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 CONTENT
JULY 2021 (1st WEEK)

India Digital Ecosystem of Agriculture (IDEA) ___________________ 02-04

Report on Unified Information System for Education Plus (UDISE+)

2019-20 ______________________________________________________ 05-08

Indian Ocean Naval Symposium (IONS) ________________________ 09-10

Cyber Security Index (GCI) 2020 _______________________________ 11-14

Nuclear-capable Agni-P missile test-fired _______________________ 15-16

Objective Questions __________________________________________ 17-18

Subjective Questions _________________________________________ 19-19

1. India Digital Ecosystem of Agriculture (IDEA)

Context:
 The Task Force set up by the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare to prepare a roadmap
for digital agriculture has prepared a Consultation Paper on India Ecosystem Architecture
(IndEA) Digital Ecosystem of Agriculture (IDEA).

Background and Vision of IDEA

 Digital technologies and especially emerging technologies like Artificial Intelligence
(AI)/Machine Learning (ML), Internet of Things (IoT) etc. open immense opportunities for
agriculture if we create the right architecture and an enabling environment.

 To cash in on these opportunities, the Government of India has come up with a concept of IDEA
with a vision to:
o Build a National Digital Agriculture Ecosystem.
o Elevate the Indian Agriculture Sector to higher levels of efficiency and productivity.
o Improve the welfare and income of farmers.

What is IDEA?
 The National Digital Agriculture Ecosystem seeks to create a centralised farmers database and
formulate various services based on it.
 This database will be linked with the farmers’ land records across the country and unique farmer
IDs will be generated.
 The information related to various benefits and assistances provided through numerous schemes
of the central and state governments can be kept in one place and it can be a source of information
for providing benefits to the farmers in future.
 Various kinds of support and solutions based on the database will be provided to the
stakeholders, some of which are as follows:
o It will help enable the farmers to make informed decisions about which crop to grow, what
type of seed to use, when to sow and what best practices to adopt to maximize yield.
o For those involved in the agricultural supply chain, it will help them plan their procurement
and logistics with accurate and timely information.
o Farmers also can decide whether they have to store or sell their produce, and further, when,
where and at what price they have to sell it.
Objectives of IDEA
 Higher-income and better profitability for farmers: To enable the farmer to realize higher
income and better profitability through access to the right information at the right time, and from
innovative services.
 Better planning and execution of policies: To enable better planning and execution of policies,
programs, and schemes of the Central and State governments, and, also of the private sector and
Farmers Producer Organizations (FPOs).
 Enhance efficiencies of resource utilization: To enhance efficiencies in the usage of resources
including land, water, seeds, fertilizers, pesticides, and farm mechanization by providing easier
access to information.
 Personalized extension services: To provide location-specific and personalized extension services
across the agriculture lifecycle, with simultaneous protection of privacy of personal data.
 Capacity building: To build capacities across the gamut of digital agriculture and precision
agriculture.
 Interoperability: To promote the adoption of standards for interoperability and seamless
exchange of information across the ecosystem, while ensuring that the digital rights are properly
managed.
 Promote R&D: To give a fillip to R&D and Innovations in agriculture through access to high-
quality data.
 Cooperative federalism: To adopt the best principles of cooperative federalism while working
with the states and Union Territories for the realization of the vision of IDEA.
 Leverage PPP (Public-Private Partnership): To formulate and leverage PPP frameworks for
realizing the ‘power of the digital’.

Principles of IDEA
 Ecosystem Thinking: Design all digital initiatives as ecosystems, and not just as systems.
 Building Block approach: Architect and design the ecosystems in terms of minimal and reusable
Building Blocks - all the building blocks shall be able to evolve orthogonally, meaning that any
building block can be modified without requiring the other building blocks to make any
consequential changes.
 Open API-based: Adopt the principle of ‘Open-API by default’. Exceptions shall be justified.
 Open, Open and Open: Design the digital ecosystems to be built on open source, to be published
as open-source, and to conform to open standards.
 National Portability: Design national digital systems and platforms for portability across India
while factoring in the requirements of localization and diversity, inclusion, and special needs.
 Participatory Design: Drive participatory design and end-user engagement at all stages of the
digital initiative.
 Innovation: Enable and promote innovation, and ‘responsible’ deployment of emerging
technologies.

Figure: IDEA Ecosystem Architecture

Source: agricoop.nic.in
Progress:
 A database with the details of around 5 crore farmers has been prepared so far and it is expected
that the database will soon be completed by incorporating the details of all landholding farmers
into it.
 The available data related to the Soil Health Card, PM Kisan, and PM Crop Insurance Scheme has
already been integrated.
 The process of collating data from other databases of the Ministry of Agriculture as well as that of
the Ministries of Fertilizers, Food and Public Distribution is in progress.
 Various MoU (Memorandum of Understanding) have been signed between the Government of
India and big-tech companies like Amazon, Microsoft etc to operationalise the idea.

Major Concerns
 Absence of data protection law: In the absence of data protection law in India and the
government sharing the data with private entities, the latter could exploit the farmers’ data.
 Commercialisation: It may lead to the commercialisation of agriculture extension activities as
they will shift into a digital and private sphere.
 Exclusion of landless cultivators: Digitisation can also exclude landless cultivators, pastoral
communities, Dalits and indigenous people who are often prevented from owning land.
 Mismanaged land Records: The proposition of a “farmers’ database” based on digitised land
records will lead to problems given the seriously flawed condition of the digitised land records.

Way Ahead
 It is important to bring the benefits of digital technology to farmers, but such digital
infrastructure should be owned by the government, not private corporate bodies.
 The farmers’ welfare must be central to any measures taken by the Government and further steps
should be taken based on the public feedback on IDEA and results of pilot trials.
2. Report on Unified District Information System for Education Plus (UDISE+)
2019-20

Context
 Recently, the Union Education Minister released the United District Information System for
Education Plus (UDISE+) 2019-20 report for School Education in India.

About UDISE+ (Unified District Information System for Education Plus) report
 UDISE: Unified District Information System for Education (UDISE) initiated in 2012-13 is one of
the largest Management Information Systems on School Education for elementary and secondary
education in India, covering more than 1.5 million schools, 9.6 million teachers and 264 million
children.
 UDISE is an initiative of the Department of School Education & Literacy, Ministry of Education.

UDISE+
 The UDISE+ is an updated and improved version of UDISE which was developed in the year
2018-19.
 UDISE+ was designed to overcome the problems related to manual data filling in paper format,
which was in practice in the UDISE data collection system from 2012-13.
 Now, the entire system is online and has been collecting data in real-time since 2018-19.
 The UDISE+ collects information on school profiles, teachers, enrolments, physical infrastructure,
examination results, etc. through an online form - Data Collection Form (DCF).
 It helps in measuring education parameters across classes I to XII in government as well as
private schools in India. It provides timely and accurate data for effective planning and decision-
making.

2019-20 Report: Key findings

 Total students in school education:
o In 2019-20, total students in school education from pre-primary to higher secondary have
crossed 26.45 crores.
o This is higher by 42.3 lakh students as compared to 2018-19 data.
 Number of teachers:
o In 2019-20, 96.87 lakh teachers have been engaged in school education.
o This is higher by 2.57 lakh compared to 2018-19.
 Gross Enrolment Ratio: At all levels of school education, the Gross Enrolment Ratio has
improved in 2019-20 as compared to the previous year.
o Gross Enrolment Ratio increased to
 97.8% (from 96.1%) at Elementary Level
 89.7% (from 87.7%) at Upper Primary level
 77.9% (from 76.9%) at Secondary Level
 51.4% (from 50.1%) at Higher Secondary Level in 2019-20 (from 2018-19).
From 2012-13 to 2019-20:
o Gross Enrolment Ratio (GER) has improved by nearly 10% at the secondary level between
2012-13 and 2019-20
 It has reached 78% in 2019-20, compared to 68.7% in 2012-13.
o Gross Enrolment Ratio (GER) has improved by more than 11% in the higher secondary level
between 2012-13 and 2019-20 - it has reached 51.4% in 2019-20, compared to 40.1% in 2012-13.
 Pupil-Teacher Ratio (PTR): Pupil-Teacher Ratio (PTR) has improved at all levels of school
education.
From 2012-13 to 2019-20:
o PTR for primary has now (2019-20) become 26.5, whereas it was 34.0 in 2012-13.
o PTR for the upper primary is now 18.5, whereas it was 23.1 in 2012-13.
o PTR for secondary is now 18.5, whereas it was 29.7 in 2012-13.
o PTR for higher secondary schools is now 26.1, whereas it was 39.2 in 2012-13.
 Enrolment of girls:
The Gross Enrolment Ratio of girls has increased to:
o 98.7% (from 96.7%) at Elementary Level
o 90.5% (from 88.5%) at Upper Primary level
o 77.8% (from 76.9%) at Secondary Level
o 52.4% (from 50.8%) at Higher Secondary Level in 2019-20 (from 2018-19).
From 2012-13 to 2019-20:
o GER for girls, at the secondary level, has gone up by 9.6% to reach 77.8% in 2019-20 - it was
68.2% in 2012-13.
o Gross Enrolment Ratio of girls, at the higher secondary level, has increased by 13% between
2012-13 and 2019-20 - It was 39.4% in 2012-13 and has become 52.4% in 2019-20.
o Note: This increase in GER is more than that of the boys - the GER of boys for higher
secondary is 50.5% in 2019-20 whereas it was 40.8% in 2012-13.

Table: Key Parameters across the stages of education.

 Gender Parity Index (GPI): The Gender Parity Index (GPI) at both Secondary and Higher
Secondary levels have improved between 2012-13 and 2019-20.
o The improvement has been most pronounced at the higher secondary level, which has gone
up to 1.04 in 2019-20 from 0.97 in 2012-13.
 Infrastructure: The report also shows a remarkable improvement in the number of schools with
functional electricity, functional computers, internet facilities in 2019-20 over the previous year.
o Electricity: More than 83% of schools had electricity in 2019-20, an improvement of 7% over
the previous year.
 In 2012-13, only about 54.6% of schools had electricity.
o Computers:
 Computers are available in 38.5% of schools ( only 28.5% of government schools) in 2019-
20 as compared to 34.5% of schools in 2018-19.
 The number of schools having functional computers has increased to 5.2 lakh in 2019-20
from 4.7 lakh in 2018-19.
o Internet facilities:
 Internet is available in 22.3% of schools (government schools fared much worse at just
11%) in 2019-20 as compared to 18.7% of schools in 2018-19.
 The number of schools that has internet facilities has increased to 3.36 lakh in 2019-20
from 2.9 lakh in 2018-19.
 Whereas 87.84% of Kerala schools and 85.69% in Delhi had an Internet facility, only 6.46%
of schools in Odisha, 8.5% in Bihar, 10% in West Bengal and 13.62% in Uttar Pradesh had
the facility, indicating huge regional disparity.
 o Library:
 More than 84% of schools in India had a library/reading room in 2019-20, an
improvement of nearly 4% compared to the previous year.
 About 69.2% of schools had a library/ reading room in 2012-13.

Figure: Percentage of schools having specific infrastructure facility, India - 2012-13, 2018-19 and
2019-20
Source: udiseplus.gov.in

 Health and Sanitation:

o Medical check-ups:
 More than 82% of schools conducted medical check-ups of students in 2019-20, an
increase of more than 4% compared to the previous year 2018-19.
 In 2012-13, about 61.1% of schools conducted medical checkups.
o Hand wash facilities: In the year 2019-20, more than 90% of schools in India had hand wash
facilities as compared to only 36.3% in 2012-13.
 Accessibility:
o Ramps are available in 67.6% of schools in 2019-20 as compared to 63.7% of schools in 2018-
19.
o The enrolment of Divyang students has increased by 6.52% over 2018-19.
3. Indian Ocean Naval Symposium (IONS)

Context
 The 7th edition of the Indian Ocean Naval Symposium (IONS), a biennial event, was hosted by
the French Navy at La Réunion (Reunion island) recently.

About IONS

What is IONS?
 The Indian Ocean Naval Symposium (commonly known as IONS) was conceived by the Indian
Navy in 2008.
 It is a forum that seeks to increase maritime cooperation among the littoral states of the Indian
Ocean Region by providing an inclusive and open platform for discussion of regionally relevant
maritime issues.
 Indian Ocean Naval Symposium Conclave of Chiefs (CoC) meets biennially and is the decision-
making body at the level of Chiefs of Navies.
 Note: 6th IONS and CoC was conducted by the Iran Navy in April 2018 in Tehran.

Function of IONS

 Under the charter of business adopted by IONS in 2014, the forum has the following working
groups:
o Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief (HADR),
o Information Security and Interoperability (IS&I)
o Maritime security (anti-piracy).
The Symposium holds panel discussions themed on the three IONS Working Groups.

Membership

 The IONS has 24 members which have been divided into sub-groups as under:
o South Asian Littorals: India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Maldives, Sri Lanka, Seychelles, and the
United Kingdom (British Indian Ocean Territory).
o West Asian Littorals: Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Iran and Oman.
o East African Littorals: Kenya, Mauritius, France (Reunion), Mozambique, South Africa, and
Tanzania.
o South-East Asian and Australian Littorals: Indonesia, Malaysia, Myanmar, Singapore,
Thailand, Timor-Leste and Australia.
 Observers in IONS include
Germany, Italy, Spain, Japan, Madagascar, the Netherlands, Russia and China.

Figure: Members of IONS

Source: indiannavy.nic.in

Chairmanship
 The chairmanship of IONS has been held by the following countries:
o India (2008-10),
o UAE (2010-12),
o South Africa (2012-14),
o Australia (2014-16),
o Bangladesh (2016-18)
o Islamic Republic of Iran (2018-21).
 France took over the Chairmanship of IONS on 29 Jun 21 for a two-year tenure.

Significance
 Collective prosperity: The forum helps to preserve peaceful relations between nations and is
critical to building an effective maritime security architecture in the Indian Ocean Region and
thus, fundamental to the collective prosperity of the region.
 India’s ambitions:
o It also helps India’s other ambitions in the region viz:
o Establishing its leadership potential and aspirations of being a net security provider in the
region.
o The vision of a rules-based and stable maritime order in the IOR.
Thus, it will help India to consolidate its sphere of influence from the Straits of Malacca to the
Hormuz Strait.
 Countering China: IONS can be used to counterbalance the increasing presence of China in the
Indian Ocean region.
4. Cyber Security Index (GCI) 2020

Context
 Moving up 37 places, India has been ranked as the 10th best country in the world on key
cybersafety parameters in Global Cybersecurity Index (GCI) 2020, recently released by the
International Telecommunication Union (ITU).

Key Findings of the report

 The global top 3:
o The US was ranked 1st with a score of 100
o The UK and Saudi Arabia shared the 2nd rank with a score of 99.54 each.
o Estonia followed closely at 3rd rank with a global score of 99.48.
 Regional performance (Asia Pacific):
o India has secured the 4th position in the Asia Pacific region.
o Singapore and South Korea tied for first place in the regional ranking.
o Malaysia and Japan were the other countries that were ahead of India in the rankings.
 Other nations: Turkey (score - 97.49) was ranked 11, Germany (score - 97.41) was ranked 13,
China (score - 92.53) ranked 33 and Israel (score - 90.93) was ranked 36.

About GCI
 The Global Cybersecurity Index (GCI) was first launched in 2015 to measure the commitment of
193 International Telecommunication Union (ITU) Member States and the State of Palestine to
cybersecurity, to help the members identify areas of improvement and encourage them to take
action, through raising awareness on the state of cybersecurity worldwide.
 The Global Cybersecurity Index maps 82 questions on Member State cybersecurity
commitments across 5 pillars:
o Legal measures
o Technical measures
o Organizational measures
o Capacity development measures
o Cooperation measures.

The table below shows global commitments of specific indicators per pillar.
 Method for GCI 2020 (Fourth edition):
o The commitment of the country was assessed through a question-based online survey for
each of the pillars, which further allowed for the collection of supporting evidence.
o Further, through consultation with a group of experts, these questions were weighted in
order to arrive at an overall Global Cybersecurity Index score.

India and GCI

 In the 3rd version of the GCI, which was released in 2018, India was ranked 47 with a global score
of 0.719.
 In the current edition (4th), India scored a total of 97.5 points from a possible maximum of 100
points, to make it to the 10th position worldwide in the GCI 2020.
 The GCI results for India show a substantial overall improvement in all parameters of the
cybersecurity domain.
 It, however, needs improvement in the area of Organisational measures and Technical measures.
 Figure: India’s performance in GCI 2020.
Source: itu.int

Challenges to Cyber Security in India

 Work from home culture: More and more cybersecurity challenges emerge as companies shift the
majority of their employees to a remote working arrangement in a really short period of time.
 Lack of indigenisation: India lacks indigenization in hardware as well as software cybersecurity
tools which makes India’s cyberspace vulnerable to cyberattacks motivated by state and non-state
actors.
 No dedicated cybersecurity law: India doesn’t have a dedicated cybersecurity law.

Measures to Improve Cyber Security in India

 I4C (Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Centre) was approved in October 2018, to deal with all
types of cybercrimes in a comprehensive and coordinated manner.
 Indian Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT-In) functions as the nodal agency for
coordination of all emergency responses, cybersecurity efforts, and crisis management.
 National Critical Information Infrastructure Protection Centre (NCIIPC) for the protection of
critical information infrastructure in India.
 National Cyber Security Strategy 2020 is being formulated to improve cyber awareness and
cybersecurity through more stringent audits.
 Draft Personal Data Protection Bill, 2018 (Justice BN Srikrishna Committee) is in the works to
secure citizens' data and privacy.

International Mechanisms:
 Budapest Convention on Cybercrime: An international treaty to address Internet and computer
crime by harmonizing national laws, improving investigative techniques, and increasing
cooperation among nations. It came into force in July 2004.
o India is not a signatory to this convention.
 Internet Governance Forum (IGF): A forum to bring together all stakeholders i.e. government,
private sector and civil society in the Internet governance debate.
Way ahead

The following measures are important for countries to improve their cybersecurity measures:
 Regular assessments: regular assessments of their cybersecurity commitments, including
meaningful metrics;
 Development of Computer Incident Response Teams: the continued development of national
CIRTs (Computer Incident Response Teams) and further establishment of sector-specific CIRTs;
 National cybersecurity strategies: monitoring and updating national cybersecurity strategies
with clear implementation plans;
 Inclusion and Diversity: inclusion and diversity, especially of underrepresented groups such as
women and youth, within the cybersecurity workforce;
 Global participation: regular participation in international activities to share good practices, case
studies, and improve preparedness and response capability;
 Strengthening the MSMEs: improving the cybersecurity capacity of micro, small, and medium-
sized enterprises (MSMEs);
 Regular engagement: regular engagement of all relevant stakeholders in cybersecurity, including
the private sector, academia, and civil society

Note
International Telecommunication Union
 International Telecommunication Union (ITU) is the United Nations specialized agency for
information and communication technologies.
 It was founded in 1865 to facilitate international connectivity in communications networks.
 It develops the technical standards that ensure networks and technologies seamlessly
interconnect, allocates global radio spectrum and satellite orbits and strives to improve access
to ICTs to underserved communities worldwide.
 It is headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland.
 Recently, India got elected as a member of the ITU Council for a 4-year term from 2019 to 2022.
5. Nuclear-capable Agni-P missile test-fired

Context
 Recently, the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) successfully test-fired a
new generation nuclear-capable ballistic missile - Agni-P (Agni Prime) from Dr APJ Abdul Kalam
island, off the coast of Odisha, Balasore.

About Agni-P missile

 Agni P is part of the Agni series of missiles developed under the Integrated Guided Missile
Development Programme (IGMDP) with new modern features.
 It is a ballistic missile with a self-guided, rocket-propelled strategic weapons system that follows
a ballistic trajectory to deliver a payload from its launch site to a predetermined target.
 It is capable of carrying conventional high explosives as well as chemical, biological or nuclear
munitions.
 Features:
o Canisters: It is a canisterised missile.
 Canisterisation of missiles reduces the time required to launch the missile while
improving its storage and mobility.
 The missile can be launched from road or rail and can be transported to various parts of
the country.
o Improved manoeuvring and accuracy: Agni-P has improved parameters including
manoeuvring and accuracy and its unique technology makes it difficult to intercept.
o Range: Agni-P has a range capability between 1,000 and 2,000 km.
o Weight: It weighs 50 per cent less than Agni 3 missile and is the lightest and smallest of the
Agni series missiles.
o Other features: It is a two-stage and solid-fuelled weapon system that comes with new
propulsion systems, composite motor casings, and inertial navigation systems based on
advanced ring-laser gyroscopes.

 Significance: While the Agni-V missile will be the mainstay of the anti-China arsenal, Agni-P is a
deterrent against Pakistan.
 About Agni missiles
 The Agni class of missiles are the mainstay of India’s nuclear launch capability and are part of the
Integrated Guided Missile Development Programme (IGMDP).
 India's first intermediate-range ballistic missile Agni 1 was successfully test-fired in 1989 and
inducted into service in 2004. It has a range of 700 to 900 kilometres.
 Agni-V, the longest of the Agni series missiles, is an Inter-Continental Ballistic Missile (ICBM)
with a range of over 5,000 km and has already been tested several times and validated for
induction.
 Range of other Agni Missiles include:
o Agni II: Range more than 2000 km.
o Agni III: Range of more than 2,500 Km.
o Agni IV: The range is more than 3,500 km and can fire from a road-mobilenuclear-capable
launcher.
 All the Agni missiles are part of the Indian military's Strategic Force Command.

Note:

Strategic Forces Command (SFC)

 The Strategic Forces Command (SFC) is part of India's Nuclear Command Authority (NCA)
which is headed by the Prime Minister. The SFC is responsible for the management and
administration of the strategic nuclear weapons stockpile in India.
 The Nuclear Command Authority (NCA) is responsible for command, control and operational
decisions regarding India's nuclear weapons programme.

What is IGMDP?
 The Integrated Guided Missile Development Programme (IGMDP) was conceived by
renowned scientist Dr A P J Abdul Kalam in 1982-83, to enable India to attain self-sufficiency in
the field of missile technology.
 Keeping in mind the requirements of various types of missiles by the defence forces, the team
recommended the development of five missile systems.
The missiles developed under the programme were:
1. Prithvi: Short-range surface-to-surface ballistic missile.
2. Agni: Intermediate-range surface-to-surface ballistic missile
3. Trishul: Short-range low-level surface-to-air missile
4. Akash: Medium-range surface-to-air missile
5. Nag: Third-generation anti-tank missile
6. Objective Questions

1. With reference to India Ecosystem Explanation:

Architecture (IndEA) Digital Ecosystem of
Agriculture (IDEA), consider the Statement 1 is correct: Pupil-Teacher
following statements: Ratio (PTR) has improved at all levels of
1. It seeks to create a centralised farmers school education as per the recent United
database that will be linked with the District Information System for Education
farmers’ land records across the Plus (UDISE+) 2019-20 report.
country.
2. It is an initiative of NITI Aayog. Statement 2 is correct: According to the
Which of the above statements is/are same report, the Gross Enrolment Ratio of
correct? girls, at the higher secondary level, has
(a) 1 only increased from 39.4% in 2012-13 to 52.4%
(b) 2 only in 2019-20. This increase in GER is more
(c) Both 1 and 2 than that of the boys - the GER of boys for
(d) Neither 1 nor 2 higher secondary is 50.5% in 2019-20
whereas it was 40.8% in 2012-13.
Answer: (a)
3. Which of the following countries is not a
Explanation: member of the Indian Ocean Naval
Symposium (IONS)?
Statement 1 is correct: India Ecosystem (a) Somalia
Architecture (IndEA) Digital Ecosystem of (b) Mozambique
Agriculture (IDEA) seeks to create a (c) Timor-Leste
centralised farmers database that will be (d) Indonesia
linked with the farmers’ land records
across the country and formulate various Answer: (a)
services based on it.
Explanation:
Statement 2 is incorrect: It is an initiative
of the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Somalia is not a member of the Indian
Welfare. Ocean Naval Symposium (IONS). The
following countries are members of the
2. With reference to school education in IONS:
India, consider the following statements:
1. The Pupil-Teacher Ratio (PTR) has
declined at the secondary level of
school education over the past seven
years.
2. The increase in Gross Enrolment Ratio
at the higher secondary level is more
for girls than that for the boys over the
past seven years.
Which of the above statements is/are
correct? Figure: Members of IONS
(a) 1 only Source: indiannavy.nic.in
(b) 2 only
(c) Both 1 and 2
(d) Neither 1 nor 2

Answer: (c)
4. The Global Cybersecurity Index (GCI) is
published by
(a) World Economic Forum
(b) World Intellectual Property
Organization
(c) International Telecommunication
Union
(d) The Industry Connections Security
Group

Answer: (c)

Explanation:

The Global Cybersecurity Index (GCI) is

published by the International
Telecommunication Union - the United
Nations specialized agency for
information and communication
technologies.

5. With reference to the Agni Prime missile,

recently in the news, consider the
following statements:
1. It is the lightest and smallest of all the
Agni series missiles.
2. It is a nuclear-capable missile with a
range higher than that of the Agni V.
Which of the above statements is/are
correct?
(a) 1 only
(b) 2 only
(c) Both 1 and 2
(d) Neither 1 nor 2

Answer: (a)

Explanation:

Statement 1 is correct: Agni Prime is the

lightest and smallest of all the Agni series
missiles.

Statement 2 is incorrect: Agni-P missile

has a range capability between 1,000 and
2,000 km while Agni-V, is an Inter-
Continental Ballistic Missile (ICBM) with a
range of over 5,000 km, though both are
nuclear-capable.
7. Subjective Questions

1. India Ecosystem Architecture (IndEA) Digital Ecosystem of Agriculture (IDEA) has the potential
to elevate the Indian agriculture sector to higher levels of efficiency and productivity. Comment.
(250 Words, 15 Marks)

2. Discuss the status of school education in India.

(250 Words, 15 Marks)

3. What is Indian Ocean Naval Symposium? Explain its significance.

(150 Words, 10 Marks)

4. “India has done well to secure its cyberspace in recent years”- Do you agree? Elucidate.
(250 Words, 15 Marks)

5. How does the new Agni Prime missile bolster India's offensive power? Explain.
(150 Words, 10 Marks)
 Congratulations to our toppers

04 Ranks in
Top 10 09 Ranks in
Top 20 13 Ranks in
Top 50 22 Ranks in
Top 100

RANK 03 RANK 06 RANK 08 RANK 10

Pratibha Verma Vishakha Yadav Abhishek Saraf Sanjita Mohapatra

Incredible results year after year!

Selected candidates from BYJU'S

2019
165 out of
2018 829 vacancies
183 out of
2017 812 vacancies
2016 236 out of
1058 vacancies
2015 215 out of
1209 vacancies
162 out of
2014 1164 vacancies

2013 82 out of
1364 vacancies
62 out of
1228 vacancies

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Awards

VCCIRCLE
AWA R D S

Education Company Business Standard Google Play’s ‘Best Self Improvement’

Of The Year 2016, 2018 Start-up of the year 2017 App in India – 2016

Google Design Deloitte Technology Fast 50 India

Award 2018 and Fast 500 Asia Award Year
NASSCOM Design4India Design
Award 2018 for the ‘Best Design’
2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, Express IT Awards for IT newsmaker
Mobile Category – 2018
2017 of the year 2017