Gorbachev, who oversaw end of the USSR &

Cold War, dies at 91

https://indianexpress.com/article/world/mikhail-gorbachev-ended-cold-
war-dies-agencies-8121786

story-Mikhail Gorbachev, who ended the Cold War without bloodshed

but failed to prevent the collapse of the Soviet Union, died on Tuesday
at the age of 91, hospital officials in Moscow said.

• Personality in News-Mikhail Gorbachev

• Mikhail Gorbachev-Know the related Facts

• Why the world knows Mikhail Gorbachev then and now?

•How did Mikhail Gorbachev become president of the Soviet Union?

• What is the Soviet Union known as today?

• What were the Policies of Mikhail Gorbachev?

• What is Perestroika and why USSR needed “perestroika”?

• What is Glasnost?
• What did Mikhail Gorbachev do after the fall of the Soviet Union?

• How was the bilateral ties of Russia (Erstwhile USSR) and western nations during Mikhail Gorbachev’s tenure?

• Why Mikhail Gorbachev is widely seen in Russia as the man responsible for the collapse of the Soviet Union?

• In 2005, Putin called the collapse of the Soviet Union the “greatest geopolitical catastrophe”

•How was the bilateral ties of Russia (Erstwhile USSR) and India during Mikhail Gorbachev’s tenure?

• “Between 1985 and 1989, Rajiv Gandhi and Mikhail Gorbachev found enough common ground to mark a high point in India-Soviet relations”-
Know in detail the high and low point in India-Soviet relations

• Map Work-Member Countries of Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR)

https://indianexpress.com/article/opinion/columns/death-of-mikhail-gorbachev-8123602/

https://indianexpress.com/article/opinion/editorials/death-of-mikhail-gorbachev-tragic-hero-8123593/lite/

https://indianexpress.com/article/opinion/editorials/death-of-mikhail-gorbachev-tragic-hero-8123593/

https://indianexpress.com/article/explained/explained-mikhail-gorbachev-dead-india-rajiv-gandhi-soviet-union-8123828/

https://indianexpress.com/article/explained/explained-global/explained-perestroika-and-glasnost-gorbachevs-reform-mantras-8122834/
First-quarter GDP up13.5%, lower than RBI
estimate
https://indianexpress.com/article/business/economy/first-quarter-gdp-up
-13-5-lower-than-rbi-estimate-8123921/

India’s economy grew 13.5 per cent from a year ago in the April-June
quarter this fiscal, its fastest year-on-year growth rate in four quarters.
It was led by higher household consumption, especially of
contact-intensive services, and buoyant investment activity, as
compared to the same quarter of the last fiscal that bore the brunt of the
second Covid-19 wave.

• First of all, what is Gross domestic product (GDP)?

• GDP-How it is Calculated?

• Gross domestic product (GDP) and Gross National Product

(GNP)-Key Differences

•Nominal’ GDP and ‘Real’ GDP-What is the difference?

• What are the factors which helped in the growth of GDP?

• “Data released by the National Statistical Office showed that even though the revival of economic activity has pushed the gross domestic product
(GDP) of Rs 36.85 lakh crore for the June-quarter past the pre-Covid levels, it is only 3.8 per cent higher than the economic output of the
corresponding quarter in 2019-20 (pre-Covid)”-why marginal increment?

• What do understand by ‘Private final consumption expenditure and Gross fixed capital formation’?

• How private final consumption expenditure and gross fixed capital formation helped in the growth of GDP?

• “The government is focusing on higher capEx even as revenue expenditure remains proportionately lower”-What is CapEx or Capital
Expenditure?

• What Are Capital Expenditures (CapEx)?

• Many different types of assets can attribute long-term value to an economy. Therefore, there are certain types of CapEx-What are they?

• How does capital expenditure affect the economy?

• What does headwind mean in Economics?

• What is Revenue Expenditure?

• Capital Expenditures and Revenue Expenditures-What’s the Difference?

https://www.investopedia.com/terms/c/capitalexpenditure.asp

https://indianexpress.com/article/opinion/columns/indian-economys-mixed-signals-8117575/
Rubble to tiles and bricks — how Supertech
twin tower debris will be recycled
https://indianexpress.com/article/cities/delhi/rubble-to-tiles-and-bricks-
how-supertech-twin-tower-debris-will-be-recycled-8123930/

The demolition of Supertech twin towers left behind 80,000 tonnes of

debris, of which 28,000 tonnes will be scientifically processed at a
concrete & demolition (C&D) waste plant in Noida by Re
Sustainability and Recycling Private Ltd, formerly known as Ramky
Reclamation and Recycling Private Ltd.

• How debris collected from the demolition site will be recycled?

• How much rubble or debris are we talking about?

• What will be done with this small mountain of debris?

•Who will manage the cleaning-up operation, and how long will it take?

• What had happened in the 2020 Maradu demolition case?

• How dust after and during demolition impacted surroundings and the environment?

• What are the harmful effects of demolition in the long run?

https://indianexpress.com/article/explained/explained-noida-twin-towers-gone-what-happens-to-the-debris-that-is-left-8118541/

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0956053X9600061X
‘Virtual school’ to make education accessible
to all, says CM Kejriwal
https://indianexpress.com/article/cities/delhi/delhi-virtual-school-model
-arvind-kejriwal-8122434/

Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal Wednesday launched the Delhi Model

Virtual School, which he said was India’s first, and said it will bring
“revolutionary changes” in the field of education not only in the
national capital but across the country. The school will be for classes IX
to XII and will be affiliated to the Delhi Board of School Education.

• What do you mean by virtual school?

• The Delhi Model Virtual School-Know the key features

• Can virtual school replace traditional Schools?

• What are the basic infrastructure required for the Virtual Schools?

• But Virtual Schools are not for poor strata of society-do you agree?
• The Centre-run National Institute of Open Schooling’s virtual school and The Delhi Model Virtual School-know the difference

• But the Annual Status of Education Report (ASER) 2020 highlighted the digital pivot in India’s schooling system risks pushing it into deeper
inequality. So in this scenario how Delhi Model Virtual School will ensure education for all?

• Why Right to Education is fundamental right?

• Right to Education and Pandemic-Connect the dots

https://indianexpress.com/article/education/specials/aser-survey-class-1-2-online-education-digital-gap-7627379/

https://indianexpress.com/article/opinion/editorials/aser-2019-report-education-policy-india-govt-schools-coronavirus-6909151/
Only 16% of human trafficking cases in
2021 saw convictions: NCRB data
https://indianexpress.com/article/india/only-16-pc-human-trafficking-ca
ses-2021-saw-convictions-ncrb-data-8123964/#:~:text=While%20polic
e%20filed%20chargesheets%20in,of%20the%20cases%20saw%20con
victions.

The Conviction rate in human trafficking cases across the country

continues to be low, according to the latest report of the National Crime
Records Bureau (NCRB). While police filed chargesheets in 84.7 per
cent of the 2,189 cases registered under the Anti-Human Trafficking
Units (AHTUs) across the country in 2021, only 16 per cent of the
cases saw convictions.

• What is National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB)?

• What do you understand by the term ‘human trafficking’?

•What do you understand by ‘the act of trafficking, the means of

trafficking and the purpose of trafficking’?
• Human Trafficking and Migrant Smuggling-compare and contrast

• What are the most common types of human trafficking?

• What are the Constitutional, Legislative and Legal provisions related to human trafficking in India?

• What National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) says on human trafficking in India?

https://indianexpress.com/article/explained/explained-ncrbs-crime-india-report-read-findings-8121359/
Let Ganpati come to Idgah
https://indianexpress.com/article/opinion/columns/ganesh-chaturthi-at-i
dgah-maidan-solution-with-communities-not-state-8123110/

What’s the ongoing story- Faizan Mustafa writes: A Muslim initiative

to permit pooja at the maidan in Bengaluru would have been a fitting
reply to those who want to take political advantage of people’s religious
sentiments. Inter-religious disputes are best resolved by the faith
communities themselves.

• First of all, what is Idgah Maidan?

• What is the background of this whole issue?

• What was the Supreme Court order in 2010 related to Idgah maidan
and Hubbali-Dharwad Municipal Corporation?

•What is the present case about?

• Decode the Quote-“God is dead. God remains dead. And we have

killed him. Yet his shadow still looms”.
• According to the Author, “Religion is, has always been, an indispensable and ineffaceable part of human civilisation”-Establish the relationship
between man and the religion

• What is the religion-state relationship under the Constitution of India?

• What kind of freedom of religion has the constitution guaranteed?

• What is the history of Ganesh Chaturthi?

• Ganesh Chaturthi and Bal Gangadhar Tilak-Connect the dots

• Why should faith communities, rather than the state, come forward to resolve such disputes?

• Freedom of religion can be best described as the relationship between religion and the individual from which the state is completely
excluded”-Why state should be excluded from religion?

• “Coercion and use of state power in such contentious matters not only goes against the neutrality principle but also undermines the lofty ideal of
“fraternity” mentioned in the preamble of our constitution”-Describe fraternity from Indian Society’s perspective

• Describe each of them and what it means to you–JUSTICE, social, economic and political, LIBERTY of thought, expression, belief, faith and
worship, EQUALITY of status and of opportunity, FRATERNITY assuring the dignity of the individual and the unity and integrity of the Nation

• Case Study-How as an administrator, you will ensure JUSTICE, LIBERTY EQUALITY and FRATERNITY in your day today work life?

https://indianexpress.com/article/political-pulse/bengaluru-idgah-row-a-pot-kept-on-steady-simmer-ahead-of-2023-polls-8121615/

https://indianexpress.com/article/explained/huballi-dharwad-idgah-history-ownership-explained-8122265/
Power and its discontents
https://indianexpress.com/article/opinion/columns/somit-dasgupta-write
s-electricity-amendment-bill-2022-a-mixed-bag-serc-discoms-power-se
ctor-8123787/

The government introduced the Electricity Amendment Bill 2022 in the

Lok Sabha recently, and, as expected, the proceedings were not smooth.
Though the Bill has been referred to the Parliamentary Standing
Committee for Energy, states fear that the Centre is encroaching into
their domain in power sector governance.

• The Electricity (Amendment) Bill, 2022-Know the key highlights

• The Electricity (Amendment) Bill, 2022-What is the Bill, why are

there protests against it?

• What is the opposition to the Electricity (Amendment) Bill 2022?

• What are the Bill’s implications, as per protestors?

• How is it expected to impact power employees and consumers?

• Electricity is in Union, State or Concurrent list?

• “Some provisions in the Bill do give an impression that the Centre is attempting to undermine the states. Amongst them is the clause pertaining
to applicants seeking a distribution licence in more than one state”-How Centre is encroaching the state’s domain in this scenario?

• Central Electricity Regulatory Commission (CERC) and State Electricity Regulatory Commission (SERC)-know about them

• What are the Bill’s implications, as per protestors?

• How is it expected to impact power employees and consumers?

https://indianexpress.com/article/explained/explained-why-has-the-electricity-amendment-bill-led-to-protests-in-punjab-8078836/lite/

https://indianexpress.com/article/explained/electricity-amendment-bill-promise-problems-8081142/
Bhang, ganja, and criminality in the NDPS
Act
https://indianexpress.com/article/explained/explained-bhang-ganja-and-
criminality-in-the-ndps-act-8123829/

While granting bail to a man arrested on June 1 for possessing 29 kg of

bhang and 400 g of ganja, Karnataka High Court recently observed that
nowhere in the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS)
Act is bhang referred to as a prohibited drink or prohibited drug. Since
the ganja recovered was below commercial quantity, the accused was
given bail on a personal bond of Rs 2 lakh.

• What is bhang?

• How the NDPS Act defines cannabis (hemp)?

• The Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (Amendment)

Ordinance, 2021 and Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act,
1985

• Essential Narcotic Drugs (ENDs)

• Narcotics Control Bureau- Role and mandate

• What is Cannabis or Marijuana?

• What is the main psychoactive component of Charas and Ganja?

• What is Tetrahydrocannabinol and how it works in Human Body?

• In India, how does the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, 1985 define cannabis, Charas and Ganja?

• United Nations Convention Against Illicit Traffic in Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances and India-Know in detail

• Golden Crescent and Golden Triangle regions-what are they?

• Map work-‘Golden Crescent’ and ‘Golden Triangle’

• Global drug Trade and Impact on India

https://indianexpress.com/article/upsc-current-affairs/upsc-essentials/upsc-essentials-case-study-of-week-fight-for-drug-free-community-8003261/

https://prsindia.org/billtrack/the-narcotic-drugs-and-psychotropic-substances-amendment-ordinance-2021
ANTI-RADIATION PILLS
https://indianexpress.com/article/explained/explained-health/anti-radiati
on-pills-nuclear-emergency-zaporizhzhia-ukraine-explained-8122949/

With fears of a nuclear disaster at Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhia power plant

growing, the European Union has decided to pre-emptively supply 5.5
million anti-radiation pills to be distributed among residents in the
vicinity.

• What is a radiation emergency?

• What are anti-radiation pills?

• How do these pills work?

• Is the method fool-proof?

• Map Work-Zaporizhzhia

•Ukraine has four nuclear power stations comprising 15 reactors but

what makes the plant at Zaporizhzhia important and extremely volatile?
• What are the Cooling systems and why they are extremely crucial to the safe operations of nuclear reactors?

https://indianexpress.com/article/explained/explained-global/explained-fighting-ukraine-active-nuclear-plant-risk-8090246/

https://indianexpress.com/article/explained/explained-global/russia-ukraine-war-latest-updates-8100998/
Urban joblessness declines to 7.6% in
Apr-Jun 2022: NSO
https://www.financialexpress.com/economy/urban-unemployment-rate-
dips-to-7-6-in-april-june-2022-survey/2651229/lite/

Urban unemployment rate, in current weekly status (CWS), for all ages
stood at 7.6% in the first quarter of current fiscal, lower than 12.7%
recorded in corresponding quarter last fiscal and 7.8% in the preceding
January-March period of the last fiscal. Urban unemployment rate was
20.9% in the April-June 2020 period when the first wave of the
pandemic hit hard on the country.

• What is rural and urban unemployment?

• What Is the Unemployment Rate? How it is Calculated by CMIE?

• Centre for Monitoring Indian Economy (CMIE)-Role and Under

which Ministry/Organisation?

• India’s unemployment rate in Urban and Rural Areas-Present Status

Why unemployment is more in the urban areas as compared to the rural areas?

• What do you understand by Labour Force and Labour Force participation rate (LFPR)?

• What do you understand by Labour Force and Labour Force participation rate (LFPR)?

• Female Labour Force Participation Rate-Know about this in detail

• Employment Rate (ER) and Unemployment Rate (UER)-Know in Detail

• Unemployment in India-Types (Open Unemployment, Disguised Unemployment, Seasonal Unemployment, Cyclical Unemployment etc.)

• Know the Basics-Demography, Demographic characteristics, Demographic potential, Demographic Transition, Demographic Dividend and
India’s Demographic Dividend

https://indianexpress.com/article/explained/unemployment-labour-force-participation-rate-india-economy-explained-7890638/