DAILY CURRENT AFFAIRS IAS | UPSC Prelims and Mains Exam – 27th May 2022

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Syllabus

• Prelims – Polity – Current Affairs
• Mains – GS 2 (Government Policies and Interventions for Development in various sectors and Issues arising out of their Design and Implementation)

In News: GOI wants to keep look-out circular details under wraps

What is Look out Circular?

• It is a notice to stop any individual wanted by the police, investigating agency or even a bank from leaving or entering the country through designated land, air and sea ports.
• The Bureau of immigration is tasked to stop any such individual against whom such a notice exists from leaving or entering the country.
• There are 86 immigration check posts across the country
• LOCs can be modified; deleted or withdrawn only at the request of the originator.
• As per norms, an LOC will stay valid for a maximum period of 12 months and if there is no fresh request from the agency, then it will not be automatically revived.

Who issues LOC?

• According to the existing guidelines, LOCs are initiated by a large number of agencies which includes the CBI, Enforcement Directorate, Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI), Income Tax, State police and intelligence agencies among others, by an officer not below the rank of a district magistrate or superintendent of police.
• In 2018, after liquor baron Vijay Mallya fled to the U.K., the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) brought changes to the guidelines authorising chairman, managing director and chief executives of all public sector banks to generate LOCs.
• The organisations have to provide details such as the First Information Report (FIR) number. Court case number is to be mandatorily provided other than name, passport number and other details.
• 2010 office memorandum gives the authorities power to generate LOCs in “exceptional cases” without complete parameters or case details against “suspects, terrorists, anti-national elements, etc, in larger national interest.”
• A string of court orders recently have put the spotlight on this opaqueness and the mechanical way in which LOCs are generated
• On April 5, the Punjab and Haryana High Court ordered the MHA and LOC issuing agency to serve a copy of the LOC and state the reasons to the person against whom it was issued “as soon as possible” and provide a “post-decisional opportunity.”
• It asked the MHA to include these directions into the “Official Memorandum” or the guidelines that govern the opening of LOCs
• Asserting that “LOCs cannot be shown to the subject” at the time of detention nor any prior intimation can be provided, the MHA moved the Supreme Court against the said order and SC has stayed the particular paragraph of the judgement.

Previous Year Questions (PYQs)

Q.1) With reference to India, consider the following statements: (2021)

1. Judicial custody means an accused is in the custody of the concerned magistrate and such accused is locked up in a police station, not in Jail.
2. During judicial custody, the police officer in charge of the case is not allowed to interrogate the suspect without the approval of the court.

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

Source: The Hindu 

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Syllabus

• Prelims – Geography, Environment

In News: It was found in Meghalaya

• Recorded simultaneously in Mizoram, the snake has been named Maya’s Pit Viper after the deceased mother of an Army officer, one of seven authors of a study on it.
• The name of the pit viper, recognised as Trimeresurus mayaae, is also believed to allude to Maya, meaning the supernatural powers, or the illusion related to local legends.
• The new species was relatively common in Meghalaya, Mizoram and even in Guwahati
• In a country where around 1.2 million people have lost their lives owing to snakebite and many more have lost their limbs in the last two decades, a discovery of a new venomous snake means a lot in the context of public health

Previous Year Questions (PYQs)

Q.1) Consider the following statements: (2019)

1. Some species of turtle are herbivores
2. Some species of fish are herbivores
3. Some species of marine mammals are herbivores
4. Some species of snakes are viviparous

Which of the statement given above are correct?

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

Source: The Hindu

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Syllabus

• Prelims – Government schemes
• Mains – GS 2 (Issues Relating to Development and Management of Social Sector/Services relating to Health, Education, Human Resources)

In News: India registers success with BP treatment and control

• The India Hypertension Control Initiative, started in 2018, has been successful in treating and controlling hypertension
• Cardiovascular diseases (CVD) are the leading cause of death among adults in India.
• One of the major drivers of heart attack and stroke is untreated high blood pressure or hypertension.
• India has more than 200 million people with hypertension, and only 14.5% of individuals with hypertension are on treatment

India Hypertension Control Initiative (IHCI)

• India Hypertension Control Initiative (IHCI) is a multi-partner initiative involving the Indian Council of Medical Research, WHO-India, Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, and State governments to improve blood pressure control for people with hypertension.
• The project initiated in 26 districts in 2018 has expanded to more than 100 districts by 2022.
• More than two million patients were started on treatment and tracked to see whether they achieved BP control.
• The project demonstrated that blood pressure treatment and control are feasible in primary care settings in diverse health systems across various States in India.
• Before IHCI, many patients travelled to higher-level facilities such as community health centres (block level) or district hospitals in the public sector for hypertension treatment.
• Over three years, all levels of health staff at the primary health centres and health wellness centres were trained to provide treatment and follow-up services for hypertension.

Source: The Hindu

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Syllabus

• Prelims – Current Affairs – reports, surveys etc
• Mains – GS 2 (Issues Relating to Development and Management of Social Sector/Services relating to Health, Education, Human Resources)

In News: India’s GDP to take a big hit due to pandemic-linked learning losses for students: ADB study

• A new working paper titled ‘Potential Economic Impact of COVID-19 related School Closures’ was published by the Asian Development Bank (ADB)

Findings

• The GDP of India, which is among the countries with the longest school closures during the COVID-19 pandemic, would see the highest decline in South Asia due to learning losses for the young
• Starting with a $10.5 billion dent in 2023, the country’s economy could take a nearly $99 billion hit by 2030, translating into a 3.19% reduction in GDP from the baseline growth trends
• India may thus account for over 10% of the global GDP decline of $943 billion estimated by the ADB on account of earning losses in 2030, with jobs for skilled labour expected to decline by 1%, and unskilled labour by 2% that year.
• Economies with a significant population of schoolchildren and college-going youth in rural areas and in the poorest and second wealth quintile — have been worst-hit as they lack access to stable Internet connection needed to study online
• Learning and earning losses are significant because a notable portion of the impacted population will migrate to the unskilled labour force
• A large part of India’s work force is constituted by unskilled labour — 4 million as per the ADB paper’s estimates, compared to 72.65 million skilled workers.
• In terms of absolute change, India experiences the highest GDP decline in South Asia, at about $98.84 billion in 2030.
• School closures lead to declines in global GDP and employment. Moreover, the losses in global GDP and employment increase over time. Declines in global GDP amount to 0.19% in 2024, 0.64% in 2028, and 1.11% in 2030.

Recommendations

• India has the highest number of children enrolled in primary and secondary education among the Asian economies covered in the paper, at 255.74 million.
• The number of students in tertiary education were second only to China at 36.39 million
• While mooting greater investments in education and skills with a focus on narrowing the digital divide, the study has suggested the most immediate challenge for governments is to help students recover “lost opportunities” by conducting assessments among impacted children.
• Governments need to direct adequate funding and resources to young populations most affected by closures, such as those from the poor, rural and socially disadvantaged groups.
• It is important to keep school-age children in education as much as possible by providing financial support and incentives, while giving additional support for skills training to youth already out of school

Asian Development Bank

• ADB is a regional development bank established on 19th December 1966.
• ADB now has 68 members, 49 from within Asia.
• ADB is headquartered in Manila, Philippines.
• ADB’s five largest shareholders are Japan and the United States (each with 15.6% of total shares), the People’s Republic of China (6.4%), India (6.3%), and Australia (5.8%).
• It aims to promote social and economic development in Asia.
• ADB is committed to achieving a prosperous, inclusive, resilient, and sustainable Asia and the Pacific, while sustaining its efforts to eradicate extreme poverty.

Previous Year Questions (PYQs)

Q.1) With reference to Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB), consider the following statements: (2019)

1. AIIB has more than 80 member nations.
2. India is the largest shareholder in AIIB.
3. AIIB does not have any members from outside Asia.

Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

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

Source: The Hindu

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Syllabus

• Prelims – Government Schemes
• Mains – GS 2 (Welfare Schemes for Vulnerable Sections of the population by the Centre and States and the Performance of these Schemes)

In news: App-based attendance hits rural workers

• The Union government has made capturing of attendance through its app, National Mobile Monitoring System, compulsory at worksites where 20 or more workers are employed under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS).
• The decision comes despite many problems, including patchy Internet connectivity in rural areas and little or no technical support.
• The Rural Development Ministry had started the exercise on a pilot basis on May 21 last year. Initially, the utilisation of application was to be voluntary, but from May 16 this year, it has been made mandatory.
• The Ministry’s directive claims that the app, which requires two time-stamped and geotagged photographs of the workers in a day, encourages transparency and increases citizen oversight.

Women drop out

• Women employees, especially the supervisors or “work mates”, have faced the biggest setback from the move.
• In a majority of cases, the employees’ families are averse to giving phones to women, especially smartphones. Hence, many women have dropped out.
• In the past one year, the Union government has resolved some critical issues. Under the MGNREG Act, the workers can do time-bound or task-based work.
• The guidelines required uploading of geotagged and time-stamped photographs of the workers around 11 a.m. and another one after 2 p.m.
• For task-based work, the workers had to stay back after 2 p.m. even if they had completed their work in order to take the photograph to be eligible for the wages.

MGNREGA Scheme:

• The Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act, earlier known as the National Rural Employment Guarantee Act was passed in 2005 to augment employment generation and social security in India.
• The scheme is a demand-driven wage employment scheme, which functions under the Ministry of Rural Development.
• Every adult member of a household in a rural area with a job card is eligible for a job under the scheme.
• The scheme envisages providing 100 days of guaranteed wage employment in a financial year to adult member volunteers for unskilled manual work.
• There is also a provision for additional 50 days of unskilled wage employment in drought/natural calamity notified rural areas.
• As per Section 3(4) of the MGNREGA, the States may make provisions for providing additional days beyond the period guaranteed under the Act from their own funds.
• At least one-third of beneficiaries have to be women.
• Wages must be paid according to the statutory minimum wages specified for agricultural labourers in the state under the Minimum Wages Act, 1948.

Previous Year Questions (PYQs).

Q.1) With reference to Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikas Yojana, consider the following statements: (2018)

1. It is the flagship scheme of the Ministry of Labour and Employment.
2. It, among other things will also impart training in soft skills, entrepreneurship, financial and digital literacy.
3. It aims to align the competencies of the unregulated workforce of the country to the National Skill Qualification Framework.

Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

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

Source: The Hindu

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Syllabus

• Prelims – Geography – Places in News
• Mains – GS 2 (India and its Neighborhood- Relations)

In News: Recently, during Prime Minister’s visit to Tamil Nadu, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister has asked for retrieval of Katchatheevu Island from Sri lanka

Katchatheevu Island

• It is an uninhabited off-shore island in the Palk Strait originally owned by a king of Ramnad (present-day Ramanathapuram, Tamil Nadu).
• The island is used by fishermen to dry their nets.
• During the British rule, it was administered jointly by India and Sri Lanka.
• In the early 20th century, Sri Lanka claimed territorial ownership over the islet, so in 1974 India ceded the island to Sri Lanka, through a joint agreement.
• Two years later through another accord, India further gave up its fishing rights in the region.
• Initially the 1974 border agreement did not affect fishing on either side of the border.
• In 1976, through an exchange of letters, both India and Sri Lanka agreed to stop fishing in each other’s waters.
• In 1974 and 1976 treaties were signed between the two countries to demarcate the International Maritime Boundary Line (IMBL).
• However, the agreement could not stop the fishermen from fishing in these waters, as fishermen know no boundary.
• Despite the signing of maritime boundary agreements, fishermen communities of both the countries continued their fishing in the Palk Bay area peacefully until the Eelam war broke out in 1983.
• Nonetheless, after the end of War in 2009, the Sri Lankan fishermen have been raising their objection to Indian fishermen fishing in their waters.
• The small islet of Katchatheevu, hitherto used by the fishermen for sorting their catch and drying their nets, fell on the other side of the IMBL
• Fishermen often risk their lives and cross the IMBL rather than return empty-handed, but the Sri Lankan Navy is on alert, and have either arrested or destroyed fishing nets and vessels of those who have crossed the line.

Previous Year Questions (PYQs).

Q.1) Consider the following pairs: (2018)

Regions sometimes mentioned in news – Country

1. Catalonia         —       Spain
2. Crimea —       Hungary
3. Mindanao —       Philippines
4. Oromia —       Nigeria

Which of the pairs given above are correctly matched?

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

Source: The Hindu

Syllabus

• GS-1: Modern History
• GS-2: Judiciary & its role
• GS-2: Government policies and interventions for development in various sectors and issues arising out of their design and implementation.

Why in News: Recently, the Supreme Court has refused to put a stay on the videographic survey of the Maa Shringar Gauri Sthal at the Kashi Vishwanath temple-Gyanvapi mosque complex, ordered by a Varanasi civil court.

• The survey of the complex was challenged citing the Places of Worship (Special Provisions) Act, 1991.

Read Complete Details on Gyanvapi Mosque controversy & Places of Worship (Special Provisions) Act, 1991

Q.1) Consider the following statements

1. Look out Circular can be issued only against international criminals
2. It is a notice to stop an individual wanted by investigating agency from leaving or entering the country
3. Once issued LoC is valid for a period of 3 years

Choose the incorrect statements:

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

Q.2) Katchatheevu Island, recently in news is a disputed island between

1. Russia and Japan
2. Japan and China
3. India and Sri Lanka
4. China and Vietnam

Q.3) Consider the following statements

1. Asian Development Bank was established in the year 1945, after the World War II
2. Only the countries of Asian Continent are its members
3. India is among the five largest shareholders of the Bank

Choose the incorrect statements:

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

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

ANSWERS FOR ’27th MAY 2022 – Daily Practice MCQs’ will be updated along with tomorrow’s Daily Current Affairs.

Q.1) – d

Q.2) – d

Q.3) – c