Syllabus: General Studies Paper 3

India successfully tested the Intermediate-Range Ballistic Missile (IRBM) Agni-4, which met all parameters

• The successful test was part of routine user training launches carried out under the aegis of the Strategic Forces Command
• The successful test reaffirms India’s policy of having a ‘Credible Minimum Deterrence’

Agni-IV    

• Agni-IV is the fourth in the Agni series of missiles which was earlier known as Agni II prime. Agni-IV bridges the gap between Agni II and Agni III.
• CLASS: Intermediate-range ballistic missile (IRBM)
• It is surface to surface missile
• WARHEAD: Nuclear or conventional
• RANGE: 3,000 – 4,000 km
• PROPULSION: Two-stage solid propellant
• PAYLOAD: 1,000 kg

Syllabus: General Studies Paper 3

Three Chinese astronauts docked at the country’s space station on Sunday.

About China’s Space Station:

• The space station will operate in low-Earth orbit at an altitude of 340-450 km above Earth’s surface.
• Tiangong, which means“heavenly palace”, is expected to become fully operational by the end of the year and is set to be operational for at least 10-15 years

Significance of the Space Station:

• The low orbit space station would be the country’s eye from the sky, providing round the clock bird’s-eye view for its astronauts on the rest of the world.
• It shall aid China’s aim to become a major space power by 2030.
• It replicates the International Space Station (ISS), from which China was excluded.

Comparing with the International Space Station:

The ISS programme is a joint project between five participating space agencies: NASA (United States), Roscosmos (Russia), JAXA (Japan), ESA (Europe), and CSA (Canada)

• ISS is now the largest human-made body in low Earth orbit. The Chinese station will be smaller and similar in design, meaning it will have limited capacity for astronauts (three versus six on ISS).
• The completed station will be similar to the Soviet Mir station that orbited Earth from the 1980s until 2001.

But the ISS is scheduled to be decommissioned after 2024 to leave place for the Lunar Gateway, a small outpost that will orbit the Moon. This is an international initiative part of the US-led Artemis Programme that again sees China excluded.

Concerns about Chinese monopoly?

• Until the gateway is launched, however, Tiangong – which will be placed in lower Earth orbit and have an expected life of 15 years – will probably remain the only functioning space station. Some worry this makes it a security threat, arguing its science modules could be easily converted for military purposes, such as spying on countries.

Others planned Space Stations:

• Lunar Gateway: involving four of the ISS partner agencies: NASA, European Space Agency (ESA), Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA), and Canadian Space Agency (CSA). It is planned to be both the first space station beyond low Earth orbit and the first space station to orbit the Moon.
• The Russian Orbital Service Station is scheduled to begin construction in 2025.
• Starlab is the name given to the planned LEO space station designed by Nanoracks for commercial space activities uses.
• Indian Human Spaceflight Programme: India plans to deploy a 20-tonne space station as a follow-up programme of the Gaganyaan mission, it will be deployed in 5–7 years after the completion of the Gaganyaan project.

Syllabus: General Studies Paper 1

Telangana celebrated its 8th anniversary after becoming a separate state in 2014

Telangana rebellion

• The Telangana rebellion was started by a group of peasants in late 1945, against the prevalent jagirdari system where power to collect revenue and govern certain landholdings was installed in certain officers.
• Represented by the Comrades Association, who were affiliated with the Communist Party of India, the rebellion turned violent and clashed with the Razakars, a militia headed by Kasim Rizvi.
• In 1945 Nizam of Hyderabad put forward multiple conditions to join India — all of which were unacceptable to the Indian state
• In the meantime, Kasim Rizvi and his Razakars became increasingly dominating, difficult to ignore presence in Hyderabad.
• He influenced all major decisions the Nizam undertook and installed his chosen men in the government.
• In order to ensure that Hyderabad’s already deteriorating law and order condition did not worsen further, India signed the Standstill Agreement with Hyderabad, stating that all administrative agreements that were in place between the Nizam and the British Crown would continue between the Nizam and India.

‘Operation Polo’

• The signing of the Standstill Agreement, however, ensured peace for only about a year. Almost instantly, Hyderabad started violating the conditions, simultaneously the violent activities of the Razakars increased, creating an atmosphere of anarchy in the state.
• As a last resort, India launched ‘Operation Polo’ in September 1948 and defeated the rebel forces within five days to make Hyderabad an integral part of India.

Linguistic Reorganisation

• In 1955, States Reorganization Committee recommended that Hyderabad be linguistically reorganised.
• Andhra had expressed the desire to integrate the Andhra State and Telangana in order to create Vishalandhra, however the SRC was against this.
• The Committee suggested the idea of maintaining Telangana as an separate state till 1961, where post general elections the state could voluntarily vote to integrate itself with the Andhra State.
• The government ignored this and on passing the States Reorganisation Act later that year, Andhra State and Telangana were merged into a single state called Andhra Pradesh, with Hyderabad becoming the capital.

The ‘Mulki Rules’ agitation

• Telangana region also had what were called the Mulki Rules, which were safeguards in place to ensure that Mulkis or native residents did not face difficulty in procuring government jobs.
• The rules had 4 conditions to be met in order to be classified as a Mulki. When in 1952, the Hyderabad government accepted a large number of non-Mulkis into government positions, protests broke out.
• January 1969 was a turning point as Andhra Pradesh witnessed widespread student protests over the violations of the safeguards that the Gentlemen’s Agreement signed between Telangana and Andhra State in February 1956 to allow the formation of Andhra Pradesh.
• While the government took measures to placate the population, the fire barely subsided.

Call for Telangana Statehood

• In 1969, the Telangana Praja Samiti was formed to further the call for a separate Telangana state, and when protests for the same turned increasingly violent, the Andhra Pradesh High Court state declared the Mulki Rules null and void, only for the decision to be stopped by a divisional bench of the same court.
• In 1972, when the Supreme Court upheld the Mulki Rules, the Jai Andhra movement asking for a separate Andhra state picked up, causing the state to be put under President’s Rule in January 1973.
• Days prior to this in December 1972, Parliament also passed the Mulki Rules Act to limit the operation of Mulki Rules.
• In September of 1973, Indira Gandhi initiated the 32nd Amendment to the Constitution, which declared that Andhra Pradesh would be divided into 6 zones, with reservation for jobs being decided on the basis of zones. As a result of the same, the Mulki Rules Act was repealed.

The Telangana movement and KCR

• K Chandrashekhar Rao revived the movement in 2001 when he established his own political party — the Telangana Rashtra Samithi which had the singular aim of establishing a separate Telangana.
• While in 2009 the TRS’s performance at the polls was dismal, the party continued to push forward and in September that, post the death of Andhra Pradesh’s Chief Minister Y S Rajsekhara Reddy, an opportunity presented itself.
• KCR exploited the political turmoil, beginning a fast unto death and eventually the then Union Home Minister declared that Telangana would achieve statehood, separate from Andhra Pradesh.
• The state of Telangana was finally created on June 2, 2014 after years of political turmoil and repeated reassessment of state boundaries to emerge as a separate state

Syllabus: General Studies Paper 3

Heavy Toxic Metal Pollution

• Three out of every four river monitoring stations in India posted alarming levels of heavy toxic metals such as lead, iron, nickel, cadmium, arsenic, chromium and copper.
• Of the 33 monitoring stations in Ganga, 10 had high levels of contaminants.
• India has 764 river quality monitoring stations across 28 states.
• Of the 588 water quality stations monitored for pollution, total coliform and biochemical oxygen demand were high in 239 and 88 stations across 21 States – an indicator of poor wastewater treatment from industry, agriculture and domestic households.
• India dumps 72% of its sewage waste without treatment.
• Ten States do not treat their sewage at all, as per the Central Pollution Control Board.

Coastline erosion

• Over a third of India’s coastline that is spread across 6,907 km saw some degree of erosion between 1990 and 2018.
• West Bengal is the worst hit with over 60% of its shoreline under erosion.
• The reasons for coastal erosion include increase in frequency of cyclones and sea level rise and anthropogenic activities such as construction of harbours, beach mining and building of dams.
• While the global average of the Ocean Health Index, a measure that looks at how sustainably humans are exploiting ocean resources, has improved between 2012 and 2021, India’s score in the index has declined over the same period.

Forest Cover

• India’s total forest cover has registered a little over a 0.5% increase between 2017 and 2021 though most of the increase has taken place in the open forest category, which includes commercial plantations.
• This has happened at the cost of moderately dense forest, which is normally the area closest to human habitations.
• At the same time, very dense forests, which absorb maximum carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, occupy just 3% of total forest cover.
• India has a forest cover of 77.53 million hectares. But recorded forests—the area under the forest department— with forest cover are only 51.66 million. This gap of 25.87 million hectares —a size bigger than Uttar Pradesh— remains unaccounted

State of Environment Report 2022

• State of Environment Report 2022 is published by Centre for Science and Environment (CSE), an NGO
• The report is the annual publication of the CSE and Down To Earth (magazine).
• The report focuses on climate change, migration, health and food systems.
• CSE is a public interest research and advocacy organisation based in New Delhi.

Syllabus: General Studies Paper 2

India needs to be cautious and have clarity on the U.S.-led Indo-Pacific Economic Framework for Prosperity

• Recently in Quad Summit, United States announced the establishment of Indo-Pacific Economic Framework for Prosperity (IPEF) with other partner countries
• Within days of its launch, IPEF expanded its membership to the Pacific Island states, with Fiji joining the initiative.
• At its launch, the IPEF was proposed as an elaborate framework of rules covering four pillars, namely, fair and resilient trade, supply chain resiliency, clean energy decarbonisation, and tax and anti-corruption.

Areas of Concern

On IPRs

• Under the “fair and resilient trade” pillar, the initiative aims to develop high-standard, worker-centered commitments covering labour rights, the environment and climate etc
• Notable exclusion from this list is intellectual property rights (IPRs) that have generally been at the heart of the U.S.’ economic engagements with its partner countries.

Import Tariffs

• The primary objective of the IPEF is to ensure a high degree of regulatory coherence and to make market access contingent upon realisation of regulatory standards.
• The standards and regulations in most developed countries often create discriminatory barriers to trade and overcoming these barriers is usually beyond the capacities, both institutional and otherwise, of lesser developed countries.

Labour Rights and the Environment and Climate Change

• Labour rights and the environment and climate change are included in IPEF
• WTO members had arrived at a consensus that the internationally recognized core labour standards of the ILO should be used to deal with issues pertaining to labour rights.
• The UNFCCC had cautioned that measures taken to combat climate change, including unilateral ones, should not constitute a means of arbitrary or unjustifiable discrimination or a disguised restriction on international trade.
• The IPEF could threaten abrogation of these decisions at the WTO and the UNFCCC.

Data Portability

• Control over data, the driver of the digital economy, will increasingly determine the dynamics of economies, and hence the issue of data portability assumes critical importance

For India to Watch

• On this issue of data localisation, the Government of India has not yet taken a clear position.
• In 2019 in the Draft National e-Commerce Policy, wherein it had backed restrictions on cross-border data flows. The key challenge for India is to sustain this diametrically opposite view to an uncompromising position of the U.S. on data localisation.
• India should also be wary of emphasis that is being given to strengthening labour rights in the on-going discussions on the IPEF

Way Forward

• Establishing Common Standards: Such standards will cover labour rights, environmental standards, protection of intellectual property rights.
• Addressing Tech-related Issues: Clear framework on Data flow
• Balancing Self-Reliance and Globalisation: India has always expressed its desire to attract foreign investment and become part of global supply chains, it is time to utilize the opportunities provided under IPEF with carefully framed policies.

Syllabus: General Studies Paper 3

The Government of India is exploring the possibility of inviting manufacturers of Electric Vertical Takeoff and Landing (eVTOL) aircraft to set up base in India.

What is eVTOL?

• As the acronym suggests, an electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) aircraft is one that uses electric power to hover, take off, and land vertically.
• Most eVTOLs also use what is called as distributed electric propulsion technology which means integrating a complex propulsion system with the airframe.
• It has grown on account of successes in electric propulsion based on progress in motor, battery, fuel cell and electronic controller technologies
• Thus, eVTOL is one of the newer technologies and developments in the aerospace industry.
• eVTOL is being described as “a runway independent technological solution” for the globe’s transportation needs – it opens up new possibilities which aircraft with engines cannot carry out in areas such as manoeuvrability, efficiency and even from the environmental point of view.
• The global market for eVTOLs was put at $8.5 million in 2021 and is to grow to $30.8 million by 2030. The demand will be on account of green energy and noise-free aircraft, cargo carrying concepts and the need for new modes of transport.

Origin

• It all began in 2009-10 by NASA researcher Mark D. Moore who came up with the concept of a personal (one man) air vehicle “Puffin”
• In his paper, “NASA Puffin Electric Tailsitter VTOL Concept”, Moore described “electric propulsion as offering dramatic new vehicle mission capabilities, but the only penalising characteristic” being “the current energy storage technology level”.

What are the challenges?

• As the technology so far is a mix of unpiloted and piloted aircraft, the areas in focus include “crash prevention systems”.
• There are also issues such as ensuring safety in case of powerplant or rotor failure.
• Aircraft protection from cyberattacks is another area of focus.
• Operating in difficult terrain, unsafe operating environments and also bad weather are cause of concern.

Indian Scenario

The government of India has asked the market players to look into the Indian market.

Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) Taskforce for Urban Air Mobility has suggested regulatory authorities in India to look at:

• Formulating regulations for pilotless vehicles, airworthiness certifications, and the need for a pilot’s licence;
• Implementing efficient energy management systems, onboard sensors, collision detection systems and advanced technologies such as artificial intelligence;
• Having in place infrastructural support such as take-off and landing zones, parking lots, charging stations and what are called vertiports;
• Creating a robust air traffic management system that is integrated with other modes of transportation, and putting in place a database to ensure operational and mechanical safety.

Syllabus: General Studies Paper 1

 About

• Chulliyar Dam is one of the major irrigation project in Palakkad
• Constructed in 1960, it is built across Chulliyar River, one of the tributaries of the river Gayathripuzha.
• Gayathripuzha is one of the main tributaries of the Bharathapuzha River, the second-longest river in Kerala, south India.
• The adjacent Nelliyampathy Mountains multiply the charm of this locality.

Syllabus: General Studies Paper 3

• A bone replacement following a fracture, it is often based on a metal part.
• But metal parts are sometimes toxic over time, and will not help the original bone regrow.
• The Tokyo Medical and Dental University (TMDU) research found that, Calcium phosphate ceramics are in principle an ideal alternative to conventional metals because bone can eventually replace the ceramic and regrow.
• Calcium phosphate ceramics are substitutes for the bone mineral hydroxyapatite.
• TMDU and collaborators have studied the transformation of a ceramic into the bone mineral.
• However, applications of such ceramics in medical settings have been limited, because there is insufficient control over the rate of absorption and replacement by bone after implantation.
• The researchers have reported that most of the studied ceramics underwent chemical transformations into particulate or fibrous hydroxyapatite within a few days
• Now with specific chemical knowledge on how to tailor the rate of hydroxyapatite growth from calcium phosphate ceramics – the knowledge will be useful for bench researchers and medical practitioners to more effectively collaborate on tailoring bone reformation rates under medically relevant conditions.

Syllabus: General Studies Paper 1

May 28th 2022 marked the 139th birth anniversary of Veer Savarkar .

Veer Savarkar

Born on May 28, 1883 in Bhagur, a city in Maharashtra’s Nashik.

Nationalism and social reforms:

• Formed a youth organization- Mitra Mela, this organization was put into place to bring in national and revolutionary ideas.
• He was against foreign goods and propagated the idea of Swadeshi.
• He championed atheism and rationality and also disapproved orthodox Hindu belief. In fact, he even dismissed cow worship as superstitious.
• He also Worked on abolishment of untouchability in Ratnagiri. Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar also compared his work to Lord Buddha.
• Vinayak Savarkar was a president of Hindu Mahasabha from 1937 to 1943.
• When congress ministries offered resignation on 22nd October 1939, Hindu Maha Sabha under his leadership cooperated with Muslim league to form government in provinces like Sindh, Bengal and NWFP.
• In Pune, Savarkar founded the “Abhinav Bharat Society”.
• He joined Tilak’s Swaraj Party.
• He founded the Free India Society. The Society celebrated important dates on the Indian calendar including festivals, freedom movement landmarks, and was dedicated to furthering discussion about Indian freedom.
• He believed and advocated the use of arms to free India from the British and created a network of Indians in England, equipped with weapons.

Important works:

1. Book- The History of the war of Indian Independence.
2. An armed revolt against the Morley-Minto reform.
3. Two-nation theory in his book ‘Hindutva’.

Syllabus: General Studies Paper 3

Urban agriculture can help make cities sustainable and liveable

• Urban agriculture is the practice of farming in urban and peri-urban areas.
• Farming connotes a wide range of food and non-food products that can be cultivated or grown, including rearing livestock, aquaculture and bee-keeping.

Need for Urban Agriculture

• Urban areas across the world house at least 55 per cent of the world’s population and consume 80 per cent of the food produced globally
• India is rapidly urbanising and is estimated to host 50 per cent of its population in cities by
• In order to sustain these huge population and face climate change it is important that urban areas becomes sustainable and liveable
• Urban agriculture provides food security and financial security to urban dwellers

Benefits of Urban Agriculture

• Business Growth: Urban farming helps stimulate the local economy through job creation, income generation, and the growth of small businesses.
• Job Creation: Urban farms can offer valuable skills and education in addition to a steady source of income to many unemployed, even if it is seasonal work.
• Urban Redevelopment: Unused lands and wastelands can be used for cultivation purposes. It creates more green space and reduces pollution.
• Health and Wellness: Urban farming creates fresh produce closer to where it’s ultimately consumed. Food from urban farms is far more likely to be perfectly ripe, more nutritious, and produced in season.
• Less Food Waste: People produce only what they need. This reduces food wastage to a large extent.
• Environmental Management: urban agriculture has a significant role in urban environmental management as it can combat urban heat island effects and function as an urban lung in addition to providing visual appeal
• Waste Management: since cities are struggling with waste management and disposal, urban agriculture can provide some help to deal with it.
• The use of suitably treated waste water for urban agriculture can reduce demand for fresh water and help in waste water disposal.
• Moreover, organic waste from the city can be composted and used in food and flower production

Way Forward

• Urban farming can be a favorable way for ensuring food security in India and around the world in the future.
• Proper Urban land-use planning (ULP), Institutional support, awareness of the benefits associated with urban agriculture, and financial and technological support from the government will attract the city dwellers and help them to move forward with the concept of urban agriculture in India.
• Progressive growth of urban agriculture can act as an urban regeneration tool for the cities by providing social interaction and increasing job opportunities and environmental benefits to the urban areas across the globe.