Table of Contents
”UPSC News Diary For Today” is every day published in the evening between 6-7 PM and contains all current affairs articles from the day on a single platform. ”UPSC News Diary For Today” covers various topics from UPSC Syllabus and is very helpful and time managing for UPSC Aspirants. The framing of this daily current affairs compilation article is easy to read and understandable also.
In the ”UPSC News Diary For Today” article, we focus on both UPSC Preliminary and Mains exam-oriented current affairs & prepare a gist of daily important news articles from leading National Newspapers, PIB, and other various official sources.
Veerashaiva-Lingayat community
In News
Various Veerashaiva-Lingayat seers have raised objections against the revision of the content of chapter 3 of the Class 9 Social Science Part 1 textbook titled, “Religious Promoters and Social Reformers”.
Who are the Lingayats/Veerashaiva?
- The Lingayat/Veerashaiva community, a politically dominant group in Karnataka, are devotees of Shiva.
- The Lingayats follow 12th-century saint-philosopher Basavanna who had rejected ritualistic worship and pre-eminence of the Vedas.
- The Veerashaivas sect of the community also worships Shiva idols and practises other Hindu customs.
- The Lingayats consider the Veershaivas to be part of Hinduism as they follow Hindu customs while the Veerashaivas think the community was an ancient religion established by Shiva and Basavanna was one of its saints.
Why are some Lingayats opposing?
- Various Veerashaiva-Lingayat seers have raised objections against the revision of the content of chapter 3 of the Class 9 Social Science Part 1 textbook titled, “Religious Promoters and Social Reformers”.
- While the previous textbook stated that “Basaveshwara was a strong opponent of the caste system and he threw away the ‘Sacred thread’ after his Upanayana (the thread ceremony) and went to Kudalasangama”, the revised textbook has excluded this and only mentions that “after his thread ceremony, he went to Kudalasangama”.
Strong presence in the Karnataka state
- The community has a strong presence in the Karnataka state, especially in the north.
- Lingayats constitute 17% of the total population in Karnataka.
- They are dominant in close to 100 of the 224 assembly seats, mostly in North Karnataka.
- There have been nine chief ministers from the community.
Veershaivism
What is Veershaivism?
- This movement of the Veerashaivas challenged certain traditional Hindu beliefs and practices relating to
caste, ritual pollution, and status of women. - The movement projected for its followers a new social order which was based on ritual equality (in terms of worship and belief), sanctity of all work, and universal ritual purity i.e. purity of all followers irrespective of sex, age and occupation.
- This movement utilised Kannada, the spoken language of the masses, to communicate its ideas.
- The movement is closely linked with the name of Basaveswara (1 105-1 167) who is identified by many as the
founding father of the movement. - He was instrumental in popularising it in the Kannada-speaking region of south India.
- Veerashaivas are also popularly known by another name, the Lingayats. Lingayats means bearers of the “Linga”, the symbol of Lord Shiva.
- The Veerashaivas or Lingayats worship only Lord Shiva in the form of a Linga. Veerashaivism holds that all Linga worshippers were equal and gained equal access to salvation. Salvation according to the Lingayats, came through hard work and dedication to remove social evils.
Vokkaliga Community
In news
Leaders of the Vokkaliga community are raising objections against Karnataka’s textbook revision committee’s head Mr. Chakrathirtha. They are accusing him of insulting the Nada Geethe (state anthem) and being disrespectful to a well-known Kannada poet, Kuvempu, who wrote it.
About Nada Geethe
- Naada Geethe or Jaya Bharata Jananiya Tanujate is a Kannada Poem which was officially declared the state song of Karnataka on 6 January 2004.
- Jaya Bharata Jananiya Tanujate Lyrics was composed by the Indian national poet Naada Kavi Kuvempu.
- The song is tuned by number of Kannada composer among which C. Ashwath and Mysore Ananthaswamy are the most popular ones. Later the Prof. Shivarudrappa Committee decided Mysore Ananthaswamy’s compostion was apt.
- Naada Geethe Lyrics is sung in every schools, colleges and on November 1st without fail, as a token of respect for the Karnataka State.
About Vokkaliga Community
- Vokkaliga (also transliterated as Vokkaligar, Vakkaliga, Wakkaliga, Okkaligar, Okkiliyan) is a community, or a group of closely-related castes, from the Indian state of Karnataka. They are also present in the neighbouring state of Tamil Nadu.
- As a community of warriors and cultivators, they have historically had notable demographic, political, and economic dominance in Old Mysore (region).
- It is believed by some historians that the Rashtrakutas and Western Gangas were of Vokkaliga origin.
- The Vokkaligas occupied administrative positions in the Vijaynagar Empire.
About Kempegowda
- Kempe Gowda was a great ruler, was concerned in the welfare of his subjects and spent lavishly in the construction of tanks, agraharas, temples and forts.
- He is the man who marked with towers the four corners of a Bengaluru he imagined.
- He was the chieftain from the Vijayanagar empire in the 16th century, who conceived the idea of a new city of Bengaluru while he was out hunting with a minister, is a political icon for the dominant agricultural Vokkaliga community in south Karnataka.
Anti Defection Law
In News
In light of the events unfolding in Maharashtra, with the Uddhav Thackeray government facing internal dissent from a block of 22 MLAs led by Eknath Shinde, the anti-defection law has again come into the spotlight.
What was the purpose of Anti Defection Law?
- The anti-defection law was included in the Constitution to combat the “evil of political defections”.
- The main purpose was to preserve the stability of governments.
- The law stated that any MP or MLA would be disqualified from their office if they voted on any motion contrary to the directions issued by their party.
- This means that anyone from the party having a majority in the legislature is unable to hold the government to account.
- All legislators will then have a ready explanation for their voting behaviour: they had to follow the party’s direction.
What is the situation in Maharashtra now?
- The anti-defection law mandates that if two-thirds of the strength of a party agrees to a “merger”, they will not face disqualification proceedings.
- At present, the Sena’s current strength in the Assembly is 55 MLAs. If the rebels want to merge with BJP, 37 MLAs (two-thirds of 55) have to come together to ensure they do not face disqualification proceedings under the anti-defection law.
Twin deficit
Relevance
- GS 3: Indian Economy and issues relating to planning, mobilization, of resources, growth, development and employment.
Inflation in India: Context
- Ministry of Finance in its latest review has given an optimistic picture of the state of Indian economy.
Twin Deficit Problem in India: Key points
Resilient Indian economy
- Stagflation in India: Risk of stagflation in India is comparatively lower as compared to the world economy. While widespread stagflation is becoming a possibility in the world; Indian economy, due to its stabilization policies, is at low risk of stagflation.
- Momentum of Indian economy: The momentum of economic activities sustained in the first two months of the current financial year augurs well for India continuing to be the quickest growing economy among major countries in 2022-23.
- It is significant because economic growth outlook is likely to be affected by several factors owing to the trade disruptions, export bans and the resulting surge in global commodity prices —all of which will continue to stoke inflation.
Issues in Indian economy
- The report has highlighted two areas of concern for the Indian economy—fiscal deficit and the current account deficit. Both these deficits are collectively known as twin deficit.
- Fiscal deficit: Due to cuts in excise duties on diesel and petrol, government revenues has taken a significant hit. It has resulted in an upside risk to the budgeted level of gross fiscal deficit.
- Current Account Deficit: Costlier imports such as crude oil and other commodities will not only widen the CAD but also weaken the rupee against USD. A weaker rupee will, in turn, make future imports costlier. Besides, the interest rate increase by US could see money being pulled out of Indian economy that will further hurt rupee.
Back to basics
Fiscal deficit
- Fiscal Deficit is the difference between the total income of the government (total taxes and non-debt capital receipts) and its total expenditure.
- The government describes fiscal deficit of India as “the excess of total disbursements from the Consolidated Fund of India, excluding repayment of the debt, over total receipts into the Fund (excluding the debt receipts) during a financial year.
Current account deficit
- Current account surplus indicates that a country’s exports are more than its imports while current account deficit means a country’s imports are more than its exports.
- It is composed of following parts:
- Balance of Trade: It includes a country’s financial transactions while dealing with goods. So, balance of trade basically includes international transactions that involves sale/purchase of goods.
- Balance of Invisibles: It includes a country’s financial transactions while dealing with services. So, balance of invisible basically includes international transactions that involves sale/purchase of services.
- Transfer payment: Elements like donations, remittances are a component of transfer payment and hence are a part of current account.
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UNESCO’s King Hamad Bin Isa Al-Khalifa Prize
Relevance for UPSC Exam
- GS Paper 2: International Relations- Important International institutions, agencies and fora- their structure, mandate.
UNESCO’s King Hamad Bin Isa Al-Khalifa Prize in News
- Use of ICT under a comprehensive initiative called PM eVIDYA by the Department of School education, Ministry of Education, particularly during the COVID-19 pandemic wins UNESCO’s recognition- King Hamad Bin Isa Al-Khalifa Prize.
- The UNESCO’s King Hamad Bin Isa Al-Khalifa Prize for the Use of ICT in Education for the year 2021 was given to Central Institute of Educational Technology (CIET).
- CIET is a constituent unit of National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT) under Department of School Education and Literacy (DOSEL), Ministry of Education (MoE).
UNESCO’s King Hamad Bin Isa Al-Khalifa Prize
- Background: UNESCO’s King Hamad Bin Isa Al-Khalifa Prize was established in 2005 with the support of the Kingdom of Bahrain.
- About: UNESCO’s King Hamad Bin Isa Al-Khalifa award “recognizes innovative approaches in leveraging new technologies to expand educational and lifelong learning opportunities for all.
- This is in line with the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and its Goal 4 on Education.
- Mandate: UNESCO’s King Hamad Bin Isa Al-Khalifa Prize rewards individuals and organizations that are implementing outstanding projects and promoting the creative use of technologies to enhance learning, teaching and overall educational performance in the digital age.
- Award Prize: An international Jury selects two best projects annually. Each prize winner receives US$ 25,000, a medal and a diploma during a ceremony at UNESCO Headquarters in Paris”, which this year will be held on 24th June, 2022.
PARAKH Survey by AICTE: Crisis in India’s Engineering Education System
What is PM eVIDYA?
- PM eVIDYA has been initiated as part of Atma Nirbhar Bharat Abhiyaanby the Ministry of Education on 17th May, 2020.
- PM eVIDYA unifies all efforts related to digital/online/on-air education to enable multi-mode access for imparting education by using technology to minimise learning losses.
Why CIET was awarded UNESCO’s King Hamad Bin Isa Al-Khalifa Prize?
- The CIET was proactive in taking learning to the doorsteps of the children through the extensive, resilient, ethical, and coherent use of 12 PM eVidya DTH TV channels and nearly 397 radio stations, including community radio stations under PM eVidya program.
- These efforts were especially helpful in pandemic situations, when schools were closed, in reaching out to students.
- These efforts helped in arresting the learning hiatus to a large extent.
UNESCO State of Education Report 2021
Kolkata Durga Puja Inscribed on the UNESCO’s Intangible Cultural Heritage List
Jyotirgamaya Festival
Relevance for UPSC Exam
- GS Paper 1: Indian History- Indian culture will cover the salient aspects of Art Forms, Literature and Architecture from ancient to modern times.
Jyotirgamaya Festival in News
- Recently, Jyotirgamaya Festival was organized on the occasion of World Music Day as part of Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav, to celebrate and commemorate 75 years of India’s independence.
- Union Minister for Culture, Tourism and DoNER, Shri G. Kishan Reddy inaugurated the Jyotirgamaya Festival.
What is Jyotirgamaya Festival?
- About: Jyotirgamaya Festival is a unique festival to showcase the talent of rare musical instruments from across the country, including street performers, train entertainers, performers attached to temples, etc.
- Organizing Body: Jyotirgamaya Festival is being organized by Sangeet Natak Akademi on the occasion of World Music Day.
- Duration of Festival: Jyotirgamaya Festival is being held from 21-25 June 2022. A live exhibition displaying the making of musical instruments by craftsmen will be open for each day of the festival.
- Significance: The Jyotirgamaya festival envisages sensitising people about the need to safeguard the craft of making as well as the skill of playing rare musical instruments, and to give a voice to ‘unheard’ artistes who hardly ever see the limelight.
- This is a unique endeavour of Sangeet Natak Akademi to salvage the dying performing arts of India and the initiative will persist beyond the festivities of World Music Day.
Analysis of Yojana Magazine: The Importance of Music
World Music Day 2022
- Background: World Music Day was first celebrated as Fête de la Musique in France in 1982.
- The then French Minister of Art and Culture, Jack Lange and Maurice Fleuret, a French composer, started Fête de la Musique (festival of music), in the streets of Paris.
- About: International Music Day or World Music Day is annually observed on 21 June to honour musicians and singers.
- The World Music Day also encourages young and amateur musicians to give a live demonstration of their talent to audiences.
- World Music Day 2022 Theme: The theme for the World Music Day 2022 is “Music on the intersections”.
- Celebrations Across the World: Music artists around the globe organise concerts on World Music Day.
- The celebrations are no more restricted to European nations and now celebrated in more that 120 countries including India.
- Fests, parades, fairs, feasts and dance parties are often organized on the World Music Day.
41st Edition of Hunar Haat | Hunar Haat Scheme
Tourism in Himalayas
Relevance
- GS 3: Conservation, environmental pollution and degradation, environmental impact assessment.
Tourism in Himalayan region: Context
- According to a recently published report, unregulated tourism in the Himalayas is causing a mountain of problems for the ecologically sensitive region.
Tourism destroying Himalayas: Key points
- The report titled Environmental assessment of tourism in the Indian Himalayan region has been prepared by Govind Ballabh Pant National Institute of Himalayan Environment and was submitted to Union Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEF&CC) in compliance with the National Green Tribunal (NGT) order.
- The report has said that there is a need to pre-empt the disastrous effects of unregulated tourism and learn lessons from the over-exploited tourist destinations in the Himalayan region.
- The report has also highlighted that demand for tourism has increased pressure on hill stations and is becoming a major concern for change in land use and land cover.
Increasing tourism in Himalayan region
- Tourism in Ladakh: Water deficient region: Ladakh is a water deficient region, which is mostly dependent on snow / glacial melt and flow of River Indus. Here, individual water consumption by a resident is 75 litres per day on an average, whereas a tourist consumes about 100 l / day.
- Built-up area in Himachal Pradesh increased from 4.7 per cent to 15.7 per cent during 1989-2012, and the number of tourists in the region also swelled to 2.8 million from 140,000 from 1980-2011.
- The number of hotels also increased over the years, indicating a loss of greenery and biodiversity in the region.
Sustainable tourism in Himalayas: Recommendations
- Vigilance and patrolling: Protected areas in Ladakh like Hemis National Park, Changthang Cold Desert Sanctuary and Karakoram Sanctuary require vigilance and regular patrolling to reduce unwanted wildlife-tourist interaction as well as habitat destruction due to off-road driving and encroachment
- Monitoring of carrying capacity: Prior monitoring of carrying capacity in terms of tourist inflow of vehicles, air quality and solid waste management largely in the Kashmir region, or pilgrims visiting the holy cave of Amarnath and Vaishno Devi in Jammu need to be done to ensure quality tourism.
- Establishment of regulated tourism practices with promotion of sustainable agendas is required for the Indian Himalayan region (IHR), which can be achieved through maintenance of proper tourist capacity in every tourist place of the IHR.
- This can also help in minimising the generation of solid waste and pollution level in the water, air and destruction of biodiversity.
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Analysing Spectrum Auction
Relevance for UPSC Exam
Auction of IMT/5G Spectrum: Cabinet approved Auction of IMT/5G Spectrum. 5G auction policy is important as it comes under Governance, Administration and Challenges- Government policies and interventions for development in various sectors and issues arising out of their design and implementation of UPSC Mains GS Paper 2.
Analysing Spectrum Auction in News
- Recently, the Union Cabinet has cleared a mega auction of radio spectrum in various bands for commercial mobile services.
- The auction of radio spectrum in various bands is based on the recommendation of the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI).
About Radio Spectrum Auction
- Spectrum band to be Auctioned: The government is planning to auction spectrum-
- In the sub-GHz bands of 600, 700, 800 and 900 MHz;
- In the mid-bands of 1,800, 2,100, 2,300, 2,500 and 3,300 MHz, and
- In the high-frequency band of 26 GHz.
- Spectrum Value: The total spectrum to be auctioned is about 72 GHz, compared to about 2.2 GHz put on the block last year.
- Expected Revenue Realization: The cumulative reserve price- and hence the potential revenue accrual to the government at reserve prices- is about ₹4,31,605 crore compared to about ₹3,90,000 crore last year.
- However, the realised value in last year’s auction was just about 20% of the reserve price at ₹74,000 crore, with the 700 MHz and 2,500 MHz band not being sold.
Factors affecting the Success of Spectrum Auction
- Reserve Price: It significantly and positively correlates with the winning bid price, according to a study.
- A higher reserve price inhibits bidders from bidding for more spectrum blocks, resulting in lower amounts of spectrum sold.
- If the quantity effect is more than the price effect, it results in reduced revenues for the government exchequer, as it happened in 2021.
- Though some of the bands are high-priced compared to other countries, the average price of the new bands such as 3.3 GHz and 26 GHz, at $0.02 and $0.0004, are in line with international prices on per MHz per pop basis.
- However, the evolving heterogeneity within each of the 22 LSAs (licensed share access) makes it difficult for the bidders to ascertain the true value of the spectrum given the reserve prices.
- Willingness to Pay by the Telcos: It depends on their position vis-à-vis-
- Over The Top providers who are providing substitute services such as Voice Over Internet Protocol; and
- Capturing a greater mind share of customers while remaining relatively invisible to government regulators.
- However, the erosion of the position of telcos vis-à-vis OTTs in the context of their relationship in the overall digital value network of devices, connectivity and apps could result in a lower willingness to pay.
What is 5G technology?
- About: 5G or fifth generation is the latest upgrade in the long-term evolution (LTE) mobile broadband networks.
- It works in 3 bands, namely low, mid and high frequency spectrum — all of which have their own uses as well as limitations.
- Different 5G Bands and their Usage:
- The maximum speed in the low band spectrum is 100mbps. So, while it can be used and installed for cell phone users who may not have specific demands for very high-speed internet, the low band spectrum may not be optimal for specialised needs of the industry.
- The mid-band spectrum offers higher speeds compared to the low band. It, however, has limitations in terms of coverage area and penetration of signals.
- The high-band spectrum offers the highest speed of all the three bands, but has extremely limited coverage and signal penetration strength.
Conclusion
- The present spectrum auction is about 35 times more than last year, including the new bands in 600 MHz, 3.3 GHz and 26 GHz. It is expected that it will have substantial negative effects on spectrum prices.
- On the other hand, abolition of annual spectrum usage charges for all spectrum procured in this auction and the deferred payment option incentivises bidders to be active in the auction.
Cabinet approves Auction of IMT/5G Spectrum
National Chambal Sanctuary
Relevance
- GS 3: Conservation, environmental pollution and degradation, environmental impact assessment.
Chambal sanctuary: Context
- Recently, Madhya Pradesh government has proposed to open 292 hectares for mining in five stretches on Chambal and its tributary Parvati rivers to free its forest department from devoting too much efforts in fighting illegal mining.
Making mining legal in Chambal: Key points
- Sand mining has been banned in the sanctuary since 2006.
- In December 2021, the state government had submitted a proposal to the Union Ministry of Environment, Forest, and Climate Change (MoEFCC), where it said that opening up the five stretches would minimise the conflict with illegal miners, gain local support, and fetch revenue from royalty, one-fourth of which could be used to strengthen protection measures.
- Moreover, the proposal also sought to make the contractors of the legal quarries responsible for checking illegal sand mining on adjacent sanctuary land four times their leased areas, failing which their leases would be terminated.
- De-notifying 292 hectares for mining would bring 1,168 hectares under the miners’ protection.
- Opening a legal window to meet local requirements should minimise the pressure of illegal mining.\
Mining in Chambal: Why needed?
- Over 4 lakh locals directly depended on various resources of the sanctuary.
- They farm along the river, extract river water for irrigation, practice sustenance and commercial fishing, and quarry sand — activities that can destroy the natural nesting grounds of gharial, mugger, and turtles.
- Since illegal mining has become a major commercial activity in the area, rights of the people while ensuring conservation of biodiversity was the “responsibility of the government” under the policies of the Centre.
- The state government opined that the proposed stretches were already disturbed by mining and no longer used for mating, breeding or basking by gharials, muggers, dolphins, turtles or any migratory bird species.
About National Chambal Sanctuary
- National Chambal Sanctuary (NCS) or the National Chambal Gharial Wildlife Sanctuary is spread across three states—Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan.
- After rampant poaching and fishing almost wiped out the Gharial population from the country in the 70’s, captive breeding and reintroduction programme was started. Chambal was chosen as one of the main areas for reintroduction the species back in to the wild.
- It was set up in 1979 as a riverine sanctuary along an approximately 425 km length of the Chambal River.
- Chambal supports the largest population of Gharials in the wild.
- Also, Chambal supports 8 rare turtle species out of the 26 found in the country.
- The National Chambal Sanctuary is listed as an important bird area (IBA) IN122 and is a proposed Ramsar site.
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I2U2 Initiative
Relevance
- GS 2: Bilateral, regional and global groupings and agreements involving India and/or affecting India’s interests.
India US Relations: Context
- Recently, the US has said that it will hold the first summit of leaders of a new group of four nations with India, Israel, and the UAE for international development cooperation.
I2U2 Initiative: Key points
- In the grouping’s name, ‘I2’ stands for India and Israel, whereas ‘U2’ stands for USA and the UAE.
- The first summit will be held during Biden’s visit to Israel, the first leg of his maiden trip as President to West Asia from July 13 to 16.
- This is a great achievement which speaks about the geopolitical changes that happen in the region.
- The issues will focus on security and areas of cooperation across hemispheres where UAE and Israel serve as important innovation hubs.
- The topics of discussion would be food security crisis and other areas of cooperation where the UAE and Israel serve as important innovation hubs.
- However, no other details were available about this new initiative, its goals, and reach.
What is I2U2?
- I2U2 is an entirely new grouping of partners that includes the United States, Israel, India, and the UAE.
- It is focused on expanding economic and political cooperation in the Middle East and Asia, including through trade, combating climate change, energy cooperation, and coordination on other vital shared interests.
I2U2 Significance
- It is expected to reinforce US’s commitment to Israel’s security and prosperity and continue the process of its integration into the region under the Abraham Accords.
- Abraham accord was brokered by Donald Trump, the former president of the US, between Israel on the one hand and the UAE and Bahrain on the other in 2020.
- It demonstrates the return of American leadership to bring countries together to address common threats and challenges.
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