11 July 2021: UPSC Exam Comprehensive News Analysis

CNA 11th July 2021:- Download PDF Here

TABLE OF CONTENTS

A. GS 1 Related
B. GS 2 Related
C. GS 3 Related
ECONOMY
1. Govt. infra spending dropped sharply in Q1
2. Services panel charts roadmap to double exports in five years
ENVIRONMENT AND ECOLOGY
1. Sikkim blossoms: State home to 27% of India’s flowering plants
SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY
1. Cuba develops the world’s first conjugate vaccine for COVID-19
D. GS 4 Related
E. Editorials
POLITY AND GOVERNANCE
1. What makes the UAPA so stringent?
2. Cauvery and the row over Mekedatu project
F. Prelims Facts
1. Life on Enceladus?
2. The 2020 Millennium Technology Prize goes to…
G. Tidbits
1. Tipping point
2. Interpol seeks joint fight against ransomware
3. Are COVID-19 curbs telling on immune systems?
H. UPSC Prelims Practice Questions
I. UPSC Mains Practice Questions

2. Services panel charts roadmap to double exports in five years

Context:

  • The Services Export Promotion Council (SEPC) is preparing a roadmap to achieve doubling of services exports in the next five years.

Details:

  • The SEPC has urged the government to include incentives for services exports under the upcoming new foreign trade policy.
  • The council has tagged areas such as tourism and hospitality, logistics and medical value travel as ‘champion’ sectors meriting additional focus.

Conclusion:

  • Services sector accounts for a vital part of the Indian economy and with proper support and policies it can play a significant role in sustainable high economic growth of India.

Category: ENVIRONMENT AND ECOLOGY

1. Sikkim blossoms: State home to 27% of India’s flowering plants

Context:

  • Publication of the Flora of Sikkim – A Pictorial Guide by the Botanical Survey of India (BSI).

Background:

Sikkim’s ecology:

  • Sikkim is a part of the Kanchenjunga biosphere landscape.
  • Sikkim is home to different altitudinal ecosystems, with the elevation varing from 300 metres to above 8500 metres above mean sea level.

Details:

  • The publication lists 532 species of wild orchids (which is more than 40% of all orchid species found in India), 36 species of rhododendron and 20 species of oak, and more than 30 species of high-value medicinal plants, among other species.
  • Despite being the smallest state in India with less than 1% of India’s landmass, Sikkim is home to 27% of all flowering plants found in India.
  • This presence of a diverse set of ecosystems varying from the subalpine to the temperate to the tropical is one of the reasons for high diversity of flora in Sikkim.

Concerns:

  • Developmental activities such as the widening of roads to Nathu La and the hydel power plants in north Sikkim could have a negative impact on the rich biodiversity of Sikkim.

Additional information:

  • The Sikkim Forest Tree (Amity & Reverence) Rules, 2017 allows any person to associate with trees standing on his or her private land or on any public land by entering into a Mith/Mit or Mitini relationship.
  • This is an acknowledgement of the unique cultural practice prevalent in Sikkim and is of significance given the global environmental conservational efforts underway.

Category: SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

1. Cuba develops the world’s first conjugate vaccine for COVID-19

Context:

  • Cuba’s indigenously produced vaccines- Soberana 2 and Abdala have registered strong efficacy against the SARS-CoV-2.

Details:

  • Both Soberana 2 and Abdala are subunit vaccines.
    • In Abdala the spike protein of the coronavirus is combined with a chemically manufactured adjuvant, whereas in Soberana 2, the spike protein is chemically linked to the tetanus toxoid, making it a conjugate vaccine.

Subunit vaccines:
  • Rather than injecting a whole pathogen to trigger an immune response, subunit vaccines (sometimes called acellular vaccines) contain purified pieces of it, which have been specially selected for their ability to stimulate immune cells.
  • In the case of these subunit vaccines, a part of the virus forms the antigen and is hitched on to another construct.

Advantages:

  • Well established technology
  • Relatively stable
  • Suitable for people with compromised immune systems
  • Because of the absence of live components, there is no risk of the vaccine triggering diseases and hence the subunit vaccines are considered very safe.

Disadvantages:

  • Adjuvants and booster shots may be required.
  • Determining the best antigen combination takes time
  • Relatively complex to manufacture

Conjugate vaccines:
  • A conjugate vaccine is a type of vaccine which combines a weak antigen with a strong antigen as a carrier so that the immune system has a stronger immunological response to the weak antigen.
    • The most common conjugate vaccines are those used for Haemophilus influenza type b and the pneumococcal bacteria.

Advantages:

  • Major advantages of the conjugate vaccines are their ability to elicit immunological memory and to reduce asymptomatic carriage of the bacteria, resulting in marked herd immunity.
  • Also conjugate vaccines have a very good safety record and have been associated with very few, serious adverse events following immunization (AEFIs) after more than 20 years of use.
  • They give rise to improved immune memory and thus offer longer lasting protection.
  • They help offer protection to infants and toddlers,

Significance of the Cuban vaccines:

  • The design and manufacturing of the conjugate vaccines allows them to be stored in regular refrigeration settings of 2–8 degree Celsius
  • The methodology involved is also one of the most economical approaches to vaccine production.

Challenges:

  • Soberana and Abdala being three-shot vaccines, there could be “logistic” concerns with the vaccine administration.
  • The subunit vaccines have been generally used against bacteria and not viruses.

3. Are COVID-19 curbs telling on immune systems?

Context:

  • Amid the gradual easing of lockdowns, some countries are reporting a higher number of respiratory infections, including unseasonal diseases such as influenza and the respiratory syncytial virus (RSV).

Immunity debt:

  • Experts have attributed this spike in respiratory infections to what is being called the “immunity debt” brought on by non-pharmaceutical interventions (NPIs) put in place to reduce the spread of the SARS-CoV-2 virus.
    • The NPIs included measures such as social distancing, use of masks, and hand hygiene.
  • The constant exposure to infectious agents boosts the immune response in the human body. In the absence of this, there is a possibility that there could be unseasonal outbreaks with greater severity than usual. This is a major concern for infant population in particular.
  • Disruptions to the seasonal transmission patterns of these diseases may have consequences for the timing and severity of future outbreaks.

H. UPSC Prelims Practice Questions

Q1. Consider the following statements:
  1. The largest component of natural gas is methane
  2. Sour gas is natural gas containing Hydrogen Sulfide (H2S)
  3. Sweet gas is the natural gas that contains very little or no hydrogen sulfide.

Which of the above statements is/are correct?

  1. 1 only
  2. 2 and 3 only
  3. 1, 2 and 3
  4. None
CHECK ANSWERS:-

Answer: c

Explanation:

  • Natural gas is a combustible mixture of hydrocarbon gases. While natural gas is formed primarily of methane, it can also include ethane, propane, butane and pentane.
  • Natural gas that contains larger amounts of hydrogen sulphide is termed sour gas. Before using it must be “sweetened” by removal of Hydrogen sulphide.
Q2. Which of the following Fundamental rights are available only to citizens and not to 
foreigners?
  1. Article 15
  2. Article 16
  3. Article 19
  4. Article 28
  5. Article 30

Options:

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

Answer: c

Explanation:

  • Under the Indian constitution, certain fundamental rights are available only to the citizens, namely: Right against discrimination on the grounds of religion, race, caste, sex or place of birth (Article 15); right to equality of opportunity in matter of public employment (Article 16); freedom of speech and expression, assembly, association, movement, residence and profession (Article 19); cultural and educational rights (Article 29 and 30); and right to vote and become members of the union and state legislatures.
  • Equality before the law or equal protection of the laws within the territory of India (Article 14) and protection of life or personal liberty (Article 21) are applicable to non-citizens as well. The right to freedom of religion (article 25-28) is available to both citizens and foreigners except enemy aliens.
Q3. Which of the following statements is/are correct?
  1. Article 23 protects an individual not only against the State but also against private persons
  2. India has signed the UN Convention against Transnational Organised Crime (UNTOC)

Options:

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

Answer: c

Explanation:

  • Article 23 of the Indian Constitution explicitly prohibits and criminalises human trafficking and forced labour. Apart from protecting an individual against the State it also protects against private persons
  • India signed the UN Convention against Transnational Organised Crime (UNTOC) and its three Protocols in 2002
    • Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, Especially Women and Children;
    • Protocol against the Smuggling of Migrants by Land, Sea and Air; and
    • Protocol against the Illicit Manufacturing and Trafficking in firearms. Their Parts and Components and Ammunition.
Q4. Consider the following statements:
  1. It is a country located at the intersection of Eastern Europe and Western Asia.
  2. It is a part of the Caucasus region, bounded to the west by the Black Sea
  3. It is bounded on the north and northeast by Russia

The above statements best describe:

  1. Turkey
  2. Azerbaijan
  3. Georgia
  4. Armenia
CHECK ANSWERS:-

Answer: c

Explanation:

  • Georgia is strategically located at the intersection of Eastern Europe and Western Asia.

Q5. What was the reason for Mahatma Gandhi to organize a satyagraha on behalf of the peasants 
of Kheda?
  1. The administration did not suspend the land revenue collection in spite of a drought
  2. The administration proposed to introduce permanent settlement in Gujarat

Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

  1. 1 only
  2. 2 only
  3. Both 1 and 2
  4. Neither 1 nor 2
CHECK ANSWERS:-

Answer: a

Explanation:

  • The Kheda Satyagraha of 1918 during the period of the British Raj, is a Satyagraha movement organized in support of peasants of the Kheda district as they were unable to pay high taxes levied by the British due to crop failure and an epidemic plague.

I. UPSC Mains Practice Questions

  1. Discuss the key contestations of Karnataka and Tamil Nadu over Mekedatu Project and highlight the ruling of Supreme Court on the Cauvery dispute. (10 Marks, 150 Words)[GS-2, Polity and Governance]
  2. Has Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) tilted the balance in favour of the State violating the fundamental freedoms of citizens? Critically Examine. (15 Marks, 250 Words)[GS-2, Polity and Governance]

Read the previous CNA here.

CNA 11th July 2021:- Download PDF Here

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