Daily Prelims Notes 4 August 2021

August 4, 2021
Posted by: OptimizeIAS Team
Category: DPN

Daily Prelims Notes

4 August 2021

Table Of Contents

Subject: Environment

Context: NGO Oxfam has said that ‘net zero’ carbon targets that many countries have announced may be a “dangerous distraction” from the priority of cutting carbon emissions.

What the report says?

“Land-hungry ‘net zero’ schemes could force an 80 per cent rise in global food prices and more hunger while allowing rich nations and corporates to continue “dirty business-as-usual,” Oxfam has said in a new report titled “Tightening the Net”.
The report says that if the challenge of change is tackled only by way of planting more trees, then about 1.6 billion hectares of new forests would be required to remove the world’s excess carbon emissions by the year 2050.
Further, it says that to limit global warming below 1.5°C and to prevent irreversible damage from climate change, the world needs to collectively be on track and should aim to cut emissions by 45 per cent by 2030 from 2010 levels, “with the sharpest being made by the biggest emitters.”
“Oxfam’s report shows that if the entire energy sector whose emissions continue to soar, were to set similar ‘net-zero’ targets, it would require an area of land nearly the size of the Amazon rainforest, equivalent to a third of all farmland worldwide.

What does net-zero mean?

Net-zero, which is also referred to as carbon-neutrality, does not mean that a country would bring down its emissions to zero.
Gross-zero means reaching a state where there are no emissions at all.
Therefore, net-zero is a state in which a country’s emissions are compensated by absorption and removal of greenhouse gases from the atmosphere.
One way by which carbon can be absorbed is by creating carbon sinks.
Bhutan is the first carbon-negative country in the world.
Bhutan and Suriname are the only two countries that have achieved carbon neutrality and are actually carbon negative (removing more carbon than they emit).

Which countries have recently announced net-zero targets?

New Zealand: passed the Zero Carbon Act 2019, which committed the country to zero carbon emissions by 2050 or sooner, as part of the country’s attempts to meet its Paris climate accord commitments.
UK: UK’s parliament passed legislation in 2019 requiring the government to reduce the UK’s net emissions of greenhouse gases by 100 per cent relative to 1990 levels by the year 2050.
US president Joe Biden announced that the country will cut its greenhouse gas emissions by at least 50 per cent below 2005 levels by 2030.
The European Union plan, called “Fit for 55”, the European Commission has asked all of its 27 member countries to cut emissions by 55 per cent below 1990 levels by 2030.
China also announced that it would become net-zero by the year 2060 and that it would not allow its emissions to peak beyond what they are in 2030. China accounts for an estimated 25% of global emissions.

Why does India object to net-zero emissions?

India is the one opposing this target because it is likely to be the most impacted by it.
Over the next two to three decades, India’s emissions are likely to grow at the fastest pace in the world, as it presses for higher growth to pull hundreds of millions of people out of poverty.
No amount of afforestation or reforestation would be able to compensate for the increased emissions.
The net-zero goals do not figure in the 2015 Paris Agreement, the new global architecture to fight climate change.
India has been arguing that instead of opening up a parallel discussion on net-zero targets outside of the Paris Agreement framework, countries must focus on delivering on what they have already promised in Paris Agreement.

2. Tracking new SARS-COV2 variants

Subject: Science and Technology

Context: Delhi-based CSIR-IGIB & scientists from various laboratories have been involved in the genome sequencing of SARS-COV2 variants in India. So far, over 50,000 sequences have been done from India, providing vital information about the mutations, and how they were spreading in the population.

What is a gene sequence?

Genome sequencing is figuring out the order of DNA nucleotides, or bases, in a genome—the order of Adenine, Cytosine, Guanines, and Thymine that make up an organism’s DNA.
The SARS-CoV-2 virus has certain genetic instructions that it uses to generate copies of itself. These instructions are coded in a sequence of 29,903 letters of RNA (ribonucleic acid bases – A, U, G, C) which make up what is known as the ‘genome’ of the virus.
Sequencing the genome of the virus essentially means that we determine the sequence of the 29,903 letters of the virus. Approximately 50,000 genome sequences of SARS-CoV-2 have been assembled in India and more than 2.5 million genome sequences are available publicly from around the world.

How has genome sequencing helped?

Genome sequencing helps us understand the evolution and spread of the virus and its
It enables us to look closely at the mutations that arise in the virus during replication inside the human body after infection.
Tracking such mutations can also allow the tracing of the origin and spread of a specific variant of the virus especially as variants spread across geographical areas.
For example, the Delta variant predominated during the second wave in India.
Multiple studies subsequently suggested that Delta is more transmissible as compared to other previous lineages of SARS-CoV-2.

How are the variants named?

PANGO is a system of assigning names to different lineages of SARS-CoV-2 genomes, which was developed by virologists in the UK and Australia early in 2020.
It is a hierarchical system of naming lineages.
For example, the B.1.1.7 lineage, more commonly known as the Alpha variant, emerged from the lineage B.1.1 which had emerged from the lineage B.1, which is a direct descendant of the lineage B.
The suffix can contain a maximum of 3 hierarchical levels, referred to as the primary, secondary and tertiary suffixes.

3. The Essential Defence Services Bill 2021 and The Tribunals Reforms Bill 2021 were passed separately by voice vote

Subject: Polity

Context: The Essential Defence Services Bill, 2021 and The Tribunals Reforms Bill, 2021 were passed separately by voice vote before the House was adjourned for the day as Opposition continued with their sloganeering

Concept:

What is a voice vote?

A voice vote involves the speaker putting a question to the house and then asking the house to put forward its opinion in the forms of ayes (yes) or noes. Based on a rough measure of which side was louder, the speaker decides if the motion was passed or fell through.
The obvious advantage of a voice vote is that it is quick. The apparent disadvantage is that it is inaccurate, given that the speakers decides what the opinion of the houseis based on which side is louder. A literal shouting match is not the ideal way to conduct any serious business other than in cases where voting is so one sided, it is basically a formality.
Due to this, parliamentary procedure requires that if a voice vote is challenged by any member, the speaker must ask for a division.
This once involved the physical separation of legislators and then a counting of heads– a procedure still followed in the UK. But nowadays in India, this is achieved by getting MPs and MLAs to vote electronically.
The advantage of a division, of course, is that it tells the public exactly what the vote count is. Moreover, it lets constituents know how their MP or MLA voted.

Adjournment

An adjournment suspends the work in a sitting for a specified time, which may be hours, days or weeks. In this case, the time of reassembly is specified.
An adjournment only terminates a sitting and not a session of the House.
The power of adjournment lies with the presiding officer of the House.

Adjournment Sine Die

Adjournment sine die means terminating a sitting of Parliament for an indefinite period. In other words, when the House is adjourned without naming a day for reassembly, it is called adjournment sine die.
The power of adjournment sine die lies with the presiding officer of the House.
Note: The presiding officer of a House can call a sitting of the House before the date or time to which it has been adjourned or at any time after the House has been adjourned sine die.

Provisions in the Tribunals Reform Bill 2021:

The government seeks to amend the Finance Act 2017 to include provisions related to the composition of search-cum-selection committees and the term of office of members for 19 tribunals (such as Customs, Excise, and Service Tax Appellate Tribunal) in the Act itself.
It seeks to empower the Central Government to make rules for qualifications, appointment, term of office, salaries and allowances, resignation, removal and other terms and conditions of service of Members of Tribunals.
It provides that the Chairperson and Members of the Tribunals will be appointed by the Central Government on the recommendation of a Search-cum-Selection Committee.
It also provides the composition of the Committee, to be headed by the Chief Justice of India or a Judge of Supreme Court nominated by him.

Search-cum-selection committee

The committee that is responsible to recommend the names of the chairpersons and the members for the appointment by the central government in the Tribunal is called the search-cum-selection committee. The composition of the committee as mentioned in the Tribunals Bill 2021 is:
Chairperson – The Chief Justice of India, or a Supreme Court Judge nominated by him. He/she has the casting vote
Two secretaries – Central Government nominates them
The sitting or outgoing Chairperson, or a retired Supreme Court Judge, or a retired Chief Justice of a High Court
The Secretary of the Ministry under which the Tribunal is constituted. He/She has no voting right.

Term of Office for the Tribunals Members

The Tribunals Reform Bill states the following term of office:
Chairperson – 4 years or till he attains the age of 70 years [Whichever is earlier]
Remaining Members- 4 years or till they attain the age of 67 years [Whichever is earlier]

The Essential Defence Services Bill, 2021

The essential defence services include:

Any establishment or undertaking dealing with the production of goodsor equipment required for defence-related purposes
Any establishment of the armed forcesor connected with them or defence. These also include services that, if ceased, would affect the safety of the establishment engaged in such services or its employees.
In addition, the government may declare any service as an essential defence service if its cessation would affect the: (i) production of defence equipment or goods, (ii) operation or maintenance of industrial establishments or units engaged in such production, or (iii) repair or maintenance of products connected with defence.

The Essential Defence Services Bill, 2021

The new Bill allows the Central Government to prohibit strikes, lock-outs, and lay-offs in units engaged in essential defence services as per PRS Legislative Research. The government may issue such order if necessary in the interest of: Sovereignty and integrity of India, Security of any state, Public, Public order, Decency, Morality
The prohibition order will remain in force for six months and may be extended by another six months.
Strikes and lock-outs that are declared after the issue of the prohibition order or those that had commenced before the prohibition order was issued will be illegal. The prohibition will not apply to lay-offs made due to power shortage or natural calamity, or lay-offs of temporary or casual workmen.
Under the new Bill, a strike is defined as cessation of work by a body of persons acting together. It includes the following under its purview: Mass casual leave, Coordinated refusal of any number of persons to continue to work or accept employment, Refusal to work overtime, where such work is necessary for the maintenance of essential defence services, Any other conduct which results in, or is likely to result in, disruption of work in essential defence services.
The new Bill also amends the Industrial Disputes Act, 1947 to include essential defence services under public utility services.
Under the Act, in the case of public utility services, a six-week notice must be given before: Persons employed in such services go on strike in breach of contract; Employers carrying on such services do lock-outs.
Employers violating the prohibition order through illegal lock-outs or lay-offs will be punished with up to one-year imprisonment or Rs 10,000 fine or both.

The punishment for illegal strikes

Persons initiating or participating in illegal strikes will be punished with up to one-year imprisonment or Rs 10,000 fine or both.
Persons instigating, inciting, or taking actions to continue illegal strikes, or knowingly supplying money for such purposes, will be punished with up to two years imprisonment or Rs 15,000 fine, or both.
Such an employee will be liable to disciplinary action including dismissal as per the terms and conditions of his service. In such cases, the concerned authority is allowed to dismiss or remove the employee without any inquiry, if it is not reasonably practicable to hold such inquiry.
All offences punishable under the Bill will be cognisable and non-bailable.

4. Keeladi

Subject: Art and Culture

Context: A punch-marked silver coin that was dug out during the seventh phase of excavation at Keeladi last week has sent a wave of excitement among archaeologists, as they are further able to collate and establish trading activity of the civilisation believed to have flourished on the banks of Vaigai river more than 2,500 years ago

Concept:

The finding of a single punched-mark silver coin so far is stated to be unique. However, a similar semi-circular silver coin was excavated earlier, at a depth of 162 cm, during the fourth phase of excavation at Keeladi
The designs on the coin, are of the sun, moon, a bull, taurine, and another animal that resembles a dog on one side and a semi-circle with two small geometric L-shaped marks on the obverse. It is proof that there was trading with north India, where such coins were in use in the 6th Century BCE.
The shape, which is partly oval with rectangular edges on two sides, looks like a magnified drop. It indicates the time period of the Mauryan Empire
The finding and information helps bridge the connection between the north and the south in the Gangetic valley.
The excavation of beads, copper objects, northern black polished ware, semi-precious stones and punch-mark coins indicate that skilled people were importing raw materials, maybe from Gujarat and Afghanistan, and a flourishing making and cutting industry for jewels and other artefacts existed here.

Other findings

The second urbanization of Vaigai plains happened in Tamil Nadu during the 6^th century BC. The contemporary of Gangetic plains was the Iron Age The carbon dating test confirmed the date of the Tamil-Brahmi script is dated to the year 580 BC.
Skeletal fragments of Cow/Ox & Buffalo, Sheep & Goat, Nilgai & Blackbuck, Wild boar, and Peacock. Pottery specimens from Keeladi confirmed that the water containers and cooking vessels were shaped out of locally available raw materials.
The recovery of spindle whorls, pinpointed bone tip tools, hanging stones of the yarn, terracotta spheres, copper needle, and earthen vessels to hold liquid, outlines the various stages of weaving industryfrom spinning, yarning, looming, weaving and dyeing.

The Vaigai River

The Vaigai river rises on the Eastern slopes of the Varushanadu hills near Kottaimalai in the Madurai district
It flows in the Northerly and North-Easterly directions up to its confluence with the Varahanadhi and then takes a turn towards the East and South-East to flow through Madurai, Sivagangai and Ramanathapuram districts.
The river Vaigai discharges into Ramnad big tank and some other tanks.
The surplus water from the tanks finally discharges into the Palk Bay near Mandapam.

The Mauryan rule coins

The major changes that took place in the economic sphere during the Mauryan rule were increasing the use of coins, improvement in trade and commerce, improvement in communication and transportation and so on. Mauryan coins were similar to the punch mark silver coins of Early Kingdoms. But Mauryan coins generally had five punches and also a sun symbol in those punches.
The coins issued by the MaryAnn are mostly silver and a few copper pieces of metal in various shapes, sizes and weights. They also have one or more symbols punched on them. The symbols included the elephant, the tree in the railing symbol and the mountain. Some were geometrical symbols.
Arthasastra says that the metal was first melted in crucibles (musha) and purified with alkalis or `Kshara` as part of the manufacturing of coins. These purified metals were then beaten into sheets on an anvil with a hammer, cut into pieces with clippers and finally were stamped with dies or punches with symbols. Coins had either the Royal insignia or the symbol of the local guild that struck the coin.
Mauryan punch mark coins are broadly divided into two categories; the first period and the second period attributed to the Janapadas or small local states and the Imperial Mauryan period respectively.
A great number of Mauryan punch mark coins have been found, the period of which can be traced from 300 – 100 BC. Coins have been also identified as cut from full coins for the purpose of half denominations. It is said that at the end of the Mauryan period, the country was affected by rising inflation.

5. The R-number

Subject: Science and Technology

Context: The rising ‘R’ factor in eight States, including Himachal Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir and Mizoram, besides Kerala, continues to be a cause for worry for the health administration

Concept:

The R-number, a mathematically calculated estimate which measures the number of people who are being infected by an already infected person
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.

6. Hydrogen as fuel

Subject: Science and Technology

Context: Union Petroleum and Natural Gas & Steel Minister Shri Dharmendra Pradhan today said that India is looking towards various colors to kick-start the hydrogen ecosystem development.

Concept:

Hydrogen is a clean fuel that, when consumed in a fuel cell, produces only water. Hydrogen can be produced from a variety of domestic resources, such as natural gas, nuclear power, biomass, and renewable power like solar and wind.
Hydrogen is a versatile energy carrier that can be produced from a wide range of sources and used in many ways across the entire energy sector.
It can be produced from Solar-driven processes using light as the agent for hydrogen production
Water can be separated into oxygen and hydrogen through a process called electrolysis
Biological processes use microbes such as bacteria and microalgae and can produce hydrogen through biological reactions. In microbial biomass conversion, the microbes break down organic matter like biomass or wastewater to produce hydrogen, while in photo biological processes the microbes use sunlight as the energy source.

Grey, Blue and green hydrogen

When produced industrially from natural gas (which generates significant carbon emissions) it is known as “grey” hydrogen. (It is cheapest)
When hydrogen is produced from natural gas but carbon emissions are captured and stored, or reused it is called “blue” hydrogen. (price is influenced both by natural gas and carbon capture and storage)
The cleanest one of all is “green” hydrogen, which is generated by renewable energy sources without producing carbon emissions in the first place.

Steps by India

The Hydrogen RoundTable on “Hydrogen Economy: New Delhi Dialogue – 2021”, Union Petroleum and Natural Gas & Steel Minister said that in India, various initiatives with respect to the greater use of hydrogen in India’s energy mix.
Government of India recently announced the National Hydrogen Mission in the Union Budget 2021 for making a hydrogen roadmap for the country.
In the past six years, India has increased its renewable power portfolio from 32 GW to almost 100 GW. We are well on track to achieve 450 GW target of renewable energy generating capacity by 2030,
The petroleum sector is the largest producer of hydrogen for various refinery process operations.
Hydrogen is also capable of aligning with the Ministry’s other flagship schemes, like the promotion of compressed biogas under the Sustainable Alternative for Affordable towards Transportation (SATAT) scheme or promoting the gas-based economy or other initiatives on Waste-to-Energy
The refineries are planning to leverage the available surplus hydrogen capacities in gray form for meeting the initial demand in mainstreaming hydrogen. One of such projects is underway at our Gujarat refinery of Indian Oil wherein the combination of hydrogen production through natural gas and its hyphenation with the carbon capture technology will result in the production of blue hydrogen. Multiple buses powered by fuel cells will be covering various iconic routes. Efforts are underway to leverage the vast CNG pipeline infrastructure to reduce the transportation cost of hydrogen.

Sustainable Alternative towards Affordable Transportation

Sustainable Alternative towards Affordable Transportation (SATAT) is an initiative aimed at setting up of Compressed Bio-Gas production plants and make it available in the market for use in automotive fuels by inviting Expression of Interest from potential entrepreneurs.
The initiative was launched in October 2018 by the Ministry of Petroleum & Natural Gas in association with Public Sector Undertaking (PSU) Oil Marketing Companies (OMC) viz. Indian Oil Corporation Ltd., Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd. and Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Ltd.
Compressed Bio-Gas (CBG) plants are proposed to be set up mainly through independent entrepreneurs. CBG produced at these plants will be transported through cascades of cylinders to the fuel station networks of OMCs for marketing as a green transport fuel alternative. The 1,500-strong CNG stations network in the country currently serves about 32 lakh gas-based vehicles.
The entrepreneurs would be able to separately market the other by-products from these plants, including bio-manure, carbon-dioxide, etc., to enhance returns on investment.
These plants are expected to produce 15 million tonnes of CBG per annum, which is about 40% of current CNG consumption of 44 million tonnes per annum in the country. At an investment of approx. Rs. 1.7 lakh crore

7. CST-100 Starliner

Subject: Science and Technology

Context:

The launch of Boeing’s unsrewed Starliner Orbital Flight Test-2 (OFT-2), which was supposed to lift off from the Space Launch Complex-41 on Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida on Tuesday, has been postponed once again.

Concept:

The spacecraft that launches Boeing’s uncrewed Starliner Orbital Flight Test-2 (OFT-2), which is called the Crew Space Transportation-100 (CST-100) , is part of an uncrewed test flight to the International Space Station (ISS). The mission is part of NASA’s Commercial Crew Program.

CST-100 Starliner

The Starliner, which is supposed to carry more than 400 pounds of NASA cargo and crew supplies, will take roughly 24 hours to reach the ISS, after which it will dock there.
The spacecraft has been designed to accommodate seven passengers or a mix of crew and cargo for missions to low-Earth orbit.
The Boeing will carry up to four NASA-sponsored crew members and time-critical scientific research, for NASA service missions to the ISS.
The Starliner has an innovative, weldless structure and is reusable up to 10 times with a six-month turnaround time. It also features wireless internet and tablet technology for crew interfaces
The spaceflight will also help NASA to ascertain and certify the transportation system to carry astronauts to and from the space station in the future.

NASA’s Commercial Crew Program

The main objective of NASA’s Commercial Crew Program is to make access to space easier in terms of its cost, so that cargo and crew can be easily transported to and from the ISS, enabling greater scientific research.
NASA plans to lower its costs by sharing them with commercial partners such as Boeing and SpaceX, and also give the companies incentive to design and build the Commercial Orbital Transportation Services (COTS).
Boeing and SpaceX were selected by NASA in September 2014 to develop transportation systems meant to transfer crew from the US to the ISS.
These integrated spacecraft, rockets and associated systems will carry up to four astronauts on NASA missions, maintaining a space station crew of seven to maximize time dedicated to scientific research on the orbiting laboratory