Kukis & Meiteis

Syllabus: GS Paper-2-Polity

Why in News?

· The Manipur Government has invoked a No work, No Pay order for the government staff. 

 · It was issued to nudge the government and police officials to report for duty. 

 · It has led to the members of the Kuki community joining work in the hill districts, while the Meitei community have joined in the valley district. 

 Meitei Community:

• They are the predominant ethnic group of Manipuri state. 

 • They speak Meitei language (Manipuri language) is one of the 22 official languages in India 

 • It is the sole official language of Manipuri state. 

 • They are primarily settled in the Imphal Valley region in Manipur. 

 • Some population is settled in the regions of Assam, Tripura, Nagaland, Meghalaya and Mizoram 

 • There is also presence of Meitei community in Myanmar and Bangladesh countries.

 • This community represents 53% of the Manipuri Population 

 • They are divided into many clans. 

 • The members of the clans should not intermarry

 • The majority of the community follows Hinduism. 

 • While 8% of the community are Muslims. 

 • They depend mainly on Rice cultivation. 

 • They celebrate a festival known as Yashong.

 • It is nothing but the Manipuri Version of Holi. 

 ST status to the Meitei group:

• The Meitei community has been demanding for the ST status since 2012.

• They argued that being left out of the ST list has caused the community to be victimized without any constitutional safeguards.

 • The Manipuri High Court has ordered asking the government to consider the demand of the Meitei Community status.

 • It has been opposed by the tribal groups in the state

 Kuki group: 

· It is one of the ethnic groups which inhabits in the northeastern regions of India, Myanmar and Bangladesh. 

 · They are found in Chin State in Myanmar, Manipur and Mizoram and Chittagong Hills in Bangladesh. 

 · They are part of the larger Zo people, along with Chin and Mizo tribes.

 · They have a rich and diverse history, culture and tradition. 

 · It reflects their adaptation to the hilly and forested terrain they live in.

CRISPR

Syllabus: GS Paper-3-Science & Technology

Why in News? 

 · CRISPR genetic editing tool will be used to produce better wood fibres.

 · It will enable the scientists to design wood in which lignin which must be dissolved. 

 · So, the fibre production can take place. 

 CRISPR:

 · CRISPR stands for Clustered Regularly Interspaced Short Palindromic Repeats · It is a gene editing technology.

 · It replicates the natural defence mechanism in bacteria to fight virus attacks.

 · For this a special protein known as Cas9 will be used.

 · Cas9 is an enzyme which acts as a pair of molecular scissors.

 · Cas9 can cut the two strands of DNA at a specific location in the genome.

 · This process involves the introduction of new gene or the suppression of existing gene. 

 · This process is described as genetic engineering. 

 · This technology does not involve the introduction of any new gene from the outside. 

 · It is also described as the Genetic Scissors.

 · If there is any bad stretch in the DNA sequence, then it is located, cut and removed and then replaced with the correct sequence. 

 Applications: 

 · Health-It can be applied on different diseases such as cancer, HIV, Hepatitis B, Anaemia etc.

 · It permanently cures genetic diseases.

 · Agriculture-It is used to optimize the size and shape of the crops. 

 Issues: 

 · Ethical concerns-The Chinese researcher created a designer baby in the year 2018. 

 · Biological concerns-It has the risk of causing mutations, side effects etc.

 · Expensive

Lightning 

 Syllabus: GS Paper-3-Disaster Management 

 Why in News?

· The Union government has said that the lightning is not a natural disaster 

 · If it joins the natural disaster, the victims will be entitled to compensation under the State Disaster Response Fund

· In the year 2021, 2,880 people had died of lightning according to the National Crime Records Bureau. 

 Lightning:

· It is a giant spark of electricity between the clouds, air or ground.

 · It is of two types: 

 a) Intercloud or Intra-Cloud which is harmless. 

 b) Cloud to Ground lightning-It is harmful as the high electric voltage or electric current can lead to electrocution.

 · The air acts as an insulator between the positive and negative charges in the cloud and also between the cloud and the ground.

 · The insulating capacity of the air break down if the opposite charges build up enough.

 · Then there is a rapid discharge of electricity known as lightning. 

 Important Points:

· The frequency of lightning was the highest in the:

  1. Northeastern states 2. West Bengal 3. Sikkim 4. Jharkhand 5. Odisha 6. Bihar 

· The number of deaths are higher in the states of: 

  1) Madhya Pradesh 2) Maharashtra 3) Chhattisgarh 4) Odisha

Cicada 

 Syllabus: GS Paper-3-Science & Technology

 Why in News?

· A foreign cicada which is commonly found in several parts of the South India has assumed an Indian Identity.

 · It is now named as Purana Cheeveeda 

 Cicada:

· They are bugs known for their loud, complex and species-specific acoustic signals.

 · The mouth part of the cicadas is used for piercing and sucking

 · They have two pairs of wings

 · They spend most of their lives underground.

 · They will come to the soil mainly to mate.

 · Once they are out of the ground, their span of life becomes short.

 · They feed on the tree roots for a period of 3 to 17 years.

Significance:

 · If they die, they serve as an important source of nitrogen for growing trees.

 · They are one of the indicators of a healthy forest ecosystem. 

 Threat: 

· Burning of forests

 · Agriculture

 · Persistent capturing etc.

Nomadic Elephant-2023 

 Syllabus: GS Paper-3-Defence 

 Why in News?

 · The exercise Nomadic Elephant 2023 has commenced from 17^th -31^st July 2023.

 · It is the 15^th edition of bilateral military exercise

 Nomadic Elephant:

· It is the annual training event between India and Mongolia.

 · It held alternately in both the countries. 

 · The previous edition took place in the year 2019 in India.

· The soldiers of the Mongolian Armed Forces Unit 084 and Indian Army soldiers from the Jammu and Kashmir Light Infantry will be participating in the exercise.

 Objective: 

 · To build positive military relations 

 · To exchange best practices 

 · To develop inter-operability 

 · To promote friendship between the two armies. 

 Theme:

· To counter-terrorism operations in the mountainous terrain under United Nations mandate.

Avian Influenza 

 Syllabus: GS Paper-3-Science & Technology

Why in News? 

Avian Influenza has been raising in animals.

 Influenza Virus:

· Influenza viruses are of 4 types. They are: 

 · Influenza A, B, C, D. 

 · Influenza A and B viruses cause epidemic seasonal infections every year.

 · Influenza C occurs in humans, dogs and pigs

 · Influenza D occurs mainly in cattle and it does not affect humans. 

 Avian Influenza:

· It is a disease caused by avian influenza Type A virus. 

 · It is found naturally in world birds worldwide.

 · This influenza viruses are classified based on two proteins. 

They are: 1) Hemagglutinin (HA) 2) Neuraminidase (NA) 

 · There are about 18 HA subtypes and 11 NA subtypes.

 · Some of the combinations of these proteins are: · H5N1, H9N6, H17N10 etc.

· It affects birds, seals, domestic cats, pigs, ducks, chickens, turkeys etc. 

 Infection in Humans:

· There are some reports about avian influenza infections in humans. 

 · It includes A (H1N1), A (H7N9), A (H1N2) etc. 

 · It has mortality rate of about 60%. 

 Transmission:

· It spreads to humans through direct contact. 

 · If a person comes in close contact with infected birds, either dead or alive then he will be affected.

 · A person will be affected if they came in contact with the contaminated surfaces near the infected poultry.

 Symptoms: · Fever · Cough · Muscle Aches · Respiratory illness · Neurological changes etc.

Standing Committee on Statistics 

Syllabus: Prelims-Important Organizations 

 Why in News? 

The Union Government has said that the Standing Committee on Economic Statistics (SCES) will be replaced by the Standing Committee on Statistics (SCoS). 

 Standing Committee on Statistics:

· SCoS has a broader mandate to review the framework and result of all surveys conducted under the National Statistical Organization.

 · Structure-10 official members and four non-official members. 

 · It can have up to 16 members.

 · Ministry-Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation 

 Functions:

· It identifies the issues raised from time to time on the subjects, results and methodology for all surveys. 

 · Identifying the data gaps that need to be fulfilled by the official statistics.

 · It provides a strategy to plug those gaps 

 · It is mandated to explore the use of administrative statistics to improve the data outcomes.

 · It finalises the survey results but the NSC have the ultimate authority to publish those results. 

 National Statistical Office: 

· NSO was formed in the year 2019 with the merge of National Sample Survey Office (NSSO) with the Central Statistics Office (CSO).

· NSO is a nodal agency for the development of the statistical system in the country.

 · It advises on the statistical methodology and on statistical analysis of data.

 · It prepares national accounts and publishes annual estimates of national product. 

 · It releases the Index of Industrial Production (IIP) 

 · It conducts all India Economic Censuses. 

 · It releases the grant-in-aid to the registered Non-Governmental Organization. 

 · It examines the survey reports from the technical angle.

National Multidimensional Poverty Index 

 Syllabus: Prelims-Important Reports 

Why in News? 

As per the report about 13.5 crore people have moved out of poverty within a span of five years i.e., between 2015-16 and 2019-21. 

 National Multidimensional Poverty Index: 

· It is released by NITI Aayog. 

 · Its objective is to measure the poverty across its multiple dimensions.

 · It gives the high-level view of the poverty in the nation.

 · It provides information about the poverty to formulate the policies. 

 Methodology:

· Its methodology is based on the Multidimensional Poverty Index developed by the UNDP and Oxford Poverty and Human Development Initiative (OPHI). 

 Dimensions:

· It uses three major dimensions. They are: 1) Health 2) Education 3) Standard of Living

Key Points:

· According to the National Multidimensional Poverty Index 2023, India has registered a significant decline of 9.89% from 2015-16 to 2019-21.

· Uttar Pradesh has registered the largest decline in the number of poor with 3.43 crore people.

· The fastest reduction in the multidimensional poor was observed in the states of: 

 1) Uttar Pradesh 2) Bihar 3) Madhya Pradesh 4) Odisha 5) Rajasthan

Questions

1.Consider the following statements regarding Meitei group: 

 Statement-I: Meitei community is present in India only. 

 Statement-II: They speak Meitei language which is one of the 22 official languages in India 

 Which one of the following is correct in respect of the above statements? 

 a) Both Statement-I and Statement-II are correct and Statement-II is the correct explanation for Statement-I. 

 b) Both Statement-I and Statement-II are correct and Statement-II is not the correct explanation for Statement-I. 

 c) Statement-I is correct but Statement-II is incorrect

 d) Statement-I is incorrect but Statement-II is correct.

2. Consider the following statements regarding CRISPR:

 Statement-I: This process involves the introduction of new gene or the suppression of existing gene. 

 Statement-II: This technology does not involve the introduction of any new gene from the outside. 

 Which one of the following is correct in respect of the above statements? 

 a) Both Statement-I and Statement-II are correct and Statement-II is the correct explanation for Statement-I. 

 b) Both Statement-I and Statement-II are correct and Statement-II is not the correct explanation for Statement-I.

 c) Statement-I is correct but Statement-II is incorrect 

 d) Statement-I is incorrect but Statement-II is correct.

3.Consider the following statements regarding lightning: 

 1. Lightning has mentioned as the natural disaster in India 

 2. The number of deaths are higher in the state of Bihar 

 3. The frequency of lightning is highest in the state of Madhya Pradesh

 How many of the above statements are incorrect? 

 a) Only One

 b) Only two

 c) Only three 

 d) None

4.Consider the following statements regarding Cicada: 

 Statement-I: They spend most of their lives underground. 

 Statement-II: Once they are out of the ground, their span of life becomes short 

 Which one of the following is correct in respect of the above statements? 

 a) Both Statement-I and Statement-II are correct and Statement-II is the correct explanation for Statement-I.

 b) Both Statement-I and Statement-II are correct and Statement-II is not the correct explanation for Statement-I. 

 c) Statement-I is correct but Statement-II is incorrect 

 d) Statement-I is incorrect but Statement-II is correct

5.Consider the following statements regarding Nomadic Elephant:

 Statement-I: It is the annual bilateral exercise between India and Thailand. 

 Statement-II: It is the 15^th edition of bilateral military exercise 

 Which one of the following is correct in respect of the above statements? 

 a) Both Statement-I and Statement-II are correct and Statement-II is the correct explanation for Statement-I. 

 b) Both Statement-I and Statement-II are correct and Statement-II is not the correct explanation for Statement-I. 

 c) Statement-I is correct but Statement-II is incorrect 

 d) Statement-I is incorrect but Statement-II is correct.

6.Consider the following statements regarding Avian Influenza: 

 1. It is caused by the avian influenza Type B virus. 

 2. It has mortality rate of about 20%. 

 3. It is found naturally in world birds worldwide 

 How many of the above statements are correct? 

 a) Only One

 b) Only two 

 c) Only three 

 d) None

7.Consider the following statements regarding Standing Committee on Statistics: 

 1.It reviews the framework and result of all surveys conducted under the National Statistical Organization. 

 2. It has 5 official members and four non-official members

 3. It has the ultimate authority to publish the survey results. 

 How many of the above statements are correct? 

 a) Only One

 b) Only two 

 c) Only three 

 d) None

8.Consider the following statements regarding National Multidimensional Poverty Index:

 1. It is released by Ministry of Finance 

 2. It uses five major dimensions 

 3. According to the National Multidimensional Poverty Index 2023, Odisha has registered the largest decline in the number of poor 

 How many of the above statements are correct?

 a) Only One 

 b) Only two 

 c) Only three 

 d) None