Deepak Yadav Education UPSC

Deepak Yadav Education

Kamlang Tiger Reserve
 UPSC PYQ - 2023
Q. Consider the following organizations/bodies in India:
1. The National Commission for Backward Classes
2. The National Human Commission Rights
3. The National Law Commission
4. The National Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission
How many of the above are constitutional bodies?
(a) only one
(b) only two
(c) only three
(d) All Four
 Psyche Mission

For Joning Paid Group Message on WhatsApp :- 8534873368

Psyche mission
News :-
NASA's Psyche spacecraft is set to
embark on a groundbreaking mission to
explore a metal-rich asteroid named
Psyche.

About Psyche mission:

• The journey to the asteroid, also
named Psyche, will span nearly six
years and cover approximately 3.6
billion kilometers.

• The asteroid orbits the Sun between

Mars and Jupiter.
About Asteroid 16 Psyche:

• Asteroid 16 Psyche is located 370 million

kilometers away from earth between Mars and
Jupiter and has a diameter of 140 miles.
• It was discovered in the year 1853 by the Italian
astronomer Annibale de Gaspard and was named
after the ancient Greek goddess of the soul, Psyche.

• Unlike most asteroids that are made up of rocks or

ice, scientists believe that Psyche is a dense and
largely metallic object thought to be the core of an
earlier planet that failed formation.
• Psyche’s shape is like a potato which takes about
five earth years to complete one orbit of the
sun but only a bit over 4 hours to rotate once on its
axis.
• Latest Findings:

• The latest study through the Hubble Space

Telescope and ultraviolet observation gives a clearer
picture of Psyche’s composition.

• The Hubble Space Telescope was launched into

low Earth orbit in 1990 and remains in operation.
• It was found that Psyche could be a unique asteroid
composed of iron and nickel almost
completely which is similar to earth's core. The iron
alone would be worth more than 10,000 quadrillion
US dollars.

• Scientists noted that the manner in which Psyche

reflected ultraviolet light was very similar to the
way iron reflects sunlight.
Class eNotes

One Stop Solution For Current Affairs

GS -3, Agriculture | Page -1
MS Swaminathan: Father of the Green
Revolution

What’s the news?

• Monkomb Sambasivan Swaminathan,
the legendary agricultural scientist
widely regarded as the Father of the
Green Revolution, passed away at the
age of 98 on September 28.

• His contributions to agriculture in the

1960s and ’70s transformed India’s
farming landscape, ushering in an era
of food security.
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 Early life and education
• Born on August 7, 1925, in Kumbakonam,
Tamil Nadu

• Initially, I aimed for a career in the civil

services and even cleared the civil services
examination.

• He switched to agriculture due to his

passion, inspired by the Quit India
Movement and the Bengal famine of 1942–43.

• He enrolled in the Agriculture College in

Coimbatore to pursue his interest in
agriculture.

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Diverse Roles in Agriculture
• Swaminathan held various significant
positions related to agriculture, both in
India and abroad.

• His roles included Independent Chairman

of the Food and Agricultural Organization
Council (1981–85), President of the
International Union for the Conservation
of Nature and Natural Resources (1984–
90), and President of the World Wide
Fund for Nature (India) from 1989–96.

• He also served as the Director General of

the Indian Council of Agricultural
Research (ICAR), among other positions.

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 The Green Revolution: A Turning Point
• Swaminathan’s mission was to transform
Indian agriculture.

• Introduced high-yielding crop varieties,

improved irrigation facilities, and promoted
fertilizer use.

• Wheat production in India surged from 6

million tonnes in 1947 to 17 million tonnes
between 1964 and 1968.

• The Green Revolution bolstered India’s food

security and reduced dependence on
imports.

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Swaminathan’s Contributions to the Green
Revolution
• Swaminathan worked on enhancing crop
varieties, particularly rice and wheat.
• He pioneered the development of semi-dwarf
wheat varieties to reduce lodging and boost
yields.
• Collaboration with Norman Borlaug resulted in
the introduction of dwarfing genes into wheat
varieties, leading to the “Wheat Revolution.”
• Swaminathan recognized the challenges of the
Green Revolution, including the displacement of
local crop varieties, soil fertility conservation
issues, and indiscriminate pesticide use.
• He also noted the risks of overexploiting
groundwater.

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 Advocacy for Farmers
• As the head of the National Commission on
Farmers from 2004 to 2006, Swaminathan
advocated for the welfare of farmers.
• He recommended that the Minimum Support Price
(MSP) for agricultural produce should be at least
50% more than the cost of production, ensuring
fair compensation to farmers.

Awards and recognition

• Swaminathan was awarded the first World Food
Prize Laureate in 1987 for his contributions to
India’s wheat and rice production.
• He received the Padma Bhushan and Padma
Vibhushan, two of India’s highest civilian honors.

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 Daily mains Question

Q. How was India benefited from the contribution

of Dr. MS Swaminathan in the field of
agriculture?(150 Words)

प्रश्न- कृिष के क्षेत्र में डॉ. एमएस स्वामीनाथन के योगदान से

भारत को कैसे लाभ हुआ? (150 शब्द)
GS -3, Economy
| Page -9
World Tourism Day
World Tourism Day is celebrated yearly
on 27th September
About:

• 27th September has been celebrated as World

Tourism Day since 1980. This date was chosen
to coincide with an important milestone in
world tourism: the anniversary of the
adoption of the United Nations World Tourism
Organization (UNWTO) Statutes in 1970.

• The UNWTO is the United

Nations specialised agency responsible for
the promotion of responsible, sustainable
and universally accessible tourism.

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 • Objectives:
• The purpose of this day is to increase awareness
and motivate people to travel. Since it believes
that tourism helps people all across the world
become even more unified and connected

• Significance:
• The World Tourism Day highlights the unique
role of the tourism sector in preserving cultural
and natural heritage all around the world. It acts
as an auxiliary in safeguarding habitat and
endangered species.

• It addresses the importance of the tourism sector

in providing jobs and opportunities, mostly for
women and youth, in rural as well as big cities.

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Status of Tourism in India
• India's tourism sector ranked 6th in its contribution to World Gross Domestic
Production (GDP) contributing USD 178.0 billion in World Travel and Tourism
Council’s report in 2021.

• In terms of foreign exchange, India's tourism sector earned USD 6.96 billion in
2020. This is expected to increase further after the pandemic.

• In FY20, the tourism sector in India accounted for 39 million jobs, which was 8.0%
of the total employment in the country. By 2029, it is expected to account for
about 53 million jobs.

• India has 40 sites listed under ‘World Heritage List’, 6th highest (32 cultural, 7
natural, and 1 mixed site) in the world.
• Dholavira and Ramappa Temple (Telangana) are the latest ones.

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Initiatives Related to Tourism

• Swadesh Darshan Scheme

• National Mission on Pilgrimage

Rejuvenation and Spiritual, Heritage
Augmentation Drive

• Iconic Tourist Sites

• Buddhist Conclave

• Dekho Apna Desh Initiative

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GS -2, IR | Page -10
Five Eyes Alliance
About:
• The Five Eyes is an intelligence alliance comprising nations
including Australia, Canada, New Zealand, the United Kingdom and the US.
• These countries are parties to the multilateral UK-USA Agreement, a treaty for
joint cooperation in signals intelligence.

Features:
• These partner nations exchange a wide spectrum of intelligence within one of
the world's most tightly-knit multilateral agreements as part of the
collaboration.
• Following its origin, the agency later enlarged its core group to ‘Nine Eyes’ and
14 Eyes alliances as well, encompassing more countries as security partners.
• The ‘Nine Eyes’ group expands to cover the Netherlands, Denmark, France and
Norway, whereas the 14 Eyes bloc further includes Belgium, Italy, Germany,
Spain and Sweden.

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Why was the Five Eyes Alliance Formed?
• The alliance’s origins can be traced back to the Second World War. The UK and
the US decided to share intelligence after successfully breaking German and
Japanese codes, respectively.

• In 1943, the Britain-USA (BRUSA) agreement laid the foundations for what would
become the UK-USA (UKUSA) agreement.
• BRUSA was signed to share intelligence information between the two
countries to support US forces in Europe

• Following this, the UKUSA (UK-USA) was signed in 1946. Canada joined it in 1949,
and New Zealand and Australia did so in 1956, forming the alliance.

• The Agreement was not officially acknowledged though its existence was known
about from the 1980s. But in 2010, the UKUSA agreement files were released.

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How does the Five Eyes Alliance Work?

• Countries often engage with each other on

matters of intelligence gathering and security.

• In recent years, common interests, such as

balancing the rise of China, have led to a closer
alignment among the Five Eyes countries.

• Their closeness has also been attributed to

a common language and mutual trust built over
decades of association.

• In 2016, the Five Eyes Intelligence Oversight and

Review Council came into being.

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 How could Five Eyes Play a Role in the Current India-
Canada Issue?
• Countries like the US, the UK and Australia especially
are seen as close to India. They also have significant
Indian and Indian-origin populations within
them, similar to Canada.

• They have also seen some instances of pro-

Khalistan activities in the last few years. But due to
their historical closeness to Canada and the alliance
on one hand, and India,an emerging global power
on the other, outright support for India or Canada is
unlikely.

• Given the state of ties, these countries, particularly the

US, could play a mediating role in the issue once they
have clear intelligence and information on the matter.
One Stop Solution For Current Affairs
GS -3, Economy | Page -15
 Current Account Deficit
About:
• Current account deficit (CAD) is when the
value of a country's imports of goods and
services is greater than its exports.

• CAD and fiscal deficit together make up

twin deficits that can impact the stock
market and investors.

• Fiscal Deficit is the gap between

the government’s
expenditure requirements and its
receipts. This equals the money the
government needs to borrow during the
year.

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Implication:

• The CAD is significant because it

affects the economy, stock markets,
and people's investments.

• A lower CAD can boost investor

sentiment and make the country's
currency more attractive to
investors.

• A surplus in the current

account indicates that money is
flowing into the country, which
can boost foreign exchange
reserves and the value of the local
currency.
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 • Negative Effects of CAD on Economy:
• Weaker Currency: When a country's imports
exceed its exports, it can cause a decrease in
demand for its currency, leading to a weaker
currency value (depreciation).

• This can make imports more expensive, leading

to higher inflation and a reduction in
purchasing power.

• Debt Accumulation: If a country is unable to

finance its current account deficit with foreign
investment, it may need to borrow to cover the gap.

• This can lead to an increase in debt levels,

which can further harm the economy.

One Stop Solution For Current Affairs

How India can Moderate Current Account Deficit?

• Encourage Exports: Increasing exports is one of the most effective ways to reduce
CAD.
• The government can provide incentives for export-oriented
industries, streamline export procedures and regulations, and negotiate
better trade agreements with other countries.
• Promote Import Substitution: Encouraging domestic production of goods that are
currently being imported can help to reduce the trade deficit.
• This can be achieved by providing incentives for domestic manufacturers and
by imposing tariffs or import duties on certain goods.
• Improve Productivity and Competitiveness: Improving the productivity and
competitiveness of the domestic economy can help to increase exports and
reduce the trade deficit.
• This can be achieved through various measures such as investments in
infrastructure, technology, and education.

One Stop Solution For Current Affairs

Editorial Discussion
GS -1, Society|
Page -8
 Reform can address India’s kidney transplant deficit
• India’s organ shortage when it comes to kidneys is alarming.
In 2022, over two lakh patients needed a transplant, but there
were only about 7,500 transplants (about 3.4%). Due to the
prevalence of diabetes, malnourishment, overcrowding and
poor sanitation, there is a high prevalence of Chronic Kidney
Disease (CKD) in India, affecting about 17% of the population.
CKD often leads to end-stage renal disease (ESRD).

• A kidney transplant is often the best treatment for ESRD.

Specifically, transplant is often better than alternatives on
almost all dimensions that matter: quality of life, patient
convenience, life expectancy, as well as cost-effectiveness. In
contrast to India, the United States and other developed
countries could carry out about 20% transplants. Notably, a
significant portion of this gap is on account of more stringent
regulations in India than a lack of medical facilities.
• These are four main ways a patient can obtain a
kidney. The first is to get a kidney from a deceased
person. This is constrained due to a lack of donations,
the particular conditions required on the nature of
death, and the infrastructure needed to collect and
store kidneys. The second is to request a relative or
friend to donate. However, donor and recipient have to
be compatible in terms of blood type and tissue type;
such relative/friend donors are often incompatible.

A case for changes

• Thus, regulations for kidney exchange are needed as
kidney exchange must often occur across family units.
But we argue that these regulations need urgent
reform to unshackle two innovative kidney exchange
methods: kidney ‘swaps’ and kidney ‘chains’.
• In kidney swap, let us take the example of
two strangers, Sunita and Zoya, who need
kidneys. Sunita’s spouse is incompatible
with her, and Zoya has the same problem.
• However, if Sunita’s spouse is compatible
with Zoya, and Zoya’s spouse is
compatible with Sunita, swap donations
are possible.
• In kidney chain, let us look at the case of
Sonu who is an altruistic donor donating
his kidney with no expectation of a kidney
in return.
• Sonu donates to Sunita (assuming
compatibility), Sunita’s spouse donates to
Zoya, and Zoya’s spouse donates to some
other compatible person, and so on.
• Our research shows that there are barely
any swaps and almost no chains in India.
This is because of legal roadblocks. And
this is a significant opportunity missed
with terrible consequences.

• Consider swaps. Swap transplants are

legally allowed in India with due
permission, but only near-relatives are
allowed as donor-recipient pairs.

• Exceptions to this restriction are Kerala,

Punjab and Haryana, where High Court
judgments have recently allowed non-
near-relative donor-recipient pairs after
verification.
• The lack of kidney chains is possibly an even bigger
opportunity missed than swaps. While participating
in swaps, families demand nearly simultaneous
operations of all donors and recipients since no one
wants to lose a kidney without gaining one. But in
chains, each patient first receives a kidney and only
then does their relative donate.

• Thus, chains, compared to swaps, involve

significantly lower hospital resources and
uncertainty for participants.

• Needlessly harsh laws regulating swaps and chains

have contributed to a proliferation of black markets
for kidneys. ‘Selling a kidney’ to relieve financial
distress is a mainstream reference.
At a slow pace
India does not need to innovate in order to
reform chains and swaps. Sufficient precedents
have been set globally. Australia, Canada,
Israel, the Netherlands and the United States
(among others) now allow altruistic donations.
Spain and the United Kingdom have national-
level registries for kidney chains and swaps.

The U.S. has especially made progress in

facilitating thousands of swaps and chains.
Spain even has international collaborations for
kidney exchange. India’s real challenge,
therefore, is to learn from and replicate such
existing successful regulations to improve the
lives of several thousands of citizens.
 UPSC PYQ - 2023
Q. Consider the following organizations/bodies in India:
1. The National Commission for Backward Classes
2. The National Human Commission Rights
3. The National Law Commission
4. The National Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission
How many of the above are constitutional bodies?
(a) only one Option 1 is correct: Although the National Commission for Backward Classes
(NCBC) was originally constituted as the Statutory body by establishing it under
(b) only two the provisions of the National Commission for Backward Classes Act,
(c) only three 1993. Recently the NCBC was accorded constitutional status by the 102nd
Constitutional Amendment Act (CAA) which inserted Article 338B, forming a
(d) All Four National Commission for Backward Classes. Hence NCBC is a constitutional body.