VISION

 UPSC CSE Mains Topic Wise Previous Year Questions GS Paper-1 (2013-2020) PDF

UPSC Civil Services Preliminary Exam 2021 Results Declared

1)  World Psoriasis Day is observed on 29 October

•World Psoriasis Day is observed every year on 29 October by the International Federation of Psoriasis Associations (IFPA) to promote awareness, empowerment, and action for improving the quality of life for people with psoriasis and psoriatic arthritis. The theme for 2021 World Psoriasis Day is “Uniting for action”.

2)  International Internet Day is celebrates on 29 October

•International Internet Day is celebrated on October 29 every year across the world to celebrate the usage of the internet for the first time. The day marks the sending of the first electronic message which was transferred from one computer to another in 1969. At that time the Internet was known as ARPANET (Advanced Research Projects Agency Network).

3)  PM Modi participates 18th ASEAN-India summit virtually

•Prime Minister of India, Narendra Modi has attended the 18th Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN)-India Summit virtually. This was the 9th ASEAN-India Summit attended by PM Modi. The Summit was held under the chairmanship of the Sultan of Brunei.

•The Heads of State/Government of the ASEAN Countries participated in the Summit to review the status of the ASEAN-India Strategic Partnership and progress made in key areas of Covid-19 & Health, Trade & Commerce, Connectivity, and Education & Culture. The year 2022 will mark 30 years of ASEAN-India relations partnership, and will be celebrated as ‘ASEAN-India Friendship Year’.

4)  Mansukh Mandaviya addresses CII Asia Health 2021 Summit

•The Union Minister for Health and Family Welfare, Dr Mansukh Mandaviya participated in the CII Asia Health 2021 summit on October 28, 2021, through video-conferencing. The theme of the two-day summit is ‘Transforming Healthcare for a better tomorrow. The Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) has organised the summit to provide a centralised forum to deliberate on the most critical challenges that India and the world face in delivering healthcare, with a focus on the digital transformations that result in improved patient outcomes and experience.

•The Union Health Minister highlighted the successful initiatives taken by the Hon’ble Prime Minister during the COVID-19 pandemic to increase public awareness. He mentioned how campaigns like ‘Dawai Bhi Kadai Bhi’ and ‘Do Gaj ki Doori, Mask hai Zaruri’ reached out to the masses and helped curb the COVID-19 infection in the country.

5)  GoI reconstitutes seven-member Economic Advisory Council-PM

•The Central Government of India has reconstituted the seven-member Economic Advisory Council to the PM (EAC-PM). Bibek Debroy continues to be the Chairman of the Council. EAC-PM has been reconstituted for a period of 2 years. EAC-PM was set up in September 2017 with a term of two years and it replaced the erstwhile Economic Advisory Council to the Prime Minister (PMEAC).

6)  Maharashtra became 1st state to pass its own Wildlife Action Plan 2021-30

•During the 17th meeting of the State Board for Wildlife (SBWL), the government of Maharashtra approved its own Wildlife Action Plan (2021-2030), which will be implemented over the next 10 years. Maharashtra became India’s first state to pass its own Wildlife Action Plan. The board has also approved the extension of the boundary of Tadoba-Andhari Tiger Reserve, in the Chandrapur district of the Vidarbha region, by around 79 sq km.

•The plan has suggested integrating climate change adaption in wildlife conservation. “To develop a Climate Action Plan for the Coastal Region of the state in sync with the ‘State Climate Change Action Plan’ with special emphasis on ‘Climate Change Adaptation’ (CCA) and ‘Disaster Risk Reduction (DDR)’,” the plan states.

7)  “Global Climate Tech Investment trend” report: India ranked 9th

•In accordance with the report ‘Five years on: Global climate tech investment trends since the Paris Agreement’ by London & Partners, and Co, India ranked 9th in the list of top 10 countries for climate technology investment from 2016 to 2021. Indian climate tech firms received USD 1 billion in venture capital (VC) funding in this period.

8)  Ramesh Pokhriyal gifted his book ‘AIIMS Mein Ek Jang Ladte Hue’ to PM Modi

•The former Union Minister of Education Ramesh Pokhriyal ‘Nishank’ has gifted a copy of his book titled ‘AIIMS Mein Ek Jang Ladte Hue’ to Prime Minister (PM) Narendra Modi in Delhi. The book was written by Pokhriyal while he was battling COVID-19 at AIIMS in Delhi. The book was published by Prabhat Prakashan Pvt. Ltd.

9)  Mark Zuckerberg changes Facebook’s name to Meta

•Facebook is now called Meta, in a rebrand that focuses on building the “metaverse,” a shared virtual environment that it bets will be the successor to the mobile internet. The name change, the plan for which was first reported by the Verge, is a significant rebrand for Facebook, but not it’s first. In 2019 it launched a new logo to create a distinction between the company and its social app.

10)  K V Kamath named as chairperson of NaBFID

•The government of India has appointed K V Kamath as chairperson of the National Bank for Financing Infrastructure and Development (NaBFID). He is a well-known banker in India and is the first head of the New Development Bank (NDB). NaBFID is a newly set up development financial institution (DFIs) in India. It has been set up for infrastructure financing as per the National Bank for Financing Infrastructure and Development (NaBFID) Act 2021. The authorized share capital of the NaBFID is Rs one lakh crore. The initial paid-up capital of NaBFID is Rs 20,000 crore.

📰 A climate dividend: On India, net zero and energy transition

 Why in news?

Maharashtra Minister Nawab Malik has alleged that Sameer Wankhede, Mumbai Zonal Director of the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB), benefitted from the reservation for Scheduled Castes (SCs) despite being ineligible for it.

What is Sameer Wankhede accused of?

• Dnyandev Kachru Wankhede, father of Sameer Wankhede, belonged to the Scheduled Castes (SCs).
• He converted to Islam before marrying Sameer’s mother, Zaheeda Begum.
• Sameer’s (born in 1979) birth certificate carries his father’s name as Dawood K Wankhede and his name as Sameer Dawood Wankhede.
• Sameer was raised as a Muslim, but was selected in the 2007 Civil Services Examination (CSE) under the SC quota.
• Maharashtra Minister Nawab Malik accuses that Sameer was not entitled to this reservation.

What are the rules of religion in eligibility for the SC quota?

DoPT

• No person who professes a religion different from Hinduism or Sikhism shall be deemed to be a member of the Scheduled Castes.
• There is a 15% quota for SCs in government jobs.
• But Hindu SCs who convert to Islam lose their SC status, and are no longer eligible for the quota.
• A person belonging to an SC or ST will continue to be deemed as such irrespective of his/her marriage to a non-SC/ST.
• A convert or re-convert to Hinduism and Sikhism shall be accepted as a member of SC.
• The rights of a person belonging to a Scheduled Tribe are independent of his/her religious faith.

Constitution (Scheduled Castes) Order

• Under the original Constitution (Scheduled Castes) Order, 1950, only Hindus were classified as SCs.
• The Order was amended to include Sikhs in 1956 and Buddhists in 1990.
• It now lays down that no person professing a religion different from Hinduism or Sikhism or Buddhism can be deemed to be a member of an SC.
• However, no such religion-based bar operates for STs and Other Backward Classes (OBCs).

Is the exclusion of Muslims and Christians discriminatory?

• Petitions have been filed in the Supreme Court seeking the inclusion of Muslims and Christians in the SC category.
• In 2004, the Centre for Public Interest Litigation challenged the legality of the exclusion.
• In 2008, the National Commission on Minorities concluded that there was a case for inclusion of Dalit Christians and Dalit Muslims in the SC category.
• In 2020, the SC agreed to examine a plea by the National Council of Dalit Christians to make reservations religion-neutral. The plea is pending before the court.

How does caste operate in inter-caste marriages?

1)  International Animation Day: 28 October

•International Animation Day is observed every year on October 28 to celebrate the art of animation and also recognise the artists, scientists and technicians behind animation. This year marks the 20th International Animation Day. The day was created in 2002 by International Animated Film Association (ASIFA), an International Animated Film Association, a member of UNESCO.

2)  India successfully test-fires “Agni-5” ballistic missile

•The Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) carried successful test-firing of surface-to-surface ballistic missile Agni-5 on October 27, 2021, from APJ Abdul Kalam Island in Odisha. Agni-5 is a nuclear-capable intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM), which uses a three-stage solid-fuelled engine. The missile can strike targets at ranges up to 5,000 km with a very high degree of accuracy.

•The indigenously-developed surface-to-surface missile, Agni-5, is capable of striking a target more than 5,000 km. It is about 17-metre long, 2-metre wide and has a launch weight of around 50 tonnes. The missile can carry a nuclear warhead of more than one tonne. The successful test of Agni-5 is in line with India’s stated policy to have ‘credible minimum deterrence’ that underpins the commitment to ‘No First Use’.

3)  PM Modi attend 16th East Asia Summit virtually

•Prime Minister Narendra Modi has participated in the 16th East Asia Summit (EAS) through a video conference on October 27, 2021, during which he re-affirmed India’s focus on a free, open and inclusive Indo-Pacific and the principle of ASEAN Centrality in the region. The 16th EAS was hosted under the Chairmanship of Brunei. This was the 7th East Asia Summit for Prime Minister Modi.

4)  Rajnath Singh chairs Ambassadors’ Round Table for DefExpo 2022

•In a major outreach to the friendly foreign countries as also to the defence manufacturing industries of the world, Raksha Mantri, Rajnath Singh has chaired the Ambassadors’ Round Table for Def Expo 2022, in New Delhi. DefExpo 2022 will be Asia’s largest defence exhibition. The Round Table was aimed to brief the Ambassadors of foreign missions about the planning, arrangements and other details of DefExpo 2022, which will be held in Gandhinagar, Gujarat between March 10-13, 2022.

•More than 200 delegates, including Ambassadors, Heads of Missions and Defence Attaches attended the Round Table, reflecting the growing global interest in the Indian Defence space. Chief of Defence Staff General Bipin Rawat, Chief of Air Staff Air Chief Marshal VR Chaudhari, Secretary (Defence Production) Shri Raj Kumar and other senior officials of the Ministry of Defence & Government of Gujarat were also present.

5)  Gujarat CM Bhupendra Patel launched ‘Go Green’ Scheme

•Gujarat Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel has launched the ‘Go-Green’ scheme & its Portal to provide electric two-wheelers at subsidised rates to construction and industrial workers of the state. The scheme is aimed at reducing fuel bills and also curbing vehicular pollution.

•The organised sector workers, such as an industrial labourer, would get a subsidy of 30 per cent on the vehicle’s price or Rs. 30,000, whichever is less, on the purchase of battery-powered two-wheelers. For construction sector workers, 50 per cent subsidy or Rs. 30,000, whichever is less on the purchase of battery-powered two-wheelers.

6)  MSME Ministry launches “SAMBHAV” National Level Awareness Programme

•The Ministry of Micro, Small & Medium Enterprises (MSME) has launched an e-National Level Awareness Programme ‘SAMBHAV”, to promote engagement of the youth in promoting entrepreneurship. The e-National Level Awareness Programme 2021 ‘SAMBHAV” was launched by Union Minister of MSME Narayan Rane in New Delhi.

7)  Indo-Pacific Regional Dialogue commences

•Indo-Pacific Regional Dialogue (IPRD) 2021 is being organized as a three-day online event on 27, 28 and 29 October 2021. IPRD 2021 will focus on the theme ‘Evolution in Maritime Strategy during the 21st Century: Imperatives, Challenges and Way Ahead’. It will focus on eight specific sub-themes.

8)  Shavkat Mirziyoyev re-elected as President of Uzbekistan

•Shavkat Mirziyoyev, the incumbent President of Uzbekistan has won a 2nd five-year term as the President of Uzbekistan. He is a member of the UzLiDeP (Uzbekistan Liberal Democratic Party). Shavkat Mirziyoyev took office in 2016 following the death of Islam Karimov, the first post-independence president of Uzbekistan.

9)  France launched Military Communications Satellite “Syracuse 4A”

•France has successfully launched a state-of-the-art satellite namely ‘Syracuse 4A’ into orbit which was carried off by Ariane 5 rocket from Kourou, in French Guiana. It is designed to allow France’s armed forces across the globe to communicate swiftly and securely. The satellite can survey its close surroundings and move itself to escape an attack.

•Syracuse IV produces a throughput three times higher (1.5 Gbit/sec) than Syracuse III by operating in two bands: X and Ka. Three satellites are to be placed in orbit: the second in 2022 and the third on an unknown date. The total cost of the Syracuse IV programme is EUR3.6 billion (nearly USD4.2 billion). Syracuse IV is the first French military satellite with the ability to detect other satellites that are trying to gather information from it or to destroy it.

10)  Indo-Canadian Anita Anand appointed Canada’s defence minister

•Indo-Canadian Anita Anand became just the second woman to be appointed Canada’s minister of national defence as Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced his new cabinet. The ministers were sworn in by governor-general Mary May Simon in a ceremony at Rideau Hall in Ottawa. She is the first woman to serve as defence minister since Kim Campbell in the 1990s.

11)  R K Singh launches the Green Day Ahead Market (GDAM)

•The Union Minister of Power & New and Renewable Energy, R K Singh has launched a new market segment, “Green Day Ahead Market (GDAM)”. This makes India as the only large electricity market in the world to implement a GDAM exclusively for renewable energy. The launch of the green day-ahead market will deepen the green market and will provide competitive price signals, besides offering an opportunity to market participants to trade in green energy, in the most transparent, flexible, competitive, and efficient manner.

📰 Centre wants to keep birth, death database

Vision IAS Essay Value Added Material Complete Download