DAILY CURRENT AFFAIRS ANALYSIS
25 APRIL 2022
| S. No. | Topic Name | Prelims/Mains |
| 1. | ABOUT THE NASA-ISRO NISAR MISSION | Prelims & Mains |
| 2. | WHAT IS G-20 | Prelims & Mains |
| 3. | DETAILS OF THE HUMAN ANIMAL CONFLICT | Prelims & Mains |
| 4. | HOW THE ELECTION SYMBOLS ARE DECIDED BY THE ECI | Prelims & Mains |
| 5. | ABOUT FINCLUVATION | Prelims Specific Topic |
| 6. | DETAILS OF THE CIVIL SERVICES DAY | Prelims Specific Topic |
1 – ABOUT THE NASA-ISRO NISAR MISSION:
GS III
Space Exploration Related Topics
- Context:
- The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) of the United States of America is partnering with the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) to build the ‘NASA-ISRO Synthetic Aperture Radar (NISAR)’ satellite project for Earth science.
- The Mission of NISAR:
- The NISAR mission is scheduled to launch in 2023.
- The National Institute of Standards and Research (NISAR) is an acronym for National Institute of Standards and Research.
- It’s intended to investigate threats and global environmental change, and it can help managers better manage natural resources and scientists better comprehend the effects and speed of climate change.
- It will scan the globe every 12 days for the course of its three-year mission, providing a “unprecedented” perspective of the planet by scanning the Earth’s land, ice sheets, and sea ice.
- It can detect surface vibrations as little as 0.4 inches over a tennis court-sized region.
- One of the satellite’s radars, as well as a high-rate science data transfer subsystem, GPS receivers, and a payload data subsystem, will be contributed by NASA.
- The spacecraft bus, a second type of radar (the S-band radar), as well as the launch vehicle and launch services, will all be provided by ISRO.
- NISAR will be outfitted with NASA’s largest reflector antenna, and its primary goals will be to follow minor changes in the Earth’s surface, identify warning signals of oncoming volcanic eruptions, monitor groundwater supplies, and study the rate at which ice sheets melt.
- A few more details:
- NASA-ISRO-SAR is the acronym for NASA-ISRO-SAR. NASA will employ the synthetic aperture radar (SAR) to measure changes in the Earth’s surface.
- SAR is a term used to describe a technique for taking high-resolution pictures. The radar can see through clouds and darkness due to its precision, allowing it to collect data at any time of day or night, in any weather.
2 – WHAT IS G-20:
GS II
International Organizations
- Context:
- US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen and her counterparts from the largely western bloc stormed out of a G20 finance specialists conference as Russian representatives began to speak.
- The boycott was in response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
- At least ten additional countries were not represented, including Indonesia, China, India, Brazil, South Africa, and Saudi Arabia.
-
What is the specific issue:
- In the face of Russian aggression and war crimes, these countries have held firm.
- Russia’s illegal invasion of Ukraine, they claim, poses a severe threat to global economic stability.
- They demanded that Russia be kept out of or expelled from these meetings.
-
What is the G20, exactly?
- Every year, the G20 brings together leaders from the world’s largest and fastest-growing economies.
- Its members make up 85% of global GDP and two-thirds of the worldwide population.
- The official name of the G20 Summit is “Summit on Financial Markets and the World Economy.”
-
Establishment:
- Following the Asian Financial Crisis of 1997-1998, it became clear that large developing market countries needed to be included in discussions about the international financial system, and the G7 finance ministers agreed to establish the G20 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors Conference in 1999.
-
Presidency:
- The president is rotated every year in December by a G20 country from a different region because the organisation does not have its own permanent staff.
- That country is in responsible of organising the next summit, as well as smaller events, the following year.
- They can also invite non-member countries to attend as guests.
- The first G20 conference was held in Berlin in 1999, following a financial crisis in East Asia that impacted various countries around the world.
-
The following are the members of the G20 in their entirety:
- Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, Mexico, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, South Korea, Turkey, United Kingdom, United States of America, and the European Union
-
Its importance in today’s world is as follows:
- Recent G20 summits have focused not only on macroeconomics and trade, but also on a wide range of global issues that have a significant impact on the global economy, such as development, climate change and energy, health, counter-terrorism, and migration and refugees, as globalisation advances and various issues become increasingly intertwined.
- The G20 has tried to create a more inclusive and sustainable society through its contributions to addressing these global challenges.
3 – DETAILS OF THE HUMAN ANIMAL CONFLICT:
GS III
Environmental Conservation related topic
- Context:
- The report of the Rajya Sabha member Jairam Ramesh-chaired Standing Committee on Science, Technology, Environment, and Climate Change has been filed.
- This research looks at the Wildlife (Protection) Amendment Bill, 2021, which was introduced in the Lok Sabha in December 2021.
-
Significance:
- Unlike other Standing Committee reports on bills, this one concentrated on the topic of Human-Animal Conflict, which was not addressed in the proposed modifications since it was “a complicated matter as severe as hunting” that required “legislative assistance.”
-
Some significant proposals for decreasing human-animal conflict are as follows:
- According to the report, a HAC Advisory Committee should be formed, directed by the Chief Wild Life Warden, who would consult the committee before acting.
- To design effective site-specific plans/ mitigation measures, including advice on changing cropping patterns, and to make crucial decisions on short notice, as required by law, a small committee with in-depth technical knowledge is required.
-
Conflict between humans and wildlife: a report by the WWF and the UNEP:
- The World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) and the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) released a report called A Future for All – The Need for Human-Wildlife Cooperation in July 2021.
-
Some of the report’s highlights are as follows:
- One of the most serious threats to the long-term survival of some of the world’s most iconic species is human-animal conflict.
- Warfare claims the lives of more than 75 percent of the world’s wild cat species. Polar bears and Mediterranean monk seals, as well as large herbivores such as elephants, are among the animals affected.
- Global wildlife populations have declined by 68 percent on average since 1970.
-
India’s situation:
- Around 500 elephants were killed between 2014 and 2019, mostly as a result of human-elephant conflict.
- During the same time period, 2,361 individuals were killed by elephant conflict.
- India will be the most affected by human-wildlife conflict since it has the world’s second-largest human population as well as significant numbers of tigers, Asian elephants, one-horned rhinos, Asiatic lions, and other species.
-
So, what should we do?
- Human-wildlife conflict will never be entirely eradicated. Well-planned, comprehensive measures to controlling it, on the other hand, can reduce tensions and promote human-animal collaboration.
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Sonitpur’s model is as follows:
- Elephants raided fields in Assam’s Sonitpur district as a result of forest destruction, killing both elephants and humans.
- In response, WWF India devised the ‘Sonitpur Model,’ which brought community members and the state forest department together in 2003-2004.
- They were taught how to safely drive elephants away from agriculture fields by working with them.
- To make crop security easier, WWF India devised a low-cost, single-strand, non-lethal electric fence.
- Over the next four years, crop losses were reduced to zero. The number of people and elephants killed has significantly dropped.
-
The National Board of Wildlife’s Standing Committee (SC-NBWL) has approved an advice for the management of Human-Wildlife Conflict (HWC):
- The WildLife (Protection) Act of 1972 gives grame panchayats the authority to deal with troublesome wild animals.
- To compensate for agricultural damage caused by HWC, use the Pradhan Mantri FasalBimaYojna’s add-on coverage.
- In woodland areas, increase the amount of fodder and water available.
- Other suggestions include the construction of inter-departmental committees at the local/state level, early warning systems, obstacles, and specialised circle-based Control Rooms with toll-free hotline numbers that might be operating 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
4 – HOW THE ELECTION SYMBOLS ARE DECIDED BY THE ECI:
GS II
Election related issues
- Context:
- A public interest case seeking to have election symbols removed off vote papers for the city’s municipal elections was dismissed by the Delhi High Court.
-
So, what exactly is the issue?
- The purpose of municipal elections, according to the petitioner, is “local self-governance,” which is “disappeared” when political party electoral symbols appear on ballot sheets.
- According to the lawsuit, a candidate who has an existing insignia of a recognised political party has an unfair advantage over a candidate who has an unknown symbol.
-
To begin, how are symbols awarded to political parties?
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Follow these instructions to get a symbol:
- A party or candidate must provide a list of three symbols from the EC’s free symbols list when filing nomination papers.
- Each party or candidate is given one emblem on a first-come, first-served basis.
- The Election Commission determines the symbol to be assigned when a recognised political party splits.
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Authority of the Election Commission:
- Under the Election Symbols (Reservation and Allotment) Order, 1968, the EC has the ability to recognise political parties and allot symbols.
- Under paragraph 15 of the Order, it has the competence to settle disputes between rival parties or elements of a recognised political party claiming the party’s name and emblem.
- The EC is also the only authority for resolving conflicts or mergers. The Supreme Court recognised its legitimacy in Sadiq Ali and others v. ECI in 1971.
-
What is the number of different types of symbols one can have?
- Party symbols must be one of the following, according to the Election Symbols (Reservation and Allotment) (Amendment) Order, 2017.
- Reserved: Eight national parties and 64 state parties have “reserved” symbols across the country.
- Free: The Election Commission keeps a pool of about 200 “free” symbols that it distributes to the thousands of unregistered regional parties that pop up in the run-up to elections.
-
What powers does the Electoral Commission have in a dispute over the electoral symbol when a party splits?
- “When the Commission is satisfied that there are rival sections or groups of a recognised political party, each claiming to be that party, the Commission may decide that one of those rival sections or groups, or none of those rival sections or groups, is that recognised political party, and the Commission’s decision is binding on all such rival sectio
- This is true in conflicts involving recognised national and state parties (like the LJP, in this case). In the instance of breakdowns in registered but unrecognised parties, the EC usually advises fighting parties to settle their differences privately or go to court.
5 – ABOUT FINCLUVATION:
Prelims Specific Topic
Fincluvation is a partnership between India Post Payments Bank (IPPB), a 100 percent government-owned business under the Department of Posts (DoP), and the Fintech Startup community to co-create and improve financial inclusion solutions.
- Fincluvation is a first-of-its-kind initiative in the financial services industry to build a robust platform to engage the startup community in the development of significant financial products that promote financial inclusion.
- IPPB will cooperate with start-ups on a regular basis through Fincluvation to develop equitable financial solutions.
6 – DETAILS OF THE CIVIL SERVICES DAY:
Prelims Specific Topic
- The Government of India observes ‘Civil Services Day’ every year on April 21 as an occasion for civil servants to recommit themselves to the cause of people and renew their commitments to public service and job excellence.
- This date was chosen to remember the day in 1947 when Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, India’s first Home Minister, spoke to Administrative Services Officers probationers at Metcalf House in Delhi.
- On Civil Servant Day, the Prime Minister’s Awards for Excellence in Public Administration are presented to Districts/Implementing Units in the categories of priority programme implementation and innovation.
UPSC Civil Services Daily Current Affairs 25th April 2022
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