18 Mar 2023: UPSC Exam Comprehensive News Analysis

CNA 18 March 2023:- Download PDF Here

TABLE OF CONTENTS

A. GS 1 Related
B. GS 2 Related
GOVERNANCE
1. Textile Parks
C. GS 3 Related
D. GS 4 Related
E. Editorials
GOVERNANCE
1. The forecast after a fake news campaign in Tamil Nadu
ENVIRONMENT AND ECOLOGY
1. Left high and dry in the Nilgiris
POLITY AND GOVERNANCE
1. House Matters
F. Prelims Facts
1. Privilege Motion
2. Horseshoe Crabs
3. International Criminal Court
G. Tidbits
1. Namdapha National Park
2. Sokra Misawa Festival
H. UPSC Prelims Practice Questions
I. UPSC Mains Practice Questions
FIP Magazine

2. Horseshoe Crabs

Syllabus: GS03-Environment

Prelims: Endangered and endemic Species; Wildlife Trade

Context: Disappearance of Horseshoe crabs off Odisha’s Coast.

Key Details:Β 

  • Members of the Odisha State Wildlife Advisory Board and scientists of the National Institute of Oceanography (NIO), Goa, appealed to the Union Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change to place the horseshoe crabs on the list of marine species for which a Species Recovery Plan has to be developed.
  • Horseshoe crabs appear to be disappearing from their familiar spawning grounds along Chandipur and Balaramgadi coast in Odisha.
  • Scientists have also urged the Odisha government to come up with a robust protection mechanism before the living fossil becomes extinct due to destructive fishing practices.

Horseshoe Crabs:

  • It is a marine chelicerate arthropod living in shallow coastal waters on soft sandy or muddy bottoms and spawns (releases or deposits eggs) mostly on intertidal beaches at summer spring high tides.
  • Despite their name, these animals are not crabs at all but are related to scorpions, spiders, and extinct trilobites.
  • Horseshoe crabs are an extremely ancient group and are often referred to as living fossils.Β 
  • Horseshoe crabs have been around for more than 300 million years, making them even older than dinosaurs.
  • The horseshoe crab has a hard exoskeleton and 10 legs, which it uses for walking along the seafloor.
  • In India, horseshoe crabs are endemic to coastal West Bengal, Odisha and Andhra Pradesh and the stretch of beaches along the West Bengal-Odisha border is home to the largest population of the species in the country.
  • Estuaries, along with mangroves and mudflats of eastern West Bengal, Odisha and Andhra Pradesh are important breeding sites for horseshoe crabs.

Threats:

  • According to the IUCN, all four surviving species of horseshoe crabs are at risk because of overfishing for use as food and bait, habitat loss and the production of biomedical products derived from their blood.
  • Horseshoe crab blood is crucial in the preparation of rapid diagnostic reagents. All injectable medicines are tested on them.Β 
    • A molecule has been developed from a reagent of horseshoe crabs to help treat pre-eclampsia.
  • Poachers kill them for their meat which is popularly believed to have aphrodisiac qualities.

Conservation Status:

  • It is in the Schedule IV of the Wildlife Protection Act 1972, under which the catching and killing of a horseshoe crab is an offence.
  • The IUCN has marked all species of horseshoe crabs under the endangered category.
unnamed 51

Image Source: nytimes

3. International Criminal Court

Syllabus: GS02-International Relations

Prelims: Important International Institutions

Context: International Criminal Court issues arrest warrant against Vladimir Putin.

Key Details:

  • The International Criminal Court (ICC) has issued an arrest warrant for Russian President Vladimir Putin for the β€œunlawful deportation” of Ukrainian children.Β 
  • ICC had also issued a warrant against Maria Lvova-Belova, Russia’s presidential commissioner for children’s rights.
  • ICC had alleged that Putin was responsible both directly by committing the acts and for failure to exercise control properly over civilian and military subordinates who committed the acts or allowed for their commission.
  • The crimes are dated from February 24, 2022, when Russia invaded Ukraine.Β 
  • ICC has no powers to arrest suspects, and can only exercise jurisdiction within its member countries and Russia is not a member of the ICC.Β 

G. Tidbits

1. Namdapha National Park

  • After a gap of eight years, a tiger has been spotted in the Namdapha National Park and Tiger Reserve in Arunachal Pradesh.
    • It was the second tiger spotted in Namdapha after one in 2015.
  • Namdapha, India’s easternmost tiger reserve lies on the international border between India and Myanmar within Changlang District in Arunachal Pradesh.
  • It is one of the biggest biodiversity hotspots in the Eastern Himalayan region and the fourth-largest national park in India.
  • It is crossed from east to west by the Noa Dihing River that originates at the Chaukan Pass on the Indo-Myanmar border.Β 
  • The land cover changes with increasing elevation from tropical evergreen forest to temperate broadleaf and mixed forest.Β 
  • The park spans a wide altitudinal range from 200 m to 4,571 m at Dapha Bum, the highest point in the park.
  • It was declared the country’s 15th tiger project in 1983.Β 
  • It is the only park in the world to have the four feline species of big cats namely the Tiger, Leopard, Snow Leopard and Clouded Leopard and a number of lesser cats.
  • Hoolock Gibbons, a highly endangered and only β€˜ape’ species found in India dwells in this park.

2. Sokra Misawa Festival

  • Sokra Misawa Festival is celebrated by Tiwas tribals in Karbi Anglong district, Assam.
  • Tiwa tribal boys perform rituals wearing headgears called sakrashata during the festival.
  • Tiwas worship nature during this spring-time festival and then prepare their fields for the next crop.

H. UPSC Prelims Practice Questions

Q1. β€˜Kudumbashree’, one of the largest women’s self-help networks in the world, seen 
in news is associated with which of the following States? (Level-Medium)
  1. Andhra Pradesh
  2. Karnataka
  3. Kerala
  4. Tamil Nadu
CHECK ANSWERS:-

Answer: c

Explanation:Β  Kudumbashree is the poverty eradication and women empowerment programme implemented by the State Poverty Eradication Mission (SPEM) of the Government of Kerala. The name Kudumbashree in the Malayalam language means β€˜prosperity of the family’.

Q2. Consider the following pairs: (Level-Difficult)

Β  Β  Β  Β  Β  National Waterway (NW)Β  Β  Β  Β  Β  Β  Β  Β  Β  Β  Β  Β  Β  Β  Β  Β  Β  Β  Β  Β  Β  Β  Β Details of Waterways

  1. NW 16Β  Β  Β  Β  Β  Β  Β  Β  Β  Β  Β  Β  Β  Β  Β  Β  Β  Β  Β  Β  Β  Β  Β  Β  Β  Β  Β  Β  Β  Β  Β  Β  Β  Β  Β  Β  Β  Β  Β  Β  Β  Β  Β  Β  Β  Β  Β  Β  Barak River
  2. NW 37Β  Β  Β  Β  Β  Β  Β  Β  Β  Β  Β  Β  Β  Β  Β  Β  Β  Β  Β  Β  Β  Β  Β  Β  Β  Β  Β  Β  Β  Β  Β  Β  Β  Β  Β  Β  Β  Β  Β  Β  Β  Β  Β  Β  Β  Β  Β  Β Gandak River
  3. NW 46Β  Β  Β  Β  Β  Β  Β  Β  Β  Β  Β  Β  Β  Β  Β  Β  Β  Β  Β  Β  Β  Β  Β  Β  Β  Β  Β  Β  Β  Β  Β  Β  Β  Β  Β  Β  Β  Β  Β  Β  Β  Β  Β  Β  Β  Β  Β  Β  Indus River
  4. NW 100Β  Β  Β  Β  Β  Β  Β  Β  Β  Β  Β  Β  Β  Β  Β  Β  Β  Β  Β  Β  Β  Β  Β  Β  Β  Β  Β  Β  Β  Β  Β  Β  Β  Β  Β  Β  Β  Β  Β  Β  Β  Β  Β  Β  Β  Β  Β  Β Tapi River

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: d

Explanation:

  • Pair 01 is correctly matched, Barak River (Lakhipur -Tuker Gram) in Assam was declared as National waterway 16.
  • Pair 02 is correctly matched, Gandak River (Bhaisalotal Barrage to Hazipur) in Bihar and Uttar Pradesh was declared as National Waterway 37
  • Pair 03 is correctly matched, Indus River in Jammu & Kashmir was declared as National Waterway 46.
  • Pair 04 is correctly matched, Tapi River (Hatnur Dam to Gulf of Khambhat) in Maharashtra and Gujarat was declared as National Waterway 100.
Q3. Which of the following statements is/are correct w.r.t Pradhan Mantri Janjatiya 
Vikas Mission? (Level-Medium)
  1. Under the Mission, Minor Forest Produce (MFP) gathered by tribals will be processed in Vandhan Kendras and marketed through Van Dhan Producer Enterprises.
  2. TRIFED would be the nodal agency for implementing the scheme.
  3. It aims to transform villages with significant tribal populations into ‘model villages’ (Adarsh Gram).

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 01 is correct, The Mission seeks to achieve livelihood-driven tribal development in the next five years through the formation of Van Dhan groups who have been organized into Vandhan Kendras. The MFP gathered by tribals will be processed in these kendras and marketed through Van Dhan Producer Enterprises.
  • Statement 02 is correct, TRIFED would be the nodal agency for implementing the scheme. The products produced will be marketed through Tribe India Stores.
  • Statement 03 is incorrect, Pradhan Mantri Adi Adarsh Gram Yojana aims to transform villages with significant tribal population into model villages (Adarsh Gram) covering a population of 4.22 crore (About 40% of the total Tribal Population).
Q4. Consider the following statements with respect to Tiwa Tribes: (Level-Difficult)
  1. Sokra Misawa is a Spring Time Festival of the Tiwas where they worship the deities of nature.
  2. They are recognized as a Scheduled Tribe within the State of Tripura.

Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

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

Answer: a

Explanation:Β 

  • Statement 01 is correct, Sokra Misawa Festival is celebrated by Tiwas tribals in Karbi Anglong district, Assam.
    • Tiwas worship nature during this spring-time festival and then prepare their fields for the next crop.
  • Statement 02 is incorrect, Tiwas are recognized as a Scheduled Tribe in Assam excluding the autonomous districts.
Q5. Where was the First Session of the Indian National Congress held in December 1885?
(PYQ-CSE-2008) (Level-Easy)
  1. Ahmedabad
  2. Bombay
  3. Calcutta
  4. Delhi
CHECK ANSWERS:-

Answer: b

Explanation: The Indian National Congress conducted its first session in Bombay from 28 to 31 December 1885.

Read the previous CNA here.

CNA 18 March 2023:- Download PDF Here

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