Daily Practice Sheet 31 December 2020

Daily Practice Sheet 31 December 2020

Daily Prelims Topic

• Akash Missile
• Genome sequencing
• Bureau of Police Research and Development (BPR&D)
• Kevadia Tourism Circuit
• What happens to property attached by the ED?
• Current Account Surplus
• AFSPA
• Super spreader

Daily facts

Digital gap

• ASER 2020 highlighted that access to smartphones has almost doubled since its 2018 survey—11% respondent households purchased a new phone to support children’s education.
• Another report published by Right To Education Forum shows points that the digital divide was wider for girls; only 26% of girls could access mobile phones as against 37% boys.

Agriculture subsidies:

• In 1950-51, agriculture’s share in the country’s GDP was 45%, the share of the workforce dependent on the sector was close to 70%.
• Today agriculture’s share in GDP is below 16%, but almost 50% of the country’s workforce depends on this sector.
• As per India’s latest notification, for 2018- 19 the subsidies provided were slightly more than $56 billion. In most of the recent years, the largest component of India’s subsidies ($24.2 billion, or 43% of the total) are provided to “low income or resource poor farmers”, a terminology that the AoA uses.
• India has notified that 99.43% of its farmers are low income or resource poor. According to the agricultural census conducted in 2015-16, these are the farmers whose holdings are 10 hectares or less
• America provided $131 billion in 2017 and the EU, nearly €80 billion (or $93 billion) in 2017-18.
• India’s farm subsidies in 2017 were 12.4% of agricultural value addition, while for the U.S. and the EU, the figures were 90.8% and 45.3%, respectively.

Daily mapping

1. Estonia
2. Paraguay
3. Dominican Republic

(India created Indian missions in these countries to increase diplomatic footprint)

Daily Mains Mantra

NEWSPAPER

GS1: Society

1. How digital divide is impacting education system in India in Post-Covid era and in times of digital revolution. [Reference: Financial Express]

GS2: Polity

1. India in recent times has seen many largescale people-led movements led by civil society. In this context discuss importance of civil society and challenges Indian civil society faces in emerging as link between ruler and the ruled. [Reference: Indian Express]

GS 2: Welfare schemes

1. Critically assess the role of Swachh Bharat Mission in achieving sanitation outcome? [Reference: Financial Express]

GS 3: Economy

1. What do you understand by debt trap? Is Indian government facing a looming debt trap? [Reference: Business Line]
2. Critically examine the farm subsidy regime in India. Compare this with developed world. [Reference: The Hindu]
3. Erosion of farm incomes was triggered by growing inefficiencies, which, in turn, was caused by a lack of meaningful investment in agriculture. Discuss

GS 3: Science

1. What do you understand by driverless cars? Discuss the concerns regarding it. [Reference: Business Line]
2. What do you understand by genome sequencing? Discuss its in fighting corona pandemic. [Reference: The Hindu]

GS4: Ethics

1. What is integrity? Explain difference between integrity, probity and honesty.
2. “Means are as important as the end”. Comment. [Reference: Indian Express]