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Sunday, January 10, 2021

UPSC Mains 2020 GENERAL STUDIES PAPER – 4 QUESTION PAPER PDF Download

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UPSC MAINS GENERAL STUDIES PAPER – 4 MAINS 2020

Daily Current Affairs, 09th January 2021

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1) Pravasi Bharatiya Divas celebrated on 9 January

•Pravasi Bharatiya Divas or NRI Day is celebrated every year on January 9 to mark the contribution of the overseas Indian community in the development of India. The day is celebrated every year to mark the contribution of the overseas Indian community in the development of India. The aim of celebrating the day is to provide a platform for NRI to express their perceptions about India and thereby involve them in Indian developmental activities. The theme of 16th Pravasi Bharatiya Divas Convention 2021 is “Contributing to Aatmanirbhar Bharat”.

2) India to chair 3 key subsidiary bodies of UN Security Council

•The Permanent Representative of India to the UN, T S Tirumurti has announced that India has been asked to chair three important committees of the UN Security Council (UNSC), during its tenure as a non-permanent member of the powerful 15-nation UN body.

The three highly significant committees include:

1.Taliban Sanctions Committee

2.Counter-Terrorism Committee

3.Libyan Sanctions Committee

•Among these, India will chair the Counter-Terrorism Committee of UNSC in 2022, which coincides with the 75th anniversary of India’s independence. India began its two-year term at UNSC from January 01, 2021. It is the eighth time that the country has joined UNSC as the non-permanent member. In 2021, along with India, Norway, Kenya, Ireland and Mexico joined as non-permanent members in the Council.

4) Pakistan successfully test fires “Fatah-1” Rocket System

•The Pakistan Army successfully conducted the test flight of an indigenously developed Guided Multi Launch Rocket System, Fatah-1. The Fatah-1 weapon system is capable of precisely delivering conventional warheads deep into “enemy territory.” According to Director General of Army, Media Wing, Major General Babar Iftikhar, Fatah-1 weapon system can hit targets up to a range of 140 km.

5) Ramesh Pokhriyal inaugurates International Akhand Conference ‘EDUCON-2020’

•Union Education Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal ‘Nishank’ has inaugurated the two-day Virtual International Akhand Conference ‘EDUCON 2020’ through video conferencing. This two-day International Conference is being organized by the Central University of Punjab, Bathinda (CUPB) in collaboration with the Global Educational Research Association (GERA). The focal theme of EDUCON-2020 is Envisioning Education for Transforming Youth to Restore Global Peace.

6) Central African Republic president Touadera wins reelection

•Faustin-Archange Touadera was re-elected as the president of the Central African Republic with more than 53% votes. The 63-year-old president has been in power since 2016 but has struggled to seize control of vast parts of the nation from armed militias. The Central African Republic, a producer of gold and diamonds, has a population of 4.7 million.

7) J&K LG, Manoj Sinha launches Mobile Application ‘Satark Nagrik’

•Jammu and Kashmir Lieutenant Governor, Manoj Sinha has launched Mobile Application ‘Satark Nagrik’ and Departmental Vigilance Officers Portal of J&K Anti Corruption Bureau. The Lt Governor observed that the UT Government is taking comprehensive measures for ensuring transparent, accountable, and responsive governance.

8) IHS Markit: Indian economy to rebound with 8.9% growth in FY22

•London-based financial services company IHS Markit has projected the Indian economy to rebound by 8.9 per cent in the fiscal year 2021-22, beginning April 2021. This upward estimate is based on the backdrop of the significant improvement in domestic economic activity in the fourth quarter of 2020 by India.

9) Abhishek Yadav appointed as AIFF’s first Deputy General Secretary

•Former India striker Abhishek Yadav has been appointed as the first deputy general secretary of All India Football Federation (AIFF) after the sports body decided to create a new post in its hierarchy. The 40-year-old former international, who has played with the likes of Bhaichung Bhutia, Sunil Chhetri, Mahesh Gawli and Climax Lawrence, has been serving as national team’s director since January 2018.

•Yadav has also served as the Chief Operating Officer (COO) of the 2017 U17 Indian World Cup team, collaborating closely with Luis Norton de Maros, the head coach.

10) Elon Musk overtakes Amazon’s Jeff Bezos to become world’s richest person

•According to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, Tesla CEO Elon Musk overtakes Amazon’s Jeff Bezos to become the world’s richest person. Elon Musk had a net worth of more than $188.5 billion.

•A 6% rise in Tesla (TSLA) shares early Thursday lifted the value of its CEO’s stock holdings and options by $10 billion, taking his net worth to about $188.5 billion. A more modest rise of less than 2% lifted Bezos’ Amazon (AMZN) shares by about $3 billion, putting his net worth at $187 billion. Bill Gates is now a distant third at $132 billion, according to Bloomberg.

The HINDU Notes – 09th January 2021

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📰 Over half of Army personnel under severe stress: study

More personnel lost every year due to suicides, fratricides and untoward incidents than in response to any enemy or terrorist activities: USI

•More than half of Indian Army personnel seem to be under severe stress and the Army has been losing more personnel every year due to suicides, fratricides and untoward incidents than in response to any enemy or terrorist activities, according to the findings of a study by United Service Institution of India (USI), a Service think tank.

•“There has been a significant increase in stress levels amongst Indian Army personnel during approximately last two decades due to operational and non-operational stressors,” one of the findings says. “Prolonged exposure of Indian Army personnel to Counter Insurgency and Counter Terrorism (CI/CT) environment has been one of the contributory factors for increased stress levels,” the study notes.

•The research was undertaken during 2019-20 by Col. AK Mor, Senior Research Fellow at the USI, and presented at a webinar titled “Prevailing Stress Levels in Indian Army due to Prolonged Exposure to Counter Insurgency/Counter Terrorism environment”, organised in October 2020 and uploaded on the website on December 07 last.

Non-operational stressors

•While operational stressors are well understood and accepted by Army personnel, the study says that non-operational stressors that add on “have compounding adverse effects on health and combat efficiency of soldiers and thus affecting their respective units too.”

•In this regard, officers experience comparatively much higher cumulative stress levels, compared to the Junior Commissioned Officers (JCO) and Other Ranks (OR) and the stress causative factors are also different.

•The study observes that the overall job satisfaction and pride in uniform remains high amongst JCOs and ORs. “It seems to be a growing matter of concern amongst Officers, requiring urgent interventions from the highest levels of Government,” it says.

•“Despite harsh and challenging service conditions, Indian Army personnel remain highly motivated to serve in CI/ CT areas voluntarily... However, the Officers lack a similar level of trust, faith and confidence in their leadership that JCOs and ORs demonstrate,” it states.

Management measures

•The study highlights that various management measures implemented by the Army and Defence Ministry in the last 15 years have not been able to achieve the desired results. “Units and sub-units under stress are likely to witness an increased number of incidents of indiscipline, unsatisfactory state of training, inadequate maintenance of equipment and low morale, motivation and esprit-de-corps, thereby, adversely affecting their combat preparedness and operational performance,” it says.

•Calling for an institutionalised approach, the study recommends that stress prevention and management should be treated “as a leadership role at Unit and Formation level.”

•Some of the major organisational causes of stress amongst officers, according to the study, include “inadequacies in the quality of leadership, overburdened commitments, inadequate resources, frequent dislocations, lack of fairness and transparency in postings and promotions, downgradation in pay and status, inadequate promotional avenues, lack of motivation amongst juniors, non-grant of leave, indifferent attitude of civilian officials and short command tenures.”

•For JCOs and ORs, some of the perceived organisational stressors include “delay and denial of leave, excessive engagements, domestic problems, humiliation by seniors, lack of dignity, unreasonable restrictions on use of mobiles, lack of recreational facilities, conflict with seniors as well as subordinates, health problems, the inadequacy of train reservation, inefficient administrative support, financial problems, lack of transparency in promotions, non-adherence to unit tarteebs, delay in crediting of financial claims and poor quality of rations as well as cooked food.”

📰 Supreme Court tells Centre to arm forest officers to fight poachers

UPSC Mains 2020 GENERAL STUDIES PAPER – 3 QUESTION PAPER PDF Download

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UPSC MAINS GENERAL STUDIES PAPER – 3 MAINS 2020

Explain intra-generational and inter-generational issues of equity from the perspective of inclusive growth and sustainable development. (Answer in 150 words)10
Define potential GDP and explain its determinants. What are the factors that have been inhibiting India from realizing its potential GDP? (Answer in 150 words)10
What are the main constraints in transport and marketing of agricultural produce in India? (Answer in 150 words)10
What are the challenges and opportunities of food processing sector in the country? How can income of the farmers be substantially increased by encouraging food processing? (Answer in 150 words)10

GDP Projections

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Why in news?

Recently, NSO projected that GDP of the current fiscal will be around Rs 134.4-lakh crore in constant prices rebounding after pandemic-induced slump of the preceding two quarters.

What does this data indicate?

UPSC Mains 2020 GENERAL STUDIES PAPER – 2 QUESTION PAPER PDF Download

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UPSC MAINS GENERAL STUDIES PAPER – 2 MAINS 2020

“There is a need for simplification of procedure for disqualification of persons found guilty of corrupt practices under the Representation of peoples Act” Comment (Answer in 150 words)
“Recent amendments to the Right to information Act will have profound impact on the autonomy and independence of the Information Commission”. Discuss (Answer in 150 words)
How far do you think cooperation, competition and confrontation have shaped the nature of federation in India? Cite some recent examples to validate your answer (Answer in 150 words)

UPSC Mains 2020 GENERAL STUDIES PAPER – 1 QUESTION PAPER PDF Download

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UPSC MAINS GENERAL STUDIES PAPER – 1 MAINS 2020

GENERAL STUDIES

PAPER – 1

Q1. The rock-cut architecture represents one of the most important sources of our knowledge of early Indian art and history. Discuss. (Answer in 150 words) 10

Q2. Pala period is the most significant phase in the history of Buddhism in India. Enumerate. (Answer in 150 words) 10