current affairs paperwise | gs paper 1

The marginalisation of justice in public discourse

The marginalisation of justice in public discourse Introduction: Given the compulsion to advance our self-interest, the burden of sacrifice for achieving national goals is easily passed on to those who are powerless to resist it. Distributive justice: The idea of distributive justice requires not only a social condition marked by an absence of love or familiarity but also the circumstances of justice. For instance, a society where everything is abundantly available would no

California Wildfires

California Wildfires California (USA) is facing sprawling wildfires destroying more than 400,000 acres of forests in Northern and Central California. Reasons for California’s Wildfires: Climate: California, like much of the West, gets most of its moisture in the fall and winter. Its vegetation then stays dry throughout the summer because of a lack of rainfall and warmer temperatures, which ultimately serve as the ignition for fires. However, with global warming, the

National Council for Transgender Persons

National Council for Transgender Persons Recently, the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment constituted the National Council for Transgender Persons, under the Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Act, 2019. Background Indian Census never recognized third gender i.e. Transgender while collecting census data. But in 2011, data on Transgender was collected with details related to their employment, literacy and caste. As per the 2011 Census, the total popul

Nuakhai Juhar

Nuakhai Juhar Nuakhai Juhar is an agricultural festival, also called Nuakhai Parab or Nuakahi Bhetghat. It is celebrated to welcome the new crop of the season. Nuakhai is a combination of two words that signifies eating of new rice as ‘nua’ means new and ‘Khai’ means eat. This is the festival of Western Odisha, southern Chhattisgarh and adjoining areas of Simdega (Jharkhand). Its coastal counterpart is Nabanna, observed in Coastal Odisha.

Namath Basai: Kerala

Namath Basai: Kerala The Kerala State government is carrying out a unique programme called “Namath Basai” of teaching tribal children in their mother tongue. News: The programme is being implemented by the Samagra Shiksha Kerala (SSK). SSK is an overarching programme for the school education sector extending from pre-school to class 12. It aims at improving school effectiveness measured in terms of equal opportunities for schooling and equitable learning outcomes

Swachh Survekshan 2020

Swachh Survekshan 2020 Context Recently, the Swachh Survekshan 2020 report has been launched by the Union Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (MoHUA). It is the 5th edition of the annual cleanliness urban survey conducted by the MoHUA. It is one of the world’s largest sanitation surveys. News: This year the Ministry has released rankings based on the categorisation of cities on population, instead of releasing overall rankings. The categories based on populatio

A losing proposition

A losing proposition Context: The recent announcement by the Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister that only those domiciled in the state would be eligible for government jobs in the State. India has been witness to many versions of the ‘sons of the soil’ argument over decades. Some states are trying to introduce various types of domicile eligibility for job seekers, in private and government jobs. Some states are pushing measures to give priority to locals in employment in the

Kalpana Chawla Award

Kalpana Chawla Award Three women from Aadhanur in Perambalur district, who rescued two youth from drowning in the Kottakarai dam, by throwing their sarees at them, were awarded the Kalpana Chawla award for courage and daring enterprise by Chief Minister Edappadi K. Palaniswami during the 74th Independence Day celebrations at Fort St. George on Saturday.

All 9 tribal freedom fighters museums to be ready by end of 2022

All 9 tribal freedom fighters' museums to be ready by end of 2022 As per the statement released by the ministry, two of the nine museums sanctioned for the tribal freedom fighters are already nearing completion and the rest of them are at the different stages of progress. The largest of these museums have been built in Rajpipla in Gujarat at a cost of Rs. 102.55 crores. The government has been planning permanent museums in the states where Tribals had lived, struggled against the Brit

Balancing priorities

Balancing priorities Context: Landslide in Idukki district of Kerala has claimed 22 lives thus far and rendered several families homeless. Landslides in Kerala: Landslips or landslides have been a recurrent phenomenon in the Western Ghats state of Kerala. Data from the Geological Survey of India shows that Kerala has experienced 67 major landslide events and several minor ones from 1961-2013. In 2019, Wayanad district witnessed multiple landslides that claimed several liv

The urban migrant and the ‘ritual’ tug of home

The urban migrant and the ‘ritual’ tug of home By, Dipankar Gupta is Retired Professor of Sociology, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi Context This article is important purely for Mains GS Paper 1-Social issues. It is also very important for Sociology Optional students. It talks about the sociological reasons for reverse migration of the workers during the COVID-19 pandemic. The reverse migration of the migrant workers to their villages in not because their family

Rekindle Kashmir’s lost and real connect

Rekindle Kashmir’s lost and real connect By, Amitabh Mattoo is Professor, School of International Studies, Jawaharlal Nehru University Context This article talks about the contributions of various Kashmiris who aspired for a united nation with J&K as an integral part of India due to ot shared cultural and social values. Foiling ‘Operation Gibraltar’ It was on August 5, 1965 that two Kashmiri Gujjars helped to thwart one of Pakistan’s most deviou

Time Capsule-Kaal Patra

Time Capsule-Kaal Patra The Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust has denied reports about placing a time capsule under the ground at the Ram Temple construction site in Ayodhya. The Time Capsule, also known as Kaal Patra, was supposed to contain the history of Ayodhya and Rama Janma Bhoomi Movement. Time Capsule is a container of any size or shape, which accommodates documents, photos and artefacts typical of the current era and is buried

Anniversary of Lokmanya Tilak: 100th

Anniversary of Lokmanya Tilak: 100th GS-Paper-1 History personality (PT-MAINS) Recently, the Indian Council for Cultural Relations (ICCR) conducted a webinar to observe the 100th death anniversary of Lokmanya Bal Gangadhar Tilak on the 1st August 2020. Background: Born on 23rd July 1856 in Ratnagiri, Maharashtra. Lawyer by profession and also known as Lokmanya Tilak. Gave the slogan of “Swaraj is my birthright an

Sea Level Rise and Its impact

Sea Level Rise and Its Impact GS-PAPER-1 Geography: Oceanography (PT-MAINS) Image Source - Recently, a study in the journal Scientific reports made predictions that a large population and assets will be globally affected as a consequence of Sea Level Rise (SLR). SLR is a consequence of climate change, which is predicted to increase coastal flooding by 2100. The global population potentially exposed to episodic coastal flooding will increase from 12

Sea Level Rise: Its impact

Sea Level Rise: Its Impact GS-PAPER-1 Geography: Oceanography (PT-MAINS) Recently, a study in journal Scientific reports made predictions that a large population and assets will be globally affected as a consequence of Sea Level Rise (SLR). SLR is a consequence of climate change, which is predicted to increase coastal flooding by 2100. The global population potentially exposed to episodic coastal flooding will increase from 128-171 million to 176-287 million by 2100

Inclusive urbanisation

Inclusive urbanisation GS-PAPER-1 Geography – Urbanization The Covid-19 pandemic has proved that the Indian cities are overburdened and underprepared to provide guaranteed social protection to millions of migrant workers. Due to denial of access to adequate food and nutrition, livelihood, housing and basic amenities like water and sanitation facilities, there has been an exodus of migrant labourers from urban to rural areas. Further, with over 90% of the population work