UPSC NEWS DIARY FOR TODAY (23 August, 2022) | DAY LONG CURRENT AFFAIRS DIGEST FOR UPSC

”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.

Under-17 Women’s World Cup 2022

Why in News?

After the international football federation (FIFA) recently slapped a ban on the All India Football Federation (AIFF) because of ‘third-party interference’, the Supreme Court on Monday ordered the dissolution of the Committee of Administrators (CoA).

About Under-17 Women’s World Cup 2022

• India is set to host a FIFA women’s competition for the first time ever with the U-17 Women’s World Cup.
• The 2020 edition of the biennially youth tournament was supposed to be hosted by India before it was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
• However, India were appointed as hosts for the 2022 finals, making this the second FIFA competition to be hosted by the country following the U-17 World Cup in 2017.

Why did FIFA Ban AIFF?

• Federation International de Football Association (FIFA) banned the All India Football Federation (AIFF) on August 16 citing ‘third party’ intervention.
• Simply put, FIFA sees the court-appointed committee of administrators having a say in the running of Indian football as third party interference.
• The impact of this suspension could be drastic. It’s first big blow will be losing the hosting rights of the Under-17 Women’s World Cup.

China’s 20th Party Congress

Why in news?

The 20th Chinese Communist Party (CPC) Congress is scheduled to take place later this year.

About China’s 20th Party

• The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) is preparing to convene its 20th Party Congress in late 2022, and the party apparatus is already in full swing making the necessary arrangements for the political conclave, held every five years.
• In Party congress, China watchers look for clues to the country’s future.
• The Party Congress is significant as it is being held at a time when China sees the period as one of ‘great disorder‘.

R Praggnanandhaa

Why in news?

GM Magnus Carlsen won the FTX Crypto Cup on Sunday despite losing his final match in a tiebreak to GM Praggnanandhaa R., who thereby secured second place in the tournament. GM Alireza Firouzja finished in third place.

What R Praggnanandhaa did?

• R Praggnanandhaa, Indian chess master, defeated world champion Magnus Carlsen(From Norway) in the last round of the FTX Crypto Cup in Miami, an international chess championship, this morning.
• Despite the win, the 17-year-old chess player bagged the second position in the championship since Carlsen had a higher score based on previous games.
• The Indian became the youngest international chess master in history at the age of 10.

Tomato flu

Why in news?

A new infection dubbed tomato flu, or tomato fever, has been detected in India mostly among children younger than five, according to a report in the Lancet Respiratory Journal.

What is Tomato Flu?

• The ‘tomato flu’ is caused by Coxsackie virus A 16.
• It belongs to the Enterovirus family.
• Hand, foot, and mouth disease (HFMD) is a frequent febrile rash illness of childhood caused by enteroviruses (EV): Coxsackie A16 (CA16), EV A71, Coxsackie A6, Coxsackie B and Echo viruses.
• Similar to other types of influenza, tomato flu is very contagious and children are at an increased risk of exposure as viral infections are common in this age group and the spread is likely to be through close contact, the report noted
• As tomato flu is similar to chikungunya and dengue as well as hand, foot, and mouth disease, the treatment is also similar — isolation, rest, plenty of fluids, and hot water sponge for the relief of irritation and rashes. Supportive therapy of paracetamol for fever and body ache and other symptomatic treatments may be required.
• Given the similarities to hand, foot, and mouth disease, if the outbreak of tomato flu in children is not controlled and prevented, the transmission might lead to serious consequences by spreading in adults as well.

Facial Recognition Technology

Facial Recognition Technology- Relevance for UPSC Exam

Science and Technology- developments and their applications and effects in everyday life.

In News

Right to Information (RTI) responses received by the Internet Freedom Foundation, a New-Delhi based digital rights organization, reveal that the Delhi Police treats matches of above 80% similarity generated by its facial recognition technology (FRT) system as positive results.

What is facial recognition?

• Facial recognition is an algorithm-based technology which creates a digital map of the face by identifying and mapping an individual’s facial features, which it then matches against the database to which it has access.
• It can be used for two purposes: first- 1:1 verification of identity wherein the facial map is obtained for the purpose of matching it against the person’s photograph on a database to authenticate their identity. For example, 1:1 verification is used to unlock phones.
• However, increasingly it is being used to provide access to any benefits or government schemes.
• Secondly, there is the 1:n identification of identity wherein the facial map is obtained from a photograph or video and then matched against the entire database to identify the person in the photograph or video.
• Law enforcement agencies such as the Delhi Police usually procure FRT for 1:n identification.
• For 1:n identification, FRT generates a probability or a match score between the suspect who is to be identified and the available database of identified criminals.
• A list of possible matches are generated on the basis of their likelihood to be the correct match with corresponding match scores.
• However, ultimately it is a human analyst who selects the final probable match from the list of matches generated by FRT. According to Internet Freedom Foundation’s Project Panoptic, which tracks the spread of FRT in India, there are at least 124 government authorised FRT projects in the country.

Why is the use of FRT harmful?

• India has seen the rapid deployment of FRT in recent years, both by the Union and State governments, without putting in place any law to regulate their use.
• The use of FRT presents two issues: issues related to misidentification due to inaccuracy of the technology and issues related to mass surveillance due to misuse of the technology.
• Extensive research into the technology has revealed that its accuracy rates fall starkly based on race and gender which can result in a false positive, where a person is misidentified as someone else, or a false negative where a person is not verified as themselves.
• Cases of a false positive result can lead to bias against the individual who has been misidentified.
• On the other hand, cases of false negative results can lead to exclusion of the individual from accessing essential schemes which may use FRT as means of providing access.
• At present, India does not have a data protection law or a FRT specific regulation to protect against misuse.
• In such a legal vacuum, there are no safeguards to ensure that authorities use FRT only for the purposes that they have been authorized to.
• FRT can enable the constant surveillance of an individual resulting in the violation of their fundamental right to privacy.

Issues to Solve

• Extensive research into FRT has revealed that its accuracy rates fall starkly based on race and gender.
• This can result in a false positive, where a person is misidentified as someone else, or a false negative where a person is not verified as themselves.
• The technology can also be used as a tool to facilitate state sponsored mass surveillance.

Way Forward

• Data is a valuable resource that should not be left unregulated and thus, the time is ripe for India to have a robust data protection regime.
• It is time that required amendments are made in the Personal Data Protection Bill, 2019 so that it ensures that it focuses on user rights with an emphasis on user privacy.
• The government would also have to respect the privacy of the citizens while strengthening the right to information.
• Technological advancement made in the last decade also needs to be addressed knowing that they have the capacity of making the law redundant.

Veeranganas of the Nation

Veeranganas of the Nation- Relevance for UPSC

General Studies I- Modern History and the struggle for freedom.

In News

Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Independence Day speech underlined the role of women Veeranganas in our freedom movement.

The initiative highlighting the brave women of our freedom struggle, under the broader celebration of Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav, will mark a turning point in Indian feminist history writing from an Indic perspective.

Veerangana

Veerangana means a brave female, someone who can fight for their rights. A strong woman not only protects herself, but protects others too.

Role of Veeranganas in Freedom Struggle

• The historical memories of courage and sacrifice are preserved in folktales, songs and regional lore. They reveal the less-celebrated character of Indian society, in which women’s power was acknowledged.
• The PM paid tribute not only to celebrated women but also to unsung veeranganas.
• Rani Lakshmi Bai, the first woman warrior of the revolt of 1857, is known to every young woman in India.
• Begum Hazrat Mahal took to the battlefields along with Lakshmi Bai in 1857 and till her last breath in 1879, fought the British.
• Remembered as the “Agni of India”, Durgawati Devi was an armed revolutionary and active member of the Hindustan Socialist Republican Association and a close associate of Bhagat Singh, Sukhdev and Rajguru.
• Jhalkari Bai, whose tales of bravery have travelled far and wide. Her story presents a social reality where even a Dalit woman had acquired social and cultural significance.
• Uda Devi also belonged to the Dalit community from Awadh, a significant centre during the revolt of 1857. She is said to have formed a women’s battalion, comprising mostly Dalit women, popularly known as “veerangana” or “warrior women.”
• The story of Asha Devi Gurjari follows a similar trajectory — a Dalit, she led women in a bid to restore the political self-respect of the motherland.

These stories of the valour of veeranganas were not limited to any time or area rather, they are of a piece with the national consciousness of the times.

Paying Respect

• The Veeranganas are a potent symbol of nationalism and patriotism.
• They can overturn oppressive attitudes towards women in society.
• Their role and celebration in popular culture also refutes the colonial allegations about the suppression of women throughout Indian history.

PM’s message to the Nation

After the holistic account of the veeranganas, the PM emphasised “nari shakti,” which can be seen in various fields such as law, governance, science, technology, bureaucracy, academics, and politics. He restated the manifold contribution of women in both public and private spaces. But he also highlighted that there is much to be done to “provide opportunities and facilities to our daughters” in order to take the nation to new heights. He further pointed out that “if the considerable efforts of our nari shakti are added to fulfil the dreams in the Amrit Kaal, then it will take less hard work and our time limit will also be reduced. Our dreams will be more intense, vivacious and resplendent.”

Pandurang Khankhoje- A Ghadarite revolutionary and a hero of Mexico

Pandurang Khankhoje- A Ghadarite revolutionary and a hero of Mexico- Relevance for UPSC

General Studies I- Modern History and the struggle for freedom.

In News

Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla, who is currently in Canada for the 65th Commonwealth Parliamentary Conference, will travel to Mexico where he will unveil statues of Swami Vivekananda and Maharashtra-born freedom fighter and agriculturalist Pandurang Khankhoje (1883-1967).

Who was Pandurang Khankhoje?

• Born in Wardha, Maharashtra, in the late 19th century, Pandurang Khankhoje came in contact with other revolutionaries early on.
• His daughter Savitri Sawhney, who wrote his biography, wrote of his early years: “As a student, Khankhoje was an ardent admirer of the French Revolution and of the American War of Independence.
• Closer to home, the Hindu reformer Swami Dayanand and his Arya Samaj movement, which called for a spirit of reform and social change, became the hero to a young student group led by Khankhoje.”

On road to be a Revolutionary

• Khankhoje decided to go abroad for further training in revolutionary methods and militaristic strategy.
• At this time, the British government’s suspicions of him were also growing due to his anti-government activities.
• Before leaving, he visited Bal Gangadhar Tilak, by whom he was inspired. Tilak advised him to go to Japan, which was itself a strong, anti-West Asian imperialistic force then.
• After spending time with nationalists from Japan and China, Khankhoje eventually moved to the US, where he enrolled in college as a student of agriculture.
• But a year later, he joined the Mount Tamalpais Military Academy in California to fulfil his original purpose of leaving India.

Association with the Indian independence movement

• Khankhoje was one of the founding members of the Ghadar Party, established by Indians living abroad in 1914, mostly belonging to Punjab.
• Its aim was to lead a revolutionary fight against the British in India.
• While in the US, Khankhoje met Lala Har Dayal, an Indian intellectual teaching at Stanford University who had begun a propaganda campaign, publishing a newspaper that featured patriotic songs and articles in the vernacular languages of India. This was the seed from which the Ghadar Party would emerge.

The Ghadr Party

• The Ghadar Movement was an early 20th century, international political movement founded by expatriate Indians to overthrow British rule in India.
• Earlier activists had established a ‘Swadesh Sevak Home’ in Vancouver and a ‘United India House’ in Seattle to carry out revolutionary activities.
• Finally, in 1913, the Ghadr was founded.
• The Ghadar Party, originally known as the Pacific Coast Hindustan Association, was founded on July 15, 1913 in the US by Lala Har Dayal, Sant Baba Wasakha Singh Dadehar, Baba Jawala Singh, Santokh Singh, and Sohan Singh Bhakna.
• It fought against colonialism from 1914 to 1917, with the support of Imperial Germany and the Ottoman Empire, both of which were Central Powers opposed to the British.
• The party was organized around the weekly newspaper The Ghadar, which featured the masthead caption: Angrezi Raj Ka Dushman (an enemy of British rule); “Wanted brave soldiers to stir up rebellion in India,” the Ghadar declared.

How did Khankhoje reach Mexico?

• At the military academy, Khankhoje met many people from Mexico.
• The Mexican Revolution of 1910 had led to the overthrow of the dictatorial regime, and this inspired Khankhoje.
• He also reached out to Indians working on farms in the US with the aim of discussing the idea of Indian independence with them.
• Along with the Indian workers, militant action was planned by Khankhoje in India, but the outbreak of the First World War halted these plans.
• He then reached out to Bhikaji Cama in Paris, and met with Vladimir Lenin in Russia among other leaders, seeking support for the Indian cause.
• However, as he was facing possible deportation from Europe and could not go to India, he sought shelter in Mexico.

A Mexican Hero

• In part due to his prior friendship with Mexican revolutionaries, he was appointed a professor at the National School of Agriculture in Chapingo, near Mexico City.
• He researched corn, wheat, pulses and rubber, developing frost and drought-resistant varieties, and was part of efforts to bring in the Green Revolution in Mexico.
• Later on, the American agronomist Dr Norman Borlaug, called the Father of the Green Revolution in India, brought the Mexican wheat variety to Punjab.
• Khankhoje was revered as an agricultural scientist in Mexico.
• The renowned Mexican artist Diego Rivera painted murals that featured Khankhoje, including one titled ‘Our Daily Bread’ that prominently depicted him breaking bread with people seated around a table.

Return to India

• Pandurangreturned to India after 1947.
• His application for visa was initially rejected by the Indian government due to the ban by the British Indian Government, but was eventually overturned.
• He settled in Nagpur and subsequently embarked on a political career.
• Pandurang Khankhoje died on 22 January 1967.

Cloudbursts and its rise in India

Cloudbursts and its rise in India- Relevance for UPSC

General Studies I- Climatic Changes.

In News

Over 20 people have been killed in destruction caused by cloudbursts and flash floods in different parts of Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand over the last three days.

Isolated areas in these two states have reported heavy rainfall during this time, triggering landslides and flash floods that have disrupted rail and road traffic, and resulted in house and wall collapses.

What are Cloudbursts?

• A cloudburst is a localized but intense rainfall activity.
• Short spells of very heavy rainfall over a small geographical area can cause widespread destruction, especially in hilly regions where this phenomenon is the most common.
• Not all instances of very heavy rainfall, however, are cloudbursts.
• A cloudburst has a very specific definition: Rainfall of 10 cm or more in an hour over a roughly 10 km x 10-km area is classified as a cloudburst event.
• By this definition, 5 cm of rainfall in a half-hour period over the same area would also be categorized as a cloudburst.

How is it different from normal rainfall?

• To put this in perspective, in a normal year, India, as a whole, receives about 116 cm of rainfall over the entire year.
• This means if the entire rainfall everywhere in India during a year was spread evenly over its area, the total accumulated water would be 116 cm high.
• Though there are regional variations yet, any place in India can be expected to receive about 116 cm of rain in a year.
• During a cloudburst event, a place receives about 10% of this annual rainfall within an hour.

How common are cloudbursts?

• Cloudbursts are not uncommon events, particularly during the monsoon months.
• Most of these happen in the Himalayan states where the local topology, wind systems, and temperature gradients between the lower and upper atmosphere facilitate the occurrence of such events though not every event that is described as a cloudburst is actually, by definition, a cloudburst as these events are highly localized.
• They take place in very small areas which are often devoid of rainfall measuring instruments.
• The consequences of these events, however, are not confined to the small areas.
• The heavy rainfall events often trigger landslides and flash floods, causing extensive destruction downstream because of the nature of terrain and as a result of this, every sudden downpour that leads to destruction of life and property in the hilly areas gets described as a “cloudburst”, irrespective of whether the amount of rainfall meets the defining criteria.
• At the same time, it is also possible that actual cloudburst events in remote locations are not recorded.

Can cloudbursts be forecast?

• The India Meteorological Department forecasts rainfall events well in advance, but it does not predict the quantum of rainfall — in fact, no meteorological agency does.
• The forecasts can be about light, heavy, or very heavy rainfall, but weather scientists do not have the capability to predict exactly how much rain is likely to fall at any given place.
• Additionally, the forecasts are for a relatively large geographical area, usually a region, a state, a meteorological sub-division, or at best a district.
• As they zoom in over smaller areas, the forecasts get more and more uncertain.
• Theoretically, it is not impossible to forecast rainfall over a very small area as well, but it requires a very dense network of weather instruments, and computing capabilities that seem unfeasible with current technologies.
• As a result, specific cloudburst events cannot be forecast.
• No forecast ever mentions a possibility of a cloudburst instead there are warnings for heavy to very heavy rainfall events, and these are routinely forecast four to five days in advance.
• Possibility of extremely heavy rainfall, which could result in cloudburst kind of situations, are forecast six to 12 hours in advance.

Increasing Incidents

• There is no long-term trend that suggests that cloudbursts, as defined by the IMD, are rising however, the incidents of extreme rainfall, as also other extreme weather events, are increasing — not just in India but across the world.
• While the overall amount of rainfall in India has not changed substantially, an increasing proportion of rainfall is happening in a short span of time which means that the wet spells are very wet, and are interspersed with prolonged dry spells even in the rainy season.
• This kind of pattern, attributed to climate change, does suggest that cloudburst events might also be on the rise.

QUAD and India

QUAD and India- Relevance for UPSC Exam

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

What is QUAD?

• The Quad is an informal multilateral grouping of India, the U.S., Australia, and Japan aimed at cooperation for a free and open Indo-Pacific region.
• The region, composed of two oceans and spanning multiple continents is a hub of maritime trade and naval establishments.
• While not stated explicitly by the leaders, one of the major basis for the grouping
• Following the Indian Ocean tsunami, India, Japan, Australia, and the US created an informal alliance to collaborate on disaster relief efforts.
• In 2007, then PM of Japan, Shinzo Abe, formalized the alliance, as the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue or the QUAD.
• The QUAD has focused on expanding existing agreements between member countries and highlighting their shared values.
• Additionally, unlike NATO, the Quad does not include provisions for collective defense, instead choosing to conduct joint military exercises as a show of unity and diplomatic cohesion.
• The group was resurrected in 2017, reflecting changing attitudes in the region toward China’s growing influence.
• USA saw the Quad as key to a pivot toward placing more focus on the Indo-Pacific region, particularly as a counterweight to China’s assertive actions.
• The Quad leaders held their first formal summit in 2021 and met again virtually in March.

QUAD and China

• USA:USA had followed a policy to contain China’s increasing influence in East Asia and has described China, along with Russia, as a strategic rival in its National Security Strategy, National Defence Strategy and the Pentagon’s report on Indo-Pacific Strategy.
• Australia:Australia being concerned about China’s growing interest in its land, infrastructure and politics, and influence on its universities has considered its overwhelming economic dependence on China for prosperity, Australia has continued its commitment to a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership with China.
• Japan: Japan has expressed concerns related to China’s territorial transgression in the region though trade with China remains the key lifeline to the Japanese economy. Japan is balancing its economic needs and territorial concerns with China
• Japan has also agreed to involve in the Belt and Road Initiative by participating in infrastructure programs in third country.
• India: China’s violation of international norms, particularly its construction of military facilities on reclaimed islands in the South China Sea, and its growing military and economic power, pose a strategic challenge to India.
• India is carefully balancing China on one hand and the US on the other, by remaining committed to strategic autonomy to China as in the case of Taiwan issue.
• India did not permit Australia to participate in Malabar Trilateral Maritime exercises between India, US and Japan.
• Mamallapuram summit between President Xi Jinping and PM Modi is a positive development, valued by both sides as key to giving strategic guidance to stakeholders on both sides.

Challenges

• China’s claim over nearly the entire region of South China Sea, which gives it the right to manufacture islands was rejected by the International Court of Arbitration in 2016.
• The ASEAN countries also have a well-knit relationship with China.
• Considering the economic might of China and the dependence of Quad nations like Japan and Australia on China, the Quad nations cannot afford to have strained relations with it.
• With the aim at balancing their own interest, the nations in the Quad grouping have different aspirations and thus the coherence in the vision of Quad nation as a grouping is absent.

Way Forward

• The Quad needs to have a clearer vision for itself.
• It is important to go for a talk of a ‘Free and Open Indo-Pacific’.
• India, Japan, and Australia can take the lead in infrastructural projects, while the US too needs to be more pro-active in pushing ahead the vision of connectivity.
• The Quad should focus on building a robust regional consultation mechanism.
• The QUAD must coordinate with ASEAN nations on issues of regional importance.
• The Quad gives a unique opportunity for India to be an active participant in shaping regional security architecture with global undertones.

Rashtriya Puruskar Portal

Rashtriya Puruskar Portal- Relevance for UPSC Exam

• GS Paper 2: Governance, Administration and Challenges
  • Government policies and interventions for development in various sectors and issues arising out of their design and implementation.

Rashtriya Puruskar Portal in News

• Recently, a common Rashtriya Puruskar Portal was launched by the government so as to bring together all the Awards of the various Ministries/Departments/Agencies of the Government of India under one platform.

National Sports Awards 2021: Sports and Adventure Awards 2021 and List of Winners

Rashtriya Puruskar Portal

• About: It is an initiative to bring together all National Awards of the various Ministries/Departments/Agencies of the Government of India under one digital platform reflecting transparency, accountability, and public partnership (Jan Bhagidari).
• Objective: Rashtriya Puruskar portal aims to facilitate citizens to nominate individuals/organizations for various awards instituted by the Government of India to recognize and award them for their exceptional contributions in their respective fields.
• Significance: With this portal, for the first time in the history of India, information regarding all national awards would be available to the public on a single digital platform including their eligibility criteria, selection procedure, and details of past awardees.
  • Also, people will be able to make nominations for various awards on a single platform, which is simple and user-friendly.

Rashtriya Vayoshri Yojana (RVY)

Rashtriya Puruskar Portal- Currently open Nominations/Recommendations

Currently, nominations/recommendations for the following Awards are open:

• Padma Awards- Last date is 15/09/2022
• National Award for Excellence in Forestry 2022- Last date is 30/09/2022
• National Gopal Ratna Award 2022– Last date is 15/09/2022
• National Water Awards 2022-Last date is 15/09/2022
• National Award for Senior Citizens -Vayoshreshtha Samman 2022– Last date is 29/08/2022
• National Award for Individual Excellence 2021- Last date is 28/08/2022
• National Award for Individual Excellence 2022- Last date is 28/08/2022
• National Awards for Institutions Engaged in Empowering Persons with Disabilities 2021- Last date is 28/08/2022
• National Awards for Institutions Engaged in Empowering Persons with Disabilities 2022– Last date is 28/08/2022
• National CSR Awards 2022- Last date is 31/08/2022
• Nari Shakti Puraskar 2023- Last date is 31/10/2022
• Subhash Chandra Bose Aapda Prabandhan Puraskar 2023- Last date is 31/08/2022
• National Awards for Outstanding Services in the Field of Prevention of Alcoholism and Substance Abuse 2022- Last date is 29/08/2022
• Jeevan Raksha Padak – Last date is 30/09/2022

National CSR Awards 2022

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