Daily Prelims Notes 19 May 2021

May 19, 2021
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Category: DPN

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Daily Prelims Notes

19 May 2021

Table Of Contents

1. R VALUE

Subject: Science & tech

Context: At 0.98, India’s R value drops below 1 for the first time during second Covid wave.

Concept:

R0 or reproduction number tells you the average number of people who will contract a contagious disease from one person with that disease
R-naught is a frequently used mathematical metric to estimate how contagious an infectious disease can be. It can help in making projections for the number of people likely to be affected by such a disease and is often used to decide on the kind of policy interventions required to halt the epidemic.
A less than one value for R-naught would mean that disease would not take the form of an epidemic. Any value more than one indicates an exponential rise in the number of patients.
R-naught is also a dynamic metric, and is sensitive to the kind of interventions made to contain the spread.

2. INS KOLKATTA

Subject: Defence

Context: Cyclone Tauktae: INS Kolkata rushes to rescue barge with 137 onboard.

Concept:

INS Kolkata is the lead ship of the Kolkata-class stealth guided-missile destroyers of the Indian Navy.
Ship was constructed at Mazagon Dock Limited (MDL), and was handed over to the navy on 10 July 2014 after completing her sea trials.
The ship was officially commissioned by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in a ceremony held on 16 August 2014.

3. PVTG’S

Subject: Society

Context: Concern for PVTGs in Odisha as test hesitancy poses hurdle.Thirteen of the 62 tribal groups in Odisha have been identified as PVTGs, which are given special protection because of their dwindling population. Their current population is 2.14 lakh, spread across 11 districts.

Concept :

Particularly vulnerable tribal group

75 tribal groups have been categorized categorized by Ministry of Home Affairs as Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Groups (PVTG)s.
The criteria for identifying Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Groups are: –

Pre-agricultural level of technology

Low level of literacy

Economic backwardness

A declining or stagnant population.

PVTGs reside in 18 States and UT of A&N Islands.
Besides a number of schemes of Government of India and the State Governments where PVTG population are also benefitted along with other population, Ministry of Tribal Affairs administers a scheme namely ‘Development of Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Groups (PVTG)’specifically for the PVTG population.
The scheme covers the 75 identified PVTGs in 18 States, and Union Territory of Andaman & Nicobar Islands.
The scheme aims at planning their socio-economic development in a comprehensive manner while retaining the culture and heritage of the communities by adopting habitat level development approach.
The projects taken up under this scheme are demand driven.

4. FERTILIZER PRICING

Subject: Economy

Context: Govt considering subsidy to offset rise in global prices of P&K fertilisers’ raw material.

Concept:

Farmers buy fertilisers at MRPs (maximum retail price) below their normal supply-and-demand-based market rates or what it costs to produce/import them.
The difference between the retail price and production cost/domestic price is given as subsidy to manufacturers.

Present regime – Partial DBT (Since April 2018)

The subsidy goes to fertiliser companies, although its ultimate beneficiary is the farmer who pays MRPs less than the market-determined rates.
Manufacturers of fertilizers (urea) receive 100% of subsidy after fertiliser is delivered to the farmer, and the latter’s identity viz. Aadhaar is captured on the point of sale (PoS) machine at the dealer’s shop.
Therefore, the subsidy continues to be routed through manufacturers even though the sale of fertilizer is being verified using Aadhar ecosystem
The manufacturers sell urea at the maximum retail price (MRP) controlled by the Centre, which is kept at a low level. They also get subsidy reimbursement on unit-specific basis under the new pricing scheme (NPS).
The MRPs of non-urea fertilizers’ are decontrolled or fixed by the companies. The Centre, however, pays a flat per-tonne subsidy on these nutrients to ensure they are priced at “reasonable levels (based on Nutrient based Subsidy scheme)

Recent proposal:

At present, the Centre is following a “no denial” policy. Anybody, non-farmers included, can purchase any quantity of fertilisers through the PoS machines. It leads to bulk purchase of urea that is used for non agri purposes.
Hence , government is considering to put a cap on the maximum amount of fertilisers anybody can buy during kharif/rabi seasons.

5. CAIRN ENERGY – AIR INDIA DISPUTE

Subject: Economy

Context: Recently, the British oil company Cairn Energy Plc is suing Air India in New York to seize its assets to enforce the $1.2 billion arbitration award it won against the Indian government in a retrospective tax dispute.

Concept:

Cairn Energy-Air India dispute

In 2020, a three-member international arbitral tribunal had ruled an unanimous verdict that the Indian government was in breach of the guarantee of fair and equitable treatment.
It was against the India-UK bilateral treaty and that the breach caused a loss to the British energy company.
It awarded Cairn $1.2 billion in compensation that India was liable to pay.
The Cairn has moved a court in the South District of New York against Air India and India has also challenged the arbitration award in Netherlands.

Retrospective tax demand

The arbitration was initiated by Cairn, similar to what Vodafone did for a breach relating to India’s 2012 retrospective amendments to tax laws.
Retrospective Taxation is a combination of “retrospective” and “tax” where “retrospective” means taking effect from a date in the past and “tax” refers to a new or additional levy of tax on a specified transaction.
It effectively allows a country to pass a rule on taxing certain products, items or services, and deals, and charge companies from a time before the date on which the law is passed.

Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA)

It was established in 1899 to facilitate arbitration and other forms of dispute resolution between states.
It is an intergovernmental organization dedicated to serving the international community in the field of dispute resolution.

The PCA has a three-part organizational structure consisting of:

Administrative Council that oversees its policies and budgets,
Panel of independent potential arbitrators known as the Members of the Court, and
Secretariat, known as the International Bureau, headed by the Secretary-General.

6. G 20

Subject: International Organisations

Context: Leaders of the world’s largest economies back “voluntary licensing” of Covid-19 vaccine patents, the draft conclusions of a summit show, watering down a US push for waivers and earlier commitments to supply more funds to the World Health Organization.

Concept:

The G20 is an informal group of 19 countries and the European Union, with representatives of the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank.
The G20 membership comprises a mix of the world’s largest advanced and emerging economies, representing about two-thirds of the world’s population, 85% of global gross domestic product, 80% of global investment and over 75% of global trade.

G20 Members

The members of the G20 are Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, Republic of Korea, Mexico, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Turkey, the United Kingdom, the United States, and the European Union.
Spain as a permanent, non-member invitee, also attends leader summits.

Structure and Functioning of G20

The G20 Presidency rotates annually according to a system that ensures a regional balance over time.
For the selection of presidency, the 19 countries are divided into 5 groups, each having no more than 4 countries. The presidency rotates between each group. Every year the G20 selects a country from another group to be president.
India is in Group 2 which also has Russia, South Africa, and Turkey.
The G20 does not have a permanent secretariat or Headquarters. Instead, the G20 president is responsible for bringing together the G20 agenda in consultation with other members and in response to developments in the global economy.
TROIKA: Every year when a new country takes on the presidency (in this case Argentina 2018), it works hand in hand with the previous presidency (Germany, 2017) and the next presidency (Japan, 2019) and this is collectively known as TROIKA. This ensures continuity and consistency of the group’s agenda.

7. EXHAUST SCRUBBERS IN SHIPS

Subject: Economy

Context :Thanks to exhaust scrubbers, while ships are polluting the air less, their water-pollution footprint is rising.

Concept :

On January 1, 2020, the IMO, a UN body, started the enforcement of a rule banning sulphur-heavy fuel.
Since sulphur-light fuel can be very expensive, it allowed ships to install exhaust scrubbers that use high-volume, high-speed, water spray to absorbs pollutants from the exhaust.
Following the adoption, exhaust scrubbers have become one of the most preferred ways of reducing sulphur exhaust as they ‘scrub’ pollutants out of emissions.

There are two types of exhaust scrubbers- open and closed.

open-loop ones that dumps the scrubber wastewater into the sea/at the port and closed loop ones that treat the wastewater before dumping.
A the time of adopting the new norms, it was hoped that more ships will get fitted with closed-loop scrubber systems.
Both kinds of scrubbers have led to the dumping of 10 gigatons of scrubber wastewater containing dangerous pollutants and toxic chemicals, including carcinogenic hydrocarbons.
This has endangered not just sensitive marine ecosystems along the most popular sea routes, but also threatens human health through seafood-consumption.

8. WAQF

Subject : Culture

Context: The Uttar Pradesh Sunni Central Waqf Board on Tuesday condemned the demolition of a mosque in a tehsil compound in Barabanki district by the administration, terming it a “patently illegal and high-handed action” and demanded its restoration.

Concept :

Waqf

Property given in the name of God for religious and charitable purposes.
In legal terms, permanent dedication by a person professing Islam, of any movable or immovable property for any purpose recognised by the Muslim law as pious, religious or charitable.

How is waqf created?

A waqf can be formed through a deed or instrument, or a property can be deemed waqf if it has been used for religious or charitable purposes for a long period of time.
The proceeds are typically used to finance educational institutions, graveyards, mosques and shelter homes.
A person creating the waqf cannot take back the property and the waqf would be a continuing entity.
A non-Muslim can also create a waqf but the individual must profess Islam and the objective of creating the waqf has to be Islamic.

How is a waqf governed?

Governed by the Waqf Act, 1995.
A survey commissioner under the Act lists all properties declared as waqf by making local investigation, summoning witnesses and requisitioning public documents.
The waqf is managed by a mutawali, who acts as a supervisor. It is similar to a trust established under the Indian Trusts Act, 1882, but trusts can be set up for a broader purpose than religious and charitable uses. A trust established can also be dissolved by the board unlike a waqf.

Waqf Board

It is a juristic person with power to acquire and hold property and to transfer any such property.
The board can sue and be sued in a court as it is recognised as a legal entity or juristic person.
Each state has a Waqf Board headed by a chairperson, one or two nominees from the state government, Muslim legislators and parliamentarians, Muslim members of the state Bar Council, recognised scholars of Islamic theology and mutawalis of the waqfs with an annual income of Rs 1 lakh and above.

9. COLOMBO PORT CITY

Subject : International Relations

Context :A Chinese-funded tax-free enclave billed as Sri Lanka’s answer to Dubai and Singapore cleared the final legal hurdle as the Supreme Court in Colombo ruled it could go ahead with only minor tweaks.

Concept :

The largest single foreign investment in Sri Lanka is one of several massive Asian infrastructure projects funded by China as Beijing increases its regional footprint.
Sri Lanka’s top court rejected 19 petitions challenging the “Colombo Port City Economic Commission” Bill and approved the $1.4-billion project subject to minor amendments which the government immediately said it accepted.
Project officials have said they hope the brand new “Port City”, an area of reclaimed land, will attract billions of dollars for trade, banking and offshore services similar to what is available in Dubai and Singapore, two of its potential competitors.
Named the “Colombo Port City” because of its proximity to Colombo’s main harbour, the sea reclamation — carried out with considerable Chinese labour — completed in 2019 has doubled the size of Colombo’s financial district by adding 269 hectares.
The Port City will be administered by a commission with unprecedented powers to fast track investment approvals. All transactions within the Port City will be denominated in foreign currency and all salaries earned by any worker will be tax-exempt.

10. NEW NAMING SYSTEM FOR VIRUS VARIANTS

Subject : Science & tech

Context : The World Health Organization (WHO) would unveil a system of naming of coronavirus variants drawn from the way tropical storms are named, WHO Chief Scientist Soumya Swaminathan says.

Concept :

The initiative, similar to how hurricanes are labelled, seeks to remove stigma. It will also be easier for the lay public to remember rather than these complicated lineage numbers.
The WHO and health and science agencies across the world refer to viruses and their variants by formal lineage names, which are a combination of letters and names that point to the relationships between different variants.
Variants such as B.1.1.7 and B.1.617 suggest that they have certain mutations in common and as well clues to their evolutionary history.
However, because virus names and their associated diseases have frequently been named after geographical places where outbreaks were first reported or samples first isolated — such as the West Nile virus or Ebola.
1.7 started to be known as the ‘U.K. variant’ and B.1.351 as the ‘South African’ variant.
The dilemma of having names that don’t stigmatise places but also are amenable to popular use has to an extent been solved by the system of naming hurricanes, or tropical cyclones. The World Meteorological Organisation leaves it to countries that surround a particular ocean basin to come up with names.

11. NEW STORAGE CONDITIONS FOR Pfizer-BioNTech VACCINE

Subject : Science & tech

Context : The European Medicines Agency (EMA) recommended a change to the approved storage conditions of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine which changes the way these vaccines are handled in vaccination centres across the European Union (EU).

Concept :

With the new recommendations, an unopened thawed vial of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine can be stored between 2-8 degrees Celsius for up to a month, which means that it can be stored in a regular refrigerator once it has been taken out of the deep freeze.
Before this, an unopened thawed vaccine vial could be kept in a regular refrigerator for a period of only up to five days.
This increased flexibility in storing and handling of the vaccines is expected to positively impact the vaccine rollout in the EU, which has faced some problems since the vaccination drive started.

Why do mRNA vaccines need to be stored at such low temperatures?

mRNA vaccines need to be stored at much lower temperatures than some other kind of COVID-19 vaccines because RNA is much less stable than DNA, which is due to the sugars that their molecules are made up of.
The second reason for the relative instability of RNA is because of its shape, which is a single strand, while DNA is expressed as a double-stranded helix.

12. PROTEIN – ANTIBODY CONJUGATES

Subject : Science & tech

Context : Recently, the researchers from University of Massachusetts have tested the mechanism ‘Protein–Antibody Conjugates’ in cell lines in the lab.

Concept :

Protein–Antibody Conjugates

The new concept, Protein– Antibody Conjugates or PACs, combines two different approaches to drug delivery:
One is biologics, where the idea is to target a defective protein in the system by delivering proteins to it.
The other approach is to use antibodies for drug delivery.
The antibodies are something the body produces to detect a foreign substance inside the body.
The Protein–antibody conjugates or PACs, developed by the group, which have a protein attached to the antibody such as pancreatic cancer cells.

Significance of Protein–Antibody Conjugates

The antibody plays the role of the address and indicates the cell where the drug should precisely be delivered.
The biology involves complexity and this method may well fail if it is not tuneable.
It combines concepts of biologics and antibody–drug conjugates to produce protein– antibody conjugates that can be used for targeted drug delivery.

What is antibody conjugation?

Antibody conjugation, also known as antibody labeling, is a technique for modification of antibodies which involves with the attachment of a specific tag to an antibody.
These labeled antibodies can be used to isolate and purify a protein of interest from a complex mixture, usually cells, tissues or whole organisms.
Horseradish peroxidase (HRP) is a commonly used enzyme for conjugation of antibodies.

13. PALEOART

Subject : Art & Culture

Context : In the early nineteenth century, artists mingled science with fantasy to recreate dinosaurs for in style creativeness, often exhibiting them in apocalyptic forests with an erupting volcano within the background.

Concept :

It is a genre of art in which the artist depicts prehistoric life based on scientific evidence.
It began in 1800s, with the discovery of the first fossils from the Mesozoic era.
The Paleoart is continuously adjusting to new evidence, as one small discovery can completely distort the dinosaurs we have imagined for so long.
While paleoart is typically defined as being scientifically informed, it is often the basis of depictions of prehistoric animals in popular culture, which in turn influences public perception of and fuels interest in these animals.
The term “paleoart” which is a portmanteau of paleo, the Ancient Greek word for “old,” and “art” was introduced in the late 1980s by Mark Hallett for art that depicts subjects related to paleontology.

14. ELDERLINE HELPLINE

Subject : Current Events

Context : Recently, the Ministry of Social Justice & Empowerment has started state wise call centres in major states under the ELDERLINE project.

Concept :

About ELDERLINE Helpline

It is made operational in 5 major States of Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu and Karnataka and in Telangana, this facility has been working for more than a year.
These call centres can be reached by toll free number 14567.
The ELDERLINE is a facility operationalised with the assistance of Tata Trusts and NSE foundation.
The helpline will function by way of decentralised name centres on the state stage with a central monitoring and knowledge evaluation system within the union social justice and empowerment ministry.

15. MICRO CLIMATIC SHIFTING

Subject : Geography

Context : Gujarat districts to experience droughts while another faces floods in the same season. Drought-prone districts like Jamnagar, Rajkot, Surat, and Valsad have witnessed a shift towards extreme floods and storm surges in the last decade. These changing patterns are due to microclimatic changes.

Concept :

Micro climatic zone shifting

The micro climatic zones are regions where the weather is different from the surrounding areas.
The major reasons identified for the micro climatic zone shifting are disappearing wetlands, change in land use patterns, encroachment on natural ecosystems and urban heat Island.
The urban heat Island occurs when a city or region experiences higher temperatures as compared to its nearby rural areas.
These urban heat Island traps heat locally and is a major cause of micro climatic zone shifting