Civil Services Chronicle October 2019

1 Surgical Strike or Integration sans Integrity: The Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation Act, 2019

2 Surrogacy Regulation Act 2019- Regulating the Rented Womb

3 Consumer Protection Act, 2019: Strengthening Consumers' Rights

4 The Menace of Unregulated Deposits

5 New Economic Capital Framework

Agriculture

1 Futures Trading in Agriculture

2 Centre Moots Law to Amend Regulation of Agricultural Seeds

Government Policy

1 Government’s Road Map for Boosting Economy

2 Expert Panel Report on Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR)

3 Microcridit in India: Bottlenecus & Way Forward

Industry

1 UDAN Scheme: In need of Government Action to Fly

2 Crisis in the Automobile Industry

News Bytes

1 SARAL Index Launched

2 Textile Ministry Signs MoU for Skill Training

3 Pradham Mantri Laghu Vyapari Yojana

4 Merger of 10 Public Sector Banks into Four

5 Alignment of Financial Year of RBI with Govt.’s Fiscal Year

6 Government Mandates Used Cooking Oil for Biodiesel

7 KABIL Set up to Ensure Supply of Critical Minerals

PIB CORNER

1 PIB Corner

Legislative

1 Inter - State River Water Disputes (Amendment) Bill, 2019 gets Legislative Nod

2 National Medical Commission Act 2019- A Mega Reform of Medical Sector

Judiciary

1 Cabinet approves increasing strength of Supreme Court Judges from 31 to 34

Executive

1 Chief of Defence Staff Post Announced by PM

Social Issues

1 Rotavirus Vaccine expanded to Entire County

2 Project SU.RE launched by Textile Ministry for Sustainable Fashion

3 India Child Well-being Index Released

Art And Culture

1 Hampi World Heritage Site: Flooded in Karnataka Rains

2 9-Day National Tribal Festival “Aadi Mahotsav” celebrated at Leh-Ladakh

News Bytes

1 Rajasthan gears up with a Law Against Mob Lynching

2 Green Signal to Death Penalty for ‘Honour Killing’ in Rajasthan

3 Karnataka Govt. pulls gears up to promote over 40 GI Products

4 Safe Cities Index (SCI) 2019

5 HP Passes Bill against Forced Conversion

6 Fit India Movement

PIB CORNER

1 PIB Corner

India And The World

1 Prime Minister of India visits Bhutan

2 Eastern Economic Forum

3 US Protests Against Developing Country Status for India

World Issues

1 G7 Summit

2 BASIC Ministerial Meet on Climate Change

News Bytes

1 India Signs UNISA

2 UNIDO and Solar Energy Institute Sign Agreement

3 Visit of Zambian President Edgar Chagwa Lungu to India

4 FATF Places Pakistan on Black List

5 China Lends Support to Kailash Mansarovar Yatra

In Focus

1 India and the Baltic Cooperation

Astronomy

1 Tardigrade: The water bear

2 Perseid Meteor Shower Lights Sky across the World

3 Gravitational Lensing to Investigate ‘How Stars are Born’

4 Earth and Mars will Pause Chatter

Space Organisations

1 NASA’s Parker Solar Probe Completes a Year

Bio Science

1 Malaria and Dengue are Notifiable Diseases

Indigenous Technology

1 Genome Sequencing of Bacteria to Help with Biocontrol in Farming

2 TechEx –Demonstrat Products Developed Under IMPRINT and UAY

Defence

1 Quick Reaction Surface-to-Air missiles (QRSAM) Successfully Tested

News Bytes

1 Government to launch Genome India Initiative

2 Government Clears ITMS for Mumbai

3 GJ 357 d: NASA’s TESS Discovers 1st Nearby Super-Earth

4 India’s 1st Large-Scale Trial of Two New TB Vaccines Launched

5 NASA Takes First High-Resolution Measurements of Interplanetary Shock

6 ISRO lays the Foundation Stone for the Space Situational Awareness Control Centre

7 Virgin Hyperloop One Signs an agreement to build a Hyperloop

In Focus

1 PRETOMANID: New Drug for Drug-Resistant TB

2 India’s Deep Ocean Mission

PIB CORNER

1 PIB Corner

Sustainable Development

1 WWF Releases First-Ever Global Assessment of Forest Biodiversity

2 Nigeria Joins Global Coalition to Protect Pollinators

Policy

1 Draft Environmental and Social Management Framework (ESMF) Released

2 Samagra Shiksha-Jal Suraksha Drive Launched

Flora

1 Sparkling Blue Waves in Chennai

2 Northeast Tops States with Most Forest Cover

Fauna

1 Star Tortoise, Otters get Higher Protection at CITES

2 New Species of Marmoset

3 New Species of Burrowing Frog in Jharkhand

4 New Species of Freshwater Fish Found

Pollution

1 Microplastics: The New Pollutants

2 NASA Data: India Biggest Emitter of Sulphur Dioxide

News Bytes

1 Meghdoot: New Mobile App Launched to Assist Farmers

2 IPCC Report on Land and Climate Change

3 World Biofuel Day Observed in India

4 Gogabeel: Bihar’s First Community Reserve

5 Greta Thunberg’s ‘Climate Strike’ Becomes a Global Movement

In Focus

1 Amazon Fires: Turning Forests to Ashes

PIB CORNER

1 PIB Corner

Newsmakers

1 NEWS MAKERS

On The Hot Seat

1 ON THE HOT SEAT

Faces Only In Memory

1 FACES ONLY IN MEMORY

States In News

1 STATES IN NEWS

Places In News

1 PLACES IN NEWS

Summit/Seminar

1 SUMMIT/SEMINAR

Study/Survey/Report

1 STUDY/SURVEY/REPORT

World Of Sports

1 WORLD OF SPORTS

National Sports Awards - 2019

1 NATIONAL SPORTS AWARDS -2019

World Of Awards

1 WORLD OF AWARDS

Essays

1 Deepfakes – Menace on AI based Creations

2 EARTH IS NOT FOR HUMANS ONLY

3 MIGRATION: A REFLECTION OF EVOLVING SOCIETIES

4 RURAL TRANSFORMATION COMES WITH OPPORTUNITIES AND CHALLENGES

5 TRADE INDUCED INEQUALITY AND DEGLOBALIZATION

6 TECHNOLOGY HAS CREATED MORE JOBS THAN IT HAS DISPLACED

7 RENEWABLE IS THE FUTURE

8 INFORMED VOTERS ARE A LYNCHPIN OF DEMOCRACY

9 DATA AS THE FUEL OF MODERN ECONOMY

10 LEAVING NO ONE BEHIND

11 OPEN SOCIETIES NEED OPEN MINDS

Economic Development

1 Major Challenges and Way Forward

2 Contemporary Issues Related to Planning in India

3 Issue of High Unemployment in india

4 Issues related IPR in India

5 Tax Reforms

6 Land Reforms in India

Ethics, Integrity & Aptitude

1 CASE STUDY-1

2 CASE STUDY-2

3 CASE STUDY-3

4 CASE STUDY-4

5 CASE STUDY-5

6 CASE STUDY-6

General Studies Mains Questions And Answers

1 Indian federalism is an asymmetric federalism. Explain with suitable examples.

2 Discuss the historical context behind Article 35 A and examine the possible implications of its abrogation on the state of Jammu and Kashmir.

3 Analyse Gandhiji’s perspective on Swaraj and its implications on India’s freedom movement.

4 Discuss the significance of Ayushman Bharat Scheme in achieving the goal of Universal Health Coverage.

5 Highlight the challenges faced by lower judiciary and suggest measures to mitigate them.

6 The issue of curbing fake news gets entangled in Privacy Vs Security debate. Critically analyse the need for balance in regulation and legislation in this dilemma.

7 Mission Indradhanush is a potential game changer which can produce far reaching gains if the challenges facing it are overcome on time. Critically analyse the statement.

8 Enumerate the reasons for the backwardness of PVTGs and the government initiatives for their development.

9 Conservation of flora and fauna is a global concern in the light of adverse climate change. At the same time the right to livelihood of forest dwellers is a genuine humanitarian issue. What steps have been taken to strike a balance?

10 Analyse the significance of Witness Protection Scheme in the wake of rising attacks on Witnesses in India.

11 Comment on the status of Tribal education in India and suggest measure for improvement.

12 Critically analyse the significance of continuous use of Official Secrets act post the enactment of RTI Act 2005.

13 What is smart fencing? Explain the role of technology in Border management.

14 Why do we need a balanced fiscal federalism? Do you think the fiscal space of the states is weaning away at the hands of the Centre?

15 Indian economy has slipped in global GDP rankings which highlights the challenges India has to face in achieving this year’s target of $ 3 trillion economy. What reforms would you suggest in order to provide the required boost to the economy?

16 The economics of loan waivers make it inherently antithetical to the long term interests of farmers, agriculture and banking sector. Examine.

17 Advancing blue economy through sustainable management and utilization of ocean’s resources can be a shot in the Indian economy’s arm. Discuss.

18 Lack of affordable and accessible energy sources has resulted in energy poverty in India which acts as a dampener for the economy. What measures could be taken in order to boost India’s per capita energy consumption?

19 Difficulties in even some private banks in India suggests that ‘simple’ solutions like privatizing all public sector banks may be no panacea. Comment.

20 The stagnant and subdued contribution of ‘manufacturing’ sector in the economy beckons at the need for a new Industrial Policy. Elaborate.

21 How will the recently approved National Mineral Policy, 2019 be effective in ushering in a sustainable mining sector? Examine.

22 India’s rank in global competitiveness has seen a consistent improvement since a few years. In the light of this statement highlight the factors fuelling this growth as well as the areas dragging India behind in global competitiveness.

23 Do you think the growth model followed by East Asian economies could be suitable in propelling India’s economic growth trajectory?

24 As per the recent UNDP report, India halved its poverty in last 10 yrs. In this light explain the factors which led to this drop and also highlight the challenges still existing in India’s poverty landscape.

25 Membership of RCEP presents many opportunities for India but current rounds of negotiations fail to address India’s apprehensions. Comment.

26 The growing proximity between Russia-Pakistan-China poses fresh challenges for India in domestic and international spheres. Critically examine.

27 The stand taken by the quadrilateral (US, China, Russia and Pakistan) on the principles governing Afghan Peace Process differ from those held by India. Being an important stakeholder in the region how do you think India should navigate its course of action?

28 Recently, India Cooling Action Plan (ICAP) was launched by Ozone Cell of Ministry for Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC). Explain the need to launch this plan. What are the objectives of this plan? Critically examine its effectiveness.

29 The Indian Sundarbans was accorded the status of ‘Wetland of International Importance’ under the Ramsar Convention. What will be its benefits? Analyze the threats posed to Sundarbans.

30 Monsoon floods have ravaged India. While the southern states of Karnataka and Kerala are still dealing with the destruction, northern India is now bracing for the worst. There are six states reported to be affected by flood so far - Gujarat, Kerala, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh. Examine the causes behind these floods. What are the practices that can control floods in India? Explain.

31 What are the causes of Plastic Pollution? Analyse the effects of Plastic Pollution. As a Consumer, briefly examine the solution to the plastic Pollution.

32 AI-driven technology will become counterproductive if a legal framework is not devised to regulate it. Examine Ans. Artificial Intelligence (AI) is a source of both enthusiasm and skepticism, albeit in different measures. With humans and machines joining forces now more than ever before, AI is no longer confined to innovation labs and is being hailed for its immense transformational possibilities.

33 A group of more than 1,000 farmers gathered in a village in Akola of Maharashtra to sow seeds of an unapproved, genetically modified variety of cotton, defying government regulations. As this conflicts rises, critically examine the need for GM Crops.

34 What is a Block chain technology? What is the need for Blockchain technology? Describe its applications.

35 What are BS Norms? What is the difference between BS – IV norms and the BS- VI? Why there is a need for upgradation of BS norms for reducing pollution? What will be its impact?

36 The second application of the Bonn Challenge Barometer, which tracks global commitments on forest landscape restoration (FLR), found that nearly 44 million hectares (Mha) of land was under restoration in 13 countries in 2018, representing approximately 56% of these countries’ commitments and 29% of the total global Bonn Challenge target. What is a Bonn Challenge? Also explain Forest landscape restoration and principles behind it?

37 What is Mission Gaganyaan? What are its objectives and relevance?

38 What is Global Facility for Disaster Reduction and Recovery? Examine India’s role in it? Briefly explain the global efforts in reducing disaster reduction?

39 In recent years, India’s coastal regions have become more vulnerable to multiple risks related to climate change. Intense and more frequent cyclones such as the recent Fani, Gaja and Hudhud as well as severe floods have caused massive devastation to the country’s coastal states. In this regard, examine what is climate resilient infrastructure. Also, highlight its benefits and the Challenges involved in building such infrastructure?

40 India is facing an urban water crisis. What are the water challenges in urban India? What can be done to overcome it? Substantiate your answer.

41 What do you understand by crypto currency? Do you think crypto currencies should be legalized? Critically analyse.

42 At the 14th G20 summit, which was held in June 2019, India backed data localisation laws. Give agreements in favour and against as to why data localization is necessary for India?

43 A civil Servant is expected to be objective as well as compassionate. Explain how it is possible to fit into these criteria with suitable examples.

44 In the time when world is facing hatred, fear and increasing violence what we need is secular ethics and happiness. What do you mean by secular ethics?

45 Although India has been witnessing one of the highest economic growth rates since few years, the growth has not been inclusive. Explain.

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