Optimize IAS
  • Home
  • About Us
  • Courses
    • Prelims Test Series
      • LAQSHYA 2026 Prelims Mentorship
      • Prelims Test Series 2025
    • CSE Integrated Guidance 2025
      • ARJUNA PRIME 2025
    • Mains Mentorship
      • Arjuna 2026 Mains Mentorship
  • Portal Login
  • Home
  • About Us
  • Courses
    • Prelims Test Series
      • LAQSHYA 2026 Prelims Mentorship
      • Prelims Test Series 2025
    • CSE Integrated Guidance 2025
      • ARJUNA PRIME 2025
    • Mains Mentorship
      • Arjuna 2026 Mains Mentorship
  • Portal Login

Daily Prelims Notes 5 January 2023

  • January 5, 2023
  • Posted by: OptimizeIAS Team
  • Category: DPN
No Comments

 

 

Daily Prelims Notes

5 January 2023

Table Of Contents

  1. Rubber plantations in Tripura affecting monkeys, vegetation, suggests paper
  2. 50 centrally protected monuments ‘missing’
  3. Green hydrogen mission gets Cabinet nod, initial outlay Rs 19,744 crore
  4. Silent Valley bird species goes up to 175
  5. Complaints Under Banking Ombudsman Scheme
  6. Talacauvery is South India’s top ‘star party’ destination
  7. India identifies two lithium and one copper mine in Argentina
  8. Broadcasting Infrastructure and Network Development (BIND) scheme
  9. PM Modi to participate in all-India water ministers meet
  10. Competition Commission of India (CCI) passed two orders against Google

 

1. Rubber plantations in Tripura affecting monkeys, vegetation, suggests paper

Subject :Geography

Context:

  • The conversion of tropical forests into monoculture plantations has a major effect on non-human primates and plant species. Turning the forests into natural rubber plantations in Tripura is negatively impacting non-human primate species and vegetation in the region.

Rubber plantation states:

  • States like Kerala and Tamil Nadu are traditionally rubber-growing regions in India.
  • Tripura, Assam, Manipur, Meghalaya, Karnataka, Andaman and Nicobars Islands, Goa, Maharashtra, Orissa, West Bengal and Andhra Pradesh have non-traditional rubber plantation areas, according to Indian Council of Agricultural Research’s Biosafety Portal, 2016.

Impact of rubber plantation on tropical forests:

  • Every year, about 140,000 square kilometres of forests have been lost.
  • A large proportion of primary forest in India has been converted into monoculture plantations like tea, oil palm, teak and natural rubber.
  • From 2011 to 2018, 21,529.71 hectares (ha) of primary forest and 127,239 ha of tree cover were lost in India.
  • Tripura had 74,335 ha of rubber plantation in 2015-16.
  • The number of monkeys in the rubber plantation area is much lower than in the nearby forests and the primates spend less time in rubber plantations.
  • Importance of these primates:
    • They are human’s nearest biological relatives.
    • These primates help in the pollination, seed dispersion and seed germination of many plants and they are essential seed predators in some ecosystems.
  • Threats to these primates:
    • Their food choices are getting limited, which threatens their survival.
    • Fewer shrubs and herbaceous plants grow in rubber plantation areas than in the forests.

What are the solutions?

  • Building eco-friendly rubber plantations.
  • growing fruiting plants in rubber plantation areas.
  • maintaining specified distance, so animals are more attracted to them.
  • The agroforestry system allows rubber plants, forest vegetation, edible and useful plants planted together and kept at proper intervals, which is economically suitable and also will help conserve biodiversity.

Rubber Plant:

  • Many plant species produce natural rubber. Considerations of quality and economics, however, limit the source of natural rubber to one species, namely Hevea brasiliensis.
  • It is a native of the Amazon basin and introduced from there to countries in the tropical belts of Asia and Africa during late 19th century.
  • It can be termed as the most far reaching and successful of introductions in plant history resulting in plantations over 9.3 million hectares, 95 per cent of it across the globe in Asia.
  • Hevea brasiliensis, also known as the Para rubber tree after the Brazilian port of Para, is a quick growing, fairly sturdy, perennial tree of a height of 25 to 30 metres.
  • It has a straight trunk and thick, somewhat soft, light brownish grey bark.
  • The rubber tree may live for a hundred years or even more. But its economic life period in plantations, on general considerations is, only around 32 years – 7 years of immature phase and 25 years of productive phase.
  • Commercial cultivation of rubber in India was started in 1902.

Rubber Growing Regions

  • The rubber growing regions in India can be classified under two major zones, traditional and non- traditional on the basis of agro-climatic conditions.
  • Traditional Regions:
    • Rubber cultivation in India has been traditionally confined to the hinterlands of the southwest coast, mainly in Kanyakumari District of Tamil Nadu and Kerala
  • Non-traditional Regions
    • Tripura, Assam, Manipur, Meghalaya, Karnataka, Andaman and Nicobars Islands, Goa, Maharashtra, Orissa, West Bengal and Andhra Pradesh have non-traditional rubber plantation areas.

Geographical conditions:

  • Rubber is a tropical tree.
  • It requires high temperatures throughout the year – ranging between 20°-35°C or average monthly mean of 27°C.
    • Less than 20°C temperature is detrimental.
  • Rubber also requires heavy rainfall.
    • The annual average rainfall of not less than 200 cm is optimum. Rubber trees thrive well when the distribution of rainfall is uniformly high all over the year.
    • Deep, friable, well-drained soils are ideal as they promote root devel­opment, and acidic soils are also suitable.
  • Thailand is the highest rubber producer in the world, which produced 31.29 per cent of world production. Indonesia is the second largest producer.
    • In the world production of natural rubber, India ranks Fourth.
    • Traditional rubber-growing states comprising Kerala and Tamil Nadu account for
    • 81% of production.

2. 50 centrally protected monuments ‘missing’

Subject :Art and Culture

Context:

  • As many as 50 of India’s 3,693 centrally protected monuments are missing, according to a submission made in Parliament by the Ministry of Culture.

More on the news:

  • It was in 2013 that the Comptroller and Auditor General had declared 92 monuments as “missing” after a first-of-its-kind physical verification exercise undertaken after Independence.
  • Missing monuments: 11 from Uttar Pradesh, two each from Delhi and Haryana.
  • The list also included monuments in Assam, West Bengal, Arunachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand.

Why are they missing?

  • The Parliamentary Standing Committee on Transport, Tourism and Culture published a report titled ‘Issues relating to Untraceable Monuments and Protection of Monuments in India’.
  • As per the government, these monuments are untraceable over the years due to:
    • Rapid urbanisation
    • submerged by reservoirs and dams
    • difficulties in tracing in remote locations and dense forests
    • non-availability of their proper location.
  • As per the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI),14 of these monuments have been lost to rapid urbanisation, 12 are submerged by reservoirs or dams, and the locations of the remaining 24 remain untraceable.

About Centrally protected monuments:

  • The Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Sites and Remains (AMASR) Act, 1958 is one of the landmark laws for the –
    • Preservation of ancient and historical monuments and archaeological sites and remains of national importance (over 100 years old).
    • Regulation of archaeological excavations and
    • Protection of sculptures, carvings and other like objects.
    • The Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) functions under the provisions of this act.
  • India has a total of 3,695 Centrally Protected Monuments or Sites in the country, under the protection of the ASI.
  • The monuments are regularly inspected by the ASI officials to assess their present condition and the necessary conservation and preservation works are taken up as per the requirement.

3. Green hydrogen mission gets Cabinet nod, initial outlay Rs 19,744 crore

Subject : Environment

Context:

  • With the aim to make India energy independent and decarbonise major sectors of the economy, the Union Cabinet on Wednesday approved the National Green Hydrogen Mission (NGHM), with an initial outlay of Rs 19,744 crore.

More on the news:

  • The target is to bring in an investment of Rs 8 lakh crore by 2030, and create over 6 lakh jobs.
  • Nearly 50 MMT (million metric tonne) per annum of CO2 emissions is also expected to be averted with this by 2030.

About the National Green Hydrogen Mission (NGHM):

  • Launched on 15 Aug, 2021.
  • The Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) will formulate the scheme guidelines for implementation.
  • The mission seeks to promote the development of green hydrogen production capacity of at least 5 MMT (Million Metric Tonnes) per annum with an associated renewable energy capacity addition of about 125 GW in the country by 2030.

Benefits of the Mission:

  • The Mission will have wide ranging benefits:
    • creation of export opportunities for Green Hydrogen and its derivatives;
    • decarbonisation of industrial, mobility and energy sectors;
    • reduction in dependence on imported fossil fuels and feedstock;
    • development of indigenous manufacturing capabilities;
    • creation of employment opportunities; and
    • development of cutting-edge technologies.

Green Hydrogen

  • Hydrogen, made by splitting water with an electrical process called electrolysis, can be used as a fuel.
  • If the devices that do that, electrolysers, are powered by renewable energy, the product is called green hydrogen.
    • Fertiliser, refining and iron and steel units currently consume grey hydrogen, made through fossil fuels.
  • India also plans to build electrolyser capacity of 60 gigawatts to 100 gigawatts to help produce green hydrogen.

Major Activities to be carried out under the Mission:

  • Creating volumes and infrastructure
  • Demonstrations in niche applications
  • Goal-oriented Research & Development
  • Facilitative policy support
  • A robust framework for standards and regulations for hydrogen technologies

Types of Hydrogen Fuel:

  • Grey Hydrogen:
    • Manufactured using Natural Gas without carbon sequestration
  • Brown Hydrogen:
    • Manufactured using Coal without carbon sequestration.
  • Blue Hydrogen: 
    • Manufactured using Natural Gas with carbon sequestration.
  • Green Hydrogen: 
    • Manufactured using Renewable Energy.

4. Silent Valley bird species goes up to 175

Subject : Environment

Context:

  • A bird survey conducted at the Silent Valley National Park in the last week of December identified 141 species, of which 17 were new. So far, 175 species of birds have been spotted in Silent Valley.

About the survey:

  • The survey was held in association with the Kerala Natural History Society.
  • The first survey was held in the last week of December 1990.
  • 139 birds had been identified in a survey held in 2006, and the number of species went up to 142 in the last survey held in 2014.
  • Brown wood owl, Banded bay cuckoo, Malabar woodshrike, White-throated kingfisher, Indian nightjar, Jungle nightjar, and Large cuckooshrike were among the 17 species newly identified in the Silent Valley.
  • Birds such as Crimson-backed sunbird, Yellow-browed bulbul, Black bulbul, Indian white-eye and Indian swiftlet were found in abundance in Silent Valley.
  • Endemic birds sighted in the survey are:
    • Nilgiri laughingthrush, Nilgiri flowerpecker, Brown-cheeked fulvetta, Black-and-orange flycatcher, Grey-headed canary-flycatcher, Greenish warbler, Common chiffchaff, Tytler’s leaf warbler, Shaheen falcon, Nilgiri wood pigeon, and Malabar whistling thrush.

About the Silent Valley National Park:

  • Silent Valley national park is one of the magnificent beauties of nature in Kerala. It is a core part of the Nilgiri Biosphere Reserve and located in the Nilgiri hills.
  • The national park is one of the most protected and untouched areas of rain forests and tropical moist evergreen forest in the South Western Ghats.
  • The Silent Valley National Park comes under the Western Ghats World Heritage Site.
  • UNESCO declared parts of Western Ghats as World Heritage site in the year 2007.

  • The entire park is surrounded by a buffer zone to protect the flora and fauna. The buffer zone accounts to 148 sq. Km.
  • Silent valley National park is surrounded by New Amarambalam Reserved Forest, Karimpuzha Wildlife Sanctuary and Nedumkayam Rainforest in Nilambur Taluk of Malappuram district.
  • On the other side the national park is borders with Mukurthi National Park of Nilgiris district and Attappadi Reserved Forest in Mannarkkad Taluk of Palakkad district.
  • It is the last remaining rain forest of Kerala.
  • It was declared a Reserve forest in 1914.
  • Then in 1984 it was declared as a national park.
  • Sairandhrivanam, which translates as Sairandhri’s Forest, is the native name for the Silent Valley region.
    • Draupadi, the Pandavas’ wife, disguised herself as Sairandhri, the maid of a queen named Sudeshna while her family was in exile, according to the epic Mahabharatha.
  • During the monsoons, Silent Valley receives a lot of rain, however the exact amount varies due to the region’s varying geography.

FLORA:

  • The park’s valley areas are part of an Eco-region of tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forests.
  • The South Western Ghats montane rain forests region includes hilly terrain above 1,000 metres. Above 1,500 metres, evergreen forests give place to stunted forests known as sholas, which are mixed with open grassland.
  • The valley’s flora includes around 1000 flowering plant species, 108 orchid species, 100 ferns and fern allies, 200 liverworts, 75 lichens, and roughly 200 algae.
  • The Western Ghats are home to the bulk of these flora.

FAUNA:

  • Many endangered species such as the lion-tailed macaque, tiger, gaur, leopard, wild boar, panther, Indian Civet, and Sambhar can be found in Silent Valley Park.

5. Complaints Under Banking Ombudsman Scheme

Subject :Economy

Context:

  • The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has released the Annual Report of the Ombudsman Schemes for the period April 01, 2021 – March 31, 2022.
  • As per the report, volume of complaints received under the scheme stood at 4,18,184 in 2021-22, an increase of 9.39 per cent compared to the previous year.

Highlights of the report

  • RBI said that the volume of complaints received by the ombudsman schemes or consumer education and protection cells during the year 2021-22 increased by 9.39 per cent to 4,18,184.
  • Issues related to ATM/debit cards and mobile/electronic banking were the top grounds of complaints received at the Office of Banking Ombudsman (OBO).
  • About 90% of the total complaints were received through digital modes, including:
    • the online Complaint Management System (CMS) portal,e-mail, and
    • Centralised Public Grievance Redress and Monitoring System (CPGRAMS).
  • The report also said that the rate of disposal of complaints by ombudsmen improved to 97.9% in 2021-22 from 96.6% in 2020-21.

Banking Ombudsman Scheme

  • The Banking Ombudsman Scheme is an expeditious and inexpensive forum for bank customers for resolution of complaints relating to certain services rendered by banks.
  • The Scheme is introduced under Section 35 A of the Banking Regulation Act, 1949 by RBI with effect from 1995.
  • The Banking Ombudsman is a senior official appointed by the Reserve Bank of India to redress customer complaints against deficiency in certain banking services.
  • All Scheduled Commercial Banks, Regional Rural Banks and Scheduled Primary Co-operative Banks are covered under the Scheme.

The Reserve Bank – Integrated Ombudsman Scheme (RB-IOS)

  • The Reserve Bank – Integrated Ombudsman Scheme was launched in November 2021 by PM Modi.
  • The Scheme will provide cost-free redress of customer complaints involving deficiency in services rendered by entities regulated by RBI.
  • It comes into picture if the issue has not been resolved to the satisfaction of the customers or not replied within a period of 30 days by the regulated entity.
  • The Scheme integrates the existing three Ombudsman schemes of RBI:
    • Banking Ombudsman Scheme, 2006;
    • Ombudsman Scheme for Non-Banking Financial Companies, 2018; and
    • Ombudsman Scheme for Digital Transactions, 2019.
  • In addition to integrating the three existing schemes, the Scheme also includes under its ambit Non-Scheduled Primary Co-operative Banks with a deposit size of ₹50 crore and above.
  • The Scheme adopts ‘One Nation One Ombudsman’ approach by making the RBI Ombudsman mechanism jurisdiction neutral.

Features of RB-IOS

  • It will no longer be necessary for a complainant to identify under which scheme he/she should file complaint with the Ombudsman.
  • The scheme includes a wider definition of deficiency of services which ensures complaints will not go unaddressed or rejected simply on account of not covered under the grounds listed in the scheme.
  • A Centralised Receipt and Processing Centre has been set up at RBI for receipt and initial processing of physical and email complaints in any language.
  • The Scheme has done away with the jurisdiction of each ombudsman office.
  • The regulated entity will not have any right to appeal in cases where an award is issued by the ombudsman against it for not furnishing satisfactory and timely information.

Significance of RB – IOS

  • The first ombudsman scheme was rolled out in the 1990s. However, it was always viewed with suspicion by consumers.
  • One of the primary concerns was the lack of maintainable grounds on which the consumer could challenge the actions of a regulated entity at the ombudsman.
  • Also, frequent rejection of the complaints on technical grounds was one among the reasons.
  • This resulted in a preference for the consumer court notwithstanding the extended timelines for redressal.

6. Talacauvery is South India’s top ‘star party’ destination

Subject :Geography

Context:

  • Talacauvery in the Kodagu district of Karnataka, which is considered the place of origin of the Cauvery River, has emerged as South India’s Hanle, as astronomers are seen hosting “star parties” in the region.
  • Hanle, which is situated in Ladakh, is famous for its pristine skies and minimal light pollution.
  • The Department of Science & Technology (DST) under the Ministry of Science & Technology, announced the establishment of India’s first Dark Sky Reserve at Hanle.
  • The Department of Science and Technology and Indian Institute of Astrophysics (IIA) in Bengaluru are providing support for the facility. The IIA already manages the Indian Astronomical Observatory (IAO) complex in Hanle, Ladakh.
  • In southern parts of India, most dark sky locations are located amidst the Western Ghats and Talacauvery is said to be the most ideal location to gaze at the sky and have a star party due to less light pollution.

Bortle Scale

  • Astronomers use the Bortle scale to measure the brightness of the night sky in a location that is a nine-level numerical scale.
  • The lower the numerical scale the better would be the dark sky location.
  • Example: Hanle would qualify as a Bortle one sky, Talacauvery as Bortle two, and Bengaluru as Bortle nine.

Dark Sky Reserve

  • A Dark Sky Reserve is a designation given to a place that has policies in place to ensure that a tract of land or region has minimal artificial light interference.
  • A dark sky reserve requires a “core” area that has clear sky without any light pollution, which can enable telescopes to see the sky in its natural darkness.
  • The International Dark Sky Association (IDSA) defines an international dark sky reserve (IDSR) as “a public or private land of substantial size (at least 700 km², or about 173,000 acres) possessing an exceptional or distinguished quality of starry nights and nocturnal environment, and that is specifically protected for its scientific, natural, educational, cultural heritage, and/or public enjoyment.
  • The International Dark Sky Association is a U.S.-based non-profit that designates places as International Dark Sky Places, Parks, Sanctuaries and Reserves, depending on the criteria they meet.

7. India identifies two lithium and one copper mine in Argentina

Subject :Geography

Context:

  • India has identified two lithium mines and one copper mine in Argentina for a possible acquisition or long-term lease. Commercial evaluation of the mines have begun.

About Lithium:

  • It is a soft, silvery-white metal. Under standard conditions, it is the lightest metal and the lightest solid element.
  • It is highly reactive and flammable, and must be stored in mineral oil. It is an alkali metal and a rare metal.
  • Alkali Metals
    • The alkali metals consist of the chemical elements lithium, sodium, potassium, rubidium, caesium, and francium. Together with hydrogen they constitute group 1, which lies in the s-block of the periodic table.
  • Rare Metals
    • It include Niobium (Nb), Tantalum (Ta), Lithium (Li), Beryllium (Be), Cesium (Cs) etc. and Rare Earths (RE) include Lanthanum (La) to Lutetium (Lu) besides Scandium (Sc) and Yttrium (Y).
    • These metals are strategic in nature with wide application in the nuclear and other high tech industries such as electronics, telecommunication, information technology, space, defense etc.
  • Key Characteristics and Properties:
    • It has the highest specific heat capacity of any solid element.
    • Lithium’s single balance electron allows it to be a good conductor of electricity.
    • It is flammable and can even explode when exposed to air and water.
  • Applications:
    • Lithium is a key element for new technologies and finds its use in ceramics, glass, telecommunication and aerospace industries.
    • The well-known uses of Lithium are in Lithium ion batteries, lubricating grease, high energy additive to rocket propellants, optical modulators for mobile phones and as convertor to tritium used as a raw material for thermonuclear reactions i.e. fusion.

Extraction Method:

  • Lithium can be extracted in different ways, depending on the type of the deposit .
  • Solar evaporation of large brine pools.
  • A brine pool is a volume of brine collected in a seafloor depression.
  • For example: Brines of Sambhar and Pachpadra in Rajasthan.
  • Hard-rock extraction of the ore (a metal-bearing mineral).
  • For example: rock mining at Mandya.

Government Initiative:

  • India, through a newly state-owned company KhanijBidesh India Ltd, had signed an agreement with an Argentinian firm to jointly prospect lithium in Argentina that has the third largest reserves of the metal in the world.
  • KABIL, a joint venture formed through the participation of National Aluminium Company (Nalco), Hindustan Copper (HCL) and MECL, aims to ensure consistent supply of critical and strategic minerals in the domestic market.
  • Also, the company has a specific mandate to acquire strategic mineral assets such as lithium and cobalt abroad.

8. Broadcasting Infrastructure and Network Development (BIND) scheme

Subject :Polity

Context

  • The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs has recently approved a large infrastructure development scheme for Prasar Bharati, the public broadcasting service in India that heads All India Radio and Doordarshan.
  • The Broadcasting Infrastructure and Network Development (BIND) scheme, worth over ₹2,500 crore, will focus on expanding and upgrading the infrastructure of Prasar Bharati, as well as improving the digital content and distribution network.

BIND Scheme

  • The BIND scheme is designed to provide financial support to Prasar Bharati for expenses related to the expansion and upgradation of its broadcasting infrastructure, content development, and civil work related to the organization.
  • As the public broadcaster of India, Prasar Bharati serves as a crucial source of information, education, entertainment, and engagement for the public, especially in remote areas of the country through DD and AIR.

Upgrading Infrastructure and Increasing Reach

  • The BIND scheme will enable Prasar Bharati to undertake major upgrades of its facilities with improved infrastructure, which will expand its reach to include areas with left-wing extremism, strategic locations, and border regions.
  • In addition, the scheme aims to provide high-quality content for both domestic and international audiences and increase the availability of diverse content by upgrading the capacity of the DTH platform to accommodate more channels.

Other Aspects of the BIND Scheme

  • As part of the project, Prasar Bharati will also purchase OB vans and digitally upgrade DD and AIR studios to make them HD ready.
  • Currently, DD operates 36 TV channels, including 28 regional channels, while AIR operates over 500 broadcasting centers.
  • The BIND scheme will increase the coverage of AIR FM transmitters in the country to 66% by geographical area and 80% by population, up from 59% and 68%, respectively.
  • The scheme also includes the free distribution of over 800,000 DD Free Dish STBs to people living in remote, tribal, left-wing extremism-affected, and border areas.

Prasar Bharti

  • Prasar Bharati is a statutory autonomous body. It is the Public Service Broadcaster of the country.
  • It was established under the Prasar Bharati Act in 1997.
  • The Prasar Bharati Corporation’s main objective is to provide autonomy to Doordarshan and Akashvani in order to “educate and entertain the public.

9. PM Modi to participate in all-India water ministers meet

Subject :Polity

Context: While addressing the challenges of water security as part of the India@2047 plan, the Prime Minister has proclaimed the ‘5P’ mantra which includes Political will, Public financing, Partnerships, Public Participation and Persuasion for sustainability.

  • India’s water sector will play a significant role in achieving heights India strives to reach in the next crucial years.
  • To take forward action plan, the Ministry of Jal Shakti is organizing the “1st All India Annual State Ministers Conference on Water’’ with the theme “Water Vision@2047” in Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh on 5th & 6th January, 2023.

Objectives of the conference

  • The primary objective of the 2-days Conference is to gather inputs for the India@2047 and 5P vision from the different water stakeholders of the states, water being a state subject, and also to improve engagement and partnership with the states and to share the initiatives and schemes of the Ministry of Jal Shakti.

Significance of the conference

  • Thematic sessions at the conference to focus on water security, water usage efficiency, water governance, water infrastructure and water quality
  • State Ministers of Water Resources, Public Health Engineering Department (PHED) and Irrigation from all States/ UTs of the country will participate
  • Participants to prepare a blue print of Water Vision@2047 and prepare a road map to address the water problems of the country.

Water In Indian Constitution

  • Article 246 of the Constitution deals with subject matter of laws to be made by the Parliament and by Legislature of the States.
  • As most of the rivers in the country are inter-State, the regulation and development of waters of these rivers, is a source of inter-State differences and disputes.
  • In the Constitution, water is a matter included in Entry 17 of List-II i.e. State List.
  • This entry is subject to the provision of Entry 56 of List-I i.e. Union List (Regulation and development of inter-State rivers and river valleys).

10. Competition Commission of India (CCI) passed two orders against Google

Subject :Economy

Context: In October 2022, the Competition Commission of India (CCI) passed two orders against Google in respect of its Android ecosystem and Play Store policies. Through these orders, the competition panel not only imposed penalties against Google for abusing its dominant position, but also directed it to modify its policies.

More about the news:

  • For app developers, app stores have become a necessary medium for distribution of their apps to the end users and the availability of app store(s) is directly dependent on OS installed on a smart device.
  • Google’s Play Store constitutes the main distribution channel for app developers in the Android mobile ecosystem, which allows its owners to capitalize on the apps brought to market.
  • Based on its assessment, the CCI found Google to be dominant in the markets for licensable OS for smart mobile devices & market for app stores for Android smart mobile OS, in India.
  • Interestingly, the remedies being opposed by Google in India, are required to be implemented by it in Europ
  • A majority of the behavioural remedies imposed by CCI are covered by the European Union’s Digital Markets Act (DMA) as well.One such direction of the CCI includes allowing side-loading of applications in Android mobile phones.

What is Side-loading?

  • Sideloading offers mobile device users a way to access more applications than are available through commercial app stores such as Google Play or the Apple App Store. It is the installation of an application on a mobile device without using the device’s official application distribution method.
  • It involves installing an application package in APK format onto an Android device. Such packages are usually downloaded from websites other than the official app store Google Play.

About Competition Commission of India:

  • CCI is a statutory body under the Ministry of Corporate Affairs and is responsible for enforcing the Competition Act, 2002.
  • It should be noted that on the recommendations of Raghavan committee, the Monopolies and Restrictive Trade Practices Act, 1969 (MRTP Act) was repealed and replaced by the Competition Act, 2002.
  • Composition: The Commission consists of a Chairperson and not more than 6 Members appointed by the Central Government.
  • It is the statutory duty of the Commission to eliminate practices having an adverse effect on competition,promote and sustain competition, protect the interests of consumers and ensure freedom of trade carried on by other participants, in markets in India as provided in the Preamble as well as Section 18 of the Act.
  • Commission is also mandated to give its opinion on competition issues to government or statutory authority and to undertake competition advocacy for creating awareness of competition law. Advocacy is at the core of effective competition regulation.
  • Competition Commission of India (CCI), which has been entrusted with implementation of law, has always believed in complementing robust enforcement with facilitative advocacy. It is a quasi-judicial body.
  • VISION : To promote and sustain an enabling competition culture through engagement and enforcement that would inspire businesses to be fair, competitive and innovative; enhance consumer welfare; and support economic growth.
  • MISSION : Competition Commission of India aims to establish a robust competitive environment through
  • Proactive engagement with all stakeholders, including consumers, industry, government and international jurisdictions.
  • Being a knowledge-intensive organization with high competence level.
  • Professionalism, transparency, resolve and wisdom in enforcement

About Competition Act, 2002:

  • The Competition Act was passed in 2002 and has been amended by the Competition (Amendment) Act, 2007.
  • The Act prohibits anti-competitive agreements, abuse of dominant position by enterprises and regulates combinations (acquisition, acquiring of control and M&A), which causes or likely to cause an appreciable adverse effect on competition within India.
  • In accordance with the provisions of the Amendment Act, the Competition Commission of India and the Competition Appellate Tribunal have been established.
  • Government replaced Competition Appellate Tribunal (COMPAT) with the National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT) in 2017.
Daily Current Affairs Prelims Notes

Recent Posts

  • Daily Prelims Notes 23 March 2025 March 23, 2025
  • Challenges in Uploading Voting Data March 23, 2025
  • Fertilizers Committee Warns Against Under-Funding of Nutrient Subsidy Schemes March 23, 2025
  • Tavasya: The Fourth Krivak-Class Stealth Frigate Launched March 23, 2025
  • Indo-French Naval Exercise Varuna 2024 March 23, 2025
  • No Mismatch Between Circulating Influenza Strains and Vaccine Strains March 23, 2025
  • South Cascade Glacier March 22, 2025
  • Made-in-India Web Browser March 22, 2025
  • Charting a route for IORA under India’s chairship March 22, 2025
  • Mar-a-Lago Accord and dollar devaluation March 22, 2025

About

If IAS is your destination, begin your journey with Optimize IAS.

Hi There, I am Santosh I have the unique distinction of clearing all 6 UPSC CSE Prelims with huge margins.

I mastered the art of clearing UPSC CSE Prelims and in the process devised an unbeatable strategy to ace Prelims which many students struggle to do.

Contact us

moc.saiezimitpo@tcatnoc

For More Details

Work with Us

Connect With Me

Course Portal
Search