03 Apr 2023: UPSC Exam Comprehensive News Analysis

CNA 03 April 2023:- Download PDF Here

TABLE OF CONTENTS

A. GS 1 Related
B. GS 2 Related
C. GS 3 Related
SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY
1. The Bharat 6G vision document
D. GS 4 Related
E. Editorials
INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS
1. No ‘sayonara’ for Japan in Indo-Pacific geopolitics
F. Prelims Facts
1. ISRO’s Reusable Launch Vehicle
2. In a first, Eravikulam National Park gets a fernarium
G. Tidbits
1. Foreign Trade Policy brings ‘strategic and economic interests’ into trade transit ties
2. Govt. to expand definition of ‘political risk’ under export guarantee scheme
3. Over ₹6,800 crore spent in 5 years on cleaning Yamuna
H. UPSC Prelims Practice Questions
I. UPSC Mains Practice Questions
FIP Magazine

F. Prelims Facts

1. ISRO’s Reusable Launch Vehicle

Syllabus: GS 3; Science and Technology; Awareness in the fields of Space

Prelims: About Reusable Launch Vehicle 

Context

The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) carried out the landing experiment of the Reusable Launch Vehicle-Technology Demonstration (RLV-TD) programme successfully in Chitradurga, Karnataka.

ISRO’s Reusable Launch Vehicle

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Image Source: The Hindu

  • According to ISRO, the Reusable Launch Vehicle-Technology Demonstration (RLV-TD) programme is part of a series of experiments to develop essential technologies for a fully reusable launch vehicle to enable low-cost access to space.
  • The RLV-TD experiments are used to develop technologies such as hypersonic flight (HEX), autonomous landing (LEX), return flight experiment (REX), powered cruise flight, and Scramjet Propulsion Experiment (SPEX).
  • ISRO aims to develop this vehicle to become India’s reusable two-stage orbital (TSTO) launch vehicle.
  • ISRO’s RLV-TD looks similar to an aircraft with a fuselage, a nose cap, double delta wings, and twin vertical tails.
  • In 2016, an experiment was conducted that involved sending a winged spacecraft on a rocket powered by a conventional solid booster (HS9) engine used by ISRO into space. 
    • The spacecraft had traveled at a speed of Mach 5 when re-entering the earth’s orbit.
  • Advantages of Reusable Launch Vehicle: a reusable launch vehicle is a low-cost, reliable, and on-demand mode of accessing space.

Read more – Reusable Launch Vehicle – Technology Demonstrator (RLV – TD)

About Chinook Helicopters

  • A Chinook Helicopter of the Indian Air Force (IAF) was used to lift the Reusable Launch Vehicle Autonomous Landing Mission (RLV LEX) to a height of 4.5 km and release the RLV.
  • Chinook is an advanced multi-mission helicopter of the IAF.
  • Chinook Helicopters are developed by the US-based Boeing company.
    • In 2020, Boeing completed the delivery of 15 ChinookHelicopters to the IAF.
  • Chinook Helicopters are being used for various strategic, combat and humanitarian missions.

Know more about – Chinook Helicopters

2. In a first, Eravikulam National Park gets a fernarium

Syllabus: GS 3; Environment; Coservation

Prelims: About Eravikulam National Park

Context

The Eravikulam National Park will have a fernarium set up inside the park.

Details

  • The Eravikulam National Park is located along the Western Ghats in the Idukki and Ernakulam districts of Kerala.
  • The Eravikulam National Park is known as the natural habitat of the Nilgiri tahr in Munnar.
  • The national park will now have a fernarium set up inside the park.
    • As per the reports, this is the first time a fern collection is being set up in the hill station.
  • Close to 52 varieties of ferns have already been planted in the new fernarium.
  • Ferns are a part of the Epiphytic family.
    • i.e. Ferns grow naturally in soilless conditions and such plants get water and other nutrients through leaching from trees. 
    • A large number of ferns are found on the trees inside the national park
  • The Eravikulam National Park is said to be one of the rich biodiversity areas in the country, and the new initiative aims to provide visitors with awareness of the park’s biodiversity.

G. Tidbits

1. Foreign Trade Policy brings ‘strategic and economic interests’ into trade transit ties

  • In line with India’s strategic and economic interests, the new Foreign Trade Policy (FTP) has introduced additional provisions to allow trade transit for adjacent countries.
    • This marks a significant shift in the country’s stance on allowing the transit of goods in and out of neighbouring countries.
  • The Union Commerce and Industry Minister released the new policy which indicates the changed language in provisions pertaining to transit facilities and a subtle shift in the stance on trade with neighbouring countries
    • These new provisions in the new policy could potentially unnerve some land-locked countries such as Nepal and Bhutan neighbouring India that depend on goods transit through India.
  • According to the Foreign Trade Policy 2015-20, which was applicable till recently, the transit of goods through India from/or to countries adjacent to India would be regulated in accordance with bilateral treaties between India and those countries and will be subject to such restrictions as may be specified by Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT) in accordance with international conventions.
    • However, according to the new policy document, such transit of goods will now be enabled and regulated in accordance with strategic and economic interests of India along with the bilateral treaties between India and those countries.
  • Trade experts believe that the implications of using such provisions must be weighed in light of India’s commitments at the World Trade Organisation (WTO).
    • Freedom of transit to landlocked countries is guaranteed under Article V of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT).
    • Further, the WTO Agreement on Trade Facilitation of which India is a party also states that “regulations in connection with traffic in transit imposed by Member shall not be applied in a manner that would constitute a disguised restriction’ on traffic in transit”.

Also read – Sansad TV Perspective: Foreign Trade Policy 2023

2. Govt. to expand definition of ‘political risk’ under export guarantee scheme

  • As per the new Foreign Trade Policy (FTP), exporters would be able to get insurance cover for losses suffered on account of countries’ sudden imposition of barriers to trade.
    • Further, the new FTP also envisages the formation of a “whole of government” ministerial panel to address the grievances of small exporters.
  • The government will expand the definition of “political risk” under the export guarantee scheme to cover any fresh imposition of non-tariff barriers by importing nations after a shipment has left Indian shores.
    • The Export Credit Guarantee Corporation (ECGC) compensates the exporters for losses when buyers turn insolvent or default on payments, political risks such as war and sudden import restrictions or promulgations of laws or decrees, but does not cover anti-dumping steps or non-tariff barriers.
    • However, a few anti-dumping measures or non-tariff barriers introduced after a shipment has been made, will now come under the purview of “political risk”.
  • The new FTP also talks about establishing an inter-ministerial committee to look into micro, small and medium enterprises’ (MSME) trade-related grievances.

3. Over ₹6,800 crore spent in 5 years on cleaning Yamuna

  • According to the Environment Department, Delhi, about ₹6,856.91 crores was spent between 2017 to 2021, to clean the Delhi stretch of river Yamuna.
  • Despite the efforts, the Delhi Pollution Control Committee (DPCC) reports note that most of this stretch remains polluted for nearly the entire year and is not even fit for bathing. 
    • According to DPCC’s February report, the faecal coliform (microbes from human and animal excreta) found in the river was beyond the “desirable level” at all points except for Palla, where the river enters Delhi. 
    • Further, the faecal coliform level was seen to be as high as 500 times the desirable level at the point where the river exits the city.
  • Although only about 2% of the 1,400-km-long Yamuna flows between Wazirabad and Okhla in Delhi, it accounts for over 76% of the pollution load of the river.
  • In 2020, in the run up to the Assembly election, the Chief Minister of Delhi had announced a 10-point guarantee card and said that the Yamuna river will be cleaned and made pollution-free. 
  • According to the convener of the Yamuna Jiye Abhiyaan, a civil society initiative for the river’s rejuvenation, the rejuvenation of the Yamuna depends on three things namely:
    • A single agency must be responsible for the rejuvenation to ensure accountability. 
    • Prioritising efforts to increase the natural flow of the river.
    • Protecting and cleaning the floodplains of the river and not allowing any developmental work.

H. UPSC Prelims Practice Questions

Q1. Which of the following statements is/are correct with respect to Adeno-associated
virus 2 (AAV2)? (Level – Difficult)
  1. It is a group of viruses called Dependoparvovirus which infects both humans and some primates.
  2. AAV2 in order to infect the host, requires another virus to also be infecting the host at the same time.

Options:

  1. 1 only
  2. 2 only
  3. Both
  4. None
CHECK ANSWERS:-

Answer: c

Explanation:

  • Statement 1 is correct, Adeno-associated viruses 2 (AAV2) belong to the family Parvoviridae, genus Dependovirus which infects both humans and some primates.
  • Statement 2 is correct, AAV2 belongs to the parvovirus family and is dependent on co-infection with other viruses, mainly adenoviruses, in order to replicate. 
Q2. Which of the following are the Quantitative tools used by Reserve Bank of India 
(RBI) to control the money supply? (Level – Easy)
  1. Margin requirements
  2. Rationing of credit
  3. Open Market Operations
  4. Cash Reserve Ratio

Options:

  1. 1 and 3 only
  2. 3 and 4 only
  3. 1, 2 and 4 only
  4. 1, 2 and 3 only
CHECK ANSWERS:-

Answer: b

Explanation:

  • The RBI controls the money supply in the economy through quantitative and qualitative tools. 
  • Under Quantitative measures money supply is controlled through tools like Cash Reserve Ratio (CRR), or bank rate or open market operations.
  • Qualitative or selective methods of credit control include regulation of margin requirement, credit rationing, regulation of consumer credit, direct action, etc.
Q3. Consider the following Pairs: (Level – Difficult)

     National Park/Wildlife Sanctuary                     State/UT

  1. Asola Bhatti Wildlife Sanctuary                            Delhi
  2. Chinnar Wildlife Sanctuary                                   Tamil Nadu
  3. Kolleru Wildlife Sanctuary                                    Telangana
  4. Melghat Wildlife Sanctuary                                  Madhya Pradesh

How many pairs given above are correctly matched?

  1. Only one pair
  2. Only two pairs
  3. Only three pairs
  4. All four pairs
CHECK ANSWERS:-

Answer: a

Explanation:

  • Pair 1 is correct, Asola-Bhati Wildlife Sanctuary is located on the Southern Delhi Ridge of Aravalli hill range on Delhi-Haryana border lies in Southern Delhi and northern parts of Faridabad and Gurugram districts of Haryana state.
  • Pair 2 is not correct, Chinnar Wildlife Sanctuary is located in the Devikulam taluk in the Idukki district of Kerala.
  • Pair 3 is not correct, Kolleru Wildlife Sanctuary is located in Andhra Pradesh
  • Pair 4 is not correct, Melghat Wildlife Sanctuary is located in the northern part of Amravati District of Maharashtra. 
Q4. What of the following differences between El Nino and La Nina is/are correct? 
(Level – Easy)
  1. El Niño events are associated with a warming of the central and eastern tropical Pacific, while La Niña events are the reverse, with a sustained cooling of these same areas.
  2. El Niño means lesser than average rains for India, but La Niña has no effect on monsoon climate.

Options:

  1. 1 only
  2. 2 only
  3. Both
  4. None
CHECK ANSWERS:-

Answer: a

Explanation:

  • Statement 1 is correct, El Niño events are associated with a warming of the central and eastern tropical Pacific, while La Niña events are the reverse, with a sustained cooling of these same areas.
  • Statement 2 is not correct, Indian context, El Niño means lesser than average rains for India and La Niña is associated with good rainfall during the monsoon season. 
Q5. Who among the following wrote the poem, Subh-e Azadi ?(Level–Difficult)[PYQ-2008]
  1. Sahir Ludhiyani
  2. Faiz Ahmed Faiz
  3. Muhammad Iqbal
  4. Maulana Abul Kalam Azad
CHECK ANSWERS:-

Answer: b

Explanation:

  • Subh-e Azadi is an Urdu language poem written by Faiz Ahmed Faiz in 1947.
  • Faiz Ahmed Faiz in his poem Subh-e Azadi expressed anguish and displeasure about the “Partition of India”.

I. UPSC Mains Practice Questions

  1. Discuss the challenges and opportunities that 6G technology holds for India. (10 marks, 150 words) [GS-3; Science and Technology]
  2. “India’s New Foreign Trade Policy is more pragmatic than idealistic”. Comment. (10 marks, 150 words) [GS-2; International Relations]

Read the previous CNA here.

CNA 03 April 2023:- Download PDF Here

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