{"id":19016,"date":"2018-04-24T13:07:16","date_gmt":"2018-04-24T07:37:16","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.forumias.com\/?p=19016"},"modified":"2018-04-24T12:07:48","modified_gmt":"2018-04-24T06:37:48","slug":"answers-mains-marathon-upsc-mains-current-affairs-questions-april-23-2018","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/answers-mains-marathon-upsc-mains-current-affairs-questions-april-23-2018\/","title":{"rendered":"Answers: Mains Marathon \u2013 UPSC Mains Current Affairs Questions \u2013 April 23, 2018"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong><a href=\"http:\/\/blog.forumias.com\/mains-marathon\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Archives<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Q.1) Comment on the need for a new friendship treaty with Nepal in the light of it&#8217;s increased closeness with China. (GS &#8211; 2) <\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>Introduction: <\/b><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A Treaty of peace and friendship was signed between India and Nepal in the year 1950.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Considering the relationship between the two countries since ancient times and the landlocked nature of Nepal, the treat extended special provisions to the Himalayan country. <\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">There has been demands to revisit the treaty in the light of changed circumstances of the 21st Century and the rise of China.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><b>Changing dynamics of Nepal:<\/b><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The Treaty of peace and friendship provides for an open border between India and Nepal, access to ports, allows Nepali nationals to apply for government jobs, allow Nepalis to work in India without a work permit, open bank accounts and buy property amongst others. <\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Nepal feels that the treaty compromises Nepal\u2019s ability to pursue an independent defence and foreign policy.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Moreover, Nepal in 1950 was a ruled by a monarch. <\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Today it has its own constitution and has become a democracy. <\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Consequently, the aspirations of the civil society and leaders have changed. <\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">They do not want to be constrained by the Treaty signed around 70 years back. <\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">This is evident from the election manifesto of all the parties which promise to get the treaty revised once voted to power.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><b>Nepal moving closer to China: <\/b><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The communist party which is a part of the coalition ruling Nepal is perceived to be moving closer to China due to similar ideology. <\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Incidents like the blockade after the Constitution, Madhesi protests, over coverage of India\u2019s humanitarian assistance after the earthquake etc has pushed Nepal away from India. <\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The public opinion has been turned against India for electoral gains. <\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Nepal also has a huge trade deficit with India which has created a negative public opinion.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Under these circumstances, China has been coming forward to help Nepal, to dilute the power of India in the subcontinent. <\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><b>One Belt One Road initiative:<\/b><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Nepal is \u00a0a vital link in its One Belt One Road initiative.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Many railway projects have been signed to let landlocked Nepal use its ports. <\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">But, Nepal must realise that it is not profitable to use the ports of China for trade.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">China can never be a substitute to India. <\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><b>Conclusion: <\/b><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Nepal must not be looked upon as only a buffer state between India and China but must be respected as a sovereign nation.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">India-Nepal bilateral relations must be remodelled into a strategic partnership that seeks to promote security, modernisation and prosperity.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Q.2) Discuss the strategies to be taken to reduce the spread of tropical diseases and contain the spread of antibiotic resistance. What are the steps the government has already taken to achieve this end. (GS &#8211; 3)<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>Introduction: <\/b><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Antibiotic resistance is the ability of bacteria to resist the effects of an antibiotic.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Antibiotic resistance occurs when bacteria change in a way that reduces the effectiveness of drugs, chemicals, or other agents designed to cure or prevent infections.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The bacteria survive and continue to multiply, causing more harm.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><b>Prevention and control of the problem:<\/b><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Only use antibiotics when prescribed by a certified health professional.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Never demand antibiotics if your doctor says you don\u2019t need them.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Always follow your health worker\u2019s advice when using antibiotics.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Ensure a robust national action plan to tackle antibiotic resistance is in place.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Improve surveillance of antibiotic-resistant infections.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Strengthen policies, programmes, and implementation of infection prevention and control measures.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Prevent infections by ensuring your hands, instruments, and environment is clean.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Only prescribe and dispense antibiotics when they are needed, according to current guidelines.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Report antibiotic-resistant infections to surveillance teams.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Talk to your patients about how to take antibiotics correctly, antibiotic resistance and the dangers of misuse.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Invest in research and development of new antibiotics, vaccines, diagnostics and other tools.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Only give antibiotics to animals under veterinary supervision.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Not use antibiotics for growth promotion or to prevent diseases.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Vaccinate animals to reduce the need for antibiotics and use alternatives to antibiotics when available.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><b>Government steps to contain the spread of antibiotic resistance:<\/b><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) has set up a National Anti-Microbial Resistance Research and Surveillance Network (AMRRSN) to enable compilation of National Data of AMR at different levels of Health Care.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The Drugs and Cosmetic Rule, 1945 were amended in 2013 to incorporate a new Schedule H1 under the said rules containing 46 drugs which include III and IV generation antibiotics, anti TB drugs and certain habit forming drugs for \u00a0having strict control over the sale of these drugs. <\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Government of India has formulated a National policy for containment of antimicrobial resistance in 2011. <\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A National Programme for Containment of AMR has also been initiated in 12th Five Year Plan.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Q.3) Write short notes on:<\/span><\/p>\n<p><strong>a) Self-domestication in biology (GS &#8211; 3) <\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Self-domestication refers to the process by which a wild animal adapts itself to human beings without any deliberate intervention on behalf of people to domesticate it. <\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Scientists speculate that the prevalence of self-domestication could be attributed to the increased chances of survival enjoyed by organisms that are amiable to human beings. <\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">For instance, wolves that are not aggressive towards human beings around them can have better access to food and other resources found in human colonies when compared to wolves that remain wild. <\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">This can improve their chances of survival.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>b) Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (GS &#8211; 2)<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) is a Hague-based intergovernmental body that works for the elimination of chemical weapons. <\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">It was formed after the Chemical Weapons Convention, an arms control treaty that bans the production, stockpiling and use of chemical weapons, entered into force in 1997. <\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The OPCW is the implementing body of the Convention. All its 192 member states are required to destroy their existing stockpiles of chemical weapons and stop large-scale production. <\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">These actions are subject to verification by the OPCW. <\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">According to the OPCW, over 96% of the world\u2019s declared chemical weapons stockpiles have been destroyed. <\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The OPCW has the powers to inspect chemical production facilities. Israel has signed the agreement but is yet to ratify it. <\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The countries that have not signed it are Egypt, South Sudan and North Korea.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Archives Q.1) Comment on the need for a new friendship treaty with Nepal in the light of it&#8217;s increased closeness with China. (GS &#8211; 2) Introduction: A Treaty of peace and friendship was signed between India and Nepal in the year 1950. Considering the relationship between the two countries since ancient times and the landlocked&hellip; <a class=\"more-link\" href=\"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/answers-mains-marathon-upsc-mains-current-affairs-questions-april-23-2018\/\">Continue reading <span class=\"screen-reader-text\">Answers: Mains Marathon \u2013 UPSC Mains Current Affairs Questions \u2013 April 23, 2018<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":61,"featured_media":2292,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[25,9],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-19016","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-mains-marathon-answers","category-public","entry"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/06\/pen-paper-laptop.jpg?fit=1000%2C500&ssl=1","views":{"total":0,"cached_at":"","cached_date":1704645848},"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19016","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/61"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=19016"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19016\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2292"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=19016"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=19016"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=19016"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}