Important topics and their relevance in UPSC CSE exam for February 5, 2024. If you missed the February 2, 2024 UPSC CSE exam key from the Indian Express, read it here

FRONT PAGE

‘Macron was pleased’: When President’s buggy returned to duty after 40 years

Syllabus:

Preliminary Examination: Indian Polity and Governance and History of India

Main Examination: General Studies II: Indian Constitution—historical underpinnings, evolution, features, amendments, significant provisions and basic structure.

Key Points to Ponder:

• What’s the ongoing story- October last, when Paras, Prateek, Shivaji, Baaz, Pratap and Niagra arrived at the President’s Bodyguard, it was a signal of impending change. These six sure-footed Noriker horses pulled the Presidential buggy as it made a comeback in Republic Day celebrations after 40 years.

• Noriker horses-Know in brief

• The traditional ‘buggy’ tradition-What you know about the same?

• “The horse-drawn ‘buggy’ made a comeback this Republic Day after a gap of 40 years”-Why it was discarded?

• ‘Rashtrapati Ke Angrakshak’ or President’s Bodyguard-what do you know?

• On what occasions was the buggy used?

• For Your Information-After the assassination of the then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi in 1984, the bulletproof limousines had replaced the buggy in the wake of security concerns. Until then, Rashtrapati Bhawan officials told The Indian Express, Governor General C Rajagopalachari and the Presidents after him used it during ceremonial occasions, particularly the Republic Day, Beating the Retreat, and opening of Parliament (Budget Session).

Its use curtailed, the buggy would occasionally be driven, but only within the President’s estate, mostly during the reception given to ambassadors. Pranab Mukherjee and Ramnath Kovind used it for the Beating the Retreat ceremony though. Around 2013, when the stables of the President’s Estate were turned into a museum, the horses and the buggies were transferred to the premises of the President’s Bodyguard, officials said. In 2017, the President’s Bodyguard, the senior-most regiment of the Army, sent the Noriker horses back to the Army’s Remount and Veterinary Corps.

Even though the buggy was commissioned by the Viceroy of India during British rule, officials described it as “Made in India”. It was created more than a 100 years ago in Kolkata (then Calcutta) by a company called Stuart & Co, and the markings can still be seen on its wheels despite coats of brass polish over the years.

In fact, officials said, at the time of Partition, the Viceroy had two buggies — a gold one and a silver one. “As the Governor General’s Bodyguard was divided into two, a coin was flipped in the presence of India’s Major Thakur Govind Singh and Pakistan’s Captain Sahabzada Yaqub Khan to decide which buggy went to Pakistan. The toss decided that the gold one would be retained by India,” the official said.

• What do you understand by the word ‘Republic’?

• Why do we choose 26 January on Republic Day?

• What is the main difference between republic and democracy?

• Does republic mean independent?

• Does independent mean republic?

• What is Constitution and Constitutionalism?

• What do you understand by ‘Government of the people, by the people, for the people’?

• Poorna Swaraj resolution in1929 and Republic day in 26th Jan 1950-Connect the dots

• What makes this year’s Republic Day unique?

• What is tableaux on Republic Day?

• How are tableau selected for Republic Day parade?

• What is the difference between Republic Day and Independence Day flag hoisting?

Other Important Articles Covering the same topic:

????Republic Day 2024: In a first in 40 years, President Murmu, chief guest Macron arrive in horse-drawn ‘buggy’ for parade

GOVT & POLITICS

Govt to introduce Bill to curb unfair means in exams in Lok Sabha today

Syllabus:

Preliminary Examination: Indian Polity and Governance

Main Examination: General Studies II: Government policies and interventions for development in various sectors and issues arising out of their design and implementation.

Key Points to Ponder:

• What’s the ongoing story-The government is likely to introduce in the Lok Sabha on Monday a Bill aimed at curbing leaks and organised cheating in public examinations and entrance tests such as NEET, JEE, and CUET.

• Public Examinations (Prevention of Unfair Means) Bill, 2024-Know key highlights

• What is meant by unfair means?

• What are the punishments under the Public Examinations (Prevention Of Unfair Means) Bill?

• Do You Know-The Public Examinations (Prevention of Unfair Means) Bill, 2024, introduced by Union Minister of State for Personnel Jitendra Singh, mentions “leakage of question paper or answer key”, “directly or indirectly assisting the candidate in any manner unauthorisedly in the public examination” and “tampering with the computer network or a computer resource or a computer system” as offences done by a person, group of persons or institutions.

Besides these, “creation of fake website to cheat or for monetary gain”, “conduct of fake examination, issuance of fake admit cards or offer letters to cheat or for monetary gain” and “manipulation in seating arrangements, allocation of dates and shifts for the candidates to facilitate adopting unfair means in examinations” are also among the offences punishable under the proposed law. “Any person or persons resorting to unfair means and offences under this Act shall be punished with imprisonment for a term not less than three years but which may extend to five years and with fine up to ten lakh rupees,” reads the bill.

A service provider, engaged by the public examination authority for conduct of examinations, shall also be liable to be punished with imposition of a fine up to Rs 1 crore “and proportionate cost of examination shall also be recovered” from it, according to the bill’s provisions. Such service providers shall also be barred from being assigned with any responsibility for the conduct of any public examination for a period of four years, it says.

The bill defines service provider as any agency, organisation, body, association of persons, business entity, company, partnership or single proprietorship firm, including its associates, sub-contractors and provider of support of any computer resource or any material, by whatever name it may be called, “which is engaged by the public examination authority for conduct of public examination”.

The bill has provisions to identify and effectively deal with organised gangs, mafia elements and those indulging in malpractices. It will not even spare government officials found in collusion with them. The bill makes “threatening the life, liberty or wrongfully restraining persons associated with the public examination authority or the service provider or any authorised agency of the government; or obstructing the conduct of a public examination” as a punishable offence. No person or group of persons or institutions shall collude or conspire to facilitate indulgence in any such unfair means, the proposed law says.

The bill bars any person, who is not entrusted or engaged with the work pertaining to the public examination or its conduct or who is not a candidate, from entering the premises of the examination centre, with intent to disrupt the conduct of the test. “Malpractices in public examinations lead to delays and cancellation of examinations adversely impacting the prospects of millions of youth,” reads the statement of objects and reasons of the bill.

The objective of the bill is to bring greater transparency, fairness and credibility to the public examination systems and to reassure the youth that their sincere and genuine efforts will be fairly rewarded and their future is safe, it said. “The bill is aimed at effectively and legally deterring persons, organised groups or institutions that indulge in various unfair means and adversely impact the public examination systems for monetary or wrongful gains.

A candidate, which means a person who has been granted permission by the public examination authority to appear in public examination and includes a person authorised to act as a scribe on his behalf in the public examination, shall not be liable for action under the proposed legislation.

The bill shall serve as a model draft for states to adopt at their discretion. “This would aid states in preventing the criminal elements from disrupting conduct of their state level public examinations,” the objects and reasons of the proposed law states. An officer not below the rank of Deputy Superintendent of Police or Assistant Commissioner of Police shall investigate any offence mentioned in the proposed Act, it says.

The bill covers recruitment examinations conducted by the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC), Staff Selection Commission (SSC), Railway Recruitment Boards (RRBs), Institute of Banking Personnel Selection (IBPS) and National Testing Agency (NTA) among others.

Ministries or departments of the central government and their attached and subordinate offices for recruitment of staff and any “authority as may be notified by the central government” for conduct of government job recruitment are under the ambit of the proposed legislation.

Other Important Articles Covering the same topic:

????Upto 10 years in prison, Rs 1 crore fine, Centre proposes law to curb paper leaks

EXPRESS NETWORK

Uttarakhand Cabinet clears final UCC draft

Syllabus:

Preliminary Examination: Indian Polity and Governance

Main Examination: 

• General Studies II: Indian Constitution—significant provisions etc.

• General Studies II: Government policies and interventions for development in various sectors and issues arising out of their design and implementation.

Key Points to Ponder:

• What’s the ongoing story-The Uttarakhand Cabinet on Sunday approved the final draft of the Uniform Civil Code (UCC) without any changes, a day before the state Assembly convenes for a special session to take up the Bill.

• Uniform Civil Code (UCC) in Uttarakhand-What you know so far?

• The history of the Uniform Civil Code (UCC) pitch in Uttarakhand-How it started?

• What changes may be brought in by the Uttarakhand UCC?

• For Your Information-The introduction of the UCC was a key campaign promise made by the BJP in the lead-up to the 2014 general elections. The party promised to create a uniform set of personal laws, regardless of religion, to govern subjects like marriage, inheritance, divorce, and adoption. This promise stems from Article 44 of the Indian Constitution, which says: “The State shall endeavour to secure for the citizens a uniform civil code throughout the territory of India.”

It is part of the Directive Principles of State Policy (Part IV of the Constitution), whose provisions are not enforceable by any court, but the principles laid under them are to be considered as “fundamental in the governance of the country and it shall be the duty of the State to apply these principles in making laws.”

This poll promise was reiterated by the BJP before the 2022 state Legislative Assembly elections in Uttarakhand. On May 27, 2022, following the BJP’s electoral victory, the Uttarakhand government announced that a five-member committee led by former Supreme Court Judge Ranjana Prakash Desai would submit a report with a draft of the Bill.

The UCC was met with opposition from rival political parties. Congress representatives from the state, such as MLA Pritam Singh, accused the BJP of ignoring its development agenda and instead focusing on disturbing communal harmony and polarising society. All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) leader Asaduddin Owaisi and AIMIM Member of Parliament Syed Imtiaz Jaleel have also made statements against the UCC.

The report was initially meant to be submitted in November 2022. However, the deadline was extended multiple times, despite the Chief Minister announcing in June 2023 that the committee had completed its work. Now, with the 2024 general elections approaching, the UCC is finally ready to be submitted.

Since the committee’s formation, it has received over 2.5 lakh suggestions from the public, most of which were received through letters, registered posts, emails, and written suggestions through its online portal. By September of last year, the committee had also held 38 public meetings across the state and received suggestions through public interactions.

The Uttarakhand government and the committee have stated that gender equality was one of the key considerations when preparing the report. Along with uniform personal laws for all people residing in the state, the UCC will introduce provisions that treat men and women equally in issues relating to inheritance.

The UCC will also reportedly reject the practices of polygamy, iddat, and halal in response to strong demands from Muslim women in the state. However, the minimum age for marriage for both men and women will likely remain the same as it was previously (18 years for women and 21 years for men). The UCC will also regulate live-in relationships and require a mandatory declaration to start and terminate live-in relationships.

• Article 44 of the Indian Constitution and Uniform Civil Code-What is the ongoing debate?

• What is Article 44 of Indian Constitution i.e. Uniform Civil Code?

• What is Directive principles of State Policy (DPSP)?

• Difference Between Fundamental Rights and Directive principles of State Policy

• ‘Reform of Family Law’ report by 21st Law Commission of India on Article 44-Know in detail

• Issues and Controversy with Uniform Civil Code and Why it has not been Implemented even after seven decades of Independence?

• Know how the government’s stance on a uniform civil code (UCC) has evolved between the year 1991 to 2004?

• What are arguments for implementing Uniform Civil Code in India?

• What are arguments against implementing Uniform Civil Code in India?

• What constitutional experts saying in this regard?

Other Important Articles Covering the same topic:

????Uttarakhand Uniform Civil Code to be passed in February: How did it come about and what can be expected?

????EXCLUSIVE | Ban polygamy, exempt tribals, fix marriage age: Uttarakhand UCC draft

THE EDITORIAL PAGE

CROWN JEWEL THAT WAS

Syllabus:

Preliminary Examination: Current events of national and international importance.

Mains Examination: General Studies II: Bilateral, regional and global groupings and agreements involving India and/or affecting India’s interest

Key Points to Ponder:

• What’s the ongoing story- On the negotiating agenda for the member countries of the World Trade Organisation (WTO), when they meet in Abu Dhabi for the 13th ministerial meeting, is the ongoing crisis in the dispute settlement mechanism (DSM). WTO’s DSM — its crown jewel — comprises a binding two-tiered process with a panel and an appellate body (AB).

• What is the WTO and the Ministerial Conference?

• For Your Information-The World Trade Organization is the only international organization that deals with the rules of trade between countries. Founded in 1995, the WTO is run by its 164 members, and according to its rules, all decisions are taken through consensus and any member can exercise a veto.

Its aim is to promote free trade, which is done through trade agreements that are discussed and signed by the member states. The WTO also provides a forum for countries to negotiate trade rules and settle economic disputes between them. The Ministerial Conference is the WTO’s top decision-making body and usually meets every two years. All members of the WTO are involved in the MC and they can take decisions on all matters covered under any multilateral trade agreements.

• “The public stockpiling of food grain is the longest pending issue”-Why?

• What is India’s stand?

• ‘Peace clause’ agreed during the Bali ministerial in 2013-What was that?

• Dispute settlement mechanism (DSM)-what you about the same?

• What happened in the 12th WTO ministerial meeting?

Other Important Articles Covering the same topic:

????India calls for finding permanent solution to food stockholding at WTO meet in February 2024

EXPLAINED

What changes CBSE has proposed for Class 10 and 12, why

Syllabus:

Preliminary Examination: Current events of national and international importance.

Main Examination: General Studies II: Issues relating to development and management of Social Sector/Services relating to Health, Education, Human Resources.

Key Points to Ponder:

• What’s the ongoing story– The Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE), the country’s largest national school board, is planning significant changes to the academic framework of Classes 9, 10, 11, and 12 as part of its plan to implement creditisation, recommended by the 2020 National Education Policy (NEP). The CBSE, The Indian Express reported last week, has proposed that Class 10 and 12 students study more subjects, especially more native Indian languages. The plan was sent to all heads of CBSE-affiliated institutions late last year, to review and provide comments by December 5, 2023.

• What is the credit system and why is CBSE rolling it out?

• What changes has the CBSE subcommittee proposed?

• How will exams be conducted under the proposed system?

• What will happen to the existing grading system?

• For Your Information-Creditisation aims to establish academic equivalence between vocational and general education, facilitating mobility between the two education systems, as proposed by the NEP 2020. To implement this, the University Grants Commission — the higher education regulator — had come up with the National Credit Framework (NCrF) in 2022.

NCrF is a unified credit framework for the integration of training and skill development into schools and higher education. For a student in Class 9 to advance to Class 10, they will need to earn a specified number of credits. Eventually, the student will earn enough credits to be eligible to enrol in an undergraduate programme in a university. The credits earned by a student will be digitally stored in the Academic Bank of Credits and accessible through a linked Digilocker account.

To implement this in its affiliated schools, the CBSE formed a subcommittee in 2022 that suggested how the current academic framework should be redesigned to align it with NCrF. At present, the standard school curriculum does not have a formalised credit system. As per the CBSE plan, an academic year would be made up of 1,200 notional learning hours, which would translate to earning 40 credits. Notional learning refers to a stipulated amount of time an average student would need to spend to attain specified outcomes. In other words, each subject has been allotted a certain number of hours so that, in a year, a student spends a total of 1,200 learning hours to be declared ‘pass’. The hours will include both academic learning at school and non-academic or experiential learning outside the school.

The scheme of studies has accordingly been tweaked to mention teaching hours and credits earned against each subject. In order to operationalise this, the committee has proposed to add multidisciplinary and vocational courses to the list of existing subjects. So, in order to pass the final exams, students in Classes 9 and 10 must complete 10 subjects — three languages and seven core subjects. Currently, students in these grades have to take five subjects: three main subjects and two languages.

Of the three compulsory languages, at least two should be Indian. For instance, students can choose a combination of Hindi, Sanskrit and English. That apart, math and computational thinking, social science, science, art education, physical education and well-being, vocational education and environmental education are the seven main subjects. For Classes 11 and 12, the Board suggested that students must study six subjects, consisting of two languages and four subjects with an optional fifth. At least one of the two languages has to be Indian. The current system requires passing five subjects — one language and four electives.

Other Important Articles Covering the same topic:

????CBSE Plan: 3 languages, 7 other subjects in Class 10; 6 papers in Class 12

Dealing with govt debt

Syllabus:

Preliminary Examination: Economic and Social Development

Main Examination: General Studies III: Indian Economy and issues relating to planning, mobilization, of resources, growth, development and employment.

Key Points to Ponder:

• What’s the ongoing story- All new governments, including those starting fresh innings, carry legacy burdens inherited from their predecessors. It would be no different for the next government taking over post the April-May 2024 national elections.

• What public debt entails?

• For Your Information-Government debt is basically the outstanding domestic and foreign loans raised by the Centre and states – plus other liabilities, including against small savings schemes, provident funds and special securities issued to the Food Corporation of India, fertiliser firms and oil marketing companies – on which they have to pay interest and the principal amounts borrowed.

As per the Fiscal Responsibility and Budget Management (FRBM) law, which the Vajpayee-headed NDA government had enacted in 2003, the general government debt was supposed to be brought down to 60% of GDP by 2024-25. The Centre’s own total outstanding liabilities were not to exceed 40% within that time schedule.

The Union Budget papers for various years, however, reveal the Centre’s outstanding debt falling from 50.5% of GDP in 2013-14 to 48.1% in 2018-19 at the end of the Modi government’s first term. Subsequently, it shot up to 50.7% in 2019-20 and 60.8% in 2020-21, before marginally dipping to 55.9% in 2022-23, 56.9% in 2023-24 and a budgeted 56% in 2024-25. That’s well above the original 40% target.

In absolute terms, the Centre’s total liabilities has more than doubled from Rs 90.84 lakh crore to Rs 183.67 lakh crore between 2018-19 and 2024-25. The previous doubling, from Rs 45.17 lakh crore in 2011-12, took seven years, one year longer. The main result of debt levels building up is the Centre’s interest payments: Chart 2 shows a decline in the interest-to-GDP ratio from a high of 4.7% in 2002-03 to 3.1% by 2010-11. The ratio more or less stabilized at 3-3.1% till 2019-20, before surging to 3.4% in 2020-21 and 3.6% in the current and ensuing fiscals.

• Why has debt spiraled?

• How can debt be reined in?

Other Important Articles Covering the same topic:

????Explain Speaking: 4 aspects of govt finances that the Budget speech won’t tell you

ECONOMY

Paytm Payments Bank’s future uncertain post-Feb amid RBI’s silence

Syllabus:

Preliminary Examination: Current events of national and international importance.

Main Examination: General Studies III: Indian Economy and issues relating to planning, mobilization, of resources, growth, development and employment.

Key Points to Ponder:

• What’s the ongoing story- Paytm Payments Bank Ltd (PPBL) is staring at an uncertain future with the Reserve Bank of India’s (RBI) decision to bar fresh deposits and top-ups with effect from February 29, 2024 and One97 Communications – which runs Paytm services — stopping all businesses with PPBL. While the RBI has not hinted at the possibility of cancelling the license given to Paytm for the payments bank, banking sources don’t rule out the cancellation of the license once the February deadline is over.

• Why Reserve Bank of India (RBI) barred Paytm Payments Bank from accepting deposits or top-ups in any of its key products?

• What does the RBI direction say?

• How this decision could impact a large number of customers?

• Paytm and India’s fintech revolution-Connect the dots

• What has Paytm said in response to the RBI action?

• What led to the RBI’s action against Paytm?

• What other actions has RBI taken against Paytm earlier?

• For Your Information-Paytm Payments Bank has been barred from offering almost all of its key services — accepting deposits or top-ups in any customer account, prepaid instruments, wallets, FASTags, National Common Mobility Card (NCMC), etc., after February 29 in the wake of “persistent non-compliances and material supervisory concerns”. “No other banking services…like fund transfers (irrespective of name and nature of services like AEPS, IMPS, etc.), BBPOU and UPI facility should be provided by the bank after February 29, 2024,” the RBI has said. It has directed that the nodal accounts of the parent company One97 Communications and Paytm Payments Services should be terminated at the earliest, and not later than February 29.

The settlement of all pipeline transactions and nodal accounts — in respect of all transactions initiated on or before February 29 — should be completed by March 15, and no transactions shall be permitted thereafter, the central bank has said. As per the RBI, withdrawal or utilisation of balances by customers from their Paytm accounts including savings bank accounts, current accounts, prepaid instruments, FASTags, NCMC, etc. are permitted without any restrictions, “up to their available balance”. The RBI statement, however, does not mention a number of other services like loans, mutual funds, bill payments, digital gold, and credit cards.

The central bank gave no reasons for its action. However, Paytm Payments Bank has been facing scrutiny from RBI since 2018. Sources said the RBI’s action could be due to concerns on KYC compliance and IT-related issues. The central bank is concerned about allowing any institution or banking entity to expose depositors’ money to such risks.

It is learnt that Paytm Payments Bank and its parent OCL also came under RBI scrutiny for purported lack of requisite information barriers within the group, and data access to China-based entities that were indirect shareholders in the payments bank through their stake in the parent company. The failure to address these concerns at multiple levels over an extended period led to the latest action by the RBI, it is learnt.

Antfin, an affiliate of the Chinese conglomerate Alibaba, is a shareholder in One97 Communications — as of December 31, 2023, Antfin held 9.89% stake in the company, stock exchange data show. Given the frosty relationship between India and China over the past few years, Chinese investments in Indian companies have attracted intense scrutiny by Indian regulators.

Other Important Articles Covering the same topic:

????RBI action against Paytm Payments Bank: probable causes, effects

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