Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Pmfias Ca 2024 05 01
Pmfias Ca 2024 05 01
Table of Contents
Context (DTE): In West Bengal’s village of patuas (scroll painters), Swarna Chitrakar has emerged as a
role model for women.
Recently, the Prime Minister, in his show Mann ki Baat, praised Bhagyashree Sahu, a pattachitra artist
from Odisha, for her amazing Pattachitra.
The patuas are unique artists – they paint scenes from their daily lives and also write songs on the stor-
ies that they present with the artwork.
About Pattachitra
Pattachitra or Patachitra is generally used for traditional, cloth-based scroll painting. The literal mean-
ing of the word “Patta” is “cloth”, and “Chitra” means “picture” in Sanskrit.
The art form is based in the states of Odisha and West Bengal, believed to have originated as early as
the 12th century.
This, as an art form in Odisha, is created for ritual use and as souvenirs for pilgrims to temples. It
forms are a component of ancient Bengali narrative art.
There are two kinds of Pattachitra-
1. ‘Jodano chitra’ where ‘jodano’ means wrapped.
2. ‘Chouko chitra’ where ‘chouko’ stands for square. There is one Isolated painting depicting a myth-
ological incident.
Features
It is known for the intricate details and the mythological narratives and folktales inscribed in it.
The colours used in the Paintings are natural, and they are made in an old traditional way.
It is a disciplined form of art with a set of rules and restrictions. A floral border is a must around the
paintings.
The painting is done on canvas, comprising rich, colourful applications, creative motifs, and designs.
The paintings are executed primarily in profile with elongated eyes.
The paintings use prominent solid shades, depicting stark emotional expressions with great detail.
The Pattachitra style of painting mixes folk and classical elements. The dress style in the paintings has
Mughal influences.
GI Tag
The GI of Patachitra is registered differently in both states because the style and motif of the paint-
ings in both states are different.
Patachitra of Odisha is registered as Orissa Pattachitra, while that of West Bengal is registered as
Bengal Patachitra.
Context (TH): A digital water distribution system for agricultural fields was launched in Rajasthan.
"Barabandi" is the "fixed turn" system of receiving water from the canal.
A digital and online "barabandi" system will facilitate the supply of irrigation water on a predeter-
mined schedule, accessible from anywhere.
It will enable the farmers to know the status of water reaching their fields and minimise the scope for
human error often reported in the manual system.
Developed by: National Informatics Centre (NIC), Jaipur.
Context (IE): The Supreme Court emphasised that the state and central consumer courts incorrectly
applied the ‘eggshell skull’ legal principle.
Context (IE): A nine-judge Bench of the SC has decided to take up the issue of “radical constitutional
consequence”: does Article 31C still exist?
SC was hearing a case to decide whether the government can acquire and redistribute private property.
About Article 31C of the IC
Article 31C was inserted in the IC by the 25th Amendment Act of 1971.
This amendment was a response to judicial decisions that limited the government's ability to enact
laws for socio-economic reforms.
It was introduced after the SC struck down the Banking Companies Acquisition Act in 1970, which
aimed to nationalise private banks as violating the right to property (then an FR under Article 31).
Articles 31A, 31B and 31C have been retained as exceptions to the fundamental rights.
Article 31C contained two provisions:
1. No law that seeks to implement directive principles specified in Articles 39 (b) and (c) shall be
declared void on the grounds of contravention of the FRs under Article 14 or Article 19.
2. No law containing a declaration that it is for giving effect to such policy shall be questioned in
any court on the ground that it does not give effect to such a policy.
The SC established the doctrine of basic structure, asserting that certain fundamental features of the
IC are beyond Parliament's amending power.
The court partially struck down Article 31C, specifically the part that prevented laws from being chal-
lenged in court.
This expanded the protection under Article 31C to cover all DPSPs (Articles 36-51), shielding them
from challenges under Articles 14 and 19.
The amendment was aimed at prioritising DPSPs over FRs for socio-economic reforms.
The SC struck down specific provisions of the 42nd CAA, including clauses of Article 31C, emphasising
the limits on Parliament's power to amend the IC.
This raised questions about the status of Article 31C and its application post the Minerva Mills case.
Context (TH): The Expanded Programme on Immunization (EPI) has completed 50 years.
EPI was launched by the World Health Organization (WHO) in 1974.
India launched the EPI in 1978, and 1985, it was renamed the Universal Immunization Programme
(UIP).
Context (DTE): Alok Shukla, from Chhattisgarh, won the 2024 Goldman Prize for Asia. He is hon-
oured for his work in protecting the forests of Hasdeo Aranya.
Shukla led a community campaign to save 445,000 acres of forests from 21 planned coal mines. The
government cancelled these mines in July 2022 due to the campaign's success.
The Goldman Environmental Prize is given by the Goldman Environmental Foundation.
Richard and Rhonda Goldman founded the Prize in 1989.
It honours grassroots environmental leaders from six regions worldwide. These regions include Asia,
Africa, Europe, North America, South and Central America, and islands and island nations.
Winners are chosen by an international jury. Each winner receives $200,000 as prize money
To know more about the Hasdeo Aranya campaign, visit the Hasdeo Aranya campaign
Context (TH): A study has found that methane emissions from fossil fuels declined between 1990 and
the 2000s and have been stable since, whereas microbes have recently been producing more methane.
Until the 1990s, the methane concentration increased, then stabilised for a bit, and then started to
increase again around 2007.
It is estimated that the atmospheric concentration of methane has tripled in the last 300 years.
Archaea
It is a category of single-celled organisms. They lack cell nuclei and are, therefore, prokaryotic.
They are different from bacteria but generally similar in size and shape.
They thrive in oxygen-deficient environments, such as the digestive tracts of animals, wetlands, rice
paddies, landfills, and the sediments of lakes and oceans.
Methanogens play a crucial role in the global carbon cycle by converting organic matter into meth-
ane.
Human activities like agriculture, dairy farming, and fossil fuel production have increased methane
emissions in addition to the natural ecosystem.
Other types of microbes are Methanotrophs or Methanophiles. These are microorganisms that are
capable of utilising methane as a source of carbon and energy.
Estimation of source
Both biogenic and thermogenic activities produce different isotopes of carbon in methane.
Methane from biological sources contains fewer carbon-13 atoms than a certain level.
For more details, visit Methane Emissions.
Context (TH): Labour statistics are crucial for understanding and addressing labour-related issues.
Trade unions, in particular, can play a pivotal role in producing such statistics.
Context (TH): The paradox of savings, or paradox of thrift, suggests that increasing individual sav-
ings can lead to a decrease in overall savings in an economy.
This concept is part of the under-consumption theories of the business cycle, which link economic
downturns to low consumption and high savings.
Keynesian Economics
It is a macroeconomic theory of total spending in the economy and its effects on output, em-
ployment, and inflation.
It was developed during the 1930s in an attempt to understand the Great Depression.
Keynesian economists justify government intervention through public policies that aim to achieve
full employment and price stability.
Factors of production: Land, labour, capital, and entrepreneurship.