Daily Prelims Notes 26 August 2021

August 26, 2021
Posted by: OptimizeIAS Team
Category: DPN

Daily Prelims Notes

26 August 2021

Table Of Contents

Subject – Art and Culture

Context – The government of Haryana has moved to prohibit the use of the expression “Gorakh Dhandha”, often used by politicians in speeches to refer to “unethical practices”.

Concept –

Gorakhnath (also known as Goraksanath, c. early 11th century) was a Hindu yogi, saint who was the influential founder of the Nath Hindu monastic movement in India.
He is considered one of the two notable disciples of Matsyendranath.
His followers are found in India at the place known as Garbhagiri which is in Ahmednagar in the state of Maharashtra.
These followers are called yogis, Gorakhnathi, Darshanior Kanphata.
His guru was Matsyendranathand his disciple name was bhaironnath.
He was one of nine saints also known as Navnathand is widely popular in Maharashtra, India and dumgaon, Uttarakhand (where there worshipers do difficult tapasya in himalayas for a month sometimes 6 months or more).
Gorakhnath is considered a Maha-yogi (or great yogi) in the Hindu tradition.
He did not emphasise a specific metaphysical theory or a particular Truth, but emphasised that the search for Truth and the spiritual life is a valuable and normal goal of man.
Gorakhnath championed Yoga, spiritual discipline and an ethical life of self-determination as a means to reaching samadhi and one’s own spiritual truths.
Gorakhnath, his ideas and yogis have been highly popular in rural India, with monasteries and temples dedicated to him found in many states of India, particularly in the eponymous city of Gorakhpur.

2. China’s Missile Silos

Subject – IR

Context – Satellite images have revealed that China is building at least three missile silo fields in Yumen in Gansu province, near Hami in Xinjiang province, and at Hanggin Banner, Ordos City, in Inner Mongolia.

Concept –

On completion of the ongoing work, China could have 250-270 new missile silos, more than 10 times the number it had maintained for several decades.
Why is China building missile silos?
- FIRST, some Chinese political scientists believe this could be China’s attempt to move towards a launch-on-warning (LOW) nuclear posture. LOW refers to a launch at an adversary on detection of an incoming missile before the adversary’s missile hits its target.
- SECOND, it enables China to achieve its goal of increasing its nuclear warhead
- The THIRD guess is that China could use these silos as decoys.

3. Dr Gail Omvedt

Context – ONE of India’s foremost caste scholars, as well as noted author and activist, Dr Gail Omvedt passed away Wednesday after a brief illness at her residence in Kasegaon in Maharashtra’s Sangli.

Concept –

The 81-year-old who was born in Minnesota in the US but made India her home had authored books on Dalit politics, women’s struggles and anti-caste movements and co-founded the ShramikMukti Dal with her husband, activist Bharat Patankar.
Liberty, equality and community are the three most important components of a human vision for the new millennium,” Omvedt had said.
Throughout her life, she and Patankar worked to alleviate the conditions of the marginalised and the exploited, including tribals, Dalits, peasants, labourers and women, setting up the ShramikMukti Dal in the ’80s.
She came to India for research as part of her doctoral thesis on non-Brahmin movements in western India, and met here the famous Maharashtrian freedom fighter and social activist, IndumatiPatankar, whose son Bharat she would later marry. She took Indian citizenship in 1983.
It was Omvedt who first studied the political implication of Jyotiba Phule’s Satyashodhak Samaj, which led to new research in it.

4. Deficit Rainfall

Subject – Geography

Context – Monsoon 2021: A month before season’s end, over one-third of districts deficit in rainfall.

Concept –

When rainfall is 20-59 per cent below the normal average, it is termed ‘deficit’, according to the IMD.
When it is 60 per cent below normal, it is termed as ‘large deficit’.
Eleven of India’s 37 states / Union territories (UT) have reported that more than 50 per cent of their districts have been either deficit or large deficit in rainfall by August 25. Some 234 of the 694 districts in India have reported deficit rainfall while 16 are in the large deficient category.
All the 33 districts in Gujarat have reported deficit or large deficit rainfall.

5. Lumpy Skin Disease (LSD)

Subject – Science and Tech

Context – Gujarat is the latest victim of the emerging viral disease outbreak in cattle, Lumpy Skin Disease (LSD), which has already been reported in at least 12 other States in the country.

Concept –

Lumpy Skin Disease (LSD) has been infecting India’s bovines.
The LSD is caused by infection of cattle or water buffalo with the poxvirus Lumpy skin disease virus (LSDV).
The virus is one of three closely related species within the genus capripox virus, the other two species being Sheeppox virus and Goatpox virus.
Symptoms – It appears as nodules of two to five centimetre diameter all over the body, particularly around the head, neck, limbs, udder (mammary gland of female cattle) and genitals.
- Other clinical signs include general malaise, ocular and nasal discharge, fever, and sudden decrease in milk production.
According to the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) the mortality rate is less than 10%.
Vectors – it spreads through mosquitoes, flies and ticks and also through saliva and contaminated water and food.
Control and prevention of lumpy skin disease relies on four tactics – movement control (quarantine), vaccination, slaughter campaigns and management strategies.
There is no treatment for the virus, so prevention by vaccination is the most effective means of control.
Secondary infections in the skin may be treated with Non-Steroidal Anti-Inflammatories (NSAIDs) and also antibiotics when appropriate.
Global Spread:
LSD is endemic to Africa and parts of West Asia, where it was first discovered in 1929.
In Southeast Asia the first case of LSD was reported in Bangladesh in July 2019.
In India, which has the world’s highest 303 million heads of cattle, the disease has spread to 15 states within just 16 months.
- In India it was first reported from Mayurbhanj, Odisha in August 2019.

6. Public Accounts Committee (PAC)

Subject – Polity

Context – The Public Accounts Committee (PAC) of Parliament, headed by veteran Congress MP Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury, has decided to examine the Rafale deal.

Concept –

Public Accounts Committee was introduced in 1921 after its first mention in the Government of India Act, 1919 also called Montford Reforms. It is existing in the Indian Constitution since then.
PAC is one of the parliamentary committees that examine the annual audit reports of CAG which the President lays before the Parliament of India. Those three reports submitted by CAG are:
- Audit report on appropriation accounts
- Audit report on finance accounts
- Audit report on public undertakings
The Public Accounts Committee examines public expenditure.
That public expenditure is not only examined from a legal and formal point of view to discover technical irregularities but also from the point of view of the economy, prudence, wisdom, and propriety.
The sole purpose to do this is to bring out cases of waste, loss, corruption, extravagance, inefficiency, and nugatory expenses.
Election of Members -By Parliament every year with proportional representation by means of a single transferable vote (A minister cannot be elected)
Members – 22. Out of 22 members, 15 are elected from Lok Sabha (Lower House) and 7 members are elected from Rajya Sabha (Upper House.)
Term of office – one year
Chairman – Speaker appoints him/her from amongst the members, invariably from the Opposition Party since 1967.
Its limitation – It can keep a tab on the expenses only after they are incurred. It has no power to limit expenses.

7. Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI)

Subject – Polity

Context– The Supreme Court on Wednesday said probe agencies such as the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) suffered from the dearth of manpower and infrastructure that the judiciary too faced. Both were overburdened.

Concept –

CBI is the premier investigating police agency in India.
It functions under the superintendence of the Deptt. of Personnel, Ministry of Personnel, Pension & Public Grievances, Government of India – which falls under the prime minister’s office.
However for investigations of offences under the Prevention of Corruption Act, its superintendence vests with the Central Vigilance Commission.
It is also the nodal police agency in India which coordinates investigation on behalf of Interpol Member countries.
CBI derives power to investigate from the Delhi Special Police Establishment Act, 1946.
In 1963, the CBI was established by the Government of India with a view to investigate serious crimes related to defence of India, corruption in high places, serious fraud, cheating and embezzlement and social crime, particularly of hoarding, black-marketing and profiteering in essential commodities, having all-India and inter-state ramifications.
With the passage of time, CBI started investigations in conventional crimes like assassinations, kidnappings, hijackings, crimes committed by extremists, etc.

Director of CBI –

Director, CBI as Inspector General of Police, Delhi Special Police Establishment, is responsible for the administration of the organization.
Till 2014, the CBI Director was appointed on the basis of the DSPE Act, 1946.
In 2014, the Lokpal Act provided a committee for appointment of CBI Director:
- Headed by Prime Minister
- Other members –
  - Leader of Opposition/ Leader of the single largest opposition party,
  - Chief Justice of India/ a Supreme Court Judge.
- Home Ministry sends a list of eligible candidates to DoPT. Then, the DoPT prepares the final list on basis of seniority, integrity, and experience in the investigation of anti-corruption cases, and sends it to the committee.
Director of CBI has been provided security of two year tenure, by the CVC Act, 2003.

8. Section 321 CrPC

Subject – Polity

Context –SCBench was hearing plea about hundreds of criminal cases pending against MPs and MLAs, both sitting and former.

Concept –

The power to withdraw criminal cases is vested with the public prosecutor or assistant public prosecutor under Section 321 of the CrPC.
According to the statute, at any stage before the judgment, the prosecutor can decide to withdraw prosecution against one or all offenders in a case under one or all offences.
If such an application is made before the chargesheet is filed, it would lead to discharge. In case the chargesheet is filed, it would lead to acquittal of the accused.
In cases where the matter relates to the executive powers of the Centre, or comes under the Delhi Special Police Establishment Act, or is related to damage of central government property, permission from the Union is needed.
The withdrawal of cases, however, is subject to the court giving its consent.
Section 321 is silent on the grounds on which the state government or public prosecutor can push for withdrawal.
However, successive judgments by the Supreme Court and various high courts have held that it cannot be whimsical or arbitrary, and must be guided by public interest and furtherance of justice.
Various court judgments, including from the Supreme Court, have held that even after a case has been withdrawn by a state government and received the consent of the court concerned, it can be challenged for a judicial review under Article 226 of the Constitution.
Courts have also held that besides the victim, even a third party can intervene and challenge the withdrawal of the case since a crime is committed against the society.

9. Sujalam Campaign

Subject – Governance

Concept –

SUJALAM Campaign is a 100 days campaign launched as a part of the Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav celebrations.
This campaign seeks to create more ODF Plus villages by undertaking waste water management across villages in India.
During the campaign, ten lakh Soak-pits will be created.
The Jal Shakti Ministry has launched a campaign to create a million soak pits in villages across the country over the next 100 days, to help manage grey water and prevent the clogging of waterbodies.
The Swachh Bharat Mission’s first phase was to achieve open defecation free (ODF) status by constructing a toilet in every rural household and persuading all villagers to use it.
- The second phase, termed ODF+, aims to sustain and extend these sanitation gains by focusing on solid and liquid waste management.
- Second phase has required a more nuanced approach.
A dashboard would be made public within the next two weeks to enable proper monitoring of ODF+ work.

10. Fair and Remunerative Prices for Sugarcane

Subject – Agriculture

Context – The Union government has increased the minimum price that sugar mills must pay to sugar cane farmers by ₹5 a quintal, setting the fair and remunerative price (FRP) at ₹290 a quintal for the 2021-22 sugar season, which runs from October to September.

Concept –

Sugar industry is an important agro-based industry that impacts rural livelihood of about 50 million sugarcane farmers and around 5 lakh workers directly employed in sugar mills.
India is the world’s second largest sugar producer after Brazil and also the largest consumer.
FRP is the minimum price that the sugar mills have to pay to farmers.
It is supposed to signal to farmers the need to plant more or less cane for the coming year.
Sugarcane prices are determined by:
- Federal Government
- State Government
The Federal/Central Government announces Fair and Remunerative Prices which are determined on the recommendation of the Commission for Agricultural Costs and Prices (CACP) and are announced by the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs, which is chaired by Prime Minister.
The State Advised Prices (SAP)are announced by key sugarcane producing states which are generally higher than FRP.

11. Manthan 2021

Subject – Governance

Context – Hackathon to find out solutions for Intel bodies.

Concept –

The Bureau of Police Research and Development (BPR&D), in coordination with the All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE), will launch an online hackathon “Manthan 2021”, for identification of innovative concepts and technology solutions to address the challenges faced by intelligence agencies.
Manthan 2021 will be held in two phases –
- In the first phase, the participants will submit their concepts against the problem statements which they want to solve on the portal.
- The ideas will be evaluated by a group of experts and only the innovative ideas will be selected for the second round.
Total prize money worth ₹40 lakh will be given to the winning teams.
The participants will have to develop digital solutions under six themes for 20 different challenge statements mentioned in the website, using new technologies like artificial intelligence, deep learning, augmented reality and machine learning.

12. Be Internet Awesome

Subject – Science and Tech

Context – Google and Amar Chitra Katha to offer Internet safety lessons.

Concept –

Google has launched the global ‘Be Internet Awesome’ program for kids in India, wherein it will partner with Indian comic book publisher Amar Chitra Katha to offer Internet safety lessons through popular comic book characters across eight Indian languages.
It added that launch of the newly expanded Safety Centre in Hindi, Marathi, Malayalam, Kannada and Telugu, and in Bengali, Tamil, and Gujarati by the end of the year, will serve as a single destination that is dedicated to educating and empowering Google’s users on the importance of digital safety covering important topics like data security, privacy controls, and online protection.

13. Fukushima Nuclear Power Plant

Subject – IR

Context – Fukushima nuclear water to be released via undersea tunnel.

Concept –

Fukushima Nuclear Power Plant is located in the town of Okuma, Japan. The reactor is located on the country’s east coast. It is about 220 km north-east of the capital Tokyo.
The 2011 Earthquake, destroyed the Fukushima Nuclear Power Plant’s electricity and cooling capacity. Since then, Japan is struggling with the piling-up of contaminated water from the nuclear plant.
Japan is planning to release the contaminated water containing tritium(a radioactive isotope of hydrogen) into the ocean.
Tritium considered to be relatively harmless because it does not emit enough energy to penetrate human skin. But when ingested tritium can create cancer risks.
The operator of the wrecked Fukushima nuclear power plant said it plans to build an undersea tunnel so that massive amounts of treated but still radioactive water can be released into the ocean about 1 km away from the plant to avoid interference with local fishing.

For more information on Nuclear Power Plant, please refer to this.

Terms related to nuclear Plant

Core: The central part of a nuclear reactor containing the fuel elements and any moderator.

Coolant: The liquid or gas used to transfer heat from the reactor core to the steam generators or directly to the turbines.

Critical mass: The smallest mass of fissile material that will support a self-sustaining chain reaction under specified conditions.

Criticality: Condition of being able to sustain a nuclear chain reaction.

Enriched uranium: Uranium in which the proportion of U-235 (to U-238) has been increased above the natural 0.7%. Reactor-grade uranium is usually enriched to about 3.5% U-235, weapons-grade uranium is more than 90% U-235.

Enrichment: Physical process of increasing the proportion of U-235 to U-238.

Fission: The splitting of a heavy nucleus into two, accompanied by the release of a relatively large amount of energy and usually one or more neutrons. It may be spontaneous but usually is due to a nucleus absorbing a neutron and thus becoming unstable.

Half-life: The period required for half of the atoms of a particular radioactive isotope to decay and become an isotope of another element.

Heavy water: Water containing an elevated concentration of molecules with deuterium (“heavy hydrogen”) atoms.

High-enriched uranium (HEU): Uranium enriched to 20% U-235 or more

Ionising radiation: Radiation (including alpha particles) capable of breaking chemical bonds, thus causing ionisation of the matter through which it passes and damage to living tissue.

Radioactivity: The spontaneous decay of an unstable atomic nucleus, giving rise to the emission of radiation.

Uranium (U): A mildly radioactive element with two isotopes which are fissile (U-235 and U-233) and two which are fertile (U-238 and U-234). Uranium is the basic fuel of nuclear energy.

Vitrification: The incorporation of high-level wastes into borosilicate glass, to make up about 14% of it by mass. It is designed to immobilise radionuclides in an insoluble matrix ready for disposal.

14. Industry 4.0

Subject – Science and Tech

Context – Adopting Industry 4.0 technologies would make MSMEs more efficient and competitive.

Concept –

The term ‘Industry 4.0’ was coined by the German government in 2011.
Additive manufacturing, Internet of Things, Cyber Physical Systems, Augmented Reality/Virtual Reality and data analytics are some of the technologies associated with Industry 4.0.
With the help of these technologies, the manufacturing industry will be able to make data-driven decisions.
Industry 4.0 integrated ‘data’ with manufacturing and Information Technology.
To take advantage of data-driven decision-making, the governments of other countries also coined their own industrial initiatives like Industry 4.0. For example, the S. calls it Smart Manufacturing, China calls it Made in China 2025, and India refers it to as Make in India or Digital India.

There are four distinct industrial revolutions that the world either has experienced or continues to experience today.

First Industrial Revolution: Happened between the late 1700s and early 1800s. During this period of time, manufacturing evolved from focusing on manual labor performed by people and aided by work animals to a more optimized form of labor performed by people through the use of water and steam-powered engines and other types of machine tools.
Second Industrial Revolution: In the early part of the 20th century, the world entered a second industrial revolution with the introduction of steel and use of electricity in factories. The introduction of electricity enabled manufacturers to increase efficiency and helped make factory machinery more mobile. It was during this phase that mass production concepts like the assembly line were introduced as a way to boost productivity.
Third Industrial Revolution: Starting in the late 1950s, it slowly began to emerge, as manufacturers began incorporating more electronic—and eventually computer—technology into their factories. During this period, manufacturers began experiencing a shift that put less emphasis on analog and mechanical technology and more on digital technology and automation software.