Weekly Current Affairs Capsule: 26th Feb 2022 - 4th Marc 2022
Current Affairs plays a significant role in UPSC Exam. Direct or indirect questions are asked from this section. Here in this weekly capsule of current affairs, you will find the Weekly news of current affairs for UPSC exam preparation. Students taking the UPSC Exam will like the following information. Everyone is putting in their best effort in preparation for the upcoming exam. This post has covered the latest news for UPSC exam.
Category: Technology
Category: International Relations
Category: International Relations
Context: Ukrainian government said that radiation levels had elevated within the Chernobyl exclusion zone and warned the seizure of the nuclear plant by invading Russian troops should have “horrible effects.”
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Category: International
Trees on forest edges may grow faster than those inside
Category: Environment
Category: International Relations
Category: Economy
Category: Science & Technology
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Category: Defence Security
1. The Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) and Safran, a French engine manufacturer, are collaborating.
2. During his visit to Paris, External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar discussed this subject with French Defense Minister Florence Parly.
3. Last year, the government informed Parliament that it is proposed to work with a foreign engine house to produce indigenous engines for powering aircraft such as the Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) versions and AMCA.
4. As previously reported by The Hindu, the AMCA's original design began in 2009 and is envisioned as a twin-engine stealth aircraft with an internal weapons bay, which has been built for the first time and for which the design is complete.
5. The aircraft will be manufactured and produced through a Special Purpose Vehicle, which will also incorporate the private sector.
Category: Environment
1. According to a report published last year by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), if no serious action is taken, plastic trash emissions into aquatic environments could triple by 2040.
2. In February-March2022, the United Nations Environment Assembly may finalize a plan for global collaboration in this area.
3. Plastic bags and other plastic items are convenient, but they take a long time to degrade.
4. Plastic trash has increased as a result of rising worldwide consumption and limited participation in recycling programs.
5. The substitution of low-cost plastics with replacements results in a deadweight loss for the economy.
6. Plastics regulation could include a "command and control" strategy as well as fiscal measures such as eco-taxes or subsidies.
7. Pollution happens during the consumption stage as well, hence an eco-tax to discourage consumption is advocated.
8. Polluters or pollution-controlling authorities should install meters to record emissions or wastewater emitted during the manufacturing or consumption of plastics.
9. Comprehensive policy measures against plastics may basically involve three complementary activities:
Category: Science & Technology
The government is organizing a 'Vigyan Sarvatra Pujyate' Science Week.
Vigyan Sarvatra Pujyate
1. As a prelude to National Science Day in February28, which commemorates Sir C.V. Raman's discovery of light scattering, a program titled Vigyan Sarvatra Pujyate is being held to celebrate India's S & T achievements over the past 75 years.
2. It will take place in 75 different venues around the country.
3. The program seems to have been devised to instill pride in India's scientific achievements among the youth.
3. The program's goal is to motivate India's youth to contribute to the nation's progress.
4. The occasion should be used to celebrate the real spirit of science, which defies all forms of intellectual restrictions, thus promoting critical thinking in academics.
Category: International Relations
1. India abstained from a UNSC resolution condemning Russia's military action in Ukraine, but it did express its displeasure with the Russian conduct in a letter
2. Prime Minister Narendra Modi, talked to the Russian President and called for an “immediate cessation of violence”
3. India has so far ignored Ukraine’s pleas to negotiate with Russia to stop it’s military advances.
Context: India abstained from a UNSC resolution 8979 which condemned Russian action in Ukraine
Resolution 8979 of the United Nations Security Council
1. The UNSC met for the 8979th time to pass a resolution under Chapter VII of the UN charter.
2. The draft resolution was called for a vote in order to put a halt to Russia's military offensive in Ukraine.
3. Eleven of the UNSC's fifteen members voted in favor of the resolution, Russia vetoed it, and three nations abstained from voting. As a result, the UNSC rejected the resolution.
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Category: International Relations
Context- Vladimir Putin, the Russian president, has accused Ukraine of genocide and stated that he will take steps to demilitarise and de-Nazify the country.
1. The United Nations Genocide Convention defines genocide as a crime committed with the goal to completely or partially wipe out a national, ethnic, racial, or religious group.
2. However, no documented report has ever proven that genocide occurred in Ukraine.
3. "Ukraine is an illegitimate country that exists on land that is historically and rightfully Russia's," Mr. Putin appears to believe.
4. In fact Russia is unilaterally invading Ukraine, in violation of international law.
5. The Narendra Modi government had opted to abstain from voting on the UN Security Council Resolution.
6. The New Delhi BRICS Declaration pledges to settle all problems through peaceful means and opposes the use of unilateral force against any state.
7. Russia has violated the resolution by invading Ukraine, to which India was also a signatory.
Category: Cyber Security
Core sector growth moderates to 3.7%, cement expands 13.6%
Category: Economy
1. In January, India's output from all eight main infrastructure sectors exceeded pre-pandemic levels, despite the pace of growth slowing slightly to 3.7 percent from 4.1 percent in December 2021.
2. Steel output recovered into growth territory from a 1% contraction in December, growing 2.8% in January, whilst cement output recorded sturdy positive growth for the second month in a row at 13.6% in January, after a drop in November 2021.
3. “We expect the Index of Industrial Production (IIP) to grow at around 1% in January 2022 from the initial growth estimate of 0.4% for December 2021,” Ms. Nayar said.
4. The core sectors account for 40.27% of the IIP. In January, coal production increased by 8.2 %, while petroleum refinery output increased by 3.7%.
Category: International Relations
1. The Antonov An-225, a marvel of aviation and the world's largest cargo plane, was "destroyed" in an attack on its base in Ukraine's Hostomel/Gostomel airport.
2. The "super-heavy transport plane" was formally known as the "Cossack," its NATO operating code, but the world knew it better by its Ukrainian name, "Mriya," or "the Dream."
3. Built primarily for the transportation of the Buran shuttle orbiter and components of the Energiya carrier rocket, the six-engine, 84-metre-long behemoth flew for the first time on December21,1988, with its 32-wheel landing gear.
4. In May2016, it made its first landing in India, at Hyderabad's Shamshabad airport, en way to Perth to transport a 117-tonne power generator (from Prague, Czech Republic) to Australian mining.
5. It also played a key role in the COVID-19 campaign, transporting approximately 100 tonnes of medicines, laboratory equipment, medical masks, and personal protective equipment across Europe, Canada, and Africa.
6. There is a lot of speculation regarding what will happen next. If the "Mriya" cannot be repaired — an estimated $3 billion cost, according to aviation sources — there is still hope in the form of a second, incomplete fuselage at a hidden warehouse in Ukraine.
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Category: International Relations
Context: The article examines India's national security concerns, as well as its non-alignment stance, in the light of the invasion of Ukraine and the implications of escalating geopolitical tensions.
Why in news?
The invasion of Ukraine by Russia has placed India's foreign policy in jeopardy.
Overview
1. Despite assurances and oral guarantees made at the highest levels by the West to Russia that NATO would not be expanded eastwards, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) is expanding.
2. That does not, however, justify the invasion of Ukraine, and it is unclear how this conflict would address Russian security concerns.
3. Ukraine's President could have been more flexible in formulating a formula that would have addressed Russia's concerns, such as expressing commitment to the Minsk agreements.
4. By fending off Russian suspicions, the West could have been more imaginative.
5. The Russian invasion has been widely denounced across the world as a flagrant breach of state sovereignty and territorial integrity.
Challenges
1. With its developing engagement with the United States on the one hand, and its long-standing friendship and historic ties with Russia on the other, India finds itself in a tricky situation.
2. Furthermore, Russia is India's principal provider of military hardware and technology, and it has consistently supported India's security concerns at UN gatherings.
3. It is expected that India would require significant cooperation from Russia in the coming days on the problem of Kashmir, which Pakistan may take into the international organization with China's complete backing.
Read more from the linked article.
Category: Social Justice
Details Of issue
The inhabitants of Bastar have been subjected to great hardships as a result of a succession of unfortunate occurrences caused by the increasing militarization of Bastar and Maoist operations.
Due to the lack of a ceasefire request from both the State and the Maoists, local Adivasis have been arrested on spurious charges, according to reports.
Many innocent locals are still seeking justice and are suffering in deplorable conditions in bars, deprived of all basic requirements even during the epidemic.
Relevant For: GS-I
Context: How would a history of dress, for example, be useful at a time when young women are being denied an education and heated disputes rage over whether or not the hijab has any purpose or place in the classroom?
How History Is Useful?
1. It will urge students to consider what 'dress rules,' as well as opposition to them, have meant in the past and what they represent.
2. Students will gain a better understanding of how such arguments developed in the past and how they were addressed by studying the history of clothing.
3. Thinking historically helps us comprehend what is upsetting when women, who are meant to be the carriers of 'culture, tradition, and honor (because honour is always the property of males), wear or shed garments in defiance of those who seek to'save' or 'defend' them.
Category: Economy
Gross Goods and Services Tax (GST) revenue collections in February 2022 (for January sales) exceed Rs 1.30 lakh crore for the fifth consecutive month.
1. The increase in GST revenues is due to anti-evasion efforts and an increase in economic activity.
2. High growth in February 2022 should be understood in the context of partial lockdowns, weekend and night curfews, and other limitations imposed in several states as a result of the Omicron wave in January.
3. The increase implies a resurgence in vital sectors, particularly vehicle sales.
4. If GST collections stay at this pace, revenues may exceed the revised objectives established in the Union Budget for FY22.
5. While overall collections are 17.6% greater than the same period last year, there is significant variation among states, ranging from 2% to 23%.
6. In February, cess collections were Rs. 10,340 crore, with Rs. 638 crore collected on goods imports.
The revival of grassroots secularism in western Uttar Pradesh is lifting the veil of fear for Muslims. The movement strengthened the social and cultural bonds between Jats and Muslims. Whether it will have ripple effects in other parts of U.P. or in the rest of India is a legitimate question.
1. Some argue that secularism is a Western idea and thus inherently incompatible with Indian society, while others argue that it is an Indian idea. The grassroots secularism reflected in the social bonding of the Jats and Muslims in western U.P. presents evidence of the latter variety.
2. Secularism also needs construction.
3. The rise of Hindutva and its use of coercive state power has shaken the foundation of secularism.
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Category: International Relations
1. Ashoka's transformation and moral speech against war provide an ideal lesson that is required to be implemented in the current world of geopolitics in order to demonstrate the futility of wars as an inference to Ukraine's invasion.
2. The beginning of a transforming journey linked Ashoka to the Dhamma, which espoused civic and political virtue with a redefined sense of fame and grandeur.
3. The central aspect of Ashoka's Dhamma was 'Sarvajana, sarvaloka hita,' which implies the wellbeing of all life forms in this world and the afterlife.
4. Ashoka is remembered throughout history as the monarch who abandoned battle in favour of compassion, peace, and humanity.
5. We are living in a time when international peace and security theories are advocated in international fora, yet the reality differs from what is represented through international gatherings and conferences. The recent invasion of Ukraine may be the clearest example of an individual's current proclivity to conduct war.
6. The international community should realize that wars are interpretations of powerful aspirations to suppress the weak, destroying regional stability, fostering hatred, and disrupting global supply chains and trade, all of which have a negative impact on the economy.
Despite history's well-articulated moral knowledge against war, a group of powerful persons continues to develop a taste for wars that result in the misery of ordinary people. As a result, it is critical to replace war and conquest conceptions with peaceful alternatives such as diplomatic resolutions, talks, dialogues, and other peaceful forms of settlement.
Category: POLITY
India, once again, abstained as the United Nations General Assembly
1. After a resolution that failed to pass the UN Security Council (UNSC) due to Russia's veto, the UNGA called a special emergency session.
2. The United Nations General Assembly voted 141-5 to condemn Russia's invasion of Ukraine, calling on Russia to unconditionally remove its soldiers. India refrained from voting, as it did at the UNSC meeting.
3. Bhutan, Nepal, the Maldives, Afghanistan, and Myanmar, among India's neighbours, voted in favor of the resolution, while Bangladesh, Pakistan, China, and Sri Lanka abstained.
Category: Science & Technology
1. By citing Biden's demand to 'Make in America,' the Indian Prime Minister advocates for relying less on foreign supply chains.
2. Artificial intelligence, geospatial systems, drones, semi-conductors, space technology, genomics, pharmaceuticals, clean technologies, and 5G, according to the PM, were highlighted in the Budget.
3. The PM went on to say that because the global gaming sector was growing, the funding had been focused on Animation Visual Effects Gaming (AVGC).
4. The Prime Minister also emphasized the significance of a strong data security framework for the country, and requested a framework for establishing data security standards.
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Category: Economy
Deficits are increasing for a variety of reasons:-
Category: Science & Technology
Source: The Hindu Newspaper
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