UPSC CURRENT AFFAIRS| PRELIMS & MAINS | 5th May 2020

IASbhai DAILY UPSC CURRENT AFFAIRS (THE HINDU+LIVEMINT+PIB)

Dear Aspirants
IASbhai Daily Current Affairs for UPSC is an initiative to dilute major articles from leading Newspapers in India which are most relevant to UPSC preparation –‘THE HINDU, LIVEMINT , INDIAN EXPRESS’ and help millions of readers who find difficulty in answer writing and making notes everyday. Hence we choose articles on daily basis and analyse them with respect to UPSC PRELIMS2020.

Optimism is the faith that leads to achievement. Nothing can be done without hope and confidence.– Helen Keller

HIGHLIGHT INFO:

ORANGE COLOUR: Important for Prelims.

RED COLOUR: Important for Mains.

BLACK COLOUR: Must Read !

BLUE COLOUR : Important Links/Survey.

PINK COLOUR: Reports/Themes/Summits.

Page Contents:

“The Saras Collection”

HEADLINES:

Union Minister for Rural Development and Panchayati Raj Shri Narendra Singh Tomar launches “The Saras Collection” on the Government e-Marketplace (GeM) portal

WHY IN NEWS:

The Saras Collection showcases daily utility products made by rural self-help groups (SHGs) and aims to provide SHGs in rural areas with market access to Government buyers

MINISTRY? :-Ministry of Rural Development

SYLLABUS COVERED: GS 3:SHG

LEARNING:

For PRELIMS look out for the little snippets given below on Saras collection.

For MAINS do you think its right time to sow online market seeds through GEM’s ? What are the visible differences between such portals and E-commerce giants like Amazon and Flipkart ?

ISSUE:

A unique initiative of GeM and the DeenDayalAntyodaya Yojana-National Rural Livelihoods Mission (DAY-NRLM), Ministry of Rural Development, the Saras Collection showcases daily utility products made by rural self-help groups (SHGs) and aims to provide SHGs in rural areas with market access to Central and State Government buyers.

“THE SARAS COLLECTION” :

SHG sellers will be able to list their products in 5 product categories:

(i) handicrafts,

(ii) handloom and textiles,

(iii) office accessories,

(iv) grocery and pantry, and

(v) personal care and hygiene.

ABOUT DAY-NRLM:

DAY-NLRM aims to reduce poverty through promotion of diversified and gainful self-employment while creating skilled wage employment opportunities.

The scheme supports building social capital and ensuring financial linkages to alleviate poverty and enhance the quality of the life of rural poor women.
It has ambitious plans on innovations for alternate channels of financial inclusion like digital finance, creating value chains around rural products and improving market access, rural enterprise and strengthening community institutions.

ABOUT GEM:

Government e Marketplace (GeM) is a 100 percent Government owned Section 8 Company set up as the National Public Procurement Portal for procurement of goods and services required by Central and State Government organizations.

GeM provides an online, end to end solution for procurement of goods and services for all Central Government and State Government Ministries, Departments, Public Sector Enterprises (PSEs), local bodies and autonomous organisations.
The platform reduces human interventions in procurement and enables transparency, cost savings, inclusiveness and efficiency of faceless standardized public procurement.

IASbhai WINDUP:

The coverage shall be rapidly extended to enable a large number of SHGs from all the states/ Union Territories to sell their products to Government buyers.

SOURCES:THE HINDU & PIB/DAILY CURRENT AFFAIRS for UPSC CSE Prelims & Mains

UV blaster

HEADLINES:

DRDO develops UV Disinfection Tower

WHY IN NEWS:

Hot from PIB !

MINISTRY? :-Ministry of Defence

SYLLABUS COVERED: GS 3: Science and Technology : Recent Innovations

LEARNING:

For PRELIMS go through the features and significance of this machine . Of course it has an automated version too ! Lets dive in .

For MAINS do you think it is a cost effective option. What about temples,mosques and Prayer halls ? Should they use the same technology ?

ISSUE:

Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) has developed an Ultra Violet (UV) Disinfection Tower for rapid and chemical free disinfection of high infection prone areas.

Ultra Violet (UV) Disinfection Tower :

The equipment named UV blaster is a UV based area sanitiser designed and developed by Laser Science & Technology Centre (LASTEC), the Delhi based premier laboratory of DRDO with the help of M/s New Age Instruments and Materials Private Limited, Gurugram.

FEATURES :

The UV Blaster is useful for high tech surfaces like electronic equipment, computers and other gadgets in laboratories and offices that are not suitable for disinfection with chemical methods.
The product is also effective for areas with large flow of people such as airports, shopping malls, metros, hotels, factories, offices, etc.
The UV based area sanitiser may be used by remote operation through laptop/mobile phone using wifi link.
The equipment has six lamps each with 43 watts of UV-C power at 254 nm wavelength for 360 degree illumination.
For a room of about 12 x 12 feet dimension, the disinfection time is about 10 minutes and 30 minutes for 400 square feet area by positioning the equipment at different places within the room.

IASbhai WINDUP:

This sanitiser switches off on accidental opening of room or human intervention.
One more salient safety feature of the product is the key to arm operation.

SOURCES:THE HINDU & PIB/DAILY CURRENT AFFAIRS for UPSC CSE Prelims & Mains

“NGMA KE SANGRAH SE”

HEADLINES:

National Gallery of Modern Art presents the virtual program “NGMA KE SANGRAH SE” to showcase the rarely seen and unseen artworks from its repository during lockdown

WHY IN NEWS:

The theme of this week ARTIST BY ARTISTS is dedicated to Shri Rabindranath Tagore

MINISTRY? :-Ministry of Culture

SYLLABUS COVERED: GS 1:Culture

LEARNING:

For PRELIMS in our previous editions we have mentioned everything about NGMA . Click Here

ISSUE:

National Gallery of Modern Art is closed temporarily due to COVID 19 but COVID19 failed to bring down the enthusiasm to display EXHIBITION OUTREACH DURING LOCK- DOWN.

“NGMA KE SANGRAH SE”

National Gallery of Modern Art, New Delhi proudly presents the virtual program “NGMA KE SANGRAH SE”.
This virtual program will showcase the rarely seen or maybe unseen jewels from its repository.
The theme for this week is ARTIST BY ARTISTS and is dedicated to Gurudev Rabindranath Tagore.
This week’s program coincides with the maestro’s 159th birth anniversary on 7th May 2020, a date we would like to celebrate.

IASbhai WINDUP:

These exhibitions are available on NGMA’s website and social media platforms.

SOURCES:THE HINDU & PIB/DAILY CURRENT AFFAIRS for UPSC CSE Prelims & Mains

National Unity Award

HEADLINES:

Extension of the last date of Invitation of Nominations for Sardar Patel National Unity Award till 30th June, 2020

WHY IN NEWS:

It has been decided to extend the invitation of nominations online through the above mentioned portal till 30^th June, 2020.

MINISTRY? :-Ministry of Home Affairs

SYLLABUS COVERED: GS 1:Awards

LEARNING:

For PRELIMS keep an eye on eligibility,criteria and the ministry involved .

For MAINS do you this this award should be monetized too ?

CONTEXT :

Government of India has instituted Sardar Patel National Unity Award as the highest civilian award in the name of Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, for contribution in promoting unity and integrity of India.

SARDAR PATEL NATIONAL UNITY AWARD

THE AWARD:

The Award seeks to recognize notable and inspiring contributions to promote the cause of national unity and integrity and to reinforce the value of a strong and united India.

The award will be announced on the occasion of the National Unity Day, i.e. the birth anniversary of Sardar Patel on 31st October.
The Award shall consist of a medal and a citation.

No monetary grant or cash award shall be attached to this Award.

Not more than three Awards shall be given in a year. It shall not be conferred posthumously except in very rare and highly deserving cases.

ELIGIBILITY

Any citizen of India without distinction of religion, race, caste, gender, place of birth, age or occupation and any institution/organization shall be eligible for the Award.

Only individuals/institutions/organizations would be eligible to apply for this Award.

CRITERIA FOR AWARD

The candidate for the Award should have made outstanding efforts and notable contribution to promote and further the cause of national unity and integrity in a manner that may serve as an inspiration to others, and reinforce the value of a strong and united India.

PROCEDURE FOR APPLYING

Nominations will be invited publically every year.
The application shall be filed online on the website of Ministry of Home Affairs.
The applications towards nomination for the Award shall be filed between 1st June to 31st July each year.
The recommendations for the award may also be invited from the State Governments/UT Administrations and Ministries/Departments of the Government of India who shall send their recommendations online.

IASbhai WINDUP:

The exemplary and outstanding contribution of such individuals, who work for promoting the unity and integrity of the country, need to be recognized so that they can serve as an inspiration to others, while reinforcing the idea of India as a strong and united nation.

SUGGESTED READING : https://nationalunityawards.mha.gov.in/homepage.aspx

SOURCES:THE HINDU & PIB/DAILY CURRENT AFFAIRS for UPSC CSE Prelims & Mains

Kabatabandha(Odisha) : A mini bat sanctuary

HEADLINES:

Residents of this Odisha village are conserving bats despite COVID-19 stigma

WHY IN NEWS:

They strongly believe that the winged mammals have nothing to do with the disease’s spread

SYLLABUS COVERED: GS 3: Conservation of biodiversity : Flora and Fauna

LEARNING:

For PRELIMS understand the importance of Bats in Food chain .

For MAINS what are the other methods used in rural India for conservation of Bats ?

ISSUE:

Residents of Kabatabandha village in Odisha’s Jajpur district have continued to protect and conserve bats despite some theories tracing the origin of the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) to the winged mammals.

Bats roost in Kabatabandha village.

The total population of the bats is estimated to be 4,000.
“We feed them with grains and protect them from undue disturbance.

CONSERVATION OF BATS IN KABATABANDHA :

#FACTCHECK

They are not harmful to human beings.
Though the bats caused some damage to mango and guava orchards in the village, people still conserve these bats.
Some tourists visit the village just to take a close look at the bats.
“We believe the bats are a sign of prosperity and good tidings and remove all ominous portents.

PEOPLE's BELIEF :

The natural beauty of the place is heightened by the sight of hundreds of bats hanging from the branches of the large trees,” .

“There is no evidence that bats directly infected humans with COVID-19.

Bats provide enormous benefits including pollination, seed dispersal and pest control,” .

IASbhai WINDUP:

“Villagers take extra care to protect bats in the summer by sprinkling water with the help of fire brigade men, to save them from the scorching sun.
Many wildlife and mammal researchers visit Kabatabandha village to gather first-hand knowledge about bat conservation works.

SOURCES:THE HINDU & PIB/DAILY CURRENT AFFAIRS for UPSC CSE Prelims & Mains

Hanging fence deters jumbos

HEADLINES:

Villagers in Assam get respite as hanging fence deters jumbos

WHY IN NEWS:

Camera traps show elephants have been unable to enter villages near Manas National Park on majority of occasions

SYLLABUS COVERED: GS 3:Fauna

LEARNING:

For PRELIMS nothing much here !

For MAINS look out for the significance and working of such fence.

ISSUE:

Elephants in Assam may have finally run into a barrier beyond their ability to bulldoze — a solar-powered hanging electric fence.

No entry: The hanging electric fence has proved difficult for the elephants to breach, for now.

HANGING FENCE :

The hanging fence involves sturdier metallic poles with a strong cable strung from the top. Wires arranged 3 feet apart dangle from this cable without touching the ground for letting smaller animals up to 1 foot tall pass.

The wires carry an average 9-kilovolt charge, the maximum being 11 kilovolts.
The elephants, however, did manage to cross the fence without damaging it on eight occasions, due to a sudden discharge of the batteries powering it around midnight.
“There have been experiments with electric fences earlier to prevent elephants in the jungles from raiding the houses and the farmlands of the villagers leading to large-scale damage and loss of human lives,” .

IASbhai WINDUP:

But the villagers, who have borne the brunt of the elephant-man conflict, aren’t ready as yet to call the latest barrier a success.

Three community-based committees have been entrusted with almost equal stretches of the fence. These are the most strategic of the eight villages dominated by the Bodo, Koch-Rajbongshi, Assamese and Bengali communities.