Daily Prelims Notes 26 May 2021

May 26, 2021
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Category: DPN

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Daily Prelims Notes

26 May 2021

Table Of Contents

1. ANTICIPATORY BAIL

Subject: Polity

Context: SC stays Allahabad HC order granting anticipatory bail over fear of death due to Covid.

Concept:

Anticipatory Bail

Section 438 (anticipatory bail) of the Code of Criminal Procedure deals with direction for grant of bail to a person apprehending arrest.
It states that when any person has reason to believe that he may be arrested on an accusation of having committed a non- bailable offence, he may apply to the High Court or the Court of Session for a direction under this section; and that Court may, if it thinks fit, direct that in the event of such arrest, he shall be released on bail.
The high frequency of arbitrary and heavy-handed arrests to harass and humiliate citizens, and often at the interest of powerful individuals led to the enactment of Section 438.
The provision empowers only the Sessions Court and High Court to grant anticipatory bail.

Significance:

The reason for enactment of Section 438 in the Code was parliamentary acceptance of the crucial underpinning of personal liberty in a free and democratic country.
Parliament wished to foster respect for personal liberty and accord primacy to a fundamental tenet of criminal jurisprudence, that everyone is presumed to be innocent till he or she is found guilty.
Life and liberty are the cherished attributes of every individual. The urge for freedom is natural to each human being.

2. MIS-C

Subject : Science & tech

Context : Anticipating the likelihood of a rise in cases of multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children (MIS-C), the Pune paediatric Covid task force has urged parents to get vaccinated on a priority basis against SARS-COV2 infection.

Concept :

Multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children (MIS-C) is a condition where different body parts can become inflamed, including the heart, lungs, kidneys, brain, skin, eyes, or gastrointestinal organs.
Children with MIS-C may have a fever and various symptoms, including abdominal (gut) pain, vomiting, diarrhea, neck pain, rash, bloodshot eyes, or feeling extra tired. Still the causes of MIS-C are not known.
However, many children with MIS-C had the virus that causes COVID-19, or had been around someone with COVID-19.
Since June 2020, several case reports and series have reported a similar multisystem inflammatory syndrome in adults (MIS-A).

3. INSURANCE FDI RULES

Subject : Economy

Context : With the government defining the management and control criteria for Indian insurance companies last Wednesday through a gazette notification, the Finance Ministry expects the sector to be a key recipient of foreign capital.

Concept :

New rules amends the Insurance Act, 1938 to increase the maximum foreign investment allowed in an Indian insurance company.
It increases the limit on foreign investment in an Indian insurance company from 49% to 74%, and removes restrictions on ownership and control.
While control will go to foreign companies, the majority of directors and key management persons will be resident Indians who will be covered by law of the land.

Significance

Insurance penetration currently stands at just 3.71 per cent of the GDP in the country. Higher investments will help increase penetration of products in an underserved market.
It will also bring in global best practices, besides helping lower the cost of products due to greater competition.

4. QUANTITATIVE EASING

Subject : Economics

Context : n India’s case when RBI spoke of rolling back the CRR-cut last year, which was interpreted as being the end of the easy-money. The recent announcements by RBI on further liquidity infusion leads to the question of whether this serves a broader purpose.

Concept :

QE refers to an unconventional monetary policy in which a central bank purchases government securities or other securities from the market in order to lower interest rates and increase the money supply.
Quantitative easing increases the money supply by flooding financial institutions with capital in an effort to promote increased lending and liquidity.
Quantitive easing is typically implemented when interest rates are already near zero, because, at this point, central banks have fewer tools to influence economic growth and does not involve the printing of new banknotes.

Reasons:

Like lowering interest rates, QE is supposed to stimulate the economy by encouraging banks to make more loans.
Raises stock prices and lowers interest rates, which in turn boosts investment.
can also boost economic activity by raising confidence.

5. FORENSIC AUDIT

Subject : Economics

Context : SEBI to appoint forensic auditors for listed firms.

Concept :

Markets regulator Sebi is looking to appoint auditors for conducting forensic audits of financial statements of listed companies as part of efforts to curb frauds.
In recent months, Sebi has ordered forensic audit of certain companies.

Forensic Audit

A forensic audit examines and evaluates a firm’s or individual’s financial records to derive evidence used in a court of law or legal proceeding.
Forensic auditing is a specialization within accounting, and most large accounting firms have a forensic auditing department.
Forensic audits cover a wide range of investigative activities. A forensic audit is often conducted to prosecute a party for fraud, embezzlement, or other financial crimes.
In the process of a forensic audit, the auditor may be called to serve as an expert witness during trial proceedings.
Forensic audits could also involve situations that do not include financial fraud, such as disputes related to bankruptcy filings, business closures, and divorces.

6. COMMITTEE ON HATE SPEECH

Subject : Governance

Context : A panel constituted by the Union Home Ministry to suggest reforms to the British-era Indian Penal Code (IPC) is likely to propose a separate Section on “offences relating to speech and expression.”

Concept :

As there is no clear definition of what constitutes a “hate speech” in the IPC, the Committee for Reforms in Criminal Laws is attempting for the first time to define such speech.
The committee is expected to submit its report soon. The suggestions received by the Committee for Reforms in Criminal Laws will be examined by the Ministry before the changes are adopted.
The Bureau of Police Research and Development recently published a manual for investigating agencies on cyber harassment cases that defined hate speech as a “language that denigrates, insults, threatens or targets an individual based on their identity and other traits (such as sexual orientation or disability or religion etc.).”

Viswanathan committee

Earlier in 2018, the Home Ministry had written to the Law Commission to prepare a distinct law for online “hate speech” acting on a report by a committee headed by former Lok Sabha Secretary General T.K. Viswanathan who recommended stricter laws.
The committee was formed in the wake of Section 66A of the Information Technology Act, 2000, that provided punishment for sending offensive messages through communication services being scrapped by the Supreme Court in 2015.

7. SERO SURVEY

Subject : Science & tech

Context : India reported over 1.5 crore Covid cases since January, yet no sero surveys announced so far.

Concept :

The serological survey was meant to detect whether the person being tested had developed antibodies against the coronavirus.
Since it is not possible to test everyone, detecting antibodies in random sets of people is an indirect way of estimating the extent of disease spread in a community.
The antibodies are proteins produced by the immune system to fight external organisms like viruses that try to enter the body.
These are produced only after the infection has happened, and are specific to the attacking virus or bacterium.
The presence of antibodies, therefore, is an indication that an infection by that particular virus or bacterium has already occurred.
Subsequent attempts to infect the body can be thwarted by these antibodies.

What about Vaccines then?

Vaccines work in a similar manner – wherein they inject harmless doses of a virus or a bacterium inside the human body to trigger the production of antibodies by the immune system.
These antibodies can then fight off an actual attack by those viruses or bacteria.

Do antibodies ensure Immunity?

The mere presence of antibodies does not mean that the person is protected against the disease.
What is also important is the amount of antibodies present, and whether it also includes what are known as “neutralising antibodies” which actually fight the disease.

What is Herd Immunity?

Herd immunity is a stage of an epidemic in which some members of a population group remain protected from infection because a majority of those around them have already developed immunity, either through vaccination or because they have been infected earlier.
Once a certain proportion of population gets infected, and thus builds immunity against the disease, the epidemic begins to slow down and eventually stop.
No one clearly knows what percentage of the population needs to be infected before herd immunity kicks in. It is different for different diseases, and different population groups.

8. DGCA

Subject : National Organisations

Context : DGCA de-rosters SpiceJet crew as couple gets married on board flight.

Concept :

The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) is the statutory body formed under the Aircraft (Amendment) Bill, 2020.
This directorate investigates aviation accidents and incidents, maintains all regulations related to aviation and is responsible for issuance of licenses pertaining to aviation like PPL’s, SPL’s and CPL’s in India.
It is headquartered along Sri AurobindoMarg, opposite Safdarjung Airport, in New Delhi.
The Government of India is planning to replace the organisation with a Civil Aviation Authority (CAA), modelled on the lines of the American Federal Aviation Administration (FAA).

9. NATIONAL MISSION ON USE OF BIOMASS IN THERMAL POWER PLANTS

Subject : Economy / Governance

Context : Ministry of Power has decided to set up a National Mission on use of Biomass in coal based thermal power plants.

Concept :

Mission objectives:

To increase the level of co-firing from present 5% to higher levels to have a larger share of carbon neutral power generation from the thermal power plants.
To take up R&D activity in boiler design to handle the higher amount of silica, alkalis in the biomass pellets.
To facilitate overcoming the constraints in supply chain of bio mass pellets and agro- residue and its transport upto to the power plants.
To consider regulatory issues in biomass co-firing.

Features:

The Mission would have a Steering Committee headed by Secretary (Power) comprising of all stakeholders including representatives from Ministry of Petroleum & Natural Gas (MoPNG), Ministry of New & Renewable Energy (MNRE) etc.
The Executive Committee would be headed by Member (Thermal), CEA.
The duration of proposed National Mission would be a minimum 5 years.

Significance of the Proposed Mission

It would address the issue of air pollution due to farm stubble burning and to reduce carbon footprints of thermal power generation.
This would further support the energy transition in the country and our targets to move towards cleaner energy sources.
It will also contribute in the National Clean Air Programme (NCAP).

10. EXPERT COMMITTEE ON INVESTMENT FUNDS

Subject : Economy

Context : The International Financial Services Centres Authority (IFSCA) has constituted an Expert Committee on Investment Funds to recommend to IFSCA on the road map for the funds industry in the International Financial Service Centres (IFSCs) in India.

Concept :

The Committee has been constituted under the Chairmanship of Mr. Nilesh Shah, MD, Kotak Mahindra Asset Management Co. Ltd.
The Committee comprises of leaders from the entire Fund Management ecosystem including from areas such as technology, distribution, legal, compliance, and operations.

Terms of reference of the Expert Committee:

To recommend IFSCA on long term vision for operations of Investment Funds in IFSC.
To make recommendations with respect to structure of Investment Funds in IFSC.
To identify issues that may be critical for development of the Investment Funds industry at IFSCs including inter-regulatory issues.
Any other relevant item on building the ecosystem inter-alia on asset managers, hedge funds, PE, VC, sovereign funds, family offices, and the accompanying professional services.

11. NATIONAL DISASTER RESPONSE FORCE ACADEMY (NDRFA)

Subject : Disaster Management

Context : The Union Cabinet has approved the proposal of the Ministry of Home Affairs for creation of one post of Director in Senior Administrative Grade (SAG), at National Disaster Response Force Academy, Nagpur.

Concept :

National Disaster Response Force Academy was established in year 2018 at Nagpur by merging with it National Civil Defence College (NCDC). The main campus of the Academy is under construction, till then it is functioning from the existing campus of NCDC.
The Academy presently imparts training to National Disaster Response Force (NDRF)/ State Disaster Response Force (SDRF)/ Civil Defence volunteers and other stakeholders and is envisaged to grow into a premier training institution of international repute.
It will also provide specialized training to disaster response personnel of SAARC and other countries.
With the creation of the post of Director, NDRF Academy, the command and control of the organisation will be entrusted to a senior and experienced officer, who can steer the institution as per the intended objectives.

12. BUDDHA PURNIMA

Subject : Culture

Context : Prime Minister Narendra Modi will deliver a key-note address at the international event organised to mark Buddha Purnima Diwas. The event is being organised by the Ministry of Culture and International Buddhist Confederation.

Concept :

Vesak is the most sacred day for Buddhists around the world.
It is also known as Buddha Purnima and Buddha Day.
The day commemorates birth, enlightenment and Death (or Parinirvana) of Lord Buddha, the founder of Buddhism, all of which is said to take have taken place on the same day.
Vesak, falls on the full moon day (Purnima) of the month Vaishakha (May), hence the occasion is referred to as Buddha Purnima in India.
Recognition by United Nations (UN): The General Assembly, by its resolution in 1999, recognized internationally the Day of Vesak. It was done to acknowledge the contribution that Buddhism made to humanity.