DAILY CURRENT AFFAIRS IAS | UPSC Prelims and Mains Exam – 11th June 2022

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Syllabus

• Prelims – Current Affairs
• Mains – GS 1 (Society)

In News: The guidelines for Prevention of Misleading Advertisements and Endorsements for Misleading Advertisements, 2022, had been notified by the Department of Consumer Affairs

• The guidelines provide for regulation of bait, free claims and children-targeted advertisements and prohibit surrogate advertisements.

Provisions

• An advertisement for junk foods, including chips, carbonated beverages and such other snacks and drinks shall not be advertised during a programme meant for children or on a channel meant exclusively for children
• It states an advertisement of any goods, product or service that addresses or targets children shall not –
• be such as to develop negative body image in children;
• Give any impression that such goods, products or services are better than the natural or traditional food that children may be consuming.
• It states any advertisement that offers promotional gifts to persuade children to buy goods, product or service without necessity or promotes illogical consumerism shall be discouraged.
• Also bars Indian citizens living abroad from endorsing such advertisements that have been barred for Indian professionals living in the country.
• Endorsers are required to disclose their material connection with the endorsed product or service, and specify duties of manufacturer, service provider, advertiser and advertising agency.
• No surrogate advertisement or indirect advertisement shall be made for goods or services whose advertising is otherwise prohibited or restricted by law, by circumventing such prohibition or restriction and portraying it to be an advertisement for other goods or services, the advertising of which is not prohibited or restricted by law.

Source: Indian Express

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Syllabus

• Prelims – Science and Technology – Current Affairs

In News: The Agriculture Ministry unveiled India’s first Covid-19 vaccine for animals.

• Developed by the Hisar-based National Research Centre on Equines, the vaccine, called Ancovax, can protect animals against the Delta and Omicron variants of SARS-CoV-2.
• This is the first Covid-19 vaccine for animals developed in India.
• There were reports from Russia last year that that country, too, had developed a vaccine against animals such as dogs, cats, minks, and foxes.

HOW IT WORKS

• Ancovax can be used in dogs, lions, leopards, mice, and rabbits.
• It is an inactivated vaccine developed using an infectious part of the Delta variant.
• In addition, it uses Alhydrogel as an adjuvant to boost the immune response.

THE NEED:

• There have been reports of Covid-19 infection in several animals, including dogs and cats.
• The vaccine can protect animals in the zoo.
• The animals develop similar symptoms to humans – cough, cold, fever, and lung lesions
• It can also prevent transmission from companion animals to the humans
• The aim of the vaccine is to protect endangered animals

Previous Year Questions

Q.1) What is the importance of using \ Pneumococcal Conjugate Vaccines in India? (2020)

1. These vaccines are effective against pneumonia as well as meningitis and sepsis.
2. Dependence on antibiotics that are not effective against drug-resistant bacteria can be reduced.
3. These vaccines have no side effects and cause no allergic reactions.

Select the correct answer using the code given below:

1. 1 only
2. 1 and 2 only
3. 3 only
4. 1, 2 and 3

Source: Indian Express

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Syllabus

• Prelims – Geography – Map based

Syllabus

• Prelims – History
• Mains – GS 1 (History, Art and Culture)

In News: The Prime Minister of India will inaugurate the Sant Tukaram Shila Mandir in the temple town of Dehu in Pune district.

• Shila refers to a rock that is currently on the Dehu Sansthan temple premises, and that for centuries has been the starting point of Wari, the annual pilgrimage to Pandharpur.

The Shila Mandir

• The Bhakti saint Sant Tukaram had sat on this piece of rock for 13 continuous days when challenged about the authenticity of the Abhyangs he had written.
• The very rock where Sant Tukaram Maharaj sat for 13 days is pious and a place of pilgrimage for the Warkari sect.

The Warkari sect

• Sant Tukaram and his work are central to the Warkari sect spread across Maharashtra.
• His message about a casteless society and his denial of rituals had led to a social movement.
• Sant Tukaram is credited with starting the Wari pilgrimage
• The Wari sees lakhs of devotees congregating in the temple towns of Dehu and Alandi to accompany the padukas of Sant Tukaram and Sant Dyaneshwar respectively as they start for Pandharpur.
• Participants finish their sowing before they set off. The pilgrims reach Pandharpur on the day of Ekadashi

Tukaram (1608-1650)

• Tukaram was born in the Indian state of Maharashtra. Tukaram Bolhoba Ambile was his full name.
• His master was Saint Chaitanya Mahaprabhu of the Bhakti movement.
• A 17th-century poet-saint who lived with Maratha ruler Shivaji Maharaj and saints such as Eknath and Ramdas.
• His poetry was dedicated to Vithoba or Vitthala, an avatar of Vishnu, the Hindu God.
• He is most known for his Marathi Abangas (dohas), which are a rich inheritance of Gatha – devotional poetry
• He emphasized community-based worship through spiritual melodies known as Kirtans. He promoted the virtues of piety, forgiveness, and inner tranquility.
• He was a vocal critic of caste and gender injustice.
• Tukaram is considered to be the pinnacle of the Bhagawat tradition, which began with Namdev.

Previous Year Questions

Q.1) With reference to culture history of India, consider the following statements: (2018)

1. Most of the Tyagaraja Kritis are devotional songs in praise of Lord Krishna.
2. Tyagaraja created several new ragas.
3. Annamacharya and Tyagaraja are contemporaries.
4. Annamacharya kirtnas are devotional songs in praise of Lord Venketshwara.

Which of the statement is given above is/are correct?

1. 1 and 3 only
2. 2 and 4 only
3. 1, 2 and 3
4. 2, 3 and 4

Source: Indian Express

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Syllabus

• Prelims – Environment – Current Affairs

In News: Chelonoidis phantasticus, a giant tortoise species discovered after a century

• Chelonoidis phantasticus is a giant tortoise species believed to be extinct for more than a century.
• Named Fernanda after her Fernandina Island home, the tortoise is the first of her species, Chelonoidis phantasticus, to be identified in more than a century.
• A giant tortoise, found alive in 2019, has been confirmed to belong a Galapagos species long believed extinct.

Fernandina Island

• Fernandina Island is the third largest, and youngest, island of the Galápagos Islands, as well as the furthest west
• Like the others, the island was formed by the Galapagos hotspot.
• The island is an active shield volcano that has most recently been erupting

Galapagos Islands

• The Galapagos Islands, spread over almost 60,000 sq km, are a part of Ecuador, and are located in the Pacific Ocean around 1,000 km away from the South American continent.
• Ecuador made a part of the Galapagos a wildlife sanctuary in 1935, and the sanctuary became the Galapagos National Park in 1959. In 1978, the islands became UNESCO’s first World Heritage Site.
• The Galapagos Islands host a wide array of aquatic wildlife, including marine iguanas, fur seals, and waved albatrosses.

Previous Year Questions

Q.1) Consider the following animals: (2021)

1. Hedgehog
2. Marmot
3. Pangolin

To reduce the chance of being captured by predators, which of the above organisms rolls up/roll up and protects/ protect its/their vulnerable parts?

1. 1 and 2
2. 2 only
3. 3 only
4. 1 and 3

Source: Indian Express

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Syllabus

• Prelims – Environment
• Mains – GS 3 (Environment)

In News: Protest is mounting in the hilly regions of Kerala against the Supreme Court direction that every protected forest tract and wildlife sanctuary must have an eco-sensitive zone (ESZ) of one kilometre from its boundaries.

• Political parties and farmers’ outfits in Kerala have been demanding that all human settlements be exempted from the ESZ.

Background

• A three-judge bench of the apex court directed all states to leave a mandatory eco-sensitive zone of one kilometre from the boundaries of national parks, wildlife sanctuaries and other protected forest land.
• The court was considering public interest litigation for the protection of forest lands in the Nilgiris in Tamil Nadu.
• Later, the scope of the petition was enlarged to protect such natural resources throughout the country.

Concern

• The total extent of the wildlife sanctuaries in Kerala is eight lakh acres.
• If one km of ESZs is demarcated from their boundaries, around 4 lakh acres of human settlements, including farmlands, would come within that purview.

What are Eco-Sensitive Zones (ESZs)?

• Eco-Sensitive Zones or Ecologically Fragile Areas are areas within 10 kms around Protected Areas, National Parks and Wildlife Sanctuaries.
• ESZs are notified by MoEFCC, Government of India under Environment Protection Act
• In case of places with sensitive corridors, connectivity and ecologically important patches, crucial for landscape linkage, even area beyond 10 km width can also be included in the eco-sensitive zone.
• The basic aim is to regulate certain activities around National Parks and Wildlife Sanctuaries so as to minimise the negative impacts of such activities on the fragile ecosystem encompassing the protected areas.

Activities Allowed in ESZs

• Prohibited activities: Commercial mining, saw mills, industries causing pollution, establishment of major hydroelectric projects (HEP), commercial use of wood, Tourism activities like hot-air balloons over the National Park, discharge of effluents or any solid waste or production of hazardous substances.
• Regulated activities: Felling of trees, establishment of hotels and resorts, commercial use of natural water, erection of electrical cables, drastic change of agriculture system, e.g. adoption of heavy technology, pesticides etc, widening of roads.
• Permitted activities: Ongoing agricultural or horticultural practices, rainwater harvesting, organic farming, use of renewable energy sources, adoption of green technology for all activities.

Source: Indian Express

Q.1) Consider the following statements about Ancovax vaccine

1. It is India’s first Covid-19 vaccine for animals
2. It was developed by Indian Council of Medical Research in collaboration with NITI Aayog
3. It can protect animals against both the Delta and Omicron variants of SARS-CoV-2

Choose the correct statements:

1. 1 only
2. 1, 2 and 3
3. 2 and 3
4. 1 and 3

Q.2) Consider the following statements about Saint Tukaram Bolhoba Ambile

1. Sant Tukaram is credited with starting the Wari pilgrimage
2. His master was Saint Chaitanya Mahaprabhu
3. He was contemporary to Sant Ramdas
4. He emphasized community-based worship through spiritual melodies known as Kirtans

Choose the correct statements:

1. 2 and 4
2. 1 and 3
3. 1, 2, 3 and 4
4. 1, 2 and 4

Q.3) Consider the following statements about Eco-Sensitive Zones (ESZs)

1. ESZs are notified by respective State Government
2. It is notified under the Wildlife Protect Act, 1972
3. Establishment of hotels and resorts and commercial use of natural water fall under the Prohibited activities in ESZs

Choose the incorrect statements:

1. 1 only
2. 2 only
3. 1 and 2
4. 1, 2 and 3

Comment the answers to the above questions in the comment section below!!

ANSWERS FOR ’11th JUNE 2022 – Daily Practice MCQs’ will be updated along with tomorrow’s Daily Current Affairs.

Q.1) – a

Q.2) – d

Q.3) – c