🔆Nano Urea:
✅It is a nanotechnology-based revolutionary agri-input that provides nitrogen to plants.
✅It is developed and patented by the Indian Farmers Fertiliser Cooperative Limited (IFFCO).
✅IFFCO Nano Urea is the only nano fertilizer approved by the Government of India and included in the Fertilizer Control Order (FCO).
📍Features:
✅Compared to conventional urea prill, Nano Urea has a desirable particle size of about 20-50 nm, and more surface area (10,000 times over 1 mm urea prill), and number of particles (55,000 nitrogen particles over 1 mm urea prill).
✅It contains 4.0 % total nitrogen (w/v).
📍Benefits:
✅It is produced by an energy-efficient, environment-friendly production process with less carbon footprints.
✅It is more efficient in terms of nutrient uptake and releases nitrogen more slowly.
✅It reduces the amount of nitrogen lost to the atmosphere as greenhouse gases.
✅It is expected to improve crop productivity, soil health, and nutritional quality of produce and address the "imbalanced and excessive use" of conventional fertilizer.
#gs3
#economy
#agriculture
#science_technology
#mains
✅It is a nanotechnology-based revolutionary agri-input that provides nitrogen to plants.
✅It is developed and patented by the Indian Farmers Fertiliser Cooperative Limited (IFFCO).
✅IFFCO Nano Urea is the only nano fertilizer approved by the Government of India and included in the Fertilizer Control Order (FCO).
📍Features:
✅Compared to conventional urea prill, Nano Urea has a desirable particle size of about 20-50 nm, and more surface area (10,000 times over 1 mm urea prill), and number of particles (55,000 nitrogen particles over 1 mm urea prill).
✅It contains 4.0 % total nitrogen (w/v).
📍Benefits:
✅It is produced by an energy-efficient, environment-friendly production process with less carbon footprints.
✅It is more efficient in terms of nutrient uptake and releases nitrogen more slowly.
✅It reduces the amount of nitrogen lost to the atmosphere as greenhouse gases.
✅It is expected to improve crop productivity, soil health, and nutritional quality of produce and address the "imbalanced and excessive use" of conventional fertilizer.
#gs3
#economy
#agriculture
#science_technology
#mains
How has India leveraged G20 to enhance its Global Leadership Role
#mains
#mains
🔆Committees on Western Ghats:
📍Sanjay Kumar Committee:
✅Formed to review state objections on ESA demarcations and validate proposed exclusions.
✅Will conduct field visits to verify if demands for village exclusions from ESA listings are justified.
✅Seeks to finalize the ESA status for villages, restricting activities harmful to biodiversity.
📍Madhav Gadgil Committee (2011):
✅Established by UPA government to propose protection measures for the Western Ghats.
✅Recommended designating the entire Western Ghats as ecologically sensitive.
✅Proposed the creation of a dedicated ecological authority to regulate development.
✅Report suggested rigorous conservation, but its recommendations were not fully adopted.
📍Kasturirangan Committee (2012):
✅Formed as a follow-up to the Gadgil Committee to provide a more moderate approach.
✅Based ESA demarcations on 37% of the Western Ghats, focusing on forested areas.
✅Emphasized a balance between conservation and developmental needs, allowing limited activity in specific areas.
#prelims_facts
#mains
📍Sanjay Kumar Committee:
✅Formed to review state objections on ESA demarcations and validate proposed exclusions.
✅Will conduct field visits to verify if demands for village exclusions from ESA listings are justified.
✅Seeks to finalize the ESA status for villages, restricting activities harmful to biodiversity.
📍Madhav Gadgil Committee (2011):
✅Established by UPA government to propose protection measures for the Western Ghats.
✅Recommended designating the entire Western Ghats as ecologically sensitive.
✅Proposed the creation of a dedicated ecological authority to regulate development.
✅Report suggested rigorous conservation, but its recommendations were not fully adopted.
📍Kasturirangan Committee (2012):
✅Formed as a follow-up to the Gadgil Committee to provide a more moderate approach.
✅Based ESA demarcations on 37% of the Western Ghats, focusing on forested areas.
✅Emphasized a balance between conservation and developmental needs, allowing limited activity in specific areas.
#prelims_facts
#mains
🔆The article discusses the outcomes of the COP29 climate summit, focusing on the issue of climate finance and the need for a just transition.
Key Points:
✅Insufficient Climate Finance:
🔸Developed countries pledged $300 billion annually by 2035, falling short of developing countries' needs.
✅Challenges in Financing Climate Action:
🔸Developing countries face high debt burdens and limited access to affordable finance.
🔸The current financial system is not adequately equipped to support the scale and speed of the transition.
✅The Need for a Just Transition:
🔸Ensuring that the transition to a low-carbon economy is equitable and inclusive.
🔸Supporting workers in fossil fuel industries and vulnerable communities.
🔸Addressing social and economic impacts of climate policies.
✅India's Climate Actions:
🔸India has undertaken various initiatives to promote renewable energy and energy efficiency.
#gs3 #mains #prelims
#environment
Key Points:
✅Insufficient Climate Finance:
🔸Developed countries pledged $300 billion annually by 2035, falling short of developing countries' needs.
✅Challenges in Financing Climate Action:
🔸Developing countries face high debt burdens and limited access to affordable finance.
🔸The current financial system is not adequately equipped to support the scale and speed of the transition.
✅The Need for a Just Transition:
🔸Ensuring that the transition to a low-carbon economy is equitable and inclusive.
🔸Supporting workers in fossil fuel industries and vulnerable communities.
🔸Addressing social and economic impacts of climate policies.
✅India's Climate Actions:
🔸India has undertaken various initiatives to promote renewable energy and energy efficiency.
#gs3 #mains #prelims
#environment
Primary Agricultural Credit Societies (PACS)
✅ PACS are the smallest units in the cooperative credit system, forming the grassroots level of the three-tier structure, with the other tiers being State Cooperative Banks (StCBs) and District Central Cooperative Banks (DCCBs).
✅PACS operate in villages, serving farmers, artisans, and weaker sections, with office bearers elected from among the members.
✅ They provide 41% of Kisan Credit Card (KCC) loans, mainly to small and marginal farmers, and offer input services like seeds, fertilizers, and pesticides, along with storage and marketing support for agricultural products.
#mains
✅ PACS are the smallest units in the cooperative credit system, forming the grassroots level of the three-tier structure, with the other tiers being State Cooperative Banks (StCBs) and District Central Cooperative Banks (DCCBs).
✅PACS operate in villages, serving farmers, artisans, and weaker sections, with office bearers elected from among the members.
✅ They provide 41% of Kisan Credit Card (KCC) loans, mainly to small and marginal farmers, and offer input services like seeds, fertilizers, and pesticides, along with storage and marketing support for agricultural products.
#mains
🔆Bull
✅ Nandi and Shiva are often depicted together as they are considered inseparable in Hindu mythology. Nandi is the divine vehicle and gatekeeper of Lord Shiva.
✅ It symbolizes strength, virility, and the loyal nature of a devotee. The bull is also associated with fertility.
✅ Cultural Symbol: In some Indian cultures, the bull is revered as a symbol of agricultural prosperity, as it has been traditionally used in farming.
✅Baked clay Bull, Mohenjodaro.
✅ Rampurva Bull: The Ashokan Pillar’s sandstone capital from the third century B.C.
✅The Nandipada (“foot of Nandi”) is an ancient Indian symbol, also called a taurine symbol, representing a bull’s hoof or the mark left by the foot of a bull in the ground.
✅ Ajanta Painting: Bull is not depicted as the part of the composition but as decoration or design.
✅ Cattle depictions were a common feature on the borders of Mughal miniature paintings.
✅ Krishna’s association with cattle in paintings is rooted in the mythology and traditions of the region of Vrindavan.
#art_and_culture
#mains #prelims
✅ Nandi and Shiva are often depicted together as they are considered inseparable in Hindu mythology. Nandi is the divine vehicle and gatekeeper of Lord Shiva.
✅ It symbolizes strength, virility, and the loyal nature of a devotee. The bull is also associated with fertility.
✅ Cultural Symbol: In some Indian cultures, the bull is revered as a symbol of agricultural prosperity, as it has been traditionally used in farming.
✅Baked clay Bull, Mohenjodaro.
✅ Rampurva Bull: The Ashokan Pillar’s sandstone capital from the third century B.C.
✅The Nandipada (“foot of Nandi”) is an ancient Indian symbol, also called a taurine symbol, representing a bull’s hoof or the mark left by the foot of a bull in the ground.
✅ Ajanta Painting: Bull is not depicted as the part of the composition but as decoration or design.
✅ Cattle depictions were a common feature on the borders of Mughal miniature paintings.
✅ Krishna’s association with cattle in paintings is rooted in the mythology and traditions of the region of Vrindavan.
#art_and_culture
#mains #prelims
UCC
need for UCC (Uniform Civil Code) in India:
“UNITY”
Each letter represents a key reason, with the given examples integrated:
1. U - Universal Gender Equality
• Eliminates discriminatory practices in personal laws.
Example: Hindu Succession Act reforms gave daughters equal inheritance rights, but Muslim women remain excluded.
2. N - Neutralizes Misuse of Personal Laws
• Ensures fairness across religions by addressing legal loopholes.
Example: Misuse of triple talaq before its criminalization caused injustice to Muslim women.
3. I - Integrates Communities for National Unity
• Unifies diverse groups under a common legal framework.
Example: Communal tensions often underscore the need for legal uniformity to promote harmony.
4. T - Tames Legal Complexity
• Simplifies disputes arising from varying personal laws.
Example: Inheritance conflicts between communities in Kerala and Tamil Nadu highlight this need.
5. Y - Yields Protection for Marginalized Groups
• Provides equitable legal safeguards for minorities and vulnerable groups.
Example: Tribal communities often face inequities under customary practices that could be addressed with UCC.
UNITY reflects the overarching goal of the UCC: fostering equality, fairness, and cohesion in India’s legal and social systems.
#mains #Government
need for UCC (Uniform Civil Code) in India:
“UNITY”
Each letter represents a key reason, with the given examples integrated:
1. U - Universal Gender Equality
• Eliminates discriminatory practices in personal laws.
Example: Hindu Succession Act reforms gave daughters equal inheritance rights, but Muslim women remain excluded.
2. N - Neutralizes Misuse of Personal Laws
• Ensures fairness across religions by addressing legal loopholes.
Example: Misuse of triple talaq before its criminalization caused injustice to Muslim women.
3. I - Integrates Communities for National Unity
• Unifies diverse groups under a common legal framework.
Example: Communal tensions often underscore the need for legal uniformity to promote harmony.
4. T - Tames Legal Complexity
• Simplifies disputes arising from varying personal laws.
Example: Inheritance conflicts between communities in Kerala and Tamil Nadu highlight this need.
5. Y - Yields Protection for Marginalized Groups
• Provides equitable legal safeguards for minorities and vulnerable groups.
Example: Tribal communities often face inequities under customary practices that could be addressed with UCC.
UNITY reflects the overarching goal of the UCC: fostering equality, fairness, and cohesion in India’s legal and social systems.
#mains #Government
🔆UN talks on drought deal in Saudi
✅The UN-hosted COP16 talks in Saudi Arabia failed to produce a binding protocol on drought response.
✅While no binding deal was reached, significant progress was made toward a future global drought regime, with plans to finalise it at COP17 in 2026 in Mongolia.
✅Droughts, exacerbated by environmental destruction, cost over $300 billion annually.
By 2050, 75% of the global population is expected to be affected by drought.
✅The UNCCD emphasised the need to restore 1.5 billion hectares of land by the decade’s end, requiring $2.6 trillion in global investments.
#gs3 #mains #prelims
#environment
✅The UN-hosted COP16 talks in Saudi Arabia failed to produce a binding protocol on drought response.
✅While no binding deal was reached, significant progress was made toward a future global drought regime, with plans to finalise it at COP17 in 2026 in Mongolia.
✅Droughts, exacerbated by environmental destruction, cost over $300 billion annually.
By 2050, 75% of the global population is expected to be affected by drought.
✅The UNCCD emphasised the need to restore 1.5 billion hectares of land by the decade’s end, requiring $2.6 trillion in global investments.
#gs3 #mains #prelims
#environment
Union Minister for Environment, Forest and Climate Change Bhupender Yadav, inaugurated the Advanced Facility for Pashmina Certification and Next Generation DNA Sequencing Facility at the Wildlife Institute of India (WII), Dehradun
Next-Generation Sequencing (NGS) is a revolutionary technology that enables the rapid and high-throughput decoding of entire genomes, analysing millions of DNA sequences simultaneously.
This allows researchers to gain deeper insights into genetic diversity, evolutionary relationships, and population health
#prelims #mains
#environment
Next-Generation Sequencing (NGS) is a revolutionary technology that enables the rapid and high-throughput decoding of entire genomes, analysing millions of DNA sequences simultaneously.
This allows researchers to gain deeper insights into genetic diversity, evolutionary relationships, and population health
#prelims #mains
#environment
Year-end Review 2024: Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change
✅ India achieved Milestone of Planting 102 Crore Trees Under 'Ek Ped Maa Ke Naam' Campaign, aiming for 140 Crore by March 2025
✅Ministry notified the Eco-mark Rules on 26th September, 2024
✅National Clean Air Programme (NCAP) hit Milestones: 40% PM Reduction in 23 Cities, ₹11,200 Crore fund allocated for Pollution Control; PRANA Portal launched for Real-Time Air Quality Monitoring.
#prelims #mains #Yearreview
✅ India achieved Milestone of Planting 102 Crore Trees Under 'Ek Ped Maa Ke Naam' Campaign, aiming for 140 Crore by March 2025
✅Ministry notified the Eco-mark Rules on 26th September, 2024
✅National Clean Air Programme (NCAP) hit Milestones: 40% PM Reduction in 23 Cities, ₹11,200 Crore fund allocated for Pollution Control; PRANA Portal launched for Real-Time Air Quality Monitoring.
#prelims #mains #Yearreview
🔆The article analyzes the One Nation, One Election (ONOE) proposal, discussing its potential impact on India's federal structure and democracy.
Key Points:
✅Proposal for ONOE
✅Concerns over Federalism
✅Impact on State Governments: Frequent elections under ONOE would limit the tenure of State governments, impacting their ability to implement policies and undermining democratic principles.
✅Historical Context: The article traces the history of simultaneous elections in India, highlighting the misuse of Article 356 (President's Rule) and its impact on federalism.
✅Need for Reforms: Before implementing ONOE, the article emphasizes the need for reforms to address issues like the misuse of Article 356, strengthening anti-defection laws, and ensuring the stability of State governments.
#polity #mains #article@thegameoftoppers
Key Points:
✅Proposal for ONOE
✅Concerns over Federalism
✅Impact on State Governments: Frequent elections under ONOE would limit the tenure of State governments, impacting their ability to implement policies and undermining democratic principles.
✅Historical Context: The article traces the history of simultaneous elections in India, highlighting the misuse of Article 356 (President's Rule) and its impact on federalism.
✅Need for Reforms: Before implementing ONOE, the article emphasizes the need for reforms to address issues like the misuse of Article 356, strengthening anti-defection laws, and ensuring the stability of State governments.
#polity #mains #article@thegameoftoppers
🔆The article discusses a former U.S. president's criticism of the Panama Canal Treaty and Panama's response.
Key Points:
Panama canal map click here
✅Criticism of Treaty: A former U.S. president deemed the 1999 treaty transferring the Panama Canal to Panama as “foolish,” citing high transit fees for U.S. vessels as the primary reason.
✅Increased Transit Fees: Drought in Panama has led to reduced ship capacity through the canal, resulting in increased fees for U.S. vessels.
✅Treaty Details: The Torrijos-Carter Treaties of 1977 transferred the canal to Panama on December 31, 1999, while also guaranteeing U.S. right of transit in case of military emergencies.
#mains@thegameoftoppers
#mains
Key Points:
Panama canal map click here
✅Criticism of Treaty: A former U.S. president deemed the 1999 treaty transferring the Panama Canal to Panama as “foolish,” citing high transit fees for U.S. vessels as the primary reason.
✅Increased Transit Fees: Drought in Panama has led to reduced ship capacity through the canal, resulting in increased fees for U.S. vessels.
✅Treaty Details: The Torrijos-Carter Treaties of 1977 transferred the canal to Panama on December 31, 1999, while also guaranteeing U.S. right of transit in case of military emergencies.
#mains@thegameoftoppers
#mains
Leadership:
"A leader is someone who inspires others to become better versions of themselves while working toward a shared goal."
* Core traits: Listening, creativity, resilience, vision
* Individual level: Confidence, personality
* Societal: Role model, conflict resolver
* National/International: Inspiration in crisis
Examples:
* Jacinda Ardern – led NZ with empathy during COVID
* Rani Laxmi Bai – “Only man among the rebels” – Gen Rose
* Vikram Sarabhai – mentored Dr. Kalam; created leaders
*Tejasvi Satpute IPS - Rehabilitation of individuals involved in Cannabis Trafficking.
a leader shows the way goes the way"
#upscprep #ethics #gs4 #mains
"A leader is someone who inspires others to become better versions of themselves while working toward a shared goal."
* Core traits: Listening, creativity, resilience, vision
* Individual level: Confidence, personality
* Societal: Role model, conflict resolver
* National/International: Inspiration in crisis
Examples:
* Jacinda Ardern – led NZ with empathy during COVID
* Rani Laxmi Bai – “Only man among the rebels” – Gen Rose
* Vikram Sarabhai – mentored Dr. Kalam; created leaders
*Tejasvi Satpute IPS - Rehabilitation of individuals involved in Cannabis Trafficking.
a leader shows the way goes the way"
#upscprep #ethics #gs4 #mains