InstaLinks : help you think beyond the issue but relevant to the issue from UPSC prelims and Mains exam point of view. These linkages provided in this ‘hint’ format help you frame possible questions in your mind that might arise(or an examiner might imagine) from each current event. InstaLinks also connect every issue to their static or theoretical background. This helps you study a topic holistically and add new dimensions to every current event to help you think analytically
2. CAG report on conservation of coastal ecosystem
Content for Mains Enrichment (Ethics/Essay)
2. Apology for discrimination against indigenous people
5. All India Football Federation (AIFF)
9. Nipun mines, LCA and F-INSAS system
Direction: C Raja Mohan’s articles are always intuitive. Read it once. No need to make a note.
Context: PM outlined a new ambition to make India a developed country, “Viksit Bharat”, by 2047.
India must address its foreign policy challenges in becoming “Viksit”:
Reframing India’s Foreign Policy priorities
Q. India needs an integrated foreign policy that can respond to the imperatives of building domestic capabilities, developing geo-economic partnerships, and constructing geopolitical coalitions with like-minded countries. Examine. (250 Words)
Direction: Go through it once.
Context: Even after 75 years of Independence, India spends a meagre 0.7% of its GDP on research and development (R&D), the author argues what should be done to improve innovation, R&D and science for the masses.
Even the funds which come for R&D are mired in several issues such as:
Research and development ecosystem in India
Q. Investment in infrastructure is essential for more rapid and inclusive economic growth.” discuss in the light of India’s experience. (UPSC 2021)
Direction: Note down a few pointers. People giving mains this year, keep a note prepared on coastal ecosystem prepared.
Context: Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) of India tabled a report in Parliament on whether steps taken by the Union Environment Ministry to conserve India’s coastal ecosystems have been successful.
Findings of ‘performance audits’ of Conservation of Coastal Ecosystems from 2015-20:
Conservation of Coastal areas is governed under Environmental Protection Act 1986. The Coastal Regulation Zone Notification (CRZ) 2019, classifies the coastal area into different zones to manage infrastructure activities and regulate them.
The three institutions responsible for the implementation of the CRZ are:
These three bodies examine if:
Q. Critically examine Coastal Regulation Zone rules from the perspective of environmental and distributive justice. Discuss. (15M)
(a) Carbon captured by oceans and coastal ecosystems.
(b) Carbon sequestered in forest biomass and agricultural soils.
(c) Carbon is contained in petroleum and natural gas.
(d) Carbon present in the atmosphere
Two important rivers- one with its sources in Jharkhand (and Known by a different name in Odisha, and another, with its source in Odisha- merge at a place only a short distance from the coast of the Bay of Bengal before flowing into the sea. This is an important site of wildlife and biodiversity and a protected area. Which one of the following could be this?
Context: A Goa-based startup offers a homegrown biodegradable polymer as an alternative to single-use plastic wrappers such as shampoo sachets.
LaFabrica Craft Private Limited is a company based in Margao, Goa that designs eco-friendly products for common plastic packaging items such as fully biodegradable shampoo sachets and chutney packets using natural biopolymer.
Material used: derived from organic substances such as corn and tapioca starch, seaweed, and casein (a cow milk protein).
Other plastic alternatives: bamboo, banana fibre, coconut husk, and paper or cardboard.
Nearly 50 years after Native American activist and actor Sacheen Littlefeather was booed off stage (in 1973) at the Oscars for protesting against the misrepresentation of Native American tribes in the entertainment industry, the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences(OSCAR) has apologised to her for the abuse she had to endure.
Sacheen Littlefeather had appeared on behalf of Marlon Brando, who had won the best actor award for The Godfather at the OSCAR in 1973.
Significance: It shows the value of fighting against discrimination, inclusion, and recognizing the contribution of indigenous people.
Related News: Australian government is seeking a referendum, which is necessary to make changes to the constitution, on recognising indigenous minorities in the constitution and requiring governments to consult Aboriginal people on decisions that impact their lives.
Salman Rushdie was stabbed many times while speaking at the Chautauqua Institution in western New York. This incident highlights the issue of freedom of speech and how authors are targeted for representing their views to the world.
The author’s book “ The Satanic Verses” which was released in 1988 was called blasphemous and the then Supreme Leader of Iran Ayatollah Khomeini had issued a fatwa against Salman Rushdie.
Source: The Hindu, Indian Express
Context: The Kerala State Cabinet has approved a Bill that could effectively curtail the Governor’s influence in the selection of Vice Chancellors to State universities.
Significance: The issue highlights the conflict between democratically elected CM and centre-appointed Governor.
Powers of Governor for state Universities:
For Central Universities: President appoints chancellors.
Context: Child mortality in India has reduced since 2014 from 45 per 1,000 live births to 35 per 1,000 live births in 2019.
‘Paalan 1000’: National Campaign and Parenting App at the Early Childhood Development
Significance of first 1,000 days: The period establishes a solid platform for a child’s physical, mental, emotional, cognitive and social health. during this period, the child needs the right nutrition, stimulation, love and support.
Context: ‘One Nation-One Application’ is being implemented using the National eVidhan Application (NeVA)
NeVA is a portal to bring all the legislatures of the country together, on one platform.
NeVA (previously known as e-Vidhan) is a Mission Mode Project (MMP) under the Digital India Programme, under the Ministry of Parliamentary Affairs (MoPA).
Context: The Union Minister unveiled the first-of-its-kind lantern named ‘Roshni’ during a visit to SAGAR ANVESHIKA, a Coastal Research Vessel, operated and used by the National Institute of Ocean Technology (NIOT)
It is India’s 1st saline water LED lantern. It uses salty sea water as an electrolyte to power LED lamps
Developed by: National Institute of Ocean Technology (NIOT), Chennai
Thucydides Trap, or Thucydides’ Trap, is a term popularized by American political scientist Graham T. Allison to describe an apparent tendency towards war when an emerging power threatens to displace an existing great power as a regional or international hegemon. It was coined and is primarily used to describe a potential conflict between the United States and the People’s Republic of China.
Context: FIFA has suspended AIFF due to undue legal and political interference in the federation.
Impact: U-17 women’s world cup (scheduled to be played in October in India) may not be held. Also, Indian national team will not be allowed to play other national football teams.
Success in women’s football: Gokulam Kerala FC – a professional football team based in Kerala state – became the first Indian club to play in the prestigious Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Women’s Club Championship.
Direction: Basic terminologies about Quantum computing are important (but do not need to go into unnecessary details)
Context: Under the Innovation for Defense Excellence (iDEX), a startup QNu labs have developed QKD.
QKD is a secure communication technology that allows two parties to generate a shared secret key which can be used to encrypt and decrypt messages.
Working: Quantum computing takes advantage of the strange ability of subatomic particles to exist in more than one state at any time. Due to the way the tiniest of particles behave, operations can be done much more quickly and use less energy than classical computers.
Context: With an aim to cut pollution caused by stubble burning in Haryana, Delhi region, a new 2nd generation (2G) ethanol plant (based on indigenous technology) was recently opened on world biofuel day (August 10).
Other initiatives for residue crop management:
Direction: Look at it once.
Context: For the first time, researchers in Sweden have been able to create a successful alternative — bioengineered cornea implants made of collagen derived from pig skin.
The implant was used to successfully restore the vision of 20 people in India and Iran, most of whom were blind due to keratoconus, a disease that leads to thinning of the cornea.
Context: Defence Minister Rajnath Singh handed over several new defence systems, including the F-INSAS, the Nipun mines, and the Landing Craft Assault (LCA), to the Army.
F-INSAS stands for Future Infantry Soldier As A System, a programme for infantry modernisation aimed at increasing the operational capability of the soldier. As part of the project, soldiers are being equipped with modern systems that are lightweight, all-weather-all-terrain, cost-effective and low maintenance.
Nipun mines are indigenously designed and developed anti-personnel mines, termed by the DRDO as ‘soft target blast munition’. These mines are meant to act as the first line of defence against infiltrators and enemy infantry. They have been developed with the efforts of the Armament Research and Development Establishment.
The Landing Craft Assault (LCA) is meant to serve as a replacement for the boats with limited capabilities currently in use in the Pangong Tso lake. The LCA, which has been indigenously developed by Goa-based Aquarius Shipyard Limited, is said to have better launch, speed and capacity to operate across water obstacles in eastern Ladakh.
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