[Mission 2023] INSIGHTS DAILY CURRENT AFFAIRS +

PIB SUMMARY 6 September 2022

insightsonindia.com/2022/09/06/mission-2023-insights-daily-current-affairs-pib-summary-6-september-2022/

Insights Editor September 6, 2022

InstaLinks :  help you think beyond the issue but relevant to the issue from UPSC
prelims and Mains exam point of view. These linkages provided in this ‘hint’ format
help you frame possible questions in your mind that might arise(or an examiner
might imagine) from each current event. InstaLinks also connect every issue to their
static or theoretical background. This helps you study a topic holistically and add
new dimensions to every current event to help you think analytically

Table of Contents:

GS Paper 2:

1. Funding public education

2. Public health need not be led by doctors alone

GS Paper 3:

1. Road Accidents in India

2. Natural farming

3. The road to Energy Atmanirbharta

Content for Mains Enrichment (Essay/Ethics)

1. In a first in Bihar, the district office goes paperless

2. Serena Williams – the woman who changed the game

Facts for Prelims:

1. Martand Temple in Kashmir

2. Mohenjo-Daro

1/24
3. O. Chidambaram Pillai

4. Ramon Magsaysay of the Philippines

5. Preventive detentions in 2021

6. PM-SHRI Yojana

7. Only Parliamentary law can amend the list of SC

8. Model Prison Act

9. BPaL

10. Inflatable Aerodynamic Decelerator (IAD)

11. Mapping

Funding public education

GS paper 2

Syllabus: Issues related to the development of the social sector related to education,

Source: The Hindu

Directions: Important for mains, can be asked directly or you can use it as an example
as issues arising in higher education due to less funding

Context: This is an editorial article, emphasizing that the universities that need support
from the state as well as self-funding.

Currently, the government is asking universities to generate their own fund or

privatize:

General Financial Rules of 2017: Encourage all autonomous bodies to

maximize the generation of internal resources and attain self-sufficiency
Government expenditure (Centre +State on higher education): It
dropped from 0.86(zero point eight six)% of GDP in 2010-11 to a measly
0.52(zero point five two)% in 2019-20.

Issues with privatization of Education:

Non-inclusive: Substantial increase in fees and other charges from

students.
Inequalities: The heavy dependence on privately-managed institutes as
a means of education often perpetuates inequality in accessing higher
education.

2/24
Other Challenges:

Recommendations:  

Kothari Commission(precursor to the 1968 policy): Higher education

should have been getting at least 2% of GDP.
The National Education Policy(NEP) vision:
Public education: Promote increased access, equity, and
inclusion through a range of measures, including greater
opportunities for outstanding public education.
Increase in public investment: NEP endorsed a substantial
increase in public investment by the Central and State
governments to reach 6% of GDP at the earliest.
The NEP 2020 envisages enrolment in higher education to be
nearly double by 2035.

Insta Links:

NEP 2020

Kothari Education Commission

3/24
Mains Links:

Q. The quality of higher education in India requires major improvements to make it

internationally competitive. Do you think that the entry of foreign educational
institutions would help improve the quality of technical and higher education in the
country? Discuss. (UPSC 2015)

Prelims links:

NEP

Kothari commission

General finance rules 2017

With reference to NEP 2020, consider the following statements:

1.
1.
1. Public spending on education by states, Center will be raised to 10% of
the GDP.
2. A child’s mother tongue will be used as the medium of instruction till
class 8.

Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

a. 1 only

b. 2 only

c. Both 1 and 2

d. Neither 1 nor 2

Ans: (d)

Justification:

Public spending on education by states, Centre to be raised to 6% of the

GDP.
A child’s mother tongue will be used as the medium of instruction till
class 5.

Public health need not be led by doctors alone

GS paper 2

4/24
Syllabus: Issues related to development of social sector related to health, measures to
develop healthcare system in India etc

Source: The Hindu

Direction: Can be gone through once.

Context: There is suboptimal representation of public health professionals in State and

Central advisory bodies of health.

Public Health:

It is the science of protecting the safety and improving the health of

communities through education, policy making and research for disease
and injury prevention.

What constitutes a public health worker?

All those who work for the State or Central government are public
sector health workers.

What is expected out of Public health workers?

‘A’ s for public health workers: Academics, activism, administration

and advocacy.
Epidemiology and biostatistics: Good understanding of evidence
generation and synthesis by having a good grounding in epidemiology
and biostatistics.
Able to monitor and evaluate programmes: By conducting
surveillance, interpreting data and routine reporting.

Role of administration in public health:

Administering: From a primary health centre to the district, State, and

national level.
Implementing: Managing health programmes, addressing human
resource issues, supply and logistical issues, etc.
Microplanning: For programme delivery, team building, leadership as
well as financial management to some extent.
Principles of organizational management: A good understanding of
the principles of organizational management and health administration is
key to acquiring this competency.

Four competencies for specific or general problem(environment or nutrition or

infectious disease):

5/24
 Health policy
Health economics
Health Advocacy
Global Health

Issues:

Resistance from medical fraternity: Resistance of the medicalised

public health fraternity for public health professionals to have a medical
degree.
It has resulted in denying nursing, dental, and other health
professionals to contribute more to public health.
Lack of skills: Many doctors and other health professionals work at the
grassroots level.
But they do not become public health professionals as they may
not have the necessary skills.
Clinicians with training in epidemiology and biostatistics: They are
not qualified to be public health professionals as they lack essential and
critical expertise along with appropriate perspective.
Training duration: Short training or even a year-long distance learning
course cannot create a public health professional the way it cannot
create a physician or a cardiologist.

Conclusion:

Recognition of public health: It is critical that health professionals, the

government, and the public recognise public health as a specific set of
competencies and give it the importance that it deserves.
The Health Ministry’s recent proposal: Creation of cadres for public
health professionals and health management at the State, district and
block levels is a welcome step.
Quality of public health training: There is a need to look at the quality
of public health training being provided which will attract the best and the
brightest people into this discipline.

Insta Links:

Issues related to Health Sector

Mains Links:

Q. Critically examine the role of WHO in providing global health security during the
COVID-19 Pandemic.(UPSC 2020)

Road Accidents in India

6/24
GS Paper 3

Syllabus: Infrastructure: Road

Source: The Hindu,

Context: The recent unfortunate death of Cyrus Mistry (former chairman of Tata Sons)
has put a spotlight on Road accidents in India

Status (as per the latest NCRB data)

Deaths in road accidents up by 17%

In 2021, 1.55 lakh people died in accidents on Indian roads, up from
1.33 lakh in 2020
A maximum number of cases were reported in Tamil Nadu.
Reasons: Speeding accounted for over half of all deaths, while
dangerous and careless driving caused over 42000 deaths.

Mechanisms to prevent death in a car accident?

The three-point seat belt is a low-cost restraint system that prevents

occupants of a vehicle from being thrown forward in a crash.
Seat belt: slows the occupant at the same rate as the vehicle,
distributing the physical force in a crash across the stronger parts
of the body such as the pelvis and chest.
The Road Transport Ministry said that during 2017, a shocking
26,896 people lost their lives due to the non-use of seat belts with
16,876 of them being passengers.
Seat Belt+ Airbag: Even if the vehicle is fitted with an airbag, the force
at which an unrestrained occupant strikes the airbag can cause serious
injuries. So, the seatbelt works in tandem with the airbag.
air-bag deployment reduced mortality by 63% (IIT Delhi Study)
Head restraints, which are found either as adjustable models or
moulded into the seats, prevent a whiplash injury (sudden backwards
and forward movement of head-on collision)

Indian regulation:

Ministry of Road Transport and Highways issued a draft notification

providing for three-point seat belts to be provided in all vehicles (up
to 8-seater vehicles)
The Amended Motor Vehicles Act of 2019 requires the occupants of a
passenger vehicle to wear a seat belt for driver and passenger or else
there’s a fine.
Evidently, although cars are equipped with seat belts, the
enforcement for rear seat occupants is virtually absent in India.

What should be done:  

7/24
 Institute evidence-based, India-specific and effective road safety
policies
Better road design and maintenance of road and traffic infrastructure
Removal of medians on intercity highways and replacement with steel
guard rails or wire rope barriers
Awareness of the use of seat belts and installing airbags
Use of the European Union’s General Safety Regulation that requires
new vehicles to incorporate advanced emergency braking technology
that launches automatically when a collision is imminent.

Insta Links

Editorial: Road Accidents

Mains Links

Link it with governance (GS2) as well as Infrastructure issues (GS3) 

8/24
Q. Road traffic accidents are a leading cause of death in India, and a major
contributor to socio-economic losses, disability burden, and hospitalization.
Discuss (15M)

Natural farming

GS Paper 3

Syllabus: Agriculture

Source: Indian Express

Direction: Although no unique point has been mentioned, the article can be gone through
once.

Context: It is an editorial article (yesterday’s) by eminent agriculture economist Ashok

Gulati, in which he emphasizes the need to promote natural/organic farming.

Issues with the current farming methods?

Degradation of land (almost 30%)

Depletion of Groundwater
Polluted air e.g., stubble burning
Extreme weather events
Ecological imbalance: The pace of human population growth has not
been in line with the earth’s carrying capacity.

What should be done?

Focus on precision farming: It can give India “more from less”.

Focus on natural and organic farming
Organic farming in India: Sikkim was declared an organic state,
etc.
Arth Ganga: Initiated a major programme on natural farming
along the Ganga, five kilometres on each side of its banks.
Many states like Andhra Pradesh are also scaling up natural
farming.
Focus on emerging technologies: GIS (Geographical Information
System), and AIML (Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning) can
use enormous data and bring about precision in farming.
Reduction of subsidies: The government’s heavy subsidy (80 to 90%
subsidy on urea) can be significantly reduced. It will also help prevent
water pollution due to the overuse of fertilizers.

Natural Farming:

9/24
Natural Farming is a chemical-free alias traditional farming method. It is considered
an agroecology-based diversified farming system which integrates crops, trees and
livestock with functional biodiversity.

Concerns:  Research by ICAR in India shows that the adoption of natural farming yields
goes down for major staple crops like wheat and rice by as much as 30 to 50%. But the
yields recover back to normal levels after some time.

Conclusion:

So, India needs a proper policy decision with better and more scientific evidence if India
wants to avoid a Sri Lanka-like fiasco.

Insta Links

Zero Budget Natural Farming

Niti Ayog: Natural Farming

Mains Link:

Link it with precision farming- opportunities and challenges, natural farming and
how they can help Indian agriculture.

Prelims Link:

With reference to the circumstances in Indian agriculture, the concept of

“Conservation Agriculture” assume significance. Which of the following fall under
the Conservation Agriculture?

1.
1.
1.
1. Avoiding monoculture practices
2. Adopting minimum tillage
3. Avoiding the cultivation of plantation crops
4. Using crop residues to cover soil surface
5. Adopting spatial and temporal crop sequencing/crop rotations

Select the correct answer using the code given below:

(a) 1, 3 and 4

(b) 2, 3, 4 and 5

(c) 2, 4 and 5

(d) 1, 2, 3 and 5

10/24
Answer: C

FAO defines CA as A farming system that promotes minimum soil disturbance,

maintenance of a permanent soil cover, and diversification of plant species.

It promotes the utilization of green manures/cover crops to produce the residue cover.

It does not associate with monoculture and plantation crops.

The road to Energy Atmanirbharta

GS Paper 3

Syllabus: Indian Economy- Energy

Source: Indian Express

Direction: Know a few points on Energy security, Environment security, Social security
and other dimensions

Context: It is an editorial article (yesterday’s) suggesting ways for India to become

“Atmanirbhar” in the energy sector by 2040.

The IEA defines energy security as the uninterrupted availability of energy sources at an
affordable price.

What does India need to do to achieve energy security by 2040?

11/24
 Focus on self-reliance and not self-sufficiency: As self-sufficiency
may not be feasible and economical.
Access to fossil fuels: As the transition to a green energy system is a
lengthy, time taking and costly process.
GAIL is investing in the development of a national gas pipeline
grid.
India must expand its strategic petroleum reserves to cover at least
30 days of consumption.
Access to critical materials needed for green energy: g.,
minerals/components (copper, cobalt, lithium, semiconductor chips etc.)
required to build EVs, solar panels, wind turbines and batteries.
Offer green incentives to encourage private participation: g., a
Production-linked incentive scheme (PLI) offers benefits for investment
in green energy.
Demand management: Energy usage norms must be standardised and
tightened. Legislation should be properly enacted to ensure compliance.
Retraining and upskilling: esp. in the upcoming green energy sector
Energy diplomacy: Success in navigating economic and geopolitical
uncertainties will depend greatly on skilful diplomacy.
Holistic governance: Institutions should be created to facilitate
integrated energy planning and implementation.

Mains Links

Q. Discuss the ways that India can achieve energy security and strategic autonomy
in the energy sector by 2040

Prelims Links

Link it with a status of sources of energy- renewable, non-renewable, % share etc.

Which one of the following is the purpose of ‘UDAY’, a scheme of the Government?

(a) Providing technical and financial assistance to start-up entrepreneurs in the field of
renewable sources of energy

(b) Providing electricity to every household in the country by 2018

(c) Replacing the coal-based power plants with natural gas, nuclear, solar, wind and tidal
power plants over a period of time.

(d) Providing for financial turnaround and revival of power distribution companies

Answer: D

12/24
Content for Mains Enrichment (Ethics/Mains)

In a first in Bihar, the district office goes paperless

Source: Indian Express

Context: Saharsa has become the first district in Bihar to have gone completely
paperless.

Benefits:

With the new system in place, diesel and fertiliser subsidies can be sped
up for farmers. “Decision-making is fast now, files can be tracked
anytime now.
Work never suffers because it is easy to track and locate a file.
The new system also provides better security and confidentiality of
files

This example can be mentioned in benefits of e-governance/ digitization.

Serena Williams – the woman who changed the game

Source: BBC

Context: Serena Williams waved farewell to the US Open – and her illustrious career
– amid emotional scenes after she lost to Australia’s Ajla Tomljanovic.

Her achievements are without parallel:

Williams won a total of 23 Grand Slam singles titles.

Grand Slam title won in Melbourne while eight weeks pregnant, and
the four Grand Slam finals she subsequently reached as a mother
in her late 30s

Overcame personal failure:

13/24
 Williams came to terms with the death of her sister Yetunde in a drive-
by shooting in Compton in September 2003.
Going through postnatal depression, and two pulmonary embolisms,
which endangered her life.
Being a victim of an “undercurrent of racism” and depression, she
broke all barriers and rose as one of the greatest tennis players of all
time.

Facts for Prelims

Martand Temple in Kashmir

 Source: Indian Express

Context: ASI had objected to the ‘Navgrah Ashtamangalam Puja’ on the premises of
Martand Temple as it is a heritage site.

About the temple:

14/24
 The Martand Temple was built by the Karkota dynasty king Lalitaditya
Muktapida, who ruled Kashmir from 725 AD to 753 AD.
Lalitaditya built his capital at Parihaspora, the ruins of which also
survive to this day.
Dedicated to Vishnu-Surya, the Martand Temple has three distinct
chambers—the mandapa, the garbhagriha, and the antralaya—
probably the only three-chambered temple in Kashmir
The temple is built in a unique Kashmiri style, though it has definite
Gandhar influences.

Mohenjo-Daro
Source: Indian Express

Context: Pakistan’s Department of Archaeology has said that Mohenjo-Daro might be

removed from the world heritage list if urgent attention to its conservation and restoration
is not given.

Importance of Mohenjo-Daro

15/24
 Mohenjo-Daro, a group of mounds and ruins, is a 5000-year-old
archaeological site located about 80 km off the city of Sukkur.
Known to be a model planned city of the ancient civilisation, the
houses here had bathrooms, toilets and drainage systems. The sheer
size of the city, and its provision of public buildings and facilities, suggest
a high level of social organisation.
Its excavation started in 1921 and continued in phases till 1964-65. The
site went to Pakistan during Partition.
Mohenjo-Daro is considered the most advanced city of its time, with
sophisticated civil engineering and urban planning.
When the Indus Valley Civilisation went into sudden decline around the
19th century BC, Mohenjo-Daro was abandoned.

V. O. Chidambaram Pillai

Source : PIB

Context: Prime Minister, paid tributes to freedom fighter V. O. Chidambaram Pillai on his
150th birth Anniversary.

About:

Also known as Kappalottiya Tamizhan (“Tamil Helmsman”), was an Indian freedom

fighter and former leader of the Indian National Congress. He founded the Swadeshi
Steam Navigation Company in 1906 to compete against the monopoly of the British

16/24
India Steam Navigation Company (BISNC).  Every product he used in his life was
Swadeshi products.

Ramon Magsaysay of the Philippines

Source: Indian Express

Context: Former Kerala health minister K K Shailaja has declined her nomination for
the 2022 Ramon Magsaysay Award

Shailaja said that in view of the anti-communist stance of Ramon Magsaysay, the
former Philippines president whose legacy the prestigious award honours, and for its
foundation’s decision to consider her as an individual recipient for what was a
state initiative, she had declined her nomination.

About Ramon Magsaysay Award:

Launched in 1958, the Ramon Magsaysay Award, widely considered to

be Asia’s equivalent to the Nobel Prize, recognises outstanding
leadership and communitarian contributions in Asia.
Who was Ramon Magsaysay
Ramon del Fierro Magsaysay Senior was the seventh president
of the Philippines, from 1953 until his death in an air crash in
1957.

17/24
 

Preventive detentions in 2021

Source: The Hindu

Context:

Preventive detentions in 2021 saw a rise of over 23.7(twenty-three

point seven)% compared to the year before, according to the latest
crime statistics released by the National Crime Records Bureau.
While the number of persons placed under preventive detention has
seen an increase in 2021.
The number of people arrested in such a manner under the
National Security Act had dipped significantly compared to the
year before.

Laws mostly used for preventive detention:

Goonda Act (State and Central) (29,306)

Prevention of Illicit Traffic in Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic
Substances Act, 1988 (1,331)
Other Detention Acts(79,514)

Section 151 of the Code of Criminal Procedure: The police are empowered to make
preventive arrests if they believe they must do so to prevent the commission of “any
cognisable offense.

This detention can be extended beyond 24 hours if required “under any

other provisions of this Code or of any other law”.

18/24
Preventive detention:

It involves the detainment (containment) of a person in order to keep

him/her from committing future crimes and/or from escaping future
prosecution.

Constitutional provisions:

Article 22(3) : It allows for preventive detention and restriction on

personal liberty for reasons of state security and public order.
Article 22(4): No law providing for preventive detention shall authorize
the detention of a person for a longer period than three months unless
an Advisory Board reports sufficient cause for extended detention.
44th Amendment Act of 1978: It has reduced the period of detention
without obtaining the opinion of an advisory board from three to two
months. (this provision has not yet been brought into force)

PM-SHRI Yojana

Source: PIB

Context:

On the occasion of Teacher’s Day, the Prime Minister has announced

the development and upgradation of 14,500 schools across India under
the Pradhan Mantri Schools For Rising India (PM-SHRI) Yojana.

Key Highlights:

Holistic methods: The PM-SHRI schools will have a modern,

transformational and holistic method of imparting education.
Learning centric: Emphasis will be on a discovery oriented, learning
centric way of teaching.
Technology: Focus will also be on modern infra including latest
technology, smart classrooms, sports and more.

19/24
 

Only Parliamentary law can amend the list of SC

Source: Indian Express

Context: Recently, Allahabad HC quashed the UP govt. order to notify 17 OBCs as

scheduled caste.

High Court said that as per the provisions of Article 341 of the
Constitution, any Caste or Group cannot be added to the list of
Scheduled Caste in a State, except by law made by Parliament
Article 341 says that any change to the list of Scheduled Castes
specified in the President’s order can only be made by Parliament by
law.

Model Prison Act

Source: Hindustan Times

20/24
Direction: Prison/Police reforms are an important topic for Governance/Internal security.
Have a few points ready on it. You may note a few things from here.

Context: After introducing a model prison manual in 2016, the centre will bring a Model
Prisons Act by amending the British-era law Prisons Act 1894.

Previously in 2016, the centre brought Model Jail Manual containing several remedial
points:

emphasizing computerization,
uniformity in human rights,
rehabilitation of prisoners.
information to control gangs inside jails
However, only 11 states and Union territories have so far adopted the
manual

Issues with the jail system:

Overcrowding: About 70% are undertrials.

No separate arrangements for hardcore and radicalized criminals.
Prison being a ‘state’ subject, each state follows different manuals and
standards

Other measures: Committee on Prison reform (headed by Amitava Roy), Draft national
policy on prison reforms and correctional administration, 2007

BPaL

Source: Times of India

Context: Short anti-Tuberculosis Treatment ‘BPal’ has shown favourable outcomes for
84 to 94% of TB patients and has therefore been given global approval.

About BPal

BPaL, a 6-month oral regimen (BPaL= ‘B’ for bedaquiline, Pa for Pretomanid and L
for Linezolid) for treating extensively drug-resistant tuberculosis (XDR-TB), as an
alternative for at least 20 months of regular treatment.

By TB Alliance (a not-for-profit product development partnership)

About TB

TB is a potentially serious infectious bacterial disease (caused by

bacillus Mycobacterium tuberculosis) that mainly affects the lungs.
Currently, BCG is the only vaccine
According to WHO, India has the world’s largest tuberculosis
epidemic. In 2020, India accounted for 26% of the incident TB cases
across the globe.

21/24
 

Inflatable Aerodynamic Decelerator (IAD)

Source:

Context: ISRO has tested IAD successfully for decelerating an object and landing
payloads on another planet.

22/24
 

Mapping

23/24
Join our Official Telegram Channel HERE

Please subscribe to Our podcast channel HERE

Subscribe to our YouTube Channel HERE

Follow our Twitter Account HERE

Follow our Instagram ID HERE

24/24