Important topics and their relevance in UPSC CSE exam for October 27, 2024. If you missed the October 26, 2024 UPSC CSE exam key from the Indian Express, read it here.

Syllabus:

Preliminary Examination: Current events of national and international importance

Mains Examination: GS-III: Achievements of Indians in science & technology; indigenization of technology and developing new technology, Awareness in the fields of Space.

What’s the ongoing story: Emphasising the need for greater indigenisation of space technologies, ISRO chairman S Somanath on Saturday said India was aiming to increase its contribution in the global space economy to at least 10 per cent in the next one decade, from the current 2 per cent.

Key Points to Ponder:

• What is the Gaganyaan mission?

• What is the NISAR mission? 

• What is the significance of the Gaganyaan mission? 

• Organisation to look for Indian Space Research Organisation  (ISRO)

• What are the other important space missions of ISRO? 

• What are the opportunities and challenges with private sector participation in space missions?

Key Takeaways:

• Delivering the Sardar Patel Memorial Lecture at Akashvani (All India Radio), Somanath also revealed new dates for some important upcoming missions: Gaganyaan, the manned space mission, likely in 2026; sample return mission Chandrayaan-4 in 2028; and the much-delayed India-US joint NISAR mission is finally slated for next year.

• The ISRO chairman disclosed that a joint moon-landing mission with Japan space agency JAXA, originally named LUPEX, or Lunar Polar Exploration, would be the Chandrayaan-5 mission. He did not mention the expected time frame for launch. The LUPEX mission was earlier scheduled to be launched within the 2025 time frame, but now that it has been described as Chandrayaan-5, it can only be expected after 2028 when Chandrayaan-4 is scheduled.

• “It would be a very heavy mission in which the lander would be provided by India, while the rover would come from Japan. The rover on Chandrayaan-3 was only about 27 kg in weight. But this mission would carry a 350-kg rover. It is a science-heavy mission which would take us one step closer to landing human beings on the moon,” Somanath said. India has unveiled plans to have a manned mission to the moon by 2040.

• Somanath said the opening of the space sector to private enterprise, new enabling policies, and the enthusiasm shown by young entrepreneurs had created a vibrant space ecosystem in India.

• The ISRO chairman said India’s dependence on imports of space technologies had decreased significantly in the last one decade, but there was much more that needed to be done, including manufacturing and research and development.

Do You Know:

• The Gaganyaan mission is India’s first manned space flight. The space capsule for Gaganyaan has the capacity to carry three astronauts, but it has not yet been finalised whether two or three astronauts would be sent on that mission.

• Only three countries — the United States, Russia and China — have sent human spaceflights till now, though over 600 astronauts, including over 70 women, from close to 50 different countries have gone into space.

• The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) had started planning for a human spaceflight mission way back in 2004 but the real possibilities opened up only after the success of Chandrayaan and Mangalyaan missions, and the development of the GSLV rocket in the last one decade.

• The Chandrayaan-3 mission was India’s third lunar mission and second attempt to make a soft landing on the surface of the Moon. It was launched by Launch Vehicle Mark-III (LVM3).

• Chandrayaan-3 consisted of an Indigenous Lander module (LM), Propulsion module (PM) and a Rover to develop and demonstrate new technologies required for Interplanetary missions.

Other Important Articles Covering the same topic:

????ISRO finalises design of humanoid skull crucial to Gaganyaan mission next year 

Previous year UPSC Mains Question Covering similar theme:

Discuss India’s achievements in the field of Space Science and Technology. How the application of this technology helped India in its socio-economic development? (UPSC CSE 2016)

 

Syllabus:

Preliminary Examination: Current events of national and international importance.

Mains Examination: GS-II: India and its neighbourhood- relations.

What’s the ongoing story: Shortly after sources in the Indian Army confirmed that the disengagement process began Tuesday in the Depsang Plains and Demchok, China, too, affirmed this saying that “Chinese and Indian frontier troops are engaged in relevant work, which is going smoothly at the moment”.

Key Points to Ponder:

• What is the history of the India-China bilateral relations?

• What are the areas of cooperation between India and China?

• What are the challenges in the India-China relationship?

• Know about the China–Pakistan Economic Corridor.

• Read about the Line of Actual Control (LAC).

• Map work: Places in the news related to India-China border dispute such as Depsang Plains, Demchok, LAC, Galwan Valley, Gogra, and Pangong Tso.

Key Takeaways:

• Locked in a military standoff along the Line of Actual Control in eastern Ladakh following Chinese incursions over four-and-a-half years ago, India and China have taken the first step to repair bilateral ties by starting the process of disengaging troops at two of the seven friction points in the region to restore patrolling rights of each there.

• Currently, the two sides are removing temporary structures built over the past four-and-a-half years, sources said. Among the temporary structures being dismantled are prefabricated sheds and tents being used to house equipment, vehicles and troops.

• The current agreement, sources underlined, is only on restoring patrolling rights in the Depsang Plains and Demchok areas and disengagement is taking place at only these two friction points — the problems there are called legacy issues and predate the 2020 Chinese incursions.

• The Chinese PLA had cut off Indian access to patrolling points (PPs) 10 to 13 in the Depsang Plains. In the Demchok area, Chinese troops had been squatting at the Charding Nullah.

• This agreement is important because the Chinese side, until a year ago, showed reluctance to even discuss Depsang Plains and Demchok while it agreed on disengagement at other friction points — PP 14 (Galwan valley), PP 15 (Hot Springs), PP 17A (Gogra), north and south banks of Pangong Tso.

Do You Know:

• The LAC is the demarcation that separates Indian-controlled territory from Chinese-controlled territory. India considers the LAC to be 3,488 km long, while the Chinese consider it to be only around 2,000 km. It is divided into three sectors: the eastern sector which spans Arunachal Pradesh and Sikkim, the middle sector in Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh, and the western sector in Ladakh.

• Difference Between LAC  and  Line of Control: The LoC emerged from the 1948 ceasefire line negotiated by the UN after the Kashmir War. It was designated as the LoC in 1972, following the Shimla Agreement between the two countries. It is delineated on a map signed by DGMOs of both armies and has the international sanctity of a legal agreement. The LAC, in contrast, is only a concept – it is not agreed upon by the two countries, neither delineated on a map or demarcated on the ground.

Other Important Articles Covering the same topic:

????India-China LAC Agreement: What this means, why experts are advising caution

????India-China LAC agreement is welcome – but is it a breakthrough?

Previous year UPSC Prelims Question Covering similar theme:

(1) “Belt and Road Initiative” is sometimes mentioned in the news in the context of the affairs of : (UPSC CSE 2016)

(a) African Union 

(b) Brazil 

(c) European Union 

(d) China

Previous year UPSC Mains Question Covering similar theme:

What do you understand by ‘The String of Pearls’? How does it impact India? Briefly outline the steps taken by India to counter this. (UPSC CSE 2013)

Syllabus:

Preliminary Examination: Indian Polity and Governance- Constitution, Political System, Panchayati Raj, Public Policy, Rights Issues

Mains Examination: GS-II, GS-IV: Separation of powers between various organs dispute redressal mechanisms and institutions, Ethics 

What’s the ongoing story: Responding to a question on the judges meeting persons holding high posts in the executive, CJI D Y Chandrachud Saturday said that “we must have maturity to understand that it has no bearing on judicial work”.

Key Points to Ponder:

• What do you understand by the term “separation of powers”?

• What constitutional provisions ensure the independence of the judiciary in India?

• How does the judiciary maintain its independence despite its interactions with the executive? 

• What is the significance of the separation of powers in India?

• Is there a suitable approach to maintain the balance of powers between Parliament and the judiciary apart from the basic structure? 

Key Takeaways:

• There was hue and cry last month from the Opposition, retired judges and eminent lawyers after PM Narendra Modi visited CJI Chandrachud’s residence for Ganpati puja.

• “I want to tell you that in states, there is a tradition that there are regular meetings between the Chief Justice of the state and the CM. Now, what do people think, why do they meet? You never meet for a decision (judicial). And the maturity of our political system lies in the fact that there is a great deal of deference to the judiciary, even in the political class,” the CJI said.

• He added that the budgets for judicial infrastructure including new court buildings, accommodation for judges in districts are sanctioned by the government. “For this, you need a meeting of the Chief Justice and the CM. I was the Chief Justice at Allahabad HC in Uttar Pradesh… I worked in the administrative committee of the Bombay HC. And in a state, there is a tradition that when the Chief Justice is appointed for the first time, the Chief Justice of HC goes to the CM of the state. Second time, the CM visits the CJ. There is a different agenda for such meetings,” he said.

Do You Know:

• The doctrine of separation of powers stands for a form of government in which the mechanism of governance is divided into three branches, namely Legislature, Executive and the Judiciary in the majority of democratic nations. 

• India has a parliamentary form of government modelled on the British parliamentary system. But it also took some lessons from the United States and established the judiciary as the guardian of the constitution. As a result, the judiciary in India is vested with the authority of judicial review of the actions of the legislature and the executive.

• Many provisions in the Indian Constitution clearly indicate the existence of the idea of separation of powers, which is upheld by both the federal government and the states.

Other Important Articles Covering the same topic:

????What is the Doctrine of Separation of Powers?

????Judiciary: The backbone of Indian Constitutional democracy

Previous year UPSC Mains Question Covering similar theme:

Do you think that Constitution of India does not accept principle of strict separation of powers rather it is based on the principle of ‘checks and balance’? Explain. (UPSC CSE 2019)

Judicial Legislation is antithetical to the doctrine of separation of powers as envisaged in the Indian Constitution. In this context justify the filing of large number of public interest petitions praying for issuing guidelines to executive authorities. (UPSC CSE 2020)

Syllabus:

Preliminary Examination:  Current events of national and international importance.

Mains Examination:  GS-II: International Relations, Effect of policies and politics of developed and developing countries on India’s interests.

What’s the ongoing story:  Israel struck military sites in Iran early on Saturday, but its retaliation for an Iranian attack this month did not appear aimed at the country’s most sensitive oil and nuclear targets after urgent calls from allies and neighbours for restraint.

Key Points to Ponder:

• What is the history of Iranian-Israeli cooperation and conflict?

• What was the Arab-Israeli war? What was the Yom Kippur War?

• What is the “periphery doctrine”?

• What key events or factors led to the escalation in the Iran-Israel conflict?

• Why does India not want Iran -Israel tensions to escalate?

(Thought Process: Build on the following points – India has invested in a strategic relationship with major Arab countries, Iran, and Israel-  India’s economic interests are tied to energy security, the West Asia region contributes to India’s 80 percent of oil supplies- Risk to the Indian community that is based in the region.)

• What is the India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor (IMEC)?

• What is India’s Middle East policy?

• What is the significance of the Chabahar Port for India?

• What are the important groups in the region and places for map work in this news? 

Key Takeaways:

• The risk of a wider conflagration between heavily armed Israel and Iran has convulsed a region already on fire, but it was not clear whether the overnight strikes would trigger further escalation. 

• Iran said its air defences had successfully countered the attack but four soldiers were killed and some locations suffered “limited damage”. A semi-official Iranian news agency vowed a “proportional reaction”. With the US and Middle Eastern countries urging restraint, all eyes are on Iran for how it will respond to Saturday’s strikes.

• India on Saturday said it was deeply concerned over the “evolving escalation” in West Asia and urged all sides to exercise restraint and return to the path of dialogue and diplomacy.

Do You Know:

• Iran was one of the first countries in the region to recognise Israel after its formation in 1948. It was only after 1979 that their diplomatic ties ended.

• India has a friendly relations with both countries and has been able to balance its relationship with both for years.

• India and Israel

(i) Economic Relations: India established diplomatic relations with Israel in 1992. Since then, trade between the two countries has been rising significantly. According to the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) brief on foreign relations, India is Israel’s second-largest trading partner in Asia and the seventh-largest globally.

(ii) Strategic Relationship: Shubhajit Roy writes- “India has a very deep strategic relationship with Israel, especially in the context of defence and security partnership. In the last decade or so, it has grown and has been made public — unlike in the past.”

• India and Iran

(i) Economic Relations: In 2022-23, Iran was India’s 59th biggest trading partner, with bilateral trade reaching $2.33 billion. 

(ii) Strategic Relationship: Shubhajit Roy writes- “India has managed to maintain a strategic relationship with Iran, as Tehran has been one of the major suppliers of crude — which has suffered setbacks due to sanctions. Besides, both countries have shared concerns on terrorism emanating from Pakistan and Afghanistan. Chabahar is another strategic economic project, which acts as a gateway to Afghanistan and Central Asia.

Other Important Articles Covering the same topic:

????UPSC Issue at a Glance | Iran-Israel Conflict: 5 Key Questions You Must Know for Prelims and Mains

????Explained: A short history of Iran-Israel ties and why they soured after 1979)

Previous year UPSC Prelims Question Covering similar theme:

(2) The term “two-state solution” is sometimes mentioned in the news in the context of the affairs of (UPSC CSE 2018)

(a) China

(b) Israel

(c) Iraq

(d) Yemen

Previous year UPSC Mains Question Covering similar theme:

“India’s relations with Israel have, of late, acquired a depth and diversity, which cannot be rolled back.” Discuss. (UPSC CSE 2018)

 

Syllabus:

Preliminary Examination: Economic and Social Development- Sustainable Development, Poverty, Inclusion, Demographics, Social Sector Initiatives, etc.

Mains Examination: GS-II: Indian economy, Effects of liberalisation on the economy, changes in industrial policy and their effects on industrial growth.

What’s the ongoing story: Restricting steel imports from China and other countries could severely impact Indian engineering goods manufacturers and exporters, especially Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs), as they rely on competitive steel prices to maintain their operational viability, Arun Kumar Garodia, Chairman of the Engineering Export Promotion Council of India (EEPC) has said.

Key Points to Ponder:

• What are the top three countries from which India imports steel?

• Read about the National Steel Policy 2017.

• What are the various protectionist measures used in trade? 

• What protectionist measures are imposed on steel imports in India? 

• How do the protectionist measures in the steel sector impact the MSME sector in India? 

• What alternative policy measures could be considered to protect domestic steel producers without negatively affecting MSMEs in India?

• What initiatives have been taken by the government for MSMEs?

Key Takeaways:

• This comes at a time when large Indian steel manufacturers have asked the government to double tariffs on steel imports to 15 per cent to protect domestic steel production from rising imports from China. Similar demands have been made by US and European steel producers amidst a surge in Chinese steel exports globally.

• However, small engineering exporters argue that steel imports are not rising from China alone and that there is a significant price gap between domestic and Chinese steel, with cheaper imported steel enabling MSMEs to remain competitive.

• “During the first five months of the current financial year 2024-25, India’s crude steel production increased by 4.44 per cent, while finished steel production grew by 5.30 per cent compared to last year. Meanwhile, steel consumption rose by a substantial 13.78 per cent. This notable gap between production and consumption highlights the need for imports to meet the growing domestic demand,” EEPC said in a statement.

• While the volume of imports from China has grown, the share of total imports from China has slightly declined from 31 per cent to 30.5 per cent. In contrast, Japan’s share of imports has risen from 14.3 per cent to 24.6 per cent. This broader increase in imports, particularly from India’s free trade agreement (FTA) partners, may necessitate a closer examination of the rules of origin criteria under these FTAs, EEPC said.

Do You Know:

• Steel is a de-regulated sector. The Government’s role is that of a facilitator which lays down the policy guidelines and establishes the institutional mechanism/structure for creating conducive environment for improving efficiency and performance of the steel sector.

• In this role, the Government has released the National Steel Policy 2017, which has laid down the broad roadmap for encouraging long term growth for the Indian steel industry, both on demand and supply sides, by 2030-31.

• Government of India is implementing a Production-linked Incentive (PLI) Scheme for Specialty Steel. It is expected that the speciality steel production will reach 42 MT by the end of 2026-27.

• India’s crude steel capacity was 179.5 mt in 2023-24.

• India is the second largest producer of crude steel. China was the world’s largest crude steel producer in 2023 (1,019.1MT) followed by India (140.8 MT), Japan (87.0 MT) and the USA (81.4 MT). (Source: For India is JPC and World Steel Association for others)

(Source: Ministry of steel)

Other Important Articles Covering the same topic:

???? In India’s Trade Policy: The 1990s and Beyond, Arvind Panagariya takes on the economics of protectionism

Previous year UPSC Prelims Question Covering similar theme:

(3) Consider the following statements with reference to India : (UPSC CSE 2023)

1. According to the Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises Development (MSMED) Act, 2006, the ‘medium enterprises’ are those with investments in plant and machinery between ₹`15 crore and ₹25 crore.

2. All bank loans to the Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises qualify under the priority sector.

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

Syllabus:

Preliminary Examination: Current events of national and international importance

Mains Examination: GS-II, GS-II: Government policies and interventions, Challenges to internal security through communication networks, role of media and social networking sites in internal security challenges, basics of cyber security. 

What’s the ongoing story: In the aftermath of a spate of hoax bomb threats made to Indian airliners over the last two weeks, primarily via anonymous social media accounts, the IT ministry has asked social media companies like Facebook, Instagram, and X to promptly block access to such content, reminding them that a failure to do so could lead to them losing legal immunity from hosting third-party content.

Key Points to Ponder:

• Read about social media and its regulation in India.

• Know about the Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021.

• How does the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023, enhance the government’s authority to address online threats that impact national security?

• What are the positive impacts of social media?

• What are the issues and challenges associated with social media?

• What measures can social media companies take to prevent the dissemination of hoax bomb threats while maintaining user privacy and freedom of expression?

Key Takeaways:

• In an advisory issued to social media companies on Friday, the ministry noted, “social media intermediaries must make reasonable efforts to disallow such malicious acts including hoax bomb threats from being disseminated on their platforms”.

• It has also asked the companies to share information about such posts and users with the government within 72 hours, as laid down in the Information Technology (IT) Rules, 2021.

• Under the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023, companies also have a responsibility to mandatorily report certain offences committed by users of their platforms that could threaten India’s national security and economic interests.

• “…the IT Rules, 2021 obligates the intermediaries to provide information under its control or possession, or assistance to the government… for the purposes of verification of identity, or for the prevention, detection, investigation, or prosecution, of offences under any law for the time being in force, or for cyber security incidents, well within the stipulated time frames (as soon as possible but not later than 72 hours),” the advisory said.

• Government agencies are also learnt to be in touch with social media platforms and virtual private network (VPN) service providers to trace and nab those behind these threats.

Do You Know:

• In April 2022, the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MEiTY) promulgated the IT (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Amendment Rules, 2023 (2023 Rules), which amended the Information Technology Rules, 2021.

Other Important Articles Covering the same topic:

????Govt bringing laws, taking steps to make social media platforms accountable

????Explained: Social media and safe harbour

Previous year UPSC Prelim Question Covering similar theme:

(4) In India, it is legally mandatory for which of the following to report on cyber security incidents? (UPSC CSE 2017)

1. Service providers

2. Data centres

3. Body corporate

Select the correct answer using the code given below:

(a) 1 only

(b) 1 and 2 only

(c) 3 only

(d) 1, 2 and 3

Previous year UPSC Mains Question Covering similar theme:

What are social networking sites and what security implications do these sites present? (UPSC CSE 2013)

 

Syllabus:

Preliminary Examination: History

Mains Examination: GS-II: Effect of policies and politics of developed and developing countries on India’s interests, Indian diaspora

What’s the ongoing story: Manraj Grewal Sharma writes– “As the Justin Trudeau government tightens immigration rules in response to rising anti-immigrant sentiment across the country, a sense of déjà vu stirs among those who recall the struggles of early settlers.”

Key Points to Ponder:

• What is the history of India-Canada bilateral relations?

• What is the significance of Canada for India?

• What are the main causes of the recent diplomatic tensions between India and Canada?

• What could be the implications of an escalating India-Canada diplomatic row?

• What kind of anti-India activities have been seen in Canada?

Key Takeaways:

• “Perhaps it was fate. In 1897, some British-Indian soldiers from Punjab, part of an official delegation from Hong Kong, set sail on the RMS Empress of India to London to celebrate Queen Victoria’s diamond jubilee. On the way, they docked at Vancouver in British Columbia. Among the soldiers was Kesur Singh, a battle-hardened Risaldar Major in the 25th Cavalry of the Frontier Force who is today considered the first Indian settler in Canada.”

• “Five years later, on June 3, 1902, another batch of Indian soldiers sailed into Victoria Harbour aboard the RMS Queen of Japan. Most of them were enterprising men from villages in Punjab’s districts of Jalandhar, Ferozepur, Ludhiana, Amritsar and Gurdaspur. They liked what they saw, as did the locals, who seemed intrigued by their turbans. “Turbaned Men Excite Interest,” screamed the headline of a local paper. Between 1904 and 1908, the number of migrants from Punjab surged from 50 to 5,000.”

• “Initially, they escaped the racial wrath aimed at the Chinese and Japanese. But as the recession struck, locals began to resent them.”

• “Soon after the race riots of 1907, many Indians were thrown out of their jobs and homes, scores were bullied on the streets, and the community was often reviled by the local media. They were also stripped of their right to vote. But they persevered, finding strength in the Khalsa Diwan Society. Established in Vancouver in 1906, it built Canada’s first gurdwara, which was also the first in North America.”

• “Despite their hardships, the Indian community often protested against this discriminatory treatment in Canada. Guru Dutt Kumar tried to give South Asians a voice through the newspaper Swadesh Sevak. Bhag Singh, the president of the Khalsa Diwan Society, visited India to pressure the government to take action. Community members also took to the streets to protest their conditions.”

• “Despite this unrest, more Punjabis migrated to Canada in the 1920s after restrictions on bringing women and children were lifted. This marked the beginning of what is often referred to as “Canadianization.”

Do You Know:

• The bilateral ties between India and Canada are long-standing and significant. Canada is home to a high percentage of Sikhs. However, the two countries’ bilateral relations have been affected by various issues, such as Khalistani separatism and Canada’s position on human rights in India. These issues have led to increased tensions and have impacted diplomatic interactions. 

Other Important Articles Covering the same topic:

????UPSC Issue at a Glance | India-Canada Diplomatic Row

 

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