🚨April 7 2023 | Friday🚨

Found nothing worth in paper today.

Skip reading it to focus on PYQs and revision today.

Did you know?
You can revise for multiple topics within minutes on my blog. Visit 👇🏼
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To revisit for today: North East Mountain ranges

What a beautiful image marking all important mountain ranges of North East!

React ♥️ if this helps you revise! 😍

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🚨April 8 2023 | Saturday🚨

LIGO India
- Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory at Hingoli, Maharashtra
- Aim: To detect & study gravitational waves; designed to measure changes in distance that are several orders of magnitude smaller than proton's length
- Other group/countries to have gravitational waves observatories: USA, Japan, Europe


Gravitational waves
- Ripples in space-time produced by movement of large celestial bodies like stars and planets
- Einstein predicted these 100 years ago in theory of Relativity; discovered in 2015 in US

Idu Mishmi Tribe
- A tribe of Arunachal called 'Tiger Brothers', traditionally thought to be born of same mother as tiger
- Tigers believed to be their elder brothers
- Living near Mishmi hills
- Mishmi group has several sub tribes: Idu Mishmi, Digaru, Miju
- Idu Mishmi are known for weaving and craftsmanship skills
- Ancestral homeland over Dibang/Lower Dibang valley
- Idu Mishmi language considered endangered by UNESCO

Dibang WS
- declared 1998
- Home to Mishmi Takin, musk deer, goral, clouded and snow leopard, tiger
- In process to declare it Tiger reserve (opposed by Idu Mishmi

Investment Facilitation Agreement by WTO
- Backed by 100+ countries
- India not included in 100+ countries
- Aims to create legally binding provisions aimed at facilitating investment flows

States which have Cannabis cultivation legal with restrictions
- UK (since 2017)
- GJ, MP, UP
- HP in process

Terms related to Prelims
- SaMD: Software as Medical Device
- SiMD: Software in Medical Devices
- No guidelines on regulate either of these yet

Wildlife Trust of India
- An NGO to serve nature w/ Motto: In service of nature
- Supported by diff govt. ministries

Some village and their distinctive features
1. Bishnoi village (RJ): Case study for living in harmony with nature
2. Raini (UK): Chipko movement
3. Modhera (GJ): First solar powered village in India
4. Suketi (HP): Asia's oldest fossil park
5. Pandrettan (JnK): Village of shaivite mystic Lal Ded

Reading Recommendations

IE
1. Spotlight again on Doklam
2. New domestic gas pricing formula: the what and the why

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Friends, in case you missed getting PYQ notes for yourself yesterday, this is for you.

You can get ‘em today for 30% off till 09:30pm
Regular prices will apply from tomorrow.

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🚨April 9 2023 | Sunday🚨

1. Spot Belied Pelicans

- IUCN: Near threatened
- Has a pouch (gular) to catch fishes
- Their droppings used as a fertilizer by villagers
- Has weal leg muscles making it a poor swimmer
- Fishes in group(s) forming a semi-circle partnering with Cormorant (a diver which dives to sending fishes to surface allowing Pelican to catch near surface)
- Habitat:
- Karaivetti-Vettangudi (Thanjavur)
- Tirunelveli (Tamil Nadu)
- Kokkarebellur (Mandya, Karnataka)
- Karanji Lake (Mysuru, Karnataka)
- Uppalapadu (Guntur, AP)
- Nelapattu, near Pulicat Lake (AP)
- Karikili Bird Sanctuary (TN)
- Pallikarani Marsh Reserve Forest (TN)
- Pichavaram Mangrove (TN) [All previous 3 are Ramsar sites]

2. How social media companies can lose their safe harbour in India?
Three ways:
a) Not having grievance officer for India
b) Not addressing user complaints on time
c) Fake news as flagged by govt. (PIB is official fact checker)

3. Yogavashishta
Seen in Prelims PYQ. Translated by Nizamuddin Panipati during rein of Akbar


Reading Recommendations

TH
1. Will platforms have to take down fake news?


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🚨April 10 2023 | Monday🚨

Profit and Protein
- Keyword for Fisheries for UPSC Mains

Pre Related

1. Mountain Peaks of Andaman and Nicobar Islands

- Mt. Saddle : North Andaman
- Mt. Diavolo : Middle Andaman
- Mt. Koyob : South Andaman
- Mt. Thuiller : Great Nicobar

2. UN Office for Outer Space Affairs
- To promote int'l cooperation in peaceful use and exploration of space, space tech for sustainable economic and social development
- Assists any UN Member state to establish legal and regulatory framework to govern space activities and strengthen capacity of developing countries to use space SnT for national development programmes

3. New Space India Limited
- estd. 2019 u/ Dept of Space w/ HQ @ Bangalore
- A CPSE, it is commercial arm of ISRO
- NSIL will deal with capacity building of local industry for space manufacturing
- (Antrix Corp is mandated to handle ISRO's commercial deals with foreign customers

4. ZojiLa Pass
- All weather connectivity tunnel, Asia's longest bi-directional tunnel, to open soon
- Will cut travel time from Kashmir Valley to Ladakh to just 40 mins from 4 hours
- Location: Kargil district, connects Leh-Srinagar

5. Wildlife Institute of India
- Autonomous institution u/ MOEFCC estd. 1982
- Based in Dehradun and offers training programs, courses etc. in wildlife research and management

6. Numbers of Protected Areas in India
- Total: 998
- Tiger Reserves: 53
- National Parks: 106
- Wildlife Sanctuaries: 567
- Conservation Reserves: 105
- Community Reserves: 220

7. Thalweg doctrine
- Related to carving out int'l border along water bodies (river, creek etc)
- It says: A boundary can only be fixed in the middle of navigable channel

8. Revise PVTG tribes here

Reading Recommendations

IE
1. Building the blue economy
2. What LIGO India will do? (cut this clip and keep it in notes. V. IMP)

TH
1. Awaiting lift-off into the Second Space Age
2. The population bomb that never was


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🚨April 11 2023 | Tuesday🚨

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Pre related

1. Common Security and Defence Policy
- EU's course of action to manage crisis and defence

2. Nordic Defence Corporation (NORDEFCO)
- estd. 2009 w/ aim to increase defence capabilities of Nordic countries
- Sort of a Political and Military alliance, both (don't mistake to be defence ALONE)
- Members: Norway, Sweden, Finland, Denmark and Iceland (Nordic countries)

3. UN Democracy Fund
- estd. 2005
- Aim: To support democratisation efforts around the world
- Major support to civil society and human rights efforts across the world
- India is a donor to this fund

4. International Prize for Statistics
- Nobel of stats
- Given to 102 year old CR Rao for work he did when he was 27 years old 🤯
- CR Rao is also a Padma Bhushan (1968) and Padma Vibhushan (2001) and currently lives in the USA

5. Revise NATO


Reading Recommendations

IE
1. El Nino and the monsoon

TH
1. How have recent weather events affected wheat crop? (read Gist)
2. On Finland's journey to join NATO (read gist, I have covered mentioned org above)


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🚨April 12 2023 | Wednesday🚨

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1. The Hybrid Media System
A mix of TV channels and their digital arms, both converging towards generating more eyeballs, revenue and eventually popularity

2. In today's The Hindu, there's an article titles "Saudi's quest for strategic autonomy"
It has a map. On this map, mark the following (no cheating) and then cross check your mapping knowledge
- Red Sea
- Persian Gulf
- Gulf of Aden
- Strait of Bab-al-Mandab
- Gulf of Aqaba
- Strait of Hormuz
- Gulf of Suez
- Gulf of Oman


Reading Recommendations

IE
1. The peace that could have been
2. Why TN's online gambling bill could clash with Centre's rules


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I have added numbers to this map given in today's The Hindu

Now, you can check the bodies mentioned in point no. 2 of previous message and match them with these numbers to revise

Once you are done with mapping, react ❤️ to this message to tell me you are done!

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🚨April 13 2023 | Thursday🚨

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R2P: Responsibility to Protect
A doctrine popularised by UN Sec Gen Ban ki Moon w/ 3 pillars
1. Country’s own responsibility to protect its people
2. International community’s responsibility to help states meet this obligation
3. Duty to step in when mass atrocities are looming or already occurring

Panda diplomacy
- A Mao Zedong effort started in 1972
- China sends Pandas overseas for 10 years at a time
- 18 countries now have Pandas on 'loan' from China

Unique Land Parcel Identification Number
- 14 digit ID to every plot of land in country
- aka Bhu Aadhar (Aadhar for Land)
- Aimed at preventing land frauds and minimizing litigation stress related to land
- Land disputes litigation stalls projects costing 1.3% of GDP cost

JUICE Mission
- Jupiter Icy Moons Explorer by European Space Agency (to reach by 2031)
- To make detailed observations of giant gas planet and three large ocean bearing moons - Ganymede, Callisto and Europa (main focus: Ganymede; it generates own magnetic field)
- Try to understand origin, history and evolution of Jupiter
- It is NOT equipped to detect life but can look into conditions relevant to sustain life
- Other spacecrafts to examine Jupiter:
- Galileo (1995-2003) and Juno (still circling since 2016)
- NASA's Europa Clipper also to be launched in October and reach by 2030

Reading Recommendation

IE
1. Soft power lessons
2. Train to Kashmir (Just checkout safety issues and development benefits & infographic)

TH
1. Lesser known battles of Maoist women
2. Role of Parliamentary Committees (In place of reading this, revise the same topic from Laxmikant)


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350 ❤️ reacts on this post and I’ll share 2009-2022 unsolved Prelims PYQ Papers here for Free for all to practice as Mocks! 😍

350 ❤️ done!!!!!

Friends, you can download 2009-2022 UPSC Prelims Papers from the link below.

How to use them effectively for your prep?

1. Solve one paper everyday from 09:30-11:30am
2. Search for answer key online (say, “2021 UPSC Prelims Answer Key”
3. Match your answers and get the score
4. Revise PYQ notes of that year from my PYQ Notes. (Don’t have them? Write to whycse@gmail.com)


Link to PYQ Papers:

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🚨April 14 2023 | Friday🚨

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Bioluminescence
- A phenomenon which had Bheemili (Vishakhapatnam) beach illuminated
- Caused due to single celled organism dinoflagellates that produce light when disturbed
- A natural phenomenon seen in beaches, for the first time a large stretch seen illuminated

Dabba Trading
- Informal trading outside purview of stock exchanges
- No real transaction takes place (sort of gambling around stock price movement
- Illegal offence u/ Securities Contracts (Regulation) Act 1956

Commodities Transaction Tax
- Charges on exchange-traded commodity and its derivatives
- A type of financial transaction tax
- Aim: Decrease volatility and increase tax revenue for govt.
- Regulated by Dept. of Revenue, Ministry of Finance

Securities Transaction Tax
- A direct tax aka turnover tax
- Tax on gains made in domestic stock exchange on diff. securities' trade
- Paid in addition to transaction value

Kudmi
- A peasant community concentrated in Juglemahal hills or Chota Nagpur plateau of WB, JH and OD states
- Also found in Assam, N-W Bengal
- Included in ST during British time regarded as primitive tribe among likes of Munda, Oraon, Bhimij, Kharia, Santhal etc.
- Their language: Kurmali

Vibrant Villages Programme
- Launched in Kibithoo village of Arunachal Pradesh; announced in 2022 budget
- 4800 cr Central Sponsored Scheme from 2022-23 to 2025-26
- Aiming at comprehensive development of identified villages along India's norther border and improving quality of life of people living in them
- Development is aimed at reversing outmigration trend and boost security in border region
- In states of: Arunachal Pradesh, Sikkim, Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh, UT of Ladakh


Quote
Food is not rational. Food is culture, habit, craving and identity

Reading Recommendations

IE
1. Atiq Ahmed's son killed: What apex court, NHRC have said on encounters
2. Vibrant Villages Programme
Note: There are many articles on Ambedkar in today's IE, suit them as per your mains prep

TH
1. What's dabba trading and how does it affect the economy? (can do with reading the gist)
2. The rules for recognition as a national party (read to know rules and perks of national party)


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🚨April 15 2023 | Saturday🚨

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Flash Drought
Rapid depletion of soil moisture leading to a drought like situation within 1-2 weeks (drought takes months to develop unlike flash drought)

Commissioning Mother
A surrogate mother -OR- A biological mother who uses her egg to create an embryo implanted in any other woman

NISAR Satellite
- Jointly developed by ISRO and NASA (ISRO contributing 10% of cost)
- Aim: map earthquake prone Himalayas with unprecedented regularity

Indian Knowledge System
- Innovative cell u/ MoEducation
- To promote interdisciplinary research on diff aspects of IKS, preserve and disseminate IKS for further research and societal applications

University Grants Commission
- Statutory body under UGC Act 1956
- Mandate: to coordinate and maintain high standards of higher education in India
- Gives recognition and funds to the universities
- National Institute Ranking Framework and UGC NET u/ UGC


Reading Recommendations

IE
1. No oxygen for fake news
2. G20 and the Ukraine war


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🚨April 16 2023 | Sunday🚨

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Giant Magnetoresistance (GMR)

- Description: A conductor is sandwiched b/w 2 ferromagnetic materials; when materials are magnetized in same direction, electrical resistance in conductor is low. When directions are opposite to each other, resistance increases
- It is a result of electrical resistance of conductor being affected by magnetic fields in adjacent materials
- Used in HDDs and RAM in computers, biosensors, automotive sensors and medical imagers
- Graphene based GMR devices won't need to be cooled at low temperature to sense magnetic fields
- Graphene based device observed 100x higher magnetoresistance

Quote
Inequality is inter-wined with climate change - Ajay Banga

Reading Recommendations

TH
1. Magnetoresistance: One more thing graphene does differently
2. Straddling the spiritual and political (start with reading gist)


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