IAS Current Affairs

Preparing current affairs should be an exercise of daily routine. There are multiple sources to prepare for current affairs such as newspapers, PIB, RSTV, monthly compilations, magazines, websites, etc. One must keep limited amount of sources (3-4) and stick to them as too many sources can result into unnecessary double reading as well as information overload. Preparing current affairs is a note taking exercise in itself. Anything that one finds relevant to the syllabus must be noted. Notes can be made either in writing or in digital format. Most important is to organize notes. For those who prefer writing, I would recommend them to use loose A4 sheets to prepare notes and to compile them in files. This will help in assembling one topic at a single place. For those who prefer digital notes, Evernote or OneNote applications can be used. One must organize notes exactly as the syllabus is i.e. create files for every subject, for instance keep separate files for Art and Culture; Hist...

Back ground The United Nations observes October 15 as International Rural Women’s Day to highlight the contribution of rural women to the world’s economic development. Taking cue from this, the Government of India declared October 15 as Rashtriya Mahila Kisan Diwas in 2017. Women in agriculture The Agriculture Census (2010-11) shows that out of an estimated 118.7 million cultivators, 3% were females. According to Oxfam India, women are responsible for about 60-80% of food and 90% of dairy production, respectively. Similarly, out of an estimated 144.3 million agricultural labourers, 6% were females. According to Census 2011, there has been a 24% increase in the number of female agricultural labourers between 2001 and 2011. As per Census 2011, out of total female main workers, 55% were agricultural labourers and 24% cultivators. Participation of both men and women in agriculture has declined, but the rate of decline has been faster among men than it has among women. Dec...

GS2: Issues relating to development and management of Social Sector/Services relating to Health, Education, Human Resources. What is the issue? Subsequent to the submission of the draft National Education Policy 2019, there were protests against the three language formula. The controversial provision was thus revised by Dr. Kasturirangan-led committee that submitted it. BACKGROUND Education plays a pivotal role in the social life of Indian society since its inception. In ancient India, religion played a vital role in spreading and deciding education in the society. Modern education in India was introduced by British in 18 th  Macaulay minutes and Wood’s Despatch gave further impetus to the modern education in India. After independence, Radhakrishnan commission, in 1948 appointed to study about the University education. The D.S. Kothari Education Commission was appointed to deal with all aspects and sectors of education and to advise Government on the evo...

Global warming Global warming is the observed century-scale rise in the average temperature of the Earth’s climate system and its related effects, as part of climate change. Multiple lines of scientific evidence show that the climate system is warming. The man made reasons for greenhouses have increased the global warming. Global surface temperatures have increased about 0.74°c (plus or minus 0.18°c) since the late–19th century, and the linear trend for the past 50 years of 0.13°C (plus or minus 0.03°C) per decade is nearly twice that for the past 100 years. The warming has not been globally uniform. Impacts of global warming Direct impact of climate change Exposure to heat or cold waves or extreme weather events. High temperatures and air pollutants, especially particulates. Increase the number and severity of extreme weather events such as storms, floods, and droughts, and related landslides and wildfires. Climate variability also may aggravate diseases resulting from water contamina...

GS2&3: Important International institutions, agencies and fora, their structure, mandate Role of external state and non-state actors in creating challenges to internal security. What is the issue? The Financial Action Task Force (FATF) is to hold its Plenary and Working Group meeting in Orlando, Florida. It is likely to take up a proposal to downgrade Pakistan to the blacklist on terrorist financing from its current grey list status. BACKGROUND The Financial Action Task Force (FATF) was set up in 1989 by the western G7 countries, with headquarters in Paris. It acts as an ‘international watchdog’ on issues of money-laundering and financing of terrorism. FATF has 37 members that include all 5 permanent members of the Security Council, and other countries with economic influence. Two regional organisations, the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) and the European Commission (EC) are also its members. Saudi Arabia and Israel are “observer countries” (partial memb...

Reasons for Low Performance of Electric Vehicle Industry The government’s ambitions not with standing, the Indian EV market currently has one of the lowest penetration rates in the world. There are multiple layers to this. Price Volatility: The first has to do with policy volatility. E-mobility is a nascent industry in India and most of the developing countries. Capital costs are high and the payoff is uncertain. The unrealistic quasi-policy statement that all new vehicles should be e-vehicles by 2030 is a prime example. Thankfully, that has been toned down to 15% of all vehicle sales in the next five years. And inconsistencies remain. For instance, while electric vehicles are taxed at 12% under the goods and services tax (GST), batteries were taxed at 28% until recently. This has now been lowered to 18% but the discrepancy still exists. Lack of policy certainty: Cannot frame in Isolation: Second, this lack of policy certainty spills over into perhaps the single most im...

Utilities of UAVs Drones can be used in remote sensing and its applications in Agriculture. Commercial and military aerial surveillance. Motion picture manufacturing and other film industries. Oil and gas and other mineral explorations. Disaster management and relief. Real estate and construction. Recreational used. Commercial delivery of products and services. It can also uses in attacking enemy targets. Archaeological surveys Drones also have had an enormous effect in the field of 3D geographic mapping. Drones have a lot of potential in terms of law enforcement by hovering around locations without drawing much attention from the people. Can utilise in conducting safety inspections. Ecological conservation and wild life monitoring. Weather forecasting Present status of the UAV sector in India The customer focused innovation and technology and the rise in demands for UAVs for surveillance, civil and commercial application has triggered the growth. India has bo...