03 Jul 2022: UPSC Exam Comprehensive News Analysis

Quote for the day Set 5 11

CNA 03 July 2022:- Download PDF Here

TABLE OF CONTENTS

A. GS 1 Related
B. GS 2 Related
HEALTH
1. Why India should support antibiotics development
C. GS 3 Related
SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY
1. India’s patent law safeguards under fire
D. GS 4 Related
E. Editorials
GEOGRAPHY
1. Measuring quakes
INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS
1. Is NATO stronger after Ukraine invasion?
F. Prelims Facts
1. Chenkurinji
G. Tidbits
1. 2°C temp. rise can damage Earth’s species
2. Northeast needs international routes
H. UPSC Prelims Practice Questions
I. UPSC Mains Practice Questions
FIP Magazine

Category: INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS

1. Is NATO stronger after Ukraine invasion?

Syllabus: Bilateral, Regional and Global Groupings and Agreements involving India and/or affecting India’s interests.

Prelims: NATO
Mains: Impact of the Russia-Ukraine war on the influence of NATO

Context:

  • Leaders of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), met recently in Madrid, Spain amidst the continuing war in Ukraine. In the meeting, the decision to integrate Sweden and Finland into NATO was taken.

Status of NATO before the Ukraine war:

  • NATO appeared to be weakened during the administration of former U.S. President Donald Trump, who had frequently asked the NATO member states to contribute higher amounts to be able to make use of the U.S.’s protective umbrella. This stance had threatened to strike a body blow to the unity and solidarity among the NATO member countries.
  • Also, the unilateral decision of the U.S. administration to pull its troops out of Afghanistan from a mostly NATO military mission also undermined the collective spirit of NATO.

Status of NATO in the aftermath of the Ukraine war:

  • Russia’s war in Ukraine seems to have strengthened the North Atlantic Treaty Organization.
  • The NATO allies have in recent times firmly committed to financing the organisation’s military needs. Their combined defence investments have jumped by substantial amounts, in part driven by Russia’s annexation of Crimea.
  • In the context of the prolonged conflict in Ukraine, NATO has announced that it will increase its forces at “high readiness”. It is projected to increase the forces at high readiness from 40,000 to over 3,00,000 by mid-2023.
  • Finland and Sweden, which have previously maintained a position of neutrality, having had to face strategic insecurity from their neighbours Russia are set to join NATO within a year. This expansion of membership will only further strengthen NATO.

Challenges to the NATO:

  • Despite, some firmness to sanction Russia for its aggression against Ukraine, NATO member states continue to face pressures from rising inflation and high energy and food prices even as they have had to finance weaponry and critical war supplies to Ukraine.
  • The destabilising economic ripple effects of the war in Ukraine would be hard for the member nations of NATO to bear in case of a prolonged war in Ukraine. This could undermine the unity of NATO.

Nut Graf:

Russia’s war in Ukraine seems to have strengthened the North Atlantic Treaty Organization as an organization as it has galvanized its member nations to commit more finances and resources to meet the organisation’s military needs and has also pushed countries like Sweden and Finland to seek membership. However, a prolonged war in Ukraine along with its economic ripple effects might test the resolve and unity of NATO.

F. Prelims Facts

1. Chenkurinji

Syllabus: GS3, Environment, Conservation

Prelims: Chenkurinji and the Shendurney Wildlife Sanctuary

Chenkurinji 

  • The Shendurney Wildlife Sanctuary derives its name from Gluta travancorica, a species endemic to the Agasthyamala Biosphere Reserve which is locally known as ‘Chenkurinji’.
  • Chenkurinji belongs to the Anacardiaceae family.
  • Gluta travancorica was once abundant in the hills on the southern parts of the Aryankavu Pass in Kerala’s Kollam district, but its presence has depleted as it is very susceptible to climate change.
  • The tree was widely seen in places such as Pandimala, Vilakkumaram and Rosemala.
  • The tree is also seen inside the shola forests near Ponmudi, but effective pollination hardly takes place in this shola habitat. 
  • The tree is said to have medicinal properties and is used to treat high blood pressure and arthritis. 
  • The heartwood is sturdy with deep red colour, and trees were felled for wood earlier.

G. Tidbits

1. 2°C temp. rise can damage Earth’s species

  • A recent study by scientists highlights that global emissions are expected to cause the planet to continue heating rapidly over the next few years and the global average temperature would breach the Paris agreement’s target, which aims to restrict the warming to between 1.5°C and 2°C.
  • The study also reveals that a temporary overshoot would cause waves of irreversible extinctions and lasting damage to thousands of species and requires the world to expect to make deep emission cuts.
  • The increase in the global temperatures above 2°C can impact the world’s most important ecosystems which include the tropical forest turning into savanna and the world would lose a critical global carbon sink, leaving the planet more vulnerable.

2. Northeast needs international routes

  • The disruption caused in the surface communication in the major areas of northeastern India on account of floods and landslides has highlighted the need for fast-tracking the railway and road connectivity with India’s “mainland” through Bangladesh.
  • The major parts of northeast are dependent on the Lumding-Badarpur railway line and the two national highways which are prone to be affected due to floods and landslides.
  • This requires the revival of old British-era routes through Mahisasan on the Assam-Bangladesh border 
  • The Chittagong-Badarpur-Haflong railway line is one of the oldest set up by the British to carry goods and traffic.
  • Mahisasan in Barak Valley was also connected to Chittagong via Kulaura.
  • The Maitri Bridge across the Feni River connects Sabroom in Tripura and Ramgarh in Bangladesh and another railway line is being constructed that connects Agartala and Akhaura in Bangladesh.

H. UPSC Prelims Practice Questions

Q1. Which of the following statements is/are correct with respect to (Level - Medium)
  1. It was a peasant uprising led by Mahatma Gandhi.
  2. It was directed against the forcible cultivation of indigo on the land of farmers.
  3. The British constituted the Indigo Commission as a fact-finding committee and then came up with the Champaran Agrarian Law in 1918 to protect the farmers from forced cultivation of Indigo in the aftermath of the Champaran Satyagraha.

Options:

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

Answer: a

Explanation:

  • Statement 1 is correct, Mahatma Gandhiji led the Champaran Sathyagraha
  • Statement 2 is correct, The farmers had revolted against the British against the conditions that they imposed for indigo cultivation.
  • Statement 3 is not correct, The Indigo commission was a commission set up in the late 1850s by the British to look into the grievances of the Indigo farmers following the movement of the raiyats of Bengal against the European indigo planters.
    • Whereas, the Champaran Agrarian Law was passed by the British Government in 1918 post the Champaran Satyagraha Movement which abolished the forcible cultivation of indigo on the land of farmers.
Q2. Consider the following statements with respect to Konark Sun Temple. (Level - Easy)
  1. It is believed to have been built by King Narasimhadeva I of the Eastern Ganga dynasty in the 13th century AD.
  2. It is based on the Kalinga architecture style of temple building.
  3. It is a designated UNESCO world heritage site.

Which of the following statements are correct?

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

Answer: d

Explanation:

  • Statement 1 is correct, The Konark Sun Temple is said to be built by Narasimhadeva I of the Eastern Ganga dynasty in the years around 1250
  • Statement 2 is correct, the Konark Sun temple represents the Kalinga Style of Architecture.
  • Statement 3 is correct, The temple was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1984.
Q3. Consider the following pairs: (Level - Medium)

    Dam                        States

  1. Harangi                  Tamil Nadu
  2. Hirakud                  Odisha
  3. Maithon                Chhattisgarh
  4. Tehri                       Uttarakhand

How many pairs given above are not correctly matched?

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

Answer: b

Explanation:

  • Pair 1 is not correct, Harangi is built across the Harangi river (a tributary of the Kaveri) in Karnataka.
  • Pair 2 is correct, Hirakud Dam is built across the Mahanadi River in Odisha.
  • Pair 3 is not correct, Maithon Dam is in Jharkhand and is built across River Barakar (a tributary of the Damodar River).
  • Pair 4 is correct, Tehri Dam is built across the Bhagirathi River in Uttarakhand. 
    • It is the tallest dam in India.
Q4. Steel slag, a by-product of steel production finds application in which of the 
following? (Level - Medium)
  1. Road construction material
  2. Land fill material
  3. Agricultural soil improvement
  4. Soil fertilizer
  5. Cement industry raw material

Options:

  1. 1, 2 and 5 only
  2. 1, 3 and 5 only
  3. 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5
  4. 2 and 4 only
CHECK ANSWERS:-

Answer: c

Explanation:

  • Steel slag is an industrial byproduct obtained from the steel manufacturing industry.
  • Steel slag finds its application in road construction material, landfill material, agricultural soil improvement, soil fertilizer and cement industry raw material.
Q5. Recently, there was a growing awareness in our country about the importance of 
Himalayan nettle (Girardinia diversifolia) because it is found to be a sustainable 
source of (Level - Difficult) PYQ (2019)
  1. Anti-malarial drug
  2. Biodiesel
  3. Pulp for paper industry
  4. Textile fibre
CHECK ANSWERS:-

Answer: d

Explanation:

  • Himalayan nettle (Girardinia diversifolia) is a fibre-yielding plant, and has become an important source of livelihood for the people in the remote villages of the Hindu Kush mountains.

CNA 03 July 2022:- Download PDF Here

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