26 Oct 2021: UPSC Exam Comprehensive News Analysis

Oct 26th, 2021, CNA:- Download PDF Here

TABLE OF CONTENTS

A. GS 1 Related
B. GS 2 Related
POLITY AND GOVERNANCE
1. SC tells panel to fix maximum water level at Mullaperiyar dam
C. GS 3 Related
ECONOMY
1. Rains dent rubber output, imports to rise
ENVIRONMENT
1. CO2 emissions in 2020 above decadal average
SECURITY
1. BSF jurisdiction: parties in Punjab oppose Centre’s decision
D. GS 4 Related
E. Editorials
INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS
1. A festering crisis in the Palk Strait
2. A ‘bubbles of trust’ approach
GOVERNANCE
1. A reminder that India still trails in the hunger fight
F. Prelims Facts
1. Thespian Rajinikanth given Dadasaheb Phalke Award
G. Tidbits
1. Air bubbles to continue for some time
H. UPSC Prelims Practice Questions
I. UPSC Mains Practice Questions

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Yojana Gist
Kurukshetra Gist    
Current Affairs Magazine

Category: ENVIRONMENT

1. CO2 emissions in 2020 above decadal average

Reference:

UPSC Exam Comprehensive News Analysis 25th Oct 2021

Category: SECURITY

1. BSF jurisdiction: parties in Punjab oppose Centre’s decision

Reference:

UPSC Exam Comprehensive News Analysis of 17th Oct 2021

2. A ‘bubbles of trust’ approach

Background:

Rise of China and its consequences:

  • China has been able to grow economically due to ongoing globalization. Chinese firms have been able to secure significant market shares in open economies.
  • However, there has been a marked asymmetric globalisation being observed. The Chinese market has not been open to foreign companies in the way foreign markets are to Chinese firms.
  • The asymmetric globalisation favouring China allowed Beijing to attain power. It is now using that power to undermine liberal democratic values around the world.
  • In such a scenario, there have been calls for a global retreat from the free movement of goods, services, capital, people and ideas.

Concept of bubbles of trust:

  • The popular backlash against China is pushing many governments towards policies of self-reliance.
  • Though the reorienting and de-risking of global supply chains is welcome, pursuing technological sovereignty could be inherently self-defeating as collective efforts could be more effective in harnessing critical and emerging technologies. Complementarities in capabilities can power innovation and growth.
  • The article proposes a bubbles of trust approach.
  • The idea of ‘bubbles of trust’ offers a middle path between the extremes of technological sovereignty and laissez-faire globalisation. Unlike trading blocs, which tend to be insular, bubbles tend to expand organically, attracting new partners that share values, interests and economic complementarities.

Quad’s role:

  • The Quad countries – Japan, India, Australia and the U.S.– with their convergence of values and geopolitical interests are uniquely placed to envelop their economies inside bubbles of trust.
    • The U.S. is a global leader in intellectual property, Japan in high-value manufacturing, Australia in advanced niches such as quantum computing and cyber security, and India in human capital. This configuration of values, interests and complementary capabilities offers huge opportunities.
  • The Quad countries will have to create a new form of economic cooperation based on the bubbles of trust approach.
  • The Quad’s Critical and Emerging Technology Working Group is well placed to develop the necessary ‘bubbles of trust’ framework, which could be adopted at the next Quad summit. The Working Group must seek to strengthen geopolitical convergences, increase faith in each member state’s judicial systems, deepen economic ties and boost trust in one another’s citizens. The Quad should not allow differences of approach on privacy, data governance and the digital economy to widen.
  • The focus should not be on substituting China. Rather, it should be based on the Quad countries managing their dependencies on China while simultaneously developing a new vision for the global economy.

Conclusion:

  • Every measure needs to be taken to address the skewed globalization pattern and its negative consequences.
  • The bubbles of trust offer a middle path between the extremes of technological sovereignty and laissez-faire globalisation and hence there is the need to promote it.

Category: GOVERNANCE

1. A reminder that India still trails in the hunger fight

The recently released Global Hunger Index has ranked India at 101 out of 116 countries, with the country falling in the category of having a ‘serious’ hunger situation.  The Indian government has expressed strong reservations over the process and parameters employed in the formulation of the GHI.

This issue has been covered previously in the following article:

UPSC Exam Comprehensive News Analysis of 18th Oct 2021

F. Prelims Facts

1. Thespian Rajinikanth given Dadasaheb Phalke Award

  • The Dadasaheb Phalke Awards is the highest award in cinema.
  • It is annually presented at the National Film Awards ceremony by the Directorate of Film Festivals.
  • The award is named after Dhundiraj Govind Phalke, popularly known as Dadasaheb Phalke.
  • Dadasaheb Phalke is regarded as the ‘father of Indian cinema’.

Context

  • Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu presented the Dadasaheb Phalke Award to film actor Rajinikanth.

G. Tidbits

Nothing here for today!!!

H. UPSC Prelims Practice Questions

Q.1 Consider the following statements with regards to Dadasaheb Phalke awards and choose the 
correct ones.
  1. The award is named after Dhundiraj Govind Phalke, regarded as the ‘father of Indian cinema’.
  2. Dadasaheb Phalke Award was introduced by the government in 1969 and it was awarded for the first time to Devika Rani, “the first lady of Indian cinema”.
  3. Dadasaheb Phalke directed India’s first feature film Raja Harischandra (1913).

Options:-

  1. 1 & 2 only
  2. 2 & 3 only
  3. 1 & 3 only
  4. All of the above
CHECK ANSWERS:-

Answer: d

Explanation:

  • The Dadasaheb Phalke Award is India’s highest award in the field of cinema. It is presented annually at the National Film Awards ceremony by the Directorate of Film Festivals, an organisation set up by the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting. The recipient is honoured for their “outstanding contribution to the growth and development of Indian cinema”.
  • Presented first in 1969, the award was introduced by the Government of India to commemorate Dadasaheb Phalke’s contribution to Indian cinema. Phalke (1870–1944), who is popularly known as and often regarded as “the father of Indian cinema”, was an Indian filmmaker who directed India’s first full-length feature film, Raja Harishchandra (1913).
  • The first recipient of the award was actress Devika Rani.
Q.2 Consider the following statements with regards to the National Commission for Scheduled 
Castes in India:
  1. It is a constitutional body set up under the provisions of Article 338A of the Indian Constitution.
  2. The Commission is also required to discharge similar functions with regards to the Anglo-Indian Community as it does with respect to the SCs.
  3. Its functions include monitoring and investigating all issues concerning the safeguards provided for the SCs under the Constitution.

Which of these statements is/are correct?

  1. 1 & 2 only
  2. 1 & 3 only
  3. 2 & 3 only
  4. All of the above
CHECK ANSWERS:-

Answer: c

Explanation:

  • The National Commission for Scheduled Castes is an Indian constitutional body under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment, Government of India established with a view to providing safeguards against the exploitation of Scheduled Castes and Anglo Indian communities to promote and protect their social, educational, economic and cultural interests, special provisions were made in the Constitution.
  • Its functions include monitoring and investigating all issues concerning the safeguards provided for the SCs under the Constitution.
  • Article 338 of the Indian Constitution deals with National Commission for Scheduled Castes. Article 338 A deals with National Commission for Scheduled Tribes.
Q.3 Consider the following statements with regards to production of Rubber:
  1. Kerala is the top producer of rubber amongst all the Indian states.
  2. Recently, the world’s first Genetically Modified (GM) rubber plant developed by Rubber Research Institute was planted in Assam.
  3. Rubber Board, headquartered at Kottayam, Kerala, under the administration of the Ministry of Commerce and Industry, is responsible for the development of the rubber industry in the country by assisting and encouraging research, development, extension and training activities related to rubber.

Which of these is incorrect?

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

Answer: d

Explanation:

  • Kerala is the largest rubber producing state of India (accounting for almost 90% of total rubber production in India).
  • Recently, the world’s first Genetically Modified (GM) rubber plant developed by Rubber Research Institute was planted in Assam.
  • Rubber Board, under the administration of the Ministry of Commerce and Industry, is responsible for the development of the rubber industry in the country by assisting and encouraging research, development, extension and training activities related to rubber. It is headquartered in Kottayam, Kerala.
Q.4 Which of the given statements is not true with regards to the Piprahwa relics?
  1. They were gifted to Sri Lanka by the Indian government 141 years ago
  2. The relics include bone fragments, ashes and pieces of jewels of Buddha
  3. The relics are kept at Waskaduwa Viharaya in Sri Lanka
  4. None of the above
CHECK ANSWERS:-

Answer: d

Explanation:

  • One of the world’s pre-eminent discoveries of relics of Gautama Buddha occurred at Piprahwa in 1898. William Claxton Peppé, a British landowner, excavated an ancient Buddhist stupa on the Birdpur estate near the border of India and Nepal.
    • The site is approximately 160 km from Kushinagar, the final resting place of Buddha, where he attained mahaparinirvana after death.
  • He unearthed a large stone coffer containing gold, jewels, fragments of bone and five reliquary urns. An inscription on one of the urns identified the pieces of bone as the relics of the Lord Buddha which had been given to his own Sakya clan following his cremation.
  • Some of these relics were gifted to Sri Lanka as a token of friendship and gratitude. They were kept at Waskaduwa Viharaya in Sri Lanka.
Q.5 Consider the following statements:
  1. According to the Indian Patents Act, a biological process to create a seed can be patented in India.
  2. In India, there is no Intellectual Property Appellate Board.
  3. Plant varieties are not eligible to be patented in India.

Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

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

Answer: c

Explanation:

  • Article 3(j) the Indian Patents Act excludes from patentability “plants and animals in whole or in any part thereof other than microorganisms but including seeds, varieties, and species, and essentially biological processes for production or propagation of plants and animals”. Hence, Statement 1 is not correct. Plant varieties are not eligible to be patented in India.
  • The Intellectual Property Appellate Board (IPAB) has been constituted by the Indian Government to hear and resolve the appeals against the decisions of the registrar under the Indian Trademarks Act, 1999 and the Geographical Indications of Goods (Registration and Protection) Act, 1999. Hence, statement 2 is not correct.

I. UPSC Mains Practice Questions

  1. Examine the conflict between the two competing rights — freedom to protest and the right to free movement of the public. Apply this debate specifically to the ongoing farmers’ protests against farm laws and evaluate. (15 marks, 250 words)[GS-2, Polity]
  2. The failure to resolve the fishermen’s dispute is hurting India – Sri Lanka relations. Elucidate. (15 marks, 250 words)[GS-2, International Relations]

Read the previous CNA here.

Oct 26th, 2021, CNA:- Download PDF Here

IAS General Studies Notes Links
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Pashmina Shawl Gopal Krishna Gokhale
Pallava Dynasty Gdr

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