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  COMMUNAL AWARD #Historicalbackground ◇ In August 1932, Ramsay MacDonald, the British Prime Minister, announced a scheme of representation of the minorities, which came to be known as the Communal Award.  ◇ The award not only continued separate electorates for the Muslims, Sikhs, Indian Christians, Anglo-Indians and Europeans but also extended it to the depressed classes (Scheduled Castes).  ◇ Gandhiji was distressed over this extension of the principle of communal representation to the depressed classes and undertook fast unto death in Yerwada jail (Poona) to get the award modified. At last, there was an agreement between the leaders of the Congress and the depressed classes.  ◇ The agreement, known as Poona Pact, retained the Hindu joint electorate and gave reserved seats to the depressed classes.

  Recently, scientists have developed a  New biodegradable polymer , using  Guar Gum, and   Chitosan , which has high potential for packaging material. Key Points: About: It is a  guar gum-chitosan composite film  which is a  cross-linked polysaccharide  developed with the help of  solution casting method  (a simple technique to make polymer films). It overcomes the challenges of polysaccharides. Polysaccharides  is one of the  biopolymers with high potential for use in synthesis of packaging material. However, due to some drawbacks of polysaccharides, such as low mechanical properties, high water-solubility, and low barrier properties, they are not preferred. Guar Gum,  and  Chitosan  are polysaccharides extracted from guar beans and shells of crab and shrimps. Properties of the Film: High water stability, high mechanical strength  as well as  excellent resistance  towards harsh environmental cond...

 MARITIME BORDER DISPUTE BETWEEN KENYA AND SOMALIA □ WHY IN NEWS ? In a move that is set to further undermine stability in East Africa, Kenya has said that it will not take part in proceedings of the International Court of Justice (ICJ) over its maritime border dispute. □ ABOUT :- ◇ Main point of disagreement between the two neighbours is the direction in which their maritime boundary in the Indian Ocean should extend. ◇ According to Somalia, the sea border should be an extension of the same direction in which their land border runs as it approaches the Indian Ocean, i.e. towards the southeast. ◇ Kenya, on the other hand, argues that the territorial southeast border should take a 45-degree turn as it reaches the sea, and then run in a latitudinal direction, i.e. parallel to the equator. ◇ Such an arrangement would be advantageous for Kenya, whose coastline of 536 km is more than 6 times smaller than Somalia’s (3,333 km).

  International Relations Prev First in-Person Meeting of Quad Countries           Star marking (1-5) indicates the importance of topic for CSE Tags:  GS Paper - 2 Groupings & Agreements Involving India and/or Affecting India's Interests Why in News Recently, the first in-person meeting of  Quad  leaders was hosted by the US. Issues like climate change, Covid-19 pandemic and challenges in the Indo Pacific, amidst China's growing military presence in the strategic region, were discussed in the meeting. Key Points Background: In  November 2017, India, Japan, the US and Australia gave shape to the long-pending proposal of setting up the Quad  to develop a new strategy to keep the critical sea routes in the Indo-Pacific free of any influence. China claims nearly all of the disputed  South China Sea , though Taiwan, the Philippines, Brunei, Malaysia and Vietnam all claim parts of it. The South China Sea is an arm of the Western ...

1. India and the European Union (EU) are expected to agree on a high-level dialogue on trade and investment to restart negotiations at a virtual EU-India Summit. 2. During this summit, India and the EU are expected to conclude several agreements including a. a roadmap for cooperation, b. an agreement on research sharing for civil nuclear cooperation and c. launch a maritime security dialogue as well as negotiations between Europol and the CBI. 3. Tackling COVID-19 and its impact on the economy and the global order will be a priority on the agenda. 4. Medical developments on vaccines and treatment will be discussed along with the withdrawal of the U.S. from multilateral organisations (like the World Health Organisation), and concerns over an ‘assertive’ China. 5. The EU had welcomed India’s election to the UN Security Council next year. BTIA 1.The trade and investment dialogue is expected to give a boost to negotiations on the Bilateral Trade and Investment Agr...