UPSC Key-October 7, 2022: Why you should read ‘Avalanches’ or ‘Virtual Water Trade’ or ‘European Central Bank’ for UPSC CSE

India abstains at UN on vote for debate on human rights in China’s Xinjiang

Syllabus:

Preliminary Examination: Current events of national and international importance.

Mains Examination: 

• General Studies II: Important International institutions, agencies and fora- their structure, mandate.

• General Studies II: India and its neighborhood- relations.

Key Points to Ponder:

• What’s the ongoing story- India on Thursday abstained from voting on a draft resolution in the UN Human Rights Council on holding a debate on the human rights situation in China’s restive Xinjiang region.

• But, why India abstained on UNHRC resolution?

• Is India’s abstention a surprise?

• How did India explain its vote?

• Was India under certain diplomatic pressure?

• So, do you think that India’s abstention is good for India’s diplomatic space?

• By the way, who are Uyghurs?

• Map Work– Can you mark Xinjiang on world map?

• Why Xinjiang is important to China?

• What prompted China’s crackdown on Uyghurs minorities?

• What is the basis for the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights accusations?

• What has been China’s response?

• For your Information-The Uyghurs live in Xinjiang, the largest and most western of China’s administrative regions, which is surrounded by Mongolia, Russia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Afghanistan, Pakistan and India. They are Muslim, speak a language close to Turkish, and are culturally and ethnically closer to Central Asia than the rest of China.

Other Important Articles Covering the same topic:

📍Explained: Who are Uighurs?

📍Explained: Why has China put Uighur Muslims in camps, and what happens inside?

GOVT & POLITICS

India pressed Russia on safety of Ukraine N-plant: Jaishankar

Syllabus:

Preliminary Examination: Current events of national and international importance.

Main Examination: 

• General Studies II: Bilateral, regional and global groupings and agreements involving India and/or affecting India’s interests.

• General Studies II: Effect of policies and politics of developed and developing countries on India’s interests

Key Points to Ponder:

• What’s the ongoing story- India is willing to do whatever it can to facilitate a solution to the Ukraine crisis, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar said on Thursday. Jaishankar, who is in Auckland on his first visit to New Zealand as the External Affairs Minister highlighted how India pressed Moscow on the safety of the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant in Ukraine when the two countries stepped up fighting near the highly sensitive facility.

• Map Work-New Zealand

• New Zealand consists of two main landmasses, the North Island and the South Island. Can you name the water body which is between both the islands?

• India and New Zealand have historically shared close and cordial ties-Can you brainstorm the cooperation areas between the two nations?

• Bilateral Economic & Commercial Relations between India and New Zealand-know in brief

• Pacific Islands forum (PIF) and India-connect the dots

• India, New Zealand and India’s Pursuit for Asia-Pacific region-can you correlate?

• Map Work-Zaporizhzhia

• Ukraine has four nuclear power stations comprising 15 reactors but what makes the plant at Zaporizhzhia important and extremely volatile?

• What are the Cooling systems and why they are extremely crucial to the safe operations of nuclear reactors?

• What is a radiation emergency?

• What are anti-radiation pills?

Other Important Articles Covering the same topic:  

📍INDIA – NEW ZEALAND: BILATERAL BRIEF

📍Explained: How fighting in Ukraine has put an active nuclear plant at grave risk

EXPRESS NETWORK

There was little we could do, says survivor; death count rises to 16

Syllabus:

Preliminary Examination: General issues on Environmental ecology, Bio-diversity and Climate Change – that do not require subject specialization.

Main Examination: General Studies III: Disaster and disaster management.

Key Points to Ponder:

• What’s the ongoing story- Twelve more bodies were recovered Thursday from the site of an avalanche that hit a team of climbers in Uttarakhand’s Uttarkashi district, officials said, taking the death toll to 16.

• What is avalanche?

• What are the main causes of avalanches?

• What are the effects of Avalanches?

• Why Himalayas are vulnerable to Avalanches?

• Locate on Map-Draupadi Ka Danda (Gangotri range of Garhwal Himalayas)

• What are the Prediction and protective measures for Avalanches in India?

• Avalanches Vulnerability Profile in India-Know previous such cases

• Avalanches and Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR)-connect the dots

• National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA)-Know in detail

Other Important Articles Covering the same topic:

📍DISASTER MANAGEMENT IN INDIA

THE EDITORIAL PAGE

UP AHEAD: RICE INSECURITY

Syllabus:

Preliminary Examination: Economic and Social Development

Mains Examination: General Studies III: Indian Economy and issues relating to planning, mobilisation of resources, growth, development and employment, Major crops-cropping patterns in various parts of the country

Key Points to Ponder:

• What’s the ongoing story-Poornima Varma writes: Unreliable rice export policy and precarity of production among other factors, will have long-term impact

• Quick Recall-On August 8, India banned the exports of broken rice and imposed a 20 per cent duty on the exports of various grades of rice amid high cereal inflation and uncertainties with respect to domestic supply.

• What was India’s total rice exports in the year 2021-22?

• India is a major rice cultivation country. Rice is grown in which part of the country?

• What are the Climate Conditions required for rice cultivation?

• What is “optimal export tax”?

• ‘Ban on rice export help tame inflation’-Do you agree?

• How Export bans on food items shows irresponsible behaviour at the global level?

• What are the restrictions that have been put on rice exports?

• How much would all this impact the country’s overall rice exports?

• Why have these restrictions been placed?

• How important is India to the global rice trade?

• Where does India export rice to?

• Now, what exactly are parboiled and broken rice?

• Will India’s rice exports take a massive hit?

• The author of this article quotes “Rice exports are leading to an indirect export of water to other countries — a phenomenon known as virtual water trade (VWT)”-What have you understood by this statement?

• What is virtual water trade (VWT)

Other Important Articles Covering the same topic:

📍India’s water is being exported as agri-exports; is there a solution

ECONOMY

European Central Bank policymakers: Recession becoming ‘increasingly likely’

Syllabus:

Preliminary Examination: Current events of national and international importance.

Main Examination: General Studies II:  Important International institutions, agencies and fora- their structure, mandate.

Key Points to Ponder:

• What’s the ongoing story- European Central Bank policymakers appeared increasingly worried at their Sept. 7-8 meeting that high inflation could become entrenched, making aggressive policy tightening necessary even at the cost of weaker growth, the meeting accounts show.

• What is European Central Bank (ECB)?

• For Your Information-The ECB Governing Council makes decisions on eurozone monetary policy, including its objectives, key interest rates and the supply of reserves in the Euro system comprising the ECB and national central banks of the eurozone countries. It also sets the general framework for the ECB’s role in banking supervision

• What are the primary responsibility of the ECB?

• European Central Bank and Reserve bank of India-compare and contrast (w.r.t to functions and responsibilities and inflation)

• European Union-Know in detail

• What are the Functions of EU?

• How are EU’s Relations with India?

Other Important Articles Covering the same topic:

📍European Central Bank (ECB)

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