CNA 30th April 2021:- Download PDF Here
TABLE OF CONTENTS
A. GS 1 Related B. GS 2 Related HEALTH 1. ‘Childhood vaccinations must not be delayed’ C. GS 3 Related SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY 1. China launches key module for its permanent space station D. GS 4 Related E. Editorials EDUCATION 1. Creating critical thinkers HEALTH 1. To stop a third wave, India has to mask up GOVERNANCE 1. State repression that breaches public peace F. Prelims Facts 1. Opinion Polls and Exit Polls G. Tidbits H. UPSC Prelims Practice Questions I. UPSC Mains Practice Questions
A. GS 1 Related
Nothing here for today!!!
B. GS 2 Related
1. ‘Childhood vaccinations must not be delayed’
Context:
Experts have underlined the importance of vaccines by stating that childhood vaccinations are crucial to ensure the health and well-being of children, and must not be delayed or missed.
Details:
- Vaccination has been the biggest contributor to the health of mankind.
- Vaccination greatly reduces disease, disability, death and inequity worldwide. It has greatly reduced the burden of infectious diseases.
- Primary vaccinations (those given in the first nine months), should not be postponed — the aim is to protect the baby from deadly diseases that can kill them in the first year of life.
Note:
- Hepatitis A is a disease transmitted by contaminated water and affects the liver.
C. GS 3 Related
Category: SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY
1. China launches key module for its permanent space station
Context:
China has launched the main module of its first permanent space station that will host astronauts for the long term.
Details:
- The Tianhe, or the “Heavenly Harmony” module, blasted into space atop a Long March 5B rocket.
- The launch kicks off the first of 11 missions necessary to complete, supply and crew the station by the end of 2022.
- China’s space programme recently brought back the first new lunar samples in more than 40 years and it also expects to land a probe and rover on the surface of Mars shortly.
- The Space Station China is building is called Tiangong which means “Heavenly Space”.
- The size of Tiangong Space Station will be a quarter the size of the International Space Station, and has a lifespan of fifteen years.
- The programme has realised a number of its growing ambitions in recent years.
D. GS 4 Related
Nothing here for today!!!
E. Editorials
The article discusses how the pandemic provides an opportunity to re-imagine educational assessments and evaluations.
Context:
Despite the pandemic unleashing in full force, the issue over holding or postponing board examinations is being debated.
Details:
- While there are valid concerns about the future, which include admissions to higher educational institutions, the possibility of holding exams in person poses a further threat to the lives of people.
- The National Curriculum Framework of 2005 affirms the importance of embracing the emotional, social, physical and intellectual growth of children within a framework of human values.
- Therefore, a question to consider is whether academic performances can continue to be the sole representation of student growth.
- Alternatively, student success can be redefined based on social, emotional and spiritual development benchmarks.
- Raising the quality of educational assessments and evaluations by involving higher educational institutions may even prevent a mass exodus to international universities so that young leaders can be nurtured to engage with underlying national challenges and add value by sustaining the fabric of a diverse and non-stratified India.
Way Forward:
- Virtual educational committees must be organised to rethink approaches to assessing student learning.
- Question papers must be designed in a way that encourages students to critically engage with the material, contest perspectives and build opinions.
- In light of the right to education that affirms the importance of formative assessments, teachers could be invited to engage in evaluating student’s performance across the year.
- If there are concerns around the tendency of schools to self-bolster their performance, reports, portfolios, samples of responses and grades could be shared across a pool of schools so that teachers can anonymously assess and provide insightful feedback on student performance, until a sense of self-accountability and trust can be cultivated.
- Opening up possibilities of evaluating students on their performance through the year will contribute towards making evaluation and learning much more holistic.
- Further, inviting higher educational institutions to facilitate online entrance exams could be another option. Eventually, the goal could be to involve students in self and peer evaluations.
Conclusion:
The pandemic presents an opportunity to redefine meaningful education even though it requires a concerted change across the curriculum in K-12 schools, the entrance criteria determined by higher educational institutions. Viewing this crisis as a signal for urgent change, core issues can be engaged with and re-evaluated to prevent students from being trapped in the current system of cramming, rote learning and anxiety. The government needs to give complete autonomy to educational committees composed of students, teachers, educational leaders, scholars and researchers who can advocate, organise and implement this change nationally and internationally. Re-imagining educational assessments and evaluations, exploring alternatives is the need of the hour.
1. To stop a third wave, India has to mask up
With the slow pace of the government’s vaccination drive, the article talks about other active interventions and measures for the prevention of a third wave of COVID-19 infections.
Waves across the globe:
- The United States and Brazil have had three distinct waves.
- The United Kingdom had a small first wave, after which the virus seemed to be disappearing. This was followed by two explosive waves, which only subsided after a lockdown and an aggressive vaccination campaign in which 95% of all those over the age of 50 have been vaccinated.
- South Africa has also seen two waves.
Given the pattern, a second wave in India was almost a given. And once this wave recedes, it is highly likely that a third wave will build up, unless active measures are taken to stop it from building up. Now is the time to think ahead and find ways to prevent the next wave.
Vaccine as an option for preventing the third wave:
- Vaccines are the best option. However, this might not be the most feasible option to blunt either this or future waves due to:
- The huge population of the country
- The slow pace of vaccination
- Inelastic vaccine supplies both in India and globally
- Limited finances with State governments which have now been given the responsibility of vaccinating the bulk of the country’s population.
Tested methods that work:
- Along with vaccination, it is important to practise the full methods that have been shown to slow the spread of COVID-19 in different parts of the world: wearing a mask, physical distancing, hand hygiene and a ban on mass gatherings.
- While these measures may not be as effective as mass vaccination, but in the absence of vaccines, they are perhaps the only way to reduce community transmission and slow the spread of the virus.
- The near-universal adoption of nonmedical masks when out in public, in combination with complementary public health measures could reduce community spread, provided the measures are sustained.
Conventional wisdom in India has it that wearing a mask only works when it is imposed as a police measure. However, public health measures that work best are those that the people voluntarily adopt, drastically reducing transmission.
Bangladesh shows the way:
- There is evidence from an experimental study in Bangladesh that people will use masks enthusiastically if they are provided free, are comfortable, and accompanied with appropriate instructional material.
- Interventions such as reminders from religious and community leaders and volunteers increased the percentage of people using masks three-fold.
Way Forward:
- Public health measures that work best are those that the public voluntarily adopts because they see it as being in their best interests.
- Communication at the level of communities is the key to getting people to protect themselves this way.
- Imaginative and creative communication campaigns are essential.
- Vaccines are the ultimate solution. But in the meanwhile, it is important to focus on what can be done right now if further disasters are to be prevented.
1. State repression that breaches public peace
Context:
Telangana recently banned 16 organisations by invoking the Telangana Public Security Act, 1992 (TPSA), declaring them as ‘unlawful associations’ and ‘new front organisations of the proscribed Communist Party of India (Maoist)’.
Details:
- However, this was made public three weeks later. The belated public announcement was made at a time when citizens organisations and collectives in the State were trapped in the coils of the pandemic.
Issue:
- The list of organisations banned as unlawful trawls in anyone who is likely to resist or protest on any count by merely dubbing organisations as a front or new front, or as ‘urban guerillas’.
- The reason for the proposed ban is that these activists are moving in urban areas by adopting various guerilla tactics, to wage war against the state.
- Even the reasons for the ban range from waging war to protesting against the Citizenship (Amendment) Act, repealing of UAPA Act, Farm Laws, NRC, etc.
- This omnibus labelling of organisations and so-called crimes in themselves are grounds for challenging the ban.
- The Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act is widely challenged by many as being against every constitutional guarantee.
- Protesting against the UAPA or seeking its repeal cannot in itself be construed as an unlawful activity, as this notification by the Telangana government seems to suggest.
Way forward:
- The ban comes during a surging second wave of COVID-19, in which Telangana has fared poorly.
- The Telangana High Court asserted that the event reflected the failure in governance in the state.
- The timing of this notification merits close scrutiny.
- The attention of the government should be directed at managing the public health crisis and the distress caused to the people at large, demonstrating due diligence in fulfilling its constitutional obligations under Part IV (DPSPs) of the Constitution.
F. Prelims Facts
1. Opinion Polls and Exit Polls
Opinion Polls:
- An opinion poll is an inquiry into public opinion conducted by interviewing a random sample of people before actual Election Day.
Exit Polls:
- An exit poll is a poll of voters taken soon after a voter walks out after casting his or her vote. It is considered an indicator of which party forms the government.
Regulation:
- Restrictions are imposed on exit polls through Section 126(A) in the Representation of the People’s Act, 1951.
- The Election Commission advises electronic and print media not to publish or publicise any article or programme related to the dissemination of results of exit polls during the prohibited period.
- RP Act puts a ban on exit polls from the period between the commencements of the poll until half an hour after the closing of the final phase of the poll.
- However, there are no similar restrictions placed on opinion polls under RPA. But, it cannot be published during the period of Election Silence, i.e, 48 hours before the close of voting.
G. Tidbits
Nothing here for today!!!
H. UPSC Prelims Practice Questions
Q1. Which of the following statements is/are incorrect?
- Election Commission of India forbids publishing results of opinion polls from the date of notification of elections until the end of polling.
- In the case of a multi-phase election, results of exit polls can be published only after the voting is over in each phase.
Select the option from below:
- Only 1
- Only 2
- Both 1 and 2
- Neither 1 nor 2
CHECK ANSWERS:-
Answer: c
Explanation:
- There are no restrictions on publishing the results of opinion polls.
- However, it cannot be published during the period of Election silence, i.e, 48 hours before the close of voting.
- In the case of a multi-phase election, results of exit polls can be published only after the voting is over in the last phase.
Q2. ‘Tianhe’, recently seen in the news, is related to:
- A nasal spray viewed as a potential cure against Covid-19 infection
- Chinese Space program
- Naval Exercise between India & Singapore
- A computer malware
CHECK ANSWERS:-
Answer: b
Explanation:
China has launched the main module of its first permanent space station that will host astronauts for the long term. It is called Tianhe, or the “Heavenly Harmony”.
Q3. Which of the following is/are statutory bodies?
- Competition Commission of India
- NITI Aayog
- National Human Rights Commission
- Special Officer for Linguistic Minorities
Select the correct option from below:
- 1 and 2 only
- 1 and 3 only
- 1, 2 and 3 only
- 1, 3 and 4 only
CHECK ANSWERS:-
Answer: b
Explanation:
- Competition Commission of India and the National Human Rights Commission are both statutory bodies.
- Competition Commission of India is a statutory body of the Government of India responsible for enforcing The Competition Act, 2002 and promoting competition throughout India and preventing activities that have an appreciable adverse effect on competition in India.
- The National Human Rights Commission of India is a Statutory public body responsible for the protection and promotion of human rights.
- The NITI Aayog is a public policy think tank of the Government of India. It is not a statutory body.
- Special Officer for Linguistic Minorities is a constitutional office entrusted with the responsibility of safeguarding the various provisions related to linguistic minorities in India. Article 350 B of the Constitution provides for the appointment of a Special Officer for Linguistic Minorities by the President.
Q4. Which of the following is the duty of the Competition Commission of India?
- Eliminate practices having an adverse effect on competition
- Promote and sustain competition
- Protect the interests of consumers
- Ensure freedom of trade in the markets of India.
Select the correct option from below:
- 1 and 2 only
- 1, 2 and 3 only
- 2, 3 and 4 only
- All of the above
CHECK ANSWERS:-
Answer: d
Explanation:
- Competition Commission of India is a statutory body of the Government of India responsible for enforcing The Competition Act, 2002 and promoting competition throughout India and preventing activities that have an appreciable adverse effect on competition in India.
- It is noted that the mandate of the Commission is to eliminate practices having an adverse effect on competition, promote and sustain competition, protect the interests of consumers and ensure freedom of trade carried on by other participants, in markets in India.
Q5. Amnesty International is: [UPSC 2015]
- an agency of the United Nations to help refugees of civil wars
- a global Human Rights Movement
- a non-governmental voluntary organization to help very poor people
- an inter-governmental agency to cater to medical emergencies in war-ravaged regions
CHECK ANSWERS:-
Answer: b
Explanation:
Amnesty International is a global Human Rights Movement.
I. UPSC Mains Practice Questions
- In the unprecedented pandemic, vaccine development and vaccine administration are time-consuming. Suggest non-vaccine interventions to prevent, monitor and treat Covid-19. (10 marks, 150 Words) [GS-2, Governance]
- Coronavirus presents an opportunity to redefine the future of education by re-assessing our priorities. Discuss how educators and policymakers can bridge the existing gaps and evolve a paradigm shift in learning practices. (15 marks, 250 Words) [GS-2, Education]
Read the previous CNA here.
CNA 30th April 2021:- Download PDF Here
Where should I send my answers for the evaluation??? Please reply to my mail . Because I’m asking my queries here but I don’t know where you are posting the replies. Plz send the reply to my mail. Thank you.
Hi Prabhakar,
We will soon be releasing a dedicated answer-writing platform for the aspirants to submit their answers! Once your answers will be approved, you will be notified in your mail. Thanks. Keep practising answer-writing. All the best.