26 Mar 2021: UPSC Exam Comprehensive News Analysis

CNA 26th March 2021:- Download PDF Here

TABLE OF CONTENTS

A. GS 1 Related
SOCIAL ISSUES
1. Apex court bats for women officers in Army
B. GS 2 Related
POLITY AND GOVERNANCE
1. SC suggests posting retired judges to clear backlog in HCs
2. Why no decision on list sent by Collegium, SC asks government
HEALTH
1. ‘Vaccines effective in preventing severe illness caused by variants’
C. GS 3 Related
D. GS 4 Related
E. Editorials
INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS
1. Remove the wedges in India-Bangladesh ties
POLITY
1. Here is why the electoral bonds scheme must go
F. Prelims Facts
1. Suez Canal temporarily halts navigation
G. Tidbits
1. In signal to China, U.S. raised India ties during Alaska talks
H. UPSC Prelims Practice Questions
I. UPSC Mains Practice Questions

2. Why no decision on list sent by Collegium, SC asks government

Context:

The Supreme Court asked the government to clarify the status of 55 recommendations made by the Collegium for judicial appointments to High Courts six months to nearly a year-and-a-half ago.

Details:

  • The Supreme Court has been repeatedly conveying to the government its growing concerns about the judicial vacancies in High Courts.
  • Of the pending recommendations, 44 were made to fill vacancies in the Calcutta, Madhya Pradesh, Guwahati, Rajasthan and Punjab High Courts.
  • These recommendations have been pending with the government for over seven months to a year.

Judicial Appointments to High Courts:

  • Collegium System is a legally valid system of appointment and transfer of judges in the SC and all HCs.
    • The names are decided by a forum of the Chief Justice of India and the four senior-most judges of the Supreme Court.
  • There is no mention of the Collegium either in the original Constitution of India or in successive amendments.
  • The recommendations of the Collegium are binding on the Central Government if the Collegium sends the names of the judges/lawyers to the government for the second time.
  • But a time limit is not fixed for the government to give assent to the names. This is the reason that appointment of judges takes a long time.

Read more about the collegium system.
Category: HEALTH

1. ‘Vaccines effective in preventing severe illness caused by variants’

Context:

Interview with the Director of Jawaharlal Institute of Postgraduate Medical Education and Research (JIPMER), Puducherry, about the unique double mutant COVID-19 virus found in India, its implication for the country which is at the beginning of the second wave of infections and the importance of vaccination.

What do the COVID-19 variants and double mutants found in India mean for the ongoing pandemic and second wave that the country is witnessing?

  • The genome sequencing data of the COVID-19 virus from INSACOG show that nearly 7.7% of the nearly 11,000 specimens tested contained one of the viral variants.
  • Viruses develop changes in their genomes very often during their multiplication and spread. The progeny viruses with one or more such changes are referred to as ‘variants’.
  • The ‘double mutant’ simply means that this virus has two mutations, each of which has individually been seen in viruses from other parts of the world, except that it has both these mutations simultaneously.

Why are some variants a reason for concern? And are the variants detected in India ‘variants of concern’?

  • A ‘variant of interest’ refers to variants that appear to be associated with a special characteristic, but evidence is still limited.
  • A ‘variant of concern’, on the other hand, is one where there is evidence supporting such association.
  • These special characteristics of a variant could be an increased risk of transmission, causing more severe disease, failure of detection by the usual tests, or a higher risk of infection after prior infection or vaccination.
  • Three variants of concern have been detected in India. These had been first identified in the United Kingdom, South Africa and Brazil, respectively, and have been identified in several countries globally. These are of concern primarily because they have an increased potential for spread from one person to another.

How to contain the spread of variant of concern?

  • Simple measures, such as the proper use of face masks and of physical distancing, are highly effective in preventing the spread of these variant strains.
  • Hence, their spread can be effectively controlled by following these steps.

Is the current vaccination drive enough to control the pandemic?

  • The current COVID-19 vaccination drive is not really for controlling the spread, but to protect those who are likely to develop severe disease.
  • The primary aim of the drive is to reduce the need for ICU beds, the use of ventilators, and deaths.
  • As immunisation continues and covers a large proportion of the population, it eventually will lead to a reduction in cases as well. In some small countries, such as Israel, where immunisation coverage is high, the disease rate has come down remarkably.

Category: POLITY

1. Here is why the electoral bonds scheme must go

Reference:

Electoral Bonds

F. Prelims Facts

1. Suez Canal temporarily halts navigation

What’s in News?

A huge container ship has blocked the Suez Canal which is likely to take weeks to free. Officials have stopped all ships from entering the channel.

  • The blockage has already hit world oil markets.
  • A Marine Traffic map showed large clusters of vessels circling as they waited in both the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Red Sea to the south.
  • Historic sections of the canal were reopened in a bid to ease the bottleneck, with dozens of ships waiting at both ends of the waterway.

Suez Canal:

suez canal

  • The Suez Canal is a critical shipping artery that connects the Mediterranean and Red Seas through Egypt (Isthmus of Suez).
  • Constructed between 1859 and 1869, it officially opened in 1869.
  • It was controlled by British and French interests in its initial years, but was nationalised in 1956.
  • The canal offers a more direct route between the North Atlantic and northern Indian ocean via the Mediterranean and Red seas, thus avoiding the South Atlantic and southern Indian ocean and reducing the journey distance between Asia and Europe.
  • It is one of the world’s most heavily used shipping lanes, carrying over 12% of world trade by volume.
  • It is an absolutely critical route because all traffic arriving from Asia goes through the Suez Canal.
  • Egypt depends heavily on revenues from the canal.

G. Tidbits

1. In signal to China, U.S. raised India ties during Alaska talks

What’s in News?

The Joe Biden administration highlighted the strength of U.S.-India ties in its meeting with Chinese officials in Alaska.

  • It underlined how it has increasingly come to view India as central to its broader objectives in dealing with China in the Indo-Pacific region.
  • U.S.-India relations, only two months into the new administration in the U.S, are developing robustly.
  • The broader reason for the smooth transition in India-U.S. relations is the new administration’s emphasis on a bipartisan approach to India and other key foreign policy issues.

Read more on the U.S. Secretary of State and National Security Adviser’s meet with their Chinese counterparts in Alaska covered in 20th March 2021 Comprehensive News Analysis.

H. UPSC Prelims Practice Questions

Q1. Consider the following statements with respect to Development Finance Institution (DFI):
  1. They source funds from the market, government, as well as multi-lateral institutions.
  2. DFIs do not accept deposits from people.
  3. DFIs are set up for providing long-term finance for the segments of the economy where the risks involved are beyond the acceptable limits of commercial banks and ordinary financial institutions.

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

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

Answer: c

Explanation:

  • Development Finance Institutions are set up for providing long-term finance for such segments of the economy where the risks involved are beyond the acceptable limits of commercial banks and other ordinary financial institutions.
  • Unlike banks, DFIs do not accept deposits from people.
  • They source funds from the market, government, as well as multi-lateral institutions.
Q2. Consider the following statements with respect to National Creche Scheme:
  1. It is a Centrally Sponsored Scheme to provide daycare facilities to children of working mothers.
  2. The facility is made available to children of the age group of 6 months to 6 years.
  3. The scheme also provides supplementary nutrition, health care inputs like immunization, polio drops, basic health monitoring.

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

  1. 1 and 2 only
  2. 2 only
  3. 3 only
  4. None of the above
CHECK ANSWERS:-

Answer: d

Explanation:

  • National Creche Scheme is a Centrally Sponsored Scheme to provide daycare facilities to children of working mothers.
  • It is an intervention towards the protection and development of children in the age group of 6 months to 6 years.
  • Provides supplementary nutrition, health care inputs like immunization, polio drops, basic health monitoring, sleeping facilities, early stimulation (for children below 3 years), pre-school education for children aged between 3-6 yrs.
Q3. Consider the following statements with respect to adjournment sine die:
  1. The power of adjournment, as well as adjournment sine die, lies with the presiding officer of the House.
  2. To adjourn an assembly sine die is to adjourn it for an indefinite period.
  3. It indicates the final adjournment of an annual session or meeting of a legislative house.

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

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

Answer: b

Explanation:

  • Adjournment sine die means terminating a sitting of Parliament for an indefinite period.
  • The power of adjournment as well as adjournment sine die lies with the presiding officer of the House.
  • It indicates the final adjournment of an annual session or meeting of a legislative house.
Q4. Arrange the following from North to South:
  1. Spratly Islands
  2. Paracel Islands
  3. Scarborough Shoal
  4. Riau Islands

Options:

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

Answer: a

Explanation:

North to South: Paracel Islands – Scarborough Shoal – Spratly Islands – Riau Islands

I. UPSC Mains Practice Questions

  1. Small but important steps can put an end to the longstanding issues between India and Bangladesh. Discuss. (10 Marks, 150 Words) [GS-2, International Relations]
  2. The electoral bond scheme violates the basic tenets of India’s democracy by infringing upon the citizens’ ‘right to know’. Examine. (10 Marks, 150 Words) [GS-2, Polity]

Read the previous CNA here.

CNA 26th March 2021:- Download PDF Here

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