UPSC Prelims 2023 Analysis

Explanation

• Successful Coups There have been several military coups in these countries in recent years - Chad (2021) - Guinea (2021) - Mali (2020, 2021) - Sudan (2019) 

• Military coups often lead to political instability, international concern about human rights, and potential disruption to trade and regional security.

Explanation

• The Donbas is a historical, cultural, and economic region in eastern Ukraine. It has two heavily industrialised regions of Donetsk and Luhansk which were occupied by Russian forces last year. Hence, pair 1 is not correctly matched.

• Kachin State is the northernmost state of Myanmar. In 2022, Myanmar military air

• strikes reportedly killed dozens of people including civilians at a concert in Kachin State. Hence, pair 2 is not correctly matched.

• Tigray is Ethiopia's northernmost region. The region is at the centre of an ongoing civil conflict involving ethno-regional militias, the federal government, and the Eritrean military that has attracted the concern of humanitarian groups and external actors since November 2020. In October 2022, the first formal African Union-led peace talks between an Ethiopian government team and Tigray forces happened in South Africa. Hence, pair 3 is not correctly matched.

Explanation

• Statement 1 is incorrect: So far only 163 countries have adopted the Global Compact for Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration (GCM), the United States, Hungary, Israel, Czech Republic and Poland are some of the countries that voted against the compact.

• Statement 2 is incorrect: The GCM is not legally binding on UN member countries. It's a non-legally binding framework for cooperation. 

• Statement 3 is incorrect: The GCM primarily focuses on international migration, not internal displacement.

Explanation

• Somalia has been experiencing civil war and instability since the early 1990s. This ongoing conflict has severely disrupted agricultural production, trade, and basic services, leading to food insecurity.

• Somalia is one of the countries most vulnerable to food insecurity due to a combination of factors like drought, conflict, and poverty.

• Somalia has faced several severe famines in recent decades, with the most recent one occurring in 2020-2021. The UN warned it was on the brink of "famine of unparalleled proportions" due to a perfect storm of drought, locust infestations, and economic hardship.

Explanation

• The Stability and Growth Pact (SGP) is an agreement, among all of the 27 member states of the European Union, to facilitate and maintain the economic stability of the EU countries.The European Commission and the Council of the European Union, monitors the fiscal condition of EU member countries from time to time to ensure their fiscal stability. 

• Statement 1 is correct: It is true that SGP aims to level the budget deficits of European countries. The corrective arm of the Stability and Growth Pact ensures that Member States adopt appropriate policy responses to correct excessive deficits (and/or debts) by implementing the Excessive Deficit Procedure (EDP). Also the SGP requires the EU Member States to lay out their fiscal plans for the next three years to limit their budget deficits. 

• Statement 2 and 3 are incorrect: The SGP treaty does not require its members to share their infrastructure facilities nor their technologies with other countries. The purpose of the SGP was to ensure that fiscal discipline would be maintained and enforced in the European Union.

Explanation

• Both statements about the G-20 are correct 

• Statement 1 is correct The G-20 originated as a forum for Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors to address global economic and financial issues. It has since expanded its focus to other areas of international cooperation. 

• Statement 2 is correct. India, as the chair of the G-20 in 2023, prioritised digital public infrastructure as one of its key areas of focus. This included discussions on promoting responsible use of artificial intelligence, bridging the digital divide, and fostering inclusive growth through digitalization.

Explanation

None of the pairs (1, 2, or 3) are correctly matched. Let's break it down: 

1. North Kivu and Ituri: This region in the Democratic Republic of Congo experiences conflict, but is not related to the war between Armenia and Azerbaijan. 

2. Nagorno-Karabakh: This enclave is disputed between Armenia and Azerbaijan, but the insurgency is happening in Mozambique. 

3. Kherson and Zaporizhzhia: These are currently under heavy fighting in the Russia-Ukraine war, not a dispute between Israel and Lebanon.

Explanation

• Sustainable Investments in Infrastructure and Innovation (S3)In March 2020, Sustainable Investments in Infrastructure and Innovation (S3i) was formally established as a stand-alone business unit in the UNOPS governance structure, making UNOPS the first United Nations organisation able to make direct investments from its own balance sheet.

• In line with the UNOPS Strategic Plan, 2022-2025, the S3i office will seek to enhance and accelerate the effort of engaging public and private sector investors to work collectively to scale up infrastructure investments and consider co-creating innovative financing options. The UNOPS S3i will continue rolling out the initiative across its three focus-areas- affordable housing- renewable energy- health infrastructure

SK Tip__: Just think of the option - Rapid Mass Transport. If we generally think, rapid mass transport is not a need or even a necessity while considering sustainable aspects. Had it been mass transport, we would have still given it a thought. But not rapid mass transport.

Explanation

• Statement I is correct: Several Arab states, including Egypt, Jordan, United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Morocco, and Sudan, have established diplomatic relations with Israel.

• Statement II is incorrect: The Arab Peace Initiative, mediated by Saudi Arabia, was endorsed by the Arab League but not signed by Israel. It outlines a path towards peace in exchange for Israeli concessions, but Israel has not formally accepted all its terms.

Explanation

• Statement 1 is correct: Trade and Technology Council was launched by the the United States of America and the European Union during the EU-US Summit on 15 June 2021 in Brussels. 

• Statement 2 is incorrect: Trade and Technology council, the USA and EU does not aim to bring technological progress and physical productivity under their control. Rather the initiative intends to promote pooling of digital resources such as AI models and computing power, and make them available to partner countries to address challenges in areas such as climate change and extreme weather, healthcare or smart agriculture.