day visit to Indonesia to attend the ASEAN-India Summit and East Asia Summit.

About 20^th ASEAN-India Summit:-

• Host: Indonesia.
• Venue: Jakarta, Indonesia
• Significance: It will be the first Summit since the elevation of India-ASEAN relations to a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership last year. (India-ASEAN relations)
• It will review the progress of India-ASEAN relations and chart the future direction of cooperation.

About East Asia Summit:-

• Etablished :2005.( East Asia Summit)
• First summit: Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
• Date: 14 December 2005.
• 18^th summit: Jakarta, Indonesia.
• It is a forum of 18 regional leaders for strategic dialogue and cooperation on the key political, security, and economic challenges facing the Indo-Pacific region.
• This forum has an important role to play in advancing closer regional cooperation.
• The 18^th East Asia Summit will provide an opportunity for leaders of ASEAN countries and its eight dialogue partners, including India, to exchange views on issues of regional and global significance.

MUST READ: India-ASEAN conclave

SOURCE: AIR

PREVIOUS YEAR QUESTIONS

Q.1) Consider the following statements (2020)

1. The value of Indo-Sri Lanka Trade has consistently increased in the last decade.
2. Textile and textile articles constitute an important item of trade between India and Bangladesh.
3. In the last five years, Nepal has been the largest trading partner of India in South Asia.

Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

1. 1 and 2 only
2. 2 only
3. 3 only
4. 1,2, and 3

Q.2) Consider the following countries: (2018)

1. Australia
2. Canada
3. China
4. India
5. Japan
6. USA

Which of the above are among the ‘free-trade partners’ of ASEAN?

1. 1, 2, 4 and 5
2. 3, 4, 5 and 6
3. 1, 3, 4 and 5
4. 2, 3, 4 and 6

Syllabus

• Mains – GS 2 (Governance) and GS 3 (Environment)

Context: In the seven years, since the government unveiled its ambitious NMCG, it has installed treatment plants capable of treating just 20% of the sewage.

• These plants are capable of treating 20% of the sewage to be generated in the five major States that lie along the river– Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand and West Bengal.
  • This is expected to increase to about 33% by 2024; and 60% by December 2026.

About National Mission for Clean Ganga (NMCG)

Source:  DTE

• It was registered as a society in 2011 under the Societies Registration Act 1860.
• It acted as the implementation arm of National Ganga River Basin Authority (NGRBA) which was constituted under the provisions of the Environment (Protection) Act (EPA),1986.
  • NGRBA has since been dissolved with effect from 2016 consequent to the constitution of National Council for Rejuvenation, Protection and Management of River Ganga which is referred as National Ganga Council.
• National Ganga Council under the chairmanship of Prime Minister of India.
• NMCG has a two-tier management structure and comprises of:
  • Governing Council
  • Executive Committee
• Both are headed by Director General, NMCG.

Significance of Namami Gange programme:

• Creating sewage treatment capacity: 48 sewage management projects are under implementation and 98 sewage projects have been completed in the basin states.
• Biodiversity conservation: One of NMCG’s long-term visions for Ganga rejuvenation is to restore viable populations of all endemic and endangered biodiversity of the river, so that they occupy their full historical range and fulfil their role in maintaining the integrity of the Ganga River ecosystems.
• Creating river-front development: 68 Ghats/Crematoria projects for construction, modernization, and renovation of 267 Ghats/Crematoria and Kunds/Ponds have been initiated.
• River surface cleaning: River Surface cleaning for collection of floating solid waste from the surface of the ghats and river and its disposal are afoot and pushed into service at 11 locations.
• Afforestation: The process involves enhancement of productivity and diversity of the forests in head water areas and all along the river and its tributaries.
• Ganga gram: Ministry of Drinking Water and Sanitation identified 1674 Gram Panchayats situated on the bank of River Ganga in 5 States (Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand, West Bengal).

Challenges of the mission:

• Sludge control: While the containment of human waste has be largely achieved by Swachh Bharat Mission (SBM) through construction of toilet in Ganga grams, its safe disposal still poses a huge challenge.
  • Faecal sludge is a bigger pollutant than sewerage.
• Sewage treatment: Despite initiatives, there are challenges like delay in new projects because of land acquisition and other procedural requirements, poor performance of Sewage treatment plants (STPs) and lack of sewerage network in cities.
  • Industries find it easy to dispose their entire waste in the common drain which carries both domestic as well as industrial waste into the river.
• Restoring the flow: With enough flow, a river acts as self-purifying system. However, the Ganga fails this basic test except during monsoons.
  • Due to restrictions and decrease in flow, the velocity of water decreases and siltation increases and the self-purification capacity decreases.
• Cost overruns: The costs of the programme have increased as a result of delays in multiple projects, and ineffective financial management.
• Governance Issues: The Ganga Action Plans lacked the coordination of various Ministries.
  • Lack of coordination results in faulty execution, delays and cost overruns.

Way Forward:

Therefore, monetization of sludge and treated water is one of the focus areas of Namami Gange Programme under the banner of ‘Arth Ganga’, which means linking people with Ganga through a ‘Bridge of Economics’. A targeted dissemination of information must be done to bring about the desired change. There is a need to create a “generation with cleanliness conscious’ and everything else will automatically fall into place.

Source:  The Hindu

Syllabus

• Mains – GS 3 (Science and Technology)

Context: The Delhi High Court recently permitted two children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) to undergo stem cell therapy.

About stem cell therapy:

• Stem cells are undifferentiated biological cells that can differentiate into specialized cells and can divide to produce more stem cells.
• Treatments or therapies are used stem cells to prevent or treat any disease are known as stem cell therapy.
• Stem cells are grown in the labs, these stem cells are manipulated to specialize into specific types of cells, such as heart muscle cells, blood cells or nerve cells etc.
• Stem cell therapy promotes the reparative treatment of diseased, dead or injured tissue.

Potential applications of Stem cell therapy: The therapy can be used to treat:

• Orthopedic injuries and musculoskeletal problems
• Spinal cord injuries, brain trauma and spinal stenosis
• Cardiovascular diseases, including hypertension, coronary heart disease, stroke and congestive heart failure
• Hair loss and vision impairment
• Diabetes and other pancreatic dysfunctions
• Neurodegenerative diseases such as Parkinson’s, multiple sclerosis and Alzheimer’s

Significance of stem cell therapy:

• medical benefits: It offers a lot of medical benefits in the therapeutic cloning and regenerative medicine.
  • It shows great potential in the treatment of a number of conditions like Parkinson’s disease, spinal cord injuries, Alzheimer’s disease, schizophrenia, cancer, diabetes and many others.
• A better knowledge of human growth: It helps the researchers know more about the growth of human cells and their development.
  • The stem cell research can allow the scientists to test a number of potential medicines and drugs without carrying out any test on animals and humans. The drug can be tested on a population of cells directly.
• Early care and treatment: The stem cell therapy also allows researchers to study the developmental stages that cannot be known directly through the human embryo and can be used in the treatment of a number of birth defects, infertility problems and also pregnancy loss.
  • A higher understanding will allow the treatment of the abnormal development in the human body.
• Reduced risk of rejection: The stem cell therapy puts into use the cells of the patient’s own body and hence the risk of rejection can be reduced because the cells belong to the same human body.

Disadvantages:

• Destruction of blastocysts: The use of the stem cells for research involves the destruction of the blastocysts that are formed from the laboratory fertilization of the human egg.
• Unknown side-effects: Like any other new technology, it is completely unknown what the long-term effects of such an interference with nature could be
• Limitations of adult cells: The disadvantage of adult stem cells is that the cells of a particular origin would generate cells only of that type, like brain cells would generate only brain cells and so on.
• Potential rejection: If the cells used in the therapy are embryonic, then the cells will not be from the same human body and there are chances of rejection.
• Potential use in negative activities: It can be used to create bio-weapons or weapons of mass destruction

Way Forward:

Stem cell therapy is gaining popularity in India to treat a wide variety of medical conditions. considering the fact that therapy is frequently and worldwide offered as a universal human remedy, studies should be focused on continuous monitoring and long-term follow-up of animal research models in order to determine possible pro-tumorigenic and other detrimental effects of therapy.

Source:  Indian Express

Q1) Consider the following pairs:

How many of the above pairs are correctly matched?

1. Only one
2. Only two
3. All three
4. None

Q2) Consider the following statements

Statement-I:

Central Consumer Protection Authority (CCPA) can recall goods or withdrawal services that are “dangerous, hazardous, or unsafe.

Statement-II:

It works under the administrative control of the Ministry of Commerce And Industry.

Which one of the following is correct in respect of the above statements?

1. Both Statement-I and Statement-II are correct and Statement-II is the correct explanation for Statement-I
2. Both Statement-I and Statement-II are correct and Statement-II is not the correct explanation for Statement-I
3. Statement-I is correct but Statement II is incorrect
4. Statement-I is incorrect but Statement II is correct

Q3) Consider the following statements about ‘Pulikkali’:-

1. It is performed on the fourth day of Onam celebrations.
2. It was introduced by Maharaja Rama Varma Sakthan Thampuran.
3. It is a recreational street folk art of Karnataka.

Which one of the following is correct in respect of the above statements?

1. 1 and 2 only
2. 1 only
3. 1,2 and 3
4. 2 and 3 only

Mains Practice Questions

Q.1) What are the main components and objectives of the National Mission to Clean Ganga? What are the challenges and opportunities for its successful implementation? Discuss (250 words)

Q.2) Stem cell therapy is gaining popularity in India to treat a wide variety of medical conditions. Describe briefly what stem cell therapy is and what advantages it has over other treatments? (250 words)

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

ANSWERS FOR ’  4th September 2023 – Daily Practice MCQs’ will be updated along with tomorrow’s Daily Current Affairs.st

Q.1) – b

Q.2) – c

Q.3) – d