Daily Current Affairs for UPSC CSE
Topics Covered
- ASER Survey
- Study on changes in Monsoon
- China – Taiwan
- Facts for Prelims
1 . ASER Survey
Context: ASER’s 2023 survey results show gaps in learning persist, but access to tech offers avenues beyond physical school.
What is ASER?
- ASER is an annual survey that aims to provide reliable estimates of children’s enrolment and basic learning levels for each district and state in India.
- ASER has been conducted every year since 2005 in all rural districts of India.
- It is the largest citizen-led survey in India.
- It is also the only annual source of information on children’s learning outcomes available in India today.
- ASER is a household-based rather than school-based survey. This design enables all children to be included – those who have never been to school or have dropped out, as well as those who are in government schools, private schools, religious schools or anywhere else.
Tools and Testing
- ASER Reading Tools – The ASER reading assessment tool consists of 4 levels: letters, words, a short paragraph (Std 1 level text), and a longer “story” (Std 2 level text). The child is marked at the highest level which she can do comfortably.
- ASER Maths Tool – The ASER Math tool consists of four levels: Number recognition (1-9), number recognition (11-99), two digit subtraction with borrowing, and three digit by one digit division. The child is marked at the highest level which she can do comfortably. A child who is unable to do the first level will be marked at a level called, ‘Beginner’.
About 2023 Survey
- The 2023 survey known as “Beyond Basics” focused on 14-to-18-year-old children in rural India, specifically on their ability to apply reading and math skills to everyday situations, and their aspirations.
- It also sought to capture their access to digital technology, and whether they possess the skills to use it.
- It was carried out among 34,745 young respondents in 28 rural districts in 26 states, including two districts each in Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh.
What did the survey seek to measure?
- Survey seeks to measure their basic and applied reading and math abilities and digital awareness and skills.
- When it surveyed the same age group in 2017, on the ability front, only the basic survey on reading and arithmetic were conducted ; this time there is also a mapping of how ready the children are for everyday activities.
- This year survey also added the digital component because a lot has happened in the last 4-5 years to allow for some self-reported questions, such as, ‘do you know how to use a cell phone?’
- The survey also included doing some tasks with a phone, such as setting an alarm or searching for information online.
What are some key findings from the survey?
- Overall, 86.8% of 14-18-year-olds are enrolled in an educational institution. There are small gender gaps in enrolment, but notable differences are visible by age. The percentage of youth not enrolled is 3.9% for 14-year-old youth and is 32.6% for 18-year-olds
- Most of the people in this age group were enrolled in the Arts/Humanities streams. In Class XI or higher, more than half are enrolled in the Arts/Humanities stream (55.7%) and females are less likely to be enrolled in the Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics stream (28.1%) than males (36.3%).
- Only 5.6% of surveyed youth report taking vocational training or other related courses currently. Youth at the college level are the most likely to be taking vocational training (16.2%),” the survey found adding that most youth are taking short duration courses of six months or less.
- On abilities such as basic reading, math and English abilities; application of basic skills to everyday calculations; reading and understanding written instructions; and financial calculations that need to be done in real life, about 25% still cannot read a Class II level text fluently in their regional language.
- More than half struggle with division (3-digit by 1-digit) problems. Only 43.3% of 14-18-year-olds are able to do such problems correctly. This skill is usually expected in Standard III/IV,” the report said. A little over half can read sentences in English (57.3%). “Of those who can read sentences in English, almost three quarters can tell their meanings (73.5%)
- While females (76%) do better than males (70.9%) in reading a Standard II level text in their regional language, males do better than females in arithmetic and English reading. “Of the youth who can do subtraction or more, over 60% are able to do the budget management task, about 37% can apply a discount, but only about 10% can calculate repayment,” the report added.
- Close to 90% of all youth have a smartphone in the household and know how to use it. “Of those who can use a smartphone, males (43.7%) are more than twice as likely to have their own smartphone than females (19.8%). Females are less likely to know how to use a smartphone or computer as compared to males. Across all tasks using mobile phones, males outperformed females. “Performance on digital tasks improves with education level. The ability to do digital tasks increases with basic reading proficiency
Is the Digital access gap closing between the genders?
- When asked if they can use a smartphone, more than 90% of respondents children said yes, and this is not exclusive to any gender. But there is a big difference between boys and girls when answering the question, “How many of you own a smartphone?” Boys have much greater access.
- Across all phone-related tasks assigned to respondents, boys outperformed girls. Performance in digital tasks improved with education level. Ability to perform digital tasks also increased with basic reading proficiency.
- Among those who can use a smartphone, two-thirds reported using it for an education-related activity during the reference week, such as watching online videos related to studies, solving doubts, or exchanging notes. Close to 80% reported using their smartphone for an entertainment-related activity, such as watching a movie or listening to music.
Most respondents in Class 11 or higher were studying humanities-related subjects. What does that suggest for their prospects in a job market that values STEM knowledge?
- The responses also reflect what is available in their villages. It is possible that someone wants to do science, but their local high school does not have science. But again, there may be other ways to connect to subjects that the local high school does not offer.
- The system is also very streamlined, but the New Education Policy of 2020 allows for more flexibility. There should be a way for a student to register for other kinds of learning opportunities. Over some time, it should loosen up; physical restrictions should also loosen — you may not have a physical science teacher, but there are science teachers in the world from whom you should be able to learn.
2 . Study on changes in Monsoon
Context: Rainfall rising in over half of India’s sub-districts, says four-decade study.
About the Study
- The study is authored by Shravan Prabhu and Vishwas Chitale of the Council on Energy, Environment and Water (CEEW), a research and policy think tank which analyses high-resolution meteorological data spanning four decades, from 1982 to 2022, which has been recorded by the India Meteorological Department (IMD).
Findings
- Rainfall is increasing in more than half of India’s 4,400-odd tehsils or sub-districts.
- While 55% of tehsils have seen a rise in rainfall, about 11% have experienced a fall. The decrease occurred largely during the critical southwest monsoon.
- Of the tehsils experiencing lower rainfall, about 68% saw reduced rainfall in all the monsoon months from June to September, while 87% showed a decline during the initial monsoon months of June and July, which are crucial for the sowing of kharif crops.
- 23 districts including New Delhi, Bengaluru, Nilgiris, Jaipur, Kutch, and Indore — experienced both extremes, with a higher number of deficient and excessive rainfall years.
- Several tehsils in Rajasthan, Gujarat, central Maharashtra and parts of Tamil Nadu, which have historically been dry regions, have also been getting wetter, tying in with the finding that a majority of tehsils have been reporting increasing rainfall.
- Rainfall from the northeast monsoon, which sets in during October, November and December, primarily in peninsular India, has increased by more than 10% over the past decade (2012-2022) in approximately 80% of tehsils in Tamil Nadu, 44% in Telangana, and 39% in Andhra Pradesh, respectively.
- While the remaining Indian States are usually dry during this period, several tehsils of Maharashtra and Goa on the west and Odisha and West Bengal on the east coast have been reporting increasing rainfall during winter. This increase could partly be attributed to cyclonic activity in the Arabian Sea and the Bay of Bengal.
3 . China – Taiwan
Context: Recently, Taiwan concluded its democratic elections. Lai Ching-te of the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), who was the Vice President under Tsai Ing-wen, whom China has called the “troublemaker”, is the newly elected President of Taiwan. This is a third term for the DPP, with the win being perceived as a major blow to China. However, within days of the results, Nauru, a small island nation, has announced that it is shifting its relations from Taipei to Beijing.
What brought on the shift?
- Nauru’s decision is very much on expected lines. A number of countries have shifted their diplomatic relations from Taipei to Beijing during the previous Taiwan President, Tsai Ing-wen’s term in office.
- Beijing has followed a pattern of luring smaller nations with the promise of financial investment and infrastructure development.
- Since Ms. Tsai and DPP came to power in 2016, the diplomatic space for Taiwan has consistently reduced. Today, just 11 countries recognise Taiwan while in 2016, this number stood at 22.
- The DPP is perceived as a pro-independence party and thus the pressure from Beijing and the pace at which Taiwan has been losing allies is increasing. This is also because Taiwan is unable to match China’s deep pockets.
Status of China-Taiwan ties
- One of the main reasons for China’s assertiveness is the refusal of Ms. Tsai to accept the ‘1992 consensus’. The 1992 consensus acknowledges that there is ‘one China’. It was agreed upon between the Kuomintang (KMT, pro status-quo party) and the Communist Party of China (CPC). However, Ms. Tsai has publicly said that this consensus goes against the ‘Taiwanese consensus’.
- There has also been a rise in ‘Taiwanisation’, where the younger generation of Taiwan do not feel any historical affinity with China.
- This generation recognizes itself as Taiwanese and have grown up in a democratic political environment and do not feel any bond with the historical narratives of a united China. All these developments have intensified aggressiveness towards Taiwan under Chinese President Xi Jinping.
- Rejuvenation of the Chinese nation and reunification of Taiwan are two very prominent and essential goals for Mr. Xi. China had consistently made comments and indicated its displeasure of the DPP, given its pro-independence stance.
- In his New Year’s address, Mr. Xi had remarked that “reunification with Taiwan is inevitable” and Taiwan is a “sacred territory”. However, DPP’s electoral victory is a clear indication that the Taiwanese people are not in a hurry for reunification.
Democracy in Taiwan
- Taiwan conducted its first democratic elections in 1996. The elections happened under the shadow of Chinese ire with missiles being fired across the Taiwan Straits.
- Since then, the democracy has only strengthened and regularised. What is interesting is that Beijing had been aggressive during the 2020 elections too, underscoring its discontent towards Ms. Tsai.
- Beijing has been uncomfortable with Taiwanese democracy, as it considers the island a renegade province. The fact that Taiwan has a functioning democracy strengthens the idea of a separate Taiwanese political identity which is in complete contrast to the one-party system in China.
- It also challenges the notion that the CPC is the only political option for the Chinese people.
4 . Facts for Prelims
Urobilinogen
- Yellow colour of urine comes from a pigment called urobilinogen.
- Urobilinogen is produced in the body when the body metabolises bilirubin.
- Bilirubin is produced when the body metabolises haemoglobin in the blood. This is why a high level of bilirubin – seen in the yellowing of the eyes – is associated with jaundice.
Multiple Sclerosis
- Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a potentially disabling disease of the brain and spinal cord (central nervous system).
- In MS, the immune system attacks the protective sheath (myelin) that covers nerve fibers and causes communication problems between your brain and the rest of your body.
- Eventually, the disease can cause permanent damage or deterioration of the nerve fibers.
- There’s no cure for multiple sclerosis. However, there are treatments to help speed the recovery from attacks, modify the course of the disease and manage symptoms.