CNA 15 Sep 2022:- Download PDF Here
TABLE OF CONTENTS
A. GS 1 Related B. GS 2 Related GOVERNANCE 1. Essential medicines list 2. Hindi and Regional Languages C. GS 3 Related D. GS 4 Related E. Editorials SOCIAL ISSUES 1. India’s growing water crisis, the seen and the unseen 2. The future of old times in India HEALTH 1. Examining the Dolo scandal F. Prelims Facts 1. Scheduled Tribes 2. Hoysala architecture G. Tidbits 1. Manasbal Lake H. UPSC Prelims Practice Questions I. UPSC Mains Practice Questions
A. GS 1 Related
Nothing here for today!!!
B. GS 2 Related
Syllabus: Government Policies and Interventions, Health
Mains: Policies to reduce out-of-pocket expenditure on Healthcare in India
Context: The National List of Essential Medicines (NLEM), 2022 was released recently.
Introduction:
- NLEM was updated for the first time since 2015.
- 384 drugs have been included in this list with the addition of 34 drugs, while 26 from the 2015 NLEM have been dropped.
- NLEM has changed antimicrobials, keeping in mind the resistance pattern, including drugs that are part of national missions.
What are Essential Medicines?
- According to the World Health Organisation, essential medicines are those that satisfy the priority health care needs of a population.
- They are selected with due regard to disease prevalence and public health relevance, evidence of efficacy and safety and comparative cost-effectiveness.
- They are intended to be available in functioning health systems at all times, in appropriate dosage forms, of assured quality and at prices individuals and health systems can afford.
What is the National List of Essential Medicines (NLEM)?
- NLEM is a list released by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare.
- The medicines listed in the NLEM are sold below a price ceiling fixed by the National Pharmaceutical Pricing Authority (NPPA).
- It is a dynamic list that takes into account any changing profile of diseases, newer drugs available in the market, and changing treatment protocols.
- It is created to rationalise the use of limited resources for drugs needed the most by the greatest number of people.
- The Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare prepared and released the first National List of Essential Medicines of India in 1996 consisting of 279 medicines. This list was subsequently revised in 2003, 2011, 2015 and 2022.
Key Changes in 2022 NLEM:
- A total of 384 drugs across 27 categories are on the list. 34 drugs are freshly added and 26 drugs from the 2015 NLEM list have been dropped.
- Major anti-cancer drugs, hydrochloride, HCI trihydrate, lenalidomide and leuprolide acetate as well as psychotherapeutic drugs, nicotine replacement therapy and anti-parasitic drugs like ivermectin, mupirocin (topical antibiotic), and meropenem (antibiotic) are on the list.
- It also includes four drugs that are still under patent — bedaquiline and delamanid, used in the treatment of multiple drug-resistant tuberculosis, dolutegravir used to treat human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection, and daclatasvir used in treating viral infections such as Hepatitis C.
- Endocrine medicines and contraceptives like fludrocortisone, ormeloxifene, insulin glargine and teneligliptin (for diabetes control) have also been added to the list.
- Montelukast, acting on the respiratory tract, the ophthalmological drug latanoprost and cardiovascular medicines dabigatran and tenecteplase are on the list too.
- Omissions include commonly used gastrointestinal drugs ranitidine, sucralfate, white petrolatum (for treating skin conditions), atenolol and methyldopa (for high blood pressure).
Criteria for the addition of drugs to the list:
- The drugs have to be useful in treating diseases which are a public health problem in India to be added to NLEM.
- They have to be licensed/approved by the Drugs Controller General (DCGI), have proven efficacy, a safety profile based on scientific evidence, are comparatively cost-effective, and are aligned with the current treatment guidelines.
- They have to be recommended under the National Health Programs of India.
- When more than one medicine is available from the same therapeutic class, a prototype that is the best-suited medicine of that class is included. Besides this, the price of the total treatment is considered and not the unit price of a medicine.
When is a medicine deleted from NLEM?
- If it gets banned in India.
- If reports of concerns about drug safety emerge.
- If medicine with better efficacy and better cost-effectiveness becomes available.
- If the disease, for which a particular medicine is recommended, is no longer a national health concern.
- In the case of antimicrobials — if the resistance pattern has rendered an antimicrobial ineffective. Know more about Antimicrobial Resistance in the link.
Significance of having NLEM:
- NLEM promotes rational use of medicines considering three crucial aspects which are cost, safety and efficacy.
- It also helps in optimum utilisation of healthcare resources and budget, drug procurement policies, health insurance, improving prescribing habits, medical education and training and drafting of pharmaceutical policies.
- The NLEM is a dynamic document and is revised on a regular basis considering the changing public health priorities as well as advancements in pharmaceutical knowledge.
- Prices of medicines under NLEM every year are increased or decreased as per the Wholesale Price Index, meaning the prices of these medicines cannot be increased unreasonably.
Nut Graf: The Union government has adopted the updated NLEM with several changes based on recommendations of the Standing National Committee on Medicines. The updated list makes several antibiotics, vaccines, anti-cancer drugs and many other important drugs more affordable, and significantly reduces the ‘out-of-pocket’ expenditure on health care.
2. Hindi and Regional Languages
Syllabus: Issues arising out of design and implementation of policies
Mains: Linguistic diversity of India
Context: Recently, the Union Home Minister Mr.Amit Shah stressed the need for accepting the coexistence of languages.
Introduction:
- Addressing the All-India Official Language Conference in Surat on Hindi Divas, Mr. Shah said that accepting the coexistence of languages was necessary.
- He emphasised on the coexistence of languages to realise the dream of running the country in our own language instead of English.
- This came in the background as political parties and pro-regional language groups in various states are protesting against the move to celebrate Hindi Diwas as a State-sponsored event.
Hindi Diwas and the debate over Hindi’s status:
- The annual celebration of Hindi Diwas commemorates the day when the Constituent Assembly of India took the decision to make Hindi the official language of the Union government (September 14, 1949), while English was to hold the status of associate language for 15 years.
- It was a compromise, famously called the Munshi-Ayyangar formula, that took into account the demands of the Hindi protagonists and the delegates from South India who wished English to have a constitutional status.
- Selecting Hindi as the official language of an independent India was rooted in the necessity of finding a unifying force in a country with diverse languages, scripts and dialects.
- In the Constituent Assembly debate, then Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru pointed out that no country can succeed on the basis of a foreign language and recalled Gandhi’s support for Hindustani, which he believed represented the composite culture of India while cautioning against the imposition of Hindi in opposition to the wishes of large parts of India.
Issue with Hindi Language and Identity:
- The majority of the states in India have been formed on a linguistic basis.
- Conflicts over identity, especially over languages tend to be escalated due to limited resources in India.
- Language policy is one method by which governments attempt to manage ethnic conflict. Thus, to develop federal cooperation, autonomy of the states over language policy can be a more viable option than the imposition of the Hindi Language.
- At an ideological level, in States such as Tamil Nadu, the question of being required to learn a northern language such as Hindi has always been contentious, with anti-Hindi agitations a recurring episode in the State since 1937.
- There are 1,369 ‘mother tongues’ in India as per the 2011 census and Hindi is only one among them.
- Hindi subsumed several languages such as Bhojpuri and the Census has put such languages as a subset of Hindi which effectively reduces the actual users of Hindi.
Image Source: Times of India
Way Forward:
- Creating a common market for the country, through a single, simplified tax structure and fostering a single labour market fosters a stronger national unity than imposing a language.
- Unity in diversity has always been the strength of India and diversity should never be seen as a cultural burden.
Nut Graf: National integration in a multilingual country does not require the imposition of one official language on the people. Given the linguistic diversity of India, there is no national language as all the states are free to decide on their own official languages. Cooperation between states and the centre to support and integrate local languages of India can avoid any language chauvinism in future.
C. GS 3 Related
Nothing here for today!!!
D. GS 4 Related
Nothing here for today!!!
E. Editorials
1. India’s growing water crisis, the seen and the unseen
Syllabus: Population and associated issues, developmental issues and urbanization – their problems and remedies.
Prelims: About World Water Development Report and World Water Day
Mains: Water crisis in India and its associated issues
Context: UNESCO has recently released the United Nations World Water Development Report of 2022.
United Nations World Water Development Report (UN WWDR)
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Background
- The report highlights the concerns about the sharp decline in the freshwater available in streams, lakes, aquifers and other human-made reservoirs.
- The report also notes that there is impending water stress and various regions across the world are witnessing water scarcity.
- Much before, in 2007, the theme of World Water Day (observed on the 22nd of March every year) was “Coping with water scarcity”.
- Further, the latest Water Report of the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) also pointed out the consequences of a silent crisis on a global scale, with lakhs of people facing the brunt of water scarcity.
- According to the Water Scarcity Clock which is an interactive web tool, more than 200 crore people across the world are witnessing high water stress and the numbers are expected to rise.
Increasing water stress in India and its associated concerns
- As per the Global Drought Risk and Water Stress map (2019), the major parts of India, especially in the west, central and a few areas of peninsular India are experiencing high water stress and water scarcity.
- A NITI Aayog report named the “Composite Water Management Index” (2018) has also pointed out the worst water crisis in the country, with over 60 crore people experiencing severe water shortages.
- Usually, in places that are experiencing high water scarcity, water is transferred to these areas from the upper catchments or water is drawn from stored surface water bodies or aquifers.
- However, this kind of policy usually gives rise to sectoral or regional competition.
- The issue of rural-urban transfer of water is a similar issue which is of global concern.
- There has been an increase in the transboundary transfer of water between rural and urban areas in several countries since the early 20th century.
- According to a study in 2019, urban water infrastructure imports around 500 billion litres of water per day across a total distance of over 27,000 km worldwide.
- A minimum of 12% of the large cities in the world rely on inter-basin transfers.
- A United Nations report on “Transboundary Waters Systems – Status and Trend” published in 2016 connected the issue of water transfer with many Sustainable Development Goals proposed to be achieved from 2015 to 2030.
- The report highlighted the risks associated with water transfer in three categories namely biophysical, socio-economic and governance.
- The South Asian region which includes India has been placed under the category of high biophysical and the highest socio-economic risks.
To read more about the Water crisis in India, refer to the following article:
India’s Water Crisis – Every Drop Counts: RSTV – The Big Picture
The usage of water in urban areas
- As per the data from the Census 2011, the urban population in India constituted 34% of the overall population distributed in about 7,935 towns of all classes and it is said that the urban population proportion in India will breach the 40% mark by 2030 and the 50% mark by 2050 (World Urbanization Prospects, 2018).
- The urban population constituted 50% of the overall worldwide population by the end of the 20th century.
- Despite India’s rate of urbanisation being comparatively slow, it is still urbanising at a swift rate and the share of the urban population is significant.
- This has resulted in an increase in the use of water in the urban areas and with increased migration towards these areas the per capita use of water will also increase significantly.
- Improved standards of living are also another factor for an increase in water usage.
- According to the urban water management trajectory:
- In the initial stages when a city is small – the key concern is with the water supply which is resolved in most cases by sourcing the water locally and the use of groundwater.
- As the city grows – the water management infrastructure begins to develop and the reliance now shifts to surface water.
- As the city grows further – water sources also shift further towards the hinterlands and most of the time the allocation of urban water is increased at the expense of water for irrigation.
- The supply of water to urban areas has now become a subject of inter-basin and inter-state transfers of water.
- The case of Ahmedabad
- Over 80% of the water supply in Ahmedabad was met from groundwater sources until the mid-1980s.
- As the depth to groundwater level has reached 67 metres in confined aquifers, Ahmedabad now relies on the water from the Narmada canal.
- This has marked a shift from local groundwater to canal water supply from an inter-State and inter-basin transfer of surface water.
The existing risk of rural-urban dispute
- The reliance on groundwater continues especially in the peri-urban areas in large cities that have switched to surface water sources.
- While surface water transfer from rural to urban areas is visible and can be measured, the recharge areas of groundwater aquifers are spread over large areas which often extend beyond the city boundaries.
- Irrespective of the source being surface or groundwater, urban areas are largely dependent on rural areas for raw water supply, which in the future can trigger a rural-urban conflict.
- As per various studies on cities like Nagpur and Chennai, there is an imminent challenge of rural-urban water disputes that the country is going to face in the near future as the shortage of water continues to increase on account of climate change.
- Currently, the rural-urban water transfer is not an ideal situation as the water is transferred at the cost of rural areas and the agricultural sector. Further, in urban areas, most of this water is in the form of grey water which cannot be reused thereby contributing to water pollution.
Recommendations
- Through a system perspective and catchment scale-based approach, water sharing between rural and urban areas can be reallocated with a key focus on development, infrastructure investment, fostering a rural-urban partnership and adopting an integrated approach to water management.
- The existing institutional mechanisms can be strengthened to provide an opportunity to develop flexibility in water resource allocation by making various adjustments in the urbanising areas.
- As the country is celebrating its 75th anniversary of Independence, it is time to analyse, monitor and conserve its water resources and at the same time, and also not compromise on the development process.
Nut graf: The water management and water transfer techniques currently in place pose an imminent threat of igniting several rural-urban water disputes as the water scarcity increases which is further aggravated by climate change. This warrants increased efforts towards creating a win-win situation for the sharing of water between the urban and rural areas.
2. The future of old times in India
Syllabus: Population and associated issues
Mains: Challenges associated with the ageing of the population and various remedial measures
Context: This article talks about the challenges associated with the ageing of the population in India.
Background
- The life expectancy (the average number of years that an individual is expected to live) in the country has increased by more than two times since Independence.
- The life expectancy was around 32 years in the late 1940s and currently it is about 70 years.
- At the same time, the fertility rate in the country has decreased to about two from six children per woman.
- However, this has created a new challenge with respect to the ageing of the population.
- The proportion of the elderly (individuals aged 60 years and above) in India was seen to be 9% of the total population in 2011.
- According to the National Commission on Population, this proportion is expected to reach 18% by 2036.
To read more about the issue refer to the following article:
UPSC Exam Comprehensive News Analysis dated 10 Mar 2022
Recommendations on addressing the challenges of the ageing population
Pensions
- According to various studies and research, there is an increase in mental health issues such as depression among the elderly.
- According to a survey, among individuals aged 60 and above, about 30% to 50% (depending on gender and age group) had shown symptoms of depression.
- This share is higher among women than men and increases with the increase in age.
- It is widely believed that depression is strongly correlated with poverty, poor health and loneliness.
- Extending cash benefits through old-age pensions is expected to help individuals cope with various health issues and it is expected to act as a first step towards ensuring a dignified life and safeguard the elderly from destitution and deprivations.
- In India, there are a few essential schemes of non-contributory pensions for the elderly, widowed women and disabled persons under the National Social Assistance Programme (NSAP) which is administered by the Ministry of Rural Development.
- However, these schemes are limited to individuals from below the poverty line (BPL) and the central contribution to old-age pensions under NSAP has stagnated at only ₹200 per month since 2006 with widows getting ₹300 per month.
- Various states have extended these assistance programmes to achieve almost universal coverage (75%-80%) of widows and the elderly.
Extending the beneficiary targets
- “Targeting” social benefits schemes has always been a challenge in India as restricting them to BPL families has not yielded results as there are several errors in the BPL lists.
- Further, experts feel that targeting is not the ideal way to deal with the ageing population as these individuals experience deprivations even in relatively well-off households.
- Furthermore, targeting involves complicated formalities like the periodical renewal of certificates, submission of BPL certificates and other documents for getting benefits, etc.
- Adherence to these formalities is difficult for the elderly, especially those who come from remote areas with little education.
- Therefore extending benefits to all widows and elderly or disabled with simple and transparent “exclusion criteria” is said to be a better approach.
- Also, the eligibility can be self-declared, with the task of periodic verification being entrusted to the local administration or gram panchayat.
Widening the net and budget allocations
- Widening the beneficiary base would require increased allocation to the pension budgets as social assistance schemes in the country have low budgets.
- Experts believe that there is a need to increase these allocations as the social assistance schemes are worth expanding.
Revamping NSAP
- The southern States have performed better in terms of universal coverage of social benefits. However, some States are struggling to ensure near-universal social security pensions.
- The centre by revamping the NSAP can help the states to perform much better.
- The allocation for NSAP has been just ₹9,652 crores (less than 0.05% of India’s GDP) which has more or less remained stagnant for about 10 years.
Other benefits
- The elderly population also requires support in terms of improving health care facilities, extending disability aids, assistance with daily tasks, recreation opportunities and a chance to have a good social life.
Nut graf: As the share of the elderly population in India is expected to increase rapidly in the coming years, there is a need for revamping the existing social assistance programmes by extending the allocation for the pension schemes and increasing the beneficiary base to ensure a decent quality of life for these individuals.
Syllabus: GS-2, Issues relating to development and management of Social Sector/Services relating to Health
Mains: Legal provisions against pharma freebies and the way forward.
Context: Recently a maker of Dolo-650 was charged for bribing medical doctors with freebies.
Details
- As a part of their marketing strategy, a pharmaceutical company named Micro Labs is said to have bribed the doctors with freebies worth ₹1,000 crores in one year to promote Dolo-650.
- Dolo is an analgesic and antipyretic drug and a non-steroidal anti-inflammatory medication that helps relieve fever and mild pain.
- Dolo is paracetamol that can be bought from a chemist without a medical prescription.
- The Drugs (Prices Control) Order (DPCO) has laid down ceiling prices for over 850 medicines, which include various brands of paracetamol.
- The ceiling price for a single 650 mg paracetamol tablet is ₹1.83 and ₹0.91 for a single 500 mg tablet.
Is the strategy of extending freebies profitable?
- Most of the paracetamol Active Pharmaceutical Ingredients (APIs) are imported from China and there has been substantial upward pricing pressure due to the difficulty of ensuring a regular supply of APIs from China.
- Experts opine that the strategy of freebies is much easier to manage for specialty drugs like the ones used for chemotherapy or when products like stents and knee implants are directly sold to hospitals.
- However, for paracetamol managing freebies is said to be difficult considering the price ceiling and the number of competitors.
- Despite the lower profit margins, various companies are providing freebies to increase their financials to make the valuation of the company look better and improve their brand value which would help increase their sales.
Legal provisions
- The Uniform Code of Pharmaceuticals Marketing Practices explicitly bans providing gifts, payments and hospitality benefits to doctors on the part of medical representatives.
- Pharmaceutical companies have been declaring their compliance and adherence to this code since 2015. The code has been made fully voluntary from 2015.
- However, there is a lack of enforcement mechanisms.
- The Indian Pharmaceutical Alliance, which is mandated to enforce the code, has provided a “clean chit” to Micro Labs.
- Additionally, the Income Tax Act, 1961 explicitly bars the deductions for payments to doctors and the Tax Deducted at Source (TDS) is applicable for all payments made to doctors.
- Further, Para 1.5 of the Indian Medical Council (Professional Conduct, Etiquette and Ethics) Regulations, 2002 provided that every physician should, as far as possible, prescribe drugs with generic names.
- The regulation also bans the disbursement of gifts and failure to comply with the norms could possibly result in the cancellation of the license. However, this is rarely seen.
To read more about this issue refer to the following article:
UPSC Exam Comprehensive News Analysis dated 07 Jul 2022
Recommendations
- Introduction of a default practice where the doctor prescriptions must not contain or mention any brand names of the drugs.
- This will discourage the companies to provide freebies to doctors and this means that doctors will have no incentive to promote any specific brands.
- However, even if doctors don’t recommend or promote a brand, the pharmacists will continue to promote/recommend the brands that help them earn more profits.
- This issue can be addressed by introducing a flat dispensing fee (dispensing fees are a kind of professional fee that the pharmacies charge for services that require the expertise of a pharmacist to help patients manage their medications), regardless of the maximum retail price (MRP).
Nut graf: The unethical and illegal practices of pharmaceutical companies such as providing freebies to doctors to promote their brand and drugs must be curbed through strict enforcement of legal provisions to safeguard the existing trust between the doctors and the patients.
F. Prelims Facts
Syllabus: Indian Society-Social Empowerment
Prelims: Tribals of India
Context: The Union cabinet recently approved the addition of four tribes to the ST list.
Key Details:
- The Union Cabinet under the chairmanship of Prime Minister Narendra Modi approved the addition of four tribes to the list of Scheduled Tribes (ST).
- The Hatti tribe in the Trans-Giri area of Sirmour district in Himachal Pradesh, the Narikoravan and Kurivikkaran hill tribes of Tamil Nadu, and the Binjhia tribe in Chhattisgarh, which was listed as ST in Jharkhand and Odisha but not in Chhattisgarh, were the communities added to the list.
- The Cabinet also approved a proposal to bring the Gond community, residing in 13 districts of Uttar Pradesh, under the ST list from the Scheduled Caste list.
- This includes the five subcategories of the Gond community: Dhuria, Nayak, Ojha, Pathari and Rajgond.
- The Cabinet approved ‘Betta-Kuruba’ as a synonym for the Kadu Kuruba tribe in Karnataka.
- In Chhattisgarh, the Cabinet approved synonyms for tribes like the Bharia (variations added include Bhumia and Bhuyian), Gadhwa (Gadwa), Dhanwar (Dhanawar, Dhanuwar), Nagesia (Nagasia, Kisan), and Pondh (Pond).
Read more on Scheduled Tribes and PVTGs.
Syllabus: Art and Culture
Prelims: Dravidian Architecture
Context: Recently, experts from the International Commission on Monuments and Sites, visited the Hoysaleshwara temple of Halebid.
Introduction:
- The Hoysala structure is an aspirant for the tag of World Heritage Site, which is given by UNESCO.
- Experts will be submitting a report to UNESCO.
Hoysaleshwara Temple:
- Hoysaleswara temple is a 12th-century temple dedicated to Lord Shiva.
- It is the largest monument in Halebidu, a town in the state of Karnataka, and the former capital of the Hoysala Empire.
- The temple was built on the banks of a large man-made lake and sponsored by King Vishnuvardhana of the Hoysala Empire.
- Its construction started around 1121 CE and was completed in 1160 CE.
- The Hoysaleswara temple is a Shaivism tradition monument, yet reverentially includes many themes from Vaishnavism and Shaktism tradition of Hinduism, as well as images from Jainism.
- The temple was carved from soapstone.
- Numerous smaller friezes narrate Hindu texts such as the Ramayana, the Mahabharata and the Bhagavata Purana.
- These temples have a plan called the stellate plan.
- The star-like ground plan is a distinct feature of Hoysala architecture.
Image Source: Glorious Karnataka
Read more on the Dravidian Style of Architecture.
G. Tidbits
- After more than 30 years, Central Kashmir’s Manasbal Lake (Freshwater lake) is open for training drills.
- Growing militancy forced the suspension of training in the area by the Navy in 1989.
- Over 100 National Cadet Corps (NCC) cadets, both from J&K and outside, participated in exercises like sailing and boat pulling recently.
- The exercises, which also saw the participation of girl cadets, may help students from various parts of J&K interact with each other.
- The NCC has been working in J&K since 1965 and would train cadets on the shores of the Dal and Manasbal lakes.
- Such exercises in Jammu & Kashmir will motivate locals to join the NCC in the future.
H. UPSC Prelims Practice Questions
Q1. Consider the following statements about Hoysaleshwara temple of Halebid, Karnataka. (Level-Medium)
- It is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
- The construction of the temple was sponsored by King Vishnuvardhana of the Hoysala Empire.
- The major material used in its construction is soapstone.
Which of the above statements are correct?
- 1 and 2 only
- 2 and 3 only
- 1 and 3 only
- 1, 2 and 3
CHECK ANSWERS:-
Answer: b
Explanation:
- Statement 01 is incorrect, The Hoysala temple structure is an aspirant for the tag of World Heritage Site given by UNESCO.
- Statement 02 is correct, Hoysaleswara temple is a 12th-century temple dedicated to Lord Shiva built on the banks of a large man-made lake and sponsored by King Vishnuvardhana of the Hoysala Empire.
- Statement 03 is correct, The temple was carved from soapstone.
Q2. Which of the following statements about Sir M. Visvesvaraya are correct? (Level-Difficult)
- Being a civil engineer, he is credited with the development of notable dams, reservoirs, and hydropower projects in India and the invention of the block system in irrigation technology.
- He served as the Dewan of Hyderabad under the Nizams.
- Some of his notable literary works include ‘Reconstructing India’ and ‘Planned Economy for India’.
Options:
- 1 and 2 only
- 2 and 3 only
- 1 and 3 only
- 1, 2 and 3
CHECK ANSWERS:-
Answer: c
Explanation:
- Statement 01 is correct, Sir Mokshagundam Visvesvaraya was a civil engineer and statesman.
- He was responsible for significant engineering projects in India, including the Krishna Raja Sagara dam in Mandya, Laxmi Talav dam in Kolhapur.
- He patented and installed an irrigation system with water floodgates at the Khadakvasla reservoir near Pune to raise the food supply level and storage to the highest levels known as the ‘block system’ in 1903.
- Statement 02 is incorrect, He served as the 19th Diwan of Mysore and not Hyderabad.
- Statement 03 is correct, Some of the books authored by Sir M Visvesvaraya include,
- Planned Economy for India
- Memoirs of My Working Life, Bangalore (1954)
- Unemployment in India: Its Causes and Cure
- Reconstructing India
- Nation Building: A Five-Year Plan for the Provinces
Q3. Consider the following rivers. (Level-Medium)
- Teesta
- Feni
- Kushiyara
- Umngot
How many of the above rivers are transboundary rivers between India and Bangladesh?
- One river only
- Two rivers only
- Three rivers only
- All the four rivers
CHECK ANSWERS:-
Answer: d
Explanation:
- All four rivers are transboundary rivers between India and Bangladesh.
- India and Bangladesh share 54 common rivers of which agreement has been reached only on sharing of waters of the river Ganga.
- Teesta River rises in the Pauhunri Mountain of eastern Himalayas, flows through the Indian states of Sikkim and West Bengal through Bangladesh and enters the Bay of Bengal. It joins the Brahmaputra River in Bangladesh. It is the largest river of Sikkim and the second largest river in West Bengal after the Ganges.
- Feni River is a transboundary river in Tripura state and Bangladesh. The Feni River originates in the South Tripura district and flows through Sabroom town and then enters Bangladesh.
- The Kushiyara River is a distributary river in Assam and Bangladesh. It forms on the India-Bangladesh border as a branch of the Barak River when the Barak separates into the Kushiyara and Surma.
- The Umngot River, also known as the Dawki River and Wah Umngot, is a river which flows through Dawki, a little town located at the bottom of the Jaintia Hills in Meghalaya. The town serves as a trade route between India and Bangladesh.
Q4. The Shoonya campaign of NITI Aayog deals with which of the following aspects? (Level-Difficult)
- Accelerating adoption of electric vehicles
- Addressing malnutrition in children
- Tackling the incidence of tuberculosis disease
- Reduction of plastic waste generation
CHECK ANSWERS:-
Answer: a
Explanation:
- NITI Aayog, with Rocky Mountain Institute (RMI) and RMI India’s support, on September 15, 2021, launched the Shoonya Campaign.
- It is an initiative to promote zero-pollution delivery vehicles by working with consumers and the industry.
- The campaign aims to accelerate the adoption of electric vehicles (EVs) in the urban deliveries segment and create consumer awareness about the benefits of zero-pollution delivery.
Q5. With reference to Swadeshi Movement, consider the following statements: (Level- Medium)(CSE Prelims-2019)
- It contributed to the revival of the indigenous artisan crafts and industries.
- The National Council of Education was established as a part of the Swadeshi Movement.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
- 1 only
- 2 only
- Both 1 and 2
- Neither 1 nor 2
CHECK ANSWERS:-
Answer: c
Explanation:
- Statement 01 is correct, Swadeshi Movement focused on self-reliance thus contributing to the revival of indigenous artisans’ crafts and industries.
- Statement 02 is correct, In August 1906 the National Council of Education was established to provide an impetus to the program of national education.
Read more on Swadeshi Movement.
I. UPSC Mains Practice Questions
- Cities expand at a rapid rate and eat into resources such as water available in rural areas leading to urban-rural water conflicts. Substantiate. (10 Marks, 150 Words) (GS-3, E&E and GS-1, Social Issues)
Read the previous CNA here.
CNA 15 Sep 2022:- Download PDF Here
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