Daily Prelims Notes 26 September 2020

September 26, 2020
Posted by: OptimizeIAS Team
Category: DPN

Table Of Contents

Subject: History

Context:

President has addressed the valedictory function of Dr Vikram Sarabhai Birth Centenary Celebrations, being organized by the Department of Space and Department of Atomic Energy.

Concept:

Based on his persuasion, the Indian government agreed to set up the Indian National Committee for Space Research (INCOSPAR)in 1962. Sarabhai was the first chairman of the committee.
The INCOSPAR was restructured and renamed as Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) in 1969.
Sarabhai founded the Physical Research Laboratory in Ahmedabad in the year 1947. The laboratory started its operation from RETREAT, Sarabhai’s residence in Ahmedabad. Its first topic of research was cosmic rays.
He also set up India’s first rocket launch site in Thumba, a small village near the Thiruvananthapuram airport in Kerala.
Vikram Sarabhai was also responsible for bringing cable television to India. His constant contact with NASA paved a way for the establishment of Satellite Instructional Television Experiment (SITE) in 1975.
Sarabhai was the mastermind behind building India’s first satellite, Aryabhata.
He was one of the founding members of the Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad (IIMA).
Vikram Sarabhai received the Padma Bhushanin 1966 for his contribution to India’s progress. He was also awarded the Padma Vibhushan in 1972, posthumously.

2. National medical commission

Subject: Polity

Context:

Historic reform in the field of medical education has been effected by the Union Government with the constitution of the National Medical Commission (NMC), along with four Autonomous Boards.

Concept:

NMC will subsume the Medical Council of Indiaand will regulate medical education and practice in India.
Functions of the NMC include: (i) laying down policies for regulating medical institutions and medical professionals, (ii) assessing the requirements of human resources and infrastructure in healthcare, (iii) ensuring compliance by the State Medical Councils with the regulations made under the Bill, and (iv) framing guidelines for determination of fee for up to 50% of the seats in the private medical institutions.
The NMC will consist of 25 members, including: (i) Director Generals of the Directorate General of Health Services and the Indian Council of Medical Research, (ii) Director of any of the AIIMS, (iii) five members (part-time) to be elected by the registered medical practitioners, and (iv) six members appointed on rotational basis from amongst the nominees of the states in the Medical Advisory Council.
Four autonomous boards were set up under the supervision of the NMC. Each board will consist of a President and four members (of which two members will be part-time), appointed by the central government (on the recommendation of a search committee).
These bodies are:
- The Under-Graduate Medical Education Board (UGMEB) and the Post-Graduate Medical Education Board (PGMEB): These two bodies will be responsible for formulating standards, curriculum, guidelines for medical education, and granting recognition to medical qualifications at the under-graduate and post-graduate levels respectively.
- The Medical Assessment and Rating Board: The Board will have the power to levy monetary penalties on institutions which fail to maintain the minimum standards as laid down by the UGMEB and the PGMEB. It will also grant permissions for establishing new medical colleges, starting postgraduate courses, and increasing the number of seats in a medical college.
- The Ethics and Medical Registration Board: This Board will maintain a National Register of all the licensed medical practitioners in the country, and also regulate professional and medical conduct. Only those included in the Register will be allowed to practice as doctors. The Board will also maintain a register of all licensed community health providers in the country.

3. Cauvery Water Management Authority’s (CWMA)

Subject: Polity/Geography

Context:

The Cauvery Water Management Authority’s (CWMA) meeting saw a sharp exchange of words between Karnataka and Tamil Nadu over the Mekedatu dam project.

Concept:

Central Government, in exercise of the powers conferred by section 4 of the Inter-State River Water Disputes Act, 1956 had constituted the Cauvery Water Disputes Tribunal in 1990 to adjudicate upon the water dispute regarding the Inter-State river Cauvery and the river valley thereof among the States of Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Union territory of Puducherry;
The Tribunal investigated the matters referred to it and forwarded to the Central Government a report under sub-section (2) of section 5 of the Act on 2007. The party States filed special leave petitions in the Supreme Court against the said report.
Supreme Court converted the said special leave petitions into Civil Appeals. Supreme Court pronounced its judgment and directed the Central Government to frame a scheme under section 6A of the Act to implement the Tribunal Award as modified
In exercise of the powers conferred by section 6A of the said Act, the Central Government notified the Cauvery Water Management Scheme on 2018, inter alia, constituting the ‘Cauvery Water Management Authority’ and the ‘Cauvery Water Regulation Committee’
The Authority shall exercise such power and shall discharge such duty to do any or all things necessary, sufficient and expedient for securing compliance and implementation of the Award of the Tribunal as modified by the Hon’ble Supreme Court: (i) storage, apportionment, regulation and control of Cauvery waters; (ii) supervision of operation of reservoirs and with regulation of water releases therefrom with the assistance of Regulation Committee; (iii) regulated release by Karnataka, at the inter-State contact point presently identified as Billigundulu gauge and discharge station, located on the common border of Karnataka and Tamil Nadu.

4. Lion-tailed macaque

Subject: Environment

Context:

Lion-tailed macaque (Macacasilenus), a primate endemic to Western Ghats continues to be in the ‘endangered’ category in the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species.

Concept:

The latest conservation status of the primate was updated in the IUCN database recently based on technical reports over the years from a group of researchers
As per the technical report, the total wild population of the lion-tailed macaque (LTM) could be about 4,000 individuals consisting of less than 2,500 mature individuals, made up of 47 isolated sub-populations in seven different locations in the three States.
The population is expected to suffer an estimated decline of over 20% in the next 25 years due to varied reasons including hunting, roadkills and habitat loss, it said.
Though the conservation status of the LTM had improved from ‘endangered’ in the first assessment in 1990 to ‘vulnerable’ in 1994, its status has remained endangered since 1996.

Endangered species:

Species are at a very high risk of extinction as a result of rapid population declines of 50 to more than 70% over the previous 10 years (or three generations), a current population size of fewer than 250 individuals, or other factors

5. Meenakshi Sundareswarar temple in Madurai

Subject: Arts and culture

Context:

Meenakshi Sundareswarar Temple may have been reconstructed during early 13th century according to the inscriptions found at the temple, said archaeological expert

Concept:

The present structure of MeenakshiSundareswarar Temple in Madurai might have been reconstructed during the rule of JatavarmanKulasekara Pandya (1190-1216 common era).
This structure was damaged due to unknown reasons and was again renovated in the 13th century during the period of MaravarmanSundarapandyan II
Temple might have been a simple structure, prior to the reconstruction during the JatavarmanKulasekara Pandya period. The temple has been renovated many times and extended with mandapams and halls during the Nayak rule.
Another important finding is that in all the 13th century inscriptions belonging to Pandya period, the name of the presiding god is mentioned as ‘ThiruAlavayUdaiyaNayanar’ and goddess was mentioned as ‘ThirukkamakkottamUdaiyaAludaiyaNacchiyar’.
It was during the Nayak period when the name ‘Chokkanatha’ for the presiding god was mentioned for the first time. The name of the goddess as ‘Meenakshi’ was mentioned on the engravings of a ‘pavaivilaku’ dated to 1752 CE.
The present name of the goddess- ‘MeenakshiSundareswarar’ was first mentioned on the engravings on a Tiruvachi lamp stand dated to 1898 CE

6. AIIB

Subject:IR

Context:

Out of the $20 billion in loans issued by the Beijing-based Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB), about $6 billion has gone to India.

Concept:

The Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) is a multilateral development bank with a mission to improve social and economic outcomes in Asia.
Headquartered in Beijing, it began operations in January 2016 and have now grown to 102 approved members worldwide.
It invests in sustainable infrastructure and other productive sectors in Asia and beyond.
Membership in AIIB shall be open to members of the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development or the Asian Development Bank.
China is the largest contributor to the Bank, contributing USD 50 billion, half of the initial subscribed capital.
India is the second-largest shareholder, contributing USD 8.4 billion.

7. Retrospective Taxation

Subject:Economy

Context:

The Vodafone Group has won a long pending arbitration case against the Indian tax department’s demand of Rs 20,000 crore on a retrospective basis at the Permanent Court of Arbitration in Hague

Concept:

Retrospective taxation allows a country to pass a rule on taxing certain products, items or services and deals and charge companies from a time behind the date on which the law is passed.
Countries use this route to correct any anomalies in their taxation policies that have, in the past, allowed companies to take advantage of such loopholes.
While governments often use a retrospective amendment to taxation laws to “clarify” existing laws, it ends up hurting companies that had knowingly or unknowingly interpreted the tax rules differently.

8. POEM, Round tripping

Subject: Economy

Context:

Round tripping of funds is made easier by digital transactions. India can stem tax erosion by using AI-driven tools

Concept:

Round tripping

Money leaves the country through various channels such as inflated invoices, payments to shell companies overseas, the hawala route and so on. After cooling its heels overseas for a while, this money returns in a freshly laundered form; thus completing a round-trip.
How does the money return to India? It could be invested in offshore funds that in turn invest in Indian assets. The Global Depository Receipts (GDR) and Participatory Notes (P-Notes) are some of the other routes that have been used in the past.

POEM:

Context:

Round tripping of funds have become easier by digital transactions. The RBI is fighting a battle against problems created by round tripping of funds, involving money laundering by individuals with investments in overseas private equity venture capital or alternative investment funds coming back to India.

Concept:

Round Tripping:

In the context of black money, money leaves the country through various channels such as inflated invoices, payments to shell companies overseas, the hawala route and so on. After cooling its heels overseas for a while, this money returns in a freshly laundered form; thus completing a round-trip.

Externalisation

It is a strategy of incorporating holding companies in offshore jurisdictions to enjoy certain benefits which the home country does not offer.
The strategy is employed by companies to move their corporate structures away from the Indian tax and regulatory regimes.

POEM:

To curb (only to some extent) the loss to the exchequer by the externalization of Indian businesses, the new concept of ‘place of effective management’ has been introduced.

To determine the residential status of foreign companies, the Finance Act 2015 introduced the concept of place of effective management (POEM).

POEM is defined as the place where the key management and commercial decisions that are necessary for the conduct of business of an entity as a whole are, in substance made. Under POEM rules, overseas subsidiaries are treated as domestic entities for tax purposes if they are controlled and managed from India.