UPSC Daily Current Affairs- April 25, 2022 PDF Download

GS-I

Context

Recently, Prime Minister Narendra Modi received the first Lata Deenanath Mangeshkar Award. 

• He got the award for his selfless service to the country and society at the 80th annual Master Deenanath Mangeshkar Awards ceremony held in Mumbai.

About Lata Deenanath Mangeshkar Award

• The Lata Deenanath Mangeshkar Award was instituted in the memory and honor of legendary singer Lata Mangeshkar, who had passed away at the age of 92 in February 2022. 
• The award will be given every year to only one individual who has made path-breaking, spectacular and exemplary contributions to the nation, its people, and the society, as per the statement by the Master Deenanath Mangeshkar Smruti Pratishthan Charitable Trust.

Who was Lata Mangeshkar?

• Lata Mangeshkar, also known as the 'Nightingale of India', was one of the most versatile singers of India. 
• She lent her voice to over 5,000 songs in over a thousand Hindi and 36 regional films.
• In 1974, she became the first Indian to perform at the Royal Albert Hall (U.K). She is the recipient of three National Film Awards, 15 Bengal Film Journalists' Association Awards, four Filmfare Best Female Playback Awards, two Filmfare Special Awards, Filmfare Lifetime Achievement Award and many more. 
• Lata Mangeshkar was bestowed with the Dadasaheb Phalke Award in 1989. In 2001, she was awarded the Bharat Ratna, India's highest civilian honour. 
• The government of France conferred on her its highest civilian award (Officer of the Legion of Honour) in 2007. 
• Along with these, Lata Mangeshkar held the distinction of being the most recorded artist in the history of Indian music in the Guinness Record in 1974. 
• The Indian government honored her with the Daughter of the Nation award on her 90th birthday in September 2019.

Seafloor Spreading

Context

According to a study that analyzed data from the last 19 million years, Seafloor spreading rates have slowed down by roughly 35% globally.

What are the Highlights of the Study?

• For this study, researchers selected 18 of the world’s largest spreading ridges (mid-ocean ridges). 
  • A ridge or a mountain ridge is a geographical feature consisting of a chain of mountains or hills that form a continuous elevated crest for an extended distance. 
• By studying magnetic records in the rocks on the oceanic crust, they calculated how much oceanic crust had formed over the last 19 million years. 
  • Basalt rocks on the oceanic crust contain magnetic properties. 
  • Their magnetism is influenced by the Earth’s magnetic field when the magma reaches the surface and begins cooling to form the crust. 
• But the records are incomplete because the crusts get destroyed at subduction zones. 
  • Subduction zone is a point where two tectonic plates collide, causing one of them to sink into the Earth’s mantle beneath the other plate.

What is Seafloor Spreading?

• The seafloor spreading hypothesis was proposed by the American geophysicist Harry H. Hess in 1960. 
• Seafloor spreading is the process of magma welling up in the rift as the old crust pulls itself in opposite directions. Cold seawater cools the magma, creating a new crust. 
• The upward movement and eventual cooling of this magma has created high ridges on the ocean floor over millions of years. 
  • However, the seafloor is destroyed in subduction zones, where oceanic crust slides under continents and sinks back into the mantle, and is reforged at seafloor spreading ridges. 
• The East Pacific Rise is a site of major seafloor spreading in the Ring of Fire. 
  • It is located on the divergent boundary of the Pacific Plate, the Cocos Plate (west of Central America), the Nazca Plate (west of South America), the North-American Plate and the Antarctic Plate.

What are the Reasons behind the Decline of Seafloor Spreading?

• Growing mountains on the continents might be one of the factors driving the slowdown (as it causes resistance to seafloor spreading). 
  • About 200 million years ago, when the supercontinent Pangea start breaking, there weren’t any major plate collisions or related mountain chains. 
  • The continents were fairly flat back then. 
• Mature Stage of the Supercontinent Breakup: As Pangea progressively broke apart, new ocean basins formed and eventually, the widely fragmented continents started running into each other. 
  • This happened, for instance, between India and Eurasia, the Arabian Peninsula and Eurasia as well as Africa and Eurasia. 
    • This is a natural consequence of a ‘mature’ stage of supercontinent breakup and dispersal. 
• Changes in mantle convection could also be playing a role as mantle convection transports heat from the earth’s interior to the surface. 
  • A mantle is a layer inside a planetary body bounded below by a core and above by a crust. 
  • Mantle convection describes the movement of the mantle as it transfers heat from the white-hot core to the brittle lithosphere. 
    • The mantle is heated from below, cooled from above, and its overall temperature decreases over long periods of time.

What can be the Impact of Seafloor Spreading?

Seafloor spreading influences sea level and carbon cycle. 

• Seal Level: Increasing the rate of seafloor spreading inflates the ridge. Hot, young lithosphere is forming and moving away from the ridge at a faster rate and moving a greater distance from the ridge before it cools and contracts. So sea level rises. 
• Carbon Cycle: Faster rates mean more volcanic activity, which injects greenhouse gases into the atmosphere.

GS-II

Context

Communal violence, a complex phenomenon, has been over-simplified to suit a convenient political narrative.

India’s syncretic traditions and impact of invasions

• For aeons, India has had syncretic traditions inspired by the Vedic aphorism, “Ekam sad vipra bahudha vadanti” (there is only one truth and learned persons call it by many names). 
• Because of this underpinning, Indian society has never insisted on uniformity in any facet of life. 
• This equanimity of Indian society was, however, disrupted by invading creeds. 
• The first such incursion came in 712, when Muhammad bin Qasim vanquished Sindh, and as Chach Nama, a contemporary Arab chronicle states, introduced the practice of treating local Hindus as zimmis, forcing them to pay jizya (a poll tax), as a penalty to live by their beliefs. 
• In the 11th century, Mahmud of Ghazni, while receiving the caliphate honours on his accession to the throne, took a vow to wage jihad every year against Indian idolaters. 
• The fact is, ties between the two communities were seldom cordial. 
• There were intermittent skirmishes, wars and occasional short-lived opportunistic alliances. 
• When Pakistan declared itself an Islamic Republic in 1947, it would have been natural for India to identify itself as a Hindu state. 
• It didn’t, and couldn’t have — because of its Hindu ethos of pluralism. 
• India, is, and will always be, catholic, plural, myriad and a vibrant democracy.

Conclusion
It’s relevant to recall what Lester Pearson (14th PM of Canada) said: “Misunderstanding arising from ignorance breeds fear, and fear remains the greatest enemy of peace.”

Context

The annual Raisina Dialogue in Delhi held this year by National Security Adviser Ajit Doval will host intelligence agency chiefs of several countries.

What is the conference about?

• The conference is modelled on the lines of the annual Munich Security Conference and Singapore’s Shangri-La dialogue. 
• It is expected to bring together heads and deputy heads of the top intelligence and security organisations from more than 20 — mostly Western countries and their allies. 
• Intelligence chiefs and deputies from Australia, Germany, Israel, Singapore, Japan and New Zealand are among those expected to attend the conference. 
• The meet is held on the sidelines of the “Five eyes alliance” of the U.S., U.K., Canada, New Zealand and Australia, who coordinate on terrorism and security issues.

What is the Five Eyes Alliance?

• The Five Eyes (FVEY) is an intelligence alliance comprising Australia, Canada, New Zealand, the United Kingdom, and the United States. 
• These countries are parties to the multilateral UKUSA Agreement, a treaty for joint cooperation in signals intelligence. 
• The origins of the FVEY can be traced to informal secret meetings during World War II between British and American code-breakers. 
• It was started before the US formally entered the war, followed by the Allies’ 1941 Atlantic Charter that established their vision of the post-war world.

Context

Recently, the Ministry of Agriculture & Farmers Welfare has organized the National Conference of Cluster Based Business Organization's (CBBOs), under the Central Sector Scheme of Formation and Promotion of 10,000 FPOs (Farmer Producer Organization).

What is the Scheme of Formation & Promotion of 10,000 FPOs?

• Launch
  • In February 2020, at Chitrakoot (Uttar Pradesh) with a budgetary provision of Rs. 6865 crores. 
• About
  • More than 2200 FPOs produce clusters have been allocated for the formation of FPOs in 2020-21. 
  • Implementing Agencies (IAs) are engaging Cluster-Based Business Organizations (CBBOs) to aggregate, register & provide professional handholding support to each FPO for a period of 5 years. 
    • CBBOs will be the platform for end-to-end knowledge for all issues related to FPO promotion. 
• Financial Assistance
  • Up to Rs. 18.00 lakh per FPO for a period of 3 years. 
  • Provision has also been made for matching equity grants up to Rs. 2,000 per farmer member of FPO with a limit of Rs. 15.00 lakh per FPO. 
  • Provision of a credit guarantee facility up to Rs. 2 crores of project loan per FPO from the eligible lending institution to ensure institutional credit accessibility to FPOs. 
• Significance
  • Increase Farmers' Income: It will promote the selling of farmers' produce from the farm gate of farmers thereby enhancing farmers’ income. This will shorten the supply chain and accordingly marketing costs will get reduced resulting in better income for farmers. 
  • Create Employment: It will accelerate more investment in marketing and value addition infrastructure near to farm gates creating more employment opportunities for rural youth. 
  • Making Farming Viable: It will make farming more viable by aggregating land. 
• Progress
  • More than 5.87 lakh farmers have been mobilized under the Scheme. 
  • About 3 lakh farmers have been registered as shareholders of the FPOs. 
  • Equity contribution by farmer members amounts to INR 36.82 crores. 
  • The total equity base of the FPOs, including the Equity Grant released, amounts to INR 50 crores.

Context

India commemorates the 12th National Panchayati Raj day on 24th April 2022. 

• The Prime Minister has launched the distribution of e-property cards under the SWAMITVA (Survey of Villages and Mapping with Improvised Technology in Village Areas) scheme on the Day.

What is National Panchayati Raj Day?

• Background
  • The first National Panchayati Raj Day was celebrated in 2010. 
  • Since then, the National Panchayati Raj Day is celebrated on 24th April every year in India. 
  • The day marks the enactment of the 73rd amendment of the constitution in 1992. 
• Awards Presented on the Day
  • The Ministry of Panchayati Raj has been awarding the best performing Panchayats/States/UTs across the country in recognition of their good work. 
  • Awards are given under various categories namely, 
    • Deen Dayal Upadhyay Panchayat Sashaktikaran Puraskar, 
    • Nanaji Deshmukh Rashtriya Gaurav Gram Sabha Puraskar, 
    • Child-friendly Gram Panchayat Award, 
    • Gram Panchayat Development Plan Award and 
    • e-Panchayat Puraskar (given to States/UTs only).

What is Panchayati Raj?

• After the Constitution came into force, Article 40 made a mention of panchayats and Article 246 empowered the state legislature to legislate with respect to any subject relating to local self-government. 
• Panchayati Raj Institution (PRI) was constitutionalized through the 73rd Constitutional Amendment Act, 1992 to build democracy at the grass roots level and was entrusted with the task of rural development in the country. 
• PRI is a system of rural local self-government in India. 
  • Local Self Government is the management of local affairs by such local bodies who have been elected by the local people. 
• To strengthen e-Governance in Panchayati Raj Institutions (PRIs) across the country, the Ministry of Panchayati Raj (MoPR) has launched eGramSwaraj, a user-friendly web-based portal. 
  • It unifies the planning, accounting and monitoring functions of Gram Panchayats. Its combination with the Area Profiler application, Local Government Directory (LGD) and the Public Financial Management System (PFMS) renders easier reporting and tracking of Gram Panchayat’s activities.

GS-III

Context

Recently, Microsoft said that it had disrupted cyberattacks from a Russian nation-state hacking group called ‘Strontium’.

What is Strontium?

• Strontium, also known as Fancy Bear, Tsar Team, Pawn Storm, Sofacy, Sednit or Advanced Persistent Threat 28 (APT28) group, is a highly active and prolific cyber-espionage group. 
• It is one of the most active APT groups and has been operating since at least the mid-2000s, making it one of the world’s oldest cyber-spy groups. 
• It has access to highly sophisticated tools to conduct spy operations, and has been attacking targets in the US, Europe, Central Asia and West Asia. 
• The group is said to be connected to the GRU, the Russian Armed Forces’ main military intelligence wing. 
• The GRU’s cyber units are believed to have been responsible for several cyberattacks over the years and its unit 26165 is identified as Fancy Bear.

How does it attack networks?

• The group deploys diverse malware and malicious tools to breach networks. 
• In the past, it has used X-Tunnel, SPLM (or CHOPSTICK and X-Agent), GAMEFISH and Zebrocy to attack targets. 
• These tools can be used as hooks in system drivers to access local passwords, and can track keystroke, mouse movements, and control webcam and USB drives. 
• APT28 uses spear-phishing (targeted campaigns to gain access to an individual’s account) and zero-day exploits (taking advantage of unknown computer-software vulnerabilities) to target specific individuals and organizations. 
• It has used spear-phishing and sometimes water-holing to steal information, such as account credentials, sensitive communications and documents. 
• A watering hole attack compromises a site that a targeted victim visits to gain access to the victim’s computer and network.

Context

The All-India Household Consumer Expenditure Survey, usually conducted by the National Statistical Office (NSO) every five years, is set to resume this year after a prolonged break.

What is the Consumer Expenditure Survey (CES)?

• The CES is traditionally a quinquennial (recurring every five years) survey conducted by the government’s National Sample Survey Office (NSSO). 
• It is designed to collect information on the consumer spending patterns of households across the country, both urban and rural. 
• Typically, the Survey is conducted between July and June and this year’s exercise is expected to be completed by June 2023.

Utility of the survey

• The data gathered in this exercise reveals the average expenditure on goods (food and non-food) and services. 
• It helps generate estimates of household Monthly Per Capita Consumer Expenditure (MPCE) as well as the distribution of households and persons over the MPCE classes. 
• It is used to arrive at estimates of poverty levels in different parts of the country and to review economic indicators such as the GDP, since 2011-12.

Why need this survey?

• India has not had any official estimates on per capita household spending. 
• It provides separate data sets for rural and urban parts, and also splice spending patterns for each State and Union Territory, as well as different socio-economic groups.

What about the previous survey?

• The survey was last held in 2017-2018. 
• The government announced that it had data quality issues. 
• Hence the results were not released.