Daily Prelims Notes 20 August 2021

August 20, 2021
Posted by: OptimizeIAS Team
Category: DPN

Daily Prelims Notes

20 August 2021

Table Of Contents

Subject – IR

Context – The Hazaras have long faced violent persecution from the Taliban and Islamic State for their ethnicity and religious beliefs.

Concept –

The Hazaras are an ethnic and religious minority group largely found in the rugged and mountainous central Afghan region of Hazarajat.
They are believed to be descendants of the founder of the Mongol empire, Genghis Khan, and his army that overran the entire region during the 13th century.
Around 1773, the mountainous region of Hazarajat in modern-day central Afghanistan was annexed and made a part of the territories of the Afghan Empire under Pashtun ruler Ahmad Shah Durrani.
The Sunni Muslim majority under the Pashtun ruler resulted in marginalisation of the Shiite Hazara community, to the extent that in the 18th and 19th century, they were forced to leave fertile lowlands in central Afghanistan and make the arid mountainous landscape their new home.
They are targeted by the Taliban because they are primarily Shia Muslims, as opposed to most Afghans who follow the Sunni branch of Islam. Their distinct Asiatic features and use of a Persian dialect called Hazaragi also sets them apart from the rest of the country.
The Hazaras are one of Afghanistan’s largest ethnic minorities, accounting for about 10-12 per cent of the country’s 38-million strong population. But they were once even larger, constituting approximately 67 per cent of Afghanistan’s total population. Since then, primarily due to violence, oppression and targeted massacres, that number has come down drastically.
The Hazaras’ brutal history of repression has been traced back to the mid-19th century, when more than half their population was either killed or forced into exile by the then-Pashtun King Amir Abdul Rahman who had ordered the mass execution of all Shias after he invaded their homeland in Central Afghanistan.
But even after the US invaded Afghanistan and ended the Taliban’s rule in 2001, atrocities against the ethnic minority group continued.
While the 2004 Afghanistan constitution granted them equal rights and they were even well-represented in the Afghan administration, the Hazaras have been historically denied the freedoms and rights enjoyed by other ethnic groups in the country. Areas such as Bamiyan, which are primarily occupied by this ethnic group, are some of the country’s most backward — often lacking basic facilities such as running water and power.

2. Language in Indus Valley civilisation

Subject – History

Context – A new research paper published in the peer-reviewed journal of the Springer Nature Group has provided some interesting new insight on the linguistic culture of the Harappans.

Concept –

The Indus Valley script is yet to be deciphered.
the paper traced their language roots to proto-Dravidian, which is the ancestral language of all the modern Dravidian languages.
Thereafter the paper suggested that speakers of ancestral Dravidian languages had a greater historic presence in northern India including the Indus Valley region from where they migrated.
There were thriving trade relations between the Indus Valley Civilisation (IVC) and the Persian Gulf as well as Mesopotamia.
Akkadian – language spoken in ancient Mesopotamia.

Indus Valley Civilisation –

The history of India begins with the birth of the Indus Valley Civilization (IVC),also known as Harappan Civilization.
It flourished around 2,500 BC, in the western part of South Asia, in contemporary Pakistan and Western India.
The Indus Valley was home to the largest of the four ancient urban civilizations of Egypt, Mesopotamia, India and China.
In 1920s, the Archaeological Department of India carried out excavations in the Indus valley wherein the ruins of the two old cities, viz. Mohenjodaro and Harappa were unearthed.
In 1924, John Marshall, Director-General of the ASI, announced the discovery of a new civilisation in the Indus valley to the world.
Three phases of IVC are:
- the Early Harappan Phase from 3300 to 2600 BCE,
- the Mature Harappan Phase from 2600 to 1900 BCE, and
- the Late Harappan Phase from 1900 to 1300 BCE.
The IVC declined around 1800 BCE but the actual reasons behind its demise are still debated.

3. New Species of Frog in Arunachal Pradesh

Subject – Environment

Context – Delhi University scientists discover new species of frog in Arunachal Pradesh.

Concept –

Discovered on the Adi hills in Arunachal Pradesh, the new frog species has been named Adi Cascade Frog (Amolops Adicola). The hills are home to the Adi tribe. The literal meaning of Adi is “hill” or “mountain top”.
Adi hills were historically known as Abor hills.
Cascade frogs are named so because of their preference of small waterfalls or cascades in flowing hill streams.

Adi Tribe –

The Adi people are one of the most populous groups of indigenous peoples in the Indian state of Arunachal Pradesh. A few thousand are also found in the Tibet Autonomous Region (Previously Tibet) where they are called the Lhoba.
The Adi tribe of Arunachal Pradesh is believed to have come from southern China in the 16th century
They are the Tibeto-Burman language speaking population..
They reside in the far north inhabiting East Siang and Lower Dibang Valley districts of Arunachal Pradesh.
The Adis are experts at making cane and bamboo items.
Solung (harvesting festival where animal sacrifices and rituals are performed) and Aran (a hunting festival where all the male members of the family go for hunting) are two major festivals of the Adi tribes.
Popir is the indigenous dance of the Adi tribe.

4. Dark Web

Subject – Science and Tech

Context – Scouring dark web is helping Bengaluru Police in crackdown on drug trafficking.

Concept –

The dark net or dark web is an overlay network within the Internet which is not accessible through search engines, and where anonymous activities are carried out. For this reason, a market for illegal activities thrives here, including the sale and purchase of drugs, stolen data, hacking software, pornography etc.

Internet consists of three layers:

The first layer is public (Surface Web), consisting of sites that one uses frequently such as Facebook, Twitter, Amazon and LinkedIn. This layer makes up only 4% of the entire internet.
The second layer, the deep web, is a network where data is stored in inaccessible databases (i.e., cannot be accessed through traditional search engines like Google). It is used to provide access to a specific group of people.
- The data is generally sensitive and private (government private data, bank data, cloud data etc), so kept out of reach.
The third layer is the darknet which is also known as a part of the ‘Deep Web’. It is a network built over the internet which is encrypted.
- It is basically a layer of the Internet accessible only by using special software like Tor (The Onion Router), or I2P, which stands for Invisible Internet Project.
- Anything present on the dark web will not be pulled up in internet searches, thereby offering a high degree of anonymity.

5. Inflation

Subject – Economy

Context – inflation in India could be less transitory than in the US.

Concept –

Inflation refers to the rise in the prices of most goods and services of daily or common use, such as food, clothing, housing, recreation, transport, consumer staples, etc.
Inflation measures the average price change in a basket of commodities and services over time.
Inflation is indicative of the decrease in the purchasing power of a unit of a country’s currency. This could ultimately lead to a deceleration in economic growth.
However, a moderate level of inflation is required in the economy to ensure that production is promoted.
In India, inflation is primarily measured by two main indices —WPI & CPI which measure wholesale and retail-level price changes, respectively.
As per RBI, an inflation target of 4 per cent with a +/-2 per cent tolerance band, is appropriate for the next five years (2021-2025).

Structural Inflation –

Structuralist Inflation is another form of Inflation mostly prevalent in the Developing and Low-Income Countries.
The Structural school argues that inflation in the developing countries is mainly due to the weak structure of their economies.
The Structuralist argues that the economies of developing countries like, Latin America and India are structurally underdeveloped as well as highly volatile due to the existence of weak institutions and imperfect working of markets.
As a result of these imperfections, some sectors of the economy like agriculture will witness shortages of supply, whereas some sectors like consumer goods will witness excessive demand. Such economies face the problem of both shortages of supply, under-utilisation of resources as well as excessive demand in some sectors.

6. London Inter-Bank Offer Rate (LIBOR)

Subject – Economy

Context – LIBOR transition will be a complex exercise.

Concept –

LIBOR is the most common benchmark interest rate index used for Corporate and Government Bonds, mortgages, student loans, credit cards, derivatives and other Financial Products.
LIBOR is a benchmark interest rate at which major global banks lend to one another in the international interbank market for short-term loans.
LIBOR serves as a globally accepted key benchmark interest rate that indicates borrowing costs between banks.
The rate is calculated and will continue to be published each day by the Intercontinental Exchange (ICE), but due to recent scandals and questions around its validity as a benchmark rate, it is being phased out.
It serves for maturities from Overnight to 1 year and on each day there are 35 different LIBOR rates published by British Bankers Association (BBA).
LIBOR is presently administered by ICE Benchmark Administration (IBA) and is regulated by the UK’s Financial Conduct Authority (FCA).
According to the Federal Reserve and regulators in the UK, LIBOR will be phased out by June 30, 2023, and will be replaced by the Secured Overnight Financing Rate (SOFR).

7. Gujarat Freedom of Religion (Amendment) Act 2021

Subject – Governance

Context – HC protects interfaith couples from Gujarat law.

Concept –

It prohibits forcible religious conversion by marriage.
It proposes punishment of 3-10 years in jail for forcible or fraudulent religious conversions through marriage.
It amends the Gujarat Freedom of Religion Act, 2003.
The amendment aims to reduce the “emerging trend” where women are “lured to marriage” for the purposes of religious conversion.

8. Mapilla Riots

Subject – History

Context – ‘Mappila riots a sign of Taliban mindset’

Concept –

The trigger of the uprising came from the Non-Cooperation Movement launched by the Congress in 1920 along with the Khilafat agitation.
The anti-British sentiment fuelled by these agitations affected the Muslim Mapillahs (also known as Moplahs) of south Malabar region of
New Tenancy Laws: After the death of Tipu Sultan in 1799 in the Fourth Anglo-Mysore War, Malabar had come under British authority as part of the Madras Presidency.
The British had introduced new tenancy laws that tremendously favoured the landlords known as Janmis and instituted a far more exploitative system for peasants than before.
The new laws deprived the peasants of all guaranteed rights to the land, share in the produce they earlier got and in effect rendered them landless.
The Communal Angle: Most of the landlords were Namboodiri Brahmins while most of the tenants were Mapillah Muslims.
The Revolt: Fuelled by the fiery speeches by Muslim religious leaders and anti-british sentiments, the Mopillahs launched a violent rebellion. Numerous actions of violence were reported and series of persecutions were committed both against the British and the Hindu landlords.
Support: In the initial stages, the movement had the support of Mahatma Gandhi and other Indian nationalist leaders, but as it turned violent they distanced themselves from it.
Collapse: By the end of 1921, the rebellion was crushed by the British who had raised a special battalion, the Malabar Special Force for the riot.
Wagon Tragedy: In November 1921, 67 Moplah prisoners were killed when they were being transported in a closed freight wagon from Tirur to the Central Prison in Podanur. They died of suffocation. This event is called the Wagon Tragedy.

9. Abraham Accords

Subject – IR

Context – The Abraham Accords as India’s West Asia bridge.

Concept –

The Abraham Accord between Israel, the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain is mediated by the USA. It is the first Arab-Israeli peace deal in 26 years.
The accords are named after the patriarch Abraham regards as a prophet in both Judaism and Islam
The Abraham Accords also open the door for Muslims around the world to visit the historic sites in Israel and to peacefully pray at Al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem, the third holiest site in Islam.
The agreement shows how the Arab countries are gradually decoupling themselves from the Palestine question.
Full diplomatic ties will be established between Israel, the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain which will have a positive impact on the entire region.

As per the agreements, the UAE and Bahrain will establish:

Embassies and exchange ambassadors.
Working together with Israel across a range of sectors, including tourism, trade, healthcare and security.
The Abraham Accords also open the door for Muslims around the world to visit the historic sites in Israel and to peacefully pray at Al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem, the third holiest site in Islam.
In the Islamic tradition, the Kaaba in Mecca is considered the holiest site, followed by the Prophet’s Mosque in Medina, and Al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem.
Reason: Bringing Israel, the UAE and Bahrain together reflects their shared concern about Iran’s rising influence in the region and development of ballistic missiles. Iran has been critical of both deals.

10. Transit Camps

Subject – Governance

Context – The “detention centres” in Assam have been renamed “transit camps” to humanise them.

Concept –

Detention centres are places designated to keep illegal migrants (people who have entered a country without necessary documents) once they are detected by the authorities till the time their nationality is confirmed and they are deported to the country of their origin.
Detention centres were set up in Assam after the Union government authorized the state to do so under the provisions of the Foreigners’ Act, 1946 and the Foreigners Order, 1948.

Foreigners Act, 1946:

It replaced the Foreigners Act, 1940 conferring wide powers to deal with all foreigners.
The act empowered the government to take such steps as are necessary to prevent illegal migrants including the use of force.
The concept of ‘burden of proof’ lies with the person, and not with the authorities.
The act originally empowered the government to establish tribunals which would have powers similar to those of a civil court.
Amendments (2019) to the Foreigners (Tribunals) Order, 1964 empowered even district magistrates in all States and Union Territories to set up tribunals to decide whether a person staying illegally in India is a foreigner or not.

11. Defence India Start-up Challenge (DISC)

Subject – Science and Tech

Context – Defence Minister Rajnath Singh launched the 5th edition of the Defence India Startup Challenge (DISC).

Concept –

DISC was launched under Innovations for Defence Excellence – Defence Innovation Organisation (iDEX-DIO).
This challenge is meant to achieve self-reliance and foster innovation and technology development across the defence and aerospace sectors.
This challenge was launched by Ministry in partnership with Atal Innovation Mission.
It was launched with the aim of providing support to Start-ups, MSMEs and Innovators to create prototypes or commercialize products and solutions in the fields of National Defence and Security.

12. Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act 2016

Subject – Governance

Context – The Centre has exempted posts under the Indian Police Service (IPS) from the mandated 4% reservation for persons with disabilities (PwD) in government jobs, a move that rights groups say goes against the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act, 2016.

Concept –

The Act replaces the Persons with Disabilities (Equal Opportunities, Protection of Rights and Full Participation) Act, 1995. It fulfils the obligations to the United National Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNCRPD), to which India is a signatory. The Act came into force during December 2016.
The types of disabilities have been increased from existing 7 to 21and the Central Government will have the power to add more types of disabilities.
Persons with “benchmark disabilities” are defined as those certified to have at least 40 per cent of the disabilities specified above.

Rights and entitlements under Act

Responsibility has been cast upon the appropriate governments to take effective measures to ensure that the persons with disabilities enjoy their rights equally with others.
Additional benefits such as reservation in higher education (not less than 5%), government jobs (not less than 4 %), reservation in allocation of land, poverty alleviation schemes (5% allotment) etc. have been provided for persons with benchmark disabilities and those with high support needs.
Every child with benchmark disability between the age group of 6 and 18 years shall have the right to free education.
Government funded educational institutions as well as the government recognized institutions will have to provide inclusive education to the children with disabilities.
For strengthening the Prime Minister’s Accessible India Campaign, stress has been given to ensure accessibility in public buildings(both Government and private) in a prescribed time-frame.

UN Convention on Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNCRPD)

The Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities and its Optional Protocol was adopted on 13 December 2006 at the United Nations Headquarters in New York.
There were 82 signatories to the Convention. The Convention entered into force on 3 May 2008.
It is the first comprehensive human rights treaty of the 21st century.
The Convention follows decades of work by the United Nations to change attitudes and approaches to persons with disabilities.
It takes to a new height the movement from viewing persons with disabilities as “objects” of charity, medical treatment and social protection towards viewing persons with disabilities as “subjects” with rights, who are capable of claiming those rights and making decisions for their lives based on their free and informed consent as well as being active members of society.
The Convention is intended as a human rights instrument with an explicit, social development dimension.
It adopts a broad categorization of persons with disabilities and reaffirms that all persons with all types of disabilities must enjoy all human rights and fundamental freedoms.

13. Public Procurement (Preference to ‘Make in India’ Order) 2017

Subject – Science and Tech

Context – The Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade has “observed” that government procuring agencies, including Public Sector Undertakings, had not implemented the Public Procurement (Preference to ‘Make in India’ Order), 2017, in “letter and spirit”.

Concept –

The Order is applicable for procurement by the Ministry / Department / attached / subordinate office of, or autonomous body controlled by, the Government of India and includes Government companies as defined in the Companies Act.
In procurement of all goods, services or works in respect of which the Nodal Ministry/ Department has communicated that there is sufficient local capacity and local competition, only ‘Class-I local supplier’, as defined under the Order, shall be eligible to bid irrespective of purchase value.
The margin of purchase preference shall be 20%. ‘margin of purchase preference’ means the maximum extent to which the price quoted by a local supplier may be above the L1 for the purpose of purchase preference.
Government amended the Public Procurement (Preference to Make in India) Order, 2017 – The amendment enables nodal Ministries/ Departments to notify higher minimum local content requirements for Class-I & Class-II local suppliers which was earlier fixed at 50% and 20% respectively.