daily news diary2 days ago · daily news diary 17.02.2021 +91 9000066690 [email protected] e...

DAILY NEWS DIARY 17.02.2021

+91 9000066690 [email protected] Pag

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DAILY NEWS DIARY

Of

FOR PRELIMS AND MAINS

17.02.2021



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Warm Greetings.

DnD aims to provide every day news analysis in sync with the

UPSC pattern.

It is targeted at UPSC – Prelims & Mains.

Daily articles are provided in the form of Question and

Answers

To have a bank of mains questions.

And interesting to read.

Providing precise information that can be carried

straight to the exam, rather than over dumping.

Enjoy reading.

THE HINDU - TH

INDIAN EXPRESS - IE

BUSINESS LINE - BL

ECONOMIC TIMES - ET

TIMES OF INDIA - TOI



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Index

Essay Paper

1. Four capitals’ vs ‘a Supreme Court Bench in South India’……………………………………………...………..…04

GS 1

Art & Culture

1. Maharaja Suheldev...…………..………………………………….....……………..…………………………………………….05

GS 2

Polity

1. Administrator of a Union Territory …………………………………………………………………………………..………06

GS 3

Environment

1. The ‘Spatial Mark-Resight’ approach……………………………………………………………………………….……….08

Short Questions:

1. The role of COVAX in ensuring equitable vaccine distribution…………………………………………....…..…09



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ESSAY PAPER EDITORIAL Q – Present an analysis of the viability of the proposals ‘four capitals’ vs ‘a Supreme Court Bench in

South India’?

INTRODUCTION = West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee asked why India should have only one

capital and suggested that there be four, suggesting that Parliament sessions should be held in each of

the four capitals in a rotating manner. While Ms. Banerjee has the right to have her opinion on the issue,

the challenges in implementing the same are –

1. The nation cannot afford having Four capitals meaning having Parliament buildings in three other regions,

too.

2. If there are four capitals, accommodation for all the MPs and the adjunct staff will have to be constructed.

3. While those from the northern parts of the country would prefer to be comfortably ensconced in the existing residential accommodation in New Delhi, those from other parts of the country may prefer to settle in the capital of the region to which they belong. During Parliament sessions, MPs will descend in droves to the envisaged capitals and fly out, leaving these residential accommodations vacant for months after every session.

4. Add to this the huge expenditure involved in all the MPs and their staff having to fly to and from these capitals every now and then.

5. Providing security to all the MPs will be a huge burden for the State Police. Even the vacant accommodations where the MPs don’t reside will have to be guarded round the clock.

6. Depending on the risk factor, enhanced security will have to be necessarily provided to a fair number of them, many of whom manage to get top security cover merely for their imprudent utterances. Calcutta (now Kolkata) was once a capital of this country until King George V announced in December 1911 that Delhi would be the new capital. Parliament House was opened in 1927 and the magnificent Viceroy’s residence (now Rashtrapati Bhavan) and the government buildings were inaugurated in 1931. One of the factors that may have weighed in favour of New Delhi could be its proximity to the summer capital, Shimla. But today, even shifting a State capital would involve huge expenditure. In the 1980s, the Tamil Nadu Chief Minister proposed to shift the State capital to Tiruchirappalli in central Tamil Nadu. The plan was ultimately shelved when the huge burden it would impose on the State exchequer became apparent. The cost to the government exchequer to have capitals in three other States will be mind-boggling and our nation can ill-afford this. A proposal to be considered A similar request was made in January 2021 when the Bar Councils of the five southern States called for a Supreme Court bench in south India. This has been a long-standing demand. Unlike the proposal to establish four capitals, this one merits serious consideration given the –

1. Prohibitively long distance between the southern States and Delhi. Not many can afford to travel all the way to New Delhi to engage lawyers and plead their cases.

2. The exorbitant fees of the Supreme Court lawyers in New Delhi is another deterrent. Way Forward - About this Attorney General K.K. Venugopal suggested that–

1. Four benches of Court of Appeal with 15 judges each be created across the country to reduce the burden of the Supreme Court.

2. This would enable judges to go through each case thoroughly and deliver a well-thought-out verdict.



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3. Setting up these courts would call for an amendment in the Constitution. Though the demand is to set up a bench in the south, southern Bar Councils may later take up the issue of setting up separate appellate benches in regions in the south. Such an arrangement would leave the apex court free to deal with constitutional issues. With cases mounting in various courts, a viable solution needs to be worked out. Easy accessibility to justice for every citizen is a right that cannot be countered. GS 1

Art & Culture

Q – Who is Maharaja Suheldev and how did celebrating a forgotten hero rake up a caste debate in India? BACKGROUND = According to Mirat-e-Masoodi of the 17th century, Maharaja Suheldev was the king of Shravasti during the 11th century. People of Rajbhar and Pasi community, who has a significant impact in many districts of Purvanchal consider him their descendant. According to British Gazetteer, Suheldev was a Rajput who fought against Muslim rulers by forming a union of 21 kings. Military Conquests –

1. Maharaja Suheldev defeated Mahmud Ghaznavi's nephew Ghazi Syed Salar Masood in a battle.

2. Suheldev is best remembered for the battle he fought on the banks of the Kaudiyala River in the year 1033

AD. This was fought between Suheldev and Mahmud Ghaznavi's nephew Syed Salar Masood Ghazi.

3. Deeply moved by the loot and destruction of the magnificent Somnath temple by invader Mahmud Ghazni

that suheldev decided to give up the comfort of royal life as a prince. He waged guerrilla warfare against

Mahmud Ghazni’s army. During his invasion of northern India, Mahmud Ghazni defeated several old

kingdoms and forced them to become his allies.

Historians opined that King Suheldev is a great hero whose history is very difficult to find. But from Awadh

to Terai region and Purvanchal, he had always found himself in folklores and in people’s hearts. Suheldev

was a sensitive and development-oriented ruler.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi said the country was rectifying the mistakes, injustice and tampering that

was committed against those who created history (Britishers). Mr. Modi made the remarks while laying

the foundation stone of Maharaja Suheldev Memorial and development work of Chittaura Lake in

Bahraich, U.P.



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. Citing examples of Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose, Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel and B.R. Ambedkar, along with

Suheldev, Mr. Modi said there were many personalities in the country who had not got their due

recognition.

The triggered caste legacy –

BJP MP from Bansgaon Kamlesh Paswan wrote to Mr. Modi and President Ram Nath Kovind demanding

that the memorial built for Suheldev be named as Rashtraveer Suheldev Pasi Smarak, claiming that the

icon belonged to the Pasi community and not Bhar as stated by Anil Rajbhar, a Minister in the U.P.

government.

The Om Prakash Rajbhar-led Suheldev Bharatiya Samaj Party held its own event in Azamgarh to mark the

1012 birth anniversary of “Maharaja Suheldev Rajbhar”, hailing him as “rashtra rakshak rashtraveer”.

GS 2

Polity Q – Discuss who is appointed as the administrator of a Union Territory, how and procedure of removal with a recent example? BACKGROUND =

How powerful is a Governor? The powers a Governor has in the state they administer is equivalent to that of the President. They can appoint Chief Ministers, Ministers, the State Election Commissioner and judges of the District Courts. They also serve as Chancellors of all the universitites in the state. The Governor can also dissolve the state Assembly if they see the need, and if the Assembly is not in session, they can promulgate ordinances. Based on the recommendation of the Election Commission, the Governor can also disqualify a legislator.

Recently Kiran Bedi was removed as the Lieutenant-Governor of Puducherry.

Telangana Governor Tamilisai Soundarajan has been given additional charge of the Union Territory until

regular arrangements are made.

The communique from the Rashtrapati Bhavan did not specify any reason for the removal of Ms.Bedi.



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The Congress had written to the President earlier to recall the L-G. The move came on a day the Congress

government, headed by Chief Minister V. Narayanasamy, lost majority following the resignation of two

MLAs in the past two days.

Chief Minister V. Narayanasamy said Ms. Bedi had been a stumbling block to implementing welfare

schemes and development programmes. “It is a victory for the people of the Union Territory,” he added.

Rightly, the removal of a Lieutenant Governor rests with the President –

For Prelims – More information on the affairs of the UT Pondicherry -

Other Powers of President -



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GS 3

Environment Q – Write a detailed note explaining the importance of the ‘Spatial Mark-Resight’ approach in identifying the melanasian leopards along with the rosettes? BACKGROUND = Wildlife specialists have for long faced challenges estimating the density of leopards in areas where some of the spotted cats are melanistic or black. (Melanism is a genetic condition in which an animal overproduces melanin, the dark colour pigment in skin or fur. ... The term 'black panther' is an umbrella term that refers to any big cat within the Panthera genus with a black coat). While, Rosettes are jagged black circular marks on the tawny coat of a leopard. Like the tiger’s stripes, the rosettes of each leopard are unique in shape and size, making the species identifiable individually.

Melanistic leopards — commonly called black leopards or black panthers or ghongs (Assamese) — have been difficult to estimate as their rosettes are invisible. The Spatial Mark-Resight (SMR) models have provided a way of counting the melanistic leopards too.SMR can be used when only a fraction of the animals can be uniquely identified. SMR methods use the encounter histories from the marked portion of the population (by artificial or natural marks) and the counts of unmarked individuals to estimate density and detection parameters.



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In the SMR models, we then borrow the capture history of the rosette leopards and apply the information on the melanistic leopards to estimate the entire population size of leopards. This problem is acute in the tropical and subtropical moist forests of South and Southeast Asia where the frequency of melanistic leopards is high and leopards also face the greatest threat. No precise estimates of leopard population could thus be done in protected areas and non-protected areas in India except on some occasions

Aaranyak’s tiger research and conservation division team used three years of camera trapping data

between 2017 and 2019 obtained from Manas National Park to establish the SMR approach.

The population density of leopards in Manas is 3.37 per 100 sq km. In the study, about 22.6% images of

the leopards were of the melanistic kind.

This method is expected to make it easier to assess the population status of leopards for informed conservation measures by applying the conventional camera trapping field method. It can also be widely applied for other species that exhibit similar colour variation in nature.

Snippet

Science & Technology Q – What is the role of COVAX in ensuring equitable vaccine distribution across the world?

COVID-19 Vaccines Global Access, abbreviated as COVAX, is a global initiative aimed at equitable access

to COVID-19 vaccines led by the Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunization, the World Health

Organization, the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations, and others.

The World Health Organization (WHO listed two versions of the AstraZeneca-Oxford COVID-19 vaccine for

emergency use, giving the green light for them to be rolled out globally through COVAX.

The vaccines are produced by AstraZeneca-SKBio (Republic of Korea) and the Serum Institute of India (SII).

WHO said the Emergency Use Listing (EUL) assessed the quality, safety and efficacy of the vaccines, a

prerequisite for COVAX Facility vaccine supply. “It also allows countries to expedite their own regulatory

approval to import and administer vaccines,”.

Countries with no access to vaccines to date will finally be able to start vaccinating their health workers

and populations at risk, contributing to the COVAX Facility’s goal of equitable vaccine distribution. To

achieve this, we need two things — a scale-up of manufacturing capacity and developers’ early submission

of their vaccines for WHO review.

The world body had also listed the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine for emergency use on December 31.



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Consider the following –

1. Yadavas are known as the founders of Marathi Culture.

2. Their territory was bordered by Parmaras in North, Kaktiya in east, Hoyasals in South and

Solankis in west.

3. The celebrated Sanskrit scholar, Hemadpant introduced Modi script for writing in

Marathi from Ceylon and has left some valuable historical sketch of Yadava dynasty.

4. The Yadavas of Devagiri, akin to the Hoyasals were destroyed by the Muslim invaders. Which of the above statements are CORRECT in reference to the Yadava Rule and extent? a. 4 alone b. 2 and 4 c. 1,2,4 d. 1,2,3,4

Nigeria’s Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala is appointed as the first woman and first African head of which

of the following International organisation?

a. World Bank

b. International Monetary Fund

c. World Trade Organisation

d. World Health Organisation

Answer – C

NOTE: Nigeria’s Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala was appointed on Monday as the first female and first

African head of the beleaguered World Trade Organization (WTO). The former Nigerian Finance

Minister and World Bank veteran as the global trade body’s new Director-General.

The near-paralysed institution desperately needs a kick-start — something Ms. Okonjo-Iweala

immediately addressed after being confirmed in the job.



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UPSC - CSE

COMPREHENSIVE & FOUNDATION COURSE

COURSE INCLUDES:

• NCERT • Daily Tests & Writing Practice • Optionals (ANTROPOLOGY / GEOGRAPHY) • Nine Months Course • Mentoring with Individual Focus • SAVVY Sessions • IAO Certification of Quality

OPTIONALS

NEW OFFLINE COURSES

ANTHROPOLOGY by Mrs. SOSIN REVELLA From: 23/12/2020

ONLINE From: 08.01.2021

• GS Foundation

• Prelims & Main • CSAT

Pag

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OFFLINE From: 04.01.2021

OPTIONALS

NEW OFFLINE COURSES

TELUGU LITERATURE by DR. GARIKIPATI SUBRAMANYAM From: 27/01/2021

OPTIONALS

NEW OFFLINE COURSES

GEOGRAPHY by MR. SOHAN NARESH From: 03/02/2021

OPTIONALS

NEW OFFLINE COURSES

SOCIOLOGY by DR. HARSHAVARDHAN

From: 03/02/2021

UPSC - CSE

daily news diary2 days ago · daily news diary 17.02.2021 +91 9000066690 [email protected] e...

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