Answer:

The India–Pakistan border in Jammu and Kashmir (J&K) has witnessed repeated ceasefire violations (CFVs) over the past decade. With degrading bilateral relations between India and Pakistan, CFVs have gone up exponentially. These CFVs have the potential not only to begin a crisis but also to escalate an ongoing one.

Reasons behind the ceasefire violations at LoC:

• To test the other side: Most of the time, when a new battalion is posted at India's border, Pakistani troop's starts a fire to check their strength and agility response. Also, if Pakistan changes the battalion on its border, it starts firing to show its fighting capabilities.
  
  
• Defense constructions: Whenever a defense construction takes place, the Ceasefire violations also occur to divert the focus of other side troops from this construction.
  
  
• Unclear LoC: LoC is not defined properly through the 1948 ceasefire agreement, the Shimla Agreement, Karachi Agreement. The 2003 agreement is not yet finalized and this led to an ambiguity in the demarcated areas. It triggers the Ceasefire in the majority of the cases.
  
  
• To infiltrate the terrorist: If Pakistan wants to send terrorists in India through the border, it starts firing at one area to get all focus and infiltrate through other areas.
  
  
• The emotional state of soldiers: The ceasefire violations increased when Indian Cricket team defeated the Pakistani cricket team. Also, when India successfully conducted a missile test, the ceasefire violation occur.
  
  

Way Forward:

Confidence building measures to enhance mutual trust and economic cooperation to enhance trade can aid in the peace at the border.

Only six ceasefire violations have been reported until August 2021, ever since India and Pakistan agreed in February 2021 to observe all pacts related to cross-border firings along the Line of Control (LoC) and the International Border in Jammu and Kashmir, according to the Lok Sabha. If it continues, the diplomatic missions can be restored to define the LoC clearly, and peace can be brought to the border.

Answer:

India plans to have a sustained human presence in space. To achieve this,India is working on multiple fronts like technological development, research and collaboration, etc. The draft policy is a step in achieving this goal.

Need for such a policy:

1. It is being felt that given the collaborative nature of human spaceflight due to its multi-disciplinary nature, it is essential to have a policy framework. It will not only foster partnerships but also addresses proliferation concerns and compliance to existing policies, laws, and treaties.
   
   
2. Human-spaceflight program needs to be sustained over longer periods to deliver tangible benefits. Hence, it is essential that there should be a policy which enables sustained presence in low earth orbit and beyond through reliable, robust, safe, and affordable means.
   
   
3. Human space program will require capacity-building measures like collaborations, infrastructure development, modernization, technology development, and human resource development. The draft policy will help in achieving this objective.
   
   
4. A proper policy will encourage new industries, create high technology jobs, enable socio-economic growth and further enhance India's stature and role in space.
   
   

A long-term road map for sustained human presence in low earth orbit and undertaking exploration missions beyond it will certainly require a transparent, comprehensive and stable policy. The draft policy is a step in right direction to put India into the elite club of space superpower.

Biodiversity is a term that refers to the number of genes, species, individual organisms within a given species, and biological communities within a defined geographic area.

Thus, loss of biodiversity is a decrease in biodiversity within a species, an ecosystem in a given geographic area, or Earth as a whole.

As per WWF report, our planet has lost 68% of biodiversity in last five decades. Of every 10 biodiversity species population, the planet lost seven in the past five decades. The brunt of it was borne by freshwater species, whose population went down by a staggering 84%.

Factors:

1. Natural biodiversity loss:
   
   

Natural ecological disturbances, such as wildfire, floods, and volcanic eruptions, change ecosystems drastically by eliminating local populations of some species and transforming whole biological communities.

However, such disturbances are temporary because ecosystem have adapted to such changes.

1. Human driven loss:
   
   

Biodiversity losses from disturbances caused by humans tend to be more severe and longer-lasting. The major anthropogenic factors are-

1. Land and Sea use change resulting in habitat loss and degradation.
   
   

Example: Agriculture land use is responsible for around 80% of global deforestation.

1. Pollution, which makes the environment unsuitable for survival.
   
   
2. Overexploitation of species and other resources.
   
   
3. Climate change which is either making the species unable to survive or forcing them to migrate.
   
   
4. Introduction of invasive species directly or indirectly, which compete with the endemic species.
   
   

Biodiversity loss has many consequences, not only for the environment but also for the human being at the economic and health level. Biodiversity is being destroyed faster than it can recover. Thus, it is high time that all nations should follow Paris climate deal in letter and spirit, implement SDG goal 14 and 15 and move towards sustainable, cleaner economy.

GST is a comprehensive indirect tax levied on manufacture, sale and consumption of goods as well as services at the national level. It has replaced all indirect taxes levied on goods and services by the Central and State Governments. It has been a milestone in the economic landscape of India.

Reforms bought in by GST:

• It brought in more transparency in the tax system, leading to several rounds of tax cuts on goods and services. GST also demonstrated that tax administration could leverage technology to a high degree, use data analytics and zero in on instances of tax evasion with accuracy.
  
  
• GST has achieved better tax compliance through mitigation of tax cascading (instances of tax amount getting taxed), double (multiple) taxation, and reduced tax burden, and has improved the competitiveness of domestic industries in the international market by removing hidden and embedded taxes.
  
  
• GST rates were reduced on 400 goods and 80 services.Under GST, essential goods are either not taxed or are subject to 5% tax, while mass use items are subject to either 12% or 18% tax. Only a few other items are kept on the highest slab of 28%.
  
  
• GST also removed a tax arbitrage across states that distorted business investment decisions.
  
  

Future reforms in indirect taxation in India:

• A simpler tax slab structure limiting commodities to three tax slabs is the need of the hour. Experts have recommended a three-slab structure that will help rationalise this indirect tax system. 
  
  
• Optimising digital resources will help accelerate the process of claiming input tax credit and increasing the capacity of the portal to handle higher numbers of data processing
  
  
• Clarifying the provisions under anti-profiteering laws so that taxpayers can adhere to the prescribed provisions and not indulge in ethical violations or alternatively, taxpayers don’t take any erroneous calls and unknowingly indulge in unethical acts of profiteering. 
  
  
• Close the noose around tax evaders as collections continue to fall month on month due to unethical and illegal tax practices. 
  
  
• Centre needs to urgently figure out and put to rest the battle between the Central and State Governments on sharing of revenue collections.
  
  

Indirect taxes have played an increasingly important role in the Indian economy. By subsuming more than a score of taxes under GST, road to a harmonized system of indirect tax has been paved making India an economic union.

 The emergency provisions contained in article 352 (national emergency) and article 356 (President‘s rule) enable the central government to meet any abnormal situations effectively. Although their purpose is similar, these two emergencies differ widely in many regards.

Thus the National Emergency and the President’s Rule differ in its grounds, procedures and effect on centre-state relations and fundamental rights of citizens. However, both are necessary eveils enabling centre to deal with any abnormal situation.

Quit India movement launched in August, 1942 after the failure of Cripps mission was the most militant of all movements launched during the freedom struggle. It led to considerable mass upsurge and unparalleled militancy which was unprecedented.

Features of ‘planned movement’ visible in Quit India movement:-

• Whenever, Congress launched a movement, it made detailed preparations regarding the same. It was approved in the preceding session. Example- Non Cooperation movement launched after the approval at Nagpur session in 1920.
  
  
• The Congress leadership chalked out a blueprint of the movement at the meeting in Bombay on 8^th August, 1942.
  
  
• The Congress gradually built the tempo from 1940 itself, when it launched the Individual Satyagraha.
  
  

However, elements of spontaneity were also present in the movement:-

• After the arrest of Gandhiji and other top leadership on 9^th August, 1942 leadership passed in the hands of younger and radical leaders like Jayaprakash Narayan, Ram Manohar Lohia , Sucheta Kriplani etc.
  
  
• There was unprecedented violence and underground activity in the Quit India movement. Example:- Blowing up of bridges, burning police stations etc.
  
  
• Parallel governments were formed in many regions like Balia, Satara etc. These governments were initiatives of local leaders acting on their own.
  
  

Quit India movement saw widespread participation of masses and unprecedented militancy and heroism, despite lack of centralized planning and leadership. Therefore some historians argue that it was more of a spontaneous movement than planned.

India-Nepal relations are based on multidimensional linkages. Acknowledging each other's importance, both countries have described the relationship as 'special' on various occasions. However, the India-Nepal bilateral relationship is currently at its lowest ebb due to anti-India sentiments in Nepal, in reaction to the perceived political interference by India.

Importance:

• People to people contact: Open border system (bordering 5 India states- Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal, Sikkim and Bihar) enable the citizens of these countries to cross over the border and make socio-cultural, social, and economicand political ties.
  
  
• Religious:Over 80 percent Hindu population and Buddhist locations in both countries integrate the people.
  
  
• Geographical: Investing in Nepal's hydropower projects benefits India by providing surplus power and strengthening the economic linkages. E.g., Arun-3 Hydro Project.
  
  
• Strategic: Nepal lies between India and China along with Bhutan in Himalayan frontiers. It acts as a buffer state for India against Chinese aggression.
  
  

Apart from these significant cooperation areas between India and Nepal, these countries have recently faced major tensions. These are as follows with their reasons-

• Anti-India feeling: It is defined as a mindset that regards India as a country acting against the interests of Nepal and is increasingly manifested in street demonstrations, articles in the media, protests against Indian delegations etc.
  
  
• Territorial disputes: In 2020, ties between the two soured after India and Nepal — one after the other — published maps in which they included Kalapani, Lipulekh, and Limpiyadhura region in their side of the territory.
  
  
• Trust deficit: It is largely affected the implementation of various Indian-aided projects in Nepal. Even some Indian investment projects had been attacked. Indian notes of higher denominations such as INR 500 or INR 2,000 are still banned in Nepal. 
  
  

The unwavering commitment to the principles of peaceful coexistence, sovereign equality, and understanding of each other's aspirations and sensitivities has been the firm foundation of Indo-Nepal bilateral relations. And mutual trust based on these foundational values will strengthen it further and lower the tensions.

Space debris are artificial material that is orbiting Earth but is no longer functional.These include derelict spacecraft, fragmentation debris from the breakup of derelict rocket bodies, solidified liquids expelled from spacecraft, unburned particles from solid rocket motors, etc.

Problem:

• 7,500 tonnes:The estimated amount of defunct, artificially created objects that are currently in space. It threatens both crewed and uncrewed spaceflight.
  
  
• 28,000 kph:The speed up to which space junk travel, fast enough to destroy a spacecraft.
  
  
• With the increasing amount of space debris, there are fears that collisions could set off a chain reaction (called the Kessler syndrome after American scientist Donald Kessler) in which the resulting space debris would destroy other satellites and so on, with the result that low Earth orbit would become unusable.
  
  
• Probability of an individual on Earth being hit by falling debris.
  
  

To forestall a massivebuild-up in debris, space agencies have begun taking steps to mitigate the problem like,

• Passivation:Satellite explosions are reduced by deactivating various systems.
  
  
• Design for demise:Designing with material that burn up on re-entry.
  
  
• Deorbiting systems:Under international guidelines, satellites are brought down within 25 years after mission life.
  
  
• RemoveDebris:Capture the debris using different technologies like harpoon or net.
  
  

Today the whole world is dependent on satellite communication system. But the manner in which the space debris is growing, it will become problematic for this system to work properly in near future. It is high time that the world should come together to draw a comprehensive plan to tackle this issue.

Ecological succession is the steady and gradual change in a species of a given area with respect to the changing environment.  The succession moves towards achieving an equilibrium in the environment. In some environments, succession reaches a climax, which produces a stable community dominated by a small number of prominent species. This state of equilibrium, called the “climax community”.

Ecologists have distinguished two different types of succession-

1. Primary succession
   
   
2. Secondary succession
   
   

Both the primary and secondary succession goes through number of intermediate stages to reach a climax stage. These intermediate stages are known as seral stages.

Primary succession:

This succession starts in lifeless areas such as the regions devoid of soil or the areas where the soil is unable to sustain life.

For example- Initially, the earth was only made up of rocks. These rocks were broken down by microorganisms and eroded to form soil. The soil then becomes the foundation of plant life. These plants help in the survival of different animals and progress from primary succession to the climax community.

Secondary succession:

It occurs in areas where a community that previously existed has been removed; it is typified by smaller-scale disturbances that do not eliminate all life and nutrients from the environment.

For e.g.- Suppose a climax community gets destroyed by fire. Then it gets recolonized after the destruction. This is known as secondary ecological succession.

All the communities that we observe today around us have undergone succession over a period of time since their existence. Thus, we can say that evolution is a process that has taken place simultaneously along with that of ecological succession.