Questions
1) Consider the following pairs:
World Heritage site : States/UTs
1. Kakatiya Rudreshwara (Ramappa) Temple – Odisha
2. Dholavira – Gujarat
3. Great Himalayan National Park – Ladakh
Which of the pairs given above are correctly matched?
2 only
2 and 3 only
1 and 3 only
1,2 and 3.
2) Which of the following will help India in tackling the problem of rising inequality?
1. Provisions for Progressive Taxation
2. Rising economic growth
3. Removing wage gap,
4. introduction of schemes like Beti Bachao Beti Padhao
Select the correct answer using the code given below.
1, 3 and 4 only
3 only
1, 2 and 3 only
All of the above
3) With reference to genocide, consider the following:
1. India is one of the co-sponsors in General Assembly resolution 96(I), which affirmed genocide as a ‘crime under international law’.
2. India did not ratify the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide of 1948.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
1 only
2 only
Both 1 and 2
Neither 1 nor 2
Prelims Specific News Items
1)The International Labour Organisation(ILO) has released the World Employment and Social Outlook – Trends 2022.
The report examines the impacts of the Covid-19 crisis on global and regional trends in employment, unemployment and labour force participation as well as on job quality, informal employment and working poverty.
What are the key findings of the World Employment and Social Outlook – Trends 2022?
Unemployment: Global unemployment is projected to stand at 207 million in 2022. This is 21 million more than in 2019 before the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic began.
Working Hours: Global working hours in 2022 will be almost 2% below their pre-pandemic level — that is equivalent to the loss of 52 million full-time jobs.
Global Labour Force: In 2022, around 40 million people will no longer be participating in the global labour force.
Poverty: a) In 2020, an additional 30 million adults fell into extreme poverty (living on less than $1.90 per day in purchasing power parity) while being out of paid work b) The number of extreme working poor — workers who do not earn enough through their work to keep themselves and their families above the poverty line — rose by eight million.
Vaccine Inequality: Many low and middle-income countries have low access to vaccines and limited scope to expand government budgets to address the crisis. Thus, these countries are struggling more than high-income ones to get back to pre-pandemic levels of employment and job quality.
Impact on Sectors: Some sectors such as travel and tourism have been particularly hard hit, while other sectors such as those related to information technology have thrived.
Impact on women and Young Children: Women have been worse hit by the labour market crisis than men, and this is likely to continue. The closing of education and training institutions will also have long-term implications for young people, particularly those without internet access.
2) Kohima War Cemetery in Nagaland has figured in the Commonwealth War Graves Commission (CWGC) five sites with unusual features. These sites are associated with World War I and World War II.
What is Kohima War Cemetery?
Kohima War Cemetery is a memorial dedicated to the soldiers of the British Division of the Allied Forces who died in World War II at Kohima in April 1944.
It has been identified as the only cemetery on the Earth which incorporates a tennis court.
It is also one of World War graves across the continents maintained by the CWGC.
What is the sequence of events that led to the formation of Kohima War Cemetery?
In 1944, Japanese forces attacked Kohima and its strong British force.
This led to fighting as the British forces were pushed back to the former house of the British Deputy Commissioner. The lawn of this house had a tennis court where the British officers played for recreation.
The British forces who were around the garden tennis court prepared for their final stand. As the Japanese forces prepared to attack, they were attacked in turn by the lead tanks, saving the defenders and pushing the attackers back.
Despite this setback, the Japanese force continued to fight for Kohima before they were finally forced to withdraw in May 1944. Those who had fallen in the defence of Kohima were buried on the battlefield, with further burials from the surrounding areas.
What is the significance of Kohima in World War II?
Present Day Kohima (Nagaland) and adjoining Imphal (Manipur) comprised the only theatre of World War II in the Indian subcontinent.
The invasion of these areas meant that the Japanese could strike further into India.
What is the Commonwealth War Graves Commission (CWGC)?
It is an intergovernmental organisation of six member-states (Australia, Canada, India, New Zealand, South Africa, United Kingdom) who ensure the men and women who died in the wars will never be forgotten.
It was formed in 1917 as the Imperial War Graves Commission. However the present name was given in 1960
3) States weigh options on IAS cadre rule changes
The Union government is planning to acquire for itself overriding powers to transfer IAS and IPS officers through Central deputation, doing away with the requirement of taking the approval of the State governments.
The Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT) wrote to the States on January 12 that the Union government proposes to amend Rule 6 (deputation of cadre officers) of the Indian Administrative Service (Cadre) Rules 1954.
6 states have opposed the move.
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has written to Prime Minister Narendra Modi that the proposed amendment is against the “spirit of cooperative federalism” and the “amendment unilaterally mandates the State government to make such a number of officers available for deputation as prescribed under [the] Central Deputation Reserve.”
4)Dip in eastern swamp deer numbers
The population of the vulnerable eastern swamp deer, extinct elsewhere in South Asia, has dipped in the Kaziranga National Park and Tiger Reserve.
“The eastern swamp deer is endemic to Kaziranga and is not the primary prey of the park’s carnivores, primarily the tiger. But its population is crucial for the ecological health of the tiger reserve and the encouraging sign is the animal has now moved to other areas such as Orang National Park and Laokhowa-Burachapori wildlife sanctuaries”.
5) Miss Kerala not endangered: aquarists
The species, which has been listed by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) as endangered, was so highly exploited for the ornamental fish trade that scientists had to resort to captive breeding of the species in labs.
Aquarium enthusiast Beta Mahatvaraj of Chennai, who has been documenting the native Indian fish species for
years, points out two issues in the Bill.
‘A ban, literally’ He says the scientific name Puntius denisonii, given against the common name Denison barb, is wrong; it should have been Sahyadria denisonii. Even then, the species is found in the States of Kerala and Karnataka.
Miss Kerala is a Fish.
Editorial of the Day
What Vladimir Putin really wants
Catherine the Great, the 18th century Empress Regnant of Russia, once famously said, “I have no way to defend my borders but to extend them.”
Author is saying that Vladimir Putin is moving ahead on the same line. Vladimir Putin, who annexed Crimea in 2014 and has now mobilised some 100,000 troops on the Ukraine border.
Russia saw two devastating invasions from the west — the 1812 attack by Napoleonic France and the 1941 attack by Nazi Germany. Russia defeated them both, but after suffering huge material and human losses.
Why is Putin getting aggressive :-
- Increasing NATO influence especially with Georgia and Ukraine is making Russia Nervous.
- Russia believes that Offence is the best form of Defence.
- Recently America’s winding up forces from Afghanistan is giving Russia good hopes for a Russian Revival especially in Central Asian Region. The geopolitical realities of the present also favour Russia. The U.S.’s ignominious withdrawal from Afghanistan has left the Central Asian republics deeper in the Russian embrace.
- Mr. Putin was steadily rebuilding the lost Russian influence in the rim land. By destabilising Georgia and Ukraine and reestablishing Russia’s hold in Belarus, Caucasus and Central Asia, Moscow has effectively stalled NATO’s further expansion into its backyard.
