Important topics and their relevance in UPSC CSE exam for January 5, 2024. If you missed the January 4, 2024 UPSC CSE exam key from the Indian Express, read it here

FRONT PAGE

Aditya L1, ISRO’s mission to study Sun, set to be placed in final orbit tomorrow

Syllabus:

Preliminary Examination: Current events of national and international importance.

Mains Examination: General Studies III: Achievements of Indians in science & technology; indigenization of technology and developing new technology.

Key Points to Ponder:

• What’s the ongoing story-Aditya L1, India’s first mission to study the Sun, is inching closer to its destination, and would be injected into its final orbit on January 6 evening. The spacecraft, launched on September 2, would get into what is known as a ‘halo orbit’ around the Lagrange Point 1 (L1), one of the five spots in the moving Sun-Earth system, where the gravitational effects of the two bodies roughly balance each other.

• Aditya-L1-Know more in detail

• Aditya-L1-Know its key components

• Aditya-L1-Know the mission objective

• What is the L1 point of the Earth Sun system?

• What is Halo orbit?

• Do You Know- According to NASA Website, there are five special points where a small mass can orbit in a constant pattern with two larger masses. The Lagrange Points are positions where the gravitational pull of two large masses precisely equals the centripetal force required for a small object to move with them. This mathematical problem, known as the “General Three-Body Problem” was considered by Italian-French mathematician Joseph-Louis Lagrange in his prize-winning paper (Essai sur le Problème des Trois Corps, 1772).

Lagrange points, named after mathematician Josephy-Louis Lagrange who discovered them, are positions in a moving two-body system where forces acting on a third body of smaller mass cancel each other out. Being positioned at a Lagrange point makes sense because the spacecraft requires very little energy to just stay put and make continuous observations. At any other place, the spacecraft would feel additional force, and would need to expend energy to remain stationary relative to both the Earth and Sun. Of the five Lagrange points, three are unstable and two are stable. The unstable Lagrange points – labelled L1, L2, and L3 – lie along the line connecting the two large masses. The stable Lagrange points – labelled L4 and L5 – form the apex of two equilateral triangles that have the large masses at their vertices. L4 leads the orbit of earth and L5 follows.

The L1 point of the Earth-Sun system affords an uninterrupted view of the sun and is currently home to the Solar and Heliospheric Observatory Satellite SOHO. The L2 point of the Earth-Sun system was the home to the WMAP spacecraft, current home of Planck, and future home of the James Webb Space Telescope. L2 is ideal for astronomy because a spacecraft is close enough to readily communicate with Earth, can keep Sun, Earth and Moon behind the spacecraft for solar power and (with appropriate shielding) provides a clear view of deep space for our telescopes. The L1 and L2 points are unstable on a time scale of approximately 23 days, which requires satellites orbiting these positions to undergo regular course and attitude corrections.

• Which Launch Vehicle is used for Aditya-L1?

• For Your Information-Indian scientists have so far observed the Sun through telescopes on the ground, and relied on data from solar missions launched by the United States, Europe, the United Kingdom, and Japan. “All these years, India has been observing the Sun using only ground-based telescopes, which have grown old now. As India lacked a large-scale modern observational facility, we were dependent on other sources for solar data.

Aditya-L1 presents a unique opportunity to not only address the existing gaps but also complement with newer data to address the unsolved problems in solar physics,” Prof Dipankar Banerjee, director of the Aryabhatta Research Institute of Observational Sciences, Nainital, said. S Seetha, former director of ISRO’s Space Science Programme Office, said astronomy-based space missions are gaining importance “due to the new findings, and inspiration to the youth and general public it can provide”. “Science missions also take longer to develop, since technological development can be demanding,” Dr Seetha said.

• What is solar activity, solar prominence, solar flare and coronal mass ejection or CME?

• How solar activity, solar prominence, solar flare and coronal mass ejection or CME impacts Earth?

• Does all solar activity impact Earth? Why or why not?

• For Your Information-Solar activity associated with Space Weather can be divided into four main components: solar flares, coronal mass ejections, high-speed solar wind, and solar energetic particles. Solar flares impact Earth only when they occur on the side of the sun facing Earth. Because flares are made of photons, they travel out directly from the flare site, so if we can see the flare, we can be impacted by it.

Coronal mass ejections, also called CMEs, are large clouds of plasma and magnetic field that erupt from the sun. These clouds can erupt in any direction, and then continue on in that direction, plowing right through the solar wind. Only when the cloud is aimed at Earth will the CME hit Earth and therefore cause impacts. High-speed solar wind streams come from areas on the sun known as coronal holes. These holes can form anywhere on the sun and usually, only when they are closer to the solar equator, do the winds they produce impact Earth.

Solar energetic particles are high-energy charged particles, primarily thought to be released by shocks formed at the front of coronal mass ejections and solar flares. When a CME cloud plows through the solar wind, high velocity solar energetic particles can be produced and because they are charged, they must follow the magnetic field lines that pervade the space between the Sun and the Earth. Therefore, only the charged particles that follow magnetic field lines that intersect the Earth will result in impacts.

• What are coronal holes?

• What is a geomagnetic storm?

• What is a sunspot?

• What is solar maximum and solar minimum?

• What is the solar cycle?

• Do space weather effects / solar storms affect Earth?

• What are some real-world examples of space weather impacts?

• In what ways will the Aditya L1 Mission contribute to our understanding of the Sun and its phenomena?

• What are the other solar missions by different countries?

Other Important Articles Covering the same topic:

????Solar Storm and Space Weather

????The Sun up close: Aditya-L1 mission and its objectives

Army reviews former Chief’s book on Ladakh standoff details

Syllabus:

Preliminary Examination: Current events of national and international importance.

Mains Examination: General Studies III: Challenges to internal security through communication networks, role of media and social networking sites in internal security challenges

Key Points to Ponder:

• What’s the ongoing story-The Indian Army is reviewing the memoir of its former chief General M M Naravane that discloses details of a conversation he had with Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on the night of August 31, 2020, following the movement of Chinese PLA tanks and troops in Rechin La on the Line of Actual Control in eastern Ladakh, The Indian Express has learned.

• What information does the book contain on the LAC standoff with China?

• Why “Four Stars of Destiny” is being reviewed by the Indian Army?

• Currently, serving officers of the armed forces and bureaucrats are governed by specific rules for publishing a book-what are they?

• Do You Know-Under Section 21 of The Army Rules, 1954, serving personnel are not allowed to “publish in any form whatever or communicate directly or indirectly to the press any matter in relation to a political question or on a service subject or containing any service information”. Also, it is prohibited to “publish or cause to be published any book or letter or article or other document on such question or matter or containing such information without the prior sanction of the Central Government”.

Serving officers also cannot “deliver a lecture or wireless address on a matter relating to a political question or on a service subject or containing any information or views on any service subject” without prior sanction. The Rules explain that “’service information’ and ‘service subject’ include information or subject…concerning the forces, the defence or the external relation of the Union”. Officials said the rule may not apply if an Armed Forces personnel writes a book that is unrelated to his/ her work, or is of a literary or artistic nature.

• Do these Rules also apply to a retired officer such as Gen Naravane?

• Have other Army officers written books earlier?

Other Important Articles Covering the same topic:

????Army reviews Gen Naravane’s book: What Rules govern writing by serving and retired personnel?

GOVT & POLITICS

India, Nepal sign power pact, MoU in renewable energy

Syllabus:

Preliminary Examination: Current events of national and international importance.

Main Examination: General Studies II: India and its neighbourhood- relations.

Key Points to Ponder:

• What’s the ongoing story-Nepal on Thursday signed a long-term agreement for the export of 10,000 MW power to India in the next 10 years and an MoU for cooperation in renewable energy while External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar and his Nepal counterpart N P Saud jointly inaugurated 3 cross-border transmission lines. Jaishankar is on a two-day visit to the Himalayan nation.

• India-Nepal Bilateral relations-know the historical background

• India-Nepal Bilateral relations-What is the present situation?

• India-Nepal Border Dispute-Know in details

• India and Nepal have border disputes over what areas?

• Why has this border dispute become so politically charged in Nepal?

• China, India and Nepal-Connect the dots

• Is China’s political influence in Nepal harming Indian interests?

• Why is Nepal so important?

• India-Nepal Bilateral Relations and Shared Heritage-Know in detail

• What is India’s Neighbourhood First Policy?

• India’s Neighbourhood First Policy and Nepal-Connect the dots

• “While India’s role in mobilising external support, mainly from the European Union and United States, in favour of the establishment of the secular republic in 2006 was widely appreciated, its attempts at “micro-management” in Nepal, as Dahal said once, resulted in a significant loss of goodwill”-Comment

Other Important Articles Covering the same topic:

????India, Nepal ink several agreements as Jaishankar holds ‘productive’ talks with his counterpart Saud

Why Lakshadweep is more than 32 sq km for BJP

Syllabus:

Preliminary Examination: Current events of national and international importance.

Mains 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-ONE OF THE halts in Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s event-packed itinerary across southern states on Tuesday and Wednesday was the Union Territory of Lakshadweep. Modi reached Lakshadweep on Tuesday, chaired a review meeting on various aspects relating to the islands, and on Wednesday, laid the foundation stone for projects worth Rs 1,150 crore.

• Map Work- Union Territory of Lakshadweep

• What’s the difference between an archipelago and an Island?

• Is Lakshadweep an archipelago or an Island?

• Lakshadweep-Know its geography, Culture, flora and fauna

• Why Narendra Modi went to Lakshadweep recently?

• Why Lakshadweep is considered particularly vital?

Other Important Articles Covering the same topic:

????‘Border areas, places at edge of sea our govt’s priority’: PM Modi in Lakshadweep

EXPRESS NETWORK

Singapore court junks India’s plea against $101-mn award to German firm

Syllabus:

Preliminary Examination: Current events of national and international importance

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-A Singapore court has dismissed an appeal filed by India against enforcement of a $101 million international arbitration award to German telecom major Deutsche Telekom over the cancellation of a 2005 satellite deal between Bengaluru start-up Devas Multimedia and ISRO’s Antrix Corp.

• A 2005 satellite deal between Antrix Corporation and Devas Multimedia Pvt Ltd-Know the background and entire controversy

• What was the National Company Law Tribunal decision on Devas Multimedia

• What was Supreme Court of India’s Decision on Antrix-Devas Deal?

• National Company Law Tribunal- Quasi-Judicial Body, Established Under which Act?

• Department of Space-About, Chairman, Role

• Department of Space and ISRO-Any Connections or Both are independent in their own Domain?

• For Your Information-The Singapore Court of Appeals dismissed the Indian appeal stating that most of the issues raised in the plea had been addressed during the arbitration by the Permanent Court of Arbitration in Geneva and subsequently by the Swiss Federal Supreme Court.

Deutsche Telekom, which held a 20.73 percent stake (through a subsidiary) in the now-liquidated Devas Multimedia, was awarded a compensation of $101 million by the Permanent Court of Arbitration in Geneva on May 27, 2020 after India annulled the satellite deal between Devas and ISRO’s Antrix Corp citing security reasons in February 2011. Deutsche Telekom has cited the cancellation of the deal as a violation of the 1995 Indo-German Bilateral Investment Treaty.

The German firm moved courts in Singapore and the US for confirmation of the arbitration award even as the Swiss Federal Supreme Court rejected Indian appeals against the award. “Three of the four grounds for resisting enforcement (namely, the pre-Investment argument, the indirect investment argument and the essential security interests argument) had been considered and dismissed by the tribunal during arbitration,” the Singapore court said in its last month order. “As for the ‘illegality argument’, India argued by way of the 24 October 2016 letter to the Tribunal that the charges reflected in the CBI chargesheet warranted the suspension of the arbitration pending their resolution, but the Tribunal declined to accede to this,” the court said.

The Swiss Federal Supreme Court had also relied on the arbitration tribunal’s decision that a CBI corruption chargesheet against Devas and ISRO officials contained “only allegations and charges that were not yet decided”, the court observed. “We are therefore satisfied that India is precluded from re-litigating the Illegality Argument, the Pre-Investment Argument, the Indirect Investment Argument and the Essential Security Interests Argument in the present appeal. That is sufficient to dispose of the appeal,” it said. The Singapore court has also directed the Indian government to pay costs of $130,000 to Deutsche Telekom over the litigation.

Other Important Articles Covering the same topic:

????Explained: The Devas-Antrix deal and its aftermath

????Explained: Why did NCLAT term the Devas-Antrix agreement as fraud

ECONOMY

Govt to review PLI progress on Jan 12, no plan yet to widen scheme: DPIIT Secy

Syllabus:

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

Mains 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-The Union government is set to review the flagship production-linked incentive (PLI) scheme on January 12, Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) Secretary Rajesh Kumar Singh said Thursday.

• What is production linked incentives (PLI) scheme?

• The government is focusing on existing PLI schemes for 14 sectors-What are they?

• How PLI scheme works?

• Do You Know- In order to boost domestic manufacturing and cut down on import bills, the central government in March this year introduced a scheme that aims to give companies incentives on incremental sales from products manufactured in domestic units. Apart from inviting foreign companies to set shop in India, the scheme also aims to encourage local companies to set up or expand existing manufacturing units.

So far, the scheme has been rolled out for mobile and allied equipment as well as pharmaceutical ingredients and medical devices manufacturing. These sectors are labour intensive and are likely, and the hope is that they would create new jobs for the ballooning employable workforce of India. The PLI scheme was announced for 14 sectors, such as telecommunication, white goods, textiles, manufacturing of medical devices, automobiles, speciality steel, food products, high-efficiency solar PV modules, advanced chemistry cell battery, drones, and pharma with an outlay of Rs 1.97 lakh crore.

According to experts, the idea of PLI is important as the government cannot continue making investments in these capital intensive sectors as they need longer times for start giving the returns. Instead, what it can do is to invite global companies with adequate capital to set up capacities in India. “The kind of ramping up of manufacturing that we need requires across the board initiatives, but the government can’t spread itself too thin. Electronics and pharmaceuticals themselves are large sectors, so, at this point, if the government can focus on labour intensive sectors like garments and leather, it would be really helpful, ”Biswajit Dhar, trade expert and professor at Jawaharlal Nehru University’s Centre for Economic Studies and Planning, said.

• What is the tenure of the PLI scheme?

• Which companies and what kind of investments will be considered?

• Which sectors are likely to see PLI schemes introduced in the near future?

Other Important Articles Covering the same topic:

????Explained: What is PLI scheme, and which sectors will be under it?

EXPLAINED

Kejriwal, Soren refuse ED summonses: what now

Syllabus:

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

Mains Examination: 

• General Studies II: Statutory, regulatory and various quasi-judicial bodies.

• General Studies III: Money-laundering and its prevention

Key Points to Ponder:

• What’s the ongoing story-Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal has cited Rajya Sabha elections, Republic Day celebrations and the Enforcement Directorate’s ‘non-disclosure’ and ‘non-response’ approach as reasons for not appearing for questioning before the investigating agency against its summons for appearance on January 3, in the Delhi excise policy case. In his earlier responses to two such summonses, Kejriwal alleged in his letter that the summons were issued at the behest of the BJP and said it was unclear in which capacity he was being summoned – “as a witness or a suspect”. Jharkhand CM Hemant Soren has similarly refused seven summonses by ED in a money laundering case.

• First, is ED supposed to reveal whether a person summoned is an accused or a witness?

• What are the provisions for issue of summons?

• What if the person refuses to appear?

• So, can Kejriwal be arrested?

• How does ED arrest a person for non-cooperation then?

• In recent years, many political cases are handled by the Enforcement Directorate (ED)-Discuss role and function of the Enforcement Directorate

• Enforcement Directorate is a statutory body-True or False?

• Directorate of Enforcement (ED) comes under which Ministry or Organisation?

• The Directorate of Enforcement is a multi-disciplinary organization mandated with investigation of offence of money laundering and violations of foreign exchange laws. The statutory functions of the Directorate includes enforcement of certain acts-What are those acts?

• What makes Enforcement Directorate so powerful?

• The significant increase in ED cases is mainly attributed to the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA)-Discuss

• Why these days the Enforcement Directorate (ED), National Investigation Agency (NIA), Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB), are in the limelight?

• For your Information-Formed in 1956, the ED became a prime agency following enactment of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) in 2002, implemented from July 1, 2005.

• What was the recent verdict of the Supreme Court (SC), in the Enforcement Directorate’s (ED) sweeping powers under the PMLA?

• Over the past few years, major amendments in key Acts have given teeth to central agencies-Discuss

• ‘With this investigation, It is quite clear that the central agencies are now the big brothers of investigations, while state and city police forces function in their shadows with limited powers and jurisdictions’-How far you agree with the same?

• Central investigation agencies and politics-connect the dots

Other Important Articles Covering the same topic:

????More teeth and bigger muscles: ED’s lengthening arm

????Big Brothers of investigation

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