10 Aug 2019: UPSC Exam Comprehensive News Analysis

August 10th, 2019 CNA:-Download PDF Here

TABLE OF CONTENTS

A.GS1 Related
ART AND CULTURE
1. Traditional techniques stare at extinction
B.GS2 Related
POLITY AND GOVERNANCE
1. ‘Centre will not touch Article 371F’
2. Supreme Court upholds law empowering homebuyers
3. President gives assent to UAPA Bill
HEALTH
1. Every child to get Rotavirus vaccine
C.GS3 Related
ECONOMY
1. Public sector banks link lending, repo rates
ENVIRONMENT AND ECOLOGY
1. IIT-H, Harvard varsity study mercury accumulation in fish
D. GS4 Related
E. Editorials
POLITY
1. RTI under Threat?
2. Taking on the mob: On Rajasthan law against mob lynching
SOCIETY
1. Extraordinary Troubles of the Women Workers of Marathwada
INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS
1. Kulbhushan Jadhav Case – India’s Demands Remain
F. Tidbits
1. CSCs target one lakh EV charging stations
G. Prelims Facts
1. International Day of World’s Indigenous Peoples/ World Adivasi Day
H. UPSC Prelims Practice Questions
I. UPSC Mains Practice Questions

A. GS1 Related

Category: ART AND CULTURE

1. Traditional techniques stare at extinction

Issues:

  • Elementary technologies such as Tanyeishang and traditional way of salt making are getting wiped out from the collective societal base owing to mechanisation and low demand.
  • Traditional technique of timekeeping – Tanyeishang, followed by the Manipuri rulers stare at extinction as the mechanical clock has given way to a much simpler, convenient and economical alternative.

Tanyeishang:

  • Tanyeishang is the timekeeping method practised by Manipuri rulers.
  • From time immemorial Meetei kings maintained Tanyeishang (department of timekeepers) to calculate and measure time accurately.
  • One day was calculated using 64 punglups (hour).
  • A separate office called Tanyeishang was instituted under the patron of the Maharaja.
  • Persons who were assigned to look after Tanyeishang were known as Tanyeiba.
  • Goddess Yangdoubi and God Yangdouba that had been installed in the Tanyeisang were placed under the sacred canopies and venerated as the presiding deity of the time.
  • Three Tanyeibas from each of the Meitei clans were entrusted to look after the work in different shifts and intervals.
  • The timekeeping devices kept inside Tanyeishang includes wooden image of Yangdoubi and Yangdouba, eight number of Kangkhil(seeds of a woody climber nearly circular in nature),Walong (large earthen vessel), Tengkot (earthen bowl), Cheigap (tounge) and aTanyeipung with Tanyei Chei (single membraned drum with beating sticks).
  • Patronised by the rulers of Manipur and practised in palaces for centuries, the demanding method is now confined to the Meitei New Year celebration in April.
  • The setting of its devices — an earthen vessel, two pots, a frame and a drum — has merely become a place of worship in Imphal East district.
  • The Manipur State Museum has exhibited this timekeeping devices in the gallery highlighting the importance of Tanyeishang and the age-old indigenous knowledge system of the Meitei people.

Traditional Method of making salt:

  • A unique way of making salt by boiling saline water extracted from a tree trunk for three-four hours, later scooping out salty froth and drying it over a cloth has lost its lustre because packaged iodised salt sells for lesser than the traditionally made salt.
  • It is found that people buy it only on rare occasions like marriages and rituals.

B. GS2 Related

Category: POLITY AND GOVERNANCE

1. ‘Centre will not touch Article 371F’

Context:

There has been a sense of unease among the people of Sikkim ever since the news of abrogation of special status to Jammu and Kashmir came. The Chief Minister of Sikkim Prem Singh Tamang has assured the people that the Centre will not interfere with Article 371F which provides special status to the State.

Details:

  • The Chief Minister’s remarks came as the Opposition parties in the State sought an assurance about the fate of Article 371F.
  • He also rejected any possibility of merger of Sikkim and Darjeeling hills.

What is Article 371?

  • Article 371 of the Constitution includes “special provisions” for 11 states, including six states of the Northeast.
  • Articles 370 and 371 were part of the Constitution at the time of its commencement on January 26, 1950; Articles 371A through 371J were incorporated subsequently.
  • Most of the states that have been accorded special provisions under Article 371 are in the northeast and the special status aims to preserve their tribal culture.

Article 371 F:

  • Article 371F, incorporated in 1975, states that the Legislative Assembly shall consist of not less than 30 members.
  • The members of the Legislative Assembly of Sikkim shall elect the representative of Sikkim in the House of the People.
  • In order to reflect the diversity of different groups in Sikkim, seats in the assembly are provided to people of these different sections. To protect the rights and interests of various sections of the population of Sikkim, Parliament may provide for the number of seats in the Assembly, which may be filled only by candidates from those sections.
  • There is another provision by which neither the Supreme Court nor any other court shall have jurisdiction in respect of any dispute or other matter arising out of any treaty, agreement, engagement or other similar instrument relating to Sikkim.

2. Supreme Court upholds law empowering homebuyers

Context:

The Supreme Court has upheld a central law which empoweres harassed home buyers to initiate bankruptcy proceedings against errant real estate builders. The SC has approved homebuyers’ status as financial creditors.

Significance:

  • The judgment gains significance as many real estate builders have been under fire for incomplete projects leaving homebuyers in dire straits.
  • The Act had brought the home buyers on par with the creditor banks of the property builder.
  • Prior to the law, the home buyers were often left in the lurch. They were made to wait for a solution to come up, either in the form of a completed apartment or a refund.
  • Before the Amendment Act of 2018 came into existence, the assets of the bankrupt builder were divided among his employees, creditor banks and other operational creditors. Homebuyers had hardly figured, though their money may have provided a major chunk of the housing project.
  • The Amendment Act allows home buyers, as financial creditors, to trigger bankruptcy proceedings under the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code of 2016 and have their rightful place on the Committee of Creditors (CoC).
    • The CoC, by voting, makes important decisions on the future of the bankrupt builder.
    • These calls include what to do with his assets and who should finish the pending housing projects.
  • Now, an aggrieved homebuyer has the option to seek relief under three laws—Rera, Consumer Protection Act and IBC.

Cementing a Right

Details:

  • A three-judge Bench led by Justice Rohinton Nariman confirmed the constitutional validity of the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (Second Amendment) Act of August 2018.
    • The Act gives home buyers the status of “financial creditors” with power to vote in the Committee of Creditors.
  • Dismissing the contentions of the builders that home buyers are already armed with the Real Estate (Regulation and Development) Act (RERA) and adding the Amendment Act to the armoury of the home buyers was not the right decision, the SC asserted that the IBC and the RERA operate in different spheres and can be used harmoniously for the interest of home buyers.
    • The IBC deals with the replacement of the bankrupt builder from the helm of affairs and hit upon a resolution plan to benefit all the stakeholders.
    • The RERA’s purpose is to protect individual homebuyers by requiring the promoter to strictly adhere to the purchase deal and complete the project within a stated period.
  • The court further reasoned that no home buyer would frivolously move the National Company Law Tribunal under the IBC, because ironing out a resolution plan under the IBC is a long-drawn process.
  • The court further directed the Centre to fill up the vacancies in the NCLT and its appellate tribunals so as to deal with the rising number of bankruptcy litigation in the real estate sector.

3. President gives assent to UAPA Bill

Context:

The Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Amendment Bill, 2019 has received President’s assent. The Bill amends the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, 1967.

Details:

  • The Act provides special procedures to deal with terrorist activities, among other things. Provisions of the act include:
  • Who may commit terrorism:Under the Act, the central government may designate an organisation as a terrorist organisation if it:

(i) commits or participates in acts of terrorism,

(ii) prepares for terrorism,

(iii) promotes terrorism, or

(iv) is otherwise involved in terrorism.

It additionally empowers the government to designate individuals as terrorists on the same grounds.

  • Approval for seizure of property by NIA: Under the Act, an investigating officer is required to obtain the prior approval of the Director-General of Police to seize properties that may be connected with terrorism.  If the investigation is conducted by an officer of the National Investigation Agency (NIA), the approval of the Director-General of NIA would be required for seizure of such property.
  • Investigation by NIA: Under the Act, investigation of cases may be conducted by officers of the rank of Deputy Superintendent or Assistant Commissioner of Police or above.  It additionally empowers the officers of the NIA, of the rank of Inspector or above, to investigate cases.
  • Insertion to schedule of treaties: The Act defines terrorist acts to include acts committed within the scope of any of the treaties listed in a schedule to the Act. The Schedule lists nine treaties, including the Convention for the Suppression of Terrorist Bombings (1997), and the Convention against Taking of Hostages (1979).  The International Convention for Suppression of Acts of Nuclear Terrorism (2005) is also added to the list.

Category: HEALTH

1. Every child to get Rotavirus vaccine

Context:

The Union Health Minister has announced that the Health Ministry has drawn an ambitious plan under the 100 days agenda of the newly elected government, wherein it has been decided to provide Rotavirus vaccine to every child across all States and Union Territories by September, 2019.

Concerns:

  • In India, every year, 37 out of every 1,000 children born do not live to celebrate their 5th birthday.
  • One of the major reasons for this is diarrhoeal deaths.
  • Out of all the causes of diarrhoea, Rotavirus is a leading cause of diarrhoea in children less than 5 years of age.

Details:

  • Rotavirus diarrhoea can be prevented through vaccination.
  • Other diarrhoea can be prevented through general measures like good hygiene, frequent hand washing, safe water and safe food consumption, exclusive breastfeeding and vitamin A supplementation.
  • It is found that the Rotavirus vaccine along with proper sanitation, ORS and zinc supplementation will go a long way in reducing the mortality and morbidity due to diarrhoea in children.
  • Rotavirus vaccine was introduced in 2016 in a phased manner, beginning with 4 States initially and later expanded to 7 more States.
  • The vaccine is now available in 28 States/Union Territories.
  • It is expected to be available in all 36 States/Union Territories by September 2019.
  • India is committed to ending morbidity and mortality in children due to diarrhoea by 2022.
  • The Minister further added that the government is also committed to increasing the full immunisation coverage and ensuring that the benefit of the life-saving vaccines is provided to every child.
  • According to the National Family Health Survey 2015-16, the immunisation coverage in India stood at 62 per cent, lagging behind China (90 per cent), Bangladesh (95 per cent) and Sri Lanka (95 per cent).
  • Three doses of the Rotavirus vaccine are provided along with other vaccines, free of cost, under Universal Immunisation Programme at one-and-half-months, two-and-half-months, and three-and-half-months of age.

C. GS3 Related

Category: ECONOMY

1. Public sector banks link lending, repo rates

Category: ENVIRONMENT AND ECOLOGY

1. IIT-H, Harvard varsity study mercury accumulation in fish

Context:

A research, published in the international peer-review journal Nature, has broadly studied how climate change impacts mercury accumulation in fish.

Details:

  • The joint research was carried out by the Indian Institute of Technology, Hyderabad (IIT-H), Harvard University, and Fisheries and Oceans Canada, a Canadian government agency.
  • The study has found that though there has been a decrease in the levels of mercury pollution, the amount of mercury found in fish have been different in different species.
  • There have been global efforts to reduce the amount of mercury entering the ocean to reduce the amount of mercury found in fish and other marine animals.
    • Working in this direction, the researchers focused on whether these and other environmental measures alleviated or exacerbated the problem of increased mercury levels in fish.
    • The researchers used three decades of data on ecosystem and mercury concentrations and developed a model for mercury bio-accumulation.
  • Using this understanding, the researchers also modelled the mercury levels found in the Atlantic BlueFin Tuna (ABFT).
    • There was a decrease in tissue mercury levels in the ABFT between 1990 and 2012, and this was driven by a fall in sea temperature during that period.
    • However, continued warming in the Gulf of Maine would cause a reversal and the amount of mercury in ABFT could increase to almost 30% by 2030.
    • This highlights the importance of sea temperature on mercury accumulation in the marine food chain.

Mercury accumulations in fish:

  • The variations in the accumulation of mercury in fish is the result of changes in sea temperature in the recent years and changes in the dietary pattern of fish due to overfishing.
  • There are three factors that result in mercury accumulation in fish –
    • Overfishing, which leads to dietary changes among marine animals.
    • Variations in the temperature of the sea water, which leads to changes in fish metabolism that gears towards survival rather than growth
    • Changes in the amounts of mercury found in sea water as a result of pollution.

Conclusion:

Although the study was carried out in the Atlantic Ocean, mercury levels in fish in other seas and oceans are likely to have a similar relationship with sea temperature, fishing practices and mercury pollution levels.

D. GS4 Related

Nothing here for today!!!

E. Editorials

Category: POLITY

1. RTI under Threat?

Context:

The amendments made to the RTI Act recently can potentially threaten, the kernel of the Act, the independence of its functionaries.

India as a democracy

  • A system of popular sovereignty founded on universal adult franchise.
  • An assurance grounded on a set of rights given in the Constitution.

Degradation of Democracy?

  • Democracy degrades when it turns purely into enforcement of majoritarian will.
  • Evidence throughout history has shown us that just results do not necessarily follow from a simple guarantee of equal status enshrined in the right to vote.
  • The wealthy and the dominant classes find uncanny ways to ensure the concentration of power.
  • “Democracy May Not Exist, But We’ll Miss It When It’s Gone.” – Astra Taylor

Evolution of the RTI Act:

  • A two decade long battle driven by the unstinting efforts of the Mazdoor Kisan Shakti Sangathan resulted in the enactment of the Right to Information Act (RTI Act) in 2005.
  • It was decided that public authorities need to be mandated by law to make a series of voluntary disclosures on their structure, their functioning, and their financial management.
  • Citizens are also empowered under the RTI Act to seek and obtain any information from public authorities, barring a few exempted categories such as information which might affect the sovereignty of the country or private information which might have a bearing on a person’s right to privacy.
  • The law proved transformative to India’s democracy:
    • It revolutionised the citizen’s ability to engage with the state.
    • It armed people with a mechanism to search out some of the truth from the government’s otherwise secretive operations.

Right to Freedom of Information:

  • RTI Act brings life to the basic right to freedom of information.
  • Although such a right is not enumerated in the Constitution, the Supreme Court has repeatedly affirmed its position as intrinsic to the right to freedom of expression (for example, in People’s Union for Civil Liberties v. Union of India, 2004).
  • Information often acts as a great leveller; it helps anchor democratic action. Therefore, for democracy to be valuable, citizens must possess a right to freely express themselves.
  • It is only when the governance is transparent, the citizens can constructively participate in the veritable marketplace of ideas.

Outcomes of the Act:

  • The Act redesigned the structure of India’s democratic governance.
  • It has helped open the government up to greater scrutiny.
  • A response to a request made under the RTI Act revealed that between 2006 and 2010 more than ₹700 Cr. had been diverted to projects related to the Commonwealth Games, from Delhi’s special component plan for the development of Scheduled Caste communities.
  • An activism based on RTI by Rohini Mohan exposed the horrifying processes of the “Foreigners Tribunal” in Assam.
    • In spite of the fact that only five out of the 100 functioning tribunals replied to the requests for copies of the orders delivered.

Role of CIC and ICs:

  • If the initial request made to a public information officer fails, the petitioner is entitled to lodge an appeal to an authority within the department concerned.
  • If that appeal also fails, a further appeal can be made to the office of the CIC or the State Information Commission.

Recent amendments:

  • The recent amendments have made the kernel of the RTI Act under threat.
  • There was no scrutiny of the draft law by a parliamentary committee.
  • The changes made include an alteration to the term in office of the information commissioners (ICs) and to the manner of determination of their salaries.
  • In place of the existing five-year term accorded to the Central Information Commissioner (CIC) and the various ICs the law grants to the Union government the power to notify their terms through executive regulations.
  • The amendment also deletes the Act’s mandate that the salary paid to the CIC and the ICs ought to be equivalent to that paid respectively to the Chief Election Commissioner and Election Commissioners (ECs).

Issues with the Amendments:

  • Before the amendments, the RTI Act granted an acceptable level of independence to ICs.
    • By placing their terms of service on a par with those of the ECs the law insulated the ICs from political influence.
    • This protection was similar to the autonomy accorded to members of the higher judiciary.
    • It was based on the idea that security in office is imperative if members must intervene without fear or favour to ensure that the law’s mandate is met.
  • The present amendments, far from strengthening the existing regime, subvert the independence of the information commission.
  • With the weakening of that independence, the right to freedom of information also begins to lose its thrust.
  • The new amendments undermines the faith in Democracy.
  • “Democracy demands a leap of faith” – Cornel West

2. Taking on the mob: On Rajasthan law against mob lynching

Context:

Rajasthan’s laws on lynching and honour killing are inevitable responses to rising hate crimes.

Background:

  • Vigilante mobs have unleashed a wave of crimes in the name of cow protection and preventing the sale of beef or transport of cattle.
  • The spread of rumour and attempts to establish sectarian dominance have also contributed to this disturbing phenomenon.
  • The Supreme Court spoke of the “rising intolerance and growing polarisation” related with such crimes, in a judgment last year.

Need for a New Law:

  • According to the State’s Parliamentary Affairs Minister, 86% of mob lynching incidents reported in India after 2014 were in Rajasthan.
  • Even now, lynching and honour killing are plain murders and punishable with death or life imprisonment.
  • Yet, mob lynching and murderous attacks on young couples in the name of preserving family or community honour have emerged as preponderant social evils.

Rajasthan Model:

  • The Protection from Lynching Bill, 2019, makes Rajasthan the second State, after Manipur, to do so.
  • The law closely resembles the Manipur law in the way “lynching” is defined.
    • It covers any act of violence, whether spontaneous or planned, by a mob on the grounds of religion, race, caste, sex, place of birth, language, dietary practices, sexual orientation, political affiliation or ethnicity.
    • Two persons are enough to constitute a ‘mob’.
  • The Bill says that when a mob attack ends in death, it is punishable with life imprisonment and a fine of up to ₹5 lakh.
    • There are lesser terms for causing injuries.
    • The Bill provides for both death and life imprisonment for killing in the name of honour, but it is doubtful if courts will look at all such murders as among the ‘rarest of rare cases’ that warrant the resort to the death penalty.
  • As directed by the Supreme Court, the Bill provides for appointment of a nodal officer to prevent lynching and for district police chiefs to act as coordinators.
  • It ensures compensation to victims and rehabilitation measures for those displaced.

Conclusion:

  • Societal norms and cultural practice can’t be allowed to oppose the progressive law of the land.

Category: SOCIETY

1. Extraordinary Troubles of the Women Workers of Marathwada

Context:

An unusually high rate of hysterectomies or ovary removal surgery has been reported among the women workers of sugarcane fields in the drought-stricken Beed district in Maharashtra’s Marathwada region.

Details:

  • The National Family Health Survey data show that the rate of hysterectomies in Maharashtra is 6%, while the national average is 3.2%.
  • But when it comes to Beed, a 2018 survey of 200 women by Maharashtra State Commission for Women revealed the extent of the problem as around 36% were found to have had undergone hysterectomies.
  • Civil rights organisations allege that the hysterectomy rate in Beed is 14 times more than that for the State or the country.

Background:

  • The region is perennially under a spell of drought and not having many avenues of employment.
  • With frequent droughts and failing crops, many couples prefer to migrate for income generation, even if they have acres of farmland back home.
  • An estimated 5-6 lakh people, including pregnant and lactating women, migrate from Beed to other parts of Maharashtra, and border areas of Karnataka, to work as sugar-cane cutters.
  • Traditionally, a couple is hired by a mukadam (contractor) as a single ‘unit’, known as ek koyta (one sickle). The contractor pays them uchal (a lump sum) in advance, ranging from ₹80,000 to ₹1.2 lakh, for a period of four to six months.
  • When they fail to cut sugar-cane worth the advance paid to them, they are left with no choice but to return the remaining money.
  • Illiteracy, child marriage and early motherhood are rampant in the villages.

Women’s Troubles:

  • Women working in the sugar cane fields spend up to 16 hours cutting and loading the cane crop into trucks during the harvesting months (October to March).
  • As the fields had no toilets, the routine backbreaking work would be daunting on days of menstrual cycle.
  • Many households do have built toilet blocks built under the government’s Swachh Bharat scheme but their members still defecate in the open due to lack of water.
  • Poor hygiene is reflected by the absence of toilets and lack of affordability to buy sanitary pads.
  • Other recurrent gynaecological issues was rampant too.
  • However, taking a leave from work was heavily penalised.
  • Some of whom have been beaten up and even illegally detained in factories when they fail to fulfil the work.
  • The women have the additional work of cooking food for the entire family before she sets out.
  • Children are left behind in temporary shanties near the sugar-cane farms as their parents toil under the sun.

A Painful Solution:

  • Several women workers, many of whom young, chose to undergo hysterectomy or uterus removal surgery, in spite of the fact that the symptoms were more likely due to illness that could be treated through conservative medication.
  • It relieves the woman workers from menstrual cramps and vaginal discharge, but at the cost of back and joint pain, often leading to loss of work days and income.
  • The surgery could also lead to hormonal imbalance, calcium deficiency and constant body aches, etc.
  • Most of the women don’t have medical reports or any papers to show the history of their treatment.
  • The life-altering procedure is otherwise prescribed only for a handful of medical conditions and often performed as a last resort.

Who are the Exploiters?

  • The Maharashtra administration launched an investigation following the reports.
  • Whether the contractors push women to undergo the procedure was also investigated.
  • There was the possibility of a nexus between profit-driven doctors and the contractors.
  • It is also alleged that instead of getting rational treatment in public health-care facilities, the women are pushed towards irrational treatments in the private sector.

Rays of Hope:

  • Right now, all the hospitals are under government scanner. All hysterectomies in the past, especially of women who are under 35, are being scrutinised.
  • The number of hysterectomies has gone down by 50% since the implementation of an SOP (Standard Operating Procedure) for the process.

Category: INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS

1. Kulbhushan Jadhav Case – India’s Demands Remain

Context:

The publication of the International Court of Justice’s award in the Kulbhushan Jadhav case was heralded by both India and Pakistan as a victory to their side; the truth probably lies somewhere in between.

The ICJ Verdict:

  • The award reflected most of the claims held by India.
  • It concurred that Pakistan was guilty of multiple violations of the Vienna Convention on Consular Relations (VCCR):
    • By failing to inform Jadhav of his rights under Article 36 of the treaty.
    • By neglecting to notify India of his arrest without delay.
    • By denying him consular access.
  • However, the ICJ rejected India’s claims on two crucial grounds: fair trial rights and remedy.

International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR)

  • It is a multilateral treaty adopted by the United Nations General Assembly.
  • The covenant commits its parties to respect the civil and political rights of individuals, including the right to life, freedom of religion, freedom of speech, freedom of assembly, electoral rights and rights to due process and a fair trial.
  • The Covenant has 172 parties and six more signatories without ratification.

Vienna Convention on Consular Relations (VCCR)

  • It is an international treaty that defines a framework for consular relations between independent states. It has been ratified by 180 states.
  • A consul normally operates out of an embassy in another country, and performs two functions:
    • Protecting in the host country the interests of their countrymen.
    • Furthering the commercial and economic relations between the two states.
  • The treaty provides for consular immunity.

How India Gained Momentum in the Case?

  • Much of India’s claims were based on the ICCPR.
  • India argued that the Pakistani state had employed an unjust procedure in his trial:
    • By convicting Mr. Jadhav through a military tribunal using video evidence of a confession obtained under coercive circumstances.
    • By denying Indian consular officers the opportunity to arrange for his legal representation.
  • Article 1 of the Optional Protocol to the VCCR:
    • It grants the ICJ compulsory jurisdiction only over disputes arising out of the application or interpretation of the Consular Convention.
    • The unfortunate consequence of this choice was that disputes pertaining to violations of other international law norms, such as the human rights obligations under the ICCPR, were ruled to be outside the remit of the ICJ’s jurisdiction.

Setbacks for India:

  • India’s attempts to have the ICCPR attached to the VCCR, by claiming that the latter was also a human rights treaty was rejected by the ICJ.
  • The ICJ denied India’s prayer to set aside Mr. Jadhav’s conviction by a military tribunal, and for his release.
    • Instead, it ruled that the appropriate remedy would be for Pakistan to carry out an “effective review and reconsideration” of the tribunal’s conviction and sentence.
    • The remedy does little to account for the violation of Mr. Jadhav’s fair trial rights.
    • The review procedure Pakistan opts for might well be one carried out by a military tribunal, and also one that continues to rely on the allegedly-forced video confession.
    • Apart from asserting that the review and reconsideration of Mr. Jadhav’s conviction “must be effective”, the ICJ has offered little guidance on how it must be carried out.

Conclusion:

  • Pakistan shall take all measures to provide for effective review and reconsideration of the earlier verdict given by its military tribunal.
  • India needs to approach ICJ to interpret its judgment as its statute allows parties to approach the court again.

F. Tidbits

1. CSCs target one lakh EV charging stations

  • Common Service Centres (CSCs) , which come under the Ministry of Electronics and IT, plan to open one lakh charging stations for electric vehicles across the country in the next few years, as India plans to transition to such vehicles from the current combustion engine-powered automobiles.
  • This opens up great opportunities for VLEs (village level entrepreneurs).
  • CSC has already started a pilot project in Delhi.
  • These would have facility to charge both lead acid battery as well as lithium-ion ones.

G. Prelims Facts

1. International Day of World’s Indigenous Peoples/ World Adivasi Day

  • The International Day of the World’s Indigenous Peoples is observed on 9 August each year to protect the rights of the world’s indigenous population.
  • This event also recognizes the achievements and contributions that indigenous people make to improve world issues such as environmental protection.
  • It was first pronounced by the United Nations General Assembly in December 1994.
  • The day is observed as the international day of Indigenous people across the world and World Adivasi Day in India, to promote and safeguard the interest, culture, customs and traditions of Indigenous people.
  • There are 370 million indigenous people in the world.
  • In Indian the indigenous people are recognised constitutionally as scheduled tribes under Article 342 and the word ‘scheduled tribe’ is defined in Art 366(25) of the of Indian Constitution.
  • The forums like world tribals day have to be used as platform for intellectual debates, discussions, policy advises, vision and resolutions. There is a need to take up massive awareness creation activities among the tribal to make them realise their development potential.

H. Practice Questions for UPSC Prelims Exam

Q1. “Tanyeishang”, recently seen in news is:

a. A traditional way of salt making practiced in Nagaland
b. A traditional timekeeping method followed by the Manipuri rulers
c. A traditional form of painting practiced by tribes in Assam
d. None of the above

See
Answer

Answer: b

Explanation:

Tanyeishang is the timekeeping method practised by Manipuri rulers. From time immemorial Meetei kings maintained Tanyeishang (department of time keepers) to calculate and measure time accurately. Patronised by the rulers of Manipurs and practised in palaces for centuries, the demanding method is now confined to the Meitei New Year celebration in April.

Q2. The Nilgiri Biosphere Reserve includes which of the following National Parks?
  1. Nagarhole national park
  2. Bandipur national park
  3. Silent Valley national park

Choose the correct option:

a. 1 only
b. 1 and 2 only
c. 2 and 3 only
d. 1, 2 and 3

See
Answer

Answer: d

Explanation:

The Nilgiri Biosphere Reserve includes the Aralam, Mudumalai, Mukurthi, Nagarhole, Bandipur and Silent Valley national parks, as well as the Wayanad and Sathyamangalam wildlife sanctuaries.

 Q3. Consider the following statements:
  1. The source of Krishna River is at Mahabaleshwar in Maharashtra.
  2. The river empties into the Arabian Sea.

Which of the given statement/s is/are incorrect?

a. 1 only
b. 2 only
c. Both 1 and 2
d. Neither 1 nor 2

See
Answer

Answer: b

Explanation:

The Krishna River is the fourth-biggest river in terms of water inflows and river basin area in India, after the Ganga, Godavari and Brahmaputra. The Krishna River originates in the Western Ghats near Mahabaleshwar. It empties into the Bay of Bengal at Hamasaladeevi (near Koduru) in Andhra Pradesh, on the east coast.

Q4. Consider the following statements:
  1. Rotavirus disease is caused by a virus that is highly contagious.
  2. Rotavirus damages the cells that line the small intestine and causes gastroenteritis

Which of the given statement/s is/are correct?

a. 1 only
b. 2 only
c. Both 1 and 2
d. Neither 1 nor 2

See
Answer

Answer: c

Explanation:

Rotavirus is a contagious disease that spreads easily from child to child. Rotavirus is very stable and may remain viable in the environment for months if not disinfected.  It damages the cells that line the small intestine and causes gastroenteritis. In India, every year, 37 out of every 1,000 children born do not live to celebrate their 5th birthday. One of the major reasons for this is diarrhoeal deaths.  Out of all the causes of diarrhoea, Rotavirus is a leading cause of diarrhoea in children less than 5 years of age.

I. UPSC Mains Practice Questions

  1. What is the Green New Deal proposal? Would it be instrumental in bringing about a qualitative difference to the ailing Indian economy? Evaluate the prospects. (15 Marks, 250 Words)
  2. Discuss the objectives of Global Facility for Disaster Reduction and Recovery (GFDRR)? What is India’s role in GFDRR? (15 Marks, 250 Words)

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August 10th, 2019 CNA:-Download PDF Here

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  1. Please do post the CNA everyday. It’s missing some or the other day.