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Daily Prelims Notes 5 August 2021

  • August 5, 2021
  • Posted by: OptimizeIAS Team
  • Category: DPN
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Daily Prelims Notes

5 August 2021

Table Of Contents

  1. Sabarmati Ashram
  2. Current account
  3. CERT-In observed more than 6.07 lakh cyber security incidents
  4. 50% of funds allotted for ongoing MPLADS projects lapses.
  5. Right to strike
  6. Rare Diseases crowd-funding
  7. The Samagra Shiksha scheme
  8. IAC-1
  9. Extreme weather events will become more frequent and more intense- IMD
  10. Lok Sabha passes Air Quality Commission Bill for NRC Adjoining Areas
  11. Floods in West Bengal
  12. mRNA Vaccines
  13. Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act 2012

 

 

1. Sabarmati Ashram

Subject: History

Context: Over 140 prominent personalities have signed a petition opposing the proposed redevelopment of Mahatma Gandhi-founded Sabarmati Ashram in Ahmedabad.

Concept:

Sabarmati Ashram Preservation and Memorial Trust (SAPMT), which manages the ashram, has given its approval for the project with a condition that the government should not see the Ashram as “world-class tourism designation.”

Sabarmati Ashram History

The Sabarmati Ashram situated on the banks of river Sabarmati was home to Mahatma Gandhi from 1917 to 1930 and served as one of the main centres of the Indian freedom struggle.

  • On his return from South Africa, Gandhi’s first Ashram in India was established in the Kochrab area of Ahmedabad on 25thMay 1915.
  • The Ashram was then shifted on 17 June 1917 to a piece of open land on the banks of the river Sabarmati.
  • The Sabarmati Ashram (also known as Harijan Ashram) was home to Mohandas Gandhi from 1917 until 1930 and served as one of the main centres of the Indian freedom struggle. Originally called the Satyagraha Ashram, reflecting the movement toward passive resistance launched by the Mahatma, the Ashram became home to the ideology that set India free.
  • Sabarmati Ashram named for the river on which it sits, was created with a dual mission. To serve as an institution that would carry on a search for truth and a platform to bring together a group of workers committed to non-violence who would help secure freedom for India.
  • While at the Ashram, Gandhi formed a school that focused on manual labour, agriculture, and literacy to advance his efforts for self-sufficiency. It was also from here on the 12 March 1930 that Gandhi launched the famous Dandi March 241 miles from the Ashram (with 78 companions) in protest of the British Salt Law, which taxed Indian salt in an effort to promote sales of British salt in India. This mass awakening filled the British jails with 60 000 freedom fighters.
  • Later the government seized their property, Gandhi, in sympathy with them, responded by asking the Government to forfeit the Ashram. Then Government, however, did not oblige. He had by now already decided on 22 July 1933 to disband the Ashram, which later became asserted place after the detention of many freedom fighters, and then some local citizens decided to preserve it.
  • On 12 March 1930 he vowed that he would not return to the Ashram until India won independence. Although this was won on 15 August 1947, when India was declared a free nation, Gandhi was assassinated in January 1948 and never returned.

2. Current account

Subject: Economy

Context: The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has allowed banks time until October-end to implement the new rules on current accounts issued in 2020 following requests from banks and borrowers.

Concept:

A current account

  • A current account, also known as financial account is a type of deposit account maintained by individuals who carry out significantly higher number of transactions with banks on a regular basis. It is created by the bank on request of the applicant and is made available for frequent or immediate access.
  • Current accounts relate to liquid deposits and it offers a broad range of customized options to aid financial dealings.
  • Current accounts also allows to make payments to creditors through the cheque facility offered by the bank. Generally, current accounts do not provide interests and requires a higher minimum balance when compared to savings account.
  • However, the greatest advantage of current bank account is that, account holders can easily avail overdraft facility up to an agreed limit

RBI Regulations

  • In August 2020, the RBI had said banks with little or no loan exposure cannot open a current account for borrowers, and existing non-compliant accounts had to be frozen.
  • The central bank’s directive was aimed at cracking down on attempts by borrowers using current accounts at non-lending banks to siphon off funds. The RBI had said banks with less than 10 per cent of the banking system exposure to a particular borrower cannot open a current account.
  • The restriction applies to borrowers in case they avail of cash credit (CC) or overdraft (OD) facility since all operations that can be carried out from a current account can also be carried out from a CC or OD account as banks in a CBS environment follow a one-bank-one-customer model as against a one-branch-one-customer model.
  • In the case of borrowers who have not availed of CC/OD facility from any bank, there is no restriction on opening of current accounts by any bank if exposure of the banking system to such borrowers is less than Rs 5 crore, it said.
  • If borrowers have not availed of CC/OD facility from any bank and the exposure of the banking system is Rs 5 crore or more but less than Rs 50 crore, there is no restriction on lending banks to such borrowers from opening a current account, it said. Even non-lending banks can open current accounts for such borrowers though only for collection purposes, the RBI said.

3. CERT-In observed more than 6.07 lakh cybersecurity incidents

Subject: National Organisation

Context: The Indian Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT-In) observed more than 6.07 lakh cybersecurity incidents in the first six months of 2021, of which about 12,000 were related to government organisations, the government informed Lok Sabha on Wednesday

Concept:

Computer Emergency Response Team – India (CERT-IN)

  • It is an organisation of the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology, Government of India, with the objective of securing Indian cyberspace.
  • It is the nodal agency which deals with cybersecurity threats like hacking and phishing.
  • It collects, analyses and disseminates information on cyber incidents, and also issues alert on cybersecurity incidents.
  • CERT-IN provides Incident Prevention and Response Services as well as Security Quality Management Services.
  • According to the provisions of the Information Technology Amendment Act 2008, CERT-In is responsible for overseeing administration of the Act.
  • CERT-In has been designated to serve as the national agency to perform the following functions in the area of cyber security:
  • Collection, analysis and dissemination of information on cyber incidents.
  • Forecast and alerts of cyber security incidents
  • Emergency measures for handling cyber security incidents
  • Coordination of cyber incident response activities.
  • Issue guidelines, advisories, vulnerability notes and whitepapers relating to information security practices, procedures, prevention, response and reporting of cyber incidents.
  • Such other functions relating to cyber security as may be prescribed.

Additional Facts:

  • Budapest Convention on Cybercrime: It is the first international treaty that seeks to address Internet and cybercrime by harmonizing national laws, improving investigative techniques and increasing cooperation among nations. It came into force in 2004.India is not a signatory to this convention.
  • Cyber Surakshit Bharat Yojana: It was launched in 2018 by Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology in association with National e-Governance Division(NeGD) and industry players. It includes awareness programs on cyber security; workshops on best practices and enablement of the officials with cyber security health tool kits.
  • Cyber Swachhta Kendra (Botnet Cleaning and Malware Analysis Centre): It provides for the detection of malicious programs and free tools to remove such programs.
  • Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Centre(I4C): It was established in 2018 to combat cybercrime in India in a comprehensive and coordinated manner. It functions under the Ministry of Home Affairs.

4. 50% of funds allotted for ongoing MPLADS projects lapses

Subject: Polity

Context: Virtually half of the belated ₹2,200 crore allotted for completing the ongoing MPLADS projects in 2020-21 simply lapsed, as the Finance Ministry granted “barely a week” to the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MoSPI) to release the funds — inviting the ire of the Standing Committee on Finance

Concept:

  • The MPLADS is a Plan Scheme fully funded by Government of India. The annual MPLADS fund entitlement per MP constituency is Rs. 5 crore.
  • MPs are to recommend every year, works costing at least 15 per cent of the MPLADS entitlement for the year for areas inhabited by Scheduled Caste population and 7.5 per cent for areas inhabited by S.T. population.

Works under the scheme:

  • Works, developmental in nature, based on locally felt needs and always available for the use of the public at large, are eligible under the scheme. Preference under the scheme is given to works relating to national priorities, such as provision of drinking water, public health, education, sanitation, roads, etc.

Release of Funds:

  • Funds are released in the form of grants in-aid directly to the district authorities.
  • The funds released under the scheme are non-lapsable.
  • The liability of funds not released in a particular year is carried forward to the subsequent years, subject to eligibility.

Execution of works:

  • The MPs have a recommendatory role under the scheme. They recommend their choice of works to the concerned district authorities who implement these works by following the established procedures of the concerned state government.
  • The district authority is empowered to examine the eligibility of works sanction funds and select the implementing agencies, prioritize works, supervise overall execution, and monitor the scheme at the ground level.

Recommendation of works:

  • The Lok Sabha Members can recommend works in their respective constituencies.
  • The elected members of the Rajya Sabha can recommend works anywhere in the state from which they are elected.
  • Nominated members of the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha may select works for implementation anywhere in the country.
  • Standing Committee on Finance (SCF), had asked the government to release MPLADS funds due from previous years for projects already sanctioned.
  • On March 16 this year, an SCF report on the Statistics Ministry’s demands for grants pointed out that many MPLADS projects that began earlier were “left unfinished midway despite the sanction letters being issued and funds for the same were withheld”, citing the suspension of the scheme

5. Right to strike

Subject: Polity

Context: Recently, the Minister of Defence introduced the Essential Defence Services Bill, 2021, in the Lok Sabha to provide for the maintenance of essential defence services so as “to secure the security of nation and the life and property of the public at large” and prevent staff of the government-owned ordnance factories from going on strike

Concept:

  • The Essential Defence Services Bill seeks to empower the government to declare services mentioned in it as “essential defence services” and prohibit strikes and lockouts in any industrial establishment or unit engaged in such services. The Minister, assured the Ordnance Factory Board (OFB) employees that their service conditions will not be affected.
  • Strike is a temporary stoppage of work by a group of employees in order to express a grievance or to enforce a demand concerning changes in work conditions. In the Indian Constitution, the right to strike is not an absolute right but it flows from the Fundamental Right to form union. It is subject to reasonable restrictions.

Fundamental rights and right to strike

  • Article 33 of the Constitution, Parliament, by law, can restrict or abrogate the rights of the members of the armed forces or the forces charged with the maintenance of public order so as to ensure the proper discharge of their duties and maintenance of discipline among them.
  • Thus, for the armed forces and the police, where discipline is the most important prerequisite, even the fundamental right to form an association can be restricted under Article 19(4) in the interest of public order and other considerations. Parliament may, by law, determine to what extent any of the rights conferred by this Part shall, in their application to, –
    (a) the members of the Armed Forces; or
    (b) the members of the Forces charged with the maintenance of public order; or
    (c) persons employed in any bureau or other organisation established by the State for purposes of intelligence or counter intelligence; or
    (d) persons employed in, or in connection with, the telecommunication systems set up for the purposes of any Force, bureau or organisation referred to in clauses (a) to (c),
    be restricted or abrogated so as to ensure the proper discharge of their duties and the maintenance of discipline among them.
  • Article 19(1) (c) confers on citizens the right to form associations or unions. The right guaranteed under Article 19(1) (c) is not merely to form association but also to continue with the association as such. The freedom to form association implies also the freedom to form or not to form, to join or not to join an association or union.
  • The right to freedom of association is fundamental, recognition of such association is not a fundamental right. Parliament can by law regulate the working of such associations by imposing conditions and restrictions on their functions The State can impose reasonable restrictions on freedom of association or union in Interest of — a) public order, b) morality, and c) the sovereignty and integrity of India
  • There is no fundamental right to strike under Article 19(1)(a) of the Constitution. Strikes cannot be justified on any equitable ground. Strike as a weapon is mostly misused which results in chaos. Parliament has the right to restrict even the fundamental rights of the armed forces, is well within its right to expressly prohibit resorting to strike.

Legislations

  • The Civil Services Conduct Rules,  1955 ,“No Government servant shall participate in any demonstration or resort to any strike in connection with any matter pertaining to his conditions of service”.
  • In private sector, the right to strike or the right to declare lock-out is allowed in limited forms, controlled or restricted by appropriate industrial legislations such as Trade Unions Act of 1926, Industrial Disputes Act of 1947 etc. The right to form co-operatives was introduced under Article 19(1)(c) by the 97thConstitution (Amendment) Act, 2011
  • The Madhya Pradesh (and Chhattisgarh) Civil Services Rules, 1965, prohibit demonstrations and strikes by government servants and direct the competent authorities to treat the durations as unauthorized absence. A strike under this rule includes “total or partial cessation of work”, a pen-down strike, a traffic jam, or any such activity resulting in cessation or retardation of work. Other States too have similar provisions

Court’s view

  • The Supreme Court in Delhi Police v. Union of India (1986) upheld the restrictions to form association by the members of the non-gazetted police force after the Police Forces (Restriction of Rights) Act, 1966, and the Rules as amended by Amendment Rules, 1970, came into eff
  • In K. Rangarajan v. Government of Tamil Nadu (2003), the Supreme Court held that the employees have no fundamental right to resort to strike. Further, there is prohibition to go on strike under the Tamil Nadu Government Servants’ Conduct Rules, 1973. Also, there is no moral or equitable justification to go on strike. The court said that government employees cannot hold the society to ransom by going on strike. In this case, about two lakh employees, who had gone on strike, were dismissed by the State government.

6. Rare Diseases crowd-funding

Subject: Science

Context: After being pulled up by the Delhi High Court, the Centre on Wednesday said that it has operationalised a digital platform for crowd-funding for expensive treatment for rare diseases among children.

Concept:

  • The portal, http://rarediseases.aardeesoft.com has operationalised by the center government a digital platform for crowd-funding for expensive treatment for rare diseases among children.

The Rare Diseases Policy

  • The Rare Diseases Policy aims to lower the high cost of treatment for rare diseases with increased focus on indigenous research with the help of a National Consortium to be set up with Department of Health Research, Ministry of Health & Family Welfare as convenor.
  • Increased focus of research and development and local production of medicines will lower the cost of treatment for rare diseases.
  • The policy also envisages creation of a national hospital based registry of rare diseases so that adequate data is available for definition of rare diseases and for research and development related to rare diseases within the country.
  • The Policy also focuses on early screening and prevention through primary and secondary health care infrastructure such as Health and Wellness Centres and District Early Intervention Centres (DEICs) and through counselling for the high-risk parents.
  • Screening will also be supported by NidanKendras set up by Department of Biotechnology.
  • Policy also aims to strengthen tertiary health care facilities for prevention and treatment of rare diseases through designating 8 health facilities as Centre of Excellence and these CoEs will also be provided one-time financial support of up to Rs 5 crores for upgradation of diagnostics facilities.
  • A provision for financial support up to Rs. 20 lakhs under the Umbrella Scheme of RastriyaArogyaNidhi is proposed for treatment, of those rare diseases that require a one-time treatment (diseases listed under Group 1 in the rare disease policy).
  • Example of Rare Diseases: Lysosomal Storage Disorders (LSD), Pompe disease, cystic fibrosis, muscular dystrophy, spina bifida, haemophilia etc.
  • India has close to 50-100 million people affected by rare diseases or disorders, the policy report said almost 80% of these rare condition patients are children and a leading cause for most of them not reaching adulthood is due to the high morbidity and mortality rates of these life-threatening diseases.

7. The Samagra Shiksha scheme

Subject: Government Schemes

Context: The Centre plans to pay students their Right to Education (RTE) entitlements in the form of cash transfers as part of a revamp and extension of its flagship school education scheme that was approved by the Cabinet on Wednesday.

Concept:

  • The Samagra Shiksha scheme, which has been extended till March 2026, will have a financial outlay of ₹2.94 lakh crore, including a Central share of ₹1.85 lakh crore, and several new initiatives on early childhood education, foundational literacy, and numeracy and language education.
  • The Union Budget, 2018-19, has proposed to treat school education holistically without segmentation from pre-nursery to Class 12.
  • Samagra Shiksha – an overarching programme for the school education sector extending from pre-school to class 12 has been, therefore, prepared with the broader goal of improving school effectiveness measured in terms of equal opportunities for schooling and equitable learning outcomes.
  • It subsumes the three schemes of Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA), Rashtriya Madhyamik Shiksha Abhiyan (RMSA) and Teacher Education (TE).
    This sector-wide development programme/scheme would also help harmonise the implementation mechanisms and transaction costs at all levels,
  • The fund sharing pattern for the scheme between Centre and States is at present in the ratio of 90:10 for the 8 North-Eastern States and 3 Himalayan States viz. Jammu & Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand and 60:40 for all other States and Union Territories with Legislature.
  • It is 100% centrally sponsored for Union Territories without Legislature.
  • The main emphasis of the Scheme is on improving quality of school education by focussing on the two T’s – Teacher and Technology.
  • The strategy for all interventions under the Scheme would be to enhance the Learning Outcomes at all levels of schooling.
  • Support ‘Operation Digital Board’ in all secondary schools over a period of 5 years, which will revolutionize education- easy to understand, technology based learning classrooms will become flipped classrooms
  • Preference to Educationally Backward Blocks (EBBs), LWE affected districts, Special Focus Districts (SFDs), Border areas and the 117 aspirational districts identified by Niti Aayog
  • Self-defence training for girls from upper primary to senior secondary stage
  • Allocation for uniforms, textbooks under the RTE Act, Allocation for Children with Special Needs (CwSN) increased
  • This single scheme will enable the SCERT to become the nodal agency for conduct and monitoring of all in-service training programmes to make it need-focused and dynamic.
  • The Scheme will be implemented as a Centrally Sponsored Scheme by the Department through a single State Implementation Society (SIS) at the State/UT level. At the National level, there would be a Governing Council headed by Minister of Human Resource Development and a Project Approval Board (PAB) headed by Secretary, Department of School Education and Literacy.
  • The Governing Council will be empowered to modify financial and programmatic norms and approve the detailed guidelines for implementation within the overall Framework of the scheme

8. IAC-1

Subject: Defence

Context: The Indigenous Aircraft Carrier (IAC) 1, which will be called INS Vikrant once it enters service with the Indian Navy about a year from now, started sea trials — one of the last phases of trials  on Wednesday

Concept:

  • The INS Vikramaditya, currently the Navy’s only aircraft carrier that was commissioned in 2013, started out as the Soviet-Russian Admiral Gorchakov.
  • The country’s two earlier carriers, INS Vikrant and INS Viraat, were originally the British-built HMS Hercules and HMS Hermes before being commissioned into the Navy in 1961 and 1987 respectively.
  • India’s earlier aircraft carriers were either built by the British or the Russians

IAC-1

  • This is the first aircraft carrier designed and built in India. An aircraft carrier is one of the most potent marine assets for a nation, which enhances a Navy’s capability to travel far from its home shores to carry out air domination operations.
  • An aircraft carrier generally leads as the capital ship of a carrier strike/battle group. As the carrier is a valuable and sometimes vulnerable target, it is usually escorted in the group by destroyers, missile cruisers, frigates, submarines, and supply ships.
  • IAC-1 has been designed by the Indian Navy’s Directorate of Naval Design (DND), and is being built at Cochin Shipyard Limited (CSL), a public sector shipyard under the Ministry of Shipping.
  • Only five or six nations currently have the capability of manufacturing an aircraft carrier It is considered to be one of the most advanced and complex battleships in the world.
  • According to the Navy, over 76 per cent of the material and equipment on board IAC-1 is indigenous. This includes 23,000 tonnes of steel, 2,500 km of electric cables, 150 km of pipes, and 2,000 valves, and a wide range of finished products including rigid hull boats, galley equipment, air-conditioning and refrigeration plants, and steering gear.
  • The warship will offer an “incomparable military instrument with its ability to project Air Power over long distances, including Air Interdiction, Anti-Surface Warfare, offensive and defensive Counter-Air, Airborne Anti-Submarine Warfare and Airborne Early Warning”.
  • The Navy said that IAC-1 will be “the most potent sea-based asset”, which will operate the Russian-made MiG-29K fighter aircraft and Kamov-31 Air Early Warning Helicopters, both of which are already in use on the Vikramaditya.
  • The new Vikrant will also operate the soon-to-be-inducted MH-60R Seahawk multirole helicopter manufactured by the American aerospace and defence company Lockheed Martin, and the Advanced Light Helicopter (ALH) built by Bengaluru-based Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd.

INS Vikrant

  • INS Vikrant, a Majestic-class 19,500-tonne warship, was the name of India’s much-loved first aircraft carrier, a source of immense national pride over several decades of service before it was decommissioned in 1997
  • . India acquired the Vikrant from the United Kingdom in 1961, and the carrier played a stellar role in the 1971 war with Pakistan that led to the birth of Bangladesh.
  • The Vikrant was deployed in the Bay of Bengal, and its two air squadrons of Sea Hawk fighter jets and Alize surveillance aircraft were used in strikes on ports, merchant ships, and other targets, and to prevent Pakistani forces from escaping through maritime routes.

20+ years in making

1999: Project ‘P71’ to build Air Defence Ship (ADS) cleared

2003: Aircraft Carrier project gets government nod

2006: Navy says ADS changed to Indigenous Aircraft Carrier

2009: Keel laid

2011: Floated out of dry dock

2013: Launched

Nov 2020: Harbour and basin trials completed

Aug 2021: Sea trials begin

Next: Shipbuilder will continue sea trials over the next 6-7 months; then hand over IAC-1 to Navy for trials

Aug 2022: Expected to be commissioned. Trials of aircraft and component parts will follow.

Navy officials point out that even if India gives the IAC-2 project the go-ahead now, it will be over 10 years before the warship is commissioned.

9. Extreme weather events will become more frequent and more intense- IMD

Subject: Environment

Context: Rising frequency and intensity of extreme weather events

Trends in extreme weather events:

  • Globally, temperatures have risen by about 1.2 degrees Celsius compared to 100 years ago. Over India, the rise has been about 0.6 degrees Celsius.
  • The rise has been more in the northern, central, and eastern parts, and less over peninsular India.
  • This rise in temperature has an impact on extreme weather events. The probability of occurrence of heavy rainfall has increased. This trend is more evident in Maharashtra, Gujarat, Odisha, and West Bengal.

Rainfall days, heat waves, cyclones:

  • On average, the number of light and moderate rainfall days are decreasing, while the number of extreme rainfall events are increasing.
  • But total rainfall during the monsoon season has remained largely unchanged. This means when it rains, it rains heavily, and when it doesn’t rain, it doesn’t rain at all.
  • This trend is quite significant across the country’s central belt.
  • A decrease in rainfall activity has been observed over Kerala and Jharkhand and adjoining areas, but an increase in West Bengal, western Uttar Pradesh, and parts of Karnataka.
  • The intensity of cyclones in the Bay of Bengal does not show any significant change, but Arabian Sea cyclones are showing an increase in intensity.

India and Weather Forecasting Model

  • Until 2010, the IMD used only statistical models (Traditional Model) to forecast the monsoon.
  • These involved identifying climate parameters linked to the performance of the monsoon. For example, the sea surface temperature gradient between North Atlantic and North Pacific, the volume of warm water in the equatorial Pacific, the Eurasian snow cover.
  •  IMD started testing a dynamical system around 2015: This simulates the weather at a chosen set of locations on a given day — the land and ocean temperature, moisture, wind speeds at various heights, etc — and powerful computers calculate how these weather variables will change over days, weeks, months.
  • These models are also useful for anticipating heat-wave or a cold-wave and therefore useful to urban planners and government.

Is developed nations weather forecast more accurate?

  • The weather in the tropical region (ex. India) is different from that of the extratropical regions where most of Europe, northern United States, and Canada are located.
  • Cyclones, the monsoon, thunderstorms are characteristic of tropical weather systems.
  • Tropical weather is associated with convective forces of the atmosphere.  The intense heating of the Earth’s surface plays a dominant role in the genesis, evolution, characteristics, propagation, and movement of the weather in these areas.
  • Extra-tropical weather systems are more systematic and periodic, and therefore, in general, easier to predict.
  • In comparison, the weather in the tropical zones is a little less predictable.
  • India Meteorological Department (IMD) operates a dedicated weather and climate monitoring, detection and warning services useful for various sectors of economy.
  • Monsoon prediction and the weather forecasting systems in the country are comparable to the best in the world. However, efforts are continuously being made to further enhance the level of efficiency of the forecasting systems.
  • To improve the prediction of Monsoon, the National Monsoon Mission was launched in 2012. Under the National Monsoon Mission initiative, the Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology (IITM), Pune
  • The monsoon forecast for the country is prepared by the Climate Prediction Unit of Climate Research and Services Division (CR&S), IMD, Pune.
  • India is one of the very few countries that provide lightning forecasts.  An app called Damini provides location-specific information about the occurrence of lightning during the past 5, 10, and 15 minutes, and a lightning forecast for the next 45 minutes.
  • We have three main objectives for future forecasts:
    • First, to ensure that no severe weather goes undetected and unpredicted.
    • The second objective is to improve impact-based forecasts.
    • The third objective is to make updated weather information available to everyone, every hour.

10. Lok Sabha passes Air Quality Commission Bill for NRC Adjoining Areas

Subject: Environment

Context: The Lok Sabha on Wednesday passed the Bill to formalize the Commission for Air Quality Management for National Capital Region and Adjoining Areas.

About the Bill:

  • Commission for Air Quality Management for National Capital Region would be a ‘permanent’ body to address pollution in the National Capital Region Delhi and address sources of pollution in Delhi, Punjab, Rajasthan, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh.
  • It also dissolved the Environment Pollution Prevention and Control Authority established in the NCR in 1998.
  • While the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) and its State branches have the powers to implement provisions of the Environment Protection Act for air, water and land pollution, in case of dispute or a clash of jurisdictions, the Commission’s writ would prevail specific to matters concerning air pollution.
  • The government has decriminalised the act of stubble burning, an important contributor to noxious air quality.
  • However, environmental compensation fees are levied on those who are found to be engaged in stubble burning, including farmers.
  • The all-powerful body assumed several powers to coordinate action among States, levy fines  ranging up to ₹1 crore or five years of prison  to address air pollution.

Composition: 

  • Full time chairperson
  • Members consist of both representatives from several Ministries as well as independent experts from the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB), Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) and Civil Society.

Powers:

  • The new body will have the power to issue directions and entertain complaints as it deems necessary for the purpose of protecting and improving the quality of the air in the NCR and adjoining areas.
  • It will lay down parameters for control of air pollution (such as permissible levels of emissions and discharge of pollutants).
  • It will be in charge of identifying violators, monitoring factories and industries and any other polluting unit in the region, and will have the powers to shut down such units.
  • It will have the powers to overrule directives issued by the state governments in the region that may be in violation of pollution norms.

11. Floods in West Bengal

Subject: Geography

Context: Describing the flood as a “manmade one”, CM Mamta Banerjee held “unprecedented release of water from the Damodar Valley Corporation (DVC) dam” responsible for the flood situation.

  • Due to the flood, crops worth several crores have been damaged and people have been displaced in Howrah, Hooghly, Burdwan and Midnapore districts.
  • CM Banerjee has blamed Damodar Valley Corporation (DVC) for release of water which has led to inundation in Howrah, Hooghly and East Midnapore districts causing damage to crops worth several crores and displacement of people.

About Damodar Valley Corporation:

  • The Damodar Valley Corporation was established in 1948 as the first multipurpose river valley project of independent India.
  • Under this project, four dams were constructed namely,
    • Tilaiya Dam: It has been constructed across the Barakarriver at Tilaiya in Koderma district of Jharkhand.
    • Konar Dam: The Konar dam has been constructed across the Konar river—a tributary of the Damodar River in the Hazaribagh District of Jharkhand.
    • MaithonDam :It has been constructed across the Barakar river near the confluence of Barakar with Damodar river.
    • Panchet Dam: The Panchet dam has been constructed across the Damodar river, about 20 km south of the Maithon Dam.
  • In 2020, the Government of India, the Government of West Bengal, the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) and the World Bank had signed a loan agreement for a project titled ‘West Bengal Major Irrigation and Flood Management Project’.

Damodar River

  • The Damodar river originates in the Palamu hills of the Chota Nagpur plateau in the state of Jharkhand.
  • It passes through two Indian states namely, Jharkhand and West Bengal.
  • The tributaries and sub-tributaries of the Damodar includeKonar, Barakar, Haharo, Bokaro, Ghari, Jamunia, Khadia, Guaia and Bhera. 
  • The biggest tributary of the Damodar River is the Barakar. The source of Barakar is located in the vicinity of Padma in Hazaribagh district.
  • The Damodar occupies the eastern margins of the Chotanagpur Plateau where it flows through a rift valley and finally joins the Hugli.
  • Due to the devastating floods caused by the Damodar river and its tributaries in the plains of West Bengal, it is also known as the ‘sorrow of Bengal’.

12. mRNA Vaccines

Subject: Science and Technology

Context: Companies like Moderna and Pfizer are working on mRNA vaccines that allow people to build immunity to viruses like SARS-CoV-2, the coronavirus that causes Covid-19. These vaccines contain specifically designed mRNA that instructs cells how to make viral proteins.

  • Hungarian-born scientist Katalin Karikó attempted to harness the power of mRNA to fight disease in 1990’s.

About mRNA:

  • Messenger RNA (mRNA) is a single-stranded RNA molecule that is complementary to one of the DNA strands of a gene.
  • mRNA, like most RNAs, are made in the nucleus and then exported to the cytoplasm where the translation machinery, the machinery that actually makes proteins, binds to these mRNA molecules and reads the code on the mRNA to make a specific protein. 
  • So in general, one gene, the DNA for one gene, can be transcribed into an mRNA molecule that will end up making one specific protein.

mRNA Vaccine/ Synthetic mRNA:

  • In the natural world, the body relies on millions of tiny proteins to keep itself alive and healthy, and it uses mRNA to tell cells which proteins to make. If you could design your own mRNA, you could, in theory, hijack that process and create any protein you might desire — antibodies to vaccinate against infection, enzymes to reverse a rare disease, or growth agents to mend damaged heart tissue.
  • Every strand of mRNA is made up of four molecular building blocks called nucleosides. But in its altered, synthetic form, one of those building blocks  simply subbed it out for a slightly tweaked version, creating a hybrid mRNA that could sneak its way into cells without alerting the body’s defenses.
  • To produce a mRNA vaccine, scientists produce a synthetic version of the mRNA that a virus uses to build its infectious proteins.
  • This mRNA is delivered into the human body, whose cells read it as instructions to build that viral protein, and therefore create some of the virus’s molecules themselves.

mRNA Vaccine vs Traditional Vaccines:

Traditional vaccinesmRNA vaccines
  • Traditional vaccines are made up of small or inactivated doses of the whole disease-causing organism, or the proteins that it produces, which are introduced into the body to provoke the immune system into mounting a response.
  • mRNA vaccines tricks the body into producing some of the viral proteins itself.
  • They work by using mRNA, or messenger RNA, which is the molecule that essentially puts DNA instructions into action. Inside a cell, mRNA is used as a template to build a protein.

13. Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act 2012

Subject: Government Schemes

Context: The Union Cabinet, chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, on Tuesday approved the continuation of 1,023 Fast Track Special Court (FTSCs), including 389 exclusive POCSO Courts, as a Centrally-Sponsored Scheme (CSS) from April 1, 2021 to March 31, 2023.

Concept:

  • It was enacted to protect the children from offences of sexual assault, sexual harassment and pornography with due regard for safeguarding the interest and well-being of children.
  • It defines a child as any person below eighteen years of age and regards the best interests and welfare of the child as a matter of paramount importance at every stage, to ensure the healthy physical, emotional, intellectual and social development of the child.
  • It defines different forms of sexual abuse, including penetrative and non-penetrative assault, as well as sexual harassment and pornography.
  • It deems a sexual assault to be “aggravated” under certain circumstances, such as when the abused child is mentally ill or when the abuse is committed by a person in a position of trust or authority like a family member, police officer, teacher, or doctor.
  • It also casts the police in the role of child protectors during the investigative process.
  • The Act stipulates that a case of child sexual abuse must be disposed of within one year from the date the offence is reported.
  • It was amended in August 2019 to provide more stringent punishment, including the death penalty, for sexual crimes against children.
  • The Supreme Court has directed the Centre to set up special courts in each district across the country that have over a 100 cases of child abuse and sexual assault pending trial under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act.
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