Daily Prelims Notes 14 December 2020

December 14, 2020
Posted by: OptimizeIAS Team
Category: DPN

Table Of Contents

1. IFSCA REGULATIONS 2020

Subject: Economy

Context: IFSCA has notified International Financial Services Centres Authority (Bullion Exchange) Regulations, 2020.

Concept:

In the Union Budget 2020, Union Minister of Finance had made an announcement for setting up an International Bullion Exchange at the International Financial Services Centre in GIFT City, Gandhinagar, and Gujarat.
Subsequently, the Government of India had notified the bullion spot delivery contract and bullion depository receipt (with bullion as underlying) as Financial Products and related services as Financial Services under the International Financial Services Centres Authority (IFSCA) Act, 2019.
IFSCA has been entrusted with the responsibility of operationalization of this Exchange.
In this regard, International Financial Services Centres Authority (Bullion Exchange) Regulations 2020 were approved by the Authority in its meeting held on October 27,2020. The said regulations have been notified and published in the Gazette of India on December 11, 2020.
The regulations inter alia cover the Bullion Exchange, Clearing Corporation, Depository and Vaults.
The regulations are divided into the 16 chapters. First half of the regulation deals with the Exchange and Clearing Corporations while the second half pertains to the Vaults and Depositories and related provisions.

2. GALLIUM NITRIDE

Subject: Science & tech

Concept:

Gallium nitride (GaN) is a semiconductor commonly used in light-emitting diodes since the 1990s. The compound is a very hard material that has a Wurtzite crystal structure. Its wide band gap of 3.4 eV affords it special properties for applications in optoelectronic, high-power and high-frequency devices.

Features

lower on resistance giving lower conductance losses
faster devices yielding less switching losses
less capacitance resulting in less losses when charging and discharging devices
less power needed to drive the circuit
smaller devices taking up less space on the printed circuit board. GaN transistors can withstand higher electric fields, which in turn, increases power density and makes the device smaller.

Applications of GaN:

Its sensitivity to ionizing radiation is low (like other group III nitrides), making it a suitable material for solar cell arrays for satellites.
Military and space applications could also benefit as devices have shown stability in radiation environments.
Because GaN transistors can operate at much higher temperatures and work at much higher voltages than gallium arsenide (GaAs) transistors, they make ideal power amplifiers at microwave frequencies.
GaN semiconductor devices are already in use in LEDs and power amplifiers for 4G radio base stations, and now GaN-based transistors are becoming a key enabling technology in power electronics products like adapters, power supplies, and solar inverters. GaN is used to manufacture light-emitting diodes (LEDs) with colors that can go from red to ultra-violet.
GaN-based electronics (not pure GaN) has the potential to drastically cut energy consumption, not only in consumer applications but even for power transmission utilities.
GaN nanotubes are proposed for applications in nanoscale electronics, optoelectronics and biochemical-sensing applications.

Concern:

One of the problems with GaN, like any other new technology, has been the high cost. While the costs are not as prohibitive as they used to be a few years ago–as per Lux Research, GaN would cost $1,900 for a two-inch substrate whereas silicon would cost $25-50 for a six-inch substrate–they are still high as compared to silicon.
More important, company processes are more attuned to silicon products; a switch to GaN would require more research and development and surety that the products would not fail

3. CENTRAL ADMINISTRATIVE TRIBUNAL

Subject: Polity

Concept:

The Central Administrative Tribunal had been established under Article 323 – A of the Constitution for adjudication of disputes and complaints with respect to recruitment and conditions of service of persons appointed to public services and posts in connection with the affairs of the Union or other authorities under the control of the Government.
In pursuance of Article 323-A, the Parliament has passed the Administrative Tribunals Act in 1985. The act authorises the Central government to establish one Central Administrative Tribunal and the state administrative tribunals.
This act opened a new chapter in the sphere of providing speedy and inexpensive justice to the aggrieved public servants.
Benches: There are 17 Benches and 21 Circuit Benches in the Central Administrative Tribunal all over India.
Objective and Composition: The CAT is a specialist body consisting of Administrative Members and Judicial Members who by virtue of their specialized knowledge are better equipped to dispense speedy and effective justice. It was established in 1985.
A Chairman who has been a sitting or retired Judge of a High Court heads the Central Administrative Tribunal.

Operating Principles:

It exercises jurisdiction only in relation to the service matters of the parties covered by the Administrative Tribunals Act, 1985.
The Tribunal is guided by the principles of natural justice in deciding cases and is not bound by the procedure, prescribed by the Civil Procedure Code.
Under Section 17 of the Administrative Tribunal Act, 1985, the Tribunal has been conferred with the power to exercise the same jurisdiction and authority in respect of contempt of itself as a High Court.
Independence: The conditions of service of the Chairman and Members are the same as applicable to a Judge of High Court as per the Administrative Tribunals (Amendment) Act, 2006.
Appeals against Orders: The orders of Central Administrative Tribunal are challenged by way of Writ Petition under Article 226/227 of the Constitution before respective High Court in whose territorial jurisdiction the Bench of the Tribunal is situated.

4. POUSH MELA

Subject : Culture

Context: The annual “PoushMela”, a heritage cultural event attracting lakhs of travellers to West Bengal’s Santiniketan(visvabharati university) , will not be held this year due to COVID-19 restrictions, an official said.

Concept :

The 120-year-old fair and festival (PoushMela) isorganised for 3 to 4 days every year generally at the december end.
In its history it has been disrupted only twice – in 1943 due to the famine and in 1945 due to the second world war.
PoushMela takes place in Santiniketan, in Birbhum District in the Indian state of West Bengal, marking the harvest season.
The central university’s executive council (EC) on Friday decided to scrap the fair, which attracts over two lakh visitors.

Visva-Bharati University

Visva-Bharati University is a public research central university and an Institution of National Importance located in Santiniketan, West Bengal, India.
It was founded by Rabindranath Tagore who called it Visva-Bharati, which means the communion of the world with India.
Until independence it was a college.

5. CHANG’E 5 LUNAR PROBE

Subject : Science & tech

Context :A Chinese space capsule bringing back the first moon rocks in more than four decades started its three-day return to Earth on Sunday.

Concept :

The Long March-5 Y5 rocket, carrying the Chang’e-5 spacecraft, was launched from Wenchang Space Launch Center (China).
Objective : To drill 2 meters beneath the moon’s surface and scoop up about 2 kilograms of rocks and other debris to be brought back to Earth.
It will help scientists learn about:

Moon’s origins,

Volcanic activity on its surface and its interior, and

When its magnetic field, key to protecting any form of life from the sun’s radiation dissipated.

Functioning:

Upon entering the moon’s orbit, the spacecraft is intended to deploy a pair of vehicles to the lunar surface, a lander and an ascender.
A lander will drill into the ground, then transfer its soil and rock samples to an ascender that will lift off and dock with an orbiting module.
There will be an attempt to collect 2 kg of samples in a previously unvisited area in a massive lava plain known as Oceanus Procellarum, or “Ocean of Storms”.
Area of the moon where the spacecraft is due to land is 1-2 billion years old.
If this is successful, the samples will be transferred to a return capsule that will return them to Earth, with a landing in China’s Inner Mongolia region.
The entire mission is scheduled to take around 23 days.
If the mission is completed as planned, it would make China only the third country to have retrieved lunar samples, joining the United States and the Soviet Union.

China’s Moon Missions:

China made its first lunar landing in 2013.
In January 2019, the Chang’e-4 probe touched down on the far side of the moon, the first by any nation’s space probe.
Chang’e is a series of lunar probes launched by China National Space administration.

China’s Other Space Plans:

It aims to have a permanent manned space station in service by around 2022.
Within the next decade, China plans to establish a robotic base station to conduct unmanned exploration in the south polar region of the moon.
It is to be developed through the Chang’e-6, 7 and 8 missions through the 2020s.

Other Important Mission to Moon:

Chandrayaan 3 by ISRO
Artemis Mission by National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)

6. MYRISTICA SWAMP TREEFROG

Subject: Environment

Context: Myristica swamp tree frog, a rare arboreal species endemic to the Western Ghats has been recorded for the first time north of the Shencottah gap in the Vazhachal Reserve Forest in Kerala’s Thrissur district.

Concept:

It’s scientific name is Mercurana myristicapalustris.
These frogs are rare and elusive for the reason that they are arboreal and active only for a few weeks during their breeding season.
During this season, there is a large aggregation of males that descend from the high canopy of the trees. The males vocalize in groups from the low perches in the swamps.
They exhibit unique breeding behavior. The breeding season, unlike for other frogs, starts in the pre-monsoon season (May) and ends before the monsoon becomes fully active in June.
Arboreal locomotion is the locomotion of animals in trees.

7. ICMR STUDY

Subject: Current Events

Context: The detection of the presence of SARS-CoV-2 RNA in sewage samples has raised the possibility of using environmental water surveillance to monitor virus activity in infected areas, researchers have said.

Concept:

In the paper, titled “SARS-CoV-2 detection in sewage samples: standardisation of method and preliminary observations”, published recently in the Indian Journal of Medical Research, researchers claimed to have undertaken the study to standardise the methodology for detection of SARS-CoV-2 from sewage and explore the feasibility of establishing supplementary surveillance for COVID-19.
They suggested that SARS-CoV-2 detection in waste water could be used to understand the epidemiology of COVID-19. “
Decreasing concentration or absence of virus at previously SARS-CoV-2-positive sewage sampling sites may indicate successful implementation of COVID-19 control strategies.
It may also provide evidence of the presence or absence of SARS-CoV-2-infected populations and confirmation of COVID-19-free zones.
The study, conducted by ICMR-National Institute of Virology, (Mumbai unit) and Division of Epidemiology and Communicable Diseases, ICMR, Delhi, said the virus was also detected in stool samples of patients, indicating active infection of the gastrointestinal tract.
Similar environmental surveillance for the polio virus had played a critical role in the eradication of wild polio virus globally.

8. KAZIRANGA NATIONAL PARK

Subject: Environment

Context: The Park can now be explored by boats while bicycle tracks are also being finalised. One can go trekking too. But the new activities are beyond the 1,302 sq km Kaziranga’s core area of 482 sq km according to officials.

Concept:

It is located in the State of Assam and covers 42,996 Hectare (ha). It is the single largest undisturbed and representative area in the Brahmaputra Valley floodplain.

Status of the National park:

It was declared as a National Park in 1974.
It has been declared a tiger reserve since 2007. It has a total tiger reserve area of 1,030 sq km with a core area of 430 sq. km.
It was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1985.
It is recognized as an Important Bird Area by Bird Life International.

Important Species Found:

It is the home of the world’s most one-horned rhinos. Pobitora Wildlife Sanctuary has the highest density of one-horned rhinos in the world and second highest number of Rhinos in Assam after Kaziranga National Park.
Much of the focus of conservation efforts in Kaziranga are focused on the ‘big four’ species— Rhino, Elephant, Royal Bengal tiger and Asiatic water buffalo.
Kaziranga is also home to 9 of the 14 species of primates found in the Indian subcontinent.

Rivers and Highways:

The National Highway 37 passes through the park area.
The park also has more than 250 seasonal water bodies, besides the Diphlu River running through it.

Other national parks in Assam are:

Dibru-Saikhowa National Park,
Manas National Park,
Nameri National Park,
Rajiv Gandhi Orang National Park.

9. LiDAR TECHNOLOGY

Subject : Science & tech

Context :To conduct ground survey for the Delhi-Varanasi high speed rail corridor, Indian Railways will use the LiDAR (Light Detection and Ranging) technique with laser-enabled equipment mounted on a helicopter, said the National High Speed Rail Corporation Limited (NHSRCL).

Concept:

Lidar, which stands for Light Detection and Ranging, is a remote sensing method that uses light in the form of a pulsed laser to measure ranges (variable distances) to the Earth.
These light pulses combined with other data recorded by the airborne system- generate precise, three-dimensional information about the shape of the Earth and its surface characteristics.
A lidar instrument principally consists of a laser, a scanner, and a specialized GPS receiver. Airplanes and helicopters are the most commonly used platforms for acquiring lidar data over broad areas.
Two types of lidar are topographic and bathymetric. Topographic lidar typically uses a near-infrared laser to map the land, while bathymetric lidar uses water-penetrating green light to also measure seafloor and riverbed elevations.
Lidar systems allow scientists and mapping professionals to examine both natural and manmade environments with accuracy, precision, and flexibility.

10. GUPKAR DECLARATION

Subject: Social Issue

Context: National Conference chief has announced People’s Alliance for Gupkar Declaration 2.0 after an all-party meet at his residence in Jammu and Kashmir (J&K).

Concept:

The six parties have jointly stated the Centre’s decision to alter the special status of Jammu and Kashmir is ‘grossly unconstitutional’.
The parties have unequivocally and unanimously reiterated that there can be nothing about us without us. This clearly means that the Centre has to take the people of Jammu and Kashmir in confidence before making any changes in the Constitution.
The parties have stated that the abrogation of Article 370 and 35A is a measure to disempower the people of Jammu and Kashmir.

11. NATIONAL GALLERY OF MODERN ARTS

Subject : Culture

Concept :

NGMA was established in 1954, at the Jaipur House, New Delhi.
It is run and administered as a subordinate office to the Ministry of Culture, Government of India.
The NGMA has two branches, one at Mumbai and the other at Bengaluru.

Main objectives of the NGMA are

to create an understanding and sensitivity among the Indian Public towards the visual and plastic arts in general
to promote the development of contemporary Indian art in particular.

12. YEAR OF NURSE AND MIDWIFE

Subject : International events

Concept :

World Health Organisation (WHO) has designated the year 2020 as the “Year of the Nurse and midwife”, in honour of the 200th birth anniversary of Florence Nightingale.
The declaration of “Year of the Nurse and midwife” will help to strengthen nursing and midwifery for Universal Health Coverage.
Strengthening nursing will help to achieve Sustainable Development Goals, in particular the (SDG) 3 – ensure healthy lives and promote wellbeing for all at all ages, SDG 5-promoting gender equity and SDG 8- contributing to economic development.
Nurses and midwives constitute more than 50% of the health workforce in many countries.
The declaration will also help to endorse “The NursingNow!” a three-year campaign (2018-2020) to improve health globally by raising the status of nursing.
Moreover, WHO is also leading the development of the first-ever State of the World’s Nursing report which will be launched in 2020.

13. INTER STATE MIGRANT WORKMEN ACT

Subject : Governance

Context : Migrant labourers, abandoned by employers and the state, undertaking an arduous journey home, in many cases walking hundreds of kilometres on the highways, became the defining image of the national lockdown during the pandemic.

Concept :

The Act seeks to regulate the employment of inter-State migrants and their conditions of service.
It envisages a system of registration of such establishments.
The principal employer is prohibited from employing inter-State workmen without a certificate of registration from the relevant authority.
The law also lays down that every contractor who recruits workmen from one State for deployment in another State should obtain a licence to do so.
Contractors are bound by certain conditions. These include committing them to providing terms and conditions of the agreement or any other arrangement on the basis of which they recruit workers.

Applicability of the law:

It is applicable to every establishment that employs five or more migrant workmen from other States; or if it had employed five or more such workmen on any day in the preceding 12 months.
It is also applicable to contractors who employed a similar number of inter-State workmen.
The Act would apply regardless of whether the five or more workmen were in addition to others employed in the establishment or by the contractors.

Beneficial provisions for inter-State migrants:

Registration of establishments employing inter-State workers creates a system of accountability and acts as the first layer of formalising the utilisation of their labour.
It helps the government keep track of the number of workers employed and provides a legal basis for regulating their conditions of service.
The wage rates, holidays, hours of work and other conditions of service of an inter-State migrant workman shall be the same as those extended to other workmen in the same establishment, if the nature of their work is similar.

Attempts to reform:

As part of the present regime’s efforts towards consolidating and reforming labour law, a Bill has been introduced in Parliament called the Occupational Safety, Health and Working Conditions Code, 2019.
The proposed code seeks to merge 13 labour laws into a single piece of legislation. The Inter-State Migrant Workmen Act, 1979, is one of them.