The Hindu Newspaper Analysis 3 May, 2023

The Hindu Newspaper Analysis for UPSC

The Hindu Newspaper Analysis 2 May 2023

Unsure of the weekly payment they might draw after the management rolled out a new earnings system last month, Blinkit workers went on strike in parts of Delhi and the National Capital Region on April 11. But with no earnings, little savings and no alternative options to fall back on, they resumed work after holding out for barely a week.
On April 1, the aggregator platform had changed the payment system from ₹32 per order within a 2-km radius to ₹15. “This cut was accompanied by a deduction in the incentives as well, which has left us with barely anything after paying ₹300-₹350 every day for petrol and diesel.

The Hindu Editorial Today

It was in the first week of May 2020 that news broke of ingress by China’s People’s Liberation Army (PLA) in multiple areas across the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in Ladakh.
Three years later, some of those areas have witnessed disengagement — pulling troops apart by a few miles of buffer zones — while two of them, Depsang and Demchok, remain unresolved.

The first was the passage of a piece of legislation in the Tamil Nadu Assembly that amended the Factory Act of 1948, to extend the number of working hours in a day, from eight hours to 12 hours.
The eight-hour working day, adopted by the International Labour Organization in 1919, is a hard won right by workers and trade unions, who have had to struggle over the years to keep capricious policy changes at bay.
The key missing component in all these changes in the labour ecosystem is social dialogue. Not only are sustained processes of consultations with workers being short-circuited or ignored altogether, but these are also being considered anathema by almost all ruling dispensations irrespective of political persuasions.

The government apprised the Supreme Court on Tuesday that it is considering the formation of a committee to examine the need for a painless and more dignified alternative to death by hanging.
The court was hearing a petition filed by advocate Rishi Malhotra challenging the constitutionality of death by hanging as a mode of execution. Section 354 (5) of the Code of Criminal Procedure mandates that a person sentenced to death shall “be hanged by the neck till he is dead”.
The court had earlier clarified that it was not questioning the constitutionality of the death penalty, which was well-settled in Deena versus Union of India judgment and the Bachan Singh case reported in 1980.

A survey on the degree of innovation among manufacturing firms found that Karnataka, overall, is the most “innovative” State, followed by Dadra and Nagar Haveli, Daman and Diu (DNH&DD), Telangana, and Tamil Nadu.
Telangana, Karnataka, and Tamil Nadu had the highest share of innovative firms at 46.18%, 39.1% and 31.9%, respectively, with Odisha, Bihar, and Jharkhand reporting the lowest share of such firms at 12.78%, 13.47% and 13.71%, respectively.
The most frequent “barriers to innovation” were the lack of internal funds, high innovation costs, and lack of financing from external sources. Gujarat and DNH&DD reported the highest frequencies of barriers to innovation.
The findings are part of the National Manufacturing Innovation Survey (NMIS) 2021-22, a joint study by the Department of Science and Technology (DST) and the United Nations Industrial Development Organization, to evaluate the innovation performance of manufacturing firms in the India.

De-dollarisation refers to the replacement of the U.S. dollar by other currencies as the global reserve currency.
A reserve currency refers to any currency that is widely used in cross-border transactions and is commonly held as reserves by central banks. Countries have tried to dethrone the dollar as the global reserve currency for many decades now for various reasons.
Currently, the Chinese yuan is seen as the primary alternative to the U.S. dollar owing to China’s rising economic power.

Q) With reference to the ‘Group of Seven’, consider the following statements:

The G-7 or ‘Group of Seven’ are Russia, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom, and the United States.
The G-7 nations meet at annual summits that are presided over by leaders of member countries on a rotational basis.

Which of the above statements is/are correct?

1 only
2 only
Both 1 and 2
Neither 1 nor 2

‘सात का समूह’ के संदर्भ में निम्नलिखित कथनों पर विचार कीजिये:

G-7 या ‘सात का समूह’ रूस, फ्रांस, जर्मनी, इटली, जापान, यूनाइटेड किंगडम और संयुक्त राज्य अमेरिका हैं।
G-7 राष्ट्र वार्षिक शिखर सम्मेलन में मिलते हैं जिसकी अध्यक्षता सदस्य देशों के नेता बारी-बारी से करते हैं।

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

केवल 1
केवल 2
1 और 2 दोनों
न तो 1 और न ही 2

The G-7 or ‘Group of Seven’ are Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom, and the United States.
The G-7 nations meet at annual summits that are presided over by leaders of member countries on a rotational basis. The summit is an informal gathering that lasts two days, in which leaders of member countries discuss a wide range of global issues.
The G-7 does not have a formal constitution or a fixed headquarters.
The decisions taken by leaders during annual summits are non-binding.

Timeline:

It is an intergovernmental organisation that was formed in 1975 by the top economies of the time as an informal forum to discuss pressing world issues.
Canada joined the group in 1976, and the European Union began attending in 1977.
The G-7 was known as the ‘G-8’ for several years after the original seven were joined by Russia in 1997. The Group returned to being called G-7 after Russia was expelled as a member in 2014 following the latter’s annexation of the Crimea region of Ukraine.

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

It is a viral disease that affects paddy.
It is a form of hacking.
It is a satellite communication technology.
None of the above.

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

यह एक वायरल बीमारी है जो धान को प्रभावित करती है।
यह हैकिंग का एक रूप है।
यह एक उपग्रह संचार प्रौद्योगिकी है।
उपरोक्त में से कोई नहीं।

About Bluebugging:

What is it? It is a form of hacking that lets attackers access a device through its discoverable Bluetooth connection.
Once a device or phone is bluebugged, a hacker can listen to the calls, read and send messages and steal and modify contacts.
It started out as a threat for laptops with Bluetooth capability. Later hackers used the technique to target mobile phones and other devices.
This attack is often limited due to the range of Bluetooth connections, which goes up to only 10 meters.
Process:
Bluebugging attacks work by exploiting Bluetooth-enabled devices.
The device’s Bluetooth must be in discoverable mode, which is the default setting on most devices.
The hacker then tries to pair with the device via Bluetooth.
Once a connection is established, hackers can use brute force attacks to bypass authentication.
They can install malware in the compromised device to gain unauthorised access to it.

Q) Consider the following statements regarding Lord Mahavir:

He was the twenty-fourth and the last Tirthankara of the Jain religion.
He was born in 15th Century AD as a prince in Bihar.

Which of the above statements is/are correct?

1 only
2 only
Both 1 and 2
Neither 1 nor 2

भगवान महावीर के संबंध में निम्नलिखित कथनों पर विचार करें:

वे जैन धर्म के चौबीसवें और अंतिम तीर्थंकर थे।
उनका जन्म 15वीं शताब्दी ईस्वी में बिहार में एक राजकुमार के रूप में हुआ था।

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

केवल 1
केवल 2
1 और 2 दोनों
न तो 1 और न ही 2

About Lord Mahavir:

Lord Mahavir was the twenty-fourth and the last Tirthankara of the Jain religion.
He was born in 599 B.C. as a prince in Bihar, India.
At the age of 30, he left his family and royal household, gave up his worldly possessions, including clothing and become a monk.
He organized his followers, into a four fold order, namely monk (Sadhu), nun (Sadhvi), layman (Shravak), and laywoman (Shravika). Later on they are known as Jains.
The ultimate objective of his teaching is how one can attain the total freedom from the cycle of birth, life, pain, misery, and death, and achieve the permanent blissful state of one’s self. This is also known as liberation, nirvana, absolute freedom, or Moksha.
He explained that from eternity, every living being (soul) is in bondage of karmic atoms, that are accumulated by its own good or bad deeds.
He preached that right faith (samyak-darshana), right knowledge (samyak-jnana), and right conduct (samyak-charitra) together will help attain the liberation of one’s self.

Who are Tirthankaras?

In Jainism, those who have conquered their passions are called Jins.
Those Jins who have founded religious orders are called Tirthankaras.

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

It is a computer virus.
It is a phenomenon of social withdrawal.
It is an invasive alien species.
It is an anti-tank guided missile.

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

यह एक कंप्यूटर वायरस है।
यह सामाजिक वापसी की घटना है।
यह एक आक्रामक विदेशी प्रजाति है।
यह एक एंटी-टैंक गाइडेड मिसाइल है।

About Hikikomori:

It is a term used to describe people who have withdrawn from society, often for a period of six months or longer.
It is associated with feelings of anxiety, depression, and social phobia.
It is thought to be a response to the pressures of modern society, including high academic expectations, intense competition, and social isolation.
Effects:
It can lead to further mental health problems, including depression and anxiety, and can make it difficult for individuals to reintegrate into society.
Hikikomori can also have long-term effects on individuals’ social and economic prospects, making it harder for them to find work or form relationships.
Hikikomori can lead to reduced productivity and can make it harder for individuals to contribute to the wider economy.
It can also exacerbate demographic challenges, including an aging population and a declining birth rate.

Q) Parambikulam Tiger Reserve, which was recently seen in the news is located in which state?

Assam
Kerala
Tamil Nadu
None of these

परम्बिकुलम टाइगर रिजर्व, जो हाल ही में समाचारों में था, किस राज्य में स्थित है?

असम
केरल
तमिलनाडु
इनमें से कोई नहीं

Explanation :

Recently, a Division Bench of the Kerala High Court ordered that the wild elephant Arikompan roaming at Santhanpara and Chinnakkanal in Idukki district be captured, radio-collared, and translocated to the Parambikulam Tiger Reserve.

It is one of the premier Tiger Reserves of India and is endowed by nature in terms of species, habitat and ecosystem diversity.
It is located in the Palakkad District of Kerala and lies in between the Anamalai Hills and Nelliampathy Hills of the Southern Western Ghats.
Flora: It supports diverse habitat types namely; evergreen forests, moist and dry deciduous forests and grasslands.
Fauna: Lion-tailed macaques, Malabar giant squirrel and Flying squirrel, Tarantula (large-bodied spiders) etc.