Daily Prelims Notes 24 June 2021

June 24, 2021
Posted by: OptimizeIAS Team
Category: DPN

Daily Prelims Notes

24 June 2021

Table Of Contents

Subject: Economy

Context: Sugar mills are demanding a hike in the minimum selling price to enable them to clear the dues to the farmers which have touched a whopping Rs 23,000 crore. Rising output have caused ex-mill prices to fall to Rs 31-33 per kg, almost to the levels of the minimum selling price.

Concept:

FRP:

Fair and remunerative price (FRP) is the minimum price at which rate sugarcane is to be purchased by sugar mills from farmers.
The Federal/Central Government announces Fair and Remunerative Prices which are determined on the recommendation of the Commission for Agricultural Costs and Prices (CACP) and are announced by the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs, which is chaired by Prime Minister.
The State Advised Prices (SAP) are announced by key sugarcane producing states which are generally higher than FRP.
The approval will ensure a guaranteed price to cane growers. The ‘FRP’ of sugarcane is determined under Sugarcane (Control) Order.
This will be uniformly applicable all over the country. Determination of FRP will be in the interest of sugarcane growers keeping in view their entitlement to a fair and remunerative price for their produce.
Fair and remunerative price (FRP) is the minimum price at which rate sugarcane is to be purchased by sugar mills from farmers.

Commission for Agricultural Costs and Prices (CACP)

The Commission for Agricultural Costs and Prices (CACP) is an attached office of the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare, Government of India. It came into existence in January 1965.
It is an advisory body whose recommendations are not binding on Government.

2. Ebola virus disease (EVD)

Subject : Science & tech

Context : Recently, the Guinean authorities have announced the end of the country’s Ebola epidemic after a 42-day countdown during which no new cases were recorded.

Concept :

About Ebola virus disease (EVD)

It was formerly known as Ebola haemorrhagic fever.
It is a rare but severe, often fatal illness in humans.
The virus family Filoviridae is responsible for EVD which includes three genera: Cuevavirus, Marburgvirus, and Ebolavirus.

Transmission of Ebola

It is thought that fruit bats of the Pteropodidae family are natural Ebola virus hosts.
It is transmitted to people from wild animals and spreads in the human population through human-to-human transmission.
It is introduced into the human population through close contact with the blood, secretions, organs or other bodily fluids of infected animals.
It spreads through human-to-human transmission via direct contact (through broken skin or mucous membranes) with:

Blood or body fluids of a person who is sick with or has died from Ebola

Objects that have been contaminated with body fluids (like blood, feces, vomit) from a person sick with Ebola or the body of a person who died from Ebola.

Treatment of Ebola virus disease (EVD)

The two monoclonal antibodies (Inmazeb and Ebanga) were approved for the treatment of Zaire ebolavirus (Ebolavirus) infection in adults and children by the US Food and Drug Administration.
The Ervebo vaccine has been shown to be effective in protecting people from the species Zaire ebolavirus, and is recommended by the Strategic Advisory Group of Experts on Immunization.

3. China raising new units near borders

Subject : Geography / IR

Context :China is raising new militia units comprising local Tibetan youth for high-altitude warfare near Eastern Ladakh, as well as near its borders with Sikkim and Bhutan, intelligence intercepts have revealed.

Concept :

Available information indicates that the units are also being deployed at Rutog in Tibet, near the Pangong Tso (lake) in eastern Ladakh.

About Pangong Tso

Pangong Tso is a long narrow, deep, landlocked lake situated at a height of more than 14,000 ft in the Ladakh, Himalayas.
The 135 km-long lake sprawls over 604 sq km in the shape of a boomerang, and is 6 km wide at its broadest point.
It is formed from Tethys geosyncline.
The western end of Pangong Tso lies 54 km to the southeast of Leh.
The brackish water lake freezes over in winter, and becomes ideal for ice skating and polo.

4. NISHTHA Capacity Building Programme for EMRS Teachers and Principals

Subject : Governance

Context : Ministry of Tribal Affairs and NCERT came together on a joint mission for NISHTHA Capacity Building Programme for EMRS Teachers and Principals.

Concept :

The capacity building program is aimed to build competencies among teachers and school principals and Improving Quality of School Education through Integrated Teacher Training.
The participants were capacitated on 18 holistic and comprehensive modules covering different aspects of education.
The Ministry is devising a plan to build a pool of Key Resource Persons from amongst all the batches of NISHTHA programs to be conducted in the coming months.
The “Unbox Tinkering – ATL Teacher Training Program” was also organized in coordination with Atal Innovation Mission, NITI Aayog, IBM and Learning Links foundation.

NISHTHA Programme

It is a National Initiative for School Heads’ and Teachers’ Holistic Advancement.
It was launched by the Department of School Education and Literacy.
It is a National Mission which aims to improve learning outcomes at the elementary level through an Integrated Teacher Training Programme.
It is developed under the Centrally Sponsored Scheme of SamagraShiksha in 2019-20.
It aims to build competencies among all the teachers and school principals at the elementary stage.
Its basic objective is to motivate and equip teachers to encourage and foster critical thinking in students.

Eklavya Model Residential Schools (EMRSs)

It was started in 1997 to impart quality education to ST children in remote areas.
It will enable ST children to avail of opportunities in high and professional educational courses and get employment in various sectors.
Each school has a capacity of 480 students, catering to students from Class VI to XII.
The grants were given for construction of schools and recurring expenses to the State Governments under Grants under Article 275 (1) of the Constitution.
By 2022, every block with more than 50% ST population and at least 20,000 tribal persons, will have an EMRS.
It will be on par with NavodayaVidyalaya and will have special facilities for preserving local art and culture besides providing training in sports and skill development.

5. Ramgarh Vishdhari Wildlife Sanctuary

Subject : Environment

Context : Recently, the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) has given the green signal to RamgarhVishdhari Wildlife Sanctuary as 52nd Tiger Reserve of India.

Concept :

RamgarhVishdhari Wildlife Sanctuary

It is the fourth tiger reserve of Rajasthan after Ranthambore, Sariska and Mukundra tiger reserves.
It is like a buffer for the Ranthambore National Park.
It is located almost 45 kilometers on Bundi-Nainwa Road and covers an area of 252 square kilometers.
It is home to wild predators like hyena, tigers, panthers, antelopes and wild boars.
It was notified as a sanctuary in 1982.
It comprises of hilly dry deciduous forests on Vindhyan formations.
It includes floral diversities like Mango, Dhok, Khair and Salar.

National Tiger Conservation Authority

National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) is a statutory body under the Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change.
It was established in 2005 following the recommendations of the Tiger Task Force.
It was constituted under enabling provisions of the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972, as amended in 2006, for strengthening tiger conservation, as per powers and functions assigned to it.

6. SAINT VINCENT AND THE GRENADINES

Subject : Geography / IR

Context : The Union Cabinet has approved an Agreement between India and Saint Vincent and The Grenadines for the Exchange of Information and to provide assistance to each other in collection of tax claims.

Concept :

This is a new Agreement between the Republic of India and Saint Vincent and The Grenadines. There was no such agreement in past between the two countries.
Agreement also contains tax examination abroad provisions which provide that a country may allow the representatives of the other country to enter its territory to interview individuals and examine records for tax purposes.

Saint Vincent and the Grenadines

Saint Vincent and the Grenadines is an island country in the Caribbean.
It is located in the southeast Windward Islands of the Lesser Antilles, which lie in the West Indies at the southern end of the eastern border of the Caribbean Sea where the latter meets the Atlantic Ocean.
Kingstown is the capital and main port.

7. Central Warehousing Corporation

Subject : National organisations

Context : Union Cabinet approves merger of Central Railside Warehouse Company Limited (CRWC) with Central Warehousing Corporation (CWC).

Concept :

Central Warehousing Corporation is a Mini-Ratna Category-I CPSE.
It is a statutory body which was established under ‘The Warehousing Corporations Act, 1962.
It is a public warehouse operator established by the Government of India in 1957 for the purpose of warehousing of agriculture produce and certain other commodities notified by the Central Government and for matters connected there with.
Headquarters: New Delhi.

‘Central Railside Warehouse Company Ltd.’ (CRWC)

CWC formed a separate subsidiary company named ‘Central Railside Warehouse Company Ltd.’ (CRWC) in 2007 to develop Railside Warehousing Complexes (RWCs) on land leased from Railways.
CRWC is a Mini-Ratna Category-II Central Public Sector Enterprises (CPSE) incorporated under the Companies Act, 1956.
CRWC developed specialization, expertise and goodwill in development and operation of RWCs but due to shortage of capital and also due to some of the restrictive clauses in its MoU with Ministry of Railways, its pace of growth was not as expected.
A separate Division with the name ‘RWC Division’ will be created by CWC for handling operations and marketing of RWCs.

8. Tax Inspectors Without Borders (TIWB) Programme

Subject : International Relations

Context : Recently, the Ministry of Finance has announced that Tax Inspectors Without Borders (TIWB) programme was launched in Bhutan.

Concept :

Tax Inspectors Without Borders (TIWB)

It is a joint initiative of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD).
It was launched at the Third Financing for Development conference in Addis Ababa in 2015.
It was widely hailed as capable of assisting developing countries mobilize much-needed domestic revenues in support of the post-2015 sustainable development agenda.
It facilitates targeted, tax audit assistance programmes in developing countries across the globe.
It is a strong response to the attention given to effective and efficient mobilisation of domestic resources in achieving the Sustainable Development Goals to strengthen international tax co-operation.
The joint OECD/UNDP TIWB Secretariat is based in Paris and supported by UNDP’s network of Country Offices in developing countries.

TIWB in Bhutan

It is expected to be of about 24 months’ duration.
Under the programme, India in collaboration with the UNDP and the TIWB Secretariat aims to aid Bhutan in strengthening its tax administration.
India will transfer the technical know-how and skills to its tax auditors, and through sharing of best audit practices.
The focus of the programme will be in the area of International Taxation and Transfer Pricing.

9. Grey matter loss seen after COVID

Subject : Science & tech

Context : The loss of smell and taste, which is among the most common symptoms associated with coronavirus infection, is writ large in the brain, says a study that scanned brain images from a group of volunteers to compare changes before and after COVID-19.

Concept :

The study, which is yet to be peer-reviewed, was able to paint a picture of a distinct loss of grey matter, in regions of the brain associated with smell and taste in those who had tested positive for the coronavirus compared to those who hadn’t.

Grey Matter & White Matter

Cerebrum forms the major part of the human brain. A deep cleft divides the cerebrum longitudinally into two halves, which are termed as the left and right cerebral hemispheres.
The hemispheres are connected by a tract of nerve fibres called corpus callosum.
The layer of cells which covers the cerebral hemisphere is called cerebral cortex. The cerebral cortex is referred to as the grey matter due to its greyish appearance. The neuron cell bodies are concentrated here giving the colour.
The cerebral cortex contains motor areas, sensory areas and large regions that are neither clearly sensory nor motor in function. These regions called as the association areas are responsible for complex functions like intersensory associations, memory and communication.
Fibres of the tracts are covered with the myelin sheath, which constitute the inner part of cerebral hemisphere. They give an opaque white appearance to the layer and, hence, is called the white matter.

10. Rashtriya Krishi Vikas Yojana – Remunerative Approaches for Agriculture and Allied Sectors Rejuvenation (RKVY-RAFTAAR)

Subject: Govt Schemes

Concept :

RashtriyaKrishiVikasYojana – Remunerative Approaches for Agriculture and Allied Sectors Rejuvenation (RKVY-RAFTAAR) is a unique scheme of Government of India, Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare (MoA&FW).
It is aimed at strengthening infrastructure in Agriculture and Allied sectors to promote Agripreneurship and Agribusiness by facilitating financial aid and nurturing a system of business incubation.
MANAGE-CIA, Centre for Innovation and Agripreneurship is a Centre of Excellence and Knowledge Partner to Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare for Implementation of RKVY-RAFTAAR Scheme

About RKVY-RAFTAAR :

RKVY scheme was initiated in 2007 as an umbrella scheme for ensuring holistic development of agriculture and allied sectors.
The scheme incentivizes States to increase public investment in Agriculture & allied sectors.
The Cabinet has approved (as on 1st November 2017) for the continuation of the ongoing Centrally Sponsored Scheme (State Plans) – RashtriyaKrishiVikasYojana (RKVY) as RashtriyaKrishiVikasYojana- Remunerative Approaches for Agriculture and Allied Sector Rejuvenation (RKVY-RAFTAAR).

The main objective of RashtriyaKrishiVikasYojana is to develop farming as a main source of economic activity. Some of the objectives also include:

Risk mitigation, strengthening the efforts of the farmers along with promoting agri-business entrepreneurship through the creation of agri-infrastructure.
Providing all the states with autonomy and flexibility in making plans as per their local needs.
Helping farmers in increasing their income by encouraging productivity and promoting value chain addition linked production models.
To reduce the risk of farmers by focusing on increasing the income generation through mushroom cultivation, integrated farming, floriculture, etc.
Empowering the youth through various skill development, innovation and agri-business models.

Funding:

RKVY-RAFTAAR will continue to be implemented as a Centrally Sponsored Scheme in the ratio of 60: 40 (Government of India and State Share respectively) except in the case of northeastern and hilly states where the sharing pattern is 90:10.
For UTs the grant is 100% as Central share.