Current Affairs DMPQ

The Knowledge-centric Development is a system of consumption and production that is based on intellectual capital. In particular, it refers to the ability to capitalize on scientific discoveries and basic and applied research. In a knowledge economy, a significant component of value may thus consist of intangible assets such as the value of its workers’ knowledge or intellectual property. In the knowledge economy, innovation based on research is commodified via patents and other forms of intellectual property. The knowledge economy addresses how education and knowledge, that is, “human capital,” can serve as a productive asset or business product to be ... Read more

Features of the act The National Committee on Dam Safety will be constituted and will be chaired by the chairperson, Central Water Commission. Functions of the committee will include formulating policies and regulations regarding dam safety standards and prevention of dam failures, analyzing the causes of major dam failures, and suggesting changes in dam safety practices. The act also ideates setting up a National Dam Safety Authority (NDSA) to be headed by an officer, not below the rank of an Additional Secretary, to be appointed by the central government. The act also envisages constituting a State Dam Safety Organisation (SDSO) ... Read more

As per news reports, the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) is seeking a change in the way candidates are allocated services like IAS or IPS. The government is analyzing the possibility not only to change the way services like IAS or IPS are allocated, but also the way cadres are assigned. If the new proposal is accepted, scoring high marks in the civil services examination conducted by the Union Public Service Commission will not be enough to get into IAS, IPS or IFS. There are many problems with the new proposal : If the Government tries to take the control and ... Read more

The Mullaperiyar Dam is on the River Periyar and its tributary, the Mullayar in the state of Kerala, hence the amalgamation Mulla-Periyar. It is located 881 m (2,890 ft) above mean sea level, on the Cardamom Hills of the Western Ghats in Thekkady, Idukki district of Kerala, India. Dispute between Kerala and Tamil Nadu Kerala has pointed out the unfairness of the 1886 lease agreement and has challenged its validity. However, the danger posed by the 126-year-old dam to the safety of the people of Kerala in the event of a dam collapse has been the focus of disputes from ... Read more

Chennai and several other parts of Tamil Nadu received heavy rainfall, leading to waterlogging and damage to homes. The Madras High Court brought up the flooding in Chennai while hearing a public interest litigation on removing encroachments to ensure that roads in the city are wide enough. Causes As the incidence of climate variability and extreme weather events increases, urban flooding becomes more and more common. While the untimely heavy rains can be attributed to climate variability, the urban flooding is largely due to an unplanned urbanisation. A major issue in India cities. Lakes can store the excess water and ... Read more

In 1934 the Communists suffered huge losses against the Nationalists in the Chinese Civil War. Faced with the prospect of annihilation the leaders of the Communist army chose to start what is now called the Long March. This was a tactic of withdrawal into mountainous areas, some 2500 miles to the north and west. By undertaking a tactical withdrawal the Communists could ensure that they still had an effective fighting force; could select easy to defend locations; could regroup and could ensure that the Nationalists supply lines were long and susceptible to attacks. In 1934 the Communists found themselves encircled ... Read more

The sustainable development goals (Target 6.2) require India “by 2030, to achieve access to adequate and equitable sanitation and hygiene for all and end open defecation, paying special attention to the needs of women and girls and those in vulnerable situations.” Swachh Bharat Mission 2 .0 speaks of sustained behavioral change while embarking on the newer agendas of sustainable solid waste management and safe disposal of wastewater and reuse. Planning, procurement, infrastructure creation, and monitoring are the basic tenets of implementation in Swachh Bharat and the guidelines for the first phase of the mission called for strengthening the role of ... Read more

Presently, all across the world, the changes in military doctrines favoring the need to raise cyber commands reflect a shift in strategies, which include building deterrence in cyberspace. Moreover, the area of influence of cybersecurity extends far beyond military domains to cover all aspects of a nation’s governance, economy, and welfare. India ranks 3rd in terms of the highest number of internet users in the world after the USA and China, but still, India’s cybersecurity architecture is in a nascent approach. This can be reflected by a report published in the New York Times that highlighted the possibility that the ... Read more

. One of the reasons for agrarian distress is the declining average size of farm holdings. The average farm size declined from 2.3 hectares (ha) in 1970-71 to 1.08 ha in 2015-16. The share of small and marginal farmers increased from 70 per cent in 1980-81 to 86 per cent in 2015-16. At the state level, the average size of farm holdings in 2015-16 ranged from 3.62 ha in Punjab, 2.73 in Rajasthan and 2.22 in Haryana to 0.75 in Tamil Nadu, 0.73 in Uttar Pradesh, 0.39 in Bihar and 0.18 in Kerala. Small farmers face several challenges in getting ... Read more

The thrust of the predominant explanations is that women are dropping out of paid work or the labour force either because of fear of sexual violence outside the home; or fear of being stigmatised by the community that might see their work as a marker of low status, i.e. the inability of the husband, the main breadwinner, to provide for the family; or a rise in conservative attitudes that believe a woman’s place is inside the home and kitchen, and that if the woman steps outside the socially approved threshold, it would invite a backlash. All these explanations prima facie ... Read more