Which of the following statement is/are correct?
1. It is a minimum guaranteed pension scheme mainly targeted at unorganized sector workers.
2. Only one member of a family can join the scheme.
3. Same amount of pension is guaranteed for the spouse for life after subscriber’s death.
Select the correct answer using the code given below.
(a) 1 only
(b) 2 and 3 only
(c) 1 and 3 only
(d) 1, 2 and 3
Logic – Statement 2 – Only one member of a family can join the scheme- the logic is WHY ? Your pension is your money so why restrict it to one member , it is not subsidy.Government is contributing max 1000 rupees , so by elimination we are left with the correct answer.
The term ‘Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership’ often appears in the news in the context of the affairs of a group of countries known as:-
(a) G20
(b) ASEAN
(c) SCO
(d) SAARC
Logic :- Concentrate on the term “Regional” , that eliminates option a and c and we are left with ASEAN and SAARC – and the correct answer among the two is – ASEAN.
On which of the following can you find the Bureau of Energy Efficiency Star Label?
1. Ceiling fans
2. Electric geysers
3. Tubular florescent lamps
Select the correct answer using the code given below.
(a) 1 and 2 only
(b) 3 only
(c) 2 and 3 only
(d) 1, 2 and 3
Logic- UPSC asks 1 or 2 questions related to our daily life.This one is one such case.You would have seen energy star in all of the above.
India is an important member of the ‘International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor’. If this experiment succeeds, what is the immediate advantage for India?
(a) It can use thorium in place of uranium for power generation.
b) It can be attain a global role in satellite navigation.
(c) It can drastically improve the efficiency of its fission reactors in power generation.
(d) It can build fusion reactors in power generation.
Logic – Deriving energy from FUSION was the buzzword for the past one year or so.
In the context of the history of India, consider the following pairs :
1. Eripatti : Land, revenue from which was set apart for the maintenance of the village tank.
2. Taniyurs : Villages donated to a single Brahmin or a group of Brahmins
3. Ghatikas : Colleges generally attached to the temples.
Which of the pairs given above is / are correctly matched?
(a) 1 and 2
(b) 3 only
(c) 2 and 3
(d) 1 and 3
Consider the following statements :
1. The International Solar Alliance was launched at the Untied Nations Climate Change Conference in 2015.
2. The Alliance includes all the member countries of the Untied Nations.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
(a) 1 only
(b) 2 only
(c) Both 1 and 2
(d) Neither 1 nor 2
European Stability Mechanism’, sometimes seen in the news, is an
(a) agency created by EU to deal with the impact of millions of refugees arriving from Middle East.
(b) agency of EU that provides financial assistance to eurozone countries.
(c) agency of EU to deal with all the bilateral and multilateral agreements on trade.
(d) agency of EU to deal with the conflicts arising among the member countries.
Logic – Suppose you don’t know the answer at all, then lets concentrate on the words :-“Stability” – stability is required when there can be an issue,now if you check the options c is eliminated.Now, the next logic is simpler – EU is an economic manifestation, so dealing with political refugees is not an option, also this brings political sovereignty of each member country into question and no one will let anyone else decide on its countries sovereignty- so option a is eliminated.Same logic can be applied to option d as conflict between countries can political, legal or otherwise .Hence we are left with option b which seems the most logical one.
Which of the following statement is/are the advantage/advantages of practising drip irrigation?
1. Reduction in weed
2. Reduction in soil salinity
3. Reduction in soil erosion
Select the correct answer using the code given below.
(a) 1 and 2 only
(b) 3 only
(c) 1 and 3 only
(d) None of the above is an advantage of practising drip irrigation.
Logic – Drip irrigation usually takes place in plain region and not in undulating terrains and it is costly too.It delivers both water and nutrient to the root of the plant directly thus reducing water usage.There by , it does not waste by watering the whole field.Weed can grow when there is water and nutrient available to it , but drip irrigation eliminates this option so reduced weed.Similar logic can be applied to salinity , when a land is wet through capillary action the salt gets accumulated at the top layer, but drip irrigation does not wet the whole land so reduces salinity.Moreover, soil erosion is less when the whole land is wet but aeolian erosion increases when the land is dry and drip irrigation does not wet the whole land so does not reduce erosion per se.Elimination can come in handy for this question.
Check this for more info and reference
Regarding ‘DigiLocker’, sometimes seen in the news, which of the following statement is/are correct?
1. It is a digital locker system offered by the Government under Digital India Programme.
2. It allows you to access your e-documents irrespective of your physical location.
Select the correct answer using the code given below.
(a) 1 only
(b) 2 only
(c) Both 1 and 2
(d) Neither 1 nor 2
Recently, linking of which of the following rivers was undertaken?
(a) Cauvery and Tungabhadra (Cauvery’s 90% of potential is already harnessed so why in Kaveri)
(b) Godavari and Krishna
(c) Mahanadi and Sone(Was not in news )
(d) Narmada and Tapti (Already many links are there and few are yet to be realised)
In the cities of our country, who among the following atmospheric gases are normally considered in calculating the value of Air Quality Index?
1. Carbon dioxide
2. Carbon monoxide
3. Nitrogen dioxide
4. Sulphur dioxide
5. Methane
Select the correct answer using the
code given below.
(a) 1, 2 and 3 only
(b) 2, 3 and 4 only
(c) 1, 4 and 5 only
(d) 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5
Logic – it is a known that CO2 is essential for life and eliminate CO2 and we are left with option b.
With reference to ‘Astrosat’, the astronomical observatory launched by India, which of the following statements is/are correct?
1. Other than USA and Russia, India is the only country to have launched a similar observatory into space.
2. Astrosat is a 2000 kg satellite placed in an orbit at 1650 km above the surface of the Earth.
Select the correct answer using the code given below.
(a) 1 only
(b) 2 only
(c) Both 1 and 2
(d) Neither 1 nor 2
Don’t answer this type of questions unless you are absolutely certain.
With reference to the economic history of medieval India, the term ‘Araghatta’ refers to 😕
(a) bonded labour
(b) land grants made to military officers.
(c) waterwheel used in the irrigation of land.
(d) wasteland converted to cultivated land.
With reference to the cultural history of India, the memorizing of chronicles, dynastic histories and epic tales was the profession of who of the following?
(a) Shramana
(b) Parivraajaka
(c) Agrahaarika
(d) Maagadha
Recently, for the first time in our country, which of the following States has declared a particular butterfly as ‘State Butterfly’?
(a) Arunachal Pradesh
(b) Himachal Pradesh
(c) Karnataka
(d) Maharashtra
Consider the following statements :
The Mangalyaan launched by ISRO
1. is also called the Mars Orbiter Mission.
2. made India the second country to have a spacecraft orbit the Mars after USA.
3. made India the only country to be successful in making its spacecraft orbit the Mars in its very first attempt.
Which of the following statements given above is/are correct?
a) 1 only
(b) 2 and 3 only
(c) 1 and 3 only
(d) 1, 2 and 3
What was the main reason for the split in the Indian National Congress at Surat in 1907?
(a) Introduction of communalism into Indian politics by Lord Minto.
(b) Extremists’ lack of faith in the capacity of the moderates to negotiate with the British Government.
(c) Foundation of Muslim League.
(d) Aurobindo Ghosh’s inability to be elected as the President of the Indian National Congress.
Logic- This is a bit weird question, because none of the answer is directly related to the split.The preferable one is option- b, however if we read the statement – Extremists’ lack of faith in the capacity of the moderates to negotiate with the British Government.Extremist lacked faith thats why they came to fore from the beginning and is not directly related to split per se We gave this question in our last Mock test :-
Surat Split of 1907 was due to :-
a)Disagreement between moderates and extremists , while extremists wanted to expand Swedishi movement beyond Bengal and to all spheres while moderate wanted to restrict it
b)The moderates in order to exclude Tilak from presidency ,shifted it to Surat and dropped resolutions on Swadeshi, boycott and national education.
c)Both a and b
d)None of the above
Explanation to the question provided by us – If the question has this option only – Disagreement between moderates and extremists , while extremists wanted to expand Swedishi movement beyond and Bengal and to all spheres moderate wanted to restrict it to Bengal and boycott of only foreign cloth and liquor – Go for it . And if it has this option only- The moderates in order to exclude Tilak from presidency ,shifted it to Surat and dropped resolutions on Swadeshi, boycott and national education- go for it too.The prominent was the former one but later added fuel to the fire.So both A and B were causes.
Now it is clear that those are the real reason for split, but the option in the prelims paper is akin to this –
Why did Ashoka attacked Kaling and the only option you can choose form the rest of the option is – Because Ashoka was a king.Is not it abstract and far fetched? Similarly the option b of the prelims question is abstract and far fetched.
The plan of Sir Stafford Cripps envisaged that after the Second World War
(a) India should be granted complete independence.
(b) India should be partitioned into two before granting independence.
(c) India should be made a republic with the condition that she will join the Commonwealth.
(d) India should be given Dominion status.
Consider the following pairs :
Famous Place Region
1. Bodhgaya : Baghelkhand
2. Khajuraho : Bundelkhand
3. Shirdi : Vidarbha
4. Nasik (Nashik) : Malwa
5. Tirupati : Rayalaseema
Which of the pairs given above are correctly matched?
a) 1, 2 and 4
(b) 2, 3, 4 and 5
(c) 2 and 5 only
(d) 1, 3, 4 and 5
The Parliament of India acquires the power to legislate on any item in the State List in the national interest if a resolution to that effect is passed by the
(a) Lok Sabha by a simple majority of its total membership.
(b) Lok Sabha by a majority of not less than two-thirds of its total membership.
(c) Rajya Sabha by a simple majority of its total membership.
(d) Rajya Sabha by a majority of not less than two-thirds of its members present and voting.
Recently, which of the following States has explored the possibility of constructing an artificial inland port to be connected to sea by a long navigational channel?
(a) Andhra Pradesh
(b) Chhattisgarh
(c) Karnataka
(d) Rajasthan
Logic – If you don’t know the news about it, then lets apply logic- concentrate on the word LONG , and this should help you eliminate option c and a ,because even if both of the states wanted to create such project it would not be LONG in comparative terms.Now Let consider the Rajasthan- the logic is even if you build an inland port , you need rivers to navigate and connect it through but most of the rivers of Rajasthan we know drains in to deserts and are ephemeral.On the contrary Chhatisgarh seems a suitable option because it is a resource rich state and a port can add to its advantage.Also many river that pass through CG also pass through Odisha and moreover there are enough rivers and channels to link the CG port with the sea and it satisfies all criteria i.e. it has resource to export and major industrial hub,rivers are there to link and can also act as a an alternative to Paradip port of Odisha and take some load off.Logically CG seems the correct answer but this question defies logic and the news was related to Rajasthan.
With reference to the Agreement at the UNFCCC Meeting in Paris in 2015, which of the following statement is/are correct?
1. The Agreement was signed by all the member of countries of the UN and it will go into effect in 2017.
2. The Agreement aims to limit the greenhouse gas emissions so that the rise in average global temperature by the end of this century does not exceed 2°C or even 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels.
3. Developed countries acknowledged their historical responsibility in global warming and committed to donate $ 1000 billion a year from 2020 to help developing countries to cope with climate change.
Select the correct answer using the
code given below.
(a) 1 and 3 only
(b) 2 only
(c) 2 and 3 only
(d) 1, 2 and 3
Logic – The moment you see 1000b dollars (really ?) the answer is clear by elimination.
Consider the following statements :
1. The Sustainable Development Goals were first proposed in 1972 by a global think tank called the ‘Club of Rome’.
2. The Sustainable Development Goals have to be achieved by 2030.
Which of the following statements given above is/are correct?
(a) 1 only
(b) 2 only
(c) Both 1 and 2
(d) Neither 1 nor 2
Logic – Club of rome has given the concept of limits to growth but SDG as a concept in 1972 is little far fetched.Brutland commission was associated with SDG in 1990s and all SDG related talks gathered moment in past 2 decades.So eliminate club of rome – seems logical.
A recent movie titled The Man Who Knew Infinity is based on the biography of
(a) S. Ramanujan
(b) S. Chandrasekhar
(c) S.N. Bose
(d) C.V. Raman
Logic – we told you UPSC loves movies , now they started asking in Prelims too.Ha.
Consider the following statements :
1. The minimum age prescribed for any person to be a member of Panchayat is 25 years.
2. A Panchayat reconstituted after premature dissolution continues only for the remainder period.
Which of the following statements given above is/are correct?
(a) 1 only
(b) 2 only
(c) Both 1 and 2
(d) Neither 1 nor 2
Which of the following statements is/are correct?
1. A Bill pending in the Lok Sabha lapses on its prorogation.
2. A Bill pending in the Rajya Sabha, which has not been passed by the Lok Sabha, shall not lapse on dissolution of the Lok Sabha.
Select the correct answer using the
code given below:
(a) 1 only
(b) 2 only
(c) Both 1 and 2
(d) Neither 1 nor 2
Logic – UPSC plays smart with polity questions, so be careful.
Which of the following is/are the indicator/indicators used by IFPRI to compute the Global Hunger Index Report?
1. Undernourishment
2. Child stunting
3. Child mortality
Select the correct answer using the
code given below:
(a) 1 only
(b) 2 and 3 only
(c) 1, 2 and 3
(d) 1 and 3 only
Which reference to ‘LiFi’, recently in the news, which of the following
statements is/are correct?
1. It uses light as the medium for high speed data transmission
2. It is a wireless technology and is several times faster than ‘WiFi’.
Select the correct answer using the
code given below:
(a) 1 only
(b) 2 only
(c) Both 1 and 2
(d) Neither 1 nor 2
The term ‘Intended Nationally Determined Contributions’ is sometimes seen in the news in the context of
(a) pledges made by the European countries to rehabilitate refugees
from the war-affected Middle East.
(b) plan of action outlined by the countries of the world to combat climate change
(c) capital contributed by the member countries in the establishment of Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank
(d) plan of action outlined by the countries of the world regarding Sustainable Development Goals
Logic – we have covered this one in details, and INDC has nothing to do with SDG.
Which one of the following is a purpose of ‘UDAY’, a scheme of the Government?
(a) Providing technical and financial assistance to start-up entrepreneurs in the field of renewable sources of energy
(b) providing electricity to every household in the country by 2018
(c) Replacing the coal-based power plants with natural gas, nuclear, solar, wind and tidal power plants over a period of time
(d) Providing for financial turnaround and revival of power distribution companies
With reference to ‘IFC Masala Bonds’,sometimes seen in the news, which of the statements given below is/are correct?
1. The International Finance Corporation, which offers these bonds, is an arm of the World Bank.
2. They are the rupee-denominated bonds and are a source of debt financing for the public and private sector
Select the correct answer using the code given below:
(a) 1 only
(b) 2 only
(c) Both 1 and 2
(d) Neither 1 nor 2
Regarding the taxation system of Krishna Deva, the ruler of Vijayanagar, consider the following statements:
1. The tax rate on land was fixed depending on the quality of the land.
2. Private owners of workshop paid an industries tax.
Which of the statements given above
is/are correct?
(a) 1 only
(b) 2 only
(c) Both 1 and 2
(d) Neither 1 nor 2
Which one of the following books of ancient India has the love story of the son of the founder of Sunga dynasty?
(a) Swapnavasavadatta
(b) Malavikagnimitra
(c) Meghadoota
(d) Ratnavali
In the context of which of the following do you sometimes find the terms ‘amber box, blue box and green box’ in the news?
(a) WTO affairs
(b) SAARC affairs
(c) UNFCCC affairs
(d) India-EU negotiations of FTA
Which of the following is/are included in the capital budget of the Government of India?
1. Expenditure on acquisition of assets like roads, buildings, machinery etc.
2. Loans received from foreign governments
3. Loans and advances granted to the States and Union Territories
Select the correct answer using the
code given below:
(a) 1 only
(b) 2 and 3 only
(c) 1 and 3 only
(d) 1, 2 and 3
Logic Always link capital with asset, when institutional loan is provided the loans are usually to create capital and then generate revenue, so these are asset creating loans hence capital.
What is/are the importance/importances of the ‘United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification’?
1. It aims to promote effective action through innovative national programmes and supportive international partnerships.
2. It has a special/particular focus on South Asia and North Africa regions, and its Secretariat facilitates the allocation of major portion of financial resources to these regions.
3. It is committed to bottom-up approach, encouraging the participation of local people in combating the desertification.
Select the correct answer using the code given below:
(a) 1 only
(b) 2 and 3 only
(c) 1 and 3 only
(d) 1, 2 and 3
Logic – a) seems logical, b)of course it will be there where there are deserts – South Asia and Sahara desertification eating in to man’s habitat hence the focus (http://www.e-ir.info/2014/04/30/united-nations-convention-to-combat-desertification-issues-and-challenges/) and c is obviously correct because all programs before were not bottom up and hence failed and to include the locals in planning is the buzzword around the world ,so correct (http://www.unccd.int/en/about-the-convention/Pages/About-the-Convention.aspx)
Recently, which one of the following currencies has been proposed to be added to the basket of IMF’s SDR?
(a) Rouble
(b) Rand
(c) Indian Rupee
(d) Renminbi
Logic – Changing the name does not make you smart – UPSC 🙂
With reference to International Monetary and Financial Committee (IMFC), consider the following statements:
1. IMFC discusses matters of concern affecting the global economy, and advises the International Monetary Fund (IMF) on the direction of its work.
2. The World Bank participates as observer in IMFC’s meetings.
(a) 1 only
(b) 2 only
(c) Both 1 and 2
(d) Neither 1 nor 2
‘Rashtriya Garima Abhiyaan’ is a national campaign to
(a) rehabilitate the homeless and destitute persons and provide them with suitable sources of livelihood – this would be governments wildest dream, it is not able to create enough jobs for those who are asking- so eliminate this option.
(b) release the sex workers from their practice and provide them with alternative sources of livelihood – Another wild dream , and probably a political suicide
(c) eradicate the practice of manual scavenging and rehabilitate the manual scavengers – Garima means dignity so this option is logical even if you don’t know the program.
(d) release the bonded labourers from their bondage and rehabilitate them – well, it is difficult to identify the bonded labour and if you know the number as per the slavery index – government may need one full years budget for this.
With reference to the cultural history of medieval India, consider the following statements:
1. Siddhas (Sittars) of Tamil region were monotheistic and condemned idolatry.
2. Lingayats of Kannada region questioned the theory of rebirth and rejected the caste hierarchy.
Which of the statements given above
is/are correct?
(a) 1 only
(b) 2 only
(c) Both 1 and 2
(d) Neither 1 nor 2
Which of the following best describes of term ‘import cover’, sometimes seen in the news?
(a) It is the ratio of value of imports to the Gross Domestic Product of a country
(b) It is the total value of imports of a country in a year
(c) It is the ratio between the value of exports and that of imports between two countries
(d) It is the number of months of imports that could be paid for by a country’s international reserves
Consider the following pairs:
Community In the affairs of sometimes mentioned in the news
1. Kurd : Bangladesh
2. Madhesi : Nepal
3. Rohingya : Myanmar
Which of the above pairs is/are
correctly matched?
(a) 1 and 2
(b) 2 only
(c) 2 and 3
(d) 3 only
Which reference to ‘Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons(OPCW)’, consider the following statements:
1. It is an organization of European Union in working relation with
NATO and WHO
2. It monitors chemical industry to prevent new weapons from emerging
3. It provides assistance and protection to States (Parties) against chemical weapons
threats.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
(a) 1 only
(b) 2 and 3 only
(c) 1 and 3 only
(d) 1, 2 and 3
With reference to ‘Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana’, consider the following statements:
1. Under this scheme, farmers will have to pay a uniform premium of two percent for any crop they cultivate in any season of the year.
2. This scheme covers post-harvest losses arising out of cyclones and unseasonal rains.
Which of the statements given above
is/are correct?
(a) 1 only
(b) 2 only
(c) Both 1 and 2
(d) Neither 1 nor 2
Logic – Different premium for rabi and kharif crop.
In which of the following regions of India are you most likely to come across the ‘Great Indian Hornbill’ in its natural habitat?
(a) Sand deserts of northwest India
(b) Higher Himalayas of Jammu and
Kashmir
(c) Salt marshes of western Gujarat
(d) Western Ghats
Logic – This is a really conceptual question.We all know hornbill is present in Nagaland and a hornbill festival is held there.However there is no Nagaland in the option.So lets apply logic- If you have seen the bird it has a very long beak , that means it mostly dwells on the trees and survives of fruit diet – this is becasue , if you have read biogeography and Darwin’s theory of evolution and the Galapagos island you would know that the long beak is an evolution. This question we gave in our PM4 test:-
The following features are typical of animals inhabiting which vegetation ?
1)Strong tail
2)Thick Skin
3)Bright colours
4)Long and large beaks
5)Sharp patterns
The answer to this question was Tropical rain forest.
Now if you draw conclusion large and long beak and tropical rain forest we are left on ly with western ghat.
Which of the following are the key features of ‘National Ganga River Basin Authority (NGRBA)?
1. River basin is the unit of planning and management.
2. It spearheads the river conservation efforts at the national level.
3. One of the Chief Ministers of the States through which the Ganga flows becomes the Chairman of NGRBA on rotation basis. (What the PM will do ?)
Select the correct answer using the
code given below:
(a) 1 and 2 only
(b) 2 and 3 only
(c) 1 and 3 only
(d) 1, 2 and 3
Why does the Government of India, promote the use of ‘Neem-coated Urea’ in agriculture?
(a) Release of Neem oil in the soil increases nitrogen fixation by the soil microorganisms (this is correct , as we saw the PM’s speech in parliament with regards to this and he mentions this one)
(b) Neem coating slows down the rate of dissolution of urea in the soil (this one also correct-PM’s speech)
(c) Nitrous oxide, which is a greenhouse gas, is not at all released into atmosphere by crop fields ((Not correct for obvious reasons)
(d) It is a combination of a weedicide and a fertilizer for particular crops (It is a herbicide, but if we apply logic herbicide is the one which kills herbs and weeds are herbs anyway and this might be correct option too)
Logic – No logic applies to this question here, 3 of the option are correct, so either UPSC will give grace mark or we just dont know which one to pick .Now lets concentrate on the question – Why govt should promote it :- keyword promote – one reason was that it can stop the illegal diversion of Urea for other means and that seems a strong argument for govt to promote this.At the outset, govt is not as much worried about the microorganisms as it is worried about food production i.e. to say govt wants food security and its main concern is to increase it – so options a might not be the strong reason for promotion.Optin-b makes a strong case as , if the Urea stays longer on the land then less urea is used – so less subsidy – a better option than option a.Option-d is simply an obvious statement and can be correct too – becasue it kills the weeds and a fertilizer too – thus reducing use of pesticides, but this does not seems as a strong reason for govt to promote.
So in this dilemma, we ask you to count this as a wrong one irrespective of your choice of option to get peace of mind.
Consider the following statements:
1. The Chief Secretary in a State is appointed by the Governor of that State.
2. The Chief Secretary in a State has a fixed tenure.
Which of the statements given above
is/are correct?
(a) 1 only
(b) 2 only
(c) Both 1 and 2
(d) Neither 1 nor 2
Logic – Appointment is an executive function and chief secretary being a central govt employ has to be appointed by governor.This does not mean he is chosen by the governor , it just means he is appointed by the hand and seal of the governor and that’s is what appointment exactly means.The CM can recommend the candidates to the governor to appoint.This seems logical in our.opinion , also state Information commissioner has a similar rank of chief secretary and he is appointed by governor with aid and advise of the CM and cabinet.ARC recommended for fixed tenure but it was rejected.
If you have any other views on this let us know.
Check this for more info and reference
With reference to `Stand Up India Scheme’, which of the following statements is/are correct?
1. Its purpose is to promote entrepreneurship among SC/ST and women entrepreneurs.
2. It provides for refinance through SIDBI.
Select the correct answer using the
code given below.
(a) 1 only
(b) 2 only
(c) Both 1 and 2
(d) Neither 1 nor 2
The FAO accords the status of `Globally Important Agricultural Heritage System (GIAHS) to traditional agricultural systems. What is the overall goal of this initiative?
1. To provide modern technology, training in modern farming methods and financial support to local communities of identified GIAHS so as to greatly enhance their agricultural productivity.(This is counter productive to the very idea of heritage, you don’t build modern Eiffel tower to replace Taj mahal)
2. To identify and safeguard ecofriendly traditional farm practices and their associated landscapes, agricultural biodiversity and knowledge systems of the local communities.
3. To provide Geographical Indication status to all the varieties of agricultural produce in such identified GIAHS.
Select the correct answer using the
code given below?
(a) 1 and 3 only
(b) 2 only
(c) 2 and 3 only
(d) 1, 2 and 3
Logic – When you see a word like all or only , be careful and on this ground you can eliminate option 3.
Which of the following is/are tributary/tributaries of Brahmaputra?
1. Dibang
2. Kameng
3. Lohit
Select the correct answer using the
code given below.
(a) 1 only
(b) 2 and 3 only
(c) 1 and 3 only
(d) 1, 2 and 3
The term `Core Banking Solutions’ is sometimes seen in the news. Which of the following statements best describes/describe this term?
1. It is a networking of a bank’s branches which enables customers to operate their accounts from any branch of the bank on its network regardless of of where they open their accounts.
2. It is an effort to increase RBI’s control over commercial banks through computerization.
3. It is a detailed procedure by which a bank with huge non-performing assets is taken over by another bank
Select the correct answer using the
code given below?
(a) 1 only
(b) 2 and 3 only
(c) 1 and 3 only
(d) 1, 2 and 3
Consider the following pairs:
Terms sometimes Their origin
seen in the news
1. Annex – I Countries : Cartagena Protocol
2. Certified Emissions Reductions : Nagoya Protocol
3. Clean Development Mechanism : Kyoto Protocol
Which of the pairs given above is/are
correctly matched?
(a) 1 and 2 only
(b) 2 and 3 only
(c) 3 only
(d) 1, 2 and 3
Logic – Nagoya is related to Genetic Resources and the Fair and Equitable usage of it , so nothing to do with Emissions.If you remove 2 you have your answer.
In the context of the developments in Bioinformatics, the term `transcriptome’, sometimes seen in the news, refers to
(a) a range of enzymes used in genome editing
(b) the full range of mRNA molecules expressed by an organism
(c) the description of the mechanism of gene expression
(d) a mechanism of genetic mutations taking place in cells
Logic – Lets decode the word – transcriptome , lets take the word transcript from the whole word , it means to read or expression .Now lets look at the option – bot b and c has expression – so our logic is not enough to answer this question here, but this kind of logic can help you to narrow down the options.As we could not narrow down the option you should leave it rather than blindly guessing it unless you know the answer for certain.
`Mission Indradhanush’ launched by the Government of India pertains to
(a) immunization of children and pregnant women
(b) construction of smart cities across the country
(c) India’s own search for the Earthlike planets in outer space
(d) New Educational Policy
Which of the following best describes/ describe the aim of `Green India Mission’ of the Government of India?
1. Incorporating environmental benefits and costs into the Union and State Budgets
thereby implementing the `green accounting’
2. Launching the second green revolution to enhance agricultural output so as to ensure food security to one and all in the future
3. Restoring and enhancing forest cover and responding to climate change by a combination of adaptation and mitigation measures.
Select the correct answer using the
code given below
(a) 1 only
(b) 2 and 3 only
(c) 3 only
(d) 1, 2 and 3
Logic – eliminate green accounting and green revolution , both are green but nothing to do with green India.
With reference to pre-packaged items in India, it is mandatory to the manufacturer to put which of the following information on the main label, as per the Food Safety and Standards (Packaging and Labelling) Regulations, 2011?
1. List of ingredients including additives.
2. Nutrition information
3. Recommendations, if any, made by the medical profession about the possibility of any allergic reactions
4. Vegetarian/non vegetarian
Select the correct answer using the
code given below
(a) 1, 2 and 3
(b) 2, 3 and 4
(c) 1, 2 and 4
(d) 1 and 4 only
Logic – No body prepares for this kind of question,they are just as we said before application of common sense and question from daily lives.
`Project Loon’, sometimes seen in the news, is related to
(a) waste management technology
(b) wireless communication technology
(c) solar power production technology
(d) water conservation technology
Logic- We covered this with elaborate details just to find out that only simple question was asked on this, but it is always better to be sure than sorry.
`Net meeting’ is sometimes seen in the news in the context of promoting the
(a) production and use of solar energy by the households/ consumers
(b) use of piped natural gas in the kitchens of households
(c) installation of CNG kits in motorcars
(d) installation of water meters in urban households
India’s ranking in the `East of Doing Business Index’ is sometimes seen in
the news. Which of the following has declared that ranking?
(a) Organization for Economic Cooperation and development (OECD)
(b) World Economic Forum
(c) World Bank
(d) World Trade Organization (WTO)
Banjaras during the medieval period of Indian history were generally
(a) agriculturists
(b) warriors
(c) weavers
(d) traders
Logic – NCERT question
Who of the following had first deciphered Scripts of Ashokan edicts ?
(a) Georg Buhler
(b) James Prinsep
(c) Max Muller
(d) William Jones
With reference to the `Gram Nyayalaya Act’, which of the following statements is/are correct?
1. As per the Act, Gram Nyayalayas can hear only civil cases and not criminal cases.
2. The Act allows local social activists as mediators/reconciliators.
Select the correct answer using the
code given below
(a) 1 only
(b) 2 only
(c) Both 1 and 2
(d) Neither 1 nor 2
Ref – http://www.downtoearth.org.in/coverage/where-are-rural-courts-44754
With reference to the `Trans-Pacific Partnership’, consider the following statements :
1. It is an agreement among all the Pacific Rim countries except China and Russia.
2. It is a strategic alliance for the purpose of maritime security only.
Which of the statements given above
is/are correct?
(a) 1 only
(b) 2 only
(c) Both 1 and 2
(d) Neither 1 nor 2
Consider the the following statements about The India – Africa Summit
1. held in 2015 was the third such Summit
2. was actually initiated by Jawaharlal Nehru in 1951
Which of the statements given above
is/are correct?
(a) 1 only
(b) 2 only
(c) Both 1 and 2
(d) Neither 1 nor 2
What is/are the purpose/purposes of the `Marginal Cost of Funds based Lending Rate (MCLR)’ announced by RBI?
1. These guidelines help improve the transparency in the methodology followed by banks for determining the interest rates on advances.
2. These guidelines help ensure availability of bank credit at interest rates which are fair to the borrowers as well as the banks.
Select the correct answer using the code given below.
(a) 1 only
(b) 2 only
(c) Both 1 and 2
(d) Neither 1 nor 2
Economic survey question.
What is/are unique about `Kharai camel’, a breed found in India?
1. It is capable of swimming up to three kilometers in seawater.
2. It survives by grazing on mangroves
3. It lives in the wild and cannot be domesticated.
Select the correct answer using the
code given below
(a) 1 and 2 only
(b) 3 only
(c) 1 and 3 only
(d) 1, 2 and 3
Logic – Camel has always been domesticated and never found in wild per se. SO that leave us with option a . However this statement is little ridiculous – It is capable of swimming up to three kilometers in seawater. – What if there is some who can swim 4 km, giving this kind numbers is not very UPSC like, better statement would have been It can swim in water for few kms.
Recently, our scientists have discovered a new and distinct species of banana plant which attains a height of about 11 metres and has orange-coloured fruit pulp. In which part of India has it been discovered?
(a) Andaman Islands
(b) Anaimalai Forests
(c) Maikala Hills
(d) Tropical rain forests of northeast
Ref- thehindu
Which one of the following is the best description of `INS Astradharini’, that
was in the news recently?
(a) Amphibious warfare ship
(b) Nuclear-powered submarine
(c) Torpedo launch and recovery vessel
(d) Nuclear-powered aircraft carrier.
Logic – Even if you don’t know, lets decode the word AstraDharani – that translates to the one that holds the weapons and now if we check the options, option c as answer comes clear.
What is `Greased Lightning-10 (GL-10)’ , recently in the news?
(a) Electric plane tested by NASA
(b) Solar-powered two-seater aircraft
designed by Japan
(c) Space observatory launched by
China
(d) Reusable rocket designed by ISRO
With reference to `Initiative for Nutritional Security through Intensive Millets Promotion’, which of the following statements is/are correct?
1. This initiative aims to demonstrate the improved production and post-harvest technologies, and to demonstrate value addition techniques, in an integrated manner, with cluster approach.
2. Poor, small, marginal and tribal farmers have larger stake in this scheme.
3. An important objective of the scheme is to encourage farmers of commercial crops to shift to millet cultivation by offering them free kits of critical inputs of nutrients and micro irrigation equipment.
Select the correct answer using the
code given below
(a) 1 only
(b) 2 and 3 only
(c) 1 and 2 only
(d) 1, 2 and 3
Logic – 1 and 2 are right. 1 is right becasue the key word here is post-harvest cluster – this is need of the hour so it is right.2 is right for obvious reasons.3 might be right becasue govt gives free kits for this however there is little uncertainty whether there is shifting from commercial crops.However if we think over it , commercial crops have destroyed the way of life for the tribals and diversion to commercial crops in tribal lands has negated the benefits that arose from it.Moreover commercial crops are water intensive and had adverse effects when they were carried over unsuitable lands.So 3 can be right but , there is no certainty on this , hence count this one as wrong in your calculation of marks .
The `Swadeshi’ and `Boycott’ were adopted as methods of struggle for the first time during the
(a) agitation against the Partition of Bengal
(b) Home-Rule Movement
(c) Non-Cooperation Movement
(d) Visit of the Simon Commission to India
With reference to the religious history of India, consider the following statements:
1. The concept of Bodhisattva is central to Hinayana sect of Buddhism
2. Bodhisattva is a compassionate one on his way to enlightenment
3. Bodhisattva delays achieving his own salvation to help all sentient beings on their path to it.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
(a) 1 only
(b) 2 and 3 only
(c) 2 only
(d) 1, 2 and 3
Logic – Hinayana were little orthodox and for them there was one and only Buddha and no one else, hence 1 is eliminated.Statement 3 , we gave it in one of our full lenght tests and it is right.
Doctors without Borders (Medeicins Sans Frontieres)’, often in the news, is
(a) a division of World Health Organization
(b) a non-governmental international organization
(c) an inter-governmental agency sponsored by European Union
(d) a specialized agency of the United Nations
With reference to an initiative called ‘The Economics of Ecosystems and Biodiversity (TEEB)’, which of the following statements is / are correct ?
1. It is an initiative hosted by UNEP, IMF and World Economic Forum.
2. It is a global initiative that focuses on drawing attention to the economic benefits of biodiversity.
3. It presents an approach that can help decision-makers regonize, demonstrate and capture the value of ecosystems and biodiversity.
Select the correct answer using the
code given below:
(a) 1 and 2 only
(b) 3 only
(c) 2 and 3 only
(d) 1, 2 and 3
Logic – IMF in environment related issues is far-fetched.Think of it as a big fat business man for whom profit matters, so cutting a sandal tree makes economic sense to him than planting one.
With reference to ‘Red Sanders’, sometimes seen in the news, consider the following statements :
1. It is a tree species found in a part of South India.
2. It is one of the most important trees in the tropical rain forest areas of South India.
(a) 1 only
(b) 2 only
(c) Both 1 and 2
(d) Neither 1 nor 2
Which of the statements given above is/are correct ?
Logic – It is found in Telengana and Telengana has no tropical rainforest.
Which of the following statements is/are correct ? Proper design and effective implementation of UN-REDD+ Programme can significantly contribute to
1. protection of biodiversity
2. resilience of forest ecosystems
3. poverty reduction
Select the correct answer using the
code given below:
(a) 1 and 2 only
(b) 3 only
(c) 2 and 3 only
(d) 1, 2 and 3
Logic – The + in REDD is all about integrating every parameter to ecosystem management.
What is ‘Greenhouse Gas Protocol ?
(a) It is an international accounting tool for government and business leaders to understand, quantify and manage greenhouse gas emissions
(b) It is an initiative of the United Nations to offer financial incentives to developing countries to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and to adopt eco-friendly technologies.
(c) It is an inter-governmental agreement ratified by all the member countries of the United Nations to reduce greenhouse gas emissions to specified levels by the year 2022
(d) It is one of the multilateral REDD+ initiatives hosted by the World Bank
Logic – Elimination is better than thinking over the question and option a is most logical.
With reference to ‘Financial Stability and Development Council’, consider the following statements :
1. It is an organ of NITI Aayog.
2. It is headed by the Union Finance Minister.
3. It monitors macroprudential supervision of the economy.
Which of the statements given above
is/are correct ?
(a) 1 and 2 only
(b) 3 only
(c) 2 and 3 only
(d) 1, 2 and 3
With reference to ‘Agenda 21’, sometimes seen in the news, consider the following statements :
1. It is a global action plan for sustainable development.
2. It originated in the World Summit on Sustainable Development held in Johannesburg in 2002.
Which of the statements given above is / are correct ?
(a) 1 only
(b) 2 only
(c) Both 1 and 2
(d) Neither 1 nor 2
Logic – UPSC has asked this last year as well, just twisted the statement this time.
Satya Shodhak Samaj organized
(a) a movement for upliftment of tribals in Bihar
(b) a temple-entry movement in Gujarat
(c) an anti-caste movement in Maharashtra
(d) a peasant movement in Punjab
Logic – Satyasodhak- Jyotiba Phule- Maharastra
Which of the following statements is/are correct ?
Viruses can infect
1. bacteria
2. fungi
3. plants
Select the correct answer using the
code given below:
(a) 1 and 2 only
(b) 3 only
(c) 1 and 3 only
(d) 1, 2 and 3
The term ‘Base Erosion and Profit Shifting’ is sometimes seen in the news in the context of
(a) mining operation by multinational companies in resource-rich but backward areas
(b) curbing of the tax evasion by multinational companies
(c) exploitation of genetic resources of a country by multinational companies
(d) lack of consideration of environmental costs in the planning and implementation of developmental projects
Economic Survey question
Recently, India’s first ‘National Investment and Manufacturing Zone’ was proposed to be set up in
(a) Andhra Prdesh (Chittor to be specific but this is not recently news item , it is relative old news)
(b) Gujarat
(c) Maharashtra
(d) Uttar Pradesh
What is/are the purpose/purposes of ‘District Mineral Foundations’ in India?
1. Promoting mineral exploration activities in mineral-rich districts
2. Protecting the interests of the persons affected by mining operations
3. Authorizing State Governments to issue licences for mineral exploration
Select the correct answer usig the code
given below:
(a) 1 and 2 only
(b) 2 only
(c) 1 and 3 only
(d) 1, 2 and 3
Logic – A district body authorizing the state – that would a be dream come true for grassroot democratization.Eliminate this and you are left with 1 and 2 .Option 1 has nothing do with promotion.Words like foundation , fund etc are for good causes, words like board ,corporation etc are for promotional purposes in general.
SWAYAM’, an initiative of the Government of India, aims at
(a) promoting the Self Help Groups in rural areas
(b) providing financial and technical assistance to young start-up entreprenuers
(c) promoting the education and health of adolescent girls
(d) providing affordable and quality education to the citizens for free
The Montague-Chelmsford Proposals were related to
(a) social reforms
(b) educational reforms
(c) reforms in police administration
(d) constitutional reforms (Spectrum mentions this)
What is/are common to the two historical places known as Ajanta and
Mahabalipuram ?
1. Both were built in the same period
2. Both belong to the same religious denomination
3. Both have rock-cut monuments.
Select the correct answer using the
code given below:
(a) 1 and 2 only
(b) 3 only
(c) 1 and 3 only
(d) None of the statements given above is correct
With reference to ‘Bitcoins’, sometimes seen in the news, which of the following statements is/are correct ?
1. Bitcoins are tracked by the Central Banks of the countries.
2. Anyone with a Bitcoin address can send and receive Bitcoins from anyone else with a Bitcoin address.
3. Online payments can be sent without either side knowing the identity of the other.
Select the correct answer using the
code given below:
(a) 1 and 2 only
(b) 2 and 3 only
(c) 3 only
(d) 1, 2 and 3
Consider the following statements:
1. New Development Bank has been set up by APEC.
2. The headquarters of New Development Bank is in Shanghai.
Which of the statements given aboe
is/are correct ?
(a) 1 only
(b) 2 only
(c) Both 1 and 2
(d) Neither 1 nor 2
Gadgil Committee Report’ and ‘Kasturirangan Committee Report’, sometimes seen in the news, are related to
(a) constitutional reforms
(b) Ganga Action Plan
(c) linking of rivers
(d) protection of Western Ghats
Consider the following:
1. Calcutta Unitarian Committee
2. Tabernacle of New Dispensation
3. Indian Reform Association
Keshab Chandra Sen is associated with the establishment of which of the
above ?
(a) 1 and 3 only
(b) 2 and 3 only
(c) 3 only
(d) 1, 2 and 3
Logic – We don’t understand why ask about K.C. Sen , he professed everything then got his 13 yr daughter married to a king.How ironic ? Now UPSC should have asked some better personality who is worth researching for in our opinion .Where is Gandhi or Roy or plethora of leader from Netaji to Rani Gaindinliu or M.N Roy for that matter.
Which of the following is not a member of ‘Gulf Cooperation Council’ ?
(a) Iran
(b) Saudi Arabia
(c) Oman
(d) Kuwait
What is/are the purpose/purposes of Government’s ‘Sovereign Gold Bond Scheme’ and ‘Gold Monetization Scheme?
1. To bring the idle gold lying with Indian households into the economy
2. To promote FDI in the gold and jewellery sector
3. To reduce India’s dependence on gold imports
Select the correct answer using the
code given below:
(a) 1 only
(b) 2 and 3 only
(c) 1 and 3 only
(d) 1, 2 and 3
`Belt and Road Initiative’ is sometimes mentioned in the news in the context of the affairs of
(a) African Union
(b) Brazil
(c) European Union
(d) China
We thought South China sea will be asked and did research and published an unparalleled article on this .So much for hard work.Although it can be helpful in Mains , so the hard work is not wasted yet.
Pradhan Mantri MUDRA Yojana is aimed at
(a) bringing the small entrepreneurs into formal financial system
(b) providing loans to poor farmers for cultivating particular crops
(c) providing pensions to old and destitute persons
(d) funding the voluntary organizations involved in the promotion of skill development and employment generation.
In which of the following regions of India are shale gas resources found ?
1. Cambay Basin
2. Cauvery Basin
3. Krishna-Godavari Basin
Select the correct answer using the
code given below:
(a) 1 and 2 only
(b) 3 only
(c) 2 and 3 only
(d) 1, 2 and 3
Don’t touch this question unless you are completely sure.
‘Global Financial Stability Report’ is prepared by the
(a) European Central Bank
(b) International Monetary Fund
(c) International Bank for Reconstruction and Development
(d) Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development
The establishment of “Payment Banks’ is being allowed in India to promote Financial inclusion. Which of the following statements is/are correct in this context?
- Mobile telephone companies and supermarket chains that are owned and controlled by residents are eligible to be promoters of Payment Banks.
- Payment Banks can issue both credit cards and debit cards.
- Payment Banks cannot undertake lending activities.
Select the correct answer using the code given below:
(a) 1 and 2 only
(b) 1 and 3 only
(c) 2 only
(d) 1, 2 and 3
There has been a persistent deficit budget year after year. Which action/ actions of the following can be taken by the Government to reduce the deficit?
1. Reducing revenue expenditure
2. Introducing new welfare schemes
3. Rationalizing subsidies
4. Reducing import duty
Select the correct answer using the
code given below:
(a) 1 only
(b) 2 and 3 only
(c) 1 and 3 only
(d) 1, 2, 3 and 4
The Analysis will follow.
Recent Posts
- Items provided through FPS
- The scale of rations
- The price of items distributed through FPS across states.
- Kyoto Protocol of 2001
- Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation (REDD) as well as REDD+ mechanisms proposed by the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change
- United Nations-mandated Sustainable Developmental Goals (SDG)
- Paris Agreement
- Carbon Neutrality
- multistrata agroforestry,
- afforestation,
- tree intercropping,
- biomass production,
- regenerative agriculture,
- conservation agriculture,
- farmland restoration,
- silvopasture,
- tropical-staple tree,
- intercropping,
- bamboo and indigenous tree–based land management.
- Floods
- Cyclones
- Tornadoes and hurricanes (cyclones)
- Hailstorms
- Cloudburst
- Heat wave and cold wave
- Snow avalanches
- Droughts
- Sea erosion
- Thunder/ lightning
- Landslides and mudflows
- Earthquakes
- Large fires
- Dam failures and dam bursts
- Mine fires
- Epidemics
- Pest attacks
- Cattle epidemics
- Food poisoning
- Chemical and Industrial disasters
- Nuclear
- Forest fires
- Urban fires
- Mine flooding
- Oil Spill
- Major building collapse
- Serial bomb blasts
- Festival related disasters
- Electrical disasters and fires
- Air, road, and rail accidents
- Boat capsizing
- Village fire
- Coastal States, particularly on the East Coast and Gujarat are vulnerable to cyclones.
- 4 crore hectare landmass is vulnerable to floods
- 68 per cent of net sown area is vulnerable to droughts
- 55 per cent of total area is in seismic zones III- V, hence vulnerable to earthquakes
- Sub- Himalayan sector and Western Ghats are vulnerable to landslides.
- Mainstreaming of Disaster Risk Reduction in Developmental Strategy-Prevention and mitigation contribute to lasting improvement in safety and should beintegrated in the disaster management. The Government of India has adopted mitigation and prevention as essential components of their development strategy.
- Mainstreaming of National Plan and its Sub-Plan
- National Disaster Mitigation Fund
- National Earthquake Risk Mitigation Project (NERMP)
- National Building Code (NBC):- Earthquake resistant buildings
- National Cyclone Risk Mitigation Project (NCRMP)
- Integrated Coastal Zone Management Project (ICZMP)-The objective of the project is to assist GoI in building the national capacity for implementation of a comprehensive coastal management approach in the country and piloting the integrated coastal zone management approach in states of Gujarat, Orissa and West Bengal.
- National Flood Risk Mitigation Project (NFRMP)
- National Project for Integrated Drought Monitoring & Management
- National Vector Borne Diseases Control Programme (NVBDCP)- key programme
for prevention/control of outbreaks/epidemics of malaria, dengue, chikungunya etc., vaccines administered to reduce the morbidity and mortality due to diseases like measles, diphtheria, pertussis, poliomyelitis etc. Two key measures to prevent/control epidemics of water-borne diseases like cholera, viral hepatitis etc. include making available safe water and ensuring personal and domestic hygienic practices are adopted. - Training
- Education
- Research
- Awareness
- Hyogo Framework of Action- The Hyogo Framework of Action (HFA) 2005-2015 was adopted to work globally towards sustainable reduction of disaster losses in lives and in the social, economic and environmental assets of communities and countries.
- United Nations International Strategy for Disaster Reduction (UNISDR)-In order to build the resilience of nations and communities to disasters through the implementation of the HFA , the UNISDR strives to catalyze, facilitate and mobilise the
commitment and resources of national, regional and international stakeholders of the ISDR
system. - United Nation Disaster Management Team (UNDMT) –
- To ensure a prompt, effective and concerted country-level support to a governmental
response in the event of a disaster, at the central, state and sub-state levels, - To coordinate UN assistance to the government with respect to long term recovery, disaster mitigation and preparedness.
- To coordinate all disaster-related activities, technical advice and material assistance provided by UN agencies, as well as to take steps for optimal utilisation of resources by UN agencies.
- To ensure a prompt, effective and concerted country-level support to a governmental
- Global Facility for Disaster Risk Reduction (GFDRR):-
- GFDRR was set up in September 2006 jointly by the World Bank, donor partners (21countries and four international organisations), and key stakeholders of the International Strategy for Disaster Reduction (UN-ISDR). It is a long-term global partnership under the ISDR system established to develop and implement the HFA through a coordinated programme for reversing the trend in disaster losses by 2015.
- Its mission is to mainstream disaster reduction and climate change adaptation in a country’s development strategies to reduce vulnerability to natural hazards.
- ASEAN Region Forum (ARF)
- Asian Disaster Reduction Centre (ADRC)
- SAARC Disaster Management Centre (SDMC)
- Program for Enhancement of Emergency Response (PEER):-The Program for Enhancement of Emergency Response (PEER) is a regional training programme initiated in 1998 by the United States Agency for International Development’s, Office of U.S Foreign Disaster Assistance (USAID/OFDA) to strengthen disaster response capacities in Asia.
- Policy guidelines at the macro level that would inform and guide the preparation and
implementation of disaster management and development plans across sectors - Building in a culture of preparedness and mitigation
- Operational guidelines of integrating disaster management practices into development, and
specific developmental schemes for prevention and mitigation of disasters - Having robust early warning systems coupled with effective response plans at district, state
and national levels - Building capacity of all stakeholders
- Involving the community, NGOs, CSOs and the media at all stages of DM
- Addressing gender issues in disaster management planning and developing a strategy for
inclusive approach addressing the disadvantaged sections of the society towards disaster risk reduction. - Addressing climate risk management through adaptation and mitigation
- Micro disaster Insurance
- Flood Proofing
- Building Codes and Enforcement
- Housing Design and Finance
- Road and Infrastructure
Heat wave is a condition of air temperature which becomes fatal to human body when exposed. Often times, it is defined based on the temperature thresholds over a region in terms of actual temperature or its departure from normal.
Heat wave is considered if maximum temperature of a station reaches at least 400C or more for Plains and at least 300C or more for Hilly regions.
a) Based on Departure from Normal
Heat Wave: Departure from normal is 4.50C to 6.40C
Severe Heat Wave: Departure from normal is >6.40C
b) Based on Actual Maximum Temperature
Heat Wave: When actual maximum temperature ≥ 450C
Severe Heat Wave: When actual maximum temperature ≥470C
If above criteria met at least in 2 stations in a Meteorological sub-division for at least two consecutive days and it declared on the second day
It is occurring mainly during March to June and in some rare cases even in July. The peak month of the heat wave over India is May.
Heat wave generally occurs over plains of northwest India, Central, East & north Peninsular India during March to June.
It covers Punjab, Haryana, Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand, West Bengal, Odisha, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Gujarat, parts of Maharashtra & Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh and Telengana.
Sometimes it occurs over Tamilnadu & Kerala also.
Heat waves adversely affect human and animal lives.
However, maximum temperatures more than 45°C observed mainly over Rajasthan and Vidarbha region in month of May.
a. Transportation / Prevalence of hot dry air over a region (There should be a region of warm dry air and appropriate flow pattern for transporting hot air over the region).
b. Absence of moisture in the upper atmosphere (As the presence of moisture restricts the temperature rise).
c. The sky should be practically cloudless (To allow maximum insulation over the region).
d. Large amplitude anti-cyclonic flow over the area.
Heat waves generally develop over Northwest India and spread gradually eastwards & southwards but not westwards (since the prevailing winds during the season are westerly to northwesterly).
The health impacts of Heat Waves typically involve dehydration, heat cramps, heat exhaustion and/or heat stroke. The signs and symptoms are as follows:
1. Heat Cramps: Ederna (swelling) and Syncope (Fainting) generally accompanied by fever below 39*C i.e.102*F.
2. Heat Exhaustion: Fatigue, weakness, dizziness, headache, nausea, vomiting, muscle cramps and sweating.
3. Heat Stoke: Body temperatures of 40*C i.e. 104*F or more along with delirium, seizures or coma. This is a potential fatal condition.
Norman Borlaug and MS Swaminathan in a wheat field in north India in March 1964
Political independence does not have much meaning without economic independence.
One of the important indicators of economic independence is self-sufficiency in food grain production.
The overall food grain scenario in India has undergone a drastic transformation in the last 75 years.
India was a food-deficit country on the eve of Independence. It had to import foodgrains to feed its people.
The situation became more acute during the 1960s. The imported food had to be sent to households within the shortest possible time.
The situation was referred to as ‘ship to mouth’.
Presently, Food Corporation of India (FCI) godowns are overflowing with food grain stocks and the Union government is unable to ensure remunerative price to the farmers for their produce.
This transformation, however, was not smooth.
In the 1960s, it was disgraceful, but unavoidable for the Prime Minister of India to go to foreign countries with a begging bowl.
To avoid such situations, the government motivated agricultural scientists to make India self-sufficient in food grain production.
As a result, high-yield varieties (HYV) were developed. The combination of seeds, water and fertiliser gave a boost to food grain production in the country which is generally referred to as the Green Revolution.
The impact of the Green Revolution, however, was confined to a few areas like Punjab, Haryana, western Uttar Pradesh in the north and (unified) Andhra Pradesh in the south.
Most of the remaining areas were deficit in food grain production.
Therefore the Union government had to procure food grain from surplus states to distribute it among deficit ones.
At the time, farmers in the surplus states viewed procurement as a tax as they were prevented from selling their surplus foodgrains at high prices in the deficit states.
As production of food grains increased, there was decentralisation of procurement. State governments were permitted to procure grain to meet their requirement.
The distribution of food grains was left to the concerned state governments.
Kerala, for instance, was totally a deficit state and had to adopt a distribution policy which was almost universal in nature.
Some states adopted a vigorous public distribution system (PDS) policy.
It is not out of place to narrate an interesting incident regarding food grain distribution in Andhra Pradesh. The Government of Andhra Pradesh in the early 1980s implemented a highly subsidised rice scheme under which poor households were given five kilograms of rice per person per month, subject to a ceiling of 25 kilograms at Rs 2 per kg. The state government required two million tonnes of rice to implement the scheme. But it received only on one million tonne from the Union government.
The state government had to purchase another million tonne of rice from rice millers in the state at a negotiated price, which was higher than the procurement price offered by the Centre, but lower than the open market price.
A large number of studies have revealed that many poor households have been excluded from the PDS network, while many undeserving households have managed to get benefits from it.
Various policy measures have been implemented to streamline PDS. A revamped PDS was introduced in 1992 to make food grain easily accessible to people in tribal and hilly areas, by providing relatively higher subsidies.
Targeted PDS was launched in 1997 to focus on households below the poverty line (BPL).
Antyodaya Anna Yojana (AAY) was introduced to cover the poorest of the poor.
Annapoorna Scheme was introduced in 2001 to distribute 10 kg of food grains free of cost to destitutes above the age of 65 years.
In 2013, the National Food Security Act (NFSA) was passed by Parliament to expand and legalise the entitlement.
Conventionally, a card holder has to go to a particular fair price shop (FPS) and that particular shop has to be open when s/he visits it. Stock must be available in the shop. The card holder should also have sufficient time to stand in the queue to purchase his quota. The card holder has to put with rough treatment at the hands of a FPS dealer.
These problems do not exist once ration cards become smart cards. A card holder can go to any shop which is open and has available stocks. In short, the scheme has become card holder-friendly and curbed the monopoly power of the FPS dealer. Some states other than Chhattisgarh are also trying to introduce such a scheme on an experimental basis.
More recently, the Government of India has introduced a scheme called ‘One Nation One Ration Card’ which enables migrant labourers to purchase rations from the place where they reside. In August 2021, it was operational in 34 states and Union territories.
The intentions of the scheme are good but there are some hurdles in its implementation which need to be addressed. These problems arise on account of variation in:
It is not clear whether a migrant labourer gets items provided in his/her native state or those in the state s/he has migrated to and what prices will s/he be able to purchase them.
The Centre must learn lessons from the experiences of different countries in order to make PDS sustainable in the long-run.
For instance, Sri Lanka recently shifted to organic manure from chemical fertiliser without required planning. Consequently, it had to face an acute food shortage due to a shortage of organic manure.
Some analysts have cautioned against excessive dependence on chemical fertiliser.
Phosphorus is an important input in the production of chemical fertiliser and about 70-80 per cent of known resources of phosphorus are available only in Morocco.
There is possibility that Morocco may manipulate the price of phosphorus.
Providing excessive subsidies and unemployment relief may make people dependent, as in the case of Venezuela and Zimbabwe.
It is better to teach a person how to catch a fish rather than give free fish to him / her.
Hence, the government should give the right amount of subsidy to deserving people.
The government has to increase livestock as in the case of Uruguay to make the food basket broad-based and nutritious. It has to see to it that the organic content in the soil is adequate, in order to make cultivation environmentally-friendly and sustainable in the long-run.
In short, India has transformed from a food-deficit state to a food-surplus one 75 years after independence. However, the government must adopt environmental-friendly measures to sustain this achievement.
Agroforestry is an intentional integration of trees on farmland.
Globally, it is practised by 1.2 billion people on 10 per cent area of total agricultural lands (over 1 billion hectares).
It is widely popular as ‘a low hanging fruit’ due to its multifarious tangible and intangible benefits.
The net carbon sequestered in agroforestry is 11.35 tonnes of carbon per ha
A panacea for global issues such as climate change, land degradation, pollution and food security, agroforestry is highlighted as a key strategy to fulfil several targets:
In 2017, a New York Times bestseller Project Drawdown published by 200 scientists around the world with a goal of reversing climate change, came up with the most plausible 100 solutions to slash–down greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions.
Out of these 100 solutions, 11 strategies were highlighted under the umbrella of agroforestry such as:-
Nowadays, tree-based farming in India is considered a silver bullet to cure all issues.
It was promoted under the Green India mission of 2001, six out of eight missions under the National Action Plan on Climate Change (NAPCC) and National Agroforestry and Bamboo Mission (NABM), 2017 to bring a third of the geographical area under tree cover and offsetting GHG emissions.
These long-term attempts by the Government of India have helped enhance the agroforestry area to 13.75 million hectares.
The net carbon sequestered in agroforestry is 11.35 tonnes of carbon per ha and carbon sequestration potential is 0.35 tonnes of carbon per ha per year at the country level, according to the Central Agroforestry Research Institute, Jhansi.
India will reduce an additional 2.5-3 billion tonnes of CO2 by increasing tree cover. This extra tree cover could be achieved through agroforestry systems because of their ability to withstand minimum inputs under extreme situations.
Here are some examples which portray the role of agroforestry in achieving at least nine out of the 17 SDGs through sustainable food production, ecosystem services and economic benefits:
SDG 1 — No Poverty: Almost 736 million people still live in extreme poverty. Diversification through integrating trees in agriculture unlocks the treasure to provide multifunctional benefits.
Studies carried out in 2003 in the arid regions of India reported a 10-15 per cent increase in crop yield with Prosopis cineraria (khejari). Adoption of agroforestry increases income & production by reducing the cost of input & production.
SDG 2 — Zero hunger: Tree-based systems provide food and monetary returns. Traditional agroforestry systems like Prosopis cineraria and Madhuca longifolia (Mahua) provide edible returns during drought years known as “lifeline to the poor people”.
Studies showed that 26-50 per cent of households involved in tree products collection and selling act as a coping strategy to deal with hunger.
SDG 3 — Good health and well-being: Human wellbeing and health are depicted through the extent of healthy ecosystems and services they provide.
Agroforestry contributes increased access to diverse nutritious food, supply of medicine, clean air and reduces heat stress.
Vegetative buffers can filter airstreams of particulates by removing dust, gas, microbial constituents and heavy metals.
SDG 5 — Gender equality: Throughout the world around 3 billion people depend on firewood for cooking.
In this, women are the main collectors and it brings drudgery and health issues.
A study from India stated that almost 374 hours per year are spent by women for collection of firewood. Growing trees nearby provides easy access to firewood and diverts time to productive purposes.
SDG 6 — Clean Water and Sanitation: Water is probably the most vital resource for our survival. The inherent capacity of trees offers hydrological regulation as evapotranspiration recharges atmospheric moisture for rainfall; enhanced soil infiltration recharges groundwater; obstructs sediment flow; rainwater filtration by accumulation of heavy metals.
An extensive study in 35 nations published in 2017 concluded that 30 per cent of tree cover in watersheds resulted in improved sanitisation and reduced diarrheal disease.
SDG 7 — Affordable & Clean Energy: Wood fuels are the only source of energy to billions of poverty-stricken people.
Though trees are substitutes of natural forests, modern technologies in the form of biofuels, ethanol, electricity generation and dendro-biomass sources are truly affordable and clean.
Ideal agroforestry models possess fast-growing, high coppicing, higher calorific value and short rotation (2-3 years) characteristics and provide biomass of 200-400 tonnes per ha.
SDG 12 — Responsible consumption and production: The production of agricultural and wood-based commodities on a sustainable basis without depleting natural resources and as low as external inputs (chemical fertilisers and pesticides) to reduce the ecological footprints.
SDG 13 — Climate action: Globally, agricultural production accounts for up to 24 per cent of GHG emissions from around 22.2 million square km of agricultural area, according to the Food and Agriculture Organization.
A 2016 study depicted that conversion of agricultural land to agroforestry sequesters about 27.2± 13.5 tonnes CO2 equivalent per ha per year after establishment of systems.
Trees on farmland mitigate 109.34 million tonnes CO2 equivalent annually from 15.31 million ha, according to a 2017 report. This may offset a third of the total GHG emissions from the agriculture sector of India.
SDG 15 — Life on Land: Agroforestry ‘mimics the forest ecosystem’ to contribute conservation of flora and faunas, creating corridors, buffers to existing reserves and multi-functional landscapes.
Delivery of ecosystem services of trees regulates life on land. A one-hectare area of homegardens in Kerala was found to have 992 trees from 66 species belonging to 31 families, a recent study showed.
The report of the World Agroforestry Centre highlighted those 22 countries that have registered agroforestry as a key strategy in achieving their unconditional national contributions.
Recently, the Government of India has allocated significant financial support for promotion of agroforestry at grassroot level to make the Indian economy as carbon neutral. This makes agroforestry a low-hanging fruit to achieve the global goals.
A disaster is a result of natural or man-made causes that leads to sudden disruption of normal life, causing severe damage to life and property to an extent that available social and economic protection mechanisms are inadequate to cope.
The International Strategy for Disaster Reduction (ISDR) of the United Nations (U.N.) defines a hazard as “a potentially damaging physical event, phenomenon or human activity that may cause the loss of life or injury, property damage, social and economic disruption or environmental degradation.”
Disasters are classified as per origin, into natural and man-made disasters. As per severity, disasters are classified as minor or major (in impact). However, such classifications are more academic than real.
High Powered Committee (HPC) was constituted in August 1999 under the chairmanship of J.C.Pant. The mandate of the HPC was to prepare comprehensive model plans for disaster management at the national, state and district levels.
This was the first attempt in India towards a systematic comprehensive and holistic look at all disasters.
Thirty odd disasters have been identified by the HPC, which were grouped into the following five categories, based on generic considerations:-
Water and Climate Related:-
Geological:-
Biological:-
Chemical, industrial and nuclear:-
Accidental:-
India’s Key Vulnerabilities as articulated in the Tenth Plan, (2002-07) are as follows:
Vulnerability is defined as:-
“the extent to which a community, structure, service, or geographic area is likely to be damaged or disrupted by the impact of particular hazard, on account of their nature, construction and proximity to hazardous terrain or a disaster prone area”.
The concept of vulnerability therefore implies a measure of risk combined with the level of social and economic ability to cope with the resulting event in order to resist major disruption or loss.
Example:- The 1993 Marathwada earthquake in India left over 10,000 dead and destroyed houses and other properties of 200,000 households. However, the technically much more powerful Los Angeles earthquake of 1971 (taken as a benchmark in America in any debate on the much-apprehended seismic vulnerability of California) left over 55 dead.
Physical Vulnerability:-
Physical vulnerability relates to the physical location of people, their proximity to the hazard zone and standards of safety maintained to counter the effects.
The Indian subcontinent can be primarily divided into three geophysical regions with regard to vulnerability, broadly, as, the Himalayas, the Plains and the Coastal areas.
Socio-economic Vulnerability:-
The degree to which a population is affected by a calamity will not purely lie in the physical components of vulnerability but in contextual, relating to the prevailing social and economic conditions and its consequential effects on human activities within a given society.
Global Warming & Climate Change:-
Global warming is going to make other small local environmental issues seemingly insignificant, because it has the capacity to completely change the face of the Earth. Global warming is leading to shrinking glaciers and rising sea levels. Along with floods, India also suffers acute water shortages.
The steady shrinking of the Himalayan glaciers means the entire water system is being disrupted; global warming will cause even greater extremes. Impacts of El Nino and La Nina have increasingly led to disastrous impacts across the globe.
Scientifically, it is proven that the Himalayan glaciers are shrinking, and in the next fifty to sixty years they would virtually run out of producing the water levels that we are seeing now.
This will cut down drastically the water available downstream, and in agricultural economies like the plains of Uttar Pradesh (UP) and Bihar, which are poor places to begin with. That, as one may realise, would cause tremendous social upheaval.
Urban Risks:-
India is experiencing massive and rapid urbanisation. The population of cities in India is doubling in a period ranging just two decades according to the trends in the recent past.
It is estimated that by 2025, the urban component, which was only 25.7 per cent (1991) will be more than 50 per cent.
Urbanisation is increasing the risks at unprecedented levels; communities are becoming increasingly vulnerable, since high-density areas with poorly built and maintained infrastructure are subjected to natural hazards, environmental degradation, fires, flooding and earthquake.
Urbanisation dramatically increases vulnerability, whereby communities are forced to squat on environmentally unstable areas such as steep hillsides prone to landslide, by the side of rivers that regularly flood, or on poor quality ground, causing building collapse.
Most prominent amongst the disasters striking urban settlements frequently are, floods and fire, with incidences of earthquakes, landslides, droughts and cyclones. Of these, floods are more devastating due to their widespread and periodic impact.
Example: The 2005 floods of Maharashtra bear testimony to this. Heavy flooding caused the sewage system to overflow, which contaminated water lines. On August 11, the state government declared an epidemic of leptospirosis in Mumbai and its outskirts.
Developmental activities:-
Developmental activities compound the damaging effects of natural calamities. The floods in Rohtak (Haryana) in 1995 are an appropriate example of this. Even months after the floodwaters had receded; large parts of the town were still submerged.
Damage had not accrued due to floods, but due to water-logging which had resulted due to peculiar topography and poor land use planning.
Disasters have come to stay in the forms of recurring droughts in Orissa, the desertification of swaths of Gujarat and Rajasthan, where economic depredations continuously impact on already fragile ecologies and environmental degradation in the upstream areas of Uttar Pradesh and Bihar.
Floods in the plains are taking an increasing toll of life, environment, and property, amplified by a huge population pressure.
The unrestricted felling of forests, serious damage to mountain ecology, overuse of groundwater and changing patterns of cultivation precipitate recurring floods and droughts.
When forests are destroyed, rainwater runs off causing floods and diminishing the recharging of groundwater.
The spate of landslides in the Himalayas in recent years can be directly traced to the rampant deforestation and network of roads that have been indiscriminately laid in the name of development.
Destruction of mangroves and coral reefs has increased the vulnerability of coastal areas to hazards, such as storm surges and cyclones.
Commercialisation of coastal areas, particularly for tourism has increased unplanned development in these areas, which has increased disaster potential, as was demonstrated during the Tsunami in December 2004.
Environmental Stresses:- " Delhi-Case Study"
Every ninth student in Delhi’s schools suffers from Asthma. Delhi is the world’s fourth most polluted city.
Each year, poor environmental conditions in the city’s informal areas lead to epidemics.
Delhi has one of the highest road accident fatality ratios in the world. In many ways, Delhi reflects the sad state of urban centers within India that are exposed to risks, which are misconstrued and almost never taken into consideration for urban governance.
The main difference between modernism and postmodernism is that modernism is characterized by the radical break from the traditional forms of urban architecture whereas postmodernism is characterized by the self-conscious use of earlier styles and conventions.
Illustration of Disaster Cycle through Case Study:-
The processes covered by the disaster cycle can be illustrated through the case of the Gujarat Earthquake of 26 January 2001. The devastating earthquake killed thousands of people and destroyed hundreds of thousands of houses and other buildings.
The State Government as well as the National Government immediately mounted a largescale relief operation. The help of the Armed Forces was also taken.
Hundreds of NGOs from within the region and other parts of the country as well as from other countries of the world came to Gujarat with relief materials and personnel to help in the relief operations.
Relief camps were set up, food was distributed, mobile hospitals worked round the clock to help the injured; clothing, beddings, tents, and other commodities were distributed to the affected people over the next few weeks.
By the summer of 2001, work started on long-term recovery. House reconstruction programmes were launched, community buildings were reconstructed, and damaged infrastructure was repaired and reconstructed.
Livelihood programmes were launched for economic rehabilitation of the affected people.
In about two year’s time the state had bounced back and many of the reconstruction projects had taken the form of developmental programmes aiming to deliver even better infrastructure than what existed before the earthquake.
Good road networks, water distribution networks, communication networks, new schools, community buildings, health and education programmes, all worked towards developing the region.
The government as well as the NGOs laid significant emphasis on safe development practices. The buildings being constructed were of earthquake resistant designs.
Older buildings that had survived the earthquake were retrofitted in large numbers to strengthen them and to make them resistant to future earthquakes. Mason and engineer training programmes were carried out at a large scale to ensure that all future construction in the State is disaster resistant.
This case study shows how there was a disaster event during the earthquake, followed by immediate response and relief, then by recovery including rehabilitation and retrofitting, then by developmental processes.
The development phase included mitigation activities, and finally preparedness actions to face future disasters.
Then disaster struck again, but the impact was less than what it could have been, primarily due to better mitigation and preparedness efforts.
Looking at the relationship between disasters and development one can identify ‘four’ different dimensions to this relation:
1) Disasters can set back development
2) Disasters can provide development opportunities
3) Development can increase vulnerability and
4) Development can reduce vulnerability
The whole relationship between disaster and development depends on the development choice made by the individual, community and the nation who implement the development programmes.
The tendency till now has been mostly to associate disasters with negativities. We need to broaden our vision and work on the positive aspects associated with disasters as reflected below:
1)Evolution of Disaster Management in India
Disaster management in India has evolved from an activity-based reactive setup to a proactive institutionalized structure; from single faculty domain to a multi-stakeholder setup; and from a relief-based approach to a ‘multi-dimensional pro-active holistic approach for reducing risk’.
Over the past century, the disaster management in India has undergone substantive changes in its composition, nature and policy.
2)Emergence of Institutional Arrangement in India-
A permanent and institutionalised setup began in the decade of 1990s with set up of a disaster management cell under the Ministry of Agriculture, following the declaration of the decade of 1990 as the ‘International Decade for Natural Disaster Reduction’ (IDNDR) by the UN General Assembly.
Consequently, the disaster management division was shifted under the Ministry of Home Affairs in 2002
3)Disaster Management Framework:-
Shifting from relief and response mode, disaster management in India started to address the
issues of early warning systems, forecasting and monitoring setup for various weather related
hazards.
National Level Institutions:-National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA):-
The National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) was initially constituted on May 30, 2005 under the Chairmanship of Prime Minister vide an executive order.
SDMA (State Level, DDMA(District Level) also present.
National Crisis Management Committee (NCMC)
Legal Framework For Disaster Management :-
DMD- Disaster management Dept.
NIDM- National Institute of Disaster Management
NDRF – National Disaster Response Fund
Cabinet Committee on Disaster Management-
Location of NDRF Battallions(National Disaster Response Force):-
CBRN- Chemical, Biological, Radiological and Nuclear
Policy and response to Climate Change :-
1)National Action Plan on Climate Change (NAPCC)-
National Action Plan on Climate Change identified Eight missions.
• National Solar Mission
• National Mission on Sustainable Habitat
• National Mission for Enhanced Energy Efficiency
• National Mission for Sustaining The Himalayan Ecosystem
• National Water Mission
• National Mission for Green India
• National Mission for Sustainable Agriculture
• National Mission for Strategic Knowledge on Climate Change
2)National Policy on Disaster Management (NPDM),2009-
The policy envisages a safe and disaster resilient India by developing a holistic, proactive, multi-disaster oriented and technologydriven strategy through a culture of prevention, mitigation, preparedness and response. The policy covers all aspects of disaster management including institutional and legal arrangements,financial arrangements, disaster prevention, mitigation and preparedness, techno-legal regime, response, relief and rehabilitation, reconstruction and recovery, capacity development, knowledge management, research and development. It focuses on the areas where action is needed and the institutional mechanism through which such action can be channelised.
Prevention and Mitigation Projects:-
Early Warning Nodal Agencies:-
Post Disaster Management :-Post disaster management responses are created according to the disaster and location. The principles being – Faster Recovery, Resilient Reconstruction and proper Rehabilitation.
Capacity Development:-
Components of capacity development includes :-
National Institute for Capacity Development being – National Institute of Disaster Management (NIDM)
International Cooperation-
Way Forward:-
Principles and Steps:-
The United Nations has shaped so much of global co-operation and regulation that we wouldn’t recognise our world today without the UN’s pervasive role in it. So many small details of our lives – such as postage and copyright laws – are subject to international co-operation nurtured by the UN.
In its 75th year, however, the UN is in a difficult moment as the world faces climate crisis, a global pandemic, great power competition, trade wars, economic depression and a wider breakdown in international co-operation.
Still, the UN has faced tough times before – over many decades during the Cold War, the Security Council was crippled by deep tensions between the US and the Soviet Union. The UN is not as sidelined or divided today as it was then. However, as the relationship between China and the US sours, the achievements of global co-operation are being eroded.
The way in which people speak about the UN often implies a level of coherence and bureaucratic independence that the UN rarely possesses. A failure of the UN is normally better understood as a failure of international co-operation.
We see this recently in the UN’s inability to deal with crises from the ethnic cleansing of the Rohingya Muslims in Myanmar, to civil conflict in Syria, and the failure of the Security Council to adopt a COVID-19 resolution calling for ceasefires in conflict zones and a co-operative international response to the pandemic.
The UN administration is not primarily to blame for these failures; rather, the problem is the great powers – in the case of COVID-19, China and the US – refusing to co-operate.
Where states fail to agree, the UN is powerless to act.
Marking the 75th anniversary of the official formation of the UN, when 50 founding nations signed the UN Charter on June 26, 1945, we look at some of its key triumphs and resounding failures.
Five successes
1. Peacekeeping
The United Nations was created with the goal of being a collective security organisation. The UN Charter establishes that the use of force is only lawful either in self-defence or if authorised by the UN Security Council. The Security Council’s five permanent members, being China, US, UK, Russia and France, can veto any such resolution.
The UN’s consistent role in seeking to manage conflict is one of its greatest successes.
A key component of this role is peacekeeping. The UN under its second secretary-general, the Swedish statesman Dag Hammarskjöld – who was posthumously awarded the Nobel Peace prize after he died in a suspicious plane crash – created the concept of peacekeeping. Hammarskjöld was responding to the 1956 Suez Crisis, in which the US opposed the invasion of Egypt by its allies Israel, France and the UK.
UN peacekeeping missions involve the use of impartial and armed UN forces, drawn from member states, to stabilise fragile situations. “The essence of peacekeeping is the use of soldiers as a catalyst for peace rather than as the instruments of war,” said then UN Secretary-General Javier Pérez de Cuéllar, when the forces won the 1988 Nobel Peace Prize following missions in conflict zones in the Middle East, Africa, Asia, Central America and Europe.
However, peacekeeping also counts among the UN’s major failures.
2. Law of the Sea
Negotiated between 1973 and 1982, the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) set up the current international law of the seas. It defines states’ rights and creates concepts such as exclusive economic zones, as well as procedures for the settling of disputes, new arrangements for governing deep sea bed mining, and importantly, new provisions for the protection of marine resources and ocean conservation.
Mostly, countries have abided by the convention. There are various disputes that China has over the East and South China Seas which present a conflict between power and law, in that although UNCLOS creates mechanisms for resolving disputes, a powerful state isn’t necessarily going to submit to those mechanisms.
Secondly, on the conservation front, although UNCLOS is a huge step forward, it has failed to adequately protect oceans that are outside any state’s control. Ocean ecosystems have been dramatically transformed through overfishing. This is an ecological catastrophe that UNCLOS has slowed, but failed to address comprehensively.
3. Decolonisation
The idea of racial equality and of a people’s right to self-determination was discussed in the wake of World War I and rejected. After World War II, however, those principles were endorsed within the UN system, and the Trusteeship Council, which monitored the process of decolonisation, was one of the initial bodies of the UN.
Although many national independence movements only won liberation through bloody conflicts, the UN has overseen a process of decolonisation that has transformed international politics. In 1945, around one third of the world’s population lived under colonial rule. Today, there are less than 2 million people living in colonies.
When it comes to the world’s First Nations, however, the UN generally has done little to address their concerns, aside from the non-binding UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples of 2007.
4. Human rights
The Human Rights Declaration of 1948 for the first time set out fundamental human rights to be universally protected, recognising that the “inherent dignity and of the equal and inalienable rights of all members of the human family is the foundation of freedom, justice and peace in the world”.
Since 1948, 10 human rights treaties have been adopted – including conventions on the rights of children and migrant workers, and against torture and discrimination based on gender and race – each monitored by its own committee of independent experts.
The language of human rights has created a new framework for thinking about the relationship between the individual, the state and the international system. Although some people would prefer that political movements focus on ‘liberation’ rather than ‘rights’, the idea of human rights has made the individual person a focus of national and international attention.
5. Free trade
Depending on your politics, you might view the World Trade Organisation as a huge success, or a huge failure.
The WTO creates a near-binding system of international trade law with a clear and efficient dispute resolution process.
The majority Australian consensus is that the WTO is a success because it has been good for Australian famers especially, through its winding back of subsidies and tariffs.
However, the WTO enabled an era of globalisation which is now politically controversial.
Recently, the US has sought to disrupt the system. In addition to the trade war with China, the Trump Administration has also refused to appoint tribunal members to the WTO’s Appellate Body, so it has crippled the dispute resolution process. Of course, the Trump Administration is not the first to take issue with China’s trade strategies, which include subsidises for ‘State Owned Enterprises’ and demands that foreign firms transfer intellectual property in exchange for market access.
The existence of the UN has created a forum where nations can discuss new problems, and climate change is one of them. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) was set up in 1988 to assess climate science and provide policymakers with assessments and options. In 1992, the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change created a permanent forum for negotiations.
However, despite an international scientific body in the IPCC, and 165 signatory nations to the climate treaty, global greenhouse gas emissions have continued to increase.
Under the Paris Agreement, even if every country meets its greenhouse gas emission targets we are still on track for ‘dangerous warming’. Yet, no major country is even on track to meet its targets; while emissions will probably decline this year as a result of COVID-19, atmospheric concentrations of greenhouse gases will still increase.
This illustrates a core conundrum of the UN in that it opens the possibility of global cooperation, but is unable to constrain states from pursuing their narrowly conceived self-interests. Deep co-operation remains challenging.
Five failures of the UN
1. Peacekeeping
During the Bosnian War, Dutch peacekeeping forces stationed in the town of Srebrenica, declared a ‘safe area’ by the UN in 1993, failed in 1995 to stop the massacre of more than 8000 Muslim men and boys by Bosnian Serb forces. This is one of the most widely discussed examples of the failures of international peacekeeping operations.
On the massacre’s 10th anniversary, then UN Secretary General Kofi Annan wrote that the UN had “made serious errors of judgement, rooted in a philosophy of impartiality”, contributing to a mass murder that would “haunt our history forever”.
If you look at some of the other infamous failures of peacekeeping missions – in places such as Rwanda, Somalia and Angola – it is the limited powers given to peacekeeping operations that have resulted in those failures.
2. The invasion of Iraq
The invasion of Iraq by the US in 2003, which was unlawful and without Security Council authorisation, reflects the fact that the UN is has very limited capacity to constrain the actions of great powers.
The Security Council designers created the veto power so that any of the five permanent members could reject a Council resolution, so in that way it is programmed to fail when a great power really wants to do something that the international community generally condemns.
In the case of the Iraq invasion, the US didn’t veto a resolution, but rather sought authorisation that it did not get. The UN, if you go by the idea of collective security, should have responded by defending Iraq against this unlawful use of force.
The invasion proved a humanitarian disaster with the loss of more than 400,000 lives, and many believe that it led to the emergence of the terrorist Islamic State.
3. Refugee crises
The UN brokered the 1951 Refugee Convention to address the plight of people displaced in Europe due to World War II; years later, the 1967 Protocol removed time and geographical restrictions so that the Convention can now apply universally (although many countries in Asia have refused to sign it, owing in part to its Eurocentric origins).
Despite these treaties, and the work of the UN High Commission for Refugees, there is somewhere between 30 and 40 million refugees, many of them, such as many Palestinians, living for decades outside their homelands. This is in addition to more than 40 million people displaced within their own countries.
While for a long time refugee numbers were reducing, in recent years, particularly driven by the Syrian conflict, there have been increases in the number of people being displaced.
During the COVID-19 crisis, boatloads of Rohingya refugees were turned away by port after port. This tragedy has echoes of pre-World War II when ships of Jewish refugees fleeing Nazi Germany were refused entry by multiple countries.
And as a catastrophe of a different kind looms, there is no international framework in place for responding to people who will be displaced by rising seas and other effects of climate change.
4. Conflicts without end
Across the world, there is a shopping list of unresolved civil conflicts and disputed territories.
Palestine and Kashmir are two of the longest-running failures of the UN to resolve disputed lands. More recent, ongoing conflicts include the civil wars in Syria and Yemen.
The common denominator of unresolved conflicts is either division among the great powers, or a lack of international interest due to the geopolitical stakes not being sufficiently high. For instance, the inaction during the Rwandan civil war in the 1990s was not due to a division among great powers, but rather a lack of political will to engage.
In Syria, by contrast, Russia and the US have opposing interests and back opposing sides: Russia backs the government of the Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad, whereas the US does not.
5. Acting like it’s 1945
The UN is increasingly out of step with the reality of geopolitics today.
The permanent members of the Security Council reflect the division of power internationally at the end of World War II. The continuing exclusion of Germany, Japan, and rising powers such as India and Indonesia, reflects the failure to reflect the changing balance of power.
Also, bodies such as the IMF and the World Bank, which are part of the UN system, continue to be dominated by the West. In response, China has created potential rival institutions such as the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank.
Western domination of UN institutions undermines their credibility. However, a more fundamental problem is that institutions designed in 1945 are a poor fit with the systemic global challenges – of which climate change is foremost – that we face today.