Daily Prelims Notes June, 2020 Santosh Sir All 6 Prelims qualified If I can do it, you can too [email protected], https://t.me/asksantoshsir WWW.OPTIMIZEIAS.COM
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Table of Contents History...... 3 Geography ...... 15 Indian Polity ...... 30 Economics ...... 59 General Science ...... 133 Environment ...... 199 Current Affairs ...... 239 Government Scheme ...... 243 International Relations ...... 266
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History 1. Kutch
Context: Ministry of Tourism has organized Dekho Apna Desh webinar titled 'The Tenacity of Survival -Inspirational story of Kutch'
Concept: Kutch is a land of salt desert, grasslands and mangroves. Interestingly, the mangroves here are known for an amazing phenomenon of being world’s only Inland Mangrove. The Rann of Kutch alone produces three-fourth of total salt supply of India. The place is also the home to the Kharai breed of camel which has the special ability to survive on both dry land as well as in the saline water. They can even swim in sea water and feed on saline water and plants. They are well-adapted to the extreme climate of the desert and high salinity of water. The key highlights of the presentation were virtual visit to the community of Ajrakh traditional block printers. Ajrakh is one of the oldest types of block printing on textiles still practiced in parts of Gujarat and Rajasthan in India. The other salient attractions of Kutch showcased in the webinar included: o Dholavira- UNESCO World Heritage Site and second largest Harappan site located in India. It is indeed a marvellous example of town-planning and architecture. o Fossil Park o Rann of Kutch-Salt Desert of Arabian Sea o Surhando- Unique peacock-shaped instrument plays a melodious music o Thaali Dance- A balancing dance performed to commensurate the celebrations of marriage and child birth o Tooofaan- Famous wild dance of the ocean also known as “Samundar ki Masti”.
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2. Raja Parba
Context: Prime minister greeted people of Odisha for Raja Parba celebration.
Concept: This is a three-day-long festival dedicated to Mother Earth (Bhuma Devi) and womanhood at large. There's a story associated with this festival is goddess Earth (Bhuma Devi), the consort of Lord Vishnu, undergoes her menstrual cycle during this period. The word 'Raja' in Odia means menstruation, and it is derived from Rajaswala, meaning a menstruating woman. Menstruation is considered as a sign of fertility, and therefore, it celebrates femininity and her ability to give birth to another life. This festival is also associated with the end of the summer season and the arrival of the monsoon. And therefore, it is also associated with agriculture and cultivation related communities and activities.
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3. Sukapha
Context: Assam state government has ordered the arrest of political commentator who had described Chaolung Sukapha as a “Chinese invader”
Concept: Sukapha was a 13th-century ruler who founded the Ahom kingdom that ruled Assam for six centuries. Contemporary scholars trace his roots to Burma. The founders of the Ahom kingdom had their own language and followed their own religion. Over the centuries, the Ahoms accepted the Hindu religion and the Assamese language. Sukapha’s significance lies in his successful efforts towards assimilation of different communities and tribes. He is widely referred to as the architect of “Bor Asom” or “greater Assam”. To commemorate Sukapha and his rule, Assam celebrates “Asom Divas” on December 2 every year.
Ahom Kingdom The Ahom kingdom was established in 1228 when Sukaphaa entered the Brahmaputra valley. Sukaphaa did not battle any established kingdom and seem to have occupied a depopulated region on the south bank with the Burhidihing river in the north, the Dikhau river in the south and the Patkai mountains in the east. The Ahoms brought with them the technology of wet rice cultivation that they shared with other groups. The kingdom came under attack from Turkic and Afghan rulers of Bengal, but it withstood them. On one occasion, the Ahoms under Tankham Borgohain pursued the invaders and reached the Karatoya river, and the Ahoms began to see themselves as the rightful heir of the erstwhile Kamarupa Kingdom. The kingdom came under repeated Mughal attacks in the 17th century, and on one occasion in 1662, the Mughals under Mir Jumla occupied the capital, Garhgaon.
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The Mughals were unable to keep it, and in at the end of the Battle of Saraighat, the Ahoms not only fended off a major Mughal invasion, but extended their boundaries west, up to the Manas river. The later phase of the rule was also marked by increasing social conflicts, leading to the Moamoria rebellion. The rebels were able to capture and maintain power at the capital Rangpur for some years, but were finally removed with the help of the British under Captain Welsh. A much weakened kingdom fell to repeated Burmese attacks and finally after the Treaty of Yandabo in 1826, the control of the kingdom passed into British hands.
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4. Kodumanal excavation
Context: The Kodumanal excavation in Tamil Nadu of 10 pots and bowls, instead of the usual three or four pots, placed outside three-chambered burial cists and inside the cairn-circle, threw light on burial rituals and the concept of afterlife in megalithic culture.
Concept: It was once a flourishing ancient trade city known as Kodumanam, as inscribed in Patittrupathu of Sangam Literature. It is located on the northern banks of Noyyal River, a tributary of the Cauvery. Megaliths were constructed either as burial sites or commemorative (non- sepulchral) memorials. Cairn-circles are the prehistoric stone row which is a linear arrangement of parallel megalithic standing stones. Megaliths are spread across the Indian subcontinent, though the bulk of them are found in peninsular India, concentrated in the states of Maharashtra (mainly in Vidarbha), Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Andhra Pradesh and Telanga.
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5. Shyama Prasad Mookherjee
Context: On the 66th death anniversary of Dr. Shyama Prasad Mukherjee, the founder of the Bharatiya Jana Sangh has been observed.
Concept: He was the independent India’s first Minister of Industry and Supply and founder of Bharatiya Jana Sangh. He became a member of the Bengal Legislative Council in 1929, and was the youngest Vice-Chancellor of the University of Calcutta from 1934 to 1938. Later, he became the finance minister of the Province of Bengal, and was subsequently elected the national president of the All India Hindu Mahasabha, the Mahabodhi Society and the Royal Asiatic Society. Mookerjee was also a member of the Constituent Assembly. He was against Article 370 and had expressed his displeasure at special status for J&K. After he left the Indian National Congress due to difference of opinion with the then-Prime Minister Dr Jawaharlal Nehru on Jammu and Kashmir issues, he co- founded Janata Party in the year 1977-1979, which later on became the Bharatiya Janata Party.
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6. Victory Day
Context: Defence Minister Rajnath Singh is on a three-day trip to Russia to attend the 75th Victory Day where India’s tri-services contingent is going to participate in the Victory Day Parade.
Concept: Victory Day marks the end of World War II and the victory of the Allied Forces in 1945. Though Adolf Hitler had shot himself on April 30, only on May 7, German troops surrendered. This was formally accepted the next day, and came into effect on May 9. In most European countries, it is celebrated on May 8, and is called the Victory in Europe Day. The erstwhile Soviet Union had not wanted the surrender to take place in the west, and wanted that such a significant event should reflect the contribution of the Red Army and the Soviet population. According to military historian, Joseph Stalin, premier of the Soviet Union, wanted Germany to also sign surrender in Berlin. So Russia has celebration on May 9.
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7. Malabar rebellion
Context: Malabar rebellion is going to be commemorated after 100 years.
Concept: It was a peasant movement against the local Hindu landlords in 1921. The mains grievance of the peasants were lack of security of tenure , high rents and oppression by landlords The impetus to the revolt came from Malabar District Congress Conference. It was part of the Khilafat Movement, which demanded that the British preserve the Ottoman sultan as the Caliph of Islam, the revolt took place in Kerala’s Malabar and involved the Moplah or Mappila Muslims of the region The violence began and the Moplahs attacked the police stations and took control of them. They also seized the courts, and the government treasuries. It became a communal riot when the kudiyaan or tenant Moplahs attacked their Hindu jenmis or landlords and killed many of them. Thus, the Hindu Landlords became the victims of the atrocities of the Moplahs. The leaders of this rebellion were: o VariyankunnathKunjahammed Haji o SeethiKoyaThangal of Kumaranpathor o Ali Musliyar. For two some two months the administration remained in the hands of the rebels. The military as well as Police needed to withdraw from the burning areas. Finally the British forces suppressed the movement with greater difficulty. The situation was under control by the end of the 1921.
Background: Malabar fell under British rule in 1792. By then, the Moplahs, once a prosperous trading community, had been reduced to penury as the English and the Portuguese wrested control of maritime commerce.
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Further, Malabar’s landlords under the British were almost exclusively Hindu. Throughout the 19th century, the Moplahs would revolt against this order, attacking either the Hindu landlords or European bureaucrats. Between 1836 and 1919, there were 29 such “outrages”, as British chronicles from the time describe these uprisings. Whether the uprisings were a reaction to Malabar’s oppressive land system or driven by religious fanaticism was debated even at the time by British officials.
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8. Lal-Bal-Pal
Context: To mark the death centenary of Tilak, Pune-based NGO is planning to launch a series of literary and cultural programmes to strengthen connections between Maharashtra and West Bengal to revive the Independence-era spirit of the ‘Lal- Bal-Pal’
Concept:
Punjab, Bengal and Maharashtra have played significant roles during the struggle for Indian Independence. The historical association and cultural bonds among the three States was solidified in the modern era by the trinity of ‘Lal-Bal-Pal’. The triumvirate had played a stellar role in the second phase of the Swadeshi movement
Swadeshi Movement: In 1900, Bengal was the major province in British India. The Indian national movement began in Bengal and thus, Britishers decided to part Bengal. When Lord Curzon, then Viceroy of India, announced the partition of Bengal in July 1905, Indian National Congress, initiated Swadeshi movement in Bengal. The Swadeshi Movement was officially proclaimed on August 7, 1905 at the Calcutta Town Hall, in Bengal.
Forms of struggle: Boycott movement was also launched along with the Swadeshi movement. It included using goods produced in India and burning British-made goods. Public meetings and processions emerged as major methods of mass mobilization Samitis such as the Swadesh BandhabSamiti of Ashwini Kumar Dutta (in Barisal) and in Tamil Nadu, Swadeshi Sangam was formed. These samitis generated political consciousness among the masses through magic lantern lectures, swadeshi songs, providing physical and moral training to their members, social work during famines and epidemics, organisation of schools, training in swadeshi crafts and arbitration courts
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Bengal National College, inspired by Tagore’s Shantiniketan, was set up with Aurobindo Ghosh as its principal. Soon national schools and colleges sprang up in various parts of the country. The nationalists of all hues took inspiration from songs written by Rabindranath Tagore, Rajnikant Sen, Dwijendralal Ray, Mukunda Das, Syed Abu Mohammad and others. In painting, Abanindranath Tagore broke the domination of Victorian naturalism over the Indian art scene and took inspiration from Ajanta, Mughal and Rajput paintings. Nandalal Bose, who left a major imprint on Indian art. In science, Jagdish Chandra Bose, Prafullachandra Roy and others pioneered original research which was praised the world over. Key people in the Swadeshi movement: Bal GangadharTilak Bipin Chandra Pal LalaLajpat Rai Aurobindo Ghosh VO Chidambaram Pillai Babu Genu
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9. Dada Bhai Naroji
Context: Dadabhai Naroji is commemorated on his death anniversary
Concept: He is “Grand Old Man of India” because one of the first leaders who stirred national consciousness in the country. In 1865 and 1866, Naoroji helped found the London Indian Society and the East India Association respectively. The two organisations sought to bring nationalist Indians and sympathetic Britons on one platform. In 1885, Naoroji became a vice-president of the Bombay Presidency Association, was nominated to the Bombay legislative council by Governor Lord Reay, and helped form the Indian National Congress. Dadabhai Naoroji was among the key proponents of the ‘Drain Theory’, disseminating it in his 1901 book ‘Poverty and Un-British Rule in India’. Naoroji argued that imperial Britain was draining away India’s wealth to itself through exploitative economic policies, including India’s rule by foreigners; the heavy financial burden of the British civil and military apparatus in India; the exploitation of the country due to free trade; non- Indians taking away the money that they earned in India; and the interest that India paid on its public debt held in Britain. He served as the first Indian member of the British parliament. He was Congress president thrice, in 1886, 1893, and 1906.
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Geography 1. On Set of Monsoon
Context: Monsoon has arrived in Kerala and the India Meteorological Department (IMD) has announced that the normal onset of monsoon has begun with most of Kerala being now covered under monsoon as of 1 June 2020.
Concept: The normal date of onset of the southwest monsoon over Kerala i.e. the first place of entry in the mainland of India is 1st June. The monsoons advance quickly accompanied with a lot of thunder, lightning and heavy downpour. This sudden onset of rain is termed as monsoon burst. Sometimes monsoons are delayed or they come much earlier than normal. Normally the onset occurs between 29th May and 7th June. The earliest onset was on 11th May in 1918 and 1955, while the most delayed onset was on 18th June in 1972.
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2. West Coast Cyclone
Context: Cyclone Nisarga is expected to make landfall on June 3 which is headed towards the coastline of north Maharashtra and south Gujarat.
Concept: IMD's Cyclone E-Atlas, which has been tracking cyclones and weather depressions over the north Indian Ocean, said no weather system has turned into a cyclone and made landfall near Mumbai along the Maharashtra coast during the month of June since 1891.
Reason for Mumbai’s low risk Weather dynamics of Arabian sea o Less cyclones in Arabian sea o Even it forms; they head towards Gujarat or gulf of Oman and Aden. o It is because of Easterlies and pre-monsoon formation of an area of high pressure, known as subtropical ridge along the west coast acts as barrier.
Bay of Bengal Vs Arabian sea
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Cyclones formed in the Bay of Bengal side of the north Indian Ocean are more frequent and stronger than those on the Arabian Sea side. Meteorologists suggest the relatively cold waters of the Arabian Sea discourage the kind of very strong cyclones that are formed on the Bay of Bengal side; Odisha and Andhra Pradesh face the brunt of these cyclones every year. Last year, however, was slightly unusual as the Arabian Sea saw the most frequent and intense cyclonic activity in more than 100 years, according to India Meteorological Department. Five cyclones originated in the area in 2019 — Vayu, Hikka, Kyarr, Maha and Pavan – when normally only one or two are formed.
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3. Changpa Community
Context: The ongoing Chinese army intrusion in Chumur and Demchok has left Changpa community cut off from large parts of summer pastures.
Concept: The Changpa are a semi-nomadic people: they usually stay in one place for a few months in a row, near pastures where their sheep, yaks and Pashmina goats can graze They are mainly found in the Changtang, a high plateau that stretches across the cold desert of Ladakh. The process of migration from plain areas to pastures on mountains during summers and again from mountain pastures to plain areas during winters is known as transhumance. The Pashmina goat is a breed of goat inhabiting the plateaus in Tibet, Nepal, parts of Burma and neighbouring areas of Ladakh in Jammu and Kashmir, India. It is also known as ‘Changthangi’, ‘Changra”. They are raised for ultra-fine cashmere wool, also known as pashmina once woven.
Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) has published an Indian Standard for identification, marking and labelling of Pashmina products to certify its purity. The certification will help curb the adulteration of Pashmina and also protect the interests of local artisans and nomads who are the producers of Pashmina raw material. It will also assure the purity of Pashmina for customers.
Additional information: Chiru goat also known as the Tibetan antelope is a ‘near threatened’ species whose underfur isused for making the famous Shahtoosh shawls.
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4. Kohala hydroelectric power project
Context: China under the multi-billion-dollar CPEC will set up a 1,124-megawatt power project in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) despite India's objection to it
Concept: Tripartite agreement has been finalised among China's Three Gorges Corporation, the authorities in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir and the PPIB to implement the 1,124- megawatt Kohala hydroelectric power project under the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) framework. The project will be built on the Jhelum River and aims at annually providing more than five billion units of clean and low-cost electricity for consumers in Pakistan. The 3,000-km-long CEPC is aimed at connecting China and Pakistan with rail, road, pipelines and optical cable fiber networks. It connects China's Xinjiang province with Pakistan Gwadar port, providing access to China to the Arabian Sea. The CPEC passes through PoK, over which India has conveyed its protests to China. Last month, India protested to Pakistan awarding a mega contract to build a construction of the Diamer-Bhasha dam in Gilgit-Baltistan, saying carrying out of such projects in territories under Pakistan's illegal occupation was not proper.
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5. Gairsain
Context: Uttarakhand governor has given her assent for declaration of Bhararisen (Gairsain) in Chamoli district as the summer capital of Uttarakhand Concept: The state was first carved out from Uttar Pradesh in 2000. Gairsain was best suited to be the capital as it lay between Kumaon and Garhwal. However, Dehradun was named the 'temporary capital' instead. Earlier, VN Dixit Commission which was set up to solve the problem had recommended that Dehradun should be made the permanent capital and rejected Gairsain as it is prone to earthquakes. The new summer capital falls under seismic zone 5, in a scale of 2 to 5 (in order of increasing vulnerability to earthquakes). Gairsain is also the site of the source of the Ramganga river, tributary of ganges. Historically, it is believed that the Chinese traveller, Hiuen-Tsang visited Gairsain, the capital of Brahmaputra Kingdom during the 7th century.
Constitutional provisions Article 2 and Article 3 of the Constitution of India confer exclusive and plenary powers upon Parliament to form or establish or completely alter and destroy the identity of existing states. A state legislature, as per Clause (e) of Article 3 cannot even change the name of the state. It is within the exclusive domain of Parliament to form any state, set boundaries, and name a state in the Union.
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6. Delhi Earthquake
Context: Recently, eleventh minor earthquake recorded in and around Delhi since May, the most powerful of which happened to be of magnitude 3.4.
Concept: The Earth’s crust consists of seven large lithospheric plates and numerous smaller plates. These plates move towards each other (a convergent boundary), apart (a divergent boundary) or past each other (a transform boundary). Earthquakes are caused by a sudden release of stress along faults in the earth's crust. The continuous motion of tectonic plates causes a steady build-up of pressure in the rock strata on both sides of a fault until the stress is sufficiently great that it is released in a sudden, jerky movement. The resulting waves of seismic energy propagate through the ground and over its surface, causing the shaking we perceive as earthquakes.
Types of Earthquake:
Tectonic Earthquakes Earthquakes caused by plate tectonics are called tectonic quakes. They account for most earthquakes worldwide and usually occur at the boundaries of tectonic plates.
Induced Earthquakes Induced quakes are caused by human activity, like tunnel construction, filling reservoirs and implementing geothermal or fracking projects.
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Volcanic Earthquakes Volcanic quakes are associated with active volcanism. They are generally not as powerful as tectonic quakes and often occur relatively near the surface. Consequently, they are usually only felt in the vicinity of the hypocenter.
Collapse Earthquakes Collapse quakes can be triggered by such phenomena as cave-ins, mostly in karst areas or close to mining facilities, as a result of subsidence.
Seismic Zones: According to the macro seismic zoning map of entire India, the Bureau of Indian Standards has classified the entire country into four major groups — Zone V (high intensity) to Zone II (low intensity). Around 30% of Delhi falls under Zone V, while the rest is under Zone IV. The Delhi-NCR region is very peculiar with regard to seismic activities. It has several faultlines that generate earthquakes, but it also feels the impact of quakes that are epicentred as far as the Hindukush mountains in Afghanistan and even in Nepal. Even a strong earthquake in the Himalayan belt may pose a threat to Delhi-NCR. The fact is that this region is only 150-odd km from the active Himalayan seismic belt. Also, the large sediment thickness (loose soil) in the Ganga Alluvial Plains to the north of Delhi tends to amplify the impact of earthquakes.
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7. What are EEZ and Continental Self?
Context: Indian navy has stopped Chinese maritime research and survey vessels that entered Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) and Continental Shelf (CS) of India without prior consent in 2018 and 2019
Concept: Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) as generally extending 200 nautical miles from shore, within which the coastal state has the right to explore and exploit, and the responsibility to conserve and manage, both living and non-living resources. Within its EEZ, a coastal state has sovereign rights for the purpose of exploring, exploiting, conserving and managing natural resources, whether living or nonliving, of the seabed and subsoil and rights to carry out activities like the production of energy from the water, currents and wind.
Continental shelf The continental shelf is the extended margin of each continent occupied by relatively shallow seas and gulfs. It is the shallowest part of the ocean showing an average gradient of 1° or even less.
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The shelf typically ends at a very steep slope, called the shelf break. The width of the continental shelves varies from one ocean to another. The average width of continental shelves is about 80 km. The shelves are almost absent or very narrow along some of the margins like the coasts of Chile, the west coast of Sumatra, etc. On the contrary, the Siberian shelf in the Arctic Ocean, the largest in the world, stretches to 1,500 km in width. The depth of the shelves also varies. It may be as shallow as 30 m in some areas while in some areas it is as deep as 600 m. The continental shelves are covered with variable thicknesses of sediments brought down by rivers, glaciers, wind, from the land and distributed by waves and currents. Importance of continent shelves Marine food comes almost entirely from continental shelves. They provide the richest fishing grounds. They are potential sites for economic minerals.
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8. Raw material for rechargeable batteries
Context: A recent report by the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) said that the supply of raw materials to produce rechargeable batteries, crucial to move to cleaner energy is uncertain.
Concept: As electric vehicles (EVs) have gradually been integrated into global transportation, there has been a rapid growth in demand for rechargeable batteries. This will consequently lead to an increase in the demand for raw material used in manufacturing these batteries. The report underlined lithium, natural graphite and manganese as critical raw materials for the manufacture of rechargeable batteries. The security of supplies should be a concern for all stakeholders because the production of the raw materials is concentrated in a few countries. According to the report, over 60 per cent of the world’s cobalt is mined in the Democratic Republic of the Congo while over 75 per cent of global lithium is mined in Australia and Chile. Any disruption to supply might lead to tighter markets, higher prices and increased costs of rechargeable batteries.
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9. Indi Ocean El Nino
Context: By studying microscopic zooplankton called foraminifera, researches had published a paper which first found evidence from the past of an Indian Ocean El Nino
Concept: Findings: The report speaks about Last Glacial Maximum which existed about 19,000-21,000 years ago, in which ice-sheets covered North America and Eurasia, and sea-levels were much lower, with Adam’s Bridge exposed so that the Indian subcontinent and Sri Lanka were contiguous. Researchers analysed simulations of this past climate and predicted that the ongoing climate change could reawaken an ancient climate pattern of the Indian Ocean. They find phenomenon which could be similar to the El Niño phenomenon of the Pacific Ocean bringing more frequent and devastating floods and drought to several densely-populated countries around the Indian Ocean region. If current warming trends continue, this new Indian Ocean El Niño could emerge as early as 2050. Indian Ocean has the capacity to harbour much larger climate variability than observed during the last few decades or a century. Under present-day conditions, changes in the Indian Ocean Dipole and the El Niño–Southern Oscillation strongly affect Indian Monsoon variability from year to year. If the hypothesis emerges in the near future, it will pose another source of uncertainty in rainfall prediction and will likely amplify swings in monsoon rainfall.
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10. Pashmina
Context: Due to the border tension, much-coveted Pashmina wool businesses has hit worth Rs 13-14 crore annually.
Concept: The Changpa are a semi-nomadic people: they usually stay in one place for a few months in a row, near pastures where their sheep, yaks and Pashmina goats can graze They are mainly found in the Changtang, a high plateau that stretches across the cold desert of Ladakh. The process of migration from plain areas to pastures on mountains during summers and again from mountain pastures to plain areas during winters is known as transhumance. The Pashmina goat is a breed of goat inhabiting the plateaus in Tibet, Nepal, parts of Burma and neighbouring areas of Ladakh in Jammu and Kashmir, India. It is also known as ‘ Changthangi’, ‘Changra”. They are raised for ultra-fine cashmere wool, also known as pashmina once woven. Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) has published an Indian Standard for identification, marking and labelling of Pashmina products to certify its purity. The certification will help curb the adulteration of Pashmina and also protect the interests of local artisans and nomads who are the producers of Pashmina raw material. It will also assure the purity of Pashmina for customers.
Additional information: Chiru goat also known as the Tibetan antelope is a ‘near threatened’ species whose underfur isused for making the famous Shahtoosh shawls.
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11. Kharif cropping season
Context: There is massive increase in planted acreage for various kharif season crops as of June 26, compared with the same time last year according to ‘All India Crop Situation’ report of the Agriculture Ministry.
Concept: Despite the Covid-19 crisis, farmers have so far planted an impressive 316 lakh hectare, which is more than double of 154 lakh ha planted during the corresponding period last year and higher than the average 187 lakh ha in past five years, according to the Agriculture Ministry. Kharif crops are grown with the onset of monsoon in different parts of the country and these are harvested in September-October. Important crops grown during this season are paddy, maize, jowar, bajra, tur (arhar), moong, urad, cotton, jute, groundnut and soyabean.
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Indian Polity 1. Solicitor General
Context: Appearing on behalf of the central government, the Solicitor General claimed that the government had shifted 10 million migrant workers to their home states and that some migrants were still walking “because of anxiety or local level instigation
Concept: Solicitor General is the second highest law officer in the country. He is subordinate to the Attorney General of India, the highest law officer and works under him. He also advises the government in legal matters. Solicitor general is appointed for period of three years by Appointment Committee of Cabinet chaired by Prime Minister. It should be noted here that only the office of the AG is created by the Constitution. In other words, Article 76 does not mention about the solicitor general and additional solicitor general. Solicitor General and Additional Solicitor Generals’ office and duties are governed by Law Officers (Conditions of Service) Rules, 1987.
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2. Ordinance
Context: Cabinet approved 'The Farming Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Ordinance, 2020'.
Concept: Article 123 of the Constitution empowers the President to promulgate ordinances during the recess of Parliament. These ordinances have the same force and effect as an act of Parliament, but are in the nature of temporary laws. It has been vested in him to deal with unforeseen or urgent matters. But, the exercises of this power is subject to the following four limitations: o He can promulgate an ordinance only when both the Houses of Parliament are not in session or when either of the two Houses of Parliament is not in session. Thus, the power of the President to legislate by ordinance is not a parallel power of legislation. He can make an ordinance only when he is satisfied that the circumstances exist that render it necessary for him to take immediate action. o In Cooper case, (1970), the Supreme Court held that the President’s satisfaction can be questioned in a court on the ground of malafide o His ordinance-making power is coextensive as regards all matters except duration, with the law-making powers of the Parliament. This has two implications: i. An ordinance can be issued only on those subjects on which the Parliament can make laws. ii. An ordinance is subject to the same constitutional limitation as an act of Parliament. Every ordinance issued by the President during the recess of Parliament must be laid before both the Houses of Parliament when it reassembles. If the ordinance is approved by both the Houses, it becomes an act. If Parliament takes no action at all, the ordinance ceases to operate on the expiry of six weeks from the reassembly of Parliament. Governor has similar power under Article 213
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3. Delhi LG Vs Chief Minister
Context: Lieutenant Governor of NCT of Delhi has overturned the Delhi government's order on testing only those showing COVID-19 symptoms and restricting access to hospitals only to Delhi residents.
Concept: Constitutional provision As per Article 239, every UT in India shall be administered by the President, through an administrator to be appointed by him. He/She is called Lieutenant Governor in Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Puducherry and Delhi. Lt. Governor is an administrator and not a constitutional head.
Council of ministers Vs LG The scheme that has been conceptualized by the insertion of Articles 239AA and 239AB with the provisions of the Government of National Capital Territory of Delhi Act, 1991 and the corresponding Transaction of Business Rules, 1993 indicates that the Lieutenant Governor, being the Administrative head, shall be kept informed with respect to all the decisions taken by the Council of Ministers but this does not mean that the concurrence of the Lieutenant Governor is required said Supreme court Lieutenant Governor is bound by the aid and advice of the Council of Ministers and this position holds true so long as the Lieutenant Governor does not exercise his power under the proviso to clause (4) of Article 239AA. The Lieutenant Governor has not been entrusted with any independent decision making power. He has to either act on the ‘aid and advice’ of Council of Ministers or he is bound to implement the decision taken by the President on a reference being made by him. In the case of difference of opinion between the lieutenant governor and his ministers, the lieutenant governor has to refer the matter to the president for decision and act accordingly. Under Article 239AA(3)(a), Parliament has the power to make laws for the NCT with respect to any matter in the State List and Concurrent List. The Delhi Legislative Assembly also has the power to make laws on all subjects
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in the Concurrent List and all but three subjects in the State List — namely, public order, police and land. It clarified that the Centre will have exclusive power to make laws in respect of these three subjects but “in respect of other matters, the executive power is to be exercised by the Government of NCT of Delhi”.
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4. Role of HC and SC in protection of FR
Context: Supreme Court ordered states and Union Territories to complete the process of sending migrants back to their home states within 15 days.
Concept: Migrants are one of the hardest hit groups in COVID pandemic. Many of them without access to food, transport walked to their homes. Having refused several times earlier to intervene on the issue of migrant labourers, the Supreme Court asked states to consider withdrawing cases registered against the migrants for trying to walk to their homes flouting lockdown rules, and urged states and UTs to work on the next stage of attending to their needs As the protector and guardian of fundamental rights, from the very beginning the Supreme Court has adopted the stance that it acts as the sentinel in relation to fundamental rights and has stressed this role in several cases. The Constitution underlines this role of the court through article 32(1), which reads: The Supreme Court shall have power to issue directions or orders or writs, including writs in the nature of habeas corpus, mandamus, prohibition, quo warranto and certiorari, whichever may be appropriate, for the enforcement of any of the rights conferred by this article. The Constitution-makers made the right of a citizen to move the Supreme Court under article 32, and claim an appropriate writ against the unconstitutional infringement of his fundamental rights, itself a fundamental right. However, the writ jurisdiction of the Supreme Court is not exclusive. The high courts are also empowered to issue writs for the enforcement of the Fundamental Rights under Article 226. Similarly Article 13 provides shield to fundamental rights by declaring that all laws, which are inconsistent with or in derogation of any of the Fundamental Rights, shall be void to the extent of their inconsistency. It imposes an obligation on the State to respect and implement the Fundamental Rights and provides the Judicial Review power.
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5. Monsoon session of Parliament: A hybrid session
Context: Parliament is going to have hybrid monsoon session where some members being physically present in the House while others attending on a virtual platform
Concept: After assessing the physical and digital infrastructure for the options to conduct Parliament sessions amid the pandemic, it was found that chambers face spaceconstraint, given the physical distancing norms, and the National Informatics Centre (NIC) that provides cyber infrastructure for the Indian government cannot enable capacity for virtual participation of all members. However, any change in the rules of conducting the session would require a motion to be carried in both Houses of Parliament.
Rules of Lok Sabha The Constituent Assembly (Legislative) Rules of Procedure and Conduct of Business in force immediately before the commencement of the Constitution of India were modified and adopted by the Speaker of Lok Sabha in exercise of the powers conferred on the Speaker by article 118(2) of the Constitution and published under the title “Rules of Procedure and Conduct of Business in the House of the People” in the Gazette of India Extraordinary dated the 17th April, 1952. Those Rules were amended by the Speaker from time to time on the recommendations of the Rules Committee of the House until September, 1954. In September, 1954, Rules Committee decided that their recommendations should be approved by the House before amendments were given effect to. Consequently, the procedure for amendment of the rules as given in rule 306 of the Fourth Edition (Rule 331 of the Present Edition) came into force with effect from the 15th October, 1954.
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6. NHRC, UBI, Universal periodic review
Context: NHRC has submitted mid-term Universal Periodic Review to United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) where it mentioned India is considering for Universal basic income.
Concept: The Universal Periodic Review (UPR) is a unique process which involves a review of the human rights records of all UN Member States. The UPR is a State-driven process, under the auspices of the Human Rights Council, which provides the opportunity for each State to declare what actions they have taken to improve the human rights situations in their countries and to fulfill their human rights obligations.
NHRC The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) of India was established on 12 October, 1993. The statute under which it is established is the Protection of Human Rights Act (PHRA), 1993 It is in conformity with the Paris Principles. The NHRC is an embodiment of India’s concern for the promotion and protection of human rights. The Commission consists of a Chairperson, full-time Members and seven deemed Members. The statute lays down qualifications for the appointment of the Chairperson and Members of the Commission. Constitution of NHRC o Judge of the Supreme Court is eligible to be appointed as Chairperson of the Commission in addition to the person who has been the Chief Justice of India; o Term of the Chairperson and Members of the Commission is three years or 70 years whichever is earlier and shall be eligible for re- appointment. o The chairman and members are appointed by the president on the recommendations of a six-member committee consisting of the prime minister as its head, the Speaker of the Lok Sabha, the Deputy Chairman of the Rajya Sabha, leaders of the Opposition in both the Houses of Parliament and the Central home minister.
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o The president can remove the chairman or any member from the office under the following circumstances: a) If he is adjudged an insolvent; or b) If he engages, during his term of office, in any paid employment outside the duties of his office; or c) If he is unfit to continue in office by reason of infirmity of mind or body; or d) If he is of unsound mind and stand so declared by a competent court; or e) If he is convicted and sentenced to imprisonment for an offence. In addition to these, the president can also remove the chairman or any member on the ground of proved misbehaviour or incapacity. However, in these cases, the president has to refer the matter to the Supreme Court for an inquiry. If the Supreme Court, after the inquiry, upholds the cause of removal and advises so, then the president can remove the chairman or a member. The salaries, allowances and other conditions of service of the chairman or a member are determined by the Central government.
UBI Universal basic income (UBI) is a model for providing all citizens of a country or other geographic area with a given sum of money, regardless of their income, resources or employment status. The purpose of the UBI is to prevent or reduce poverty and increase equality among citizens.
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7. NIRF ranking
Context: National Institute Ranking Framework (NIRF) ranking list for 2020 has been released in which IIT-M topped the list.
Concept: The National Institutional Ranking Framework (NIRF) was approved by the MHRD and launched on 2015. This framework outlines a methodology to rank institutions across the country. The methodology identifies the broad parameters for ranking various universities and institutions. The parameters broadly cover “Teaching, Learning and Resources,” “Research and Professional Practices,” “Graduation Outcomes,” “Outreach and Inclusivity,” and “Perception”.
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8. Places of Worship Act
Context: Jamiat Ulema-I-Hind, a muslim organisation has moved the Supreme Court seeking impleadment in a plea filed by a Hindu organisation, Vishwa Bhadra Pujari Purohit Mahasangh, which has challenged a provision of the 1991 Places of Worship Act.
Concept: Passed in 1991, the Act sought to maintain the status quo of the religious shrines as it existed at the time of India’s independence — with the exception of the Ram Janmabhoomi Temple at Ayodhya, which was then under litigation.
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9. Article 275(I) and Van Dhan Scheme
Context: Tribal people due to lack of market access have been severely affected by COVID pandemic. As relief Cental government announced expanded coverage of PM Van Dhan Yojana current 18,000 SHGS to 50,000 Van Dhan SHGS. Coverage to 10 lakh tribal gatherers through the Covid19 relief plan of the Ministry of Tribal Affairs under article 275(I).
Concept:
Van Dhan Vikas Karyakram The programme launched in 2018 aims to tap into the traditional knowledge and skill sets of tribal people by adding technology and Information Technology for upgradation of output at each stage and to convert the tribal wisdom into a remunerative economic activity. Van Dhan Vikas Karyakram seeks to promote and leverage the collective strength of tribal people to achieve a viable scale
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The proposition is to set-up tribal community owned MFP-centric multi- purpose Van Dhan Vikas Kendras (the Kendra) in predominantly tribal districts. About 3000 Van DhanKendrasare proposed to be set up in span of 2 years i.e. 1500 Kendras to be set-up in each year. Each Kendra would act as common facility centres for procurement cum value addition to locally available MFPs and skill based handicraft. A typical Van Dhan Vikas Kendra shall constitute of 10 tribal Van Dhan Vikas Self Help Groups (SHG), each comprising of upto 30 MFP gatherers or tribal handicraft artisans
Article 275(1) Under Article 275, the parliament is authorized to provide grants-in-aid to any state as parliament may determine to be in need of assistance, and different sums may be fixed for different States.
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10. Whip
Context: Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu has informed the Assembly Speaker that the Chief Government Whip had not issued any whip to MLAs of his party to support him during the Motion of Confidence moved by him in the House on February 18, 2017. Concept: A whip is a directive from the party that binds party members of a House to obey the line of the party. Though the office of whip is not officially recognised in the standing orders, there has been a long tradition to give them a place in the Parliamentary form of government. The whip plays a crucial role in ensuring the smooth and efficient conduct of business on the floor of the House. The whip is an MP drawn from the party that is in power and also from the party that sits on the opposition bench. They are vital in maintaining the links between the internal organisation of party inside the Parliament. It is also the duty of the chief whip to maintain discipline of the party on the floor of the House. Besides, he is responsible for keeping MPs, especially Ministers, informed of opinion in the party on the moods of individual members. If an MP violates his party’s whip, he faces expulsion from the House under the Anti- Defection Act.
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11. Horizontal Reservation
Context: The cabinet of Tamil Nadu state has approved 10 per cent horizontal reservation in medical admissions to government school students who clear the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET). An Ordinance is likely to be promulgated within a few days to give effect to this from the current academic year.
Concept: The reservations in favour of Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes and Other Backward Classes under Article 16(4) may be called vertical reservations. The total percentage of Reservation for the above three categories should not exceed 50% at any point of time. The reservation in favour of Ex-servicemen, Person with Disability, Sportsmen, and Minorities etc. may be called Horizontal reservation. Horizontal reservations cut across the vertical reservations is called interlocking reservations. The percentage of reservation allotted to Horizontal reservation categories should be adjusted against percentage of SC/ST/ OBC and General categories in vertical reservation.
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12. Rajya Sabha elections
Context: Voting for 18 Rajya Sabha seats which deferred due to the nationwide lockdown held on June 19.
Concept: Members of Rajya Sabha are elected by the elected members of the Assemblies of States and Union territories in accordance with the system of proportional representation by means of the single transferable vote. Parliament passed a law in 2003 requiring MLAs to show their votes to their party before voting in a Rajya Sabha election, which made it open ballot. In 2003, Representation of People Act amended to done away with domicile requirement. In 2006, the Supreme Court said that the practice of cross voting would not attract the penalty under the anti-defection law.
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13. Anti-defection law
Context: The BJP-led coalition government in Manipur came apart with three BJP MLAs defected to the Congress, thus reducing its number of legislators from 21 to 18 in the 60-member assembly.
Concept: The Tenth Schedule was inserted in the Constitution in 1985 by 52nd amendment. It lays down the process by which legislators may be disqualified on grounds of defection by the Presiding Officer of a legislature based on a petition by any other member of the House. Disqualification: o If a member of a house belonging to a political party voluntarily gives up the membership of his political party, or Votes, or does not vote in the legislature, contrary to the directions of his political party. However, if the member has taken prior permission, or is condoned by the party within 15 days from such voting or abstention, the member shall not be disqualified. o If an independent candidate joins a political party after the election. o If a nominated member joins a party six months after he becomes a member of the legislature.
91st amendment act of 2003 o The total number of ministers including the Prime minister in the central council of ministers shall not exceed 15% of the total strength of the Lok sabha/State legislative assembly. (Article 75,164). However in states number of ministers shall not be less than 12. o A member disqualified under defection is also disqualified for being a minister in house. o The member disqualified on the grounds of defection shall also be disqualified for any remunerative political post, office wholly or partially under the government. o The provision regarding one third was also deleted by this amendment. Exceptions under the law: Legislators may change their party without the risk of disqualification in certain circumstances. The law allows a party to
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merge with or into another party provided that at least two-thirds of its legislators are in favour of the merger. In such a scenario, neither the members who decide to merge, nor the ones who stay with the original party will face disqualification. The law initially stated that the decision of the Presiding Officer is not subject to judicial review. This condition was struck down by the Supreme Court in 1992, thereby allowing appeals against the Presiding Officer’s decision in the High Court and Supreme Court.
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14. Section 309 of IPC
Context: Increasing suicides in the country bring to limelight section 309 of IPC
Concept: Anyone who survives an attempted suicide can be booked under Section 309 IPC, which deals with “Attempt to commit suicide”. Contrary to popular perception that it has been repealed, continues to exist in the statute book. The Mental Healthcare Act (MHCA), 2017, which came into force in July 2018, has significantly reduced the scope for the use of Section 309 IPC and made the attempt to commit suicide punishable only as an exception Section 115(1) of The MHCA has said person who attempts to commit suicide shall be booked under this, unless proved otherwise, to have severe stress. In ‘Gian Kaur vs State of Punjab’, 1996, a Constitution Bench of the Supreme Court upheld the constitutional validity of Section 309. However, in 2008, the Law Commission in its 210th Report, said that an attempt to suicide needed medical and psychiatric care, and not punishment. In March 2011, the Supreme Court too recommended to Parliament that it should consider the feasibility of deleting the section.
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15. Parliamentary Standing Committee
Context: Amid the on-going India-China border tension, a Parliamentary Standing Committee report on Sino-India relations post the Doklam standoff has been released.
Concept: The Constitution of India makes a mention of these committees at different places, but without making any specific provisions regarding their composition, tenure, functions, etc. All these matters are dealt by the rules of two Houses. Accordingly, a parliamentary committee means a committee that: o Is appointed or elected by the House or nominated by the Speaker / Chairman o Works under the direction of the Speaker / Chairman o Presents its report to the House or to the Speaker / Chairman o Has a secretariat provided by the Lok Sabha / Rajya Sabha The introduction of 17 department-related standing committees (DRSCs) on March 31, 1993 was a significant innovation that increased parliamentary scrutiny and gave MPs a larger role in examining legislation and important decisions of the day. There are 24 DRSCs — 16 from Lok Sabha and 8 from Rajya Sabha. Each committee has 21 MPs from Lok Sabha and 10 from Rajya Sabha. The role: Given the volume of legislative business and the time constraints it is not possible for MPs to discuss and scrutinise all bills in the House. Parliamentary committees, either formed for a specific bill (select committee) or permanent (standing committees that are reconstituted annually) allow for a scrutiny with the possibility of tapping subject experts from outside and other stakeholders in an environment where MPs are not bound by party positions or whips. A problem: The committee system, however, has been affected by delays in preparing reports and incidence of absenteeism.
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16. 74th Constitutional Amendment
Context:
The pandemic has shown bad state of urban local bodies, without enough power and funds.
Concept: This Act has added a new Part IX-A to the Constitution of India. It is entitled ‘The Municipalities and consists of provisions from Articles 243-P to 243-ZG. In addition, the act has also added a new Twelfth Schedule to the Constitution. This schedule contains eighteen functional items of municipalities. It deals with Article 243-W. The act gave constitutional status to the municipalities. It has brought them under the purview of justiciable part of the Constitution. The act aims at revitalizing and strengthening the urban governments so that they function effectively as units of local government. The salient features of the act are: Three Types of Municipalities The act provides for the constitution of the following three types of municipalities in every state : nagar panchayat, municipal council and municipal corporation Composition: All the members of a municipality shall be elected directly by the people of the municipal area. For this purpose, each municipal area shall be divided into territorial constituencies to be known as wards. The state legislature may provide the manner of election of the chairperson of a municipality. Reservation of Seats :The act provides for the reservation of seats for the scheduled castes and the scheduled tribes in every municipality in proportion of their population to the total population in the municipal area. Further, it provides for the reservation of not less than one-third of the total number of seats for women. Duration of Municipalities: The act provides for a five-year term of office for every municipality. However, it can be dissolved before the completion of its term.
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State Election Commission: The superintendence, direction and control of the preparation of electoral rolls and the conduct of all elections to the municipalities shall be vested in the state election commission. Finance Commission The finance commission (which is constituted for the panchayats) shall also, for every five years, review the financial position of municipalities and make recommendation to the governor as to: o The principles that should govern: (a) The distribution between the state and the municipalities, the net proceeds of the taxes, duties, tolls and fees levied by the state. (b) The determination of the taxes, duties, tolls and fees that may be assigned to the municipalities. (c) The grants-in-aid to the municipalities from the consolidated fund of the state. o The measures needed to improve the financial position of the municipalities. o Any other matter referred to it by the governor in the interests of sound finance of municipalities. District Planning Committee: Every state shall constitute at the district level, a district planning committee to consolidate the plans prepared by panchayats and municipalities in the district, and to prepare a draft development plan for the district as a whole.
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17. District Development Coordination and Monitoring Committee (Disha)
Context: As per the Common Review Mission-2019, commissioned by the rural development ministry, in 2019 the average work generated per household under MGNREGA was 48 days which is half the entitled 100 days per household annually The audit also added that the District Development Coordination and Monitoring Committee (Disha) is virtually non-functional.
Concept: District Development coordination and Monitoring committee (DISHA) is formed to fulfill the objective of ensuring a better coordination among all the elected representatives in Parliament, State Legislatures and Local Governments for efficient and time-bound development of districts in our country. These Committees could monitor the implementation of the programmes and promote synergy and convergence for greater impact. For years, District Vigilance and Monitoring Committees had the oversight mandate of a handful of schemes run by the rural development ministry but in 2016, they were superseded by DISHA which was charged with monitoring 41 central schemes, ranging from infrastructure and power, education and food security to rural development. This committee will have coordination and Monitoring powers. Its role is to facilitate the timely execution of approved projects. It will have powers in seeking effective follow up of issues raised during the deliberation.
Composition
The Chairperson of the DISHA should be a Member of Parliament (Lok Sabha) elected from the district, nominated by the Ministry of Rural Development. One MP (Rajya Sabha) representing the State and exercising an option to be associated with the district level Committee of that district (on first come basis), to be designated as Co-Chairpersons by the Ministry of Rural Development
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Member secretary: The Member Secretary of the DISHA should be the District collector All Members of the State Legislative Assembly elected from the district One representative of the State Govemment / UT Administration All Mayors / the Chairpersons of Municipalities and five elected heads of Gram Panchayat Chairperson of the Zila Panchayat Head of the Autonomous District Council in districts having Schedule VI Areas And nominated members
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18. Article 340
Context: Cabinet has approved the extension of the term of the Commission to examine the issue of Sub-categorization of Other Backward Classes, by six months till January 2021.
Concept: The Government has constituted a Commission on 2nd October, 2017 under article 340 of the Constitution to examine the issues of the subcategorization of Other Backward Classes with the following terms of reference: To examine the extent of inequitable distribution of benefits of reservation among the castes or communities included in the broad category of Other Backward Classes with reference to such classes included in the Central List; To work out the mechanism, criteria, norms and parameters in a scientific approach for sub-categorisation within such Other Backward Classes; and To take up the exercise of identifying the respective castes or communities or sub-castes or synonyms in the Central List of Other Backward Classes and classifying them into their respective sub-categories. The four-member Commission headed by Justice G. Rohini, former Chief Justice Delhi High Court.
Article 340 The President may by order appoint a Commission consisting of such persons as he thinks fit to investigate the conditions of socially and educationally backward classes within the territory of India and the difficulties under which they labour and to make recommendations as to the steps that should be taken by the Union or any State to remove such difficulties and to improve their condition.
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19. Article 371 A
Context: Nagaland Governor has expressed concern over the “precarious law and order” situation in the state where armed gangs have challenged the legitimacy of the constitutionally established state government on a daily basis. Added he could no longer abstain from constitutional obligations in the state under Article 371A (1) (b) Of the Constitution.
Concept: Article 371A of the Constitution mainly states that no act of Parliament would apply to the state of Nagaland in matter relating to religious or social practices of Nagas, Naga customary law and procedure, administration of civil or criminal justice involving decisions according to Naga customary law and ownership and transfer of land and its resources. The Legislative Assembly of Nagaland must pass a resolution for an act to be applicable to the state. The governor is given special responsibilities with respect to law and order in the state as well.
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20. What is National Pharmaceutical Pricing Authority (NPPA)? Context: National Pharmaceutical Pricing Authority (NPPA) in an office memorandum has “advised” manufacturers to comply with BIS standards for N95 mask.
Concept: National Pharmaceutical Pricing Authority (NPPA) was constituted as an attached office of the Department of Pharmaceuticals (DoP) in 1997 under Ministry of Chemicals & Fertilizers as an independent Regulator for pricing of drugs and to ensure availability and accessibility of medicines at affordable prices. It fixes ceiling prices of scheduled essential drugs and monitors Maximum Retail Prices (MRPs) of remaining non-scheduled medical devices, which have been regulated as drugs.
Drugs (Prices Control) Order (DPCO) The Drugs Prices Control Order, 1995 is an order issued by the Government of India under Sec. 3 of Essential Commodities Act, 1955 to regulate the prices of drugs. The Order inter alia provides the list of price controlled drugs, procedures for fixation of prices of drugs, method of implementation of prices fixed by Govt., penalties for contravention of provisions etc. For the purpose of implementing provisions of DPCO, powers of Government have been vested in NPPA. BIS
BIS is the National Standard Body of India established under the BIS Act 2016 for the harmonious development of the activities of standardization, marking and quality certificationof goods. BIS has been providing traceability and tangibility benefits to the national economy in a number of ways – providing safe reliable quality goods; minimizing health hazards to consumers; promoting exports and imports substitute; control over proliferation of varieties etc. through standardization, certification and testing.
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21. Official Language of HC
Context: Recently Governor of Haryana sent his recommendation to the President of India for his consent to authorize use of Hindi language in proceedings before the Punjab & Haryana High Court.
Concept: The constitutional provisions dealing with the language of the courts are as follows: Until Parliament provides otherwise, the following are to be in the English language only in all proceedings in the Supreme Court and in every high court.( Article 348 (1)) However, the governor of a state, with the previous consent of the president, can authorise the use of Hindi or any other official language of the state, in the proceedings in the high court of the state, but not with respect to the judgements, decrees and orders passed by it. In other words, the judgements, decrees and orders of the high court must continue to be in English only (until Parliament otherwise provides). .( Article 348 (2))
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22. Sec 69A of IT Act
Context: India government has banned 59 apps originating from China by invoking its power under Section 69A of the Information Technology Act
Concept:
Reason Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) said it had received many complaints including several reports about misuse of some mobile apps available on Android and iOS platforms for stealing and surreptitiously transmitting users’ data in an unauthorised manner to servers which have locations outside India. It also received many representations raising concerns from citizens regarding security of data and risk to privacy relating to operation of certain apps. The compilation of collected data, its mining and profiling by elements hostile to national security and defence of India, which ultimately impinges upon the sovereignty and integrity of India
Section 69A of IT act Power to issue directions for blocking for public access of any information through any computer resource Central Government or any of its officers specially authorized by it if satisfied that it is necessary or expedient so to do, in the interest of sovereignty and integrity of India, defence of India, security of the State, friendly relations with foreign States or public order or for preventing incitement to the commission of any cognizable offence relating to above, it may by order, direct any agency of the Government or intermediary to block for access by the public or cause to be blocked for access by the public any information generated, transmitted, received, stored or hosted in any computer resource.
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23. National data Sharing and Accessibility policy 2012
Context: Pandemic has exposed the unsatisfactory state of India’s data collection and processing. It was highlighted by the recent upward revisions to the COVID-19 death toll in some States.
Concept: The objective of this policy is to facilitate the access to Government of India owned shareable data and information in both human readable and machine readable forms through a network all over the country The National Data Sharing and Accessibility Policy will apply to all data and information created, generated, collected and archived using public funds provided by Government of India directly or through authorized agencies by various Ministries/Departments/Organizations/Agencies and Autonomous bodies. The policy envisages three types of access to data: open, registered and restricted.
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Economics 1. Insurance and COVID 19
Context: Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI) has wanted to arrive at a ‘standardized cost structure’ for treatment of the pandemic with COVID-19 patients running up high bills in private hospitals.
Concept: Currently standard Covid-19 insurance product which includes PPE kits and other consumables are not part of normal health insurance policy. As of now, private hospitals which have Covid-19 wards charge high rates with treatment costs ranging from Rs 3-8 lakh. “While government hospitals do not have adequate bed capacity to deal with patient load, the common man is unable to bear the expenses of a private hospital and especially a super speciality for Covid-19 treatment. In a communication to insurers, the General Insurance Council said the proposal under discussion entailed arriving at a negotiated rate for all elements associated with Covid treatment in a hospital.
General Insurance Council The General Insurance Council has been constituted under section 64C of the Insurance Act, 1938 since 2001 by the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI). The General Insurance Council is an important link between the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India and the non-Life insurance industry. It also pushes for the Industry’s issues with the Government. While the Council plays the role envisaged for it by the Insurance Act, it also facilitates overall growth for the industry in a fair and equitable manner in the interest of all stake holders.
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2. Loan moratorium and NPAs
Context: RBI permitted banks and NBFCs to allow a further 3-month moratorium, i.e from June 1 to August 31, 2020, on the payment of installments in respect of term loans outstanding as on March 31, 2020.
Concept: According to data provided by different banks, nearly 30 per cent of their outstanding loans have come under moratorium so far, with micro-finance borrowers facing extreme stress, followed by automobile finance, MSMEs, corporate and retail loans. For some banks, this percentage is almost 70 per cent. Impact of moratorium on banks Banks are likely to take a hit down the line since this is expected to significantly add to their non-performing assets (NPAs) from the second half of 2020-21. Banks are unlikely to face problems for the next three months as regulatory relaxations, will provide them a breather till September in recognising NPAs. Post September, NPAs are expected to shoot up from the current level of around Rs 10 lakh crore, when these loans come up for repayments.
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3. World Milk day
Context: World milk day celebrated on June 1 since 2001
Concept: FAO (the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations) was asked to propose a specific day on which all aspects of milk could be celebrated. The Day provides an opportunity to focus attention on milk and to publicise activities connected with milk and the milk industry. The fact that many countries choose to do this on the same day lends additional importance to individual national celebrations and shows that milk is a global food. The theme for World Milk day 2020 is ‘the 20th Anniversary of World Milk Day’. The day is being celebrated to promote the health benefits of milk and dairy products. India is the world’s largest milk producer, with 22 percent of global production, followed by the United States of America, China, Pakistan and Brazil.
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4. CHAMPIONS:
Context: Prime Minister has launched the technology platform CHAMPIONS which stands for Creation and Harmonious Application of Modern Processes for Increasing the Output and National Strength.
Concept: The portal is basically for making the smaller units big by solving their grievances, encouraging, supporting, helping and handholding. It is a real one-stop-shop solution of MSME Ministry. This ICT based system is set up to help the MSMEs in present difficult situation and also to handhold them to become national and international champions. Detailed objectives of CHAMPIONS: o Grievance Redressal: To resolve the problems of MSMEs including those of finance, raw materials, labor, regulatory permissions etc particularly in the COVID created difficult situation; o To help them capture new opportunities: including manufacturing of medical equipment and accessories like PPEs, masks, etc and supply them in National and International markets; o To identify and encourage the sparks: i.e. the potential MSMEs who are able to withstand the current situation and can become national and international champions. In addition to ICT tools including telephone, internet and video conference, the system is enabled by Artificial Intelligence, Data Analytics and Machine Learning.
Importance of MSMEs MSMEs are the backbone of Indian economy. Silently operating in different areas across the country, more than 6 crore MSMEs have a crucial role to play in building a stronger and self-reliant India. These small economic engines have a huge impact on the country's GDP- making a contribution of 29 percent. They contribute to almost half of exports from the country. Additionally, more than 11 crore people are employed in the MSME sector.
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5. Minimum Support Prices (MSP) Context: The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) chaired by Prime Minister has approved the increase in the Minimum Support Prices (MSPs) for all mandated Kharif crops for marketing season 2020-21.
Concept: Based on the recommendation of Commission for Agricultural Costs and Prices (CACP), the Cabinet has approved MSP of 14 kharif crops for 2020- 21. Farmers would get 50-83 per cent higher return over the cost of production The Centre has increased the MSP of kharif crops for 2020-21 crop year in line with the principle of fixing MSPs at a level which is at 1.5 times the cost of production that was announced in Union Budget 2018-19. Concerted efforts were made over the last few years to realign the MSPs in favour of oilseeds, pulses and coarse cereals to encourage farmers shift to larger area under these crops and adopt best technologies and farm practices, to correct demand – supply imbalance. The added focus on nutri-rich nutri-cereals is to incentivize its production in the areas where rice-wheat cannot be grown without long term adverse implications for groundwater table. Crops covered under MSP: Paddy, Jowar, Bajra, Ragi, Maize, Tur, Moong, Urad, groundnut, sunflower seed, soyabean, nigerseed, Cotton and sesamum Besides, the Umbrella Scheme "Pradhan Mantri AnnadataAay SanraksHan Abhiyan” (PM-AASHA) announced by the government in 2018 will aid in providing remunerative return to farmers for their produce. The Umbrella Scheme consists of three sub-schemes i.e. o Price Support Scheme (PSS) o Price Deficiency Payment Scheme (PDPS) o Private Procurement & Stockist Scheme (PPSS) on a pilot basis.
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6. Upward revision of MSME definition
Context: Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) approved the upward revision of MSME definition
Concept: Formally, MSMEs are defined in terms of investment in plant and machinery But this criterion for the definition was long criticized because credible and precise details of investments were not easily available by authorities. In February 2018, the Union Cabinet decided to change the criterion to “annual turnover”, which was more in line with the imposition of GST. According to the new definition, limit of micro unit was increased to Rs. 1 crore of investment and Rs 5 crore of turnover and limit of small unit was increased to Rs. 10 crore of investment and Rs 50 crore of turnover. Similarly, the limit of a medium unit was increased to Rs. 50 crore of investment and Rs. 250 crore of turnover. It may be noted that this revision was done after 14 years since the MSME Development Act came into existence in 2006.
Category and distribution According to the latest available (2018-19) Annual Report of Department of MSMEs, there are 6.34 crore MSMEs in the country. Around 51 per cent of these are situated in rural India. Together, they employ a little over 11 crore people but 55 per cent of the employment happens in the urban MSMEs. 99.5 per cent of all MSMEs fall in the micro category. While micro enterprises are equally distributed over rural and urban India, small and medium ones are predominantly in urban India.
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The medium and small enterprises — that is, the remaining 0.5% of all MSMEs — employ the remaining 5 crore-odd employees.
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7. Social Stock Exchange
Context: A SEBI-constituted panel on social stock exchange has suggested that non-profit organisations can directly list on such a bourse through issuance of bonds.
Concept: The panel was set up by SEBI in September 2019 under the Chairmanship of Ishaat Hussain to suggest possible structures and regulations for creating SSE to facilitate listing and fund-raising by social enterprises as well as voluntary organisations. Its recommendations: o The social stock exchange (SSE) can be housed within the existing stock exchange such as the BSE and/or National Stock Exchange (NSE). o Further, ranges of funding mechanisms have been recommended including some of the existing mechanisms such as Social Venture Funds (SVFs) under the Alternative Investment Funds. o In addition, a new minimum reporting standard has been proposed for organizations which would raise funds under SSE.
Social stock exchange A social stock exchange is a platform that allows investors to buy shares in a social enterprise that has been vetted by the exchange. There are only a few international examples and they follow different models. In London, it acts more as a directory connecting social enterprises with potential investors, while in Canada the SVX is an online platform where even retail investors can invest in funds or companies with social impact. In India, the finance minister said the exchange will come under the ambit of the Securities and Exchange Board of India and mentioned that it will be “an electronic fundraising platform”, but the precise nature of its functioning is unclear so far.
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8. Implications of rating downgrade
Context: International rating agency Moody’s downgraded India’s sovereign rating by a notch to Baa3 from Baa2 with a negative outlook over a weak reform push contributing to a prolonged period of slow growth that it expects to continue beyond the Covid-19 pandemic.
Concept: There are four main reasons why Moody’s has taken the decision. o Weak implementation of economic reforms since 2017 o Relatively low economic growth over a sustained period o A significant deterioration in the fiscal position of governments (central and state) o And the rising stress in India’s financial sector Ratings are based on the overall health of the economy and the state of government finances. A rating downgrade means that bonds issued by the Indian governments are now “riskier” than before, because weaker economic growth and worsening fiscal health undermine a government’s ability to pay back. It will increase cost of borrowing and investors will not show interest
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9. MGNREGA
Context: WITH THE lockdown sending lakhs of migrant labourers back to their villages, over 2.19 crore households utilised the rural job guarantee scheme in May, which is the highest for the month in the last eight years
Concept: An analysis of data in this category available currently from 2013-14 on the MGNREGA portal shows that the number of households that worked in May was 7.10 lakh higher than the 2.12 crore during the same month last year. MGNREGA, which is the largest work guarantee programme in the world, was enacted in 2005 with the primary objective of guaranteeing 100 days of wage employment per year to rural households whose adult members volunteer to do unskilled manual work. The act provides a legal right to employment for adult members of rural households. At least one third beneficiaries have to be women. Employment must be provided with 15 days of being demanded failing which an ‘unemployment allowance’ must be given.
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10. Key Agriculture Reform
Context: The Cabinet has approved historic amendment to the Essential Commodities Act and passed ordinances.
Concept: i. Amendment to ECA While India has become surplus in most agri-commodities, farmers have been unable to get better prices due to lack of investment in cold storage, warehouses, processing and export as the entrepreneurial spirit gets dampened due to hanging sword of Essential Commodities Act.
ECA: The Essential Commodities Act, 1955 was enacted to ensure the easy availability of essential commodities to consumers and to protect them from exploitation by unscrupulous traders. At present, there are seven commodities scheduled under the EC Act, 1955 as essential. o Drugs o Fertilizer, whether inorganic, organic or mixed o Foodstuffs, including edible oilseeds and oils o Hank yarn made wholly from cotton o Petroleum and petroleum products o Raw jute and jute textile o seeds of food-crops and seeds of fruits and vegetables, seeds of cattle fodder, jute seeds and cotton seed Exercising powers under the Act, various Ministries/Departments of the Central Government and under the delegated powers the State Governments/UT Administrations have issued Control Orders for regulating production, distribution, pricing and other aspects of trading in respect of the commodities declared as essential. The enforcement/implementation of the provisions of the Essential Commodities Act, 1955 lies with the State Governments and UT Administrations Benefits from amendment: With the amendment to Essential Commodities Act, commodities like cereals, pulses, oilseeds, edible oils, onion and potatoes will be removed from list of essential commodities.
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This will remove fears of private investors of excessive regulatory interference in their business operations. The freedom to produce, hold, move, distribute and supply will lead to harnessing of economies of scale and attract private sector/foreign direct investment into agriculture sector. It will help drive up investment in cold storages and modernization of food supply chain. ii. Barrier-free trade in agriculture produce There are restrictions for farmers in selling agri-produce outside the notified APMC market yards. The farmers are also restricted to sell the produce only to registered licensees of the State Governments. Further, Barriers exist in free flow of agriculture produce between various States owing to the prevalence of various APMC legislations enacted by the State Governments. Cabinet approved 'The Farming Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Ordinance, 2020'.
Benefits: Farmers and traders will enjoy freedom of choice of sale and purchase of agri-produce. Promote barrier-free inter-state and intra-state trade and commerce outside the physical premises of markets notified under State Agricultural Produce Marketing legislations. Open more choices for the farmer, reduce marketing costs for the farmers and help them in getting better prices. It will also help farmers of regions with surplus produce to get better prices and consumers of regions with shortages, lower prices. The ordinance also proposes an electronic trading in transaction platform for ensuring a seamless trade electronically. Creation of One India, One Agriculture Market iii. Farmers empowered to engage with processors, aggregators Indian Agriculture is characterized by fragmentation due to small holding sizes and has certain weaknesses such as weather dependence, production uncertainties and market unpredictability. This makes agriculture risky and inefficient in respect of both input & output management. So cabinet approved ‘The Farmers (Empowerment and Protection) Agreement on Price Assurance and Farm Services Ordinance, 2020’.
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Benefits: Empower farmers for engaging with processors, wholesalers, aggregators, wholesalers, large retailers, exporters etc., on a level playing field without any fear of exploitation. It will transfer the risk of market unpredictability from the farmer to the sponsor and also enable the farmer to access modern technology and better inputs. It will reduce cost of marketing and improve income of farmers. Act as a catalyst to attract private sector investment for building supply chains for supply of Indian farm produce to global markets. Farmers will get access to technology and advice for high value agriculture and get ready market for such produce. Farmers have been provided adequate protection. Sale, lease or mortgage of farmers’ land is totally prohibited and farmers’ land is also protected against any recovery. Effective dispute resolution mechanism has been provided for with clear time lines for redressal.
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11. Periodic Labour Force Survey PLFS
Context: The country’s job situation registered an improvement during 2018-19 with unemployment rate declining to 5.8 per cent, down from 6.1 per cent in the previous financial year, according to government data. The labour force participation rate (LFPR) during 2018-19 rose to 37.5 per cent as compared to 36.9 per cent a year ago, said the Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS)
Concept: National Statistical Office (NSO) launched Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS) on April 2017. The objective of PLFS is primarily twofold: To estimate the key employment and unemployment indicators (viz. Worker Population Ratio, Labour Force Participation Rate, Unemployment Rate) in the short time interval of three months for the urban areas only in the Current Weekly Status (CWS) to estimate employment and unemployment indicators in both usual status (ps+ss) and CWS in both rural and urban areas annually.
Definitions: Labour Force Participation Rate (LFPR): LFPR is defined as the percentage of persons in labour force (i.e. working or seeking or available for work) in the population. Worker Population Ratio (WPR): WPR is defined as the percentage of employed persons in the population. Unemployment Rate (UR): UR is defined as the percentage of persons unemployed among the persons in the labour force.
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12. Bad Loans
Context: Bad loans of Indian banks are expected to rise to 11.3-11.6% this fiscal and Rs 45,000-82,500 crore capital might be required to overcome the rising asset quality pressures, according to ICRA Ratings.
Concept: A non-performing asset (NPA) is a banking industry term for a ‘bad loan’ – i.e. one that has not been repaid within the stipulated time, or where the scheduled payments are in arrears. A bank’s assets are the loans and advances it extends to customers. If these clients, including companies, do not repay either interest or part of principal or both, the loan turns into a bad loan.
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13. CRAR and Bank Capitalization:
Context: Despite a large part of the Atmanirbhar Bharat package relying on aggressive lending by banks, the government does not see an immediate need for equity infusion in the public sector banks (PSBs), as their capital to risk weighted asset ratio (CRAR) is expected to stay above the regulatory requirements
Concept: CRAR Capital Adequacy Ratio (CAR) is the ratio of a bank’s capital in relation to its risk weighted assets and current liabilities. It is decided by central banks and bank regulators to prevent commercial banks from taking excess leverage and becoming insolvent in the process. The Basel III norms stipulated a capital to risk weighted assets of 8%. However, as per RBI norms, Indian scheduled commercial banks are required to maintain a CAR of 9% while Indian public sector banks are emphasized to maintain a CAR of 12%.
Recapitalization Bank recapitalization, means infusing more capital in state-run banks so that they meet the capital adequacy norms. The government, using different instruments, infuses capital into banks facing shortage of capital. In compliance with RBI guidelines which are based on Basel norms requiring banks to maintain certain amount of capital reserves, the government, which is also the biggest shareholder, infuses capital in banks by either buying new shares or by issuing bonds. As the state-run banks were struggling to deal with burgeoning NPAs, the government from time-to-time kept on announcing recapitalization to keep the banks afloat.
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14. Foreign Portfolio Investor
Context: Foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) bought shares worth ₹20,814 crore in just five trading sessions in the current month. This is the highest in any month of 2020.
Concept: Foreign portfolio investment (FPI) consists of securities and other financial assets held by investors in another country. It does not provide the investor with direct ownership of a company's assets and is relatively liquid depending on the volatility of the market. FPI holdings can include stocks, depository receipts, bonds, mutual funds, and exchange traded funds
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15. Payments Infrastructure Development Fund (PIDF)
Context: The Reserve Bank of India is going to create Rs 500-crore payments infrastructure development fund (PIDF) to encourage acquirers to deploy points of sale (PoS) infrastructure both physical and digital modes in tier-3 to tier-6 centres as also in north-eastern states.
Concept: Half of the fund will be initially contributed by RBI The remaining contribution of the fund will be from card-issuing banks and card networks operating in the country. The fund will be governed through an Advisory Council and managed and administered by RBI. The fund will also receive recurring contributions to cover operational expenses from card-issuing banks and card networks. RBI will also contribute to yearly shortfalls, if necessary.
Need for the fund: Due to the high cost of merchant acquisition and installation the majority of POS terminals in the country are concentrated in Tier-1 and 2 cities and towns, leaving other regions behind. This fund will make the economics more favourable and will significantly increase the merchant base accepting digital payments
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16. Gold Bond Scheme
Context: Government announced opening up of Sovereign Gold Bonds 2020-21 (Series III) for the period June 08-12, 2020.
Concept: Gold bonds have been introduced to convert the demand for gold as a physical asset into financial savings. Sovereign Gold Bonds or SGBs issued by the RBI on behalf of government are priced in relation to the price of gold and offer a fixed interest rate. At the time of maturity, the bond owner receives the value of the bond in line with the current price of gold. Gold bonds are restricted for sale to resident Indian entities including individuals, HUFs, trusts, universities and charitable institutions. The minimum application size for this investment is equivalent to 1 gram of gold and the maximum limit of subscribed shall be 4 KG for individual, 4 Kg for HUF and 20 Kg for trusts and similar entities per fiscal year (April- March). Bonds can be used as collateral for loans and are tradable on stock exchanges within a fortnight of the issuance on a date as notified by the RBI.
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17. Monetary Policy and Demand in economy
Context: In the last monetary policy committee meeting, RBI governor expressed the need for boosting investment and consumption through easing finance conditions.
Concept: After cutting interest rates by 75 basis points (bps) in March, the central bank further brought down the repo rate by 40 bps to 4% in May in a bid to revive demand amid a slowing economy.
Monetary Policy and Aggregate Demand Monetary policy affects interest rates and the available quantity of loanable funds, which in turn affects several components of aggregate demand. Tight or contractionary monetary policy that leads to higher interest rates and a reduced quantity of loanable funds will reduce two components of aggregate demand. Business investment will decline because it is less attractive for firms to borrow money, and even firms that have money will notice that, with higher interest rates, it is relatively more attractive to put those funds in a financial investment than to make an investment in physical capital. In addition, higher interest rates will discourage consumer borrowing for big-ticket items like houses and cars. Conversely, loose or expansionary monetary policy that leads to lower interest rates and a higher quantity of loanable funds will tend to increase business investment and consumer borrowing for big-ticket items. If the economy is suffering a recession and high unemployment, with output below potential GDP, expansionary monetary policy can help the economy return to potential GDP.
R- interest rate, I-investment, C-consumption, P-price
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18. Dialectical Materialism
Context: Thomas Piketty in his new book “Capital and Ideology” examines a trajectory of inequality in the world, with an optimistic suggestion on how to realise a better future for all. Concept: Scholars look at income inequality in purely economistic terms, but Piketty is among those who look at such issues holistically, in their economic, sociological, historical, political and even cultural ramifications. Such scholars are a rare breed and are usually indebted to Karl Marx. In the Communist Manifesto, Marx had asserted that the history of all hitherto existing society is the history of class struggles. Dialectical materialism led Marx to conclude that the pauperisation of peasants and workers would result in the violent overthrow of the propertied class, as in the Reign of Terror of 1789 and the 1917 October Revolution. But Piketty believes that a just society can be established through participatory socialism, with explicit power-sharing between workers and shareholders.
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19. Gross Value Added
Concept: In 2015, India made major changes to its compilation of national accounts and bring the whole process into conformity with the United Nations System of National Accounts (SNA) of 2008.
GVA As per the SNA, gross value added, is defined as the value of output minus the value of intermediate consumption and is a measure of the contribution to GDP made by an individual producer, industry or sector. At its simplest it gives the rupee value of goods and services produced in the economy after deducting the cost of inputs and raw materials used. GVA can be described as the main entry on the income side of the nation’s accounting balance sheet, and from an economics perspective represents the supply side. In the new series, in which the base year was shifted to 2011-12 from the earlier 2004-05, GVA at basic prices became the primary measure of output across the economy’s various sectors and when added to net taxes on products amounts to the GDP.
GDP It is the sum of private consumption, gross investment in the economy, government investment, government spending and net foreign trade (difference between exports and imports).
GDP vs GVA GDP at Market Prices = Σ GVA at basic prices + product taxes – product subsidies. GDP = C + G + I + NX (where C=consumption; G=government spending; I=Investment; and NX=net exports). While GVA gives a picture of the state of economic activity from the producers’ side or supply side, the GDP gives the picture from the consumers’ side or demand perspective. A sector-wise breakdown provided by the GVA measure helps policymakers decide which sectors need incentives or stimulus and accordingly formulate sector specific policies. But GDP is a key measure
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when it comes to making cross-country analysis and comparing the incomes of different economies.
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20. Direct Tax Buoyancy, Revenue Foregone, Tax Base
Context: The gross direct tax collection in 2019-20 fiscal dipped 4.92 per cent to Rs 12.33 lakh crore on account of reduction in corporate tax rate, increased standard deduction and personal I-T exemption limit, the Income Tax department. The gross collections would have clocked 8 per cent growth to Rs 14.01 lakh crore in 2019-20 if revenue foregone in corporate tax and Personal Income Tax is taken into account. By removing the effect of the extraordinary and historic tax reform measures and higher issuance of refunds during the FY 2019-20, the buoyancy of total gross direct tax collection comes to 1.12
Concept:
Tax Buoyancy Tax buoyancy explains this relationship between the changes in government’s tax revenue growth and the changes in GDP. It refers to the responsiveness of tax revenue growth to changes in GDP. When a tax is buoyant, its revenue increases without increasing the tax rate. A similar looking concept is tax elasticity. It refers to changes in tax revenue in response to changes in tax rate.
Revenue Foregone The revenue forgone is also referred to as tax expenditure or indirect subsidy to taxpayers. The tax policy provides specific tax incentives which give rise to tax preferences. Such preferences have a definite revenue impact The Indian government started publishing the Statement of Revenue Foregone in 2006. This estimate of revenue foregone is intended to indicate the potential revenue gain if all tax incentives (exemptions, deductions, and similar measures) were rationalized.
Tax Base
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The tax base is the total amount of assets or revenue that a government can charge tax on. For example, the assessed value is the tax base for property taxes and taxable income is the tax base for income tax. It can also be defined as the total of taxable income, taxable assets, and the assessed value of property within the government tax jurisdiction.
Tax Base in India The tax base is different for direct tax and indirect tax. Direct taxes include income tax and property tax, whereas indirect taxes include GST, excise duty, and customs duty. The Income Tax Act under direct tax laws lays down the regulations of income tax. For example, an individual and HUF assessees with income more than Rs.2.5 lakh has to pay tax under the income tax. But there is no such income limit for other assessees like companies, partnership firms. The total of taxable income from all taxpayers constitutes the tax base. The Goods & Services Tax Act decides the GST base under indirect tax laws. For example, a registered person whose turnover is above Rs.40 lakh has to pay GST. The turnover of all taxpayers will constitute the tax base. To arrive at the tax liability, we should multiply the tax base with the respective tax rate. The size and growth (increase or decrease) of the tax base is crucial to the planning of local, state, or central government. The tax base size influences the taxable revenues which are available to a government. There is a direct correlation between the economic condition of the country and the budget of the government. The government has to always consider how their decisions will affect their tax base.
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21. Digital Divide
Context: Many states flagged concerns over the digital divide in education in a meeting called by the Human Resource Development (HRD) Ministry to discuss the way forward for learning amid the Covid-19 outbreak.
Concept: Digital divide is a term that refers to the gap between demographics and regions that have access to modern information and communications technology, and those that don't or have restricted access The digital divide typically exists between those in cities and those in rural areas; between the educated and the uneducated; between socioeconomic groups; and, globally, between the more and less industrially developed nations. According to CSC e-Governance Services India Ltd, a special purpose vehicle set up by the ministry of electronics and information technology, there has been a 100% surge in data consumption. There is a rural-urban component to the digital divide. Internet density in rural areas accounting for 66% of population is around 25%, while among urban population (34%), internet density is almost 98%. According to the Internet and Mobile Association of India, male users account for 67% of India’s online population; women account for just 29%.
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22. Global Economic Prospects
Context: In its latest Global Economic Prospects report, the World Bank predicted a 3.2 per cent contraction in India's economy during the current fiscal year.
Concept: Global economy is expected to contract by 5.2 per cent as a result of the the COVID-19 pandemic. This will be the deepest recession in global economy since the second World War, the World Bank also said. According to the report, economic activity among advanced economies is anticipated to shrink by seven per cent in 2020 as domestic demand and supply, trade and finance have been severely disrupted. Emerging Markets and Developing Economies (EMDEs) are expected to shrink by 2.5 per cent this year, their first contraction as a group in at least 60 years, it said.
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23. Why Indian forex reserve rising?
Context: India’s foreign exchange reserves hit an all-time high of $493.48 billion for the week ended May 29, according to the RBI data
Concept: The Forex Reserves (‘foreign exchange reserves’) of an economy is its ‘foreign currency assets’ added with its gold reserves, SDRs (Special Drawing Rights) and Reserve Tranche in the IMF.
The RBI Act, 1934 provides the overarching legal framework for deployment of reserves in different foreign currency assets and gold. Of total foreign currency assets in forex, 64 per cent is held in the securities like Treasury bills of foreign countries, 28 per cent is deposited in foreign central banks and 7.4 per cent is also deposited in commercial banks abroad, according to the RBI data. India also held 653.01 tonnes of gold as of March 2020, which are held overseas in safe custody with the Bank of England and the Bank for International Settlements as well as in domestic
Need for forex: The International Monetary Fund says official foreign exchange reserves are held in support of a range of objectives like supporting and maintaining confidence in the policies for monetary and exchange rate management including the capacity to intervene in support of the national or union currency. It will also limit external vulnerability by maintaining foreign
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currency liquidity to absorb shocks during times of crisis or when access to borrowing is curtailed.
Reason for spike Rise in forex reserves is the rise in investment in foreign portfolio investors in Indian stocks and foreign direct investments (FDIs). o Foreign investors had acquired stakes in several Indian companies in the last two months. After pulling out Rs 60,000 crore each from debt and equity segments in March, Foreign Portfolio Investments (FPIs), who expect a turnaround in the economy later this financial year, have now returned to the Indian markets and bought stocks worth over $2.75 billion in the first week of June. Fall in crude oil prices has brought down the oil import bill, saving the precious foreign exchange. Overseas remittances and foreign travels have fallen steeply.
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24. Consolidation and Strategic sale of PSUs and New PSE policy
Context: Government is looking for second “generation reform” that is necessary to give a structural push to growth by consolidating and privatizing CPSEs.
Concept: Finance Minister said a new coherent PSE policy will be announced, opening all sectors to private players with public sector enterprises (PSEs) playing an important role in defined areas. The policy on Public Sector Enterprises will make it very clear, strategic sector and non-strategic sectors. In strategic sectors, at least one enterprise will remain in the public sector but private sector will also be allowed. To minimize wasteful administrative costs, number of enterprises in strategic sectors will ordinarily be only one to four; others will be privatized or merged or brought under holding companies. The policy on PSEs is being prepared in consultation with NITI Aayog. NITI Aayog has earlier finalised a list of government companies and their individual assets for strategic sale. Currently, there is no clear definition of strategic sector. According to department of public enterprises document, strategic areas include arms & ammunition and the allied items of defence equipments, defence aircrafts and warships; atomic energy (except in the areas related to the operation of nuclear power and applications of radiation and radio- isotopes to agriculture, medicine and non-strategic industries); and railway transport. Disinvestment of government stakes in companies have become a major source of nontax revenue in recent years with collections of Rs 1 lakh crore in FY18, Rs 85,000 crore in FY19 and Rs 50,300 crore in FY20. With market conditions not conducive, the Centre might nearly halve the disinvestment revenue target of Rs 2.1 lakh crore for FY21.
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25. FDI from Cayman Island (Tax Haven and Rountripping):
Context: According to the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT), Cayman Islands has emerged as the fifth largest investor in India, with foreign direct investment from the nation increasing over three-fold to USD 3.7 billion in 2019-20
Concept: India had received FDI worth USD one billion in 2018-19 and USD 1.23 billion in 2017-18 from Cayman Islands, which is UK Overseas Territory. Similarly, FDI from Cyprus too increased by about three-times to USD 879 million in the last financial year. Cayman Islands has become one of the most preferred jurisdictions for routing investments due to the absence of direct taxes costs. Additionally, this new trend caused wary among regulators as investments from tax havens do carry a comparatively higher perceived risk of laundered money, round tripping issues etc
Tax Haven A tax haven is generally an offshore country that offers foreign individuals and businesses little or no tax liability in a politically and economically static environment. Tax havens also share limited or no financial information with foreign tax authorities. Tax havens do not typically require residency or business presence for individuals and businesses to benefit from their tax policies.
Round tripping In the context of black money, it leaves the country through various channels such as inflated invoices, payments to shell companies overseas, the hawala route and so on. After cooling its heels overseas for a while, this money returns in a freshly laundered form; thus completing a round-trip. This route is far from simple or straightforward. Those indulging in this game are past masters who make the money flow through multiple layers consisting of many entities and companies.
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The money could be returned by investment in offshore funds that in turn invest in Indian assets. The Global Depository Receipts (GDR) and Participatory Notes (P-Notes) are some of the other routes that have been used in the past.
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26. World child labour day
Context: The United Nations and International Labour Organization (ILO) observe 12 June every year as the world day against child labour.
Concept: The occassion was originally launched by the ILO in 2002 to create awareness about the global extent of child labour and the actions and efforts that are needed to eliminate it. The theme of World Day Against Child Labour 2020 is 'COVID-19 - Protect children from child labour now, more than ever.' According to UN data, Africa and the Asia and the Pacific regions together account for almost nine out of every ten children in child labour worldwide. As per the last census, there are over 10 million child labourers in India.
Government measures: India is committed for eradication of child labour from the country. The Government has amended the Child Labour (Prohibition & Regulation) Act, 1986 and enacted the Child Labour (Prohibition & Regulation) Amendment Act, 2016. It provides for complete prohibition of work or employment of children below 14 years of age in any occupation and process and prohibition of adolescents in the age group of 14 to 18 years in hazardous occupations and processes. The Ministry of Labour and Employment is also implementing the National Child Labour Project (NCLP) Scheme since 1988 for rehabilitation of child labourers. Under the NCLP, the children in the age group of 9-14 years are rescued/withdrawn from work and enrolled in the NCLP Special Training Centres, where they are provided with bridge education, vocational training, mid-day meal, stipend, health care, etc. before being mainstreamed into formal education system. The children in the age group of 5-8 years are directly linked to the formal education system through a close coordination with the SarvaShikshaAbhiyan.
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To ensure the effective enforcement of the provisions of the Child Labour Act and smooth implementation of NCLP Scheme, a dedicated online portal named PENCIL (Platform for Effective Enforcement for No Child Labour) is developed in order to make the NCLP successful through better monitoring and implementation. The Portal connects Central Government to State Government(s), District(s), all Project Societies and the general public.
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27. Infrastructure Investment trust (InvIT)
Context: National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) is setting up an infrastructure investment trust (InvIT) to attract big-ticket funds; this is first by a government agency.
Concept: An Infrastructure Investment Trust (InvITs) is like a mutual fund, which enables direct investment of small amounts of money from possible individual/institutional investors in infrastructure to earn a small portion of the income as return. InvITs work like mutual funds or real estate investment trusts (REITs) in features. InvITs can be treated as the modified version of REITs designed to suit the specific circumstances of the infrastructure sector. SEBI notified the SEBI (Infrastructure Investment Trusts) Regulations, 2014 providing for registration and regulation of InvITs in India. The purpose of InvITs is to enable Infrastructure Companies to repay their debt obligation quickly and effectively. Since infrastructure-oriented projects tend to take time to generate substantial cash flow, InvITs come in handy for paying off loan interests and other expenses conveniently.
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28. Significance of rising Forex Reserve
Context: For the first time India’s forex reserves crossed $500 billion in the week ended June 5, 2020.
Concept: Forex reserves are define as external assets in the form of gold, SDRs (special drawing rights of the IMF) and foreign currency assets held by India and controlled by the Reserve Bank of India. Significance
Rising forex reserves will give a lot of comfort to the government and the Reserve Bank of India in managing India’s external and internal financial issues at a time when the economic growth is set to contract by 1.5 per cent in 2020-21. It is a big cushion in the event of any crisis on the economic front and enough to cover the import bill of the country for a year. The rising reserves have also helped the rupee to strengthen against the dollar. The foreign exchange reserves to GDP ratio is around 15 per cent. Reserves will provide a level of confidence to markets that a country can meet its external obligations, demonstrate the backing of domestic currency by external assets, assist the government in meeting its foreign exchange needs and external debt obligations and maintain a reserve for national disasters or emergencies.
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29. FSSAI Food Safety Index
Context: FSSAI food safety index for 2019-20 has been released.
Concept: The index ranks states on five parameters of food safety: human resources and institutional data, compliance, food testing facility, training and capacity building besides consumer empowerment. Gujarat, Tamil Nadu and Maharashtra have topped in the list of larger states on the index and among the smaller states, Goa, Manipur and Meghalaya. On the occasion of World Food Safety Day, FSSAI released the report.
World food safety day WHO, in collaboration with the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) is pleased to facilitate Member States efforts to celebrate the World Food Safety Day. The second World Food Safety Day (WFSD) was celebrated on 7 June 2020 to draw attention and inspire action to help prevent, detect and manage foodborne risks, contributing to food security, human health, economic prosperity, agriculture, market access, tourism and sustainable development. Under the theme “Food safety, everyone’s business”, the action oriented campaign will promote global food safety awareness and call upon countries and decision makers, the private sector, civil society, UN organizations and the general public to take action.
FSSAI Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) has been established under Food Safety and Standards act , 2006 which consolidates various acts & orders that have hitherto handled food related issues in various Ministries and Departments. FSSAI has been created for laying down science based standards for articles of food and to regulate their manufacture, storage, distribution, sale and import to ensure availability of safe and wholesome food for human consumption.
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Food Safety and Standard Act, 2006 Various central Acts like Prevention of Food Adulteration Act,1954, Fruit Products Order , 1955, Meat Food Products Order,1973, Vegetable Oil Products (Control) Order, 1947,Edible Oils Packaging (Regulation)Order 1988, Solvent Extracted Oil, De- Oiled Meal and Edible Flour (Control) Order, 1967, Milk and Milk Products Order, 1992 etc was repealed after commencement of FSS Act, 2006. The Act also aims to establish a single reference point for all matters relating to food safety and standards, by moving from multi- level, multi- departmental control to a single line of command. Ministry of Health & Family Welfare, Government of India is the Administrative Ministry for the implementation of FSSAI. The Chairperson and Chief Executive Officer of Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) have already been appointed by Government of India. The Chairperson is in the rank of Secretary to Government of India.
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30. New Policy on Electronics
Context: To seize the moment and to become an electronics manufacturing giant in the post-Covid-19 era, Indian government announced policies involve spending ₹50,000 crore and aim to attract everyone from semiconductor manufacturers to mobile phone and component giants
Concept: Schemes announced:
(i) Production Linked Incentive Scheme (PLI) for Large Scale Electronics Manufacturing shall extend an incentive of 4% to 6% on incremental sales (over base year) of goods manufactured in India and covered under the target segments, to eligible companies, for a period of five years subsequent to the base year
(ii) Scheme for Promotion of Manufacturing of Electronic Components and Semiconductors (SPECS) shall provide financial incentive of 25% on capital expenditure for the identified list of electronic goods, i.e., electronic components, semiconductor/ display fabrication units, Assembly, Test, Marking and Packaging (ATMP) units, specialized sub-assemblies and capital goods for manufacture of aforesaid goods
(iii) Modified Electronics Manufacturing Clusters (EMC 2.0) Scheme shall provide support for creation of world class infrastructure along with common facilities and amenities, including Ready Built Factory (RBF) sheds / Plug and Play facilities for attracting major global electronics manufacturers, along with their supply chains.
Salient Features of NPE 2019 The Policy envisions positioning India as a global hub for Electronics System Design and Manufacturing - (ESDM) by encouraging and driving capabilities in the country for developing core components and creating an enabling environment for the industry to compete globally. Create eco-system for globally competitive ESDM sector: Promoting domestic manufacturing and export in the entire value-chain of ESDM.
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Provide incentives and support for manufacturing of core electronic components. Provide special package of incentives for mega projects which are extremely high-tech and entail huge investments, such as semiconductor facilities display fabrication, etc. Promote Industry-led R&D and innovation in all sub-sectors of electronics, including grass root level innovations and early stage Start-ups in emerging technology areas such as 5G, loT/ Sensors, Artificial Intelligence (Al), Machine Learning, Virtual Reality (VR), Drones, Robotics, Additive Manufacturing, Photonics, Nano-based devices, etc. Provide incentives and support for significantly enhancing availability of skilled manpower, including re-skilling. Special thrust on Fabless Chip Design Industry, Medical Electronic Devices Industry, Automotive Electronics Industry and Power Electronics for Mobility and Strategic Electronics Industry. Create Sovereign Patent Fund (SPF) to promote the development and acquisition of IPs in ESDM sector. Promote trusted electronics value chain initiatives to improve national cyber security profile.
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31. Role of RBI
Context: Reserve Bank of India has come up with a discussion paper to inform about the governance structure at commercial banks and institute new checks and balances on their business, compliance and risk management functions.
Concept: Being Central bank of India, following functions are performed by RBI
1. Issue of Bank Notes: The Reserve Bank of India has the sole right to issue currency notes except one rupee notes which are issued by the Ministry of Finance. Currency notes issued by the Reserve Bank are declared unlimited legal tender throughout the country
2. Banker to Government: As banker to the government the Reserve Bank manages the banking needs of the government. It has to-maintain and operate the government’s deposit accounts. It collects receipts of funds and makes payments on behalf of the government. It represents the Government of India as the member of the IMF and the World Bank.
3. Custodian of Cash Reserves of Commercial Banks: The commercial banks hold deposits in the Reserve Bank and the latter has the custody of the cash reserves of the commercial banks.
4. Custodian of Country’s Foreign Currency Reserves: The Reserve Bank has the custody of the country’s reserves of international currency, and this enables the Reserve Bank to deal with crisis connected with adverse balance of payments position.
5. Lender of Last Resort: The commercial banks approach the Reserve Bank in times of emergency to tide over financial difficulties, and the Reserve bank comes to their rescue though it might charge a higher rate of interest.
6. Controller of Credit:
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Since credit money forms the most important part of supply of money, and since the supply of money has important implications for economic stability, the importance of control of credit becomes obvious. Credit is controlled by the Reserve Bank in accordance with the economic priorities of the government through Repo rate, reverse repo rate.
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32. WPI
Context: Wholesale prices in the country have deflated to 3.21 per cent in May due to sharp decline in prices of fuel and power, even as food articles turned expensive. The annual rate of inflation, based on monthly Wholesale Price Index (WPI), stood at (-) 3.21 per cent (provisional) for May 2020 as compared to 2.79 per cent during the corresponding month of the previous year.
Concept: Wholesale Price Index, or WPI, measures the changes in the prices of goods sold and traded in bulk by wholesale businesses to other businesses The numbers are released by the Economic Advisor in the Ministry of Commerce and Industry.
WPI Vs CPI While WPI keeps track of the wholesale price of goods, the CPI measures the average price that households pay for a basket of different goods and services. Even as the WPI is used as a key measure of inflation in some economies, the RBI no longer uses it for policy purposes, including setting repo rates. The central bank currently uses CPI or retail inflation as a key measure of inflation to set the monetary and credit policy.
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33. Indian Gas Exchange
Context: Indian Gas Exchange (IGX), India’s first gas exchange was launched
Concept: The IGX is a digital trading platform that will allow buyers and sellers of natural gas to trade in both spot market and in the forward market for imported natural gas. It will facilitate transparent price discovery in natural gas, and facilitate the growth of the share of natural gas in India’s energy basket. The price of domestically produced natural gas is decided by the government. It will not be sold on the gas exchange. The exchange also allows much shorter contracts for delivery on the next day, and up to a month while ordinarily contracts for natural gas supply are as long as six months to a year.
Background: Domestically produced natural gas currently accounts for less than half the country’s natural gas consumption while imported LNG accounts for the other half. LNG imports are set to become a larger proportion of domestic gas consumption as India moves to increase the proportion of natural gas in the energy basket from 6.2% in 2018 to 15% by 2030.
Natural gas: Natural gas is a mixture of gases which are rich in hydrocarbons. Natural gas reserves are deep inside the earth near other solid & liquid hydrocarbons beds like coal and crude oil. Natural gas is mainly used as fuel for generating electricity and heat. Natural gas in compressed form is used as fuel for vehicles which is known as CNG. This is used for making fertilizers also, mainly ammonia. Russia, USA and Canada are major producers & consumers. For transporting, two variants are used - LNG for cross countries exchange and CNG for domestic purpose.
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34. Anti –Dumping duty
Context: Finance Ministry has extended of existing anti-dumping duty on Nylon Tyre Cord Fabric (NTCF) imports from China by six months
Concept: An anti-dumping duty is a protectionist tariff that a domestic government imposes on foreign imports that it believes are priced below fair market value. Dumping is a process where a company exports a product at a price lower than the price it normally charges in its own home market. The duty is aimed at ensuring fair trading practices and creating a level- playing field for domestic producers vis-a-vis foreign producers and exporters. The duty is imposed only after a thorough investigation by a quasi-judicial body, such as Directorate General of Trade Remedies, in India. The imposition of anti-dumping duty is permissible under the World Trade Organization (WTO) regime.
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35. Force Majeure
Concept: The term ‘force majeure’ has been defined in Black’s Law Dictionary, as ‘an event or effect that can be neither anticipated nor controlled. From a contractual perspective, a force majeure clause provides temporary reprieve to a party from performing its obligations under a contract upon occurrence of a force majeure event. While force majeure has neither been defined nor specifically dealt with, in Indian statutes, some reference can be found in Section 32 of the Indian Contract Act, 1872 (the "Contract Act") envisages that if a contract is contingent on the happening of an event which event becomes impossible, then the contract becomes void. Force majeure clauses can usually be found in various contracts such as power purchase agreements, supply contracts, manufacturing contracts, distribution agreements, project finance agreements, agreements between real estate developers and home buyers, etc.
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36. Deflation:
Context: The wholesale price index inflation has contracted 3.21 percent in May, slipping into negative territory for the first time in over four years and showing signs of deflation.
Concept: What is Deflation? Deflation occurs when asset and consumer prices fall over time. t is the opposite of the often encountered inflation. A reduction in money supply or credit availability is the reason for deflation in most cases. Reduced investment spending by government or individuals may also lead to this situation.
Impact: Deflation leads to a problem of increased unemployment due to slack in demand.
What can RBI do? They may infuse a higher money supply into the economy to counter- balance the deflationary impact.
Is deflation similar to disinflation? Deflation is different from disinflation as the latter implies decrease in the level of inflation whereas on the other hand deflation implies negative inflation.
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37. Review of Loan moratorium
Context: The Supreme Court directed the Centre and Reserve Bank of India to review the moratorium scheme on term loans and create tailored schemes for various sectors.
Concept: Initially in March, the central bank had allowed a three-month moratorium from paying EMIs and other loans on payment of all term loans due between 1 March and 31 May. The central bank had on 22 May extended moratorium on term loans till 31 August amid the nationwide lockdown due to covid-19. Moratorium is simply not to pay EMIs for that time period and no penal interest will be charged. It is not a concession of any kind and is simply a deferment of the payment to provide some relief to borrowers facing liquidity issues. The interest would continue to accrue during the moratorium, which ultimately the borrower would have to pay. The petitioner argued that no interest should be charged during the moratorium because people are facing “extreme hardship".
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38. NIPFP
Context: Mr.Urjit Patel was appointed as chairman of India’s premier economic think tank National Institute of Public Finance and Policy (NIPFP),
Concept: The National Institute of Public Finance and Policy (NIPFP) is a centre for research in public economics and policies. Founded in 1976, the institute undertakes research, policy advocacy and capacity building in areas related to public economics. One of the major mandates of the institute is to assist the Central, State and Local governments in formulating and reforming public policies by providing an analytical base. The institute was set up as an autonomous society, at the joint initiative of the Ministry of Finance, Planning Commission, several State governments and distinguished academicians. It is registered under the Societies Registration Act, 1860. Although the institute receives an annual grant from the Ministry of Finance, Government of India, and various State governments, it maintains an independent nongovernment character in its pursuit of research and policy. The governing body of NIPFP comprises of Revenue Secretary, Economic Affairs Secretary and the Chief Economic Advisor from the Union Finance Ministry, besides representatives from Niti Aayog, RBI and three state governments
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39. Section 7 of RBI Act
Context: The RBI and the government differed on a number of policy-related matters including surplus transfer to the exchequer while Mr.Urjit Patel was RBI governor
Concept: According to Section 7(1) of the RBI Act, 1934, the Central Government may from time to time give such directions to the Bank as it may, after consultation with the Governor of the Bank, consider necessary in the public interest.
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40. Gig Economy
Context: A Deloitte report from April “Future of work accelerated” notes that Indian organisations are considering to expand the share of gig workers, as dependence on full-time workers reduces. Current pandemic crisis also induced discussion on the levels of social protection available to gig workers including wage protection, health benefits and safety assurance.
Concept: In a gig economy, temporary, flexible jobs are commonplace and companies tend toward hiring independent contractors and freelancers instead of full-time employees. A gig economy undermines the traditional economy of full-time workers who rarely change positions and instead focus on a lifetime career. The drivers of Uber, the delivery boys of Zomato, the plumbers and electricians of Urban Clap make up the gig world.
Advantages: The gig economy can benefit workers, businesses, and consumers by making work more adaptable to the needs of the moment and demand for flexible lifestyles. The result of a gig economy is cheaper, more efficient services.
Concerns The gig economy is largely unregulated, therefore workers have little job security and few benefits. Unless a person is extremely talented, his bargaining power will necessarily be limited. While companies routinely invest in training employees, a gig-economy workers will have to upgrade his skills on his own at his own cost. There are already many more potential online independent workers than jobs, and this demand-supply mismatch will only get worse over time, depressing wages.
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41. Coal mining (Total resources, Production and import):
Context: Government has announced the auction of 41 coal blocks that have a capacity to produce 225 million tonnes of coal per year after removing the end-use restrictions and relaxed prior mining experience as bidding criteria.
Concept: India imports nearly 250 million tonnes of coal from other countries despite having the world’s fourth largest coal reserve.
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Commercial mining allows the private sector to mine coal commercially without placing any end-use restrictions. The private firms have the option of either gasification of the coal or exporting it. Further, with 100 per cent foreign direct investment allowed in the coal sector, global companies can also participate in the auctions. The complete freedom to decide on sale, pricing, and captive utilisation is expected to attract many private sector firms to participate in the auction process. The government expects these steps will generate employment and reduce India’s import bill. Private sector participation was permitted until the early 1970s. Then government has announced the nationalization of the coal blocks in two phases between 1971 and 1973. The government is hoping that the involvement of the private sector will increase production and make India self-sufficient in meeting its internal coal requirements.
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42. Dollar as reserve currency:
Context: Ever since China started pilot project on its Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC), there has been speculations of possibility of China’s digital currency replacing the US dollar as the reserve currency of the world.
Concept: A reserve currency is a currency held in significant quantities by governments and institutions as a means of international payment and to support the value of national currencies. A large percentage of commodities, such as gold and oil, are priced in the reserve currency, causing other countries to hold this currency to pay for these goods.
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43. What is Basel Committee on Banking Supervision?
Context: The Discussion Paper on “Governance in Commercial Banks” released by the RBI is a high-quality document that contains principles drawn from those released by the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision (BCBS) in 2015.
Concept: The Basel Committee – initially named the Committee on Banking Regulations and Supervisory Practices was established by the central bank Governors of the Group of Ten countries at the end of 1974 in the aftermath of serious disturbances in international currency and banking markets The BCBS is the primary global standard setter for the prudential regulation of banks and provides a forum for cooperation on banking supervisory matters. Its mandate is to strengthen the regulation, supervision and practices of banks worldwide with the purpose of enhancing financial stability. The BCBS does not possess any formal supranational authority. Its decisions do not have legal force. Rather, the BCBS relies on its members’ commitments BCBS members include organizations with direct banking supervisory authority and central banks.
Basel Accords The Basel Accords are three series of banking regulations (Basel I, II, and III) set by the Basel Committee on Bank Supervision (BCBS). The committee provides recommendations on banking regulations, specifically, concerning capital risk, market risk, and operational risk. The accords ensure that financial institutions have enough capital on account to absorb unexpected losses. In 2010, Basel III guidelines were concluded. These guidelines were introduced in response to the financial crisis of 2008. The guidelines aim to promote a more resilient banking system by focusing on four vital banking parameters viz. capital, leverage, funding and liquidity.
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44. Reduction in PPF interest rate
Context: According to a report, government is said to be considering a reduction in the Public Provident Fund (PPF) interest rates to below 7%.
Concept: When the PPF scheme was launched in 1968, the introductory rate of interest hovered at 4.68% for the first two years before inching upwards to 5% and beyond. However, the best years in terms of interest rates were between April 1986 and January 2000, the interest rate was constant at 12%. The PPF interest rates are linked to the 10-year government bond yield, which is fixed every quarter, based on the average bond yield in the previous quarter. Considering that since April 1, the 10-year bond yield has averaged 6.05% with the current yield at 5.85%. It’s highly likely that the PPF interest rate for the July-Sept quarter will fall to less than 7%.
About PPF The Public Provident Fund scheme is one of the most popular long-term saving-cum-investment products, mainly due to its combination of safety, returns and tax savings. Investors use the PPF as a tool to build a corpus for their retirement by putting aside sums of money regularly, over long periods of time (PPF has a 15-year maturity and the facility to extend the tenure). With its attractive interest rates and tax benefits, the PPF is a big favorite with a small saver. The PPF is popular because it is one of the safest investment products. i.e., the government of India guarantees investments in the fund. The interest rate is set by the government every quarter. PPF scores over many other investment options mainly because investment is tax exempt under section 80C of the Income Tax Act (ITA) and the returns from PPF are also not taxable.
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45. U, V and W Recovery
Context: Analysts suggested that India’s economic recovery from COVID pandemic is more likely to be a ‘U’ or ‘W’ shaped rather than ‘V’.
Concept: Economic recession and recovery are often charted in the most common shapes such as U, V and W. A U-Shaped Recovery represents the shape of the chart of certain economic measures, such as employment, GDP and industrial output. It is also charted when the economy experiences a gradual decline in these metrics followed by a gradual rise back to its previous peak. A V-shaped recovery is characterized by a sharp economic decline followed by a quick and sustained recovery. This type of recession tends to be considered a best-case scenario. W-shaped recessions begin like V-shaped recessions but turn down again after false signs of recovery are exhibited. It is also known as double-dip recessions, because the economy drops twice prior to full recovery.
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46. Money Supply
Context: According to RBI data, M money supply rose 6.7% in the first five months compared with the same period last year, the highest growth in seven years.
Concept: The reason behind surge in money supply is heightened uncertainty caused by the COVID-19 pandemic as people hoard cash or park money in accessible deposits to safeguard themselves against salary cuts or job losses. Since the end of March, currency held by the public rose 8.2% compared with a 4.1% increase in term deposits, the data showed. Savings and current account deposits fell 8% due to higher withdrawals.
Currency in circulation Currency with the public is arrived at after deducting cash with banks from total currency in circulation. Currency in circulation refers to cash or currency within a country that is physically used to conduct transactions between consumers and businesses. Money Aggregates: Standard Measures of Money Supply Reserve Money (M0) = Currency in circulation + Bankers’ deposits with the RBI + ‘Other’ deposits with the RBI M1=Currency with the public + Deposit money of the public (Demand deposits with the banking system + ‘Other’ deposits with the RBI). It is called narrow money M2 =M1 + Savings deposits with Post office savings banks. M3 = M1+ Time deposits with the banking system. It is called broad money M4=M3 + All deposits with post office savings banks (excluding National Savings Certificates).
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47. Cooperative banks
Context: The Cabinet has decided to bring urban cooperatives and multi-State cooperative banks under RBI regulation.
Concept: Government banks, including 1,482 urban cooperative banks and 58 multistate cooperative banks, are now being brought under supervisory powers of Reserve Bank of India (RBI)
Background: The move to bring these urban and multi-State coop banks under the supervision of the RBI comes after several instances of fraud and serious financial irregularities, including the major scam at the Punjab and Maharashtra Cooperative (PMC) Bank last year. In September, the RBI was forced to supercede the PMC Bank’s board and impose strict restrictions. The Union Cabinet in February amended Banking Regulation Act to strengthen the cooperative banks in the country. During Budget 2020, Finance Minister also announced that cooperative banks will be brought under the ambit of RBI.
Cooperative banks Co-operative banks are financial entities established on a co-operative basis and belonging to their members. This means that the customers of a co- operative bank are also its owners. These banks provide a wide range of regular banking and financial services.
Structure: Broadly, co-operative banks in India are divided into two categories – urban and rural. Rural cooperative credit institutions could either be short-term or long- term in nature. Further, short-term cooperative credit institutions are further sub-divided into State Co-operative Banks, District Central Co-operative Banks, and Primary Agricultural Credit Societies.
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Meanwhile, the long-term institutions are either State Cooperative Agriculture or Rural Development Banks (SCARDBs) or Primary Cooperative Agriculture and Rural Development Banks (PCARDBs). On the other hand, Urban Co-operative Banks (UBBs) are either scheduled or non-scheduled. Scheduled and non-scheduled UCBs are again of two kindsmulti- state and those operating in single state.
Current Regulation: In India, co-operative banks are registered under the States Cooperative Societies Act. They also come under the regulatory ambit of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) under two laws, namely, the Banking Regulations Act, 1949, and the Banking Laws (Co-operative Societies) Act, 1955. They were brought under the RBI’s watch in 1966, a move which brought the problem of dual regulation along with it.
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48. Tariff rate quotes (TRQ)
Context: Centre has decided to allow milk powder imports under Tariff Rate Quota (TRQ). It irked dairy farmers, who are already struggling with lower realizations amid excess supply and demand destruction due to Covid-19.
Concept: A TRQ is a mechanism that allows a set quantity of specific products to be imported at a low or zero rate of duty. They are established under trade agreements between countries. TRQ commitment does not apply any limits on the quantity of the import products. But it applies a higher rate of duty for that specific product exceeding quota limit.
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49. Inland Water Ways
Context: The Shipping Ministry attempts to privatise the multi-modal cargo terminals at Varanasi, Haldia and Sahibganj on National Waterway 1 on equip operate transfer model
Concept: IWAI The Inland Waterways Authority of India (IWAI) came into existence on 27th October 1986 for development and regulation of inland waterways for shipping and navigation. The Authority primarily undertakes projects for development and maintenance of IWT infrastructure on national waterways through grant received from Ministry of Shipping. Functions National Waterways: Survey, Navigation, Infrastructure and Regulations, Fairway Development, Pilotage and Coordination of IWT with other modes General: Advise Central Government, Carry out hydrographic surveys, Assist State Governments, Develop consultancy services, Research & Development, Classification of waterways and Standards & safety
National inland water ways:
India has about 14,500 km of navigable waterways which comprise of rivers, canals, backwaters, creeks, etc. About 55 million tones of cargo is being moved annually by Inland Water Transport (IWT), a fuel – efficient and environment -friendly mode. Its operations are currently restricted to a few stretches in the Ganga- Bhagirathi-Hooghly rivers, the Brahmaputra, the Barak river, the rivers in Goa, the backwaters in Kerala, inland waters in Mumbai and the deltaic regions of the Godavari – Krishna rivers. To promote inland water transport in the country as an economical, environment friendly supplementary mode of transport to rail and road, 111 inland waterways (including 5 National Waterways declared earlier) were declared as ‘National Waterways’ under the National Waterways Act, 2016.
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50. Debt and fiscal consolidation
Context: 15 Finance commission chairperson N.K.Singh has suggested government should concentrate on interventions and fastest possible revival of the economy rather on debt and fiscal consolidation at present
Concept:
Debt Public debt is the total liabilities of the central government contracted against the Consolidated Fund of India. The debt-to-GDP ratio indicates how likely the country can pay off its debt. Investors often look at the debt-to-GDP metric to assess the government’s ability of finance its debt. Union government has followed a considered strategy to reduce its dependence on foreign loans in its overall loan mix. Internal debt constitutes more than 93% of the overall public debt. Also, note that external loans are not market loans. They have been raised from institutional creditors at concessional rates. Most of these external loans are fixed rate loans, free from interest rate or currency volatility. Internal loans that make up for the bulk of public debt are further divided into two broad categories – marketable and non-marketable debt. The NK Singh Committee on FRBM had envisaged a debt-to-GDP ratio of 40 per cent for the central government and 20 per cent for states aiming for a total of 60 per cent general government debt-to-GDP.
Status Paper on Government Debt The central government’s debt as a percentage of GDP dropped marginally by 0.1% from 45.8% in fiscal 2017-18 to 45.7% or Rs 86.73 lakh crore in FY19 Following a similar trend, the general government debt to GDP ratio, which includes the combined debt of the Centre and states, declined by the same percentage from 68.7% in March 2018 to 68.6% or Rs 1.3 crore crore (Rs 130 trillion) in March last year. The government’s finances were largely protected from currency risks as external debt stood at 2.7% of GDP or Rs 5.12 lakh crore in FY19.
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Further, as this was entirely from official sources, India was protected from volatility in international markets. 1 per cent of total Central Government debt at end-March 2019 was domestic debt
Fiscal consolidation Fiscal Consolidation refers to the policies undertaken by Governments to reduce their deficits and accumulation of debt stock. Fiscal consolidation is a process where government’s fiscal health is getting improved and is indicated by reduced fiscal deficit. Measures taken by the government to achieve fiscal consolidation. Improved tax revenue realization: For this, increasing efficiency of tax administration by reducing tax avoidance, eliminating tax evasion, enhancing tax compliance etc. are to be made. Enhancing tax GDP ratio by widening the tax base and minimizing tax concessions and exemptions also improves tax revenues. Better targeting of government subsidies and extending Direct Benefit Transfer scheme for more subsidies.
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51. Rate transmission and loan restructuring
Context:
Central Board of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) met through video conferencing and discussed the economic scenario, impact of the RBI measures and interest rate transmission but did not take up the proposal to restructure the loans of borrowers hit by COVID-19 pandemic.
Concept: Rate transmission It is the process through which RBI’s policy actions reach its effective end goal of tackling inflation and addressing growth concerns. The RBI earlier ordered banks to link the interest rateswith an external benchmark. Under the order, benchmarking was to be done to one of the following: Reserve Bank of India policy repo rate Government of India 3-Months Treasury Bill yield published by the Financial Benchmarks India Private Ltd (FBIL) Government of India 6-Months Treasury Bill yield published by the FBIL Any other benchmark market interest rate published by the FBIL. The rationale behind external benchmarking is that the prevailing mechanism inefficient in delivering monetary transmission.
Debt restructuring Restructuring is a practice that allows banks to modify the terms of the loan when the borrower is facing financial stress. Banks do that to avoid the borrower being declared a defaulter and the loan having to be classified as a non-performing asset. It could be through a change in the repayment period / repayable amount / number of installments / rate of interest/ additional loans.
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52. Lockdown generation
Context: A study by International Labour Organization has warned that the COVID crisis has disproportionately affected young people, and could impact upon their work opportunities and career options for decades to come.
Concept: ILO termed youths of present generation as ‘lockdown generation’ as they have been bearing social and economic impact of COVID pandemic. The Covid-19 pandemic has caused surging unemployment worldwide, but has hit young workers especially hard; forcing more than one in six people aged under 29 to stop working. One of the biggest blows dealt by the COVID-19 pandemic, and the consequent lockdown, has been to the livelihoods of the young working population, especially those in the lower income groups. The report warned that young people are facing a “triple shock” from the crisis, which is not only destroying their employment but has also disrupted education and training, and has made it far more difficult to try to enter the labour market or move between jobs. The ILO report called for an urgent and large-scale response to the crisis, including employment and training guarantee programmes for young people. It warned that if youths’ talent and energy is sidelined by a lack of opportunity or skills it will damage future and make it much more difficult to re-build a better, post-Covid economy.
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53. Debt crisis of developing world in wake of corona
Context: Nearly half of all low-income countries are living with high debt levels and have been since before the coronavirus crisis struck, according to estimates by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank.
Concept: The health crisis, sharp downturn in activity, and turmoil in global financial markets caught emerging market and developing economies at a bad moment. The past decade has seen the largest, fastest, and most broad-based increase in debt in these economies in the past 50 years. Since 2010, their total debt rose by 60 percentage points of GDP to a historic peak of more than 170 percent of GDP in 2019 Before the current pandemic period, emerging market and developing economies experienced the following three waves of broad-based debt accumulation between 1970 and 2009:1970–89: A combination of low real interest rates and a rapidly growing syndicated loan market through much of the 1970s encouraged governments in Latin America and low-income countries, especially in sub-Saharan Africa, to borrow heavily culminating in a series of financial crises in the early 1980s. 1990 – 2001: Financial and capital market liberalization enabled banks and businesses in east Asia and the Pacific and governments in Europe and central Asia to borrow heavily, particularly in foreign currencies ending with a series of crises during 1997–2001 once investor sentiment soured. 2002–09: A run-up in private sector borrowing in Europe and central Asia from EU-headquartered megabanks followed regulatory easing when the global financial crisis disrupted bank financing during 2007–09 and tipped several of these economies into recession. The three historical waves of debt had several things in common. They all began during periods of low real interest rates and were often facilitated by financial innovations or changes in financial markets that promoted borrowing. The waves ended with widespread financial crises and coincided with global recessions (1982, 1991, 2009) or downturns (1998, 2001).
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These crises were typically triggered by shocks that resulted in sharp increases in investor risk aversion, risk premiums, or borrowing costs, followed by sudden stops of capital inflows and deep recessions. The financial crises were usually followed by reforms designed to lower vulnerabilities (including greater reserve accumulation) and strengthen policy frameworks. Many emerging economies introduced inflation targeting, greater exchange rate flexibility, fiscal rules, or more robust financial sector supervision following financial crises.
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54. Expenditure Management measure
Context: Ministry of finance has disallowed the automatic carry forward of unspent money by various ministries and departments over the next month or quarter. It also decided that order restricting overall quarterly expenditure of certain ministries and departments to 15-20% of their budgeted amounts in the first quarter of this fiscal, will continue through the second quarter.
Concept: A decline in direct and goods and services tax collections further stressed the government’s revenue at a time the economy is headed toward its first full-year contraction in four decades. The government has reprioritised its spending in the current fiscal due to the Covid- 19 outbreak with focus on minimising spending on things that have low multiplier effect on the economy, and cutting dependency on items with high import intensity The ministry, in April, had classified government departments into three categories and tightened their spending for the April-June period, barring for those fighting the outbreak. The ministries or departments under category ‘C’ such as petrochemicals, coal, commerce, telecommunications, among others, could spend only 15% of budget estimate for the current year, while those in category ‘B’ such as fertilizers, posts, defence services can spend only 20%. No curbs were placed for departments under category ‘A’ that include agriculture, ayurveda, pharmaceuticals, civil aviation, rural development, among others. These restrictions will now continue for the quarter ending September.
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55. Equalization levy
Context: Just one week left to pay first installment of the equalisation levy on e-Commerce companies.
Concept: Equalization Levy was introduced in India in 2016-2017, with the intention of taxing the digital transactions i.e. the income accruing to foreign e- commerce companies from India. Equalization Levy is a direct tax, which is withheld at the time of payment by the service recipient. The two conditions to be met to be liable to equalization levy: o The payment should be made to a non-resident service provider; o The annual payment made to one service provider exceeds Rs. 1,00,000 in one financial year. The following services covered: o Online advertisement o Any provision for digital advertising space or facilities/ service for the purpose of online advertisement; Currently the applicable rate of tax is 6% of the gross consideration to be paid.
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56. Open Market Operation and Operation twist
Context: Reserve Bank has decided to conduct simultaneous purchase and sale of government securities under Open Market Operations (OMO) for ₹10,000 crores each on July 02, 2020
Concept:
OMO Open market operations are the sale and purchase of government securities and treasury bills by RBI or the central bank of the country. The objective of OMO is to regulate the money supply in the economy. When the RBI wants to increase the money supply in the economy, it purchases the government securities from the market and it sells government securities to suck out liquidity from the system. RBI carries out the OMO through commercial banks and does not directly deal with the public.
Operation twist: The tool essentially aims at changing the shape of the yield curve (hence the name — twist) through simultaneous buying and selling of long- and short-term government bonds. The intent is to moderate high long-term interest rates in the market and bring them closer to the repo rate.
Why needed? The RBI said it will buy long-dated government securities maturing between May-2027 and December 2033. On the other hand it will sell securities that mature between October 2020 and April 2021. The sale of short-term securities will push up the short-term rate. Experts say the move is necessary because the present market conditions in India have made investors/customers hesitant in making long-term investments or availing longterm loans. It may be noted that high market yields on long-term government securities often send interest rates on long-term loans soaring. This can
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affect customers seeking long term loans for vehicles, real estate, and other long-term borrowings. As the central bank buys more long-term security and sells off short term bonds, the bond yield -the return an investor gets on his holding - comes down significantly. Since long-term bond yield (10-year government securities) is a key market interest rate, lower rates can help people avail more long-term loans. It also helps in bringing down overall borrowing costs for the government.
History of Operation Twist: In 1961, the John F Kennedy administration proposed a solution to revive the weak economy through lower longer-term interest rates while keeping short-term interest rates unchanged. This initiative is now known as ‘Operation Twist’ which was employed by the US Fed.
Yield Curve: A yield curve is a graph of interest rate on all government bonds ranging from the short-term debt (one month) to long-term debt (could be high as 30 years). Typically, the short term bond has lower interest rate compared with the long-term bond reflecting the higher perceived risk of the latter. Hence a graph of the interest rate of the short-term bond and longer-term will be an increasing line chart. This in technical parlance is called an upward sloping curve.
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57. Anti-Dumping duty and countervailing
Context: Department of Pharmaceuticals has written to domestic medical devices manufacturers to report on unfair trade practices in exporting market.
Concept: An anti-dumping duty is a protectionist tariff that a domestic government imposes on foreign imports that it believes are priced below fair market value. Dumping is a process where a company exports a product at a price lower than the price it normally charges in its own home market. For protection, many countries impose stiff duties on products they believe are being dumped in their national market, undercutting local businesses and markets. Countervailing Duties (CVDs) are tariffs levied on imported goods to offset subsidies made to producers of these goods in the exporting country. CVDs are meant to level the playing field between domestic producers of a product and foreign producers of the same product who can afford to sell it at a lower price because of the subsidy they receive from their government.
Director General of Trade Remedies The Directorate General of Trade Remedies (earlier known as Directorate General of Anti-dumping and Allied Duties) was named in May 2018 as an integrated single window agency for providing comprehensive and swift trade defence mechanism in India. Earlier, the Directorate General of Anti-dumping and Allied Duties (DGAD) dealt with anti-dumping and CVD cases, Directorate General of Safeguards (DGS) dealt with safeguard measures and DGFT dealt with quantitative restriction (QR) safeguards. The DGTR brings DGAD, DGS and Safeguards (QR) functions of DGFT into its fold by merging them into one single national entity. DGTR now deals with Anti-dumping, CVD and Safeguard measures. It also provides trade defence support to our domestic industry and exporters in dealing with increasing instances of trade remedy investigations instituted against them by other countries. DGTR provides a level playing field to the domestic industry against the adverse impact of the unfair trade practices like dumping and actionable subsidies from any
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exporting country, by using Trade Remedial methods under relevant framework of WTO arrangements, Customs Tariff Act & Rules and other relevant laws and International agreements, in a transparent and time bound manner. DGTR functions as an attached office of Department of Commerce, Ministry of Commerce and Industry.
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General Science 1. A new era in space exploration
Context: SpaceX’s Crew Dragon has landed two NASA astronauts at the International Space Station
Concept: It was the first time that astronauts used a spaceship built and launched by a private company, and the event is being widely seen as the beginning of a new era in space exploration. For NASA, it was the first flight of its astronauts on an American spaceship, launched on American soil, after nine years. SpaceX flight therefore is a culmination of more than decade-long efforts to free to enable private players build and operate what essentially is a commercial taxi-service to space, and allow NASA to concentrate on deep space exploration, and work more vigorously towards taking humans to moon, and Mars, and, possibly, on some asteroid, in between. The involvement of private industry in the space sector is nothing new. World over, more and more work of space agencies is being done in collaboration with private companies. There are literally hundreds of private entities building commercial satellites for their clients.
ISRO and private sector Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) has collaborated with private in building and fabricating the components that go into making rockets and satellites. There are several that have started making satellites for their own use, or for their clients. However, launch services, including the building of rockets or launch vehicles to take the satellites into space, is something that is still some distance away in India right now. While ISRO has been collaborating more and more with private industry, the capability to independently carry out even routine space missions, like the ones that SpaceX or Boeing or Virgin Galactic has been missing
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2. Genome Mapping
Context: Mapping genomic variants of SARS CoV-2 could help control second wave. Tackling a second wave will rely on all the information countries have gotten from the first round of the outbreak. To that end, researchers will be using genome sequencing to prevent, or curb a second wave.
Concept: Scientists have so far sequenced 34,000 genomes for the virus globally. This data is expected to help researchers trace “the origin of the outbreak in their countries”. Genomic profiling helps reduce the duration of outbreaks, and their intensity, by aiding contact tracing. At the start of a second wave, when there are few cases, available genomic data can be used to spot which clade of the virus one is dealing with, and what was its last geographic trace. New Zealand, which has managed to keep new infections to zero, has sequenced the genome of all variants of the virus from infections within its borders. Genome sequencing involves revealing the order of bases present in the entire genome of an organism Genome: It is an organism’s complete set of genetic material, including all of its genes. Each genome contains all of the information needed to build and maintain that organism
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3. Herd immunity vs Herd Masking
Concept: Herd immunity Herd immunity happens when so many people in a community become immune to an infectious disease that it stops the disease from spreading. This can happen in two ways: Many people contract the disease and in time build up an immune response to it (natural immunity). Many people are vaccinated against the disease to achieve immunity. When a large percentage of the population becomes immune to a disease, the spread of that disease slows down or stops. Many viral and bacterial infections spread from person to person. This chain is broken when most people don’t get or transmit the infection. This helps protect people who aren’t vaccinated or who have low functioning immune systems and may develop an infection more easily Herd Masking This refers to the immunity against the disease that wearing masks gives a community. The benefit of masks in preventing the spread of infection has been a common notion across the world. Since the virus spreads through respiratory droplets, evidence shows that the use of masks would go a long way.
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4. Ebola Epidemic
Context: The World Health Organization on Monday confirmed a second outbreak of the deadly Ebola virus in the Democratic Republic of Congo, just as an initial outbreak appeared to be ending.
Concept: Causative agent Ebola virus disease (EVD) is a deadly disease with occasional outbreaks that occur primarily on the African continent. EVD most commonly affects people and nonhuman primates (such as monkeys, gorillas, and chimpanzees). It is caused by an infection with a group of viruses within the genus Ebolavirus Ebola virus was first discovered in 1976 near the Ebola River in what is now the Democratic Republic of Congo. Scientists do not know where Ebola virus comes from. However, based on the nature of similar viruses, they believe the virus is animal-borne, with bats or nonhuman primates with bats or nonhuman primates (chimpanzees, apes, monkeys, etc.) being the most likely source.
Transmission Infected animals carrying the virus can transmit it to other animals, like apes, monkeys, duikers and humans. The virus spreads to people initially through direct contact with the blood, body fluids and tissues of animals. Ebola virus then spreads to other people through direct contact with body fluids of a person who is sick with or has died from EVD. This can occur when a person touches these infected body fluids (or objects that are contaminated with them), and the virus gets in through broken skin or mucous membranes in the eyes, nose, or mouth. People can get the virus through sexual contact with someone who is sick with EVD, and also after recovery from EVD. The virus can persist in certain body fluids, like semen, after recovery from the illness.
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Treatment: Community engagement is key to successfully controlling outbreaks. Good outbreak control relies on applying a package of interventions, namely case management, infection prevention and control practices, surveillance and contact tracing, a good laboratory service, safe and dignified burials and social mobilisation.
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5. BHIM app
Context: The National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) has issued a statement that there has been no compromise of data on the BHIM app, after Israeli cybersecurity firm vpnMentor’s claims that it had discovered a breach of personal records of around 7 million Indians used to onboard them to the mobile payment app.
Concept: Bharat Interface for Money (BHIM) is a payment app that lets people make simple, easy and quick transactions using Unified Payments Interface (UPI). Direct bank payments to anyone on UPI using their UPI ID or scanning their QR with the BHIM app. Pioneered and developed by National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI), BHIM has been to bring in Financial Inclusion to the nation and a digitally empowered society. The BHIM apps has three levels of authentication. For one, the app binds with a device’s ID and mobile number, second a user needs to sync whichever bank account (UPI or non-UPI enabled) in order to the conduct transaction. Third, when a user sets up the app they are asked to create a pin which is needed to log into the app. Further, the UPI pin, which a user creates with their bank account is needed to go through with the transaction.
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6. Coronal heating of sun
Context: A group of scientists working at the National Centre for Radio Astrophysics (NCRA), Pune, has recently discovered tiny flashes of light all over the sun
Concept: These radio lights or signals result from beams of electrons accelerated in the aftermath of a magnetic explosion on the sun. Though magnetic explosions are not seen, weak radio flashes that have been discovered are ‘smoking guns’ or the evidence for the same and hence bring closer to explaining the coronal heating problem Tiny explosions take place all over the Sun all the time but collectively they have sufficient energy to heat the entire corona. The breakthrough was possible due to availability of data from a new technology instrument, the Murchison Widefield Array, Australia Structure of sun
The solar interior, from the inside out, is made up of the core, radiative zone and the convective zone. The solar atmosphere above that consists of the photosphere, chromosphere, and the corona (solar wind is an outflow of gas from the corona). The outer layers of the Sun, extending to thousands of km above the disc (photosphere) is termed as the corona. It has a temperature of more than a million degree Kelvin which is much higher than the solar disc temperature of around 6000K.
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How the corona gets heated to such high temperatures is still an unanswered question in solar physics.
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7. Arsenicum Album 30
Context: A homoeopathic drug, Arsenicum album 30, has become a subject of debate after several states recommended it for prophylactic (preventive) use against Covid- 19.
Concept: The debate stems from the fact that there is no scientific evidence that the drug works against Covid-19, a fact stressed not only by medical scientists but also by some homoeopathic practitioners themselves. Arsenicum album is made by heating arsenic with distilled water, a process repeated several times over three days. The health hazards of arsenic contamination in water are well known: long-term exposure to the metal can cause skin cancer, pulmonary and cardiovascular diseases.
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8. Solidarity Trials
Context: The World Health Organization said that clinical trials of the repurposed anti- malaria drug hydroxychloroquine for treatment of covid-19 will resume, after a committee reviewed the available data for the drug.
Concept: Solidarity” is an international clinical trial to help find an effective treatment for COVID-19, launched by the World Health Organization and partners. The Solidarity trial will compare four treatment options against standard of care, to assess their relative effectiveness against COVID-19. By enrolling patients in multiple countries, the Solidarity trial aims to rapidly discover whether any of the drugs slow disease progression or improve survival. Over 90 countries including India are working together to find effective therapeutics as soon as possible, via the trial. Four treatment options: o The chloroquine-hydroxychloroquine combination to prevent entry of virus using ACE 2 receptor o Lopinavir-ritonavir to prevent replication of virus by inhibiting enzymes used for replication o By understanding structure o By understanding virus behaviour WHO says that while randomized clinical trials normally take years to design and conduct, the Solidarity Trial will reduce the time by 80%. The Union health ministry has permitted the trial for four drugs: Remdesivir, Lopinavir, Interferon (beta-1a) and hydroxychloroquine or chloroquine.
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9. Integrated Disease surveillance Program
Context: According to the Integrated Disease Surveillance Programme data, currently, as many 11.68 lakh migrants who have returned to the state are under surveillance. Of them, 74,237 migrants have been tested for the infection and 2,404 have turned positive — a positivity rate of 3.2 per cent.
Concept: Integrated Disease Surveillance Programme (IDSP) was launched with World Bank assistance in November 2004 to detect and respond to disease outbreaks quickly. Objective is to strengthen/maintain decentralized laboratory based IT enabled disease surveillance system for epidemic prone diseases to monitor disease trends and to detect and respond to outbreaks in early rising phase through trained Rapid Response Team (RRTs) Programme Components: o Integration and decentralization of surveillance activities through establishment of surveillance units at Centre, State and District level. o Human Resource Development – Training of State Surveillance Officers, District Surveillance Officers, Rapid Response Team and other Medical and Paramedical staff on principles of disease surveillance. o Use of Information Communication Technology for collection, collation, compilation, analysis and dissemination of data. o Strengthening of public health laboratories. o Inter sectoral Co-ordination for zoonotic diseases
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10. Genome India Project
Context: The Genome India Project has submitted a fresh proposal to Delhi to examine samples of a thousand Covid-19-infected Indians.
Concept: The Genome India Project aims to map the diversity of India’s genetic pool, and “lay the bedrock of personalised medicine.” The Rs 238-crore project, which will be a collaboration between 20 Indian research institutions, with the Indian Institute of Science’s Centre for Brain Research serving as its nodal point In its first stage, it develops a reference Indian genome using genetic samples from 10,000 persons across India. This will enable greater medicinal efficiency in terms of preventive interventions and customised treatments. The stage two was always meant to be about another batch of 10,000 of Indian samples with diseases, of three broad categories — non- communicable diseases like cardiovascular and diabetes, mental illnesses and cancer.
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11. Pharmacopoeia Commission for Indian Medicine & Homoeopathy (PCIM&H)
Context: The Union Cabinet has given its approval to re-establish Pharmacopoeia Commission for Indian Medicine & Homoeopathy (PCIM&H) as Subordinate Office under Ministry of AYUSH
Concept: Presently, Pharmacopoeia Commission for Indian Medicine & Homoeopathy (PCIM&H) is an autonomous body under the aegis of Ministry of AYUSH established since 2010. Re-establishment of Pharmacopoeia Commission for Indian Medicine & Homoeopathy (PCIM&H is by merging into it Pharmacopoeia Laboratory for Indian Medicine (PLIM) and Homoeopathic Pharmacopoeia Laboratory (HPL)- the two central laboratories established at Ghaziabad since 1975. The merger is aimed at optimizing the use of infrastructural facilities, technical manpower and financial resources of the three organizations for enhancing the standardization outcomes of Ayurveda, Siddha, Unani and Homoeopathy drugs towards their effective regulation and quality control. The primary mandate is of publishing Pharmacopoeias and Formularies for drugs/formulations used in Ayurveda, Siddha, Unani (ASU) and Homoeopathy (ASU&H) systems of Medicine.
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12. National Immunization Programme
Context: In virtual Global Vaccine Summit, Prime minister highlighted India’s immunization programme
Concept: Immunization is the process whereby a person is made immune or resistant to an infectious disease, typically by the administration of a vaccine. Vaccines are substances that stimulate the body’s own immune system to protect the person against subsequent infection or disease.
Universal Immunization Programme Immunization Programme in India was introduced in 1978 as ‘Expanded Programme of Immunization’ (EPI) by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Government of India. In 1985, the programme was modified as ‘Universal Immunization Programme’ (UIP) to be implemented in phased manner to cover all districts in the country by 1989-90 with the one of largest health programme in the world. Ministry of Health and Family Welfare provides several vaccines to infants, children and pregnant women through the Universal Immunisation Programme. Through UIP, Government of India is providing vaccination free of cost against vaccine preventable diseases include diphtheria, pertussis, tetanus, polio, measles, severe form of childhood tuberculosis, hepatitis B, meningitis and pneumonia (Hemophilus influenza type B infections), Japanese encephalitis (JE) in JE endemic districts with introduction of newer vaccines such as rotavirus vaccine, IPV, adult JE vaccine, pneumococcal conjugate vaccine (PCV) and measles-rubella (MR) vaccine in UIP/national immunization programme.
Mission Indradhanush Mission Indradhanush was launched in 2014 to strengthen and re-energize the programme and achieve full immunization coverage for all children and pregnant women at a rapid pace.
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Intensified Mission Indradhanush To further intensify the immunization programme Intensified Mission Indradhanush (IMI) was launched on 2017. Through this programme, Government of India aims to reach each and every child up to two years of age and all those pregnant women who have been left uncovered under the routine immunisation programme/UIP. The focus of special drive was to improve immunisation coverage in select districts and cities to ensure full immunisation to more than 90% by December 2018.
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13. LIDAR Technology
Context: Researchers have leveraged the aerial deployment of lidar technology to detect "massive, ancient platforms made of clay and earth”.
Concept: Lidar, which stands for Light Detection and Ranging, is a remote sensing method that uses light in the form of a pulsed laser to measure ranges (variable distances) to the Earth. These light pulses—combined with other data recorded by the airborne system— generate precise, three-dimensional information about the shape of the Earth and its surface characteristics. A lidar instrument principally consists of a laser, a scanner, and a specialized GPS receiver. Two types of lidar are topographic and bathymetric. Topographic lidar typically uses a near-infrared laser to map the land, while bathymetric lidar uses water-penetrating green light to also measure seafloor and riverbed elevations. Lidar systems allow scientists and mapping professionals to examine both natural and manmade environments with accuracy, precision, and flexibility.
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14. Near earth Objects
Context: NASA announced that a giant asteroid named 163348 (2002 NN4) is expected to pass Earth (at a safe distance) on June 6.
Concept: Near Earth Objects are comets and asteroids nudged by the gravitational attraction of nearby planets into orbits which allows them to enter the Earth’s neighbourhood. These objects are composed mostly of water ice with embedded dust particles. The scientific interest in comets and asteroids is largely due to their status as relatively unchanged remnant debris from the solar system formation process over 4.6 billion years ago. Therefore, these NEOs offer scientists clues about the chemical mixture from the planets formed.
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15. Figuring Out Covid Terminology
Concept:
COVID 19 A term coined by the World Health Organization (WHO) to denote the disease that has led to a pandemic. On February 11, 2020, WHO announced a name for the mysterious disease originating in China, caused by a new corona virus. It called it coronavirus disease 2019, abbreviated as COVID19, where CO stands for corona, VI for virus, and D for disease, while the numerals – 19 refer to the year in which the first case was detected. WHO claimed it had consciously avoided naming the disease after the place of origin, to avoid stigmatising that country/area. The International Committee on Taxonomy of Viruses (ICTV) announced “severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARSCoV2)” as the name of the new virus, also on February 11, 2020. This name was chosen because the virus is genetically related to the coronavirus responsible for the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) outbreak of 2003.
While related, the two viruses are different. WHO and the ICTV were in communication about the naming of both the virus and the disease.
Epidemic When the incidence of a disease rises above the expected level in a particular community or geographic area, it is called an epidemic. The outbreak started in Wuhan city in Hubei province in China, with what seemed then as a cluster of pneumonia like cases.
Pandemic A global epidemic. When the epidemic spreads over several countries or continents, it is termed a pandemic. On January 30, WHO announced that COVID19 was a Public Health Emergency of International Concern. On March 11, WHO decided to announce as a pandemic. R0 — R Naught
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It is the basic reproduction number. This is the number of new infections caused by one infected individual in an entirely susceptible population. It helps determine whether an epidemic can occur, the rate of growth of the epidemic, the size of the epidemic and the level of effort needed to control the infection. If R0 is 2, then one individual will infect two others. As of end May, India’s R0 value was in the range of 1.22.
Comorbidities Several health conditions including uncontrolled diabetes and hypertension, cancer, morbid obesity, lung diseases, compromised immune systems put patients at greater risk for contracting the infection, also have poor clinical outcomes. Special attention to prevent the disease and prevent mortality in these groups is theconcern of health managers.
Transmission The method by which the disease spreads is known as transmission In COVID19 it is through respiratory droplets, expelled while talking, laughing, coughing and sneezing. This makes mask wearing and physical distancing the main tools for protection against the virus. Washing hands with soap and water is an effective way to kill the virus.
Community transmission When it is no longer possible to tell how someone contracted the disease, or who the source of infection was. As numbers climb, this tracing becomes next to impossible.
Contact tracing Identifying and monitoring people who may have come into contact with an infectious person. In the case of COVID19, monitoring usually involves self- quarantine as an effort to control the spread of disease.
Super spreader Some individuals seem to have the capacity to cause more infections in a disproportionately large number of people, than others.
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The current pandemic has recorded some super spreaders who have had a huge role in the transmission.
Positivity rate The percentage of people who test positive among all those who are tested. If positivity rate is high, it is possible that only high risk groups are being tested. A low positivity rate can also indicate that not enough testing is being done.
Infection fatality rate It is the number of deaths occurring in all infected people in a particular population. This includes those who might have the COVID19 infection, but have not been tested for it. Given that the number of tests is not high, experts have clarified that this is not a useful metric to have in this pandemic.
Case fatality rate It is the number of deaths occurring among confirmed cases of COVID19. Since these two figures are available with a certain amount of reliability, it is actually CFR that is being referred to when there is a loose reference to fatality rate.
Severe Acute Respiratory Infection (SARI) A respiratory disease also caused by a coronavirus, and spread through the same transmission method, i.e. respiratory droplets. The symptoms (fever, cough, body ache, difficulty in breathing) are also similar. The government has begun surveillance of SARI patients as also patients with Influenza like Illness (ILI) admitted in hospitals too.
Cytokine storm An immune reaction triggered by the body to fight an infection is known as a cytokine storm when it turns severe. The body releases too many cytokines, proteins that are involved in immunomodulation, into the blood too quickly. While normally they regulate immune responses, in this case they cause harm and can even cause death.
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Experts have noticed a violent cytokine storm in several individuals who are critical with COVID infection. These cytokines dilate blood vessels, increase the temperature and heartbeat, besides throwing blood clots in the system, and suppressing oxygen utilisation. If the cytokine flow is high and continues without cessation, the body’s own immune response will lead to hypoxia, insufficient oxygen to the body, multi organ failure and death. Experts say it is not the virus that kills; rather, the cytokine storm.
RTPCR (Reverse Transcription Polymerase Chain Reaction) It is the primary test to detect COVID19 infection across the globe. It is a sensitive test that uses swab samples drawn from the nasal/oral cavity to test for the presence of viral RNA (ribonucleic acid). It has got better sensitivity (ability to correctly identify those with the disease) and specificity (ability to correctly identify those without the disease) rates in current diagnostic tests for COVID.
Antibody tests These tests check blood by looking for antibodies. Antibodies are proteins that help fight off infections, and are specific to every disease, granting immunity against getting that particular disease again. An antibody test, with poor specificity, is not believed to be effective in detecting new infections. States have been asked to commence testing Sero prevalence in the community, using antibody tests, that are blood tests.
Convalescent plasma therapy Researchers are examining the efficacy of using convalescent plasma, that is, using neutralising antibodies from the blood of people who have recovered from the COVID19 infection to treat patients with COVID19.
Hydroxychloroquine (HCQ) An antimalarial oral drug that is being repurposed for treatment in COVID19.
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It has also been used successfully in the treatment of some auto immune conditions. Its value in COVID19 has not been resolved entirely.
Flattening the curve Reducing the number of new COVID19 cases, day on day. The idea of flattening the curve is to ensure that the health infrastructure is not overwhelmed by a large number of cases.
Herd immunity This is also known as community immunity, and constitutes the reduction in risk of infection within a population, often because of previous exposure to the virus or vaccination.
PPE — Personal protective equipment It is specialized clothing and equipment used as a safeguard against health hazards including exposure to the disease.
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16. Reverse Quarantine
Context: Kerala state government has decided to put its senior citizens under reverse quarantine
Concept: Reverse quarantine is a method of detaching the most vulnerable people from general public to protect them from contracting virus. Examples: Aged above 60, infants, Children.
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17. Drugs in India to fight Covid
Concept:
Remdesivir Remdesivir, an antiviral drug first developed for treating Ebola in 2014, is one of the possible Covid-19 treatments being investigated in the WHO’s Solidarity Trial. It inhibits viral replication in the body.
Favipiravir Favipiravir is an antiviral given to inhibit viral replication. It is used as an anti-influenza drug.
Tocilizumab This is an immunosuppressant commonly used to treat for rheumatoid arthritis. In Mumbai, more than 100 severely ill Covid patients have been treated with this expensive drug (Rs 40,000-60,000 per dose) as a preventive against ventilator requirement
Hydroxychloroquine This antimalarial drug is a subject of debate over its efficacy against Covid. The WHO halted its HCQ arm in the Solidarity Trial following a study in The Lancet, then reinstated it after a retraction by the authors. India is the largest producer of this drug. Doctors use HCQ use in Covid patients with symptoms as mild as headache, fever, body pain, and even in critically ill patients. ICMR guidelines recommend low doses for nine days.
Doxycycline + ivermectin Doxycycline is an antibiotic used to fight infection in the urinary tract, eye, or respiratory tract. Ivermectin is an anti-parasite drug for treatment of scabies, head lice, and filariasis. The combination is used to treat Covid patients with acute symptoms.
Ritonavir + lopinavir
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These antivirals are commonly used to treat HIV patients. They are being investigated in the Solidarity Trial.
Plasma therapy This is meant for critical patients with low oxygen saturation levels, or those suffering a cytokine storm. Patients who have recovered from severe Covid-19 donate their plasma, which is then injected into other critical patients to boost their immunity. A protocol approved by ICMR is used to select which patient is best suited for plasma therapy. Preference is given to those at risk of cytokine storm, extreme breathlessness with severe pneumonia.
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18. Airborne Rescue Pod for Isolated Transportation (ARPIT)
Context: The Indian Air Force has inducted an indigenously designed and manufactured pod called ARPIT.
Concept: It will be used for evacuation of critical patients suffering from infectious diseases like COVID-19 from isolated and remote areas. The isolation system has a suitable number of air exchanges, integration of medical monitoring instruments, and ventilation for an intubated patient In addition, the pod generates high constant negative pressure in the isolation chamber for prevention of infection risk to air crew, ground crew and health care workers involved in air transportation.
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19. Social Vaccine
Context: The Union Health Minister has said “social vaccines” are available solution to fight the pandemic (Covid-19).
Concept: A social vaccine is a metaphor for a series of social and behavioural measures like social distancing, wearing masks that governments can use to raise public consciousness about unhealthy situations through social mobilization. Social mobilization can empower populations to resist unhealthy practices, increase resilience, and foster advocacy for change. When applied to pandemics, the effectiveness of a social vaccine is determined by the extent of dissemination and uptake of accurate information about personal infection risk and methods to reduce the risk through consistent core messages disseminated through a variety of means.
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20. Arsenicum Album 30
Context: Maharashtra government has given nod to the use of homeopathy medicine Arsenic Album 30 for the general population as a prophylactic against Covid-19 and as an immunity booster.
Concept: Arsenicum album is made by heating arsenic with distilled water, a process repeated several times over three days. The health hazards of arsenic contamination in water are well known: long-term exposure to the metal can cause skin cancer, pulmonary and cardiovascular diseases. There is no evidence to suggest Arsenicum Album 30 prevents Covid-19 infection. The medicine is generally used for respiratory problems. Several homeopathic experts have expressed worry over unscientific use of the medicine against Covid-19.
Prophylaxis Prophylaxis is also called preventive healthcare. It is the series of measures taken to prevent the affliction of a disease Chemoprophylaxis is the use of drugs and other medications to prevent the onset of a disease or an infection. It is also called chemoprevention. It is used on people who have compromised immune systems, people who are prone to recurrent infections and even on healthy individuals who are at risk due to an epidemic.
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21. Aarogyapath
Context: A web-based solution for the healthcare supply chain that provides real-time availability of critical supplies was launched by CSIR
Concept: Aarogyapath, an integrated public platform that provides single-point availability of key healthcare goods can be helpful to customers in tackling a number of routinely experienced issues like dependence on limited suppliers, time-consuming processes to identify good quality products, limited access to suppliers who can supply standardized products at reasonable prices within desired timelines, lack of awareness about the latest product launches, etc. It also helps manufacturers and suppliers to reach a wide network of customers efficiently, overcoming gaps in connectivity between them and potential demand centers like nearby pathological laboratories, medical stores, hospitals, etc. It will also create opportunities for business expansion due to an expanded slate of buyers and visibility of new requirements for products. Over time, analytics from this platform is expected to generate early signals to manufacturers on over capacity as well as on looming shortages. This would help to reduce wastage of resources due to inefficient forecasting and excess manufacturing, generate awareness about the demand for new technologies.
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22. Epidemics in 21st century
Context: “SARS CoV2 virus behaves very differently from SARS and that is why it is much more difficult to contain it” said renowned virologist Malik Peiris who was credited for his role in discovering that a novel coronavirus was the cause of SARS in 2003.
Concept: SARS vs COVID In case of SARS, most of the transmission took place five or six days after the patient developed symptoms. So, the first few days after a patient was ill, there was very little transmission. But in the case of COVID-19, they transmit even before they develop symptoms; it becomes very difficult to control. The other big difference is that whereas with SARS most of the patients who got infected had symptoms, in the case of COVID-19, it is clear that quite a number of patients, who get infected, have no symptoms at all.
SARS SARS coronavirus (SARS-CoV) – virus identified in 2003. SARS-CoV is thought to be an animal virus from an as-yet-uncertain animal reservoir, perhaps bats, that spread to other animals (civet cats) and first infected humans in the Guangdong province of southern China in 2002. Transmission of SARS-CoV is primarily from person to person. Symptoms are influenza-like and include fever, malaise, myalgia, headache, diarrhoea, and shivering (rigors). The disease appeared in November 2002 in the Guangdong province of southern China. This area is considered as a potential zone of re-emergence of SARS-CoV. Other countries/areas in which chains of human-to-human transmission occurred after early importation of cases were Canada, Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of China, Chinese Taipei, Singapore, and Viet Nam. Experimental vaccines are under development.
MERS
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Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS) is a viral respiratory disease caused by a novel coronavirus (Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus, or MERS‐CoV) that was first identified in Saudi Arabia in 2012. Coronaviruses are a large family of viruses that can cause diseases ranging from the common cold to Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS). Typical MERS symptoms include fever, cough and shortness of breath. MERS-CoV is a zoonotic virus, which means it is a virus that is transmitted between animals and people. Studies have shown that humans are infected through direct or indirect contact with infected dromedary camels. The virus does not pass easily from person to person unless there is close contact, such as providing unprotected care to an infected patient. Since 2012, 27 countries have reported cases of MERS including Algeria, Austria, Bahrain, China, Egypt, France, Germany, Greece, Islamic Republic of Iran, Italy, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Malaysia, the Netherlands, Oman, Philippines, Qatar, Republic of Korea, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Thailand, Tunisia, Turkey, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom, United States, and Yemen. Approximately 80% of human cases have been reported by Saudi Arabia. No vaccine or specific treatment is currently available, however several MERS-CoV specific vaccines and treatments are in development. Treatment is supportive and based on the patient’s clinical condition.
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23. Albinism
Context: International Albinism Awareness Day is observed every year on June 13 to highlight the rights of those born with albinism and increase awareness of the genetic condition. “Made to Shine” the chosen theme of the year celebrates the achievements of those who have albinism.
Concept: Albinism is a rare disease characterized by a lack of melanin pigment in skin, hair and eyes. Those with albinism are vulnerable to sun exposure, something that increases chances of skin cancer and severe visual impairment. In India, there are around 200,000 who have albinism. The Union government is yet to conduct a census to account for those who have albinism. In 2013, the United Nations Human Rights Council adopted a resolution that called for the prevention of discrimination against individuals with albinism. Albinism is also widespread among animals.
Rare diseases/Orphan disease: The common denominator of rare diseases is the infrequency of their occurrence in the human population. Often debilitating lifelong disease or disorder condition with a prevalence of 1 or less, per 1000 population is defined by the World Health Organization (WHO) as a rare disease.
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24. Impact of monsoon on corona virus spread
Context: After the onset of southwest monsoon in India, epidemiologists are studying how monsoon will impact coronavirus spread.
Concept: Scientists are not sure how the rain might affect virus behavior because of its recent emergence. So the effort is to look for clues in the way other similar viruses behave during the rainy season. According to epidemiologists, viral disease spread depends on three major factors — seasonal changes in environment (temperature, humidity, sunlight), human behavioural patterns, and intrinsic characteristics of the virus, like its infectiousness, pathogenicity and survival. Many is of the opinion that it could take several years to determine how novel coronavirus is affected by different seasons. Since respiratory synctial virus infection and other respiratory diseases usually do follow seasonal patterns, carrying out year round Covid-19 surveillance for several years would be the key to determining its seasonality
Vector borne diseases Vector-borne diseases are human illnesses caused by parasites, viruses and bacteria that are transmitted by vectors. Examples: Malaria, dengue, schistosomiasis, human African trypanosomiasis, leishmaniasis, Chagas disease, yellow fever, Japanese encephalitis and onchocerciasis. The burden of these diseases is highest in tropical and subtropical areas, and they disproportionately affect the poorest populations.
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25. Tests for Covid-19 in India
Context: India is using RT-PCR as standard test for COVID. But recently ICMR approved ELISA test kits for Covid-19 developed by two companies.
Concept: An ELISA test is of two types depending on the antibodies tested for immunoglobulin G (IgG) and immunoglobulin M (IgM). IgG detects antibodies developed in later stage of infection, and IgM detects antibodies produced in early stages of infection. Currently only IgG testing kits have been approved in India. In India, the ELISA test for Covid-19 is only approved for serosurveys which estimate the proportion of the population exposed to infection and for surveys in high-risk areas and segments like containment zones, immune compromised individuals, and frontline and health workers
ELISA ELISA (enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay) is a plate-based assay technique designed for detecting and quantifying peptides, proteins, antibodies and hormones. In an ELISA, an antigen must be immobilized to a solid surface and then complexed with an antibody that is linked to an enzyme. Detection is accomplished by assessing the conjugated enzyme activity via incubation with a substrate to produce a measureable product. The most crucial element of the detection strategy is a highly specific antibody- antigen interaction.
Types:
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ELISAs can be performed with a number of modifications to the basic procedure: direct, indirect, sandwich or competitive. The key step, immobilization of the antigen of interest, can be accomplished by direct adsorption to the assay plate or indirectly via a capture antibody that has been attached to the plate. The antigen is then detected either directly (enzyme-labeled primary antibody) or indirectly (enzyme-labeled secondary antibody). The detection antibodies are usually labeled with alkaline phosphatase (AP) or horseradish peroxidase (HRP). A large selection of substrates is available for performing the ELISA with an HRP or AP conjugate. The choice of substrate depends upon the required assay sensitivity and the instrumentation available for signal-detection (spectrophotometer, fluorometer or luminometer).
RT-PCR The standard test for COVID-19 so far has been the Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR). The test involves extracting RNA or ribonucleic acid, the genetic material of the virus, and checking if it shares the same genetic sequence as the SARS-CoV-2 virus. If it is a match, the sample is deemed positive. It is done after taking nasal or throat swabs of the patient, from which RNA is extracted and converted to DNA, which is then amplified before being checked for confirmation of the virus.
Rapid antibody test In this person’s plasma is tested for presence of antibodies against the antigen like COVID 19 Virus Blood has two components, a matrix called plasma and the blood cells. The plasma minus the components of whole blood that cause it to clot is known as serum. It takes less than 30 minutes. It is an indirect test because it cannot find the virus, but it can determine if the immune system has encountered it. But a rapid test involves a high risk of false results — it may detect antibodies against of some other infection and show that the sample is positive for Covid-19.
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Hence this test is only used for population surveys. If a person tests positive through a rapid test, he has to undergo a confirmatory RT-PCR test before treatment. ELISA is more accurate than a rapid test.
True Nat This is a privately designed test that works on the same principle as RT- PCR, but with a smaller kit and with faster results. It is small and portable, mostly running on batteries, and provides result within 60 minutes. It involves taking nasal or oral swabs.
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26. Dexamethasone
Context: Dexamethasone became the first drug proved to improve survival from Covid-19
Concept: Researchers from UK found dexamethasone given either orally or through an IV, after 28 days reduced deaths by 35% in patients who needed treatment with breathing machines and by 20% in those only needing supplemental oxygen. It did not appear to help less ill patients. Dexamethasone is a generic steroid widely used in other diseases to reduce inflammation. It is used to treat a range of diseases including rheumatism, asthma, allergies and even to help cancer patients better handle the nausea triggered by chemotherapy. Steroid drugs reduce inflammation, which sometimes develops in Covid- 19 patients as the immune system overreacts to fight the infection. This overreaction can prove fatal, so doctors have been testing steroids and other anti-inflammatory drugs in such patients.
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27. Rapid Antigen vs RTPC Test
Context: Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) approved new kind of test for diagnosis of Covid-19 called rapid antigen detection test
Concept: The test is done on swabbed nasal samples that detect antigens that are found on or within the SARS-CoV-2 virus. It is a point-of-care test, performed outside the conventional laboratory setting, and is used to quickly obtain a diagnostic result.
RT-PCR vs Rapid antigen test: RT-PCR is currently the gold standard frontline test for the diagnosis of Covid-19. Like RT-PCR, the rapid antigen detection test too seeks to detect the virus rather than the antibodies produced by the body. While the mechanism is different, the most significant difference between the two is time. RT-PCR test takes a minimum of 2-5 hours including the time taken for sample transportation. In a reliable rapid antigen detection test, the maximum duration for interpreting a positive or negative test is 30 minutes.
Concern: US FDA pointed out that antigen tests are very specific for the virus, but are not as sensitive as molecular PCR tests. This means that positive results from antigen tests are highly accurate, but there is a higher chance of false negatives, so negative results do not rule out infection. As of now, the kit will be used in containment zones or hotspots and healthcare settings.
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28. Annular Solar eclipse
Context: An annular solar eclipse will occur on 21 June, 2020
Concept: A solar eclipse occurs on a new moon day when the Moon comes in between the Earth and the Sun and when all the three objects are aligned. An annular solar eclipse will occur when the angular diameter of the Moon falls short of that of the Sun so that it cannot cover up the latter completely. As a result a ring of the Sun’s disk remains visible around the Moon. Eclipsed Sun should not be viewed with the naked eye, even for a very short time. It will cause permanent damage of the eyes leading to blindness even when the moon covers most portion of the Sun. Safe technique to observe the solar eclipse is either by using proper filter like aluminized Mylar, black polymer, welding glass or by making projection of Sun’s image on a white board by telescope.
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29. Coal Gasification
Context: Prime minister has announced target to gasify 100 million tonnes (MT) of coal by 2030 which will be a big boost to coal gasification in India and fulfil vision of 'Atmanirbhar Bharat' using clean coal technology.
Concept: Coal gasification is the process of converting coal into synthesis gas (also called syngas), which is a mixture of hydrogen (H2), carbon monoxide (CO) and carbon dioxide (CO2). The syngas can be used in a variety of applications such as in the production of electricity and making chemical products, such as fertilisers The coal gasification process holds good potential in the future, with coal being the most abundantly available fossil fuel across the world, and that even low-grade coal can be used in the process.
Advantages: Underground coal gasification eliminates mining needs. Compared to traditional coal mining and processing, the underground coal gasification eliminates surface damage and solid waste discharge, and reduces sulfur dioxide (SO2) and nitrogen oxide (NOx) emissions. Underground combustion produces NO2 and SO2 and lowers emissions, including acid rain.
Background Despite hosting the world’s fourth-largest coal reserves, India imports around 235 million tonnes (mt) of coal a year which is second-largest in the world.
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30. TrueNat test
Context: Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) approved the use of TrueNat machines, manufactured by a Goa-based company, for carrying out confirmatory tests for Covid-19 disease.
Concept: The SARS-CoV-2 virus, which causes Covid-19, does not have a DNA, but an RNA molecule. The reverse transcription process (the RT in RT-PCR) converts the RNA into the DNA molecule before the gene can be captured in the test.
PCR working The reverse transcription process (the RT in RT-PCR) converts the RNA into the DNA molecule before the gene can be captured in the test. Then, researchers can amplify certain regions of the genome by using a technique known as polymerase chain reaction. This, in effect, gives researchers a large sample that they can then compare to the new coronavirus, known as SARS-CoV-2.
TrueNat working TrueNat is a chip-based, battery-operated RT-PCR kit In this process RNA is extracted. In the miniature well, the reagent activates the RNA, it is the chip that is fed with all the calculations of the viral load that helps in detecting whether a person is carrying the virus or not. Unlike in the conventional RT-PCR tests, the reagents do not require extreme temperatures in this process, and the quantity of swab required for testing is also much less.
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31. Stress hormone
Context: Researchers have reported in The Lancet that Covid-19 patients with very high levels of cortisol in their blood are more likely to deteriorate quickly and die.
Concept: Cortisol is a steroid hormone, one of the glucocorticoids, made in the cortex of the adrenal glands and then released into the blood, which transports it all round the body. Almost every cell contains receptors for cortisol and so cortisol can have lots of different actions depending on which sort of cells it is acting upon. These effects include controlling the body’s blood sugar levels and thus regulating metabolism, acting as an anti-inflammatory, influencing memory formation, controlling salt and water balance, influencing blood pressure and helping development of the foetus. In many species cortisol is also responsible for triggering the processes involved in giving birth. The drug dexamethasone, which recent research has shown to reduce death rates in COVID patients, acts by imitating cortisol and reducing the production of cortisol. In healthy people, cortisol levels are 100-200 nm/L when resting, and nearly zero when we sleep.
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32. Enceladus and Europa
Context: Plumes of water erupt from Europa and Enceladus which indicates that these bodies have subsurface oceans beneath their ice shells.
Concept: Saturn’s moon Enceladus and Jupiter’s moon Europa may support life, because scientists have spotted water plumes bursting from their icy shells. A mathematical calculation by NASA scientists guesses that more than a quarter of the several dozen exoplanets they have analysed could be ‘water worlds’. This includes some members of the Trappist-1 system which is about forty light years away.
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33. Antibodies and Cellular Immunity
Context: A study published in Nature Medicine suggests that antibodies in individuals who recovered from SARSCoV2 infection start to decrease within two three months after infection. Besides inducing neutralising antibodies, novel coronavirus has also been found to induce cellular immunity.
Concept: The immune system was separated into two branches: humoral immunity, for which the protective function of immunization could be found in the humor (cell- free bodily fluid or serum) and cellular immunity, for which the protective function of immunization was associated with cells.
Antibody: Antibodies are proteins made by the immune system to fight antigens, such as bacteria, viruses, and toxins.The body makes different immunoglobulin to combat different antigens.
The five subclasses of antibodies are: Immunoglobulin A (IgA), which is found in high concentrations in the mucous membranes, particularly those lining the respiratory passages and gastrointestinal tract, as well as in saliva and tears. Immunoglobulin G (IgG), are involved in the secondary immune response (IgM is the main antibody involved in primary response). IgG can bind pathogens, like for example viruses, bacteria, and fungi, and thereby protects the body against infection and toxins.Comprising up to 80% of the antibodies found in the human body, IgG is the smallest, yet most abundant human antibody, and that of other mammals. IgG can be found in all bodily fluids, and is the only antibody that can protect a foetus by passing through the mother's placenta. Immunoglobulin M (IgM), is the largest antibody, and it is the first antibody to appear in the response to initial exposure to an antigen. B-cells create IgM antibodies as a first line of defense. Their large size gives them excellent binding avidity, and can pick up trace amounts of infection to mark for recognition by phagocytes. IgM is primarily found in serum and
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due to its size, it cannot diffuse well, and is found in the interstitium only in very low quantities. Immunoglobulin E (IgE), which is associated mainly with allergic reactions (when the immune system overreacts to environmental antigens such as pollen or pet dander). It is found in the lungs, skin, and mucous membranes. Immunoglobulin D (IgD), which exists in small amounts in the blood, is the least understood antibody.
Cellular immunity Cell-mediated immunity is an immune response that does not involve antibodies. Cellular immunity is a protective immune process that involves the activation of phagocytes, antigen-sensitized cytotoxic T cells and the release of cytokines and chemokines in response to antigen. Cellular immunity is most effective against cells infected with viruses, intracellular bacteria, fungi and protozoans, and cancerous cells.
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34. Genetic surveillance
Context: The Chinese Government is building the world’s largest police-run DNA database.
Concept: Since 2013, Chinese authorities have collected DNA samples from entire ethnic minority communities and ordinary citizens outside any criminal investigations and without proper informed consent. This program of mass DNA data collection violates Chinese domestic law and global human rights norms. And, when combined with other surveillance tools, it will increase the power of the Chinese state and further enable domestic repression in the name of stability maintenance and social control. The forensic use of DNA has the potential to solve crimes and save lives; yet it can also be misused and reinforce discriminatory law enforcement and authoritarian political control. DNA analysis is now considered the gold standard for police forensics. Recent innovations in DNA sequencing and big-data computing make the process of analysing biometric samples more efficient and cost-effective. Yet forensic DNA collection has also been linked to the abuse of police power and even can lead to the loss of genetic privacy. In order to defend against possible abuses, compulsory police collection and storage of biometric data must be strictly limited to those convicted of serious criminal wrongdoing.
Dragnet It is mass surveillance programme run by USA’s national security agency.
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35. Mental Health:
Context: COVID pandemic has increased mental illness through uncertainties it caused to people’s lives and has thrown light on India’s mental healthcare.
Concept: Mental health problems were already a major contributor to the burden of illness in India before the pandemic, with a third of all female and a quarter of all male suicide deaths in the world occurring in this country. Poor awareness about symptoms of mental illness, myths & stigma related to it, lack of knowledge on the treatment availability & potential benefits of seeking treatment are important causes for the high treatment gap.
National Mental Health Programme (NMHP) in 1982 To ensure the availability and accessibility of minimum mental healthcare for all in the foreseeable future, particularly to the most vulnerable and underprivileged sections of the population; To encourage the application of mental health knowledge in general healthcare and in social development; and To promote community participation in the mental health service development and to stimulate efforts towards self-help in the community.
Mental Healthcare Act, 2017:
The Act seeks to ensure rights of the person with mental illness to receive care and to live a life with dignity. The key features of the Act are: Rights of Persons with Mental Illness: Right to Access to Healthcare, Right to live with dignity, Right to Confidentiality. The Act empowers person with mental illness to make an advance directive that states how he/she wants to be treated for the illness and who his/her nominated representative shall be. The Act mandates the government to set up Central Mental Health Authority at national level and State Mental Health Authority in every State.
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A mentally ill person shall not be subjected to electro-convulsive therapy without the use of muscle relaxants and anaesthesia. Further, electroconvulsive therapy cannot be used on minors Decriminalization of Suicide
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36. What is Patent Pooling?
Context: COVID-19 puts a spotlight on importance of Medicines Patent Pool as it helps in reducing cost of medicines and makes it accessible.
Concept: Patent pools can be defined as an agreement between two or more patent owners to license one or more of their patents to one another or to third parties. In a patent pool, patent rights are aggregated amongst multiple patent holders. Then, the pooled patents are made available to member and non- member licensees and typically the pool allocates a portion of the licensing fees it collects to each member in proportion to each patent’s value. Often, patent pools are associated with complex technologies that require complementary patents in order to provide efficient technical solutions.
What is Albany Agreement? On October 24, 1856, history was made through the Albany Agreement, resulting in the first patent pool in US history. This was in response to the sewing machine war with nine patents pooled together on manufacture of sewing machines.
What is Nagoya Protocol? The Nagoya Protocol on sharing biological resources can be a guiding principle for improved access to COVID care. The Nagoya Protocol on Access to Genetic Resources and the Fair and Equitable Sharing of Benefits Arising from their Utilization (ABS) to the Convention on Biological Diversityis a supplementary agreement to the Convention on Biological Diversity. It provides a transparent legal framework for the effective implementation of one of the three objectives of the CBD: the fair and equitable sharing of benefits arising out of the utilization of genetic resources. The Nagoya Protocol applies to genetic resources that are covered by the CBD, and to the benefits arising from their utilization. The Nagoya Protocol
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also covers traditional knowledge (TK) associated with genetic resources that are covered by the CBD and the benefits arising from its utilization.
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37. Travel Bubble
Context: Union Aviation Ministry stated that government is considering establishment of “individual bilateral bubbles” with the US, the UK, Germany and France for allowing airlines of the respective countries in the agreement to operate international passenger flights.
Concept: Creating a travel bubble involves reconnecting countries or states that have shown a good level of success in containing the novel coronavirus pandemic Such a bubble would allow the members of the group to rekindle trade ties with each other, and kick start sectors such as travel and tourism.
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38. Feluda kit and CRISPR Cas9
Context: COVID-19 testing kits Feluda developed by labs of the Department of Science and Technology (DST) and the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) are yet to make it to the market. But change in rules by the ICMR that now requires additional data and not just results from laboratory-controlled conditions from research labs will stall its release.
Concept: On May 5, the CSIR-Institute of Genomics and Integrative Biology (IGIB) announced collaboration with Tata Sons Ltd to develop a paper-based test, called FELUDA that could detect the presence of the virus. The FELUDA kit uses a CRISPR-cas9 gene editing system to detect the coronavirus, Unlike the conventional RT PCR test that requires a specialized machine, FELUDA (FNCas-9 Editor Linked Uniform Detection Assay), was relatively more adaptable and could be used in conventional pathology labs that didn’t have a PCR machine.
CRISPR-cas9 gene CRISPR technology is a simple yet powerful tool for editing genomes. It allows researchers to easily alter DNA sequences and modify gene function. Its many potential applications include correcting genetic defects, treating and preventing the spread of diseases and improving crops. However, its promise also raises ethical concerns. CRISPRs are specialized stretches of DNA. The protein Cas9 is an enzyme that acts like a pair of molecular scissors, capable of cutting strands of DNA. CRISPR technology was adapted from the natural defense mechanisms of bacteria and archaea. These organisms use CRISPR-derived RNA and various Cas proteins, including Cas9, to foil attacks by viruses and other foreign bodies. They do so primarily by chopping up and destroying the DNA of a foreign invader. When these components are transferred into other, more complex, organisms, it allows for the manipulation of genes, or “editing.”
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39. IN-SPACe
Context: The Union Cabinet has approved the creation of the Indian National Space Promotion and Authorization Centre (IN-SPACe)
Concept: It is constituted to provide a level playing field for private companies to use Indian space infrastructure. This is part of reforms aimed at giving a boost to private sector participation in the entire range of space activities The IN-SPACe will also hand-hold, promote and guide the private industries in space activities through encouraging policies and a friendly regulatory environment. Earlier New Space India Limited (NSIL) was formed as nodal agency to produce PSLV through Indian industries under consortium route. These reforms would allow the Indian Space Research Organsiation (ISRO) to focus more on research and development activities, new technologies, exploration missions and human spaceflight programme.
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40. Glyphosate
Context: With Bayer’s $10.9-billion settlement in US, there may be rise in demand for glyphosate ban in India
Concept: First developed in 1970, glyphosate is scientifically N-(phosphonomethyl) glycine under the IUPAC system of nomenclature. It is applied to the leaves of plants to kill weeds.
Working: As a non-selective herbicide (affecting a broad spectrum of weeds indiscriminately), glyphosate works by blocking an essential pathway for plant growth. Once absorbed by the plant, glyphosate binds to and blocks the activity of an enzyme called enolpyruvylshikimate-3-phosphate synthase (EPSPS). The EPSPS enzyme comes at the start of the shikimic acid pathway. By blocking this pathway, the plant cannot create certain proteins that are needed for growth. India: According to a 2016 bulletin published by the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR), the weedkiller in India goes by various brand names, including Roundup, Glycel, and Brake. Glyphosate was highly accepted by the tea planters in the past two decades. It has a very good market size in the tea sector of West Bengal and Assam. Presently, the consumption of glyphosate is highest in Maharashtra as it is becoming a key herbicide in sugarcane, maize and many fruit crops including mango, banana, grapes, pomegranate and citrus. In 2015, the Word Health Organization’s International Agency for Research on Cancer published a study that found glyphosate is “probably carcinogenic to humans”. Activists have been campaignig against glyphosate based products.
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41. Type 1 and 2 diabetes
Context: Diabetes remained one of the risk factors for developing severe COVID-19 and chances of COVID deaths are elevated in people with diabetes. But now there is growing evidence that novel coronavirus might actually be triggering diabetes in some people who have so far remained free of it.
Concept: These patients typically develop type-1 diabetes. However, more evidence is needed to conclusively prove that COVID-19 indeed causes type-1 diabetes. It is also not clear if the acute-onset diabetes in COVID-19 patients will be permanent or transient. Diabetes mellitus is a metabolic disease of high blood sugar (glucose) levels that result from problems with insulin secretion, its action, or both. Normally, blood glucose levels are tightly controlled by a hormone produced by the pancreas known as insulin. When blood glucose levels rise (for example, after eating food), insulin is released from the pancreas to normalize the glucose level.
Type 1 diabetes: An absolute lack of insulin, usually due to destruction of the insulin producing beta cells of the pancreas, is the main problem in type 1 diabetes. It is to be due to an autoimmune process, in which the body’s immune system mistakenly targets its own tissues (islet cells in the pancreas. This tendency for the immune system to destroy the beta cells of the pancreas is likely to be, at least in part, genetically inherited, although the exact reasons that this process happens are not fully understood.
Type 2 diabetes: People who have type 2 diabetes can still produce insulin, but do so relatively inadequately for their body’s needs. Genetics plays a role in the development of type 2 diabetes, and having a family history and close relatives with the condition increases your risk;
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however, there are other risk factors, with obesity being the most significant.
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42. LIGO Scientific and VIRGO Collaborations (LSC)
Context: The LIGO Scientific and VIRGO Collaborations (LSC) have registered puzzling event where black hole merges with unusual compact object whose mass falls in between that of a typical black hole and a neutron star.
Concept: LIGO
The LIGO Scientific Collaboration (LSC) is a group of scientists focused on the direct detection of gravitational waves, using them to explore the fundamental physics of gravity, and developing the emerging field of gravitational wave science as a tool of astronomical discovery. The LSC works toward this goal through research on, and development of techniques for, gravitational wave detection; and the development, commissioning and exploitation of gravitational wave detectors. The project operates three gravitational-wave (GW) detectors. Two are at Hanford, Washington, north-western US, and one is at Livingston in Louisiana, south-eastern US. The proposed LIGO India project aims to move one advanced LIGO detector from Hanford to India.
VIRGO Virgo is a giant laser interferometer designed to detect gravitational waves. Virgo has been designed and built by a collaboration of the French Centre National de la RechercheScientifique (CNRS) and the Italian IstitutoNazionale di FisicaNucleare (INFN) It is now operated and improved in Cascina, a small town near Pisa on the site of the European Gravitational Observatory (EGO), by an international collaboration of scientists from France, Italy, the Netherlands, Poland, and Hungary.
Working: It consists of two 3-kilometre-long arms, which house the various machinery required to form a laser interferometer.
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A beam-splitter divides a laser beam into two equal components, which are subsequently sent into the two interferometer arms. In each arm, a two-mirror Fabry-Perot resonant cavity extends the optical length. This is because of multiple reflections that occur within each cavity and which consequently amplify the tiny distance variation caused by a gravitational wave. The two beams of laser light that return from the two arms are recombined out of phase so that, in principle, no light reaches the so-called ‘dark fringe’ of the detector. Any variation caused by an alteration in the distance between the mirrors, produces a very small shift in phase between the beams and, thus, a variation of the intensity of the light, which is proportional to the wave’s amplitude.
Black hole
Black holes are imploded stars that keep its mass and gravity. The black holes are infinitely small with no real shape, and can suck in everything that is a certain distance away. It exhibits strong gravitational effects, due to which, particles and electromagnetic radiation cannot escape from it. It acts like an ideal black body reflecting no light. It continues to grow, by absorbing mass from its surroundings.
Black hole merger Gravitational waves, postulated by Albert Einstein 100 years ago but discovered only in 2015 do not produce any sound on their own. These are just ripples created in the fabric of space-time by moving celestial objects just like a moving boat produces ripples in water. But when converted into audio signals, these can produce signature sounds that can reveal the origin of the gravitational waves. The gravitational wave detected on September 14, 2015, is now known to have been produced by the merger of two black holes about 1.3 billion years ago. Scientists already knew the kind of sound that gravitational waves emanating from such events were likely to produce.
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As two such dense and massive objects, black holes or neutron stars, are about to merge, they start rotating around each other at almost the speed of light. The merger takes place within a fraction of a second. The gravitational waves released in this last bit, when converted into audio signals, produce sound that is within audible range of human beings.
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43. Tuberclosis
Context: Though government is pushing to end TB by 2025, the COVID-19 pandemic has caused a massive disruption in TB services
Concept: Tuberculosis (TB) is caused by bacteria Mycobacterium tuberculosis that most often affect the lungs. Tuberculosis is curable and preventable. TB is spread from person to person through the When people with lung TB cough, sneeze or spit, they propel the TB germs into the air. About one-quarter of the world’s population has latent TB, which means people have been infected by TB bacteria but are not yet ill with the disease and cannot transmit the disease. Persons with compromised immune systems, such as people living with HIV, malnutrition or diabetes, or people who use tobacco, have a higher risk of falling ill.
India and TB India has the highest burden of both tuberculosis (TB) and multi drug resistant (MDR) TB based on estimates reported in Global TB Report. Schemes Revised National TB Control Program RNTCP uses the World Health Organisation (WHO) recommended Directly Observed Treatment Short Course (DOTS) strategy and reaches over a billion people in 632 districts/reporting units. The RNTCP is responsible for carrying out the Government of India five year TB National Strategic Plans. With the RNTCP both diagnosis and treatment of TB are free. The initial objectives of the RNTCP in India were: to achieve and maintain a TB treatment success rate of at least 85% among new sputum positive (NSP) patients and to achieve and maintain detection of at least 70% of the estimated new sputum positive people in the community. Nikshay Poshan Yojana (NPY), a DBT scheme for nutritional support, was introduced in April 2018 by Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MOHFW), Government of India under the Revised National TB Control
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Programme (RNTCP). It provides support worth Rs 500/- per month for the duration of treatment to TB patients. National Strategic Plan (NSP) for Tuberculosis (2017-2025) with the goal of ending TB by 2025. The key focus areas are: Early diagnosis of all the TB patients, prompt treatment with quality assured drugs and treatment regimens along with suitable patient support systems to promote adherence. Engaging with the patients seeking care in the private sector. Prevention strategies including active case finding and contact tracing in high risk / vulnerable population Airborne infection control. Multi-sectoral response for addressing social determinants.
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44. Randomised control trial
Context: PatanjaliAyurved claimed ‘Coronil’ and ‘Swasari’ would cure COVID-19 in only seven days and claimed that a randomised controlled trial (RCT) among COVID-19 positive patients had proved favourable results.
Concept: A randomised controlled trial is an experiment that is designed to isolate the influence that a certain intervention or variable has on an outcome or event. In medical field, it is a study in which people are allocated at random, entirely by chance, to receive one of several clinical interventions. The intervention may be standard practice/treatment options, a placebo (a drug without an active substance, or a ‘sugar pill’), or no intervention at all. The idea is to measure and compare the outcomes against the control after the participants receive the treatment.
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45. Recovery Trials
Concept: As part of the RECOVERY trial, a range of potential treatments is being tested in patients being admitted to the UK National Health Service (NHS) hospitals that are positive for COVID-19. Sponsored by Oxford University in England, the trial is assessing the effectiveness of different potential COVID-19 treatments on their ability to reduce all-cause (overall) mortality within 28 days. RECOVERY Trial is testing a handful of drugs in consenting patients: Lopinavir-Ritonavir (commonly used to treat HIV) Low-dose Dexamethasone (a corticosteroid medicine used to treat inflammation) Hydroxychloroquine (an anti-malarial drug used to prevent and treat malaria in areas where malaria is sensitive to chloroquine) Azithromycin (a commonly-used antibiotic) Tocilizumab (an anti-inflammatory treatment given by injection) Convalescent plasma (collected from donors who have recovered from COVID-19 and contains antibodies against the SARS-CoV-2 virus).
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46. Sensitivity and specificity of test
Concept: Sensitivity measures how often a test correctly generates a positive result for people who have the condition that’s being tested for (also known as the “true positive” rate). A test that’s highly sensitive will flag almost everyone who has the disease and not generate many false-negative results. Specificity measures a test’s ability to correctly generate a negative result for people who don’t have the condition that’s being tested for (also known as the “true negative” rate). A high-specificity test will correctly rule out almost everyone who doesn’t have the disease and won’t generate many false positive results.
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47. Gynandromorphs
Context: Researchers have spotted a peculiar dragonfly, the Scarlet Skimmer (Crocothemisservilia), in the Puzhakkal area of the Kole wetlands in Thrissur with very rare biological phenomenon.
Concept: Gynandromorphs (“gyne” from Greek meaning female, “andro” for male, and “morph” meaning variety) are individual animals that have both genetically male and female tissuesand often have observable male and female characteristics. They may be bilateral, appearing to divide down the middle into male and female sides, or they may be mosaic, with patches characteristic of one sex appearing in a body part characteristic of the other sex. Gynandromorphs occur in insects, spiders, crustaceans, and other arthropods as well as in birds, but they are extremely rare.
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48. Plasma Bank
Context: Delhi is going to set up Plasma bank first-of-its-kind initiative in the entire country
Concept: Similar to blood banks, where blood is extracted and stored for those who might be in need, the idea is to extract and store plasma from people who have recovered from Covid-19 and give it to someone suffering from the disease. Plasma Therapy already covered.
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Environment 1. Rare scorpion fish found in Gulf of Mannar
Context: Researchers at the Central Marine Fisheries Research Institute (CMFRI) have found a rare fish in the Gulf of Mannar.
Concept: During finding, it is camouflaged within the seagrass meadows This bandtail Scorpion fish (Scorpaenospsis neglecta) is well known for its stinging venomous spines and ability to change colour The fish is called ‘scorpionfish’ because its spines contain neurotoxic venom. When the spines pierce an individual, the venom gets injected immediately and it can be extremely painful.
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2. Sixth mass extinction
Context: Sixth mass extinction of wildlife accelerating, scientists warn
Concept: Mass extinction refers to a substantial increase in the degree of extinction or when the Earth loses more than three-quarters of its species in a geologically short period of time. So far, during the entire history of the Earth, there have been five mass extinctions. The sixth, which is ongoing, is referred to as the Anthropocene extinction. The earlier five mass extinctions that took place in the last 450 million years have led to the destruction of 70-95 per cent of the species of plants, animals and microorganisms that existed earlier. These extinctions were caused by “catastrophic alterations” to the environment, such as massive volcanic eruptions, depletion of oceanic oxygen or collision with an asteroid.
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After each of these extinctions, it took millions of years to regain species comparable to those that existed before the event. Further, attributing sixth mass extinction to humans, scientists said that one of the reasons that humanity is an “unprecedented threat” to many living organisms is because of their growing numbers. The loss of species has been occurring since human ancestors developed agriculture over 11,000 years ago. Since then, the human population has increased from about 1 million to 7.7 billion.
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3. TRAFFIC
Context: A report by WWF-India’s programme division Traffic has found “significant increase” in reported poaching of wild animals during the lockdown, which is not restricted to any geographical region or state, or to any specific wildlife area.
Concept: The TRAFFIC, the Wildlife Trade Monitoring Network, is a leading non- governmental organisation working on wildlife trade in the context of both biodiversity conservation and sustainable development. It is a joint program of World Wildlife Fund (WWF) and the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN). It was established in 1976 and has developed into a global network, research-driven and action-oriented, committed to delivering innovative and practical conservation solutions. Headquarters: Cambridge, United Kingdom It aims to ensure that trade in wild plants and animal is not a threat to the conservation of nature.
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4. State of India’s Environment
Context: Centre for science and environment has released state of environment 2020 report
Findings The report outlines the status on progress of sustainable development goals(SDGs), state of forests, groundwater development, wasteland and live stocks. It has been observed in the report that the country facing challenges in achieving 9 of the total 17 SDGs which is pushing down its global ranking on preparedness. The report also focused on environmental crimes in the country and global economic risks India had one in five of all internal displacements caused by disasters across the world in 2019, mostly caused by floods, cyclones and drought It notes that there were 747 more tigers in 2018 than in 2014. However, the net area meant for tiger conservation shrunk by 179 sq.km. Forest cover has shrunk in 38% of districts, while five out of 21 river basins are now in a state of absolute water scarcity Nineteen extreme weather events in 2019 claimed 1,357 lives, with heavy rain and floods accounting for 63 per cent of these deaths There was a 69 per cent increase in the number of heat wave days between 2013 and 2019 as well, the report said. Over 5,300 people died from heat waves in the past seven years, the report pointed out. Cold waves increased by 69 per cent within a year, between 2017 and 2018, with the latter year reported to have an extremely cold winter, with the most casualties (279) in the past seven years. The Union government decreased its expenditure on natural disasters, even as the impact suffered by people from them increased, according to the report.
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5. Bio-Medical Waste Rules
Context: Chennai-based environmental group seeks more norms for disposal of COVID-19 medical waste in Tamil Nadu. It has demanded that the government set up at least one Common Bio- medical Waste Treatment and Disposal Facility per district immediately.
Concept: Bio Medical Waste Management Rules, (BMWM), 2016 defines Bio Medical Waste as any Waste generated during the diagnosis, treatment or immunization of human being and animals, in research activities or in production or testing of Biological. Bio Medical Waste is categorized into four categories Yellow, Red, Blue and White and needs special consideration during its handling, storage, transportation treatment and disposal specific to its color code. BMWM Rules 2016 specify the statutory responsibility of waste management of Waste generator, Occupier of Health care establishment, Common Facility operator, SPCB and stake holder departments responsible for BMW management at both Central and state government, in accordance with the provisions of BMW Rules and Guidelines issued by CPCB & SPCB.
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6. World Environment Day : Celebrating Biodiversity
Context: June 5 is celebrated as World Environment Day every year. The theme for World Environment Day 2020 is biodiversity.
Concept: The first major conference on environmental issues was held in the year 1972 from June 5-16 in Stockholm (Sweden). Later that year, on December 15, the General Assembly adopted a resolution designating June 5 as World Environment Day. In 1974, the first World Environment Day was celebrated. Since then, World Environment Day is celebrated every year on June 5, engaging governments, businesses, celebrities and citizens to focus their efforts on a pressing environmental issue.
Biodiversity Biodiversity describes the variety of life on Earth, including the 8 million plant and animal species on the planet, the ecosystems that house them, and the genetic diversity among them. Biodiversity is a complex, interdependent web, in which each member plays an important role, drawing and contributing in ways that may not even be visible to the eye. Biodiversity is the foundation that supports all life on land and below water. It affects every aspect of human health, providing clean air and water, nutritious foods, scientific understanding and medicine sources, natural disease resistance, and climate change mitigation. Changing or removing one element of this web affects the entire life system and can produce negative consequences. Without nature, life on earth would not be possible.
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7. Blue Water Navy
Context: Environment Protection and Green Initiatives have always been a key focus area of the Indian Navy. So the Indian Navy has embarked on reducing its environmental footprint Concept: ‘Indian Navy Environment Conservation Roadmap’ (INECR) has been the guiding document and key enabler for progressively achieving the vision of the Indian Navy to add a Green Footprint to its Blue Water operations.
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8. Healthy and Energy Efficient Buildings
Context: On occasion of World Environment Day, today, Energy Efficiency Services Limited (EESL) in partnership with the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) launched the “Healthy and Energy Efficient Buildings” initiative under MAITREE.
Concept: This initiative is addressing the challenges of retrofitting existing buildings and air conditioning systems so that they are both healthy and energy efficient. Most buildings in India are not equipped to establish and maintain healthy indoor air quality and need to be upgraded. Such retrofit measures, like increasing outside air and additional filtration in the air conditioning system, typically come at the cost of occupant comfort and increased energy use. Nor are there standardized approaches to retrofitting. The EESL office pilot will address this problem by developing specifications for future use in other buildings throughout the country, as well as aid in evaluating the effectiveness and cost benefits of various technologies and their short and long-term impacts on air quality, comfort, and energy use. The Market Integration and Transformation Program for Energy Efficiency (MAITREE), under which this initiative has been launched, is a part of the US-India bilateral Partnership between the Ministry of Power and USAID and is aimed at accelerating the adoption of cost-effective energy efficiency as a standard practice within buildings, and specifically focuses on cooling.
About EESL Energy Efficiency Services Limited (EESL), under the administration of Ministry of Power, Government of India, is working towards mainstreaming energy efficiency and is implementing the world’s largest energy efficiency portfolio in the country. Driven by the mission of Enabling More – more transparency, more transformation, and more innovation, EESL aims to create market access for efficient and future-ready transformative solutions that create a win- win situation for every stakeholder.
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About USAID:
USAID is the world’s premier international development agency and a catalytic actor driving development results.
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9. Icommit
Context: Ministry of Power initiated the ‘#iCommit’ campaign, on the occasion of World Environment Day.
Concept: The initiative is a clarion call to all stakeholders and individuals to continue moving towards energy efficiency, renewable energy, and sustainability to create a robust and resilient energy system in the future. The ‘#iCommit’ initiative, driven by Energy Efficiency Services Limited (EESL) is uniting a diverse set of players such as Governments, Corporates, Multilateral and Bilateral Organisations, Think Tanks and Individuals. The ‘#iCommit’ initiative is centred around the idea of building an energy resilient future. The pre-requisite for that goal is to create a flexible and agile power system. A healthy power sector can help the nation in meeting the objective of energy access and security for all. The initiative will also celebrate and promote key undertakings of Government of India such as National Electric Mobility Mission 2020, FAME 1 and 2, DeenDayalUpadhyaya Gram JyotiYojana, the Saubhagya Scheme, Ujwal DISCOM Assurance Yojna (UDAY), Atal Distribution system Improvement Yojna (AJAY), Smart Meter National Programme, KUSUM, Solar Parks, Grid Connected Rooftop, UnnatJyoti by Affordable LED for All (UJALA), Atal JyotiYojna (AJAY) amongst others.
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10. Ambarnaya River Oil spill in Russia
Context: Russia declared a state of emergency after 20,000 tonnes of diesel oil leaked into Ambarnaya river in Arctic region turning its surface crimson red.
Concept: Reason for spill The thermoelectric power plant at Norilsk is built on permafrost, which has weakened over the years owing to climate change. This caused the pillars that supported the plant’s fuel tank to sink leading to a loss of containment.
Permafrost Permafrost is any ground that remains completely frozen—32°F (0°C) or colder—for at least two years straight. These permanently frozen grounds are most common in regions with high mountains and in Earth’s higher latitudes—near the North and South Poles. Permafrost is made of a combination of soil, rocks and sand that are held together by ice. The soil and ice in permafrost stay frozen all year long. Near the surface, permafrost soils also contain large quantities of organic carbon—a material leftover from dead plants that couldn’t decompose, or rot away, due to the cold. Lower permafrost layers contain soils made mostly of minerals. A layer of soil on top of permafrost does not stay frozen all year. This layer, called the active layer, thaws during the warm summer months and freezes again in the fall. In colder regions, the ground rarely thaws—even in the summer.
Climate change and permafrost As Earth’s climate warms, the permafrost is thawing. That means the ice inside the permafrost melts, leaving behind water and soil.Thawing permafrost can have dramatic impacts on our planet and the things living on it. For example: Thawing permafrost can destroy houses, roads and other infrastructure. When permafrost is frozen, plant material in the soil—called organic carbon—can’t decompose, or rot away. As permafrost thaws, microbes
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begin decomposing this material. This process releases greenhouse gases like carbon dioxide and methane to the atmosphere. The newly-unfrozen microbes could make humans and animals very sick. Scientists have discovered microbes more than 400,000 years old in thawed permafrost.
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11. Aerosol Radiative Forcing
Context: Researchers at the Aryabhatta Research Institute of Observational Sciences (ARIES), Nainital an autonomous research institute under the Department of Science and Technology (DST) have found that aerosol radiative forcing larger than the global averages over the trans-Himalayas implying some amount of radiative effects, in spite of the clean atmosphere.
Concept: Aerosol radiative forcing is defined as the effect of anthropogenic aerosols on the radiative fluxes at the top of the atmosphere (TOA) and at the surface and on the absorption of radiation within the atmosphere. Aerosols affect climate in multiple ways. Aerosol absorbs or scatters radiation in the atmosphere (so-called direct effect). Aerosols, except dust, interfere mainly with solar radiation. Some aerosols act as cloud condensation nuclei (CCN), thus affecting cloud albedo and lifetime (so- called indirect effect). Dark color aerosols can be deposited on sea ice, snow packs and glaciers, thus darkening the snow and ice surfaces, and enhancing the absorption of sunlight (so-called surface darkening effect). Some of the aerosols can absorb sunlight efficiently and heat the atmosphere.
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12. Deep Sea Micro plastic hotpots
Context: Deep sea hotspots of biodiversity are also likely to get affected by micro plastics deposition, according to a recent study published in Science
Concept: The researchers found thermohaline driven currents caused microplastics to accumulate in the same regions where underwater organisms flock in the benthic region Reason for flocking of organisms is that the same currents also supply oxygen and nutrients to the deep sea benthos. Winds drive ocean currents in the upper 100 meters of the ocean’s surface. However, ocean currents also flow thousands of meters below the surface. These deep-ocean currents are driven by differences in the water’s density, which is controlled by temperature (thermo) and salinity (haline). This process is known as thermohaline circulation.
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13. Race to Zero
Context: With the 26th Conference of the Parties (COP26) to UNFCCC pushed back a full year – to November, 2021 – the UNFCCC’s Climate Ambition Alliance has launched a global campaign called “Race to Zero”
Concept: It is an “international campaign for a healthy, resilient zero carbon recovery” The campaign aims to codify commitments made via the Climate Ambition Alliance (CAA)
Climate Ambition Alliance Climate Ambition Alliance (CAA) was launched ahead of last year’s COP25 in Madrid. The CAA currently includes 120 nations, 996 businesses, 458 cities, 24 regions, 505 universities and 36 investment groups that have committed to achieving zero net greenhouse gas emissions by 2050. Signatories are responsible for 23 percent of current greenhouse-gas emissions worldwide and 53 percent of global GDP.
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14. Environment Performance Index
Context: India has improved its place in Environment Performance Index but still poorly ranked
Concept: India secured 168 rank in the 12th edition of the biennial Environment Performance Index (EPI Index 2020) that measured the environmental performance of 180 countries It was released by the Yale University on June 4, 2020. India’s rank was 177 (with a score of 27.6 out of 100) in 2018. All South Asian countries, except Afghanistan, were ahead of India in the ranking.
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15. Assam Gas Leak
Context: Since the morning of May 27, natural gas has been continuously flowing out of a gas well in Assam
Concept: The Baghjan 5 well is a purely gas-producing well in Tinsukia district. Sometimes, the pressure balance in a well may be disturbed leading to ‘kicks’ or changes in pressure. If these are not controlled in time, the ‘kicks’ can turn into a sudden blowout.
Issues: Maguri-Motapung wetland, an Important Bird Area notified by the Bombay Natural History Society situated near to the site. The park is famous for its birds, butterflies, wild cats, and feral horses. Dibru-Saikhowa National Park is located at an aerial distance of 900 meters from the leak site.
Dibru-Saikhowa National Park Dibru-Saikhowa is a National Park as well as a Biosphere Reserve situated in the south bank of the river Brahmaputra in the extreme east of Assam state in India. Situated in the flood plain of Brahmaputra, Dibru-saikhowa is a safe haven for many extremely rare and endangered species of Wildlife. The forest type of Dibru-Saikhowa comprises of semi-evergreen forests, deciduous forests, littoral and swamp forests and patches of wet evergreen forests.
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16. Indian gaur
Context: Population estimation of Indian gaur has been carried out in Nilgiris forest division.
Concept: Gaur, or Indian Bison, is a close wild relative of domestic cattle. The best habitat for gaur is forested hills and grassy areas of south to south east Asia, with undisturbed tracts of forest, water sources and abundant forage in the form of coarse grasses, shrubs and trees It is native to South and Southeast Asia and has been listed as Vulnerable on the IUCN
Red List. It is state animal of Goa Gaur is highly threatened by poaching for trade to supply international markets and loss of habitats. The Western Ghats and their outflanking hills in southern India constitute one of the most extensive extant strongholds of gaur, in particular in the Wayanad – Nagarhole – Mudumalai – Bandipur complex. And also spotted in Tadoba Andhari Tiger Project , Periyar Tiger Reserve , Silent Valley National Park, Kanha National park and Bhadra Wildlife Sanctuary Nilgiris Biosphere Reserve The NBR harbors a wide spectrum of ecosystem types such as tropical evergreen forests, Montane sholas and grasslands, semi-evergreen forests, moist deciduous forests, dry deciduous forests and thorn forests. Nilgiri Biosphere Reserve Nature Park is the most popular biosphere reserves in India and the major National Park and Wildlife Sanctuary of South India. Nilgiri Biosphere Reserve area is located at the foothills of the famous Nilgiris hills or Blue Mountains at the meeting point of two majestic mountain ranges the Western Ghats and the Eastern Ghats and shares boundaries with Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and Kerala states. The Nilgiri Biosphere Reserve includes many National parks and wildlife sanctuaries and also declared a Tiger Reserve.
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Important faunal elements which need protection are Tiger, Elephant, Gaur, Lion tail macaque, Sambar, Wild Boar, Nilgiri Tahr etc. It includes the Aralam, Mudumalai, Mukurthi, Nagarhole, Bandipur and Silent Valley national parks, as well as the Wayanad and Sathyamangalam wildlife sanctuaries.
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17. Lonar Lake
Context: The colour of water in Lonar Lake has changed to pink
Concept:
Reason: The low level of water may lead to increased salinity and change in the behaviour of algae because of atmospheric changes. This may be the reason for colour change. This is not the first time that the colour of water has changed It is also known as Lonar crater, which was formed after a meteorite hit the Earth some 50,000 years ago It is a notified national geo-heritage monument. Geological Survey of India (GSI) declares geo-heritage sites/ national geological monuments for protection and maintenance.
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18. I-FLOWS
Context: Integrated Flood Warning System called ‘IFLOWS-Mumbai’ has been launched
Concept: It is a joint initiative between the Ministry of Earth Sciences (MoES) and Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) The warning system will relay alerts of possible flood-prone areas anywhere between six to 72 hours in advance. The system can provide all information regarding possible flood-prone areas, likely height of the floodwater, location-wise problem areas and calculate the vulnerability and risk of elements exposed to flood. Mumbai is only the second city in the country after Chennai to get this system. Similar systems are being developed for Bengaluru and Kolkata.
Working method: Amount of rainfall, tidal waves and storm tides are the primary source for the system. The system includes weather models from the National Centre for Medium Range Weather Forecasting (NCMRWF), India Meteorological Department (IMD), field data from the rain gauge network of 165 stations.
In the last two years, researchers have been conducting studies to provide real-time weather information by measuring the city’s rainfall, how much water drained out, topography, land use, infrastructure development, population, lakes, creeks and data on river bathymetry of all rivers namely Mithi, Dahisar, Oshiwara, Poisar and Ulhas.
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19. National Action Plan on Forest Fires
Context: Kerala Forest Department has been given time by NGT to submit report on the steps taken to prevent forest fires and implement the National Action Plan on Forest Fire in the State.
Concept: Ministry of Environment, Forest and climate change has prepared a National Action Plan on forest fires in 2018 after several rounds of consultation with all states and Union Territories. The objective of this plan is to minimize forest fires by informing, enabling and empowering forest fringe communities and incentivizing them to work in tandem with the State Forest Departments. The plan also intends to substantially reduce the vulnerability of forests across diverse forest ecosystems in the country against fire hazards, enhance capabilities of forest personnel and institutions in fighting fires and swift recovery subsequent to fire incidents. While forests are managed by states concerned, the ministry provides forest fire prevention and management measures under the Centrally Sponsored Forest Fire Prevention and Management scheme and also the Centre provides funds for forest fire management.
Forest Fire Prevention and Management Scheme (FPM) The FPM is the only centrally funded program specifically dedicated to assist the states in dealing with forest fires. The FPM replaced the Intensification of Forest Management Scheme (IFMS) in December 2017 By revamping the IFMS, the FPM has increased the amount dedicated for forest fire work Funds are allocated under the FPM in 90:10 ratio of central to state funding in the Northeast and Western Himalayan regions and a 60:40 ratio for all other states.
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20. Athirappally Hydel Power Project
Context: Kerala government gives nod to Athirappally hydel power project Concept: It is 163-megawatt (MW) Hydro Electric Project proposed on the Chalakudy river in Thrissur district Around 168 hectares of biodiversity-rich forests in the Western Ghats would be submerged if the project got implemented. In addition, Kadar tribal settlements in the forests will be dismantled. The fresh move is even violative of the forest rights granted to the Kadars under Forest Rights Act. The project which was initially mooted by KSEB in 1996, had been in limbo with the local community strongly opposing the move, backed by environmentalists. Even the majestic Athirappally waterfall would dry up once the project comes up. Apart from flora and fauna involving four varieties of rare hornbills, even fish varieties in the Chalakudy river would be impacted.
Chalakudy River It is the 4th longest river in Kerala. Chalakudy River is the one of very few rivers of Kerala, which is having relics of riparian vegetation in substantial level. Chalakudy River is the richest river in fish diversity perhaps in India. The famous waterfalls, Athirappilly Falls and Vazhachal Falls, are situated on this river. For irrigation purposes Thumboormoozhy Dam is constructed across this river. It merges with the Periyar River near Puthanvelikkara. The Parambikulam Dam has been built on the Parambikulam River, one of its four tributaries.
Riparian vegetation Riparian vegetation grows along banks of a waterway extending to the edge of the floodplain (also known as fringing vegetation).
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This includes the emergent aquatic plants growing at the edge of the waterway channel and the ground cover plants, shrubs and trees within the riparian zone. Riparian zones dissipate stream energy which slow the flow of water and reduces soil erosion and flood damage. Sediment is trapped, reducing suspended solids to create less turbid water, replenish soils, and build stream banks. Pollutants are filtered from surface runoff, enhancing water quality via bio-filtration. The riparian zones also provide wildlife habitat, increased biodiversity, and wildlife corridors, enabling aquatic and riparian organisms to move along river systems avoiding isolated communities.
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21. Diversion of forest areas
Context: In Annual report published by Union Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, it was found that total 11,467.83 hectares forest lands were diverted in 22 states between January 1 and November 6, 2019
Concept: Forest land is usually recommended for diversion by state governments for the development of various infrastructure projects or mining, and then given a final approval by the Union Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change after having received clearance from the Ministry’s Forest Advisory Committee or the ten Regional Empowered Committees.
CAMPA Whenever forest land is diverted for non-forest purposes, it is mandatory under the Forest (Conservation) Act, 1980 that an equivalent area of non- forest land has to be taken up for compensatory afforestation. In addition to this, funds for raising the forest are also to be imposed on whosoever is undertaking the diversion. The land chosen for afforestation, if viable, must be in close proximity of reserved or protected forest for ease of management by forest department. In 2002, the Supreme Court (SC) ordered that a Compensatory Afforestation Fund had to be created in which all the contributions towards compensatory afforestation and net present value of land had to be deposited. In April 2004, Ministry of Environment and Forests constituted Compensatory Afforestation Fund Management and Planning Authority (CAMPA) to overlook and manage the Compensatory Afforestation Fund (CAF) as directed by the SC. The authority was termed as the ‘custodian’ of the fund. Further in 2009, the government ordered that State CAMPAs had to be set up to boost compensatory afforestation at state level and also manage Green India Fund. Despite all these efforts, CAG report in 2013 revealed that the CAMPA funds remained unutilised. The report stated that between 2006 and 2012, CAF with ad hoc CAMPA grew from ₹ 1,200 crores to ₹ 23,607 crores.
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Statutory backing Compensatory Afforestation Fund Act, 2016 came into force from 2018. The Act established a National Compensatory Afforestation Fund under the Public Account of India and State Compensatory Afforestation Fund under the Public Account of each state. The payments made for compensatory afforestation, net present value and others related to the project will be deposited in the fund. The State Funds will receive 90% of the payments while National Fund will receive remaining 10%. These funds will be regulated by State and National CAMPA. The Ministry also stressed that the fund had to be used for important needs such as Compensatory Afforestation, Catchment Area Treatment, Wildlife Management, Assisted Natural Regeneration, Forest Fire Prevention and Control Operations, Soil and Moisture Conservation Works in the forest, Improvement of Wildlife Habitat, Management of Biological Diversity and Biological Resources, Research in Forestry and Monitoring of CAMPA works and others.
Green credit scheme Forest Advisory Committee (FAC) has approved the Green Credit Scheme which will allow the Forest Department to outsource the responsibility of reforesting to nongovernment agencies It would allow agencies like private companies and village forest communities to identify land and grow plantations. After a period of three years, they would be eligible to be considered as compensatory forest land if they met the criteria set by the Forest Department. An industry in need of forest land could then pay for these patches of forest land, and this would then be transferred to the Forest Department. Previously, in 2015, a ‘Green Credit Scheme’ for degraded forest land with public-private participation had been recommended, but was shelved when it was not approved by the Union environment ministry.
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22. MB Lal Committee
Context: The natural gas well at Baghjan in Upper Assam’s Tinsukia district that had been leaking gas since May 27, caught fire on June 9.
Concept: According to the Oil Industry Safety Directorate, eight accidents in oil and gas installations took place between April and June 1, 2020. Such accidents are a grave reminder of the inadequate safety measures and the lackadaisical implementation of safety standards at oil and gas installations in the country The MB Lal committee was constituted following a fire incident in 2009 at the IOCL terminal at Jaipur. It had nearly 118 recommendations with regard to safety guidelines to be followed by oil companies at their installations. All recommendations of the committee approved by the petroleum ministry were supposed to be implemented immediately. But the recommendations are remaining idle. Emergency Response Centres (ERCs) to handle major oil fires in the fastest way possible are yet to be set up in India, more than a decade after they were recommended by the MB Lal Committee.
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23. Soil a living organism
Context: Professor Rattan Lal, the winner of this year’s World Food Prize spoke about importance of soil. Improving soil health not only boosts crop productivity, and makes farming profitable, but also mitigate the effects of climate change.
Concept: Soil is living because it has 25 per cent of all biodiversity. There are more species of organisms in the soil than there are aboveground. These organisms include everything from badgers and gophers to bacteria and viruses that are invisible to the naked eye. There are millions of organisms large and small that live in the soil and perform many important roles. It is important to maintain healthy soils by protecting soil from disturbance and organic matter loss. This ensures plenty of shelter and food for soil organisms, so that belowground diversity remains high and the soil microorganisms can provide us with ecosystem services.
Ecosystem services of soil Ecosystem services are the direct and indirect contributions of ecosystems to human well-being. They support directly or indirectly our survival and quality of life.
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Per the 2006 Millennium Ecosystem Assessment (MA), ecosystem services are "the benefits people obtain from ecosystems .It also delineated the four categories of ecosystem services— supporting, provisioning, regulating and cultural Provisioning Services are ecosystem services that describe the material or energy outputs from ecosystems. They include food, water and other resources. Regulating Services are the services that ecosystems provide by acting as regulators eg. Regulating the quality of air and soil or by providing flood and disease control. Local climate and air quality: Carbon sequestration and storage Moderation of extreme events Waste-water treatment Erosion prevention and maintenance of soil fertility Pollination Biological control Supporting Services: Habitats for species: Maintenance of genetic diversity
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Cultural Services: Aesthetic appreciation and inspiration for culture, art and design, Spiritual experience and sense of place: Recreation and mental and physical health:
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24. Golden Langur
Context: Golden Langurs are facing threat of electrocution from power supply lines.
Concept: It is endemic to the semi-evergreen and mixed deciduous forests straddling India and Bhutan.
The golden langurs in Assam are hemmed in by three rivers Brahmaputra in the south, Manas in east and Sonkosh in west. Their northern limit is the range of hills in Bhutan up to 2,400 metres above sea level. IUCN status – Endangered In Assam, its main population is in the Manas Biosphere Reserve, a forested area along the border of Bhutan.
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25. What are Exotic Species?
Context: The Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) has arrested two persons involved in an alleged wildlife smuggling syndicate and seized a consignment of 22 exotic macaws.
Concept: The birds were identified as Hyacinth Macaw, Pesquet’s Parrot, Severe Macaw and Hahn’s Macaw. They are all protected species under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES), with Hyacinth Macaw being accorded the highest protection and listed under Appendix I. Protection under CITES implies ban in global and domestic trade of the species. All the birds were seized under provisions of the Customs Act and Wild Life Protection Act, 1972.
Exotic species: As opposed to native species, which are indigenous and found naturally in an environment, animals and plant species introduced from other countries and which are not otherwise found locally are termed exotic. These introduced or exotic species can adversely affect the ecosystem. In India, large varieties of exotic animal and plant species have been introduced from other parts of the world through the ages. Some exotic plants have turned into weeds, multiplying fast and causing harm to the ecosystem, e.g. water hyacinth and lantana.
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26. Wildlife Corridor
Context:
Maharashtra state forest department declared 29.53 sqkm area of Dodamarg forest range, which is wildlife corridor in Sindhudurg district as ‘Tillari Conservation Reserve’.
Concept: The 38-km-long Dodamarg wildlife corridor that connects Radhanagari Wildlife Sanctuary in Maharashtra to Bhimgad Wildlife Sanctuary in Karnataka frequently witnesses elephant and tiger movement.
Wildlife corridors A wildlife corridor is a way of connecting fragmented habitats. The corridor allows movement between isolated patches of habitat without other disturbances, such as traffic or development. Wildlife corridors are also known as habitat corridors or green corridors. These green corridors are also designed to keep animals out of danger of highways, busy roads, and other areas where their traditional migratory patterns intersect with potential dangerous manmade places.
Conservation reserve Conservation reserves and community reserves in India are terms denoting protected areas of India which typically act as buffer zones to or connectors and migration corridors between established national parks, wildlife sanctuaries and reserved and protected forests of India. Such areas are designated as conservation areas if they are uninhabited and completely owned by the Government of India but used for subsistence by communities and community areas if part of the lands is privately owned. These protected area categories were first introduced in the Wildlife (Protection) Amendment Act of 2002 − the amendment to the Wildlife Protection Act of 1972. These categories were added because of reduced protection in and around existing or proposed protected areas due to private ownership of land, and land use.
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27. Artic Warming
Context: The Arctic Circle has recorded likely all-time high temperatures reaching over 38 degrees Celsius in the Siberian town of Verkhoyansk which seem to have been 18 degree Celsius higher than normal in June.
Concept: The Arctic’s extreme warming, known as Arctic amplification or polar amplification, may be due to three factors. One, the region’s reflectivity, or albedo is changing as the world warms. If the sea ice melts in the Arctic that will remove that white surface off of the ocean, and what will be exposed is this darker ocean surface that will absorb more of the sun’s heat. This dovetails with the second factor: changing currents. Ocean currents normally bring in warmer water from the Pacific, and colder water exits out of the Arctic into the Atlantic. But those currents may be changing because more melting ice is injecting the Arctic Ocean with freshwater, which is less dense than saltwater, and therefore floats above it. The missing ice also exposes the surface waters to more wind, speeding up the Beaufort Gyre in the Arctic, which traps the water it would normally expel into the Atlantic. This acceleration mixes up colder freshwater at the surface and warmer saltwater below, raising surface temperatures and further melting ice. Ocean currents influence the weather, a third factor. They drive the powerful polar jet stream, which moves hot and cold air masses around the Northern Hemisphere. This is a product of the temperature differences between the Arctic and the tropics. But as the Arctic warms, the jet stream now undulates wildly north and south. This has been injecting the Arctic with warm air in the summer and the US with extremely cold air in the winter, like during the “polar vortex” of January 2019.
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28. Environment Impact assessment
Context: Several students unions in the country wrote letter to government to hold draft EIA notification 2020.
Concept: Environment Impact Assessment or EIA can be defined as the study to predict the effect of a proposed activity/project on the environment. A decision making tool, EIA compares various alternatives for a project and seeks to identify the one which represents the best combination of economic and environmental costs and benefits. Till 1994, environmental clearance from the Central Government was an administrative decision and lacked legislative support. On 27 January 1994, the Union Ministry of Environment and Forests (MEF), Government of India, under the Environmental (Protection) Act 1986, promulgated an EIA notification making Environmental Clearance (EC) mandatory for expansion or modernisation of any activity or for setting up new projects listed in Schedule 1 of the notification. The MoEFrecently notified new EIA legislation in September 2006. The notification makes it mandatory for various projects such as mining, thermal power plants, river valley, infrastructure (road, highway, ports, harbours and airports) and industries including very small electroplating or foundry units to get environment clearance. Environment Impact Assessment Notification of 2006 has decentralized the environmental clearance projects by categorizing the developmental projects in two categories, i.e., Category A (national level appraisal) and Category B (state level appraisal). Category A projects are appraised at national level by Impact Assessment Agency (IAA) and the Expert Appraisal Committee (EAC) and Category B projects are apprised at state level. State Level Environment Impact Assessment Authority (SEIAA) and State Level Expert Appraisal Committee (SEAC) are constituted to provide clearance to Category B process.
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29. Coccolithophores
Context: National Centre for Polar and Ocean Research (NCPOR) has conducted research on Coccolithophores and has found that there is a decrease in the concentration of oceanic calcium carbonate (CaCO3) in the southern Indian ocean.
Concept: Coccolithophores (ancient marine algae) have been playing a key role in marine ecosystems and the global carbon cycle for millions of years. Coccolithophores calcify marine phytoplankton. Coccolithophores build exoskeletons from individual CaCO3plates consisting of chalk and seashells building the tiny plates on their exterior. Though carbon dioxide is produced during the formation of these plates, coccolithophores help in removing it from the atmosphere and ocean by consuming it during photosynthesis. At equilibrium, coccolithophores absorb more carbon dioxide than they produce, which is beneficial for the ocean ecosystem. Its abundance and diversity enrichment of coccolithophores highly depend on factors such as silicate concentrations, calcium carbonate concentration, diatom abundance, light intensity and availability of macro and possibly micronutrient concentrations. Recent decrease in CaCO3 is attributed to the increase in the concentration of another single-celled algae known as diatoms. This, in turn, will affect the growth and skeleton structure of coccolithophores, with potential significance for the world ocean ecosystem. The research team’s analysis revealed that the reduction of coccolithophore diversity in the early summer and late summer periods is due to an increase in the presence of diatom algae, which occurs after sea ice breakdown with climate change and ocean acidification, and increases the silicate concentration in the waters of the Southern Ocean. The results of the study point to climate change as a major reason for the altered coccolithophore calcification rate. These investigations are important for future intervention to bring positive changes in the marine ecosystem and global carbon cycle.
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30. Bhitarkanika fishing cats
Context: The Odisha forest department has started a two-year conservation project for fishing cats in Bhitarkanika National Park.
Concept: The fishing cat is nocturnal and apart from fish also preys on frogs, crustaceans, snakes, birds, and scavenges on carcasses of larger animals. In India, fishing cats are mainly found in the mangrove forests of the Sundarbans, on the foothills of the Himalayas along the Ganga and Brahmaputra river valleys and in the Western Ghats. One of the major threats facing the fishing cat is the destruction of wetlands. The fishing cat is listed as Endangered on the IUCN Red List. The Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) lists the fishing cat on Appendix II of CITES, which governs international trade in this species. In India, the fishing cat is included in Schedule I of the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972 and thereby protected from hunting. The wetland is represented by as many as 3 protected Areas, namely “The Bhitarkanika National Park”, “The Bhitarkanika Wildlife Sanctuary” and “The Gahirmatha Marine Sanctuary”.
Bhitarkanka National Park Bhitarkanika is a unique habitat of Mangrove Forests criss-crossed with numerous creeks and mud flats located in Kendrapara district of Orissa. Bhitarkanika located in the estuary of Brahmani, Baitarani, Dhamra& Mahanadi river systems, has unique attraction and a boast of nature’s most picturesque sites. Bhitarkanika National Park is a prime habitat of leopard cat, fishing cat, jungle cat, hyena, wild boar, spotted deer, sambar, porcupine, dolphin, salt water crocodile including partially white crocodile, python, king cobra, water monitor lizards, terrapin, marine turtle, kingfisher, wood pecker, hornbill, bar headed geese, brahminy duck, pintail, white bellied sea eagle, tern, sea gull, waders and a large variety of resident and migratory birds.
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31. Illegal wildlife trade
Context: “Money Laundering and the Illegal Wildlife Trade” report was released by FATF.
Concept: Findings: The illegal wildlife trade (IWT) is a major transnational organised crime that fuels corruption, threats biodiversity, and can have significant public health impacts. In particular, the spread in recent years of zoonotic diseases underlines the importance of ensuring that wildlife is traded in a legal, safe and sustainable manner, and that countries remove the profitability of illegal markets. According to the 2016 UN World Wildlife Crime report, criminals are illegally trading products derived from over 7 000 species of wild animals and plants across the world. This includes iconic mammals, but also lesser- known species of reptiles, birds and amphibians. Criminals are relying on “established” methods to launder proceeds from IWT, including the placement and layering of funds through the formal financial sector. This shows the important role that financial institutions can play in detecting suspicious activity. Wildlife traffickers often use front companies that have connections to import-export industries to help to justify the movement of goods and payments across borders (e.g., plastics, timber, frozen foods, or artwork). New technologies play an important role in facilitating communication and non-face-to-face payments between buyers and sellers for illegal wildlife. In particular, encrypted communication platforms and illegal wildlife marketplaces hosted via social media sites, online vendor platforms, and the dark net increase the ease with which wildlife transactions can occur between buyers and sellers
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Current Affairs 1. Rule of Law Index
Context: The Supreme Court on writ petition refused to direct government to set up expert panels to boost India’s prospects in the Rule of Law Index.
Concept: The Rule of Law Index is a quantitative assessment tool by the World Justice Project (WJP) designed to offer a detailed and comprehensive picture of the extent to which countries adhere to the rule of law in practice. India ranked 69th in 2020 in the Rule of Law Index Index relies on more than 130,000 household and 4,000 expert surveys to measure how the rule of law is experienced and perceived by the general public worldwide. Index findings have been cited by heads of state, chief justices, business leaders, and public officials, including media coverage in more than 190 countries worldwide. It measures countries’ rule of law performance across nine factors: Constraints on Government Powers, Absence of Corruption, Open Government, Fundamental Rights, Order and Security, Regulatory Enforcement, Civil Justice, Criminal Justice and informal justice.
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2. Nasha Mukt Bharat
Context: Nasha Mukt Bharat: Annual anti-drug Action Plan (2020-21) for 272 Most Affected Districts was launched on the occasion of “International Day Against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking”
Concept: Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment observes 26th June every year as “International Day Against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking”. It is the nodal Ministry for drug demand reduction which coordinates and monitors all aspects of drug abuse prevention which include assessment of the extent of the problem, preventive action, treatment and rehabilitation of addicts, dissemination of information and public awareness. Nasha Mukt Bharat Annual Action Plan for 2020-21 would focus on 272 most affected districts and launch a three-pronged attack combining efforts of Narcotics Bureau, Outreach / Awareness by Social Justice and
Treatment through the Health Department . The Action Plan has the following components: Awareness generation programmes; Focus on Higher Educational institutions, University Campuses and Schools; Community outreach and identification of dependent population; Focus on Treatment facilities in Hospital settings; and Capacity Building Programmes for Service Provider.
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3. World Drug report 2020
Context: The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) has released World Drug Report 2020.
Concept: Findings: The report has highlighted possible consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic on illegal drug production, supply and consumption. The report expressed concern over the adverse impact of the economic hardship caused by the pandemic. This could lead to an increase in the number of people resorting to illicit activities linked to drugs to make a living. As experienced during the 2008 economic crisis, it could result in reductions in drug-related budgets of the governments; overall increase in drug use, with a shift towards cheaper and more harmful drugs.
United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) is a global leader in the fight against illicit drugs and international crime established in 1997. It is headquarters are in Vienna
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4. Global Financial Stability Report
Context: IMF on recent update of Global Financial Stability Report said financial conditions have eased but insolvencies loom large.
Concept:
Findings Risk asset prices have rebounded following the precipitous fall early in the year, while benchmark interest rates have declined, leading to an overall easing of financial conditions. Swift and bold actions by central banks aimed at addressing severe market stress have boosted market sentiment, including in emerging markets, where asset purchases have been deployed in a number of countries for the first time, helping bring about the easing in financial conditions. Amid huge uncertainties, a disconnect between financial markets and the evolution of the real economy has emerged, a vulnerability that could pose a threat to the recovery should investor risk appetite fade. Other financial system vulnerabilities may be crystallized by the COVID-19 pandemic. High levels of debt may become unmanageable for some borrowers, and the losses resulting from insolvencies could test bank resilience in some countries. Some emerging and frontier market economies are facing refinancing risks, and market access has dried up for some countries. Authorities, while continuing to support the real economy, need to closely monitor financial vulnerabilities and safeguard financial stability.
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Government Scheme 1. Pradhan Mantri Bhartiya Janaushdhi Kendra's –PMBJK
Context: Pradhan Mantri Bhartiya Janaushdhi Kendra has achieved an impressive sales of Rs 100.40 Crore in first two months of 2020-21 as compared to Rs 44.60 Crore in same period of 2019-20.
Concept: “Pradhan Mantri Bhartiya Jan Aaushadhi Pariyojana” is a noble initiative by Department of Pharmaceuticals, Government of India which is now making an impact on masses in its endeavor to provide quality medicines at an affordable price. Jan aushadhi Kendra is considered as the biggest retail pharma chain in the world with around 6200 outlets in 700 districts. Bureau of Pharma PSUs of India (BPPI) is the implementing agency of PMBJP. BPPI (Bureau of Pharma Public Sector Undertakings of India) has been established under the Department of Pharmaceuticals, Govt. of India, with the support of all the CPSUs. The scheme aims to extend coverage of quality generic medicines so as to reduce the out of pocket expenditure on medicines and thereby redefine the unit cost of treatment per person.
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2. PM Svanidhi
Context: Union Government launched PM SVANIDHI - Pradhan Mantri Street Vendor’s Atmanirbhar Nidhi
Concept: It is a special micro-credit facility scheme for providing affordable loan to street vendors. The scheme is aimed at enabling the street vendors to resume their livelihoods that have been adversely affected due to COVID-19 lockdown. Under the scheme, each of these streets vendors will be given a credit loan of Rs 10,000, which they can return as monthly installments within a year. Those who repay their loans on time will get 7 percent annual interest as subsidy which will be transferred in their bank accounts. There is no provision for penalty The scheme targets to benefit over 50 lakh street vendors, who had been vending on or before 24th March this year, in urban areas. The duration of the scheme is till March 2022. The street vendors belonging to the surrounding peri-urban or rural areas are being included as beneficiaries under the urban livelihoods programme for the first time. The lending institutions under the Scheme include Scheduled Commercial Banks, Regional Rural Banks, Small Finance Banks, Cooperative Banks, NBFCs, Micro Finance institutions and Self Help Group banks.
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3. Electronics incentive schemes
Context: Government has announced three schemes for promotion of electronics manufacturing in India.
Concept: i. Production Linked Incentive Scheme (PLI) for Large Scale Electronics Manufacturing shall extend an incentive of 4% to 6% on incremental sales (over base year) of goods manufactured in India and covered under the target segments, to eligible companies, for a period of five years subsequent to the base year ii. Scheme for Promotion of Manufacturing of Electronic Components and Semiconductors (SPECS) shall provide financial incentive of 25% on capital expenditure for the identified list of electronic goods, i.e., electronic components, semiconductor/ display fabrication units, Assembly, Test, Marking and Packaging (ATMP) units, specialized sub-assemblies and capital goods for manufacture of aforesaid goods iii. Modified Electronics Manufacturing Clusters (EMC 2.0) Scheme shall provide support for creation of world class infrastructure along with common facilities and amenities, including Ready Built Factory (RBF) sheds / Plug and Play facilities for attracting major global electronics manufacturers, along with their supply chains.
Background India’s production of electronics grew from USD 29 billion in 2014 to USD 70 billion in 2019. The growth in mobile phone manufacturing in particular has been remarkable during this period. From just 2 mobile phone factories in 2014, India now has become the 2nd largest mobile phone producer in the world. India’s share in global electronics production has reached 3% in 2018 from just 1.3% in 2012.
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4. PM KUSUM
Context: Ministry of New & Renewable Energy ( MNRE) has recently noticed that few new websites have cropped up as registration portal for PM-KUSUM Scheme which are potentially duping general public and misusing data captured through fake registration portal.
Concept: The PM KUSUM scheme had three components 10,000 megawatts (MW) of decentralised ground mounted grid-connected renewable power plants (Component-A); Installation of 17.50 lakh standalone solar powered agriculture pumps (Component-B); and solarisation of 10 lakh grid-connected solar powered agriculture pumps (Component-C).
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5. Border Area Development Programme (BADP)
Context: Government is going to boost infrastructure in areas along China border
Concept: The Department of Border Management, Ministry of Home Affairs has been implementing the Border Area Development Programme (BADP) through the State Governments as part of a comprehensive approach to Border Management. The programme aims to meet the special development needs of the people living in remote and inaccessible areas situated near the international border and to saturate the border areas with the essential infrastructure through convergence of Central/State/BADP/Local schemes and participatory approach. The State covered are Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Bihar, Gujarat, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu & Kashmir, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, Punjab, Rajasthan, Sikkim, Tripura, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand and West Bengal. Under this programme priority is given to the areas closer to the border. BADP is an important intervention of the Central Government to bring about development of border areas by supplementing the State Plan Funds to bridge the gaps in socio- economic infrastructure on one hand and improving the security environment in border areas on the other.
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6. TULIP
Context: Minister of Human Resource Development, Minister of Housing & Urban Affairs, and All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) have jointly launched an online portal for `The Urban Learning Internship Program (TULIP)’
Concept: TULIP is a program for providing fresh graduates experiential learning opportunities in the urban sector. TULIP has been conceived pursuant to the Budget 2020-21 under the theme ‘Aspirational India’. This program will help reap the benefits of India’s demographic dividend as it is poised to have the largest working-age population in the world in the coming years. India has a substantial pool of technical graduates for whom exposure to real world project implementation and planning is essential for professional development. TULIP would help enhance the value-to-market of India’s graduates and help create a potential talent pool in diverse fields like urban planning, transport engineering, environment, municipal finance etc. Thus TULIP- “The Urban Learning Internship Program” would help fulfill twin goals of providing interns with hands-on learning experience as well as infusing fresh energy and ideas in the functioning of India’s ULBs and Smart Cities. This launch is also an important stepping stone for fulfillment of MHRD and AICTE’s goal of 1 crore successful internships by the year 2025.
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7. QS Rank and Institution of Eminence
Context: Most of India’s top higher education institutions including at least 10 Institution of Eminences (IoE) have slipped in the latest edition of the Quacquarelli Symonds (QS) World University Rankings (WUR) released recently.
Concept: Report findings: Overall, 21 Indian universities and institutes have found a place this year among the world’s top 1,000. But last year it was 25. The ranking agency attributed the “regressive performance” of Indian institutions to low levels of internationalization and faculty-student ratio. While no Indian institution is among the world’s top 100, there are, however, 26 Asian universities that have made it. Of them, Mainland China and South Korea have six each, Hong Kong and Japan have five each, Singapore has two universities and Malaysia and Taiwan have one each.
Institution of Eminence About:
Institutions of Eminence scheme has been launched in order to implement the commitment of the Government to empower the Higher Educational Institutions and to help them become world class teaching and research institutions, as announced by the Hon’ble Finance Minister in his budget speech of 2016. Ten public and ten private institutions are to be identified to emerge as world-class Teaching and Research Institutions. This will enhance affordable access to high quality education for ordinary Indians.
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Every institute which has been accorded the status of Institute of Eminence will enjoy benefits which include additional funding, autonomy in recruitment, assessment patterns etc. The detailed benefits have been listed out below: o Government Institutions to get additional funding upto 1000 Cr. o The selected Institutions under IoE shall have complete academic and administrative autonomy. The Institutions of Eminence will have complete financial autonomy to spend the resources raised and allocated, subject to general conditions & restrictions of the Statutes and GFR. o Academic collaborations with foreign higher educational institutions (in top 500) would be exempt from government approvals. o Freedom to hire personnel from industry, etc, as faculty who are experts in their areas but may not have the requisite higher academic qualifications. o Freedom to recruit faculty from outside India (limit of 25% of its faculty strength for public institution). o Freedom to offer courses within a program as well as to offer degrees in newer areas, including inter-disciplinary ones, after approval of its Governing Council and conforming to the minimum prevailing standards. o Students enrolment capacity to be 10,000 in 15 years. (Lower figure permitted with justification) o Faculty Student Ratio should be 1:20 at the time of Notification and should increase to 1:10 in five years.
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8. Khelo India State Centers of Excellence (KISCE)
Context: Ministry of Sports and Youth Affairs is going to establish Khelo India State Centres of Excellence (KISCE) under its flagship Khelo India Scheme.
Concept: One KISCE will be identified in each state and union territory, with an effort to create a robust sporting ecosystem in the entire country. In first phase, ministry has identified state-owned sports facilities in eight states which will be upgraded into Khelo India State Centre of Excellence (KISCE). In order to upgrade the existing centre to the KISCE, the central government will extend a ‘Viability Gap Funding’ in sports science and technology support for sports disciplines practiced at the centre and also bridge the gaps in requirement of sports equipment, expert coaches and high performance managers. The state and UT will run the centre and build capacity to turn it into the world class sporting facility, and will be responsible for all aspects of management of the centre including, boarding, lodging and maintenance, while funds for critical gaps such as expert coaches, support staff, equipment, infrastructure will be extended through the Khelo India Scheme.
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9. Transfer fund from PM-CARES to NDRF
Context: Supreme court has given notice to center on a plea to transfer PM-CARES fund
Concept: The petition urged the court to direct the government to prepare, notify and implement a national plan under the Disaster Management Act to deal with the pandemic. It claimed that the Centre has been “refraining from divulging information” about the money “contributed to the PM CARES Fund till date”.
NDRF The National Disaster Response Fund (NDRF), constituted under Section 46 of the Disaster Management Act, 2005, supplements SDRF of a State, in case of a disaster of severe nature, provided adequate funds are not available in SDRF. It is a fund managed by the Central Government for meeting the expenses for emergency response, relief and rehabilitation due to any threatening disaster situation or disaster. NDRF amount can be spent only towards meeting the expenses for emergency response, relief and rehabilitation. It is financed through the levy of a cess on certain items, chargeable to excise and customs duty, and approved annually through the Finance Bill. The requirement for funds beyond what is available under the NDRF is met through general budgetary resources. A provision also exists in the DM Act to encourage any person or institution to make a contribution to the NDRF. It is kept under “Public Accounts” of Government of India. Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG) audits the accounts of NDRF. Department of Agriculture and Cooperation under Ministry of Agriculture (MoA) monitors relief activities for calamities associated with drought, hailstorms, pest attacks and cold wave /frost while rest of the natural calamities are monitored by Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA).
PM-CARES
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Prime Minister’s Citizen Assistance and Relief in Emergency Situations Fund, or the PM CARES Fund, was set up to tackle distress situations such as that posed by the COVID19 pandemic. The fund receives voluntary contributions from individuals and organisations and does not get any budgetary support. Donations have been made tax exempt, and can be counted against a company’s corporate social responsibility (CSR) obligations. It is also exempt from the Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Act, 2010, and accepts foreign contributions, although the Centre has previously refused foreign aid to deal with disasters such as the Kerala floods. The Prime Minister chairs the fund in his official capacity, and can nominate three eminent persons in relevant fields to the Board of Trustees. The Ministers of Defense, Home Affairs and Finance are ex officio Trustees of the Fund.
Concerns It is not clear whether the fund comes under the ambit of the RTI Act or oversight by the Comptroller and Auditor General of India, although independent auditors will audit the fund The PM CARES web page is opaque regarding the amount of money collected, names of donors, expenditure of the fund so far, or names of beneficiaries. The PMNRF provides annual donation and expenditure information without any detailed breakup. The PM CARES Fund’s trust deed is not available for public scrutiny. The decision to allow uncapped corporate donations to the fund to count as CSR expenditure, a facility not provided to PMNRF or the CM’s Relief Funds goes against previous guidelines stating that CSR should not be used to fund government schemes. A government panel had previously advised against allowing CSR contributions to the PMNRF on the grounds that the double benefit of tax exemption would be a “regressive incentive”.
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10. Garib Kalyan Rojgar Abhiyaan
Context: Government launched a massive rural public works scheme ‘Garib Kalyan Rojgar Abhiyaan’.
Concept: The livelihood opportunities will come up in 116 districts spread over six states namely Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Jharkhand and Odisha who have received substantial numbers of migrants through the Common Service Centres and Krishi Vigyan Kendras This campaign of 125 days, which will work in mission mode, will involve intensified and focused implementation of 25 different types of works to provide employment to the migrant workers on one hand and create infrastructure in the rural regions of the country on the other hand, with a resource envelope of Rs. 50,000 crore. The Abhiyaan will be a coordinated effort between 12 different Ministries/Departments, namely, Rural Development, Panchayati Raj, Road Transport & Highways, Mines, Drinking Water & Sanitation, Environment, Railways, Petroleum & Natural Gas, New & Renewable Energy, Border Roads, Telecom and Agriculture.
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11. Garib Kalyan Anna Yojna
Context: Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh has urged centre to extend the benefits under the Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana (PMGKAY) for another six months.
Concept: Scheme covers 80 crore individuals, i.e, roughly two-thirds of India’s population. Each one of them would be provided double of their current entitlement over next three months. This additionality would be free of cost. To ensure adequate availability of protein to all, 1 kg per family, would be provided pulses according to regional preferences for next three months. These pulses would be provided free of cost by the Government of India.
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12. Auto Fuel Vision and Policy 2025
Context: Latest round of fuel price increase has helped the state owned oil marketing companies (OMCs) to recover a part of ₹35,000 crore investments made in upgrading their refineries to BSVI fuels.
Concept: Emissions from vehicles are one of the top contributors to air pollution, which led the government at the time to introduce the BS 2000 (Bharat Stage 1) vehicle emission norms from April 2000, followed by BS II in 2005. BS III was implemented nationwide in 2010. However, in 2016, the government decided to meet the global best practices and leapfrog to BS- VI norms by skipping BSV altogether.
The Auto Fuel Vision and Policy 2025 is recommended by Saumitra Chaudhuri Committee
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It had recommended a 75 paise cess to recoup additional investments projected for producing cleaner fuels. It touched upon Bharat norms (next stage implementation), Taxation issues & Alternative fuels BS-VI fuel is said to significantly reduce greenhouse gas emissions, especially carbon dioxide, unburnt hydrocarbons or methane and oxides of nitrogen. It has sulphur content of 10 parts per million (ppm) against 50 ppm in BS IV.
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13. Sansad Adarsh Gram Yojana (SAGY) Model Village Scheme :
Context: A study commissioned by the Ministry of Rural Development has observed that Sansad Adarsh gram yojana scheme has not made “any significant impact” and that “in the current format is not achieving the desired purpose”.
Concept: Prime Minister has launched the Saansad Adarsh Gram Yojana (SAGY) on 11th October, 2014 on the birth anniversary of Lok Nayak Jai Prakash Narayan. The Scheme is unique and transformative as it has a holistic approach towards development. It envisages integrated development of the selected village across multiple areas such as agriculture, health, education, sanitation, environment, livelihoods, etc. Far beyond mere infrastructure development, SAGY aims at instilling certain values, such as people’s participation, Antyodaya, gender equality, dignity of women, social justice, spirit of community service, cleanliness, eco-friendliness, maintaining ecological balance, peace and harmony, mutual cooperation, self-reliance, local selfgovernment, transparency and accountability in public life, etc. in the villages and their people so that they get transformed into models for others. Ministry of Rural Development will be nodal Ministry coordinating and monitoring the Scheme closely to ensure its efficient implementation. In order to operationalize the strategies the central sector and centrally sponsored schemes along with the state schemes will have to be implemented in a convergent and integrated manner to generate maximum synergy.
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14. Government e -Marketplace
Context: Government e-Marketplace (GeM) portal has mandated all sellers to clarify the country of origin while registering any new product.
Concept: Need: It is related to centre’s Aatmanirbhar Bharat campaign, to promote locally produced goods. As per procurement norms amended by the government, suppliers are categorised into classes depending on the level of local content in their goods. The GeM portal allows buyers to reserve any bid for Class I local suppliers, or suppliers of those goods with more than 50% local content. For bids below Rs 200 crore, only Class I and Class II (those with more than 20% local content) are eligible.
GeM Portal Government e-Marketplace is a very bold step of the Government with the aim to transform the way in which procurement of goods and services is done by the Government Ministries and Departments, Public Sector Undertakings and other apex autonomous bodies of the Central Government. Government e-Market Place hosted by Director General of Supplies & Disposal. GeM is a completely paperless, cashless and system driven e-market place that enables procurement of common use goods and services with minimal human interface.
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15. Animal husbandry infrastructure development fund
Context: The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) has given its nod to set up a ₹15,000 crore Animal Husbandry Infrastructure Development Fund.
Concept:
Why? Government has been implementing several schemes for incentivizing the investment made by dairy cooperative sector for development of dairy infrastructure. However, government realizes that even MSMEs and Private companies also need to be promoted and incentivized for their involvement in processing and value addition infrastructure.
How?
AHIDF would facilitate much needed incentivisation of investments in establishment of infrastructure for dairy and meat processing and value addition infrastructure and establishment of animal feed plant in the private sector.
For whom? The eligible beneficiaries under the Scheme would be Farmer Producer Organizations (FPOs), MSMEs, Section 8 Companies, Private Companies and individual entrepreneur with minimum 10% margin money contribution by them. The balance 90% would be the loan component to be made available by scheduled banks. Government of India will provide 3% interest subvention to eligible beneficiaries. There will be 2 years moratorium period for principal loan amount and 6 years repayment period thereafter.
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16. SPARC
Context: Under SPARC schemes, researchers from the Indian Institute of Technology Madras are collaborating with their counterparts in Germany to develop low cost technology for hydrogen production.
Concept: Scheme for Promotion of academic and Research Collaborationor SPARC is an initiative of the Ministry of Human Resource Development. This scheme will improve research ecosystem of India’s higher educational institutions by facilitating academic and research collaborations between Indian Institutions [overall top-100 or category wise top-100 in NIRF and the best institutions in the world (top-500 overall and top-200 subject-wise institutions listed in QS World University Ranking) from 28 selected nations to jointly solve problems of national and international relevance. A set of Nodal Institutions (NI), from India, for each participating foreign country has been identified. The role of a NI is to help, handhold and coordinate with willing Participating Indian (PI) Institutions to forge alliance with the Institutions of concerned participating foreign country, for academic and research collaboration. SPARC proposes to enable productive academic cooperation by supporting the following critical components that can catalyze impact making research: o Visits and long-term stay of top international faculty/researchers in Indian institutions to pursue teaching and research o Visits by Indian students for training and experimentation in premier laboratories worldwide o Joint development of niche courses, world-class books and monographs, translatable patents, demonstrable technologies or action oriented research outcomes and products o Publication, Dissemination and Visibility through a high profile annual international conference in India.
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17. IRDA
Context: Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India has announced guidelines on CoVID-19 standard benefit-based health policy and individual Covid-19 standard health policy.
Concept: IRDAI has announced Corona Rakshak policy which is a standard benefit based policy and Corona Kavach Policy, a standard health policy which will be offered on indemnity basis and insurers have been asked to launch the product from July 10, 2020. Under indemnity health insurance plans, insurers cover the cost of medical expenses during hospitalization, while in defined benefit plans a lump-sum is paid irrespective of the actual hospital expense According to the guidelines by IRDAI, minimum sum insured for Corona Kavach Policy will be ₹50,000 and maximum sum insured would be ₹5 lakh. However, for Corona Rakshak Policy, the minimum sum insured would be ₹50,000 and maximum limit is set at ₹5 lakh.
IRDAI Insurance Regulatory Development Authority (IRDA) is a statutory body set up by the IRDA Act, 1999. It is an autonomous and apex body which has the responsibility to regulate and control the Insurance sector in India. Insurance Regulatory Development Authority (IRDA) was established after the recommendations of Malhotra Committee report of 1994. The committee had recommended for the establishment of an independent authority for the regulation of Insurance sector in India. As per the section 4 of IRDAI Act’ 1999, Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India has composition of a Chairman; five whole- time members; four part-time members, all appointed by the Government of India.
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18. PMFME scheme
Context: Centre has launched a Rs 10,000 crore scheme for micro enterprises
Concept: Pradhan Mantri Formalisation of Micro Food Enterprises (PM FME) aims to bring in new technology, apart from affordable credit to help small entrepreneurs penetrate new markets.
Objectives: Increase in access to finance by micro food processing units. Increase in revenues of target enterprises. Enhanced compliance with food quality and safety standards. Strengthening capacities of support systems. Transition from the unorganized sector to the formal sector. Special focus on women entrepreneurs and Aspirational districts. Encourage Waste to Wealth activities. Focus on minor forest produce in Tribal Districts.
Salient features: Centrally Sponsored Scheme. Expenditure to be shared by Government of India and States at 60:40. 2,00,000 micro-enterprises are to be assisted with credit linked subsidy. Scheme will be implemented over a 5 year period from 2020-21 to 2024-25. Cluster approach. Focus on perishables.
One District One Product The Scheme adopts One District One Product (ODODP) approach to reap benefit of scale in terms of procurement of inputs, availing common services and marketing of products. The States would identify food product for a district keeping in view the existing clusters and availability of raw material. The ODOP product could be a perishable produce based product or cereal based products or a food product widely produced in a district and their allied sectors.
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Preference would be given to those producing ODOP products. However, units producing other products would also be supported. Support for common infrastructure and branding & marketing would be for ODOP products.
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19. World Bank STARS project
Context: World Bank approved $500 million project to better education quality in 6 states
Concept: The project, named STARS (Strengthening Teaching-Learning and Results for States Program), will be implemented through the Samagra Shiksha Abhiyan, the flagship central scheme, in partnership with Himachal Pradesh, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Odisha and Rajasthan. STARS will help improve learning assessment systems, strengthen classroom instruction, and remediation, facilitate school-to-work transition, and strengthen governance and decentralized management. STARS will support India’s renewed focus on addressing the ‘learning outcome’ challenge and help students better prepare for the jobs of the future – through a series of reform initiatives.
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International Relations 1. G7
Context: US President wanted to expand G7 group by including India, Russia, South Korea, and Australia and said present form of is outdated
Concept: Countries: The G-7 or ‘Group of Seven’ is Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom, and the United States.
Origin It is an intergovernmental organization that was formed in 1975 by the top economies of the time as an informal forum to discuss pressing world issues. Canada joined the group in 1976, and the European Union began attending in 1977. Initially formed as an effort by the US and its allies to discuss economic issues, the G-7 forum has deliberated about several challenges over the decades, such as the oil crashes of the 1970s, the economic changeover of ex-Soviet bloc nations, and many pressing issues such as financial crises, terrorism, arms control, and drug trafficking. The G-7 was known as the ‘G-8’ for several years after the original seven were joined by Russia in 1997. The Group returned to being called G-7 after Russia was expelled as a member in 2014 following the latter’s annexation of the Crimea region of Ukraine. The G-7 does not have a formal constitution or a fixed headquarters. The G-7 nations meet at annual summits that are presided over by leaders of member countries on a rotational basis The decisions taken by leaders during annual summits are non-binding.
Relevance The rise of India, China and Brazil over the past few decades has reduced the G-7’s relevance, whose share in global GDP has now fallen to around 40%.
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2. Line of actual control
Context: Tensions continue to prevail between India and China along the Line of Actual Control
Concept: The LAC is the demarcation that separates Indian-controlled territory from Chinese-controlled territory.
It is divided into three sectors: the eastern sector which spans Arunachal Pradesh and Sikkim, the middle sector in Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh, and the western sector in Ladakh. The alignment of the LAC in the eastern sector is along the 1914 McMahon Line, and there are minor disputes about the positions on the ground The line in the middle sector is the least controversial but for the precise alignment to be followed in the Barahoti plains. The major disagreements are in the western sector where the LAC emerged from two letters written by Chinese Prime Minister Zhou Enlai to PM Jawaharlal Nehru in 1959, after he had first mentioned such a ‘line’ in 1956.
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LAC different from the Line of Control with Pakistan The LoC emerged from the 1948 ceasefire line negotiated by the UN after the Kashmir War. It was designated as the LoC in 1972, following the Shimla Agreement between the two countries. It is delineated on a map signed by DGMOs of both armies and has the international sanctity of a legal agreement. The LAC, in contrast, is only a concept – it is not agreed upon by the two countries, neither delineated on a map nor demarcated on the ground.
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3. Air Bubble and Air bridges
Context: The concept of ‘air bridges’ and ‘bubbles’ is gaining prominence as countries are looking for restarting international flights.
Concept: “Air bubbles” or “air bridges” are joining jurisdictions that have largely eliminated the cornovirus, and trust in each other’s testing and case numbers. Australia and New Zealand could lead the way with a proposed “Covid- safe travel zone”, or the trans-Tasman bubble. Small countries in the Pacific including Fiji and the Cook Islands, which have kept the virus at bay, could join in, with the zone being expanded to other jurisdictions such as Hong Kong, South Korea and Taiwan.
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4. GAVI
Context: India pledged $15-million as India's contribution to the vaccines alliance GAVI at the Global Vaccine Summit hosted by the UK.
Concept: The virtual Global Vaccine Summit hosted by UK Prime Minister in which over 50 countries - business leaders, UN agencies, civil society, government ministers, Heads of State and country leaders participated aimed at raising USD 7.4 million to immunize a further 300 million children in the world's poorest countries by 2025. India is the World’s foremost producer of vaccines and that it is fortunate to contribute to the immunization of about 60 percent of the World’s children. Indian prime minister also pointed to the government's Mission Indradhanush, which aims to ensure full vaccination of children and pregnant women, as a sign of the importance attached to immunization within the country.
GAVI Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunization is a public-private global health partnership committed to increasing access to immunization in poor countries It is a global Vaccine Alliance with the goal of creating equal access to new and underused vaccines for children living in the world’s poorest countries. It does this by bringing together all the stakeholders – donor governments, developing countries, World Bank, UNICEF, WHO, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, international finance and development organizations, and pharmaceutical industry – in one decision making body Gavi was launched in 2000. It is based in Geneva, Switzerland India started receiving support for its immunization programme from GAVI in 2002.
Apart from that, India is the largest supplier of vaccines to GAVI GAVI’S IMPACT
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More children survive. The increase in immunisation has helped halve childhood mortality by preventing approximately 13 million deaths and dramatically driven down the incidence of deadly and debilitating infectious diseases. Nation building thrives. As children become healthier, they, their families, communities and countries are more able to be economically prosperous and socially stable. Global health security improves. In the face of global challenges, such as climate change, urbanisation, human migration, fragility and conflict, Gavi has helped countries broaden vaccine coverage and improve their health systems. This makes them less susceptible and better able to prevent disease outbreaks that pose a threat to people in these countries, protecting millions of others around the world.
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5. Mission Sagar
Context: As part of Mission Sagar, INS Kesari has carried a consignment of COVID related essential medicines for the people of Seychelles.
Concept: India launched Mission Sagar as part of the government’s outreach initiative towards five Island nations in the Indian Ocean amidst the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. Indian Naval Ship Kesari has been used to assist Maldives, Mauritius, Seychelles, Madagascar and Comoros, to provide Food Items, COVID related Medicines including HCQ Tablets and Special Ayurvedic Medicines with Medical Assistance Teams. This deployment as ‘Mission Sagar’ is in line with India’s role as the first responder in the region and builds on the excellent relations existing between these countries to battle the COVID-19 pandemic and its resultant difficulties The deployment is in consonance with the Prime Ministers' vision of Security and Growth for All in the Region ‘SAGAR’ promulgated in March 2015. SAGAR highlights the importance accorded by India to relations with her neighboring countries and further strengthens the existing bond.
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6. Persian Gulf and GCC
Context: As the pandemic stifles economic activity, experts kept warning of a much harsher recession in the Gulf.
Concept: Persian Gulf, the body of water is surrounded by eight countries Bahrain, Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates GCC The Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) is a political and economic alliance of six countries in the Arabian Peninsula: Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. Established in 1981, the GCC promotes economic, security, cultural and social cooperation between the six states and holds a summit every year to discuss cooperation and regional affairs.
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7. WHO clarifies on asymptomatic patients
Context: World Health Organisation (WHO) earlier said that transmission of Covid-19 from asymptomatic carriers is “very rare”, and then clarified that modelling studies have put the extent of asymptomatic transmission to about 40%.
Concept: Asymptomatic spread is the transmission of the virus by people who do not have symptoms and will never get symptoms from their infection. They are also called as “silent spreaders” — people who have no idea they are infected.
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8. North Korea and South Korea
Context: North Korea has severed its contact with South Korea and branded South Korea as Enemy. It is response to failure of South Korea to stop activists from floating anti- Pyongyang leaflets across their tense border.
Concept:
North and South Korea have been divided for more than 70 years, ever since the Korean Peninsula became an unexpected casualty of the escalating Cold War between two rival superpowers: the Soviet Union and the United States. In August 1945, the two allies divided control over the Korean Peninsula. Over the next three years (1945-48), the Soviet Army and its proxies set up a communist regime in the area north of latitude 38˚ N, or the 38th parallel. South of that line, a military government was formed, supported directly by the United States. In 1948, the United States called for a United Nation-sponsored vote for all Koreans to determine the future of the peninsula. After the North refused to participate, the South formed its own government in Seoul, led by the strongly anti-communist Syngman Rhee. The North responded in kind, installing the former communist guerrilla Kim Il Sung as the first premier of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) in the capital of Pyongyang.
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The Korean War (1950-53) did little to resolve the question of which regime represented the “true” Korea. The armistice that ended that conflict in 1953 left the peninsula divided much as before, with a demilitarized zone (DMZ) running roughly along the 38th parallel.
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9. ICC
Context: U.S. President has issued an executive order authorizing sanctions against individuals involved in an International Criminal Court (ICC) investigation over U.S. forces committed war crimes in Afghanistan.
Concept: The International Criminal Court (“the ICC” or “the Court”) is a permanent international court established to investigate, prosecute and try individuals accused of committing the most serious crimes of concern to the international community as a whole, namely the crime of genocide, crimes against humanity, war crimes and the crime of aggression On 17 July 1998, 120 States adopted the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court establishing the
The International Criminal Court is not a substitute for national courts. According to the Rome Statute, it is the duty of every State to exercise its criminal jurisdiction over those responsible for international crimes. The International Criminal Court can only intervene where a State is unable or unwilling genuinely to carry out the investigation and prosecute the perpetrators. The ICC is an independent body whose mission is to try individuals for crimes within its jurisdiction without the need for a special mandate from the United Nations.
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10. International Religious Freedom Report, 2019
Context: India rejects US government report on religious freedom Concept: The US Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) had in its April report called for India to be designated a “country of particular concern”, along with China, Iran, Russia and Syria. CAA, NRC, J&K status are cited as reason for India’s status in the report India said that there is no locus standi for a foreign entity to pronounce on the state of Indian citizens’ constitutionally protected rights. And added there is robust public discourse in India and constitutionally mandated institutions that guarantee protection of religious freedom and rule of law.
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11. Indian Ocean commission
Context: India is looking to post Navy Liaison Officers at the Regional Maritime Information Fusion Centre (RMIFC) in Madagascar and also at the European maritime surveillance initiative in the Strait of Hormuz for improved Maritime Domain Awareness (MDA).
Concept: The RMFIC functions under the aegis of the IOC, of which India became an Observer in March 2020 along with Japan and the United Nations. The Indian Ocean Commission is an intergovernmental organization that was created in 1982 at Port Louis, Mauritius and institutionalized in 1984 by the Victoria Agreement in Seychelles. The IOC is a regional forum in the Southwest Indian Ocean, comprising five nations — Comoros, France (Reunion), Madagascar, Mauritius and Seychelles. These five islands share geographic proximity, historical and demographic relationships, natural resources and common development issues.
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12. Global Partnership on Artificial Intelligence (GPAI or Gee-Pay):
Context: India becomes founding member of global alliance on AI
Concept: GPAI is an international and multi-stakeholder initiative to guide the responsible development and use of AI, grounded in human rights, inclusion, diversity, innovation, and economic growth. This is also a first initiative of its type for evolving better understanding of the challenges and opportunities around AI using the experience and diversity of participating countries. In order to achieve this goal, the initiative will look to bridge the gap between theory and practice on AI by supporting cutting-edge research and applied activities on AI-related priorities. In collaboration with partners and international organizations, GPAI will bring together leading experts from industry, civil society, governments, and academia to collaborate to promote responsible evolution of AI and will also evolve methodologies to show how AI can be leveraged to better respond to the present global crisis around COVID-19. GPAI will be supported by a Secretariat, to be hosted by Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) in Paris, as well as by two centers of Expertise- one each in Montreal and Paris. By joining GPAI as a founding member, India will actively participate in the global development of Artificial Intelligence, leveraging upon its experience around use of digital technologies for inclusive growth.
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13. Nuclear Weapons
Context: China and Pakistan possess more nuclear weapons than India, according to a new yearbook released by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI)
Concept:
Findings: The nine nuclear-armed states—the United States, Russia, the United Kingdom, France, China, India, Pakistan, Israel and the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (North Korea) together possessed an estimated 13 400 nuclear weapons at the start of 2020, which is reduction from 13,865 nuclear weapons last year. The decrease in the overall number of nuclear weapons in the world in 2019 was largely due to the dismantlement of retired nuclear weapons by Russia and the USA—which together still possess over 90 per cent of global nuclear weapons. The reductions in US and Russian strategic nuclear forces required by the 2010 Treaty on Measures for the Further Reduction and Limitation of Strategic Offensive Arms (New START) were completed in 2018, and in 2019 the forces of both countries remained below the limits specified by the treaty. New START will lapse in February 2021 unless both parties agree to prolong it. The deadlock over New START and the collapse of the 1987 Soviet–US Treaty on the Elimination of Intermediate-Range and Shorter-Range Missiles (INF Treaty) in 2019 suggest that the era of bilateral nuclear arms control agreements between Russia and the USA might be coming to an end. The governments of India and Pakistan make statements about some of their missile tests but provide little information about the status or size of their arsenals
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New START The New Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (New START) was signed April 8, 2010, in Prague by the United States and Russia and entered into force on Feb. 5, 2011. New START replaced the 1991 START I treaty, which expired December 2009, and superseded the 2002 Strategic Offensive Reductions Treaty (SORT), which terminated when New START entered into force. New START continues the bipartisan process of verifiably reducing U.S. and Russian strategic nuclear arsenals begun by former Presidents Ronald Reagan and George H.W. Bush. New START is the first verifiable U.S.-Russian nuclear arms control treaty to take effect since START I in 1994.
INF treaty The 1987 Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty required the United States and the Soviet Union to eliminate and permanently forswear all of their nuclear and conventional ground-launched ballistic and cruise missiles with ranges of 500 to 5,500 kilometres. The treaty marked the first time the superpowers had agreed to reduce their nuclear arsenals, eliminate an entire category of nuclear weapons, and employ extensive on-site inspections for verification.
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As a result of the INF Treaty, the United States and the Soviet Union destroyed a total of 2,692 short-, medium-, and intermediate-range missiles by the treaty's implementation deadline of June 1, 1991. On Aug. 2, 2019, the United States formally withdrew from the INF Treaty.
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14. United Nation Security Council
Context: India is expected to have a comfortable victory in the Security Council elections that will make India non-permanent member for the 2021-22 term.
Concept: The UN Security Council is the premier global body for maintaining international peace and security, but it faces steady calls for reform to better meet twenty-first– century challenges. The Security Council, the United Nations’ principal crisis-management body, is empowered to impose binding obligations on the 193 UN member states to maintain peace. The council’s five permanent and ten elected members meet regularly to assess threats to international security, addressing issues that include civil wars, natural disasters, arms control, and terrorism. Each year, the General Assembly elects five non-permanent members out of a total of 10, for a two-year term. These 10 seats are distributed among the regions thus: five for African and Asian countries; one for Eastern European countries; two for Latin American and Caribbean countries; two for Western European and other countries. A country needs to secure the votes of two-thirds of the members present and voting at the General Assembly session (a minimum of 129 votes if all 193 member states participate) to get elected as UNSC non-permanent member.
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15. 75th UNGA
Context: Turkish diplomat Volkan Bozkir was elected president of 75th UN General Assembly.
Concept: The term United Nations was first coined by the U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt and was first used as a collective pledge of representatives of 26 nations on the 1st January, 1942, as a commitment to continue to fight against the Axis Powers. On October 24th, 1945, as many as 51 countries signed the United Nations Charter in South Africa. The central role of the United Nations was the promotion of peace and security, development and human rights.
Bodies and mandate The United Nations consists of six main organs - the General Assembly, the Security Council, the Economic and Social Council, the International Court of Justice, the Secretariat and the Trusteeship Council. Second, there are a number of United Nations programmes and funds such as the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF), UN Development Programme (UNDP), and UN Environment Programme (UNEP) etc. These programmes and funds fall under the Economic and Social Council of the UN but are also reported to the General Assembly. The third set of actors within the UN is the specialised agencies and analogous bodies working in diverse areas such as agriculture, health, labour and meteorology. Well known among these bodies are UNESCO, ILO, FAO and the World Bank set of institutions
Main organs The General Assembly: It is the mainstay of the UN. It is the only forum where all countries sit down together and discuss their pressing problems. Moreover, all nation states have equal voting rights regardless of their economic status. The vote of the General Assembly represents at one level world opinion.
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The decisions of the General Assembly, however, are not legally binding on the Member States and only represent, at best, the moral authority of the community of nations.
Security Council: The Security Council is the UN organ which is in charge of security and international peace and deals with crises as they arise. Under the UN Charter, the Security Council’s decisions are legally binding and the Member States are obligated to carry them out. At present, the Security Council is made up of 15 members out of whom 5 members are permanent. The 10 non-permanent members are periodically elected for a 2 year term. The permanent members have the veto power, i.e. , they can block a proposal by casting a negative vote.
Economic and Social Council: The Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) is the central UN forum with regard to international economic and social issues. It has 54 members who are elected by the General Assembly for a three year term. ECOSOC plays a central role in strengthening the regional cooperation for development as well as setting priorities in terms of economic and social work. Most of the UN programmes and funds and functional commissions including environmental ones such as the Commission on Sustainable Development (CSD) fall under the purview of ECOSOC. It thus coordinates the work of the UN specialized agencies, programmes and funds and undertakes follow-up action in terms of major UN conferences. This role has become all the more important in the context of globalisation and with regard to issues such as sustainable development. Environmental concerns fall under the jurisdiction of ECOSOC.
Secretariat: The UN Secretariat comprises various UN departments and is thus the backbone of the UN system.
International Court of Justice:
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The International Court of Justice arbitrates on disputes between nation- states. It was established in June 1945 by the Charter of the United Nations and began work in April 1946. The ICJ is the successor of the Permanent Court of International Justice (PCIJ), which was established by the League of Nations in 1920.
United Nations Trusteeship Council: It is established to ensure that trust territories were administered in the best interests of their inhabitants and of international peace and security. The trust territories—most of them former mandates of the League of Nations or territories taken from nations defeated at the end of World War II—have all now attained self-government or independence, either as separate nations or by joining neighbouring independent countries. The last was Palau, formerly part of the Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands, which became a member state of the United Nations in December 1994.
G4 G-4 is a group of four countries i.e. Brazil, Germany, India and Japan which support each other’s bids for permanent seats on the United Nations Security Council (UNSC). The G-4 countries have decided to prepare for a fresh push for reforms at the UNGA in 2020 when the UN celebrates its 75th anniversary.
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16. UNSC Non-Permanent members and election
Context: India is elected to the non-permanent seat of the Security Council for the term 2021-22 with overwhelming support. India gets 184 out of the 192 valid votes polled.
Concept: The UNSC is composed of 15 members: five permanent members, and 10 non-permanent members who are elected by the General Assembly. The non-permanent members are elected for two-year terms — so every year, the General Assembly elects five non-permanent members out of the total 10. These 10 seats are distributed among the regions of the world: five seats for African and Asian countries; one for Eastern European countries; two for Latin American and Caribbean countries; and two for Western European and Other Countries. India has earlier been a non-permanent member of the Security Council in 1950-51, 1967-68, 1972-73, 1977-78, 1984-85, 1991-92 and 2011-12. Even a country has been endorsed by its group, it still needs to secure the votes of two thirds of the members present and voting at the General Assembly session — which is a minimum of 129 votes, if all 193 member states participate.
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17. India China Agreement
Context: China through its military action at Galwan in Ladakh, which resulted in three killed on the Indian side, has violated three key bilateral agreements -- 1993, 1996 and 2013 that have been central to maintaining peace and tranquility on the disputed Line of Actual Control.
Concept:
1993 agreement The 1993 agreement clearly states that in case personnel from either side cross the Line of Actual Control, “upon being cautioned by the other side, they shall immediately pull back to their side of the Line of Actual Control”. China has not done that either in Galwan or Pangong Tso. The 1993 agreement, in fact, clearly states that both sides will “jointly check” the alignment of LAC where there is a doubt.
1996 agreement Three years later, both sides went into further specifics, making it clear that troops on both sides shall “exercise self-restraint” in case of a face-off situation and start “immediate consultations” through diplomatic channels. Article VI of the 1996 agreement between India and China on “Confidence Building Measures (CBMs) in the military field along the Line of Actual Control in the India China border areas” says, “Neither side shall open fire, cause biodegradation, use hazardous chemicals, conduct blast operations or hunt with guns or explosives within two kilometres from the line of actual control. This prohibition shall not apply to routine firing activities in small arms firing ranges.
2013 agreement The two sides agree that they shall not follow or tail patrols of the other side in areas where there is no common understanding of the Line of Actual Control in the India- China border areas.”
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18. Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB)
Context: Government of India and the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) here today signed a $750 million “COVID-19 Active Response and Expenditure Support Programme” to assist India to strengthen its response to the adverse impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on poor and vulnerable households.
Concept: The Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) is a multilateral development bank with a mission to improve social and economic outcomes in Asia. Headquartered in Beijing, it began operations in January 2016 and have now grown to 102 approved members worldwide. It invests in sustainable infrastructure and other productive sectors in Asia and beyond. Membership in AIIB shall be open to members of the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development or the Asian Development Bank. China is the largest contributor to the Bank, contributing USD 50 billion, half of the initial subscribed capital. India is the second-largest shareholder, contributing USD 8.4 billion.
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19. What is H-1B Visa?
Context: US government has extended the 60-day ban on immigration and non-immigrant worker visas till the end of 2020. The suspension of H-1B and other work will likely to have a severe impact on majority of Indian IT companies.
Concept: The lottery-based H-1B visas allow US companies to employ foreign workers temporarily in specialised occupations for three years, extendable to six years. The issuances are capped at 85,000 a year, but some employers such as universities and research nonprofits are exempt. Spouses of H-1B workers are granted an H-4 visa, through which some have been allowed to apply to work in the US since a Barack Obama-era 2015 law.
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20. Russia-India-China (RIC) RIC
Context: Ministry of External Affairs has announced that it will participate in the virtual meeting of the Russia-India-China (RIC) grouping scheduled to be held on 23rd June, 2020.
Concept: RIC is a strategic grouping, conceived by the then Russian foreign minister Yevgeny Primakov in 1998. But the idea of meeting at the leader’s level on a more sustained has not happened. 2nd Russia-India-China ‘RIC’ Trilateral Summit took place in Buenos Aires after a gap of 12 years in 2018. They emphasised on the need to promote multilateralism, reform institutions of global governance like the UN and the WTO and highlighted the need to work together to steer global economic governance. The three countries agreed to have regular consultations to jointly promote international and regional peace and stability, to strengthen cooperation through BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa), the SCO (Shanghai Cooperation Organisation) and the East Asia Summit (EAS) mechanisms, to address global challenges such as terrorism and climate change, and to encourage peaceful resolution of all differences.
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21. 2020 Global Education Monitoring Report
Context:
UNESCO has released 2020 Global Education Monitoring Report with theme “Inclusion and education – All means all”.
Concept: This year’s report is the fourth annual UNESCO GEM Report to monitor progress across 209 countries in achieving the education targets adopted by UN Member States in the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. It noted 258 million children and youth were entirely excluded from education, with poverty as the main obstacle to access.
Findings: The report provided an in-depth analysis of key factors for exclusion of learners in education systems worldwide including background, identity and ability (i.e. gender, age, location, poverty, disability, ethnicity, indigeneity, language, religion, migration or displacement status, sexual orientation or gender identity expression, incarceration, beliefs and attitudes). It identified an exacerbation of exclusion during the Covid-19 pandemic and estimates that about 40 per cent of low and lower- middle income countries have not supported disadvantaged learners during temporary school shutdown. The 2020 Global Education Monitoring (GEM) Report urged countries to focus on those left behind as schools reopen so as to foster more resilient and equal societies.
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22. ICC
Context: U.S. President has issued an executive order authorizing sanctions against individuals involved in an International Criminal Court (ICC) investigation over U.S. forces committed war crimes in Afghanistan.
Concept: The International Criminal Court (“the ICC” or “the Court”) is a permanent international court established to investigate, prosecute and try individuals accused of committing the most serious crimes of concern to the international community as a whole, namely the crime of genocide, crimes against humanity, war crimes and the crime of aggression On 17 July 1998, 120 States adopted the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court establishing the The International Criminal Court is not a substitute for national courts. According to the Rome Statute, it is the duty of every State to exercise its criminal jurisdiction over those responsible for international crimes. The International Criminal Court can only intervene where a State is unable or unwilling genuinely to carry out the investigation and prosecute the perpetrators. The ICC is an independent body whose mission is to try individuals for crimes within its jurisdiction without the need for a special mandate from the United Nations.
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23. Salami Slicing strategy
Context: China made intrusion into Galwan Valley, Hot Springs and Pangong Tso areas in Eastern Ladakh. This is seen as Chinese ‘salami slicing’ attempt to shift the Sino- India LAC further west in the disputed region
Concept: In military terms, salami slicing is described as a strategy that involves divide and conquer process of threats and alliances to overcome opposition and acquire new territories. It is series of many small actions, often performed by clandestine means, that as an accumulated whole produces a much larger action or result that would be difficult or unlawful to perform all at once. In the context of China, salami slicing denotes its strategy of territorial expansion in the South China Sea and the Himalayan regions.
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24. HSN code
Context: HSN code is in news over debate over GST rate for roti and Parotta.
Concept: HSN is a six-digit code that classifies more than 5000 products, arranged in a legal and logical structure. To achieve uniform classification, the HSN is supported by well-defined rules and is accepted worldwide. HSN classification is widely used for taxation purposes by helping to identify the rate of tax applicable to a specific product in a country that is under review. It can also be used in calculations that involve claiming benefits. It also applies to import and exports. The HSN code aids in determining the quantity of all items imported or traded through a nation.
Importance: While the primary purpose of the HSN code is the systematic classification of goods, it can also be used to gather data and solve problems that would otherwise be difficult to obtain. The result is a more efficient international trade system. HSN is in use worldwide, with 200+ countries participating. This impressive adoption rate can be chalked up to the benefits of HSN, which include: Collection of international trade statistics Provision of a rational basis for Customs tariffs Uniform classification
HSN Codes for GST in India: HSN will be applicable in India after implementation of GST. India has already been using HSN system in the Central Excise and Customs regime. It is a much more detailed classification that added another two digits to the 6-digit structure. There is a requirement to mention HSN code of items in tax invoice under GST.
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25. Senkaku Island
Context: Ishigaki city assembly, a local council in Japan has approved change of name of an area containing Senkaku Islands from Tonoshiro to Tonoshiro Senkaku.
Concept: The Senkakusare administered by Japan, but claimed by China and Taiwan, which refer to them as Diaoyu Dao and Diaoyutai, respectively. Japan annexed the archipelago following China’s defeat in the first Sino- Japanese war from 1894 to 1895. Yet the islands were left out of the Treaty of San Francisco at the end of the second world war that returned to China most of the territories previously occupied by Japan. Under the terms of Japan’s surrender, the island chain was controlled by the US until 1971, when it was returned to Japan along with Okinawa and other surrounding islands A report highlighting the potential for oil reserves in the area prompted China to reassert its territorial claims over the islands. Japan does not recognise China’s claims nor the existence of a dispute over the islands’ sovereignty.
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26. IRENA
Context: According to a report published by the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA), energy transition-related technologies can add 5.5 million jobs globally by 2023, on June 24, 2020. It highlighted that energy transformation could be a key to novel COVID-19 economic recovery.
Concept: The International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) is an intergovernmental organisation that supports countries in their transition to a sustainable energy future, and serves as the principal platform for international cooperation, a centre of excellence, and a repository of policy, technology, resource and financial knowledge on renewable energy. IRENA promotes the widespread adoption and sustainable use of all forms of renewable energy, including bioenergy, geothermal, hydropower, ocean, solar and wind energy in the pursuit of sustainable development, energy access, energy security and low-carbon economic growth and prosperity. It is the first international organisation to focus exclusively on renewable energy, addressing needs in both industrialized and developing countries. It was founded in 2009& its statute entered into force on July 2010 and is headquartered in Masdar City, Abu Dhabi. IRENA is an official United Nations observer.
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27. What is WTO IT Agreement?
Context: Japan and Chinese Taipei is planning to set up a dispute settlement panel at the World Trade Organization (WTO) against New Delhi’s customs duties on imports of certain information and communications technology (ICT) products.
Concept: Both alleged that imposition of import duties on certain electronic products by India infringes WTO norms as India has committed zero per cent bound tariffs on these products. India has strongly opposed these allegations. Bound tariffs or duties refer to the ceiling over which a WTO member country cannot impose import duty, the applied tariff is the duty which is currently in place. India has stated that these ICT products are part of WTO’s Information Technology Products (ITA-2) agreement, and New Delhi is not part of this pact. India is a part of ITA-1, signed in 1997, in which it did not contain any obligation to eliminate customs duties on these products.
ITA The Information Technology Agreement (ITA) was concluded by 29 participants at the Singapore Ministerial Conference in December 1996. Since then, the number of participants has grown to 82, representing about 97 per cent of world trade in IT products. The ITA covers a large number of high technology products, including computers, telecommunication equipment, semiconductors, semiconductor manufacturing and testing equipment, software, scientific instruments, as well as most of the parts and accessories of these products. The participants are committed to completely eliminating tariffs on IT products covered by the Agreement.
ITA2 In June 2012, the ITA-2 negotiation was launched in order to both expand the coverage of ICT products and address classification issues.
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At the Nairobi Ministerial Conference in December 2015, over 50 members concluded the expansion of the Agreement, which now covers an additional 201 products valued at over $1.3 trillion per year.
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28. Middle East quartet
Context: The United Nations (UN) Secretary-General has announced that the UN is unable to convene the Middle East Quartet to discuss the potential Israeli plan to annex large parts of the occupied West Bank. The Office of High Commissioner for Human Rights described the annexation of occupied territory as a serious violation of the Charter of the United Nations and the Geneva Conventions
Concept: The Quartet, set up in 2002, consists of the United Nations, the European Union, the United States and Russia. Its mandate is to help mediate Middle East peace negotiations and to support Palestinian economic development and institution-building in preparation for eventual statehood. It meets regularly at the level of the Quartet Principals (United Nations Secretary General, United States Secretary of State, Foreign Minister of Russia, and High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy) and the Quartet Special Envoys.
UN Charter and Geneva Convention The Geneva Conventions and their Additional Protocols are international treaties that contain the most important rules limiting the barbarity of war. They protect people who do not take part in the fighting (civilians, medics, aid workers) and those who can no longer fight (wounded, sick and shipwrecked troops, prisoners of war). The Conventions and their Protocols call for measures to be taken to prevent or put an end to all breaches. They contain stringent rules to deal with what are known as "grave breaches". Those responsible for grave breaches must be sought, tried or extradited, whatever nationality they may hold. The 1949 Geneva Conventions: The First Geneva Convention protects wounded and sick soldiers on land during war. The Second Geneva Convention protects wounded, sick and shipwrecked military personnel at sea during war.
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The Third Geneva Convention applies to prisoners of war The Fourth Geneva Convention protects civilians, including those in occupied territory.
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29. Kholongchuu Project
Context: India signed a concession agreement with Bhutan for the 600 MW Kholongchhu Hydroelectric Project in the virtual presence of external affairs minister.
Concept: The 600 MW run-of-the-river project is located on the lower course of the Kholongchhu River in Eastern Bhutan. It will be implemented by Kholongchhu Hydro Energy Limited, a Joint Venture lunched between Druk Green Power Corporation (DGPC) of Bhutan and Satluj Jal Vidyut Nigam Limited (SJVNL) of India. With this, four hydroelectric projects of bilateral cooperation (336 MW Chukha HEP, 60 MW Kurichhu HEP, 1020 MW Tala HEP and 720 MW Mangdechhu HEP), totaling over 2100 MW, are already operational in Bhutan. Both India and Bhutan emphasized the importance of hydro power development as an important pillar of mutually beneficial bilateral economic cooperation.
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