DAILY NEWS DIARY 21.01.2021 DAILY NEWS DIARY Of 21.01.2021 FOR PRELIMS AND MAINS +91 9989966744 [email protected] 1 Page DAILY NEWS DIARY 21.01.2021 Warm Greetings. DnD aims to provide every day news analysis in sync with the UPSC pattern. It is targeted at UPSC – Prelims & Mains. Daily articles are provided in the form of Question and Answers To have a bank of mains questions. And interesting to read. Providing precise information that can be carried straight to the exam, rather than over dumping. Enjoy reading. THE HINDU - TH INDIAN EXPRESS - IE BUSINESS LINE - BL ECONOMIC TIMES - ET TIMES OF INDIA - TOI INDEX +91 9989966744 [email protected] 2 Page DAILY NEWS DIARY 21.01.2021 Essay Paper Editorial 1. China’s Western Theatre Command’s …………………………………………………………………..…………..04 GS 2 Governance 1. India Innovation Index ……...……………….…………………………………………………………………………..….05 Snippets 1. GI Tag – Kamalam …………………………………………………………………………………………………………..….08 +91 9989966744 [email protected] 3 Page DAILY NEWS DIARY 21.01.2021 ESSAY PAPER EDITORIAL Q – China’s Western Theatre Command’s renewed aggression points to underlying issues. Discuss? INTRODUCTION = Chinese President Xi Jinping instructed his armed forces to be “combat-ready to act at any second” as they began their new training exercises. They were also issued new rules for the selection, training and promotion of military personnel. The several reasons for this aggressive rhetoric being – 1. With Joe Biden assuming the U.S. Presidency on January 20, Mr. Xi wants to signal confidence and military preparedness in responding to new U.S. policies on the freedom of navigation operations in the South China Sea and Taiwan straits. 2. China’s aggressive pursuit of disputed territories in the South China Sea, Taiwan and across borders with India has increased the chances of military conflicts. 3. The country’s armed forces are a political and not a professional force, and the personnel are mostly conscripts with low levels of education and low motivation (mostly from one-child families). 4. They lack a tough mindset and battlefield experience, and face a serious problem of ‘brain drain’. These limitations will certainly affect the performance of the Chinese armed forces in a war with any professional army, as was seen in Ladakh. 5. Thus the performance of China’s Western Theatre Command (WTC) in Ladakh last year was below par. It suffered a high number of casualties in the June 15 Galwan valley clash. The Indian Army also captured the strategic mountainous heights at Rezang La and other passes. a. Chinese troops had seen combat after 41 years and were hence not prepared. b. They have also been suffering from low morale as the force’s senior officers have not got promotions in time due to doubts about their loyalty to Mr. Xi. +91 9989966744 [email protected] 4 Page DAILY NEWS DIARY 21.01.2021 c. The WTC has been facing problems in acclimatisation of its soldiers. Recently, 10,000 troops from the WTC were moved to lower locations for recuperation. d. The force has been struggling with managing the joint training of its army, strategic support and air force units, with the arrival of new fighter and stealth aircraft, rockets, artificial intelligence-based drones and other equipment. While now the new commander and his men would be given the same promotions and benefits as those in the other theatres, with special perks for combat troops stationed in “tough and remote bordering locations” New indoctrinations in the military – 1. In the past, promotions in the Chinese armed forces were based on the political loyalty of officers, their connections with the Chinese Communist Party leadership and personal background, with merit bagging low priority. Now, the forces are required to display their loyalty to Mr. Xi. 2. The President has also changed the posture of the Chinese armed forces from defensive to offensive. 3. Borrowing from American military doctrines, an ambitious vision for the restructuring of the Chinese armed forces has unveiled, by introducing the Joint Theatre Command concept to align with various regional threats. The armed forces are also being infused with new technologies like artificial intelligence and new concepts of “intelligentised” warfare. However, the training of the Chinese armed forces to adapt to these American concepts would not be easy given the lack of cross-fertilisation with other forces, which have successfully incorporated these doctrines. GS 2 Governance Q – What is the India Innovation Index and discuss its Significance and Results? . BACKGROUND = The India Innovation Index 2020 seeks to rank the states and union territories based on their relative performance of supporting innovation, and to empower them to improve their innovation polices by highlighting their strengths and weaknesses. The index captures the trends and provides detailed analyses of the various factors that drive innovation at the country, state, and district levels. +91 9989966744 [email protected] 5 Page DAILY NEWS DIARY 21.01.2021 . Karnataka retained its leadership position in the major States category in the second edition of India Innovation Index released by NITI Aayog and the Institute of Competitiveness . It was followed by Maharashtra, which moved past Tamil Nadu to occupy the second place. Other States in the top 10 are Telangana, Kerala, Haryana, Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat, Uttar Pradesh and Punjab. Barring Maharashtra, all other States in the top five are in the south. Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh and Bihar scored the lowest on the index, which put them at the bottom in the “major States” category. Karnataka’s rank is attributable to its substantive number of venture capital deals, registered Geographical Indications and information and communications technology exports. Its high Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) inflow has also enhanced the innovation capabilities of the State. Thus the ranking methodology of the Index is designed in a way that states can draw lessons from the national leaders in innovation. +91 9989966744 [email protected] 6 Page DAILY NEWS DIARY 21.01.2021 GS 1 Snippets Geography Q – Why is the need for the application of the GI Tag – Kamalam? . The Gujarat government has decided to rename the dragon fruit as ‘kamalam’, as the fruit’s outer shape resembles a lotus, which is also the election symbol of the BJP. At the launch of the Chief Minister Horticulture Development Mission, a scheme to promote horticulture in unproductive land parcels, it has been announced that the state has applied for a patent of the dragon fruit to be called ‘kamalam. Also because – 1. Though it is known as dragon fruit, it does not sound appropriate. The word ‘kamalam’ is a Sanskrit word and the shape of the fruit does resemble the lotus flower 2. Farmers in Kutch, Navsari and other parts were growing the fruit and it should, therefore, have a local name too. 3. Another reason cited for renaming the fruit was that the word dragon reminded one of China. +91 9989966744 [email protected] 7 Page DAILY NEWS DIARY 21.01.2021 The recently setup high powered panel Irdai Committee proposes recommendations in which of the following fields? a. Traffic Violation Premium b. Farm laws c. Anti-Conversion Bills d. Defence Procurement Policy Hey from yesterday…. Consider the following – 1. Development and production of military equipment, components and spare parts as well as technologies sharing 2. Improving after-sales service system. 3. Mutual logistics support agreement 4. Strengthening maritime cooperation Which of the above strategic points are not a part of the Indo-Russian defence co- operation dialogues? a. 2 only b. 4 only c. 2,3,4 d. None of the above Answer – D NOTE: As India prepares to receive the first batch of S-400 long-range air defence system by year-end, the first group of Indian military specialists are scheduled to depart for Moscow soon to undergo training courses on the S-400 . S-400 supplies initiative is one of the flagship projects in the Russian-Indian military and military-technical cooperation, which historically constitutes the main pillar of the special and privileged strategic partnership between the two friendly countries. Currently Russia and India are deeply involved in joint development and production of military equipment, components and spare parts as well as technologies sharing, improving after-sales service system. We have developed an advanced legal base for this purpose. the two sides successfully were moving towards the implementation of a AK-203 rifle contract and 200 Ka-226T utility helicopters supplies among others. They are looking forward to an early implementation of the spare parts joint production agreement. “Work also is going on the mutual logistics support agreement, strengthening maritime cooperation, including in the Indian Ocean”. In October 2018, India signed a $5.43-billion deal with Russia for five S-400 Triumf regiments despite objections from the U.S. and the threat of sanctions under Countering America’s Adversaries Through Sanctions Act (CAATSA). +91 9989966744 [email protected] 8 Page DAILY NEWS DIARY 21.01.2021 UPSC - CSE COMPREHENSIVE & FOUNDATION COURSE OFFLINE From: 04.01.2021 ONLINE From: 08.01.2021 COURSE INCLUDES: • NCERT • Prelims & Main • GS Foundation • CSAT • Daily Tests & Writing Practice • Optionals (ANTROPOLOGY / GEOGRAPHY) • Nine Months Course • Mentoring with Individual Focus • SAVVY Sessions • IAO Certification of Quality OPTIONALS NEW OFFLINE COURSES ANTHROPOLOGY by Mrs. SOSIN REVELLA From: 23/12/2020 OPTIONALS NEW OFFLINE COURSES SOCIOLOGY by DR. HARSHAVARDHAN From: 03/02/2021 OPTIONALS NEW OFFLINE COURSES 12 GEOGRAPHY by MR. SOHAN NARESH From: 03/02/2021 Page OPTIONALS NEW OFFLINE COURSES TELUGU LITERATURE by DR. GARIKIPATI SUBRAMANYAM From: 27/01/2021 +91 9989966744 [email protected] 9 Page.