28 Nov 2020: UPSC Exam Comprehensive News Analysis

28 Nov 2020 CNA:- Download PDF Here

TABLE OF CONTENTS

A. GS 1 Related
B. GS 2 Related
POLITY AND GOVERNANCE
1. Mizoram Assembly Speaker disqualifies Lalduhoma
2. Farmers stay camped on Delhi border
C. GS 3 Related
ECONOMY
1. Fiscal deficit reaches 120% of annual target
ENVIRONMENT AND ECOLOGY
1. ‘Sea sparkle’ has affected marine food chain: CMFRI
D. GS 4 Related
E. Editorials
SOCIAL JUSTICE
1. Stepping out of the shadow of India’s malnutrition
INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS
1. Tech tact
F. Prelims Facts
1. Core sector contraction widens to 2.5%
2. GMRT accorded prestigious IEEE Milestone status
G. Tidbits
1. Protect right of ordinary people to bail, SC tells judges
H. UPSC Prelims Practice Questions
I. UPSC Mains Practice Questions

2. Farmers stay camped on Delhi border

Context:

Tens of thousands of farmers are camped on the Delhi-Haryana border on their way to the national capital for a protest against the Centre’s three new farm laws.

Details:

  • The farmers, mostly from Punjab and Haryana, have mobilised under the Samyukt Kisan Morcha banner for this ‘Dilli Chalo’ agitation.
  • They are demanding a repeal of three agricultural marketing reform laws, which they fear will affect the system of government procurement of crops at minimum support prices.
  • They also want the Electricity Bill, 2020, which could remove free power for farmers, to be withdrawn.

Read about the Agricultural Reforms covered in 27th September 2020 Comprehensive News Analysis.

Category: ENVIRONMENT AND ECOLOGY

1. ‘Sea sparkle’ has affected marine food chain: CMFRI

Context:

The Karnataka coast has been witnessing the bloom of Noctiluca scintillans that has displaced microscopic algae called diatoms.

Details:

  • Diatoms form the basis of the marine food chain.
  • The bloom of Noctiluca scintillans displacing diatoms has deprived food for the planktivorous fish.
  • The toxic blooms of N. scintillans are linked to massive fish and marine invertebrate kills.
  • Though the species does not produce a toxin, it is found to accumulate toxic levels of ammonia, which is then excreted into the surrounding waters, possibly acting as the killing agent in blooms.
  • The ammonia makes N. scintillans unpleasant for most creatures. Only jellyfish and salps are known to prey on it.
  • N. scintillans graze on other micro-organisms such as larvae, fish eggs, and diatoms.
  • But the unicellular phytoplankton that lives inside N. scintillans can photosynthesise, turning sunlight into energy. They help their host cell survive even when food is scarce. Thus, N. scintillans acts as both a plant and an animal.

Note:

  • Noctiluca scintillans are commonly known as “sea sparkle”.
  • The bioluminescent Noctiluca scintillans also brightens the seawater at night.
  • Bioluminescence is the production and emission of light by a living organism and occurs due to a chemical reaction, involving a light-emitting molecule and an enzyme, called luciferin and luciferase.

2. GMRT accorded prestigious IEEE Milestone status

What’s in News?

The Giant Metrewave Radio Telescope (GMRT) has been selected as a ‘Milestone’ facility by the U.S.-based Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE).

  • IEEE is the world’s largest technical professional organisation dedicated to advancing technology in all areas related to electrical and electronics engineering.
  • This is the third such IEEE ‘Milestone’ recognition for an Indian contribution.
  • The previous two Indian IEEE Milestones were for the pioneering work done by Sir J.C. Bose to demonstrate the generation and reception of radio waves in 1895 (recognised in 2012), and for the Nobel Prize-winning (in 1930) ‘scattering of light’ phenomenon observed by Sir C.V. Raman in 1928.

Read more on Giant Metrewave Radio Telescope (GMRT) covered in 17th October 2020 Comprehensive News Analysis.

G. Tidbits

1. Protect right of ordinary people to bail, SC tells judges

What’s in News?

The Supreme Court gave a clarion call to judges to protect personal liberty and the right of ordinary people to bail, saying liberty is not a gift for the few.

  • A Bench of Justices D.Y. Chandrachud and Indu Malhotra declared “Deprivation of liberty even for a single day is one day too many”.
  • Justice Chandrachud said that the State should not be allowed to use criminal law as a ruse to harass citizens.
  • The Supreme Court reminded that the common citizens without means or resources to move the High Courts or the Supreme Court were languishing in jails as undertrials.
  • It was highlighted that 91,568 bail pleas were pending in High Courts, while 1.96 lakh bail applications continued to wait for a hearing in the district courts.
  • The judgment focused on the importance of the district judiciary.
    • Justice Chandrachud said the district judiciary was only “subordinate” in the hierarchy.
    • It was less to none when it came to saving the lives of citizens or doing justice for them.
    • He asserted that the district judiciary must be alive to the situation as it prevails on the ground – in the jails and police stations where human dignity has no protector.

H. UPSC Prelims Practice Questions

Q1. Giant Metrewave Radio Telescope (GMRT) is located in:
  1. Devasthal, Nainital, Uttarakhand
  2. Narayangaon, near Pune, Maharashtra
  3. Indian Astronomical Observatory, Ladakh
  4. North Rhine-Westphalia region of Germany
CHECK ANSWERS:-

Answer: b

Explanation:

  • Giant Metrewave Radio Telescope (GMRT) is an array of thirty fully steerable parabolic radio telescopes.
  • It is located in Narayangaon, near Pune in India.
  • It is operated by the National Centre for Radio Astrophysics of the Tata Institute of Fundamental Research.
Q2. Consider the following statements:
  1. Gross Value Added (GVA) provides for the value of the amount of goods and services that have been produced in a country, minus the cost of all inputs and raw materials that are directly attributable to that production.
  2. Gross domestic product (GDP) is the monetary measure of the market value of all the final goods and services produced in a specific time period in a country.
  3.  Gross national product (GNP) is the value of all goods and services made by a country’s residents and businesses, regardless of production location.

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

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

Answer: d

Explanation:

All the statements are correct.

Q3. Consider the following statements with respect to Noctiluca scintillans:
  1. They accumulate toxic levels of ammonia, which is then excreted into the surrounding waters.
  2. They produce a toxin that acts as a killing agent in algal blooms.
  3. They are commonly known as “sea sparkle”.

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

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

Answer: b

Explanation:

  • The bioluminescent Noctiluca scintillans also brightens the seawater at night.
  • Noctiluca scintillans are commonly known as “sea sparkle”.
  • Though the species does not produce a toxin, it is found to accumulate toxic levels of ammonia, which is then excreted into the surrounding waters, possibly acting as the killing agent in blooms.
Q4. Consider the following statements with respect to exceptions under the 
Anti-defection Law:
  1. The law allows a nominated member to join a party within six months after he becomes a member of the legislature.
  2. The law allows a party to merge with or into another party provided that at least one-third of its legislators are in favour of the merger.
  3. The law allows an independent candidate to join a political party within six months after the election.

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

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

Answer: b

Explanation:

  • The anti-defection law seeks to provide a stable government by ensuring the legislators do not switch parties.
  • The law allows a nominated member to join a party within six months after he becomes a member of the legislature.
  • The law allows a party to merge with or into another party provided that at least two-thirds of its legislators are in favour of the merger.
  • An independent candidate cannot join a political party after the election. In such a case he/she shall be disqualified under the anti-defection law.

I. UPSC Mains Practice Questions

  1. COVID-19 has exacerbated the existing issues of food insecurity and malnutrition across the world. In light of this statement, examine the current scenario in India in comparison with the other South Asian countries and suggest measures to check the growing problem of malnutrition in India. (15 Marks 250 Words) (GS 1 Social Justice).
  2.  Ban on Chinese mobile applications is not only a geopolitical move but also a strategic trade manoeuvre that can have a significant positive economic impact for India. Critically analyse. (15 Marks, 250 Words) (GS 3 Economy).

Read the previous CNA here.

28 Nov 2020 CNA:- Download PDF Here

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