Daily Prelims Notes 17 December 2020

December 17, 2020
Posted by: OptimizeIAS Team
Category: DPN

Table Of Contents

Subject : Polity

Context : The Supreme Court Collegium on Wednesday announced its recommendations for appointment of chief justices in five high courts.

Concept :

The Collegium System is a system under which appointments/elevation of judges/lawyers to Supreme Court and transfers of judges of High Courts and Apex Court are decided by a forum of the Chief Justice of India and the four senior-most judges of the Supreme Court.’
There is no mention of the Collegium either in the original Constitution of India or in successive amendments.
The recommendations of the Collegium are binding on the Central Government; if the Collegium sends the names of the judges/lawyers to the government for the second time
How did this come into being?
‘First Judges Case’ (1981) ruled that the “consultation” with the CJI in the matter of appointments must be full and effective. However, the CJI’s opinion should have primacy.
Second Judges Case (1993) introduced the Collegium system, holding that “consultation” really meant “concurrence”. It added that it was not the CJI’s individual opinion, but an institutional opinion formed in consultation with the two senior-most judges in the Supreme Court.
Third Judges Case (1998): SC on President’s reference expanded the Collegium to a five-member body, comprising the CJI and four of his senior-most colleagues.
Procedure followed by the Collegium:
The President of India appoints the CJI and the other SC judges.
For other judges of the top court, the proposal is initiated by the CJI.
The CJI consults the rest of the Collegium members, as well as the senior-most judge of the court hailing from the High Court to which the recommended person belongs.
The consultees must record their opinions in writing and it should form part of the file.
The Collegium sends the recommendation to the Law Minister, who forwards it to the Prime Minister to advise the President.
The Chief Justice of High Courts is appointed as per the policy of having Chief Justices from outside the respective States.
The Collegium takes the call on the elevation.
Appointment of Judges for High Courts:
High Court judges are recommended by a Collegium comprising the CJI and two senior-most judges.
The proposal, however, is initiated by the Chief Justice of the High Court concerned in consultation with two senior-most colleagues.
The recommendation is sent to the Chief Minister, who advises the Governor to send the proposal to the Union Law Minister.

2. CMS 01 SATELLITE

Subject : Science & tech

Context : The 25-hour countdown for the launch of communication satellite CMS-01 on board launch vehicle PSLV-C50 commenced.

Concept :

CMS-01 is the 42nd communication satellite from India and weighs around 1,410 kgs. It will be replacing the ageing GSAT-12 satellite that was launched in 2011.
It will provide telecom services in the Extended-C Band of the frequency spectrum.
In a statement, ISRO has said the Extended-C Band coverage will include Indian mainland, Andaman-Nicobar and Lakshadweep Islands. Twenty minutes into the flight, it will be set in the Geostationary Orbit (GEO) at 83° inclination.
The expected mission life of this spacecraft is supposed to be seven years or more.
PSLV C-50
PSLV-C50 is the 22nd flight of the PSLV in the ‘XL’ configuration, and the 52nd PSLV flight.
The PSLV is 44-metre-high and has four stages with six strap-on booster motors on to the first stage that gives it’s a higher thrust during the initial flight moments.
ISRO has developed and used different PSLV variants, including ones with either two or four strap-on motors, or the Core Alone variant without any strap-on motors.
As the PSLV is not a reusable rocket, the first stage won’t be reclaimed and it will crash into the Indian Ocean.

3. POSITIVE PAY

Subject : Economics

Context: The new cheque payment rule will come into effect from 1 January 2021 to keep consumer safety in focus and to lower the cases of fraud and abuse with respect to cheque payment.

Concept :

Under this rule, the issuer of the cheque will submit certain minimum details of that cheque like date, name of the beneficiary / payee, amount, etc. to the drawee bank electronically, through channels like SMS, mobile app, internet banking, ATM, etc.
National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) shall develop the facility of Positive Pay in the Cheque Truncation System (CTS) and make it available to participant banks.
Banks, in turn, shall enable it for all account holders issuing cheques for amounts of ₹50,000 and above.
The details will be uploaded by the bank’s system into the centralized data system of Positive Pay.
When the cheque is received by the bank, it will verify the details from the central database and make the payment if the details which the account holder has provided match those on the cheque. In case of a mismatch, the bank will reject the cheque.
Although availing this facility is at the discretion of the account holder, banks may consider making it mandatory in case of cheques for amounts of ₹5,00,000 and above.
Positive Pay Mechanism
The Positive Pay is an automated fraud detection tool that matches specific information related to the cheque presented for clearing, such as the cheque number, cheque date, payee name, account number, amount, and other details against a list of cheques previously authorized and issued by the issuer.

4. NEW DEVELOPMENT BANK

Subject : International Organisations

Context: The government signed a loan agreement worth $1 billion with the New Development Bank (NDB) to support the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS) and India’s rural infrastructure.

Concept :

It is a multilateral development bank operated by the BRICS states (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa).
The New Development Bank was agreed to by BRICS leaders at the 5th BRICS summit held in Durban, South Africa in 2013.
It was established in 2014, at the 6th BRICS Summit at Fortaleza, Brazil.
The bank is set up to foster greater financial and development cooperation among the five emerging markets.
In the Fortaleza Declaration, the leaders stressed that the NDB will strengthen cooperation among BRICS and will supplement the efforts of multilateral and regional financial institutions for global development.
The bank will be headquartered in Shanghai, China.
Unlike the World Bank, which assigns votes based on capital share, in the New Development Bank each participant country will be assigned one vote, and none of the countries will have veto power.
Roles and functions:
The New Development Bank will mobilise resources for infrastructure and sustainable development projects in BRICS and other emerging economies and developing countries, to supplement existing efforts of multilateral and regional financial institutions for global growth and development.

5. CABINET COMMITTEE ON SECURITY

Subject : Polity

Context: The Cabinet Committee on Security approved the setting up of a new National Security Directive on telecommunication sector with an intent to classify telecom products and their sources under the ‘trusted’ and ‘non-trusted’ categories.

Concept :

The move could potentially make it more difficult for Chinese telecom equipment vendors like Huawei and ZTE to supply equipment to Indian telecom players.
The two companies have been under global scrutiny for allegedly installing ‘backdoor’ or ‘trap door’ vulnerabilities and spying for the Chinese government and have been banned by several countries.
Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS)
Major decisions with respect to the significant appointments, issues of national security, defence expenditure of India are taken by the Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS) in India.
The Prime Minister chairs the CCS. The committee comprises the Minister of External Affairs, the Home Minister, Finance Minister and the Defence Minister.

6. INSTITUTE OF EXCELLENCE

Subject : Governance

Context : An eight-member committee appointed by the government for suggesting measures for effective implementation of reservation in students admissions and faculty recruitment in IITs has recommended that the 23 engineering schools should be exempted from reservations under CEI Act, 2019.

Concept :

Among two sets of recommendations made by the committee, one stated that IITs should be added to the list of “Institutions of Excellence” mentioned in the Schedule to the Central Educational Institutions (Reservation in Teachers’ Cadre) Act 2019.
Section 4 of the Act exempts “institutions of excellence, research institutions, institutions of national and strategic importance” mentioned in the Schedule and minority institutions from providing reservation.
Institute of Excellence Scheme
It was launched in order to empower the Higher Educational Institutions and to help them become world-class teaching and research institutions.
Objectives:
Excellence and Innovation: To provide for higher education leading to excellence and innovations in such branches of knowledge as may be deemed fit at post-graduate, graduate and research degree levels.
Specialization: To engage in areas of specialization to make distinctive contributions to the objectives of the university education system.
Global Rating: To aim to be rated internationally for its teaching and research as a top hundred Institution in the world over time.
Quality teaching and Research: To provide for high quality teaching and research and for the advancement of knowledge and its dissemination.
Incentives of the scheme:
Institutes with IOE tag will be given greater autonomy and freedom to decide fees, course durations and governance structures.
The public institutions under IOE tag will receive a government grant of ₹1,000 crore, while the private institutions will not get any funding under the scheme.

7. WILDLIFE INSTITUTE OF INDIA (WII)

Subject : Environment

Context: Two years after the controversial shooting of Pandharkawda tigress T1, nicknamed Avni, authorities are set to release into the wild her female cub after successfully radio-collaring her by WII.

Concept :

The three-year-old cub, named T1C2, is currently under observation in a five-hectare enclosure at Pench Tiger Reserve (PTR), where she was brought after being captured in December 2018.
Since then, Forest Department officials have been carrying out “re-wilding” exercises — releasing natural prey to let her gain experience in hunting.
Wildlife Institute of India
Wildlife Institute of India (WII) is an internationally acclaimed Institution, which offers training program, academic courses and advisory in wildlife research and management.
WII carries out wildlife research in areas of study like Biodiversity, Endangered Species, Wildlife Policy, Wildlife Management, Wildlife Forensics, Spatial Modeling, Eco development, Habitat Ecology and Climate Change.
It was established in 1982.
It is an autonomous institution under the Ministry of Environment Forest and Climate change, Government of India.
The institute is based in Dehradun.

8. SUMMONING OF PARLIAMENT

Subject: Polity

Context: In response to a letter from the Congress leader in Lok Sabha seeking a short session of Parliament to discuss the new farm laws, Parliamentary Affairs Minister has said that some opposition parties “have expressed concerns about the ongoing pandemic and opined of doing away with winter session”.

Concept :

The power to convene a session of Parliament rests with the government. The decision is taken by the Cabinet Committee on Parliamentary Affairs, which currently comprises nine ministers, including those for Defence, Home, Finance, and Law.
The decision of the Committee is formalised by the President, in whose name MPs are summoned to meet for a session.
Cabinet Committee on Parliamentary Affairs:
This committee draws the schedule for Parliament sessions and monitors the progress of government business in Parliament. It scrutinizes non-government business and decides which official Bills and resolutions are to be presented.
Summoning of Parliament
The summoning of Parliament is specified in Article 85 of the Constitution.
Like many other articles, it is based on a provision of The Government of India Act, 1935.
Summoning is the process of calling all members of the Parliament to meet.
The President summons each House of the Parliament from time to time.
The gap between two sessions of the Parliament cannot exceed 6 months, which means the Parliament meets at least two times in one year.
However, the constitution does not prevent the legislature from being summoned more often than what has been provided.

9. AMUR FALCON

Subject : Environment

Context: An Amur falcon was sighted earlier this week on the campus of the Bombay Natural History Society (BNHS) at Kodiakkarai, abutting the Point Calimere Sanctuary.

Concept :

The Amur Falcon is a long-distance Migratory bird. It is a small raptor of the falcon family
Breeding: It breeds in south-eastern Siberia and Northern China before migrating in large flocks across India and over the Arabian Sea to winter in Southern Africa
It travels around 22,000 kms which is one of the longest distances to be travelled by a bird
At just 150 grams, an Amur falcon, Falco amurensis is a small bird, the male mostly grey in colour, and the females having dark-streaked cream or orange underparts.
IUCN status: Least concerned
Amur Falcon is protected under both the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972 and Convention on Migratory species
It is also listed in Appendix II of CITES.

10. SPECTRUM AUCTION

Subject : Governance

Context: The Union Cabinet has approved a proposal of the Department of Telecommunications to conduct spectrum auction through which spectrum will be assigned to the successful bidders for providing commercial mobile services.

Concept :

The auction will be for spectrum in 700 MHz, 800 MHz, 900 MHz, 1800 MHz, 2100 MHz, 2300 MHz and 2500 MHz frequency bands.
Spectrum will be offered for assignment for validity period of 20 years. A total of 2251.25 MHz is being offered with total valuation of Rs. 3,92,332.70 crore (at reserve price).
By winning right to use spectrum through the auction, incumbent telecom service providers will be able to augment their network capacity whereas new players will be able to start their services.
Successful bidders may pay entire bid amount in one go (upfront) or may exercise an option to pay a certain amount upfront and remaining amount in a maximum up to 16 equated annual instalments, after a moratorium of two years.
In addition to the bid amount, successful bidders will also have to pay 3% of the Adjusted Gross Revenue (AGR) excluding wireline services as spectrum usage charges for the spectrum won through this auction.

11. HUMAN DEVELOPMENT INDEX (HDI)

Subject : International Report

Context : India ranked 131 among 189 countries on the Human Development Index (HDI) for 2019, slipping two places from the previous year, according to the Human Development Report (HDR) 2020 released by the United Nations Development Program (UNDP).

Concept :

If the Index were adjusted to assess the planetary pressures caused by each nation’s development, India would move up eight places in the ranking, according to the report.
Norway topped the index, followed by Ireland and Switzerland. Hong Kong and Iceland complete the top five.
India, Bhutan, Bangladesh, Myanmar, Nepal, Cambodia, Kenya, and Pakistan were ranked under countries with medium human development with a rank in between 120 and 156 among the 189-counties.
In the BRICS grouping, Russia was 52 in the human development index, Brazil 84, and China 85.
India’s gross national income (GNI) per capita on the basis of purchasing power parity (PPP), too, fell from $6,829 in 2018 to $6,681 in 2019, it said.
India’s HDI value for 2019 is 0.645, which put the country in the medium human development category, positioning it at 131 out of 189 countries and territories.
Between 1990 and 2019, India’s HDI value increased from 0.429 to 0.645, an increase of 50.3%.
Between 1990 and 2019, India’s life expectancy at birth increased by 11.8 years, mean years of schooling increased by 3.5 years, and expected years of schooling increased by 4.5 years. India’s GNI per capita increased by about 273.9% between 1990 and 2019.
HDI measures average achievement on three basic aspects of human development, life expectancy, education, and per capita income.
For the first time, the United Nations Development Programme introduced a new metric to reflect the impact caused by each country’s per-capita carbon emissions and its material footprint, which measures the amount of fossil fuels, metals and other resources used to make the goods and services it consumes.