Daily Prelims Notes 27 February 2021

February 27, 2021
Posted by: OptimizeIAS Team
Category: DPN

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Daily Prelims Notes

27 February 2021

By

Santosh Sir

All 6 Prelims qualified

4 CSE Mains qualified

If I can do it, you can too

Table Of Contents

1. Model Code of Conduct

Subject: Polity

Context: The Election Commission of India on Friday announced the schedule for Assembly elections in four poll-bound states and one Union Territory (Puducherry) starting from March 27. And due to covid-19 situation voting hour is increased by 1 hour.

Concept:

The Model Code of Conduct is enforced from the date of announcement of election schedule by the Election Commission and is operational till the process of elections are completed.
The MCC is a set of guidelines issued by the Election Commission (EC) to regulate political parties and candidates prior to elections. Basically, the code spells out the do’s and don’ts for elections.
This is in keeping with Article 324 of the Constitution, which mandates EC to conduct free and fair elections to the Parliament and State Legislatures.
It is not statutory but Political Parties, Candidates and Polling Agents are expected to observe the norms, on matters ranging from the content of election manifestos, speeches and processions, to general conduct etc.
The code comes into force on the announcement of the poll schedule and remains operational till the process is concluded.

Legal Enforcement

Though MCC does not have any statutory backing, but the Code has come to acquire teeth in the past decade because of its strict enforcement by the EC.
Certain provisions of the MCC may be enforced through invoking corresponding provisions in other statutes such as the Indian Penal Code, 1860, Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973, and Representation of the People Act, 1951.
In 2013, the Standing Committee on Personnel, Public Grievances, Law and Justice, recommended making the model code of conduct legally binding. It recommended that the MCC be made a part of the Representation of the People Act, 1951.
The EC argues against making it legally binding. According to it, elections must be completed within a relatively short time or close to 45 days, and judicial proceedings typically take longer, therefore it is not feasible to make it enforceable by law.

2. Vellore mutiny

Subject: Modern Indian History

Context: Descendants of Tipu Sultan who himself never had any links to the city find themselves in Calcutta and Vellore mutiny in 1806 is given reason for their ancestor migrating here.

Concept:

It erupted on 10th July 1806 in Vellore, present-day Tamil Nadu.
It is one of the first major mutiny by the Indian sepoys in the East India Company.
It killed 14 British officers and 115 Englishmen of the 69th Regiment and ended on the same day.
Led by Tipu Sultan’s son Hyder Fateh they raised the flag of the Mysore Sultanate over the fort.
From Arcot, British troops arrived led by Sir Rollo Gillespie to quell the rebellion.
All three Madras regiments were involved and was disbanded after mutiny.

Causes:

Disregarding the religious sensitivities of the Hindu and Muslim Indian sepoys. Ex- prohibiting soldiers from wearing religious marks on their foreheads and also to trim their moustaches and shave off their beards
Resentment felt towards changes in the sepoy dress code: Wearing of new round hats instead of the traditional headgear led to believe that attempt was being made for conversion to Christianity.
Punishment to soldiers who protested these orders.

3. Haemorrhagic Septicemia

Subject: Science and Tech

Context: 7 elephants were dead in Odisha in the Karlapat Wildlife Sanctuary in Kalahandi with reports pointing to a disease, Haemorrhagic Septicemia.

Concept:

It is caused by a bacterium called pasteurellamultocida.
The bacteria are commonly found in the respiratory tract of herbivores, especially in cattle from which elephant has supposedly got the disease.
It rapidly multiply and move from the respiratory tract to the bloodstream only when the animal’s body faces stress (particularly when they are pregnant), has low immunity or is unhealthy.
It causes diarrhoea and often haemorrhagic septicemia, which can be fatal.
It is possibly through contamination of the soil from faecal droppings or contamination of the water bodies, than direct transfer among elephants.

4. RBI for retaining inflation target band

Context: According to the Reserve Bank of India’s Report on Currency and Finance (RCF) for 2020-21 maintaining the inflation target at 4 per cent into the medium-term is appropriate. Threshold Inflation above which growth is unambiguously impaired ranges 5-6 per cent in India, indicating that an inflation rate of 6 per cent is the appropriate upper tolerance limit for the inflation target

Monetary Policy

Monetary policy is the macroeconomic policy laid down by the Reserve Bank of India.
It involves the management of money supply and interest rates. The central bank tweaks interest rates to achieve macroeconomic objectives such as liquidity, consumption and inflation.
Legal framework: The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) is vested with the responsibility of conducting monetary policy, explicitly mandated under the Reserve Bank of India Act, 1934.

Inflation Targeting by RBI:

The primary objective of monetary policy is to maintain price stability while keeping in mind the objective of growth. Price stability is a necessary precondition to sustainable growth.
Under Section 45ZA of the RBI Act1934, the Centre, in consultation with the central bank, fixed the inflation target/Flexible Inflation Target(FIT) for the period between August 5, 2016 and March 31,2021, at 4 per cent, with upper tolerance level of 6 percent and lower tolerance level of 2per cent.
In May 2016, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Act, 1934 was amended to provide a statutory basis for the implementation of the flexible inflation targeting framework.
The amended RBI Act also provides for the inflation target to be set by the Government of India, in consultation with the Reserve Bank, once in every five years.
Accordingly, the Central Government has notified 4 percent (+/- 2%) Consumer Price Index (CPI) inflation as the target for the period from August 5, 2016 to March 31, 2021.

5. India’s core industries output sees marginal 0.1% rise in January

Context:

The core sector index, which measures output of eight infrastructure industries, rose marginally by 0.1 per cent in January

Concept:

The production of eight core sectors had recorded a growth of 0.7 per cent in November 2019, data released by the commerce and industry ministry showed.
Barring coal, fertilizer and electricity, all sectors — crude oil, natural gas, refinery products, steel and cement — recorded negative growth in November 2020.

Core Industries

Core industry can be defined as the main industry which has a multiplier effect on the economy.
In most countries, there is particular industry that seems to be backbone of all other industries and it qualifies to be the core industry.
The Eight Core Industries comprise 40.27% of the weight of items included in the Index of Industrial Production (IIP).
The eight Core Industries in decreasing order of their weightage: Refinery Products> Electricity> Steel> Coal> Crude Oil> Natural Gas> Cement> Fertilizers.
Weightage for Industries (In percentage)

Petroleum & Refinery production – 28.04

Electricity generation – 19.85

Steel production – 17.92

Coal production – 10.33

Crude Oil production – 8.98

Natural Gas production – 6.88

Cement production – 5.37

Fertilizers production – 2.63.

Additional Information

Index of Industrial Production

The Index of Industrial Production (IIP) is an index which details out the growth of various sectors in an economy such as mineral mining, electricity, manufacturing, etc.
It is compiled and published monthly by the Central Statistical Organisation (CSO), Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation six weeks after the reference month ends, i.e. a lag of six weeks.
The Base Year of the Index of Eight Core Industries has been revised from the year 2004-05 to 2011-12 from April, 2017.

6. India exits recession

Context:

India exited ‘technical recession’ with GDP growth estimated at 0.4 per cent in the third (October-December) quarter of 2020-21.

Technical Recession:

It is often considered a recession to be in progress when real GDP has declined for at least two consecutive quarters.
That is how real quarterly GDP has come to be accepted as a measure of economic activity and a “benchmark” for ascertaining a “technical recession”

7. CARACAL

Context:

The National Board for Wildlife and Union Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change last month included the caracal, a medium-sized wildcat found in parts of Rajasthan and Gujarat, in the list of critically endangered species

Concept:

The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) lists caracals as a species of ‘least concern’, mainly due to their large numbers in Africa. But in India they are ‘endangered’.
Now it is classified as ‘Critically Endangered’ in India.
Since 2001, the Caracal’s presence has been only reported the three states, including Rajasthan, Gujarat and Madhya Pradesh

About Caracal

Besides India, the caracal is found in several dozen countries across Africa, the Middle East, Central and South Asia. While it flourishes in parts of Africa, its numbers in Asia are declining.
The caracal wild cat (Caracal caracal) is a rare species in India.
The wildcat has long legs, a short face, long canine teeth, and distinctive ears — long and pointy, with tufts of black hair at their tips. The iconic ears are what give the animal its name — caracal comes from the Turkish karakulak, meaning ‘black ears’. In India, it is called siya gosh, a Persian name that translates as ‘black Ear’. A Sanskrit fable exists about a small wild cat named deergha-karn or ‘long-eared’.
In Kutch dialect of Gujarat Caracals are locally referred to as Hornotro which means killer of a Blackbuck whereas in Rajasthan it is known as Junglee Bilaoor Wildcat.
They are mostly found in the tropical dry deciduous and tropical thorn and shrub forests of Central and Western India.
The caracal has historically lived in 13 Indian states, in nine out of the 26 biotic provinces. In the period before Independence, the animal roamed an estimated area of 7.9 lakh sq km; between then and 2000, however, this habitat shrunk by almost a half. After 2001, sightings have been reported from only three states.
“From 2001 to 2020, the reported extent of occurrence further decreased by 95.95%, with current presence restricted to 16,709 sq km, less than 5% of the caracal’s reported extent of occurrence in the 1948-2000 period,” according to Khandal et al.
The caracal could be earlier found in arid and semi-arid scrub forest and ravines in Rajasthan, Delhi, Haryana, Punjab, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Odisha, Jharkhand, and Chhattisgarh. Today, its presence is restricted to Rajasthan, Kutch, and parts of MP.
Caracals had appeared in Indian paintings dating back to seventeenth century.
The caracal has traditionally been valued for its litheness and extraordinary ability to catch birds in flight; it was a favourite coursing or hunting animal in medieval India.
Their survival in India is endangered primary reasons being the rapid loss of scrub and thorn habitat and unchecked human activates in the caracals habitat

How listing as critically endangered will help?

The listing of the caracal as critically endangered is expected to bring central funding to conservation efforts. It is likely to ensure that the animal is studied comprehensively for the first time, including its home range, population, prey, etc.

Interesting facts:

The caracal has traditionally been valued for its litheness and extraordinary ability to catch birds in flight; it was a favourite coursing or hunting animal in medieval India.
Firuz Shah Tughlaq (1351-88) had siyah-goshdarkhana, stables that housed large numbers of coursing caracal. It finds mention in AbulFazl’sAkbarnama, as a hunting animal in the time of Akbar (1556-1605). Descriptions and illustrations of the caracal can be found in medieval texts such as the Anvar-i-Suhayli, Tutinama, Khamsa-e-Nizami, and Shahnameh.
The caracal’s use as a coursing animal is believed to have taken it far beyond its natural range to places like Ladakh in the north to Bengal in the east. The East India Company’s Robert Clive is said to have been presented with a caracal after he defeated Siraj-ud-daullah in the Battle of Plassey (1757).

8. Khelo India

Context:

The second edition of Khelo India Winter Games saw a grand launch on Friday in Gulmarg, Jammu & Kashmir. Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who inaugurated the sports meet virtually, delivered the inaugural address of the Games and said that this is a major step towards making Jammu and Kashmir a major hub with India’s effective presence in the Winter Games.

Concept:

One KISCE will be identified in each state and union territory, with an effort to create a robust sporting ecosystemin the entire country.
In first phase, ministry has identified state-owned sports facilities in eight states which will be upgraded into

Khelo India State Centre of Excellence (KISCE).

In order to upgrade the existing centre to the KISCE, the central government will extend a ‘Viability Gap Funding’ in sports science and technology supportfor sports disciplines practiced at the centre and also bridge the gaps in requirement of sports equipment, expert coaches and high performance managers.
The state and UT will run the centre and build capacity to turn it into the world-class sporting facility,and will be responsible for all aspects of management of the centre including, boarding, lodging and maintenance, while funds for critical gaps such as expert coaches, support staff, equipment, infrastructure will be extended through the Khelo India Scheme.

9. NON-ALCOHOLIC FATTY LIVER DISEASE

Context:

India has become the first country to act on non-alcoholic fatty liver disease

The Union Health Ministry has operationalized guidelines to integrate Non-Alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease (NAFLD) into the National Programme for Prevention and Control of Cancer, Diabetes, Cardiovascular Diseases and Stroke (NPCDCS), a step towards addressing the country’s non- communicable diseases (NCDs)

Concept:

India has become the first country to do so and it will help in controlling the epidemic of NAFLD/Non Alcoholic SteatoHepatitis (NASH). This will bring in a sense of urgency in addressing the silent epidemic of NAFLD and NASH in India
NAFLD, though a non-communicable disease (NCD), is an independent predictor of future risk of cardiovascular disease, Type 2 diabetes and other metabolic syndromes such as hypertension, abdominal obesity, dyslipidaemia, glucose intolerance. The operational guidelines help align existing NCD programme strategies to achieve the objectives of prevention and control of NAFLD. We see a greater integration and convergence in the approaches as the focus will be on prevention, early diagnosis and management of NAFLD with lifestyle changes and medication
AFLD is a condition where the liver has fat accumulation and could lead to NASH a progressive disease of the liver. This could progress to cirrhosis and liver failure. It is a large unmet medical need. There is currently no approved drug for the treatment of NASH anywhere in the world. India’s NASH prevalence is estimated at 25 per cent of the population and ranks as a major cause of cirrhosis, hepatitis C and alcoholic liver disease.
Liver transplant is the only option for managing advanced cirrhosis with liver failure. Rising cases of obesity due to sedentary lifestyle is an equally alarming issue. About 3-15 per cent of the obese patients with NASH progress to cirrhosis and about 4-27 per cent of NASH with cirrhosis patients transform to HCC (Hepatocellular Carcinoma). An alarming rise in metabolic diseases, in the developing and developed world, is expected to result in NAFLD/NASH-HCC, posing a serious health threat in future.

PREVENTION

Preventive health interventions are important as they help address the symptoms early on. Preventive tests not only help in timely action, but can also reduce the disease burden for families. Lifestyle modification, including significant weight loss through hypocaloric diet and exercise, is considered as a first-line intervention for the treatment of NAFLD. Besides the focus on yoga and wellness sessions at the community level, the focus of ‘Eat Right India’ and ‘Fit India Movement’, can also address NAFLD in its initial stages

National Programme for Prevention and Control of Cancer, Diabetes, Cardiovascular Diseases and Stroke (NPCDCS) was launched in 2010 in 100 districts across 21 States, in order to prevent and control the major NCDs.
The main focus of the programme is on health promotion, early diagnosis, management and referral of cases, besides strengthening the infrastructure and capacity building.

Main strategies of the programme:

Health promotion through behavior change with involvement of community, civil society, community-based organizations, media etc.
Outreach Camps are envisaged for opportunistic screening at all levels in the health care delivery system from sub-centre and above for early detection of diabetes, hypertension and common cancers.
Management of chronic Non-Communicable diseases, especially Cancer, Diabetes, CVDs and Stroke through early diagnosis, treatment and follow up through setting up of NCD clinics.
Build capacity at various levels of health care for prevention, early diagnosis, treatment, IEC/BCC, operational research and rehabilitation.
Provide support for diagnosis and cost-effective treatment at primary, secondary and tertiary levels of health care.
Provide support for development of database of NCDs through a robust Surveillance System and to monitor NCD morbidity, mortality and risk factors.

Funding:

The funds are being provided to States under NCD Flexi-Pool through State PIPs of respective States/UTs, with the Centre to State share in ratio of 60:40 (except for North-Eastern and Hilly States, where the share is 90:10).

NCDs:

No communicable diseases (NCDs), also known as chronic diseases, tend to be of long duration and are the result of a combination of genetic, physiological, environmental and behaviours factors.
The main types of NCDs are cardiovascular diseases (like heart attacks and stroke), cancers, chronic respiratory diseases (such as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and asthma) and diabetes.

Eat Right Movement:

FSSAI has embarked on a large-scale effort to transform the country’s food systemin order to ensure safe, healthy and sustainable food for all Indians through the ‘Eat Right India’ movement.
The tagline ‘Behtar Jeevan’, thus, forms the foundation of this movement.
Eat Right India adopts a judicious mix of regulatory, capacity building, collaborative and empowerment approaches to ensure that our food is good both for the people and the planet.
Further, it builds on the collective action of all stakeholders– the government, food businesses, civil society organizations, experts and professionals, development agencies and citizens at large.
Eat Right India adopts an integrative or ‘whole of the government’ approach since the movement brings together food-related mandates of the agriculture, health, environment and other ministries.
Furthermore, since foodborne illnesses and various diet-related diseases cut across all age groups and all sections of the society it also adopts a ‘whole of society’ approach, bringing all stakeholders together on a common platform.
Eat Right India is aligned to the National Health Policy 2017 with its focus on preventive and promotive healthcare and flagship programmes like Ayushman Bharat, POSHAN Abhiyaan, Anemia Mukt Bharat and Swacch Bharat Mission.