Table of Contents:
A. GS1 Related:
HISTORY
SOCIAL ISSUES
1. IITs earmark 14% special quota for girls from 2018
B. GS2 Related:
POLITY
1. Pneumonia vaccine for kids to be launched by April-end
2. Centre to promote use of technical textiles
C. GS3 Related:
ECONOMICS
1. Agri reforms soon to augment farm income
D. GS4 Related:
E. Concepts-in-News: Related Concepts to Revise/Learn
F. BILLS/ACTS/SCHEMES/ORGS IN NEWS
G. Practice Questions for Prelims
H. Archives
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Useful News Articles for UPSC Current Affairs
A. GS1 Related
Category: HISTORY
1. Farmers were being exploited and oppressed in different ways under Khurki and Teenkathiya systems, says Shri Radha Mohan Singh
What’s in news?
- Farmers were being exploited and oppressed in different ways by Neeley Britishers under Khurki and Teenkathiya systems.Neeley word which symbolizes indigo.
- Under Khurki system, the British planters used to pay some money to the farmers (Raiyyat) by mortgaging their lands and houses and compelling them to sow indigo. The Neeley Britishers had confiscated more than one lakh crore fertile lands and set up their kothis(houses )there.
- “Teen Kahitya” system- established by Britishers and the Jamindaaras, under which teen katha land out of one bigha was reserved for indigo (Neel) farming. The farmers had to bear the cost of indigo farming and the British planters used to keep the yields without compensating the farmers.
- Farmers exploitation: Not only this, they were even exploited through the various taxes levied on them. Thousands of landless labourers and poor farmers were forced to sow indigo instead of other crops. The farmers were forced to pay several taxes while delivering indigo into the factories such as Bapahi-Putahi, Marvah and Sagaura. Despite taxes, the factories used to play very low prices for the indigo and the farmers were never paid their dues in time.
- Gandhiji made farmers exploitation a part of freedom movement and inspired the farmers to revolt against British. Gandhiji’s Satyagraha moment helped in abolishing indigo farming and after that farmers started growing sugarcane and paddy in their fields.
Category: SOCIAL ISSUES
1. IITs earmark 14% special quota for girls from 2018
What’s in news?
- The Indian Institutes of Technology have decided to admit more women from the 2018 academic session.
- The decision was taken at the Joint Admission Board (JAB) of the IITs. The board approved a quota of supernumerary (over and above the actual intake) seats for women in a phased manner, reaching up to 20% by 2026.
- The committee has also recommended long-term measures to be taken at the school level so that more girls take JEE (Advanced). There has been a two percentage point dip in the number of girls who cleared JEE (Advanced) in 2016 as compared to 2015.
The 20% supernumerary seats
- Will be filled by women candidates who have qualified Joint Engineering Entrance (Advanced)
- And also they should be in the top 20 percentile in their respective board exams
Why?
- To address the decline of women candidates at the premier engineering institutions of the country.
Key fact:
- Around 8.8% women were admitted to IITs in 2014, and the figure went up to 9% in 2015, but in 2016 it came down to 8%.
- At present only 8% of IIT students are women. The IIMs too witnessed a three-year low of gender diversity in 2016 despite ongoing efforts
B. GS2 Related
Category: POLITY
1. Pneumonia vaccine for kids to be launched by April-end
Category: POLITY
1. Pneumonia vaccine for kids to be launched by April-end
What’s in news?
- Pneumococcal conjugate vaccine (PCV),a new vaccine under the universal immunisation programme (UIP) is being launched by Health ministry by the end of April.
- Main aim– major push to immunization efforts of government and to bring down child deaths caused by pneumonia.
- In first phase we will introduce it in Himachal Pradesh and parts of Bihar and Uttar Pradesh.
Key Facts
- Pneumonia along with diarrhoea are among the major killers of children under-5 years of age.
- India accounting for the highest number of deaths from these illnesses in the world.
- In 2016, nearly 3 lakh
children died from pneumonia and diarrhoea. - Pneumonia alone accounts for 18-19% of deaths of children under-5 years of age. While 25% of these deaths are caused by Hib pneumonia— addressed by pentavalent vaccine already under UIP—50% of the pneumonia related deaths are from pneumococcal pneumonia.PCV vaccine is going to target pneumococcal pneumonia.
- In 2016, the health ministry had introduced the rotavirus vaccine targeting diarrhoea under the UIP in four states — Himachal Pradesh, Haryana, Andhra Pradesh and Odisha. The reach of the vaccine was expanded to cover five more states — Assam, Tripura, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Tamil Nadu.
- PCV will be the third major vaccine introduced by the government in last two years to bring down India’s infant mortality rate (IMR) currently pegged at 41 deaths per 1,000
- Apart from rotavirus in 2016, it also introduced injectable polio vaccine (IPV) in 2015.
- The government has also significantly ramped up consolidated coverage through Mission Indradhanush, launched in 2015, to fully vaccinate 90 lakh children under its immunisation programme.
- Following Mission Indradhanush, the coverage of UIP has jumped.
- 75% of children below 12 months of age are fully immunised as of now, as compared to around 65% in 2013.
2. Centre to promote use of technical textiles
What is a technical textile?
- A technical textile is a textile product manufactured for non-aesthetic purposes, where function is the primary criterion.
- Technical textiles or a functional textile, considered a sunrise sector in the country, is all set for demand taking off for products such as geo and agro textiles.
Applications
- Technical textiles can be used in infastructure projects, including ports, roads, and railways, and in sectors such as agriculture.
- Geo textiles, for example, are permeable fabrics that are used in association with soil and which have the ability to separate and filter, while agro-textiles are used in shading and in weed and insect control.
- Functional textiles can be woven or non-woven. Automobile, geo, medical, industrial, and agro textiles are among the range of products that are made in the country.
Present scenario of Technical textile industry in India
- The technical textiles sector had a compounded annual growth rate of 12% for the last three years. It is expected to grow by 20 % the next five years.
- China is a generation ahead in production of technical textiles. But, their costs are going up and this is an opportunity for India
Challenges
- Awareness among consumers
- Need for technology and knowledge about it among entrepreneurs.
- Investments and time needed to be innovative and develop applications, and raw material availability.
C. GS3 Related
Category: ECONOMICS
1. Agri reforms soon to augment farm income
What’s in news?
- The agriculture ministry in consultation with the Niti Aayog has identified a set of nine marketing reforms .
- These reforms are intended to ensure remunerative prices to farmers for their produce by reducing intervention of middlemen.
- The measures are considered to be one of the key steps in doubling farmers’ income by 2022.
Areas of focus:
- Integration of market to e-NAM (national agriculture market) within the shortest possible time,
- Exempting trees grown by farmers on private land from felling and transit regulation
- Unified trading license and
- A single point levy of market fee
- Setting up of agriculture markets in the private sector.
States are expected to incorporate these reform measures in their respective Agriculture Produce Marketing Committee (APMC) Acts.
D. GS4 Related
Nothing here for Today
PIB Articles Editorials Roundup
E. Concepts-in-News: Related Concepts to Revise/Learn
Prelims worthy Factual Information
1. Egyptian vultures (Neophron percnopterus) are also called white scavenger vulture or pharaoh’s chicken and are the smallest among all vultures. They are a globally endangered species on the IUCN Red List.
F. BILLS/ACTS/SCHEMES/ORGS IN NEWS
| BILLS/ACTS/SCHEMES/ORGANISATIONS IN NEWS | About the Article |
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Mission Indradhanush
|
Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MOHFW) has launched Mission Indradhanush on 25th December 2014. Salient Features
|
G. Practice Questions for UPSC Prelims Exam
Question 1: Identify the correct statement with reference to Khurki system.
- It is a irrigation system adopted in South Asia
- It is a system of land revenue adopted by Mughals
- It is a system used by the British planters to compel the farmers to sow indigo.
- None of the above
Question 2: Recently Health Ministry of Government of India, introduced
new vaccine - Pneumococcal conjugate vaccine. This particular vaccine is
used to treat
- Hib pneumonia
- Pneumococcal pneumonia
- Diarrhoea
- Polio
Question 3: Which amog the following vaccines come under Penatavalent
vaccine?
- Diphtheria, Pertussis or whooping cough, tetanus, Hepatitis B and Hib vaccines.
- diphtheria, Pertussis/whooping cough ,polio), Hepatitis B and Hib vaccines.
- diphtheria, Pertussis/whooping cough and tetanus), Hepatitis C and Hib vaccines.
- diphtheria, Pertussis/whooping cough and tetanus), Hepatitis A and Hib vaccines.
Question 4: Consider the following statement with reference to Egyptian
vultures, which was in news recently:
- It is the largest among all the vultures.
- It is an endangered species as per IUCN’s Red data book.
- It is also called as white scavengers
Choose the correct answer
- 1 only
- 1 and 3 only
- 2 and 3 only
- All are correct
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H. Archives
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