DAILY CURRENT AFFAIRS IAS | UPSC Prelims and Mains Exam – 21st November 2024

Syllabus:

• Mains – GS 1 & GS 2

Context: The Indian Government recently announced a door-to-door survey to identify the various vulnerabilities of urban poverty, especially among low-income households. The survey aims to target six specific groups, including domestic workers and gig workers.

Background: –

• NITI Aayog’s discussion paper on multidimensional poverty in India has underlined that rural poverty has reduced faster than urban poverty.

Key takeaways

• In India, the understanding of poverty has a rural bias, and urban poverty is often considered a consequence of rural distress. 
• Following liberalisation in the 1990s, rapid growth increased the demand for skilled labour in urban areas. However, uneven growth and concentration of economic benefits in certain states and regions accentuated disparities. This led to the migration of people from less developed regions to more prosperous regions, contributing to the rise of urban poverty. 
• As of 2020-21, about one-third of India’s total population is migrants, with migrants forming 34.6% of the total population in urban areas. 
• As people move from rural areas to cities, the urban population grows along with the physical expansion of cities. This process is called urbanisation. Rapid urbanisation exerts pressure on housing, resulting in overcrowding and the proliferation of informal settlements, which contribute to the “urbanisation of poverty”
• Hence, urban poverty refers not only to the state of poverty or income deprivation but also to a lack of access to essential services such as housing, water, sanitation, health, education, livelihoods, and social security. 

Urban poverty and slums

• Another important aspect of urban poverty in India is its relation to slums. There is a tendency to equate slum populations with large and metropolitan cities. Notably, around 62 per cent of the slum population in India is concentrated outside of big cities. 
• Experts have argued that clusters with fewer than 60 households, excluded from the definition of slums, often house some of the most vulnerable residents. This exclusion results in a significant undercounting.
• Moreover, these excluded clusters also tend to be located in environmentally hazardous areas. Consequently, the urban poor are more likely to be exposed to environmental disasters as well as to the impact of climate change. 

Urban poverty and informality

• Urban poverty is also closely related to the kind of jobs the urban poor do. According to a 1972 ILO report, which popularised the concept of “informal sector”, migrant and urban dwellers are often absorbed in small-scale activities when the modern sector cannot create enough jobs.
• The informal sector is characteristised by easy entry, small-scale operations, labour-intensive tasks, use of local and adapted technology, skills acquired outside the formal education system, and unregulated, competitive markets.
• An estimated 80 per cent of all workers in urban areas are employed in the informal sector. These jobs are mostly low-paying, insecure, and without benefits like insurance or pensions. These activities are not regulated by the government. In addition, these jobs also have many caste, religion, and gender dimensions. 

Policy suggestions 

• There are schemes like Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana – Urban, Jal Jeevan Mission – Urban, Deendayal Antyodaya Yojana – National Urban Livelihoods Mission, etc designed for the urban poor.  These initiatives aim to address issues like housing, drinking water, sanitation as well as gainful self-employment.
• The difficulty of estimating the informal sector as well as slums becomes an in capturing urban poverty. Therefore, the expansion of social protection and safety nets may need to be prioritised. 
• Further, studies have often found that households registered under the schemes often do not get the benefits or are not aware. Hence, adopting a broader perspective in policy execution might help ensure that urban poverty alleviation efforts are inclusive and effective.

Source: Indian Express

Syllabus:

• Prelims & Mains – SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY

Context: The Delhi government’s appeal to the Centre to permit cloud-seeding and induce artificial rain as a means to tackle the capital’s ongoing air pollution crisis is misplaced, scientists at the Indian Institute of Tropical Management, Pune, said.

Background: –

• Delhi’s Environment Minister suggested that artificial rain could help settle airborne pollutants and improve visibility.

What is Cloud Seeding?

• Cloud seeding is a weather modification technique aimed at inducing or enhancing precipitation by dispersing substances into the atmosphere.
• Substances used: Silver iodide, potassium iodide, dry ice (solid CO₂), or liquid propane.

How it Works

• Process:
  • Tiny particles act as cloud condensation nuclei or ice nuclei.
  • They encourage water droplets to condense and form larger droplets, eventually falling as rain or snow.
• Methods:
  • Aerial Spraying: Using aircraft to disperse seeding agents.
  • Ground-Based Release: Releasing agents through generators on the ground.

Why cloud seeding may not work in Delhi?

• During winter, Delhi often experiences temperature inversions, trapping pollutants near the surface. These stable atmospheric conditions do not favor the development of clouds that could be seeded.  Cloud seeding requires the presence of moisture-laden clouds.
• The scale of Delhi’s pollution problem is vast, requiring massive, continuous rain over a large area to have a measurable impact.

Source: Indian Express

Syllabus:

• Prelims – GEOGRAPHY

Context: The Sabarmati Riverfront development project, which aims to transform around 38 kilometres of riverbanks from Ahmedabad to Gandhinagar across seven phases, has begun monetising its first phase, covering around 11 kilometres on either side of the river.

Background:

• The riverfront was one of the pet projects of Prime Minister Narendra Modi when he was the chief minister of Gujarat.

Key takeaways

• The Sabarmati River is one of the major west-flowing rivers in India, originating in the Aravalli Range of Rajasthan and flowing through Gujarat before emptying into the Gulf of Khambhat in the Arabian Sea.
• Tributaries: Wakal, Harnav, Hathmati, Watrak (left bank); Sei (right bank)
• Course:
  • Rajasthan: The river travels 48 kilometers (30 miles) in Rajasthan before entering Gujarat.
  • Gujarat: It flows through the states of Gujarat, passing through cities like Ahmedabad and Gandhinagar, and finally reaches the Gulf of Khambhat.
• Agriculture: The Sabarmati basin is primarily agricultural, with 74.68% of the basin area dedicated to farming.
• Monsoon-Dependent: The river is monsoon-fed, with flows dominated by the monsoon season.

Source: Hindustan Times

Syllabus:

• Prelims – CURRENT EVENT

Context: Bangladesh’s interim government on November 10 said it will seek Interpol’s assistance in repatriating deposed prime minister Sheikh Hasina from India, and other “fugitives”, to face trial for alleged crimes against humanity.

Background: –

• Interpol notices are international requests made by memeber countries for cooperation or alerts allowing police in member countries to share critical crime-related information.Interestingly, such notices can also be used by the United Nations, International Criminal Tribunals and the International Criminal Court to seek persons wanted for committing crimes within their jurisdiction.

What is Interpol?

• Full Form: International Criminal Police Organization.
• Headquarters: Lyon, France.
• Function: Facilitates international police cooperation against global crimes like terrorism, human trafficking, cybercrime, and organized crime.
• India’s Representation: Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) acts as India’s nodal agency for Interpol.

Types of Interpol Notices

• Red Notice: To seek the location and arrest of a person wanted by judicial authorities for prosecution or to serve a sentence. Example: Extradition cases.
• Blue Notice: To collect additional information about a person’s identity, location, or activities related to a crime.
• Green Notice: To warn about a person’s criminal activities, particularly if they pose a threat to public safety.
• Yellow Notice: To locate missing persons, especially minors, or to identify persons who cannot identify themselves.
• Black Notice: To seek information about unidentified bodies.
• Orange Notice : To warn about an imminent threat from objects like explosives, weapons, or criminal tactics.
• Purple Notice: To seek or provide information on modus operandi, objects, devices, and concealment methods used by criminals.
• Interpol-UNSC Special Notice: Issued for individuals and entities subject to UN Security Council sanctions, like freezing of assets, travel bans, or arms embargoes.

Source: Indian Express

Syllabus:

• Prelims – CURRENT EVENT

Context: A Russian ballistic missile with cluster munitions struck a residential area in northern Ukraine, killing 11 people and injuring 84 others.

Background: –

• Also, U.S. President Joe Biden authorized for the first time the use of U.S.-supplied longer-range missiles by Ukraine to strike inside Russia, after extensive lobbying by Ukrainian officials.

What are Cluster Munitions?

• Definition: Cluster munitions are explosive weapons designed to release multiple smaller submunitions or bomblets over a wide area.
• Types: Delivered via rockets, artillery, or aircraft.
• Purpose: Used to target personnel, vehicles, or infrastructure in a concentrated region.

Mechanism

• Cluster munitions open mid-air, scattering submunitions across a wide area.
• Many bomblets may remain unexploded, creating long-term risks similar to landmines.

International Concerns

• Humanitarian Issues:
  • Unexploded bomblets pose a threat to civilians for years after conflicts end.
  • High civilian casualties due to their indiscriminate nature.
• Environmental Damage: Land contamination and restricted use of agricultural areas.

Convention on Cluster Munitions (CCM)

• Adopted: 2008; entered into force in 2010.
• Objective: To prohibit the use, development, production, acquisition, stockpiling, and transfer of cluster munitions.
• Ratifications: Over 110 countries have ratified or acceded to the convention.
• Provisions:
  • Assistance for victims and clearance of contaminated areas.
  • States that have not joined: Major military powers like the USA, Russia, China, and India.

India’s Position

• India has not signed the CCM, citing:
  • Security considerations and legitimate defensive needs.
  • Lack of universal adherence to the convention.
  • Concern over the efficacy of existing alternatives.

Source: New Indian Express

Q1.) Consider the following statements regarding Cluster Munitions:

1. They are explosive weapons that release smaller submunitions over a wide area.
2. The Convention on Cluster Munitions (CCM) has been ratified by India.
3. Unexploded submunitions from cluster bombs pose long-term risks similar to landmines.

Which of the statements given above are correct?
(a) 1 and 2 only
(b) 2 and 3 only
(c) 1 and 3 only
(d) 1, 2, and 3

Q2.) With reference to INTERPOL Notices, consider the following pairs:

Notice Color                    Purpose

Red Notice                     Request to locate and provisionally arrest a person for extradition.

Blue Notice                    Request to collect information about a person’s location or identity.

Green Notice                Alerts of threats posed by a person’s criminal activities internationally.

Which of the pairs given above are correctly matched?
(a) 1 and 2 only
(b) 2 and 3 only
(c) 1 and 3 only
(d) 1, 2, and 3

Q3.) Consider the following statements regarding the Sabarmati River:

1. It originates in the Aravalli Hills in Rajasthan.
2. The river flows entirely within the state of Gujarat.
3. The Sabarmati Riverfront Project is an example of urban river rejuvenation.

Which of the statements given above are correct?
(a) 1 and 2 only
(b) 2 and 3 only
(c) 1 and 3 only
(d) 1, 2, and 3

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

ANSWERS FOR ’  Today’s – Daily Practice MCQs’ will be updated along with tomorrow’s Daily Current Affairs

Q.1) – b

Q.2) – b

Q.3) – a