Questions
Which of the following is/are member countries of “Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC)”?
- Myanmar
- Hong Kong
- Papua New Guinea
- Chinese Taipei
Choose the correct code from below given options:
a) 1, 2 and 3 only
b) 1, 2, 3 and 4 only
c) 3 and 4 only
d) 2, 3 and 4 only
Explanation: Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation, or APEC, is the premier forum for
facilitating economic growth, cooperation, trade and investment in the Asia-Pacific region.
APEC’s 21 Member Economies are the United States; Australia; Brunei Darussalam;
Canada; Chile; China; Hong Kong, China; Indonesia; Japan; Malaysia; Mexico; New
Zealand; Papua New Guinea; Peru; The Philippines; Russia; Singapore; Republic of Korea;
Chinese Taipei; Thailand; and Viet Nam.
2) “Rangapahar Wildlife Sanctuary” is located in which of the following state?
a) Manipur
b) Nagaland
c) Sikkim
d) Chhattisgarh
Explanation: Rangapahar Reserve Forest (Nagaland) happens to be one of the most famous
destinations in Dimapur. The unique vegetation that has medicinal values and wildlife of
this place makes it a prominent one.
3) Consider the following statements regarding Sixth Schedule of Constitution;
- Any increase or decrease in the areas of the autonomous district under the schedule
requires a constitutional amendment. - Citizenship (Amendment) Act, 2019 provisions of citizenship for migrants do not apply to
areas under sixth schedule.
Which of the above statements is/are correct?
a) 1 only
b) 2 only
c) Both 1 and 2
d) Neither 1 nor 2
Correct answer: B
Explanation: Statement 1 is incorrect. The Governor may, by public notification, increase
or decrease the areas of the autonomous districts (after considering the report of
commission on the administration of autonomous districts and autonomous regions).
Statement 2 is correct. Provisions on citizenship for illegal migrants under Citizenship
(Amendment) act 2019 do not apply to the tribal areas of Assam, Meghalaya, Mizoram, or
Tripura, as included in the Sixth Schedule to the Constitution.
Important PIB NEWS :- District Mineral Foundations
What is DMF:-
District Mineral Foundations are statutory bodies in India established by the State
Governments by notification. They derive their legal status from section 9B of Mines and
Minerals (Development and Regulation) Act, 1957 as amended on 26 March 2015 as Mines
and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Amendment Act, 2015. This amendment came
into force from 12 January 2015.
Establishment :-
Each District Mineral Foundation is established by the State Governments by notification as
a trust or non-profit body in the mining operation affected districts.
Objectives :-
The objective of District Mineral Foundation is to work for the interest of the benefit of the
persons and areas affected mining related operations in such manner as may be prescribed
by the State Government.
The Pradhan Mantri Khanij Kshetra Kalyan Yojana (PMKKKY) will be implemented by the
DMFs of the respective districts using the funds accruing to the DMF.
The overall objective of PMKKKY scheme will be:-
(a) to implement various developmental and welfare projects/programs in mining affected areas, and these projects/ programs will be complementing the existing ongoing schemes/projects of State and Central Government;
(b) to minimize/mitigate the adverse impacts, during and after mining, on the environment, health and socio-economics of people in mining districts; and
(c) to ensure long-term sustainable livelihoods for the affected people in mining areas.
2) All about Subramania Bharati:-
Subramania Bharathi, was a Tamil writer, poet, journalist, Indian independence activist, social reformer and polyglot. Popularly known as “Mahakavi Bharathi”, he was a pioneer of modern Tamil poetry and is considered one of the greatest Tamil literary figures of all time.
He fought for the emancipation of women, against child marriage, stood for reforming Brahminism and religion. He was also in solidarity with Dalits and Muslims.
He attended the Indian National Congress session in Calcutta under Dadabhai Naoiroji, which demanded Swaraj and boycott of British goods.
Bharathi participated in the historic Surat Congress in 1907 along with V.O. Chidambaram Pillai and Mandayam Srinivachariar, which deepened the divisions within the Indian National Congress with a section preferring armed resistance, primarily led by Tilak over moderate approach preferred by certain other sections. Bharathi supported Tilak with V. O. Chidambaram Pillai and Kanchi Varathachariyar.
3) All about Swami Vivekanand :-
He was a true luminary, credited with enlightening the western world about Hinduism.
He was an ardent disciple of Sri Ramakrishna Paramahansa and a major force in the revival of Hinduism in India.
He pushed for national integration in colonial India, and his famous speech remains as the one that he gave in Chicago in 1893 (Parliament of the World Religions).
In 1984 the Government of India declared that 12 January, the birthday of Swami Vivekananda, will be celebrated as National Youth Day.
Early life- contributions:
Born in Kolkata on January 12, 1863 in Kolkata, Swami Vivekananda was known as Narendra Nath Datta in his pre-monastic life.
He is known to have introduced the Hindu philosophies of Yoga and Vedanta to the West.
Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose had called Vivekananda the “maker of modern India.”
In 1893, he took the name ‘Vivekananda’ after Maharaja Ajit Singh of the Khetri State requested him to do so.
He formed the Ramakrishna Mission in 1897 “to set in motion a machinery which will bring noblest ideas to the doorstep of even the poorest and the meanest.”
In 1899, he established the Belur Math, which became his permanent abode.
He preached ‘neo-Vedanta’, an interpretation of Hinduism through a Western lens, and believed in combining spirituality with material progress.
Books written by him:
‘Raja Yoga’, ‘Jnana Yoga’, ‘Karma Yoga’ are some of the books he wrote.
4) NATGRID to finally see the light of day :- Prime Minister Narendra Modi is soon expected to launch the National Intelligence Grid or NATGRID that aims to provide a “cutting edge technology to enhance India’s counter-terror capabilities”.
What is NATGRID?
First conceptualised in 2009, NATGRID seeks to become the one-stop destination for security and intelligence agencies to access database related to immigration entry and exit, banking and telephone details of a suspect on a “secured platform”.
Who can access the data?
It will be a medium for at least 10 Central agencies such as the Intelligence Bureau (IB) and the Research and Analysis Wing (R&AW) to access data on a secured platform. The data will be procured by NATGRID from 21 providing organisations such as the telecom, tax records, bank, immigration etc.
Criticisms:
NATGRID is facing opposition on charges of possible violations of privacy and leakage of confidential personal information.
Its efficacy in preventing terror has also been questioned given that no state agency or police force has access to its database thus reducing chances of immediate, effective action.
The combined data shall be accessible by the central agencies namely the Directorate General of Central Excise Intelligence, Central Board of Excise and Customs, Narcotics Control Bureau, Enforcement Directorate, Directorate of Revenue Intelligence , Central Board of Direct Taxes, Financial intelligence unit, Central Bureau of Investigation, the Intelligence Bureau and the Research and Analysis Wing.
5) India Acknowledges the Taliban informally for the first time :- IN ITS first clear and official reference to the Taliban as a state actor, India acknowledged in a joint statement with Australia that the group holds “positions of power and authority across Afghanistan”.
This reference is a step forward for the diplomatic establishment, but falls short of officially recognising the Taliban administration as the government of Afghanistan.
6) Why Battle of Saragarhi continues to inspire India & world, 124 yrs on:- The Battle of Saragarhi was a last-stand battle fought before the Tirah Campaign between the British Raj and Afghan tribesmen.
Saragarhi was the communication tower between Fort Lockhart and Fort Gulistan in North West Frontier Province, now in Pakistan. The forts were built by Maharaja Ranjit Singh but renamed by the British.
7) New tech based on CRISPR to control growth of mosquitoes:- LEVERAGING advancements in CRISPR based genetic engineering,researchers have created a system that restrains populations of mosquitoes that infect millions each year with debilitating diseases.
The “precision guided sterile insect technique” (pgSIT), alters genes linked to male fertility— creating sterile offspring—and female flight in Aedes aegypti, the mosquito species responsible for spreading diseases including dengue fever, chikungunya and Zika, the University of California, San Diego said in a press release.
Details of the pgSIT have been described in Nature Communications.
Editorial of the day
Lead Article:- A global war on terror with no tangible results :-
Author’s Main Point and a Probable Question for Mains
Author says that American war If anything, it has made the world less safe. The scourge of transnational terrorism has only spread deeper and wider in the world. In fact, the U.S. President Joe Biden’s blunder in facilitating the terrorist takeover of Afghanistan raises the nagging question whether the seeds of another 9/11 have been sown.
As per author The Taliban’s defeat of the world’s most powerful military represents the greatest victory of violent Islamists in the modern history of jihadism.
Loss to India :- America’s close partner, India, with its location right next to the Afghanistan-Pakistan belt, is likely to be one big loser from Mr. Biden’s Afghan debacle.
- Author says that India can be a target for Afghanistan’s Terrorists.
- China was also troubling from one front, we were focussed there and now this new challenge.
This decision about Afghanistan is not just about Afghanistan. It’s about ending an era of major military operations to remake other countries.” This realignment of strategic objectives is rattling allies — from Taiwan to Ukraine — who fear being abandoned the way the U.S. threw the Afghan government under the bus.
Are Americans Confused or What? :- Mr. Biden, like his predecessors since 2001, has disregarded the lessons of 9/11. This is apparent from Mr. Biden’s attempts to paint the Taliban as “good” terrorists and ISIS-K (Islamic State Khorasan), al Qaeda and the Haqqani Network as “bad” terrorists.
He even claimed that “ISIS-K terrorists” are “sworn enemies of the Taliban”, ignoring the Pentagon’s acknowledgment that one of the Taliban’s first actions after conquest was to free thousands of ISIS-K prisoners from Afghan jails.
Last time in 2001 the world saw the destruction of the Bamiyan Buddhas.
So what is the message of this 20th Anniversary of 9/11 :-
The message is simple that we have to stop kissing the terror regimes and stop distinguishing in terms if Good or Bad terrorism.
The Fight against terrorism has derailed and thus we have to build a new consensus again and start dethroning the Terrorists.
About Bamiyan buddha:- The Buddhas of Bamiyan were two 6th-century monumental statues of Vairocana Buddha and Gautama Buddha carved into the side of a cliff in the Bamiyan valley of central Afghanistan, 130 kilometres (81 mi) northwest of Kabul at an elevation of 2,500 metres (8,200 ft).
Carbon dating of the structural components of the Buddhas has determined that the smaller 38 m (125 ft) “Eastern Buddha” was built around 570 AD, and the larger 55 m (180 ft) “Western Buddha” was built around 618 AD, which would date both to the time when the Hephthalites ruled the region.
Editorial 02 : A selective nuclear policy
In this Article the Author starts by saying that North Korea has resumed its nuclear operations.
The resumption of North Korea’s largest fissile material production reactor, after operations were ceased in December 2018, has sparked speculation about its real and symbolic significance. The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has underlined that the restart of activity in Yongbyon constitutes a violation of UN Security Council resolutions.
What is Nuclear Deterrence?
- Nuclear Deterrence is a military doctrine according to which the possibility that a country will use the nuclear weapons it possesses in retaliation will deter an enemy from attacking.
- This doctrine is based on the underlying philosophy that Nuclear weapons are so destructive that no country would use them, because such use would cause massive humanitarian crisis and no political leader would be willing to risk the possible death of millions of their citizens.
Deterrence theory refers to scholarship and practice on how threats or limited force by one party can convince another party to refrain from initiating some course of action.
India’s Stand on Nuclear deterrence :-
