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(The Gist of Kurukshetra) ENSURING SAFE AND ADEQUATE DRINKING WATER

 [JUNE-2019]

ENSURING SAFE AND ADEQUATE DRINKING WATER

Introduction

•  In India the provision of clean drinking water has been given priority in the Constitution, with Article 47 conferring the duty of providing clean drinking water and improving public health standards to the State. United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED) has rightly themed this year's Water Day as 'leaving no one behind'. This goes on par with the promise on the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

•  The Sustainable Development Goals 2015-2030, a successor to Millennium Development Goals, include Goal 6 for dean water and sanitation for ensuring their availability and sustainable management. Goal 6.1 specifically says that by 2030, countries including India should 'achieve universal and equitable access to safe and affordable drinking water for all'.

•  According to global reports released by the United Nations, 2.1 billion people live without safe drinking water at home and 80 per cent of those who have to use unsafe and unprotected water sources, reside in rural areas.

•  Further, more than 700 children under five years of age die every day from diarrhoea due to unsafe water and poor sanitation. This report also makes a mention that in eight out of 10 households, women and girls are responsible for water collection. Nearly two-thirds of the world's population experiences severe water scarcity at least for 31 days per year. The intense impact of water scarcity could displace 700 million people by 2030.

Water Availability in the Rural Areas

•  India is among the world's most water-stressed countries. In 1950, India had 3,000-4,000 cubic meters of water per person. Today, this has fallen to around 1,000 cubic meters, largely due to population growth. Water resources are not evenly distributed. Half of India's annual precipitation falls in just 15 rain-soaked days, making floods and droughts a fact of life in the country. Rural India has more than 700 million people residing in about 1.42 million habitations spread over diverse ecological regions.
•  According to the National Sample Survey Office (NSSO) (2011-12), about 88.5 percent households in rural India had improved source of drinking water and among these, 85.8 percent had sufficient drinking water. Further, 46.1 per cent of the rural households do not have drinking water facilities within their premises. A person in rural India has to spend, on an average, 20 minutes to fetch drinking water. The country has already spent an estimated Rs, 1,105 billion on providing safe drinking water since the First Five Year Plan launched in 1951 yet thousands of crore are still spent on controlling water-borne diseases, indicating that the problem needs to be addressed from different perspective. India loses 73 million working days due to water-borne diseases.

Government Initiatives

•  The Central Government has also come up with a Rs. 6,000-crore World Bank-aided Atal Bhujal Yojana with community participation to ensure sustained groundwater management in overexploited and ground water-stressed areas in seven states. It has been found that 1,034 blocks out of the 6,584 assessed blocks in the country are overexploited.
•  The quality of water supplied is also a major issue, According to one study in The Lancet, 105,000 children lost their lives in 2015 to water-induced diarrhoea. Official NRDWP data reveals that around 60,000 of all habitations are exposed to water contaminated by arsenic and fluoride. In March 2017, MDWS started a new sub-programme under NRDWP known as the National Water Quality Sub-Mission (NWQSM).
•  The sub-programme aims to address the urgent need for providing dean drinking water in already identified 28,000 arsenic and fluoride affected habitations. Between FY 2017-18 and 2020-21, it is estimated that Central Government will provide Rs. 12,500 crore for the scheme. These funds will be taken from the water quality component of overall NRDWP allocations.
•  To enable the rural community shoulder the responsibility in management, operation and maintenance of water supply systems at village level, decentralized, demand driven, community-managed approach in the form of Swajal Dhara have been adopted.
•  To further strengthen community participation in the drinking water sector for sustainability, National Rural Drinking Water Quality Monitoring and Surveillance Programme has been launched in February, 2006 under which 5 persons in each Gram Panchayat are to be trained to carry out regular surveillance of drinking water sources for which 100 per cent financial assistance including water testing kits, are provided by the Government.

Challenges and Future Initiatives

•  According to a recent report by the Britain based charity Water Aid, nearly 163 million of India's population lack access to dean water dose to home. As per the report submitted by the Committee on Restructuring the Central Water Commission (CWC) and the Central Ground Water Board (CGWB), 2016 if the current pattern of demand continues, about half of the demand for water will be unmet by 2030.
•  In addition, climate change poses fresh challenges as more extreme rates of rainfall and evapotranspiration intensify the impacts of floods and droughts. Moreover, 60 per cent of our districts face groundwater over-exploitation and with 251 cubic kilometre (cu km) annual groundwater extraction rate, our country is the world's biggest consumer of groundwater.
•  The Central Government is working on a master plan envisaging construction of about 23 lakh artificial recharge and rainwater harvesting structure in rural areas and 88 lakh in urban areas and the Central Ground Water Board has prepared a conceptual document entitled 'Master Plan for Artificial Recharge to Ground Water in India'. There are many success stories in India which draw their success from our ancient traditional knowledge and wisdom.
•  In 2001, the Tamil Nadu government made it compulsory for each household to have rainwater harvesting infrastructure and the results are now reflected in the improvement of overall water quality within 5 years.
•  A similar experiment has been tried out in the cities of Bangalore and Pune, where housing societies are required to harvest rainwater. There are number of such initiatives in Uttarakhand, Kerala, Himachal Pradesh, Rajasthan, Gujarat, Maharashtra, Karnataka and other States. The efforts by local communities in India to improve water availability have been lauded in a UN report that highlights the importance of finding nature-based solutions to meet global water challenges.

Way forward

•  Overexploitation of ground water is a major concern in India. There is need for regulatory  mechanism by the State governments to check the overexploitation of this resource. Excess digging of wells should be avoided or restricted in severely affected areas.
•  There is need for more role of Panchayati Raj Institutions (PRIs) in making the drinking water supply schemes functional. Presently, the role of PRIs is minimal. Partnership between village communities, NGOs and the government as the facilitator and co- financing has worked successfully.
•  Empowerment of PRIs with more resources is a viable and sustainable option for scaling up the decentralized service delivery model. We need to remember that to widen the access and availability of drinking water in rural areas, we need to make every effort to preserve and use the water judiciously with active participation of the village communities.

Study Material for UPSC General Studies Pre Cum Mains

(The Gist of Kurukshetra) TECHNOLOGY INNOVATIONS FOR SAFE DRINKING WATERR SUPPLY

 [JUNE-2019]

TECHNOLOGY INNOVATIONS FOR SAFE DRINKING WATERR SUPPLY

Introduction

•  Once India’s villages had rich sources of water and the villages were the hubs of the traditional knowledge of water conservation. Appropriate technologies and innovations can play a pivotal role in making available safe and clean drinking water to the rural population in our country.
•  If technologies and innovations are equipped with the insight of traditional knowledge system of India, then drinking water supply in rural parts of the country can be realized. A rational approach is also essential to achieve this goal. Availability of Safe and Clean Water
•  According to the World Health Organization, 84 per cent of Indians who don't have access to clean water and sanitation live n rural communities. As per the review of the Millennium Development Goals done by the United Nations, out of the 35 Indian states, only 7 have achieved full coverage of having a safe water source for their villages. Ground water in most cities and around 19000 villages contains fluorides, nitrates, pesticides, etc. beyond the permissible limits.
• Drinking water quality thus remains an issue and this reflects the fact that approximately 21 per cent of communicable diseases are waterborne and 75 per cent of water related deaths are of infants under five years.
•  India has the world's largest rural drinking water scheme serving some 1.6 million dwellings spread across 15 different environmental regions and 74.2 crore people. In 1999, steps were launched to institutionalize the Community's participation in the implementation of rural potable water schemes through the sector reform project, as part of the National Water Policy, in order to ensure the sustainability of systems. Water Quality: A Major Concern
•  Water quality has emerged as a major issue in the rural drinking water supply. The Government has launched the National Rural Drinking Water Quality Monitoring and Surveillance Programme, which institutionalized the community participation of district and state-level laboratories for the monitoring of drinking water sources at the grassroot level through Gram Panchayats. The States implement systems for drinking water supply schemes.
•  Many public authorities are involved in the supply of rural water Central Water Commission (CWC) regulates the use of water to irrigate surface waters, the industry and potable water. It also mediates in disputes related to the inter-state water allocation. Central Groundwater Board (CGWB) monitors groundwater levels and rates of depletion and the production of water resource inventories and maps. National Rivers Conservation Directorate (NRCD) oversees the implementation of Action Plans to improve the quality of the rivers in India. Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) promotes basin-wide pollution control strategies. It liaises with State Water Pollution Control Boards for laying down standards for the treatment of sewage and effluents. The Board is also responsible for action in the case of non-compliance by agencies.
•  The Ministry of Drinking Water and Sanitation, is the nodal ministry for the overall policy, planning funding and co-ordination of the National Rural Drinking Water Programme (NRDWP) or rural drinking water supply in the country. Ministry of Agriculture (MoA) deals with planning, formulation, monitoring and reviewing of various watersheds based developmental project activities. Central Bureau of Health Intelligence (CBHI) performs the collection compilation, analysis and dissemination of the information on health conditions in the country, Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) is responsible for the drafting of standards pertaining to drinking water quality. Technology interventions for Drinking Water
• The Technology must be simple enough to undertake the task of operation and maintenance smoothly by the rural community itself. The design of hand pumps is very important for better performance efficiency. The substantial improvement in hand pump technology has already taken place, but there is a scope for further improvement.
• Water treatment plants use technology that is both chemical and biologically safe and attractive in terms of colour, smell and taste. Below are some of the prevalent technologies for water purification and treatment.
•  Capacitive deionization (CDI), is a technology in which a separator channel (with a porous electrode on each side) removes ions from water;
•  Ozonation technique is based on the ozone infusion into the water for chemical water treatment;
•  In Ultraviolets technology, ultraviolet light is used to kilt micro-organisms of water;
•  A large majority of contaminants are removed m reverse osmosis (RO) technology through a semi-permeable membrane;
•  TERAFIL is a burnt red clay porous media used for filtration & treatment of raw water into dean drinking water. This technology has been developed by the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR);
•  OS-Community scale Arsenic Filter is an organic arsenic filter which is developed by the IIT Kharagpur;
•  Filtration methods that may include rapid/slow sand filters which remove rust, silt, dust and other particulate matter from water and;
•  Solar water purification systems.

Innovation: Key to Resolve Drinking Water Crisis:

•  One of the most serious issues the world now faces is the global water situation, which has received increased public attention during the past decade. To address the above mentioned problems related to drinking water, the United Nations included among the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) the objective of halving the number of people lacking adequate access to clean water by 2015. Introduction of Sustainable Development Goals (5DG) is the MDGs next edition. In SDG, 17 Global Goals have been identified. Clean water and sanitation is the sixth goal of SDGs. Under SDG, it is targeted to achieve the following global goals by 2030:
•  Universal and equitable access to safe and affordable drinking water for all;
•  Access to adequate and equitable sanitation and hygiene for all and end open defecation paying special attention to the needs of women and girls and those in vulnerable situations;
•  Improve water quality by reducing pollution, eliminating dumping and minimizing the release of hazardous chemicals and materials, halving the proportion of untreated wastewater and substantially increasing recycling and safe reuse globally.

Social and Technological Innovations

•  In the past decades, many attempts have been made to improve access to drinking water and sanitation facilities in rural areas of developing countries including India. The lessons learned from these attempts are that the improvements should be appropriate. It means they should be suitable as per the local needs, culture and conditions and that to ensure quality and sustainable access.
•  Many people fail to realize that technological innovation means not only the production of self sustained, state-of-the-art devices but also the creation of simple, affordable solutions that can be used efficiently in rural communities. In order to provide clean water in developing countries, the technology must be efficient, affordable and simple to operate and maintain. In recent years, a great deal of research has been conducted to identify novel technologies for removing arsenic, particularly low cost as well as low tech systems that could be applied in rural areas. Communication and Educational Innovation
•  Internet is the biggest source of information and sensitization in today's world. The past decade has seen a rapid development of webbased services like Wikipedia, YouTube, Facebook, Whatsapp, Twitter, Instagram etc. The internet has also inspired innovations in the areas of water and sanitation, which have long needed fundamental changes in terms of available information and communication technology.
•  With the internet and other new technological tools, simple, appropriate technologies for the supply of water can be implemented within weeks rather than years. On the other hand, progress can be reported using text messages, digital cameras and short movies rather than time consuming reports.

Way forward

•  There are enormous global efforts underway to revamp the water sector through technology and innovation intervention. The increasing knowledge accumulated and shared worldwide, including India, will continue to expand these efforts. More and more organizations realize that it is essential to improve the water quality, health, hygiene and environment of local communities because only healthy people can act as a catalyst for further development.
•  Hence, it is our collective responsibility to think and act logically to save water. At the same time, we should support the government as well as non-government agencies that are developing technological and innovative interventions to make available safe drinking water.

Study Material for UPSC General Studies Pre Cum Mains

(GIST OF YOJANA) Tapping sustainable energy alternatives

[JUNE-2019]

Tapping sustainable energy alternatives

Introduction

•  Sustainable development is development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations," which otherwise means economic development that is conducted without depiction of natural resources.
•  According to World Health Organisation, climate change affects the social and environmental determinants of health clean air, safe drinking water, food security and shelter. Between 2030 and 2050, climate change is expected to cause approximately 250000 additional deaths every year from malnutrition, diseases like malaria, diarrhea and heat stress. Its cost to health is estimated to be between 2-4 billion US dollars a year by 2030.
  Nationally Determined Contributions
•  India is a signatory to the landmark Paris Agreement on Climate Change, which has brought all nations to a common cause to undertake efforts to combat climate change through Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) and to strengthen these efforts in the years ahead.
  Carbon emissions in India
•  Emissions in India were estimated to have grown by 6.3 per cent in 2018, pushed by strong annual economic growth of around 8 per cent, according to recent projections by the Global Carbon Project. India was among the four major emitters in 2017 (7 per cent) along with China (27 per cent), the US (15 per cent) and the European Union (10 per cent). The rest of the world contributed 41 per cent.
•  The National Solar Mission promotes ecologically sustainable growth, while addressing the country’s energy security challenge and  contributes to global effort to meet climate change.
•  India has set an ambitious renewable capacity expansion programme, with a projected growth of achieving 40 per cent of its total power generation from non-fossil fuel sources by 2030, to meet NDC target. The target would place India among the world leaders in renewable energy use.

  UPSC Pre General Studies Study Material

Nuclear power generation

•  Another major source of environmental pollution is nuclear power generation. Nuclear plants create 50 per cent more thermal pollution than fossil fuel plants. The challenge India faces now is to improve energy access to modern energy at affordable price in a sustainable and responsible manner without sacrificing economic growth and social development to meet the aspirations of its burgeoning population.
•  The domestic etude oil production is able to meet only less than one fifth of the demand, while the rest is met from imported crude. India’s energy security will remain vulnerable until alternative fuels to substitute/ supplement petro- based fuels are developed based on indigenously produced renewable feedstock.
•  Though non – conventional sources of energy are not entirely without impact on environment, in comparison, it is the hotter option, being the lesser evil. Fossil fuels, coal, oil, and natural gas do substantially more harm than renewable energy sources by most measures, including air and water pollution, damage to public health, wildlife and habitat loss, water use , land use and global warming emissions.
•  The extraction and utilization of coal have created a massive impact on environment with far reaching consequences. Nearly 65 per cent of India’s electricity is generated from thermal power, for which the feedstock is invariably coal mined in India. Power generation through
•  The Boiler Turbine route results in atmospheric pollution due to the release of particulate matter, carbon dioxide, sulphur and nitrous oxides.
•  Indian automotive sector is among the fastest growing industries in the world. By 2020, it is expected. The annual demand for passenger vehicles, commercial vehicles and two wheelers in the country will be 46.7 million, turning India into the third largest vehicle market in
  the world.

Way foward

•  As per International Energy Agency (IEA ) estimates, globally; transportation sector accounts for 30 per cent of worldwide energy consumption and is the second largest source of carbon dioxide emission contributing to 20 per cent of greenhouse gas. India’s National
  Mission for Electric Mobility seeks to mitigate the adverse impact of economic development, by completely switching over to electric vehicles by
  2030.
•  Another major source of environmental pollution is nuclear power generation. Nuclear plants create 50 per cent more thermal pollution than fossil fuel plants.
•  The challenge India faces now is to improve energy access to modern energy at affordable price in a sustainable and responsible manner without sacrificing economic growth and social development to meet the aspirations of its burgeoning population.

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(GIST OF YOJANA)  Energy Efficiency is the Key for Sustainable Development

[JUNE-2019]

Energy Efficiency is the Key for Sustainable Development

Introduction

•  In India the electrification of households has taken place on a massive scale and demand for this has been the growing population.
•  Another is the enormous increase in energy intensive economic activities. As the conventional sources of energy are reducing and the renewable sources are under developing phase, improving energy efficiency at all levels of the energy spectrum is the cost-effective and quick solution to address this problem.
•  The government, through Nationally Determined Contributions has aimed to reduce emission intensity of GDP to 33-35 per cent below what it was in 2005 by 2030. However, to achieve this target there is a need for a concerted move to ensure increased energy efficiency especially in 3 sectors.

1. Industrial sector
2.  Real estate
3. Consumer appliance

Industrial sector

•  Industrial sector continues to be the highest energy consuming domain where energy conservation would play a vital role. There is also huge potential for energy conservation and technology enhancement for efficiency in key intensive industries.
•  With an aim of energy efficiency improvement, Bureau of Energy Efficiency (BEE) is implementing Perform, Achieve and Trade (PAT) scheme under the National Mission for Enhanced Energy Efficiency (NMEEE).

Real estate

• Envisages a phased approach for developing an energy conservation code for the residential sector. The idea is to create a simple and implementable code focusing on building envelope which can be integrated with the existing building codes and bye-laws. The design of the building envelope will have a direct impact on:
•  Heat conduction through the roof , opaque wall and glazed windows
•  Solar radiation gains through glazed windows
•  Natural ventilation
•  Day-lighting

  UPSC Pre General Studies Study Material

Labelling Programme for Energy Efficient Homes

•  To enable consumers to compare building performances from a sustainable energy point of view, a comprehensive labeling scheme is important. Energy labels help consumers to make efficient decisions through the provision of direct, reliable and cost less information.
•  The objective of proposed labeling programme is mentioned below:
•  To provide information to consumers for EE Horne
•  Energy Sustainability for India
•  To achieve Indian NDC Targets
•  Market Transformation for Energy efficiency in housing sector
•  This is expected to save substantial energy through improving energy efficiency to houses nationwide. The estimated energy saving potential through proposed labeling program is around 388 BU by the year 2030.
•  In conjunction with this, the programme also brings up various ancillary benefits:
•  It shall act as an embryo to stimulate the larger energy-efficient materials and technologies market. To seek the energy efficiency label, customers shall demand energy efficient building materials which in turn, would give enough impetus to suppliers to produce the same.
•  After the implementation of the labelling mechanism, the housing value chain would encourage an additional set of professionals to expedite the complete process of residential label granting. This way, the labelling regime shall also be a stimulant for the Indian job market.
•  It will also motivate material manufacturers to invest in energy efficient material manufacturing in India.
•  Labelling mechanism shall cause a reduction in energy bills. This will empower individuals with greater disposable income that can be consumed at other avenues, saved for future contingencies or invested for cash generating asset creation for overall economic growth.
•  It helps the nation in working towards the fulfillment of Global Sustainable Development Goals 7 of the United Nations: Affordable and clean energy.

Consumer appliance

•  Consumer of the important appliances areas are one of energy consumption . Daily household electronic appliances like AC, Microwave, Washing Machine etc., are included in this sector.
•  A lot of initiatives are being taken to reduce the energy consumption and to enhance the technology for energy efficiency in consumer durable sector.
•  Bureau of Energy Efficiency (BEE) has been promoting energy conservation through optimum temperature settings for Air Conditioners.
• According to the study of BEE, one degree increase in the AC temperature setting results in saving of 6 per cm of electricity consumed. 24-26 degree Celsius default has been recommended by BEE for energy saving and also to reduce greenhouse emission.

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(The Gist of Science Reporter) Biological Darwinian Evolution [JULY-2019]

Biological Darwinian Evolution

• Step 1: Prokaryotes that were simple, single-celled organisms with free floating DNA in cytoplasm and no distinct nucleus and cell organelles, appeared 3.5 billion years ago.
• Step 2: 2.5 billion years ago, eukaryotes appeared which incorporated biological technology like mitochondria and chromosomes. These made them manipulate energy more efficiently.
• Step 3: 1.5 billion years ago, eukaryotes started evolving and formed first multicellular life.
• Step 4: Lungfish crawled out of oceans 400 million years ago and life began to evolve on land.

Study Material for UPSC General Studies Pre Cum Mains

(The Gist of Science Reporter) What is Brain-Machine or Brain-Computer Interface? [JULY-2019]

What is Brain-Machine or Brain-Computer Interface?

• This is any technology that allows communication between the human or animal brain with an external technology.
• The signal is taken from the brain to an external technology or hardware and viceversa.In modern research, brain-machine interface has become useful in designing implants called neuroprosthetics that can improve brain activities and improve vision, hearing or other bodily functions.
• These are implants that supplant or supplement inputs and outputs of the nervous system. But
• now, BCI is being pursued to develop strong artificial intelligence like imitation of human intelligence.

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(The Gist of Science Reporter) Whole Brain Emulation [JULY-2019]

Whole Brain Emulation

• Whole Brain Emulation is popularly called Mind Uploading. It is a hypothetical process that
• involves transferring the mind of a particular person from biological substrate to another substrate (possibly a computer).
• Howcanone transfer themind? It ispossible by scanning a brain with all its structural and functional part intact.
• When the scanned brain is uploaded in the new substrate, it is called Substrate Independent Mind (SIM).
• It has been argued that the computer will then run the simulation model of that brain’s information processing such that it responds in the same way as the original brain.
• In his non-fiction book The Age of Em: Work , Love and Life when Robots rule the Earth (2016), Robin Hanson has used the idea of brain emulation to describe a future scenario in which 'Ems' which will be software emulations of human brain (Whole Brain Emulation) will take over the economy and will be faster than humans.
• The book is based on projected scenario in the next hundred years. Some ems are predicted to have robotic bodies while others will live in virtual reality.
• Hanson's future takes one to a place where these ems will congregate in related clans and make commercial and political decisions.

Study Material for UPSC General Studies Pre Cum Mains

(The Gist of Science Reporter) Nanobots or Nanoids or Nanorobots [JULY-2019]

Nanobots or Nanoids or Nanorobots

• Nanobots are based on Nanotechnology which involves manipulation of matter on atomic and
• molecular level. Nanobots are devices whose size falls in the range of 0.1-10 micrometres. Not
• very long back, they were put in the hypothetical realm which means that they had not been brought into reality.
• But, now researchers have developed nanobots for various purposes – for killing off tumours, for instance.
• The University of Manchester developed nanobots that can be programmed to act as molecular cargo.
• Each nanobotcan manipulate a single molecule and is made up of 150 carbon, hydrogen, oxygen and nitrogen atoms.
• Scientists have claimed that these can be programmed to perform any function just the way robots in factories are.
• It is these kind of nanobots which are expected to perform brain scanning as envisioned by Kurzweil.

Study Material for UPSC General Studies Pre Cum Mains

(The Gist of Science Reporter) Moore's Law [JULY-2019]

Moore's Law

• Cordon Moore, the co-founder of Intel corporation had been observing integrated circuits and noticed in 1965 that transistors on the chip were becoming smaller in size with every passing year and the number of transistors that could be squeezed in a chip was rising.
• Since the processing power of a computing machine is dependent considerably on the number of transistors in an integrated circuit; the processing power of computers was also rising along with this decreasing size of transistors and increasing number of transistors in one chip.
• Moore estimated that it took nearly two years for the number of components per chip to double. This observation has been called Moore’s Law. Moore's Law is expected to taper off or lose steam by 2020s.
• In fact, the processing speed of computing machines has been found to have leveled off in 2004. The components in the chip have been found to have reached their physical limits. It can be said that the trend described in the law has started losing steam.
• But what is the connection of this trend with Singularity? Well, the inspiration for Singularity has come from people who have been working in the field of Artificial General Intelligence (the powerful version of Al) and most of these people have been known to be associated with computing. Therefore, in the
• initial years of Al research, the singularity idea received its foundation on processing speed of computers.
• However, it is not appropriate to say that only computing has been the basis. This is because thinkers and scientists like Vernor Vinge had predicted the role of machinebiology interaction in moving towards singularity long back and today Pay Kurzweil and Elon Musk are emphasising more on neuro-sciences to explore singularity.

Study Material for UPSC General Studies Pre Cum Mains

Two and twenty at Osaka (Indian Express)

Mains Paper 2: International Relations
Prelims level : G 20 summit
Mains level : Implications of the Osaka summit

Context

NBFC crisis: A reality check (The Hindu)

Mains Paper 3: Economy
Prelims level : NBFC
Mains level : Implications of liquidity or solvency risks

Decide on Huawei (The Hindu)

Mains Paper 3: Security
Prelims level : Testing and Security Certification Centre
Mains level : Major loopholes addressed in telecommunication network

A policy to regulate coaching centres (The Hindu)

Mains Paper 2: Health and Education
Prelims level : Not much
Mains level : Purpose do coaching institutions serve in society

Exam Name: UPSC IAS MAINS HISTORY - PAPER- I
Time Allowed : 3.00 Hrs
Maximum Marks : 250

SECTION – "A"

1. Identify the following places marked on the map supplied to you and write a short note of about 30 words on each of them in your Question cum Answer Booklet. Locational hints for each of the places marked on the map are given below seriatim. (2.5 x 20 = 50 Marks)

1. Megalithic burial site
2. Early Agricultural centre
3. Chalcolithic site
4. Early Harappan site
5. Cave Paintings
6. An ancient temple
7. Paleolithic site
8. Political and Cultural centre
9. Political and Cultural centre
10. An ancient sea port
11. Terracotta centre
12. Buddhist centre
13. Harappan site
14. Inscriptional site
15. Vaishnava cultural site
16. An ancient capital
17. Painted Grey Ware site
18. A Jaina centre
19. Chalcolithic site
20. An ancient capital

2.(a) How did the early Indian historical tradition, as reflected in Itihasa Purana, emerge? What are the distinctive features of this genre? (20 Marks)
2.(b) “Archaeological evidence does not give direct access to the possible social and political dimensions of the decline of the Harappan civilization. What it does indicate very clearly is that the Harappan culture underwent a gradual process of de-urbanisation”? Comment. (15 Marks)
2.(c) Give an account of gana-sanghas (non-monarchical state systems)? Why did they decline? (15 Marks)
3.(a) Do you agree with the popular view that Mauryas established a unitary and highly centralized if not monolithic state system?(20 Marks)
3.(b) The concept of Shramanic religions, with particular reference to Buddhism, had their roots in Upanisadic ideas. Discuss. (15 Marks)
3.(c) “Doubtless it was not a free state it was any rate a state” (K.A.N.Sastri), Reflect upon the nature of local self government institutions in the Chola country.” (15 Marks)
4.(a) What was the impact of trans-regional and trans-continental trade in the post Mauryan period on social and cultural life of India? (20 Marks)
4.(b) “Utpanna dravide bhakthi, Karnate vriddhimagata I Sthita kinchit maharashtre gurjare jirnatam gata II - Padmapurana Account for the emergence of bhakti in Dravida desa. (15 Marks)
4.(c) Discuss the experimentations with art and architecture during the Gupta-Vakataka period. (15 Marks)

Study Notes for UPSC MAINS HISTORY Optional

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    (The Gist of PIB) First decision of the Prime Minister dedicated to those who protect India [JUNE-2019]

First decision of the Prime Minister dedicated to those who protect India

• In line with the Prime Minister’s vision for India’s safety, security and the well-being of those who protect the nation.
• The very first decision of the Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi on assuming his office is approval to a major change in the ‘Prime Minister’s Scholarship Scheme’ under the National Defence Fund.

The Prime Minister has approved the following changes:

• The rates of scholarship have been increased from Rs. 2000 per month to Rs. 2500 per month for boys and from Rs. 2250 per month to Rs. 3000 per month forgirls.
• The ambit of the Scholarship Scheme is extended to the wards of State Police officials who are/were martyred during terror/naxal attacks. The quota of new scholarships for wards of state police officials will be 500 in a year. The Ministry of Home Affairs will be the nodal Ministry in this regard.

Background:

• The National Defence Fund (NDF) was set up in 1962 to take charge of the voluntary donations in cash and kind received for promotion of the national defence effort, and to decide on their utilisation.
• Currently the fund is being used for the welfare of the members of the Armed Forces, Para Military forces and Railway Protection Force, and their dependents. The fund is administered by an Executive Committee with the Prime Minister as the Chairperson and the Defence, Finance and Home Ministers as Members.

Key highlights about National Defence Fund

• Under National Defence Fund major scheme of ‘Prime Minister’s Scholarship Scheme (PMSS)’ is being implemented to encourage technical and post-graduate education for the widows and wards of the deceased/ex service personnel of Armed Forces and Para Military Forces and Railway Protection Force. Scholarships are available for education at technical institutions (medical, dental, veterinary, engineering, MBA, MCA and other equivalent technical professions with suitable AICTE/UGC approval).
• Under the PMSS, every year new scholarships are given for 5500 wards of armed forces controlled by Ministry of Defence, for 2000 wards of paramilitary forces controlled by Ministry of Home Affairs and for 150 wards of forces controlled by Ministry of Railways.

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    (The Gist of PIB) Health Ministry organises national workshop for Population Research Centres (PRCs) [JUNE-2019]

Health Ministry organises national workshop for Population Research Centres (PRCs)

• Ministry of Health and Family Welfare is organizing a two-day workshop for Population Research Centres (PRCs) to highlight the various features of the flagship schemes of the Health Ministry.

Key highlights

• Present Status: Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MoHFW) has established the network of 18 Population Research Centres (PRCs) spread over 17 major States/UTs.
• Background: The scheme started with establishment of 2 PRCs at Delhi and Kerala in 1958 and expanded to 18 PRCs with latest inclusion of PRC, Sagar during 1999. Of these, 12 are attached to various Universities and 6 are in research institutions of national repute.
• Mandate: Their mandate is to provide critical research based inputs related to the Health and Family Welfare programs and policies at the national and state levels.
• Administration: The PRCs are autonomous in nature and administratively under the control of their host University/Institutions.

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    (The Gist of PIB) ICC launches criiio campaign on eve of men’s World Cup [JUNE-2019]

ICC launches criiio campaign on eve of men’s World Cup

• The ICC today launched the criiio campaign on the eve of the men’s World Cup, bringing together 460 million people playing cricket globally to celebrate the magnificent diversity of cricket.

Key highlights

• The ICC asked the fans to join the social cricket tribe by sharing pictures and videos of where and how they play cricket across the world using the newly launched hashtag #criiio and visiting the site criiio.com.
• ICC Chief Executive, Manu Sawhney said in Dubai that ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup brings together the best ten teams and players in the world.
• On this occasion, ICC wants to celebrate nearly half a billion fans playing social cricket around the world.
• Criiio is a celebration of all the brilliant and unique ways people play the game which can be played anywhere, by anyone and at any time.

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    (The Gist of PIB) International Day of UN Peacekeepers being observed [JUNE-2019]

International Day of UN Peacekeepers being observed

• The International Day of United Nations Peacekeepers is being observed today.
• The objective is to pay tribute to the invaluable contribution by the uniformed and civilian personnel and to honour more than 3,800 peacekeepers who have lost their lives while rendering peacekeeping services.

Key highlights

• The theme this year is “Protecting Civilians, Protecting Peace”.
• In a message on the occasion, UN Secretary-General António Guterres said peacekeeping is a necessity and a hope for millions in conflict-affected situations around the world.
• He called on UN member States to work together to make peacekeeping more effective in protecting people and advancing peace.
• Over the past 20 years, protection of civilians has increasingly been at the heart of UN peacekeeping.
• The first UN peacekeeping mission was established on 29th May 1948, when the Security Council authorized the deployment of a small number of UN military observers to the Middle East.

Background

• Since then, more than one million men and women have served in 72 UN peacekeeping operations, directly impacting the lives of millions of people, protecting the world’s most vulnerable and saving countless lives. India is the 4th largest troop contributor to the UN peacekeeping missions.
• UN peacekeeping has helped countries move from war to peace. At present, India contributes about 6,400 peacekeepers to various missions across the world.
• The country has the largest percentage of women in the police force, at around 32 per cent, contribution to the future of peacekeeping.

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    (The Gist of PIB) Union Cabinet clears new initiative to control Foot and Mouth Disease (FMD) and Brucellosis to support the livestock rearing farmers [JUNE-2019]

Union Cabinet clears new initiative to control Foot and Mouth Disease (FMD) and Brucellosis to support the livestock rearing farmers

• During the Union Cabinet Meeting chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi today, the first since the outcome of the 2019 Lok Sabha election, a novel initiative was cleared that will benefit crores of farmers and improve the health of animals.
• This initiative pertains to controlling Foot and Mouth Disease (FMD) and Brucellosis to support the livestock rearing farmers. The Cabinet had cleared a total outlay of Rs. 13,343 crores to fully control these diseases amongst the livestock in the country in the next five years and subsequently eradicate these diseases.
• This decision indicates the spirit of compassion towards those animals who are a valued part of our planet but are not able to speak.

The threat of Foot and Mouth Disease (FMD) and Brucellosis:

• These diseases are very common amongst the livestock – cow-bulls, buffaloes, sheep, goats, pigs etc.
• If a cow/buffalo gets infected with FMD, the milk loss is upto 100% which could last for four to six months. Further, in case of Brucellosis the milk output reduces by 30%, during the entire life cycle of animal.
• Brucellosis also causes infertility amongst the animals. The infection of brucellosis can also be transmitted to the farm workers and livestock owners. Both the diseases have a direct negative impact on the trade of milk and other livestock products.
• The decision of the Cabinet today fulfils the major promise made in the manifesto as it provides much relief to crores of farmers in the country who rear livestock.

Care and compassion for animals:

• In case of FMD, the scheme envisages vaccination coverage to 30 crore bovines (cows-bulls and buffaloes) and 20 crore sheep/goat and 1 crore pigs at six months’ interval along with primary vaccination in bovine calves, while the Brucellosis control programme shall extend to cover 100% vaccination coverage of 3.6 crore female calves.
• The programme so far has been implemented on cost sharing basis between the Central and State Governments. In a rare instance of departure.
• The Central Government has decided to now bear the entire cost of the programme to ensure complete eradication of these diseases and better livelihood opportunities for all the livestock rearing farmers in the country.

Study Material for UPSC General Studies Pre Cum Mains