CNA 6 Oct 2022:- Download PDF Here
TABLE OF CONTENTS
A. GS 1 Related B. GS 2 Related C. GS 3 Related ECONOMY 1. The impossible trinity SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY 1. Nobel Prize 2022 D. GS 4 Related E. Editorials POLITY 1. Gubernatorial procrastination is unreasonable DISASTER MANAGEMENT 1. Calamity-prone — urban India’s worrying storyline INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS 1. Neutrality, abstention F. Prelims Facts 1. Emergency Credit Line Guarantee Scheme (ECLGS) 2. OPEC Plus G. Tidbits H. UPSC Prelims Practice Questions I. UPSC Mains Practice Questions
A. GS 1 Related
Nothing here for today!!!
B. GS 2 Related
Nothing here for today!!!
C. GS 3 Related
Syllabus: Mobilisation of Resources
Mains: Current trilemma of macroeconomy
Context: The impossible trinity or the trilemma of macroeconomy has come under focus recently as the U.S. Federal Reserve has been raising interest rates to fight rising prices.
Introduction:
- The trilemma refers to the idea that an economy cannot pursue independent monetary policy, maintain a fixed exchange rate, and allow the free flow of capital across its borders at the same time.
- Economists claim that any economy can only choose to pursue two of the three aforementioned policy options at once in the long run.
- Early in the 1960s, the concept was independently put forth by British economist Marcus Fleming and Canadian economist Robert Mundell.
Scenario 01: Fixed Exchange Rate
- The type of monetary policy that can be implemented in the long run will be constrained if policymakers decide to peg or preserve the value of their currency against a specific level as it can restrict authorities in their domestic monetary policy stance.
- For example, if policymakers want their currency to appreciate against foreign currencies, they cannot achieve this goal and maintain the external strength of the currency over a long time without adopting a tight domestic monetary policy stance which will weaken domestic demand.
- This is because loose monetary policy will put pressure on the country’s currency to depreciate in value. Therefore, authorities will have to decide between preserving the value of their currency and sustaining nominal demand in the domestic economy, which is significantly influenced by monetary policy.
Scenario 02: Independent Monetary Policy
- If policymakers choose to pursue independent monetary policy, they may not be able to maintain the foreign exchange value of their currency at the desired level as the monetary policy invariably influences the exchange value of its currency against foreign currencies.
- For example, an easy monetary policy with the aim of boosting domestic demand will naturally cause the value of its currency to depreciate against foreign currencies if foreign central banks adopt a tighter monetary policy.
- If so, it would be challenging to sustain the currency’s foreign exchange value unless the central bank had enough foreign exchange reserves to support the value of the currency.
- In fact, the authorities may find it hard to maintain the currency’s foreign exchange value in the long run since it may soon run out of the foreign exchange reserves required to do so.
Scenario 03: Restricting Movement
- A few decades ago, when strict capital controls were used to regulate the flow of capital across borders, economies could choose to pursue independent monetary policy and still hope to maintain a certain exchange value against foreign currencies.
- Whenever monetary policy exerted an undesirable effect on the currency’s exchange rate, policymakers could impose controls on the flow of capital to maintain the foreign exchange value of their currency.
- For example, if a country decides to adopt an easy monetary policy that could weaken the exchange value of its currency, it could impose capital controls to stop the depreciation of its currency.
Current trilemma:
- The free flow of capital across borders has led many investors to pull money out of the rest of the world and rush to the U.S. for better yields putting pressure on many currencies such as the Indian rupee, and the Japanese yen.
- Japan’s unwillingness to tighten its monetary policy in response to rising interest rates in the U.S. has caused the Yen to depreciate about 25% against the U.S. dollar so far in 2022.
- The Bank of Japan has allowed its currency to fall, preferring to maintain control over its domestic monetary policy.
- There has been increasing pressure on the rupee, which has depreciated almost 10% against the U.S. dollar this year due to the constant raise in Fed interest rates.
- The Reserve Bank of India may also face the dilemma of choosing between maintaining the value of the rupee and holding on to its monetary policy independence.
- The RBI at present is focusing on tightening its monetary policy stance to defend the rupee as it also helps to rein in price rise which has been a concern even in India.
- But if the U.S. continues to tighten its policy stance even after the price rise in India is reined in by the RBI, then the RBI may have to choose between defending the rupee and upholding domestic demand.
Nut Graf: In today’s world, capital can travel freely and easily across borders hindering the free flow of capital and adversely affecting economic growth by preventing the efficient allocation of scarce resources across the globe. Therefore, authorities must decide between keeping a fixed exchange rate and pursuing an independent monetary policy.
Category: SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY
Syllabus: Developments & their Applications & Effects in Everyday Life
Mains: Recent discoveries and advancements in science
Context: The 2022 Nobel Prize in Chemistry, Physics and Biology was announced recently.
Nobel in Chemistry:
- Carolyn R. Bertozzi, Morten Meldal and K. Barry Sharpless won the 2022 Nobel Prize in Chemistry for discovering reactions that let molecules snap together to create desired compounds and that offer insight into cell biology.
- Barry Sharpless and Morten Meldal have laid the foundation for a functional form of chemistry – click chemistry – in which molecular building blocks snap together quickly and efficiently.
- Mr. Sharpless joins an elite band of scientists who have won two Nobel prizes. The other individuals are John Bardeen who won the Physics prize twice, Marie Curie, who won Physics and Chemistry, Linus Pauling who won Chemistry and Peace and Frederick Sanger who won the Chemistry prize twice.
- He coined the concept of Click Chemistry around 2000.
- Click Chemistry was a form of simple and reliable chemistry where reactions are quick without unwanted by-products.
- Shortly afterwards, Meldal and Sharpless (independent of each other) presented what is now the crown jewel of click chemistry: the copper catalysed azide-alkyne cycloaddition.
- Azide is an organic compound with the formula N3 while an alkyne is a hydrocarbon containing at least one carbon-carbon triple bond.
- This is an elegant and efficient chemical reaction that is now in widespread use. Among many other uses, it is utilised in the development of drugs, for mapping DNA and for creating materials that are more fit for purpose.
- Carolyn Bertozzi has taken click chemistry to a new dimension and started utilising it in living organisms.
- To map important but elusive biomolecules on the surface of cells – glycans – she developed click reactions that work inside living organisms. These bioorthogonal reactions take place without disrupting the normal chemistry of the cell.
- These reactions are now used globally to explore cells and track biological processes.
- Using bioorthogonal reactions, researchers have improved the targeting of cancer pharmaceuticals, which are now being tested in clinical trials.
- The Nobel Prize in Chemistry is awarded by the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences, Stockholm, Sweden.
Nobel for Physics:
- Alain Aspect, John F. Clauser and Anton Zeilinger have jointly won the Nobel Prize in Physics “for experiments with entangled photons, establishing the violation of Bell inequalities and pioneering quantum information science”.
- One key factor in this development is how quantum mechanics allows two or more particles to exist in what is called an entangled state. What happens to one of the particles in an entangled pair determines what happens to the other particle, even if they are far apart.
- Entangled quantum states hold the potential for new ways of storing, transferring and processing information.
- Being able to manipulate and manage quantum states and all their layers of properties gives us access to tools with unexpected potential. This is the basis for quantum computation, the transfer and storage of quantum information, and algorithms for quantum encryption. This opens up the door to work on supercomputers and encrypted communication.
Nobel Prize for Medicine:
- The Nobel Prize for Medicine 2022 was won by Svante Pääbo for his work on human evolution, a Swedish geneticist and a director of the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology in Leipzig, Germany.
- Svante Paabo spearheaded the development of new techniques that allowed researchers to compare the genome of modern humans and that of other hominins such as the Neanderthals and Denisovans.
- Svante Paabo and his team found that gene flow had occurred from Neanderthals to Homo sapiens, demonstrating that they had children together during periods of coexistence.
- This transfer of genes between hominin species has had a significant impact on the immune system of modern humans. It was also seen that people outside Africa have 1-2% of Neanderthal genes.
- Pääbo’s research also gave rise to an entirely new scientific discipline; paleogenomics.
- Recent trends in Nobel Prizes suggest that there are usually multiple winners for every prize. It is a tribute to the originality and revolutionary implications of Pääbo’s research that in a world perennially reshaped by advances in biology, he has been chosen as the lone winner of the Medicine or Physiology Prize this year for the first time since 2016.
Image Source: Nobelprize.org
Nut Graf: Science being of an increasingly collaborative and competitive nature, recent trends in Nobel wins must inspire future scientists to pursue deep questions and use science to shed new light rather than compartmentalise themselves in an academic straitjacket.
D. GS 4 Related
Nothing here for today!!!
E. Editorials
1. Gubernatorial procrastination is unreasonable
Syllabus: Structure, organization and functioning of the Executive
Prelims: About the office of Governor
Mains: Significance of the legislative powers of the Governor and various challenges associated with it.
Context: This article talks about the significance of the Governor’s assent in the law-making process.
Governor’s assent in the lawmaking process in India
- The office of the Governor is a crucial part of the State legislature as the process of law-making is incomplete without his sign or assent.
- That is any Bill passed by a State’s Legislative Assembly becomes a law only after it is assented to by the Governor.
- As the Bill once passed becomes a law only with the Governor’s assent, the Governor’s assent is said to be one of the most crucial acts in the entire process of law-making.
- Such a provision finds its place not just in the Constitution of India but also in various other democratic countries.
- As per Article 200 of the Constitution, once a Bill is passed in the Legislative Assembly and reaches the Governor, he/she can either:
- Give his assent or
- Withhold his assent or
- Return the bill for reconsideration or
- Reserve the bill for the President’s consideration
- However, this power of the Governor has often been a controversial issue.
Case study of Kerala and Tamil Nadu
- Recently in Tamil Nadu, the Governor had reserved a Bill that aimed for exemption from the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET) for the President’s consideration after being delayed.
- Further, in Kerala, a controversy emerged after the Governor publicly announced that he would not give assent to the State’s Lokayukta Amendment Bill and the Kerala University Amendment Bill.
Key issues and challenges associated with the legislative power of the Governor
- Experts feel that such actions by governors which create uncertainty around the assent of the Bill significantly disrupt the legislative programmes of the State Governments.
- As per the provisions of Article 200 of the Constitution, after sending a Bill for the reconsideration of the Assembly, even if the Assembly passes the Bill without making any change and sends it back to the Governor, the Governor is bound to give assent.
- This provision clearly affirms the primacy of the legislature in the legislative process as the legislature reflects the will of the people and is constitutionally entrusted to make laws and any attempts by the Governor to disrupt this are to be considered a violation of constitutional principles.
- The option to reserve the Bill for the consideration of the President has also been controversial. As per the provisions in the Constitution, the Bill can be reserved for President’s consideration only if the Governor feels that the Bill would endanger the position of the High Court by diluting its powers.
- The Constitution does not mention any other type of Bill. However, the courts have provided a certain degree of discretion to the Governors in this matter and such discretionary powers have been misused multiple times in the past.
- Also, the option of withholding the assent to the Bill has been controversial as the act of refusal to assent by the Governor is considered to be against the spirit of the Constitution as the Governor does not reflect the aspirations of the people of the State as he is not elected directly by the people of the State.
- As the Constitution does not mention the grounds on which a Governor may withhold assent to a Bill, it is to be acknowledged that power should be exercised by the Governor extremely sparingly and only after careful deliberation of the consequences of such moves.
- Further, as per the provisions of Article 361 of the Constitution, the courts are barred from initiating proceedings against a Governor or the President for any act done in the exercise of their powers. They enjoy complete immunity from court proceedings.
- However, it is to be acknowledged that the Governor while withholding assent will have to reveal the reason for such refusal as the Governor cannot act in an arbitrary manner.
- As per the Supreme Court bench in Rameshwar Prasad and Ors. v/s Union Of India and Anr. case, the “the immunity granted by Article 361(1) does not, however, take away the power of the Court to examine the validity of the action including on the ground of malafides” and that the grounds for refusal can be struck down as unconstitutional if they are found to be mala fide or ultra vires.
- Additionally, the Constitution does not fix any timeline for the Governor to decide the question of assent. This has led to significant delays in the law-making process and is against constitutional principles.
Practices in other countries
- The practice in the United Kingdom is that royal assent is mandatory for a Bill to be transformed into law and the crown has the power to withhold assent.
- However, this provision is said to be a dead letter as in practice and usage there is no power of veto exercised by the crown in England.
- Further, the refusal of royal assent on the ground that the monarchy disapproves of the Bill is very controversial and is treated as unconstitutional.
- In the United States, the President has the power to refuse assent and return a Bill to the House. However, if the Houses again pass it with two-thirds of each House the Bill becomes law.
- The practices of refusal of assent and withholding assent are not followed in many democratic countries and in some countries, it is unconstitutional or the constitution provides a remedy so that the Bill passed by the legislature could become law even after the refusal of assent.
Nut graf: The Constitution of India accords significant powers to the governors with respect to the law-making process. However, such powers are to be exercised in a reasonable manner without any malafide intentions as unreasonable actions disrupt the law-making process and are against the spirit of the Constitution.
1. Calamity-prone — urban India’s worrying storyline
Syllabus: Disaster and disaster management
Mains: Shortcomings with the urban flood mitigation efforts in the country and solutions
Context: In the wake of recent instances of urban flooding in the country, the article discusses the problems associated with the mitigation efforts and recommends various solution measures.
Background
- The recent instances of flooding in Bengaluru have severely disrupted the operation of the city’s IT companies.
- Similarly, such events were also seen in the case of Delhi (2013, 2021), Mumbai (2005, 2017), Chennai (2015, 2021), and Hyderabad (2020).
- The instances of urban flooding in the country have caused large-scale losses to property and life.
- Mumbai reported a loss of over ₹14,000 crores between 2005 and 2015 and it was estimated that Chennai faced losses worth ₹15,000 crores in 2015.
- Further, urban flooding also comes with significant social and human costs, which usually impact the poorer sections of society as they tend to live in environmentally vulnerable regions.
- As seen in the case of Bengaluru, more attention was on the impact of floods on the city’s IT industry and less focus was on the destruction of several informal settlements in these areas.
Flaws and shortfalls in the solutions and action plans to thwart urban flooding
- Whenever such instances of flooding occur, politically motivated accusations followed by river/drain cleanup measures, anti-encroachment drives, and stormwater network projects are undertaken by the administrators to appease the public and the media.
- However, such actions are said to be piecemeal solutions and are incompetent to tackle the challenges holistically.
- Further, there is a lack of interest in developing master plans for urban development in the country.
- Bengaluru lacks a master plan to control its development since 2015 and over 65% of urban settlements in the country lack such master plans.
- The Drainage Master Plan for Delhi was drafted in 1976 and a new plan is being implemented now after over 46 years.
- Despite the inadequate capacity and bandwidth of the State governments to undertake master plans, the powers to develop master plans still remain with the State government.
- Even if there exists a master plan, such plans do not take into account the issues of environmental protection and climate change mitigation.
- Furthermore, the responsibilities of maintaining drainage lines and the lakes are split among several agencies/departments at the State and city levels.
- This has caused various challenges and disruptions in the administration of drainage lines and lakes.
- The role of urban local bodies and urban governments has been reduced to mere stakeholders with limited authority. Despite this, many city administrations have come up with various flood mitigation plans but these plans lack statutory support as that of master plans.
- City administrations in cities like Mumbai, Ahmedabad, and Nagpur have started developing climate action plans. However, these plans are said to be toothless as they lack statutory support and fail to prescribe any regulatory controls.
- Additionally, these plans are developed mainly by experts and authorities without public participation. This further reduces the plan’s credibility.
- The lack of civic consultations dampens the credibility of such plans.
Recommended solutions
- There is a need to develop a comprehensive climate action plan for all the important cities in the country and to accord statutory status and support to these plans by placing them under the purview of the city’s master plan.
- There is a need for institutionalising the processes of public consultations as a part of the process of developing the plan as such measures provide the required credibility for the plans to tackle administrative and political opposition.
- Further, public consultations also help in identifying various issues in areas that are often overlooked by the media and decision-making bodies.
- There is also a need for setting up an environmental protection agency that is to be mandated to tackle issues related to climate change proactively.
- To undertake coordinated efforts, this agency must be made an overarching body along the lines of the unified transportation authority formed by different cities.
Nut graf: Urban flooding in India has not just resulted in huge economic losses but also come with large-scale social and human costs which affect the poorer sections of society largely. This requires immediate attention towards the country’s urban planning as unchecked urban development will further exacerbate the consequences of urban flooding and make it more catastrophic.
Category: INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS
Syllabus: Effect of policies and politics of developed and developing countries on India’s interests
Mains: Latest developments in the Russia-Ukraine war and India’s position on the conflict.
Context: The Prime Minister of India spoke to the President of Ukraine via telephone amidst the backdrop of the annexation of Ukrainian territories by Russia.
Background
- Ever since the start of the Russia-Ukraine war and the following western sanctions on Russia, there has been a significant impact on global food, fuel and energy security.
- More recently, Russia conducted referendums and annexed the Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhzhia and Kherson territories of Ukraine which has further aggravated the situation.
- In this context, India has continued to abstain from all votes that criticise Russia’s aggression but has also continued to convene bilateral talks with Ukraine.
Outcomes of the meeting
- The Indian Prime Minister (PM) is said to have called for early cessation of hostilities and highlighted the need to pursue the path of dialogue and diplomacy during the meeting.
- The PM also reiterated that there can be no military solution to the conflict and that any damage to the nuclear facilities can have catastrophic implications on public health and the environment.
- The leaders of both countries discussed the critical importance of nuclear safety, especially the one at Zaporizhzhia. The IAEA is trying to negotiate talks between Ukraine and Russia to create a nuclear protective zone around it.
- Further, the PM of India emphasised the need for adhering to the U.N. Charter, International Laws, and respecting the sovereignty and territorial integrity of all states and also conveyed India’s readiness to contribute to peace efforts.
- Following up on their last meeting in Glasgow in 2021, both leaders also talked about various areas of bilateral cooperation.
Nut graf: Despite there being increased pressure on India to take a stand against Russia’s actions of bombing and annexation of territories, India has continued its policy of neutrality and abstention with respect to the Russia-Ukraine conflict.
F. Prelims Facts
1. Emergency Credit Line Guarantee Scheme (ECLGS)
Syllabus: Government Policies & Interventions for Development
Prelims: Government Schemes
Context: The Union government has recently raised the credit limit for airlines under the Emergency Credit Line Guarantee Scheme (ECLGS).
Introduction:
- The Union Ministry of Finance has raised the credit limit for airlines making them eligible for a sum equivalent to 100% of their outstanding debt, up to a maximum of ₹1,500 crores.
- Earlier, airlines were eligible to borrow up to 50% of their credit outstanding up to ₹400 crores.
- This is the second time the government has liberalised the scheme for the aviation sector.
- Given the volatility in foreign exchange rates, high fuel prices and the recessionary fears in some of the key economies of the world, the aviation sector continues to remain under extreme pressure. This raise in the credit limit will provide a tremendous boost for airlines.
About the Scheme:
- The scheme was launched as a part of the Atma Nirbhar Bharat package for the Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises (MSME) borrowers to mitigate the distress caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.
- It was extended till March 2023 and its guarantee cover expanded by ₹50,000 crores to ₹5 lakh crore.
Read more on Emergency Credit Line Guarantee Scheme.
2. OPEC Plus
Syllabus: GS02-International Relations
Prelims: International Institutions in news
Context: OPEC+ members recently agreed to its deepest cuts to output since the 2020 COVID pandemic.
Introduction:
- OPEC+ members agreed to its deepest cuts to output since 2020 despite a tight market and opposition to cuts from the United States and others.
- The 2 million-barrels-per-day (bpd) cut from OPEC+ could spur a recovery in oil prices that have dropped to about $90 from $120 on fears of a global recession, rising U.S. interest rates and a stronger dollar.
- The cut of two million barrels a day represents about 2 percent of global oil production.
- It comes despite pleas from the US and others to pump more oil after oil prices spiked due to the Russia-Ukraine conflict among other reasons.
- In August 2022, OPEC+ missed its production target by 3.58 million bpd as several countries were already pumping well below their existing quotas.
Read more on OPEC Countries.
OPEC + :
- Opec+ refers to the alliance of crude producers, who have been undertaking corrections in supply in the oil markets since 2016.
- It refers to a group of 23 oil-producing countries that includes 13 members of OPEC (Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Algeria, Angola, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, Libya, Nigeria, the Republic of the Congo, and Venezuela) and 10 other oil-producing countries (Russia, Azerbaijan, Bahrain, Brunei, Kazakhstan, Malaysia, Mexico, Oman, South Sudan and Sudan).
- Saudi Arabia is the largest oil producer among OPEC members.
G. Tidbits
Nothing here for today!!!
H. UPSC Prelims Practice Questions
Q1. Consider the following statements with respect to the Tigray region: (Level-Medium)
- It is the northernmost regional state in Ethiopia.
- The region is bordered by Eritrea, Sudan and Djibouti.
- It is the homeland of the Tigrayan, Irob and Kunama people.
How many of the given statements are/are correct?
- One statement only
- Two statements only
- All three statements
- None of the Above
CHECK ANSWERS:-
Answer: b
Explanation:
- Statements 1 and 3 are correct, The Tigray Region is the northernmost of the nine regions of Ethiopia. It is the homeland of the Tigrayan, Irob and Kunama peoples.
Image Source: Aljazeera
- Statement 2 is incorrect, It is bordered by Eritrea to the north, Sudan to the west, the Amhara Region (Ethiopia) to the south and the Afar Region (Ethiopia) to the east and southeast.
Q2. Consider the following statements: (Level-Difficult)
- India is the second-largest producer of sugar in the world after Brazil.
- Scheme for Extending Financial Assistance to Sugar Undertakings (SEFASU) and National Policy on Biofuels are two of the government initiatives to support sugarcane production.
- The Commission for Agricultural Costs and Prices (CACP) announces the Fair and Remunerative Price for Sugarcane based on the recommendations of the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA).
How many of the given statements is/are correct?
- One statement only
- Two statements only
- All three statements
- None of the Above
CHECK ANSWERS:-
Answer: a
Explanation:
- Statement 01 is incorrect, India becomes the largest producer, and second largest exporter of sugar in May 2022. About 80 percent of sugar is produced in Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh and Karnataka
- Statement 02 is correct, The Government in 2014 notified the scheme (SEFASU-2014) envisaging interest-free loans by banks as additional working capital to sugar mills, for clearance of cane price arrears of previous sugar seasons and timely settlement to cane price of current sugar season to sugarcane farmers.
- The National Policy on Biofuels, 2018 allows the conversion of surplus quantities of food grains to ethanol. The policy allows the use of sugarcane juice, sugar-containing materials like sugar beet, and sweet sorghum as raw materials which supports sugarcane production.
- Statement 03 is incorrect, Fair and Remunerative Prices are determined on the recommendation of the Commission for Agricultural Costs and Prices (CACP) and are announced by the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs, which is chaired by the Prime Minister.
Q3. The term “Kinetic Impaction” was seen in relation to which of these Missions? (Level-Difficult)
- DART Mission
- JUNO Mission
- CASSINI Mission
- Gaganyaan Mission
CHECK ANSWERS:-
Answer: a
Explanation:
- Recently, NASA’s Double Asteroid Redirection Test (DART), the world’s first planetary defence technology demonstration successfully smashed its asteroid target using kinetic impact.
- Kinetic impaction involves sending one or more large, high-speed spacecraft into the path of an approaching near-earth object. This could deflect the asteroid into a different trajectory, steering it away from the Earth’s orbital path.
Q4. Hwasong-17, recently seen in News is: (Level - Mediumm)
- North Korea’s Intercontinental Ballistic Missile (ICBM)
- China’s unmanned spaceflight mission to its Tiangong Space Station
- South Korea’s short-range ballistic missile
- China’s manoeuvrable anti-ship ballistic missile
CHECK ANSWERS:-
Answer: a
Explanation:
- North Korea test-fired an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) named Hwasong-17. This missile is the biggest ICBM ever developed.
- The Hwasong-17 is assumed to be a two-stage, liquid-fuelled road-mobile ICBM carried by a 22-wheeled transporter erector launcher (TEL) vehicle.
Q5. Mycorrhizal biotechnology has been used in rehabilitating degraded sites because mycorrhiza enables the plants to (CSE-PYQ-2013) (Level-Difficult)
- resist drought and increase absorptive area
- tolerate extremes of PH
- Resist disease infestation
Select the correct answer using the codes given below:
- 1 only
- 2 and 3 only
- 1 and 3 only
- 1, 2 and 3
CHECK ANSWERS:-
Answer: d
Explanation:
- A mycorrhiza forms a symbiotic alliance between fungi and plants.
- This association results in the growth and development of plants and their roots.
- Mycorrhiza fungi act as a bio-fertilizer and help in maintaining soil biology and chemistry.
- Mycorrhizal fungi play a crucial role in plant nutrient uptake, water relations, ecosystem establishment, plant diversity, and productivity of plants.
- Mycorrhizas also protect plants against root pathogens and toxic stresses.
- Mining activities affect soil nutrients, pH, toxicity, bulk density, biological activity, and soil moisture. Therefore Mycorrhizal biotechnology has been used in rehabilitating these degraded mining sites.
I. UPSC Mains Practice Questions
- A delay in the discharge of gubernatorial functions goes against the democratic setup. Explain the statement with relevant examples. (15 Marks; 250 Words) (GS-2; Polity)
- Discuss the causes of Urban Flooding in India and elucidate the need for a master plan and a comprehensive climate action strategy. (10 Marks, 150 Words) (GS-1; -Social Issues)
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CNA 6 Oct 2022:- Download PDF Here
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