Daily Prelims Notes 27 June 2022

June 27, 2022
Posted by: OptimizeIAS Team
Category: DPN

Daily Prelims Notes

27 June 2022

Table Of Contents

1. IN-SPACe: Lift for space-grade electronics

Context: On June 10, 2022, Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the Indian National Space Promotion and Authorisation Centre (INSPACe) headquarters in Ahmedabad.

About INSPACe:

It is constituted to provide a level playing field for private companies to use Indian space infrastructure.
This is part of reforms aimed at giving a boost to private sector participation in the entire range of space activities
The IN-SPACe will also hand-hold, promote and guide the private industries in space activities through encouraging policies and a friendly regulatory environment.
Earlier New Space India Limited (NSIL) was formed as nodal agency to produce PSLV through Indian industries under consortium route.
These reforms would allow the Indian Space Research Organsiation (ISRO) to focus more on research and development activities, new technologies, exploration missions and human spaceflight programme.

What is Space-grade electronics?

Space-grade electronics can withstand the harsh environments of outer space, be it solar radiation, cosmic radiation, or extreme weather events.
These radiation hardened electronics are designed to work with precision, high-power density, high energy efficiency, at high travelling speeds, and under extreme vibrations, noise, stresses and shocks.
The material requirements for designing and fabricating space grade electronics are different, compared with conventional consumer electronics used on Earth. Gallium nitride, silicon carbide, silicon, and silicon-germanium are among the materials of choice for space-grade electronics. These materials have higher thermal conductivity, power densities, and efficiency than conventional silicon-based semiconductor materials.

Strategic electronics

A roadmap to achieve the $300-billion mark in electronics manufacturing and exports by 2026, unveiled by the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeITY) in January 2022, lists consumer electronics, mobile phones, information technology hardware, wearable devices, electric vehicles, and LED lighting.
It also mentions ‘strategic electronics’— radars, security systems,terahertz wireless systems, micro and millimetre-wave sensors, and electromagnetic wave applications;and ‘defence electronics’ — components used in weapon systems, communication, command, control, computers, intelligence, surveillance, reconnaissance, secured networks, aerial, submarine, and terrestrial platforms, among others. The roadmap aims to grow the ‘strategic electronics’ segment from $4 billion in 2020-21 to $12 billion by 2025-26; and the ‘defense electronics’ sector to $60 billion, with $40 billion coming from products and$20 billion from sub-assemblies and components.

2. Melanin

Context: An Indian start-up is able to manufacture melanin, a polymer with multifarious uses, at a fraction of the prevailing cost.

About Melanin:

It is a broad term for a group of natural pigments found in most organisms.
Melanin, a polymer (long chain of similar molecules), originates from an amino acid called tyrosine.
Our bodies produce melanin as a defence against the sun’s ultraviolet rays, the more the melanin, the darker the eyes, hair and skin.
Melanin functions as the catalyst of all cellular functions within an organism.

Applications:

It is an organic semiconductor, useful in bioelectronics such as pacemakers and biosensors
It is useful in drug delivery
As protection from sunlight, gamma rays, it can find use as a radiation shield.
As a cathode material for batteries (rechargeable sodium and magnesium ion batteries) as it can split water in the presence of sunlight.
Some melanin-producing fungi can grow even in a radioactive zone like Chernobyl, the site of a nuclear accident.

3. The petitions challenge the decision by Deputy Speaker in Maharashtra

Context:

Shiv Sena rebels challenge Dy Speaker’s decisions in SC.
The court will take up two petitions on Monday — one by rebel Shiv Sena leader Eknath Shinde.
The petitions challenge the decision by Deputy Speaker Narhari Zirwal to recognise Ajay Choudhary as leader of the Shiv Sena Legislature Party (SSLP) in place of Shinde, and the disqualification notices served on Shinde and the 15 MLAs.

Issues with Deputy speaker’s decision:

According to the petition, the Deputy Speaker recognised Choudhary as leader of the SSLP “despite the said request being admittedly made by a minority faction” of the Legislature Party, and the action was, therefore, “illegal and unconstitutional”.
The notice issued to him on a plea to disqualify him from the Assembly too “is grossly illegal, unconstitutional and in utter disregard” of the previous rulings of the Supreme Court on this subject, according to petition.
The disqualification notice is an attempt to hastily disqualify” petitioner.He was given “merely 48 hrs.” to reply to the notice, whereas under the Rules, he is entitled to at least seven days, which can be extended further by the Speaker.
The notice is “completely mala fide and arbitrary and therefore violative of Article 14 of the Constitution and has been issued with a pre-meditated mindset to illegally disqualify” him.
According to the plea, the position of Speaker of the Maharashtra Assembly has been vacant since Nana Patole resigned in February 2021, and “thus, there is no authority who can adjudicate upon the disqualification petition under which the Impugned Notice has been issued.

Deputy Speaker of Lok Sabha

Like the Speaker, the Deputy Speaker is also elected by the legislative assembly itself from amongst its members.
He is elected after the election of the Speaker has taken place. The date of election of the Deputy Speaker is fixed by the Speaker.
Whenever the office of the Deputy Speaker falls vacant, the legislative assembly elects another member to fill the vacancy.
Like the Speaker, the Deputy Speaker remains in office usually during the life of the legislative assembly.
The Deputy Speaker performs the duties of the Speaker’s office when it is vacant. He also acts as the Speaker when the latter is absent from the sitting of the House.In both the cases, he assumes all the powers of the Speaker.
The Deputy Speaker has one special privilege, that is, whenever he is appointed as a member of a committee, he automatically becomes its chairman.

Speaker

The Speaker is elected by the legislative assembly from amongst its members (as soon as may be, after its first sitting).
Whenever the office of the Speaker falls vacant, the legislative assembly elects another member to fill the vacancy. The date of election of the Speaker is fixed by the Governor.
Usually, the Speaker remains in office during the life of the legislative assembly.
He decides the questions of disqualification of a member of the legislative assembly, arising on the ground of defection under the provisions of the Tenth Schedule. In 1992, the Supreme Court ruled that the decision of the Speaker in this regard is subject to judicial review.

TENTH SCHEDULE

The Tenth Schedule was inserted in the Constitution in 1985 by 52nd amendment.
It lays down the process by which legislators may be disqualified on grounds of defection by the Presiding Officer of a legislature based on a petition by any other member of the House.

4. Twin deficits problem

Twin deficit refers to the fiscal and current account deficit.
Fiscal deficit connotes a higher expenditure over income of the government.
- The gap between expenditure and income is bridged through borrowing from the market.
The term current account deficit is derived from current account balance.
According to the OECD, the current account balance of payments is a record of a country’s international transactions with the rest of the world.
The current account includes all the transactions (other than those in financial items) that involve economic values and takes place between resident and non-resident entities.
Current account deficit signifies that the money going out of a country through imports, investment, and services is greater than money coming into the country.
The Union Budget for FY 2022-23 estimates fiscal deficit at 6.4 percent of GDP while Current Account Deficit for FY 22 was 1.2 percent.

Cause

Cuts in excise duties on diesel and petrol lead to increase in fiscal deficit.
Increase in the fiscal deficit may cause the current account deficit to widen, compounding the effect of costlier imports, and weaken the value of the rupee thereby further aggravating external imbalances, creating the risk of a cycle of wider deficits and a weaker currency.
At the same time, expenditure is up mainly on account of higher fertilizer subsidy and outgo for food subsidy.
All these are expected to push expenditure beyond ₹39 lakh crore, (as projected in the Budget). Since the revenue will take a hit, the fiscal deficit is set to widen.
For the current account deficit, rising prices of not just crude oil but also edible oil and other commodities will push up the import bill, which means there will be a higher payout in dollars.
Also, higher fiscal deficit is also expected to fuel the current account deficit.

Impact the Indian economy

A higher fiscal deficit is expected to lower the resources available for private investment.
This could lead to higher interest rates which in turn will affect private investment and finally growth.
A higher current account deficit will lead to the weakening of the rupee which will further impact the import bill.
Though exports will get the benefit of a weaker rupee, with the rise of costly imported inputs, the benefit could be tempered.

Steps to be taken

To keep the fiscal deficit under control, the government needs to cut expenditure.
Since capital expenditure should not be cut considering the growth requirement, a cut in revenue expenditure is advisable.
The government has a limited role in tackling the surging current account deficit.
Still, it can formulate a new strategy to boost exports by exploring newer markets, ease the procedures for exporters and release their tax dues on time.
In order to lower the import bill, boosting domestic production of goods and services under the Production Linked Incentives (PLI) schemes is vital.

5. Damage from Cyclones in the Sunderbans

Scientists used satellite images to capture changes in the Sundarbans mangroves, following cyclones.
Mangroves are known to be resilient to the impact of cyclones to protect the shoreline from getting eroded. But that was true when so much pressure from human activities wasn’t there.
The data was collected from optical (Copernicus Sentinel-2 satellite mission), radar (Copernicus Sentinel-1 satellite mission), and LiDAR (Global Ecosystem Dynamics Investigation) platforms.
Frequent cyclone damage slows the recovery of mangroves and changes the forest composition in comparison to other regions that didn’t witness many cyclones.
Of the three recent cyclones (Bulbul, Fani and Amphan), cyclone Amphan caused the most damage to the Sundarbans mangroves with the highest mangrove loss along shorelines that were eroding over the past 35 years.
The Sundarbans mangrove ecosystem in India is classified as endangered in the IUCN’s Red List of Ecosystems framework.
Historical threats came from clearing mangroves dating back to the 1800s and declining fish populations.
Ongoing threats like climate change and reduced freshwater supply are heaping pressure on this ecosystem.

Why mangroves are important?

Mangroves are incredibly productive coastal ecosystems found in the tropics and subtropics. These dense green forests are known for their bizarre-looking roots that poke up into the air from shallow water. Among the meshed webs of roots are fish nurseries, enabling humans to make a living from the marine life in and around the mangroves.
Mangroves also play another important role for humans, protecting communities from major storms. Climate change is more than rising temperatures, and the increased frequency and intensity of cyclones, hurricanes and typhoons is apparent.
Mangrove roots can break up the force of a storm surge, soaking up some of its energy and protecting people living on coasts from cyclone damage. Yet it is a challenge to effectively value and protect individual mangrove ecosystems. And we just don’t have the people or funds to deliver detailed studies for even a fraction of the villages and towns sheltered by mangroves.
Mangrove forests cover just 0.5% of the world’s coasts but account for an estimated 10-15% of coastal carbon capture. As we try to stop CO₂ levels rising and put the brakes on climate change, protecting mangroves for their blue carbon value is key.
Mangrove protection from cyclones also reduces longer term deterioration of low-lying inland areas with rising sea levels. Storm surges and flooding from cyclones, which deposit salts, are greater without mangrove protection. In Bangladesh, for example, rice agriculture is increasingly impossible as fields are flooded with seawater.
One way communities are adapting is to shift production to shrimp farms. Booming shrimp aquaculture, however, ironically requires further mangrove clearance to create space – as seen graphically in Sri Lanka. Loss of mangrove protection from cyclones then worsens coastal deterioration.

Statistics

Data analysis showed that as much as 73.5 percent of the entire Sundarban mangroves witnessed a decline in the NDVI (normalized difference vegetation index) values (plant health) after Amphan – likely due to annual variability and not cyclone-related damage.
However, about 3.45 sq. km. of the Sundarban mangrove forest (roughly 0.05 percent) had a considerably lower NDVI value almost a year after Amphan, which likely reflects the damage from the cyclone.
Shorter mangrove stands were more widely affected, whereas the range of extreme damage decreased for taller mangrove trees.
This difference in mangrove damage is likely because Amphan’s eye and track were closer to the western Sundarbans with shorter trees than the eastern side with relatively taller trees.
the southern and western regions of the Sundarbans in India and Bangladesh showed the most damage to the mangrove cover following the cyclone.
These most affected regions translate into the eastern part of Indian Sundarbans.

6. How will the Roe rollback impact women?

Context: The U.S. Supreme Court on Friday ended the constitutional right to abortion, overturning the landmark 1973 Roe v. Wade decision that had enshrined a woman’s right to her body.

What are the implications of the U.S. top court overturning a 1973 judgement on the right to abortion?

Abortion bans severely impact people of marginalised groups who already struggle to access health care, including abortion
The UN sexual and reproductive health agency (UNFPA) and the World Health Organization (WHO) noted that a staggering 45% of all abortions around the world are unsafe, making the procedure a leading cause of maternal death
The UNFPA said that more unsafe abortions will occur around the world if access becomes more restricted.
Women who seek an abortion will have to travel to states where it is legal, making it an expensive proposition, not available to all.

Indian laws on abortions

In the 1960s, in the wake of a high number of induced abortions taking place, the Union government ordered the constitution of the Shantilal Shah Committee to deliberate on the legalisation of abortion in the country

In order to reduce maternal mortality owing to unsafe abortions, the Medical Termination of Pregnancy (MTP) Act was brought into force in 1971

The Medical Termination of Pregnancy (MTP) Act, 1971:

The idea of terminating a pregnancy cannot originate by choice and is purely circumstantial. Under the law (section 3 of the MTP Act 1971), the doctor can perform an abortion in the following situations:
If the pregnancy would be harmful to the life of the patient or affects her physical or mental health. The doctor will need to consider the circumstances of the patient to figure out if the pregnancy will harm her mental health, on a case to case basis.
If there is a good chance that the child would suffer from physical or mental abnormalities which would leave him or her seriously handicapped.
If pregnancy occurred as a result of a failure of contraception (but this is only applicable to married women).
If pregnancy is a result of sexual assault or rape

The latest amendment to the MTP Act was made in 2021.

Medical Termination of Pregnancy (Amendment) Act, 2021

It increased the upper limit of the gestation period to which a woman can seek a medical abortion to 24 weeks from 20 weeks permitted in the 1971 Act. But it can only be exercised in species cases.
From 20 weeks up to 24 weeks, the opinion of two registered medical practitioners is required.
In the previous Act, the opinion of one registered doctor was required to access a medical abortion up to 12 weeks of pregnancy, while two doctors were required to endorse the abortion up to 20 weeks.
Under the 2021 Act, medical termination of pregnancy is permitted if it is backed by medical opinion and is being sought for at least one of the following reasons:

If the continuation of pregnancy would involve a risk to the life of the pregnant woman
If its continuation would result in grave injury to the woman’s physical or mental health
In the case of a substantial risk that if the child was born, it would suffer from serious physical or mental abnormality.

The pregnancy can be terminated upto 24 weeks of gestational age after the opinion of two registered medical practitioners under these conditions

If the woman is either a survivor of sexual assault or rape or incest
If she is a minor
If her marital status has changed during the ongoing pregnancy (i.e. either widowhood or divorce)
If she has major physical disabilities or is mentally ill
On the grounds of foetal malformation incompatible with life or if the child is born, it would be seriously handicapped
If the woman is in humanitarian settings or disaster, or emergency situations as declared by the government

Besides, if the pregnancy has to be terminated beyond the 24-week gestational age, it can only be done on the grounds of foetal abnormalities if a four-member Medical Board, as set up in each State under the Act, gives permission to do so
Unmarried women can also access abortion under the above-mentioned conditions, because it does not mention the requirement of spousal consent
If the woman is a minor, however, the consent of a guardian is required

Judicial Interventions in cases of abortions:

In 2017, Right to Privacy judgement in the Justice K.S. Puttaswamy v. Union of India and others, the Supreme Court had held that the decision by a pregnant person on whether to continue a pregnancy or not is part of such a person’s right to privacy as well and, therefore, the right to life and personal liberty under Article 21 of the Constitution

In February this year, the Calcutta High Court allowed a 37-year-old woman, who was 34 weeks into her pregnancy, to get a medical abortion as the foetus was diagnosed with an incurable spinal condition. This judgement allowed abortion for the furthest gestational in the country so far.

UNFPA:

It is formally named the United Nations Population Fund. The organization was created in 1969.
It is the United Nations sexual and reproductive health agency
It calls for the realization of reproductive rights for all and supports access to a wide range of sexual and reproductive health services – including voluntary family planning, maternal health care and comprehensive sexuality education

7. Forensic probe to be made mandatory for offences attracting 6 yrs or more in jail

Context: The government is working towards making forensic investigation mandatory in all cases of offences punishable with imprisonment for more than 6 years

Concept:

The government is planning to make forensic investigation compulsory in all cases where the offence attracts a punishment of six years or more
Criminals in view of the use of technology by them, the need for investigating agencies to be one step ahead of them becomes necessary
The central government in collaboration with the state governments is working on a three-pronged approach to reforms in Police Investigation, Prosecution and Forensics
The government called for the establishment of an independent Directorate of Prosecution and an independent Directorate of Forensic Science in each State/UT through proposed comprehensive amendments to the Indian Penal Code, Criminal Procedure Code and the Indian Evidence Act
This is the right time to focus on technology-based and evidence-based investigation to achieve the targeted conviction rate, which he pegged at 90%
The central government is providing funds to strengthen the forensic infrastructure across the country, including setting up of Mobile Forensic Science Units in each district, and these units will serve at least three blocks in a district
The government keen on needs to steps are also being taken to standardize forensic equipment, instrument calibration, Standard Operating Procedures (SOP) in all FSLs in the country for high quality forensic results

Parliamentary Consultative Committee

These committees are constituted by the Ministry of Parliamentary Affairs.
These are normally constituted after the new Lok Sabha is constituted.
This implies that these committees stand dissolved upon dissolution of every Lok Sabha and thus, are reconstituted upon constitution of each Lok Sabha.

Composition

The guidelines regarding the composition, functions and procedures of these committees are formulated by the Ministry of Parliamentary Affairs.
It also makes arrangements for holding their meetings both during the session and the intersession period of Parliament.
These consist of members of both the Houses of Parliament.
However, the membership of these committees is voluntary and is left to the choice of the members and the leaders of their parties.
The maximum membership of a committee is 30 and the minimum is

Functions

These committees are attached to various ministries/departments of the Central Government.

The Minister/Minister of State in charge of the Ministry concerned acts as the chairman of the consultative committee of that ministry.

These provide a forum for informal discussions between the ministers and the members of Parliament on policies and programmes of the government and the manner of their implementation.

The Consultative Committees are not Parliamentary Committees.

8. Cancer-busting virus

Viruses are simple in structure: a small amount of genetic material wrapped in proteins and lipids.
Just 20-200 nanometres in size, they can only be detected with an electron microscope.
Yet, their ability to hijack living cells and exploit them for multiplication is what makes viruses unique.
They often destroy their host cells in the process, and that’s when animals and humans get sick.
Scientists have genetically modified the herpes simplex virus type 1 in such a way that it can be used to fight tumor cells.

Herpes Virus

The herpes virus is known for the painful, unsightly blisters it causes on the lips.
It can also induce encephalitis, especially in those with a weakened immune system.
The genetic material of the herpes virus consists of DNA, not RNA as in the case of the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus.

Technology used

The core technologies needed to genetically modify herpes viruses already exist especially as a result of the development of the Covid Vaccine.
The AstraZeneca vaccine is based on adenoviruses, which cause colds in chimpanzees but are harmless to humans.
The modified viruses pass the information required to develop vaccine antigens into human cells, at which point SARS-CoV-2-specific antibodies are formed.
This aspect of genetically modifying the virus is used to manipulate the herpes viruses to incorporate a target control.
This ensures that our viruses enter cancerous cells when we inject them directly into the tumor, rather than healthy ones.
They then multiply and cause the cells to burst.
This process releases tumor markers that enable the body’s own immune system to fight cancer.
In addition, the immune response is activated with specific proteins that the viruses release when they reproduce.
The immune system then recognises the tumor cells and eliminates them.
The herpes simplex virus has another decisive advantage over other viruses —one can press an “emergency stop button” using a tried and tested antiviral drug.