Daily Prelims Notes 10 September 2020

September 10, 2020
Posted by: OptimizeIAS Team
Category: DPN

Table Of Contents

Subject: Economy

Context:

The Union Cabinet approved the new FDI policy in the Defence sector which allows the foreign direct investment through automatic approval to be increased from 49% to 74%. However, the new policy has a ‘National Security’ clause as a condition

Concept:

Foreign Investment in the Defence Sector shall be subject to scrutiny on the ground of National Security and the Government reserves the right to review any foreign investment in the Defence Sector that may affect national security
The policy has been introduced in view of reducing dependency on imports in the Defence sector and boosting Make in India, in turn giving more employment and business opportunities to the Indian businesses and boosting self-dependency.
Through the policy reforms, the government is seeking to attract foreign players to set up manufacturing units in India.
The Government has been focussing on strengthening the Defence sector by boosting indigenous manufacturing and also aiming to increase exports from the sector.

2. Drug Controller General of India

Subject: Government organisation

Context:

The Drug Controller of India has demanded that the Serum Institute of India (SII), Pune, which is conducting Phase-3 trials on people in India involving U.K.-based AstraZeneca’s COVID-19 vaccine candidate, explain why tests have not been paused in India too until safety has been established.

Concept:

Drug Controller General of India within CDSCO is responsible for approval of licenses of specified categories of Drugs such as blood and blood products, I. V. Fluids, Vaccine and Sera
CDSCO under Directorate General of Health Services, Ministry of Health & Family Welfare is the National Regulatory Authority (NRA) of India.
The Drugs & Cosmetics Act,1940 and rules 1945 have entrusted various responsibilities to central & state regulators for regulation of drugs & cosmetics.
CDSCO is constantly thriving upon to bring out transparency, accountability and uniformity in its services in order to ensure safety, efficacy and quality of the medical product manufactured, imported and distributed in the country.
Under the Drugs and Cosmetics Act, CDSCO is responsible for approval of Drugs, Conduct of Clinical Trials, laying down the standards for Drugs, control over the quality of imported Drugs in the country and coordination of the activities of State Drug Control Organizations by providing expert advice.

3. Plasma Therapy and PLACID trial

Subject: Science and tech

Context:

While use of convalescent plasma as a treatment modality for Covid-19 has received authorisation for off-label use in India, the aim of ICMR’s PLACID trial was to investigate its effectiveness for treatment of Covid-19.

Concept:

Convalescent plasma therapy uses blood from people who have recovered from an illness to help others recover.
Blood donated by people who have recovered from Covid-19 has antibodies to the virus that causes it.
The donated blood is processed to remove blood cells, leaving behind liquid (plasma) and antibodies. These can be given to people with Covid-19 to boost their ability to fight the virus.

PLACID trial

ICMR’s plasma therapy study, PLACID, is the first and largest randomised control trial to be completed in the world and according to the study paper.
The PLACID trial results indicate that there was no difference in the 28-day mortality or progression to severe disease among moderately-ill Covid-19 patients treated with convalescent plasma along with basic standard care compared to basic standard care alone.

4. Poll campaign expenditure cap

Subject: Polity

Context:

Election Commission of India has proposed a 10 per cent increase in the campaign expenditure limit for all future elections given the constraints posed by the Covid-19 pandemic.

Concept:

The Election Commission (EC) imposes limits on campaign expenditure incurred by a candidate, not political parties.
Rule 90 of the Conduct of Election Rules 1961 deals with election expenditure.
Expenditure by a Lok Sabha candidate is capped between Rs 50 lakh and Rs 70 lakh, depending on the state she is fighting from.
In Assembly elections, the ceiling is between Rs 20 lakh and Rs 28 lakh. This includes money spent by a political party or a supporter towards the candidate’s campaign.
However, expenses incurred either by a party or the leader of a party for propagating the party’s programme are not covered.
Candidates must mandatorily file a true account of election expenses with the EC.
An incorrect account, or expenditure beyond the ceiling can attract disqualification for up to three years under Section 10A of The Representation of the People Act, 1951.

5. Door Step banking and EASE reform

Subject: Economy

Context:

Finance Minister has launched doorstep banking services for public sector banks in order to facilitate hassle-free and convenient banking.

Concept:

As part of the EASE Reforms, Doorstep Banking Services is envisaged to provide convenience of banking services to the customers at their door step through the universal touch points of Call Centre, Web Portal or Mobile App. Customers can also track their service request through these channels.
At present only non-financial services vis-a-vis pick up of negotiable instruments (cheque / demand draft / pay order, etc.), pick up new cheque book requisition slip, request for account statement, delivery of non-personalisedcheque book, delivery of pre-paid instrument / gift card and others are available to customers.
Initially, the doorstep banking facility were decided to be available to senior citizens and the disabled, who found it difficult to visit branches.

EASE reform

PSB Reforms EASE Agenda is a common reform agenda for PSBs aimed at institutionalizing clean and smart banking.
It was launched in January 2018, and the subsequent edition of the program ― EASE 2.0 built on the foundation laid in EASE 1.0 and furthered the progress on reforms.
EASE 3.0 sets the agenda and roadmap for FY21 for their transformation into digital and data-driven NextGen Banking of the Future for an aspiring India
With EASE 1.0 and 2.0 laying a firm foundation of robust banking and institutionalised systems, PSBs are set to transform into digital- and data-driven NextGen banks.
EASE 3.0 emphasizes on the use of digital, analytics & AI, FinTech partnerships across customer service, convenient banking, end-to-end digitalised processes for loan sourcing and processing, analytics-driven risk management as well as decision support systems for HR.

6. Plantation Crop in India

Subject: Geography

Context:

Erratic climate pattern taking a toll on producers of tea, coffee, rubber

Concept:

The term plantation crop refers to those crops which are cultivated on an extensive scale in contiguous area, owned and managed by an individual or a company.
The crops include tea, coffee, rubber, cocoa, coconut, arecanut, oil palm, palmyrah and cashew.
These are high value commercial crops of greater economic importance and play a vital role in improving Indian economy, especially in view of their export potential, employment generation and poverty alleviation particularly in rural sector.
Coconut, cashewnut, cocoa, arecanut, oil palm and palm yrah come under Ministry of Agriculture while tea, coffee and rubber are dealt by Ministry of Commerce.

Leading Plantation Crops Producing States

7. Indo-Pacific trilateral dialogue

Subject:IR

Context:

With a focus on enhancing cooperation in the Indo-Pacific region, India, Australia and France held the first trilateral dialogue where they discussed “economic and geostrategic challenges and cooperation” in the region, particularly in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic and domestic responses to it.

Concept:

France and Australia are India’s key partners in the Indo-Pacific region.
The meeting provided a unique opportunity to build upon the progress that the three countries have achieved bilaterally in recent years, sources said.
The three sides discussed the emerging challenges in the context of Covid-19, including the financial impact of the pandemic on the Indian Ocean region countries. “
They also talked about the possibility of “enhancing maritime security cooperation” between the three countries, including in the areas of humanitarian assistance and disaster relief, maritime domain awareness, mutual logistics support, capacity-building of friendly countries in the Indo-Pacific region.
Sources said cooperation on marine global commons — blue economy, marine biodiversity and environmental challenges such as marine pollution — was on the agenda of the meeting.
The Indian side underlined its interest in collaborating on sustainable fisheries in the Indian Ocean, technologies for harvesting of Deep Ocean Resources, Ocean Thermal Energy Conversion, sources said.