Daily Prelims Notes 15 January 2022

January 15, 2022
Posted by: OptimizeIAS Team
Category: DPN

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Daily Prelims Notes

15 January 2022

Table Of Contents

1. 2021 fifth warmest year in India since 1901

Subject – Environment

Context – 2021 fifth warmest year in India since 1901: IMD

Concept –

The year 2021 was the fifth warmest year in India since 1901, with the country recording its annual mean air temperature at 0.44°C above normal, the India Meteorological Department said.
The year 2021 was the fifth warmest year after 2016, 2009, 2017 and 2010, since 1901.
The warm temperature during winter and post-monsoon season mainly contributed to this.
The country also reported 1,750 deaths due to extreme weather events such as floods, cyclonic storms, heavy rain, landslides, lightning, among others, during the year.

2. Building and Other Construction Workers (BOCW) cess fund

Subject – Governance

Context – No exodus of migrant workers: Labour Ministry

Concept –

Building & Other Construction Workers’ Welfare Cess [BOCWW Cess] is a means to provide health and welfare measures for the workers engaged in building and other construction works.
In the truest sense, there is no cess called Labour Cess.
- It is the Building & Other Construction Workers’ Welfare Cess [BOCWW Cess] which is often referred as labour cess by certain section/ individual.
Building & Other Construction Workers’ Welfare Cess [BOCWW Cess] is administered under the Building and Other Construction Workers’ Welfare Cess Act, 1996 read with relevant sections of the Building and Other Construction Workers (Regulation of Employment and Conditions of Service) Act, 1996.
The Building & Other Construction Workers’ Welfare Cess [BOCWW Cess] under the provisions of the Building and Other Construction Workers’ Welfare Cess Act, 1996 is a levy covered under Entry 97 of List – I, Union List, read with Entry at serial 23 and 24 of List III in Schedule VII.
The levy of Cess on the cost of construction incurred by the employers on the building and other construction works is a means for ensuring sufficient funds for the Welfare Boards to undertake social security schemes and welfare measures for building and other construction workers.
- Building & Other Construction Workers’ Welfare Cess [BOCWW Cess] is levied @ 1% on the cost of construction incurred by an employer as per the provisions of Sections 3(1) and 3(3) of the Building and Other Construction Workers’ Welfare Cess Act, 1996.
The Welfare Boards constituted under Section 18(1) of the Building and Other Construction Workers (Regulation of Employment and Conditions of Service) Act, 1996 are entrusted with the task of ensuring the provision of health and welfare measures to the workers engaged in building and other construction works of the Building and other construction Workers.

Social Security Fund

It is created in order to implement social security schemes.
The Code On Social Security, 2020 is part of the Indian labor code that deals employees’ social security and have generous provisions on retirement pension, healthcare insurance and medical benefits, sick pay and leaves, unemployment benefits and paid parental leaves.

To know about Code on Social Security 2020, please refer September 2021 DPN.

3. Plants’ Ability to Adapt to Climate Change

Subject – Environment

Context – Animal biodiversity loss limits plants’ ability to adapt to climate change globally: Experts

Concept –

Plants worldwide have a 60 per cent lower chance of adapting to climate change due to the declining numbers of birds and mammals, according to a new study.
Plants and seed dispersers such as birds and mammals share a mutually beneficial relationship. The former provides food and in return, the latter distributes seeds miles away.
More than half of the plant species depend on animals and plants for seed-dispersing.
A key way that plants can adapt to climate change is through ‘migration’ — the movement of the species to areas that become suitable for growth under an altered climate.
- While adult plants that are rooted down can’t migrate, their seeds can.
More than half of the plant species depend on animals and plants for seed-dispersing.
But the number of mammals, birds, fish, plants and insects has dropped to an average of 68 per cent from 1970 to 2016, the Living Planet Report 2020 revealed.
With declining animal biodiversity, fewer seeds will reach new grounds. Consequently, plants might lose their ability to migrate to a newer and more suitable environment.

4. Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchayee Yojana

Subject – Government Schemes

Context – Karnataka govt to write to Centre on fertiliser prices

Concept –

To know about PMKSY, please refer December 2021 DPN.

5. Dugong Conservation Reserve

Subject – Environment

Context – Newly declared dugong conservation reserve will help protect marine biodiversity

Concept –

Tamil Nadu has declared India’s first dugong conservation reserve in the Gulf of Mannar and the adjacent Palk Bay on the southeast coast of India.
The reserve will spread over an area of 500 km in Palk Bay on the southeast coast of Tamil Nadu.
Palk Bay is a semi-enclosed shallow water body with a water depth maximum of 13 meters.
Located between India and Sri Lanka along the Tamil Nadu coast, the dugong is a flagship species in the region.

What are dugongs?

The dugong (Dugong dugon), also called the sea cow, is a herbivorous mammal. They can grow up to three meters long, weigh about 300 kilograms, and live for about 65 to 70 years, grazing on seagrass and coming to the surface to breathe.
- Dugongs are long-living animals, that have a low reproductive rate, long generation time, and high investment in each offspring.
- It is the only herbivorous mammal that is strictly marine and is the only extant species in the family Dugongidae.
They are found in over 30 countries and in India are seen in the Gulf of Mannar, Gulf of Kutch, Palk Bay, and the Andaman and Nicobar Islands.
Dugongs are listed as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species.
The loss of seagrass habitats, water pollution and degradation of the coastal ecosystem due to developmental activities have made life tough for these slow-moving animals. Dugongs are also victims of accidental entanglement in fishing nets and collision with boats, trawlers.
Internationally, dugongs are listed in Appendix I of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES), which prohibits the trade of the species and its parts.
Dugongs are protected in India under Schedule 1 of the Indian Wildlife Act 1972 which bans the killing and purchasing of dugong meat.
Elephants are considered to be their closest relatives. However, unlike dolphins and other cetaceans, sea cows have two nostrils and no dorsal fin.

6. Right to be Forgotten

Subject – Polity

Concept –

The right to be forgotten (hereafter, RTBF) is often considered as a fallout of the right to privacy.
The RTBF can be traced from the case of Google Spain SL, Google Inc v Agencia Española de Protección de Datos, Mario Costeja González (2014).
For the first time, it was officially recognised through the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) in addition to the right to erasure. It stated that the personal data must be deleted immediately when the data is no longer needed for the original intent.

RTBF in India–

In the decision of the Supreme Court on K S Puttaswamy, the Court held that, “… there is no statue which recognizes right to be forgotten but it is in sync with the right to privacy.”
Following which, the Delhi High Court in its decision of ZulfiqarAhman Khan v Quintillion Business Media (P) Ltd also recognised the RTBF and the “right to be left alone” as an integral part of an individual’s existence.
The RTBF has not been formally embraced in India, but it is part of the Personal Data Security Bill Draft, 2018.
Supreme Court and High Courts are court of record, and the copies of documents in any civil or criminal proceedings and that of the judgment of the high court can be given to third parties.

To know more about it, please refer August 2021 DPN.

7. Open Network for Digital Commerce (ONDC)

Subject – Economy

Context – ONDC components, including dynamic pricing to help cut cost of doing biz: DPIIT Secy

Concept –

Open Network for Digital Commerce (ONDC) is a network based on open protocol and will enable local commerce across segments, such as mobility, grocery, food order and delivery, hotel booking and travel, among others, to be discovered and engaged by any network-enabled application.
The platform aims to create new opportunities, curb digital monopolies and by supporting micro, small and medium enterprises and small traders and help them get on online platforms.
It is an initiative of the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) under the Ministry of Commerce and Industry.
According to the ministry, ONDC is expected to digitise the entire value chain, standardise operations, promote inclusion of suppliers, derive efficiencies in logistics, and enhance value for consumers.
In simple words, the ONDC initiative aims to promote open networks for all aspects of the exchange of goods and services over digital or electronic networks. ONDC will work for both products and services.
ONDC is globally first-of-its-kind initiative that aims to democratise digital commerce, moving it from a platform-centric model to an open-network. “As UPI is to the digital payment domain, ONDC is to e-commerce in India.”
ONDC will enable, buyers and sellers to be digitally visible and transact through an open network, no matter what platform/application they use.
ONDC will empower merchants and consumers by breaking silos to form a single network to drive innovation and scale, transforming all businesses from retail goods, food to mobility.

How will ONDC function?

The Centre has laid down a detailed procedure for the functioning of the open network which primarily focuses on ensuring confidentiality and privacy of data in the network.
It shall not mandate sharing of any transaction-level data by participants with ONDC and work with them to publish anonymised aggregate metrics on network performance without compromising on confidentiality and privacy.
ONDC will be compliant with the information technology act, 2000 and designed for compliance with the emerging personal data protection bill.
The government also plans to establish an independent regulatory authority for e-commerce like Sebi.
The advisory council on ONDC was constituted by the Centre on July 5. It is take over as a guide and mentor in mentor to design, implementation and national rollout of ONDC.

8. Food Corporation India

Context: 5 Sutras to improve FCI’s progress

Concept:

Food Corporation of India (FCI) is a Public Sector Undertaking, under the Department of Food & Public Distribution, Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution.
FCI is a statutory body set up in 1965 under the Food Corporations Act 1964. It was established against the backdrop of major shortage of grains, especially wheat.
It has primary duty to undertake purchase, store, and move/transport, distribute and sell food grains and other foodstuffs.
The Food Corporation of India was setup under the Food Corporation’s Act 1964 , in order to fulfill following objectives of the Food Policy:

Effective price support operations for safeguarding the interests of the farmers.
Distribution of foodgrains throughout the country for public distribution system.
Maintaining satisfactory level of operational and buffer stocks of foodgrains to ensure National Food Security

Since its inception, FCI has played a significant role in India’s success in transforming the crisis management oriented food security into a stable security system.

In its 50 years of service to the nation, FCI has played a significant role in India’s success in transforming the crisis management oriented food security into a stable security system. FCI’s Objectives are:

To provide farmers remunerative prices
To make food grains available at reasonable prices, particularly to vulnerable section of the society
To maintain buffer stocks as measure of Food Security
To intervene in market for price stabilization

9. Siachen Glacier

Context: In his press conference on January 12, on the eve of Army Day, the Indian Army Chief, General Naravane, reportedly made an intriguing reference to the possibility of “demilitarisation of the glacial region” in Siachen.

Concept:

The Siachen Glacier is a glacier located in the eastern Karakoram range in the Himalayas at about 421226°N 77.109540°E, just northeast of the point NJ9842 where the Line of Control between India and Pakistan ends.
At 76 km (47 mi) long, it is the longest glacier in the Karakoram and second-longest in the world’s non-polar areas.
At 76 km (47 mi) long, it is the longest glacier in the Karakoram and second-longest in the world’s non-polar areas.
The Siachen Glacier lies immediately south of the great drainage divide that separates the Eurasian Plate from the Indian subcontinent in the extensively glaciated portion of the Karakoram sometimes called the “Third Pole”. The glacier lies between the Saltoro Ridge immediately to the west and the main Karakoram range to the east.
largest ice sheets, called continental glaciers, spread over vast areas. Today, continental glaciers cover most of Antarctica and the island of Greenland.

How Glaciers Form?

Glaciers begin forming in places where more snow piles up each year than melts. Soon after falling, the snow begins to compress, or become denser and tightly packed. It slowly changes from light, fluffy crystals to hard, round ice pellets. New snow falls and buries this granular The hard snow becomes even more compressed. It becomes a dense, grainy ice called firn. The process of snow compacting into glacial firn is called firnification.
Glaciers eventually deposit their loads of rock, dirt, and gravel. These materials are called moraine. Piles of moraine dumped at a glacier’s end, or snout, are called terminal moraines.

Threats to Glaciers

The processes that remove snow, ice, and moraine from a glacier or ice sheet are called Ablation includes melting, evaporation, erosion, and calving.
Glaciers melt when ice melts more quickly than firn can accumulate. Earth’s average temperature has been increasing dramatically for more than a century. Glaciers are important indicators of global warming and climate change in several ways.
Melting ice sheets contribute to rising sea levels. As ice sheets in Antarctica and Greenland melt, they raise the level of the ocean. Tons of fresh water are added to the ocean every day. In March 2009, a 160-square-mile piece of the Wilkins Ice Shelf broke off of the Antarctic Peninsula. Large icebergs created by such an event create hazards for shipping.
Large additions of fresh water also change the ocean ecosystem. Organisms, such as many types of corals, depend on salt water for survival. Some corals may not be able to adjust to a more freshwater habitat.
The loss of glacial ice also reduces the amount of fresh water available for plants and animals that need fresh water to survive. Glaciers near the Equator, such as those on the tropical island of Papua or in South America, are especially at risk.
A few glaciers may actually be benefiting from global warming. Although winter temperatures are rising, so is the amount of snowfall in areas like Pakistan’s Upper Indus River Basin. Glaciers are growing quickly there.