FINDER
FORTUNE IAS NEWS DAILY EXPLAINER
01st
OCTOBER
2023
FORTUNE IAS NEWS DAILY EXPLAINER
From beyond seas, to revel in joy of puja
Prelims: General Studies Paper - 1
History of India and Indian National Movement.
Mains: General Studies - 1
Indian culture will cover the salient aspects of Art Forms,
literature and Architecture from ancient to modern times.
Durga Puja
• Though Durga Puja is a 10 day
festival of which last 5 days are
considered to be significant.
• It is one of the largest cultural
carnivals and street art festivals of the country.
• Durga Puja Festival in Kolkata has been included in
the UNESCO’s Representative List of the Intangible
Cultural Heritage (ICH) of Humanity.
Kazan meet makes no headway on equal
rights in Afghanistan
Prelims: General Studies Paper - 1
Current events of national and international importance.
Mains: General Studies - 2
Effect of policies and politics of developed and developing
countries on India’s interests, Indian diaspora.
Moscow format
• The Moscow format is one of the several dialogue
platforms on Afghanistan launched in 2017.
• It began before the Taliban takeover of Afghanistan.
• It consists of Russia, China, Pakistan, Iran, Kazakhstan,
Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan and
India.
• Its main objective was to facilitate the national
reconciliation process in Afghanistan to bring about a
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political settlement post US withdrawal and to establish
peace in the region.
Argentina, India sign social security
agreement
Prelims: General Studies Paper - 1
Current events of national and international importance.
Mains: General Studies - 2
Bilateral, regional and global groupings and agreements
involving India and/or affecting India’s interests.
Social Security Agreements (SSAs)
• It is signed with other countries in order to protect the
interests of Indian professionals / skilled workers
working abroad for short durations and enhance the
competitiveness of Indian companies.
Benefits
1. Avoiding making double social security contributions
by the workers.
2. Easy remittance of benefits
3. Aggregating the contribution periods (in two countries)
to prevent loss of benefits.
4. Disability insurance benefits to the Indian nationals
working abroad.
Recently, Argentina became the 21st nation to sign a SSA
with India.
Army’s Project Udbhav to rediscover
‘Indic heritage of statecraft’ from ancient
texts
Prelims: General Studies Paper - 1
Current events of national and international importance.
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Mains: General Studies - 3
Various Security forces and agencies and their mandate.
Project Udbhav
• The aim of the project is to
rediscover the profound Indic
heritage related to military
affairs.
• It is launched by the Indian
Army in collaboration with the
United Service Institution of
India (USI).
• It focuses on a broad spectrum
including Indigenous Military Systems, Historical Texts,
Regional Texts and Kingdoms, Thematic Studies, and
intricate Kautilya Studies.
• The project also focuses on Statecraft, Warcraft,
Diplomacy, Grand strategy etc. from ancient times.
• Project Udbhav seeks to bridge the historical and the
contemporary.
Chennai top node in tortoise trafficking
network
Prelims: General Studies Paper - 1
General issues on Environmental ecology, Bio-diversity and
Climate Change - that do not require subject specialization.
Mains: General Studies - 3
Conservation, environmental pollution and degradation,
environmental impact assessment.
Indian Flapshell Turtles (Lissemys punctata)
• It is a freshwater species
of turtle found in parts of
India, Pakistan, Nepal,
Sri Lanka, Bangladesh
and Myanmar.
• The “flap-shelled” name
stems from the presence
of femoral flaps located on the plastron(flat structure
part of the shell on the belly area of a turtle).
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• Indian Flapshell Turtles prefer waters with sand or mud
bottoms because of their tendency to burrow.
• They are also well adapted to drought conditions.
• They are widely smuggled and killed for their
aphrodisiac properties, used as livestock feed and
used for meat and medicines.
Conservation Status:
• IUCN Red List: Vulnerable
• CITES: Appendix II
• Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972: Schedule I
Why BSL­3 lab for Nipah confirmation is
unnecessary
Prelims: General Studies Paper - 1
General Science.
Mains: General Studies - 3
Awareness in the fields of IT, Space, Computers, robotics,
nano-technology, bio-technology and issues relating to
intellectual property rights.
Biosafety Level 3 (BSL-3) Laboratories
• BSL-3 laboratories are used to study infectious agents
or toxins that may be transmitted through the air and
cause potentially lethal infections.
• Researchers perform all experiments in a biosafety
cabinet.
• BSL-3 laboratories are designed to be easily
decontaminated.
• For the Nipah confirmation test , BSL-3 Facility is not
necessary as the virus is inactivated in the Truenat tests
and does not pose lethal contamination.
Genomic markers of disease resistance in
staghorn corals
Prelims: General Studies Paper - 1
General issues on Environmental ecology, Bio-diversity and
Climate Change - that do not require subject specialization.
Mains: General Studies - 3
Conservation, environmental pollution and degradation,
environmental impact assessment.
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FORTUNE IAS NEWS DAILY EXPLAINER 01-10-2023

Staghorn Corals • The countries have bickered over territorial control in

the sea for centuries.
• Staghorn Coral
• China eyes its control to assert more power over the
is a Critically
region. A fresh controversy broke out recently after
Endangered
China installed a barricade near the sea’s Scarborough
species in IUCN.
Shoal.
• It is typically found
in clear, shallow
water (15–60 feet)
on coral reefs throughout the Bahamas, Florida, and
the Caribbean.
• They have golden tan or pale brown with white tips
and get their color from the algae that live within their
tissue.
• Staghorn corals have antler-like branches and typically
stem out from a central trunk and angle upward.
• Staghorn coral get food from photosynthetic algae that
live inside the coral’s cells. They also feed by capturing
plankton with their polyps’ tentacles
• In the past few years, China tried to stop other nations
• The species have declined by > 80% over the last
from conducting any military or economic operation
30 years due to reasons like diseases and Climate
without its consent, saying the sea falls under its
change,etc .
Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ).
• It is highly vulnerable to bleaching.
Nine-Dash Line

Asia’s disputed waters
Prelims: General Studies Paper - 1
Current events of national and international importance
Mains: General Studies - 2
Effect of policies and politics of developed and developing
countries on India’s interests, Indian diaspora.
South China Sea Dispute
• Due to the economic and geostrategic importance,
the South China Sea becomes a venue of several
complex territorial disputes that have been the cause
of political as well as military conflict and tensions
within the region and throughout the Indo-Pacific.
• The South China Sea is situated just south of the Chinese
mainland and is bordered by Brunei, China, Indonesia,
Malaysia, Philippines, Taiwan and Vietnam.
• Nine-dash line encircles Beijing’s claimed waters and
islands of the South China Sea. As much as 90% of the
sea has been claimed by China.
• In 1947, China issued a map with a nine-dash line which
continued to appear in its official maps.
• The line runs as far as 2000 km from the Chinese
mainland to within a few hundred kilometres of the
Philippines, Malaysia and Vietnam.
• The Paracel Islands along with the Spratly islands to
the south are located within China’s nine-dash line.
Paracel Islands
• Paracel islands are a disputed archipelago in the South
China sea.
• They are the subject of overlapping claims by China,
Vietnam and Taiwan, but the group of islands has been
completely controlled by China since 1974.

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Spratly Islands
• The Spratly islands consist of more than 100 small
islands or reefs in the South China sea.
• They are located north of Malaysia and are roughly
midway between Vietnam and Philippines.
• They are claimed in their entirety by China, Taiwan
and Vietnam while portions are claimed by Malaysia
and Philippines.
• China has been building artificial islands, containing
port facilities, military buildings and an airstrip in the
islands.
Scarborough Shoal
• Scarborough Shoal is the largest atoll in the South
China Sea situated approximately 120 nautical miles
west of the Philippine island of Luzon.
• Both the Philippines and China have competed for
claims over the Scarborough Shoal.
Asia Maritime Transparency Initiative (AMTI)
• AMTI is an interactive, regularly updated source
for information, analysis and policy exchange on
maritime security issues in Asia.
• It aims to promote transparency in the Indo-Pacific to
dissuade assertive behaviour and conflict and generate
opportunities for cooperation and confidence building.
Govt. issues quality control order for
medical, agro textiles
Prelims: General Studies Paper - 1
Economic and Social Development-Sustainable Development,
Poverty, Inclusion, Demographics, Social Sector Initiatives,
etc.
Mains: General Studies - 2
Government policies and interventions for development
in various sectors and issues arising out of their design and
implementation.
Quality Control Orders (QCOs)
• For ensuring availability of quality products to
consumers, QCOs are issued by various Ministries or
Departments in exercise of the powers conferred by
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01-10-2023
section 16 of the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) Act
2016.
• Through the issuance of QCOs, the notified products
have to conform to the requirements of the relevant
Indian standards and the manufacturers of these
products have to compulsory obtain certification
from BIS.
• It has been issued for several products such as fibers,
medical and agro textile products etc.
Indian coffee stirred global excitement,
sure to fetch premium price globally
Prelims: General Studies Paper - 1
Current events of national and international importance
Mains: General Studies - 2
Important International institutions, agencies and fora- their
structure, mandate
World Coffee Conference (WCC)
• The World Coffee Conference is a biennial event
organised by the International Coffee Organisation
(ICO), a United Nation affiliated body that represents
the global coffee sector.
• The WCC 2023 (5th Edition) was held in Bengaluru
in collaboration with the Coffee Board of India, the
Ministry of Commerce and Industry, the Government
of India and Government of Karnataka.
• Theme for 2023: Sustainability through circular
economy and regenerative agriculture.
International Coffee Organisation (ICO)
• Set up in 1963 with the support of the United Nations
and following the approval of the first International
Coffee Agreement in 1962, it serves as a pivotal
intergovernmental entity for coffee exporting and
importing.
• ICO represents 93% of the world’s coffee production
and 63% of its consumption.
• The organisation seeks to fortify and foster the global
coffee sector’s sustainable growth within a market
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FORTUNE IAS NEWS DAILY EXPLAINER 01-10-2023

based framework, ensuring benefits for all stakeholders

along the global coffee value chain. PLACES IN NEWS WHY IN NEWS?
Highest ranked node
Fishers see new worry in pufferfish Chennai in the tortoise and
hardshell turtle
Prelims: General Studies Paper - 1
trafficking in India.
General issues on Environmental ecology, Bio-diversity and Ethnic Armenian
Climate Change - that do not require subject specialization. Kornidzor refugees influx from
Nagorno Karabakh
Mains: General Studies - 2
Conservation, environmental pollution and degradation,
environmental impact assessment.

Pufferfish

• Puffer, also called

swellfish or blowfish, is
the species of fish of the
family Tetraodontidae.
• It is noted for their
ability when disturbed
to inflate themselves
with air or water that they become globular in form.
• Puffers are found in warm and temperate regions
around the world, primarily in the sea but also in
brackish or freshwater.
• Many species are poisonous, having prickly skins and
fused teeth.

KEY WORDS
• Atoll: An atoll is a ring shaped coral reef or island. It
surrounds a body of water called a lagoon.
• Asian turtle crisis: A term used to describe the current
state of tortoises and freshwater turtles (TFT) in Asia,
which are affected due to habitat destruction,illegal
and unsustainable harvest,etc.
• Clofazimine, Cycloserine and Linezoid:
Medicines for treating drug resistant TB.

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FORTUNE IAS NEWS DAILY EXPLAINER 01-10-2023

TOPICS FOR KAS

RT mission wins award in craft, food

sourcing category
KAS Prelims: General Studies - II
Kerala model development, achievements of Kerala in Health
and Education Sector: Policies, Programmes, Initiatives and
Impacts.
KAS Mains: General Studies Paper - III
Kerala model development, achievements of Kerala in Health
and Education Sector: Policies, Programmes, Initiatives and
Impacts.

Responsible Tourism (RT) Mission

• RT is about “making better places for people to live in
and better places for people to visit.” It requires that
operators, hoteliers, governments, local people and
tourists take responsibility and action to make tourism
more sustainable.
• RT mission is the nodal agency formed by the
Government of Kerala to spread and implement the
ideologies and initiatives of Responsible Tourism.
• It is also the state nodal agency tasked by the Ministry
of Tourism, Government of India for implementation
of its Rural Tourism Development Project.
• The mission is envisaged with a triple bottom line
mission, which comprises economic, social and
environmental responsibilities.

KEY WORDS
• Keraleeyam Cultural Festival: The festival will run
for a week from November 1-7 in the state capital
and will showcase the rich cultural and heritage
of Kerala and will feature a variety of events. It is
expected to attract visitors from all over the world.

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