Prelims Objective Practices Questions

(I.) The Non-Cooperation Movement led to
1. Growth of Hindu-Muslim unity.
2. Removal of fear of the British ‘might’ from the minds of the people.
3. British Government’s willingness to grant political concessions to Indians.
Select the correct answer code:
A.) 1 only
B.) 1, 2
C.) 1, 3
D.) 1, 2, 3

(II.) Mahatma Gandhi announced the withdrawal of the Non-Cooperation Movement due to
1. Motilal Nehru and Chittaranjan Das forming the Swaraj Party amidst the movement
2. Mahatma Gandhi’s arrest by the British
3. Chauri-Chaura Incident
Select the correct answer code:
A.) 1, 3
B.) 2, 3
C.) 3 only
D.) 1, 2, 3

(III.) Which of the following act first recognized the voting rights of women in India?
A.) Government of India Act 1909
B.) Government of India Act 1919
C.) Government of India Act 1935
D.) None of the above

Question of the Day:-
Q. Is Governments use of Force against Twitter and other Social media intermediaries justified? What can be the way forward.

Prelims Specific Facts

NEWS-1 No resolution to Sri Lanka crisis
Reasons of Poor economic condition of Sri Lanka :-

• Debt Trap ( Chinese Loans and inability to pay interest )
• The Easter suicide bombings incident of 2019, killing 290 people, badly damaged the tourism industry of the country.
• The current economic crisis in the country is mainly triggered by deep tax cuts that were enacted months before the COVID-19 pandemic. However, it was promised by Rajapaksa during the 2020 generation election campaign.
• The move prompted credit rating agencies to downgrade Sri Lanka’s ratings. This blocked the country from borrowing more money. The pandemic accelerated the economic crisis further of the country.
• In 2021, the Rajapaksa government announced a ban on all chemical fertilisers. The move backfired, reducing rice production to a critical level. Later, the government reversed its order.
• On the other side, the Russia-Ukraine war also drove up food and oil prices globally. Owing to this, it became unaffordable for Sri Lanka to import them. In May 2022, the prices for petrol and diesel reached an all-time high at Rs 420 and Rs 400 per litre, respectively in Sri Lanka.
• Critics say the roots of the crisis, the worst in several decades, lie in economic mismanagement by successive governments that created and sustained a twin deficit – a budget shortfall alongside a current account deficit.

NEWS-2 COng., BJP spar over new forest rules

• The latest version of the rules allowed land to be diverted without addressing the problems of the forest dwellers.
• The Forest Rights Act (FRA), 2006, along with a 2009 Government Order, makes it mandatory to seek “free, prior and informed consent” of families which would be affected by such diversion of forest land.
• The new rules “destroyed the very purpose of the FRA” as once a forest clearance was granted, no claims by forest dwellers and tribal people would be recognised and settled.
• Fulfilling and com plying with the FRA was an independent process and could be undertaken by the States “at any stage” of the forest clearance process and that complying with provisions of the FRA is mentioned in the rules.
• the new rules undermined the role of the gram sabha whose consent was required for any large-scale diversion not involving linear projects (construction of roads, high ways and railways exempt from gram sabha approvals).

NEWS-3Khejri trees

• The proposed installation of eight solar power plants in Jodhpur district’s Phalodi tehsil has led to a major confrontation with the Bishnoi activists, who have strongly protested against the felling of khejri trees.
  
• The Bishnoi activists, who have a sentimental attachment with khejri or Prosopis cineraria trees, claim that the solar panels are causing in credible loss to Thar desert’s flora and fauna.
• Khejri tree plays an important role in maintaining the ecosystem of Thar region because of its ability to survive in dry weather. The tree is used in different ways, such as a source of fodder and firewood, and it helps in sustaining the soil’s nutrient value and ensuring a good yield of desert crops and food plants.
• Its fruit is used to make the popular dish ‘Sangri’.

NEWS-4 Dravidian is a geographical division, not racial

• 216th year of Vellore sepoy Uprising, also known as the Sepoy Mutiny.

• The Vellore Mutiny predated the Indian Revolt of 1857 by about 50 years. It erupted on 10th July 1806 in Vellore, present-day Tamil Nadu, and lasted only for a day, but it was brutal and shook the British East India Company. It was the first major mutiny by the Indian sepoys in the East India Company. This article talks about Vellore Mutiny, 1806.

• The Vellore mutiny on 10 July 1806 was the first instance of a large-scale and violent mutiny by Indian sepoys against the East India Company, predating the Indian Rebellion of 1857 by half a century. The revolt, which took place in the South Indian city of Vellore, lasted one full day, during which mutineers seized the Vellore Fort and killed or wounded many British troops. The mutiny was subdued by cavalry and artillery from Arcot.

• Vellore Mutiny Causes
  • The major causes for the Vellore mutiny are stated below:
    • The English disregard to the religious sensitivities of the Hindu and Muslim Indian sepoys.
      Sir John Craddock, the Commander-in-Chief of the Madras Army had issued orders prohibiting soldiers from wearing religious marks on their foreheads and also to trim their moustaches and shave off their beards. This offended both Hindu and Muslim soldiers.
      They were also asked to wear new round hats instead of the traditional headgear that they were used to. This led to suspicion among the sepoys that they were being converted to Christianity.
    • Craddock was acting against warning from the military board not to bring about changes in the military uniform without taking into consideration all required precautions of Indian sensibilities.
    • A few sepoys who had protested against these new orders were taken to Fort St. George and punished severely. They were given heavy flogging. Course of events of the Vellore Mutiny.
    • On 10th July 1806, the sepoys who had gathered killed 14 British officers and 115 Englishmen of the 69th Regiment.
      The mutiny started during midnight and by dawn, the fort had been captured by them.
      They raised the flag of the Mysore Sultanate over the fort. They also declared Tipu Sultan’s son Fateh Hyder as the king.
    • But a British officer who had escaped the fort alerted the British force present at Arcot.
      From Arcot, British troops arrived led by Sir Rollo Gillespie. He was able to quell the rebellion.
    • About 100 Indian soldiers were brought out of the palace where they had sought refuge. They were then ordered to stand against a wall and shot dead.
      In all, 350 Indian soldiers were killed and 350 wounded.

NEWS-5 Deputy Speaker

• Article 93 of the Constitution provides for the election of both the Speaker and the Deputy Speaker of the Lok Sabha.
• Article 178 contains the corresponding position for Speaker and Deputy Speaker of the Legislative Assembly of a state.
• Deputy Speaker:
  • Elected By:
    • The Deputy Speaker is elected by the Lok Sabha from amongst its members right after the election of the Speaker has taken place.
    • The date of election of the Deputy Speaker is fixed by the Speaker (date of election of the Speaker is fixed by the President).
    • The institutions of Speaker and Deputy Speaker originated in India in 1921 under the provisions of the Government of India Act of 1919 (Montague-Chelmsford Reforms).
    • At that time, the Speaker and the Deputy Speaker were called the President and Deputy President respectively and the same nomenclature continued till 1947.
  • Term of Office and Removal:
    • Like the Speaker, the Deputy Speaker remains in office usually during the life of the Lok Sabha (5 years).
    • The Deputy Speaker may vacate his/her office earlier in any of the following three cases:
      • If he ceases to be a member of the Lok Sabha.
      • If he resigns by writing to the Speaker.
      • If he is removed by a resolution passed by a majority of all the then members of the Lok Sabha.
    • Such a resolution can be moved only after giving 14 days’ advance notice.
    • In the case of the State Assembly, the removal process is the same as that of the Speaker and Deputy Speaker of the Lok Sabha.
  • Responsibilities and Powers (Deputy Speaker of the Lok Sabha):
    • Under Article 95 of the constitution, the Deputy Speaker performs the duties of the Speaker’s office when it is vacant.
    • He/She also acts as the Speaker when the latter is absent from the sitting of the House.
    • He/She also presides over the joint sitting of both the Houses of Parliament, in case the Speaker is absent from such a sitting.
    • The Deputy Speaker has one special privilege, that is, whenever he/she is appointed as a member of a parliamentary committee, he/she automatically becomes its chairman.
  • Deputy Speaker and Tenth Schedule (Exception):
    • Para 5 of the Tenth Schedule (commonly known as the anti-defection law) says that a person who has been elected Speaker/ Deputy Speaker shall not be disqualified:
    • If he, by reason of his election to that office, voluntarily gives up the membership of the political party to which he belonged immediately before such election,
    • And does not, so long as he continues to hold such office thereafter, rejoin that political party or become a member of another political party.

NEWS-6 Renewable energy to reduce revenues

• The global transition away from fossil fuels to renewable energy sources could trigger financial challenges for India and major developing countries such as Russia, Brazil and China because of their high dependence on re venues from fossil fuel, ac cording to a study by the International Institute of Sustainable Development (IISD).
• Though India is a net importer of petroleum pro ducts, it earns substantial re venues viacesses and taxes from the consumption of petrol, diesel and oil.

NEWS-7 NDRF

• All about NDRF :-
  • Established in 2006, NDRF is the world’s single largest force dedicated to disaster response.
  • It is functioning under the Ministry of Home Affairs, within the overall command, control and leadership of the Director-General.
• Organisation:
  • At present, the NDRF consists of 15 battalions from the BSF, CISF, CRPF, ITBP, SSB and Assam Rifles.
  • Each battalion has 18 self-contained specialist search and rescue teams of 45 personnel each including engineers, technicians, electricians, dog squads and medical/paramedics.
• Functions:
  • It is a multi-skilled and high-tech force that effectively responds to all types of natural and man-made disasters, including building collapses, landslides, devastating floods, and cyclones.
  • It is strategically deployed across the nation as per the vulnerability profile of the country.
  • The swift and effective response of NDRF during Japan Triple Disaster-2011 and Nepal Earthquake 2015 was acclaimed globally.

NEWS-8 IIT-K setting pu air-quality sensors

• To bolster measurement of air pollution in rural India, the Indian Institute of Technology, Kanpur, is embarking on a $2.5-million project to install nearly 1,400 sensors in the rural blocks of Uttar Pradesh and Bihar. The three-year project is expect ed to be a pilot that, going ahead, could pave the way for a national network of air quality sensors in rural India.
• In 2019, the government launched the National Clean Air Programme (NCAP) to reduce particulate matter air pollution by 20-30% by 2024. This, however, is primarily aimed at 122 cities that have been categorised as India’s most polluted cities.

Editorial of the Day

What ails the current approach to Ayurveda

• The Ayurveda, India’s traditional medicine, has been in practice for close to three millennia. Even today, this ancient system serves the health-care needs of millions of Indians.
• A few challenges that the Ayurveda establishment has for long failed to skilfully address are discussed here.
• Factors responsible
  • It has been said that the tridosha theory in Ayurveda originated from the theory of the three elements of the universe. The names of these three doshas, which are roughly equivalent to humour, are vata (wind), pitta (bile), and Kapha (phlegm), corresponding to the three elements of the universe: air, fire, and water.
  • The tridosha theory of Ayurveda is a rough-and-ready model that the ancients devised to systematise their medical experience. Clinical features of illnesses and therapeutic measures to manage them were all classified on the basis of this heuristic model. In the absence of a cogent understanding of the biological processes underlying health and illness, speculations on these topics were also women around the same model.
  • The other factor that has been instrumental in choking the renewal of Ayurveda is the widespread belief among its academics that ancient texts, by virtue of their being divined by sages in deep yogicstates, retain timeless relevance. This notion of epistemic superiority has its roots in the hugely influential memorandum on the Science and Art of Indian Medicine authored by G. Srinivasa Murti. The memorandum formed part of two reports: of the Usman Committee (1923) and later, of the Chopra Committee (1948). The flawed idea, antithetical to the yukti-vya pashraya (reason-based) character of classical ayurveda, has kept the field from demystifying its theories and achieving the reforms long overdue. In short, the belief inepistemic superiority has dethroned ancient medical writings from being revisable scientific treatises into being dogmatic scriptures.
  • A century ago, P.S. Varier of the Arya Vaidya Sala Kottakkal noted that the “Sareerasthana (section on body structure and function in the Ayurvedic classics) must firstly be revised and made clearer and the remaining parts must be suited to it (sic). Secondly, after this, the other important works should also be corrected. Necessary additions must be made either by translations or by collaboration with experts in portions still deficient.”
• A recent article in the Indian Journal of Medical Ethics has renewed the plea to reform and update Ayurveda.
• He has called for a thorough change in the curriculum. As a medical system, Ayurveda is valuable immensely for its observations, only marginally for its theories, and not at all for its speculations.

Explainer of the Day

The road to productivity

• One way in which urban local bodies (ULBS) directly impact the city’s economic output is through their infrastructure. Why aren’t our cities investing adequately in roads? In re cent research, taking the case of Karnataka’s cities, we found that road length has a posi tive effect on the city’s tax base. This is be cause roads lead to easy access to jobs and increased economic activity; that also gives the public more confidence and motivation to pay taxes. Our estimate indicated that for every one km increase in the road length of a ULB, there is an increase in the ULB’s own revenues by roughly 430 per capita.
• So, cities should not view investment in road networks as expenditure; rather, roads add to the city’s revenue base which the city can use to improve infrastructure and public services. Even simple things such as fixing potholes and puddles on roads lead to significant reductions in travel time and should be an important city government priority.
• Investing in roads not only reduces travel time and enlarges effective labour markets of cities and their economic output, but also improves access to schooling for children as well as healthcare, thereby upgrading human development. This is indeed the road to the $5 trillion economy along with improvement in human well-being.

Twitter’s petition on Section 69A of the IT Act

• Section 69A of the IT Act empowers the government to restrict access to any content in the interest of sovereignty and integrity of the country, security of the state, friendly relations with foreign states or for public order. All directions to restrict information or content in circulation must be recorded in writing. Social media intermediaries failing to comply with the regulations are liable to be monetarily penalised along with an imprisonment term which may extend up to seven years. The procedures for executing the provisions of the act are enlisted in the Information Technology (Procedure and Safeguards for Blocking for Access of Information by Public) Rules, 2009. It entails that a government-designated officer along with an examination committee assess the content in question within 48 hours of receiving the take down request. It must enable an opportunity to the author or originator of the content to provide clarifications. The recommendations are then sent to the Secretary of the Dept of Information Technology for approval to forward a request to the social media intermediary for restricting access. Emergency provisions stipulate that the clarification be sought after the content has been blocked for specified reasons, but within 48 hours. They can be revoked after due examination. Internet advocacy groups have been particularly critical of Rule 16 that suggests strict confidentiality be maintained on all requests and actions taken thereof – often attributed to be the cause for lack of transparency. The mentioned legislation are to be read under the purview of Article 19 of the Indian Constitution guaranteeing freedom of speech and expression. However, Clause 2 of the article permits the state to impose ‘reasonable restrictions’ for the same reasons as those for Section 69A.
• Twitter restricts access to an allegedly violative content only based on a “valid and properly scoped request” from an authorised entity. However, the curtailment is limited to the jurisdiction that has issued the legal demand. Its policies stipulate that the author of the content must be informed if such a request is received or acted upon.
• Its petition points to two structural problems, firstly, the absence of a case-specific rationale for blocking content and accounts, and secondly, not according the originators of the content the mandatory hearing.
• The concerns are further aggravated when the directions are aimed at blocking individual accounts (in other words, temporary or permanent revocation of an individual’s presence on the platform) and not the specific content. Therefore, the contestation now extends to interrogating if the scope of the legislation is restricted to already-existing content or content that could be potentially generated in the future (by the censored individual).