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

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Syllabus

• Prelims – History

Context: The history of popular slogans raised during Indian independence movement.

‘Jai Hind’ by Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose

• Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose popularised ‘Jai Hind’ as a salutation for soldiers of his Indian National Army (INA), which fought alongside Netaji’s ally Japan in the Second World War.

‘Tum mujhe khoon do, main tumhe aazadi doonga’ by Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose

• The slogan had origins in a speech Netaji made in Myanmar, then called Burma, on July 4, 1944.

‘Vande Mataram’ by Bankim Chandra Chatterji

• The term refers to a sense of respect expressed to the motherland.
• In 1870, Bengali novelist Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay wrote a song which would go on to assume a national stature.
• Written in Bengali, the song titled ‘Vande Mataram’ would not be introduced into the public sphere until the publishing of the novel Anandamath in 1882, of which the song is a part.
• Vande Mataram would soon be at the forefront of sentiments expressed during the freedom movement.
• The novel Anandmath, set in the early 1770s against the backdrop of the Fakir-Sannyasi Rebellion against the British in Bengal, came at a time of the Bengal agrarian crisis when the region was hit by three famines one after another.
• After the British rule ended, the song was in contention for being the national anthem, but was criticised by some and ended up becoming the national song instead.

‘Inquilab Zindabad’ by Maulana Hasrat Mohani

• ‘Inquilab Zindabad’ (Long live the revolution) was first used by Maulana Hasrat Mohani in 1921.
• Hasrat was his pen name as a revolutionary Urdu poet, which also became his identity as a political leader.
• Hasrat Mohani was a labour leader, scholar, poet and also one of the founders of the Communist Party of India in 1925.
• Along with Swami Kumaranand — also involved in the Indian Communist movement — Mohani first raised the demand for complete independence or ‘Poorna Swaraj’, at the Ahmedabad session of the Congress in 1921.
• He was later elected a member of the Constituent Assembly and was also a member of the drafting committee of the Constitution along with Dr B R Ambedkar.
• His stress on Inquilab was inspired by his urge to fight against social and economic inequality, along with colonialism.
• It was from the mid-1920s that this slogan became a war cry of Bhagat Singh and his Naujawan Bharat Sabha, as well as his Hindustan Socialist Republican Association (HSRA).
• Bhagat Singh also wished for a social revolution to break age-old discriminatory practices.
• This slogan got major traction when he and B K Dutt dropped bombs in the Assembly on April 8, 1929, and shouted it.

‘Sarfaroshi ki Tamanna’ by Bismil Azimabadi

• “Sarfaroshi ki tamanna ab hamare dil men hai, dekhna hai zor kitna bazu-e-qatil men hai” (Our hearts are now longing to die for a good cause, that we shall see what strength the arms of killers possess), are the first two lines of a poem written by Bismil Azimabadi, a freedom fighter and poet from Bihar, after the Jallianwalah Bagh Massacre of 1921 in Amritsar, Punjab.
• In the poem, the line ‘Sarfaroshi ki tamanna ab hamare dil men hai’ is repeated, and the two lines have been used often in Hindi movies with patriotic themes.
• The lines were popularised by Ram Prasad Bismil, another revolutionary.
• They convey a deep longing to take on an enemy, a spirit seen in the way Bismil, an Urdu poet and revolutionary, was part of major events that raised the spirits of fellow freedom fighters at the time.
• He was a part of the Kakori train robbery, a successful and ambitious operation in which a train filled with British goods and money was robbed for Indian fighters to purchase arms.

‘Do or Die’ by Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi

• In 1942, with the Second World War commencing and the failure of Stafford Cripps Missions – which only promised India a ‘dominion status’ where it would still have to bear allegiance to the King of England – it was realised that the movement for freedom needed to be intensified.
• On August 8, 1942, the All-India Congress Committee met in Gowalia Tank Maidan (August Kranti Maidan) in Bombay.
• Gandhi addressed thousands after the meeting to spell out the way forward.
• He told the people what they must do: “Here is a mantra, a short one, that I give you. Imprint it on your hearts, so that in every breath you give expression to it. The mantra is: ‘Do or Die’.
• We shall either free India or die trying; we shall not live to see the perpetuation of our slavery.”

‘Quit India’ by Yusuf Meherally

• While Gandhi gave the clarion call of ‘Quit India’, the slogan was coined by Yusuf Meherally, a socialist and trade unionist who also served as Mayor of Mumbai. A
• few years ago, in 1928, Meherally had also coined the slogan “Simon Go Back” to protest the Simon Commission.

Must Read: Quit India Movement

Source: Indian Express

Previous Year Question

Q.1) Who among the following is associated with ‘Songs from Prison’, a translation of ancient Indian religious lyrics in English? (2021)

1. Bal Gangadhar Tilak
2. Jawaharlal Nehru
3. Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi
4. Sarojini Naidu

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Syllabus

• Prelims – Science and Technology

In News: A new zoonotic virus that has infected 35 people in China.

• Langya Henipavirus: A new zoonotic virus has been discovered in the country’s two eastern provinces with 35 infections identified so far.
• This new type of Henipavirus is also being called Langya Henipavirus or the LayV.
• Henipaviruses are classified as biosafety level 4 (BSL4) pathogens.
• They can cause severe illness in animals and humans, and as of now there are no licensed drugs or vaccines meant for humans.

What is Langya virus?

• The newly discovered virus is a “phylogenetically distinct Henipavirus”
• The types of Henipaviruses that had been identified prior to this included Hendra, Nipah, Cedar, Mojiang and the Ghanaian bat virus.
• According to the US CDC, the Cedar virus, Ghanaian bat virus, and Mojiang virus are not known to cause human disease.
• But Hendra and Nipah infect humans and can cause fatal illness.
• Langya, meanwhile, is known to cause fever.

What are the symptoms of Langya virus?

• While all 26 had fever, 54% reported fatigue, 50% had cough, 38% complained of nausea.
• Also, 35% of the total 26, complained of headache and vomiting.
• The study found that 35% had impaired liver function, while 8% had their kidney function impacted.
• The patients were accompanied by abnormalities of “thrombocytopenia (35%), leukopenia (54%), impaired liver (35%) and kidney (8%) function”, the study noted.
• Thrombocytopenia is low platelet count, while leukopenia means a fall in the white blood cell count, in turn reducing the body’s disease-fighting capability.

Where has Langya virus come from?

• In all likelihood, the new virus has jumped from an animal to humans.
• The LayV virus RNA has been predominantly found in shrews, which may be its natural hosts.
• The study zeroed in on shrews after conducting a serosurvey of domestic and wild animals. Among domestic animals, seropositivity was detected in goats and dogs.

What about human-to-human transmission?

• There are no clear answers yet.
• The authors of the study have underlined that the sample size of their investigation is too small to determine human-to-human transmission.
• However, they point out that among the 35 patients infected by LayV, there was “no close contact or common exposure history”, which suggests that the “infection in the human population may be sporadic”.

Source: Indian Express

Previous Year Question

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

1. Adenoviruses have single-stranded DNA genomes whereas retroviruses have double-stranded DNA genomes.
2. Common cold is sometime caused by an adenovirus whereas AIDS is caused by a retrovirus.

Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

1. 1 Only
2. 2 Only
3. Both 1 and 2
4. Neither 1 nor 2

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Syllabus

• Prelims – Current Affairs

In News: Union Minister for Social Justice & Empowerment to launch “SMILE-75 Initiative” on 12 August 2022.

• In the spirit of AzadikaAmritMahotsav, the Ministry of Social Justice & Empowerment, Government of India, has identified 75 Municipal Corporations to implement comprehensive rehabilitation of persons engaged in the act of begging under “SMILE: Support for Marginalised Individuals for Livelihood and Enterprise” named as “SMILE-75 Initiative”.
• The identified 75 Municipal Corporations, experts from the field of beggary and eminent NGOs will participate in this nationwide launch through online and offline mode.
• It covers several comprehensive welfare measures for persons who are engaged in the act of begging with focus extensively on rehabilitation, provision of medical facilities, counselling, awareness, education, skill development, economic linkages and convergence with other Government welfare programmes etc.
• The Ministry has allocated a total budget of Rs.100 crore for the SMILE project for coming years till 2025-26.
• Through this project, the Ministry envisions to develop a support mechanism for holistic rehabilitation of those engaged in the act of begging and build an India where no person is forced to beg in order to survive and fulfill their basic needs.

Source: Pib.Gov.in

Previous Year Question

Q.1) SWAYAM’, an initiative of the Government of India, aims at (2016)

1. promoting the Self Help Groups in rural areas
2. providing financial and technical assistance to young start-up entrepreneurs
3. promoting the education and health of adolescent girls
4. providing affordable and quality education to the citizens for free

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Syllabus

• Prelims – Polity
• Mains – GS 2 (Polity & Governance)

In News: The Supreme Court said it will consider a plea seeking a lifetime ban on people convicted of offences from contesting elections and becoming Members of Parliament and State Legislative Assemblies.

• The Centre had, in an affidavit filed in 2020, maintained in court that disqualification under the Representation of the People Act of 1951 for the period of prison sentence and six years thereafter was enough for legislators.
• In its affidavit in December 2020, the Ministry had rejected the idea of a lifetime ban on convicted persons contesting elections or forming or becoming an office-bearer of a political party.
• The Ministry had reasoned that MPs and MLAs were not bound by specific “service conditions”. They are bound by their oath to serve citizens and country. They are bound by propriety, good conscience and interest of the nation,”
• But the Centre’s stand in 2020 contradicted that of the Election Commission of India (ECI).
• In 2017, the poll body endorsed the call for a lifetime ban in the apex court.
• It had argued that such a move would “champion the cause of decriminalisation of politics”.
• The ECI had then agreed in the Supreme Court that a ban would be in the spirit of fundamental rights of the Constitution, including the right to equality.

Criteria for disqualifications under RPA, 1951:

• Is found guilty of certain election offences or corrupt practices in the elections
• Is convicted for any offence resulting in imprisonment for two or more years (except for the detention under a preventive detention law)
• Has failed to lodge an account of his/her election expenses within the time
• Has any interest in government contracts, works or services.
• Is a director or managing agent or holds an office of profit in a corporation in which the government has at least 25% share.
• Has been dismissed from government service for corruption or disloyalty to the State
• Has been convicted for promoting enmity between different groups or for the offence of bribery
• Has been punished for preaching and practising social crimes such as untouchability, dowry and sati.
• Section 8 (3) of the Act states that if an MP or MLA is convicted for any other crime and is sent to jail for 2 years or more, he/ she will be disqualified for 6 years from the time of release.
• Even if a person is on bail after the conviction and his appeal is pending for disposal, he is disqualified from contesting an election.
• Section 8(4) allowed convicted MPs, MLAs and MLCs to continue in their posts, provided they appealed against their conviction/sentence in higher courts within 3 months of the date of judgment by the trial court.
• The Supreme Court in July 2013 in Lily Thomas vs. union of India struck down section 8(4) of the RPA, 1951 and declared it ultra vires and held that the disqualification takes place from the date of conviction.

Also Read: Key Provisions of RPA, 1951

Source: The Hindu

Previous Year Question

Q.1) Consider the following statements: (2020)

1. According to the Constitution of India, a person who is eligible to vote can be made a minister in a State for six months even if he/she is not a member of the Legislature of that State.
2. According to the Representation of People Act, 1951, a person convicted of a criminal offence and sentenced to imprisonment for five years is permanently disqualified from contesting an election even after his release from prison.

Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

1. 1 only
2. 2 only
3. Both 1 and 2
4. Neither 1 nor 2

Q.2) Consider the following statements

1. The Parliament (Prevention of Disqualification) Act, 1959 exempts several posts from disqualification on the grounds of ‘Office of Profit’.
2. The above-mentioned Act was amended five times.
3. The term ‘Office of Profit’ is well-defined in the Constitution of India.

Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

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

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Syllabus

• Prelims – Economy – Current Affairs
• Mains – GS 3 (Economy)

In News: Aiming to curb rising malpractices in the digital lending ecosystem, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) issued guidelines for entities engaged in digital lending,

• The norms state that all digital loans must be disbursed and repaid through bank accounts of regulated entities only, without pass-through of lending service providers (LSPs) or other third parties.
• The norms follow the recommendations of a working group for digital lending, whose report was made public last November.
• The concerns of digital lending primarily relates to unbridled engagement of third parties, mis-selling, breach of data privacy, unfair business conduct, charging of exorbitant interest rates, and unethical recovery practices.

The regulator classified digital lenders into three categories:

• entities regulated by the RBI and permitted to carry out lending business,
• entities authorised to carry out lending as per other statutory or regulatory provisions but not regulated by the RBI,
• and entities lending outside the purview of any statutory or regulatory provisions.
• The latest regulatory framework is focused on the digital lending ecosystem of RBI’s regulated entities (REs) and the LSPs engaged by them to extend credit facilitation services.
• As for entities falling in the second category, the respective regulator may consider formulating rules on digital lending, based on the recommendations of the working group.
• For entities in the third category, the working group has suggested specific legislative and institutional interventions for consideration by the government to curb illegitimate lending.
• Apart from direct disbursals and repayments of digital loans, the norms mandate that any fees or charges payable to LSPs in the credit intermediation process shall be paid directly by the RE and not by the borrower.
• A standardised key fact statement (KFS) must be provided to the borrower before executing the loan contract.
• The all-inclusive cost of digital loans in the form of annual percentage rate (APR) will have to be disclosed to borrowers.
• Automatic increases in credit limit without the explicit consent of borrowers has been prohibited.
• The loan contract must provide for a cooling-off or look-up period during which borrowers can exit digital loans by paying the principal and the proportionate APR without any penalty.

Digital Lending:

• It consists of lending through web platforms or mobile apps, by taking advantage of technology for authentication and credit assessment.
• India’s digital lending market has seen a significant rise over the years.
• The digital lending value increased from USD 33 billion in FY15 to USD 150 billion in FY20 and is expected to hit the USD 350-billion mark by FY23.
• Banks have launched their own independent digital lending platforms to tap in the digital lending market by leveraging existing capabilities in traditional lending.

Significance of Digital Lending:

• Financial Inclusion: It helps in meeting the huge unmet credit need, particularly in the microenterprise and low-income consumer segment in India.
• Reduce Borrowing from informal channels: It helps in reducing informal borrowings as it simplifies the process of borrowing.
• Time Saving: It decreases time spent on working loan applications in-branch. Digital lending platforms have also been known to cut overhead costs by 30-50%.

Issues with Digital Lending Platforms:

• Growing number of unauthorised digital lending platforms and mobile applications as:
• They charge excessive rates of interest and additional hidden charges.
• They adopt unacceptable and high-handed recovery methods.
• They misuse agreements to access data on mobile phones of borrowers.

Steps Taken by RBI:

• Non-Banking Financial Companies (NBFCs) and banks need to state the names of online platforms they are working with.
• RBI has also mandated that digital lending platforms which are used on behalf of Banks and NBFCs should disclose the name of the Bank(s) or NBFC(s) upfront to the customers.
• The central bank had also asked lending apps to issue a sanction letter to the borrower on the letter head of the bank/ NBFC concerned before the execution of the loan agreement.
• Legitimate public lending activities can be undertaken by banks, NBFCs registered with the RBI and other entities who are regulated by state governments under statutory provisions.

Way Forward

• India is on the verge of a digital lending revolution and making sure that this lending is done responsibly can ensure the fruits of this revolution are realized.
• As several players have access to sensitive consumer data, there must be clear guidelines around, for example, the type of data that can be held, the length of time data can be held for, and restrictions on the use of data.
• Digital lenders should proactively develop and commit to a code of conduct that outlines the principles of integrity, transparency and consumer protection, with clear standards of disclosure and grievance redressal.
• Apart from establishing technological safeguards, educating and training customers to spread awareness about digital lending is also important.

Source: Indian Express

Q.1) SMILE-75 is an initiative of which of the following ministry?

1. Ministry of Women and Child Development
2. Ministry of Home Affairs
3. Ministry of Social Justice & Empowerment
4. Ministry of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises

Q.2) Which among the following verticals is/are part of Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana-Urban (PMAY-U)?

1. Beneficiary-led individual house construction
2. Affordable Housing through Credit Linked Subsidy
3. In Situ Slum Redevelopment
4. Affordable Housing Through Partnership

Choose the correct code:

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

Q.3) Exercise Vajra Prahar 2022, joint Special Forces exercise conducted between India and?

1. Nepal
2. United States of America
3. Australia
4. Bangladesh

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

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

Q.1) – a

Q.2) – c

Q.3) – c