Daily Prelims Notes 28 December 2022

Daily Prelims Notes

28 December 2022

Table Of Contents

1. Demand for removal of Manu’s statue
2. Indian History Congress
3. Red seaweed promises a green alternative to plastic
4. Water-biodiesel cocktail cuts greenhouse gas emissions
5. Fusion energy may not be too far away
6. Government charts to boost gaming, animation and VFX sector
7. Keeping up with viruses: Discoveries in 2022 to keep an eye on
8. A retelling of the Indian migrant worker’s plight
9. What is the CAG audit report on Assam’s NRC?
10. Indian National Congress
11. Parliamentary panel pulls up govt. for failure to create Tourism Council
12. Maharashtra passes resolution for inclusion of Marathi speaking areas
13. Bihar to start caste census
14. Election Commission of India start process of delimitation of Assam
15. Rise in Direct Tax
16. Keep an eye on slippages in rejigged assets: RBI to banks
17. Govt debt rises 1% to Rs 147 lakh crore in Q2

1. Demand for removal of Manu’s statue

Subject :History

Context: The demand for the removal of the ancient Hindu law-giver Manu’s statue, installed in the Jaipur Bench of Rajasthan High Court, has revived.

Background of the issue:

• The 11-feet-tall sculpture of Manu, was installed on February 10, 1989, on the Rajasthan High court premises.
• Since its installation, the statue of Manu holding the Manusmriti in his hand has seen many protests.
  • Reason for protest: Considered as an insult to Dalits, women and all those who believe in equality and justice.
• Immediately after it was installed, the Rajasthan High Court issued an administrative order on July 28, 1989, to have it removed.
• However, the order was stayed by the high court after Vishwa Hindu Parishad leader Acharya Dharmendra and others filed a public interest litigation against it.
• The PIL is said to be the oldest writ petition pending in the high court and was last heard in 2015 when the proceedings were disrupted due to protests by a group of Brahmin lawyers.

About Manusmriti:

• Manusmriti or the Laws of Manu, is a Sanskrit text belonging to the Dharmasastra literary tradition of Hinduism.
• Composed between the 2nd century BCE and 3rd century CE, the Manusmriti is written in sloka verses, containing two non-rhyming lines of 16 syllabus each.
• Manusmriti is encyclopedic in scope, covering subjects such as the social obligations and duties of the various castes and of individuals in different stages of life, the suitable social and sexual relations of men and women of different castes, on taxes, the rules for kingship, on maintaining marital harmony and the procedures for settling everyday disputes.
• The ancient text has 4 major divisions: 1) Creation of the world. 2) Sources of dharma. 3) The dharma of the four social classes. 4) Law of karma, rebirth, and final liberation.
• It was first translated into English by Sir William Jones. It was used to construct the Hindu law code, for the East India Company administered enclaves.
• On December 25, 1927, Dr B R Ambedkar had famously burned the Manusmṛiti, which he saw as a source of gender and caste oppression.

2. Indian History Congress

Subject :History

Context: 81st session of the Indian History Congress (IHC) at the Madras Christian College, Chennai.

About Indian History Congress:

• Indian History Congress(IHC) was founded in
• IHC is the largest association of professional historians in South Asia.
• It has about 35000 members of which over 2000 delegates participate in its session every year.
• It has been holding its sessions very regularly from its inception and publishing its proceedings every year since 1935.
• Origin:
  • IHC can be traced to the efforts of scholars working on India’s ancient past as well as modern history, in a bid to counter the colonial claims, while also drawing from Western analytical methods.
  • Bharata ItihasaSamshodhaka Mandala (BISM) was one such effort that owed its origins to the stalwart Vishwanath Kashinath Rajwade. He founded this institution in 1910 in Pune with the support of K C Mehendale.
  • BISM organised an All India Congress in 1935 to celebrate its silver jubilee. The Indian History Congress (IHC) was thus born with about 50 delegates.
• Mandate:
  • To regulate the standard of works of history produced in India.
  • To promote impartial and substantive history.
  • To commit to a fair and scientific history, devoid of bias and politics.
• Historians Ram Sharan Sharma, Satish Chandra, Bipan Chandra, Romila Thapar, B. N. Mukherjee, N. Panikkar, BrajadulalChattopadhayay, Dwijendra Narayan Jha, Sumit Sarkar, Sabyasachi Bhattacharya have had a long association with the Indian History Congress.

3. Red seaweed promises a green alternative to plastic

Subject : Environment

Context:

• National Institute of Ocean Technology (NIOT), Chennai, holds out hope that biopolymers from red seaweed( Kappaphycusalvarezii) incorporated with nanoparticles could substitute plastic in certain applications.

Details:

• The whole seaweed  Kappaphycusalvarezii(containing carrageenan) was used in preparing the bio-nanocomposite film by blending with metal oxide nanoparticles such as zinc oxide, cupric oxide and silicon dioxide. Then its properties were compared with standard refined commercial-grade carrageenan.

Red seaweed or Kappaphycusalvarezii:

• Kappaphycusalvarezii, the elkhorn sea moss, is a species of red algae.
• The elkhorn sea moss varies in size, weight, and age.
• It is a dark greenish-brown hue and can sometimes be deep purple.

Carrageenans:

• Also called carrageenins are a family of natural linear sulfated polysaccharides that are extracted from red edible seaweeds.
• Carrageenans are widely used in the food industry, for their gelling, thickening, and stabilizing properties.
• Their main application is in dairy and meat products, due to their strong binding to food proteins.
• In recent years, carrageenans have emerged as a promising candidate in tissue engineering and regenerative medicine applications as they resemble native glycosaminoglycans (GAGs).
• They have been mainly used for tissue engineering, wound coverage and drug delivery.

What are Biopolymers?

• Biopolymers are natural polymers produced by the cells of living organisms.
• Like other polymers, biopolymers consist of monomeric units that are covalently bonded in chains to form larger molecules.
• Biopolymers derived from any plant-based biomass are renewable, biodegradable, and eco-friendly.

Types of Biopolymers:

• Biopolymers can be classified according to various scales. These classifications are based on their origin, the number of monomeric units, on the basis of degradability, heat response etc. Some of the classifications are:

On the Basis of Type:

1. Sugar-based polymers: Starch or sucrose is used as input for manufacturing. Lactic acid polymers are created using lactose from potatoes, maise, etc
2. Starch-based polymers: Starch acts as a natural polymer, composed of glucose. It is found in plant tissues.
3. Cellulose-based biopolymers: Used for packaging, this polymer is made up of glucose obtained from natural sources like cotton. Eg. cellophane.
4. Synthetic materials: Degradable polymers can be made from synthetic materials obtained from petroleum.

On the Basis of Origin:

1. Natural biopolymers: These are natural biopolymers biosynthesised by living organisms.
2. Synthetic biopolymers: These are polymers made up of renewable materials like polylactic acid which are degradable.
3. Microbial: Biopolymers produced by microorganisms.

On the Basis of Monomeric Units:

1. Polysaccharides: These are carbohydrate chains which are branched or linear: Eg. starch, cellulose, etc.
2. Proteins: Polymers made up of amino acids. collagen, fibrin etc.
3. Polynucleotides: Nucleic acids are long polymer chains composed of 13 or more monomeric units. Eg.DNA, RNA

Examples of Biopolymers:

• These include natural rubbers (polymers of isoprene), suberin and lignin (complex polyphenolic polymers),cutin and cutan(complex polymers of long-chain fatty acids) and melanin.

Usage of Biopolymers:

• Biopolymers have applications in many fields including the food industry, manufacturing, packaging, and biomedical engineering.
• These include bioplastic films for packaging, biomedical scaffolds/grafts, 3D printing ink, controlled drug delivery, biosensor, and microbial fuel cell for electric vehicles.
• Polysaccharide extracts from seaweed — carrageenan biopolymers — are already used by the food industry. But such extraction uses solvents and chemicals, which also generate waste.

4. Water-biodiesel cocktail cuts greenhouse gas emissions

Subject : Environment

Context:

• Using biodiesel to run truck engines can help reduce automotive greenhouse gas emissions, but the problem is that biodiesel releases more nitrogen oxide emissions than fossil diesel does. It further has a lower calorific value, which means you need more of it in your tank.

‘Micro-explosion’ phenomenon:

• Scientists say mixing water with biodiesel addresses these problems.
• Early vaporisation of water inside the fuel droplet increases its temperature, thus resulting in a phenomenon called ‘micro-explosion’, which in turn results in small fuel fragments, thus improving air-fuel mixing and reducing soot formation.
• One gets better engine performance, lower emissions and less soot.

Concerns in mixing water with biodiesel:

• The water and Biodiesel can not mix together.
• But the problem can be solved with the help of an emulsifier, which is usually one of the chemicals that are called surfactants.
• Usually, a mixture of surfactants called Span80 and Tween80 is used for this purpose.
• But Span80-Tween80 is for diesel and needs a different concoction for biodiesel.
• The stability of the emulsifier is critical because one can’t afford to have water separate from the oil, which would bring its own problems such as corrosion.

Solution:

• A cocktail of Span80-Tween80 and two novel surfactants, polyglycerol poly ricinoleate (PGPR) and raw Karanja oil (RKO).
  • PGPR is a commercially available low-cost food ingredient. RKO is a tree product. The novel surfactant is, therefore, a viable one.
• The challenge is to find the optimum mix of water and biodiesel, with the surfactant thrown in.
• More water means reduced tailpipe emissions, but also lower heat content of the fuel.
• Researchers found that the optimum water concentration is 18 per cent, which reduced nitrogen oxide by 40 per cent,smoke by 52 per cent and carbon monoxide by 69 per cent.

Karanja tree (Pongamia pinnata):

• Pongamia pinnata — better known in the subcontinent by names like Indian beech, karum tree, mullikulam tree, pongam and pongam oil tree — has attracted the attention of global investors and companies that have committed to net-zero emissions.
• Pongamia pinnata has multiple applications: From land remediation and carbon sequestration to socioeconomic benefits’like afforestation.
• The seeds are a good source of (non-edible) oil. Pongamia seeds give out an oil that is yellowish-orange to brown and can be used to produce biodiesel through trans-esterification.

5. Fusion energy may not be too far away

Subject :Science and Technology

Context:

• The ‘breakthrough’ announced by the US National Ignition Facility has focused the spotlight on nuclear fusion. NIF reported a net energy gain (more output than input), which is deduced to have come from two nuclei of hydrogen atoms fusing to form a helium nucleus.

More in news:

• Commonwealth Fusion Systems (CFS) is building the world’s first fusion device that produces plasmas which generate more energy than they consume, becoming the world’s first net-energy fusion machine. The device, named SPARC, is for demonstration but a commercial plant is expected to follow.
  • Headquartered in Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA, Commonwealth Fusion Systems (CFS) was set up in 2018.
• CFS aims to build the demonstration plant, SPARC, by 2025 and the commercial plant by 2030.

Types of nuclear fusion:

• Within nuclear fusion, there are two segments — hot and cold.
• While NIF, ITER and CFS work on hot fusion.
  • Hot fusion is where the temperature needs to be six times hotter than the core of the sun.

• Low-energy nuclear reaction (cold fusion):
  • Cold fusion is a hypothesized type of nuclear reaction that would occur at, or near, room temperature.
  • There is currently no accepted theoretical model that would allow cold fusion to occur.
  • In 1989, two electrochemists, Martin Fleischmann and Stanley Pons, reported that their apparatus had produced anomalous heat (“excess heat”) of a magnitude they asserted would defy explanation except in terms of nuclear processes.
  • They further reported measuring small amounts of nuclear reaction byproducts, including neutrons and
  • The small tabletop experiment involved electrolysis of heavy water on the surface of a palladium (Pd) electrode.

Comparison of Cold and Hot Fusion:

6. Government charts to boost gaming, animation and VFX sector

Subject : Science and Technology

Context:

• Government is exploring avenues to promote the Animation, Visual Effects, Gaming and Comics (AVCG) sector in the country.

Detail:

• According to an official gazette MeitY is now the nodal ministry regulating online gaming.
• The Ministry of Electronics and IT (MeitY) will soon publish rules for online gaming platforms and start public consultation on the regulations.
• The decision is in line with the government’s initiative to push for the growth of the animation, visual effects, gaming and comics (AVGC) sector and make India a global hub for online gaming.

Committee on AVCG sector growth:

• An inter-ministerial task force headed by Information and Broadcasting Secretary Apurva Chandra has made the recommendations. The committee was formed by the Information & Broadcasting ministry.
  • Video games inspired by Ramayan and Mahabharat, a dedicated Doordarshan channel for children to promote indigenous animation, at least two teachers in every school to impart relevant training, and special degree courses approved by the UGC, are among the recommendations of the committee.
  • The committee has also recommended a ‘Create in India’ and ‘Brand India’ campaigns.
• The four main recommendations of the committee include:

1. Domestic Industry Development for Global Access
2. Developing Talent ecosystem to realize Demographic Dividends
3. Enhancing Technology & Financial Viability for Indian AVGC Industry
4. Raising India’s soft power through an Inclusive growth

Animation, Visual effects, Gaming and Comics- Extended Reality (AVCG- XR) sector:

• Currently, India contributes between $2.5 and $3 billion to the estimated $260 to $275 billion global AVGC industry.
• The AVGC sector has been growing at 16% year-on-year.
• The AVGC sector in India employs 1.85 lakh professionals, and another 30,000 are employed indirectly.
• The AVGC sector currently accounts for nearly 1% of the global market.
• India’s share can rise to 6% and the sector has the potential to create 2 million jobs in the next 10 years
• AVGC was a sunrise sector after information technology.
• India’s percentage of new paying users (NPUs) in gaming has been the fastest growing in the world for two consecutive years, at 40 per cent in 2020 and 50 per cent in 2021.

7. Keeping up with viruses: Discoveries in 2022 to keep an eye on

Subject : Science and Technology

Context:

• As COVID-19 brought on by the SARS-CoV-2 virus continues to wreak havoc worldwide, scientists have documented new virus species, showing us just how diverse the microscopic world is.

A new, potentially dangerous relative of SARS-CoV-2:

• Khosta-2, a coronavirus found in Russian bats, shows potentially dangerous features.
• It is closely related to SARS-CoV-2,Khosta-2 was discovered in 2020 and is also capable of infecting human cells.
• The virus can use its spike protein to latch on to a receptor protein called angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2), found throughout human cells and make its entry.

Virus in Swiss ticks:

• A virus transmitted by ticks, first detected in China in 2017, was spotted in Switzerland.
• TheAlongshan virus is a flavivirus, a genus of RNA viruses known to be transmitted by mosquitoes and ticks.
• Dengue, West Nile Virus and Zika virus belong to this genus, which infects up to 400 million people annually.
• The virus in question causes tick-borne encephalitis. The symptoms include fever and headaches.
• Scientists warn that it could pose a public health concern in Switzerland. In 2019, the Alongshan virus was also found in south-eastern Finland.

Spillover threats from new virus:

• Researchers identified the Kiwira virus (circulating through bats) in Tanzania and the Democratic Republic of Congo.
• The new virus is a type of Hantavirus, which is transmitted by rodents and bats.
• It is known to cause respiratory and kidney diseases in humans.

Virus in China:

• Chinese researchers announced a new henipavirus: Langya henipavirus (LayV).
• Henipaviruses is a genus whose members include the closely-related Hendra virus and Nipah virus.
• The group has emerged as a threat in the Asia-Pacific region.
• The new virus gets its name from a town called Langya in Shandong, an eastern Chinese province.
• LayVdoes not pose significant threats as they are neither highly infectious nor fatal.

New virus could control agricultural pests:

• In China, two new insect-specific viruses were reported in green leafhoppers, a significant agricultural pest, in 2022.
• CicadellaViridisiflavirus 1 andCicadellaViridisNido-like virus 1 could potentially be used to control the pest population.

8. A retelling of the Indian migrant worker’s plight

Subject :Polity

• As per the World Migration Report 2022 of the International Organization of Migration (IOM), there were approximately 281 million international migrants globally in 2020, with around two-thirds being labour migrants.
• There were around 169 million labour migrants in 2019 and 164 million in 2020.
• The share of South Asia is 40%. Moreover, the South Asia-Gulf Migratory Corridor is the world’s largest migrant corridor.
• The long-term data analysis has shown that migration is not uniform across the world. It is shaped by economic, geographic, and demographic factors, that result in distinct migration patterns.
• It was reported that as a consequence of the “post-pandemic job search” around 300 Indian engineers from Tamil Nadu were trafficked to Myanmar to work for a crypto-scam and about 20 Indian nurses were trafficked to the United Arab Emirates for fake job offers.
• Kerala government data showed that 1.7 million people returned from abroad during the pandemic (between June 2020 and June 2021) and 1.5 million suffered job losses.
• As per a document tabled in the winter session of Parliament, about nine million Indian migrants are working in the Cooperation Council for the Arab States of the Gulf (GCC) countries.

Associated Concerns:

• It is argued that though India is the largest source of migrants and remittance-receiving country, the welfare of Indian migrants abroad is hardly prioritized by policymakers.
• It is also a matter of serious concern that India lacks a tangible and comprehensive migration policy to ensure the safe movement of migrants and decent living.
• India still governs international migration through the four-decades-old Emigration Act of 1983.
• The situation in many GCC countries is worrisome. For instance, the existing exploitative nature of the Kafala system has resulted in the mass retrenchment of the labour force.
• Kafala system is described as a sponsorship system that regulates the relationship between employers and migrant workers.
• COVID-19 has increased the cases of unemployment, under-employment, reduction in salaries, and, even non-payment of salaries, compensation, and residual dues.
• Other recurring issues faced by migrant labourers are irregular payment, poor working conditions, the negation of labour rights, the absence of proper grievance redress mechanisms, and inaccessibility to a transparent judicial system.

‘justice for wage theft’ campaign

• Several South Asian countries along with their civil society organizations, scholars, and activists are leading a ‘justice for wage theft’ campaign for the disbursement of the pending salary benefits and other associated dues of labour.
• Countries like the Philippines have recorded the wage theft of their migrants and are legally working on the issue.

Women Migrants:

• It should be noted that Indian nurses and caregivers have been working in the most volatile and remote countries like Iraq, Syria, Libya, Yemen, Israel, and Papua New Guinea.
• Moreover, the women migrant workforce is largely limited to GCC countries and also to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) countries.
• Indian Government should thus comprehensively assess the situation of migrant women and create women-centric, rights-based policies.
• The Government should revisit its policies in the context of the post-pandemic scenario by engaging all stakeholders and passing the Emigration Bill 2021.

Global Compact for Safe, Orderly Migration and Regular Migration

• In the New York Declaration for Refugees and Migrants, adopted in September 2016, the General Assembly decided to develop a global compact for safe, orderly and regular migration.
• The Global Compact for Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration (GCM) sets out a common, comprehensive approach to international migration.
• The GCM is a voluntary, non-binding document that introduces no additional obligations to states. It is a global agreement setting out a common framework, shared principles and best practices on international migration.
• It aims at cooperation between states and promotes measures to strengthen regular migration pathways, to tackle irregular migration, and to protect human rights of migrants among other objectives.
• The compact includes 23 objectives and a set of possible actions for each one, from which governments can draw in responding to the issue.
• Notably, the Global Compact establishes a United Nations mechanism allowing Governments and companies to contribute technical, financial and human resources for implementing it.
• The global compact is framed consistent with target 7 of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development in which member States committed to cooperate internationally to facilitate safe, orderly and regular migration.

About World Migration Report

• It is produced by the Migration Research Division (MRD) of IOM, in collaboration with some of the leading academic and applied researchers and other migration experts from across the world.
• It has been produced biennially since 2000.
• It has been produced to contribute to an increased understanding of migration and mobility throughout the world.
• The 2020 edition won gold in the 2021 International Annual Report Design Awards.

International Organization for Migration

• It is an intergovernmental organization that works closely with governmental, non-governmental, and intergovernmental partners in the field of migration.
• Headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland.
• The objective is to provide for the organized transfer of migrants, including refugees, displaced persons and other individuals forced to leave their homelands; meet the needs of both emigration and immigration countries, and provide migrants with resettlement services.
• India was granted an observer’s status to IOM in the year 1991 and became a member state in 2008.
• IOM has helped India airlift Indian nationals out of Kuwait during the Iraqi invasion and also repatriation of about thirty thousand Indians stranded abroad in the last 15 years.

9. What is the CAG audit report on Assam’s NRC?

Subject :Polity

Context: The Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG) in its compliance report of “logistical arrangements for NRC update project in Assam” has found several anomalies in the updating of the National Register of Citizens (NRC) in Assam.

Concerns highlighted by the CAG

• Cost overrun:
  • When the process to update the NRC was initiated in December 2014 and was to be completed by February 2015, the project cost was estimated to be ₹288.18 crores.
  • However, the CAG report has pointed out a fivefold increase in the cost by March 2022 because of the extended time taken to complete the process.
  • As per the report, the final draft was notified in August 2019 and the project cost had increased to ₹1,602.66 crores.
  • The test check of records has further revealed irregularities in the usage of funds such as excess and inadmissible payments to vendors.
• Payment of wages:
  • The CAG in its report has noted that the wages paid to the outsourced staff were about 45% to 64% less than the amount approved by the NRC coordination committee.
  • Further, this difference in wages was used to extend an undue benefit of ₹155.83 crores to the system integrator beyond the 10% reasonable profit margin.
• Irregularities with the system:
  • The CAG in its report has pointed out that secure and reliable software was needed to facilitate the NRC exercise, but more than 215 software utilities were added to the core software.
  • Further, this was done without abiding by the due process of software development and vendor selection through the means of tendering.
  • Wipro Limited was one of the prime software installation companies for NRC.

NRC exercise

• The National Register of Citizens (NRC) was first created in Assam in 1957.
• NRC was created with the aim to identify individuals born in India and migrants from Bangladesh (former East Pakistan).
• In 2013, the Supreme Court directed the Union and the State Governments to undertake an exercise to update the 1951 register in Assam.
• Thus the key objective of the drive was to identify illegal immigrants who had migrated to Assam during the 1971 Bangladesh liberation war.
• The NRC has only been published once in 1951 and it has not been updated since then.
• The first draft was notified in 2018 and a final list was published in 2019. This register included those who could establish their Indian citizenship by being residents or descendants of people living in Assam before March 25, 1971, which was the cut-off date for deportation of foreigners according to the Assam Accord of August 1985.
• Over 19.06 lakh people out of 3.3 crore applicants were not included in the register due to inadequate documentation in order to prove their citizenship.
• The issue has become controversial as various political parties have dismissed the final list as faulty and the process is now paused because the Registrar General of India (RGI) has not yet released the final list.

10. Indian National Congress

Subject :History

• The Indian National Congress was founded at Bombay in December 1885.
• The early leadership – DadabhaiNaoroji, Pherozeshah Mehta, Badruddin Tyabji, W.C. Bonnerji, Surendranath Banerji, Romesh Chandra Dutt, S. SubramaniaIyer, among others – was largely from Bombay and Calcutta.
• A retired British official, A.O. Hume, also played a part in bringing Indians from the various regions together.
• Formation of Indian National Congress was an effort in the direction of promoting the process of nation building.
• In an effort to reach all regions, it was decided to rotate the Congress session among different parts of the country.
• Usually, the congress sessions are conducted in the month of December every year.
• The President belonged to a region other than where the Congress session was being held.

Three Phases of INC

• The history of the Indian National Movement from now onwards can be seen in three different phases or periods ­the Moderate phase or the period of Early Nationalists (1885-1905), the Extremist phase or the period of the Militant Nationalists (1905-1918) and the Gandhian era (1918-1947).
• The social basis did not remain the same throughout its three phases.
• In the moderate phase, it was extremely narrow, being limited to the urban English educated Indians.
• During the extremist phase, the social basis lay primarily in the urban lower middle classes whom the ‘extremists’ succeeded in politicizing in some parts of the country.
• The peasants and the workers came into the national movement primarily in the Gandhian phase. The capitalists as a class also came to support it actively, though primarily financially, only during this phase.

Important INC Sessions and associated events

• First Session: held at Bombay in 1885. President: W.C. Bannerjee
  • Formation of Indian National Congress.
• Second Session: held at Calcutta in 1886. President: DadabhaiNaoroji
• Third Session: held at Madras in 1887. President: Syed Badruddin Tyabji, first muslim President.
• Fourth Session: held at Allahabad in 1888. President: George Yule, first English President.
• 1896: Calcutta. President: RahimtullahSayani
• National Song ‘VandeMataram’ sung for the first time by Rabindranath Tagore.
• 1899: Lucknow. President: Romesh Chandra Dutt.
  • Demand for permanent fixation of Land revenue
• 1901: Calcutta. President: DinshawE.Wacha
  • First time Gandhiji appeared on the Congress platform
• 1905: Benaras. President: Gopal Krishan Gokhale
  • Formal proclamation of Swadeshi movement against government
• 1906: Calcutta. President: DadabhaiNaoroji
  • Adopted four resolutions on: Swaraj (Self Government), Boycott Movement, Swadeshi & National Education
• 1907: Surat. President: Rash Bihari Ghosh
  • Split in Congress- Moderates & Extremist
  • Adjournment of Session
• 1910: Allahabad. President: Sir William Wedderburn
  • A Jinnah decried the separate electorate system introduced by act of 1909
• 1911: Calcutta. President: B.N. Dhar
  • First time recital of Jan-Gan-Man in Congress session
• 1915: Bombay. President: Sir S.P. Sinha
  • Constitution of the Congress was altered to admit the delegates from the extremist section
• 1916: Lucknow. President: A.C. Majumdar
  • Unity between two factions-Moderates and Extremists of Congress
  • Lucknow Pact signed between Congress and Muslim League to build political consensus
• 1917: Calcutta. President: Annie Besant, First Woman President of Congress
• 1918 (Special session): Bombay. President: Syed Hasan Imam
  • The session was convened to deliberate the contentious Montagu–Chelmsford Reforms Scheme
• 1919: Amritsar. President: Motilal Nehru
  • Congress extended support to Khilafat Movement
• 1920 (Special Session): Calcutta. President: Lala Lajpat Rai
  • Mahatma Gandhi moved the Non cooperation resolution
• 1920: Nagpur. President: C. Vijayaraghavachariar
  • Reconstitution of Working committees of Congress on Linguistic basis
  • MA Jinnah left the Indian National Congress
• 1922: Gaya. President: C.R. Das
  • CR Das and other leaders broke away from INC
  • Formation of Swaraj Party
• 1924: Belgaum. President: M.K. Gandhi
  • Only Session presided over by Mahatma Gandhi
• 1925: Kanpur. President: Sarojini Naidu, First Indian Woman President
• 1927: Madras. President: Dr. M.A. Ansari
  • Passed a resolution against the use of Indian troops in China, Iran and Mesopotamia.
  • Passed a resolution against boycott of Simon Commission
  • Adoption of resolution on Purna Swaraj
• 1928: Calcutta. President: Motilal Nehru
  • Formation of All India Youth Congress
• 1929: Lahore. President: Jawahar Lal Nehru
  • Passed the resolution on ‘Poorna Swaraj.’
  • Civil Disobedience movement for complete independence to be launched
  • 26 January to be observed as ‘Independence Day’.
• 1931: Karachi. President: Vallabhbhai Patel
  • Resolutions on Fundamental Rights and National Economic Programme
  • Endorsement of Gandhi-Irwin pact
  • Gandhi nominated to represent INC in the Second Round Table Conference to be held in London
• 1934: Bombay. President: Rajendra Prasad
  • Amendment in the Constitution of Congress
• 1936: Lucknow. President: Jawahar Lal Nehru
  • Push towards socialist ideas by Jawahar Lal Nehru
• 1937: Faizpur. President: Jawahar Lal Nehru
  • First Session to be held in a village
• 1938: Haripura. President: Subhas Chandra Bose
  • National Planning Committee set up under Jawahar Lal Nehru.
• 1939: Tripuri. President: Rajendra Prasad
  • Subhas Chandra Bose was re-elected but had to resign
  • Rajendra Prasad was appointed in his place
  • Subhash Chandra Bose formed Forward Bloc
• 1940: Ramgarh. President: Abul Kalam Azad
  • Civil Disobedience movement to be launched at appropriate time and circumstances.
• 1941–45: This Period is marked by events i.e. Quit India movement, RIN Mutiny & INA trials.
  • Phase of constitutional negotiations such as Cripps Mission, Wavell Plan and Cabinet Mission.
  • On account of these events during this phase no congress session was held.
• 1946: Meerut. President: J.B Kripalani
  • Last session before independence
  • B Kriplani was the president of INC at independence.

11. Parliamentary panel pulls up govt. for failure to create Tourism Council

Subject :Polity

• The Parliamentary Standing Committee on Transport, Tourism and Culture has urged the government to set up a National Tourism Council on the lines of the GST Council to make recommendations directly to the Union and the State governments.
• The Committee also asked about the steps taken by the Tourism Ministry with respect to its earlier recommendation of adding tourism to the Concurrent List under the Seventh Schedule of the Constitution.
• According to the Committee, the inclusion of tourism in the Concurrent List will help address the challenges posed by the pandemic to the tourism sector since tourism is a multi-sectoral activity.
• The Committee also questioned why a few States have not yet accorded industry status to hospitality projects.
• At present, only eight States namely Karnataka, Kerala, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat, Punjab, Rajasthan and Uttarakhand have accorded industry status to hospitality
• The Committee further raised concerns over the progress achieved in projects such as the “Development at Hazratbal” in Jammu and Kashmir and “Infrastructure Development at Puri, Shree Jagannath Dham – Ramachandi – Prachi River front at Deuli under Mega Circuit” in Odisha which were sanctioned before 2017-18.

Parliamentary Committee

• A Parliamentary Committee is a panel of MPs that is appointed or elected by the House or nominated by the Speaker/Chairman.
• The committee works under the direction of the Speaker/chairman and it presents its report to the House or to the Speaker/chairman.
• Parliamentary Committees have their origins in the British Parliament.
• They draw their authority from Article 105 and Article 118.
  • Article 105 deals with the privileges of MPs.
  • Article 118 gives Parliament authority to make rules to regulate its procedure and conduct of business.
• India’s Parliament has multiple types of committees. They can be differentiated on the basis of their work, their membership and the length of their tenure.
• However, broadly there are two types of Parliamentary Committees– Standing Committees and Ad Hoc Committees.
• The Standing Committees are permanent (constituted every year or periodically) and work on a continuous basis.
• Standing Committees can be classified into the following six categories:
  • Financial Committees
  • Departmental Standing Committees
  • Committees to Enquire
  • Committees to Scrutinise and Control
  • Committees Relating to the Day-to-Day Business of the House
  • House-Keeping Committees or Service Committees
• While the Ad Hoc Committees are temporary and cease to exist on completion of the task assigned to them.
  • They are further subdivided into Inquiry Committees and Advisory Committees.
  • The principal Ad hoc Committees are the Select and Joint Committees on Bills.

12. Maharashtra passes resolution for inclusion of Marathi speaking areas

Subject :Polity

Context;

• Maharashtra passes resolution for inclusion of Marathi-speaking areas

More about the news:

• Both Houses of the Maharashtra state legislature on Tuesday unanimously passed a resolution to support a legal battle to ensure that every inch of land in Karnataka, where the Marathi-speaking population resides, becomes a part of Maharashtra.
•  The Council condemned the Karnataka government’s “anti-Marathi” stand.

What is the Karnataka-Maharashtra border issue:

• The Maharashtra and Karnataka boundary dispute has its origins in the reorganization of states along linguistic lines via the State Reorganisation Act, 1956.
• This Act, which took effect from 1 November, 1956, divided states on linguistic lines.
• Since its creation on May 1, 1960, Maharashtra has claimed that 865 villages, including Belagavi (then Belgaum), Carvar and Nipani, should be merged into Maharashtra.
• Karnataka has asserted rights over 260 Kannada-speaking villages along the Maharashtra border.

What are the Steps Taken to Resolve the Issue

• In 1960, both States agreed to set up a four-man committee with two representatives from each State.Except on the issue of contiguity, the committee could not arrive at a unanimous decision.
• The central government constituted the Mahajan Committee under the Supreme Court Chief Justice Meher Chand Mahajan, in 1966 to assess the situation. Representatives from both sides, Maharashtra and the then Mysore state were part of the committee.

What were the recommendations of Mahajan Committee:

• The Committee rejected Maharashtra’s claim over Belagavi (then Belgaum).
• The commission recommended 247 villages including Jatt, Akkalkote and Solapur, to be made part of Karnataka.
• It also declared 264 villages including Nippani, Khanapur and Nandagad, to be made part of Maharashtra.

What is the present status of the dispute:

• Both Karnataka and Maharashtra reckon that the complex issue will not be resolved politically, and requires a legal solution.
• In 2004, the Maharashtra government filed a petition in the Supreme Court, staking claim over Marathi-speaking villages in Karnataka, which contested the claim.
• Meanwhile, Karnataka changed the name of Belgaum to Belagavi and made it the second capital of the state.
• The issue has been pending before the Supreme Court since 2004.

13. Bihar to start caste census

Subject :Polity

Context:

• Bihar set to start caste census exercise from Jan 7

More about the news:

•  The Bihar government plans to compile data on each family digitally through a mobile application as part of the eight-level survey from the panchayat to the district level.
• The mobile app will have a set of questions in a format, mentioning place, caste, the number of people in a family, their profession, and annual income, among others.
• During the first phase of the caste survey will begin on January 7 in which houses would be numbered and caste details will be sought.
• The second phase of the exercise, likely to begin in mid-February, will involve compiling the economic status of the people.
• All composite information would be compiled in the app after scrutiny by senior officers.
• The process of caste survey monitoring will involve the additional district magistrate (DM)/ district welfare officer/ district statistics officer at the top, with the DM concerned being the final monitoring authority. The next level will comprise the sub-divisional officer followed by the circle officer, block development officer, municipal commissioner/ chief executive officer.
• The Panchayati Raj Institutions will be kept completely out of the process.

History of Caste Census:

• A population census was first carried out by the British colonial state in 1872.
• The 65-page census enumerated the populations of various castes, including Brahmins, Kshatriyas and Rajputs across several provinces.
• Caste populations were specifically counted based on their traditional occupations at the time.For instance, Hindus in the Madras province were counted in 17 sets, which included “priests, warriors, traders, agriculturists, shepherds and pastoral castes” among others.
• The last time comprehensive data on caste was collected was in the 1931 Census.

Why has it not been carried out since 1931:

• The categories of ‘Race, Caste or Tribe’ were replaced by the ‘Scheduled Tribe/ Scheduled Caste’.
• Subsequent reports and studies have attributed to the belief that “including caste data in census enumeration will perpetuate the caste system and deepen social divisions”.
• Recording of caste was abandoned after Indian Independence in 1947, to help smooth the growth of a secular state.

More about Socio-economic caste census (SECC)

• It is a study of the socio-economic status of rural and urban households and allows ranking of households based on predefined parameters.
• Census in Rural Areas has been conducted by the Department of Rural Development.
• Census in Urban areas is under the administrative jurisdiction of the Ministry of Housing and Urban Poverty Alleviation.
• It was also the first paperless census in India conducted on hand-held electronic devices by the government in 640 districts.

14. Election Commission of India start process of delimitation of Assam

Subject :Polity

Context:

• Recently, the Election Commission (EC) has mentioned that it has decided to start delimitation of assembly and parliamentary constituencies in Assam.

More about the news;

• The Process will be based on Census data from 2001.
• The last Delimitation of constituencies in Assam was done in 1976 on the basis of the 1971 Census.
• The EC also issued a directive banning the creation of new administrative units in the state with effect from January 1 next year until completion of the delimitation exercise in the state.

What is Delimitation:

• Delimitation is the act of redrawing boundaries of Lok Sabha and Assembly constituencies to represent changes in population and is done on the basis of the preceding Census.
• This exercise is carried out by a Delimitation Commission, whose orders have the force of law and cannot be questioned before any court. 
• Constitutional provisions:
  • Article 82: This provides the Parliament with the authority to enact a Delimitation Act after every Census.
  • Article 170: This provides for the  States to get divided into territorial constituencies as per the Delimitation Act after every Census.
• The Union government sets up a Delimitation Commission once the Act is in force.

What is Delimitation Commission:

• It is appointed by the President of India and works in collaboration with the Election Commission of India.
• Its members are a serving or retired Supreme Court judge, Chief Election Commissioner or an Election Commissioner nominated by CEC and Election Commissioners of the respective state.
• Its function is to determine the number and boundaries of constituencies, to identify seats reserved for SC/ST.
• It is ahigh power body whose orders have the force of law and cannot be called in question before any court.
• Delimitation Commissions have been set up four times — 1952, 1963, 1973 and 2002 under the Acts of 1952, 1962, 1972 and 2002.

15. Rise in Direct Tax

Subject: Economy

Context: Direct tax growth in Covid year.

Details:

• Telangana, Chhattisgarh, Karnataka, Rajasthan and Gujarat recorded the highest growth rate in net direct tax collections in 2021-22 as against the pre-Covid period of 2019-20.
• The northeaster states of Nagaland, Mizoram, and Manipur also witnessed an increase in tax collections.
• Sikkim and Meghalaya recorded a decline.
• Maharashtra, Delhi, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, and Gujarat accounted for 73 per cent of the country’s total net direct tax collections.
  • Maharashtra-37%
  • Delhi- 12.6%
  • Karnataka -11.9 %

Causes of rise:

• Rise in industrial activity
• Rise in compliance in States -Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh
• Government schemes-towards curbing tax evasion, widening/deepening of the tax base, promoting voluntary compliance, digital transactions along with taxpayer outreach initiatives.
• Establishment IT and startup hubs in Tier 2 cities.

Concept:

Direct Tax regime:

A direct tax is a tax that a person or organization pays directly to the entity that imposed it.

An individual taxpayer, for example, pays direct taxes to the government for various purposes, including income tax, real property tax, personal property tax, or taxes on assets.

Types of Direct tax in India

Income Tax:

• Income tax is perhaps the most well known direct tax imposed by the government on annual income generated by businesses and individuals.
• Income tax is calculated as per the provisions of Income Tax Act, 1961 and is directly paid to the central government on an annual basis.
• Income does not only mean money earned in the form of salary. It also includes income from house property, profits from business, gains from profession (such as bonus), capital gains income, and ‘income from other sources’.
• Income tax is levied on the income of individuals, Hindu undivided families (HUF), unregistered firms and other associations of people.

Corporate Tax

-At present, companies having gross turnover up to Rs.250 crore are liable to pay corporate tax at 25% of the net profit while companies with a gross turnover of more than Rs.250 crore are liable to pay the corporate tax at 30%.

Minimum Alternative Tax (MAT)

MAT is imposed on “zero tax companies”, which typically refer to companies that declare little or no income in order to save tax.

Fringe Benefits Tax (FBT)

The FBT tax is imposed on the fringe benefits like drivers and maids provided/paid for by companies to their employees.

Dividend Distribution Tax (DDT)

An amount that is declared, distributed or paid as dividend to the shareholders by a domestic company is taxed under the Dividend Distribution Tax. It is applicable to domestic companies only. Foreign companies distributing dividends in India do not pay this tax (such dividends are taxable in the hands of the shareholder).

Securities Transaction Tax (STT)

 The SST is imposed on the income which the companies get through taxable securities transactions. This tax is free of any surcharge.

Capital Gains Tax

The capital gains tax is imposed on the income derived from the sale of investments or assets. On the basis of the holding period, capital tax is categorized under short-term gains and long-term gains.

Composition of taxes in Gross tax revenue 

Tax buoyancy explains this relationship between the changes in the government’s tax revenue growth and the changes in GDP.  It refers to the responsiveness of tax revenue growth to changes in GDP. When a tax is buoyant, its revenue increases without increasing the tax rate.

A tax is considered buoyant if it is above 1. The tax buoyancy came in at about 2, which means the rate of growth in tax collection was around twice as fast as nominal GDP growth.

Determining factors:

• size of the tax base
• friendliness of the tax administration
• reasonableness and simplicity of the tax rates
• lesser the tax rebates and reductions

16. Keep an eye on slippages in rejigged assets: RBI to banks

Subject : Economy

Context:

RBI asks banks to closely monitor slippages in restructured assets.

Details:

• PSBs restructured around 10 lakh accounts in 2021-22 compared to 3 lakh accounts in 2020-21.
• The private sector lenders restructured close to 45 lakh accounts in 2021-22 as against 2 lakh accounts in 2020-21.
• gross non-performing assets (GNPA) ratio of scheduled commercial banks (SCBs) was 5 per cent in end-September 2022 against 5.8 per cent in 2021-22.
• Large borrowal accounts’ share in total NPAs declined during the year to 63.4 per cent from 66.4 percent in 2020-21.
• gross non-performing assets (GNPA) ratio of scheduled commercial banks (SCBs) has been declining sequentially to reach 5 per cent in end-September 2022 from 5.8 per cent in 2021-22.

Concept:

What is loan restructuring?

It is a method used by businesses, individuals, and even governments to avoid defaulting on current debts by negotiating reduced interest rates. When a debtor is in financial distress, loan restructuring is a less expensive alternative to insolvency. It can assist both the debtor and the creditor.

Loan restructuring 1.0

The RBI issued an EMI moratorium on March 27, 2020, in response to the COVID-19 situation. After the declaration, RBI urged all financial firms to implement a board-approved policy that would refund or adjust interest charged to debtors during the moratorium period.

Loan restructuring 2.0

Under this scheme, debtors had the option to either opt for a moratorium or request for a suspension of their EMI payments for a few months. Alternatively, they could also request their EMIs to be reduced, so that they could continue making regular payments.

17. Govt debt rises 1% to Rs 147 lakh crore in Q2

Subject : Economy

Context:

The total liabilities of the government increased to Rs 147.19 lakh crore at September-end from Rs 145.72 lakh crore at the end of June this fiscal year.

Details:

• It reflects a quarter-on-quarter increase of 1 per cent in the second quarter of 2022-23.
• According to the quarterly report on public debt management released by the finance ministry public debt accounted for 89.1 per cent of total gross liabilities in September-end, up from 88.3 per cent as on June 30.
• Government raised Rs 4,06,000 crore through dated securities and not raise any amount through Cash Management Bills.
• The Reserve Bank did not conduct Open Market Operations for government securities
• The net daily average liquidity absorption by RBI under Liquidity Adjustment Facility (LAF) including Marginal Standing Facility and Special Liquidity Facility
• USD 532.66 billion as on September 30, 2022
• Between July 1, 2022 and September 30, 2022, the rupee depreciated by 3.11 per cent.
• The yields on government securities in secondary market hardened in short-end curve due to near-term inflation and liquidity concern though softening of yield was observed for the longer tenure securities during the second quarter, it said.
• Monetary Policy Committee decided to hike the policy repo rate by 100 bps, i.e., from 4.90 per cent to 5.90 per cent during Q2 largely with an intention to contain inflation
• The ownership pattern of central government securities indicates that share of commercial banks stood at 38.3 per cent at September-end 2022 as against 38.04 per cent on June 30, it said.
• With regard to foreign exchange reserves, the report said, it stood at USD 532.66 billion as on September 30, 2022, moderated from USD 638.64 billion on September 24, 2021.
• Between July 1, 2022 and September 30, 2022, the rupee depreciated by 3.11 per cent. The value of rupee against the dollar as on July 1 stood at 79.09 as against 81.55 on September 30

What is Public Debt?

• In the Indian context, public debt includes the total liabilities of the Union government that have to be paid from the Consolidated Fund of India.
  • Sometimes, the term is also used to refer to the overall liabilities of the central and state governments.
  • However, the Union government clearly distinguishes its debt liabilities from those of the states.
    • It calls overall liabilities of both the Union government and states as General Government Debt (GGD) or Consolidated General Government Debt.
  • Union government relies heavily on market borrowing to meet its operational and developmental expenditure. The study of public debt involves the study of various factors such as debt-to-GDP ratio, and sustainability and sources of government debt.
  • The fact that almost a fourth of the government expenditure goes into interest payment explains the magnitude of the liabilities of the Union government.

What are the types of Public Debt?

• The Union government broadly classifies its liabilities into two broad categories.
• The debt contracted against the Consolidated Fund of India is defined as public debt and includes all other funds received outside Consolidated Fund of India under Article 266 (2) of the Constitution, where the government merely acts as a banker or custodian.
• The second type of liabilities is called public account.

Internal Public Debt versus External Public Debt

• Over the years, the Union government has followed a considered strategy to reduce its dependence on foreign loans in its overall loan mix.
• External loans are not market loans. They have been raised from institutional creditors at concessional rates. Most of these external loans are fixed-rate loans, free from interest rate or currency volatility.
• Internal debt constitutes more than 93% of the overall public debt.
  • Internal loans that make up for the bulk of public debt are further divided into two broad categories – marketable and non-marketable debt.
    • Dated government securities (G-Secs) and treasury bills (T-bills) are issued through auctions and fall in the category of marketable debt.
    • Intermediate treasury bills (with a maturity period of 14 days) issued to state governments and public sector banks, special securities issued to National Small Savings Fund (NSSF) are classified as non-marketable debt.

Sources of Public Debt

• Dated government securities or G-secs.
• Treasury Bills or T-bills
• External Assistance
• Short term borrowings
• Public Debt definition by Union Government

The Union government describes those of its liabilities as public debt, which are contracted against the Consolidated Fund of India. This is as per Article 292 of the Constitution.

Public Debt Management in India

• As per Reserve Bank of India Act of 1934, the Reserve Bank is both the banker and public debt manager for the Union government.
• The RBI handles all the money, remittances, foreign exchange and banking transactions on behalf of the Government.
• The Union government also deposits its cash balance with the RBI.

Public Debt versus Private Debt

• Public Debt is the money owed by the Union government, while private debt comprises of all the loans raised by private companies, corporate sector and individuals such as home loans, auto loans, personal loans.

What is Debt-to-GDP ratio?

• The debt-to-GDP ratio indicates how likely the country can pay off its debt. Investors often look at the debt-to-GDP metric to assess the government’s ability of finance its debt. Higher debt-to-GDP ratios have fuelled economic crises worldwide.
• The NK Singh Committee on FRBM had envisaged a debt-to-GDP ratio of 40 per cent for the central government and 20 per cent for states aiming for a total of 60 per cent general government debt-to-GDP.

Suggested measures to make public debt sustainable –

• Privatisation of loss-makingPSUs
• Prudential stance as per the Fiscal Responsibility Budget Management (FRBM) Act 2003
• Leveraging ofPublic Financial Management System (PFMS)
• PPP model in social schemes
• Investment in infrastructure
• Harmonisation of tax regime
• Thrust on renewable energy