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🚨 7th October | Monday 🚨

Pre notes

1. Gold

• Acid test: Gold doesn't dissolve in strong nitric acid unlike other metals

• Dissolves in Mercury, some alkaline solutions & Royal water (Nitric Acid + Hydrochloric Acid)

• Malleable, ductile, corrosion-resistant, and good conductor of electricity

• China biggest producer today, S. Africa & Ghana also in the list of top 6

• Nobel Prize Medal made of electrum (gold-silver alloy) plated with 24-carat gold

@CSEWhy Recommendations

Indian Express 📰

1. Why has Israel invaded Lebanon? (Explained page)
(GS2: IR)

The Hindu 🗞

1. The status of the civil war in Sudan (Text&Context)
(GS2: IR + Prelims)

2. How has Telegram changed its stance on content moderation policy? (Text&Context)
(GS2/GS3: Policies and Cybersecurity)

PS: Participate in this giveaway to win free books :)

Pre note: Wait no more, gain the right UPSC power with WHYPower

🚨 8th October | Tuesday 🚨

Pre facts

1. MVD: Marburg Virus Disease

• Hemorrhagic fever by Marburg virus (first seen in Germany, impacts Africa mostly)

• Spread via infected bats, human body fluids -> huge risk for med workers

• Symptoms: Flu like symptoms -> diarrhea, vomiting, hemorrhaging -> death in 8-9 days often

• No approved vaccines or antiviral treatments; supportive care is crucial

Pre notes

1. Indian Wild Ass (Equus hemionus khur)

• Native to South Asia; Herbivorous, Near Threatened (IUCN)

• Habitat: Indian Wild Ass Sanctuary, Little Rann of Kutch

• Behavior: Social animals living in family groups; known for high speeds (up to 70 km/h)

• Conservation Efforts: Initiatives include increasing water holes and fodder plots; potential reintroduction sites identified in Rajasthan.

@CSEWhy Recommendations

Indian Express 📰

1. Middle path in Middle East (Ideas page)
(GS2: IR)

2. MicroRNA: tiny RNAs that hold the key to this organisms develop (Explained page)
(GS3: Science)

3. Agri sector report card (Explained page)
(GS3: Agri economy)

The Hindu 🗞

1. Unpacking the Centre’s affidavit on marital rape (Editorial)
(GS2: Policies)

2. On ‘casteist’ provisions in prison manuals (Text&Context)
(GS2: SC Judgements)

3. How high-performance buildings are the next step towards a sustainable future (Text&Context)
(GS3: Climate & SnT)

PS: Join @CSEWhyPlanB

21 Days PYQs Challenge | Day 19

On this second last day, here's a blast from the past

2022 saw a confusing question
Where was the answer? See for yourself! :)

Get yourself equipped with this power of PYQ at master.csewhy.com/whypower :)

Pre note: Aaj hum late hai, aap deri matt kijiye: blog.csewhy.com par jaakar revise kijiye

🚨 9th October | Wednesday 🚨

Pre notes

1. Charon [wrt James Web Space Telescope]

• Pluto's Moon discovered in '78, JWST recently found CO₂ & H₂O₂ here

• Prev mission: Mapped by New Horizons in 2015; found water ice & ammonia

• Chem Procs: H₂O₂ indicates solar/cosmic ray impacts, suggesting surface dynamics.

• Imp: Insights into Kuiper Belt evolution & potential astrobiology

Mains notes

1. SC Judgement on discriminatory prison laws

• SC struck down caste-based rules in prison manuals, deemed unconstitutional

• Rules assigned degrading jobs (e.g., cleaning) to marginalized castes while higher castes did cooking

• Rules stem from colonial-era laws labeling certain tribes as "criminal"

• Breached Articles 14 (equality), 15 (non-discrimination), 17 (abolition of untouchability), and 21 (right to dignity)

• States ordered to revise manuals within three months; caste references to be removed from records

@CSEWhy Recommendations

Indian Express 📰

1. To accommodate start-ups, MeitY relaxes AI procurement norms (Economy page)
(GS3: Economics)

2. Making machines learn (Explained page)
(GS3: Science)

The Hindu 🗞

1. Sunset for the U.K.’s coal-•red power, lessons for India (Editorial)

2. Global Digital Compact: advancing digital innovation in a sustainable fashion (Text&Context)
(GS2: IR and policies)

PS: Join @CSEWhyPlanB

21 Days PYQs Challenge | Day 20

Didwana seen in 2021 only to drop a hint long back!!!!!

Do you think you'd have read it if not for PYQ?

Answer to Day 20 of 21 Days PYQ Challenge!

(Bharat) Ratan Tata 💔

Pre note: Tributes to Ratan Tata Ji

🚨 10th October | Thursday 🚨

Pre facts

1. 10th October: World mental health day

• by World Federation for Mental Health & WHO since 1992

• Purpose: Raise awareness, educate on mental health, & fight stigma

• 2024 theme: "Mental Health at Work"

• Historical Themes: Past themes include "Improving Quality of MH Services" (1994) & "MH in an Unequal World" (2021).

Pre notes

1. EVM batteries

• Use alkaline batteries for ops in no-power areas

• Battery Monitoring: CU shows status as 'High', 'Med', 'Low', 'Marg', or 'Chg Batt' based on volts

• New battery lasts whole election; 99% charge until < 7.4V

• Battery is replaced during 1st-level checks pre-election & if low in mock polls, with party reps present

• Presiding officers submit post-poll reports on batt changes, incl. CU ID & reason for replacement

@CSEWhy Recommendations

Indian Express 📰

1. Rice with added nutrients, centre to continue supply unit 2028 (Explained page)
(GS2: Policies)

2. Deciphering proteins through AI (Explained page)
(GS3: SnT)

The Hindu 🗞️

1. What is the Samsung workers strike in Chennai about? (Text&Context)
(GS2: Social issues)

2. New sedimentary rock made from slag is a carbon-trapping champ (Science page)
(GS3: Science and environment)

PS: Join @CSEWhyPlanB

Friends, today is last day of 21 days PYQ Challenge

I don’t have 1 but 1600+ Qs for you from 2009-2024 for you to learn as

• PDF Notes
• Video Classes Explanation

I welcome you to join and get these at master.csewhy.com/whypower ♦️

Any queries? Write to me at whycse@gmail.com

Pre note: blog.csewhy.com

🚨 11th October | Friday 🚨

Pre facts

1. Bonedi Bari Puja (400+ years old in Bengal)

• Held in elite family homes (aka Bonedi Bari in Bengali)

• Preserves heritage; contrasts with Baro-wari Puja

Pre notes

1. National Agriculture Code

• Covers entire agri cycle (field prep, irrigation etc.)

• Sets crop selection standards + post harvest ops. + input management

• Uses IoT and sustainable farming practices

• Resource for farmers, policymakers, & agri institutions

• Standardized Agri Demo Farms (SADF): Experimental sites for testing NAC practices

@CSEWhy Recommendations

Indian Express 📰

1. As green patch spreads in Antarctica, here's what worrying scientists (Explained page)
(GS3: Climate)

2. PM unveils 10 point plans to strengthen India-ASEAN ties (Front page)
(GS2: IR)

The Hindu 🗞

1. The gruelling course of litigation in India (Editorial)
(GS2: Social issues)

2. Can India escape middle-income trap? (Text&Context)
(GS3: Economics)

3. The blue blooded sea creature on Odisha's coastline
(GS3: S&T + Environment)

PS: Join @CSEWhyPlanB

Pre note: Aurora Borealis in news, learn here

🚨 12th October | Saturday 🚨

Pre facts

1. 12th Oct: World Arthritis Day

• Raise awareness on Rheumatic and Musculoskeletal Diseases (RMDs)

• Theme 2024: "Informed Choices, Better Outcomes."

• Focus Areas: Symptoms, early diagnosis, treatment options, and quality of life.

@CSEWhy Recommendations

Indian Express 📰

Everything on 'The Explained Page'

No The Hindu today🗞

PS: save time, revise Free blogs at blog.csewhy.com

Pre note: Sunday morning session; plan your week well :)

🚨 13th October | Sunday 🚨

Pre facts

1. Greening

• Antarctica's Warming twice the global average

• Antarctic Peninsula heats 5x faster than global rates

• Vegetation cover expanded; acceleration of over 30% from 2016-2021

• Increased frequency of heat events; record temperatures observed, with anomalies of up to 10°C above normal in winter

• Future Implications: Enhanced plant growth may lead to soil formation and ecosystem changes, raising concerns about invasive species

Pre notes

1. Oropouche virus

• First found in Trinidad (1955)

• Spread by Culicoides paraensis (midges) & Culex quinquefasciatus (mosquitoes); no human-to-human

• Endemic to Amazon; outbreaks in Brazil, Panama, Peru, Cuba (2024)

• Symptoms: Fever, headache, myalgia, arthralgia, nausea, rash; lasts 2-7 days

• Complications: Rare neuroinvasive diseases (meningitis, encephalitis)

• No specific antiviral; symptomatic management; most recover in a week

• Public Health: Neglected tropical disease; potential for outbreaks in vulnerable areas

@CSEWhy Recommendations

The Hindu 🗞️

1. The many myths about protein deficiency in people in India (Science page)
(GS2/GS3: Social issues and Science)

Complete FAQ page
(GS3: SnT)

PS: Checked this?

Kya padha aaj?

Pre note: Focusing on PYQs? Check this

🚨 14th October | Monday 🚨

Pre facts

1. Dragon drones

• Low-flying drones that release thermite, a molten metal incendiary, burning at approximately 2,427° C

• Thermite = aluminum oxide + iron oxide; used for its intense and rapid burning properties

Pre notes

1. Factors leading to fall of rupee

• Rising oil prices due to geopolitical tensions & other factors

• Foreign investors selling Indian stocks to buy Chinese ones after China's economic stimulus

• Higher demand for USD from foreign banks and a strong USD index

• Less hawkish RBI and cautious US Fed

@CSEWhy Recommendations

Indian Express 📰

1. The problem with free food (Ideas page)
(GS2: Policies)

2. Let's follow the money (Ideas page)
(GS3: Internal security)

3. Issues in the treatment of rare diseases, and what the govt can do (Explained page)
(GS2: Policies)

The Hindu 🗞️

1. China, India and New Delhi’s Quad dilemma (Editorial)
(GS2: IR)

2. What is Wayanad’s new X-band radar?
(GS3: SnT)

PS: UPSC Queries? Check this

Pre note: blog.csewhy.com

🚨 15th October | Tesday 🚨

Quote(s)

In human life, economics precedes politics or culture

@CSEWhy Recommendations

Indian Express 📰

1. Why nations fail or succeed
(On Nobel Prize Eco Winners)


The Hindu 🗞

1. Ensuring a proper safety net for the gig worker + On Samsung worker's right to unionise
(GS2: policy)

2. Haber-Bosch process (give a rough read, just)

PS: Join @CSEWhyPlanB

Pre note: CSEWhy app launching soon! :)

🚨 16th October | Wednesday 🚨

Terms in News

1. Ossification (bone formation process)

• Stage of ossification can help determine human age using X-Rays

• Use case: Criminal justice system (for age determination)


2. Ticket Scalping

• Using bots to bulk buy tickets from licensed sources to be sold at a profit

• In news due to Diljeet, Coldplay & other concerts

3. Revise THAAD here

@CSEWhy Recommendations

Indian Express 📰

1. Pakistan's other front (ideas page)
(GS2: IR imp. article by C Raja Mohan)

2. Abetment of suicide (explained page)
(Read to learn SC cases & legalities of the issue)

3. Greenwashing Guidelines
(Term seen in UPSC Prelims, make a 1 pager note for Mains)


The Hindu 🗞

1. 2 food articles in editorials
(Imp. read on World Food Day in sync with SDGs)

2. Need to make more containers
(Interesting read for GS3 Infra pointers)

3. Coastal flooding harms different tree species differently
(S&T, last page)


PS: CSEWhy app will make a lot of things easier for you :)