DAILY CURRENT AFFAIRS IAS | UPSC Prelims and Mains Exam – 1st March 2025

Syllabus:

• Prelims & Mains – CURRENT EVENT

Context: In a strongly worded letter to the Prime Minister, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M K Stalin sought the release of Rs 2,152 crore pending for the centrally-sponsored Samagra Shiksha scheme meant to support the provisions of the RTE Act.

Background: –

• The Centre has withheld funds for the Samagra Shiksha scheme in Tamil Nadu due to the state’s refusal to implement the New Education Policy (NEP) of 2020.
• At the heart of the clash between the Centre and Tamil Nadu is the so-called “three-language formula” that is a part of the NEP. While the Centre maintains that this policy is meant to ensure that youth get employment across regions, Tamil Nadu has long viewed it as an attempt to impose Hindi on the state.

Key takeaways

• Tamil Nadu has an almost century-old history of anti-Hindi agitations. Unlike most other states — including southern states such as Kerala and Karnataka — it follows a two-language formula in which students are taught only Tamil and English
• In the past, Centre has maintained that education is in the Concurrent List of the Constitution, and that the implementation of the three-language formula is the responsibility of the states.
• However, now, the Ministry of Education has linked the release of Samagra Shiksha funds to the implementation of the NEP.

Evolution of 3 language policy

• The debate over language policy in education — regarding both the medium of instruction and teaching of languages — has existed since Independence. The University Education Commission of 1948-49, chaired by Dr Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan, who went on to become the second President of India, examined this topic in detail.
• The Radhakrishnan Commission favoured Hindi (Hindustani) as India’s federal language, to be used for all federal activities — administrative, educational and cultural — while regional languages would serve the provinces.
• At the same time, the Commission recognised that immediately abandoning English would be impractical. It stated that English would have to continue as “the medium for Federal business” till such time that all provinces are ready for the change, having “spread the Federal language adequately”.
• It was this Commission that first proposed what would later become the three-language formula for school education.
• This proposal was accepted by the National Education Commission of 1964-66 (Kothari Commission), and was incorporated into the National Policy on Education, 1968 passed by the Indira Gandhi government.
• For secondary education, the formula proposed that students learn “a modern Indian language, preferably one of the southern languages, apart from Hindi and English in the Hindi-speaking States” and “Hindi along with the regional language and English in the non-Hindi speaking States.”
• The National Policy on Education of 1986, passed by the Rajiv Gandhi government, and the latest NEP of 2020, too retained this formula.

Source: Indian Express

Syllabus:

• Prelims & Mains – CURRENT EVENT

Context: Over the next five years, private funding in India’s social sector is expected to see a 10%–12% annual growth, largely driven by family philanthropy from high-net-worth individuals (HNIs), according to a new report.

Background: –

• Generally, the share of private funds allocated towards philanthropy in India has been low compared to other major economies.

Key takeaways

• As of FY24, the total size of the country’s social sector funding – on education, healthcare, gender equality, etc. – is around Rs 25 lakh crore ($300 billion). Public spending accounted for 95% of total funding at Rs 23 lakh crore, including schemes such as MGNREGS and the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana.
• On the other hand, private spending stood at around Rs 1.3 lakh crore, according to the India Philanthropy Report (IPR) 2025 from venture philanthropy firm Dasra and management consultancy Bain & Co.
• Currently, family giving accounts for approximately 40% of philanthropy, including personal giving and corporate social responsibility (CSR) initiatives from family-owned/run businesses. 

HNIs and philanthropy

• The India Philanthropy Report 2022 found that “Relative contributions (giving as a percentage of wealth) among Indian UHNIs (Ultra-high-net-worth individuals) range from 0.1% to 0.15% compared with 1.2% to 2.5% in the United States, 0.5% to 1.8% in the UK, and 0.5% to 1.4% in China.”
• As defined in the 2025 report, UHNIs refer to ultra-high-net-worth individuals (UHNIs) with a net worth of Rs 1,000 crore and more. HNIs have a net worth of Rs 200 to 1,000 crore, while the “Affluent” category includes those ranging between Rs 7 to 200 crore.
• In comparison, a tradition of philanthropy has long existed in the US. According to a 2024 analysis from Forbes, American billionaires such as Warren Buffett, Bill Gates, Melinda French Gates, and MacKenzie Scott have donated at least 20% of their wealth.

What do projections say about philanthropy in India?

• One reason behind the projected rise in the share of private spending in the next five years is the high growth in HNIs and the affluent givers segment.
• CSR growth is also expected to grow by 10-12%, driven by an uptick in compliance by firms. 
• It is mandated that any firm with a net worth of at least Rs 500 crore or annual turnover surpassing Rs 1,000 crore or net profits exceeding Rs 5 crore must spend a minimum of 2% of their average net profit of preceding three financial years on CSR activities.
• The report also noted the growth in family offices, which are firms that manage HNIs and their families’ assets and wealth. It said that tapping into family offices and developing structured services for channelling funds towards the nonprofit ecosystem can help the larger cause of Indian philanthropy.

Source: Indian Express

Syllabus:

• Prelims – CURRENT EVENT

Context: Amazon Web Services (AWS) announced Ocelot, its first-generation quantum computing chip, as it enters the race against fellow tech giants in harnessing the experimental technology.

Background:

• Quantum research is seen as a critical emerging field, and both the United States and China have been investing heavily in the area, with Washington also placing restrictions on exports of the sensitive technology.

Key takeaways

• Ocelot is a nine-qubit chip that has been internally fabricated by Amazon.
• Amazon’s announcement comes a week after rival Microsoft introduced its own quantum computing chip ‘Majorana 1’ .

Key Features of Ocelot:

• Error Correction Efficiency: Ocelot is designed to address one of the primary challenges in quantum computing—error correction. Utilizing “cat qubits,” the chip intrinsically suppresses certain types of errors, potentially reducing the resources required for error correction by up to 90% compared to traditional methods. 
• Scalability: The chip’s architecture is designed to be scalable, allowing for the development of practical, fault-tolerant quantum computers. AWS believes that this approach could accelerate the timeline to a practical quantum computer by up to five years.

Source: The Guardian

Syllabus:

• Prelims & Mains – ART & CULTURE

Context: In his address to the 25th edition of Jahan-e-Khusrau, Prime Minister Narendra Modi described the annual music festival that commemorates the Sufi poet-musician Amir Khusrau as imbued with the “fragrance of the soil of Hindustan”.

Background: –

• Bestowed with the sobriquet of Tuti-yi-Hind, the ‘Parrot of India’, the 13th century mystic is seen as a father figure for North India’s syncretic Ganga-Jamuni culture.

Key takeaways

• Khusrau made lasting contributions to Indian classical music, Sufi qawwali, and Persian literature, and is also credited for developing Hindavi, a precursor to modern Hindi and Urdu.
• Khusrau’s father likely came to India from Central Asia as the Mongol hordes of Genghis Khan ravaged Transoxiana (corresponding to parts of modern-day Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, southern Kazakhstan,Turkmenistan and Kyrgyzstan). 
• Abu’l Hasan Yamin ud-Din Khusrau, was born in 1253. Khusrau became a professional poet at age 20, and served as one until his death. He started out in the service of princes and nobles, before becoming a permanent fixture in the court of the Delhi Sultan.
• Amir Khusrau served at least five Sultans — Muiz ud din Qaiqabad, Jalaluddin Khalji, Alauddin Khalji, Qutbuddin Mubarak Shah, and Ghiyasuddin Tughlaq. He wrote in Persian, the language of the court, as well as Hindavi.
• Sultan Jalaluddin Khalji bestowed upon Khusrau the title of ‘Amir’. Historian Ziauddin Barani wrote in Tarikh-i-Firuz Shahi that Jalaluddin held Khusrau “in great esteem”, and Khusrau “served as keeper of the Qur’ān” in his court.
• Khusrau was the most beloved disciple of the Chishti Shaikh Nizamuddin Auliya.

Khusrau’s lasting legacy

• 700 years after his death, the lyrical beauty, sophisticated wordplay, and exploration of diverse themes in Khusrau’s poetry continues to enamour audiences.
• In form and content, Khusrau’s poetry borrowed heavily from Persian and Turkic, as well as local influences, making him one of the most important figures in propagating a syncretic Hindu-Muslim culture — the so-called Ganga-Jamuni tehzeeb.
• He wrote highly of Hindus. “The Brahmans of India have greater wealth of philosophical thought than what Rumi had revealed to the World. As nobody has tried to learn from the Brahmans, their learning has not been revealed to the world,” he wrote in his masnavi Nuh Siphir.
• Khusrau’s ghazals and qawwalis are today sung in both sacred and secular contexts, at sufi dargahs and Bollywood musicals. His most popular compositions include Chhaap Tilak, Zehal-e-Maskeen, and Sakal Ban Phool Rahi Sarson.

Source: Indian Express

Syllabus:

• Prelims – CURRENT EVENT

Context: A team of scientists have discovered that Arctic glaciers are leaking significant amounts of methane, a potent greenhouse gas, into the atmosphere. In their analysis, the scientists found that glacial melt rivers and groundwater springs release large volumes of methane from beneath the ice to the atmosphere.

Background: –

• While carbon dioxide remains in the atmosphere for much longer than methane, methane is roughly 25 times more powerful at trapping heat in the atmosphere, and has an important short-term influence on the rate of climate change

Key takeaways

• For their study, the researchers analysed a small valley glacier in central Svalbard, called Vallåkrabreen. They looked at methane levels in groundwater springs and the melt river draining from the glacier.
• Methane concentrations in the melt river were found to be up to 800 times higher than the atmospheric equilibrium level.
• Notably, the methane that was being released was not produced by microbial activity beneath the ice. Rather it came from thermogenic sources — methane that had been trapped in the region’s ancient geological formations for millions of years.
• Methane is one of the main drivers of climate change, responsible for 30 per cent of the warming since preindustrial times, second only to carbon dioxide. 
• Over 20 years, methane is 80 times more potent at warming than carbon dioxide, according to a report by the United Nations Environment Programme.
• It is also the primary contributor to the formation of ground-level ozone, a colourless and highly irritating gas that forms just above the Earth’s surface. According to a 2022 report, exposure to ground-level ozone could be contributing to 1 million premature deaths every year.
• Several studies have shown that in recent years, the amount of methane in the atmosphere has dramatically shot up. In 2022, the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) said that the atmospheric levels of methane jumped 17 parts per billion in 2021, beating the previous record set in 2020.

Source: Indian Express

Q1.) Consider the following statements about Quantum chips in news

1. Ocelot is a first-generation quantum computing chip developed by Amazon.
2. Ocelot uses “cat qubits” to enhance error correction efficiency.
3. Microsoft introduced quantum chip named ‘Majorana 1’.

Which among the statements given above is/are correct ?:
(A) 1, 2, and 3
(B) 1 and 3 only
(C) 2 only
(D) 1 only

Q2.) Consider the following statements regarding Amir Khusrau:

1. He is credited with developing Hindavi, a precursor to modern Hindi and Urdu.
2. He served in the courts of five Delhi Sultans.
3. He was a disciple of Shaikh Nizamuddin Auliya.
4. He exclusively wrote in Persian and never used Hindavi.

Which of the statements are correct?
(A) 1, 2, and 3 only
(B) 1 and 3 only
(C) 2 and 4 only
(D) 1, 2, 3, and 4

Q3.) Why is methane release from Arctic glaciers a cause for concern?

1. Methane is around 25 times more effective than carbon dioxide at trapping heat.
2. Methane contributes significantly to the formation of ground-level ozone, which is harmful to human health.
3. The released methane comes exclusively from microbial activity beneath the ice.

Select the correct answer using the codes below:
(A) 1, 2, and 3
(B) 1 and 2 only
(C) 2 only
(D) 2 and 3 only

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) – d

Q.2) – b

Q.3) – b