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Syllabus

• Prelims – Governance

Context: India delivers fifty more buses to Sri Lanka at Presidential Secretariat premises under Economic Assistance Scheme of Indian govt.

About the scheme:

• Under this scheme, Government supported Export and Import Bank of India (Exim Bank) Lines of Credit (LoCs) are made available to developing countries for support of developmental and other projects as recommended by Ministry of External Affairs (MEA).
• It promotes India’s political, economic and strategic interests besides building a positive image of India abroad.

Do You Know?

• The IDEA Scheme initially known as the India Development Initiative had its genesis in the announcement made by Finance Minister in the Union Budget for 2003-04.

EXIM Bank

• Exim Bank was established by the Government of India, under the Export-Import Bank of India Act, 1981 as a purveyor of export credit, mirroring global Export Credit Agencies.
• Exim Bank serves as a growth engine for industries and SMEs through a wide range of products and services.
• This includes import of technology and export product development, export production, export marketing, pre-shipment and post-shipment and overseas investment.
• Exim Bank extends Lines of Credit (LOCs) to overseas financial institutions, regional development banks, sovereign governments and other entities overseas, to enable buyers in those countries to import developmental and infrastructure projects, equipment, goods and services from India, on deferred credit terms.

Source: NewsOnAir

Previous Year Questions

Q.1) “Rapid Financing Instrument” and “Rapid Credit Facility” are related to the provisions of lending by which of the following:  (2022)

1. Asian Development Bank
2. International Monetary Fund
3. United Nations Environment Programme Finance Initiative
4. World Bank

Q.2) The Chairman of public sector banks are selected by the  (2019)

1. Banks Board Bureau
2. Reserve Bank of India
3. Union Ministry of Finance
4. Management of concerned bank

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Syllabus

• Prelims – History

Context: Sant Ravidas birth anniversary

About Sant Ravidas:

• Ravidas, or Raidas, was an Indian mystic poet-saint of the bhakti movement and founder of the Ravidassia religion during the 15th to 16th century CE.
• He is venerated as a guru (teacher) in the modern regions of Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, Gujarat, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Punjab and Haryana.
• He was a poet, social reformer and spiritual figure.
• The life details of Ravidas are uncertain and contested. He was born in Varanasi into untouchable leather-working Chamar caste.
• He valued the worship of a formless God.
• Ravidas’s devotional Verses were included in the Sikh scriptures known as Guru Granth Sahib.
• The Panch Vani text of the Dadupanthi tradition within Hinduism also includes numerous poems of Ravidas.
• He taught removal of social divisions of caste and gender, and promoted unity in the pursuit of personal spiritual freedom.
• Along with Kabir, he was one of the most noted disciples of Bhagat Ramanand.
• 41 verses of Bhakta Ravidas are incorporated into Sikh’s religious book, Adi Granth.
• He was vocal against the varna (caste) system
• He imagined an egalitarian society called Begumpura, means “land without sorrow”
• His disciples came to be known as Ravidas-panthis and followers came to be known as Ravidassias.
• He also mentioned ‘Sahaj’, a mystical state where there is a union of the truths of the many and the one.

About Ravidassias:

• The Ravidassias are a Dalit community of whom the bulk — nearly 12 lakhs — live in the Doaba region.
• The Dera Sachkhand Ballan, their largest dera with 20 lakh followers worldwide, was founded in the early 20th century by Baba Sant Pipal Das.
• Once closely connected with Sikhism, the dera severed these decades-old ties in 2010, and announced they would follow the Ravidassia religion.
• The announcement was made on Guru Ravidas Jayanti in Varanasi.
• From 2010, the Dera Sachkhand Ballan started replacing the Guru Granth Sahib with its own Granth, Amritbani, carrying 200 hymns of Guru Ravidas, in Ravidassia temples and gurdwaras.

Source:   NewsOnAir

Previous Year Questions

Q.1) With reference to Indian history, consider the following texts:

1. Nettipakarana
2. Parishishtaparvan
3. Avadanashataka
4. Trishashtilakshana Mahapurana

Which of the above are Jaina texts  (2022)

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

Q.2) With reference to the cultural history of India, consider the following pairs:

1. Parivrajaka — Renunciant and Wanderer
2. Shramana — Priest with a high status
3. Upasaka — Lay follower of Buddhism

Which of the pairs given above are correctly matched? (2020)

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

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Syllabus

• Prelims – History

Context: Visva-Bharati University will soon get the ‘heritage’ tag from UNESCO to take the distinction of world’s first living heritage university.

About the university:

• It was founded by Rabindranath Tagore in 1921.
• Until Independence, it was a college and the institution was given the status of Central University in 1951 through a central Act.
• Its first vice-chancellor was Rathindranath Tagore, the son of Rabindranath Tagore.
• The second vice-chancellor was grandfather of another Nobel Laureate economist Amartya Sen.
• In 1922, Visva-Bharati was inaugurated as a Centre for Culture with exploration into the arts, language, humanities, music.

About Rabindranath Tagore

• Rabindranath Tagore was a Bengali poet, novelist, and painter, who was born in Calcutta on May 7, 1861 and was highly influential in introducing Indian culture to the west.
• He was also referred to as ‘Gurudev’, ‘Kabiguru’, and ‘Biswakabi’.
• He was the first non-European to receive the Nobel Prize for his work on Gitanjali in 1913.
• In 1915, Tagore was awarded knighthood by the British King George V. However, in 1919, following the Jallianwalla Bagh massacre he renounced his Knighthood.
• Rabindranath Tagore was a good friend of Mahatma Gandhi and is said to have given him the title of Mahatma.
• He gave the national anthems for two countries, India and Bangladesh.
• He inspired a Ceylonese student of his, to pen and compose the national anthem of Sri Lanka.
• Tagore believed in open-air education and had reservations about any teaching done within four walls. This was due to his belief that walls represent the conditioning of the mind.
• Tagore did not have a good opinion about the Western method of education introduced by the British in India; on this subject, Tagore and Gandhiji’s opinion matched.
• So, he devised a new system of learning in Visva-Bharati which allowed students to continue their course till the student and his teacher both are satisfied.

Source: Indian Express

Previous Year Questions

Q.1) With reference to Madanapalle of Andhra Pradesh, which one of the following statements is correct? (2021)

1. Pingali Venkayya designed the tricolor Indian National Flag here.
2. Pattabhi Sitaramaiah led the Quit India Movement of Andhra region from here.
3. Rabindranath Tagore translated the National Anthem from Bengali to English here.
4. Madame Blavatsky and Colonel Olcott set up headquarters of Theosophical Society first here.

Q.2) Wellesley established the Fort William College at Calcutta because (2020)

1. he was asked by the Board of Directors at London to do so
2. he wanted to revive interest in oriental learning in India
3. he wanted to provide William Carey and his associates with employment
4. he wanted to train British civilians for administrative purpose in India

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Syllabus

•  Prelims – Science and Technology

Context: An earth-observation satellite jointly developed by NASA and ISRO that will help study Earth’s land and ice surfaces in greater detail is all set to be shipped to India as per the sources.

About NASA-ISRO Synthetic Aperture Radar (NISAR) satellite

• NISAR is a joint Earth-observing mission between NASA and the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) with the goal to make global measurements of the causes and consequences of land surface changes using advanced radar imaging.

• The mission is targeted to launch in 2024. NASA is providing the mission’s L-band synthetic aperture radar, a high-rate communication subsystem for science data, GPS receivers, a solid-state recorder and payload data subsystem.
• ISRO is providing the spacecraft bus, the S-band radar, the launch vehicle and associated launch services.
• The NASA-ISRO SAR (NISAR) Mission will measure Earth’s changing ecosystems, dynamic surfaces, and ice masses providing information about biomass, natural hazards, sea level rise, and groundwater, and will support a host of other applications.
• NISAR will observe Earth’s land and ice-covered surfaces globally with 12-day regularity on ascending and descending passes, sampling Earth on average every 6 days for a baseline 3-year mission.

Synthetic aperture radar (SAR)

• It refers to a technique for producing fine-resolution images from a resolution-limited radar system.
• It requires that the radar be moving in a straight line, either on an airplane or, as in the case of NISAR, orbiting in space.

Source:  The Hindu

Previous Year Questions

Q.1) Which one of the following statements best reflects the idea behind the “Fractional Orbital Bombardment System” often talked about in media? (2022)

1. A hypersonic missile is launched into space to counter the asteroid approaching the Earth and explode it in space.
2. A spacecraft lands on another planet after making several orbital motions.
3. A missile is put into a stable orbit around the Earth and deorbits over a target on the Earth.
4. A spacecraft moves along a comet with the same speed and places a probe on its surface.

Q.2) Which one of the following is a reason why astronomical distances are measured in light-years? (2021)

1. Distance among stellar bodies do not change
2. Gravity of stellar bodies does not change
3. Light always travels in straight line
4. Speed of light is always same

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Syllabus

• Prelims – Governance

Context: The deadline for a key scheme by the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy to install 30,000 MW solar power capacity in rural India by 2022, has now been pushed to March 2026.

About the scheme:

• Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) has launched the PM KUSUM Scheme for farmers for installation of solar pumps and grid connected solar and other renewable power plants in the country.
• The scheme will open a stable and continuous source of income to the rural land owners for a period of 25 years by utilization of their dry/uncultivable land.
• The scheme would ensure that sufficient local solar/ other renewable energy-based power is available for feeding rural load centres and agriculture pump-set loads, which require power mostly during the day time.

The Scheme consists of three components:

• Component A: 10,000 MW of Decentralized Ground Mounted Grid Connected Renewable Power Plants of individual plant size up to 2 MW.
• Component B: Installation of 17.50 lakh standalone Solar Powered Agriculture Pumps of individual pump capacity up to 7.5 HP.
• Component C: Solarization of 10 Lakh Grid-connected Agriculture Pumps of individual pump capacity up to 7.5 HP.

Source:  The Hindu

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Syllabus

• Prelims: Science and Technology

Context: Asia’s largest helicopter manufacturing facility in Karnataka’s Tumkur.

About

• It is also a new greenfield helicopter factory.
• This helicopter factory is Asia’s largest helicopter manufacturing facility and will initially produce Light Utility Helicopters (LUHs).
• LUH is an indigenously designed and developed 3-ton class, single-engine multipurpose utility helicopter with the unique feature of high maneuverability.
• This facility will enable India to meet its entire requirement of helicopters indigenously and will attain the distinction of enabling self-reliance in helicopter design, development and manufacture in the country.

Source:  Indian Express

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Syllabus

• Prelims – Geography

Context: Amid demands by the Opposition for a discussion on the row surrounding the Adani Group, Vice President said Parliament is the “North Star” of democracy and everyone is required to work in accordance with rules.

About the North Star:

• Polaris, also known as the North Star or the Pole Star, is a very bright star (around 2500 times more luminous than our sun) placed less than 1° away from the north celestial pole.
• Its position and brightness have made humans use it for navigation since late antiquity.
• It is a part of the constellation Ursa Minor and is around 323 light-years away from Earth.
• Since Polaris lies nearly in a direct line with the Earth’s rotational axis above the North Pole, it stands almost motionless in the night sky, with all the stars of the northern sky appearing to rotate around it.
• This makes it an excellent fixed point from which to draw measurements for celestial navigation.
• The elevation of the star above the horizon gives the approximate latitude of the observer and in the northern hemisphere.
• If one can see Polaris one can always tell which way is north (and, by extension, which ways are south, east and west).
• Upon crossing the equator to the South, the North Star is lost over the horizon and hence stops being a useful navigational aid.

Source: Indian Express

Previous Year Questions

Q.1) In the northern hemisphere, the longest day of the year normally occurs in the: (2022)

1. First half of the month of June
2. Second half of the month of June
3. First half of the month of July
4. Second half of the month of July

Q.2) On 21st June, the Sun (2019)

1. does not set below the horizon at the Arctic Circle
2. does not set below the horizon at Antarctic Circle
3. shines vertically overhead at noon on the Equator
4. shines vertically overhead at the Tropic of Capricorn

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Syllabus

• Prelims – Defence

Context: To enhance functional autonomy, efficiency and unleash new growth potential and innovation in Ordnance Factories, the Government of India has decided to convert the production units of Ordnance Factory Board into 7 Defence Public Sector Undertakings.

About OFB:

• It is an umbrella body for the ordnance factories and related institutions and is currently a subordinate office of the Ministry of Defence (MoD).
• It consists of 41 factories, 9 Training Institutes, 3 regional marketing centres and 5 regional controllers of safety.
• Headquarters: Kolkata
• Significance: A major chunk of the weapon, ammunition and supplies for not just armed forces but also paramilitary and police forces comes from the OFB-run factories.
• Production: Production includes Civilian and military-grade arms and ammunition, explosives, propellants and chemicals for missile systems, military vehicles, armored vehicles, optical devices, parachutes, support equipment, troop clothing and general store items.

Source:   PIB

Previous Year Question

Q.1) With reference to visible light communication (VLC) technology, which of the following statements are correct? (2022)

1. VLC uses electromagnetic spectrum wavelengths 375 to 780nm
2. VLC is known as long-range optical wireless communication
3. VLC can transmit large amounts of data faster than Bluetooth
4. VLC has no electromagnetic interference

Select the correct answer using the code given below

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

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Syllabus

• Mains – GS 2 (Security Issues)

Context: India’s significant border challenge is that it has contested borders with Pakistan and China and both of them have a strategic nexus directed against India.

About India’s borders:

• India’s borders are unique due to the variety of terrains through which these borders pass, namely deserts, mountains, glaciers and forests.
• It is obvious that managing such large borders in diverse terrain conditions poses myriad challenges.

India shares borders with the countries as follows:

• Bangladesh:70 kms running along West Bengal, Assam, Meghalaya, Tripura and Mizoram.
• Pakistan: 3323 kms running along Gujarat, Rajasthan, Punjab, Union Territory of Jammu & Kashmir and Union Territory of Ladakh.
• China: 3488 kms running along Arunachal Pradesh, Sikkim, Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh and Union Territory of Ladakh.
• Nepal: 1751 kms running along Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, West Bengal and Sikkim.
• Bhutan: 699 kms running along Sikkim, West Bengal, Assam and Arunachal Pradesh.
• Myanmar: 1643 kms running along Arunachal Pradesh, Nagaland, Manipur and Mizoram.
• Afghanistan: 106 kms running along Union Territory of Ladakh

India’s Border disputes

With Pakistan:

• On the borders:
  • Barely two months after Independence, Pakistani fighters invaded Jammu and Kashmir, leading to the first of four wars the two countries have since fought.
  • The Kashmir region is often dubbed as one of the most militarized places in the world.
  • POK is Pakistan Occupied Kashmir which refers to the region in Kashmir which is under control of Pakistan.
• Issue of Drugs:
  • Drugs smuggling from Pakistan is another major challenge for our paramilitary forces and state police.
  • Punjab, a strategic border state, has been the target of drug smuggling for many years now.
• Terrorism:
  • Terrorism emanating from territories under Pakistan’s control remains a core concern in bilateral relations.

With China:

• It is along the LAC with China that India faces the toughest border challenge.
• India has disputed borders with China in Ladakh, Middle Sector, and in Arunachal Pradesh.
• Despite many levels of talks, very little progress has been made to resolve the dispute.
• China is using the dispute against India, whom it sees as its competitor in Asia, to moderate its strategic behaviour and advance its national goals and aspirations.

China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC):

• The CPEC is a collection of infrastructure projects that have been under construction throughout Pakistan beginning 2013.
• The CPEC is part of China’s larger Belt and Road Initiative.
• India has protested the project from its inception since it passes through large chunks of Pakistan-occupied Kashmir.

India-Nepal and India- Bhutan Border Management Challenges

• The region is comparatively peaceful and the matters of security in the region are handled by the SSB (Sashastra Seema Bal).
  • However, peaceful and open borders come with several challenges.
• Both Nepal and Bhutan are landlocked. The border posts with India serve as their entry point for essential supplies.
• Any use of force can seriously hamper bilateral relations.
• The disputed areas with Nepal involve the Kalapani and the Susta regions.

India-Bangladesh Border Management Challenges

• The 1971 war separated the east Pakistan region and resulted in the creation of Bangladesh.
• The region is manned by the Border Security Force.
• This border faces a severe refugee crisis.
  • The influx of Rohingya minorities from West Bengal is a cause of concern.
• Malaria is another concern that the on-ground troops face.
  • The marshy swamps are nearly inhospitable and infested with anopheles’ mosquitoes.
• Further, the rugged topography and the constantly shifting course of the river Brahmaputra create security concerns.
• Cattle smuggling has also been rampant along the border, there were instances when security forces had to use legitimate force to cool off the situation and apprehend the culprits.
• India’s chicken neck corridor at Siliguri in west Bengal acts as the only source of connectivity between mainland India and the Northeastern region through the land.
• This narrow strip of land is thus strategically important and hence security forces have to deploy a considerable amount of force to ensure the security of the region.

India’s strategy to tackle its border disputes

Deployment of troops & surveillance:

• The Indian Army and the BSF are deployed in multiple layers to form an anti-infiltration grid.
• The border fence and deployment of other surveillance devices has helped in reducing infiltrations.
• The surgical strikes launched by our armed forces in the wake of terrorist attacks supported by Pakistan’s ISI have succeeded in sending the message of firm resolve to deal with the menace of terrorism and proxy wars.

Construction activities: As part of the strategy to secure the borders as also to create infrastructure in the border areas of the country, several initiatives have been undertaken by the Border Management Division. These include:

• Construction of fence, floodlighting, roads, Border Out Posts (BOPs), Company Operating Bases (COBs) and
• Deployment of technological solutions along the India-Pakistan, India-Bangladesh, India-China, India-Nepal, India-Bhutan and India-Myanmar borders.

Other:

• Projects like Trans-Arunachal Highway will help in mounting an effective and speedy response against an aggression by the China.
• The Border Roads Organisation (BRO) completed more than 100 projects in border areas, the majority of which were close to the border with China.
• India is speeding up work on the Nimu-Padam-Darcha axis which is going to help troops move to Ladakh from other parts of the country.
• However, this will take time; until then we have to be prepared to deal with its aggression along LAC in an ‘Armed Coexistence’ scenario.

Need for northeast settle disputes:

• The maximum area of ​​the Northeast is surrounded by countries like China, Myanmar, Bangladesh, from which India has a dispute.
  • India is connected to the northeast by the Siliguri corridor, a very narrow area.
  • Thus, North East including Siliguri is a very strategic region for India. Therefore maintaining peace is very important aspect in the region.
• The people of the Northeast are extremely isolated and backward from pre- independence.
  • After independence, disputes need to be resolved to reduce the trust deficit of the people there, to develop and establish peace there.
• It is essential to achieve the true essence of fraternity described in the Constitution of India.
• Peace in the North-East will save India’s resources which can be used for international border management and welfare projects.

Recommendations For better border management:

• The principle of ‘Single Point Control’ Or “One-Force-One-Border” principle must be followed if the borders are to be effectively managed. Divided responsibilities never result in effective control
• The advances in surveillance technology, can help to maintain a constant vigil along the LAC and make it possible to reduce physical deployment as and when modern surveillance assets can be provided on a regular basis to the formations deployed forward.
• Similarly, the availability of a larger number of helicopter units will enhance the quality of aerial surveillance and the ability to move troops to quickly occupy defensive positions when it becomes necessary.
• The recent nomination of the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) as the national-level counterinsurgency force should enable the other central para-military forces (CPMFs) like BSF and ITBP to return to their primary role of better border management.
• It is also recommended that all Para-military forces managing unsettled borders should operate directly under the control of the army.
• There should be lateral induction from the army to the para-military forces so as to enhance their operational effectiveness.
• External threats to India’s security are not the only border management issue dealt with at present by the national security apparatus.
• In recent past, India’s rate of growth has far outpaced that of most of its neighbors and this has generated problems like mass migrations into India.

Way Forward:

Government should resolve pending border disputes with the neighboring countries, as they later become matters of national-security threat. The border-guarding force should not be distracted from its principal task and deployed for other internal security duties. For  example ITBP, a force specifically trained for India- China border should not be used in the Naxalite-infested areas.

It is felt that the responsibility for unsettled and disputed borders, such as the LoC in J&K and the LAC on the Indo-Tibetan border, should be that of the Indian Army while the BSF should be responsible for all settled borders. Developing Infrastructure-accelerated development of infrastructure along the border, especially to wean the border population from illegal activities.

Source:  Indian Express

Q.1) Consider the following statements regarding Exim bank:

1. It was established by the Government of India, under the Export-Import Bank of India Act, 1981.
2. It extends Lines of Credit (LOCs) to overseas financial institutions, regional development banks, sovereign governments and other entities overseas.

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) Which of the following statements is not correct with regard to saint Ravidas:

1. He was the founder of the Ravidassia religion during the 15th to 16th century CE
2. He advocated for the worship of a formless God
3. His disciples came to be known as Ravidas-panthis and followers came to be known as Ravidassias.
4. All statements are correct

Q.3) Consider the following statements regarding Pradhan Mantri Kisan Urja Suraksha Evam Uttham Mahabhiya (PM KUSUM):

1. It was launched recently by the Ministry of Power
2. The scheme would ensure renewable energy-based power is available for feeding rural load centres and agriculture pump-set loads

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

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

ANSWERS FOR ’ 6th February 2023 – Daily Practice MCQs’ will be updated along with tomorrow’s Daily Current Affairs.st

Q.1) – d

Q.2) – c

Q.3) – c