Daily Current Affair - UPSC/KAS Exams - 21st Jan 2022
DR SHIVAKUMARA SWAMIJI
NEWS
Karnataka government celebrates death anniversary of Dr Shivakumara Swamiji as Dasoha Day on January 21 every year
DETAILS
- Sri Shivakumara Swamiji (1 April 1907 – 21 January 2019) was an Indian supercentenarian, humanitarian, spiritual leader and educator.
- He was a Lingayat religious figure, he joined the Siddaganga Matha in 1930 Karnataka and became head seer from 1941.
- He also founded the Sri Siddaganga Education Society. Described as the most esteemed adherent of Lingayatism, he was referred to as “Nadedaaduva Devaru”, “trividha dasohi” in the state.
NEWS
Government of Karnataka celebrated the birth anniversary of Ambigara Chaudayya on 21 Janauary.
ABOUT
Nijasharana Shri Ambigara Chowdaiya (also spelled Caudayya)
- Saint, poet and social critic in 12th century India.
- Ferryman or boatman who went to Kalyan, joined the Virasaiva movement there and followed Lingayatism.
- Influenced by Basava
- Crude writings were critical of the higher castes
- Described by K. A. Paniker as the angriest of the poets in the vachana movement.
- Revered as a saint because of his 274 inspiring Pravachans
- Challenged those who harassed women and those he considered to be religious charlatans.
NOTE
- A cave is named after Chowdaiya on the outskirts of Basavakalyan in Karnataka and that state’s Department of Kannada and Culture assists in the annual celebrations of his jayanti.
- Also government of Karnataka has set up Nijasharana Ambigara Chowdaiah Development Corporation for the overall development of certain scheduled tribes of Karnataka. This corporation is taking up schemes like Swayam Udyoga Sala Yojane etc
POLITY & GOVERNANCE
OBC QUOTA IN NEET
NEWS
The Supreme Court on Thursday upheld the constitutional validity of reservation for Other Backward Classes (OBC) candidates in the All India Quota seats for the National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test (NEET) for undergraduate and postgraduate medical and dental courses, noting that “reservation is not at odds with merit” in open competitive examinations.
Petitioners opposed the recommendations, saying the report was an admission that the government had not conducted any study before fixing the Rs 8 lakh limit for EWS in 2019.
SC OPINION
- Reservation is not at odds with merit but furthers its distributive consequences
- Merit cannot be reduced to narrow definitions of performance in an open competitive examination
- High scores in an examination are not a proxy for merit
- Merit should be socially contextualized and reconceptualized as an instrument that advances social goods like equality that we as a society value
- Competitive examinations assess basic current competency to allocate educational resources but are not reflective of excellence, capabilities and potential of an individual which are also shaped by lived experiences, subsequent training and individual character
- Articles 15 (4) and 15 (5) are not an exception to Article 15 (1), which itself sets out the principle of substantive equality (including the recognition of existing inequalities). Thus, Articles 15 (4) and 15 (5) become a restatement of a particular facet of the rule of substantive equality that has been set out in Article 15 (1)
- Article 15 (4) of the Constitution enables the State to make reservation for SCs and STs while Article 15 (5) empowers it to make reservation in educational institutions. Article 15 (1) says the State shall not discriminate against any citizen on grounds only of religion, race, caste, sex, place of birth or any of them
IPC & CrPC
NEWS
Chairman of the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Home Affairs has written to Home Minister and urged the government to consider “legislative action”, including amendments to the IPC and CrPC, to deal with all manifestations of hate speech.
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BASIS FOR COMPARISON
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INDIAN PENAL CODE (IPC)
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CRIMINAL PROCEDURE CODE (CRPC)
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Meaning
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Indian Penal Code or IPC refers to the basic criminal law enforced in the country to cover all sort of criminal activities and provide remedy to them.
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Criminal Code Procedure (CrPC) implies the law enforced in India for regulating criminal law procedure, that should be followed during a criminal case.
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Type
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Substantive Law
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Procedural Law
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Objective
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To provide a common penal code.
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To strengthen the law concerning criminal procedure.
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Role
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It lists out various crimes and their punishment.
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It lays down the steps that are followed for a criminal case.
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HISTORY – ART – CULTURE
STATEHOOD DAY OF MANIPUR, MEGHALAYA AND TRIPURA
NEWS
On the Statehood Day of Manipur, Meghalaya and Tripura (21st January), Prime Minister and other leaders praised the traditions and culture of the three northeast states.
MANIPUR
- A few days before Independence, the Maharaja of Manipur, Bodhachandra Singh, signed the Instrument of Accession with the Indian government on the assurance that the internal autonomy of Manipur would be maintained.
- Under the pressure of public opinion, the Maharaja held elections in Manipur in June 1948 and the state became a constitutional monarchy. Thus Manipur was the first part of India to hold an election based on universal adult franchise.
- Government of India succeeded in pressuring the Maharaja into signing a Merger Agreement in September 1949, without consulting the popularly elected Legislative Assembly of Manipur.
TRIPURA
- Merged with Indian union on 15th November, 1949.
- The last king Bir Bikram who was on the throne, immediately before India's independence, died on 17th May, 1947.
- After his demise, his minor son Kirri Bikram Mannikya took the throne of Tripura kingdom, but he could not rule as he was minor.
- So his widow queen Kanchan Prabha took the charge of regency of Tripura and took over the administrative charges.
- She was instrumental for Merger of Tripura kingdom in Indian Union.
Meghalaya
- In 1947 the rulers of the Garo and Khasi region acceded to the newly independent country of India.
- Meghalaya, a small hilly state located in the North Eastern Region of India, came into existence as an autonomous state within the state of Assam on 2 April 1970 comprising the United Khasi and Jaintia Hills and the Garo Hills districts.
DEFENCE
VIKAS ENGINE
NEWS
ISRO successfully conducted a 25-second qualification test for its liquid propellant-based Vikas engine to be used under the Gaganyaan mission.
ABOUT
- Also called as UH25
- Liquid fuelled rocket engine
- Indigenously developed by ISRO, India
- Used in the PSLV and GSLV vehicles for space launching satellites Vikas engines are employed in the second stage of India’s Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV) as well as the second and the four strap-on stages of the Geo-synchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle (GSLV).
- Uses UH25 (a mixture of unsymmetrical di-methyl hydrazine and hydrazine hydrate) as fuel and nitrogen tetroxide as oxidiser with maximum thrust of about 725 kN.
- The supersonic cruise missile BrahMos with increased indigenous content and improved performance was successfully flight-tested from the Integrated Test Range, Chandipur off the coast of Odisha
- The eternal flame of Amar Jawan Jyoti at India Gate, which has not been extinguished for 50 years, will be put off on Friday, as it will be merged with the flame at the National War Memorial. The flame of Amar Jawan Jyoti was established to pay tributes to the soldiers who had died in the 1971 war. It was inaugurated by Prime Minister Indira Gandhi on Republic Day 1972.
