UPSC Daily Current Affairs- 7th December 2022 | Current Affairs & Hindu Analysis: Daily, Weekly & Monthly PDF Download

GS-I

Context

The Munda people’s association with the mahua tree begins even before they are born. Would-be mothers are fed a simple chutney made of mahua flowers that is believed to be healthy.

• Mahua is also a part of wedding rituals and mahua liquor is served at the ceremony. From birth, through marriage, till funeral — mahua is intertwined with their cultural life.

About Mahua Tree:

• The Madhuca longifolia is a species of tropical tree native to India that may be found primarily on the plains and forests of the central, southern, and northern parts of the country, as well as in Nepal, Myanmar, and Sri Lanka.
• It is a quick-growing tree that may reach a height of roughly 20 metres, with everlasting or semi-evergreen foliage.
• It grows sporadically in semi-evergreen woods, along riverbanks, and pastures and crop fields in central India.
• It has a short, thick trunk with a diameter of 80 cm.
• The crown has several branches and is circular.
• The leaves are alternating and crowded at the branchlets’ terminals.
• The basic leaf blade measures 10-25 cm in length and 6-12 cm in width, is oval-shaped, stiff, thick, and hard, woolly on the underside, and exudes a milky sap when broken.

Madhuca longifolia: Uses

• Several different portions of the tree, particularly the bark, are utilised for the therapeutic benefits they possess. Patients with diabetes in Nepal are given a decoction made from the tree’s bark.
• mahua is omnipresent from food to fodder, dawaa (medicine) to daaru (alcohol) in daily lives tribals of central India. In their own words, ‘Mahua is not a tree, it’s our way of life’.
• Leprosy is often treated using a medicinal extract made from the tree’s bark.
• The oil that is extracted from the seeds is utilised in the treatment of a variety of skin conditions.
  • The seed cakes that are left over after the oil has been extracted make for excellent fertiliser.
• The flowers are thought to provide a calming, tonifying, and demulcent effect. They are employed in the therapy of coughs, colds, and bronchitis, among other conditions.
• The succulent, sugary flowers can be consumed as fresh or dried, powdered and baked with flour, fermented to produce alcohol, or used as a sweetener.
• Given its non-toxicity, the inhabitants of Western Odisha rely heavily on mahua fruit as a primary source of nutrition.
• Its fruits and blooms are used in the preparation of a wide variety of delicious foods.
• When there is a grain shortage in the local region, a mixture of mahua flowers and sal seeds is cooked together to make a dish that may be used as a substitute for grain staples.

Source: DownToEarth

Context

Recently, the Prime Minister paid homage to Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar on Mahaparinirvan Diwas and recalled his exemplary service to our nation.

What is Mahaparinirvan Diwas?

• Parinirvana, regarded as one of the major principles as well as goals of Buddhism, is a Sanskrit term which means release or freedom after death.
• As per the Buddhist text Mahaparinibbana Sutta, the death of Lord Buddha at the age of 80 is considered as the original Mahaparinirvan.
• 6^th December is observed to commemorate the unfathomable contribution to society given by Dr. Bhimrao Ambedkar and his achievements. Owing to Ambedkar’s status as a Buddhist leader, his death anniversary is referred to as Mahaparinirvan Diwas.

Who was Dr. Bhimrao Ambedkar?

• About:
  • Babasaheb Dr. Bhimrao Ambedkar was a social reformer, jurist, economist, author, polyglot (knowing or using several languages) orator, a scholar, and thinker of comparative religions.
• Birth:
  • He was born in 1891 in Mhow, Central Province (now Madhya Pradesh).
• Brief Profile:
  • He is known as the Father of the Indian Constitution and was India's first Law Minister.
  • He was the Chairman of the Drafting Committee for the new Constitution.
  • He was a well-known statesman who fought for the rights of the Dalits and other socially backward classes.
• Contributions:
  • He led the Mahad Satyagraha in March 1927 against Hindus who were opposing the decision of the Municipal Board.
  • In 1926, the Municipal Board of Mahad (Maharashtra) passed an order to throw open the tank to all communities. Earlier, the untouchables were not allowed to use water from the Mahad tank.
  • He participated in all three Round Table Conferences.
  • In 1932, Dr. Ambedkar signed the Poona pact with Mahatma Gandhi, which abandoned the idea of separate electorates for the depressed classes (Communal Award).
  • However, the seats reserved for the depressed classes were increased from 71 to 147 in provincial legislatures and to 18% of the total in the Central Legislature.
  • His ideas before the Hilton Young Commission served as the foundation of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI).
• Election and Designation:
  • In 1937, he was elected to the Bombay Legislative Assembly as a legislator (MLA).
  • He was appointed to the Executive Council of Viceroy as a Labour member in 1942.
  • In 1947, Dr. Ambedkar accepted PM Nehru's invitation to become Minister of Law in the first Cabinet of independent India.
• Shift to Buddhism:
  • He resigned from the cabinet in 1951, over differences on the Hindu Code Bill.
  • He converted to Buddhism in 1956.
  • He was awarded India’s highest civilian honour the Bharat Ratna in 1990.
• Important Works:
  • Journals:
    • Mooknayak (1920)
    • Bahishkrit Bharat (1927)
    • Samatha (1929)
    • Janata (1930)
  • Books:
    • Annihilation of Caste
    • Buddha or Karl Marx
    • The Untouchable: Who are They and Why They Have Become Untouchables
    • Buddha and His Dhamma
    • The Rise and Fall of Hindu Women
  • Organisations:
    • Bahishkrit Hitkarini Sabha (1923)
    • Independent Labor Party (1936)
    • Scheduled Castes Federation (1942)
  • Death:
    • He died on 6^th December 1956.
• Chaitya Bhoomi is a memorial to B R Ambedkar, located in Mumbai.

• Relevance of Ambedkar in Present Times:
  • Caste-based inequality in India still persists. While Dalits have acquired a political identity through reservation and forming their own political parties, they lack behind in social dimensions (health and education) and economic dimension.
  • There has been a rise of communal polarization and communalization of politics. It is necessary that Ambedkar's vision of constitutional morality must supersede religious morality to avoid permanent damage to the Indian Constitution.

Source: PIB

GS-II

Context

The National Crisis Management Committee (NCMC) under the Chairmanship of Cabinet Secretary met recently and reviewed preparedness of Central Ministries/Agencies, and State/Union Territory Governments to review preparedness for the possible cyclonic storm over the Bay of Bengal.

About National Crisis Management Committee:

• It is a committee set up by the Government of India in the wake of a natural calamity for effective coordination and implementation of relief measures and operations.
• It is headed by Cabinet Secretary.
• On the constitution of such a committee, the Agriculture Secretary shall provide all necessary information to and seek directions.
• It has been constituted in the Cabinet Secretariat.

Key functions:

• Oversee the Command, Control and Coordination of the disaster response.
• Give direction to the Crisis Management Group (CMG) as deemed necessary.

Composition:

• Cabinet Secretary (Chairperson).
• Secretaries of Ministries / Departments and agencies with specific Disaster management responsibilities.

Source: PIB

Context

The National Commission for Minorities recently held a meeting with the Sikh Intelligentsia for inviting suggestions and advice to make the commemoration of the Veer Bal Diwas more meaningful.

• Earlier Prime Minister of India has announced that 26 December will be observed as Veer Bal Diwas to mark the martyrdom of Sahibzada Zorawar Singh Ji (7 years old) and Sahibzada Fateh Singh Ji (5 years old), who were martyred in Sarhand by prisoning them alive by bricking them in the walls on 26th December, 1704.
• Thereafter, the Government of India has decided to commemorate December 26 as Veer Bal Diwas.

About National Commission for Minorities:

• The Union Government set up the National Commission for Minorities (NCM) under the National Commission for Minorities Act, 1992.
• Six religious communities, viz; Muslims, Christians, Sikhs, Buddhists, Zoroastrians (Parsis) and Jains have been notified in Gazette of India as minority communities by the Union Government all over India.
• Original notification of 1993 was for five religious communities; Sikhs, Buddhists, Parsis, Christians and Muslims, later in 2014, Jains community was also added.
• As per Census 2001, these six communities consists of 18.8% of the country’s population.
• The NCM adheres to the United Nations Declaration of 18 December 1992.

Composition:

The act states that the Commission shall consist of:

• a Chairperson,
• a Vice Chairperson and
• Five Members to be nominated by the Central Government from amongst persons of eminence, ability and integrity;
• The five members including the Chairperson shall be from amongst the minority communities.

Powers:

• Summoning and enforcing the attendance of any person from any part of India and examining him on oath.
• Requiring the discovery and production of any document.
• Receiving evidence on affidavit.
• Requisitioning any public record or copy thereof from any court or office.
• Issuing commissions for the examination of witnesses and documents.

Source: NewsOnAir

GS-III

Context 

The Delhi Police will move to the ‘Open Standard Digital Trunking Radio System’ (OS-DTRS) and will phase out the current tetra net wireless network services.

• The project will cost close to Rs 100 crore

About new system:

• It is an internal communication system of Delhi Police
• It is more efficient and aims at faster exchange of information
• The trunking system provides multiple channels and common groups for policemen.
• This way, they are communicating with more personnel using fewer groups, officials said.
• Groups are formed based on geographical area and function.
• It will also have a voice logger system, which can be used to describe a crime scene, interrogation details and evidence. The logs are saved in the system.
• The project’s master site will be at the Delhi Police HQ.
• Police are looking for private companies to run the system on 800 MHz frequency band and microwave links.
• There will be a tower that can withstand wind speeds of up to 160 kmph.
• Around 15,000 concurrent radio sets will be made first and later expanded to 30,000 over time.
• The master site will have OS-DTRS control and switching equipment, a network management system, 90 IP-based logger systems, 50-inch or bigger LED monitors, an antenna system and maintenance systems.
• Equipment and services are expected to run for at least 10 years and fix network issues faced by personnel on the ground.
• The system should be equipped to support multi-channel operation for meeting current traffic requirements and should be expandable by 100% in future
• The system will have talk groups, in which members have the same functions/role, and each radio system will have a unique ID.

Source: Indian express

Context

Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) report on Global status of black soils is the first such report, released on World Soil Day.

• Black soils feed the global population and are under threat due to losing at least half of their soil organic carbon (SOC) stocks.
• Preserving natural vegetation on black soils such as grasslands, forests and wetlands and adopting sustainable soil management approaches on cropped black soils were the two main goals highlighted by the report.

Black soil:

• The inherent fertility of the soils makes them the food basket for many countries and are considered essential to the global food supply.
• These soils are characterised by a thick, dark-coloured soil horizon rich in organic matter.
• Black soils are extremely fertile and can produce high agricultural yields thanks to their elevated moisture storage capacity.
• Europe and Eurasia accounted for 70 per cent of the soil in the total cropland, while North America, Latin America and the Caribbean and Asia had 10 per cent each.

Features of Black soil:

• Clayey in texture
• Highly fertile
• High moisture retention
• Rich in calcium carbonate, magnesium, potash and lime
• Poor in nitrogen and phosphorous
• Contractable, develops deep wide cracks on drying

Significance:

• They constitute 5.6 per cent of global soils and contain 8.2 per cent of the world’s SOC stocks i.e. approx. 56 billion tonnes of carbon.
• Globally in 2010, 66 per cent of sunflower seeds, 51 per cent of small millet, 42 per cent of sugar beet, 30 per cent of wheat and 26 per cent of potatoes were harvested from black soils.
• The ability of the soils to remove carbon from the atmosphere and lock it up in soil organic matter (called carbon sequestration) has been proposed as an important solution to mitigate human-induced climate change.
• Black soils have the potential to provide 10 per cent of the total SOC sequestration globally if they receive proper attention.
• Europe and Eurasia have the highest potential at over 65 per cent and Latin America and the Caribbean at around 10 per cent, according to FAO’s global Soil Organic Carbon Sequestration Potential map.
• Black soils were home to 2.86 per cent of the global population and had 17.36 percent of cropland, 8.05 per cent of global SOC stock and 30.06 per cent SOC stock of global cropland

Threats:

• Most of the black soils suffered from moderate to severe erosion processes, as well as nutrient imbalances, acidification and biodiversity loss
• Black soils have lost 20 to 50 per cent of their original SOC stock, with the carbon being released into the atmosphere mostly as carbon dioxide, exacerbating global warming
• Land-use change, unsustainable management practices and excessive use of agrochemicals are to blame

Source: DTE

As part of the Sweden India Nobel Memorial Week, SHE STEM, the annual event to celebrate women in the fields of science, technology, engineering, mathematics, and sustainability, was successfully held for the third year in a row.

About the event:

• The annual event is organised by the Embassy of Sweden in India in partnership with the Atal Innovation Mission, NITI Aayog, Government of India and the German Centre of Innovation and Research (DWIH New Delhi).
• It is a flagship event of the Sweden-India Nobel memorial Week.
• A strong STEM education will go a long way in cultivating critical thinkers

Govt schemes for women:

• Mission Shakti
  • Aim – women and girls have equal access to resources and opportunities.
  • It’ll be run in a mission mode and will adopt a life cycle continuum approach.
  • Includes – Sambal, Samarthya, Swadhar Greh schemes
• Mission Vatsalya
  • Children have been recognized by policy makers as one of the supreme national assets.
  • India is home to 472 million children upto the age of 18 years and comprise 39 percent of the country’s population
• Saksham Anganwadi and Poshan 2.0
  • Anganwadi services, Scheme for adolescent girls, poshan abhiyan
  • Maternal nutrition, wellness through AYUSH, Infant and young child feeding norms
  • Nai Roshni – scheme for Leadership Development of Minority Women is being implemented across India
• Gender Advancement for Transforming Institutions (GATI): a pilot project under the Department of Science and Technology to promote gender equity in science and technology
• Knowledge Involvement in Research Advancement through Nurturing (KIRAN)- a plan under the Department of Science and Technology again to encourage women scientists in science and technology and also preventing women scientists from giving up research due to family reasons, are noteworthy.
• KIRAN – ‘Women Scientist Scheme’ — provides career opportunities to unemployed women scientists and technologists, especially those who had a break in their career.
• Indo-US Fellowship for Women in STEMM (WISTEMM) program– Under this bilateral agreement, Indian women scientists can now work in research labs in the US.
• Consolidation of University Research for Innovation and Excellence in Women Universities (CURIE) programme– It aims at improving R&D infrastructure and establishing state-of-the-art research facilities in order to create excellence in S&T in women universities.
• Vigyan Jyoti programme– Meritorious girl students of Class 9-12 are being encouraged to pursue higher education and career in the STEM field.

Source: PIB