The Hindu Newspaper Analysis 22 May 2023

The Hindu Newspaper Analysis for UPSC

The Hindu Newspaper Analysis 20 May 2023

• In March 2021, the Quad (Australia, India, Japan, and the United States) set up a Critical and Emerging Technology Working Group to facilitate cooperation, monitor trends, and scout for opportunities related to developments in critical and emerging technologies, that included biotechnology.
• Biomanufacturing uses living systems, particularly microorganisms and cell cultures, to produce molecules and materials on a commercial scale. It has the potential to transform the global industrial system, with up to 60% of physical inputs to the global economy expected to be producible using this technology. Many countries, including the United States and China, recognise the need to optimise this ecosystem and have designed specific policies to shape their bio-economies.

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• India’s National Biotechnology Development Strategy also envisions the country as a “Global Biomanufacturing Hub” by 2025. While the strategy sets a target of $100 billion for the hub, it is important to recognise that India’s ambitions require external support, particularly through its Quad partners, to enable its initial development.
• Specifically, the Quad should establish a biomanufacturing hub in India to benefit from the country’s economic potential and address supply-chain vulnerabilities. Quad nations have complementary strengths that can be leveraged to create this hub. The U.S. has significant funding capability, while all three (Japan, Australia and the U.S.) also possess advanced biotechnology innovation ecosystems and intellectual property. India has skilled manpower and the potential to provide affordable scale.

• Recently, the Supreme Court (SC) has upheld amendments made by Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and Maharashtra to the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act, 1960, to allow the traditional bull-taming sports of Jallikattu , Kambala (Karnataka) and bullock-cart racing.

What is Jallikattu?

• Jallikattu is a traditional sport that is popular in Tamil Nadu.
• The sport involves releasing a wild bull into a crowd of people, and the participants attempt to grab the bull’s hump and ride it for as long as possible or attempt to bring it under control.
• It is celebrated in the month of January, during the Tamil harvest festival, Pongal.
• Arguments in Favour of Practice:
• Jallikattu is considered both a religious and cultural event in Tamil Nadu, celebrated by people regardless of their caste or creed.
• The State government argues that instead of completely banning this centuries-old practice, it can be regulated and reformed as society progresses.
• They believe that prohibiting jallikattu would be seen as an attack on the culture and sentiments of the community.
• The Supreme Court banned Jallikattu through a judgment in May 2014 in the Animal Welfare Board of India vs A. Nagaraja case on the grounds of cruelty to animals.
• In 2018, the Supreme Court referred the Jallikattu case to a Constitution Bench, where it is pending now.
• The bone of contention is the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (Tamil Nadu Amendment) Act of 2017 and Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (Conduct of Jallikattu) Rules of 2017, which had re-opened the gates for the conduct of the popular bull-taming sport in the name of culture and tradition despite a 2014 ban by the Supreme Court.
• Arguments in Favour of Practice:
• Jallikattu is considered both a religious and cultural event in Tamil Nadu, celebrated by people regardless of their caste or creed.
• The State government argues that instead of completely banning this centuries-old practice, it can be regulated and reformed as society progresses.
• They believe that prohibiting jallikattu would be seen as an attack on the culture and sentiments of the community.
• Article 51A(g) (compassion to loving creatures) of the Constitution.
• Article 48 of the Constitution which deals with the duty of the State to “organise agriculture and animal husbandry”.

• As shown in the table, the proportion of single-teacher schools in India is still a high 14.7%, 14 years after the Right to Education Act came into force, according to Unified District Information System for Education (UDISE) data.
• The Act states that every school must have at least two teachers.
• While Jharkhand is a poor performer, a few States had a similar or even higher proportion of single-teacher schools such as Andhra Pradesh (34%), Telangana (30%) and Karnataka (29%). In nine of India’s 21 major States, the share of children studying in single-teacher schools was well above 10%, rising to 25% in Jharkhand.
• As shown in the table, the proportion of single-teacher schools in India is still a high 14.7%, 14 years after the Right to Education Act came into force, according to Unified District Information System for Education (UDISE) data.
• The Act states that every school must have at least two teachers.
• While Jharkhand is a poor performer, a few States had a similar or even higher proportion of single-teacher schools such as Andhra Pradesh (34%), Telangana (30%) and Karnataka (29%). In nine of India’s 21 major States, the share of children studying in single-teacher schools was well above 10%, rising to 25% in Jharkhand.

• Ganga Prahari (guardian), This is a task force of volunteers constituted by the National Mission for Clean Ganga and the Wildlife Institute of India (NMCG-WII) under the Namami Gange programme to cover 8.61 billion sq.km of the river basin.
• Since 2014, Namami Gange has aimed to clean the river, ecosystem, and the villages around, home to 40% of India’s population at 520 million and 2,500 species of flora and fauna.
• The United Nations in December 2022 recognised the initiative as one of the top 10 World Restoration Flagships involved in reviving the natural world — a project that has seen the Central government invest $5 billion.
• The task force, which now has over 4,000 volunteers in 100 districts across Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh, Jharkhand, Bihar, and West Bengal, keeps a check on river protection, preventing people from littering, and reports poaching.

• S. President Joe Biden on Sunday said the Group of Seven (G-7) nations had agreed on a united approach to China that called for diversifying supply chains to reduce dependence on one country, and hinted that he could speak with China’s President Xi Jinping soon.
• “We’re not looking to decouple from China. We’re looking to de-risk and diversify our relationship with China,” Mr. Biden told a press conference after a three-day summit with G-7 leaders. He said G-7 nations were more unified than ever in terms of “resisting economic coercion together and countering harmful practices that hurt our workers”.

• After the COVID-19 pandemic, what seems to have caught the world’s attention is salt intake and its harmful effects on the human body. Recently, the Indian Council for Medical Research tweeted about the ways to reduce salt intake by avoiding the addition of salt while cooking rice or preparing the dough, skipping pickles and table salt and going in for salt substitutes. It rightly pointed out that children, younger than 12 years, require only three grams of salt per day.
• The World Health Organization had cautioned a couple of months ago that the world is off track to achieve its global target of reducing salt intake by 30% by 2025. The report shows that only 5% of the WHO member states have mandatory and comprehensive sodium-reducing policies. Additionally, seventy-three per cent of the WHO member states lack the full range implementation of the policies.
• Implementing highly cost effective sodium reducing policies could save an estimated seven million lives globally by 2030.
• An unhealthy diet is the leading cause of non-communicable disease, with excess sodium being the main culprit. WHO has suggested the following measures — reformulation of food to contain less salt; controlled procurement of high sodium food in public institutions like schools, workplaces and hospitals; labelled promotion of packed foods with low sodium choices and achieving behavioural changes in population through campaigning in media.
• Unfortunately, sodium labelling is not mandatory in our country so far. It is also important to use the word salt rather than sodium so that people can appreciate the relationship to hypertension.
• FSSAI has initiated the ‘Aaj Se Thoda Kam’ social media campaign. Despite these efforts, the average sodium consumption of Indians remains alarmingly high. Studies have found that the typical daily intake of sodium in India is around 11 grams, which is much higher than the recommended intake of 5 grams per day.

Q) Consider the following statements with reference to the Strengthening Teaching-Learning and Results for States (STARS) Project of India:

1. It is a centrally sponsored scheme launched with the financial support from the World Bank.
2. It will be implemented in all North-Eastern States to improve school education system.

Which of the above statements is/are correct?

1. 1 only
2. 2 only
3. Both 1 and 2
4. Neither 1 nor 2

स्ट्रेंथनिंग टीचिंग-लर्निंग एंड रिजल्ट्स फॉर स्टेट्स (STARS) प्रोजेक्ट ऑफ इंडिया के संदर्भ में निम्नलिखित कथनों पर विचार करें:

1. यह विश्व बैंक की वित्तीय सहायता से शुरू की गई एक केंद्र प्रायोजित योजना है।
2. स्कूली शिक्षा प्रणाली में सुधार के लिए इसे सभी पूर्वोत्तर राज्यों में लागू किया जाएगा।

उपरोक्त कथनों में से कौन-सा/से सही है/हैं?

1. केवल 1
2. केवल 2
3. 1 और 2 दोनों
4. न तो 1 और न ही 2

STARS Program:

• Strengthening Teaching-Learning and Results for States (STARS) Project was approved by the Cabinet in October 2020 and to be implemented as a centrally sponsored scheme.
• It became effective since 2021 for a period of five years i.e. up to FY: 2024-25.
• STARS project would be implemented under Department of School Education and Literacy, Ministry of Education with the financial support of World Bank.
• It is being implemented in six identified States viz. Himachal Pradesh, Maharashtra, Odisha, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Kerala. These states will be supported for various interventions for improving the quality of education.
• It is carved out of Samagra Shiksha, with a focus on those elements of the scheme that will most directly support school education enhancement.
• The overall focus and components of the STARS project are aligned with the objectives of National Education Policy (NEP) 2020 of Quality Based Learning Outcomes.
• The STARS project also aims to focus on initiatives of PM e-Vidya, Foundational Literacy and Numeracy Mission and National Curricular and Pedagogical Framework for Early Childhood Care and Education as part of the Atmanirbhar Bharat Abhiyan.

Q) Koundinya Wildlife Sanctuary is located in which one of the following States of India?

1. Karnataka
2. Madhya Pradesh
3. Odisha
4. Andhra Pradesh

कौंडिन्य वन्यजीव अभयारण्य भारत के निम्नलिखित में से किस राज्य में स्थित है?

1. कर्नाटक
2. मध्य प्रदेश
3. ओडिशा
4. आंध्र प्रदेश

About Koundinya Wildlife Sanctuary:

• It is located in Palamner – Kuppam forest ranges of Chittoor district of Andhra Pradesh.
• It is the only sanctuary in the whole state housing Asian elephants.
• This Sanctuary comes under Project elephant – a Country wide Elephant Conservation Project taken up by Government of India.
• River Kaigal and River Kaundinya flow through this sanctuary and is characterized by high hills, deep valleys.

Q) In the news recently, ‘Operation Karuna’ was initiated by India for providing assistance to which of the following nations?

1. Syria
2. Afghanistan
3. Sri Lanka
4. Myanmar

हाल ही में खबरों में, निम्नलिखित में से किस राष्ट्र को सहायता प्रदान करने के लिए भारत द्वारा ‘ऑपरेशन करुणा’ शुरू किया गया था?

1. सीरिया
2. अफगानिस्तान
3. श्रीलंका
4. म्यांमार

• India launched “Operation Karuna” to provide humanitarian assistance for people in Myanmar, which is affected by Cyclone Mocha.
• The ships are carrying emergency food items, tents, essential medicines, water pumps, portable generators, clothes, sanitary and hygiene items, etc.
• Indian Navy remains committed to ensuring Security and Growth for All in the Region (SAGAR) and being the first responders in providing support to our neighbours during such calamities.

Q) Which one of the following is the best description of ‘Zorawar’, that was in the news recently?

1. It is a surface to air missile.
2. It is an antisubmarine torpedo.
3. It is an Indian Light Tank.
4. It is a Semi Automatic Rifles

निम्नलिखित में से कौन सा ‘ज़ोरावर’ का सबसे अच्छा वर्णन है, जो हाल ही में समाचारों में था?

1. यह सतह से हवा में मार करने वाली मिसाइल है।
2. यह एक एंटीसबमरीन टॉरपीडो है।
3. यह एक भारतीय लाइट टैंक है।
4. यह एक अर्ध स्वचालित रायफल्स है

About Zorawar Tank:

• It is an indigenously designed and developed Light Tank.
• Developed by Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) in collaboration with Larsen & Toubro Limited.
• Features:
• It is designed to operate in varying terrain from high altitude areas and marginal terrains to island territories.
• It will be highly transportable for rapid deployment to meet any operational situation.
• It will be equipped with all the modern technologies such as Artificial Intelligence, Drone Integration, a high degree of situational awareness, and amphibious operation capability.
• It will weigh less than 25 tonnes with a high power-to-weight ratio as well as superior firepower and protection.

Q) Consider the following statements regarding Legal Tender:

1. It is a type of currency or medium of exchange.
2. Creditors are lawfully responsible for accepting legal tender for the repayment of debt that they have availed.

Which of the above statements is/are correct?

1. 1 only
2. 2 only
3. Both 1 and 2
4. Neither 1 nor 2

लीगल टेंडर के संबंध में निम्नलिखित कथनों पर विचार करें:

1. यह एक प्रकार की मुद्रा या विनिमय का माध्यम है।
2. लेनदार कानूनी रूप से ऋण की अदायगी के लिए कानूनी निविदा स्वीकार करने के लिए जिम्मेदार हैं, जिसका उन्होंने लाभ उठाया है।

उपरोक्त कथनों में से कौन-सा/से सही है/हैं?

1. केवल 1
2. केवल 2
3. 1 और 2 दोनों
4. न तो 1 और न ही 2

About Legal Tender:

• It is a type of currency or medium of exchange.
• It is money that is valid and acceptable for the settlement of debts which must be recognized when issued.
• Almost every country uses its national currency as legal tender.
• Creditors are lawfully responsible for accepting legal tender for the repayment of debt that they have availed.
• Legal tender is constitutioned by a law that specifies the object to be utilised as legal tender and the organisation that is commissioned to create and issue the same to the public such as the Reserve Bank of India.
• In India, the authentic legal tender of the Reserve Bank of India consists of coins and notes. The creditors are supposed to accept them as a payment towards the debt.

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