UPSC 2017: Comprehensive News Analysis - July 14

TABLE OF CONTENT

A. GS1 Related
B. GS2 Related
Polity
1. Tribunal prohibits dumping of waste near Ganga banks
2. From this year, Kannada is compulsory in all schools
3. President’s nod for Bill against social boycott
Health Issues
1. US panel endorses new gene-altering cancer treatment
C. GS3 Related
Economics
1. PM’s task force recommends scrapping 5-yearly job survey
Internal Security And Defense
1. Incentivising financial sector cybersecurity
ENVIRONMENT AND ECOLOGY
1. Four ways to shrink your carbon footprint
D. GS4 Related
E. Concepts-in-News: Related Concepts to Revise/Learn
1. National Green Tribunal
2. Carbon Footprint
F. Bills/Acts/Schemes/Orgs in News
G. Practice Questions for UPSC Prelims Exam

 

Need Expert Guidance on how to prepare for Current Affairs

 

UPSC Current Affairs 2017: News Analysis

 

A. GS1 Related


Nothing here for Today!!!

 
B. GS2 Related


Category: POLITY

1. Tribunal prohibits dumping of waste near Ganga banks

In news:

National Green Tribunal (NGT)

  • Area of 100 metres from the edge of the Ganga between Haridwar and Unnao has been declared a ‘No Development Zone’.
  • Prohibited dumping of waste within 500 metres of the river.
  • An environment compensation of Rs. 50,000 will be imposed on anyone dumping waste in the river.
  • Directed the Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand governments to formulate guidelines for religious activities on the ghats of the Ganga and its tributaries.

Other orders by NGT

  • The authorities concerned should complete projects, including a sewage treatment plant and cleaning of drains, within two years.
  • The Uttar Pradesh government is duty-bound to shift tanneries, within six weeks, from Jajmau in Kanpur to leather parks in Unnao or any other place it considers appropriate
  • All industrial units in the catchment areas of the Ganga should be stopped from indiscriminate groundwater extraction.
  • No in-stream mechanical mining is permitted and even the mining on the floodplain should be semi-mechanical and preferably more manual.

Supervisory panel

  • The court also appointed a supervisory committee, headed by the Secretary of the Water Resources Ministry and comprising IIT professors and officials of the Uttar Pradesh government, to oversee implementation of the directions passed in its verdict.
  • The committee is to submit reports at regular intervals.

2. From this year, Kannada is compulsory in all schools

In news:

  • Karnataka: Students will be taught Kannada in all schools in the State, including private, linguistic minority and Central board schools.
  • Coverage: from Class one.
  • Stringent action, including withdrawal of the no-objection certificate issued by the Education Department, would be initiated in case of non-compliance.
  • Singing Nada Geethe likely to be made mandatory in all schools

3. President’s nod for Bill against social boycott

In News

  • Maharashtra has become the first State in the country to enact a law against social boycott from caste panchayats
  • President has given his nod to implement the Prohibition of Social Boycott Bill in the State

Motive behind the enactment of this law

  • There are growing instances of boycotts of individuals or families by caste panchayats
  • Maharashtra Government was considering to enact a special law for such kind of cases from 2010(Congress at that time)

Provisions of Punishment under the new law

  • The bill makes provision for punishment of up to three years in jail and/or a fine up to Rs. 1 lakh
  • The case has to be fast tracked within six months from the date of filing the charge sheet
  • The fine charged from accused will be partially or fully handed over to the victim

Category: HEALTH ISSUES

1. US panel endorses new gene-altering cancer treatment

In news:

  • A US Food and Drug Administration panel opened a new era in medicine on, unanimously recommending that the agency approve the first-ever treatment that genetically alters a patient’s own cells to fight cancer, transforming them into what scientists call “a living drug” that powerfully bolsters the immune system to shut down the disease.
  • Severe possible side effects — raging fever, crashing blood pressure, lung congestion.

 

C. GS3 Related


Category: ECONOMICS

1. PM’s task force recommends scrapping 5-yearly job survey

In News:

  • The Prime Minister-appointed task force headed by NITI Aayog Vice Chairman Arvind Panagariya, in the report has recommended that traditional Employment-Unemployment Surveys carried out by the National Sample Survey Office (NSSO) every five years be scrapped.

Other measures recommended:

  • A new periodic labour force survey to provide estimates of labour force, employment, unemployment, nature of employment and industry.
  • To get more frequent employment trends data, an urban module of this survey will be updated every quarter.
  • A time use survey should also be conducted at three year intervals to provide data on time spent in various occupations and non-market activities. This survey will collect information on how individuals allocate their time over a specified time period, usually a day or a week.
  • The survey will help track how time spent by households has been changing and measure women’s participation in unpaid work.
  • Centre can tap the GST Network database as a sample frame for a new annual survey of enterprises.

Category: INTERNAL SECURITY AND DEFENSE

1. Incentivising financial sector cybersecurity

Context:

  • Government made public a report by the working group to set up the Computer Emergency Response Team in the Financial Sector (Cert-Fin)
  • RBI released guidelines on customer liability in case of unauthorized electronic banking transactions.

Significance:

  • They represent different aspects of the cybersecurity problem—the technical and the economic framework
  • Push for a less-cash economy is increasing the digital density of India’s financial services space.
  • The cyberattacks getting audacious

 Current issues:

  • New Delhi’s response thus far has focused only on the technical aspects of the problem
  • There is a risk that Cert-Fin will become deadwood given that sectoral regulators RBI, SEBI and IRDA are already working on cybersecurity issues.
  • So proper coordination across the sector is necessary.
  • Companies and institutions will rarely expend the resources necessary for the collective security needed to protect the sector, until the right economic incentives are found.

No cybersecurity architecture can be foolproof .Why?

  • In case of a complex system, attackers will always have the edge over defenders. The number of potential bugs and vulnerable points in any system mean that the mathematical odds favour the attackers.
  • No code can be perfect enough to compensate for human error.
  • Example:A bank might have robust cybersecurity architecture, but it will still be vulnerable if the systems of other networks that carry pertinent information are not secure.
  • In software industry, the more people use a particular software, the more valuable it becomes- has led to a “release first, patch later” approach

Guideline on Burden of proof. What it is?

  • In case of ATM frauds, in US, burden of proof lay with the banks, fared much better than Britain, Norway and the Netherlands, where burden of proof lay with the customer.
  • The RBI’s guidelines on customer liability are welcome in this context.

Way forward

  • Data breach disclosure norms, with penalties for failing to do so, are important;
  • Incentivise financial institutions to swiftly report cyberattacks instead of keeping mum to avoid reputation loss, regulatory intervention and liability. Many countries have such norms, but India does not.
  • Address the issues such as regulatory burden and the negative effects of heavy-handed liability laws.

Category: ENVIRONMENT AND ECOLOGY

1. Four ways to shrink your carbon footprint

Context: Researchers in Sweden have identified the top four things people can do to reduce their carbon footprint, but warned these steps are rarely promoted in the public sphere.

Four Actions

Four actions that could result in substantial decreases in an individual’s carbon footprint are: eating a plant-based diet, avoiding air travel, living car-free, and having smaller families.

  • A plant-based diet -While eating plant-based diet saves 0.8 tons of CO2 equivalent a year.
  • No airplanes-Avoiding airplane travel saves about 1.6 tons of CO2 equivalent per trip.
  • Living car-free -Saves about 2.4 tons of CO2 equivalent per year.
  • Smaller families-One less child saves an average of 58.6 tons of CO2-equivalent emission reductions per year, the report said.
  • Commonly promoted government strategies included changing light bulbs and comprehensive recycling but researchers said these steps are respectively eight and four times less effective than a plant-based diet.

 

D. GS4 Related


Nothing here for Today!!!

 

PIB Articles                           

 

E. Concepts-in-News: Related Concepts to Revise/Learn


  1. National Green Tribunal
  2. Carbon Footprint
 

 

F. Bills/Acts/Schemes/Orgs in News


Nothing here for Today!!!

 

G. Practice Questions for UPSC Prelims Exam


Question 1: Consider the following statements:
  1. Deputy Speaker and Speaker may resign by writing to each other
  2. Attorney General and Solicitor General may resign by writing to each other

Which among the above statements is / are correct?

  1. Only 1
  2. Only 2
  3. Both 1 & 2
  4. Neither 1 nor 2
See
Answer


(a)

Topic: Polity
Level: Easy

Explanation:

The second statement is incorrect. Attorney General holds the office during the pleasure of the president, while solicitor general is appointed and removed by central government.

Question 2: Sargasso Sea is characterized by ________.
  1. Very cold water
  2. Very warm water
  3. Highly saline water
  4. Typical marine vegetation
See
Answer


 (d)

Topic: Geography
Level: Moderate

Explanation:

  • The Sargasso Sea is a region of the North Atlantic Ocean bounded by four currents forming an ocean gyre.Unlike all other regions called seas, it has no land boundaries. It is distinguished from other parts of the Atlantic Ocean by its characteristic brown Sargassum seaweed and often calm blue water.
  • The sea is bounded on the west by the Gulf Stream, on the north by the North Atlantic Current, on the east by the Canary Current, and on the south by the North Atlantic Equatorial Current, a clockwise-circulating system of ocean currents termed the North Atlantic Gyre.
  • It lies between 70º and 40º W, and 20º to 35º N, and is approximately 1,100 km wide by 3,200 km long (700 by 2,000 statute miles).[5][6] Bermuda is near the western fringes of the sea.
  • All the currents deposit the marine plants and refuse they carry into this sea, yet the ocean water in the Sargasso Sea is distinctive for its deep blue color and exceptional clarity, with underwater visibility of up to 61 m (200 ft).It is also a body of water that has captured the public imagination, and so is seen in a wide variety of literary and artistic works and in popular culture.
Question 3: Which among the following depicts the correct meaning of the term Jins-i-kamil 
concerning crops in Mughal India?
  1. Paddy Crop
  2. Cash Crop
  3. Coarse Crop
  4. Crop grown in Arid region
See
Answer


(b)

Topic: History
Level: Difficult

Explanation:

  • Cash crops like cotton and Sugarcane were known as Jins-i-Kamil or Jins-i-Ala. Cotton was produced mostly in Khandesh and Bengal.

Question 4: Arsenic present in groundwater can be partially removed ________.
  1. Along with removal of iron by precipitation/ coagulation method if iron is also present in the water
  2. On boiling even if iron is absent in the water
  3. On UV-treatment
  4. On filtration even if iron is absent in the water
See
Answer


(a)

Topic: General Science
Level: Difficult

Explanation:

The presence of elevated levels of arsenic in groundwater has become a major concern around the world, especially in South Asia. Up to date, there is no effective treatment for curing health impacts due to the intake of high levels of arsenic. A wide range of technologies has been developed for the removal of high concentrations of arsenic from drinking water. The most common arsenic removal technologies use oxidation, coagulation, precipitation adsorption, ion exchange and membrane techniques. Other potential approaches would include phytoremediation or the use of bacteria, which can play an important role in catalysing biological arsenic removal processes. All the arsenic treatment technologies ultimately concentrate arsenic in the sorption media, the residual sludge or in a liquid media. To avoid indiscriminate disposal and environmental pollution, these wastes need to be treated or disposed of properly.

Question 5: Akbar’s Ibadat Khana was the place where _______.
  1. Military strategy was decided
  2. Inter-faith debates and discussion were held
  3. Akbar preached his principles of Sulh-i-kul
  4. Fine arts were practiced
See
Answer


(b)

Topic: Art and Culture
Level: Moderate

Explanation:

The Ibādat Khāna was a meeting house built in 1575 CE by the Mughal Emperor Akbar (r. 1556–1605) at Fatehpur Sikri to gather spiritual leaders of different religious grounds so as to conduct a discussion on the teachings of the respective religious leaders.

 

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