Daily Prelims Notes 9 December 2020

December 9, 2020
Posted by: OptimizeIAS Team
Category: DPN

Table Of Contents

Subject: Geography

Context: The Foreign Ministers of Nepal and China jointly certified the elevation of Mount Everest at 8,848.86 metres above sea level — 86 cm higher than what was recognised since 1954.

Concept:

Mount Everest (also called Sagarmatha in Nepal) is Earth’s highest mountain above sea level, located in the Himalayas between China and Nepal with their borders running across its summit point.
Its current official elevation is 8,848m which places it more than 200m above the world’s second-highest mountain, K2, which is 8,611m tall and located in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir.
Mount Everest gets its English name from Sir George Everest, a colonial-era geographer who served as the Surveyor General of India in the mid-19th century.
It was first scaled in 1953 by the Indian-Nepalese Tenzing Norgay and New Zealander Edmund Hillary.

How and when was the earlier measurement of 8,848 m done?

This was determined by the Survey of India in 1954, using instruments like theodolites and chains, with GPS still decades away.
The elevation of 8,848 m came to be accepted in all references worldwide — except by China. Mount Everest rises from the border between Nepal and China.

Need for new measurement:

The devastating earthquake of April 2015 triggered a debate among scientists on whether it had affected the height of the mountain.
The Nepal’s government subsequently declared that it would measure the mountain on its own, instead of continuing to follow the Survey of India findings of 1954.

2. EMERGENCY USE AUTHORISATION

Subject : Governance

Context :Three vaccine developers have sought emergency use approval while their candidates are still in trials. India’s regulations provide for ‘accelerated approval’ in special situations.

Concept :

Regular procedure for drug approval:

Vaccines and medicines, and even diagnostic tests and medical devices, require the approval of a regulatory authority before they can be administered.
In India, the regulatory authority is the Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation (CDSCO).
For vaccines and medicines, approval is granted after an assessment of their safety and effectiveness, based on data from trials.

When can emergency use authorisation (EUA) be granted?

In the US, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) grants EUA only after it has been determined that the “known and potential benefits outweigh the known and potential risks of the vaccine” (or medicine).
This means that a EUA application can be considered only after sufficient efficacy data from phase 3 trials had been generated.
A EUA cannot be granted solely on the basis of data from phase 1 or phase 2 trials.

What is the process of getting an emergency use authorisation in India?

Experts and activists say India’s drug regulations do not have provisions for a EUA, and the process for receiving one is not clearly defined or consistent.
Despite this, CDSCO has been granting emergency or restricted emergency approvals to Covid-19 drugs during this pandemic for remdesivir and favipiravir.

Is there a risk in using a product that has only been granted an EUA?

According to the US FDA, the public has to be informed that a product has only been granted an EUA and not full approval.
In the case of a Covid-19 vaccine, for example, people have to be informed about the known and potential benefits and risks, and the “extent to which such benefits or risks are unknown”, and that they have a right to refuse the vaccine.

3. NATIONAL EXPERT DROUP ON VACCINE ADMINISTRATION

Subject: Current Events

Context: NEGVAC has recommended that the priority group should include health care providers and workers, from both government and private for vaccine administration

Concept:

The Centre has begun its preparations for introduction of Covid-19 vaccine and a National Expert Group on Vaccine Administration for Covid-19 (NEGVAC) has been formed as the highest group that will guide the strategies for vaccine introduction.
It is anticipated that initially the supply of the vaccine will be limited in view of huge demand.
Hence, prioritization of population will be done based on risk assessment for vaccination and subsequently other groups will be included for vaccination.
One crore health care workers, two crore frontline workers including the police and armed forces, and about 27 crore people above the age of 50 years and those less than 50 years with associate comorbidities, these are the three groups who should be simultaneously vaccinated on priority depending on the availability of a vaccine.
However, these are only recommendations of the NEGVAC, and that the government still has to take a decision.

4. BHARATMALA PARIYOJANA

Subject: Economy

Concept:

BharatmalaPariyojana is an umbrella program for the highways sector envisaged by the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways.
Under Phase-I of BharatmalaPariyojana, implementation of 34,800 km of national highways in 5 years (from 2017 to 2022) has been approved at an estimated outlay of Rs. 5,35,000 crore.
National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) has mandated the development of about 27,500 km of national highways under Phase-I.
However, as per ICRA Limited, Phase-I is likely to be delayed by four years due to the prevailing uncertainty due to Covid-19 and consequent impact on valuations.
ICRA Limited is an Indian independent and professional investment information and credit rating agency.
Phase-II envisages around 48,000 km of road network across India by 2024.

Features:

Improvement in the efficiency of existing corridors through the development of Multimodal Logistics Parks and elimination of chokepoint.
Multimodal Logistics Parks are a key policy initiative of the Government of India to improve the country’s logistics sector by lowering overall freight costs, reducing vehicular pollution and congestion, and cutting warehousing costs.
A chokepoint is a single point through which all incoming and outgoing network traffic is funnelled and hence, leads to congestion and traffic.
Enhance focus on improving connectivity in North East and leveraging synergies with Inland Waterways.
Emphasis on the use of scientific and technological planning for Project Preparation and Asset Monitoring.
Satellite mapping of corridors to identify up-gradation requirements.
Delegation of powers to expedite project delivery for successful completion of Phase I by 2022.

5. GLOBAL NAVIGATION SATELLITE SYSTEM

Subject: Science & tech

Concept:

Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) refers to a constellation of satellites providing signals from space that transmit positioning and timing data to GNSS receivers. The receivers then use this data to determine location.
By definition, GNSS provides global coverage. Examples of GNSS include Europe’s Galileo, the USA’s NAVSTAR Global Positioning System (GPS), Russia’s GLONASS)and China’s BeiDou Navigation Satellite System and India ‘s IRNSS – NAVIC.

The performance of GNSS is assessed using four criteria:

Accuracy: the difference between a receiver’s measured and real position, speed or time;
Integrity: a system’s capacity to provide a threshold of confidence and, in the event of an anomaly in the positioning data, an alarm;
Continuity: a system’s ability to function without interruption;
Availability: the percentage of time a signal fulfils the above accuracy, integrity and continuity criteria.

6. CLIMATE CHANGE PERFORMANCE INDEX (CCPI)

Subject: Environment

Context: India remains in the top 10 for the second year in a row in the latest global Climate Change Performance Index (CCPI) released in Germany.

Concept:

The biggest current emitter of greenhouse gases (GHG) China figures at 33rd rank while the largest historical polluter, the USA, appears at the bottom of the list.
Though India slid one position down from ninth in 2019 to 10th this year, the country’s journey towards climate protection has been consistent with it improving its ranking from 31st in 2014.
Globally none of the countries assessed for the annual CCPI report are, however, on the path to meet their Paris Agreement commitment of keeping global warming increase below 2 degree celsius by the end of the century and restrict it to 1.5 degree celsius rise.
The CCPI 2021, covering the year 2020, shows that only two G20 countries – the UK and India – are among the high rankers while six others – the USA, Saudi Arabia, Canada, Australia, South Korea and Russia (52nd) – are at the bottom of the index.

About CCPI

The CCPI is developed by not-for-profit organisations German watch and New Climate Institute (Germany) together with the Climate Action Network (CAN International).
It is an important tool to enhance transparency in international climate politics and enables comparison of climate protection efforts and progress made by individual countries.
The latest list is prepared by assessing performances of 57 countries and European Union (as a whole) in four categories – GHG emissions (40%), renewable energy (20%), energy use (20%) and climate policy (20%). These 57 countries and the EU collectively are responsible for about 90% of global GHG emissions.

7. UN INVESTMENT PROMOTION AWARD

Subject : Current Events

Context: The United Nations (UNCTAD) has declared Invest India as a winner of the 2020 United Nations Investment Promotion Award.

Concept:

The award ceremony took place on 7th December 2020 at UNCTAD Headquarters in Geneva.
The award recognizes and celebrates the outstanding achievements and best practices of Investment Promotion Agencies (IPAs) across the globe.
This United Nations Investment Promotion Award is the most coveted award for Investment Promotion Agencies.
UNCTAD is a central agency that monitors performance of IPAs and identifies global best practices. Germany, South Korea and Singapore have been some of the past winners of the award.

Invest India

Invest India is the National Investment Promotion and Facilitation Agency of India, set up as a non-profit venture under the aegis of Department of Industrial Policy & Promotion, Ministry of Commerce and Industry, Government of India.
It facilitates and empowers all investors under the ‘Make in India’ initiative to establish, operate and expand their businesses in India.
Operationalized in early 2010, Invest India is set up as a joint venture company between the Department of Industrial Policy & Promotion (DIPP) (now renamed as Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT)), Ministry of Commerce & Industry (35% equity), Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) (51% equity), and State Governments of India (0.5% each).

8. SAARC

Subject: International Organizations

Context : SAARC can only be fully effective in the absence of “terror and violence”, Prime Minister said in a message to the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation on its 36th Charter Day anniversary.

Concept :

South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) was established with the signing of the SAARC Charter in Dhaka on 8 December 1985.
Afghanistan became the newest member of SAARC at the 13th annual summit in 2005.
The Headquarters and Secretariat of the Association are at Kathmandu, Nepal.

Importance of SAARC:

SAARC comprises 3% of the world’s area, 21% of the world’s population and 3.8% (US$2.9 trillion) of the global economy.
It is the world’s most densely populated region and one of the most fertile areas.
SAARC countries have common tradition, dress, food and culture and political aspects thereby synergizing their actions.
All the SAARC countries have common problems and issues like poverty, illiteracy, malnutrition, natural disasters, internal conflicts, industrial and technological backwardness, low GDP and poor socio-economic condition.

9. H – INDEX

Subject : Important Report/Index

Concept :

The h-index is an author-level metric that measures both the productivity and citation impact of the publications of a scientist or scholar.
The h-index correlates with obvious success indicators such as winning the Nobel Prize, being accepted for research fellowships and holding positions at top universities.
The index is based on the set of the scientist’s most cited papers and the number of citations that they have received in other publications.
The index can also be applied to the productivity and impact of a scholarly journal as well as a group of scientists, such as a department or university or country.
The index was suggested in 2005 by Jorge E. Hirsch, a physicist at UC San Diego, as a tool for determining theoretical physicists’ relative quality and is sometimes called the Hirsch index or Hirsch number.

10. CARNATIC CLASSICAL MUSIC

Subject : Arts & Culture

Context : For the first time in 93 years, Chennai’s iconic December music festival, which brings together the finest exponents of Carnatic classical music and dance and the cultural cognoscenti, will go completely digital.

Concept :

Carnatic music owes its name to the Sanskrit term KarnâtakaSangîtam which denotes “traditional” or “codified” music.
Composed of a system of Ragam (Raga) and Thalam (Tala), it has a rich history and tradition.
Carnatic Sangeet has developed in the south Indian states of Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka. These states are known for their strong presentation of Dravidian culture.

Renaissance of Carnatic Music

The course of the evolution of Indian music saw the emergence of two different subsystems as Hindustani and Carnatic music. Both the terms emerged for the first time in Haripala’s “SangeetaSudhakara”, written in the 14th century A.D.
The two distinct styles, Hindustani and Carnatic came into vogue after the advent of the Muslims, particularly during the reign of the Mughal Emperors.
Purandardas (1484-1564), a prolific poet-composer and mystic of Vijayanagar, is considered to be the father of Carnatic music (Carnatic SangeetaPitamaha).
Venkatamakhi is regarded as the grand theorist of Carnatic music. In 17th century AD, he developed “Melakarta”, the system for classifying south Indian ragas. There are 72 Melakartas at present.
Tyagaraja (1767-1847), his contemporaries SyamaSastri and MuttusvamiDikshitar are together known as the “Trinity” of Carnatic music.

Difference between Carnatic and Hindustani Music

Carnatic music originated in South India whereas Hindustani music in North India.
It is believed that the music of India was more or less uniform before the 13th century. Hindustani synthesises with Vedic, Islamic and Persian traditions. Carnatic is comparatively untouched and developed on the original lines.
Carnatic music has homogenous and Hindustani music has a heterogeneous Indian tradition.
Carnatic music has a restrained and intellectual character as compared with the more secular Hindustani traditions.
The major vocal forms of Hindustani music are Dhrupad, Khayal, Tarana, Thumri, Dadra and Gazals. While Carnatic music has several varieties of improvisation such as Alapana, Niraval, Kalpnaswaram and Ragam Thana Pallavi.
Hindustani music has various gharanas like Lucknow, Jaipur, Kirana, Agra etc., wherein Carnatic music no such gharanas found.

11. 5G TECHNOLOGY

Subject : Science & tech

Context : Telecom industry leaders on Tuesday urged the Centre to spell out the policy framework and standards that would enable an expeditious roll-out of 5G technology in the country and help ensure the success of the ‘Digital India’ initiative

Concept :

5G or fifth generation is the latest upgrade in the long term evolution (LTE) mobile broadband networks.
The first generation of networks allowed only mobile voice calls to be made, while the second generation allowed mobile voice calls as well as sending of short text messages.
It was the third generation or 3G network which allowed web browsing on mobile devices, the speed and latency of which improved with fourth-generation or 4G networks.
The 5G networks will have even faster speeds with latency down to between 1-10 milliseconds.
Note: Latency is the time a device takes to communicate with the network, which stands at an average of up to 50 milliseconds for 4G networks across the world.

How does 5G work?

All 5G networks chiefly operate on three spectrum bands.
The low-band spectrum has been proven to have great coverage and works fast even in underground conditions. However, the maximum speed limit on this band is 100 Mbps (Megabits per second).
In the mid-band spectrum, though the speeds are higher, telcos across the world have registered limitations when it comes to coverage area and penetration of telephone signals into buildings.
The high-band spectrum offers the highest speed but has extremely limited network coverage area and penetration capabilities.
The telcos using this band rely on the existing LTE networks and will need to install a number of smaller towers to ensure adequate coverage and high-speed performance.

What does it mean to be 5G ready?

Globally many companies have been deploying 5G networks across their service areas as early as 2018.
Not only the network, but the devices will also have to be 5G ready for customers to be able to enjoy the maximum benefits of the latest upgrade in mobile broadband.
One of the major improvements in 5G is the use of beam tracking to follow all devices on the network to ensure consistent connection in real-time for the device.
5G networks are also designed to multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) efficient which improves signal throughput for all devices on the network.

Where does India stand on the deployment of 5G?

Companies, both telecom service providers and their equipment vendors, have completed lab trials of 5G network components but are yet to commence field trials, which were initially scheduled to happen last year.
For the same, telecom companies are awaiting allocation of test spectrum from the Department of Telecommunications (DoT).
The service providers have already tied up with equipment makers like Nokia, Ericsson, etc for deploying their 5G networks