02 Sep 2019: UPSC Exam Comprehensive News Analysis

A. GS1 Related

Context:

The Dargah of Ajmer is undergoing restoration and redevelopment of the interiors of the Mehfil Khana, widening of gates, structural consolidation, facade work in the courtyards, cleaning of stone surfaces, and new terracing in lime concrete.

Ajmer Dargah:

• Dargahs are the tomb or shrine of an Islamic saint.
• Ajmer’s Dargah of Moinuddin Chishti was built in the 13th century.
• Moinuddin Chishti is remembered as Khwaja Garib Nawaz, or the benefactor of the poor.
• The dargah distributes degh ka khana (food from a cauldron).
• The food is prepared in two big deghs, which were made during Mughal emperor Akbar’s reign.

Architecture of the Dargah:

• In 1579, Akbar reconstructed the sanctum sanctorum and built the dome.
• The tomb was constructed in wood, later covered with a stone canopy.
• It was renovated in later years by Jahangir, Shah Jahan, and Jahanara.
• The square structure of the royal darbar (Mehfil Khana), was built in 1888 AD.
• The Dargah was organically built with various materials, ranging from brick and marble to sandstone.

Restoration Work:

• The massive restoration work is undertaken as part of a Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) initiative.
• The patterned ceiling will be designed on the lines of Kashmiri Khatambandh (a woodwork ceiling with a carved geometric pattern), and Mughal stone inlay flooring.
• Work is also going on at the famous Shahjahani Gate, built by the Mughal emperor Shahjahan to mark the expansion of the dargah complex beyond the Buland Darwaza.

Cleanliness of the Monument:

• The project under the Swacch Bharat Abhiyan also revolves around sanitation, cleanliness, and waste management within the dargah’s periphery.
• The work entails providing clean drinking water for pilgrims, building toilets, and kiosk management.
• Every day, seven tones of rose petals are wasted. For the flower-waste disposal, a compost waste converter has been installed.
• The team is working on the revival of wudu (Islamic ritual purification) points so that pilgrims can wash their hands, face and feet before offering namaz.

Context:

• The historic coastal town of Mamallapuram (Mahabalipuram) in Tamil Nadu is expected to be the venue for the second India-China informal summit between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping.
• The leaders are likely to make a visit to the ancient monuments in the coastal town.
• Mamallapuram also hosted the Defence Expo 2018 or known as Defexpo, the Union Defence Ministry’s annual event with international participation.

Mamallapuram:

• Pallava king Narasimhavarman I (630 AD – 668 AD), also called Mahamalla or Mamalla founded the city of Mamallapuram or Mahabalipuram which is named after him.
• He had defeated and killed Pulakesin II of Chalukya dynasty in 642 AD, took control of Vatapi, the Chalukya capital and assumed the title ‘Vatapikonda’.
• The Shore temple of Mamallapuram was built during the reign of Pallava king Narasimhavarman II, also known as Rajasimha (700 – 728 AD).
• There is one each Shiva shrine facing east and west and a middle shrine of Vishnu in Anantashayana pose.
• The presence of three main shrines is a unique feature. It is probable that the shrines were not all built at the same time.
• There are sculptures of Nandi the bull (Shiva’s mount) along the walls of the temple.
• There is evidence of a water reservoir and a gopuram.
• Other monuments at the site are the rathas (chariot temples), mandapas, and rock relief sculptures such as the Descent of the Ganges (penance of Arjuna).
• The monuments of Mamallapuram had been classified as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
• The site has been identified by the Ministry of Tourism as one of the 17 sites in 12 clusters for development under Iconic Tourist Sites Development Project.

Hubei Provincial Museum:

• The first informal summit between both the leaders was held in Wuhan in China during April, 2018.
• During the first informal summit, the leaders had made a visit to the Hubei provincial museum.

Context:

• The Assam government would approach the Supreme Court again for a reverification process of the final National Register of Citizens (NRC) in a couple of districts.

Background:

• The statement came after the publication of the final NRC list that excluded more than 19 lakh individuals.
• Earlier, the state government asked for a reverification of 20% of the cases in border districts and 10% in other districts.
• However, the Supreme Court denied that request.

Anomalies found:

• The state government has raised concerns over several technical flaws in the process that may have caused the exclusion of Bengali Hindu refugees who had crossed over to Assam before 1971.
• It is alleged that many NRC officials did not recognise refugee certification issued before 1971.
• It is doubted that many people did not appeal against their exclusion when the draft NRC had released. Unofficial count goes up to 3 lakhs.
• The NRC authority has registered many cases where the documents submitted were questionable.
• It is alleged that deletions were low in border areas where populations were high while it was higher in tribal areas.
• The opposition party has asked the authorities to start the process of filing appeals only after providing certified copies to those excluded from the NRC, citing reasons for their exclusion.

Not ‘Stateless’ People:

• Ministry of External Affairs assured that those individuals excluded from the final list of the NRC will not become stateless or a foreigner and they will continue to enjoy equal rights available to all Indians.
• It was added that the implementation of the NRC was a scientific and non-discriminatory process done in accordance with the democratic traditions of India, which leaves no room for bias and injustice.
• Those who are not in the final list will not be detained till they have exhausted all the remedies available under the law.
• The Government will follow ‘equal rights for all’ and ‘respect for the rule of law’ and would support those appealing for reconsideration of their applications.

Global Response:

• UN High Commissioner for Refugees had expressed concern and urged India not to leave anyone as a stateless subject.
• However, Foreign Minister of Bangladesh reiterated that the NRC was an internal matter of India that would not affect Bangladesh.
• He added that the excluded individuals will not be deported to Bangladesh, as India has maintained so.

C. GS3 Related

Category: ECONOMY

1. India Facing Prolonged Slowdown: Former Prime Minister

Context:

• Delhi Government will commission a pilot project to naturally treat 10 lakh litres of wastewater per day.

Details:

• The ₹1.85 Cr. project will be undertaken by the Irrigation and Flood Control Department in Ghoga village, north Delhi.
• The treated water will be supplied by a pipeline to a 2 acre dry water body at a distance of 1.2 km from the project.
• In the test runs, the blackish water turned clean as it passed through the system.

Water Shortage in Delhi:

• The city faces a water shortage with requirement of about 1,120 million gallons per day (MGD) and average production of about 930 MGD.
• Polluted water cannot recharge groundwater as percolation into the ground is less due to sludge and waste present in it.

Mechanism of Natural Treatment:

• The water from the Ghoga drain first goes into a ‘sedimentation-cum-biodigestor tank’, where heavy suspended solids settle as the wastewater flows through criss-cross dividers in the tank.
• The water then passes through one of the four chambers of wetlands, which have plants and rocks.
• There will be a sand carbon filter too.
• The bacteria present in the roots of the plant (Canna indica) breaks down the chemicals and heavy metals in the water.
• The anaerobic and aerobic reactions will digest the pollutants.

Benefits:

• The Biological Oxygen Demand [BOD] level is radically reduced from 330 PPM to 40 PPM.
• It will also help recharge the groundwater. Recharging the groundwater will help raise the water table and reduce the water crisis.

D. GS4 Related

E. Editorials

Context:

In the background of recurring natural calamities, it is required to formulate a new sustainable policy for the future of the planet.

Natural Calamities:

• Brazil’s Amazon forests are ablaze with dozens of fires.
• Most of them were set intentionally by loggers and others seeking greater access to forest land.
• The fires are paving the way for a global climate catastrophe.
• How long the fires can continue is unclear.
• Many cities in Europe and elsewhere have seen high temperatures never before experienced.
• Heat waves have also accelerated melting of glaciers in Greenland at a rate that was not anticipated by scientific models until much later this century.

Reasons behind Climate Change:

• Energy and transport sectors are mainly responsible for the accumulation of greenhouse gases (GHGs) in the atmosphere.
• Deforestation, industrial agricultural systems, changes in land use patterns and desertification are also major drivers of climate change.
• Agriculture, forestry and other land use activities accounted for around 23% of the total net anthropogenic emissions of GHGs during 2007-2016.

IPCC Report:

• The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) recently brought out a special report on Climate Change and Land that covers desertification, land degradation, sustainable land management, food security and greenhouse gas fluxes in terrestrial ecosystems.
• The report makes it clear that unless land is managed in a sustainable manner, the diminishing chance that humanity will survive climate change will become smaller still.

Land management:

• Land provides food, water, livelihoods, biodiversity and a range of other benefits from its ecosystems.
• However, decades of poor land management in the agricultural system is a huge concern.
• Soils have become depleted with heavy use of chemicals.
• Farms have few or no friendly insects.
• Monoculture has led to a reduction in the use of indigenous crop varieties with useful characteristics.
• Groundwater is depleted.
• Polluted farm runoffs are contributing to contaminated water bodies and destroying biodiversity.
• The system no longer supports agricultural households, and it has eventually led to farmer suicides.

Are the Global Powers Withdrawing from their Responsibilities?

• European leaders and civil society in many places are organising protests to oppose policies that encourage the fires.
• However, Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro has stated that they are an internal matter and that they were actually started by the very non-governmental organisations who are now shouting “fire”.
• S President Donald Trump has withdrawn from the Paris Climate Agreement stating that it is against the national interests of the U.S.
• British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, a vocal critic of European integration, is uncertain about climate change.
• He accepts funding from groups which deny climate change while also saying that he would ask the U.S. to take climate change more seriously.
• These policies may appear to be part of a nationalist ideology.
• But these actions have consequences that goes beyond national boundaries and impact all creatures that share life on the planet.

Way Forward:

• Better management of farm land entails implementing more sustainable agricultural practices such as:
• Reducing chemical input drastically.
• Using natural methods of agro ecology.
• These methods would reduce emissions and enhance resilience to warming.
• Conversion of grassland to cropland need to be avoided.
• Equitable management of water should be brought in for agriculture.
• Other methods include:
• Crop diversification
• Agroforestry
• Investment in local and indigenous seed varieties that can withstand higher temperatures.
• Practices that increase soil carbon and reduce salinisation.

Sustainable Food Systems

• Sustainable food systems involve the following factors:
• Reducing food waste. It is estimated that a quarter of the food produced is being wasted.
• Eating locally grown food.
• Cutting meat consumption.
• Stopping deforestation.
• Conserving mangroves, peatland and other wetlands.

Land Use Policy for Future:

• Land use policy should incorporate the following factors:
• Better access to markets for small and marginal farmers.
• Empower women farmers.
• Expand agricultural services.
• Strengthen land tenure systems.
• Sustainable land management can reduce inequality and poverty.
• It will also help societies adapt better to climate change and reduce their greenhouse gas emissions.

Fresh template needed:

• The narrow lens of nationalism is no longer serving us in thinking about how to address the transnational challenges of climate change and land.
• We need a new planetary ethics that supports alternative systems for a sustainable future of earth.
• It needs to cultivate the growth of ecological sensibilities, support pluralism, enhance the quality of life, shift values away from consumerism and create new identities and cultures that transcend conventional boundaries.

Successful Models:

• There have been successful civil society movements that have transcended borders. Ex.: La Via Campesina, the Transition Network, and Bioregionalism.
• More recently, Fridays for Future and Fossil Fuel Divestment are part of such evolving initiatives.
• The Great Transition Initiative focus on seeing our place as part of the web of life, instead of at its centre. Our sensibilities have to shift just as Copernicus changed the perception of the earth from the centre of the universe to being one among many planets.

Category: ECONOMY

1. Adequacy of Counter Measures against Economic Slowdown

Q1. Which of the following organizations releases the Special Report on Climate Change
and Land?

Q2. Consider the following statements with reference to Ajmer Dargah:

Q3. Which of the following historic sites has the rock cut relief sculpture known as Penance
of Arjuna or the Descent of the Ganga?

Q4. Consider the following statements about the Association of World Election Bodies (A-WEB):

1. A convergence between global powers is imperative for the formulation of policies against climate change. Discuss in the context of Brazil’s initial refusal of international support in the Amazon fire crisis. (250 words, 15 marks)
2. The UN High Commissioner for Refugees has been at the forefront of solving humanitarian crises across the world. Illustrate with suitable examples. (250 words, 15 marks)

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September 2nd, 2019 CNA:-Download PDF Here